That's Fit

"They can be," I told him.

Sure enough. Pumpkins can be for cooking. Now my boys know. Here's what you should know about pumpkins, according to the American Cancer Society.

• Pumpkins can be a tasty main ingredient in many autumn dishes.
• The pumpkin is a versatile food -- bake, steam, mash, cube, or puree it and you can't go wrong.
• Pumpkins have vitamins -- A, C, and K, especially.
• Pumpkin puree is full of fiber.
• Try pumpkin like this: Cube and add to a medley of roasted vegetables, toast pumpkin seeds, and for a sweet seasonal treat, give this pumpkin muffin recipe.

Here's what your pantry should look like, says the American Cancer Society in an attempt to get people eating in the healthiest manner possible. A clean, nutritious diet can help prevent cancer, after all.

• Line your shelves with beans, rice, and dried, whole-wheat pasta.
• Devote a shelf to canned vegetables and soups, (not the creamy kind), broths, and dried fruit, like raisins.
  
• Throw in some canned tuna, salmon, and chicken -- a fast way to add protein to your meals.
• Add healthy oils and vinegar to add a zip to your dishes.

Want more ideas? Check out this shopping list, featuring the basic ingredients for a healthy cupboard, refrigerator, and freezer.

It's important for everyone to have an active, healthy lifestyle. For those who have beat cancer, it's possibly even more important. More than 10 million Americans have survived the disease -- but the impact it had on their health puts them at higher risk for conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and a reduced quality of life... not to mention the risk of cancer recurrence.

Exercise, eating healthfully, and not smoking can help counteract that increased risk. But, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), too few cancer survivors adopt a healthier lifestyle. Though approximately 75% of cancer survivors do stop smoking, the ACS isn't seeing as good of an improvement with healthy eating and physical activity.

The ACS recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise a day (at least five days a week) and a diet that includes at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Less than 48% of survivors are meeting the exercise requirements and less than 20% are eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.

The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is a big deal in my town, and this time of year local fund raisers for the event hit a fever pitch. All across the country communities are participating in this event to celebrate cancer survivors and to raise money for the American Cancer Society. But did you know there's another way you can participate in the event, without ever leaving your house?

Second Life, a popular online virtual community, kicked off it's third annual virtual Relay for Life this weekend. Participants can participate through avatars, which are virtual people who will gather at an online park and participate in the event. Donations will reach $90,000 this year and will also celebrate the opening of the American Cancer Society's virtual headquarters inside Second Life, which will provide information, education, and a place for people to form support groups.

And remember, participating in the virtual Relay for Life certainly doesn't disqualify you from joining the events in "real life." Not only will you raise money for a great cause, you'll also boost your own fitness by walking with your team for 24-hours straight.

Recently, the FDA concluded that tomatoes, which are rich in the antioxidant lycopene, don't appear to prevent cancer after all, at least in their opinion. Some studies had linked lycopene to a reduced risk of prostate, colon, and breast cancers, but after a review of 107 studies, the agency says that it can't find enough evidence to definitively say that lycopene prevents disease.

The American Cancer Society barely blinked at the news, saying that they stay away from recommending any one food for the prevention of disease. Instead, they recommend people eat a diet rich in fresh produce and encourage people to eat a variety of richly colored vegetables. Not only is a diet rich in fruits and vegetables linked to a lower risk of cancer, it can also help to prevent weight gain which is tied to a higher risk of several diseases.

No one is giving up on the good old tomato. Health experts say that lycopene may indeed have a role in preventing cancer, and that future studies may provide more definitive evidence. In addition to lycopene, tomatoes are a great source of vitamins C, A, and B6, as well as niacin, folate, and potassium.

It looks like the American Cancer Society needs about 500,000 Americans to be "observed" over a period of 20 years to see whether or not they develop cancer.

Has the ACA had any impact on cancer in the last few decades? Hard to say. I'm still of the mind of healthy lifestyle choices (based on a radical diet change away from the standard western diet) being the best offense against cancer, but your mileage may vary.

If you're inclined to be involved here, you'll join "hundreds of thousands of people, with diverse backgrounds," according to the ACA. You must be between the ages of 30 and 65 (male or female) and have never been diagnosed with cancer.

Well here's some great news! Breast cancer deaths in women have taken a dive, especially among those who have the most common type of tumor. This type of breast cancer, known as a estrogen-receptor (ER) positive tumor, is diagnosed in 75% of cases. ER positive tumors respond to circulating estrogens in the blood.

In women under the age of 70, the drop has been dramatic: 38% between 1990 and 2003. Experts attribute the drop to the use of tamoxifen, which reduces the risk of reoccurence and to better use of mammography, which is more likely to detect this type of tumor. Breast cancer deaths among other age groups and tumor types appear to be falling as well.

For more about breast cancer prevention, read this article from the American Cancer Society.

The American Cancer Society is announcing new guidelines in breast cancer detection, and it may mean that more women will be getting MRIs in addition to their mammograms.

Women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes (which can indicated an increase risk for breast cancer), women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, women who've undergone treatment for Hodgkin's disease, and women with a strong family history of the disease may be adding an annual MRI to their breast cancer prevention efforts. The reason behind the change the finding that MRIs can spot early changes in the breast -- such as abnormal blood flow -- that indicate breast cancer. MRIs can also better detect the disease in dense breast tissue.

Experts urge women to continue to get their yearly mammograms, which are better at detecting calcium deposits than MRIs. Mammograms are also significantly cheaper than MRIs, and MRIs have a higher false positive rate. Mammography is still the appropriate test for most women, but women in certain groups may benefit from having an MRI in addition to their mammogram.

For more information on whether you need to add an MRI to your yearly check-up, read this Q & A on the subject.