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Dr. Sanjay Gupta

first medical mystery of 2011. any guesses? clue: wear your seatbelt. http://twitpic.com/3mq4d9
Updated: 12:18 pm UTC, January 5 2011
amazingly, no. RT @jabbablinkss: http://twitpic.com/3n7ju3 did this person suffer paralysis or coma?
Updated: 11:42 am UTC, January 5 2011
Answer: 3D CT of unbelted back seat passenger. slammed head into post on front seat, after car was
Updated: 10:57 am UTC, January 5 2011
inspires me as well!RT @Saumi_doc: @sanjayguptaCNN ...Awesome show...Thank you....Ev
Updated: 1:29 am UTC, January 5 2011
you're on to it. RT @Donillini: @sanjayguptaCNN Can it be something thrown from anot
Updated: 5:33 am UTC, January 4 2011
Twitter | Sanjay Gupta MD

Elizabeth Cohen
Government recommends lowering fluoride levels in U.S. drinking water - http://bit.ly/i3hUqY #cnn
Updated: 6:18 pm UTC, January 7 2011
From the Empowered Patient: Don't let a hospital kill your child - http://bit.ly/ge0axA
Updated: 5:17 pm UTC, January 6 2011
January 7th, 2011
Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' British journal finds - http://bit.ly/gfcw44 #cnn
11:29 AM ET
Updated: 12:27 am UTC, January 6 2011
@wolfblitzercnn and I talk about new study finds many defibrillators not needed - http://bit.ly/eEIou
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Updated: 3:47 pm UTC, January 5 2011
Happy New Year! If you overindulge tonight, here are the best hangover remedies. http://tinyurl.com
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Comments (3 comments) Doctor's voice: A failing report card for women’s health
Permalink Teens aren't logging on for sex ed answers
Best-selling author answers your cancer questions
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Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, oncologist and cancer researcher at Columbia University Medical Center New Facebook furor over breastfeeding images
in New York, and author of the New York Times best-selling book, "The Emperor of All Maladies: On the brain: Value and kindness
A Biography of Cancer," recently sat down with CNN and answered questions from iReporters Aging facial bones could cause wrinkles, crow's feet
about cancer. See the iReports and his responses, below. Balding may be a stem cell problem

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Archive
January 2011
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"Every year, I ride, along with over 7,000 cyclists, in the Philadelphia American Cancer Society
Bikeathon. We typically raise over $1,000,000 for the American Cancer Society. My question is:
What does the American Cancer Society do with the money?"

Mukherjee: I am not the spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, so I cannot tell you
exactly how they allocate the money. But I do know that much of this money will be used to
perform important research on cancer biology, prevention and treatment. In fact, I know several
promising young scientists whose work is being funded by the society, and I think this is a truly
promising sign of using money wisely.

Michelle Yamada wrote: "My father died of lung cancer. I watched my father deteriorate every
day through chemo, then laser therapy. He said chemo did the most damage to his body. We are so
intelligent, why haven't we come up with [better methods of] spread prevention in cancer? [Also,]
What is the battle against cancer looking like in the future in treating stage 4 -5 cancers?"

Mukherjee: The capacity of cancers to spread – called “metastasis” – is still one of the most poorly
understood processes in biological terms. In fact, this is one of the most active areas of research in
cancer biology. Amazingly, each cancer appears to spread to only distinct organs – for instance,
lung cancer tends to spread to the bone, to the adrenal glands and to the liver and brain, but not
commonly elsewhere. This idea is called the “seed and soil” theory – that cancers need particular
“soils” to grow. We are just beginning to find out what constitutes this “soil” for particular cancers,
and this will help us understand and treat metastasis. Indeed, some drugs that modify the “soil” are
just emerging, and this will revolutionize the treatment of metastatic cancers.

Marilynn Shcolnik from Seattle, Washington asked: "What do you feel are the most successful
treatments for cancer pain? Both pain from the cancer and pain from the treatment?"

Mukherjee: Pain from cancer is treated using a variety of different methods – from medicines,
counseling, holistic therapies to meditation. Just as there is no archetypal cancer patient, there is no
archetypal treatment for pain. But all these methods work in different populations of patients.
Opiates, such as morphine, are effective in certain cases. In other cases, a psychiatric drug can help,
such as an antidepressant. In other cases, more holistic approaches are helpful. Usually, the best
place to begin is with the question: What is the cause of the pain? Or where, exactly, does it hurt? Is
the pain psychic? Is it emotional?

