chicken soup for the soul...i mean tumor

This afternoon I discovered that my favourite blogger in the world, Ms. Dooce, has published a 2006 calendar featuring her dog, Chuck. We love Chuck, especially in his cow costume. Anyways. Dooce and her man used the free self publishing website lulu.com. I'd never heard of it before and so I decided to poke around. And the best way to get a feel for places is to look at their most popular pages.

So I go to lulu.com's 100 most popular books. And at #25 is HOME COOKING TO CURE CANCER by Jollie Harris. There were a couple of other cancer books in there - "Discovering the CAN in cancer" etc, along with a crap load of tech/computer/programming stuff. But it was this tiny excerpt that got me clicking through to the full listing of Mr. Harris' book:

--This book will help reduce and destroy most diseases - it is a food program not a diet. God's miracle foods will reverse: Cancer, Aids, Sugar Diabetes, Uncontrollable Stomachs, Heart Attacks, Asthma, Glaucoma, Aneurisms, Alzheimer, Weight, Colds, Kidneys, Allergies, Female Menstrual, Hormonal & Menopause Problems, the Bladder, Blood Pressure, Pancreas, Lupus, ADD, Acid Reflux, the Colon, and restores Blood Cells.
  --I'm a Servant, Messenger & Do-er of God's (continued..)

The comments/reviews at the bottom of the listing are as priceless as they come. READ THEM. Because people, they SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

Of course now I should take the time to admit that yes, some cancers seem to have dietary associations (bowel: read meat/lack of fiber for example). Maintaining a healthy diet while undergoing cancer treatment is also imperative and can even improve treatment success. For example, the fatty acids in fish oils have been shown to inhibit tumor growth and improve chemo outcomes. But it would take a TOTAL CRACK HEAD to think that a miraculous salmon steak (or 1000) could shrink their brain tumor. Or that a heavy dose of fish oil pills will cure lung cancer, as suggested by this recent article.

To be honest, if I am ever diagnosed with cancer I'll be eating so many salmon steaks, whole grains and dark leafy vegetables that no one will be able to stand the air around me. I will probably find as much psychological support as I can, too, which is thought to slightly improve treatment outcomes (though mine will not be religious in nature). But I'll still be on the best drugs and radiotherapy that money can buy.

If books like "Home Cooking.." stop or even SLOW people from seeking the appropriate treatment, the only miracle will be Mr. Harris' guilt-free slumbers.

 

Comments

[Katie]

I really do find all this stuff quite horrifying. There is no denying that eating healthily will help your body to fight nasty illnesses but curing cancer? And AIDS? I somehow think not. Agh.