(24-07-12) Why is cancer almost never found in mummies? A disease of modern living

by Craig Stellpflug

(NaturalNews) "Cancer found in mummies is very rare," say professors Rosalie
David and Michael Zimmerman from the University of Manchester. Their
investigation of hundreds of Egyptian mummies found only one case of cancer.
Searching for evidence of cancer in fossils and ancient medical texts, they
uncovered only five cases of tumors, mostly benign. They conclude that cancer
among ancient people "was extremely rare. There is nothing in the natural
environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to
pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle."

"Cancer appears to be a modern disease created by modern life."

The ancient Egyptians were very adept at the use of herbs and drugs for
disease treatments and made meticulous notes for every physical specialty of
their day. During the following centuries, there were many fathers of medicine
that recorded human maladies and treatments, building on the foundation of the
great Egyptian physicians. The scarcity of references to cancer in ancient
literature seems to confirm the rarity of cancer in olden times. But since
then, cancer rates have risen almost exponentially, beginning with the
Industrial Revolution. This is particularly true with childhood cancer, proving
that the rise is not simply due to people living longer.

Counterpoint
Professors Zimmerman and David determined that the average life expectancy of
the mummies they inspected was 25 to 50 years. Critics of this modern cancer
disease hypothesis suggest that the short life span of individuals in antiquity
precluded the development of cancer. Although this statistical construct is
true, individuals in ancient Egypt and Greece did live long enough to develop
age-related conditions like atherosclerosis, Paget's disease of bone, and
osteoporosis with childhood cancers never mentioned.

Another argument is that tumors may have disintegrated over the millennia,
making it impossible for the scientists to come to their conclusion to which
Professor Zimmerman pointed out that his work indicates that tumors actually
are better preserved than normal tissue. Zimmerman states "in an ancient
society lacking surgical intervention, evidence of cancer should remain in all
cases."

History of cancer
The oldest description of cancer dates around 3000 BC in an Egyptian textbook
describing eight cases of supposed tumors of the breast that were treated by
cauterization. The origin of the word cancer comes from Hippocrates (460-370
BC), who used the terms carcinos and carcinoma to describe non-ulcer and ulcer-
forming tumors. Galen (130-200 AD), used the word oncos (Greek for swelling) to
describe tumors.

Breast cancer is mentioned around 1650 by two doctors in Holland who also
wrongly concluded that cancer was contagious. Further records of breast and
other cancers did not appear for another 100 years with the first modern
descriptions of operations for breast and other cancers by the famous Scottish
surgeon John Hunter. The first incidents of nasal cancer among snuff users was
recorded in 1761, scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps in 1775, and Hodgkin's
disease in 1832.

Cancer is now the second leading cause of death in the US, right after heart
disease and just before medical and pharmaceutical deaths. Overall, a person
has about a one in two chance of being diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
The World Health Organization notes that about one-third of cancer deaths can
be prevented, and that tobacco use is the single most important risk factor.
Numerous studies have found an association between diet and cancer.

Is cancer a man-made phenomenon? Whether it is or not, it would be prudent for
us to limit the toxins we are exposed to that are within our control, like
preservatives, food additives, industrial pollution, car emissions, household
chemicals, toxic drugs and other sources. We are responsible for our own health
and cannot afford to wait for science to ferret out the answers for us.

Sources for this article

http://www.cancer.org
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/

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