I actually believe this is true. I remember the Shark Cartilage rage a few years ago and it just turns out that Shark Cartilage happens to have a high alkaline content. Also, there's more then enough evidence that raw almonds (very difficult to find; my ex-boss was diagnosed with cancer a few years back; I talked with his son the other day and he told me that he's still kicking. He started heavily eating raw almonds and told me the benifits and how the pharmaceutical companies wanted to surpress this not to mention making raw uncooked almonds next to impossible to get) also has very high anti-cancer properties and it happens to have very high alkaline content. Most teas and coffee too have high alkaline content and there's more then enough evidence that they too help prevent cancer. I'm nearly convinced that cancer can be suppressed by increasing the alkaline levels in the body. Maybe heavy breathing can help with this (I didn't say higher oxygen intake; taking rapid deep breaths) too by increasing alkaline levels. Might also be why walking helps reduce incidence of cancer not to mention have other health benefits (I'm a walker by the way). Note that, here in the U.S., there's a high incidence of cancer and it just so happens that our diet is quite high in acidic foods such as beef, milk, and other fatty foods including processed ones. Anyway I just felt like this link, which I got in an email, was important enough to share.

http://blog.imva.info/medicine/baking-soda-cancer-laugh

Thanks for sharing that Lyle.It makes quite a bit of sense really.

@dd,
++
Sodium is also a part of kitchen salt (sodium-chloride).
If your intake is high it'll raise blood pressure to dangerous levels.
You can also find articles about anti-oxidants which do the opposite as the baking soda.
It's generally believed that free oxygen in the blood increases the risk of cancer.
Mold fermented cheese is eaten a lot in France yet because of the Mediterranian diet people there are less prone to cancer.
Gerard.

Another item about sodium:
Ever wondered why stock blocks are so salty?
Butcher offal is used to make them.
To extract the maximum out of the meat it's dissolved in sodium hydroxide.
Then hydrochloric acid is added to bring the ph to around 7.
The reaction produces sodium chloride = kitchen salt.
I never ever use it in cooking.
Gerard.
Edit: Re-reading this it's the other way around: dissolve in HCl and titrate with NaOH.

Yeah, and you can use sodium hydroxide to perform an acid-base extraction. You can also use it to clean your drains. Sodium is also an essential mineral for the human body. Pure sodium metal also provides neat explosions when it comes in contact with water. And sodium bicarbonate is a dehydrated salt of sodium + carbonic acid, which is used for leavening.

The fun thing about chemistry is, when you change a molecule even a little bit, it's properties can change wildly. An alcohol with 2 carbons makes for an intoxicating yet relatively harmless substance, ethanol. An alcohol with just one less carbon makes a poison, methanol. Which incidentally is only toxic due to it's metabolite, formic acid.

Anyway, as for the baking soda thing... I'd say a good rule of thumb is: if something is touted as a miracle cure for a variety of ailments, that should set off the first alarm bells. If the words "conspiracy" or "big pharma" are involved, that should start a whole concert... I'm sorry to be a party-pooper here, really I am... I lost my own father to cancer and I know it can be hard to cope with, and the feeling that your powerless to stop your loved ones from dying really sucks. But the world is also full of people who take advantage of people's grief, and hopelessness, in order to fatten their own pockets... and people believe them because the alternative is just too damn sucky.

I really doubt baking soda is going to save anyone from cancer - the evidence just doesn't seem to pan out. I'd be happy to be proven wrong about it but I just don't think that's going to happen...