Keeping up with the Kardashians Cancer Episode

It takes a lot to admit I watch this show, so you can imagine how moved I am to admit it so I can address what I just saw tonight on Keeping up with the Kardashians. Tonight, Scott Dissick visited "Josie," a cancer patient, who wanted to meet Scott to fulfill her bucket list. Why she would want this is beyond me, but in any case the woman was awesome! Sadly, she mentioned having gone through an aggressive form of chemotherapy and radiation for lung cancer, which she said, "Worked." But a couple of years later, the cancer returned in five places. I guess it depends on your definition of "worked," but if it had, she would not be dealing with cancer again, especially not so soon after treatment. Unfortunately, this is how it usually works.

Chemotherapy has a VERY low success rate. Of course it depends on many factors, including type of cancer, but it is unsuccessful in 96-98% of cancers.

I found THIS GREAT ARTICLE YOU MUST READ.

I felt sad for Josie. Here is this vibrant, bubbly woman with loving friends and family who does not know better than to listen to these doctors who are (literally) going to kill her. I know that sounds cold, but I don't know how to put it any other way. And then I got angry.

At the end of the show, this was put on the screen:

Perhaps you don't know Mary Ellis-Bunim or Bonnie Bogard. If you grew up watching The Real World like I did, you have seen Ellis-Bunim's name numerous times. Bogard was an employee of Ellis-Bunim, and ironically, the two died within two days of each other, both from cancer.

I'm all for remembering those who have died. But here's the irony, and what prompts me to write this. Mary Ellis-Bunim and Bonnie Bogard died in 2004. Here, nine years later, after trillions of dollars have been funneled into the cancer industry, Josie sits and laments the return of her cancer. NOTHING has changed. But we are supposed to donate to cancer research? For WHAT?!

I want to know WHERE it has gotten us to give scientists our money? And why is this show just feeding the monster? Am I the only one watching this show who connected the current victim of this system (Josie) and the failure of the system in regards to Ellis-Bunim or Bogard? When will we have enough?

All of us have been touched by cancer in some way. With the access to information we have online today, there is no excuse for being ill-informed about this subject. If you simply search "chemotherapy success rates" you will find just about everything you need.

Instead of sending your money off to some organization who WILL waste it, spend it on taking care of yourself. Or help a friend take better care of him/herself. There are SO many things you can do to slash your chances of getting cancer, but I bet you have written them off as "too expensive." You can always earn that money back, but you can't earn anything when you're dead! Please, do the research until this is common sense to you, and then pass it on. The lives of your friends and family may depend on you.

Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business, Part I

Why get a flu vaccine?

Once again, the CDC has provided misleading statistics to keep unsuspecting customers coming back for yet ANOTHER flu vaccine. This is old news, but they continue to do it. Which means people are still falling for their game, still getting their flu shots because they don't want to be one of the tens of thousands of people who die every year from influenza.

Do NOT get a flu shot. Seriously, just don't. I'm saying this in the middle of June, when my son is at the end of a week of fevers, aches and chills, probably the flu. After this week, he will be fine, and he won't get this strain of the flu (or whatever it is) again. If you are afraid of influenza, you shouldn't be.

Here's why:

The CDC is lying to you again: flu fiction vs. flu reality

What's wrong with Flintstone vitamins?

I actually can't believe these things are still being sold. I had them as a kid. Didn't everyone? But in the age we are in, there is no excuse for the ingredients and lack of knowledge about them.

"One would assume that because it is a "multivitamin," and one marketed specifically to children, that it contains only nutritious ingredients in the most appropriate doses and nothing more. To the contrary, the Flintstones Vitamins brand, which is manufactured by global drug giant Bayer, contains a host of synthetic additives that are actually banned in many countries due to their toxicity not only in humans but also in the environment."

Learn more

For a better alternative, try the vitamin that my children started taking in 2004. Or the vitamin they take now. I personally recommend these due to our successes on them. My son's asthma and allergy symptoms went away. My very severe seasonal allergies went away immediately. We are healthy. Honestly, I don't know where we would be without them.

Folic acid supplementation linked to reduced risk of colorectal cancer

At a Glance
In a new study published in Cancer Prevention Research, folic acid supplementation of 1 mg/day resulted in a 50% reduction in the risk of colorectal adenomas (polyps) in a large group of Chinese adults.

More...

Colorectal adenomas (polyps) are often a precursor to colorectal cancer. Most research has focused on preventing recurrence of colorectal adenomas, but less is known about primary prevention. In a new article published online in Cancer Prevention Research, researchers report a significant reduction in the risk of colorectal adenomas in adults receiving supplemental folic acid. 

The study included Chinese adults over the age of 50 who were free of any polyps at the beginning of the study. The participants were randomized to receive either a folic acid supplement of 1,000 mcg (1 mg) per day or a multivitamin supplement without folic acid.  Plasma folate levels were measured at the beginning and conclusion of the 3 year treatment period.  Colonoscopies were used to determine the location and size of all polyps, and were examined by a pathologist.

Of the 791 adults that completed the study, colorectal adenomas were seen in 64 (14.88%) of the folic acid supplemented group compared to 132 (30.70%) in the control group. Subjects in either group with the lowest plasma folate levels at the beginning of the study were at greater risk of developing adenomas. Those taking folic acid supplements were also less likely to develop advanced adenomas than the control group.  

Contrary to some research that has suggested that high-dose folic acid might increase the recurrence and progression of colorectal cancer, only two individuals in the folic acid group developed colorectal cancer during the three year follow up and there was no significant difference with the control group.

The researchers conclude that people with low plasma folate should be encouraged to take supplemental folate to raise plasma folate to a more beneficial level, potentially reducing the risk of developing pre-cancerous adenomas. They also suggest that a dosage of 1 mg/day appeared safe and without any significant side effects.

Jing-Yuan Fang et al. Folic acid prevents the initial occurrence of sporadic colorectal adenoma in Chinese over 50 years of age: a randomized clinical trial.  Published Online First May 16, 2013; doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-13-0013