Does a vegetarian diet contributed to cancer? Certainly the evidence points to it.

Franceschi S, et.al; "Intake of macronutrients and risk of breast cancer" Lancet 1996;347(9012):1351-6

This study was done in the Italian population which having a low awareness of diet and cancer issues there is less scope for recall bias. They found the risk of breast cancer decreased with increasing total fat intake whereas the risk increased with increasing intake of available carbohydrates.

Lutz, W.J., "The Colonisation of Europe and Our Western Diseases", Medical Hypotheses, Vol. 45, pages 115-120, 1995

In support of the above, Dr. Lutz, in the face of epidemiological studies that failed to support the current belief that fat intake was at the root of coronary disease and cancer, has done his own explorations of epidemiological data. His findings show a clear, inverse relationship between these civilisatory diseases and the length of time the people of a given region of Europe have had to adapt to the high carbohydrate diet associated with the cultivation of cereal grains that was begun in the Near East, and spread very slowly through Europe.

But this isn't new information. In

Vilhjalmur Stefansson's book _Cancer Disease of Civilization_ 1960; Hill and Wang, New York, NY.

It points out that Stanislaw Tanchou "....gave the first formula for predicting cancer risk. It was based on grain consumption and was found to accurately calculate cancer rates in major European cities. The more grain consumed, the greater the rate of cancer." Tanchou's paper was delivered to the Paris Medical Society in 1843. He also postulated that cancer would likewise never be found in hunter-gatherer populations. This began a search among the populations of hunter-gatherers known to missionary doctors and explorers. This search continued until WWII when the last wild humans were "civilized" in the Arctic and Australia. No cases of cancer were ever found within these populations, although after they adopted the diet of civilization, it became common.

More recently Bruce Aimes of U.C. Berkeley published a series of articles on cancer causation in the journal Science (#236,238,240) one of which (in#238,Dec 18,1987) is titled "Paleolithic Diet, Evolution and Carcinogens".

Could she have done something about the cancer after it was discovered? Yes, according to Aajonus Vonderplanitz in his book "We Want To Live: Out of the Grips of Disease and Death and Healthfully (the facts)." He promotes a diet of raw muscle meat, high-fat, no vegetables, as a cure for cancer. After years of decline on various vegetarian diets he cured his cancer with the diet he promotes.

The book is $29.95 plus tax and shipping and can be ordered by calling 1-800-247-6553 (in the U.S.); 419-281-1802 (international). Postal orders: Carnelian Bay Castle Press; c/o BookMasters; P.O. Box 388; Ashland, OH 44805. Or order from Barnes & Noble ISBN 1-889356-77-8.

A couple of web pages:

http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=ind9806&L=RAW-FOOD&P=R9951&I=-3
http://www.ralphmoss.com/Vonderplanitz.html