Cancer Wars: How Politics Shapes What We Know and Don't Know About Cancer |
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Author:
Robert N. Proctor
By Basic Books
Average Customer Rating:   
List Price: $25.00
Our Price: $6.95
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Product Description
Draws on six representative case studies to demonstrate the varied ways in which politics has shaped the basic prevention and treatment of cancer, outlining special interest groups, government agencies, scientists, and others that have manipulated information.
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The Politics of History Writing, 2002-01-26
Professor Proctor uses many words to talk about prevention, even mentions on page 145 quoting one Thomas Culliney of the USDA Forest Service, listing a number of fruits and vegetables "...are outstanding sources of vitamins A and C--both of which may play a role in reducing human cancers." Yet apparently no mention of Linus Pauling, Ph. D., or Max Gerson, M.D., the earlier researchers who vigorously stressed their importance in treatment and prevention of cancer. (1), (2). While "Genetic Hopes" (Chapter 10) are promoted, he omits any mention of the seminal discoveries of Otto Warburg, M.D., Ph.D., who has been described as "the greatest biochemist of the twentieth century", of cancer cell metabolism, as early as 1923. These discoveries have been discussed in articles in the journal "Science" about 1956 (which was a translated speech Dr. Warburg gave before the German Cancer Control Commission in 1955) and later articles by Dr. Warburg (3). He and his pupil Dean Burk stated "1000 papers" supported their conclusions, yet Proctor makes no reference to him in about 360 references. Max Gerson, M.D., referenced Otto Warburg as authoriity for his treatment (1). In a 1967 statement on "the prime cause of cancer", Dr. Warburg wrote regarding cancer prevention (3):
"To prevent cancer it is therefore proposed first to keep the speed of the bloodstream so high that the venous blood still contains sufficient oxygen; second, to keep high the concentration of haemoglobin in the blood; third, to add always to the food, even of healthy people, the active groups of the respiratory enzymes: and to increase the dose of these groups, if a pre-cancerous state has already developed. If at the same time exogenous carcinogens are rigorously excluded, then much more endogenous cancer might be prevented today." However, there is no mention of Dr. Warburg or this statement by him in this book! Otto Warburg, M.D. won the 1931 Nobel Prize and was nominated for two others, 1926 and 1944. Linus Pauling won the 1954 Nobel Prize for Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Prize for Peace. The omission of these two giants of science is very puzzling.
(1) "A Cancer Therapy Results of Fifty Cases" by Max Gerson, M.D., The Gerson Institute, 1958, 5th Edition.
(2) "Cancer and Vitamin C", by Ewan Cameron and Linus Pauling, Camino Books, Philadelphia, 1993.
(3) "Otto Warburg Cell Physiologist Biochemist and Eccentric" by Hans Krebs and Roswitha Schmid, Clarendon Press-Oxford (1981).
Essential reading for everyone, 2000-04-12
I ardently wish that everyone- simply everyone- would read this book: it would save a great many lives. The author bulldozes through society's ideological rubbish and presents cancer in a fresh, new light. It is the responsibility of individual persons to uncover the true nature of the medical establishment, to see its goodness as well as its greed and gore, and to plan an escape route from this American epidemic. Prevention is almost everything, but preparation is also critical. This book will assist you in both endeavors. It is a magnificently informative, enjoyable, and eloquent book. Six stars.
Excellent social history of American views about cancer., 1999-02-05
American views of the causes of cancer are only partly the result of developing science. Proctor shows how our ideas about this disease were influenced by prominent spokespeople with special interests and by broader social trends. He wisely questions our prevailing policy of cure rather than prevention.
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.994
EAN: 9780465027569
ISBN: 0465027563
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 1995-03
Publisher: Basic Books
Studio: Basic Books |
