We Fought Cancer…And Cancer Won.

i have been diagnosed march 12th with aggressive invasive ductal adenocarcinoma stage 1 until i had surgery on the 19th and then it went to stage 2 cause it had gone into my lymph nodes and sentinel on the right side there where 6 out of 10 that where cancerous along with 4 in the breast left side 2 in the breast and 1 out of 9 in the lymph nodes had bilaterall mastectomy with removal of lymph nodes and know i am getting ready to go get a ct scan,bone scan,and muga scan on the 7th of april then a port on the 13th then chemo on the 15th for 4 months followed by radiation m-f for 6 weeks then talk about reconstruction then i will be taking pill form tamoxifen for 5 years. i have had 2 cbc, 3 mamagrams. 2 ultrasounds, core needle biopsy in three places with titanium clips and it hurt really really bad due to it was cancerous and cancer doesn't numb, mri on both breast chest x-ray, 2 surgerys 1st on the right and left breast and the right lymph nodes biopsy on the left lymph nodes and that is when they found the cancer in the nodes so i underwent a second surgery on the day that my sister had passed away and here showing was on that surgery day. i got laid off from work then i find out i have abnormal mamagram, husband got into a wrenck coming home from work and a dump truck hit him, my mother in law has a brain tumor and has to have surgery along with my father in law who is in icu due to blood clot in l eg shingles and colon took out and is on a ventilator. i am paying for insurance out of my pocket and can not seem to get any help to pay for living or bills or copayments although my oncologist has set me up with a social worker that may be able to help me but i have always worked and have not ask for anything and know when i need help it seems inpossible . i have evem sent an e-mail to the president. i guess i am just angry because i am a cma and have always tried to help people and when a woman is diagnosed with cancer she has no help i haven't even been married for 1 year yet and i am trying everything that i can to maintain mentally and physically life . with all the difficult dicissions that i have had to deal with along with the economy i am so stressed. WHAT DO YOU DO?

If you want the brutal honest truth about why we are losing the war on cancer, start with Dr. John McDougall and the following article: http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/030300puaworldofhopeanddreams.htm. Also, be sure to read "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell: http://www.thechinastudy.com/.

everyone who is born has to die too and it has to be for a reason too
cancer is one of those
no one wins against death

There is NO POINT to discussing this as the CURE FOR CANCER has already been found. It's just NOT PATENTABLE therefore will NEVER BE LEGAL. Yes it's CANNABIS! And yes it CURES CANCER. Sorry it's not what pharmadeath wants to hear (although they are patenting extracts of cannabis as medicine now). CANNABIS can be used to treat over 30 different medical conditions yet remains illegal. Cannabis extracts have been shown to decrease tumor size and kill cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissues. Oh and removing all the toxic petrochemicals from all the plastics and coatings on all the things in our homes wouldn't hurt either. But of course you could always use cannabis oils and hurd to achieve the same results. Too bad people would rather do what their told instead of thinking for themselves. Things will never change. ;(

There is NO POINT to discussing this as the CURE FOR CANCER has already been found. It's just NOT PATENTABLE therefore will NEVER BE LEGAL. Yes it's CANNABIS! And yes it CURES CANCER. Sorry it's not what pharmadeath wants to hear (although they are patenting extracts of cannabis as medicine now). CANNABIS can be used to treat over 30 different medical conditions yet remains illegal. Cannabis extracts have been shown to decrease tumor size and kill cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissues. Oh well I guess people would rather do what their told.

During the 20th century scientists discovered that food fiber, by stimulating intestinal peristalsis, clears intestines of non-evacuated fecal matter and thereby reduces cancer occurrence and recurrence. Foods highest in fiber are whole grains, followed by other plant-source foods. In societies where whole grains and vegetables are primary foods, and use of refined sugar and refined grain products is minimal, cancer incidence is low or non-existent.

In the 1930's George Ohsawa brought the Macrobiotic diet to the Western world from Japan. In Japan, Mr. Ohsawa had successfully helped many people overcome cancer, which he felt was the result of consuming the modern Western diet. Japanese people had formerly enjoyed a relatively cancer-free past consuming a diet based largely on rice, miso soup with wakame seaweed, soybean products such as tofu and natto, now known to reduce stroke among the elderly in Japan, and locally-grown vegetables.

