A Tragedy Exploited

Tony Snow's Cancer: Is There a Lesson for Us?
Posted on: Wednesday, 16 July 2008, 09:00 CDT

As a two-time cancer survivor, I would love to see Tony Snow's tragic death last week help raise awareness about colorectal cancer. The former White House press secretary was just three years younger than me and I know all too well how tough his battle was. Sadly, it's one that 50,000 Americans lose each year.

When famous people like Snow or journalist Tim Russert pass away, their deaths often inspire news coverage about their particular disease. That's good because it helps educate the public. Unfortunately, the articles often focus on early detection or the latest treatments.

As someone who detected her first cancer early and lives with many complications from various treatments, I know there's an infinitely better approach. It's cheaper, less painful, and comes with fewer side effects. It's called prevention. I would be thrilled if Tony Snow's death inspired a serious discussion about cancer prevention. That's the best hope any of us have for a long, healthy life.

One way we can help prevent cancer _ in addition to not smoking, keeping slim, exercising and not drinking _ is to eat right. But what constitutes "eating right" is often up for debate.
Food manufacturers and their lobbyists like to pretend that even the most unhealthful foods _ like hot dogs, bacon and other processed meats _ are OK in moderation. And anyone with a pepperoni addiction likes to pretend that jogging three miles a day will keep them healthy. But late last year, the game was up.

That's when two prestigious cancer research organizations _ the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research _ released a landmark report on diet and cancer risk. The scientists announced that when it comes to colon cancer, there is absolutely no amount of processed meat that's safe to eat. Read More

We probably should have seen this coming, a vegetarian using the death of Tony Snow to further their agenda. If you have watched the news at all over the last 20 years, everything causes cancer. Apparently just eating causes cancer along with breathing and sleeping. Using the tragic death of Tony Snow to promote vegetarianism is shameful.