newB

1st, it's important to recognize how we get cancer. We all have genes that code for cancer - these are called oncogenes. Typically, the start codon - a three amino-acid base pair upstream of the gene is turned off, meaning that it is essentially non-sense or junk DNA (as is most of our DNA actually). However, when our cells divide and our DNA is replicated, errors occur. Not frequently, but rather regularly over the entire course of our lives. If these errors occur in most of the junk sequences then there is no harm done, but say you have a start codon that is only one base pair from being turned on. As long as it is non-sense everything is fine, but a single error at just the right place could activate your otherwise dormant cancer gene.

Typically, when we speak of carcinogens - compounds linked to an increased risk of cancer - we are speaking of things that interfere with cell division or otherwise damage our DNA. Our cells continue to divide, and each future generation will carry forward the changes of the past, provided the cell is still healthy and has not drawn the attention of our immune system. So, regular exposure to carcinogens is like playing Russian roulette - just because you don't have cancer yet doesn't mean that damage hasn't already been done, and you might be a lot closer now than you were before. Of course, the inverse is that you might have accumulated errors that have moved cells and their future generations away from getting cancer. The thing is, this is occuring in every cell of your body (except RBCs), and will continue to occur throughout your life.

There are also other types of replication errors that can and do occur than just point mutations, such as crossing over and recombination, where you still have the same genes, but sections get moved around. Viruses also cause routine damage because they use the host cell to replicate their DNA, and typically take a bit more than they need when they remove their sequences from the daughter cells. These changes can likewise result in an othersise non-sense sequence getting turned into a start codon upstream of an oncogene.

When damage is done to the point that the cell is unviable, ideally the cell experiences apoptosis - programmed cell death - so that it will not continue to divide and pass along it's damaged DNA to future generations of cells. White blood cells also work to rid our bodies of damaged cells. The thing is, many cancers can effectively hide from our immune system by having an abundance of "don't eat me" proteins on their cell coats.

Some compounds have been shown to assist in apoptosis, and B17 may be one of them. Cruciferous vegetables are another example of foods shown to offer cancer fighting benefits. While I do not think it would be wise to discount medical advice in favor of dietary changes alone, I think amending our diets while we are still healthy to reap the rewards of these compounds is a better solution. After all, there is no need to cure cancer if you don't get it in the first place.

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