Document 3ekOX2vZoMzXL8BkmN5MjVpay

percent that are caused by exposure to radiation which is largely background, not nuclear plants, but background radiation. We have enough radioactive pot assium in our bodies, for example, to cause 6,000 radioactive decays per min ute. That adds up. Another 2 percent of the cancer deaths are caused by pre-existing med ical disorders, like chronic ulcerative colitis, chronic gastritis and things like that. And about 1 percent are caused by prescription drugs for the treatment of serious medical disorders. The symposium held in June also determined, and this was brought forth by Dr. Cuyler Hammond of the American Cancer Society, that almost zero per cent of cancer deaths, it's something like .00001 percent, are caused by air pollution. Water pollution is in the same category of zero percent. Other studies have shown that nuclear power plant accidents, asbestos in hair dry ers, asbestos in school rooms, and saccharin/cyclamates can not cause cancer as presently used. And yet, chose things that are listed as being zero per cent are uppermost in the public's mind. This is due to the propaganda ma chines. We are treated to outrageous remarks by Individuals like Wolfe from Ralph Nader's group that asbestos is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in males in'this country. It's an absolutely unfounded statement that, by no stretch of even Sellikoff's imagination, could that be true. And yet, indiv iduals like chis are placed politically on the National Cancer Advisory Board and govern, and help to govern the National Cancer Institute's policy. It is terrifying because our nation can be led down the wrong path in prevention. So you have an uphill fight in terms of public relations but X think that, if controls are kept, truth and reason are on your side and I think that you can win this battle that you are in. Thank you. QUESTION: 1 assume that the reason for the higher cancer rates in the cities 16 due to the factors you describe, more smoking, and so on. DR. DEMOPOULOS: And they may have far more disordered nutrition. The urban crowding is a surrogate for all of the factors that we know to cause cancer and it is proven too, with animal studies. The reason is ultimately the kinds of stress that you get when you start crowding any living organisms together. This has been well-defined with rat behavioral studies where if you take a room of a given size and keep putting more and more rats in there, even though you provide them with enough food and water, and places to sleep and rest, you will see back biting, tail biting, homosexuality, fighting and all the other things we see in urban settings. In medical school we are taught that certain diseases are urban diseases, i.e., they occur more frequently in urban areas. For example, obesity, hypertension, chronic ulcerative diseases of the G1 tract (the gastrointestinal tract), heart disease, suicide, homicide, drug addiction, are all far more common in urban settings. This includes the cities and their surrounding suburbs. Now, I think to that list should be added cancer. And 1 don't think it's stress per se, but rather it's the way humans choose to re lieve their stress, through gorging themselves, drinking themselves into obliv ion, and surrounding themselves with smoke, that cause cancer. QUESTION: I understood that in other parts of the world that different types of cancers occur. DR. DEMOPOULOS: Well, there are some interesting reports that have come from China recently. There are regions .of China that have extraordinary rates of esophageal cancer, for example. Even their chickens have esophageal cancer. HFM -008182 n 002 00?. U