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The NaturalNews Cancer Healing Summit (free)

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    Gene_S
    Participant
      Join Us!  The NaturalNews Healing Summit will be available
      (online) at no cost – starting Mon. May. 20th – details below:
      Join Us!  The NaturalNews Healing Summit will be available
      (online) at no cost – starting Mon. May. 20th – details below:
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        bcl
        Participant

          No thanks

          – particularly after reading this shocking piece by 'Health Ranger' Mike Adams of Natural News  (Comments from a breast cancer surgeon follow) 

           

          http://www.naturalnews.com/040334_Angelina_Jolie_double_mastectomy_breast_cancer_prevention.html

           

          Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies

          Wednesday, May 15, 2013
          by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
          Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles…)
           

          Tags: Cancer, Women, Breast

          (NaturalNews) Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

          Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as "three months of medical procedures."

          …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. "My breasts might murder me!" seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

          Let me set the record straight: Your breasts are not your enemy! The cancer industry is far more likely to kill you than your breasts. (But more on that later…)

          Women's liberation crusade: Off with your breasts!

          Worse than merely maiming herself in an act of outright medical quackery, Angelina Jolie has positioned her decision as some sort of women's liberation crusade, acting and talking as if her "choice" to remove her breasts somehow blazes a new path of female power for all women. (How sick is this, really?)

          Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn't mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women's groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

          A vivacious, confident, healthy woman who protects her fertility and nourishes her unborn child is far more heroic and empowering than someone who maims her own body as some sort of sick sacrifice to the cancer industry. Angelina Jolie, as much as she is often viewed as a symbol of female power, seems to have completely lost touch with the core truths of honoring the "temple" of your own female body.

          Cancer is never limited to just the breast

          Cancer, by the way, is a systemic problem when it emerges, not a local problem limited to just the breasts or other organs. It may be diagnosed in breast tissues, but that's not the only place it's growing. The idea that someone can prevent cancer by just removing their breasts is absurd. If the conditions of cancer are present in the body — due to nutritional deficiencies, exposure to chemicals, radiation, etc. — cancer will develop in many different places, not just breast tissues. Removing an organ that might possibly someday be one of the many locations in which cancer is diagnosed is completely irrational and medically abhorrent. Logically, it's a lot like arguing that you can avoid flat tires on your car by removing all the tires!

          If you really want to learn the truth about cancer — and SAVE your breasts! — get our "New Cancer Solutions" CD set. The third CD is absolutely amazing, offering astounding information that can literally help save your life. You can also hear the entire collection for free during our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit launching next Monday, May 20th.

          If Angelina Jolie had heard the information on these CDs, she would have said, "NO!" to the cancer fear mongers and learned that there are far more effective and empowering ways to protect yourself from cancer. Women everywhere need to hear truly empowering, honoring, holistic information about cancer and stop listening to the insanity of the cancer industry and its delusional, victimized spokespeople like Angelina Jolie.

          Celebrating the medical abuse of women

          The mainstream media is heralding Jolie's decision to cut off both her perfectly healthy breasts, announcing Jolie is "admired for bravery." In a NYT op-ed, Jolie wrote, "I hope that other women can benefit from my experience." (No, I'm not making this up. She literally wants other healthy women to cut off their breasts, too…)

          The medical industry, never known to back down from an opportunity to physically abuse women for profit, is jumping on the double mastectomy bandwagon. In a Businessweek article, a genetic counselor named Rebecca Nagy declares, "Having this conversation empowers us all. It's wonderful what she's done."

          Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and "prevent cancer," right?

          The irrationality of Jolie's decision is truly sickening. Even worse is that idea that she may inspire other women to have their healthy bodies maimed, too. If Jolie cut off both legs and called it a "choice" to prevent leg cancer, I have little doubt many women would follow her lead and cut off their legs, too. Jolie herself says she may have her ovaries cut out in the future because they, too, might someday get cancer.

          You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where this medical insanity ultimately leads. Got a risk of kidney cancer? Remove your kidneys. Risk of colon cancer? Take out your colon. Lung cancer, perhaps? Remove your lungs, just in case! That's the logic of Angelina Jolie who has been completely deceived by the cancer industry into maiming her own body based on nothing for medical fear mongering and cancer quackery.

          Never doubt the fact that fear can be an effective marketing tool when it comes to breast cancer, by the way. The cancer industry rakes in billions of dollars a year based on irrational fears spread by misinformed women.

          Medical maiming going viral across the population of sheeple

          There's nothing quite as exciting and heroic as having your body parts chopped off by surgeons and then declaring yourself to be a "pre-vivor" of cancer. Yep, that's the new term. You're not really a "survivor" of cancer, since you never had it. You're a "pre-vivor" because you preempted the cancer.

          Or, just as likely, you got suckered into the most delusional decision of your life and had a bunch of quacks slice off pieces of your body that were perfectly healthy to begin with. This is medical insanity at its worst… especially given that a woman's risk of breast cancer can be reduced by 78% using nothing but vitamin D. Yeah, take some vitamin D and keep your breasts! What a deal, eh?

          Why aren't male cancer doctors cutting off their own testicles?

          You'll note, by the way, that men never have their testicles removed to lower the risk of testicular cancer. Not even the male cancer doctors, oncologists and surgeons who are slicing off women's breasts all day long. Sure, they think cutting off breasts is a great idea, but ask one of them to part with their own testicles to "prevent" cancer, and they'll look at you like you've gone, well, nuts.

          Because cutting off your testicles to prevent testicular cancer that you don't even have would be stupid, of course. Pure quackery. Suggest it to a man you know and you'll either be laughed at or punched in the mouth. No ethical doctor would ever remove a perfectly healthy set of testicles from a man who has no symptoms of testicular cancer. The very idea is absurd and possibly even risking a medical malpractice lawsuit.

          So why is it somehow acceptable to cut off the breasts of "empowered women" who think they are making some sort of social statement by maiming their own perfectly healthy bodies?

          (SNIP story here if you are publishing this on another site. You do not need to include the cancer CD mentioned below…)

          Get answers for cancer… and save your breasts!

          Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

          The CD includes the following discussions:

          The Consciousness of Cancer – The Health Ranger, Mike Adams
          Mike Adams, the founder and editor of NaturalNews.com presents, "The Consciousness of Cancer" — a new way of looking at cancer.

          The Compassionate Oncologist – James Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D
          James W. Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D., has long been considered one of the most respected physicians in the United States. Dr. Forsythe graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and earned his medical degree at UCSF. This presentation reveals a NEW way of caring for cancer patients with an amazing success rate. You'll learn about the most important cancer test available today; Dr. Forsythe's 3-week cancer treatment program plus much more!

