Can We Halt the Cancer Epidemic?

The client rejected this article (because he's a lunatic) so I'm posting it here:

Can We Halt the Cancer Epidemic?

Doctors are alarmed by the steady increase of cancer cases not just in developed nations but also in the developing nations throughout the world. For example, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber claims in his New York Times article “We Can Stop the Cancer Epidemic” that the types of cancer which afflict children and adolescents has been on the rise by at least 1% per year since the 1960s. Dr. Servan-Schreiber further notes that these types of cancer that afflict this demographic cannot be screened, so it may be too late for the patient when the cancer is detected. However, is it possible to stop this extensive spread of cancer before entire populations come down with it? Dr. Servan-Schreiber believes so.

This doctor thinks that physicians have to dig deep into the causes of cancer in order to halt the epidemic. And we now know more about what causes certain types of cancer. For example, most medical research has given evidence that smoking tobacco products leads directly to oral and lung cancer. Obesity is also known as a contributing factor to cancer as studies show that obese people are more likely to come down with cancer than skinny people. Eating a diet rich in fat, sugar and salt may also contribute to other types of cancer.

The problem now though is that there are other new probable causes of cancer that have only recently been identified. Examples of these (according to Dr. Servan-Schreiber) are phthalates and parabenes that are found in some shampoo and cosmetic products; alkylphenols that can come in cleaning products; and of course pesticides and insecticides that are used in households and commercial establishments regularly. There is also evidence, says Dr. Servan-Schreiber, that allowing liquids in plastic containers to be exposed to extreme heat can allow elements of the plastic to leach into the liquid – case in point, bottled water left in cars that are exposed to direct sunlight. These elements (such as bisphenol A) are suspected to be carcinogens as well. So we need to be aware of the new probable causes of cancer as well as the traditional causes if we are to halt this spread of cancer in global populations.

Doctors like Dr. Servan-Schreiber are in agreement that a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables can contribute antioxidants which are useful in preventing cancer from starting and spreading. Stopping the use of tobacco products and prolonged use of alcohol are also good ways to prevent cancer. But since we know there are new causes of cancer these days, we also need to be vigilant about keeping up with research as to probable new causes of cancer that we are exposed to without our realizing it. Doctors, medical researchers and the general public have to cooperate with one another in analyzing possible new causes of cancer, reporting this, testing new theories, and finally coming to some logical conclusion about how to prevent these causes of cancer from afflicting the general population. We may not be able to wipe out incidence of cancer but we can slow down the rate of the global epidemic to manageable levels.