Letters to the Editor

SIR - Through your pages I would like to thank the doctors and nursing staff who cared for my mother at Wharfedale General Hospital 22 and a half years ago.

Let me explain; a week after the 70th birthday of Mrs E M Noble (Bobbie please!) my mother suffered a massive brain haemorrhage and was not given much hope of surviving even a few hours.

Due to their nursing and the tender loving care she received on the women's medical ward, after a few weeks in hospital she was allowed to come home.

I remember particularly, a lovely cheerful nurse named Dorothy Myers

In 1997 mum retired with us to South West Wales and has spent a happy and healthy six years in one of the most beautiful villages in this part of Wales.

On July 9, 2003 my wonderful little mum died peacefully after 11 days in Withybush General Hospital, having suffered a stroke.

At the wonderful age of ninety two and a half years. Thank you for not giving up on her.

Thanks to you and the power of prayer she and her loving family enjoyed 22 years of borrowed time.

No one can take that away from us, and the psychological difference it makes to the grieving is amazing.

We can treat her death as a celebration of the extra years and give thanks for our good fortune.

Thank you so much once again for not giving up on her. God bless you and all doctors and nursing staff everywhere. Yours very gratefully.

Carol Strutt

Tree Tops

Castle Road

St Ishmaels

Haverfordwest

Pembrokeshire.

Cancer research

Sir, - Two months ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and as I am only 47 and was to find out that only two per cent of breast cancer is hereditary, I began to research the disease.

As a nurse, you might think I would have considerable knowledge but as I was to find out, very few doctors and nurses know that up to 80 per cent of cancers are preventable (this figure includes smoking) and glaze over when confronted with the information as though they are talking to a person with learning difficulties. Some of the causes for the increase I have found include:

1 All meat, but especially red and dairy produce due to saturated fat which impairs the immune system making it harder for the white cells to kill cancer cells which may be in your body from time to time.

2. Farmers adding carcinogenic chemicals, antibiotics and hormones to animals for meat production and dairy cows to promote growth and milk yield. These chemicals and drug residues then become highly concentrated in the flesh and milk of animals. It's the same story with fish ingesting chemicals from the sea and especially if the fish eat other polluted fish, the chemicals can be concentrated by up to thousands of times.

3 Our fruit and vegetables have been messed about so much with chemicals since the Second World War, that the anti-cancer properties that are so vital have been drastically reduced.

4 Processed foods have taken over from whole foods to the extent that some children only eat fresh vegetables on Christmas Day. These foods contain yet more chemicals and virtually no vitamins or minerals at all which are essential to fight cancer.

5 The millions of pounds which have been poured into cancer research from charities have proved to be dismally ineffective. Although there have been some successes, including childhood leukaemias and testicular cancer.

However, the majority of cancer victims will only have their lives prolonged by a few years and many will have suffered the standard debilitating treatments, which have changed very little in the last 30 years, despite what you may have been led to believe.

6 Many of the research projects are funded by the pharmaceutical companies.

7 I am afraid doctors are very much extensions of the pharmaceutical companies, and their medical training leaves them with virtually no nutritional and preventative knowledge.

All of this sounds gloomy I know, but the knowledge has empowered me to dramatically change my diet and lifestyle because I intend to be around when I have grandchildren.

I also want to give a message of hope, as I know from my experience that this is crucial and many people have survived against the odds.

If the cancer is caught early enough, it is possible with the aid of conventional medical treatment and changing to an organic vegan diet, including fruit and vegetable juices and using mindpower to prolong your life by much more than the depressing graphs you will be shown by your oncologist.

Sue Maybury

The Mistal,

Eastfield Lane,

Burley in Wharfedale.

Public flogging

SIR,- Going in front of a committee has always been some sort of ordeal for most ordinary people. Committees or 'The committ' are good at sitting around a table and enjoying the ego trip with or without the TV cameras in attendance.

Imagine how the foreign affairs select committee felt when they realised they were part of the ongoing soap opera into the Iraq war and its consequences.

There's always a bully on 'The Committee' and this one was no different. David Kelly was clearly intimidated just as they wanted it, and they succeeded in leaving him with a feeling of humiliation.

