This evening a friend of mine sent me an email allegedly from John (sic) Hopkins, making a series of radical claims in numbered paragraphs about the nature of cancer and alternatives to conventional tmedicine for its prevention and treatment. My friend had been sent the email by her father, an elderly prostate cancer survivor, who thought the article was genuine and very important.Now, whether you are into CAM/non conventional medicine or not, you have to agree that Johns Hopkins is a seriously heavyweight institution with some outstanding physicians involved in cutting edge research , especially in fields like cancer and HIV/AIDS. At any rate, they would be likely to be able to spell the name of their organization correctly. (Danger sign 1). IN fact, for anyone reasonably literate in cancer research or clinical oncology, every single paragraph in the scammy text of the email that purported to be from Hopkins read as though it were written by someone semi-literate not only in the basics of cancer but also in english grammar… for example
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.
Hmmm - pretty fishy? Oh yes. A quick google search reveals tens of dozens of sites reproducing the so called email letter … but none of them link to any reputable source, including Johns Hopkins. But stroll over to Hopkins’ web site and lo and behold….the following denial is posted…Email Hoax Regarding CancerFrom receipt of email to establishment of its hoax provenance took me less than 5 minutes. The fascinating thing is how mindlessly different people propagate and circulate these kind of myths - to the point where copies are posted and reposted all over cyberspace until they take on a life of their own - and it happens so FAST! Food for thought huh.The (bodged) text of the original email that is still circulating is reproduced here: you can google the title anywhere…
AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY . 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a f ew billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to dete ct the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.5 To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.8. Initial treatment with ch emotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size . However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. CANCER CELLS FEED ON:a Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important foo d supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but o nly in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastrointestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruit help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of health y cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetable s 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).e. Avoid coffee, tea, a and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic build-up.13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.14. Some supplements build up the im mune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted anted, or unneeded cells.15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, resentment, and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells. CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S A < /SPAN>1. No plastic containers in micro.2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave.Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army < /FONT>Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer.Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plast ic.Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in t he paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nu ked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead. This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.