Day 036 - 13 Oct 94 - Page 56
1 A. Yes, yes, it is.
2
3 Q. So would that indicate anything to you?
4 A. Well, it is quite clear that -- I believe this is the
5 National Cancer Institute booklet, yes -- it is quite
6 clear that the National Cancer Institute has believed that
7 there is an important role for diet in the causation of
8 cancer of the bowel and breast. They have believed so for
9 quite a long period of time and have invested a tremendous
10 amount of effort into not only conducting research to
11 further refine that relationship, but to providing
12 booklets like this, so that doctors can provide these to
13 their patients, so that they are also distributed simply
14 to the lay public, so that they can be aware of steps that
15 they can take to protect themselves.
16
17 Q. Finally, there is another document which I have given the
18 original to Mr. Rampton during the break.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is there a copy for me?
21
22 MS. STEEL: I have copies of the relevant pages. If anybody
23 wants the whole lot copied, we will get it done later. If
24 we could turn to page 20, this is: "What you Need to Know
25 About Cancer of the Colon and Rectum", and it was
26 published by the National Cancer Institute?
27 A. Yes.
28
29 Q. If we turn to page 20.
30
31 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, it is useful perhaps to notice when it
32 was published. It is quite a recent document; it is 1994,
33 I think.
34
35 MS. STEEL: Revised August 1993, reprinted April 1994.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not let us get bogged down in that at the
38 moment because we can always look at it later.
39
40 MS. STEEL: If you turn to page 20 under the heading "Cause and
41 Prevention", I am reading from the third paragraph: "Some
42 people are more likely to develop colorectal cancer than
43 others. Studies have found that certain factors increase
44 a person's risk. The following are risk factors for
45 this disease". Then they list polyps; age; family
46 history; familial polyposis; diet and ulcerative colitis.
47
48 Then to go on, missing out the next paragraph and going on
49 to the paragraph beginning: "People can lower their risk
50 of getting colorectal cancer. For example, those who have
51 colorectal polyps should talk with the doctor about having
52 them removed. People also can change their eating habits
53 to cut down on fat in their diet. Major sources of fat
54 are meat, eggs, dairy products, and oils used in cooking
55 and salad dressings. People should increase the amount of
56 fibre (roughage) in their diet."
57
58 What do you think that they are saying here?
59 A. Well, they are being quite strong in saying that
60 changes in the diet can lower the risk of getting
