Day 035 - 12 Oct 94 - Page 69


     
     1        paragraph:  "In Britain there is mounting evidence that a
     2        high-fat/low-fibre diet may play a part in causing some
     3        common cancers".  Next paragraph, "Cancer" ----
     4        A.  Let me just stop you.  When one says "mounting
     5        evidence that a high-fat/low-fibre diet may play a part in
     6        causing some cancers", again the use of the word "may"
     7        there -- not to get into too great a detail about this --
     8        but the use of the words "may" and "might", these sorts of
     9        things, are very, very commonly used by health
    10        professionals and by physicians.  I know I have done it
    11        myself a great deal.  It often makes sentences even
    12        redundant to say if there is mounting, that there is
    13        mounting evidence that a high-fat/low-fibre diet may play
    14        a part in some common cancers.
    15
    16   Q.   Dr. Barnard, I asked you at the beginning of this
    17        cross-examination whether you see a distinction between
    18        suspicion and guilt?
    19        A.  Yes.
    20
    21   Q.   You said that you thought that you did.
    22        A.  Yes.
    23
    24   Q.   Do you see a distinction between, say:  "Look, this diet
    25        is under suspicion; take care" and saying:  "This diet is
    26        known to cause a number of common cancers in a number of
    27        people; you should not eat any or only very limited
    28        quantities of the following substances" in consequence of
    29        that factual state of affairs?
    30        A.  This summary sentence I read as falling short of a
    31        conviction, if you will, to use your analogy.  However, it
    32        certainly does in my mind register strong suspicion, what
    33        I would characterise as a strong link, that I presume when
    34        they say "play a part in causing" that is what I would
    35        call a link of a causal nature, although it does fall
    36        short of ---
    37
    38   Q.   Yes, indeed it does.
    39        A.  -- being conclusionary.
    40
    41   Q.   I do not want to cut you off, equally I do not want to
    42        stay too late.  Can you turn to page 20?  This comes
    43        after, I remind you -----
    44        A.  By the way, I am sorry to interrupt.
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Say what you wish.
    47        A.  I simply felt it was worth again drawing to your
    48        attention -- you asked me earlier about the role of
    49        heredity which is, perhaps, how we started the day and my
    50        eye, by mistake, caught on this sentence on page 8 asking 
    51        the question:  Is cancer hereditary?  The response 
    52        generally "no".  I felt that, perhaps, a review of that 
    53        section at some point might be useful in sorting certain
    54        things out.
    55
    56   MR. RAMPTON:  We have not yet investigated in this court the
    57        precise role of heredity; to say that heredity has a role
    58        to play in cancer or, more accurately, that genetics have
    59        a role to play in cancer is probably not very
    60        controversial, is it?

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