Foreword by Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD 

Professor of Biology, Boston College | Author, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer

I am delighted to write the foreword to Dr. Susan Wadia-Ells’ important book, Busting Breast Cancer. Cancer in general, and breast cancer specifically, is a devastating disease that continues to produce physical and emotional distress for those affected. Despite enormous resources directed to cancer treatment, the incidence of new cases and death rates continues to climb. A fundamental misunderstanding of cancer biology is responsible in large part for the failure to effectively manage this disease. Cancer is currently viewed as a type of genetic disease, causing uncontrolled growth of cells in various tissues. This view has led to radical approaches to cancer therapy, including surgical mutilation, damaging radiation, and poisonous chemicals. Some of the newer cancer immunotherapies, which are supposed to target gene-linked checkpoints, are inordinately expensive, marginally effective, and unacceptably toxic. It has been my view that no major advances in cancer management will be realized as long as cancer is viewed as a genetic disease.

Emerging evidence shows that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease. The large numbers of gene mutations found in cancer cells arise as secondary effects of destabilized cellular energy metabolism. Cancer is caused from damage to the mitochondria, a cytoplasmic organelle network responsible for maintaining energy homeostasis through cellular respiration. Damage to the mitochondria produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are carcinogenic and mutagenic. It is the ROS that produce the plethora of mutations seen in the various forms of the disease. Cancer is not many diseases but is a singular disease of disturbed energy metabolism. The view of cancer as a mitochondrial metabolic disease can now explain the oncogenic paradox, which has puzzled cancer researchers for decades. The oncogenic paradox addressed the difficulty in linking various cancer-provoking causes (for example, viruses, chemicals, radiation, rare inherited mutations, and age) to a common pathophysiological mechanism. This oncogenic puzzle was also highlighted in Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. It now appears that each of these different cancer-associated agents causes damage to the mitochondria and, therefore, the ability of the cell to obtain energy through respiration. Cancer arises only in those cells that can transition from respiration energy to fermentation energy. Fermentation is a primitive form of cellular energy production that existed on our planet before oxygen appeared in the atmosphere. Fermentation is, therefore, the signature defect seen in all cancer cells, and is often referred to as the Warburg Effect. It is now clear that cancer originates from damage to the mitochondria in the cytoplasm, rather than from damage to the genome in the nucleus. The genomic damage in tumor cells follows, rather than precedes, the disturbances in cellular respiration. A lay account of this information was also recently highlighted in Travis Christofferson’s provocative book, Tripping Over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine’s Most Entrenched Paradigms. New, nontoxic and cost-effective therapeutic strategies for cancer management and prevention become apparent once cancer becomes recognized as a mitochondrial metabolic disease.

Dr. Wadia-Ells addresses key issues related to the incidence, management, and prevention of breast cancer. I was surprised to learn from her research that current information on breast cancer incidence in the US is poorly understood and likely inaccurate. Why should women in the US be left in the dark regarding information that can impact their health? Hopefully, Dr. Wadia-Ells’ exposure of the increasing breast cancer epidemic will lead to greater attention among government and private agencies that monitor this disease. All women should have unbiased information regarding the incidence of a disease that primarily affects them. Dr. Wadia-Ells also describes a number of simple steps that can help women prevent breast cancer. It is important to recognize that some of her recommendations (for example, tips to maintain the health and vitality of cellular mitochondria) are relevant not only to breast cancer, but to all types of cancer. Many of her recommendations are simple and practical and might not be known to most women. For example, systemic inflammation can contribute to the occurrence of cancer, and the procedures she mentions to reduce systemic inflammation will go far in reducing breast cancer, as well as other cancers. She also addresses the potential causes of triple-negative breast cancer and questions whether surgical amputation is really necessary to prevent gene-linked breast cancers. This information will be important for helping women make informed decisions regarding their health. I applaud Dr. Wadia-Ells in boldly tackling the underlying causes of the breast cancer epidemic and in providing practical solutions to reduce this epidemic. All women, and anyone interested in preventing cancer, will benefit from reading this book.

Thomas N. Seyfried, PhD 

Professor of Biology, Boston College | Author, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer