Is cancer is purely man-made?

[sharon sanders]

Scientists suggest that cancer is purely man-made

<small>October 14, 2010


</small>snip


Professor Rosalie David, at the Faculty of Life Sciences, said: ?In industrialised societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. But in ancient times, it was extremely rare. There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.?


snip


http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-scientists-cancer-purely-man-made.html

 

[mixin]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

There are so many things that seem to tie to cancer; and yet, people who do everything right still get it. Even our pets suffer from cancer. Truly, it will be a wonderful day when they finally find a cure.

:tiphat: to gs for finding this cancer map, which can be enlarged from the link.
http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/pr...e/@sta/documents/generalcontent/cr_043265.pdf

 

[alert]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

Scientists suggest that cancer is purely man-made

<small>October 14, 2010


</small>snip


Professor Rosalie David, at the Faculty of Life Sciences, said: “In industrialised societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. But in ancient times, it was extremely rare. There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.”

Two points worth making. First, the technology did not exist in ancient times to detect cancer. They didn't have X-ray machines, MRIs, and such, so people could very well have died of cancer and no one ever knew it. Also, without modern medicine, many people did not live long enough to get cancer before dying of, say, infectious disease.

Secondly, there are naturally occurring carcinogens, contrary to the original post. There are mushrooms, for example, that can cause liver cancer if consumed (aflatoxin). Tobacco, which is a leading cause of lung cancer, is a natural plant as well. And skin cancer is often a result of sun exposure, which definitely isn't man made. The comments on the link in Sharon's post indicate many more examples.

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

. . . many people did not live long enough to get cancer before dying of, say, infectious disease.

Yes, life expectancy for humans for the last several thousand years was 30-40 years (link). It was not until recent advances in health care and medical treatment, including the discovery of antibiotics, that helped prolong life expectancy. Many kinds of cancer, prostate, ovarian, etc. don't start showing up until later in the now, prolonged life span of humans.

 

[mixin]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

I'm curious if children and young mothers got cancer back then as frequently as they do now?

And our pets? Have they always had cancer?

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

Here is an excellent article concerning prostate cancer which is in #1 position in several regions according to the map posted by Mixin:tiphat:.


<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Source: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=21&id=38705

Excerpt:

An Update on Prostate Cancer
by sent to (), published online 10-13-2010



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</TD></TR><TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>

By Ciril J. Godec, MD

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
Marie Curie

It is time to update our readers on prostate cancer (PC). It is still the most frequent cancer in North America and Europe. Epidemiologists predict that in the U.S. this year we will have diagnosed 212,000 new cases of prostate cancer with 32,000 men dying of it. One man out of 7 will be diagnosed with PC in his lifetime. So far, pretty scary statistics. PC represents a huge emotional and economic problem, for both patients and their families. But it is the least fatal among all cancers with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancers.
...

We still suggest that men over 50 should be screened for PC once a year. But for African Americans and anyone having a first-degree relative with prostate or breast cancer, the suggested age is 45. The great majority of these cancers are sporadic, only about 10% are hereditary. More and more emerging data point to the similarity between prostate and breast cancer. Although they have different locations in each gender, both are hormonally dependent and histologically similar. (If a pathologist receives a biopsy without knowing where the tissue was taken from, he might have difficulty determining whether it was breast or prostate.) They both also have a similar genetic background.
...

Prostate cancer is unique among all cancers. In most cases it grows very slowly. Autopsy data show that half the men at age 50 already harbor some small areas of PC and by age 80 almost all men have some. Most men will never know they have it. The great majority of men with PC will die with it and not of it. Only 3% of men diagnosed with PC will die of the disease...






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[gsgs]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

the study data (at least for bone cancer) and mixin' table
are adjusted or age.

how is it for African,Inonesian,Amazonas,Indian tribes
living outside of moern civilization ?

do they still get cancer and how often ? (age-adjusted)

it would be interesting to see those ancient Egypts and Greek
integrated in mixin's table, so to get a feeling for the
magnitude of the effect.


ancient doctors id describe diseases, we would know it,
if there had been much cancer, the symptoms are clear

 

[Emily]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

240 pages long:

http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf

2008?2009 Annual Report i President?s Cancer Panel
REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL CANCER RISK
What We Can Do Now
Suzanne H. Reuben
for The President?s Cancer Panel
April 2010

