Today, in my capacity as Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Hertsmere, England, I received several e-mails from the Breast Cancer Campaign’s Chief Executive, Pamela Goldberg, and various supporters. The campaign is asking supporters to write to their local parliamentary candidates, asking them to support breast cancer research.
Well first of all, I’ve had personal experience, through family and friends, of the devastating impact of breast cancer and early death. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to anyone who is suffering, directly or indirectly from any form of cancer.
However, I don’t support cancer research in general, whether for breasts, or any other part of the anatomy. Why? Isn’t cancer research something everyone can agree is a good thing? Wouldn’t all ‘right-thinking’ people support it?
No. There’s definitely a place, or a need, for research into all sorts of illnesses, especially the worse ones, which cancer is, but a lot of cancer research is either pointless, cruel and/or a waste of money. Why do I say that? Because:
- to a large extent, we already know what causes cancer: an unhealthy lifestyle (lack of exercise, stress, drugs and/or bad diet), toxins in our diet or environment, and, to a small extent, genetics,
- cancer researchers use animals to experiment on. The Breast Cancer Campaign even try to justify their use. Since different species have different physiologies, you can’t extrapolate a result from one to another. Researchers try to get round this by using animals closest to humans, in other words, chimps, baboons and monkeys. But these species, being closest to humans, also have a high consciousness, and with it, a greater capacity for pain and suffering. Artificially giving cancer, poisons and experimental drugs to animals isn’t going to do much, if anything for human cancer sufferers; it certainly isn’t going to reduce the aggregate amount of suffering in the world. In fact, according to the law of karma, net suffering will increase.
- much cancer research is aimed at finding a ‘magic-bullet cure’. While orthodox medicine is excellent at treating some conditions, particularly injuries, its over-reliance on finding cures (“to beat breast cancer” … “researching the cure for breast cancer”) rather than models for prevention is literally fatally flawed. There is no ‘magic bullet’ and there never will be. Good health is not a matter of ’defeating’ an army of illnesses. It comes complete with a healthy lifestyle and an unpolluted environment.
So, with best wishes to you Pamela and all cancer sufferers everywhere, I cannot support the Breast Cancer Campaign in its work. I was going to say that I support its ideals, but as of today, 25 January 2010, its About page does not even mention the word health, and when you get past the fluffy pink ribbons, it’s basically a fund-raiser for scientific medical orthodoxy and animal experimentation.
So, after all that negativity, what is my answer to health problems? Not so much a definitive answer, but I’ve written about what I believe we should be doing here.
Here’s to a long and healthy life for all!
Well mine is one vote that you will not be getting. I do not agree with your reasons for your non-support. Throughout history the cures for many illnesses have been found through medical research.
Hear hear Arjuna! Prevention is better than cure. Research is one thing, but testing on animals is an outdated, discredited and cruel method whose results are spurious at best. For example, Morphine sedates human beings, makes cats manic, and kills mice stone dead. Good job we didn’t rely on animal testing for its effects on human beings!
The Cancer Research industry is, in my opinion, a front for vivisection and a scam which has a vested interest in *never* finding a cure for cancer, because if they did, their funding would be no more. It is proven that they have suppressed many genuine natural cures for cancer, because they do not fit the Big Pharma “patent it and make billions” model. I personally would never give a penny to Cancer Research, which is annoying because they have nice shirts in their shops :p Oh well, Oxfam deserve it more
i whole heartedly agree with this Arjuna! Its good to see that im not the only one who sees things this way. the research is indeed a cover up for vivisection. i have personal experience of family members having cancer in different areas of the body yet wholeheartedly disagree with testing on non complying animals where the results are biologically unfounded for human beings. i will not be put in a pink fluffy ribbon to raise yet more money towards the suffering of animals (pulling on the heartstrings of women who have lost family members to cancer – how abusive is that to vunerable women?). cancer research has gone on for many years and indeed, where is the cure? i went to my cancer research lab, which to my horror is near my house. i asked them about their work and their reply was “oh, you like rats do you?” i replied, “its not whether i like rats, rather i do not like them suffering”. i am a member of the ‘lord dowdings trust’ which researches through humane means – biologically relevant testing without harming another creature…..look them up they are affiliated with NAVS (national anti vivisection society). when i tell the mums in the playground about where their raised money goes when they do a fun run, they are horrified and angry as they did not have a clue about the research side. the same goes for many other ‘research’ programmes – British heart foundation, action research, cystic fybrosis trust, multiple sclerosis society ….. the list goes on and is available from NAVS in a mini card which i show to those raising funds.