CANCER A POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUE 3 - Wednesday, February (1, 1987 - Nosth Shore Disease more than a health issue LGH forum concludes CANCER is a_ political, economic and social issue ~ not just a medical problem. By PAUL HOULE Contributing Writer That was the consensus of pan- clisis speaking at a forum on the early detection of cancer at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) Monday night. Approximately 200 people, in- cluding some of the hospital’s own cancer patients, turned out to ask questions and listen to the panel’s five doctors. “Cancer is only in its final phase a medical disease,’’ according to Dr. Phil Gold, an international cancer expert from Montreal. Politics determine what cancer- causing agents are allowed into the environment, Gold said. He added that it is also an economic problem. ‘‘Why do we have cigarettes be- ing sold when we know (tobacco) is a carcinogen?’’ Gold asked. “The answer is tobacco is a major secondary industry, a major source of excise tax.’’ . Politics and economics also determine how much money goes into cancer research, according to forum panelists. Dr. Vivien Basco, a specialist in breast cancer with the. B.C. Cancer Research Foundation, said, “There's about 26 million people in Canada ... and the budget for research of the National Cancer Institute is about $26 million. That is one dollar per person, per. year. That is not a very large amount of money.”’ “The amount of money that is devoted to cancer research is rela- tively minimal,” said LGH’s Dr. Paul Klimo, **... more resources should be put into researching cancer”? Klimo said people are not willing to take the steps lo prevent cancer and instead look for a quick fix. “The people, what they want is a magic pill, some antibiotic,” he said. ‘‘Let me continue my smok- ing, give me 10 days of something (for my cancer) and fix it. Fix it quick, now!" All the panelists agreed that ear- ly detection is of critical impor- tance. “The problem is the lateness in diagnosis of cancers .. and this is really the issue,’’ said LGH cancer surgeon Dr. Tony Chan. ‘‘Give me an early tumor, early enough, and it’s a delight to deal with it. I can get it out and Ill feel good, the patient will feel good, and we’ll all go home happy.’’ Gold said there is more cancer being found today because of im- provements in medical techniques. “As you get better at finding something, you find more of it,” said Goid. : “You're dealing with a much older population today,’? Gold said. ‘‘{ think we're seeing more cancer in our older population.” But he stressed “‘there can be no question that environment plays a major factor and that our lifestyles are of major concern.’’ The quality of care for cancer patients at LGH is among the best, Klimo said in an interview after the formal panel. ‘Lions Gate Hospital can look after the population from the detection stage, through the work on the patient with diagnosed cancer, through the surgical management of the cancer, chemotherapy and also palliative penne NEWS photo Mike Wakelleld OVER TWO hundred people attended the Monday night Lions Gate Hospitat forum on cancer. The panel, pictured from left 10 right, consisted of general practitioners representative Dr. Marlene Hunter, LGH surgeon Dr. Tony Chan, LGH cancer specialist Dr. Paul Klimo, breast tumor specialist Dr. Vivien Basco, Montreal General Hospital cancer specialist Dr. Phit Gold and host Bob Spence, care. Klimo added that the only ex- pertise missing at LGH is radiation treatment, ‘‘and this is because the resources are so limited.” The panelists responded to con- cerns from the audience about whether a patient should be told he or she has cancer. West Vancouver family physi- cian Dr. Marlene Hunter said, ‘‘! certainly feel that people need to know what they are coping with and | firmly believe people cope better when they know what they're coping with.”” The role of stress as a possible cause of cancer is also controver- sial. NV Automark program THE FREQUENCY of theft of parts and _ accessories from North Shore vehicles is steadily increasing, accor- ding to North Vancouver RCMP statistics. The consequences are dramatic, RCMP Cst. Cliff Doherty said, and include damage to highly priz- ed and well maintained automobiles, rising insurance premiums, higher policing costs, inconvenience and frustration. “These thefts are often difficult to salve,’ Doherty said. ‘‘Mast victims have no wavy of identifying easily removed parts such as bat- teries, wheel covers or radios. The key to combating the growing According to Hunter, ‘‘The one stress situation that has been link- ed (to cancer) is the grief situation ... and there is now a fair amount of evidence that in that situation T-cell function is decreased.”” But the other panelists pointed out that, because cancer takes years to develop, it is often dif- ficult to draw a connection be- tween the disease and a particular stressful situation. The panelists debated the ques- tion of whether a positive attitude helps cancer patients. Gold was not convinced it made any difference. Klimo said he doubted a positive attitude could cure cancer, but he said it helped him to have a posi- tive patient. Hunter felt a positive attitude had helped some of her female pa- tients. All the panelists agreed that herbal treatments and positive thinking may help the patient cope better — but they should not be a substitute for proper medical at- tention. According to Chan, ‘I think any adjunctive treatment that im- parts a positive attitude will in- variably improve the quality of life. We’re not only here to pro- jong life ... we're here to improve the quality of life.”” combats theft problem is prevention.’’ in an attempt to prevent thefts from automobiles the North Van- couver RCMP, with assistance. from the Lions Gate Rotary Club, will begin an Automark program this month. The first community session of the program happens Sunday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the old Beaver Lumber Yard on 1420 Fell Avenue. Residents are encouraged to br- ing their vehicles to the session to have car contents marked with a personal identification’ number — preferably a’ driver’s licence number. Doherty said police are finding that the most common targets for thieves are radios, tape decks and NEWS photos Terry Peters IN AN EFFORT to combat auto thefts, the North Vancouver RCM? detachment is offering an Automark program, which encourages residents to a OO ee >, Valuables, *. aio other easily removed objects from 1 vehicle. He said the engraving is very small and is covered by a small, automark decal. After the article has been engraved another decal is placed on the vehicle’s windows to alert a would-be-thief that the items have been marked. “The program has proven. suc- cessful in other areas, as it acts a deterrent to thieves,’’ Doherty said. ‘‘A marked item is totally useless to a thief in terms of him disposing of it later.’’ He said in Nanaimo where a similar program was organized. over 900 vehicles were engraved. To date none of those vehicles have been the subject of an at- tempted theft or a theft from auto. In North Vancouver the problem of thefts from autos is increasing. Doherty said in 1986, thieves broke into 1,875 vehicles, or one in every 49 North Vancouver vehi- cles. : He said thieves have been known to visit apartment complexes and steal from cars parked in under- ground parking lots. . If apartment dwellers are inter- ested the police are willing to visit their apartment block to mark cars, Doherty said apartment manag- ers should contact him at- 985- 1311, local 491, Also for those unable to attend a community session of the Automark program they’can bring their automobiles to the local RCMP detachment Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m., where volunteers from the RCMP Victim Assistance program will help engrave car News