Lorena Isla from Mexico City, Mexico wrote: "My grandmother died of colon cancer. What are
the chances for my family to have colon cancer too? Also, may I know if cancer can develop from
being sad or depressed? Can emotional issues develop into cancer?"

Mukherjee: Some forms of colon cancer are inherited, while others do not have a known
inheritance pattern, and may occur in patients without any family history. I would talk to your
doctor about your family history and see whether you should see a genetic counselor.

Tamara Doane of Chilhowie, Virginia wrote: "My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer in
January 2010. He had no signs or symptoms, just went for a routine colonoscopy. The doctor found
a tumor and surgery was done that same day. The tumor came back as stage 3 and he had 10 chemo
treatments. He became allergic to the chemo treatments and they were stopped. He had a C T scan
in Nov. of 2010 and was normal. He had a colonoscopy in Dec. of 2010 and 7 polyps were removed
and the doctor said they were not cancerous. My question: [Are] there certain foods he can eat to
prevent colon cancer and polyps from occurring?"

Mukherjee: Diets high in red meat and low in fiber have been linked to colon cancer, but there are
no data concerning recurrence in this setting. Thus, I would advise a diet low in red meat, and
containing plenty of fiber. A nutritionist can help determine the optimal solution.

Priya Jacob of Prosper, Texas wrote: "My question to Dr. Mukherjee is whether there is any hope
for potential cancer patients in treatments at the molecular level. I must admit that I have difficulty
in accepting that the present cut, burn, poison method is the way to go. As with any other disease,
shouldn't we be looking at cancer, at the cellular level and taking steps to prevent [it] rather than
wait for it to claim more lives?"

Mukherjee: This is precisely what is being done right now. For some cancers this has been
extremely successful. For chronic myelogenous leukemia, for instance, scientists found the
molecular aberration, then found a drug that would target this aberration, and it is incredibly
effective. A similar approach is being tried for many forms of cancer.

Sherbien Dacalanio of Quezon City, Philippines asked:

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Best-selling author answers your cancer questions – The Chart - CNN.co... http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/07/best-selling-author-answe...

"What is the truth of placebo as a cure for cancer?"

Mukherjee: Placebos can have powerful effects, particular powerful psychological effects, but it’s
unlikely that a placebo can directly affect a cancer cell. That said, there are new studies, in mice,
that hormones secreted by the brain, can affect cancers, and this needs to be tested in humans.

Shari Atukorala from Kandy, Sri Lanka asked:

"Even though cancer has been here for more than 4,000 years and we live in a scientific and
technological modern world, and though intensive research has been done on this disease, why has
there not been a cure and remedy found for cancer?"

Mukherjee: That’s because there is no single “cancer” – but many diseases that are very diverse
and complex. Our molecular understanding of these diseases was very crude until recently, and thus
we were unable to find the most effective treatment and prevention mechanisms. Scientists now
have a much deeper understanding of the diversity of cancer, and this will surely allow us to make
inroads into treatment and prevention.

Post by: Pamela Sellers - CNN

Filed under: Cancer

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soundoff (3 Responses)

1. Dr. Berney

I have lots of ANSWERS for HUMANITARIAN Treatment of Cancer Patients.

Cancer can be treated as a chronic disease instead of a DEATH SENTENCE!

3 of 4 1/7/2011 11:25 AM
Best-selling author answers your cancer questions – The Chart - CNN.co... http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/07/best-selling-author-answe...

WELLNESS WORKS TO SAVE LIVES

WELLNESS CLEANS OUT MOST CANCERS

NATURALCANERWELLNESS.COM

LIVE LONGER
FEEL BETTER
GET HEALTHY
MEDICINE NOT POISON

January 7, 2011 at 13:56 | Report abuse | Reply

2. Dr. Berney

CNN is BIASED
Confused by the Politics of Medicine and the Business of Medicine
Doesn't pay any attention to the real world facts and Science of Medicine
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD HAVE ME AS A HEADLINER IN HEALTH CARE
WE HAVE A NON-TOXIC CANCER TREATMENT
NOW WE NEED SOME CLINICS

IV Vitamin C has Cured Many Cancers,

After the Chemo failed, I Cured my Lymphoma using iv Vitamin C while curing my heart
from Chemo Heart Failure.
WELLNESS WORKS

I AM ALIVE
naturalcancerwellness.com

January 7, 2011 at 14:03 | Report abuse | Reply

3. PimmyZ

I took a dump and it all went away. *POOT* <-Smell dat one!

January 7, 2011 at 14:14 | Report abuse | Reply

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