Congress and Prostate Cancer
World's 3rd Richest Man
The first “Big C” was Congress debating and voting on the “Buffett Rule” of taxation. And the second was Mr. Buffett announcing that he has Stage 1 prostate cancer. From the New York Times (See 4-17-12 article below), as the title of article suggests, Mr. Buffett is downplaying the effects of the cancer on his life or his work:
“Revealing Prostate Cancer, Buffett Plays Down Effect”
Warren E. Buffett disclosed on Tuesday that he had prostate cancer, a development that would probably heighten the questions over his successor as the chief executive of his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway.
Yet Mr. Buffett, who will turn 82 this summer, also made clear that he would continue to run the company, writing to shareholders that the disease was in Stage 1 and that he had been told by doctors that it was “not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.”
One of nature's best cancer-fighters---definitely NOT one of Mr. Buffett's favorite foods.
Earlier blog. I recently blogged about the world’s third richest man (1-21-12) after reading about his dietary preferences in a Time cover story earlier this year. In that article, he was almost boasting about his unhealthy eating habits.
I found it disturbing at the time that the world’s third richest—and one of the world’s most influential people—was not helping people understand the millions of lives that could be saved—simply by changing what we eat.
Here is a brief excerpt from that blogpost, which was all about the importance of “conscience” that he learned from his father.
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My question is this. If he were to understand what our Western diet-style is doing to our health, our planet and the future of our way of life; how would his conscience permit him to not apply a portion of his mighty wealth to changing it? Maybe his conscience is not as strong as his appetite. From the Time article:
Buffett, who has a soft elderly face but moves briskly, stacks a plate high with waffles, bacon and roast beef. Despite his Eisenhower-era diet, which includes 60 oz. of Coke (preferably Cherry) a day, Buffett remains surprisingly thin. “I haven’t had a taste of broccoli or asparagus in years!” he boasts. “I formed my thoughts on eating at the age of 5, and I haven’t changed them.”
One of Mr. Buffett's favorite foods---part of the toxicity of our diet that is the single biggest cause of cancer in the western world.
Bacon and roast beef? He might feel differently when he learns what’s at stake. The definition of conscience, from my online dictionary: an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.
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But now that Mr. Buffett has been diagnosed with cancer, he may be more open to learning about prostate cancer and what, if anything, can be done to prevent it. And if he does learn more, we are confident that his conscience would insist that he do the right thing. Imagine what he could do with his wealth in terms of truly fighting cancer—the way Dr. Colin Campbell outlined in The China Study.
Cherry coke, a big favorite of Mr. Buffett, who consumes 60 ounces a day.
In our book, we cover the chronic diseases that are primarily driven by the food that we eat—and among them are virtually all cancers. Quoting Dr. T. Colin Campbell in Chapter 3 under the “Big C” section:
- Doctors should be discussing the option of using dietary change as a potential path to cancer prevention and treatment.
- The U.S. government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer.
- Local cancer alliances and institutions should be discussing the possibility of providing information to Americans everywhere on how a whole-foods, plant-based diet may be an incredibly effective anticancer medicine.
Requested meeting with Mr. Buffett. As a member of the board of directors of the T. Colin Campbell Foundation, I am sure that Dr. Campbell would love the opportunity to meet with Mr. Buffett and tell him all about cancer and what we can do about it. And it’s not about providing financial support for the kinds of “magic bullet” research that’s been taking place since Nixon was president. It’s about understanding and taking action on the fact that “the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer.”
Added on April 20, upon receiving my copy of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” issue. As expected, Mr. Buffett is in that group and his article was written by President Obama. Here is an excerpt…
Warren Buffett is not just one of the world’s richest men but also one of the most admired and respected. He has devoted the vast majority of his wealth to those around the world who are suffering, or sick, or in need of help….Today, at 81, he reminds us that life is not just about the value you seek. It’s about the values you stand for.
I should also add that as an executive recruiter, I have been quoting Mr. Buffett for years. In describing what he seeks in CEOs of companies that he might acquire, he says, ” I look for three things: Intelligence, Energy and Integrity. And if the CEO doesn’t have Integrity, those first two will kill you.”
New York Times article, Revealing Prostate Cancer, Buffett Plays Down Effect
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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
Since he’s in his 80s, there was an 80+% probability that he would test positive if biopsied. No study has shown any benefit in terms of reduced cancer mortality or all cause mortality in men his age treated for prostate cancer. None. there is no benefit in treating men over 70, and limited benefit (reduces relative risk of cancer death by 20%, but absolute risk by 4% in men with Stage 2, intermediate risk) in younger men. At his age, for every man “saved” from prostate cancer by radiation therapy, one dies of aggressive bladder cancer CAUSED by the therapy. No treatment should be initiated (except the dietary kind, of course) unless there are bothersome symptoms. Prostate cancer treatment in the US is a huge scam perpetrated on the area of life men fear to lose the most.
Here is another inspiring story of someone who was very ill and changed her diet at age 86 to become healthy and non-diabetic: http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/success-stories-interview-with-a-nutritarian-helen.html
It’s never too late!!
PS: Nutritarian eating a la Dr. Fuhrman is 90% plant-based similar to 4 leaf
Mr. Buffet will start radiation soon, he says in a letter to Berkshire stockholders, which tells me he has embraced the allopathic medicine route. Not too many in this world have his resources and his knack for investing money, and yet he is really totally dumb when it comes to his health.
Plant-based diets might help people with prostate disease.
http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/cancer-reversal-through-diet/
J.
During Mr Buffet’s formative years eating bacon was probably considered healthy as we were protein obsessed back then and to some extent still are. I think a lot of people have a very diifficult time changing their habits or patterns. It probably does not help that industry puts addicting chemicals into food as well. Mr Buffet is good at handing and growing money but there is a great many things things from politics to health that, I feel, he is clueless on.
One of the keys to life is to never stop learning or investigating your surroundings. By this I mean do not poke your head into the sand. I recently read an article on the chinese art of face reading which is something that every one of us does or has the ability to do. Humans from the past had much better sensory abilities because they had to in order to survive. They had to read each other and also approaching predators. We had to determine in an instant if what they were facing was friend or foe. Part of this determination was by reading the face of the unknown person. From this reading they could gather a lot of importatnt information. I find that I do this often myself out of curiosity. I can usually tell the health of a person my certain clues contained in the face and body language. Everyone does this to some extent and may not even realize it. This is part of what I am referring to when I say investigate your surroundings. Use your sensory abilities to decide if something makes sense. Example: You each a heavy breakfast which includes a big plate of eggs and bacon. Your sensory side will notice how your energy is lost during digesting this poor meal. This should immediately trigger you to cross these foods off your list but most people ignore their sensory side and work through the discomfort only to make the same mistake over and over again. We lose touch with our inate senses. Your senses and laerning should always be working together. In Warren Buffet’s case his learning was limited to only one aspect of his life when it should have included all aspects of his life.
To learn more about the art of face reading go to http://www.wisdomofyourface.com which is Jean Haners website.
Have a wonderful and prosperous day!!
Bill K.
I had the same thoughts as you about requesting that Mr. Buffet should have a meeting with Dr. Campbell. I also will send him a message and relay my story to him. Just maybe he will be that change we are all waiting to see begin?