Executive Summary
Despite overall decreases in incidence and mortality, cancer continues to shatter and steal the lives of Americans. Approximately 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, and about 21 percent will die from cancer. The incidence of some cancers, including some most common among children, is increasing for unexplained reasons.
Public and governmental awareness of environmental influences on cancer risk and other health issues has increased substantially in recent years as scientific and health care communities, policymakers, and individuals strive to understand and ameliorate the causes and toll of human disease. A growing body of research documents myriad established and suspected environmental factors linked to genetic, immune, and endocrine dysfunction that can lead to cancer and other diseases.
Between September 2008 and January 2009, the President?s Cancer Panel (the Panel) convened four meetings to assess the state of environmental cancer research, policy, and programs addressing known and potential effects of environmental exposures on cancer. The Panel received testimony from 45 invited experts from academia, government, industry, the environmental and cancer advocacy communities, and the public.
This report summarizes the Panel?s findings and conclusions based on the testimony received and additional information gathering. The Panel?s recommendations delineate concrete actions that governments; industry; the research, health care, and advocacy communities; and individuals can take to reduce cancer risk related to environmental contaminants, excess radiation, and other harmful exposures.

 

[gsgs]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

what are the results and recommendations ?

 

[Emily]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

Even just the recommendations are a lot of text. You can get a free PDF reader at Adobe's site:

http://www.adobe.com/

The panel does recommend moving to the precautionary principle as far as chemicals and radiation exposure. Children and fetuses are very sensitive and the panel doesn't think that the public is getting the message on that so education is recommended along with more research and regulations.

They mentioned that there could be indirect relationships to cancer if chemicals are affecting the immune system. (That could apply to infectious diseases, too.)

 

[mixin]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

I tried to copy the list of recommenations and couldn't. Either the report is protected or I'm having computer problems.

The list of things to do is so long, it will take a sincere effort to do all the things that might prevent cancer. Here's just part of their recommendations:

Children: choose food, toys, house and garden products, play spaces, medicines and medical tests that will limit exposure to toxics. Parents should limit/avoid their exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and known/suspected carcinogens prior to conception, during pregnancy and the child's early life.

Chemical exposure: remove shoes at the door and wash work clothes separately from family clothes. Filter tap water, use stainless steel or glass for water and microwaving food.

Choose food grown with the least amounts of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, growth hormones or antibiotics.

Wear a headset when using a cell phone, text instead of calling and keep calls brief. Check radon levels in your home.

Discuss with your doctor ways to limit exposure to radiation during medical tests.

Wear sunscreen when outdoors.

 

[mixin]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

My personal thoughts on this: I'd really like to see researchers do more studies on cancer in animals. I wonder if it would be easier to rule out causes.

I've had to euthanize a dog and a cat due to cancer; the dog had it in his mouth/throat and the cat had a lump on his side, which metastasized after surgery. They were never exposed to cigarette smoke, lawn chemicals or many of the other possible causes.

The dog was of particular concern because he had it in his mouth. I always fed him and the cats commercial food; both moist and dry.

However, where I live was part of an old field that had been farmed some years before; so there could have been chemicals used that I don't know about. Having a water test done would probably be a good idea.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Is cancer is purely man-made?

I think cancer causes can be grouped into 2 major categories;

1 - Those that are caused by DNA damage, which our normal repair systems are unable to repair due to defective repair systems. We're well aware of the wide variety of DNA-damaging substances in the modern world, which normally can be repaired by our body's control (P53 gene) over whether those defective cells will be allowed to replicate. But when the P53 gene isn't working (due to various reasons, e.g., HPV, low ellagic acid diet), then defective cells can proliferate. (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20948308 - among many)

2 - Those that are caused by abnormally high rate of cell proliferation which creates more defective cells than our normal cancer-fighting systems can keep up with. The modern high carbohydrate diet, with its related high glucose & insulin levels, both accelerate the growth of both healthy and defective cells to an unhealthy rate. The IGF levels promote extra growth and the higher blood sugar rates feed the growth. Higher cell turnover rates shorten telemeres and increase the incidence of replication errors. (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20663687 - among many)

The healthier diets of earlier cultures may have been the primary reason they didn't get cancer. It would be interesting to see if those early people who were obese, did have a high cancer incidence.

.