Читать книгу A Lighter Side to Cancer: From Wake-up Call to Radiant Wellness - Sandra Miniere - Страница 11

The world of alternative cancer treatments had to be explored and evaluated in a short period of time. A woman on a mission, I had to find the best way to treat my cancer. I kept my feelings in check while I immersed myself in the research. I really could not accomplish this task in a few months, but I gave it my best shot. If ever I needed a divine intervention, it was then. I put forth my plea for help as I faced this mountain of life-enhancing therapeutic approaches. Each treatment approach appeared to have something of value to offer. A picture was forming in my mind about how emotions, thoughts, nutrition, spiritual practice, physical environment and lifestyle influence the body’s biochemistry. I learned that the medical establishment labeled many alternative approaches as quackery. They threatened and closed down doctors who were getting too powerful outside of the established procedures and theories. They forced some doctors to go underground or leave the country. A few fought back and won.

Because of all this controversy, I had to be on this journey without much guidance and support in 2000. I felt like I was dealing in the “cancer black market.” Some of the time I felt sad about this situation, and other times I felt really angry. Too many people were dying of cancer, and no one seemed to have the answers. I would have hoped that for the greater good of healing cancer, the two worlds could merge and learn from one another. But it was not happening then and still is not happening now. I approached my own healing with the desire to understand how my body broke down to produce cancer and how my soul and lifestyle may have contributed to this dilemma. I chose to take myself out of the box imposed on me by the medical power structure and find treatment options that made sense for me and my finances.

Alternative Treatment Statistics

•According to the National Cancer Institute’s 2007 Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Treatment PDQ®, a large survey of cancer survivors reported 38.3% of adults (about 4 in 10) used complementary and alternative medicine.

•This 2007 PDQ® reported 61% used prayer and spiritual practice, 44% relaxation, 42% faith and spiritual healing, and 40% nutritional supplements and vitamins.

•According to a 2005 study conducted at Ohio State University, about 70% of adults fifty or older used some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine. This is higher than the general adult population.

•According to The World Health Organization, an estimated 65% to 80% of the world’s population (about 3 billion people) relies on holistic medicine as their primary form of health care. (Reported by Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Holistic Health Care Facts and Statistics, www.disabled-world.com, January 16, 2009).

•Newsweek (December 2002) reported that Americans make more visits to holistic health care providers (some 600 million a year) than to MDs and spend more money out-of-pocket to do so, about $30 billion a year.

With a commitment to find my own answers and chart my own course, I intended to discover how I could improve my health. The messages of fear and control within the medical establishment would not stop me. I spent six weeks before my surgery learning all I could from people, books and magazines. Whenever I could speak with someone who had success with an alternative treatment, I listened and learned. One of my former clients with breast cancer chose not to have any traditional treatment. She went to a doctor who treated her cancer naturally. Her tumor and cancer disappeared. When I met her ten years after her diagnosis, she told me she was still cancer free. The truth that cancer is a systemic problem took root in my awareness. Her story inspired me to take some risks and follow my gut instincts.

Along with my research, I contacted Nicole, an intuitive, who was excellent at picking up clues about the future and giving me wise guidance. In the past she had been right about many important life decisions. If I ever needed her to be a guiding light for me, it was now. I was inundated with information and had to decide how I wanted to deal with my cancer. Nicole came through for me again, but when I hung up from our one-hour consultation, I was laughing out loud and walking around the house repeating, “Oh my God!” She described a short, male, bald-headed doctor about 200 hundred miles from my home. OK, I was living in the southeastern San Francisco Bay area. I could not drive that far west, but north, south and east covered a lot of possibilities. She saw me driving three to four hours to his office. He would help me, and that was all the information she could provide.

Wow! How on earth was I going to find this man? I could not even comprehend how to begin. This felt like a treasure hunt to me. A few days later, I decided I could not do it because it would require finding “a needle in a haystack” of possibilities. So, I told the Universe: “You need to bring me the information that will lead me to this doctor who will play a major role in my healing.”

Nicole also saw a female Hawaiian healer that would be helpful. Well, that one was a little more tangible. I knew who she was, but I had no idea how I was going to track her down. It was Auntie Margaret on the big island of Hawaii. I had read a magazine article about her 12 years prior to my cancer diagnosis. The article described her internal cleansing program for cancer patients.

After speaking with Nicole, I began to get more clarity. All my investigating was paying off. My three-step healing program began to emerge in my mind. I began to develop “Sandy’s treatment plan,” which had three distinct phases: have a mastectomy, boost the immune system with an integrative cancer specialist, and participate in a deep cleansing program to detoxify my body. Of course, I would do the deep emotional, mental and spiritual cleansing as well, which is what I do for a living. With my plan in place, I felt energized and confident instead of weary. The world of cancer, its causes and treatments, started coming into greater focus. With my antenna of awareness up, I would do my best to ask people about these two healers. I wanted to find them even though it seemed like “mission impossible.” While I had some apprehension, mostly, I was also curious about how this “trust walk” would play out. The search took a back seat as I prepared myself for a vacation in Hawaii and a mastectomy.

