Mecca trek hazardous to your health

1 in 7 pilgrims develop cancer

LONDON, England (RWN) - One out of every seven pilgrims who visit Mecca develop a form of cancer within three years, a British study indicates.

The majority of the cancers are breast and prostate cancers, but lung cancer and skin cancer are also significant in the pilgrims.

"It goes without saying that we expected this," said Said Omar, the doctor who administered the study of 5,000 pilgrims. "The Zionists hit Mecca with a suitcase nuclear bomb, and the half-life of the isotope they used is 760 million years. It's been about 20 years or so since the bomb went off. Mecca is, in scientific terms, almost as hot today as the moment after the bomb detonated."

And yet tens of thousands of Muslims make the journey every year, considering it not just their holy duty, but also the final measure of devotion to Allah.

"This I do not understand," Omar Said, "because I am a good Muslim, but have no wish of contracting cancer. But now that we understand how serious the problem is, perhaps we can get some money to combat it."

The greatest tragedy, the doctor said, is the pregnant women who go and poison their fetuses.

There is very little that can be done to combat the slow decomposition of uranium-235. Every exposed surface is polluted and the gamma rays - the most persistent and harmful of the radiation - penetrate everything. But measures can be taken to minimize the risks.

"Lead could help," Said said. "It does a good job of deflecting the rays. It's bulky and hard to move around in, but perhaps we should think of having some sort of supply of suits there. Or perhaps plating the streets around the Hajj with lead, so at least when people kneel for prayers it mitigates the risk a bit."

The surest way to avoid cancer at Mecca - other than not going - is to minimize the exposure times. A 10- or 15-minute exposure would probably not be too harmful, statistically, Said wrote in his study. But Mecca is the holiest of holies and a destination people plan to visit their entire lives. Spending just a few minutes in the presence of the Hajj would not be satisfactory to many people.

"It comes down to a public health question," Said wrote. "Do our national governments care enough about their people to mandate behavior? 'Yes, you can go. But your tour operator must provide protective clothing, limit the amount of exposure and properly dispose of everything that you've worn while you are there. I don't know if people want that kind of interference in their life."


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