Cancer Myths and Urban Legends

 Laurl at ONS 

Welcome to the ONS Hot Topic Chats! Today’s expert is Wendy Vogel, who will be talking with us about any and all questions you have regarding Cancer Myths and Urban Legends. Welcome Wendy!

 whvogel 

Thank you so much Laurl and thanks to everyone for attending!

 whvogel 

So where are ya'll from?? As you can tell, I am from east TN

 whvogel 

So I am interested to hear what your burning questions are about cancer myths!

 whvogel 

For example has anyone heard the myth that antiperspirant causes breast cancer?

 cnoonan 

We get that question a lot.

 whvogel 

That is one of the funniest ones to me! Although antiperspirant prevents you from perspiring, the fear is that body deposits toxins in lymph nodes and then these toxins lead to cancer.

 whvogel 

This is not true! Sweat contains water, urea, and salt, NOT TOXINS, and our sweat glands are not connected to lymph nodes!

 smink001 

Speaking of toxins, what is the scoop about "colon cleansing"? Do you know what it is and could it be harmful?

 whvogel 

That is a great question....when my patients ask me something like this, I go to a website called quackwatch…

 whvogel 

This actually is not new...has been around for thousands of years. The theory behind this is that stagnation of the large intestine can cause toxins to form and poison the body.

 miami 

What is available for the community on popular myths? Any pamphlets?

 whvogel 

The FDA actually classifies this (colon cleansing) as "Class II device" that cannot be legally marketed except for medically indicated colon cleansing.

 whvogel 

No system has been approved for routine colon cleansing to promote the general well being of a patient and not for prevention of a cancer.

 whvogel 

The next question was about community information and pamphlets

 whvogel 

Well, the ACS (American Cancer Society) has a great website that addresses the top 10 cancer myths.

 whvogel 

I do not know of any specific pamphlets- does anyone else here know?

 whvogel 

I do use some other websites though....

 whvogel 

I love www.quackwatch.org- this website is great for health care professionals and may be somewhat hard to read though for people with poor reading skills.

 pavila 

Other than the quackwatch website, what do you recommend?

 whvogel 

www.snopes.com is another website...especially for those scary emails we all get about the latest cancer cause.

 whvogel 

Another is hoaxkill or Truthorfiction.com

 whvogel 

www.hoaxbuster.org is another

 jj 

What about the myth about not eating/drinking anything from plastic (cups/tupperware,etc.) as it causes cancer?

 miami 

Cell phones and brain tumors

 whvogel 

Another great question...this comes up a lot

 pavila 

What about genetically modified foods?

 whvogel 

RE: plastics: the worry is that by freezing, or heating by microwaves will release a toxin called DEHA that could possible cause cancer

 whvogel 

And this could be carcinogenic; however there is no definitive evidence that this contaminant (which is actually present) actually will cause a problem with our health.

 jj 

Interesting, I know people who won't give their kids drinks in a sippy cup-everything goes in glass.

 whvogel 

DEHA is plasticizer and is a softening compound that when added to plastic products to make them more pliable. It has in the past been regarded as a carcinogen but recently the US environmental Protection agency removed it from the toxic chemical list.

 Estella 

Our non-chemo nurses are frequently asking our oncology nurses to administer Megace. Safety is important, and a true antineoplastic would require a chemo nurse, but can't these non-chemo nurses administer Megace?

 whvogel 

The next question is genetically modified food

 whvogel 

just a second...looking this up

 whvogel 

RE: food: that is a great question....none of my usual sites are giving any info...this sometimes happens...

 whvogel 

That means there are no clinical trials that look at this...what I am finding is that there are no recommendations in regard to cancer, cancer prevention at this time…

 whvogel 

That may be a stay tuned message!! Maybe a smart oncology nurse could do a clinical trial on this!

 whvogel 

The next question is about Megace and safety. There is some great information on the hot topic archives on Safe handling.

 Laurl at ONS 

You can find all of the archives at the Hot Topic website (www.ons.org - CNE Central- Chats- Hot Topics- Past Chats).

 Estella 

Thank you

 whvogel 

Many nurses are fearful of handling chemotherapy and sometimes the myth of this might inhibit good patient care.

 whvogel 

You are welcome.

