['lizbeth]

Paul,

I had a chance to observe a diagnosis of Porphyria Cutanea Tarda - likely a complication from Hemachromatosis.

The symptoms were anemia, blisters, skin darkening and tearing. Byproducts of the heme process - the porphyrins build up in the skin and the liver.

Fascinating stuff, especially when most think of anemia as an iron deficiency. Too much iron deactivates the uroporphyrinogen decarboxalyse enzyme by approximately 25%.

It is another of the body's response mechanism to correct for one imbalance by adjusting another process. And a situation which shows how fascinatingly complex beings that we all are.

and this is why we are still grasping for a "cure" for cancer. It may not be simple, but when all the pieces are put together we will ask, why didn't we grasp this before - it seems so obvious.