          Stop Making Cancer – Thomas Lodi, M.D.
          Thomas Lodi, M.D. completed his medical degree in 1985 from the University of Hawaii. This program will help you understand cancer – like you've never heard before. Discover the best ways to stop making cancer; eliminate cancer cells without harming the body and effectively strengthen the immune system – our ultimate defense against cancer. As Dr. Lodi says, the "bioterrain is everything". This show will teach you how to prevent disease from the inside out.

          Life Over Cancer – Keith I. Block, M.D.
          Keith Block, M.D. is an internationally recognized expert in integrative oncology. Referred to by many as the "father of integrative oncology", Dr. Block has published more than 75 scientific papers and his model of individualized integrative oncology continues to set the standard for the practice of comprehensive cancer care in the United States. This presentation goes way beyond "early detection" and teaches you about the best diet, supplement and exercise routines to promote optimal health.

          Six Pillars of Health – Richard Linchitz, M.D.
          Dr. Richard Linchitz graduated with honors from Cornell University Medical College, and completed his residency at the famed University of California, San Francisco, Moffit Hospital. In 1998, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Dr. Linchitz changed everything about his life, career and overall perspective about medicine. Killing cancer cells is not enough – learn about detoxification, stress reduction techniques, hormone balancing plus much more! Dr. Linchitz believes his 6-step program is the best way to stay healthy – always!

          The Regeneration Effect – John Apsley, MD(E), ND, DC
          Dr. John Apsley is a physician and researcher who for the past 30 years has specialized in the rehabilitation and reversal of chronic degenerative illnesses through accelerated tissue repair and cellular regeneration. Dr. Apsley teaches cancer patients about "The Regeneration Effect – Curing versus Controlling Advanced Cancer". There's a NEW chemistry of cancer remedies – find out about the latest advances in cancer testing; non-toxic cancer treatments plus scientifically proven ways to prevent cancer. The power is in your hands to get healthy today.

          Get the full CD set by clicking here.

          Or listen to the entire seminar for free on May 20th, as we launch our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit.

           

          ————————————————————————————————————-

           

          http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/05/15/quack-view-of-preventing-breast-cancer-versus-reality/

          I should have known it. I should have known that the reaction wouldn’t take very long. I should have known it based on prior history. The news story to which I am referring is, of course, the revelation yesterday in the New York Times editorial page by Angelina Jolie that she had decided to undergo prophylactic bilateral mastectomies (removal of both breasts) because she had learned that she was a BRCA gene mutation carrier, and the particular mutation that she apparently carried portended an 85% lifetime risk of breast cancer. The reaction to which I am referring is, of course, the same sort of despicable reaction that we see all the time from one of the crankiest of quackery-promoting quacks, Mike Adams, publisher of NaturalNews.com.

          This is a man known for not being—shall we say?—shy about using and abusing any celebrity cancer or health story that he comes across in the vilest way his fevered little brain can imagine to promote his favored quackery. He did it, for instance, when Patrick Swayze had pancreatic cancer. Swayze also had the temerity (and smarts) to say that he was eschewing quackery and sticking with science-based medicine, thank you very much:

          If anybody had that cure out there, like so many people swear they do, you’d be two things. You’d be very rich, and you’d be very famous. Otherwise, shut up.

          This, not surprisingly, infuriated Adams, who wrote up quite the tirade about it. Adams was similarly quick to pounce on the deaths of Michael Jackson of a drug overdose, the death of former Bush administration press secretary Tony Snow of colon cancer, and Tim Russert’s death from heart disease. Then, of course, he worked himself into a fine lather of righteous indignation over her “maiming” when Christina Applegate announced that she had undergone bilateral mastectomies for her breast cancer, who also had a BRCA mutation. So you can only imagine what sorts of vile article Adams came up with in response to Jolie’s decision to undergo bilateral mastectomy as a preventative measure, even though she didn’t have cancer yet. Yes, you can tell a lot by the title, Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies.

          Say what you will about Mikey. He’s consistent. Consistently vile. He’s also dead wrong, as usual.

          First, you need to take note. The purpose of this article is blatant, and it’s to sell stuff. After Adams has seemingly gotten his readers all fired up over the horror of Jolie’s decision to “maim” herself, the very last section of the article advertises this:

          Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

          It comes complete with a video (included in Adams’ despicable article) that has to be seen to be believed, entitled The female anatomy of Modern Medicine. In any case, the CD includes a talk by Adams himself entitled The Consciousness of Cancer, which is billed as a “new way” of looking at cancer. No doubt it is, but also no cout it is a way that has nothing to do with science. From the title, my guess is that Adams subscribes to something similar to the German New Medicine or Andreas Moritz’s “wisdom of cancer cells” quackery, in which cancer is represented as a survival mechanism. There are also talks by “luminaries” of the “integrative” oncology and alternative cancer cure world, such as Thomas Lodi, Keith I. Block, and Richard Linchitz. It all looks to be a lot about “detoxification” and woo. (One notes that the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where Jolie had her surgery, is not above capitalizingon her announcement either, with a prominent splash page with a picture of her and a link to the details of her decision.”

          Now that that point is out of the way (and it’s arguably the most important point, which is why I skipped to the end of Adams’ screed first), Let’s get a real taste of what Adams thinks, if you can stand it and if you can call it “thinking”:

          Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

          Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as “three months of medical procedures.”

          …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. “My breasts might murder me!” seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

          And later:

          Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn’t mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women’s groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

          And, the “coup de grace”:

          Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and “prevent cancer,” right?

          The mind boggles.

          One can’t help but note that Adams is indulging in a favorite pastime of quacks every where: Denialism of genetics and wishful thinking that genetics don’t rule. OK, it’s true that in some cases they don’t. If a gene doesn’t have a high penetrance, interacts with other genes, or has an activity that is highly influenced by environment, genetics isn’t always destiny, but in the case of the particular BRCA1 mutation that Jolie reports having, there is an 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Given that breast cancer is a type of cancer that is not highly lifestyle- and diet-dependent (note, that is not to say that lifestyle and diet have no effect, just that the effect tends to be relatively small), no amount of “anticancer lifestyle, “smart nutrition,” and “avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals” is going to lower that 85% chance of breast cancer by very much, no matter how much Adams’ wishful thinking might try to mislead other women that such interventions can.

