Bacon and ham were almost daily offerings at my grandmother’s breakfast table, where I lived the majority of my childhood years. The smoky salty taste of bacon can still send me into a mini-ecstasy. I no longer cook bacon or ham, but I do have a piece or even two every once in a while – usually on vacation. It’s been a sad farewell, for me.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that the basis of my decision to give up processed meat (most of the time) is because of the damaging relationship of processed meat with cardiovascular heart health, stroke prevention, diabetes prevention and bowel cancer prevention. Processed meat products (defined as any meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or using chemical preservatives – bacon, sausage, salami, hot dogs, luncheon meat, ham, and so on) have not fared well in research on disease risk.

And if this were not enough, based upon a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, now we have to add deadly pancreatic cancer to the dreadful list. I realize that pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, even with the 19% added risk associated with eating 50 grams of processed meat daily (1.76 ounces, or about four slices of cooked bacon). But pancreatic cancer has touched my life. My father (65) died of metastasized pancreatic cancer; two of my very best friends (68)(83) in life have succumbed to pancreatic cancer; and three people who have influenced my life, but never knew me (Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch (47); Apple CEO Steve Jobs (56); and dancer/actor Patrick Swayze (57). All of these people had more to give, but their lives were cut short by this disease that is considered rare.

Although pancreatic cancer, is considered rare, it is on the rise in the U.S., it is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in part because it’s so difficult to detect early – making preventive lifestyle steps especially important.

So the first goal is to reduce your intake of processed meats. But go further. If you want an additional reduction in your risk for disease, reduce your red meat intake (beef, pork, lamb), and do not increase it to fill in for less processed meats. Keep your portions moderate and consider having meatless days – maybe substitute chicken, fish, beans, nuts, soybeans, and vegetables for some of your red meat meals.

Farewell Bacon, My Dear Risky Ex-Good Friend. When occasionally we meet again, I will have warm memories but firm restraint – a brief kiss, then we apart again - a fond farewell.