I was shocked to see a blatant attempt to normalize cancer as an inevitability in a recent Washington Post op-ed by former environmental reporter David Ropeik. While Ropeik reasonably notes that some cancers (prostate) are overtreated, the rest of his argument is absurd. Of course Americans have reason to fear the second leading cause of death in the U.S. — particularly when 90 to 95% of cancer is preventable. But he overlooks an obvious, untapped solution: Systematically protecting humans from the harmful chemical exposures raising our risk for cancer and many other diseases. Fundamentally, Ropeik seems to say that because other things also pose a threat to human health, we should stop worrying about cancer and its environmental causes.

Source: New York Times January 24, 2024 22:18 UTC