Importance Score: 68 / 100 🔴
Navigating the hospital parking, a stunned silence enveloped my husband and me. The date is etched in my memory: November 7, 2019. Prior to this day, my life was simply life. Now, it was defined as ‘BBC’ – Before Bowel Cancer. This diagnosis of bowel cancer marked a stark turning point, highlighting the critical importance of understanding processed meat health risks and the potential need for bowel cancer prevention strategies.
Moments before, hunched over with my head in my hands, a composed colorectal surgeon delivered the confirmation of my deepest fears.
Following the identification of a substantial mass in my colon days earlier, a biopsy had verified the malignancy. Adding to the gravity, a CT scan revealed metastasis to my liver.
‘I regret to inform you it is officially stage-four bowel cancer,’ the surgeon stated. ‘However… um, try not to worry, I am fairly confident we can treat it,’ he added, perhaps in a well-intentioned attempt to soften the blow as the weekend approached. I would later discover some stage-four patients defy expectations and achieve remission. Yet, in that instant, mortality felt imminent.
My world descended into disarray. Christmas was fast approaching. Would it be my last? What about my children? Amidst the internal turmoil, a single thought persisted: the urgent need to consult Google.
‘What are the causes of bowel cancer?’ I typed into my phone as we drove towards our Melbourne home, where we faced the daunting task of disclosing my diagnosis to our children, then aged nine and eleven.
Numerous contributing elements and origins emerged from my search. I systematically examined each one. Was I over 50? No. Was I obese? Slightly overweight, as are many mothers, but not obese. Did I smoke? Never.
Did I have a family history of bowel cancer or a genetic predisposition? No. Did I consume a diet deficient in fiber and rich in heavily processed foods? Not at all – oats, fruit, legumes, and vegetables were staples in my daily diet.
Luice Morris-Marr in hospital after being diagnosed with bowel cancer
Was I physically active? Certainly. Was I a regular drinker? One or two glasses of pinot noir on Fridays.
This preliminary investigation only amplified my bewilderment. Why me? Why now? At 44 years old?
‘What the hell!’ I exclaimed, breaking the car’s heavy quiet.
Lost in contemplation, I probed deeper into other potential connections. To my dread, I discovered numerous studies indicating that habitual consumption of red and processed meats – such as bacon, frankfurters, or salami – jeopardizes health and longevity.
A significant link between bowel cancer and processed meats exists, along with other suspected detrimental health effects. Perhaps you have encountered headlines over the years and are already aware of this. Or perhaps you, like me at that time, were not fully cognizant of the dangers, particularly at a young age.
As I processed this information, I reflected on my life. I don’t really eat vast amounts of processed meats, I reassured myself repeatedly. I had never favored pre-packaged ham and typically opted for chicken, cheese, or salmon. However, I then began to delve deeper into my habits.
I recalled occasions of ordering bacon as a side dish at brunch. When preparing vegetable soup, I frequently fried bacon pieces to enhance the flavor.
As a British expatriate longing for home, I reminisced about meticulously scoring diamond patterns onto the enormous Christmas ham I prepared every Christmas Eve. I always relished slices of that ham in the days following. Then, memories surfaced of supermarket trips and succumbing to the allure of grilled sausages in white bread.
Could it be possible that consuming processed meats within my otherwise wholesome diet contributed to my bowel cancer?
Definitive certainty was unattainable, yet the notion that I might have inflicted this anguish upon myself, and consequently my family, intensified the burden.
Identifying an external, uncontrollable cause would have been considerably easier. I immersed myself in studies and reports, uncovering facts that I recognized the meat industry would prefer to keep concealed. My findings ignited anger, but also galvanized my resolve as a journalist to author a book exposing the shadowy aspects of the processed meat sector.
Luice with her husband and children, who were nine and 11 when she had to break the news
For instance, a remarkable study involving nearly half a million adults concluded that individuals ‘with elevated processed meat consumption face an elevated risk of premature death, particularly from cardiovascular conditions and also cancer’.
This statement resonated deeply. But it was not an isolated finding. In 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified processed meats in the same cancer-risk category as tobacco and asbestos. It also asserted that consuming 50g of processed meat daily elevates the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent. That equates to a single sausage, two ham slices, or a couple of bacon rashers.
These processed meats are believed to account for 13 percent of the 44,000 new bowel cancer diagnoses in Britain annually, according to Cancer Research UK.