Macrobiotics is not just a disease-prevention diet; it can also be a recovery diet since it helps the body restore conditions in which cancer can no longer thrive and metastasize.

Macrobiotics emphasizes fresh garden produce along with a basically whole-grain regimen. One need only consider the prevalence of whole grains as the dietary basis of traditional civilizations. Examples are corn among indigenous peoples of the Americas, wheat among Europeans, the people of India and China as well as Japan, oats among English and Scottish peoples, rye among Germanic and Teutonic peoples, buckwheat among Slavic peoples, barley among widely diversified peoples, to realize that these foods have been traditional staples for most of the people living in temperate areas where they can be grown. With the advent of the Industrial Age, grains were milled to remove the nutritive bran that supplies much dietary fiber as well as other essential nutrients. Coincident with this apocalyptic modification of our primarily food source came most of the diseases characteristic of modern civilization, including cancer.

To eradicate the scourge of cancer, as well as the host of ailments that resist elimination by modern medicine, we must return to consuming primarily foods that retain their original integrity and are minimally processed, The more foods are processed, or adulterated from their original, natural state, the less nutritious they become. Being less nutritious, they can no longer provide the materials our bodies need to maintain optimal health. Gradual decline of overall health results, which no amount of medicine can correct. To correct the epidemics of cancer, heart disease, immune-related disorders and degenerative diseases, we must return to consuming meals based around whole grains and vegetables, with minor amounts of animal-source foods if desired.

For more information, consult my website, www.macrobiotic.org, or the many books that have been published about the subject that are also listed there.

Read T. Colin Campbell's 2005 book entitled "The China Study" - he explains how to prevent cancer (and a whole host of other diseases). It's a must-read!!

I was so frustrated as I read this nine-page article discussing the increase in cancer cases and cancer deaths over the last 37 years or so and that the article (except for one paragraph) was entirely focused on treatment, not prevention. As you referenced in your article, Nixon was exhorting scientists to find a cure, even though money would be better spent on prevention. American's never had a chance.

To say that ???without the potential payoff of a billion-dollar drug there is less incentive to discover how cancer can be prevented??? is a very, very sad truth about who???s really running the show in this country.

The beef, pork, poultry, fishing and dairy industries are feeding and injecting their animals with toxic chemicals. Farmers are spraying their fields with toxic pesticides, and what doesn???t leech into our fruits and vegetables is running off into our streams and oceans. And guess who???s eating all those chemicals and pesticides? We are!! In addition, foods that are derived from animals are full of artery clogging saturated fats. It's no wonder cancer rates are rising. We're poisoning ourselves with nearly every bite.

Want to see cancer rates plummet? We don???t need to spend a lot of money on research to prevent cancer, we just need to use our heads and base our diets on plant-based foods including organic fruits, nuts, beans, soy, and other vegetables. Yes, it is time to rethink the war on cancer. Early detection, and treatment after the fact is not the key; prevention is. And you need not look any farther than your produce department.

But if the government still wants to spend our money researching ways to prevent cancer, I???m sorry that researching broccoli is not ???sexy,??? (as your article states), but I think it???s a hell of a lot sexier than cancer.

John Kanzius has discovered a cure to kill cancer cells and tumors, please take a look at his website: www.kanziuscancerresearch.org

The overall tone of the article is one of frustration. I think this arises from a gross underestimate by everyone of the scope and complexity of the problem. "Curing cancer" will require a fundamental understanding of life. It is the most difficult and complex problem in the history of man. It was always our ignorance of the difficulty that gave rise to misplaced optimism that this could be solved in 37 years and 200 billion dollars (1 year of the war in Iraq). Curing cancer is not a 37 year project, it is a 75 to 100 year project. The idea that we could uncover the mystery of a single living cell, and then how billions of cells co-operate together to make a human being (that usually prevents even one aberrant cell from "declaring independence" to make a cancer) in a 37 year "war" is laughable. The 'war on cancer" has not been a failure, it has been a spectacular success, but we are only one third into it!

