Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (03/13/05)

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

13 Mar 2005 22:35:33 -0000

" Cancer Decisions " <

 

 

THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (03/13/05)

 

 

----------------------

Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com

Newsletter #175 03/13/05

----------------------

 

 

 

THE MOSS REPORTS

 

 

Whether we like it or not, our current healthcare system is essentially

a marketplace, and the patient is ultimately a consumer who must make

choices from among the many options offered by both conventional and

alternative practitioners. When it comes to cancer, these choices are

made

all the more bewildering and onerous by the fact that decisions must be

made quickly.

 

In thirty years of monitoring the complex field of cancer research and

therapy I have assembled a comprehensive library of reports, the Moss

Reports, on the conventional and alternative treatment of more than two

hundred different types of cancer. For a newly-diagnosed cancer patient

there can be few more useful guides and decision-making tools than a

Moss Report.

 

To order a Moss Report please visit our website,

www.cancerdecisions.com, or call Diane at 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367

from outside the US).

 

We look forward to helping you.

 

 

CANCER-GATE

 

 

Samuel S. Epstein, MD, is a national treasure. A professor emeritus of

Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois

School of Public Health, he is one of the world's leading scholars on

the topic of the environmental causes of cancer. The author of nearly a

dozen books and over 250 scientific articles, and innumerable letters to

the editor, in 1998 he received the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes

called the Alternative Nobel Prize.

 

In February, 2005, Prof. Epstein was awarded the Albert Schweitzer

Golden Grand Medal for Humanitarianism, the degree of Doctor Honoris

Causa

in Humanities, and honorary membership in the Polish Academy of

Medicine, for his longstanding and pioneering international

contributions to

cancer prevention.

 

(The Schweitzer World Academy of Medicine now consists of 260

university professors from 71 nations, 223 rectors and deans, 24 Nobel

prize

laureates, 9 presidents of Academies of Science, and other outstanding

authorities.)

 

But Epstein is more than a scientist. Since the 1970s, he has also been

the public voice of a considerable movement to slow the wanton

introduction of toxic chemicals into our food, air, water and

workplace. Very

reasonably, he and his medical and public health colleagues have

demanded studies before such chemicals were introduced into general

use, to

make sure they were not harmful. Industry has provided little in the way

of assurances that such chemicals are indeed safe.

 

During the Carter administration, this cautionary position did achieve

a small degree of acceptance. One director of the National Cancer

Institute (NCI), Arthur C. Upton, MD (1977-1979) was sympathetic to this

point of view. However, since the introduction of Pres. Ronald Reagan's

pro-industry policies, no administration - Republican or Democratic - has

seriously taken up the challenge of controlling the long-term dangers

posed by this chemical onslaught.

 

In 1978, Dr. Epstein published his famous book, The Politics of Cancer,

which showed how the federal government had been generally corrupted by

industrial polluters. His new book, Cancer-Gate, will hopefully have a

similar impact on a new generation of potential activists. The book

shows that, contrary to the impression fostered by our public

relations-dominated media, we are in fact losing the much-vaunted " War

on Cancer. "

 

Be forewarned. Unlike most academics in the cancer field, Prof. Epstein

is passionate about public health and cultivates a take-no-prisoners

style. Repeatedly rebuffed by the powers that be, he does not hesitate to

name names. He claims, for instance, that the National Cancer Institute

(NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) have both betrayed us,

spending tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer and charity money

" primarily targeting silver-bullet cures…while ignoring strategies for

preventing cancer in the first place. "

 

As a result, he says, cancer rates have escalated to epidemic

proportions, now striking one in every two American men, and more than

one in

every three women. " This translates into approximately 50 percent more

cancer in men, " says Epstein, " and 20 percent more cancer in women over

the course of just one generation. " The book is worth getting simply for

its discussion of whether cancer rates are going down, as NCI claims –

or whether, as Epstein claims, they are in fact rising steadily.

 

Epstein is well aware of the influence that " Big Pharma " has on our

health care system. He quotes a recent NCI director as admitting that NCI

itself has become a " governmental pharmaceutical company. " Similarly,

the ACS also has been transformed into a cheerleader for special

interests, rather than a steward of the public trust.

 

Epstein further claims that NCI and ACS are sitting on " mountains of

information about avoidable environmental causes of cancer rather than

making this available to the public in any systematic and understandable

way. This silence has even extended to the frank suppression of such

information, denial of the public's right to know, and violation of human

rights. "

 

Many of the facts in Prof. Epstein's indictment are simply undeniable.

