Cancer: you can't ignore diet and lifestyle

I have just been reading "Spin doctors of cancer" (WDDTY vol 7 no 3).

I feel I must be counted as a statistic, and thank my lucky stars that my wonderful GP asked the oncologist whether he'd put his own wife through chemo if she was in my condition. The reply was "No," so I was reprieved.

I'd had sarcoma of the bladder diagosed in July 1991 and was given three months to live. I had all the usual tests and x-rays and was duly "cut open". There was more than they bargained for, so I was sewn up again. That was plan A. Plan B was chemotherapy, but was not really expected to be very successful. I was very relieved when my doctor intervened and I was virtually discarded.

I then turned to alternative medicine. I went to the Bristol Cancer Help Centre and learned the vast amount of ways I could combat the situation. I changed my diet I am now vegan and only eat organically produced food.

I feel that in my case cancer developed as a warning that something was very wrong with my lifestyle. I put myself in stressful situations and didn't say "no" when taking on more than I should. So it had to be changed.

As a rule, people have pieces cut out and chemo and/or radiation, and although the problem seems to have been cured or curtailed, they have a few more months or a year or two, it then returns usually, as the article says, as a tougher type of tumour which usually proves fatal.

I have the feeling that if the diet and lifstyle had been changed as well as the tumour cut out, people would stand a far better chance of survival. LN, Carmarthen......