You might not know it if you watch too much TV, but there is a great deal of goodness in this human race of ours… and it runs deep. South African portrait photographer Albert Bredenhann discovered this in a big way recently when he was hired to do a photo shoot for a group of friends, one of which had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

That kind of photo shoot is touching in and of itself, but the group took the idea further than that when they all voluntarily shaved their heads ahead of the surprise portrait.

Bredenhann first heard from Gerdi McKenna's friends about a month ago, when they got in touch to ask if he would do a friendship shoot for them. He, of course, said yes, but then he hopped on the phone and called every woman individually to see if they would be willing to shave their heads for Gerdi the morning of the photo shoot.

Almost every single one said yes without hesitation.

And so, on Sunday February 24th at 8am in the morning, they found themselves in a hair salon ready to take on this challenge that they knew would mean so much to Gerdi.

Here's the before picture:

Throughout the day, Bredenhann continued to take photos as each of the women -- including Gerdi's two sisters and mom -- shed the bits of dead protein that had come to mean so much to them over the years. All of that hair was donated to CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa).

Below you'll find some behind the scenes photos he graciously provided, as well as the final after shot of the full group:



Of course, none of this was the main event. The main event was when they threw Gerdi a surprise party and revealed what they had done to show their support for her upcoming battle. Her reaction was, as you might expect, deeply moving.

Captured in the video at top and the photos included in this post, her story has become something of a viral sensation, receiving 3.7 million views over the last eight days… on Vimeo.

For Bredenhann, the experience of shooting these portraits and capturing these women's selfless deed in action means more than he could have imagined.

"It was an honour as photographer to capture these memories forever," he tells us. "I never thought being a photographer could be so satisfying and rewarding. As portrait photographers, we should always remember that we are working with people, feelings and emotions."

Breast Cancer Metastasis May Be Slowed By Peach Extract

According to a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, peach extract could slow down the growth and spread of breast cancer.

Scientists working with mice discovered that a mixture of phenolic compounds found in peach extract inhibits breast cancer metastasis. The team said that the compounds could be a new addition to therapies to help reduce the risk of metastasis, which is the primary killer in breast and many other cancers.

"I would do three peaches a day," Giuliana Noratto, Washington State University assistant professor of food science, said in a statement. "Having enough fruits and vegetables that can provide these compounds in our diet, we might have a similar preventive effect."

For the study, the team implanted breast cancer cells beneath the skin of mice at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research laboratory. This technique is used to look at the growth of breast cancer cells in living animals, mimicking the interactions by which it forms and progresses.

The researchers fed the mice varying doses of peach polyhpenols after giving the cells about a week to establish. The compounds given to the mice help plants ward off the damaging effects of the sun's UV radiation.

"There are several studies showing that these compounds act as antioxidants and can therefore protect DNA against damage that can produce cancer," said Noratto. "We didn't even think about metastasis at that time. The surprise was we analyzed lungs and beside the fact that the peach compounds inhibited the growth of the tumor, they also inhibited the metastasis levels on the lungs."

After 12 days the researchers saw that mice fed with high levels of polyphenols had tumors that grew less and without much of the blood vessel formation that helps cancer spread. The tumors in the mice also had less evidence of enzymes involved in the spread of cancer.

"The importance of our findings are very relevant, because it shows in vivo the effect that natural compounds, in this case the phenolic compounds in peach, have against breast cancer and metastasis. It gives opportunity to include in the diet an additional tool to prevent and fight this terrible disease that affects so many people," Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, a food scientist for AgriLife Research in College Station, said in a statement.

He said the researchers are enthusiastic about the idea that consuming just two to three peaches a day could obtain a similar effect in humans.

"However, this will have to be the next step in the study for its confirmation," Cisneros-Zevallos said.

sources: [http://en.twwtn.com/Bignews/62867.html]