Insights into Cancer

[::::BASSIST::::]

I just read through the thread about Richard Wright dying of Cancer and I thought I'd share this article I have come across that has interesting insights into Cancer.

Cancer Update from John Hopkins :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not
show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion.
When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in
their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect
the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2 . Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's
lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be
destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional
deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and
lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and
including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also
destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal
tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs
etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages
healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor
size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in
more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden fro m chemotherapy and radiation
the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can
succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become
resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to
spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not
feeding it with t he foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important
food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,
Spoonful, etc. are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural
substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts.
Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Be tt er
alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and
substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic
and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork.
Meat also contains live st ock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites,
which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts
and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About
20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide
live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels
within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain
live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice
(most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3
times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40
degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is
a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to
drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in
tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive
enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines be c ome putrified and
leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or
eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer
cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac,
anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own
killer cells t o destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are
known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal
method
of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and
positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger,
unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic
environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax
and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising
daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular
level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

A close friend of my family recently had his wife die of breast cancer. After learning about the devastating ordeal he went through... well its just a heartbreaking disease.

[terrelli721]

My Father and only brother both died of cancer, thanks for sharing the info, and very sorry to hear about your friends loss. Thanks for the good info, and God Bless. Rick

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Hmm, wouldnt say that is exactly spot on.

It sounds more like it is talking about mutated cells, not nessicarily cancer cells (I wouldnt say some of what it is saying meets the criteria to mean cancer cells).

A good paper on cancer is Hanahan, D. and Weinberg, R.A. (2000) "The Hallmarks of Cancer" Cell 100, 57–70

http://www.weizmann.ac.il/home/fedom...e6_Hanahan.pdf


I have lost a few people to cancer, the hardest hitting was a school friend, few years younger than me, passed away earlier this year at the age of 19

Sorry for your friends loss

[Hawaii Islander]

I'm sorry about your friend's loss. I lost several family members to one form of cancer or another.

I'm not very convinced that this article is credible. I would definitely do more research on the subject.

The Hanahan, D. and Weinberg, R.A. (2000) "The Hallmarks of Cancer" Cell 100, 57–70 paper recommended by i_got_a_mohawk is a very good place to start.

One of the chief contributors to most cancers is longevity. People live significantly longer today compared to several generations ago (or even a few generations ago). Cancers (broad category of diseases with similar traits) are basically chronic diseases as compared to acute diseases (i.e., infectious diseases). Genetics and other factors do lead some people to develop cancer regardless of age.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by Hawaii Islander

I'm not very convinced that this article is credible. I would definitely do more research on the subject.

You're right.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/cancerupdate.asp

Mike

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I wish I had read the whole list and not just the first few points, wow some of that is just plain wrong!

[Humblerumble]

Well... Bassist's heart was in the right place. Thanks Bassist. I will definitely read the other recommended items. My Dad died from cancer so I am always wanting to learn how to prevent it anyway I can.

[jucas]

Yeah... that's pretty full of innacuracies... even without snopes, it doesn't take much biology to see the mistakes.

But, that's not to say that it'd hurt to eat some vegetables and get some exercise like it suggests.

[Tsal]

Originally Posted by jucas

But, that's not to say that it'd hurt to eat some vegetables and get some exercise like it suggests.

Sounds like some viral marketing for a upcoming "the vegetable cancer-free diet" book. I'm wondering if they're pushing some "home-made natural vitamins" on the side..

[::::BASSIST::::]

Which parts are incorrect?

I thought it was pretty illuminating, but then I am no science wiz.

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Which parts are incorrect?

I thought it was pretty illuminating, but then I am no science wiz.

I'm very tempted to say ALL of it. It's not ALL wrong but there are problems with just about every section. It would be easiest and more productive for you to read the other paper listed in this thread, or visit the American Cancer Society website for a list of publications on the subject.

To put it mildly, the paper you posted by John Hopkins (should be Johns Hopkins) would receive a grade of F if submitted to a cell biology course.

As I stated before, many members of my family died from cancer, including my mother. So, I take this subject very seriously. I also studied the topic to varying degrees as an undergraduate and graduate student in the biological sciences. I earned a BA, biology, MS, microbiology, MPH (Master of Public Health) environmental and occupational health, and completed 3-years into a PhD in molecular biosciences and bioengineering. While, I’m not an expert on the subject, I do know enough to say that the paper you posted is not giving you valid information. Again, please look up info from reliable sources such as the American Cancer Society, Journal of American Medical Association or http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/.

[jucas]

Originally Posted by Tsal

Sounds like some viral marketing for a upcoming "the vegetable cancer-free diet" book. I'm wondering if they're pushing some "home-made natural vitamins" on the side..

I agree competely... I literally meant that if all you take out of it is that eating a few veggies and getting some exercise is probably good for you then you probably did good... Isn't going to kill cancer, but its not going to hurt.

As for inaccuracies, I don't have lots of time right now, but a few things...

Eating less meat isn't going to free up enzymes to attack cancer cells... Different enzymes circulate, and deal with digestion and immune fnuction.

