Events focus on fighting cancer with nutrition

ONE of the questions facing someone diagnosed with cancer is, "Does it matter what I eat?" Often they must plow their way through research to find the answer. Those concerned about the role of nutrition in avoiding cancer face the same problem. Today through Jan. 24, the Turning Point Cancer Center is sponsoring the most comprehensive discussion about the role of nutrition in cancer ever offered in Hawaii. Through film, lecture, panel discussions and a specially designed dinner, people committed to following a cancer-resistant diet will begin to find their answers.

After three chemotherapy treatments for uterine cancer, June Shimokawa decided not to continue along that route, explaining, "If I'm antiwar, how could I participate in knowingly attacking my body with a toxin?" So she focused on eating a macrobiotic diet, along with spiritual work and chi gong. Happily, she is now cancer free.

Staying healthy as well as healing from cancer is a very individual journey, however. Cheryl Lathan found that her vegetarian diet was wrong for her and believes that it contributed to her getting cancer. After being diagnosed, she researched the nutrition and cancer question and discovered that her metabolism requires animal protein. After changing her diet to include these foods, she began to have the energy of a teenager. She underwent surgery for her cancer but opted out of chemotherapy and has been cancer free for five years.

RECENT research by physician Dean Ornish at the University of California in San Francisco has shown that men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer might be better off changing their lifestyle and diet than taking conventional medical treatments. Men who followed a vegetarian diet consisting primarily of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, vitamins and minerals, who exercised regularly (aerobics and yoga) and attended a weekly support group fared much better than those opting for conventional treatment. Their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels fell, unlike those of the control group. In the lab, blood from the lifestyle-change group inhibited tumor growth by 70 percent, compared to only 9 percent in the control group.

As part of the University of Hawaii Film Series "The Healing World," the Turning Point Cancer Center is co-sponsoring a showing of the film "Nutrition and Cancer," with a lecture by a naturopath to follow. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. tonight and again at 5 p.m. Sunday at the University of Hawaii's Spalding Auditorium. The cost is $5.

On Saturday, Terry Shintani, the physician who created the "Hawaii Diet," will be the keynote speaker at two workshops: "Preventing Cancer Through Nutrition" (9-11:30 a.m.) and "Responding to Cancer With Nutrition" (2-4:30 p.m.) at the East-West Center on the UH campus. Shintani is known nationally as an expert on the role of nutrition in preventing and responding to a wide variety of health problems. Each lecture will include a discussion among panelists who will share personal experiences and resources they offer. A $5 donation is suggested and there is no pre-registration. More information is available at 223-2533 or 941-8253. The workshops are part of the Hawaii Cancer Lecture Series.

Finally, a special macrobiotic dinner -- what some consider to be the ultimate in healthy eating -- is being offered to families with cancer at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Weaver Hall at Church of the Crossroads. This is an opportunity not only to experience the delight of a macrobiotic meal and talk story with others on a cancer healing journey but also to hear the experience some cancer survivors have had in implementing a macrobiotic diet and lifestyle. The dinner is co-sponsored by the Church of the Crossroads Health Ministry. The cost is $12 and reservations are required. To sign up, please call 223-2533 or 941-8253.

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