A recent letter in The Scientist recommended greater emphasis on cancer prevention, and outlined personal and societal regimens to enhance prevention.1 While these recommendations are laudable, they have been known for years, but have essentially not been implemented.
In the United States, and increasingly in many other countries, an illness sub-economy has developed. It goes by the misnomer of 'health care.' A substantial and increasing share of gross domestic product is devoted to all aspects of chronic illness and its supporting infrastructure, including:
As a first step, the healing communities (orthodox and alternative) need to reach consensus on the causes of, and preventive steps for, chronic illnesses of various types. This step is critical for credibility and eventual public acceptance. Many causes of cancer often take decades to identify and verify. Much of the data is 'soft.' While controlled experiments are possible with animal models over lengthy time periods, experience ...
