Ken Burns PBS Documentary on Cancer

[Ern2Win]

Just saw Ken Burns on CNBC touting his new documentary coming on PBS on Cancer: starting next Monday night (Mar 30) for three consecutive nights 9-11 PM.

He described it as an executive summary of cancer: where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.

He mentioned a lot of things: therapies, genetics, smoking, etc. But nary a word about diet. It will be interesting to see if diet is mentioned at all in the documentary. You would think it should be given the work of many on antiangiogenesis (Dr. William Li for one) and methionine restriction.

[soul food]

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/842176

Waves of Emotion, Understanding After PBS Cancer
John L. Marshall, MD Disclosures
March 30, 2015

his is John Marshall for Medscape. A few days from now (on March 30), public television is going to begin airing the WETA series Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. Most of you have already read the book on which this is based. It's a great book. It teaches us about the history of our profession—of oncology—and it has now been turned into a 6-hour, three-part film by Ken Burns that tells the history and science behind cancer and cancer medicine. It shows patients and patients' families, good and bad outcomes.

Last nigh 60 Minutes had a story on cancer treatment using polio. It's immunotherapy.

soul food

[Katydid]

I read the book on which the PBS specials are based and it is excellent. I can't recommend it highly enough. I've got the special set to DVR and I am really looking forward to it. Great book + Ken Burns = classic.

and PS: Can we get William Li to the ASW?

Kate

[hazelrah]

From the Fresh Air interview he did not seem like a lifestyle doctor to me. Of course there have been a few speakers at the ASW who are not very lifestyle friendly, but most will either affirm or rebut the role of diet in disease. I didn't hear him say much that made me think he had an interest in it either way. The genetics work he did talk about was very interesting.

I have setting up the record on the DVR tonight on the top of my notepad. And our attempts to get the word out about lifestyle benefits seem like something Ken Burns would handle really well. Maybe getting him for an ASW would be beneficial.

Mark

[napagirl]

Thanks for posting this, I have loved every Ken Burns documentary so far.
It's must see tv for me! : )

[Skip]

I watched the first episode and it presents a historical view of cancer research. From surgery, to chemotherapy, to radiation. I will be quite curious if there is any mention of Dr. Campbell's research on the subject (or the Pritikin foundation). Will there be any mention of allowing the human body to fight cancer itself with a nutritional approach. I doubt that there will be but will be pleasantly surprised if it is even suggested.

This Pritikin experiment just keeps coming to mind: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-ans ... in-puzzle/

[flabingo]

hopefully some mention of prevention and the success of healthy nutrition. The only way they reduced smoking was when the legal system was used, and the politicians were forced to act responsibly. Ken Burns has a big microphone. Duke Program on 60 minutes awesome. And Al Gore interview with Dr Topal did not hurt. Maybe in Hillary runs BillyBoy will admit how he changed his health.
more microphones are better. Biggest problem Federal subsidies on Meat and Dairy 63% Fruit, veggie nuts 3% Like giving Kentucky 30 extra points to start the game in the NCAA finals

[working at it]

Read the book. About 600 pages. Maybe 3 sentences on diet or nutrition. Disappointing.

[flabingo]

I am very concerned that Aaron E. Carroll was given a microphone in the NYTimes about eating red meat. I blame the NYT for publishing this article.

[dynodan62]

I am not optimistic. In the end, Ken Burns is an entertainer, not an educator nor an altruistic public servant. He is successful only because public television stations are willing to pay big money for his excellent films. The same political/financial pressures that suppress dietary truth exist in the entertainment world as well. The fact that cancer is largely unknown amongst primitive populations who historically consume a WFPB diet will not likely come up.

