Dr Oz: Mediterranean Diet Lower Cancer Risk + Immunotherapy

Dr Oz: Understanding More About Cancer

Dr Oz brought in what he called “one of the greatest minds in medicine” to share what he wants you to know about cancer. He welcomed Pulitzer Prize-winning author and world renowned cancer researcher Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, who said we are making enormous progress in the treatment, prevention, and curing of cancer.

A big study came out recently that said the Mediterranean diet is linked to a reduced risk in breast cancer. Dr Siddhartha explained that the study involved nearly 5,000 women. It was a randomized study which means there were no biases and it turned out that the women who followed a Mediterranean diet had the lowest incidences of breast cancer. A lot of follow up is needed, but it means the Mediterranean diet could certainly be worth trying.

Dr Oz: What Is Immunotherapy?

Dr Oz explained that there’s a new treatment out there that he wanted to discuss as well, called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy actually helps your immune system respond better to cancer treatments. Jimmy Carter has melanoma and is allegedly doing really well, and he has been getting immunotherapy.

Dr Oz: How Does Immunotherapy Work?

Dr Siddhartha explained that when cancer is present across the body, it’s difficult to treat with standard chemotherapy. The big change is that immunotherapy teaches your own body to fight cancer cells. Dr Oz showed an image of someone who had advanced metastatic cancer, pointing out that after she received immunotherapy, her large tumor practically disappeared. Dr Siddhartha explained that those results were practically unheard of, so it seems like a promising treatment.

Dr Oz: Following Your Intuition

One big idea that Dr Siddhartha strongly believes in is that “a strong intuition is much more powerful than a weak test.” Dr Oz flipped a coin a few times, and then had his audience guess how it would land. They continued thinking, despite the fact that it landed heads every time, the odds it would land heads again was 50/50. He then revealed that it was a double-headed coin. Dr Saddhartha explained that a doctor is always using what they know about their patients beforehand and their intuitions about your health, in order to make decisions.

Dr Saddhartha is the author of “The Laws of Medicine.”