Hypochondriacs, Rejoice!

I was listening to the radio today, and the author of the book pictured above was talking about all the crazy stuff in our environment that causes cancer or may cause it. I know we don't have "cancer," but we all had tumors, which is close. I think about what might have caused my tumor all the time. The doctors all say, "A single cell mutates, and it goes from there..." but that's not really an explanation. What caused that mutation? For most people, it's not hereditary, so it must be something external. I've talked to some of you about your suspicions, and I totally believe they are true.

Since the tumor, I've become pretty paranoid about freaky chemicals and any kind of radiation. I am frequently amazed at how indiscriminate most people are about the fumes they breathe, the chemicals they slather on their skin, and the "food" they eat. I'm all for the wonders of modern technology, but I also agree with the author that we we need to be more careful before we determine some newly synthesized molecule that has never existed before is "safe." The medical world seems to focus so much on treatment, where's the prevention aspect of it?

If you're interested, you can listen to the radio interview here. There is some discussion about hormones and chemicals that act like hormones being all over the place and wreaking havoc. I wonder, has the prevalence of acromegaly gone up over time? I would hope that detection and diagnosis is getting better, which might make it seem like the numbers are going up, but is it actually occurring more?

If anyone wants to read this book and write a review of it here, I would love to know more.