An alkaline environment isn't necessarily healthier somehow than acidic... your body really needs a pH balance in an optimum range, and it controls tht pretty well most of the time.

The cancer cell stuff was pretty vague and its kind of a stretch to say that cancer is caused by immune or nutritional deficiencies... its been pretty well studied, and as far as I've read or learned, thats not really true.

Plants don't provide liver enzymes as far as I know... and if they did, they'de probably be digested by the protien degrading enzymes in the gut. And probably wouldn't be absorbed as protiens, but di or tripeptides, or amino acids... there's exceptions to all those generalizations, but thats usually the case.

Thats all for now since I have to run, but lots of things in there are vague, and AFAIK not supported by anything I've read, or even common sense after some biology courses. I agree with hawaii isalnders suggestions.

[Mr. Pickles]

My mother died from ovarian cancer when she was 52. Effing horrible. Unfortunately, I'm still pretty ignorant on the subject. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know...

[Basshappi]

Eating healthful foods and excercising is always good advise however, the article is bunk.

There are different types of cancer and despite all the research there are still many unknowns. Early detection is very important to properly diagnose and treat cancer and detection methods are improving. In my experience I believe in the importance of keeping a positive mental attitude. It helps one deal with the ordeal and helps speed ones recovery, the doctors I know feel the same way. But a positive mental/spiritual attitude alone isn't going to cure you or serve as an effective alternative to proper treatment.

And yes, radiation treatments suck!

Cheers,
Basshappi A.K.A. Cancer survivor

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Which parts are incorrect?

I thought it was pretty illuminating, but then I am no science wiz.

My wife is a Registered Dietician who worked the cancer wing at her previous hospital. We lost a good friend to a brain tumor a year and a half ago and my mother is cancer survivor who was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years back. To the best of my knowledge, she has never discussed any of the points from that "article" with anyone, least of all my mother or Eric when they were battling cancer. I'll ask her to address the article this evening if she has time.

Mike

[stratovani]

When it comes to cancer two little words come to mind - STOP SMOKING!

[Hawaii Islander]

Originally Posted by stratovani

When it comes to cancer two little words come to mind - STOP SMOKING!

If only it were that simple. BTW: It is not. Cigarettes are the leading poster child for cancer causing agents, but the cold hard truth is, it is only ONE of many, many causes. The sad fact remains that even if smoking cigarettes or any other tobacco products were completely eliminated, significant cancer rates would still occur (even lung cancer). Also, if a person smoked cigarettes early in life, but never smoked again, they still could have cancer develop if a mutation occurred originally and the cell survived through the years AND was subjected to several other mutations along the way.

There are many health reasons why it is good to stop smoking (or not start to begin with), but the elimination of tobacco products, I’m sad to say, will not eliminate cancer.
There are simply too many factors involved in cancer development to base the primary emphasis on eliminating root causes. There are just too many to eliminate.

In my view, vigorous and aggressive research to develop effective treatments and/or cures are our best hope of making lasting in-roads to defeating cancer and it's devastating effects.

My 2 cents.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by ProBeachBum

I'd be willing to bet that the brain tumor was due to (a horrible, western) diet!?!?! Sounds evil, but it's true.

...and I'd be willing to bet that you don't have enough medical knowledge to diagnose the common cold. Your theory doesn't sound evil, it sounds ill-informed. You didn't know the guy, his age when diagnosed, his his age at the time of death, his diet, anything about his cancer, what eventually killed him or really jack squat about him.

Based on what we can factually determine that you didn't know about this case, I don't know how you can actually believe the crap your typing, much less expect anyone to take it seriously. Tell me, how did you arrive at this conclusion?

Mike

[canopener]

Cancer is a truly evil thing that nobody should experience. Before I was married to my wife, she had an aggressive, rare form of breast cancer. She swears it was due to the birth control she was taking at the time. The timeframe of when she started the pill and when she was diagnosed was uncanny. Without adding any redundancy to the thread, I'd say that cancer can strike anyone under the right conditions. Although there are probably scientific barriers that I'd have to jump to prove what I've mentioned, there's not much that passes your gut feeling. Whatever the case may be, be sure you are well insured.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

How many years ago did your wife suffer from the cancer?

And while the birth control may be the easy thing to blame, it could be nothing more than coincidence. There are errors in our DNA when it replicates, it happens, the errors happening in specific places can cause the starting point of cancer development. There doesnt have to be something to blame, it can just happen.

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

...and I'd be willing to bet that you don't have enough medical knowledge to diagnose the common cold. Your theory doesn't sound evil, it sounds ill-informed. You didn't know the guy, his age when diagnosed, his his age at the time of death, his diet, anything about his cancer, what eventually killed him or really jack squat about him.

Based on what we can factually determine that you didn't know about this case, I don't know how you can actually believe the crap your typing, much less expect anyone to take it seriously. Tell me, how did you arrive at this conclusion?

Mike

+1

As someone who has also lost a friend to a brain tumour please do not post in any way to try and make light of the situation. Brain tumours are horrible in that it is like loosing someone to a sudden mental condition very quickly. They forget who you are, loose the ability to speak or respond. It may sound horrible but to an extent the person suffering with the brain tumour can be long gone before the cancer kills their body.