          Now, it needs to be pointed out here that a BRCA1 mutation, such as the one that Jolie had, is a very special situation, where the risk of cancer is known and very high. I’m normally not a fan of prophylactic surgery, and I tend not to do bilateral mastectomies in my practice except under certain circumstances (such as BRCA1 mutations). Few women fall into that category, and, mutation carriers aside, there is no good evidence that doing bilateral mastectomies for breast cancer improves overall survival and decreases the odds of a woman dying of breast cancer. Personally, I’ve been rather disturbed at how much the demand for bilateral mastectomies has been driven by patients; it hasn’t really been driven by physicians. In this, I’m mostly in agreement with Monica Morrow, one of the most prominent breast surgeons there is, when she says:

          “It’s important to make it clear that a BRCA mutation is a special, high-risk situation,” said Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Sloan-Kettering. For women at very high risk, preventive mastectomy makes sense, but few women fall into that category, she said.

          For women’s health advocates, the trend toward double mastectomies in women who do not have mutations is frustrating. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s proved that for many patients, lumpectomy was as safe as mastectomy, and the findings were seen as a victory for women.

          Even so, there is increasing demand for mastectomy. Dr. Morrow says that she has often tried to talk patients out of it without success. Some imagine their risk of new or recurring cancer to be far higher than it really is. Others think that their breasts will match up better if both are removed and reconstructed.

          And it’s true. Jolie is a special case. We don’t see too many BRCA1 carriers. In Jolie’s case, bilateral mastectomy was entirely appropriate and medically indicated. That’s not always the case for a lot of bilateral mastectomies that are being done these days. Not surprisingly, part of what drove Jolie’s decision was the death of her mother at a young age (56). In any case, I’m not alone in being a bit worried that this announcement will provoke a run of patients demanding what Angelina Jolie had, regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not. Expressing concern about that, as some breast surgeons have in the wake of Jolie’s announcement, however, is not what Adams is about. He is about portraying modern medicine as “maiming” women and implying that it is surgeons who are promoting bilateral mastectomy when in fact the vast majority of us are not. Indeed, the drive over the last 30 years has been towards increasingly less invasive surgery for breast cancer (a trend driven, I would point out, not just by breast cancer advocates but by science and surgeons themselves, at the cost of revenue, given that larger surgeries like mastectomies are certainly better reimbursed than smaller surgeries).

          There are also other issues brought up by Jolie’s decision. For instance, the way she went about it is not entirely science-based. If you peruse the blog post describing the process, you’ll find that she underwent a “nipple delay” procedure, in which the tissue underlying the nipple is cut in order to rule out cancer right behind the nipple and to “improve the blood flow.” The idea is that the nipple delay procedure cuts the normal blood supply to the nipple and “forces” it to rely on the surrounding skin for its blood supply, thus making the chance of nipple necrosis (in which the nipple turns black and falls off due to low blood flow) much less likely. It’s a procedure for which the evidence, in my estimation, is fairly shaky at best and is usually reserved only for patients who have had previous breast surgery around the nipple. After the surgery, Jolie apparently used a whole bunch of supplements at the instruction of the Pink Lotus Breast Center (which is apparently very much into “holistic medicine“), including vitamin C and a homeopathic remedy, Arnica Forte, which, it is claimed, improves wound healing. In her editorial describing her journey, Jolie herself writes:

          I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

          Another issue to discuss might have to wait, as this post is getting long, and I need to wrap it up. (I might revisit this issue again next week on my not-so-super-secret other blog that has my real name on it, not unlike The Name of The Doctor.) Specifically, that’s the issue of BRCA1 testing itself. Myriad Genetics holds the patent on all BRCA testing, which means that it holds a monopoly on the process. No other gene test for BRCA1 is legal right now because Myriad holds the patent on the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. There’s also the issue of Jolie’s extreme wealth, which provides her options average women don’t have, given that insurance companies will sometimes not pay for BRCA testing and preventative surgery. These might well be the topic for another post. In the meantime, contrary to Adams’ spew otherwise, Jolie made a reasonable, medically justifiable decision based on her family history. The only question I have remaining is whether she will remove her ovaries too (no mention was made of it in her op-ed).

          That, and how Mike Adams can live with himself, but that’s a question I’ll probably never have the answer to.

           

          bcl
          Participant

            No thanks

            – particularly after reading this shocking piece by 'Health Ranger' Mike Adams of Natural News  (Comments from a breast cancer surgeon follow) 

             

            http://www.naturalnews.com/040334_Angelina_Jolie_double_mastectomy_breast_cancer_prevention.html

             

            Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies

            Wednesday, May 15, 2013
            by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
            Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles…)
             

            Tags: Cancer, Women, Breast

            (NaturalNews) Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

            Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as "three months of medical procedures."

            …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. "My breasts might murder me!" seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

            Let me set the record straight: Your breasts are not your enemy! The cancer industry is far more likely to kill you than your breasts. (But more on that later…)

            Women's liberation crusade: Off with your breasts!

            Worse than merely maiming herself in an act of outright medical quackery, Angelina Jolie has positioned her decision as some sort of women's liberation crusade, acting and talking as if her "choice" to remove her breasts somehow blazes a new path of female power for all women. (How sick is this, really?)

            Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn't mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women's groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

            A vivacious, confident, healthy woman who protects her fertility and nourishes her unborn child is far more heroic and empowering than someone who maims her own body as some sort of sick sacrifice to the cancer industry. Angelina Jolie, as much as she is often viewed as a symbol of female power, seems to have completely lost touch with the core truths of honoring the "temple" of your own female body.

            Cancer is never limited to just the breast

            Cancer, by the way, is a systemic problem when it emerges, not a local problem limited to just the breasts or other organs. It may be diagnosed in breast tissues, but that's not the only place it's growing. The idea that someone can prevent cancer by just removing their breasts is absurd. If the conditions of cancer are present in the body — due to nutritional deficiencies, exposure to chemicals, radiation, etc. — cancer will develop in many different places, not just breast tissues. Removing an organ that might possibly someday be one of the many locations in which cancer is diagnosed is completely irrational and medically abhorrent. Logically, it's a lot like arguing that you can avoid flat tires on your car by removing all the tires!

            If you really want to learn the truth about cancer — and SAVE your breasts! — get our "New Cancer Solutions" CD set. The third CD is absolutely amazing, offering astounding information that can literally help save your life. You can also hear the entire collection for free during our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit launching next Monday, May 20th.

            If Angelina Jolie had heard the information on these CDs, she would have said, "NO!" to the cancer fear mongers and learned that there are far more effective and empowering ways to protect yourself from cancer. Women everywhere need to hear truly empowering, honoring, holistic information about cancer and stop listening to the insanity of the cancer industry and its delusional, victimized spokespeople like Angelina Jolie.

