Phenobarbital may have caused my cancer

[RhondaH]

I found THIS on the NCI website and was floored. While it helped my seizures, it may have caused my cancer.

Here is the entire article which discusses diet and other things that change DNA

http://www3.cancer.gov/prevention/methylation/summary.html

"Carcinogens or other promoters that alter methyl metabolism and/or DNA methylation, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), phenobarbital, arsenic, and zinc deficiency, have been studied and have added to the knowledge about the importance of altered methylation on carcinogenesis."

Rhonda Hoffman

[Becky]

Rhonda


Don't beat yourself up over a statement. I believe that cancer evolves over a complex set of things that come together and that no one thing causes it (the sun, moon and stars align just right with our genetics and one too many barbeques and blam!)

This is one of the reasons it will be hard to cure as it will take a long time for definitive answers. We are all different on the whys and the way we respond to therapies (ie: for some Navelbine is a work horse and for others their cancer doesn't respond etc).

Phenobarbitol did not cause your cancer. Maybe there is evidence that it might not have helped but it did not do it alone. Even if you read the whole article, it states that alcohol can cause cancer IF you are in a low folate environment. So, as I said before, it is many things working on our own DNA that causes things to go awry. You did nothing wrong.

Peace and a hug

Becky

[StephN]

Hi Rhonda -
That article is something to wade through, but has some points of interest, especially about the amount of folate humans need.

I know I had to take some phenobarbitol for a short time after a surgery years ago, and took a lot of painkillers (Darvon, etc.) for severe menstral cramps.

What I did learn many years ago (early 1970's) was that there was a LOT of DDT sprayed on crops prior to that time. Finally some regulations came into effect, as it was shown that this chemical would STAY in the soils and not break down. So, most of us were raised on foods that were supposed to nourish us and help us thrive, but which were actually harboring toxic substances. Seems some bodies are less able to deal with this poison than others.

I also learned about a lot of other chemical substances we were dumping into our environment that do not break down or will change some other good substances.
So, I have been a recylcer since the early 1970's and tried to be mindful of what I was buying or eating. In spite of all that I got this very lethal form of cancer! My med onc says that the damage that leads to our disease can be done many years prior to detection.