The disease is also increasingly prevalent among younger demographics in the UK – with rates for those aged 25-to-49 surging by over 50 percent since the early 1990s. Nevertheless, a bacon sandwich remains a national snack favorite.
Preservatives in Bacon and Potential Carcinogenic Compounds
For millennia, salt served as the primary meat curing agent. Currently, synthetic nitro-preservatives, notably sodium nitrite, are predominantly utilized to drastically extend product shelf life, mitigate food poisoning risks, and maintain meat’s pink hue. These nitrites in processed meat are cost-effective and efficient.
They are inexpensive and effective. Examine the expiration dates on bacon or salami – they can last up to eight weeks before spoiling. However, the health implications of their consumption are often neglected.
Sodium nitrite is a crystalline powder resembling kitchen salt. Odorless and water-soluble, it can be incorporated into processed meat mixtures in powder form, injected directly into meat, or dissolved in water to create brine – termed ‘pickle’ within the industry.
Beyond its role as a food preservative, I discovered, with alarm, that it is also an ingredient in antifreeze for vehicles and is used to prevent corrosion in pipes and tanks. It is also a component in dyes, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.
Research indicates that nitro-preservatives, in their pure state, are not carcinogenic – not directly causing cancer.
However, under specific conditions, they release chemicals, notably nitric oxide, that react with meat and generate carcinogenic compounds. Scientists designate these as N-nitroso compounds, encompassing nitrosamines. These nitrosamines in processed meat pose significant health concerns.
Upon digestion of processed meat, nitrosamines are metabolized by the liver and can inflict DNA damage, potentially inducing mutations that lead to cancer.
Furthermore, they can damage cells specifically within the bowel, increasing bowel cancer risks.
Yet, food manufacturers are reluctant to eliminate nitro-preservatives. Without them, processed meats would turn brown, diminishing their visual appeal.
Meat would necessitate rapid sale, precluding extended shelf storage and long-distance transportation.
Seeking Nitrate-Free Meat Options
Following my diagnosis, I endured a relentless series of demanding treatments encompassing chemotherapy, four surgical interventions, and radiation therapy. Still, recurring scans revealed the cancer’s gradual return.
By early 2024, as treatment avenues dwindled, a liver transplant was proposed – a relatively innovative therapy for advanced bowel cancer patients. This liver transplant for bowel cancer offered a chance at survival.
Acknowledging the substantial risk, I felt compelled to proceed.
I was instructed to anticipate a hospital notification at any hour. Thus commenced a six-month period of anticipation.
Then, on a balmy evening last year, the anticipated call arrived. A precious liver was expedited via private jet from another state to my hospital. Amidst a family’s bereavement, loss was poised to transform into life.
Less than eight hours later, I relinquished my husband’s hand as I was transported to surgery. Upon regaining consciousness, I was still ventilator-dependent; however, doctors confirmed the nine-hour procedure successful.
My transplanted liver functioned effectively, and I was now cancer-free. I placed my hands over the surgical site and silently conveyed gratitude to my donor and their family.
Initial recovery was arduous, and subsequent months involved recurrent hospitalizations for complications and infections.
Despite ongoing challenges, I am profoundly grateful for life and remission.
Not only does Lucie not eat processed meat any more, neither do her husband and children
Needless to say, processed meat is no longer part of my diet. Its smell and even sight induce physical revulsion, associating it with the pain and suffering of cancer.
Furthermore, my children and husband have also eliminated it from their consumption. This change is a crucial step towards bowel cancer prevention for my family.
Initially, complaints arose regarding the absence of pepperoni pizza. However, upon explaining pepperoni’s link to increased cancer risk, protests ceased.
The growing availability of nitrite-free products – such as Finnebrogue Naked Bacon in the UK – in supermarkets is encouraging, yet they represent a minor market segment.
Ultimately, addressing this issue cannot solely rely on food corporations; nitrite removal is not in their financial interests. Government intervention is necessary to enforce change, mandate warning labels, and implement extensive public health initiatives emphasizing processed meat health risks.
Consumers also play a vital role by curtailing their processed meat intake and prioritizing chemical-free alternatives. Consumer preference will drive the normalization of these healthier products – akin to the widespread adoption of free-range eggs.
I am fortunate to be alive; however, countless bowel cancer patients succumb annually – many cases linked to processed meat consumption. The scale of these preventable deaths is unacceptable – it is imperative to act.
This is adapted from Processed: How the Processed Meat Industry Is Killing Us With The Food We Love, by Lucie Morris-Marr, available Wednesday (Icon Books), £15.99.