            Celebrating the medical abuse of women

            The mainstream media is heralding Jolie's decision to cut off both her perfectly healthy breasts, announcing Jolie is "admired for bravery." In a NYT op-ed, Jolie wrote, "I hope that other women can benefit from my experience." (No, I'm not making this up. She literally wants other healthy women to cut off their breasts, too…)

            The medical industry, never known to back down from an opportunity to physically abuse women for profit, is jumping on the double mastectomy bandwagon. In a Businessweek article, a genetic counselor named Rebecca Nagy declares, "Having this conversation empowers us all. It's wonderful what she's done."

            Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and "prevent cancer," right?

            The irrationality of Jolie's decision is truly sickening. Even worse is that idea that she may inspire other women to have their healthy bodies maimed, too. If Jolie cut off both legs and called it a "choice" to prevent leg cancer, I have little doubt many women would follow her lead and cut off their legs, too. Jolie herself says she may have her ovaries cut out in the future because they, too, might someday get cancer.

            You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where this medical insanity ultimately leads. Got a risk of kidney cancer? Remove your kidneys. Risk of colon cancer? Take out your colon. Lung cancer, perhaps? Remove your lungs, just in case! That's the logic of Angelina Jolie who has been completely deceived by the cancer industry into maiming her own body based on nothing for medical fear mongering and cancer quackery.

            Never doubt the fact that fear can be an effective marketing tool when it comes to breast cancer, by the way. The cancer industry rakes in billions of dollars a year based on irrational fears spread by misinformed women.

            Medical maiming going viral across the population of sheeple

            There's nothing quite as exciting and heroic as having your body parts chopped off by surgeons and then declaring yourself to be a "pre-vivor" of cancer. Yep, that's the new term. You're not really a "survivor" of cancer, since you never had it. You're a "pre-vivor" because you preempted the cancer.

            Or, just as likely, you got suckered into the most delusional decision of your life and had a bunch of quacks slice off pieces of your body that were perfectly healthy to begin with. This is medical insanity at its worst… especially given that a woman's risk of breast cancer can be reduced by 78% using nothing but vitamin D. Yeah, take some vitamin D and keep your breasts! What a deal, eh?

            Why aren't male cancer doctors cutting off their own testicles?

            You'll note, by the way, that men never have their testicles removed to lower the risk of testicular cancer. Not even the male cancer doctors, oncologists and surgeons who are slicing off women's breasts all day long. Sure, they think cutting off breasts is a great idea, but ask one of them to part with their own testicles to "prevent" cancer, and they'll look at you like you've gone, well, nuts.

            Because cutting off your testicles to prevent testicular cancer that you don't even have would be stupid, of course. Pure quackery. Suggest it to a man you know and you'll either be laughed at or punched in the mouth. No ethical doctor would ever remove a perfectly healthy set of testicles from a man who has no symptoms of testicular cancer. The very idea is absurd and possibly even risking a medical malpractice lawsuit.

            So why is it somehow acceptable to cut off the breasts of "empowered women" who think they are making some sort of social statement by maiming their own perfectly healthy bodies?

            (SNIP story here if you are publishing this on another site. You do not need to include the cancer CD mentioned below…)

            Get answers for cancer… and save your breasts!

            Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

            The CD includes the following discussions:

            The Consciousness of Cancer – The Health Ranger, Mike Adams
            Mike Adams, the founder and editor of NaturalNews.com presents, "The Consciousness of Cancer" — a new way of looking at cancer.

            The Compassionate Oncologist – James Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D
            James W. Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D., has long been considered one of the most respected physicians in the United States. Dr. Forsythe graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and earned his medical degree at UCSF. This presentation reveals a NEW way of caring for cancer patients with an amazing success rate. You'll learn about the most important cancer test available today; Dr. Forsythe's 3-week cancer treatment program plus much more!

            Stop Making Cancer – Thomas Lodi, M.D.
            Thomas Lodi, M.D. completed his medical degree in 1985 from the University of Hawaii. This program will help you understand cancer – like you've never heard before. Discover the best ways to stop making cancer; eliminate cancer cells without harming the body and effectively strengthen the immune system – our ultimate defense against cancer. As Dr. Lodi says, the "bioterrain is everything". This show will teach you how to prevent disease from the inside out.

            Life Over Cancer – Keith I. Block, M.D.
            Keith Block, M.D. is an internationally recognized expert in integrative oncology. Referred to by many as the "father of integrative oncology", Dr. Block has published more than 75 scientific papers and his model of individualized integrative oncology continues to set the standard for the practice of comprehensive cancer care in the United States. This presentation goes way beyond "early detection" and teaches you about the best diet, supplement and exercise routines to promote optimal health.

            Six Pillars of Health – Richard Linchitz, M.D.
            Dr. Richard Linchitz graduated with honors from Cornell University Medical College, and completed his residency at the famed University of California, San Francisco, Moffit Hospital. In 1998, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Dr. Linchitz changed everything about his life, career and overall perspective about medicine. Killing cancer cells is not enough – learn about detoxification, stress reduction techniques, hormone balancing plus much more! Dr. Linchitz believes his 6-step program is the best way to stay healthy – always!

            The Regeneration Effect – John Apsley, MD(E), ND, DC
            Dr. John Apsley is a physician and researcher who for the past 30 years has specialized in the rehabilitation and reversal of chronic degenerative illnesses through accelerated tissue repair and cellular regeneration. Dr. Apsley teaches cancer patients about "The Regeneration Effect – Curing versus Controlling Advanced Cancer". There's a NEW chemistry of cancer remedies – find out about the latest advances in cancer testing; non-toxic cancer treatments plus scientifically proven ways to prevent cancer. The power is in your hands to get healthy today.

            Get the full CD set by clicking here.

            Or listen to the entire seminar for free on May 20th, as we launch our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit.

             

            ————————————————————————————————————-

             

            http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/05/15/quack-view-of-preventing-breast-cancer-versus-reality/

            I should have known it. I should have known that the reaction wouldn’t take very long. I should have known it based on prior history. The news story to which I am referring is, of course, the revelation yesterday in the New York Times editorial page by Angelina Jolie that she had decided to undergo prophylactic bilateral mastectomies (removal of both breasts) because she had learned that she was a BRCA gene mutation carrier, and the particular mutation that she apparently carried portended an 85% lifetime risk of breast cancer. The reaction to which I am referring is, of course, the same sort of despicable reaction that we see all the time from one of the crankiest of quackery-promoting quacks, Mike Adams, publisher of NaturalNews.com.