 Laurl at ONS 

Wendy, what's up with the electric power lines and the myth (or reality) that this can cause brain cancer?

 whvogel 

Electric power lines have been a concern since about 1979 when a single flawed epidemiological study alleged that the government and power industry were engaged in a cover up...

 whvogel 

Subsequent epidemiologic studies have failed to find a consistent or significant effect.

 whvogel 

This has, however, cost the US over 1 billion dollar a year in minimizing these "cancer-causing fields” by rerouting electrical power lines....a HUGE cost for a non-existent problem.

 cathyb 

Hi Wendy, I am wondering what you are hearing from patients in your practice regarding Vitamin D levels and the incidence of cancer.

 whvogel 

The vitamin D question is great!!! I am actually telling patients that taking vitamin D is a good thing!

 whvogel 

Vitamin D is found to be deficient in many women diagnosed with breast cancer...

 finnekp 

How do you decide who to test for vitamin D deficiency?

 cathyb 

Are you drawing Vitamin D levels on your patients?

 whvogel 

There is growing evidence that vitamin D lowers the risk of breast cancer with calcium in premenopausal women.

 whvogel 

There is also evidence that vitamin D can shrink large breast tumors and slows progression of breast cancer

 whvogel 

There is also evidence that vit D may offer protection in prostate cancer and colon cancer.

 whvogel 

There appears to be an association between adequate levels of vit D and a 50% decrease in colorectal cancer risk.

 whvogel 

The appropriate test is a blood test 25(OH)D... and the normal ranges are around 40-65 ng/mL

 Estella 

Would you say 15 minutes of direct sunlight isn't bad?

 whvogel 

People who are obese, elderly African American, and with certain diseases are more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D...

 sokolts 

Has anyone heard if antibiotics can lead to cancer? Or If aspirin or turmeric can help prevent cancer??

 cathyb 

I have not seen these studies on slow progression of breast tumors, but would be interested in seeing them. The PCPs are drawing Vit. D on many patients.

 whvogel 

vitamin D can only be obtained by sunlight (UVB) and diet and nutritional supplements

 whvogel 

Sunlight is the primary source of vit D but usually will not adequately replace deficiency.

 whvogel 

It is also hard to get from our diet.

 whvogel 

I would draw levels if I suspect a deficiency...(lack of sunlight, elderly, osteoporotic, osteopenic, etc)…

 whvogel 

There are no guidelines as yet....

 pavila 

How do you respond to the cell phone precautions from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute?

 cathyb 

I think we must be careful in discussing issues like Vit D and how that relates to cancer since the evidence is not that strong. Keeping up with the evidence is the best course to take. While I realize this takes a great of time, it is essential to providing our patients with the best information.

 whvogel 

The next question was about antibiotics and cancer.

 whvogel 

Antibiotics can help resolve such cancers such as those tumors MALT lymphoma and H pylori.

 whvogel 

I am unaware of any antibiotic causing cancer however.

 sokolts 

How about prevention of cancer with antiinflammatories such as turmeric and aspirin?

 whvogel 

Turmeric is also called turmeric….

 whvogel 

It is on the pregnancy watch list….

 sokolts 

Antiinflammatory diet, etc?

 whvogel 

It is also been listed on the 125 fake cancer cures that consumers should be concerned about...in may 2008, the FDA sent warning letters to 23 US companies warning them from claiming to cure or prevent cancer.

 whvogel 

(that was turmeric (cucumin)

 whvogel 

There are some studies examining aspirin and the prevention of colorectal cancer.

 whvogel 

That is a stay-tuned message!!

 whvogel 

We are also looking at other COX 2 inhibitors in cancer prevention

 whvogel 

By anti-inflammatory diet do you mean a macrobiotic diet?

 sokolts 

Alkalying foods- myth?

 whvogel 

I cannot find either on my websites...however there are a lot of trials that have looked at foods...however this is mostly retrospective studies...

 sokolts 

Just a diet that prevents inflammation such as foods that contain Omega- 3, veggies, olive oil, etc.

 whvogel 

It is very hard to do a prospective study with nutrition!! (how many of us cheat on our diets!!!)

 whvogel 

We can only guess by looking back...the problem is there are so many other confounding factors when we look at diets and the cause of cancer or treatment of cancer.

 whvogel 

There is nothing to refute this or to support it

 Laurl at ONS 

To chat participants: about the other "unusual" myths your patients have mentioned to you?

 whvogel 

Macrobiotics was very popular...a semi-vegetarian diet...

 whvogel 

Michio Kushi, Mass claims that cancer is due to improper diet and thinking and way of life...he says chew your food at least 50 times per mouthful!!!

 Laurl at ONS 

Wendy, what about cell phones? Myth?

 whvogel 

Cell phones are the same as the power lines issue mentioned earlier.

 whvogel 

This has been a fear, but has not proven to be true!!!

 eat1 

Alkaline diets and body pH in cancer treatment?

 whvogel 

Looking...

 eat1 

We've had a few patients that were religious with salt reduction, would not even allow saline to be used in line flushes.

 whvogel 

Drinking alkaline or taking calcium supplements will not change the pH of your blood...dietary modifications will not change the pH of your blood, only your urine,,,,so this is not an issue.

 whvogel 

Wow, those patients were serious...

 eat1 

YES

 whvogel 

What was their reasoning?

 eat1 

Challenging cases

 eat1 

It was all about pH.

 whvogel 

No cells can live in an alkaline environment, not just cancer cells!

 eat1 

Exactly.

 sokolts 

I think the truth is, is that our bodies are pretty efficient at maintaining a slightly alkaline state through buffering systems- renal, respiratory.

 whvogel 

You got it!

