Author Archives: Mya

Hot Dogs and Burgers May Increase Early Colorectal Cancer Development

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When you get a colonoscopy, one thing the test looks for is adenomas, a type of polyp that is a benign growth. Not everyone who has adenomas develops cancer but in some cases, adenomas can become cancerous.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAResearch already shows that eating lots of red and processed meats increases the risk for colon cancer, now a review of the research suggests that they may also increase the risk of adenomas.The study was published this week in Cancer Causes Control. It was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund as part of AICR/WCRF’s Continuous Update Project (CUP), an ongoing review of cancer prevention research.

For the analysis, the authors looked at 26 population studies. Nineteen of the studies were case-control, where participants with and without colorectal adenomas recalled their past diet; the rest of the studies were prospective, where researchers first asked about the participants’ diet then the people were followed over time to see who developed colorectal adenomas. Continue reading →

Reflections about Nutrition on World Cancer Day

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We don’t need special foods for cancer prevention.WCD_Logo_RGB_2012

Buckminster Fuller was a true genius of our times, but he nearly killed himself with a special diet. He reasoned that because mankind was at the top of the evolutionary ladder he should also be at the top of the food chain, so for several weeks he ate only meat. After his collapse and hospitalization for kidney failure he decided he might be wrong about that. Because Steve Jobs occasionally purged himself by eating only fruit, and was a creative and successful man before he succumbed to pancreatic cancer, the actor Ashton Kutcher reasoned that a fruit-only diet might be a good idea. After his recent hospitalization for pancreatitis caused by that diet, I suspect he is now re-thinking that idea too.

I am an epidemiologist with a particular interest in studying how nutrition affects one’s risk of getting cancer. Over the past 30 years I have many times been struck by the constant parade of ideas about how cancer risk might be reduced by eating special foods, by taking special supplements, or by adopting particular cuisines.

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More Moving, Less Sitting May Protect Cancer Survivors from Premature Death

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Evidence is clear that physical activity lowers the risk of getting colorectal Sneakers_dreamstime_14295723cancer. But for those who are diagnosed with this cancer, a new study suggests that survivors who spend more time walking and less time sitting – both before and after diagnosis – may have a longer life.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology this week.

Study researchers used data from participants who were part of a large cancer prevention study that started in 1992. Fifteen years later, almost 2,300 of the participants were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. When they entered the study and after the cancer diagnosis, participants filled out questionnaires about how active they were and how much time they spent sitting per week. Continue reading →