Finding It Early
. . . . .
Your article on early detection of lung cancer in the Fall issue is just so true. Fourteen years ago, my husband had a pre-op chest X-ray prior to foot surgery. Then the phone call came telling us there was a shadow on his lung. He survived 14 years after that first diagnosis. According to the doctor, if he had waited for symptoms, it would have been too late and he would have died much sooner. Even though I lost my husband last year, I still read CURE cover to cover because I always find something in it that I can relate to.

Janet L. Berg
Lombard, Ill.

Debating Special Report
. . . . .
I found the article “Medical Marijuana Use in Oncology” (Special Report, Fall 2005) to be unfair and misleading to cancer patients and their families. The article does, in fact, begin by reporting that an overwhelming 70 percent majority of oncologists surveyed do NOT support the legalization of marijuana for medical use. However, the main focus of the article quickly shifts to the opinions of one oncologist and one researcher, both of whom support the concept of so-called “medical marijuana.” Although these two individuals clearly represent a minority viewpoint, the article consistently states that any opposition to marijuana legalization is the result of “political and social baggage.” This type of biased reporting is typical for newspapers, but alarming to read in a generally serious medical publication such as CURE.

According to the National Cancer Institute, inhaling marijuana smoke for any purpose is a health hazard, because it contains over 400 potential carcinogens. In fact, smoking marijuana delivers up to five times the amount of tars and carbon monoxide as tobacco cigarettes into the body, causing severe lung damage, which is not helpful to someone suffering from cancer.

Marijuana is an intoxicant; therefore it is not surprising that sincere people will report relief of their symptoms when they smoke it. Heroin also makes people feel better, but no one would suggest using heroin to treat a sick person. There are effective methods of relief that are not dangerous to the patient.

James J. Halushka
Deputy Prosecutor
Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office
Pontiac, Mich.

. . . . .
“Stock Tips from Cancer Patients” (Special Report, Summer 2005) contains the hint of a draconian solution to a negligible problem. As your article points out, investors cannot gain a meaningful advantage by eavesdropping on online dialogues between patients, as such trades would be foolishly based on a very partial record of the trial. However, making people sign oaths of confidentiality to enter trials would significantly harm patients. After being diagnosed with a currently incurable form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, my doctors gave me a choice between watch and wait and a clinical trial. Only by comparing situations with other patients who had faced the same decision was I able to come to grips with making this choice. Had all of the patients who entered the trials been barred from participating in these discussions, I would have been left adrift and forced to make a far less informed choice.

Andrew Michael
Half Moon Bay, Calif.


Newly Diagnosed

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I received my first issue of CURE today. I can tell this will be one of the most-read magazines for my family. For me at this time, the mental aspects of having cancer are more difficult than the physical. I am 39 and found out four months ago that I have multiple myeloma. I am married and have a 6-year-old daughter. One of the hardest things to do is to be strong for my daughter. Your magazine will be a part of my “total treatment.”

Randy Trotter
Manning, S.C.

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