The "war on cancer" is the wrong metaphor. In earlier eras, a town would devote over 100 years to the building of a cathedral for the glory of God. It was accepted that the cathedral would not be completed in the lifetime of even two generations. Despite our great resources, the dedication of our physicians and scientists, and the spectacular advance of technology, we are engaged in a similar undertaking that is expensive, intense, and the work of generations. Although rethinking priorities and questioning approaches is always appropriate, understand that we are building a cathedral of knowledge, stone by stone, and it will be the most glorious in history, and it will last forever. It requires faith, persistence, resources, and dedication. Understanding this might also give a little peace of mind to those who are disappointed that the goal is not yet achieved in their own lives or in the lives of a stricken loved one. The correct response is not to walk away, leaving foundations and walls without a ceiling, but is to pick up a stone, carefully place it, and then another.

Typo: "Brain Druker" should of course be "Brian Druker"

This excellent article makes the important point that too little attention has been paid to the potential for preventing cancer. Despite this, scientists have found that some cancer can be prevented.
The American Cancer Society estimates that one-third of the more 500,000 cancer deaths each year are linked to eating an unhealthy diet, not getting enough exercise, and being overweight. The American Institute for Cancer Research (www.aicr.org) has a wealth of information on how individuals might reduce their risk for cancer by adopting a healthier lifestyle. For information on reducing breast cancer risk through lifestyle: www.ReduceBreastCancerRisk.com.

This is a thoughtful article. One correction: Paul Bunn, M.D. is head of the International ASSOCIATION For the Study of Lung Cancer, an organization co-founded by my husband, Clifton F. Mountain, M.D. a tireless and dedicated thoracic surgical oncologist who developed the International System for the Staging of Lung Cancer. Merel Mountain

And then there are the situations like Provenge!! Here was a prostate cancer drug that was simply slam dunked (at least for now) by nothing more than plain ole corruption. (Dendreon see DNDN) Hedge funds were so short they were gagging, the FDA power structure gave into pressure from the Chemo industry and certain key individuals on the FDA advisory panel had conflicts of interests worthy of federal and congressional investigations.

Top all of that off with the fact the same advisory panel voted overwhelmingly in favor of approval (17-0 safe 13-4 efficous) and you can see why those interested in cancer research might be reluctant to put up 500 million or so in research. In other words, corruption at all levels is killing good drugs and inhibiting the development of new ones.

Until we get the FDA, SEC and "naked shorting" hedge funds out of the picture we can expect cancer patients to die and rich wall street cats to get richer. Our investment system is in shambles!

And then there are the situations like Provenge!! Here was a cancer drug that was simply slam dunked (at least for now) by nothing more than plain ole corruption. Hedge funds were so short they were gagging, the FDA power structure gave into pressure from the Chemo industry and certain key individuals on the FDA advisory panel had conflicts of interests worthy of federal and congressional investigations.

Top all of that off with the fact the same advisory panel voted overwhelmingly in favor of approval (17-0 safe 13-4 efficous) and you can see why those interested in cancer research might be reluctant to put up 500 million or so in research. In other words, corruption at all levels is killing good drugs and inhibiting the development of new ones.

Until we get the FDA, SEC and "naked shorting" hedge funds out of the picture we can expect cancer patients to die and rich wall street cats to get richer. Our investment system is in shambles!

Too bad the NIH, NCI, ACS, and others don't pay more attention to vitamin D. Solar UVB and vitamin D have been found in ecological and observational studies to greatly reduce the risk of at least 15 types of cancer including breast, colon, esophageal, gastric, ovarian, prostate, rectal, renal cancers, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In Norway, those diagnosed with breast, colon, ovarian, prostate or rectal cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma in summer or fall live longer than those diagnosed in winter or spring. A randomized controlled trial on post menopausal women taking 1100 IU of vitamin D3 had a 35% reduced all-cancer incidence between the ends of the first and fourth years. For more information, go to www.pubmed.gov and search on viatmin D cancer. Ironically, the site is maintained by the NIH, but they don't seem very intersted in the information. Perhaps vitamin D is too inexpensive and effective for them.

Another dimension of the war on cancer that we all just sort of side step is the cost associated with scientific advances and age-cohort driven cancer care. How are we to pay for all this great care. Payors (Medicare and commercial health plans) are working feverishly to reduce their cancer "medical cost" inflation by moving to more restrictive pharmacy benefit management and pre-treatment medical management approval processes. So, on the one hand, we are excited about funding breakthrough research, yet we appear disinterested/distracted when it comes to the question of who is going to pay for it all.