Cancer Free: The Comprehensive Cancer Prevention Program

Winawer, head of gastroenterology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, and Shike, director of clinical nutrition there, believe the greatest hope for further reducing the toll of cancer lies in its prevention. They say that use of careful analysis and family and personal histories makes it is possible to estimate a particular individual's risk for many cancers, and then reduce that risk. So if cancer should develop, it can be detected at an early stage, when it is most treatable. Unfortunately, as the authors acknowledge, researchers do not know all there is to know about prevention of certain cancers. They recommend periodic screening and diagnostic tests, and survey the possibilities offered by more advanced genetic screening tools in the future. Diet is discussed in depth--what to avoid and what seems to be cancer-preventive. Also assessed are dangerous environmental pollutants at home and at the workplace. Although the authors' approach is sometimes stuffy, the information provided is user-friendly, augmented by numerous charts and other features. (Jan.)