            This is a man known for not being—shall we say?—shy about using and abusing any celebrity cancer or health story that he comes across in the vilest way his fevered little brain can imagine to promote his favored quackery. He did it, for instance, when Patrick Swayze had pancreatic cancer. Swayze also had the temerity (and smarts) to say that he was eschewing quackery and sticking with science-based medicine, thank you very much:

            If anybody had that cure out there, like so many people swear they do, you’d be two things. You’d be very rich, and you’d be very famous. Otherwise, shut up.

            This, not surprisingly, infuriated Adams, who wrote up quite the tirade about it. Adams was similarly quick to pounce on the deaths of Michael Jackson of a drug overdose, the death of former Bush administration press secretary Tony Snow of colon cancer, and Tim Russert’s death from heart disease. Then, of course, he worked himself into a fine lather of righteous indignation over her “maiming” when Christina Applegate announced that she had undergone bilateral mastectomies for her breast cancer, who also had a BRCA mutation. So you can only imagine what sorts of vile article Adams came up with in response to Jolie’s decision to undergo bilateral mastectomy as a preventative measure, even though she didn’t have cancer yet. Yes, you can tell a lot by the title, Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies.

            Say what you will about Mikey. He’s consistent. Consistently vile. He’s also dead wrong, as usual.

            First, you need to take note. The purpose of this article is blatant, and it’s to sell stuff. After Adams has seemingly gotten his readers all fired up over the horror of Jolie’s decision to “maim” herself, the very last section of the article advertises this:

            Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

            It comes complete with a video (included in Adams’ despicable article) that has to be seen to be believed, entitled The female anatomy of Modern Medicine. In any case, the CD includes a talk by Adams himself entitled The Consciousness of Cancer, which is billed as a “new way” of looking at cancer. No doubt it is, but also no cout it is a way that has nothing to do with science. From the title, my guess is that Adams subscribes to something similar to the German New Medicine or Andreas Moritz’s “wisdom of cancer cells” quackery, in which cancer is represented as a survival mechanism. There are also talks by “luminaries” of the “integrative” oncology and alternative cancer cure world, such as Thomas Lodi, Keith I. Block, and Richard Linchitz. It all looks to be a lot about “detoxification” and woo. (One notes that the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where Jolie had her surgery, is not above capitalizingon her announcement either, with a prominent splash page with a picture of her and a link to the details of her decision.”

            Now that that point is out of the way (and it’s arguably the most important point, which is why I skipped to the end of Adams’ screed first), Let’s get a real taste of what Adams thinks, if you can stand it and if you can call it “thinking”:

            Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

            Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as “three months of medical procedures.”

            …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. “My breasts might murder me!” seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

            And later:

            Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn’t mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women’s groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

            And, the “coup de grace”:

            Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and “prevent cancer,” right?

            The mind boggles.

            One can’t help but note that Adams is indulging in a favorite pastime of quacks every where: Denialism of genetics and wishful thinking that genetics don’t rule. OK, it’s true that in some cases they don’t. If a gene doesn’t have a high penetrance, interacts with other genes, or has an activity that is highly influenced by environment, genetics isn’t always destiny, but in the case of the particular BRCA1 mutation that Jolie reports having, there is an 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Given that breast cancer is a type of cancer that is not highly lifestyle- and diet-dependent (note, that is not to say that lifestyle and diet have no effect, just that the effect tends to be relatively small), no amount of “anticancer lifestyle, “smart nutrition,” and “avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals” is going to lower that 85% chance of breast cancer by very much, no matter how much Adams’ wishful thinking might try to mislead other women that such interventions can.

            Now, it needs to be pointed out here that a BRCA1 mutation, such as the one that Jolie had, is a very special situation, where the risk of cancer is known and very high. I’m normally not a fan of prophylactic surgery, and I tend not to do bilateral mastectomies in my practice except under certain circumstances (such as BRCA1 mutations). Few women fall into that category, and, mutation carriers aside, there is no good evidence that doing bilateral mastectomies for breast cancer improves overall survival and decreases the odds of a woman dying of breast cancer. Personally, I’ve been rather disturbed at how much the demand for bilateral mastectomies has been driven by patients; it hasn’t really been driven by physicians. In this, I’m mostly in agreement with Monica Morrow, one of the most prominent breast surgeons there is, when she says:

            “It’s important to make it clear that a BRCA mutation is a special, high-risk situation,” said Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Sloan-Kettering. For women at very high risk, preventive mastectomy makes sense, but few women fall into that category, she said.

            For women’s health advocates, the trend toward double mastectomies in women who do not have mutations is frustrating. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s proved that for many patients, lumpectomy was as safe as mastectomy, and the findings were seen as a victory for women.

            Even so, there is increasing demand for mastectomy. Dr. Morrow says that she has often tried to talk patients out of it without success. Some imagine their risk of new or recurring cancer to be far higher than it really is. Others think that their breasts will match up better if both are removed and reconstructed.

            And it’s true. Jolie is a special case. We don’t see too many BRCA1 carriers. In Jolie’s case, bilateral mastectomy was entirely appropriate and medically indicated. That’s not always the case for a lot of bilateral mastectomies that are being done these days. Not surprisingly, part of what drove Jolie’s decision was the death of her mother at a young age (56). In any case, I’m not alone in being a bit worried that this announcement will provoke a run of patients demanding what Angelina Jolie had, regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not. Expressing concern about that, as some breast surgeons have in the wake of Jolie’s announcement, however, is not what Adams is about. He is about portraying modern medicine as “maiming” women and implying that it is surgeons who are promoting bilateral mastectomy when in fact the vast majority of us are not. Indeed, the drive over the last 30 years has been towards increasingly less invasive surgery for breast cancer (a trend driven, I would point out, not just by breast cancer advocates but by science and surgeons themselves, at the cost of revenue, given that larger surgeries like mastectomies are certainly better reimbursed than smaller surgeries).

