Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: And the special thanks goes to our sponsor: BAYER. Otherwise, why should anyone be researching to find the preventive effects of one specific drug on patients with or WITHOUT cancer? I suggest a 10-year-long study be conducted on people without lung cancer who smoke Marlboro, aimed to find Marlboro prevents lung cancer. If the findings prove to be otherwise, well, the study will be unpublished and we can try another idea then.
Tomato juice, broccoli, wishful prayers, apple, and good moral values are also decreasing the rate of cancer, according to the findings of international studies. Do not forget to take your daily aspirin!
You know what? To be able to write a report that finally says "may lower", no study is needed at all. And if all you have found out is "this drug may lower incidences of that," you are the medical versions of Arthur Anderson boys.
I really would admire if one journalist came up with the proof of a financial transaction between Bayer and these scientists.

• Posted 08/10/08 at 11:58 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Colin Fox from Halifax, Canada writes: Ghetto Dude should crawl back into his hole and stay there. Don't you remember your mother saying that if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything?
You have absolutely no proof that Bayer or any other pharma paid for this study. You clearly have no background or experience running clinical studies, as I have, and I can tell you that pharma's may contribute, but do not run the clinicals at all. They are conducted by third party, blind-testing organizations.
When you have some fact based comment to make, we will be glad to hear it, otherwise keep the crap to yourself.

• Posted 08/10/08 at 12:28 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: Colin Fox, your immediate personalisation of the matter and that reference you intelligently made to my hole, clearly demonstrates your scientific background. So, have you done what your mother said to you by this posting? This is not an insult contest among high-school boys.
"We" means who? How many and who are you there to assess the comments? Can your "clinical studies experience" be some chain experiences of being the subject or contributing to the science as the janitor of the house?
Well, it is nice to see even you tell that "pharmas may contribute," which looks like the findings of the report. Have an aspirin sir.

• Posted 08/10/08 at 12:49 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Colin Fox, you're treading on hallowed ground here. Daring to question someone's conspiracy theories about Big Pharma, Big Oil, the Bilderberg Group, or what have you, just labels you one of THEM.

As for Ghetto Dude, if he cared to look into things, he'd see that ASA, the active ingredient in Bayer's Aspirin, has been available in various generic forms since the 1970s. Kind of an inconvenient fact if you believe that this study was simply put forth to increase Bayer's profits.

• Posted 08/10/08 at 3:14 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

North of 49 from Ladysmith, Canada writes: I would be prepared to try it. Remember what aspirin helps men with heart conditions if they take one a day? Why would this concept not be acceptable?

• Posted 08/10/08 at 7:10 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Kay A from Canada writes: Asprin has simply become the common name... like kleenex.
I'm not going to start popping anything 'just in case' but I will forward this to my mom who has already had breast cancer so she can make a note to ask her doctors about it.

I

• Posted 09/10/08 at 8:55 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Stude Ham from Outremont, Canada writes:
Wow! another miracle side effect of the acetylsalicylic acid variety...

will these miracles never stop from this pill???

last year santa came down our chimney because we took aspirin before our long winter's nap.

• Posted 09/10/08 at 10:11 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: Dear poster who complained about one of my comment and dear editor who removed it: I am not here to cause annoyance. I once was an insider of "cancer industry" and my own mother died of cancer. My words are intended to nullify "alternative" methods, be it magic, God, an exotic plant, daily apple or daily aspirin. Pharmas, medical oncologists or radiotherapists may all be very knowledgeable and indispensable. But what I factually know for is that, there are doctors making far more money on selling "alternative tools" than on doing their jobs. Can any of you imagine there are famous professors making more than USD100.000/month (in here) by promoting such things on TV screens (all are paid interviews) and indirectly selling 1 buck worth of powders supposedly imported from India, for 500 dollars? One can see them as saviours with white horses, I call them disgusting crooks. Bayer's difference is that, they pay millions to professors and are generating billions supplying a placebo effect.
Remove the realities, insert hope and goodwill. But neither Aspirin nor Alka Seltzer cures cancer.

• Posted 10/10/08 at 7:26 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

PC Montreal from Canada writes: Ghetto Dude, I think its true that all studies should be viewed from the perspective of who financed the study; biases are a common factor in releasing study findings.

Actually, Drunk Wookie is a frequent poster on articles on medical studies and has demonstrated an intimate knowlegde of the inner workings of the pharmaceutical world. Drunk Wookie, any insights?

• Posted 10/10/08 at 8:06 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: PC Montreal, thanks for your support.

When my son was born, 3 different pediatrists suggested we feed him with Milupa without which babies' intelligence "may not" develop. And I asked them whether or not Leonardo de Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein were Milupa kids. Well, this does not make me a more knowledgeable person than them about pediatry, do I have to buy Milupa consequently?

What these "rival" pediatrists have in common is that, they all spend 3-4 days of holidays yearly (formally named "pediatry congress") at 5 star hotels under the same roof, sponsored by Milupa.

Can a study be conducted to see if there is one significant difference between people using Aspirin and people who are not? No, first because there will be no sponsor, and second, there is no one subject who does not use Aspirin. And how can a study be conducted on 2.7 million people apart from the method of ASKING them, for God's sake? Is ASKING a scientific method?

