A Brief Look at the Link Between Fungus and Cancer

Few things are scarier than hearing the words, you have cancer. Regardless of how frightening those words are, it’s something that an estimated 1/3 to 1/2 of us will hear in our lifetime. With such staggering rates, and so much money and research poured into combatting the big C, you would think we would have rounded the curve towards reducing rates of cancer or even finding a cure. What is terrifying is that despite the millions of dollars spent every year on research, we seem to be no closer to knowing exactly what causes cancer, much less finding a cure for the disease.

As far as causes are concerned, cancer often epitomizes the phrase, etiology unknown. We simply do not know what causes the disease in most of the cases! Sure, some obvious culprits, such as smoking, drinking alcohol are known to contribute towards the disease’s incidence. Genetics are known to, contribute, as well, in at least some way. But by and large, it is not well understood why some people get cancer, and other do not.

As with all things labeled, “etiology unknown”, it may be wise to consider the role fungus may play in this disease. The fact remains that fungi and their mycotoxins are not well understood by mainstream medical science, so it is unsurprising that any doctor would balk at the idea. Despite this, published throughout medical literature are hints that fungus may play a very profound role in the incidence of cancer.

Understanding a few aspects of fungi may start to shed light on how they can play a role in the incidence of cancer. Fungi produce chemical byproducts as part of their natural life cycle. These chemicals are often toxic, in which case they are known as “mycotoxins”. These mycotoxins are among the most toxic, naturally occurring chemicals on earth. For example, one mycotoxin known as aflatoxin is a carcinogenic mycotoxin known to cause liver cancer. Other mycotoxins are known to be genotoxic and mutagenic. It is well published that certain mycotoxins cause cancer.

What people do not realize is that these mycotoxins are known to contaminate parts of our food supply, particularly grain and corn. Knowing the scope those foods play in our food system and the frequency with which most people consume those foods on a daily basis, the chance you are regularly consuming mycotoxins if you are eating the standard American diet is high.

When you put these two things together, it may offer insight into what lies at the root cause of many cancers otherwise labeled, “etiology unknown”.

Furthermore, it is published that certain fungi can actually mimic types of cancer in the body! Certain fungal species produce a sac, or an ascomycete, that can appear to be cancer. While this is well published in much of the older medical literature, it is a conclusion drawn by many contemporaries, as well. Just last year in a European medical journal, doctors found conclusive evidence that a breast cancer tumor was actually a sac fungus. “The likelihood,” they stated,”that the tumor was not fungal in origin is low.”

If you are interested in learning more about the Fungus Link to Cancer, please visit our bookstore for more literature.