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Macro below...'news bulletin'...It started raining around 5 A.M. yesterday- heavily!!! Didn't stop the downpour until around 5 P.M.!!!! Twelve hours of rain...in buckets!!! There was flooding at our house. PICTURES TO FOLLOW on Wednesday, my day for "Watery Photos". The cable came back on early evening. We lost cable/power around 9 a.m.







Palamedes Swallowtail


More commonly known in the coastal areas as: Laurel Butterfly
one of the larger swallowtails.
Difficult to photograph as he wouldn't light long enough on any of the Lantana Blossoms...wings are fluttering.

Note: My Monday Morsels is long-winded. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I have been seriously reading up on cancer lately; just for educating myself on the subject which I like to do. And my post is about cancer treatments. If you'd like to skip over and leave me a note, now....

COMMENT HERE


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MONDAY MORSELS

If you recall, last Monday I had posted a link about a certain fruit that is supposed to be a 'cure' for cancer. I also left the link in my post for others who may be interested. Well....one comment left for me was one that may be misconstrued as controversy. I on the other hand appreciated it immensely.

Well, I hate to put a damper on your enthusiasm about soursop, but the reason why there is little media coverage about this plant is that there is little scientific evidence that it does cure cancer. In fact, scientific research shows that one of the chemicals from soursop (an acetogenin known as annonacin) is quite toxic to human cells. Now, this may kill cancer cells, but it also damages healthy cells, blocking cellular respiration, causing cell death. There is also evidence that it can lead to Parkinson disease-like symptoms. So, I would be very wary about following this type of advice. Many plant (i.e. "natural") chemicals are just as, if not more, dangerous than man made drugs - think nicotine or strychnine. Just because something is natural does not make it safe. If you are interested in what the UK Cancer Agency has to say, go here - http://www.usefultipsforlife.com/soursop-alternative-chemo-treatment
OK, I am getting down off my soapbox now......

So, appreciative for the fact that this was brought to my attention as I love researching this scientific stuff....when I had time I went out on Google and did some exploring. And I found all kinds of pros and cons. About all mentioned in the comment!! But I didn't find anything on OTHER sites I read about it being anywhere close to toxic. Only that over consumption would be no good. To me, that doesn't call for alarm. Of course I'm not saying that this is THE answer either; I was not promoting nor was I condemning---it just grabbed my interest, and I shared because I think educating oneself on all subjects when it comes to health issues is important...I'm just saying that more research needs to be done by the individual along with their doctor and family - then, coming to your own conclusion!! Actually, if you think about it, over consumption of just about anything...even fruits and veggies isn't good for you. Now, the part where the commentor states that it may cause Parkinsons-like symptoms. Ummmmmm, I say there is scientific evidence on HUMANS that chemotherapy has a whole mammoth amount of side effects and fatalities from long term use of chemo...AND that research on the fruit that is the 'cure' has never been thoroughly tested on humans, so I'm really wondering where the fact comes from from reading about the Parkinsons theory...was this done on lab rats or where did the statistic originate? I couldn't find anything regarding how that bit of info came to being. I am now going to share what I read during the week's time. In part:

From the Top Ten Cancer Centers in America I read in part---Side effects of chemotherapy:
# Bone marrow suppression
# Nausea and vomiting
# Hair loss
# Appetite loss and weight changes
# Taste changes
# Sores in the mouth or throat
# Constipation
# Diarrhea
# Fatigue
# Heart damage
# Nervous system changes
# Changes in thinking and memory
# Lung damage
# Reproduction and sexuality
# Liver damage
# Kidney and urinary system damage

with long term damage being:

Permanent organ damage

Certain chemotherapy drugs may permanently damage the body's organs. If the damage is detected during treatment, the drug is usually stopped, depending on which organs are affected and how serious it is. However, some of the side effects may remain. Damage to some organs and organ systems, such as the reproductive system, may not show up until after chemotherapy is finished.
Delayed development in children

When young children receive chemotherapy for cancer treatment, it may affect their growth and their ability to learn. Several factors impact long-term side effects, including the age of the child, the specific drugs that are given, the dosage and length of treatment, and whether chemotherapy is used along with other types of treatment, such as radiation.

More information on this and other long-term side effects that specifically impact children can be found in our document, Childhood Cancer: Late Effects of Cancer Treatment.
Nerve damage

Nervous system changes can develop months or years after treatment with some drugs. Signs of nerve damage may include hearing loss or tinnitus (ringing in the ears), changes in sensation (feeling) in the hands and feet, personality changes, sleepiness, impaired memory, shortened attention span, and seizures.
Blood in the urine

Hemorrhagic cystitis (blood in the urine), a side effect of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide, can continue for some time and even worsen after the drug is stopped. Treatment is available for this problem.
Another cancer


Stats from www.cancer.org
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Now, the information I gathered about the fruit of which I posted the link last week...

From Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer site comes this:
Graviola [soursop fruit]

Graviola may cause movement disorders and myeloneuropathy with symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease

[no long term studies have been done on humans....

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From searching Cancer Centers...
MD Anderson Cancer Center...I typed in Graviola for 'search'...

"Your search - graviola - did not match any documents.
No pages were found containing "graviola".

Suggestions:

* Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
* Try different keywords.
* Try more general keywords."

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From John Hopkins Cancer Center
Asked Publicly Submitted Question
7/22/2010 Is it true that products of Graviola tree is effective in cancer prevention?
Replied JHU's Breast Center Reply
7/22/2010 there needs to be more formal evidence based medicine studies conducted through comprehensive cancer centers (ones that are NCI designated as such) to determine this.


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Then, I did research on her point taken...the use of 'natural' grown drugs...nicotine and strychnine [and added a link to medicinal marijuana]:

NICOTENE FACTS you don't know...

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-nicotine-you-might-not-know.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/nicotine-health-benefits.htm

Strychnine was prescribed in small dosages - recorded medical ledger from the Victorian era

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/161/12/1556


Medicinal Marijuana Pros and Cons

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/

Concluding, I'd once again post it's all very interesting and should be researched thoroughly and of course, use your personal actions only. For me, if cancer were the issue, and the fruit may cause Parkinson's like symptoms...the question would be is this reaction to symptom-like side effects fatal as is the majority of cancers?