I realize that I chose this three-phase treatment approach because my beliefs and lifestyle were more in line with holistic and integrative medicine than conventional medicine. I worked as a mental health counselor in a medical center with doctors who practiced integrative medicine and acupuncture. I served on the board of directors of an organization in Princeton, New Jersey, that also focused on promoting holistic wellness. I also worked with the clients of a local chiropractor. My very being was immersed in holistic medicine, so that is the path I chose and trusted. I went into surgery with this three-fold treatment plan formulated in my mind. It gave me a sense of control and hope.

Chapter 2 Lessons Learned...

•Explore, explore, explore. Do your research because informed choices lead to the best cancer outcomes.

•Put your attention, time, energy and money into getting the whole story.

•Think outside of the box. Creative solutions may come from unexpected places.

•With trust, a positive attitude and persistence, you will reach a destination that is right for you.

•Divine interventions happen. Invite Spirit into your healing adventure.

•A health challenge can become an opportunity for personal growth.

•Be willing to change.

•The biggest get-well question is: “What am I willing to do to participate in my healing?” Getting well and staying healthy is a life-long inquiry.

Alternative and Integrative Approaches to Treating Cancer

These brief descriptions of the approaches available to me in 2000 are based on information I currently obtained from the books Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book by Richard Walters (1992) and Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-Toxic Treatments That Work by Tanya Harter Pierce, MA, MFCC (2009); and also official websites. Only the book Options was available to me in 2000.

— Sandra Miniere

Pharmacology

•Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, MD, PhD — Antineoplaston Therapy — In 1967 Dr. Burzynski discovered a group of peptides (short chains of amino acids) and amino acid derivatives occurring naturally throughout the human body that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Peptides offer a biochemical defense that is separate from the immune system. Antineoplastons reprogram and destroy cancer cells and do not interfere with normal cell growth. Treatment involves oral supplements and intravenous infusions, as well as customized nutritional programs to complement the treatment. After an initial stay at the outpatient center, people continue their protocol at home. His treatment could cost as much as $5,000.00 per month for intravenous therapy. He has survived many government attempts to shut down his Houston clinic.

•Gaston Naessens (Biologist) — 714X is a camphor-nitrogen compound that is injected into the body’s lymphatic system. It is designed to strengthen the immune system and unclog lymphatic fluid. 714X enables the leukocytes (white blood cells) to resume their activity and destroy foreign cells. 714X is self-administered through injections in the groin area about once a day in 21-day cycles. It may also be inhaled through a nebulizer as additional treatment for certain types of cancer. Through the microscope he developed, the Somatoscope, Gaston Naessens observed live blood samples and discovered somatids, microscopic subcellular living and reproducing organisms. Somatids circulate within the blood and have life cycle patterns that influence the reproduction and growth of cells. A breakdown of the healthy somatid cycle can lead to cancer and other diseases. He is still harassed for his theories and treatment approach.

Immunotherapy

•Dr. Lawrence Burton, PhD — Immuno-Augmentative Therapy (IAT) — Dr. Burton’s therapy consisted of four blood proteins—substances occurring naturally in the body—that caused tumors to grow and shrink. IAT was developed in the 1960s. It aims to restore normal immune functioning so that the patient’s own immune system will destroy the cancer cells. His therapy involves replenishing the deficient blood fractions by injecting patients with them in amounts based on a blood analysis taken once or twice a day. Patients are injected with a non-toxic serum to keep the immune system in balance with these proteins, much like a diabetic with insulin. As a result of continued harassment for his work, Dr. Burton left the country and relocated to the Bahamas. The Immune Augmentation Therapy Clinic continues to help patients control their cancer.

•Josef Issels, MD — Whole Body Therapy — Dr. Issels’s immunotherapy program is designed to stimulate the body’s immune mechanisms to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. He treats all of the organs and systems of the body that affect the immune system. His complex healing approach is designed to remove causal factors, repair damages to organs and organ systems, as well as prevent disease progression and recurrence. Individualized treatment plans include cancer vaccines; organic foods; intravenous nutrition and nutraceuticals; Co-Enzyme Co-Q10; digestive enzymes; ozone therapy to improve cellular respiration; glandulars to help regenerate the liver, thyroid and thymus; Laetrile; chelation therapy; colon hydrotherapy; and more. His treatment facilities are located in the US and Europe.

