David L. Katz, MD, responds to a reader in the September 2007 issue of The Oprah Magazine about the merits of eating soy in relation to preventing cancer. His response causes me to pause even more about jumping on any diet bandwagon.

Katz says we should eat soy foods -- just not too much because the evidence linking soy to breast cancer, for example, is mixed.

In comparing soy-eating Japanese women with American women who eat very little soy, researchers find lower rates of breast cancer in the Japanese women. But in a test tube, soy's plant estrogens can speed cancer cell growth. Maybe soy behaves differently in the body than it does in a tube. Or maybe soy has both negative and positive effects on breast cancer. Perhaps it's not soy at all. It could be that the populations eating soy are benefiting from not eating something else, like meat -- the saturated fat found in red meat has been linked to higher cancer rates. Replacing steak with something else may be the protective key.

Smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer -- and 90 percent of all lung cancer cases are related to smoking. But family history is a risk factor too and can nearly double the risk of developing the deadly disease.

A study published in the October issue of Chest found by studying a population of Japanese adults that people with a first-degree relative -- mother, father, or sibling -- who had lung cancer had a 95 percent higher risk of contracting the disease. Those who smoked had the greatest risk, but those who did not smoke were still at risk. And women were more at risk than men. The type of lung cancer most associated with family history is squamous cell carcinoma.

The results of this study do not yet translate into recommended guidelines for screening. But those with a family history of lung cancer should make their physicians aware of their history. And perhaps one day people with family history will be identified as high-risk for lung cancer and will be included in further studies. In the meantime, these individuals should avoid all contact with all inhaled and second-hand smoke and should protect their children from all forms of tobacco smoke.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 180,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year. About 170,000 die from the disease every year. It's the second leading cause of death for men and the third leading cause of death for women.

Drinking eight ounces of mandarin orange juice a day might have the ability to decrease the risk of developing liver cancer, according to researchers in Japan.

Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine researchers conducted a small one-year study involving participants with chronic viral hepatitis and found that none of those who drank mandarin orange juice developed liver cancer. In the group that did not drink mandarin orange juice, a small number of participants did go on to develop liver cancer. In the same study, researchers indicated that drinking mandarin orange juice might also have a positive health protective effect for atherosclerosis and insulin resistance.

Interestingly, Japanese researchers followed this inquiry after noticing that residents of a Japanese town noted for its high consumption of mandarin oranges suffered lower rates of liver disease, atherosclerosis and diabetes.

These findings, along with several others showing the health benefits of functional foods, will be presented during a four-day conference Functional Foods and Health, at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

On Monday, the sale of a Japanese brand of aloe juice was banned by the Department of Health after it was determined that it contains high levels of benzene -- seven times more than the World Health Organization recommends for maximum levels in water. Benzene is a colorless and flammable liquid with a sweet smell and was once used as an additive in gasoline. It is carcinogenic -- and has been cause for concern worldwide. So samples of the drink, produced by the Japansese cosmetics brand DHC, will be sent to the Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis for further investigation due to such concerns. In the meantime, the sale of this aloe juice, sold in convenience stores and through mail-order, will be suspended.

Japanese-American actor Mako Iwamatsu, who received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor when he played the Chinese character Po-ha in the 1966 movie The Sand Pebbles, is credited for Hollywood's acceptance of Asian-Americans as serious actors, not merely caricatures or stereotypes. Last Friday, Mako died of esophageal cancer.

During Mako's career in film and theater, he co-founded the first Asian-American theater company, East West Players, where he trained aspiring actors and playwrights. Mako had roles in the films Conan the Barbarian, Seven Years in Tibet, Pearl Harbor and the Japanese film Owls Castle.

Mako was the voice of evil demon Aku in the animated series Samurai Jack, and as the parody of Aku, Achoo, in Duck Dodgers, as well as Uncle Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

According to artistic director Tim Dang of East West Players, "If it wasn't for Mako there wouldn't have been Asian-American theater. He is revered as sort of the godfather of Asian-American theater." Born in Kobe, Japan, Mako was the son of noted children's book author and illustrator Taro Yashima. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mako was 72.

In a feature story at NBC4, Jerilyn Ray-Shelley and her daughter, Megan, both cancer survivors, are using Reiki as part of their healing process. According to the news story, Megan Shelley, 27, of Silver Spring, started Reiki therapy after her mother recommended it. Four years ago, Megan was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Several months later, her mother, Jerilyn learned she had endometrial cancer. "About a year ago, I started crying all the time," Jerilyn said. "I just felt hopeless about life." Jerilyn said Reiki helped lift her depression. Both women go to Washington Hospital Center for Reiki therapy.

Washington Hospital Center, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the Integrative Medicine Outpatient Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Intergative Therapies Program for Children with Cancer at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, and Metropolitan South Health Center are a few of the cancer hospitals and medical centers offering Reiki to cancer patients and survivors. According to Wikipedia, Reiki is a form of complementary or alternative medicine, rediscovered by Mikao Usui, a Japanese Buddhist monk. The origins of Reiki may date back before that to ancient Buddhist healing practices. While it has gained popularity throughout the Western World, it is still considered by many to be a form of quackery.  The Medical Research on Reiki Therapy offers comprehensive information and research documentation on the practice of Reiki.