Johns Hopkins cancer diet hoax emails
Since 2004, millions of people have received emails titled “Johns Hopkins Cancer Diet” and “Johns Hopkins Update” claiming that the Johns Hopkins University private research hospital proclaims alternative methods for curing cancer. This is a hoax.
The emails usually start off with “This is an extremely good article. Everyone should read it. After years of telling people chemotherapy is the only way to try to eliminate cancer, Johns Hopkins is finally starting to tell you there is an alternative way.”
The Truth Shall Set You Free
The motto of the Johns Hopkins University is Veritas vos liberabit, Latin for “The Truth Shall Set You Free.” True to their motto, they published a reply on their website: Cancer Update Email — It’s a Hoax!
It addresses each point in the hoax emails by debunking myths and providing clear, easy-to-understand answers about this group of diseases called cancer – there are more than 100 types of cancer that affect humans.
Even if you have not received the hoax emails it will be worth your while to read the Johns Hopkins answers.
Here are condensed versions on some of their responses to the hoax emails –
The Hoax: Everyone Has Cancer Cells
The truth: Among the trillions of cells in the human body, inevitably everyone has some abnormal or atypical cells that possess some of the characteristics of cancer cells, most resolve themselves and never result in cancer.
The Hoax: A Strong Immune System Destroys Cancer
The Truth: When it comes to cancer and the immune system, it is not a matter of strong or weak as the fictional report contends, but rather an issue of recognition. The immune system simply does not recognize cancer. In its complexity, the cancer cell has learned to disguise itself to the immune system as a normal, healthy cell.
The Hoax: Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy Harms Normal Cells. Surgery Causes Cancer to Spread
The Truth: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy kills cancer cells with remarkable selectivity.
The Hoax: Cancers Feed on Certain Foods
The Truth: The premise is that cancer cells feed on certain foods, and if a person refrains from eating these foods, the cancer will die. According to our experts, a poor diet and obesity associated with a poor diet is a risk factor for the development of cancer. However, there is no evidence that certain foods alter the environment of an existing cancer, at the cellular level, and cause it to either die or grow.
The Hoax: Cancer is a Disease of Mind, Body, and Spirit
The Truth: Cancer is a disease caused by genetic alterations. Many times, these alterations occur through our own behaviors — cigarette smoking, a poor and unbalanced diet, virus exposures, and sunburns. How stress, faith, and other factors influence this is largely unknown. There is no evidence, however, that a person prevents or causes cancer based on his or her state of mind.
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 with a bequest by American entrepreneur Johns Hopkins. Over the years, many of their students and educators have been awarded Nobel prizes.