Cancer Prevention & Treatment

Date: 06/29/2006

“There is no scientific evidence that food or other nutritional essentials are of any specific value in the control of cancer.”
AMA Declaration, 1949

“We must act on facts, and on the most accurate interpretation of them, using the best scientific information. That does not mean we must sit back until we have 100% evidence about everything. Where the state of the health of the people is at stake, the risks can be so high and the costs of corrective action so great, that prevention is better than cure. We must analyze the possible benefits and costs of action and inaction. Where there are significant risks of damage to the public health, we should be prepared to take action to diminish those risks even when the scientific knowledge is not conclusive, if the balance of likely costs and benefits justifies it.”
- Richard Horton, Editor in chief, Lancet, July 1988

Prevention is the most important and most reliable cancer-fighting tool available. There is, indeed, much we can do to prevent this dreaded disease. Cancer prevention means preventing a first cancer episode and/or preventing a recurrence after successful treatment of a cancer. Creating and maintaining a healthy and strong immune system is the cornerstone to cancer prevention and treatment. Such measures that accomplish this effort include:

• Diet and Nutrition
• Exercise
• Maintaining a Healthy Weight
• Avoidance of Chemical Toxins and Radiation in the Home and the Environment
• Stress Reduction and Building Emotional/Spiritual Health

American Cancer Society Guidelines for Cancer Prevention

We will begin our discussion of cancer prevent with the American Cancer Society (ASC) 1996 Advisory Committee’s Guidelines on diet, nutrition, and cancer prevention with healthy food choices and physical activity. The ACS guidelines are very conservative as they choose to wait for long-term definitive studies proving or disproving many recommendations for cancer prevention. Such course of action will take years and probably decades before those answers are found. Consequently, we have chosen to editorialize the ACS guidelines based on our opinions of the scientific literature on cancer prevention and immune system augmentation. You may then choose which and how many recommendations you want to incorporate into your health maintenance and cancer prevention program.

The ACS affirms (are we whole heartedly agree) that dietary practices and physical exercise along with smoking cessation, avoidance of occupational cancer causing substances and early detection are important factors in the prevention of cancer and cancer death. The details of their recommendations are as follows:

Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources

• Eat five or more servings of vegetable and fruits each day.
• Include vegetables in every meal and choose fruits and vegetables for snacks.
• Include grain products as whole grains instead of processed (white) grains
• Choose beans as an alternative to meat

The evidence of eating increased vegetables and fruits to reduce the risks of colon cancer is strong. Evidence is present, but less strong for such cancers as breast and prostate.

Limit your intake of high fat foods, particularly from animal sources

• Replace fat rich foods with fruits, vegetables, grains and beans
• Eat smaller portions of the high fat foods
• Choose baked and broiled foods instead of fried foods
• Select non fat and low fat milk and dairy products
• Select lean cuts of meat
• Eat smaller portions of meats
• Choose beans, seafood, and poultry as an alternative to beef, pork and lamb
• Select baked and broiled meats, seafood and poultry, rather than fried

High fat diets have been associated with an increase in the risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate, breast and uterus.

Be physically active, achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Be at least moderately active for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week.

Exercise has been shown to reduce the risks of colon, rectum, prostate, uterus, breast and kidney cancers.

Limit consumption of alcoholic beverages, if you drink at all.

Cancer rates start to rise with as few as two drinks per day. Alcohol consumption is associated with cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and breast.

The above guidelines are the general recommendations of the American Cancer Society. We will now explore them in more detail with extended information and recommendations.