            There are also other issues brought up by Jolie’s decision. For instance, the way she went about it is not entirely science-based. If you peruse the blog post describing the process, you’ll find that she underwent a “nipple delay” procedure, in which the tissue underlying the nipple is cut in order to rule out cancer right behind the nipple and to “improve the blood flow.” The idea is that the nipple delay procedure cuts the normal blood supply to the nipple and “forces” it to rely on the surrounding skin for its blood supply, thus making the chance of nipple necrosis (in which the nipple turns black and falls off due to low blood flow) much less likely. It’s a procedure for which the evidence, in my estimation, is fairly shaky at best and is usually reserved only for patients who have had previous breast surgery around the nipple. After the surgery, Jolie apparently used a whole bunch of supplements at the instruction of the Pink Lotus Breast Center (which is apparently very much into “holistic medicine“), including vitamin C and a homeopathic remedy, Arnica Forte, which, it is claimed, improves wound healing. In her editorial describing her journey, Jolie herself writes:

            I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

            Another issue to discuss might have to wait, as this post is getting long, and I need to wrap it up. (I might revisit this issue again next week on my not-so-super-secret other blog that has my real name on it, not unlike The Name of The Doctor.) Specifically, that’s the issue of BRCA1 testing itself. Myriad Genetics holds the patent on all BRCA testing, which means that it holds a monopoly on the process. No other gene test for BRCA1 is legal right now because Myriad holds the patent on the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. There’s also the issue of Jolie’s extreme wealth, which provides her options average women don’t have, given that insurance companies will sometimes not pay for BRCA testing and preventative surgery. These might well be the topic for another post. In the meantime, contrary to Adams’ spew otherwise, Jolie made a reasonable, medically justifiable decision based on her family history. The only question I have remaining is whether she will remove her ovaries too (no mention was made of it in her op-ed).

            That, and how Mike Adams can live with himself, but that’s a question I’ll probably never have the answer to.

             

            bcl
            Participant

              No thanks

              – particularly after reading this shocking piece by 'Health Ranger' Mike Adams of Natural News  (Comments from a breast cancer surgeon follow) 

               

              http://www.naturalnews.com/040334_Angelina_Jolie_double_mastectomy_breast_cancer_prevention.html

               

              Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies

              Wednesday, May 15, 2013
              by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
              Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles…)
               

              Tags: Cancer, Women, Breast

              (NaturalNews) Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

              Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as "three months of medical procedures."

              …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. "My breasts might murder me!" seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

              Let me set the record straight: Your breasts are not your enemy! The cancer industry is far more likely to kill you than your breasts. (But more on that later…)

              Women's liberation crusade: Off with your breasts!

              Worse than merely maiming herself in an act of outright medical quackery, Angelina Jolie has positioned her decision as some sort of women's liberation crusade, acting and talking as if her "choice" to remove her breasts somehow blazes a new path of female power for all women. (How sick is this, really?)

              Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn't mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women's groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

              A vivacious, confident, healthy woman who protects her fertility and nourishes her unborn child is far more heroic and empowering than someone who maims her own body as some sort of sick sacrifice to the cancer industry. Angelina Jolie, as much as she is often viewed as a symbol of female power, seems to have completely lost touch with the core truths of honoring the "temple" of your own female body.

              Cancer is never limited to just the breast

              Cancer, by the way, is a systemic problem when it emerges, not a local problem limited to just the breasts or other organs. It may be diagnosed in breast tissues, but that's not the only place it's growing. The idea that someone can prevent cancer by just removing their breasts is absurd. If the conditions of cancer are present in the body — due to nutritional deficiencies, exposure to chemicals, radiation, etc. — cancer will develop in many different places, not just breast tissues. Removing an organ that might possibly someday be one of the many locations in which cancer is diagnosed is completely irrational and medically abhorrent. Logically, it's a lot like arguing that you can avoid flat tires on your car by removing all the tires!

              If you really want to learn the truth about cancer — and SAVE your breasts! — get our "New Cancer Solutions" CD set. The third CD is absolutely amazing, offering astounding information that can literally help save your life. You can also hear the entire collection for free during our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit launching next Monday, May 20th.

              If Angelina Jolie had heard the information on these CDs, she would have said, "NO!" to the cancer fear mongers and learned that there are far more effective and empowering ways to protect yourself from cancer. Women everywhere need to hear truly empowering, honoring, holistic information about cancer and stop listening to the insanity of the cancer industry and its delusional, victimized spokespeople like Angelina Jolie.

              Celebrating the medical abuse of women

              The mainstream media is heralding Jolie's decision to cut off both her perfectly healthy breasts, announcing Jolie is "admired for bravery." In a NYT op-ed, Jolie wrote, "I hope that other women can benefit from my experience." (No, I'm not making this up. She literally wants other healthy women to cut off their breasts, too…)

              The medical industry, never known to back down from an opportunity to physically abuse women for profit, is jumping on the double mastectomy bandwagon. In a Businessweek article, a genetic counselor named Rebecca Nagy declares, "Having this conversation empowers us all. It's wonderful what she's done."

              Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and "prevent cancer," right?

              The irrationality of Jolie's decision is truly sickening. Even worse is that idea that she may inspire other women to have their healthy bodies maimed, too. If Jolie cut off both legs and called it a "choice" to prevent leg cancer, I have little doubt many women would follow her lead and cut off their legs, too. Jolie herself says she may have her ovaries cut out in the future because they, too, might someday get cancer.

              You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where this medical insanity ultimately leads. Got a risk of kidney cancer? Remove your kidneys. Risk of colon cancer? Take out your colon. Lung cancer, perhaps? Remove your lungs, just in case! That's the logic of Angelina Jolie who has been completely deceived by the cancer industry into maiming her own body based on nothing for medical fear mongering and cancer quackery.

              Never doubt the fact that fear can be an effective marketing tool when it comes to breast cancer, by the way. The cancer industry rakes in billions of dollars a year based on irrational fears spread by misinformed women.

              Medical maiming going viral across the population of sheeple

              There's nothing quite as exciting and heroic as having your body parts chopped off by surgeons and then declaring yourself to be a "pre-vivor" of cancer. Yep, that's the new term. You're not really a "survivor" of cancer, since you never had it. You're a "pre-vivor" because you preempted the cancer.

              Or, just as likely, you got suckered into the most delusional decision of your life and had a bunch of quacks slice off pieces of your body that were perfectly healthy to begin with. This is medical insanity at its worst… especially given that a woman's risk of breast cancer can be reduced by 78% using nothing but vitamin D. Yeah, take some vitamin D and keep your breasts! What a deal, eh?

              Why aren't male cancer doctors cutting off their own testicles?

              You'll note, by the way, that men never have their testicles removed to lower the risk of testicular cancer. Not even the male cancer doctors, oncologists and surgeons who are slicing off women's breasts all day long. Sure, they think cutting off breasts is a great idea, but ask one of them to part with their own testicles to "prevent" cancer, and they'll look at you like you've gone, well, nuts.

              Because cutting off your testicles to prevent testicular cancer that you don't even have would be stupid, of course. Pure quackery. Suggest it to a man you know and you'll either be laughed at or punched in the mouth. No ethical doctor would ever remove a perfectly healthy set of testicles from a man who has no symptoms of testicular cancer. The very idea is absurd and possibly even risking a medical malpractice lawsuit.

              So why is it somehow acceptable to cut off the breasts of "empowered women" who think they are making some sort of social statement by maiming their own perfectly healthy bodies?

