Cancer Myths and Urban Legends

 Laurl at ONS 

Welcome to the ONS Hot Topic Chats!

 Laurl at ONS 

Today’s expert is WENDY VOGEL, who is talking to us about CANCER MYTHS! She is having issues with her computer right now but has asked me to ask you: where are you from?

 Laurl at ONS 

Wendy is in East TN...

 elee 

Elee, New Paltz, NY 12561

 Laurl at ONS 

Hello NY!

 Laurl at ONS 

I am in Boston although I work for ONS (in Pittsburgh) - a day of SNOW here.

 wendyvogel 

Hello all, so sorry for the delay!! So what are your burning questions for the evening??

 elee 

Great

 Laurl at ONS 

To get the ball rolling, have you heard about the email going around about CA 125 being a reliable way to detect ovarian cancer...?

 wendyvogel 

That is a claim that has been circulating on the internet since 1998! And patients still believe it!

 wendyvogel 

The CA-125 is a real test, but the email is quite scary!

 wendyvogel 

It is a great example of an internet health scare...

 wendyvogel 

…a little bit of truth, a lot of hysteria, and sent with lots of capital letter and exclamation points...

 Laurl at ONS 

Wendy, how did you KNOW it was not true?

 wendyvogel 

…it also adds distrust for healthcare providers who might (legitimately) not order this...

 wendyvogel 

…the test is not recommended as a screening test of ovarian cancer because it generally only rises with METASTATIC disease..so not good for general screening.

 wendyvogel 

Scammers try to create a false sense of urgency ...if they are selling something they want you to buy now...not do the proper research...

 wendyvogel 

If it sounds too good to be true ... it probably is!

 elee 

Some of my smoking patients do not believe they will develop lung cancer because their parents did not die of cancer. I think it is because the cigarettes that were made in their parents' generation contained different substances from the cigarettes of today, which are more carcinogenic. What do you think?

 wendyvogel 

There are some great websites for emails such as this one... my favorite is www.snopes.com.

 wendyvogel 

Great question about the cigarettes!

 wendyvogel 

Actually, today there are a lot more additives (preservatives) in cigarettes-

 wendyvogel 

Even formaldehyde...even some household cleaning chemicals...

 wendyvogel 

…there is a great website called kickbuttsday that gives a list of ingredients in cigarettes and tobacco products.

 wendyvogel 

Your parents could be right in some ways...however we know that tobacco itself is a carcinogen.

 wendyvogel 

And it is a lottery...one in 7 people who smoke (regardless of when in history) will get a cancer...not just lung cancer...

 wendyvogel 

Great question!

 elee 

Is it true that for hard core smokers it is better to go cold turkey than to gradually wean from cigarettes?

 wendyvogel 

Any new myths you have heard lately?

 wendyvogel 

Hmmm...I am not sure that there is any data looking at safety...

 wendyvogel 

…however, we know that the longer one smokes the greater the risk....

 wendyvogel 

Each person who quits, however, quits in a different way...some need to wean...some can go cold turkey...those are usually (in my experience) the ones who are more successful...however those are usually the least physically addicted.

 paulasunyupstate 

Do you have any thoughts on diets that acidify the body as a cancer preventative?

 wendyvogel 

Good question....

 wendyvogel 

There are advertisements for products like coral calcium or alkaline water that are supposed to neutralize acid in your bloodstream.

 wendyvogel 

However taking calcium or drinking alkaline water doesn't affect blood acidity.

 wendyvogel 

No foods can change the acidity of anything in your body except your urine!

 wendyvogel 

Your stomach is so acidic that no food can change that.

 wendyvogel 

Even an entire bottle of calcium or antacids won't change the acidity of the stomach for more than a few minutes...

 wendyvogel 

This is also called alkaline acid diets…

 wendyvogel 

…based on an emphasis of eating like hunters gathers used to eat....

 elee 

What about enemas which cleanse the colon thus decreasing the propensity for colon cancer?

 wendyvogel 

There is more information on this at www.quackwatch.com ...a great site I use when I want to research claims such as this.

 paulasunyupstate 

I went to a nutrition lecture and the gentleman talked about eating a diet of fruits and vegetables with limited protein, fat and very little grains - a deflame diet.

 wendyvogel 

Colon cleansing has been around for thousands of years!

 wendyvogel 

People have wanted to be regular!! The theory of autointoxication believes that "stagnation" of the large intestine causes toxins to form that are absorbed, poisons the body and could cause cancer.

 wendyvogel 

This is not true!

 wendyvogel 

Colon irrigation can be very expensive and can cause harm to our patients in many ways!

 wendyvogel 

The FDA considers this a class II device and only recommends for medically related reasons.

 wendyvogel 

Several colonic promoters are facing legal actions from the FDA for their claims that colonics have medical benefits.

 wendyvogel 

But colonic irrigation has no real role in the prevention or treatment of any health problems. Personally, I can think of better uses for coffee than coffee enemas!!!

