The Label Cancer has
an ominous ring to it and unlike many other illness that affects humans it
creates alarm and anxiety as there is a stigma associated with this disease as
an incurable affliction leading to the end of the road.
To a large extent the
information cascade of the present times has changed this but at same time a
lot of myths and false news hovers around cancer.
The Internet is a double
edged sword in the sense it provides unlimited information on anything and is just a click away but at the same time it
depends on the right way to access that information otherwise one is flooded with
misinformation,
Cancer is one ailment
that has been scourged by such false information.
One of the greatest
setbacks to cancer management is these myths.
Way back in 400 BC Hippocrates
the father of medicine said that science and opinion are two different things,
while science begets knowledge opinion begets ignorance on several occasions
Cancer is abnormal
multiplication of tissue cells and spread of these abnormal cells into other
parts by blood stream, lymphatic circulation or by direct spread
Each tissue will have
its own type of cancer and to call cancer as a single disease is as if to call
the Alps a single hill.
So it is with the
treatment of cancer, it is unique and different to different types and to
different patients.
So many factors like
the stage, the aggressiveness ,the condition of the patient ,his other diseases
, the center where he has his treatment ,his compliance ,all these factors have
a part to play in the outcome of cancer treatment .
So no cancer patient
on treatment need to be anxious in comparing themselves to other patients as
even in the same type of cancer it could be different in different patients,
This anxiety follows
natural discussions that happens between patients and families in cancer
hospital waiting rooms ,while this is good in several respects as to get a
patients perspective and families outlook to the treatment undergone and to get tips on food
and other issues ,one has to be vigilant of not trying to substitute the
experiences of the other patient for
oneself ,because they could be totally different this is where the counselling
of health professionals in the center would help the patient to clarify the
truth
Another very common
myth is on diet and supplements
This is one of the
most common topics that is addressed when patients and their families meet
Man by nature has a
tendency to give advices based on his experiences but medicine being an actual
science is not always based on subjective descriptions or advices
At times the advice
is given by people who are not related or by visitors or by a neighbor who may
his or her own motives or reasons for telling them
Most advices are on
diet or on what not to use in diet
There are circulating
myths online and offline about food fads for cancer patients those good and those
harmful for them
Generally cancer
patients have Dysguesia or altered tastes or early satiation or anorexia due to
their disease or as adverse effects of their treatments, hence the food
consumed would definitely be lesser than earlier and loss of weight and lassitude
are very common for cancer patients
Dietary fads are a disaster
for such patients
In most myths most food are banned
Like cancer patients
are asked not to take sugar, the explanation being sugar would feed the cancer
cells and hence it would grow,
All cells need sugar
or glucose for their energy and all food constituents are transformed into
glucose or energy, in no way does sugar have any special nutritive factor to
malignant cells, in fact sugar is a good form of nutrition for a cancer patient!
Milk is another
prohibited food citing its mucous nature as one that would cause mucous
secretion from tumors which again is a fallacy, in fact milks are wonderful
sources of nourishment.
Avoiding red meat is
cited often as red meat is said to be cause of several cancers,
This again is not the
truth ,red meat like many other co factors if used in long term coupled with
other factors like familial tendency or genetic mutants or several other
factors that are involved in the slow and long term evolving into a cancer is
just one spoke in the wheel and taking red meat alone cannot cause cancer
In cancer patients
taking red meat once in while if the patient likes it will only provide him
good nutrition, so he or she should not be denied his likes due to fallacies.
Artificial additives
are painted as cancer villains most of the additives are taken for enhancement
of taste in miniscule quantities and are not responsible for the evil they are blamed
upon.
Acidic food to be
avoided is another big myth, this is so said as the blood is mildly alkaline PH
and acidic food is supposed to topple the balance,
Nothing of the kind
as our body has enough in it to balance those mildly acidic or alkaline food
and correct its PH by itself and it has nothing to do with cancer.
Supplements are
mostly not needed as some are potentially harmful as most supplements do not
label their ingredients and are conveniently called as herbal or natural food products
or anti-oxidants with tall claims of curing cancer, they are generally costly
and world over account for huge business by exploiting a cancer patients who
would fall to their advertising charms and spend money which would have been better
used for better natural foodstuffs like fruits.
At times some
ingredients in supplements may cause kidney or liver damage and this will
prevent cancer treatment by using conventional accepted forms of treatment as
patient may go in for renal or hepatic failure
We should advice any
patient on treatment to inform their physician or health professionals of any supplements
planned to be taken by them whatever be the advice or claims the said supplement
has
As Andrew Schopenhauer
mentioned in 7 th century facts are always not very attractive
Initially they may be
ridiculed ,secondly may be violently opposed ,and later only are they accepted
whereas false claims are usually accepted easier because they offer escape
routes from what the patient fears like undergoing chemotherapy etc but in the
long run it is to the detriment of the patient
There is no
alternative medicine.
There is only
scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or
unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking
Under the rules of
science, people who make the claims bear the burden of proof.
Testimonials or advertisements
can never equal scientific evidences or studies
Promoters of quackery
wear the cloak of science and are great marketing professionals
Another oft reported
accusation is that the scientific community keeps facts away from the patient
as a great ploy of the medical and pharmaceutical community, the very fact that
the five year survival has shot up from 10 % in the sixties to more than 50 %
today suggests this can’t be so !
So the cancer patient
or his family should be open to suggestions and discussions with other families
or the society itself but the decisions they take for the patient should always
be after consultation with their health professional with whom they should
discuss any such advises
They should be beyond myths and should also
not spread such myths to other patients.
