Search and destroy I'm never sure whether to laugh or cry when I hear some mainstream researcher on the news talking about his latest "revolutionary" discovery that a natural treatment works better than a patented pharmaceutical drug. Don't get me wrong: The more good press natural medicine receives, the better. But I hate seeing these guys acting like they invented or discovered something that has been around forever -- and that natural medicine physicians have been recommending for nearly as long.
The latest "discovery" came from Dr. Stephen Rosenberg and his colleagues at the National Institutes of Health who decided that, instead of using chemotherapy or radiation to fight cancer, they would try a "radical" approach: Using the body's own immune system.
The researchers mixed cells that seek out cancer with immune cells that destroy things and tested the resulting formula in 17 patients battling advanced melanoma. While the treatment only worked in two of the patients, the results were enough to spark interest and excitement among cancer "experts." One of them even went so far as to say that this therapy marks "the beginning of a new chapter in treating cancer patients."
That's a bit rich, isn't it?
Rosenberg and the other researchers did develop a new type of genetically engineered therapy, so I'll give them credit for that. And their intentions -- to develop an alternative to the conventional cancer-fighting treatments that are usually worse than the disease itself -- were good.
But boosting immune function to fight off disease is hardly a revolutionary concept. And you don't need an experimental, genetically engineered injection to do it. Eating a healthy diet free of dairy and refined sugar and carbohydrates will get you at least halfway there. And there are dozens and dozens of nutrients that can help boost your efforts even further -- particularly antioxidants like vitamins C, E, and beta carotene.
And when it comes to skin cancer prevention specifically, there are numerous natural strategies you can try that have a much better success rate than Rosenberg's test-tube "smart bomb."
For a complete discussion on Dr. Wright's tips for preventing skin cancer, refer back to the June 2002 issue of Nutrition & Healing. Current subscribers can download this issue for free by visiting www.wrightnewsletter.com and logging on with the username and password listed on page 8 of your most recent issue. Source: "Therapy turns patients' cells into cancer smart bombs," CNN.com (www.cnn.com), 8/31/06 |
