Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time
by Lynn Eldridge, M.D. and David Borgeson, MS, MPT
Published by Beavers Pond Press
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Reviewed by Connie Anderson
Subtitle: Practical advise for preventing cancer
In the introduction, the author says she wrote this book because she wants you to "be prepared" before the siren blows, announcing the disaster.
Say this out loud: One in every two American men and one out of every three American women will get cancer over the course of their lifetime (pg. 1). Now does the author have your attention?
Quoting from the British Cancer Control Society, "...treating disease is enormously profitable, preventing disease is not."
If far more money is spent to treat than prevent, and physicians are restricted by managed care--now is the time for us to know more and advocate for our own health. Other money issues concern how our food is produced (what is put on our plants to increase yield and what animals are fed to grow faster).
As consumers we will spend whatever is needed to treat illness, but we do not spend time and money to educate ourselves about avoiding the disease in the first place. And yet ... "80-95% of cancers that have a environmental component, only one third are due to smoking."
However: "One thousands Americans stop smoking every day--by dying." (Author unknown)
Chapter 2 starts with 25 questions--and now I AM concerned because I answered yes to too many--and my ignorance is showing. You may feel the same when you answer them.
The authors left no cancer-causing stone unturned. Through charts, graphs, lists, recipes and action suggestions, you will understand your body and your environment--and how what you eat and drink and do can affect your health. The back of the book has worksheets, very helpful appendices, a carcinogen list, references and index so you can find things easily.
Author Lynne Eldridge, M.D. is a medical doctor who has studied human exposure to pesticide and has practiced family medicine with an emphasis on prevention. David Borgeson has a Masters in epidemiology and is a practicing physical therapist that emphasizes health promotion.
The authors have asked us to make many changes in our lives to live longer and cancer free--and some are easy and some will be hard. They do not want us to become overwhelmed and do nothing--just start with what you can change today.
Armchair Interviews says: The contents can--and should frighten you into action and change. Maybe then you will never have to hear the words: You have cancer!
Authors' Web site: http://www.avoidcancernow.com