The Erroneous Johns Hopkins Hospital 'Cancer Update'

The following "cancer update" article of mis-information on cancer has been circulating around the

internet for several years. The claim is that the article originated from Johns Hopkins Hospital as an update for how cancer spreads and the recommended methods for treatment.

According to Snopes the article did not originate from Johns Hopkins Hospital and they also deny
the authorship of the following article of March 2007.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/cancerupdate.asp

As a matter of scientific interest and to correct many of the myths surrounding cancer I have decided to comment after each statement in the erroneous Johns Hopkins Hospital article.

"CANCER UPDATE"

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"There is no such thing as a cancer cell. Cancer is not a cell but an acidic dietary, respiratory, enviornmental and/or metabolic acid that poisons or ferments body cells. Just like a rotten apple
in a bushel of healthy apples, the rotten spoiling apple is eluding acid that will spoil all the rest of the healthy apples. We do not say that the apple or apples have cancer, we say the apples are spoiling or rotting. Cancer is not a noun it is an adjective. We do not have cancer cells
or cancer in our body we have acids that spoil healthy body, blood and stem cells causing cancerous cells and a cancerous condition. When this happens we have cancerous or spoiling cells which describes the reality of what is happening to the body cell(s) in a cancerous or fermenting state. Also, one can test the levels of urine acidity which will give an indication of the levels of tissue acidity. Normal healthy urine pH should read at least 7.2 or above. You can also see the effects of tissue acidity that leads to a cancerous state by viewing how the blood coagulates. If the blood is in a hypocoagulated state this indicates a condition I refer to as "latent tissue acidosis" and a marker for a cancerous or degenerative tissue state. This simple non-invasive blood test can be done as an early warning to any cancerous state in any part of the body for the purposes of screening and prevention of ALL cancerous conditions."

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"All of us have cancerous or acidic body and blood cells from conception to death to a lesser or greater degree depending upon our own personal lifestyle and dietary choices. The body is constantly trying to maintain its alkaline design while dealing with its many acidic functions. The
body requires energy to run and the waste products of energy used produces dietary and metabolic acidic waste products. If these dietary and metabolic acidic waste products are not eliminated through urination, perspiration, defecation or respiration they are then eliminated into the body tissues, such as the connective tissues, muscles, bones and fat. These dietary, respiratory, and/or metabolic acids that are not properly eliminated can then spoil stem, blood and body cells leading to an acidic or cancerous state I call 'latent tissue acidosis'."

3. When a persons immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"First, the immune system or the white blood cells do not destroy cancerous cells. They do not even pick up cancerous cells. White blood cells are the janitors or the garbage collectors of the blood traveling through the body fluids picking up smaller insignificant cellular debris from the food we eat. Second, cancerous cells do not multiply. This is another scientific misconception based upon the premise that cancer is a cell. Cancer is not a cell it is an acidic poisonous liquid flowing through our body fluids. Dietary and metabolic acids spoil body cells and then as one cell begins to spoil their degenerative acids can spoil other cells. This phenomenon is a what I call the "domino effect". Metastasis of cancerous cells is the expression of the
"domino effect" of acids from one spoiling body cell spoiling another body cell and so on. This causes the body to go into the 'preservation mode' by forming fibrin monomers to cross-link and
encapsulate the spoiling cells together in order to protect the surrounding healthy tissue. Medical savants call these formations tumors. Tumors are fibrous encapsulations of rotten spoiled cells and their associated acidic waste products. The tumor formations help then to protect healthy tissue from being spoiled as part of a 'domino effect'."

"A tumor is the body's way of stopping systemic spoiling and localizing the spoiling to a specific localized area. Tumors are not the cancer but the encapsulation of acidic spoiling cancerous cells (formely healthy body cells). The tumor is the body's solution to systemic acids spoiling healthy body cells and tissues due to an inverted (acidic) way of living, eating and thinking and NOT the perceived cause of the cancerous tissue state by current medical savants. The tumor is the body in the 'preservation mode' protecting healthy tissue from acidic waste products that have not been prooperly eliminated through the four channels of elimination."

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"People do not have cancer they are in a cancerous state to a lesser or greater degree depending on personal lifestyle and dietary choices. When you live, think and eat acidic you pollute your internal alkaline environmental fluids causing 'latent tissue acidosis' that can lead to cancerous or spoiling tissues."

"Genetics only plays out in a cancerous state as an inherited physiological weakness where acids may settle or weaken those areas which are already genetically weak. One is only predisposed to a cancerous state if they are making personal acidic lifestyle and dietary choices."

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"To overcome a cancerous state one needs to clear and open up the four channesl of elimination, hyper-perfuse the blood and then tissues with alkalinity, restore health to the gut, build healthy blood and this will re-establish the alkaline design of the body and better manage the
acidic loads from lifestyle, diet and metabolism. I have suggested for years a healthy body cannot get sick in an alkaline state. All sickness and disease is caused by personal acidic lifestyle and dietary choices. You do not get a cancerous condition you do a cancerous condition. A cancerous condition is the expression of acidic personal lifestyle and dietary choices."

