No doubt you've seen and heard the tremendous
media hype on the synthetic > hormone tamoxifen. The news about tamoxifen
swept. the nation in early April > when the National Cancer Institute held
an unprecedented press conference on > a study they had sponsored to test
tamoxifen as a preventative for breast > cancer. > Is it
hope or hype? > Four years earlier, the FDA issued a damning press
release of its own. The > document informed 380,000 oncologist and health
care professionals that a > stronger warning label would be required for
the drug, due to its tendency > to cause cancer. > Then
FDA Commissioner David Kessler noted that it was "important for women > to
recognize that there are side effects including an increased risk of >
uterine cancer." How much risk? A Swedish study with almost 1,400
patients > found that uterine cancer jumped a colossal 575%.
(Another tamozifen study > indicated a similar spike with the same
cancer.) Furthermore, the tumors > were much more frequently "high grade,"
according to a study published in > the Journal of Clinical Oncology in
March of 1994. > Why the hype, then? Is tamoxifen safe or not? And
is there a better > solution for preventing breast cancer than a drug that
apparently trades one > cancer for another? > NCI seemed to
give tamoxifen a big boost when the lead author for the big > study, Dr.
Bernard Fisher, boldly announced, "This is now the first study in > the
world to show that a drug can reduce the incidence of breast cancer." >
The story received glowing widespread coverage, including a11 three TV >
networks and CNN. > But not so fast! NCI director Dr. Richard
Klausner told reporters, "There. > is no simple take-home message. There
are important and serious side effects > from this drug." In addition to
uterine cancer, it also increases the > chances of blood dots that could
result in strokes or sudden death, and > damage to the eyes. >
Tibor J, .Hegedus, PhD, in his book . Indicted: Cancer Research, writes >
that tamoxifen does indeed block a cancer promoting hormone present in >
breast tissue, ' but, "When the hormones are blocked from reaching the >
primary targets, they are forced to travel to other organs." >
Seventeen British researchers also criticized the $65 million NCI funded >
study for stopping 14 months early. "I think there has been a
significant > overreaction," stated London's Trevor Powles, MD, who led
the first study on > the preventive effects of tamoxifen. >
The study's early release coincided with the first week of the American >
Cancer Society's annual fund raising drive. This would not be the first
time > the two organizations spouted "good news" in recent weeks. Only two
weeks > earlier, NCI signed onto a major publicity release authored by the
American > Cancer Society. (See Progress Against Cancer, page
1.) > The up side to tamoxifen, according to the 13,355 woman study,
is that it > reduced the arrival of breast cancer in the second breast by
45% for those > women who already had breast cancer. But, as intimated by
Dr. Hegedus above, > the patient might be trading cancers by using
tamoxifen. > Is there a way to knock back the chance of developing
breast cancer without > playing Tamoxifen roulette? If the studies are
accurate, one way might be > the natural soy-based substance called
genistein taken with a program of > diet and nutrients. Genistein is an
isoflavone with steroid like properties. > One study conducted by
Dr. Walter Troll at the NY University Medical Center > showed breast
cancer incidence in mice was reduced by 50%. In another study > by Dr.
Coral A. Lamartiniere of the University of Alabama the incidence of >
mammary tumors in mice were reduced by 40%. He told an NCI symposium,
"This > study is the first to show in vivo that Genistein can protect
against > chemically induced cancer." > Not everyone at the
symposium was willing to accept the idea of soy, > however. Daniel
Sheehan, PhD, countered, "I disagree that soy has been > proven safe." Of
course, soy is a food item on the FDA's GRAS (Generally > Regarded as
Safe) list. > Meanwhile, researchers at the Wayne Hughes Institute
in St. Paul, > Minnesota; reported their results with a new treatment they
call " > EGF-Genistein.". According to a study published in Clinical
Cancer Research > in April of this year, the Genistein actually reversed
human breast .cancer > in mice and was found to be safe in small animals
and monkeys. > The same mechanism found in breast cancer cells is
also seen in prostate, > ovarian, bladder, liver, lung and melanoma. Thus,
the researchers believe > that Genistein will also be effective against
those cancers as well. In > fact, Memorial Sloan Kettering researcher
William Fair, MD, is now studying > Genistein and other nutrients in a
four arm clinical trial on prostate > cancer at the normally conservative
and conventional NYC institution. > Further, Dr. Karl Folkers
of the. University of Texas and a team of > researchers in Europe reported
that changes in diet and a specific list of > nutrients eliminated breast
cancer and pre- vented its recurrence. They > called it the Stockholm
Protocol. > While tamoxifen's supposed benefits are restricted to
the breast and to > only a small percentage of women, it would appear that
exercise, a diet high > m soy, and supple- mental Genistein and a
comprehensive program such as the > Stockholm Protocol might be far more
beneficial without-'the risks of > tamoxifen. > Those
interested in more information about diet, nutrition and the > Stockholm
Protocol are urged to join People Against Cancer. 515-972-4444, > Fae
515-972-4415email: info@PeopleAgainstCancer.com . > >
One of my good friends has just sent me a copy of an article entitled, >
"SOY--A PERFECT FOOD?" from the Harvard Heart Letter of October 1998. I
am > going to add an excerpt from that article. > > Today
many experts believe that much of the special value of soy lies in >
chemicals called isoflavones--plant hormones that appear to have
antioxidant > potential and antiatherogenic properties, as well as
favorable effects on > blood-vessel function. The most
significant isoflavones are called > genistein and daidzin.
These substances are found only in soybeans and > exhibit cholesterol
lowering properties similar to those produced by > estrogen. >
> might be of value to try to find products made from Soybeans such as
Tofu, > Soy Flour, Soy milk, etc. And gradually add them to the diet as a
source of > genestein. > > At the close of the article it
says for more information, call the soy > hotline {1-800-TALK SOY] or
visit the soy Web site http://www.soyfoods. No > doubt you've seen
and heard the tremendous media hype on the synthetic > hormone tamoxifen.
The news about tamoxifen swept. the nation in early April > when the
National Cancer Institute held an unprecedented press conference on > a
study they had sponsored to test tamoxifen as a preventative for breast >
cancer. > Is it hope or hype? > Four years
earlier, the FDA issued a damning press release of its own. The > document
informed 380,000 oncologist and health care professionals that a >
stronger warning label would be required for the drug, due to its
tendency > to cause cancer. > Then FDA Commissioner
David Kessler noted that it was "important for women > to recognize that
there are side effects including an increased risk of > uterine cancer."
How much risk? A Swedish study with almost 1,400 patients >
found that uterine cancer jumped a colossal 575%. (Another tamozifen
study > indicated a similar spike with the same cancer.) Furthermore, the
tumors > were much more frequently "high grade," according to a study
published in > the Journal of Clinical Oncology in March of
1994. > Why the hype, then? Is tamoxifen safe or not? And is there a
better > solution for preventing breast cancer than a drug that apparently
trades one > cancer for another? > NCI seemed to give
tamoxifen a big boost when the lead author for the big > study, Dr.
Bernard Fisher, boldly announced, "This is now the first study in > the
world to show that a drug can reduce the incidence of breast cancer." >
The story received glowing widespread coverage, including a11 three TV >
networks and CNN. > But not so fast! NCI director Dr. Richard
Klausner told reporters, "There. > is no simple take-home message. There
are important and serious side effects > from this drug." In addition to
uterine cancer, it also increases the > chances of blood dots that could
result in strokes or sudden death, and > damage to the eyes. >
Tibor J, .Hegedus, PhD, in his book . Indicted: Cancer Research, writes >
that tamoxifen does indeed block a cancer promoting hormone present in >
breast tissue, ' but, "When the hormones are blocked from reaching the >
primary targets, they are forced to travel to other organs." >
Seventeen British researchers also criticized the $65 million NCI funded >
study for stopping 14 months early. "I think there has been a
significant > overreaction," stated London's Trevor Powles, MD, who led
the first study on > the preventive effects of tamoxifen. >
The study's early release coincided with the first week of the American >
Cancer Society's annual fund raising drive. This would not be the first
time > the two organizations spouted "good news" in recent weeks. Only two
weeks > earlier, NCI signed onto a major publicity release authored by the
American > Cancer Society. (See Progress Against Cancer, page
1.) > The up side to tamoxifen, according to the 13,355 woman study,
is that it > reduced the arrival of breast cancer in the second breast by
45% for those > women who already had breast cancer. But, as intimated by
Dr. Hegedus above, > the patient might be trading cancers by using
tamoxifen.
