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Based upon the evidence currently available, it is my conviction that a rational plan can be designed to prevent most types of cancer. Summed up in one word, moderation, the preventive approach involves several factors: Your diet should be simple, utilizing natural foods as much as possible. Adequate amounts of fruit, fresh vegetables, and whole grain cereals should be included together with some nuts and natural sources of dietary fats, such as olives, avocados, and a most sparing use of vegetable oil. Any excess of oil, sugar, salt, or any single food, especially refined ones, in the diet should be shunned.

The low-fat vegetarian diet has been associated clearly with an increased resistance to many types of cancer. When individuals abstain from milk and eggs, as well as meat, the cancer risk becomes even lower. Naturally these total vegetarians must have a considerable knowledge of nutrition in order to maintain balanced nutrition, and provide optimum vitamin and mineral intake to maintain excellent health. Thousands of discriminating consumers, however, are rapidly adopting a vegetarian lifestyle as fast as they are able to learn how to select and prepare the foods. In this change is found the key to preventing not only many cancers, but also atherosclerosis and numerous other diseases. Reasonable amounts of exercise should be obtained daily for a lifestyle that is low in occupational stress, while satisfying and productive. A moderate exposure to sunlight prevents detrimental premalignant skin changes that many acquire as their skin ages. The use of a broad-brimmed hat, sunscreen lotions, and avoidance of excessive sun bathing can bring about vibrant health, without wearing out or prematurely aging the dwelling of skin we live in.

Temperance advocates for many years have proclaimed the key to prevent one most common cancer. Those who abstain completely from tobacco smoke, and even avoid settings where the involuntary inhalation of stale secondhand smoke is required, will reduce their risk of lung cancer dramatically. Even ex-smokers who quit before a cancer develops, have a much lower rate than the devotee who continues to use cigarettes. Although pipes and cigars may produce less lung cancer, they’re stronger forms of tobacco still show malignant potential in cancer of the lip, tongue, throat, and larynx far too often.

Chronic use of alcohol increases the risk of cancer in the breast and liver, as well as seriously irritating the stomach and several other organs. Exposure to drugs of all kinds, including sex hormones, antibiotics, anticancer agents, and coal tar preparations can increase the incidence of malignancies in many organs. True temperance requires us to dispense entirely with all things hurtful, and use in moderation those things healthful. This principle of moderation can help to prevent many cancers.

Routine physical examinations and periodic self-examination of the breasts and skin, with careful observation for the symptoms of cancer described above can detect abnormal lesions in the earliest possible stage, when surgical removal is a possibility. A regular annual physical should usually include the annual Pap smear, a biennial sigmoidoscopic examination, together with the appropriate laboratory testing for additional aid in early diagnosis. On the other hand, it may just give satisfying reassurance concerning one’s state of health.

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Although more skin cancers are seen than malignancies involving any other organ, this is least commonly a cause of cancer death. Inasmuch as the lesion can be seen with the naked eye in an early stage, the potential for cure is well over 90%. It is thought that the single most important factor in the cause of skin cancer is chronic exposure to ultraviolet light of the sunburn wavelength (UV-B). Individuals who are intensely pigmented are quite well protected from these rays. Fair-complexioned individuals and albinos should especially use sunscreen preparations. All should avoid unnecessary exposure to x-rays, coal tar products, and arsenic preparations known to be carcinogens.

Seventy-five percent of all skin cancers are of the basal cell carcinoma type. These rarely metastasize, but are locally invasive. The cancer typically begins as a noninflamed, smooth, waxy nodule. Usually a number of small blood vessels are visible near the surface. These nodules often ulcerate and form a crust. Biopsy and excision will confirm the diagnosis; as well as treat the lesion. Simple excision gives the best cosmetic results. Liquid nitrogen may be used for local freezing, called cryosurgery. In combination with curettage or electrocautery, a cure rate of more than 95% may be expected.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type, developing also from the surface layer of the skin, but having more propensity to metastasize. Most of these lesions are painless. They show up with firm, red plaques, displaying visible scales on the surface. They may arise from preexisting solar keratoses, premalignant lesions developing from repeated sunburn. Treatment is similar to that of basal cell lesions described above, namely removal.

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Cancer involving the blood and bone marrow is most often seen in children. Several types of leukemia are described, based upon the type of blood cells involved and their appearance under the microscope. Samples from the blood and bone marrow are usually compared.

Ionizing radiation, whether from nuclear sources or x-ray therapy, is clearly associated with an increased incidence of these leukemias. Chemical agents, such as the anticancer drugs and occupational exposure to benzal have been associated with increased leukemia. Some hereditary factors have also been linked with this disease.

Most interesting is the firmly established viral theory in relation to acute leukemia. In rodents, fowls, cats, and monkeys certain viruses are known to cause leukemia when experimentally inoculated. These animals can pass viruses to their offspring through the ovum or shed it in their milk or other secretions, thereby transmitting it to unaffected animals. Again it makes one wonder how much leukemia may actually be transmitted to human beings through the use of animal foods, such as meat, eggs or milk. Milk is increasingly suspect for cancer viruses, especially the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and the bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV, a relative of HIV). A disease in chickens (fowl leukosis) is estimated to affect up to 15% of the birds used for food, and many cases escape the casual inspection at the mass production slaughterhouse. The virus definitely passes into the egg, and can infect a baby chick even before hatching. It would take very high or prolonged cooking temperatures to be sure the virus was inactivated in eggs used for food.

In spite of the fact that the common treatment of leukemia today is with cellular poisons (cytotoxic drugs), it is my hope that a much more physiologic treatment will soon become available, and, in the right setting be demonstrated as superior. Combining a proper diet with the judicious use of fever therapy should induce the appropriate antibodies to aid in virus destruction and the maintenance of health, as well as a decrease in complications. This type of therapy has been used with increasing success in the treatment of related tumors, such as Hodgkin’s disease, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and some other lymphomas. These closely related malignancies all seem to have a common viral origin. Thus, they should respond to the intermittent induction of high fever, However, it must be given in a controlled setting for safety.

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Routine screening has decreases the incidence of cervical cancer in recent years. Called the “Pap smear”, this screening tool developed by Dr.Papanicoleau has allowed for the early detection of change in the cells of the
cervix. Being less common in nuns, in Jewish women, and in those with less sexual activity, this type of cancer merits great interest from a preventive standpoint. A virus similar to the Herpes virus that causes cold sores has been implicated in the development of some of these cancers.

More and more nurses, as well as many midwives are learning how to take these smears, thus increasing the acceptance of the pap smear to many women as well as making the procedure more available. It certainly should be part of an annual examination from the time of marriage on through life. Early diagnosis with surgical removal of the uterus and cervix can well be curative.

Cancer of the lining of the womb (endometrium) is less common, but is still taking many lives. This has definitely been related to the use of estrogens, the female hormone used traditionally to lighten symptoms of the menopause. Avoidance of these hormone preparations, as well as prompt medical treatment in the event of unusual menstrual flow can provide the early diagnosis needed.

An outpatient procedure, using techniques similar to the pap smear (e.g. Vabra aspiration, or the Pipelle) can with less expense and discomfort provide the reassurance needed to evaluate this bleeding.

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For the last three decades, cancer of the stomach has been decreasing in frequency in the United States. It remains high in Japan and certain other Oriental nations, and is probably related to the intake of certain foods, some highly seasoned, and others extremely hot. The second most common type of cancer in our country is cancer of the colon and rectum. This often produces a change in bowel habits, the stools becoming more constipated or of small caliber. Bleeding from the rectum is occasionally seen. This is usually red when the tumor growth is low in the colon and darker, brown to black (called melena) when the lesion is high in the colon or coming from the small intestine or stomach. This color change is due to the partial digestion of blood products by bacteria and enzymes in the bowel.

The rectal examination is helpful in detection of many cancers in their early stages. A ten-inch tube with attached light, called a sigmoidoscope can be used to look into the lower bowel, where nearly three-fourths of the cancers are seen. This should be done in conjunction with a complete annual exam for individuals over the age of 40. A new technology in fiber optic viewing, called endoscopy, has developed instruments that can examine the stomach and duodenum (gastroscopy), and the entire colon (colonoscopy). These procedures are often done on an outpatient basis, and provide even more adequate confirmation than the traditional barium x-rays.

The cause of these colon cancers is still somewhat uncertain. It is felt that a high fiber diet, which increases the rapidity of transit through the bowel, will decrease the incidence of cancer. This is probably because the waste products contain many toxins. In contact with the mucous lining of the bowel these can cause irritation and eventual malignant change in the cells. A number of foods, most notably meat, contains toxins (carcinogens) that can be directly associated with cancer. The benz-0-pyrene in a charcoal-broiled steak may be equivalent to that found in about 600 cigarettes. Methylcholanthrene is also a dangerous substance found in many types of meat. Recently discovered is the chemical malonaldehyde, which seems to be increased when the meat is cooked!

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