Dennie Quill, Contributor

One of the most unpleasant things I have had to do in the last few months was to purge my rolodex of the names of friends and acquaintances whom I won't be calling anymore. They are all dead. Ranging in ages 33 to 84, they have all died of cancer of one sort or another. Many fought valiantly for a decade or more while others succumbed in mere months. Virtually every day I hear of a new cancer diagnosis - most prostate and breast cancer but also cervical, lymphoma, bone and bowel.It just seems to me that more people are falling victim to this dreadful disease. Curiously, it is happening at a time when early detection methods have improved significantly and there are vocal healthy-lifestyle advocates around.

A recent report in the Guardian newspaper has confirmed my suspicion. Professor Valerie Beral of Oxford University was quoted as saying "While death rates have been slashed by new drugs and earlier diagnosis, the number of women getting breast cancer and having to go through traumatic surgery and chemotherapy was rising". While noting that research into breast cancer has been a great success story, with survival rates at an all-time high, Dr Jane Cope of the United Kingdom's National Cancer Research Institute admitted that "the number of women diagnosed with the disease is increasing year after year".

Public debate

Over the last few years, public debate both international and local, has focused on the HIV/Aids epidemic and it seems to me that cancer needs to share the spotlight at the top of the health agenda. The community needs to hear more from health- care officials about screening, diagnosis and the treatment of cancer. Our current knowledge is bolstered by research findings, whether on the topic of raw versus cooked vegetable, the role, if any, of ackees in prostate cancer. Should one be eating more tomatoes and pomegranate to promote prostate health? There are, indeed, more questions than answers.

So it is understandable that several discussions about cancer have been taking place among my circle of friends. Since we are not scientists, we have been applying our layman wisdom to the problem and we have come up with the possibility of the three Is. First, we considered the possibility that modern-day people are ingesting harmful stuff which causes cancer. This is directly related to the foods we consume. It is a fact that people are eating out more and finding comfort in fast foods. The hurly burly nature of 21st-century living demands that we access convenience foods using more tinned food, more plastics and more microwave ovens.

Atmosphere

Then we explored the idea of what we inhale - the second 'I'. This could relate to dyes used in our clothing to stuff in the atmosphere, including material such as paints used in construction and even the air that is filtered through air condition ducts. The fact is the consumer never knows what ingredients go into some of these products. And the regulatory agencies charged with the duty of protecting us appear unequal to the task.

Then we came to the third 'I' - inherited genes. Epidemiological studies have long shown a link between breast and prostate cancer in some families. And one often hears that someone is predisposed to certain cancers which run in families.

Unfortunately, we do not know much about the basic biology of cancer but, like many families who have seen their loved ones taken away due to cancer, the concern is mounting. We have seen more universities spring up over the last few years, but we have not seen an appreciable degree of health advocacy by these institutions. It is high time for them to undertake a series of educational lectures on this topic.

Bodies like the Medical Association of Jamaica should undertake public forums where its know-ledgeable members can interpret some of these research findings of clinical research for the layman.

Of course, we wait with bated breath for that cure.

Feedback may be sent to denniequill@hotmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.