Your Defense Against Cancer: The Complete Guide to Cancer Prevention

``The Big C is going to get youor it isn'tand there is nothing you can do about it.'' According to the author, a former staff writer for the Cancer Research Institute, this attitude toward cancer is typicaland wrong. Recommending the traditional approach of Western medicine combined with alternative methods, Dreher claims that we can prevent 80% of all cancers by not smoking, curbing alcohol intake, following a cancer prevention diet and systematically making other changes in daily life. He addresses three broad areas affecting susceptibility to the disease. The nutrition section offers the latest information about foods and supplements that promote, inhibit or protect against cancer (while making realistic allowance for the fact that old dietary habits die hard). The ``lifestyle'' section discusses causes of cancer such as exposure to radon and X-rays. Most controversially, Dreher examines the influence of mind on body where cancer is concerned. Intended as a reference source, and written with skeptics as well as true believers in mind, this informative book makes a balanced and convincing case for itself. (Jan.)