              (SNIP story here if you are publishing this on another site. You do not need to include the cancer CD mentioned below…)

              Get answers for cancer… and save your breasts!

              Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

              The CD includes the following discussions:

              The Consciousness of Cancer – The Health Ranger, Mike Adams
              Mike Adams, the founder and editor of NaturalNews.com presents, "The Consciousness of Cancer" — a new way of looking at cancer.

              The Compassionate Oncologist – James Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D
              James W. Forsythe, M.D., H.M.D., has long been considered one of the most respected physicians in the United States. Dr. Forsythe graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and earned his medical degree at UCSF. This presentation reveals a NEW way of caring for cancer patients with an amazing success rate. You'll learn about the most important cancer test available today; Dr. Forsythe's 3-week cancer treatment program plus much more!

              Stop Making Cancer – Thomas Lodi, M.D.
              Thomas Lodi, M.D. completed his medical degree in 1985 from the University of Hawaii. This program will help you understand cancer – like you've never heard before. Discover the best ways to stop making cancer; eliminate cancer cells without harming the body and effectively strengthen the immune system – our ultimate defense against cancer. As Dr. Lodi says, the "bioterrain is everything". This show will teach you how to prevent disease from the inside out.

              Life Over Cancer – Keith I. Block, M.D.
              Keith Block, M.D. is an internationally recognized expert in integrative oncology. Referred to by many as the "father of integrative oncology", Dr. Block has published more than 75 scientific papers and his model of individualized integrative oncology continues to set the standard for the practice of comprehensive cancer care in the United States. This presentation goes way beyond "early detection" and teaches you about the best diet, supplement and exercise routines to promote optimal health.

              Six Pillars of Health – Richard Linchitz, M.D.
              Dr. Richard Linchitz graduated with honors from Cornell University Medical College, and completed his residency at the famed University of California, San Francisco, Moffit Hospital. In 1998, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Dr. Linchitz changed everything about his life, career and overall perspective about medicine. Killing cancer cells is not enough – learn about detoxification, stress reduction techniques, hormone balancing plus much more! Dr. Linchitz believes his 6-step program is the best way to stay healthy – always!

              The Regeneration Effect – John Apsley, MD(E), ND, DC
              Dr. John Apsley is a physician and researcher who for the past 30 years has specialized in the rehabilitation and reversal of chronic degenerative illnesses through accelerated tissue repair and cellular regeneration. Dr. Apsley teaches cancer patients about "The Regeneration Effect – Curing versus Controlling Advanced Cancer". There's a NEW chemistry of cancer remedies – find out about the latest advances in cancer testing; non-toxic cancer treatments plus scientifically proven ways to prevent cancer. The power is in your hands to get healthy today.

              Get the full CD set by clicking here.

              Or listen to the entire seminar for free on May 20th, as we launch our New Cancer Solutions Healing Summit.

               

              ————————————————————————————————————-

               

              http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/05/15/quack-view-of-preventing-breast-cancer-versus-reality/

              I should have known it. I should have known that the reaction wouldn’t take very long. I should have known it based on prior history. The news story to which I am referring is, of course, the revelation yesterday in the New York Times editorial page by Angelina Jolie that she had decided to undergo prophylactic bilateral mastectomies (removal of both breasts) because she had learned that she was a BRCA gene mutation carrier, and the particular mutation that she apparently carried portended an 85% lifetime risk of breast cancer. The reaction to which I am referring is, of course, the same sort of despicable reaction that we see all the time from one of the crankiest of quackery-promoting quacks, Mike Adams, publisher of NaturalNews.com.

              This is a man known for not being—shall we say?—shy about using and abusing any celebrity cancer or health story that he comes across in the vilest way his fevered little brain can imagine to promote his favored quackery. He did it, for instance, when Patrick Swayze had pancreatic cancer. Swayze also had the temerity (and smarts) to say that he was eschewing quackery and sticking with science-based medicine, thank you very much:

              If anybody had that cure out there, like so many people swear they do, you’d be two things. You’d be very rich, and you’d be very famous. Otherwise, shut up.

              This, not surprisingly, infuriated Adams, who wrote up quite the tirade about it. Adams was similarly quick to pounce on the deaths of Michael Jackson of a drug overdose, the death of former Bush administration press secretary Tony Snow of colon cancer, and Tim Russert’s death from heart disease. Then, of course, he worked himself into a fine lather of righteous indignation over her “maiming” when Christina Applegate announced that she had undergone bilateral mastectomies for her breast cancer, who also had a BRCA mutation. So you can only imagine what sorts of vile article Adams came up with in response to Jolie’s decision to undergo bilateral mastectomy as a preventative measure, even though she didn’t have cancer yet. Yes, you can tell a lot by the title, Angelina Jolie inspires women to maim themselves by celebrating medically perverted double mastectomies.

              Say what you will about Mikey. He’s consistent. Consistently vile. He’s also dead wrong, as usual.

              First, you need to take note. The purpose of this article is blatant, and it’s to sell stuff. After Adams has seemingly gotten his readers all fired up over the horror of Jolie’s decision to “maim” herself, the very last section of the article advertises this:

              Inform yourself and you can protect your body from the insane, knife-wielding cancer surgeons. Get the New Cancer Solutions CD set and empower yourself with real answers rather than cancer industry disinformation and deadly propaganda.

              It comes complete with a video (included in Adams’ despicable article) that has to be seen to be believed, entitled The female anatomy of Modern Medicine. In any case, the CD includes a talk by Adams himself entitled The Consciousness of Cancer, which is billed as a “new way” of looking at cancer. No doubt it is, but also no cout it is a way that has nothing to do with science. From the title, my guess is that Adams subscribes to something similar to the German New Medicine or Andreas Moritz’s “wisdom of cancer cells” quackery, in which cancer is represented as a survival mechanism. There are also talks by “luminaries” of the “integrative” oncology and alternative cancer cure world, such as Thomas Lodi, Keith I. Block, and Richard Linchitz. It all looks to be a lot about “detoxification” and woo. (One notes that the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where Jolie had her surgery, is not above capitalizingon her announcement either, with a prominent splash page with a picture of her and a link to the details of her decision.”

              Now that that point is out of the way (and it’s arguably the most important point, which is why I skipped to the end of Adams’ screed first), Let’s get a real taste of what Adams thinks, if you can stand it and if you can call it “thinking”:

              Angelina Jolie announced yesterday that she had both of her breasts surgically removed even though she had no breast cancer. She carries the BRCA1 gene, and she has been tricked into believing that genetic code is some sort of absolute blueprint to disease expression — which it most certainly is not. Countless millions of women carry the BRCA1 gene and never express breast cancer because they lead healthy, anti-cancer lifestyles based on smart nutrition, exercise, sensible sunlight exposure and avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals.

