Thesis Statement and Annotated Bibliography

Thesis Statement: Studies indicate that occurrences of adult and pediatric cancer in the United States are on the rise and are caused by increased parental and prenatal environmental exposures and both adults and children whose lifestyles lack a healthy diet and physical activity.

Annotated Bibliography

American Cancer Society (2014) Diet and Physical Activity: What’s the cancer connection? Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/dietandphysicalactivity/diet-and-physical-activity
The American Cancer Society has been a leading organization in cancer prevention and awareness for over a century. They contribute to the fight against cancer in a variety of ways to include advocating and creating laws to prevent and treat cancer, investing in cancer fighting research, and helping those who are diagnosed with cancer cope and treat their illness. The information in this article states that there is indeed a link between cancer and poor diet and physical inactivity. The article provides several interventions and mitigating strategies an individual can take to manage risk of cancer due to a lack of exercise and heathy diet. This article is key in validating the second point in the thesis statement as a cause of cancer.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) (2014) Cancer in Children and Adolescence. Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/childhood
NCI is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the main agency of the Federal Government tasked with the study, research, and training of cancer. This fact sheet confirms that occurrences of pediatric cancer are rising in the U.S. and provides a range of helpful statics to support the thesis. Section three of the fact sheet also discusses the possible causes of cancer in children to include environmental factors which are believed to cause the genetic mutations which lead to cancer. It is referenced by over twenty medical doctors in the oncology field.

T.J. Key (2004) Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer. Public Health Nutrition: 7(1A), 187–200.
Timothy J. Key is the Deputy Director, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. This publication was done in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and included contributions from the Harvard School of Public Health.
The publication provides research that strongly suggests dietary factors can both reduce and increase the risk of cancer. It is incredibly specific providing evidence linking certain foods to increased risk for certain cancer types. Also included is a table which measures the strength of the supporting evidence and allows the reader to determine if the evidence is convincing, probable, or insufficient. This research is important as it identifies which foods in our diet are unhealthy and should be avoided and provides evidence suggesting that obesity increases risk to certain cancers.

Ghosh, Heck, Cockburn, Su, Jarrett, Ritz (2013) Prenatal Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Risk of Early Childhood Cancer. American Journal of Epidemiology 2013;178(8):1233-1239.
The American Journal of Epidemiology leads the Nation in publishing epidemiological research and developments. This study examines the link between cancers in developing fetuses in the womb as a result of environment exposures to the mother during pregnancy. The journal establishes environmental risk factors such as air pollution, pesticides and electromagnetic fields. The study shows that the odds of retinoblastoma increase by nearly ten percent in mothers that were exposed to air pollution. This research is important as it identifies which factors in the environment have been studied and directly supports the first point in the thesis.

Shim, Mlynarek, Wijngaarden (2009) Parental Exposure to Pesticides and Childhood Brain Cancer: U.S. Atlantic Coast Brain Cancer Study. Environmental Health Perspective (EHP); DOI:10.1289/ehp.0800209
EHP is supported by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and has been a recognized source of research and news relating to environmental health since 1972. This study evaluates the link between occurrences of pediatric brain cancer and parents who had residential or occupational exposure to pesticides. The study establishes pesticide as a viable environmental risk factor and indicates there is indeed a significantly elevated risk astrocytoma in children whose parents were exposed to pesticide. This research provides additional evidence to support the first point in the thesis and strengthens the claim that occupational exposures of both men and women can lead to cancer diagnosis in their children.

World Health Organization (WHO) (2003) Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr27/en/
WHO is the agency that provides subject matter expertise and leadership on health matters from a global perspective for the United Nations. WHO was formed in 1948. In this article the highlights of the World Cancer Report are discussed and how statistics show the upward trend of cancer occurrences to be on the rise. It provides benchmark data for cancer occurrences worldwide and a variety of strategies and tactics public health agencies can employ to stem the trend. It also identified increased risks that are inherent to the western diet such as intake of refined carbohydrates and animal proteins. This data support the thesis by stating that cancer occurrences are actually rising and that diets in western cultures are of a unique concern.

National Cancer Institute (2012) Obesity and Cancer Risk. Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity
The fact sheet provides definitions and an overview of the differentiation between being underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. The cancers which are liked to obesity are listed and a summary of the cancer and obesity link. The possible mechanisms to explain the connection are also provided. Several links to other related studies are available and the fact sheet is well referenced. Obesity is often linked to lifestyles that lack physical activity and exercise which support the last point in the thesis.

Natural News (2013) Top 10 Most Unhealthy, Cancer Causing Foods. Retrieved from: http://www.naturalnews.com/039970_cancer_junk_food_carcinogens.html# This article summarizes common foods that include known human carcinogens or have been linked to causing rapid tumor growth in animals and the active ingredients responsible. Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite are discussed as being used as preservatives in processed meats and linked to an increased risk in colon cancer. High-glycemic foods such as refined flower can raise blood sugars which directly feed the growth of free radicals. This article is important as it shows the link cancer has to everyday, common foods and the interactions their unknown ingredients have to the human body. This connection further strengthens the argument made in the second point of the thesis.

U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (n.d.) Diseases Associated with Ionizing Radiation Exposure. Retrieved from: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/diseases.asp
This brief, all be it, important article discusses the occupational exposures to radiation linked to cancer and other diseases. It provides proof that the federal government recognizes this connection and provides compensation to veterans who have had such exposures. A list of the know cancers and other diseases which result from ionizing radiation are listed. The Federal Governments acknowledgement of this link by providing compensatory benefits is important to establishing proof there is a link between environmental exposures and cancer. This is an important over theme not only in the thesis but the research paper overall.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2003) Cancer and the Environment: What You Need to Know and What You Can Do. Retrieved From: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/cancer_and_the_environment_508.pdf
This article provides comprehensive data on what substances in the environment are known to cause cancer and where they are located. Detail on the scientific approach to identifying these substances, how risk is determined, how standards relating to expectable exposure are created and how public policy is made. Charts which describe how exposure to environmental carcinogens alter the genetic structure of our DNA and create cancer in the body. An analysis on how cancer trends have changed in recent years is also presented. This collection of data is invaluable to any argument on linking environment to cancer and is provided by arguably one of the most credible sources of information available on the topic.