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Mother of all myths

We certainly need to dispel the many myths surrounding cancer. Your report, Do Not Avoid Chicken To Fight Cancer (ST Life!, May 5), is, unfortunately, based on the biggest myth of all.

The mother of all cancer myths is this: Doctors know the whole truth about cancer and anything else is a myth.

What Drs Teo and Khoo say is merely based on their personal knowledge and understanding. It is not the absolute truth. Nor is it the entire truth.

For example, your article reports: "The truth is that chemotherapy is beneficial for certain cancers ..."

Well, it is equally true that a number of medical studies found that cancer patients who do not receive chemotherapy, radiation or other medical treatment tend to live longer and suffer less discomfort.

Dr Khoo went on to cite the example of his patient with breast cancer who declined surgery, went on a macrobiotic diet and "her condition has worsened".

While this one incident may be true, it is again equally true that, worldwide, thousands of people have recovered from cancer - and other life-threatening illnesses - by adopting a macrobiotic diet based around whole grains, vegetables, beans and seaweed.

These survivors included medical doctors such as Dr Anthony Sattilaro, author of Recalled By Life, and Dr Hugh Faulkner, author of Physician Heal Thyself.

Dr Sattilaro lived for about 12 years after he was diagnosed with cancer that had spread to five different parts of his body, while Dr Faulkner lived seven years after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

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Unscientific

The medical profession is often quick to dismiss these recovery stories as anecdotal evidence which is unscientific and therefore unimportant.

Yet, Dr Khoo finds it important to highlight this one equally unscientific anecdote of one person who did not get better.

The statement that chicken and eggs are among the foods that a cancer patient needs is just as unscientific. It is based simply on the understanding that chicken and eggs are rich in protein.

But other foods, including soy beans and fermented soy bean products like miso, are also rich in protein. More importantly, these foods have been proven scientifically to possess anti-cancer properties.

Scientific literature is rich with studies showing that all sorts of grains, beans and vegetables help fight cancer.

Have there been any scientific studies which show that chicken and eggs can do the same job? That cancer patients really need to eat chicken and eggs, meaning they will definitely die if they don't?

On the contrary, there are plenty of scientific studies which show that a high meat diet contributes either directly or indirectly to the development of many types of cancer.

Is there even anecdotal evidence of people who recovered from cancer by eating chicken, eggs and meat? I have not come across any before.

Yet, I know of many cancer patients who recovered fully, or whose conditions improved significantly - meaning they suffered less pain, felt more energetic, etc -after they switched to a vegetarian or macrobiotic diet (which includes fish in certain cases).

Sure, going vegetarian or macrobiotic will not guarantee recovery from cancer. Just as seeking medical treatment is also no guarantee.

But if there are any vegetarians who recovered from cancer after they started eating meat, I would love to hear from them.

Signed,

Richard Seah
President, The Macrobiotics Society