A couple of days ago, I started looking around the 'net to try to find some good body-positive, even fat-positive vegan blogs, that still focused on providing some healthy recipes (for me this means low-sugar, low-fat, low-refined carbs/processed foods, as I'm predisposed towards diabetes). I don't particularly mind discussions of how adopting a vegan diet has resulted in weight shifts or health changes, although I've written before about my thoughts on the trend to
parade a vegan diet as a weight-loss diet. In short, I'd love a vegan blog with at least a
HAES approach, although it
doesn't have to have one.
Of course, while conducting my latest search, I came across an even more alarming trend, the claim that a vegan diet
cures cancer (See, e.g.,
Cancer Free Without Chemo;
Woman Cures Breast Cancer with Vegan Diet;
My Winning Battle with Breast Cancer.)
It's hard for me to verbalize how much these posts bother me. I just want to scream
No no no no no! Stop ruining everything!, but since that only scares away the birds, I will sit here and grind my teeth and try to explain why I feel that articles that make this claim can do harm.
I'm not against alternative medicine (that has some supporting research and evidence - sorry, ear-candling and homeopath enthusiasts). I'm certainly a proponent for the vegan lifestyle, because it reduces suffering to animals and farm/slaughterhouse workers, and reduces environmental pollution, and is more sustainable than current factory farming practices. (This is not to say that I think people who eat meat are unethical, either. To each their own.) I'm not against people who want to express how they feel that veganism has improved their life/health/spirituality.
However, I do find the sort of claims above to be incredibly problematic. In the first article, we learn that Karen Binkoski is diagnosed with breast cancer (intraductal, triple negative) and decides to forego conventional medical treatment, instead adopting a vegan diet as prescribed by Dr. McDougall. It is mentioned that Binkoski had surgery, but there's no specific mention of whether she included any other medical treatments. In the second, Ruth Heidrich (incidentally, the person who inspires Karan Binkoski to make her decision) undergoes a double mastectomy, and then uses a vegan diet in lieu of chemo to stop the spread of the remaining cancer that had metastasized. In the third article, Jessica Bowen undergoes two months of chemotherapy before reading about Forks Over Knives and refusing further treatment. I'm not going to challenge the authenticity of these stories, but I would say these three stories, even taken together, do NOT constitute evidence that the vegan diet will
cure cancer. This is because anecdata and individual stories are not equivalent to objective, large-scale scientific studies that are representative of larger populations, meaning, results may vary. There are too many other variables in play.
Given the data that's available on the vegan diet and cancer, I don't think it's harmful for a cancer patient to consider the vegan diet as a complementary treatment, but I think there's a danger to presenting it as an alternative treatment. That said, let's look at what we DO know about the vegan diet and cancer.
There is definite research that shows that vegans
have a lower incidence of developing cancer. Note that there is very little data
actually available on vegans, and that most of this data relies on reporting from vegetarians. And despite what Oprah and Kathy Freston
are selling us, the data cited in that article is all in regards to low-fat diets that are heavy in vegetables, and complementary exercise. That's probably because there is no definitive scientific evidence that the vegan diet will cure cancer, step metastatis, or shrink tumors. In fact, in some cases there's
conflicting studies. Even Dr. McDougall admits (in his addendum to "Winning My Battle With Breast Cancer") that there's already a 22% chance that most breast cancers will go into remission spontaneously.
There is also the case of long-term vegans who still end up with cancer. Note that Sarah Kramer, a lovely author and vegan activist for well over 15 years (she runs
GoVegan.net and was one of the first people who inspired my interest in a vegan diet), has been bravely blogging her journey over the past year fighting the very same breast cancer that Karen was diagnosed with. (Sarah has chosen to use surgery and chemotherapy). And then there's Robin Gibb (a Bee Gee and long-time vegan), who passed away of colorectal cancer. And lately, Steve Jobs, whose death Dr. McDougall
tries to explain with some weird math. As Ginny Messina, vegan dietitian, put it so eloquently:
"The bottom line though, is that some vegans—including those who are doing all the right things as far as we know—get cancer. It’s popular to say that a vegan diet will make you “bullet proof” against disease....
Sometimes despite following every recommendation for reducing cancer risk, people get cancer anyway. It is, after all, a hard disease to pin down. It develops over decades, and there is evidence that it’s what you ate 20 or 30 and 40 years ago that matters the most, not what you are eating now. - See When Vegans Get Cancer
Given that a vegan diet certainly hasn't prevented cancer in all cases, I find websites that promote a story as a "cancer cure" (particularly for profit, as Forks Over Knives and the McDougall Program do) are delving into questionable ethical territory. Although it may seem that there is no harm in providing information that could potentially help someone, I find it disturbing that there are no qualifiers in these articles, and that, in some cases, the diet is promoted as an alternative to conventional treatment. And this is what I find scary. Because many individuals, when first diagnosed with the disease and faced with the costs of treatment, become frightened, overwhelmed, and look for anything promising a cure. Yet not everyone has the means or know-how to understand the relationship between a vegan diet and cancer, to understand the research and lack of it. Certainly, everyone must evaluate their individual situation, and make the decision that they feel is most right for them - each decision will depend on the individual's health at the time of diagnosis, the extent of the disease, the general prognosis, the opinion of their doctors and family, and whether conventional treatments will even help. (Again, I follow the premise of "to each their own". I want you to do what's right for you.)
However, I worry that those hocking the vegan diet as an
alternative to conventional treatment or as a
cure - without confessing to the rockiness and the lack of data supporting it - those people have the potential to create harm. If a patient comes across these articles, and like Binkoski they come across Dr. McDougall's/Dr. Ornish's work, they may then decide that the vegan diet is the trick, because chemo is expensive, and scary, and really not any fun at all. They may refuse treatment. But unlike Binkoski, they may, like a long list of
vegans , potentially lose the battle anyway.
For me personally, veganism is a way to practice ahimsa. It is way to practice not inflicting harm (and truth be told, I have a long way to go in regards to this in my own life). And so while I would never begrudge anyone for wanting to try to a vegan diet to improve their survival chances, I find it unconscionable for others to use or sell veganism as a cure-all or a cure for cancer. It's untruthful. Perhaps in time we will find that this will change; perhaps we will not. Until then, we should do all that we can to stay informed, and to tell the truth.
Again, quoting the reasonable Ginny Messina, who says it better than I could:
"At any age, we vegans can expect that our compassionate diet has the added advantage of lowering our risk for certain diseases. But, vegan diets are not “miracle” cures or guaranteed prevention and it’s a mistake to ever believe that they are. As always, the only true promise that comes with veganism is that it will remove your contribution to the use and abuse of animals.
- See When Vegans Get Cancer
♥
Disclaimer: These are my personal thoughts, and this post is not directed at anyone. I fully realize that people have the right to chose the cancer treatment that they feel is in their best odds, and I'm sure that those who share their cancer stories are likely only trying to pass on information that may help. I am only against the expectation that veganism provides a cure all, or that it is sold as a cure-all, and my only interest is in making sure that people are informed of the reality data.
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