For instance, the failure of NCI to address issues of environmental

pollution is certainly not due to a lack of funds. NCI's budget has

increased 30-fold since 1971, when Pres. Nixon launched the war on

cancer,

and now totals $4.6 billion per year. " Paradoxically, " Epstein states,

" it seems that the more money we spend on cancer, the more cancer we

get. "

 

It is not that NCI, in principle, does not acknowledge the impact on

the environment. If you go to the NCI website, you find the following

statement: " The majority of cancers are linked to the environment. " But

what NCI means by " the environment " in this context is not so much the

carcinogenic pollutants in our air and water as individual risk factors

such as smoking and diet. In practice, most of NCI's focus is on

changing lifestyles rather than confronting industrial pollution.

 

Historically, the NCI and ACS have mainly focused on highly publicized

" cures " for cancer. But this emphasis has largely been a bust as well.

Most of NCI's resources, Prof. Epstein says, are spent on promoting

ineffective drugs for various kinds of terminal cancer. This is the

aspect

of cancer that generates the most positive publicity. NCI's directors

are constantly promising that we are " turning the corner in the cancer

war. " The latest in a long line of such promises is the " challenge

vision " of the current director to end the pain and suffering due to

cancer

by the year 2015.

 

A populist of the old school, Prof. Epstein calls for an end to the

" cancer plutocracy " and a return to " public health democracy. " It is a

bold vision that is unlikely to find him many friends in the current

administration. Nevertheless, he outlines a wide range of reforms that

could

save hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of lives. These include:

 

1) Reforming the NCI and ACS. He suggests that NCI's cancer prevention

program be placed on an equal budgetary footing with all its other

programs combined. It proposes the formation of a National Cancer

Prevention Registry - which would be a clearinghouse freely available

to the

public in print and online – of all known chemical and radioactive

carcinogens.

2) The right to know. Epstein insists that he public's right to know be

validated by requiring NCI to disseminate information about known

carcinogens in the environment and consumer products.

3) A wake-up call for Congress. Cancer-Gate carries a foreword by

Congressman David Obey and an introduction by Congressman John

Conyers, Jr.

So Prof. Epstein's message is certainly not without its followers on

Capitol Hill. But, by and large, the US Congress is asleep on issues

relating to the war on cancer. With a minimum of oversight, they write

NCI

a blank check for its failed policies. Epstein issues a clarion call

for Congress to rein in the NCI from its current independent " rogue

status " and make it fully accountable to the director of the National

Institutes of Health. This independence, established in 1971, was

supposed to

make NCI immune from the octopus-like federal bureaucracy. Instead, it

has become a huge bureaucracy in its own right, and is now unresponsive

to normal governmental controls.

4) Finally, Prof. Epstein calls on readers to fight back by arming

themselves with the information about how to avoid carcinogens and become

activists in the war against cancer.

 

This is an angry, impassioned and important book. But general readers

should be aware that although Epstein writes well, much of this book is

very technical in nature. In fact, most of the chapters first appeared

as scientific articles in the International Journal of Health Services.

It thus requires some effort to read and digest. For the person who is

seriously interested in understanding the failure of our society to

address issues of industry pollution, this book is indispensable. For

those who are ready to join the fight against greed and corruption in the

cancer field, it will also be an enormously rewarding experience. As

with Prof. Epstein's earlier books, one comes away with an almost

encyclopedic knowledge of how chemicals have polluted our environment,

and how

those who manufacture such chemicals have similarly polluted our

political system.

 

Prof. Epstein's book, Cancer-Gate, is available from:

 

Baywood Publishing, Inc., Amityville, NY 11701

phone (631) 691-1270

fax (631) 691-1770

toll-free order line (800) 638-7819

e-mail: baywood

website: http://baywood.com

 

Also available from www.Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0895033542/cancerdecisio-20/ref=nosim/103\

-9246167-2691868

 

 

 

--Ralph W. Moss, PhD

 

---------------

 

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS

 

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for

informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to

be a

substitute for professional medical advice.

 

Copyright © The Internet Society (2004). This document is subject to

the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except

as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.

 

This document and the information contained herein are provided on an

" AS IS " basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS OR

IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET

ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,

INCLUDING

BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN

WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF

MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

 

This document may not be modified, and derivative works of it may not

be created.

 

--------------

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

 

If you have questions or concerns, please use our form at

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/contact.html

Thank you.

 

 

 

To SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: Please go to

http://cancerdecisions.com/list/optin.php?form_id=8

and follow the instructions to be automatically added to this list.

Thank you.

 

=====

 

Cancer Decisions®

PO Box 1076

Lemont, PA 16851

Phone Toll Free: 800-980-1234

If calling from outside the USA: 814-238-3367

FAX: 814-238-3367

 

=====

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...