On The Research Front

Is There a Connection Between Spirituality and Health?
Can spirituality improve your health? If so, what underlying mechanisms could possibly explain this? These were some of the key questions addressed at the Health and Spirituality Conference held at Loma Linda University on May 17, 2005. Board President Dr. Alfred Barrios, Ph.D., has summarized the conference findings in an article published in the Summer 2005 edition of Cancer Federation News. If you would like to receive the full article, please email info@cancerfed.org.

Can Water Fight Cancer?
The famed Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle has determined that drinking five or more glassed of water daily reduces the chance of getting colon cancer by fifty percent (50%). The more water consumed, the better, with eight glasses being optimal. Other beverages do not count, unfortunately.
The researcher, Ann Shattuck, believes that the water causes the stool to evacuate quickly, which prevents carcinogens from affecting the walls of the intestines.
The water effect is just as effective in keeping cancer away from your urinary tract.

Stem Cell Research
Blood from a newly born baby’s umbilical cord is the best source for stem-cell transplants.
A whole new industry has grown from the collecting, freezing and storing cord blood.
Expectant parents should bank the cord blood from their baby for future use by family members, including parents, siblings and grandparents.

Cold Virus vs. Cancer
TIME magazine reports that researchers have taken a cold virus (CI-1042) and modified it to target neck and head cancers.
The virus trades on the differences between normal and cancerous cells to hunt down and kill just the cancer.
Sixty-three percent (63%) of patients had their tumors shrink by more than half and there was no sign the tumors were growing back. Next, the researchers are aiming at ovarian, pancreatic and other fast spreading cancers.

Glaxo Develops Gel
Glaxo Welcome Pharmaceuticals has developed a gel that when applied to rats with cancer, prevented half from losing any hair during chemotherapy. The balance kept most hair, whereas ninety percent (90%) of those not receiving the gel lost all of their hair.
Clinical trials on human patients are next.

Colon Cancer Research
Though 50,000 Americans die of colon cancer annually, virtually all of it could be prevented, according to Donald Hensrud, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic. The best test is a barium x-ray which looks at the entire colon and detects very small polyps, which can then be removed.
The earliest warning test is one that is self-administered, showing if there is blood in the stool. However, a barium enema should be given every five to ten years. Two other tests are sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy.
Most patients should start testing at age 50, sooner for those with a family history of colon cancer.

Dried Fruit
Believe it or not, dried fruits are just as useful in preventing cancer as are the five serving of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dried fruits lose only water and some vitamin C, while retaining all iron, antioxidants, fiber and potassium.
The fruit with the most antioxidant power is dried prunes. However, the best of all are dried raisins, which contain exactly the same cholesterol battling compounds as wine.
The only downside to dried fruits are that they contain quite a bit more calories than the fresh varieties.