The problem with this is, it wasn't a smoke-filled social club where Mr Kelly could walk out into the night and leave the Bully to fiddling the amusement machines and fixing the annual raffle, in between sharing his know all and know nothing opinionated views with anyone and no-one in particular.

No, this was a public embarrasment from the high and mighty and I quote high court of parliament with a public flogging in the press the morning after.

Regardless of the impact this judge and jury made on his state of mind the main thing is they will be shocked and saddened at the tragic outcome (pull the other one).

It won't be long before someone on this committee applies to be on the sub-committee and then they can get in their caravan and clog up the right hand lane of the M1.

Let's hope the wheels don't fall off but if they do the BBC should be there to film it.

RIP Mr Kelly.

Dan Cooney

Casa Loco

San Pedro Del Pinatar

Spain

No police support

SIR, In the Wharfedale Observer of July 10 there was a letter re the police helicopter with no back up. Some time ago, we had the same. The helicopter beaming down on my daughter's garden in the ditch behind the leylandi hedge. She could hear voices, she phoned the police, and 45 minutes later came PC Plod. On a different subject, I think the East of Otley relief road should be built and as soon as possible. People complain about heavy lorries in town, so build the road and get rid of some traffic.

C Jackson

Hill Top Farm

Adel.

Big thank you

SIR - The Otley Ladies Hospital Group would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed in any way and attended the Annual Garden Party held on Saturday. The amount raised was over £1,150.00 which will be used for additional comforts for patients at the Otley Hospital.

June Galling

Chairman Otley Ladies

Hospital Group

Melliela

East Busk Lane

Otley.

Well done, Nigel

SIR May we say a big thank you to Councillor Nigel Francis - who is also Town Mayor - for writing numerous letters on our behalf to Highways Department at Leeds City Council regarding the re-painting of the yellow box junction at the top of Bridge Street.

Since we moved into our shop we have witnessed various fights, near misses and actual collisions over the last 18 months.

Thanks are also due to James Blackie who took photographs for Highways showing a cement tanker getting stuck on this bend and actually colliding with a car because they were in the junction and couldn't reverse back.

Also people who have pulled up at the right place have been overtaken by other cars who have then pulled up into the box!

However we have now had this junction re- painted and would like to see motorists obeying this - it is a £60 fine and 3 penalty points for disobeying. Even if we get a ban on heavy lorries passing through this town, this junction needs to be kept clear for all the Emergency Services to pass. Once again thanks to Nigel and James.

Mr & Mrs Charnley

Browstime Books

Otley

What a boost

SIR, On behalf of Otley Parish Church, may I warmly thank the Otley Carnival Committee for their hard work in organising and staging Otley Carnival this year.

Otley Parish Church East Window Appeal was a significant financial beneficiary of their hard work and the generosity of many who gave money on the day and in advance. The money we have been given is a superb boost to our appeal. We are now confident of reaching our target of £65,000 by the end of the year; may the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields, and may the Lord hold you in the hollow of his hand.

The Rev Graham Buttanshaw

Vicar, Otley Parish Church,

The Vicarage,

Vicarage Gardens,

Otley.

Case for war

SIR, - Any weapons of mass destruction discovered yet I wonder? But another mass grave - some 400 Kurdish women and children murdered by Saddam's death squads has been uncovered. Thank God we went into Iraq. Its seems since the war ended at least 60 mass graves have been found. The positive results of overthrowing Saddam means he's not killing and torturing thousands of Iraqis every year plus no Arab state is now free from an imposed regime change and it is having a sobering effect.

F Dickinson

Larkfield Road

Rawdon

Bee in bonnet

Sir, - The BBC is looking for people who have a bee in their bonnet - and are trying to do something about it.

If there is anyone campaigning for something that affects their life then we would like to know. BBC2 are looking for campaigners up

and down the country who could benefit from the help and advice of a troubleshooter to make their campaigns more effective for a

new television series. We are interested in all kinds of campaigns, so if you know anyone or have heard of something in your

neighbourhood then please contact Sarah or Rachael in BBC current affairs on 0161 244 3965 or 0161 244 3912.

Sarah Hey

Producer

Current affairs

Manchester