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?
