Jake Cole, Ottawa, Ontario, a volunteer for a non-profit group, Prevent Cancer Now (preventcancernow.ca), sent a letter that merits discussions and comments from cancer patients and survivors of any form of cancer, both from female and male. I will write my own comments about this matter in my next column in a day or two.
Here is Jake's letter.
I am reading your book and find it a treasure chest of wonderful, sometimes heart-wrenching, stories. My thanks go to the author, Leila.
I admit up front that I have not had a major cancer scare (just a small skin cancer so far) but I don't understand the reluctance to seriously consider alternative treatments.
Look at the so-called conventional approaches: poisonous, chemical concoctions, significant levels of lethal radiation, and disfiguring surgery. Check out the side effects and lingering concerns that can stay around long after these treatments are over - for example chemo fog.
And people think alternatives can be dangerous?
Some 75,000 people die from cancer each year in Canada. Presumably most of them were in the care of an oncologist and likely receiving some sort of conventional treatment. Aren't those examples of failure of the conventional cancer treatments?
How many people are refusing conventional treatment and relying instead on the more gentle, alternative approaches? Does anyone track their outcomes? It seems to me that building up the body's natural defenses through such things as improved nutrition, increased exercise, and avoiding environmental carcinogens just makes good sense not only to prevent cancer but to avoid a recurrence as well.
On a related subject, why do we get cancer anyway? Do doctors ask their patients for some historical background to determine why they might have contracted the disease? Do doctors send their cancer patients home with a list of good foods to eat, recommended cleaners and cosmetic products to use, and perhaps recommended lifestyle changes to help avoid a recurrence? I'd like to hope so but I don't believe they do.
Ultimately I think the best way to "beat" cancer is to prevent getting it in the first place. It seems to me that our health system should put a lot more effort in that area if we are really serious about dealing with Canada's number one killer.