OT - but important...

On 15 Aug 2005 06:24:24 -0700, "Gemini" spewed forth :

Gem, I have a good friend who is an oncologist, on top of being an osteopathic physician (which means she's a GP with chiropractic training). She's told us repeatedly that the Laetrile stuff is merely modern-day snake oil designed to part one from one's money during what is already a stressful time. If you look at websites hawking the stuff they're all outside the US, where the stuff has been prohibited by the FDA as an ineffective and potentially dangerous by itself, nevermind that when you're being "treated" with the stuff you aren't seeing an oncologist and receiving actual cancer therapies. If you search the US FDA website

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Thank you, Wooly, it just seems so odd that in all the years they have known about cancer (of all types) that they haven't really come up with anything at all. And, let's face it, if there is some "natural" cure or treatment out there, it sure would be nice to know about it.

A lot of medical articles in magazines have hinted at the idea that certain foods supposedly help to keep cancer away... although none have ever said anything about *curing* it.

That item that I posted the URL for mentioned apricot seeds... see, to me that sounds like something that I would be very nervous about eating anyway... aren't some seeds (inside perfectly good food) supposed to be poisonous or something? I know that the leaves of rhubarb are supposed to be poisonous, yet you can eat the stalk which are somewhat healthy for you. Makes you wonder sometimes though, huh?

I'm glad to live now rather than back before people knew about any plants and what they could eat. Can you imagine going through gawdawful stomachaches after eating something that is not really meant for human consumption... or worse, dying from eating something that you saw an animal eat?

Thanks again for your input on the URL I posted. I just found it interesting and thought others might as well. I still do like the blog page though... very informative. :o)

Peace! Gem

- UGH... there is a horrible smell of SKUNK seeping into the house. I smelled it here at the computer where I'm not really near an open window. Matthew was in the foyer talking on the phone and thought it was something in the bag of garbage sitting there waiting for garbage day... but when he took the bag outside the smell is worse there. I think our little friend (who had come around late at night a couple of months back) is visiting again. *cough* *choke*

There are many different cancers, and for some of them 'they' have come up with a lot. There's a type of childhood leukemia that used to kill nearly

If there really was a 'natural' cure out there, I think we'd know about it.

Certainly a good diet can contribute to general health, and possibly (but not certainly) reduce the *chances* of developing *some* forms of cancer. There aren't any guarantees - but a good diet can't hurt and might help.

'Natural' is not always safe, never mind beneficial.

A young man died here a year or two ago, apparently after his experiments with eating natural food extended to the extremely poisonous monkshood plant. It's not just in times gone by that people died from a too-easy trust in Mother Nature. I like monkshood - I have it in my own yard. But I don't eat it!

There is nothing on this planet that stinks more than an angry skunk. You have my sympathy.

On 15 Aug 2005 07:53:45 -0700, "Gemini" spewed forth :

Tamoxifen is the only one I know about. Unfortunately the tree from which it is derived is a slow-growing, slow-propagating yew species (Taxus brevifolus, I think) so it isn't necessarily environmentally friendly. I haven't kept up with it, but the last I knew it was only given to menopausal or post-menopausal post-surgical breast cancer victims, as a preventive and not a curative.

Sure. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are generally good for the bod. No vegetable or fruit extract is going to cure cancer, tho. Even all the years of cancer research oftentimes can't accomplish such a feat.

Arsenic isn't good for mammals and is found in relatively high concentrations in Prunus spp. stones and apple pips. Its also in high concentration in the Laetrile crap. I suppose the thinking is "if I'm going to die anyhow, maybe I'll die sooner if I swallow enough snake oil"?

Lots of things are nasty to some degree until cooked. Rhubarb, poke salat, potatoes.

Well, if you think about it, 200 years ago folks had a lot more knowledge of their environments, including what was and wasn't good to eat. I further suppose that at some point in human history people had to experiment on themselves in order to find out what was and wasn't edible. We didn't always have supermarkets or kitchen gardens, we had to forage like any other primate :)

Yuck.

Wooly Who knows more than her share of "one in eight" women with breast cancer

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Gem, I don't know if you would count this as a "cure", but Essiac does help a lot of people. I personally know more than one person locally that took it and it shrunk the lumps to almost nothing. Made it much easier to operate when needed. There are more case histories of local people who have been diagnosed with cancer many years ago, given months to live and lived 20-30 years more with no other treatments.

Problem with Tamoxifen is that you can only take it for a max of 5 years, as one side effect is uterine cancer. Mom was on it for years, and that's what they think happened to her.

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 15:05:09 -0400, "Norma Woods" spewed forth :

Hah, I didn't know that. I guess that's why its limited to post-menopausal women.

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Definitely not limited to post-menopausal, I've had two very young (30's) definitely pre-menopausal relatives who were given it as their cancer treatment.

Oh ick, I think that is one of the worst smells in the world!! I hope he doesn't stick around there too long.

I didn`t know Rhubarb leaves are poisenous i eat them with the stalks But i know peaches` pits have Arsen in them. In israel it was reserched that Pomagranade is healthy for your heart , cholestrol levels etc....recommended is to drink a Cup of it`s juice daily mirjam

- X-No-Archive: yes "Wooly" wrote

I think it's probably more a case of "I'm desperate so I'll try anything" no matter how expensive or far-out.

Likewise.

Eimear

The leaves have oxalic acid in them and it's a toxic substance.

I think that's a function of your age. I've noticed myself that the older I get, the more people I know who either have or had (and died or recovered from) very serious illnesses, especially cancer. And yes, for a lot of the women it was breast cancer, although ovarian cancer, which I find even scarier, has claimed a couple.

There was a time in my life when news of a friend or relative's cancer diagnosis was a shock and a suprise. Now, alas, it isn't, and I'm beginning to understand why my mother and her friends seemed to talk about death a lot when they reached a certain age. They'd begun losing a lot of good people.

Hi Mirjam,

I've never even tasted pomegranite. Is it very sweet, or tangy? Also,

My Mom told me years ago (and I've also read it other places too) that drinking cranberry juice daily (or a few times a week, at least) is good for the bladder and kidneys. I don't drink it that often as it's not the cheapest thing in the stores, but I do drink it when it feels like I'm getting a bladder infection and it does help to clear things up faster.

Peace! Gemini

Gemini, I don't have the time to read this now, but in your post you mentioned apricot seeds. They have long been marketed under the name (I think) laetril. (That COULD be spelled incorrectly!) They have been proven to be completely ineffective in fighting cancer or, indeed, anything else. Many people have spent thousands of dollars in vain, only to die, including a friend of mine. Thanks for posting the site, but I won't be visiting it.

Hugs, Katherine

Katherine, I only mentioned that URL with the information about the apricot seeds because I had never heard of it before and found it to be interesting. The main URL that I really enjoyed was

Peace! Gemini

Jumping in... Don and I are ordering Kevin Trudeau's book: What THEY don't want you to know... JM2C, Noreen

Couldn't hurt, right?

Peace! Gemini

Well, his infomercial has been 'on' a LOT, and there was some interesting stuff there, which of COURSE is the 'teaser' to get you to buy the book to read the rest... reminds me of Paul Harvey's the rest of the story, g'day! LOL Noreen who has had too much caffiene with NO NICOTENE to offset it.