Social dilemmas in cancer prevention
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Bibliographic Information
Social dilemmas in cancer prevention
Macmillan Press, 1989
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Includes bibliographies and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book examines the quandaries and dilemmas arsiing from a recent and widely accepted report suggesting that about 80% of the common cancers in the USA and Europe could be avoided by modifying people's life styles. The dilemma arises when applying a conclusion based upon statistical evidence to the individual citizen. While helath education can increase a person's awareness of cancer risk, by itself it rarely motivates him to change his behaviour. Various chapters examine the social, personal, political and scientific ethical quandaries involved in trying to reduce cancer deaths due to smoking, overuse of alcohol, dietrary contaminants, occupational carcinogens, environmental pollution and excess dietary fat. Other chapters consider the possible role of social class and personality characteristics in cancer promotion, and question the role of mass screening in leading to higher cure rates of cancer in women. Governments face a major dilemma in comparing the cost-effectiveness of the various methods advocated in the book for reducing the death rate from cancer, and to decide whether the cost per life saved is worthwhile.
Table of Contents
- Part 1 Dilemmas in strategies for the community: dilemmas in selecting a strategy, Basil A.Stoll - regulating exposure to carcinogens, dilemmas in primary prevention and cancer screening, primary prevention versus screening
- multiple factors in a multistep process, Basil A.Stoll - definition of a carcinogen, multiple steps in progression to cancer, changing patterns cancer
- diet-related cancer and its control, Deirdre Haslett and John Kevany - dietary fats and fibre, micronutrients, naturally occurring food constituents and contaminants, food additives, diet modification in the control of cancer
- leisure-related cancer and its control, J.A.Muir Gray - eating and sexual intercourse as leisure activities, wealth and leisure-related cancer, health beliefs and leisure time choices, the role of the state
- how important is radiation in cancer risk?, Marc Edwards and William Hendee - sources and levels of low level ionizing radiation, cancer risks from low level ionizing radiation and from non-ionizing radiation, prospects for prevention of radiation-related cancer
- mass cancer screening in women - more harm than good?, Petr Skrabanek - breast and cervical cancer screening, ethical aspects of screening. Part 2 Dilemmas in strategies for the individual: risk from heredity, race and family, Bernadette Herity - heredity versus environment, genetic susceptibility to cancer, genetic and environmental interaction, familial cancer - dilemmas in prevention, practical preventive measures
- risk from social class and occupation, Michael Calnan - explaining the social class effect, life style or working environment?, social class and health education
- does the mind affect cancer risk?, Basil A.Stoll - are some personalities prone to cancer?, depression and hopelessness as possible precursors, can life events predispose to cancer?
- what makes for high risk to cancer?, Basil A.Stoll - identifying susceptible individuals, age and gender factors, genetic and familial factors, impaired immunity, environmental factors, second primary cancers
- strategies for chemical prevention of cancer, Daniel W.Nixon - scope and mechanisms of chemoprevention, clinical trials of chemoprevention
- dilemmas in setting up clinical trials.
by "Nielsen BookData"