MovieChat Forums > A Little Bit of Heaven (2012) Discussion > A Vegetarian with colon cancer???

A Vegetarian with colon cancer???


Don't get me wrong, I really did love this movie. It was very heart warming and funny but seriously...a vegetarian with colon cancer?? It's very UNlikely. Vegetarians have a less of a risk getting cancer at all let alone colon cancer. And why the hell couldn't her last wish be that she DIDN'T die??? Heck if Whoopie Goldberg can be GOD then anything's possible I guess!

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[deleted]

And yet, vegetarians still get cancer of all types. It's a crapshoot; there's no formula for avoiding it.

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Not true.
From where you got your information, all medical studies say is very unlikely for a vegetarian to get cancer unless you are vegetarian with unhealthy habits like someking or if your exposed to radiation for long period.
The point is if you are vegetarian alone that would spare you a lot of pain in your life. And like I always say even if I die tomorrow because of any reason at least I have my conscience clean that my life style didn't heart animals and nobody. What about you guys? (Vegan is even better, dairy gives cancer, a lot)

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Paul McCartney's wife Linda died of cancer and they were hardcore vegetarians

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I studied nutrition and it's a fact that vegan/vegetarian diets have the least chance of getting cancer (especially colon) than others. I'm not saying it's impossible, but not likely. Diet plays an enormous part in cancer risks and an unhealthy diet does promote your chances of getting it. I don't know any vegetarians that are even affected by most of that because most of those who choose to eat vegan or vegetarian care about their health so they do not develop diabetes nor are they obese, abuse alcohol, eat poorly, smoke or suffer from IBD because the choose to eat well and care for their bodies.

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You studied nutrition -- not cancer. When you talk to oncologists the consensus is usually that more studies need to be done. Also, there are newer studies that now show that gluten might have a big hand in colon related illnesses. If this is true, vegans/vegetarians with a heavy grain diet are actually MORE susceptible. All in all, I believe more studies need to be done on a variety of both traditional and unique diets... and not just people's diets, but their surrounding lifestyle habits and choices.

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My husband had cancer and run a non profit helping people with cancer. We do talk with oncologists. Again, I'm not saying it's impossible. With all the crap in foods and the environment these days it can certainly happen. I mean if you're a vegetarian but your eating Hostess Twinkies and processed junk, don't expect to be very healthy overall. But most vegetarian I know do eat well. They stick to organic or raw foods. And many of the cancer patients we deal with who change their diet and go organic and lean towards more vegetarian diets do much better than those who don't.

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I watched this film on DVD on the weekend, and was really moved by it. Everyone here makes valid points, but I guess perhaps the screenwriters made Marley a vegetarian to perhaps point out that yes, everyone can get cancer. Some people may be at a higher risk than others, but anyone can get it.

The point I got from the story was to be aware of your own health and get to the doctor if something changes. Don't just chalk it up to stress and put it off like Marley did.

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Vegasmom28, I do not mean any disrespect but you only studied nutrition and only have talked to oncologists. The key word here is talked. There is a reason why anyone can't be a doctor. There is a reason why students must have years of schooling before they are legally able to give diagnosis and write prescriptions. Your ignorance and stereotyping is makes you ignorant of the fact of how cancers actually develop. (As an aside, your ignorance and stereotyping is the epitome of what is wrong with America today) Cancer doesn't heavily rely on food or nutrition. I have seen smokers of 60 years not develop lung cancer. I have seen clients who have tanned every day for 30 years not develop skin cancer. Nutrition only plays a minimal role in if one develops cancer or not. Cancer is defined as the uncontrolled rapid division of cells. Also, genetically, colon cancer is the same as rectal tumors so therefore colorectal cancer is defined as colon cancer or bowel cancer. Colon cancer can be caused by inflammatory bowel disease for example ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Your statement on how the movie isn't accurate about how a vegetarian can develop colorectal cancer is completely false. I do not wish to bore you with the details nor do I have the time to do so.

sources:

Bachelors of Science in Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience. Yale University Class of 1994 Summa Cum Laude.

