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Cancer Rip-Off,

We Are Victims of Mass Marketing,

By Max Sturman, (Do It Naturally Foundation, 2010, 226 pages.)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

Max Sturman, who started the "Do It Naturally Foundation" because of his concern for the children of our country, especially obese children, has written a provocative book about health and nutrition, as it relates to the causes and prevention of Cancer, "Cancer Rip-Off." He states in "Cancer Rip-Off" right away, that countries like Japan and China seem to have a better grip on the situation than we in the United States. If ever there was a case of "We are What we Eat," that might explain why the United States is tied for 29th-31st place among developed nations in life expectancy, while Japan is 1st, in Sturman's hypothesis.

Sturman, the author of "Do It Naturally," "No Sugar No Power Will Give Me The Power," "Never Get A Cold," and "And You Are What You Eat, Dude," tackles the complex subject of Cancer in his book, and why we seem to not having made any progress in many years of eradicating it, despite the many advances that we have made in science and medicine.

Sturman seems to imply in his book that it is in the interests of the large pharmaceutical companies that we don't come up with a cure for cancer, thus, the "Cancer Rip-Off." He questions in his book; "are they making life-saving drugs that will cure the disease or are they just making treatments that will allow the disease to recur and eventually kill the patient?" He further states, which is food for thought, and somewhat troubling; "If they prolong the treatment, they can make more money. If the company cures the disease, they make less money over time. Therefore, where do the goals of the pharmaceutical companies lie?"

There is a basis for Sturman's thoughts and beliefs, and it may have well started in 1970, when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, and despite the fact that they made the immediate decision to go ahead and do the surgery, his wife later died. Sturman states in his book, "Cancer Rip-Off," the subsequent death of his wife motivated him to write this book.

Sturman gives his definition of cancer as; "Cancer is the body's attempt to eliminate abominations taken into the body." He further states; "Since the dawn of man, we have searched for foods that would sustain us and tantalize our taste buds. After millenniums we found the best guidelines for acceptable foods for the body's sustenance to give us the best results. Yet, some people wanted more variety. And they wanted more excitement to their taste buds. So they went against the established guidelines and their own good judgment. And we have suffered ever since. The poor state of our health today indicates the need to go back to the previously, successful, established guidelines of good food. The natural diet is the one we were meant to follow. We must eliminate today's harmful, overly processed food. Isn't it a possibility that the food we eat has something to do with getting cancer?" That seems to be the crux of the matter, and the thesis of Sturman's book.

In his book, Sturman questions the benefit of chemotherapy and/or cancer screenings, stating; "And cancer screenings aren't all that effective. Only the PAP smear has shown a decrease in deaths from cervical cancer by 74%. In contrast mammograms have been shown to cut the risk of death from breast cancer by only 15%."

Sturman further states in his book; "Mainstream medicine's approach has been: cut it (surgery), burn it (radiation), poison it (chemotherapy). That protocol has been unquestioned since the late 1800s - but hasn't proved to be effective! Rid the body of cancer cells!"

In my earlier review of a book by Jamie Reno in the East County Magazine, "Hope Begins In The Dark," about 50 cancer survivors, himself a cancer survivor, it was stated; "When Jamie's cancer recurred in 1999, instead of doing another regimen of chemo as his oncologist recommended, he instead chose to participate in a clinical trial of a then-experimental radio-immunotherapy drug called Bexxar. The drug, which has since been approved by the FDA, saved Jamie's life and has saved the lives of many others, but is still not well known among lymphoma patients or utilized often by oncologists. Jamie is determined to keep this drug and others like it available, and to keep lymphoma and all cancer patients informed of all their treatment options." Score 1 for the pharmaceutical industry!

In CANCER RIP-OFF, you'll read about many unknown facts that tell the truth about the groups that have the most to lose from curing cancer so they sabotage the research efforts. You'll read about the truth about what cancer is, according to Sturman. And you'll read about how the prevention of cancer involves little more than returning to the natural guidelines of choosing the best foods for the body's sustenance and well being, also according to Sturman. This seems supported by another book review of mine, "Linking Nutrition To Mental Health," by Dr. Ruth Leyse-Wallace, also in the East County Magazine. In her book, Dr. Leyse-Wallace states; "To truly live well-to feel good, engage in productive activities, enjoy fulfilling relationships with other people, and be able to adapt to change and cope with adversity - Americans must start addressing mental health with the same urgency as physical health. With that in mind, registered dietitian Dr. Ruth Leyse-Wallace gathers breakthrough scientific research from around the world to demonstrate how powerfully nutrition can affect our mental well-being as much as our physical well-being." There does seem to be a correlation between what we eat and cancer.

At a recent meeting of the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild, Max Sturman and Dr. Ruth Leyse-Wallace got together afterwards to discuss and compare notes on each other's books, as it relates to what we eat and nutrition.

CANCER RIP-OFF, is certainly food for thought, that I highly recommend.

Dennis Moore is the book review editor for SDWriteway. He also is a writer and book reviewer for the East County Magazine in San Diego. He has written for LifeAfter 50 Magazine in Pasadena, California, and the Baja Times Newspaper in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Mr. Moore can be contacted at demoore21@sprint.blackberry.net.