(Here's the polar opposite of spiked-online, an article by Peter Montague of Rachel's Health and Democracy that makes the essential connection between the environment and cancer. The article cites Wilhelm Hueper, who figures heavily in "The Politics of Cancer," a book by Robert N. Proctor that I am reading now. I used to work at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in the mid 1980s. I never got used to seeing sick children there. About 500,000 people die of cancer in the USA each year. More than half are directly attributable to environmental factors. The fact that a gaggle of ex-Marxists can basically make a living trying to deny such connections is simply disgusting.)
Counterpunch November 4, 2005 The Environmental Causes of Cancer Why We Can't Prevent Cancer By PETER MONTAGUE In 1999, cancer surpassed heart disease as the number one killer of people younger than 85 in the U.S.[1] Now a detailed report on the causes of cancer tells us why: cancer has been steadily increasing in the U.S. for 50 years as people have been exposed to more and more cancer-causing agents, including chemicals and radiation. Richard Clapp, Genevieve Howe, and Molly Jacobs Lefevre have just published "Environmental and Occupational Causes of Cancer; A Review of Recent Scientific Literature" and it is a real eye-opener. But before we dive into this report looking for nuggets, let's set the background. About half of all cancer cases are fatal, and death by cancer is often prolonged, painful, and very expensive. Those who manage to survive cancer live out their lives molded by the after-effects of harsh treatments popularly known as "slash and burn" -- surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or some combination of the three. As more people are kept alive each year with their breasts or testicles removed, the "cancer establishment" chalks up another "victory" -- and no doubt the victims are glad to be alive -- but we should acknowledge that there's something very wrong with calling this "victory." Slash and burn seems more like a dreadful defeat. full: http://www.counterpunch.org/montague11042005.html -- www.marxmail.org
