Cancer is an insideous disease. But it can be prevented in many cases, and also cured. Here are some “secret” cancer treatments that your doctor probably doesn’t tell you about.

1. The best cure? prevention. Exercise is probably the #1 prevention measure, yet unbelievably, this is not widely discussed in the doctor’s office or in medical policymakers.

2. Radioactivity. Not external beam radioactivity or internal seeds, but rather radioimmunotherapy. For cancer patients, an antibody targeted to the tumor is used to deliver a lethal dose of radiation directly to the tumor cells.

In emergency medicine, I was taught that “a person isn’t dead unless they are warm and dead.” This saying basically means that hypothermic patients can appear lifeless, but when warmed up you can revive them. You should never pronounce a person as dead unless they are warmed up first.

For cancer patients, perhaps there is a similar sentiment. We shouldn’t give up on certain lymphoma patients unless we have tried radioimmunotherapy. We shouldn’t declare patients with advanced lymphoma as “dead” unless we have tried radioimmunotherapy.

This thought was expressed recently at Hopkins during a noon conference. One of the world’s leading experts in radioimmunotherapy said to all of us, in effect, that although radioimmunotherapy has not been perfected yet, it can be life-saving. In particular, certain subtypes of lymphoma respond to radioimmunotherapy. We should not tell patients that “we have tried everything” until we have tried radioimmunotherapy.

It doesn’t work for everyone, but many of us who practice nuclear medicine believe that radioimmunotherapy is really underutilized. Ask your doctor about it.

Walking in the footsteps of a giant.

Usually this means that you are figuratively following the spiritual path of a great person that came before. For example, we walk in the footsteps of a giant when as a young person we work underneath a master, or take a job once held by some larger than life, almost mythical person.

Well, I had the opportunity this last week to literally, not figuratively, walk in the footsteps of a giant. Just after I got off the metro transit train on my way to work, I realized that Dr. Ben Carson had just gotten off ahead of me. We had both taken the 6:31 to Johns Hopkins that morning. As we walked to our respective sections of the hospital, as I followed him into work, I was literally walking in the footsteps of a giant.

As you know, this last week the national and world news is focused upon the financial crisis that we are facing. The stories that are coming out are truly startling: a CEO just ran his company bankrupt, yet received $25 Million USD retirement parachute. Another politician gets on TV and congratulates herself and her political party friends about the wonderful job they have done passing a $700 Billion USD bailout package. Instead of an apology for the mess they have collectively wreaked upon America, they openly congratulate themselves on their plan to spend $700 Billion of our money. The outrageous stories go on and on.

Yet this same week, I got off the metro with a truly great person. An incredible pediatric neurosurgeon with a personal style and approach to life so radically different than all of those politicians and all of those CEO’s. Truly in his prime, Dr. Carson is a person that has inspired millions to learn, to think, and to become the best person they can be.

We got off the metro together. Just before 7am. Going to work.

Walking in the footsteps of a giant is always inspiring, and when following Ben Carson, a profound reminder that the truly great are truly humble.