The Cheerful Oncologist

"Yes, I'd like a dozen doughnuts, please."

"Are you sure, sir? If I were you I'd run as fast as I could from this shop and head for the nearest bakery for some whole grain bread."

"You work here and you're trying to discourage me from buying your product?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but you see - I'm pre-med at State U, and I found out that doughnuts are not good for your health."

"Pre-med? You already sound like one of those sanctimonious medical bloggers. Just give me the doughnuts - on second thought make it two dozen doughnuts, Mr. Know-It-All."

'Yes, sir, and thanks very much - you just put me in the lead for salesperson of the month."

"Oh, so you were only kidding about the whole grain foods, eh?"

"Ahhhh, Dad - c'mon...can't you take a joke?"

"See you at home, Son - and don't stop anywhere after work."

(Should Dad eat the doughnuts or toss them quickly into the nearest trash bin? Was Junior right about the evil contained within these creamy delights? And what about Tiffany, the cute gal working the cash register....does she have eyes for our pre-med weisenheimer?)

Junior wasn't acting silly after all!

"Fiber, whole grains may cut pancreatic cancer risk"

Eating more whole grain and fiber-rich food may lower the risk of pancreatic cancer by about 40 percent, study findings suggest. Dr. June M. Chan, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues identified this reduced risk among adults who ate two or more servings of whole grains each day compared with those who ate less than one serving a day.

They also noted about a 35 percent reduction in risk among individuals who ate the highest amount of fiber (26.5 grams per day or more) compared with those who ate the least (15.6 grams per day or less).

Dad ate only one donut and then gave the rest to his neighbor's pit bulls!

The researchers looked at grain intake among 532 people with pancreatic cancer and 1,701 people without pancreatic cancer among the San Francisco Bay area population.

The two groups were similar in age, gender, and body weight, and had a similar history of diabetes, but those with pancreatic cancer were more frequently current smokers, the investigators note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Overall, the results of the study suggest that eating more whole grains may protect against pancreatic cancer.

And Tiffany was so impressed with Junior's medical knowledge she even changed her major to pre-med! (but she still turned him down for a date).

On the other hand, eating two or more servings of doughnuts a week, compared with less than a serving a month, was found to raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Stay tuned for the next episode of - "As the Cholesterol Churns."