 Laurl at ONS 

What have you heard in the news lately about green tea?

 wendyvogel 

In Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology...there was an article recently…

 wendyvogel 

There is evidence that green tea can counteract the anticancer effects of VELCADE.

 wendyvogel 

This can be contraindicated in patients taking Velcade to ensure they get the maximum benefit from their treatment.

 wendyvogel 

There is an antioxidant compound in green teach called EGCG polyphenol that has been shown in preclinical data to be a potent anticancer agent.

 wendyvogel 

However the EGCG blocks Velcade's antitumor effects at levels as low as 2-3 250 mg capsules of green tea extract a day...

 wendyvogel 

It is also believed that EGCG inactivates Velcade's functioning in the tumor cell... thus preventing some of the side effects that usually go along with Velcade therapy.

 wendyvogel 

The evidence was strong enough that we probably should warn our patients who are on Velcade to abstain from consuming green tea products, especially the highly concentrated green teas that are sold in liquid or capsule form.

 elee 

Patients get their information from the internet or advertisements from the TV

 wendyvogel 

amen!

 wendyvogel 

I get stacks of info from patients from the internet....

 wendyvogel 

Just for fun, Google the words “cure for cancer” and see what you get.....

 wendyvogel 

1000's hits with bizarre claims for cure...it is amazing what is promised to our patients for the low low price of $19.99 in 25 small payments!!!

 wendyvogel 

Some of the crazy information can come from healthcare as well!

 wendyvogel 

Recently Dr. Ronald Herberman the director of the Univ of Pittsburgh cancer institute sent an email warning to about 3,000 faculty...warning them against cell phone use.

 elee 

Why?

 wendyvogel 

He based his alarm on early unpublished data...he actually stated that "it takes too long to get answers from science!"

 wendyvogel 

He said that cell phones expose people to electromagnetic fields...and can cause brain tumors, especially in children whose brains are still developing!

 wendyvogel 

However this flies in the face of at least 9 other studies that examined thousands of brain tumor patients and concluded that there is no overall increased risk of brain tumors among cell phone users....

 wendyvogel 

…but don’t tell my teenage daughter that.!!!

 wendyvogel 

If there is a risk, it is extremely small...so says the FDA.

 Laurl at ONS 

When patients insist that you let them try the latest cure or claim, how do you handle gently telling them/guiding them to more appropriate information?

 wendyvogel 

Interesting...and it happens every day!

 wendyvogel 

First I try to research the claim...is it safe? Will it interact with their current treatment...

 wendyvogel 

…or are they forgoing treatment to pursue this alternative?

 wendyvogel 

Is there a need that is going unmet by us, their healthcare providers?

 wendyvogel 

Sometimes they need the human touch that many alternative "healers" offer.

 wendyvogel 

I try to explain the difference between clinical trials and anecdotal information.

 wendyvogel 

If there is not any data for or against ...then I explain this to them...that we really don’t KNOW how it will effect their treatments....pro or con.

 elee 

Speaking about electromagnetic fields-is there truth that these fields or the use of electric blankets are related to breast cancer?

 wendyvogel 

I always try to keep in mind two things...there is evidence that some alternatives can actually harm patients...example the CARET trial where the risk of lung cancer was actually increased by certain antioxidants meant to prevent.

 wendyvogel 

There are also trials where we have learned beneficial effects of alternatives....

 wendyvogel 

Ok the electromagnet fields....that is a great question.

 wendyvogel 

This concern cam about in 1979 with a SINGLE flawed epidemiological study.

 wendyvogel 

There were also two books written in 1989 and 1993 which alleged that the government and the power industry were involved in a cover up.

 wendyvogel 

There was also an article in the New Yorker...

 wendyvogel 

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

 wendyvogel 

This is also been refuted by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the American Physical Society and the National Research Council and the NCI...

 wendyvogel 

The principle has been carried over to electric blankets with the same flawed theories.

 wendyvogel 

But this legend has persisted...

 elee 

I have to sign out now but this was great. I will certainly attend again.

 wendyvogel 

The US spends about $1 billion a year trying to minimize these "cancer-causing magnet fields”...by rerouting power lines...

 Laurl at ONS 

Thank you for attending- please check the website again for the survey link.

 wendyvogel 

A huge cost for a nonexistent problem!

 Laurl at ONS 

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