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"All chemotherapy treatments are highly acidic. Acidic treatments of chemical therapy only contribute to an already acidic state. The key to health, energy, vitality and fitness of the body is not with the body cells but with the alkaline environment or fluids in which the body cells reside. Destroying cancerous cells with drugs does not address the real foundational problem of what causes a cancerous condition. The true cause of any cancerous state is the level of acidic
dietary and metabolic toxins in the fluids of the body. That is why ALL treatments focused on the cancerous cells and tissues will eventually fail with the death of
the organs that sustain life - the heart, the liver, the pancreas and especially the bowels. You do not fight fire with the acid of kerosene just as you would not fight a cancerous condition with acidic drugs and/or treatments."

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Radiation will breakdown cancerous cells which pollute the internal alkaline environment causing systemic fluid pollution and stress on the white blood cells and elimination and filter organs, including the lungs, liver, skin, kidney and bowels. The key is not to destroy tumors with radiation but to saturate the tissues with alkalinity. When this happens the tumor will finish its job of encapsulating spoiled or fermenting cancerous cells, crystallize, harden and
then breakdown to eventually be eliminated. This is the normal healthy life cycle of a tumor in the body. I have said, 'tumors come and tumors go. Tumors are like scabs - part of the healing process'."

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Chemotherapy and radiation treatment is focused on the wrong thing - the cells of the body and not the acidic cancerous fluids of the body. The problem is not the tumor or cancerous cells. The tumor is the solution to the problem to prevent systemic cellular poisoning, protect healthy tissue, heal and restore health to injured tissues from dietary, respiratory, environmental and/or metabolic acids. So what is the real problem? The real problem is systemic acidosis that affects the weakest parts of the body, from personal acidic lifestyle and dietary choice that also localizes at the weakness parts of the body tissues."

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"True immunity comes from maintaining the alkaline design of the body fluids at 7.365 to 7.4. The
white blood cells play only a supportive role in maintaining cleanliness of the body fluids. It is
true that chemotherapy drugs and radiation can suppress the white blood cells from cleaning up
cellular debris. The build up of cellular debris will cause an increase of acidity contributing
to an already acidic canerous state. A person in an acidic state or 'latent tissue acidosis' will
eventually succumb from the outfections of acids from spoiling cellular debris/matter and
cancerous spoiling body cells."

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"I will state again that there is no such thing as a cancer cell. Stem, blood and body cells do not mutate they spoil - they biologically transform. All body cells can biologically transform into bacteria, yeast and then mold in a declining pH, acidic environment. Acids spread or flow throughout the body systemically spoiling healthy body cells. Cancerous cells only spoil other cells from their own acidic wastes! Chemotherapy and radiation are acidic treatments that pollute the internal alkaline environment and spoil healthy body cells creating more cancerous cells. Surgery removes acidic cancerous cells but significantly disturbs the healthy surrounding tissue. This can cause further acidic complications in and around the surrounding healthy tissue leading to an increased cancerous area and the return of the cancerous tumor that had been removed. A classic example of this is with biospy. When a biospy is taken the risk for the tumor to increase in size increases by three fold."

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods
it needs to multiply.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Cancer cells do not multiply! Cancerous cells are stem, blood and body cells that are fermenting, rotting and spoiling other healthy body cells. You cannot starve cancerous cells. Body cells are

made up of intelligent indestructable matter which cannot be destroyed - they can only be changed. The key to reversing a cancerous condition in the body is to hyper-alkalize the blood and then tissues which will then force alkalinity into the acidic tissues and then buffer the tissue acidity that leads to a cancerous state."

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Once again we have cancerous cells not cancer cells. Cancerous cells are not different from healthy cells - they both feed on electrical energy - electrons. Antione BeChamp once said, "everything is the prey of life, nothing is the prey of death." Matter cannot be created nor can it be destroyed it can only change its form and its function. All cancerous cells were once a healthy stem, blood or body cell."

12. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"All sugars, including fruit sugars, manuka honey and molasses are acidic waste products of degenerative matter and are the acidic fluids that cause cancerous stem, blood and body cells.
Braggs aminos is also acidic with a pH of 5.5 and should not be ingested when the body is in a cancerous state. Sea salt is alkalizing and foundational for the transport of energy and should be included in any plan to prevent or reverse a cancerous condition. Sea salt is also foundational in helping the body create the alkaline buffer of sodium bicarbonate."

13. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Mucous is formed by the body as a protection to healthy body cells to buffer dietary and/or metabolic acids. Milk is highly acidic and contains a cancerous causing acid called lactose that breaks down to a primary metabolite or acid called lactic acid. Lactic acid is one of the major
cancerous causing acids in the cause of breast and reproductive cancers and is next to toxicity to nitric and uric acid from animal proteins. Cancerous cells do not feed on mucus they feed on electrons robbing the body of life force energy. Mucus is the end product of the body buffering dietary and/or metabolic acids with sodium bicarbonate. Soy milk is also acidic and
should not be used unless it is freshly squeezed."

14. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to
eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics,
growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Cancerous cells are fermenting body cells and do not thrive in an acidic state but are the result
of an acidic state. Cancerous cells will continue to breakdown or transform in an acidic environment. All animal proteins including fish are highly acidic and should not be ingested when one is in a highly acidic cancerous state. The body cannot adequately remove the dietary acids of
uric, nitric, sulphuric and phosphoric acid from the animal proteins leading to increased
acidity and potentially increased cancerous body cells. Antibiotics and hormones are both
metabolic acids and can contribute to an acidic state leading to a cancerous condition."

15. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are
destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"All enzymes are metabolic acidic waste products. All enzymes are acids and cause cancerous
conditions. The body runs on alkalinity not acidity. Another way to say this is the body runs on electrons not protons or hydrogen ions. When you are dealing with a serious cancerous condition one needs to re-establish the alkaline design of the body by opening up the channels of elimination, hyper-perfusing the tissues with alkalinity, healing the gut and building healthy blood. You can only do this with a 100% alkaline lifestyle and diet! I call this the alkaline plan the COWS program. The COWS program is the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Dietary Plan of alkaline foods, drinks and lifestyle choices. This would include the four food groups of:

1) Chlorophyll
2) Oil/Oxygen
3) Water (alkaline at a pH of 9.5)
4) Salt (natural mineral salts) and sweating during exercise.

It would also include deep breathing, meditation and daily exercise.

To learn more about the pH Miracle Plan go to:
www.phmiracleliving.com or read The pH Miracle,
or listen to The pH Miracle for Cancer audio series
by Dr. Robert and Shelley Young."

16. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative
and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known
toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Coffee, black tea, green tea, chocolate are all acidic and do not support the alkaline design of
the body. Alkaline water at a pH of 9.5 or above is the best water to drink. Distilled water with
sodium chloride or chlorite will increase the alkalinity of the body fluids and buffer excess
dietary and metabolic acid."

17. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"All meat is acidic, all digestive enzymes are acidic and should not be ingested. To support
the alkaline design of the body you need to increase your consumption of alkaline food,
water and supplements. Daily deep breathing, mediation and exercise are also necessary for
maintaining the alkaline design of the body."

18. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Cancerous cells have a calcified covering from all the acidity. The body uses calcium ions
to buffer endogenous acidity from without and within the body cell. Enzymes are acids that have a negative effect every cell in the body. Enzymes do not attack cancerous cells they spoil body cells leading to more cancerous cells. The calcification of the body cell is a means of protection
against dietary and/or metabolic acidity."

19. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own
killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause
apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

Dr. Robert O.Young states:

"One of the most naturally occurring alkalizing compounds produced by the body is sodium
bicarbonate. I have suggested using increased amounts of sodium bicarbonate for years to neutralize the dietary and metabolic acids that make us sick, depressed and tired. Its inexpensive, safe, effective and easy to get. I also suggest liberal amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats to buffer increased amounts of dietary and/or metabolic acids in the
prevention of a cancerous state."

20. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"A cancerous state is caused by personal acidic lifestyle and dietary choice. This would include your thoughts, your words and your deeds."

21. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing
help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Dr. Robert O. Young states:

"Cancerous cells may change in an oxygen rich state of nascent oxygen, atomic oxygen or O1.
I agree with daily exercise, deep breathing and oxygen supplementation to help maintain
the alkaline design of the body. I also strongly believe that the cure for any
cancerous condition can be found in its prevention and not in its treatment!"

Origins of the "Cancer Update":

Just as urban legends and rumors eventually become attached to the most famous exemplars
of the subjects they discuss (e.g., any fast food-related legend, no matter where it originates,
will inevitably be told about McDonald's), so do many of the spurious medical articles
circulated on the Internet eventually become attributed to the world-renowned Johns Hopkins
University, medical school, and hospitals.

The "Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins Hospital" quoted above has been forwarded via e-mail as a preface to another piece (about the supposed dangers of using microwave ovens to heat food
stored in plastic containers) also falsely said to have originated with Johns Hopkins. Neither
article was issued by (or has any connection to) the Johns Hopkins university or hospital, and
Johns Hopkins has disclaimed the contents of both.

Of the "Cancer Update" e-mail (most of the information contained within which is of the
"quack" variety), Johns Hopkins says:

An email falsely attributed to Johns Hopkins describing properties of cancer cells and
suggesting prevention strategies has begun circulating the Internet. Johns Hopkins
did not publish the email, entitled "Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins," nor do we endorse its contents.

For more information about cancer, please read the information on our web site or visit the National Cancer Institutes's web site at www.cancer.gov.
Last updated: 3 April 2007

The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/medical/disease/cancerupdate.asp