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Cancer, Part 2 - Declaration of War

In the year 1900 it is estimated that cancer caused no more than 3-4% of all deaths in the USA (the numbers should be very similar for Canada).  By the 1960's that figure had risen dramatically to around 13% of all deaths.  That was an increase of 3 to 4 times the cancer rate in about 60 years.

That number was so alarming to Governments that a 'War on Cancer' was photo_15347_20100422.jpgdeclared.  The Medical Institutions, Pharmaceutical Corporations and the University Research Facilities began gearing up to meet the challenge.  More and more money was poured into the 'War on Cancer'.  Huge efforts were being made.  An entire industry had been created.  Decade after decade there was literally billions and billions of dollars from Government tax monies and private donations spent around the world to research cancer.

Here we are 50 years later having fought the good fight.  So, let's look at the stats on cancer death rates and see how we've done:

1900's - 3-4%

1960's - 12-13%

2005 - 23% for the USA and a whopping 30% for Canada in 2004

How we doing so far?

In 50 years of huge expenditures in the 'War on Cancer' the death rates have doubled for the USA and almost tripled for Canada.  What that means is that one out of every four Americans will die from cancer and, even worse almost one out of every three Canadians will die from cancer.  Indeed, if you separate death due to heart disease from death due to strokes, then death due to cancer becomes the leading cause of death in Canada.

These statistics are outrageous and totally unacceptable.  Cancer death rates are continuing to climb year after year and there is no end in sight.

Just imagine if you were a CEO of a big corporation and the company declared 'War on Cancer' and was putting billions of dollars, year after year, into researching a cure for cancer for over 50 years.  If these statistics were the best that your labs could come up with I think 'Heads would Roll!'  In fact, the entire approach would probably be shut down and completely re-evaluated.

So what went wrong?  What's happening here?  Why are we winning little battles here or there but losing the War?

photo_43521_20110530.jpgI think the answer is a little more apparent if we look at it from a Wellness rather than a Sickness perspective.  As mentioned in the previous blog, Cancer isn't caused by Bad Luck, Bad Germs or Bad Genes.  It's caused by Bad Choices and Bad Environment:  lousy diet; lack of healthy exercise; stress all day every day; air pollution; water pollution; food pollution.  And folks, our choices and our environment are getting worse every year!

What we need is some good old fashioned Prevention!  If we try to eat healthier foods, exercise a little more and laugh a lot more; if we get our governments to legislate industries to do a better job of protecting our environment by cleaning up the mess they make while manufacturing their profits; then we might just start to slow down the cancer rates a little bit.

The research conducted by the Cancer industry is focused primarily on two things: Detection and then Correction.  That's it!  There is very little, if any, research on Prevention.  There are lots and lots of studies showing risk factors in the environment that may lead to cancer.  There are lots and lots of studies linking cancer to certain foods, food additives, household cleaners, pesticides, air pollutants, water pollutants, etc., etc.  There are lots of studies showing cancer prevention with the addition of healthy foods and exercise.  But there is very little to no government money for public/school education programs to help the public learn from that research as to how they can protect themselves from the Bad Choices and Bad Environment.

We will never win the 'War on Cancer' just with Detection and Correction.  We need to stop the enemy at the front lines with Prevention strategies not just try and fix the casualties of war.

As our Bad Choices and Bad Environment continue to increase, so will cancer rates.  Our Health Care System (really a Sick Care System) cannot continue to absorb the ever increasing costs of Detection and Correction for more and more people.   But, if we can do a little prevention and slow down or even reverse the cancer rates then we would start to win the War.  You see, if we decrease the rate of new cases of cancer that occur each year, then there would be enough money in the system to give the best (and most expensive) treatments to the victims who still get cancer.  Right now, treatment costs are too high to give everyone with cancer the treatments they need.  Reduce the number of new cancer cases and there is more money for those who do already have cancer.

The Pharmaceutical Industry makes all its profits from developing drugs that combat disease symptoms.  In cancer, their focus is on drugs to try and deal with the disease.  They make no money on Prevention.  They have no clue about Prevention.  They make no money promoting Prevention.  In fact, the corporate mind, ever focused on profit, realizes that if there is Prevention they would actually lose profits.  Therefore, when they lobby Government, they ask for monies for developing drugs associated with Corrective Therapies NOT Prevention.

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University Research Facilities focus on developing equipment for Detection as well as developing drugs for Correction.  Much money is pumped into University Research Facilities because of cancer research.  Consequently, they too lobby for monies related to Detection and Correction NOT Prevention.

Now, truth be told, there are actually many University Researchers who do indeed try to lobby for Prevention.  Unfortunately, they are the minority and their lobbying voice is drowned out because, once again, Prevention doesn't make any money for the Universities.

The Medical Industry does what it does best.  It uses the detection equipment from the Universities and the Drugs from the Pharmaceutical Industry and actually does the Detection and Correction.  But, Medicine is about Sick Care.  They also don't make any money on Prevention.  MD's don't make any money advising their Patients about Prevention.  Most MD's have no expertise in Prevention anyway.  Therefore, the Medical lobbyists also lobby the Government for Detection and Correction.

If anyone is to blame for our failure in the 'War on Cancer' it would be our Provincial and Federal Governments.  They are the ones that need to ensure that there is adequate focus paid to Prevention.  They need to ensure that the Public knows how to be healthy.  They need to regulate industry.  They need to institute incentives for health by providing funding or tax breaks or income tax exemptions for preventative, health oriented therapies like chiropractic adjustments & nutritional counseling, vitamins and supplements, registered massage therapy, fresh fruits and vegetables, yoga classes and gym memberships, etc., and taxing bad junk foods just like they do cigarettes and alcohol.

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If we live our lives making Bad Choices in our Bad Environment then we dramatically increase our chances of getting cancer.  But, if we try reducing our risk factors with some Healthy Eating, Healthy Moving and Healthy Thinking then we can dramatically reduce our chances of getting cancer.

If we continually make Bad Choices in our Bad Environment and ultimately become one of the unfortunate one in three Canadians who develop cancer, we then blood_pressure_gauge_200_300.jpgenter our Sick Care System.  The Medical Doctors will do their Detection and Correction thing to the best of their abilities.  But then what?  Do we go back to the same old Bad Choices in the same old Bad Environment and just hope for the best?  Or, do we realize that our Bad Choices and the Bad Environment we lived in played key roles in overwhelming our body's natural drive toward health?  Will we realize that the MD's may have destroyed the cancer cells but if we return to doing the same things that caused the cancer in the first place we will actually increase our risk of going through it all again?

If you don't have cancer, then take charge of your health now and start doing some Healthy Eating, Healthy Moving and Healthy Thinking so you can go a long way to prevent developing it in the first place.

If you presently have cancer, then you must realize that going through the Medical procedures is just the start of your recovery and return to health.  If you do not make any changes, you cannot expect your body to return toward health.  You MUST take control and make significant changes in your Bad Choices and Bad Environment.  You MUST do Healthy Eating, Healthy Moving and Healthy Thinking - AND you must do all three of these things at the same time for a period of time not just some of these things some of the time.

If someone makes those changes will it guarantee that they either won't get cancer in the first place or that it won't return if they already have cancer?  Sadly, the answer is no.  But, it markedly improves their chances of avoiding cancer or recovering from cancer and THAT is good enough for me.  How about you?

Next Blog I'll get you started on what exactly is Prevention.

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