Doctor of Medicine. Harvard Medical School Class of 2000 Summa Cum Laude.

PhD in Cancer Biology. Harvard Medical School Class of 2000 Summa Cum Laude.

Current position: Cancer researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

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AGAIN I didn't say it was "impossible", just not AS likely. My mom has smoked for at least 60 years of her life and does not have lung cancer. Does not mean I would encourage people to smoke. It's caused other problems for her, just as poor diet can do. Btw the Mayo Clinic site does offer cancer prevention advice and proper diet is recommended. Why? Because it reduces your risks.

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And my dad never smoked a cigarette in his life and died from lungcancer!

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If you're actually a doctor and a scientist and your argument is that you know two people that put themselves at a high risk for cancer but don't have it, than you're the grossly ignorant one. You "don't wish to bore us with the details" or facts, or anything concrete because you don't "have the time" but you do have plenty of time to state extraordinarily weak anecdotal evidence. So, are skirting around issues and being very very condescending while claiming not to wish to disrespect someone things you learned in med school? Modern medicine was literally brought into being by the early pharmaceutical giants who started the first medical school and a way to boost their drug sales. It worked better than they could have even imagined! It's no better than the tobacco industry for how egregiously it has deceived people and obfuscated the truth about nutrition's role in maintaining health. Because..shocker! They only make money treating illness not wellness! The fact that you don't know this and proudly whip out your degrees is another point of gross ignorance on your part. And really all those degrees say to me is that you spent WAY too much money on your schooling only so you can spread your "educated" douche baggery on random message boards. "There is a reason why anyone can't be a doctor" (I guess there also a reason why not everyone can be an English professor) The reason is that not everyone is willing to sell their soul to an industry (not a field) that kills more people per year than heart disease and cancer combined. I'm not saying all doctors are bad but the industry they've put themselves in bed with is one of the biggest contributors to the modern day health crisis we face now. Sadly the good one's can't make up for the bad.

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Eternalraven your talking totally nonsense, usually people that eat meat give all kind the arguments to justify eating unhealthy and eating cruel "food".
The truth is sometimes life put you in a position that you have to start to rethink. Better is for us to start early to eat healthy and cruelty free and stop making excuses for our bad habits.

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[deleted]

> I'm not saying it's impossible, but not likely

"not likely" means it still happens to someone.

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"Not likely" means, it's not really believable.

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Someone answered pretty clearly before

I will now try to answer in a slightly different way....."less likely" means something like this:

If 16 non-vegetarians out of 1000 non-vegetarians develop cancer....then only 12-13 vegetarians out of 1000 vegetarians develop this....this is what is meant by "less likely"

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I knew a woman who was a vegetarian and died from breast cancer.

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Any yet everybody dies. Even vegetarians, even vegans, even saints.

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As you said, it's unlikely, not impossible.

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Maybe she was a sodomite vegan ?

...also... put *spoilers*, use " ", ty.



Fill with their majestic spirits all [...] and not a few leaders only. R.W.E

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Vegetarians can have a poor diet and high stress lifestyles. They get cancer. Not eating meat isn't a healthy choice, it's just a choice. It doesn't equate with health.

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I saw the movie in TV I heard she said "I've been vegetarian for the last ten days", or I heard wrong? I understood she wasn't vegetarian, just because of the cancer she couldn't eat meat. Certainly 10 days won't solve the problem of a entire life eating meat.

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No. I am sorry but that's myth. Remember the Gibb Brothers were vegetarians and both died young and were sickly. Michael Clarke Duncan was a vegan and had an early stroke which led to cardiac arrest. In the end, genetics will always win out, and there's no scientific evidence to suggest that vegetarians are any healthier than meat eaters. Both have an equal chance at obesity as well, as some vegetarian and vegan dishes are fatty, non-animal food such as vegan cheese, and they have zero nutritional value whatsoever. Vegetarians are also more prone to anemia which wouldn't help a blood cell count in the case of cancer. If a parent or relative has colon cancer, or breast cancer and you inherit that gene - it doesn't matter what you eat. Your chances are equal.

"...I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"

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