 Laurl at ONS 

Ok, Wendy, how about the ubiquitous shark cartilage?

 sokolts 

People probably wish diet had more to do with cancer prevention/treatment- since they have control over this aspect of their life.

 whvogel 

Shark cartilage has found to have moderate anti-angiogenic effect in LAB experiments...

 whvogel 

It has not been demonstrated in humans that eating shark cartilage will inhibit cancer growth...

 whvogel 

This claim was made by a book by William Lane called "Sharks don't get cancer".

 sokolts 

Green tea?

 whvogel 

But guess what ??? Sharks do get cancer and even in their cartilage!!

 eat1 

I did have a young relapse post BMT ALL that saw a holistic care provider that suggested alkaline dieting.

 eat1 

It's out there.

 whvogel 

Green tea can decrease the effectiveness of VELCADE, so needless to say some herbals, etc could effect a patient’s treatment!

 whvogel 

Also the FDA denied that green tea would reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

 R Affield 

What do most of you tell your patients on tx about herbal and other supplements?

 sokolts 

I've heard that taking high doses of Vit C is not recommended during cancer treatment.

 whvogel 

There are ongoing trials in prostate cancer, lung cancer...animal studies in HIV.

 whvogel 

I tell patients that the bottom line is that we don’t know!!

 whvogel 

I ask them to talk with their pharmacists too...they are a valuable resource!!

 ms3759 

Is there any truth in that rubbing your elbows or bony prominences can raise your counts faster? My patients insist it works

 sokolts 

I have several patients taking green blue algae or spirulina.

 whvogel 

I always remember that there have actually been trials with negative results like the Caret trial that looked at two supplements and lung cancer in smokers that actually increased the smokers’ risk !!!

 whvogel 

Vitamin c: preclinical trials suggest that it may interfere with chemo....

 whvogel 

Large prevention trial said that C and E does not decrease prostate cancer risk

 whvogel 

So...that means we have to be very careful and know what our patients are taking!!

 whvogel 

Ok the elbow rubbing...

 whvogel 

NEVER heard of that....where did you hear it!!!??

 whvogel 

The algae…

 whvogel 

False claim...it was supposed to be a "safe diet pill"…

 eat1 

Affield~ Our facility has a alternative therapies physician that helps us understand some modalities, but generally an answer can not be evidence based.

 ms3759 

A couple of patients mentioned it and although probably coincidental their particular counts did jump...

 sokolts 

Patients always wonder if they can increase their platelets through diet. I hear that a lot!!

 whvogel 

Algae products contain no nutrients that are not readily available from food or ordinary dietary supplements that cost much less.

 ms3759 

I think an NP also mentioned she had read something somewhere but couldn’t state where.

 Laurl at ONS 

Not to interrupt- please keep talking! We have about 3-4 more minutes- When we are done- please take a moment to cut and paste this URL into your browser and take our very brief survey –we’d love to hear what you think of these chats! The URL is http://research.zarca.com/k/RsTUTRsSRSsXYTTXsPsP .. Cut and paste into your browser click and take the survey- thank you! You can also find this URL in the transcript of this chat which will be posted in the next day or so.

 whvogel 

There is no proven value for treating obesity or any other human health problem and some may contain potent toxins.

 whvogel 

No definitive on spirulina that it will affect immune system on way or the other.

 whvogel 

Increasing platelets - no....the reason that most of our cancer patients have platelet problems is that we are destroying them with chemo...in the bone marrow...

 sokolts 

Apple cider vinegar is another supplement a number of pt's mention they take..

 whvogel 

Re: platelets...so it is not a production problem...

 whvogel 

…so nothing they eat will change the production...only time...and time off chemo!

 whvogel 

Apple cider vinegar….

 whvogel 

Is that a colon cleansing?

 sokolts 

Not sure. I wondered if you heard of taking it.

 whvogel 

It was touted for weight loss but no proven effect...

 whvogel 

Wow,  those were great questions!!

 Laurl at ONS 

I'm sorry to cut this off! Great discussion! Thank you for your participation - our next chat on this same topic is tomorrow night at 7pm Eastern - please tell your co-workers, and come chat again Thank you for attending!

 whvogel 

Good bye all and thanks for coming!

 whvogel 

Tomorrow night will be another one!!!