On the positive side, researchers in Japan have noticed the good effect of vitamin A in the prevention of lung cancer. It was noticed that those who ate plenty of green and yellow vegetables were less susceptible to lung cancer. Similar findings were reported among the Singapore Chinese.

Benefiting from the Light Shed

While cancer is still a most serious affliction, it is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was. In literature on the subject, one often sees phrases like “very high rate of recovery, particularly if discovered early.” Research is going on in the East and the West to try to improve cures. In Japan, a vaccine is being developed against cancer-causing hepatitis B, while in the Philippines, money has been set aside to promote research into local plants with anti-tumor properties. Different combinations of chemotherapy (treatment with chemicals) and immunotherapy (utilizing the body’s immunological system), along with radiation and surgery, are being tried to improve the treatment and the cure of the disease.

Meanwhile, the light shed on the part played by the individual and the environment is helpful. It is encouraging that some of the fastest-spreading kinds of cancer can be largely avoided merely by not smoking or by not chewing betel nut. Cancer of the cervix is said to be 100 percent curable, if detected early by simple clinical tests available in most countries. Even breast cancer can be detected early by an easily learned technique of self-examination.

Additionally, there is value in knowing that strong sunlight can induce skin tumors. Also, since eating a balanced diet, with plenty of iron and green and yellow vegetables, avoiding moldy food and taking a daily bath—as well as leading a clean and moral life—may prevent the spread of the scourge, a person certainly is not a loser when he does such things. This is true regardless of what future cancer research may bring to light.