November 15, 2005

The Environmental Causes of Cancer (scroll down past the fundraising appeal). Full report here (PDF).
posted by homunculus 19 years ago
  • A very good article - thanks homonculus. Of course, I always get a little peeved when people imply that the people who treat cancer aren't interested in preventing it because it isn't in their finiancial best interest. That isn't true at all - every doctor I know recommends prevention whenever a patient comes in, even if it's just for a checkup. Likewise, every cancer researcher I know would love to find a way to prevent cancer - it would serve ambition, ego, and altruism simultaneously. People's sense of self or morality often trumps economics (see poor folks who voted for Bush).
  • I have to agree that most people in medical profressions truly would be happy to prevent cancer. The industries that produce evironmental toxins are a different story. They are the ones with financial incentive to fight preventitive steps. Great article.
  • I have to agree that most people in medical profressions truly would be happy to prevent cancer. Me too. It's a mean-spirited oversimplification.
  • DEREK: You going to go out laughing, are you? CLIVE: No, I'm going out, going out fucking ..... DEREK: Fucking shitting yourself with fear! CLIVE: Shitting myself with fucking fear and fucking cancer, which God so kindly provided. DEREK: (giggles) CLIVE: Without that we wouldn't have a way to die, would we? Fucking good of him! Not to torment us with being eternally young and being able to fuck everyone. No! He gave us this great gift of fucking cancer, that's very kind. I wouldn't have thought of that if I'd been creating the universe, would you? Bung in cancer? No, I'd have left that out.
  • Somehow I missed this post earlier. There are honest debates to be had about this and I'm even on the side of these people, but I have to say that my experiences in studying environmental health (and the general attitudes of those who do research in the field that I've encountered) are not accurately portrayed in the article or the first few pages of the pdf. And the discussion of various cancers is iffy in that it doesn't mention the major causes if they aren't enviromental in origin, while at the same time there is a discussion of how the rates of new cases are increasing. It is as if they are implying environmental sources are the sole reasons for the increases. I didn't read things closely, but that's my general impression.
  • And I missed your comment. Thanks for your insight, mandyman.