[soul food]

Part one, looking back at cancer treatment was depressing and sad. But what was really depressing and sad was the mindset of medical science, this kind of reductionistic-- we need to find chemicals, lethal toxic chemicals, that at the cellular level will kill cancer cells. No stepping back and looking at the big picture of lifestyle, what we know (but probably didn't know) about other cultures health habits or how the body works, as an intelligent system trying heal itself. At least the immunotherapy does that. I referring to the 60 minutes show I referenced earlier. No looking at environmental influences. There were some heroes though, that one children's doctor who obviously cared a lot and that rich lady who raised the money and spearheaded making it a national cause.

soul food

[dailycarbs]

The mainstream media (including PBS, NY Times, etc) are part of the problem. No solutions will be found there. I consider myself too well-informed to waste my time watching or reading more from the purveyors of status quo. They are slicing and dicing the smallest particles of health and disease in the most reductionist manner possible and no good will ever come from it. My god! The waste of money and human resources is depressing to behold.

[soul food]

dailycarbs, yes you make good points. I was reading a paper about how in universities when researchers are applying for funding and permission to do a research project they have to state what they expect to find or what the outcome will be and how that will be utilized or applied to some knowledge that is marketable. The results must be useful...profitable. I recall the author of the article saying people are NOT funded to ask open- ended questions. When we are already in a narrow mindset that seems to further narrow the field. This is how ratio-calculative thinking (capitalism, corporate driven research) has narrowed
our understanding. Universities now have more people in management than teaching. Maybe some people should be funded for the provocative questions they might ask, not for what they already expect to find.

soul food

[hazelrah]

hopefully some mention of prevention and the success of healthy nutrition. The only way they reduced smoking was when the legal system was used, and the politicians were forced to act responsibly. Ken Burns has a big microphone. Duke Program on 60 minutes awesome. And Al Gore interview with Dr Topal did not hurt. Maybe in Hillary runs BillyBoy will admit how he changed his health.
more microphones are better. Biggest problem Federal subsidies on Meat and Dairy 63% Fruit, veggie nuts 3% Like giving Kentucky 30 extra points to start the game in the NCAA finals

In the Fresh Air interview that was rerun last Friday, he talks quite a bit near the end about prevention, but it focused on things like genetics and other pharmaceudical preventative measures, at least that's how it sounded to me.

All the discussion of the media's role in the process just reinforces to me the need to create the market for this lifestyle. It should be there as the population ages. I think the paradigm for media since the birth of social networks is to spit the things we consume back at us so we consume them faster. And things like the death of cable tv will reinforce that paradigm. I've been involved in data mining for the last 15 to 20 years and I noticed pretty early on that it creates very powerful feedback loops. Eventually, you'll never get exposed to anything you don't already like, because all that matters is that you consume things at a rate that supports growth, and the popular taste is hoping, perhaps expecting, to have their health problems solved by pharmaceudicals. But eventually there is point at which your body simply cannot sustain that level of consumption. If we're lucky that will occur before we've gone off the cliff, but that's up to us. I suspect that this series will be another example of how that will not be easy.

Mark

[vgpedlr]

I think the paradigm for media since the birth of social networks is to spit the things we consume back at us so we consume them faster. And things like the death of cable tv will reinforce that paradigm. I've been involved in data mining for the last 15 to 20 years and I noticed pretty early on that it creates very powerful feedback loops. Eventually, you'll never get exposed to anything you don't already like, because all that matters is that you consume things at a rate that supports growth, and the popular taste is hoping, perhaps expecting, to have their health problems solved by pharmaceudicals. But eventually there is point at which your body simply cannot sustain that level of consumption. If we're lucky that will occur before we've gone off the cliff, but that's up to us. I suspect that this series will be another example of how that will not be easy.

Mark

Well said, Mark. I see it in myself. I'm here to interact with like minded people. I'm not over at Mark's Daily Apple because they're Paleo. It's both a blessing and a curse: Blessing because there are not many of us and it's good to connect, but a curse not to be forced to interact with folks that are different. In this context, it's why I continue to follow some who espouse a low carb, high fat lifestyle for endurance.