Doctors suggesting laser eye operations are wearing eye-glasses, hair implantation guys are bald-headed, shrinks say to their patients everything will be alright if they attend to sessions at least for 5 years, and their patients end up with saying "my doctor is great I have been visiting him/her for 20 years," an irony which I interpret as a "worsened case".

Either I am a paranoiac or there is something fishy.

• Posted 10/10/08 at 9:31 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: PC Montreal, thanks for your support.

When my son was born, 3 different pediatrists suggested we feed him with Milupa without which babies' intelligence "may not" develop. And I asked them whether or not Leonardo de Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein were Milupa kids. Well, this does not make me a more knowledgeable person than them about pediatry, do I have to buy Milupa consequently?

What these "rival" pediatrists have in common is that, they all spend 3-4 days of holidays yearly (formally named "pediatry congress") at 5 star hotels under the same roof, sponsored by Milupa.

Can a study be conducted to see if there is one significant difference between people using Aspirin and people who are not? No, first because there will be no sponsor, and second, there is no one subject who does not use Aspirin. And how can a study be conducted on 2.7 million people apart from the method of ASKING them, for God's sake? Is ASKING a scientific method?

Doctors suggesting laser eye operations are wearing eye-glasses, hair implantation guys are bald-headed, shrinks say to their patients everything will be alright if they attend to sessions at least for 5 years, and their patients end up with saying "my doctor is great I have been visiting him/her for 20 years," an irony which I interpret as a "worsened case".

Either I am a paranoiac or there is something fishy.

• Posted 10/10/08 at 9:31 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Ghetto Dude from Istanbul, Turkey writes: Oops, sorry for the unintended repetition.

• Posted 10/10/08 at 9:43 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Lynn Ehrle from Plymouth, Michigan, United States writes: Aside from the known side affects from long term aspirin use (blood thinner; gastrointestinal tract complications; aspirin-induced asthma), its use cannot repair the in utero damage or single and double-strand breaks in the DNA CAUSED by low-dose ionizing radiation and its co-action with chemicals. The U.S. National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, and Susan Komen Foundation continue to maintain that the primary risk factors are diet, smoking, lack of exercise, overweight, and alcohol-- all lifestyle related. In other words, it's your fault you developed breast cancer-- what I label as VICTIMOLOGY THEOLOGY. These organizations don't acknowledge that radiation and chemicals play a major role. In fact, numerous papers in medical journals now point to genetic damage and environmental insults as the primary culprits. The one certain method in preventing breast cancer (and most other cancers and non-cancer diseases) is to reduce exposure to radiation and chemicals, not an easy task when unnecessary CT scans, nuclear reactor irradiation, and the combined affects of the 100,000 chemicals now in commerce continue to increase exponentially.

Lynn Howard Ehrle, M. Ed., Senior Biomedical Policy Analyst (pro bono), Organic Consumers Association; freelance medical writer based in Plymouth, Michigan

• Posted 10/10/08 at 11:10 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

PC Montreal from Canada writes: Lynn Ehrle, I agree with much of what you say and I don't really interpret the term "risk factors" to imply self-sabotage. The impression I get from most breast cancer associations in our neck of the woods and media articles I've read concerning breast cancer is that aside from some identified gene mutations, nobody really knows why some women develop the disease and others don't. Risk factors merely statistically increase the chances. If one looks at these risk factors, there is a logic: poor diet, smoking, lack of exercise, overweight, and alcohol are all things that damage cells making us prone to a wide variety of diseases, but risk factors are clearly not the whole story. When I see articles such as “Aspirin may cut breast cancer risk”, I feel that the full responsibility is still on the individual. If I could control the pollutants in my environment, then perhaps these articles would bring some peace of mind that I could actually significantly diminish my risk. However, when I see young (early 30’s) non-smoking, healthy weight, healthy lifestyle women in excellent physical condition suddenly hit with stage 2 and 3 breast cancer, I know that all the aspirin and vitamin D in the world isn’t going to make a difference. As you point out, there is clearly a huge spectrum of contributing factors that may be hard to prove and therefore real risk reduction may just be pie in the sky.

• Posted 11/10/08 at 2:37 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

d. duck from Canada writes: Kay A:

Mom should be daily on Vit D 2000IU, Vit A 400IU, Vit C 500mg. The 81mg ASA will not hurt unless she has history of stomach/GI ulcers. If no heart diease, then she should also be EVISTA (HERS trial) which protects against reoccurrence of 'invasive breast cancer'.

cheers

• Posted 11/10/08 at 4:10 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Roop Misir from Canada writes: So ASA is the new wonder drug now?

• Posted 12/10/08 at 6:18 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment

Rishi Verma from Toronto, Canada writes: Ghetto Dude I agree with you 100% that good diet and good moral values help fighting disease. I belive that regular exercise, good daily routine helps. There are so many people who lives simple and easy life and never have any disease. Some people keep getting disease one after another. They must understand that their lifestyle need to be improved. Just few decades so many diseases never existed now there are million of those just because lifestyle has changed. Processed food has taken place of natural food. Fast food has taken place of fresh food. Bars and supplements has taken place of fresh fruits. I just dont understand you a food has to be processed before it makes a way to human body. Why people cant take essential vitiman, nutrients directly from the sourse instead through pills and syrups.

• Posted 14/10/08 at 1:15 PM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment