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Who
would have believed when
we started the Bristol
Cancer Help Centre in
1980 that nutrition and
health would command such
wide and general public
interest by the turn of
the century? We were labelled
as cranks and quacks then,
and the whole idea that
a disease like cancer
could be influenced by
what you eat was ridiculed
and derided.
It was to demonstrate
that serious, widespread
and scientifically sound
research existed for nutritional
approaches to cancer,
that in 1993 we called
on Sandra Goodman PhD
to create a substantial
and far reaching cancer
and nutrition database.
From this widespread evidence
base, it was possible
to see how much hard work
had gone into providing
the medical profession
with life saving information.
Almost all of this research
has been completely disregarded
and ignored. It is astonishing!
So much good time, so
much money, such years
of hard work, all ignored.
The database, however,
proved very popular and
to further explain and
describe the scientific
basis for nutritional
approaches to cancer,
Sandra Goodman PhD wrote
the book Nutrition and
Cancer. From the start
it had wide appeal and
quickly went to a second
edition. Patients found
it a godsend to have all
the information they needed
at their fingertips. Complementary
practitioners were delighted
to have the evidence they
sought from reputable
scientific sources and
quickly added it to their
reference libraries. And
slowly, bit by bit, doctors
here and there began to
get the message, learning
from their patients that
nutrition had a part to
play in the recovery of
health.
At the time of this printing
of the third edition of
Nutrition and Cancer it
is true to say that patients
are still advised to eat
cream buns by hospital
dieticians! Nevertheless
the message coming from
the Department of Health
has changed radically.
You can hardly read a
magazine or open a newspaper
without being advised
to eat five portions of
fresh fruit and vegetables
a day. Listing the causes
of cancer, Government
places nutrition firmly
ahead of all other risks,
except smoking. Finally
the message is getting
home that fresh, whole
and if possible, organic
food can and will lead
to a healthier nation.
Even if this change of
heart is dictated by the
outrageous costs of the
NHS, nevertheless it is
heartening to know that
the pendulum is beginning
to swing in favour of
healthy nutrition.
Change is most needed,
of course, in the field
of cancer prevention.
People may be prepared
to change the dietary
habits of a lifetime when
they are faced with a
diagnosis of cancer but
it is an uphill task to
convince people that prevention
is better than cure. There
has, however, been an
enormous shift of consciousness
in a comparatively short
time. Books like Sandra
Goodman's Nutrition and
Cancer have played a vital
role in persuading people
that the evidence is out
there, that the research
already exists to prove
the point. We owe a great
debt of gratitude to scientists
like Dr Goodman for doing
the hard work for us;
for collecting and collating
the evidence to show that
what you eat can have
a profound influence on
your health. Now patients
and doctors can see for
themselves how far research
in the field of nutrition
and cancer has progressed
over the past decade.
To anyone who has just
picked up this book in
idle curiosity and has
read thus far I would
say: you have pure gold
in your hands! Contained
within these covers is
information that can change
and shape your life. If
you have responsibility
for the health of others,
you have here enough evidence
to help and heal those
who look to you for guidance
and succour. I know from
the past decade what this
book has done for patients
who have come from far
and wide to the Bristol
Cancer Help Centre. The
vital information contained
here is easily accessed,
and enjoyable to read.
A marked change is taking
place in the very fabric
of society's approach
to medical care. It is
important that patients
take responsibility for
their own health as far
as possible. Commitment
to this care of self is
proportional to self-esteem
and self-empowerment,
and may most tangibly
be observed in the daily
relationship each one
of us has to food and
to nourishment.
Pat Pilkington MBE
Co-Founder
Bristol Cancer Help Centre
February 2003
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