Reading this for Medical Anthropology and I'm kind of excited about it -- it's not a book I would've picked up on my own but there's no denying its relevance.

This is a great book. The cover says all of us have cancer cells in our bodies (something my husband who does genetic sequencing informatics had also told me), but not all of us will develop cancer. The Action Pages near the end of the book offer concrete, practical advice for the lifestyle that can prevent 60% of cancers. Yes, eat more fruits and vegetables, but no they don't all have to be raw to keep their inflammation-fighting, immunity-boosting properties (eating foods raw preserves enzymes which may have other benefits not discussed here). Other parts of the book are very moving like stories of people who beat cancer, or even if dying from cancer felt that Dr. Servan-Schreiber had saved his life because of encouraging him to do something meaningful for others before he died, etc. A chapter on how to talk with people who may not recover is also included. He is a psychiatrist, too, after all, not just a neurological researcher who survived two brain tumors. I think most people would really like to check this book out: http://amzn.to/131TM0o

It serves its purpose; namely to inform what lifestyle choices either promote or inhibit cancer growth. It does so without ladling guilt.

This book was healing for the heart and the mind.

Overall one of the more helpful cancer books that I've read. It could probably use a bit of updating, but it is clear, offers evidence with references to follow up with further reading, along with useful lists of the basic ingredients of the so-called 'anti-cancer' diet.

Was also glad to see that emphasis is placed on the mind-body connection. Could easily have been left out with all the focus on diet and nutrition.

Anticancer had a lot of good information in it, but was also full of pretension and bizarre & irrelevant stories about the author's ex-wives. I can't recommend it as a good reading experience. So here's a summary tailored for people interested in breast cancer.

The main message is that cancer is a chronic disease influenced heavily by the environment and lifestyle. Although mainstream western medicine is excellent at treating acute problems, it terrible at preventing and treating chronic problems. Dr. S-S thinks that nutrition, exercise, and "peace of mind" are also needed to treat (and prevent) cancer and goes over the limited research, and a gazillion anecdotes, showing how these things may influence cancer.

He quotes a World Health Organization report that up to "80% of cancers may be influenced by lifestyle and the environment." The most convincing research to support that was a study that showed Chinese women who moved to San Francisco had 3-5 times the rate of breast cancer than women in the same age groups who stayed in China.

Dr. S-S believes that nutrition, exercise, and whatever (woo-woo, religious, or other) ways we can stay calm influence immune system function. We all have "microtumors" which could turn into cancer. These can be kept in check by the immune system but tumors that successfully take hold actually hijack the immune system in order to grow.

The nutrition information is extensive. There are lists of vegetables that inhibit the growth of specific types of cancer, according to the one doctor in Montreal who decided to research this despite the fact that nobody can patent food as a treatment and make millions like pharmaceutical companies do. (Taxol was one profitable example which took something like 500 million dollars for the research to validate it as effective.) Garlic, leeks, scallions, are at the top of the list for all types of cancer and brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli, radishes, and onions round out the top of the list for breast cancer.

One section recommends against eating sugar or anything with a high glycemic index. Also, this book finally cleared up the mystery for me about whether eating meat is healthy or not. We get much better nutrition from the meat and eggs of animals that have eaten good diets themselves. If you feed animals nothing but cheap processed corn products, then their meat isn't good for us. There's some pro-Omega-3 info (vs. Omega-6) discussion which points to the benefits of eating fish and taking fish oil supplements. Green tea obstructs cancer formation and growth in 3 different ways and just 2 cups a day provides those benefits.

There was a more about the benefits of support groups, exercise, and finding peace of mind. One interesting thing is that it doesn't take much exercise to provide a protective effect for breast cancer. "Walking 2-5 hours per week at a normal speed has a powerful effect on preventing relapse."

The book covers the important point that none of this means that anyone is responsible for having cancer. The environment/lifestyle issues are cultural and a lot of our food is produced in unhealthy ways. Some people (maybe 20% or more) will get cancer regardless of these factors.

I didn't want to put this informative, non-sensational, practical, and optimistic book down. I liked it so much that I purchased two more copies as gifts. It's that valuable.

The author is a French doctor who was diagnosed with brain cancer fifteen years ago...and he's still alive and going strong. He shares what he has learned about nutritional and lifestyle treatments for cancer...but I love the fact that he doesn't advocate that we eliminate available Western treatments. He himself had surgery and a full year of chemotherapy.

He gives very practical advice on what foods are good to eat (and he tells you why) as well as what proactive steps we can take now to try to keep our immune systems and bodies strong and able to fight the cancer cells that we all have.

I can't say enough about this book! Take the time to read it. If, like me, you already try to practice his good counsel, the book will just make you feel even better...that you are doing what you can to stay healthy. A great read!