              Jolie, like many other women who have been deluded by cancer quackery, decided the best way to prevent the risk of breast cancer was not to lead a healthy, anti-cancer lifestyle, but rather to surgically remove her breasts in what she describes as “three months of medical procedures.”

              …just in case, you know. Because you can never be too careful these days, with the cancer industry scaring women half to death at every opportunity. “My breasts might murder me!” seems to be the slogan of many women these days, all of whom are victims of outrageous cancer industry propaganda and fear mongering.

              And later:

              Oh, what a mess Jolie has made of herself. She has maimed her own body with no medical justification whatsoever, then celebrated this horrible disfiguration through some sort of twisted perception of what womanhood really is. Being an empowered woman doesn’t mean cutting off your breasts and aborting live babies — even though both of these things are often celebrated by delusional women’s groups. Being an empowered woman means protecting your health, your body and your womanhood by honoring and respecting your body, not maiming it.

              And, the “coup de grace”:

              Wonderful? To cut off parts of your body that have NO disease? With this logic, abortions are cancer prevention, too, because those babies might one day grow up and develop tumors. Better to kill them early and “prevent cancer,” right?

              The mind boggles.

              One can’t help but note that Adams is indulging in a favorite pastime of quacks every where: Denialism of genetics and wishful thinking that genetics don’t rule. OK, it’s true that in some cases they don’t. If a gene doesn’t have a high penetrance, interacts with other genes, or has an activity that is highly influenced by environment, genetics isn’t always destiny, but in the case of the particular BRCA1 mutation that Jolie reports having, there is an 85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Given that breast cancer is a type of cancer that is not highly lifestyle- and diet-dependent (note, that is not to say that lifestyle and diet have no effect, just that the effect tends to be relatively small), no amount of “anticancer lifestyle, “smart nutrition,” and “avoidance of cancer-causing chemicals” is going to lower that 85% chance of breast cancer by very much, no matter how much Adams’ wishful thinking might try to mislead other women that such interventions can.

              Now, it needs to be pointed out here that a BRCA1 mutation, such as the one that Jolie had, is a very special situation, where the risk of cancer is known and very high. I’m normally not a fan of prophylactic surgery, and I tend not to do bilateral mastectomies in my practice except under certain circumstances (such as BRCA1 mutations). Few women fall into that category, and, mutation carriers aside, there is no good evidence that doing bilateral mastectomies for breast cancer improves overall survival and decreases the odds of a woman dying of breast cancer. Personally, I’ve been rather disturbed at how much the demand for bilateral mastectomies has been driven by patients; it hasn’t really been driven by physicians. In this, I’m mostly in agreement with Monica Morrow, one of the most prominent breast surgeons there is, when she says:

              “It’s important to make it clear that a BRCA mutation is a special, high-risk situation,” said Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Sloan-Kettering. For women at very high risk, preventive mastectomy makes sense, but few women fall into that category, she said.

              For women’s health advocates, the trend toward double mastectomies in women who do not have mutations is frustrating. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s proved that for many patients, lumpectomy was as safe as mastectomy, and the findings were seen as a victory for women.

              Even so, there is increasing demand for mastectomy. Dr. Morrow says that she has often tried to talk patients out of it without success. Some imagine their risk of new or recurring cancer to be far higher than it really is. Others think that their breasts will match up better if both are removed and reconstructed.

              And it’s true. Jolie is a special case. We don’t see too many BRCA1 carriers. In Jolie’s case, bilateral mastectomy was entirely appropriate and medically indicated. That’s not always the case for a lot of bilateral mastectomies that are being done these days. Not surprisingly, part of what drove Jolie’s decision was the death of her mother at a young age (56). In any case, I’m not alone in being a bit worried that this announcement will provoke a run of patients demanding what Angelina Jolie had, regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not. Expressing concern about that, as some breast surgeons have in the wake of Jolie’s announcement, however, is not what Adams is about. He is about portraying modern medicine as “maiming” women and implying that it is surgeons who are promoting bilateral mastectomy when in fact the vast majority of us are not. Indeed, the drive over the last 30 years has been towards increasingly less invasive surgery for breast cancer (a trend driven, I would point out, not just by breast cancer advocates but by science and surgeons themselves, at the cost of revenue, given that larger surgeries like mastectomies are certainly better reimbursed than smaller surgeries).

              There are also other issues brought up by Jolie’s decision. For instance, the way she went about it is not entirely science-based. If you peruse the blog post describing the process, you’ll find that she underwent a “nipple delay” procedure, in which the tissue underlying the nipple is cut in order to rule out cancer right behind the nipple and to “improve the blood flow.” The idea is that the nipple delay procedure cuts the normal blood supply to the nipple and “forces” it to rely on the surrounding skin for its blood supply, thus making the chance of nipple necrosis (in which the nipple turns black and falls off due to low blood flow) much less likely. It’s a procedure for which the evidence, in my estimation, is fairly shaky at best and is usually reserved only for patients who have had previous breast surgery around the nipple. After the surgery, Jolie apparently used a whole bunch of supplements at the instruction of the Pink Lotus Breast Center (which is apparently very much into “holistic medicine“), including vitamin C and a homeopathic remedy, Arnica Forte, which, it is claimed, improves wound healing. In her editorial describing her journey, Jolie herself writes:

              I acknowledge that there are many wonderful holistic doctors working on alternatives to surgery. My own regimen will be posted in due course on the Web site of the Pink Lotus Breast Center. I hope that this will be helpful to other women.

              Another issue to discuss might have to wait, as this post is getting long, and I need to wrap it up. (I might revisit this issue again next week on my not-so-super-secret other blog that has my real name on it, not unlike The Name of The Doctor.) Specifically, that’s the issue of BRCA1 testing itself. Myriad Genetics holds the patent on all BRCA testing, which means that it holds a monopoly on the process. No other gene test for BRCA1 is legal right now because Myriad holds the patent on the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. There’s also the issue of Jolie’s extreme wealth, which provides her options average women don’t have, given that insurance companies will sometimes not pay for BRCA testing and preventative surgery. These might well be the topic for another post. In the meantime, contrary to Adams’ spew otherwise, Jolie made a reasonable, medically justifiable decision based on her family history. The only question I have remaining is whether she will remove her ovaries too (no mention was made of it in her op-ed).

              That, and how Mike Adams can live with himself, but that’s a question I’ll probably never have the answer to.

               

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