Would You Want To Know If You Were Vulnerable To Cancer?

by Karen and Erica

There has been progress, but it seems to us that everyone we know has been touched by cancer—their own or that of someone they love. We certainly have. It is a big, scary, multi-armed monster that terrifies when it appears and often leaves death and destruction in its wake.

That’s why we went to a fascinating Atlantic magazine symposium about the fight against cancer. We learned many things. Here are the ones most interesting, or surprising, to us.

• Early detection is a huge focus. The speakers—sensible medical and academic types—were excited and exciting, talking about a paradigm shift in the way cancer is approached.

• As just one example, it is now possible to do a “liquid biopsy”, a type of blood test, to see if cancer is floating around.

• It is also possible to get comprehensive genetic testing, while you are healthy, just to establish a baseline to see if you have genes that suggest vulnerability to certain cancers. Such “germline” testing is done on healthy cells to look for gene mutations. A comprehensive test now costs only $250—expensive, but 1/20th of what it was a short time ago, and the cost is likely to go down.

• Do you want to get tested? That is a difficult decision, but if the test tells you that cancer is present, presumably the answer is yes if there is an available therapy. If the test tells you only that you may be susceptible, then maybe it is more of a debate. But again, to the extent that the germline test identifies disposition to diseases for which there are existing therapies, we think we would want to know.

• Another fascinating discussion, especially for those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s, concerned magic mushrooms—scientifically, psylocybins. Apparently, testing of these substances to address cancer-related depression and other mental states was well underway in the 50s and 60s. Then President Nixon and the NIH decided way too many people were having way too much fun with them, and more or less outlawed them. Studies have started again, especially at Johns Hopkins, and testing appears to show dramatic improvements in the mental states of many patients, including cancer patients, following a single dose therapeutic application of the drugs. Amazing.

• Finally, food. If course, you know you should eat your fruits and vegetables, but apparently there is developing evidence that some foods—blueberries, green tea—can affect carcinogenic progress by modulating cancer-crossing pathways. Tests are underway to identify ways to produce edibles that will provide the necessary dosage—in a way that is tasty. For example, concentrated freeze dried blueberries are bitter, and rejected by children. The plan is to produce a blueberry gummy bear that children will enjoy. (In the context of cancer prevention or treatment, a little sugar won’t hurt. And, we learned, ingesting sugar does not “feed” cancer—cancer will find what it want to feed upon no matter what you eat.)

There was much much more, including information about the importance of human connections and support, music, the huge role of big data, and incredibly moving stories from cancer survivors, as well an an apt comparison between treating cancer and treating racism, especially in states that have rejected Medicaid expansion, since many people without means are people of color. The link above will get you the talks.

We can all help. One of the keys to figuring out how to stop cancer before it starts is to analyze data. Much of our health data is protected by privacy laws. We would all be benefited if our data were available for research—especially if we are healthy. So if you are asked for access to your data, consider saying yes. And if you are not asked, consider asking why not.