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Woman claims strange lettuce cravings led to cancer diagnosis--what do you think?

I saw an article the other day (http://abmp.us/p3eohm) about Elsie Campbell, a woman who suddenly started craving up to four heads of lettuce a day out of the blue. Her husband (a scientist) did some research online and suggested that her body was craving nutrients found in lettuce that are often deficient in people with breast cancer. This led her to go see a doctor, where her husband's hunch was confirmed by a breast cancer diagnosis.

Dr. Lisa Carey, medical director at the University of North Carolina Breast Center, said, "I have never heard of cravings as a signal for cancer and cannot think of a reason that they would be, outside of old-fashioned things like iron deficiency from chronic blood loss, most often seen with colorectal cancer."

What do you think--was Elsie in touch with her body and able to discover the cancer through "natural" means, or was it simply a matter of coincidence as Dr. Carey suggests?

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Permalink Reply by Mike G on August 30, 2011 at 8:55am

And the 99 people who suddenly started craving up to four heads of lettuce a day and went to see there doctor found nothing wrong. I also have the ability to change traffic lights, at a red light and say it will change green now and it works! I must have some super natural ability over traffic lights. My point is just because this happened to one person, doesn't make it a scientific discovery.

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Permalink Reply by Abram Herman on August 30, 2011 at 9:35am

That's a good point, it would certainly go unreported if nothing was found. I'm curious as to what the connection was that her husband claimed, what dietary deficiency would he think to be related to cancer?

Mike G said:

And the 99 people who suddenly started craving up to four heads of lettuce a day and went to see there doctor found nothing wrong. I also have the ability to change traffic lights, at a red light and say it will change green now and it works! I must have some super natural ability over traffic lights. My point is just because this happened to one person, doesn't make it a scientific discovery.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Edelberg on September 7, 2011 at 6:12am

Taking the story at face value, there would have to be a reason she suddenly started craving all that lettuce. Just because one doctor in the field had never heard of such a thing doesn't mean it ain't so!

Mike's point is weak..............how many people have suddenly started craving all that lettuce, let alone been tested? Probably very few.

I knew a guy who could feel the 16v of a doorbell circuit when he touched the bare wires. He could tell us when it was on or off. Do the 99 other people who can't sense such a low voltage prove that he was wrong and was simply good at guessing?