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Not to oversimplify the complexities of cancer or anything, but for some reason, Peter Hintjens’ (creator of zeromq) suspicions about the primary cause of his o

Not to oversimplify the complexities of cancer or anything, but for some reason, Peter Hintjens’ (creator of zeromq) suspicions about the primary cause of his own cancer came to mind after reading this [1]. ”As for not getting cancer… the probable cause in my case was a parasite called a liver fluke, which attaches to the bile duct and produces carcinogens. Nature is nice like that. The parasite comes from farmed fresh-water fish. The cancer I had is a major cause of death in SE Asia. I think it was cheap sushi that almost killed me.” [1] http://hintjens.com/blog:109 http://hintjens.com/blog:109

hammock 7y ago
Liver flukes have an outsized impact on Americans as well, specifically Vietnam vets: https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veterans.html https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veter... To avoid them, make sure freshwater fish in SE Asia is fully cooked.
caymanjim 7y ago
Adding this of my list of things to ask my doctor about next time I'm there. I've spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and a smaller amount of time in Africa and India. I'll spare the details, but in addition to having already been treated for lymphoma (which I have no reason to believe was parasitic in origin), I've got various intestinal and other chronic symptoms that have no obvious cause (and aren't debilitating enough to warrant a massive array of tests). Mostly I'm just curious. I've absolutely eaten enormous amounts of questionable meat and fish, and poorly-washed produce.
bobowzki 7y ago
Thanks, I really enjoyed that blog post!
nathan_f77 7y ago
Thanks for your comment! I've been living in SE Asia for a few years, but I don't think I've eaten any raw freshwater fish. I eat a lot of sushi, but that's always saltwater fish. Anyway, I'll make sure I get checked for liver flukes.

hammock 7y ago

Liver flukes have an outsized impact on Americans as well, specifically Vietnam vets: https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veterans.html https://www.livescience.com/61057-liver-flukes-vietnam-veter... To avoid them, make sure freshwater fish in SE Asia is fully cooked.

caymanjim 7y ago

Adding this of my list of things to ask my doctor about next time I'm there. I've spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and a smaller amount of time in Africa and India. I'll spare the details, but in addition to having already been treated for lymphoma (which I have no reason to believe was parasitic in origin), I've got various intestinal and other chronic symptoms that have no obvious cause (and aren't debilitating enough to warrant a massive array of tests). Mostly I'm just curious. I've absolutely eaten enormous amounts of questionable meat and fish, and poorly-washed produce.

bobowzki 7y ago

Thanks, I really enjoyed that blog post!

nathan_f77 7y ago

Thanks for your comment! I've been living in SE Asia for a few years, but I don't think I've eaten any raw freshwater fish. I eat a lot of sushi, but that's always saltwater fish. Anyway, I'll make sure I get checked for liver flukes.