Lung cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers for both men and women -- more than 160,000 people die from the disease each year. However, there may be a silver lining to this dark cloud of statistics: Undergoing lung cancer surgery during a sunny time of year may improve one's chances of survival.
Why? Vitamin D.
Researchers found that patients who had surgery for early-stage lung cancer did better if they went under the knife during the sunnier part of the year or took a high dose of vitamin D prior to surgery. In fact, patients who had surgery during the sunniest part of the year and consumed a higher amount of vitamin D more than doubled their chances of survival beyond the five-year mark compared to patients who had surgeries in the winter and took a lesser amount of the vitamin.
Sun, Vitamin D and Survival
In their study, researchers analyzed some 450 patients (average age 69) with early stage and non-small lung cancer (80 percent had stage I cancer and the remaining 20 percent had more advanced stage II cancer).
All of the patients had surgery to remove the cancer while 9 percent also received radiation and 1 percent received chemotherapy. Five-year survival rates were 25 percent higher for those who went under the knife in the spring, summer or fall, compared to those who had surgery in the winter. Statistically, survival rates were:
Moreover, those who had the highest intake of vitamin D were 28 percent less likely to die. The five-year survival rate for those who had surgery in the summer and had the highest intake of vitamin D was 72 percent, compared to 30 percent for those who had surgery in the winter and the lowest vitamin D intake.
While researchers do not recommend putting off lung cancer surgery until warmer months, they do advise increasing vitamin D intake for its survival benefits.
Forbes April 19, 2005
Cancer recently dethroned heart disease as the leading killer of Americans under the age of 85. Not so hard to believe, considering an American Cancer Society report last year found a staggering 156 Americans per hour were diagnosed with cancer.
With these kinds of statistics, it would seem prudent to take every known step you can toward preventing this growing killer from affecting your life. The above study out of Harvard is just the latest in a long line of accumulating evidence showing that optimizing your vitamin D may be one of the most important steps of all.
When doing so, it is important to remember some especially crucial points:
Optimal vitamin D levels lie in a very small range. To be certain your levels are where they should be, have your doctor test your blood and supplement as needed in order to maintain that level.
Excessive levels of vitamin D in your blood are also dangerous, which is another reason why it is vitally important to check your levels before beginning any supplementation. Also be aware that you can only overdose on vitamin D by consuming it. Your body's innate protective mechanisms will not allow your levels to go past a certain, safe point when sun bathing.
The darker your skin is, the farther away from the equator you are, and the further away you are from the summer months, the less likely it is that you will produce adequate vitamin D levels from sun exposure alone.
It is always preferable to get your vitamin D from sun exposure, as there is very little risk of overdosing. However, for some of us that just isn't possible so the type of vitamin D you use as a supplement is absolutely crucial. Only vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the type of vitamin D found naturally in foods like eggs, organ meats, animal fat, cod liver oil and fish, is appropriate for supplementation.
One of the most challenging things about preventing cancer is that there can be any number of contributing factors involved, all of which seem to vary from person to person and cancer to cancer.
Optimizing your vitamin D levels certainly seems important considering that it is a potential factor in as many as 16 different types of cancer including not only lung cancer, but also breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancers.
To learn more about how to prevent cancer, please be sure to also read my 12 changes that can cut your cancer risk in half.
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