Hello Grant, good follow-up note.

Sharks and cancer..........here we go!! Anyone who takes a good look at shark cartilage and the bunk of misinformation and falsehoods surrounding the money making effort to get people to consume it, knows that this is another bit of pseudo-science built on the desire to make money. While is true that many positive things have come from natural occurring substances, do not forget that cancer is essentially a genetic disease. The basis for a cure will come from a technology that reverses the genetic aberration that manifests itself as cancer. This is quite different than plant based biotics that cure bacterial infections.

I've been reading more and more about the famous viral link to some cancers too.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/78/95750.htm
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=51

I know this isn't a new concept, (a lot can be found on this very site) I think the link that some viruses change the genetic makeup somehow will be the ultimate linkage.

A fascinating book is: "How to win the Nobel Prize" by Prof. J. Michael Bishop

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1334346

Incidentally, the author of the two books "Shark's Don't Get Cancer" has been proven wrong several times. Sharks DO in-fact get cancer, and cancer in their cartilage too.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article...p;condition=Home%20&%20Top%20Stories

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041022.html

But, I know shark cartilage has 'some' therapeutic affects on the growth of new blood vessels. I guess it's been clinically proven to retard this growth. My dad has taken it religiously as a treatment (which for him has worked) of an outbreak he gets occasionally (skin lesion). Anyway, following his heart attack the cardiologist insisted he stop taking the shark cartilage since it retards new blood vessel growth.

http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/sharkcartilage

Just some anecdotal information I wanted to share.

If anyone even bothers going back to posts from 2005 I would sure like to join in as I have spent time understanding mushrooms because I am half Japanese. Mushrooms are a nutrition item and not to be confused with medicine. Benefits are increased immunity to colds maybe but there are multiple types. The main ones are shiitake, maitake and reishii. Reishii are really the supershroom that gives the best benefit health and nutrition wise by taking dry mushrooms, dried red ginger from a Chinese herbalilst and putting in a crock pot and drinking the juice like tea. Benefits are plenty but curing cancer isn't one. It is more boosting immunity from things like colds but not even sure other than the first two really taste good!

Ed

Ed

At first, I thought; Oh No, now I have to be the "bad guy" again, and start digging out the phase one studies and the critiques of all those Japanese "studies" and spell out the difference between eating mushrooms and getting injections of beta glucan (the active ingredient in Maitake).
But instead you were very reasonable:
[quote] Benefits are plenty but curing cancer isn't one.[/quote]
Thank you.
By the way, one reason people don't usually resurrect 7 year old threads is that a lot of the information is badly outdated.
Like the "interesting" theory of a virus causing this cancer, when now we know for a fact that HPV does cause oral cancer.
Another example in this old thread, is the concept of having the "maximum " radiation done (presumably 77 GY) - which may have been true 7 years ago, but as Kelly211 and myself and PaulB show, not true anymore.

Its best not to comment on old threads. It can create confusion as too often members do not pay attention to dates and wont realize things are out dated. It will also push down newer posts. Many times on old threads, there will be posts by beloved members who are now deceased which can be hard to read.