Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 19, 1986
HEALTH &
FITNESS
Pmof blasts eaneer 'niieneeptionis'
By NORA THORP
A University biologist currently
conducting cancer research Monday
night attacked "misconceptions'
about the disease's causes and
frequency and the way cancer infor-
mation is simplified in the national
media.
Prof. Lewis Kleinsmith, who
teaches Biology 262, "The Biology of
Cancer," said at least two-thirds of
his students have been unaware that
tobacco smoke is the leading cause of
cancer. Instead, he said, the students
blamed the disease on heredity and
toxic environmental pollutants.
Kleinsmith stressed that 90 percent
of all cancers can be attributed to
lifestyle - things like smoking, diet
and climate. His lecture at the Ann
Arbor Public Library, which was
sponsored by the Ann Arbor People's
Food Co-op, also provided tips on how
to prevent the deadly disease.
"ONE THING you notice when you
start reading about cancer is that it
appears that the number of people
developing cancer has increased,"
said Kleinsmith, who criticized this
notion as deceptive because cancer
rates are highest among the elderly
and people now live longer than in the
past.
"When you turn 50 today you have
no higher chance of getting cancer
than someone who turned 50 in the
past 100 years," he said.
Kleinsmith attributed these
misconceptions to the media, which
he said simplifies and condenses the
disease's complexity. "Cancer isn't
one disease, it's hundreds of diseases.
When you try to condense it into a
headline, it's more wishful thinking,"
he said.
HE ADVISED his audience
of primarily students to be wary of
data presented in the press,
espescially when reporters try to
create cause-and-effect relationships
in analyzing the disease.
Kleinsmith compared the over-
correlation to a boy in a department
store who thinks escalators are
powered by shoppers entering
through revolving doors because
when the doors lock, the excalators
also stop. He feels that uniformed
journalists often make similarly
illogical relationships.
Kleinsmith, who said he stresses
teaching his students critical tools for
accurately analyzing scientific in-
formation, recommended avoiding
smoking and being near smokers 'as
the most important step in preventing
cancer. Tobacco smoke contains
some of the most potent cancinogens
known and produces high levels of
radiation.
He added that these health risks are
just as serious for non-smokers who
live or work closely with smokers.
Scientists refer to this danger as
'passive smoking."
KLEINSMITH said eating a balan-
ced diet also helps prevent cancer.
Not enough conclusive evidence has
been found to link a diet high in fat
with increased risk of getting cancer,
but he advised avoiding excess in
eating any type of food.
He also questioned the effectiveness
of "cancer-preventing foods" such as
fiber
"Avoid excessive exposure to
sunlight, to prevent skin cancer which
is easy to do here in Ann Arbor," said
Kleinsmith. He added that while most
skin cancers are not deadly,
melanoma is very dangerous.
When asked by a member of the
audience whether or not marijuana
causes cancer, he explained that the
drug's different chemical composition
and smaller intake level prevents it
from being classified as a carcinogen.
Another member of the audience
jokingly added that marijuana helps
reduce stress, which some feel con-
tributes to the likelihood of getting
cancer.
Kleinsmith did his undergraduate
work at the University and obtained a
doctorate in Life Science from
Rockefeller University in New York.
He also teaches a section of Biology
112.
'U' hospital to study organ transplantation
By ELLEN FIEDELHOLTZ
The first transplant policy center in
the nation will be established at the
University's medical center, hospital
officials have announced.
The University received approval
from the Michigan Department of
Public Health to establish a Center for
Public Policy Research on Organ
Transplantation. The new center will
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be funded by a grant of $350,000 from
the Michigan Department of Social
Services, said George Zuidema, the
University's vice provost for medical
affairs.
ZUIDEMA SAID in a press release
that the center will study and collect
information on how organ tran-
splantion affects individuals, their:
families, and society in general.
Specifically, Zuidema said, the cen-
ter will examine the psychological ef-
fects of transplantation on recipients and
their families, the cost of transplan-
tation, organ availability and delivery
systems, and ethical issues.
Zuidema appointed Dr. Jeremiah
Turcotte, chairman of the Depar-
tment of Surgery, as the director of
the center. "This will be the only
transplant center in the country, and
we hope it will be an important
resource not only to Michigan but to
the nation," he said.
"The center will serve as a central
resource for the state, working in
cooperation with existing transplant
organizations," he added.
Carolyn Moon, the public education
coordinator at the Organ
Procurement Agency of Michigan,
said more than 500 people are curren-
tly awaiting transplants in Michigan.
She spoke positively of the new center
and said many members of the agen-
cy will also be involved with decision-
making committees set up in conjuc-
tion with the new center.
'AIDS' patients misdiagnosed
IN BRIEF
COMPILED FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Panel probes Marcos holdings
WASHINGTON - The head of a Philippine panel probing the financial
dealings of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos, after obtaining some
2,300 pages of documents purportedly detailing Marcos' holdings,
declared yesterday there was "an unprecedented raid on the public
treasury.
Jovita Salonga, appearing at a news conference not long after he was
given the documents by the State Department, said the papers showed
that Marcos had converted to his and his wife Imelda's use money
destined for the Philippine military.
Salonga, chairman of the Commission on Good Government named by
Marcos' successor, Corazon Aquino, also said the documents show
widespread evidence of bribes, kickbacks "and the illicit relationship
between Marcos, the banks and financial institutions."
Salonga refused to release any of the documents, relinquished earlier in
the day by the State Department, noting that Philippine lawyers are
scrutinizing the papers. These lawyers, he said, have advised that the
documents be kept secret.
He had previously estimated Marcos' wealth at $5 billion to $10 billion,
but said Tuesday, "Our estimates keep on going up as more evidence
keeps coming in. It could well go higher as new evidence comes in."
New bills to thwart imitation
WASHINGTON - The greenback is staying green, but in the first major
currency changes in more than 50 years, the Treasury Department an-
nounced yesterday it is adding a tiny plastic thread and microscopic prin-
ting to U.S. money in an effort to thwart counterfeiters.
Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III said the changes were being
made to protect American money from a growing threat from a new
generation of sophisticated copying machines.
The Treasury Department has for several years been studying ways to -
make U.S. currency more counterfeit-proof, including changing the
color.
In the end, officials decided to opt for subtle changes that are not likely
to be noticed unless the currency is studied carefully. The main differen-
ce will be the addition of a clear polyester thread on the left side of the
portrait. The thread will be invisible until the money is held up to the
light. Through light, the thread will appear along with the printing.
The other change will involve printing of the words "United States of
America" repeatedly around the portrait.
U.S. releases Marcos's records
WASHINGTON - The United States yesterday gave the Philippine
government a boxful of 1,500 documents expected to detail worldwide,
multibillion-dollar holdings of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos.
The same documents also were subpoenaed by a House subcommittee
which has been investigating Marcos' U.S. dealings, which include an
estimated $350 million worth of real estate in the New York City area.
Rep. Stephen Solarz, (D-N.Y.) chairman of the House of Foreign Af-
fairs subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, told his colleagues, "I
have been informed by the administration that they will comply, that we
will receive the documents within a few hours."~
The actions came a day after a federal judge in New York refused to
halt the release of the papers which Marcos and his wife, Imelda, took with
them last month when they fled to Hawaii after the collapse of Marcos's
20 year rule.
U.S. to join Canadian officials
in fight against acid rain
WASHINGTON - President Reagan and Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney, hoping to remove a nettlesome irritant to U.S.-Canadian
relations, agreed yesterday on a joint commitment to fight acid rain, ad-
ministration official said.
Opening two days of formal discussions highlighted by a full-scale
White House welcome and glittery black-tie state dinner, Reagan and
Mulroney reached an agreement in principle that appeared intended to
break a long deadlock.
U.S. officials said long-sought common ground would be found in4
separate statements to be issued today.
"The two leaders are in substantial agreement on how to proceed,"
said White House spokesman Larry Speakes. Rather than a joint
declaration, he said, each side will issue a statement -on now eacn leader
wishes to state his position."
That approach suggested a continued difference of opinion over causes,
effects and appropriate responses to the problem of acid rain, which
Canada contends is damaging its forests and waterways and originates in
large measure from air pollution in the United States.
U.S. confirms net trade debt
WASHINGTON - The deficit in the country's broadest measure of
foreign trade hit a record $117.7 billion last year, confirming that the
United States became a net debtor for the first time in 71 years, the
government said yesterday.
The Commerce Department said the deficit in the country's current ac-
count, which includes trade in merchandise and in services, surged 9.6
percent above the previous record deficit of $107.4 billion in 1984.
As recently as 1981, the country enjoyed a surplus in its current account
because earnings on American investments overseas, the services
category, were enough to erase perennial merchandise trade deficits.
But the deficits in the current account have steadily mounted since
1982. This has had the adverse side effect of pushing the country into the
status of a net debtor nation.
Simply put, that means foreigners now own more U.S. investments
than Americans owe in foreign investments, something that had not oc-
cured since 1914.
This figure, it it stands up to revisions, means that the United States is
now the third largest debtor country in the world, behind Brazil at $103.5
billion and Mexico at $97.7 billion.
Vol. XCVI- No. 114
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Monday through
Friday during the fall and winter terms. Subscription rates: September
through April-$18 in Ann Arbor; $35 outside the city. One term-$10 in
town; $20 outside the city.
The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and subscribes
to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times
Syndicate, and College Press Service.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Tuber-
culosis, heart disease and even
muscle strains have been
misdiagnosed as AIDS, says a resear-
cher who found that 10 percent of a
group of patients sent to an AIDS
clinic really had other ailments.
One man died of cancer which went
untreated for four months because it
was misdiagnosed as AIDS.
THE study, published in the March
issue of the Western Journal of
Medicine, involved a review of recor-
ds of 80 consecutive patients referred
to the University of California at San
I
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What's
Happening
Recreational Sports
NOMINATIONS DUE
Tuesday, March 25, 1986 - 4:30 p.m. - IMSB
for
IM ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
DIVISIONAL BEST ATHLETE
DIVISIONAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR
AWARDS PRESENTATION
'NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS"
Tues., April 1, 1986 - IMSB
Allparticipants welcome to attend
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
TEST
YOUR
SKILL.
Francisco clinic for treatment of
AIDS or a less severe condition known
as AIDS-related complex.
"We were surprised to find that 10
percent (eight) of the patients
referred to us with diagnosis of AIDS
or related diseases actually had other
diseases," said Dr. Harry Hollander,
the clinic's director.
The diseases included Tuberculosis,
muscle strain, heart disease and a
cancer known as Hodgkin's disease
what Hollander and his co-author,
nurse Dawn D. Cortland, call
"pseudo-AIDS" diagnosis.
THE misdiagnosis rate probably is
higher than the nationwide rate,
Hollander said, because San Fran-
cisco-area doctors unconsciously
overemphasize the possibliity of AIDS
when seeing ill people who belong to
groups at risk for AIDS, such as
homosexual men.
"It's a matter of people's thinking
getting pigeonholed based on the fact
AIDS is such a prominent disease
these on everybody's minds," he said
in a telephone interview from San
Francisco. "In fact, many of these
patients probably went to their
ANN ARBOR
ASSOCIATES
IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
OFFERS SERVICES TO
The University community
REGARDING
" Relationship Issues
" Depression
* Study Problems
" Anxiety and Stress
" Eating Difficulties
For Referral to a
Qualified Professional,
CALL between
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Weekdays: 665-0005
physicians with the concern of AIDS
in mind."
Sloppy diagnostic work and a
failure to obtain complete medical
histories aggravated the problem in
some cases. So did the fact that AIDS
cripples the body's disease-fighting
immune defense against a broad
variety of infections and cancers,
Hollander said.
"IT is imperative to use rigorous
diagnostic criteria to avoid both
traumatizing patients with news of
terminal illness and delaying therapy
for other unrelated diseases,"
Hollander and Cortland wrote.
One pseudo-AIDS patient was a 33-
year-old homosexual sent to the clinic
for what other doctors thought was
lymphadenopathy, a lymph node
enlargement related to AIDS.
But the man's problem didn't fit the
definition of lymphadenopathy and
the clinic's doctors determined he had
a type of tuberculosis that affects the
lymph nodes rather than the lungs.
ANOTHER patient was a 37-year-
old, promiscuous homosexual who
suffered chest pain and mild shor-
tness of breath. Emergency room
doctors concluded he had AIDS-
related pneumonia because they
misread an X-ray, Hollander said.
The man actually had clogged ar-
teries that blocked blood flow to his
heart.
Another patient was a 20-year-old
winery worker who complained of
fatigue and pain under his right arm
for 10 days. His family assumed he
was homosexual because he had male
roommates, and a relative who was a
doctor sent the man to the UCSF clinic
believing the underarm pain was
caused by lymphadenopa thy.
The man insisted he wasn't gay, and
clinic doctors found his pain was
muscle strain caused by lifting heavy
cases of wine, Hollander said. The
man was treated with heat and
aspirin.
Free Intensive on
SELF-DISCOVERY
MICHIGAN LEAGUE
Henderson Room
Sun., March 23 - 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Public Invited
PM
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Nabisco Oreo Cookies :
20oz. $1.99
DAIRY FRESH *
Orange orGrapefruit Juice *.
1/2 gal. $1.19*
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'4445444TFT444444444TflT444444
Editor in Chief..............ERIC MATTSON
Managing Editor ..........RACHEL GOTTLIEB
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