Taking a stand
For all of the ruckus it caused, you'd have thought it was Barack Obama and John McCain that had joined together across party lines for the common good. But it turned out just to be news anchors from the three major TV networks -- ABC, CBS, and NBC -- who took a "bipartisan" stance on fighting cancer. Teaming up with them were numerous celebrities and Major League Baseball stars. This random ensemble is part of a new initiative called Stand Up to Cancer, which intends to raise donations to recruit and fund "dream teams" of researchers from across the country to undertake "both basic and advanced cancer research." In theory, it's a great idea: skirting some of the red tape involved in medical research by getting the public involved. And the all-star roster of spokespeople for the initiative is helping to start things off on the right foot, with the Major League Baseball Association kicking in a hefty $10 million donation towards research funding. But here's my concern: All of the money collected by the Stand Up to Cancer initiative will go into one big pool. From there, The American Association for Cancer Research will sift through all of the research proposals sent in by the supposed scientific "dream teams" and award research grants to the ones they like best -- "under the direction of a scientific advisory committee comprised of well-known cancer researchers." But the American Association for Cancer Research and these "well-known cancer researchers" have been on the job for decades, and, in all of that time, how many studies have you heard about regarding natural cancer killers? Unfortunately, I suspect that the favor that's been given over the years to chemotherapeutic drugs and treatments like radiation will continue, with the most funding awarded to the "dream teams" looking for "new and improved" versions of these lackluster approaches. Meanwhile, since this is the mainstream we're talking about -- both media- and medicine-wise -- research into natural cancer-fighting alternatives will likely continue to go largely underfunded and ignored. Of course, that doesn't mean that it won't continue. New studies come out every day supporting the role of herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other natural approaches for preventing and treating cancer. And REAL news like that is precisely the kind of information that Dr. Wright and I strive to give you in the eTips and in Nutrition & Healing. Just don't expect to hear about any of it as part of this new "Stand Up to Cancer" initiative. Source:
"Initiative links celebrities to cancer research," HealthDay News (www.healthday.com), 5/29/08 | 