Herbal Therapy

•Harry Hoxsey (1901-1974) — Harry was the son of a veterinarian. He had little formal education and originally used the family herbal remedy to treat animals. When he began treating and healing human cancer patients, he was hounded by the authorities for practicing medicine without a license and eventually left the country. The Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico, uses his approach today. Their treatment includes the original internal tonic and external salve, as well as diet, vitamin and mineral supplements and attitudinal counseling. Hoxsey’s remedy for external cancer consists of a red paste made with bloodroot, mixed with zinc chloride and antimony sulfide. The basic ingredients of the internal tonic are Red Clover blossom, Licorice root, Buckhorn bark, Burdock root, Stillingia root, Poke root, Barberry root, Oregon Grape root, Cascara Sagrada bark, Prickly Ash bark, Wild Indigo root and potassium iodide. In 1953, Hoxsey’s clinic in Dallas, Texas, treated 12,000 patients. These herbs were also used to treat cancer by Native American healers.

•Rene Caisse (1888–1978) — During the 1920s, a Canadian nurse developed an herbal tea formula—Essiac. This remedy contributed to many cancer cures and gave cancer patients symptom relief. On the way to developing her final formula, she experimented, tested and refined the mixture of burdock root, sheep sorrel, slippery elm bark and Turkish rhubarb root. When the herbs were blended and brewed in a certain way, they reduced tumor growth, purified the blood and strengthened the immune system. She initially gave the tea to her aunt who outlived her cancer death sentence by 21 years. For many years she treated thousands of patients. She was allowed to give her remedy to patients because she did not charge for it. She never received the recognition and approval she wanted for Essiac. A year before her death she gave the secret recipe to a Toronto-based company. Today many Essiac products are on the market.

•Not included here but worth mentioning: Chinese medicine uses herbs to treat cancer successfully.

Nutrition

•Macrobiotics — Michio Kushi is the author of Cancer, Diet and Macrobiotics and a leader of the macrobiotics movement. According to Michio, cancer results largely from improper diet and is classified to be predominantly yin or yang, contraction or expansion of the organs. Once the yin/yang diagnosis is made, specific dietary recommendations can be targeted to the individual. A general macrobiotic food plan would include replacing a high-fat, low-fiber diet with 50 to 60% whole cereal grains, 25% to 30% vegetables, smaller amounts of soup, beans and sea vegetables, plus occasional fish, seasonal fruits, nuts, seeds and condiments. Foods to be avoided are highly processed foods, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, as well as fruit juices, canned and frozen foods, coffee and commercial tea, and refined sweeteners. Many foods in the basic macrobiotic diet have reduced or inhibited cancer growth. It is a philosophy and a way of life, as well as a nutritional system. In the book Cancer Free, Vivien Newbold, MD, presents six case histories of patients who overcame incurable cancer through macrobiotics. She wrote the book because the American Cancer Society and The National Cancer Institute, as well as medical journals, were not interested in her findings.

•Moerman’s Anti-Cancer Diet — According to Cornelis Moerman, MD, cancer develops as the result of a disturbed metabolism arising from a long period of malnutrition. His healing approach creates an oxygen-rich bodily environment that is hostile to cancer cells. The basic diet includes fresh organic vegetables and fruits, fruit and vegetable juices consumed in place of water and other beverages, whole cereals of all kinds, whole-grain breads, buttermilk, other dairy products in small amounts and natural seasonings. Dried green peas eaten in a vegetable soup, red beet juice and egg yolks are included. The diet forbids eating foods believed to damage the body and prevent nutritious foods from being properly absorbed. His patients avoided meat, fish, shellfish, animal fats, cheese with high fat and salt, egg whites, alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea with caffeine, cocoa, hydrogenated vegetable oils and shortenings, most beans and peas, all added salt, refined white sugar, sugar substitutes and all food containing them. Dr. Moerman was rejected by the Dutch medical community despite the remission of hundreds of incurable cancer patients.

Metabolic Therapy

•Max Gerson, MD (1881-1959) — Dr. Gerson theorized that cancer results from faulty metabolism due to poor nutrition and long-term exposure to pesticides, chemical fertilizers, air and water pollution and other irritants in the environment. If the systems of the body are healthy, especially the liver, pancreas and immune systems, cancer cannot invade the body. Dr. Gerson’s therapy focuses on restoring the body to health and supporting each metabolic requirement by drinking almost 20 pounds of organically grown fruits and vegetables daily. The daily protocol consists of drinking 13 glasses of juice and taking five coffee enemas to detoxify the liver. His protocol also involves injections of liver extract, high doses of thyroid extract, Vitamin C, digestive enzymes and niacin. All salt added to foods is eliminated, and fat protein is restricted. Thousands of cancer patients have reported being cured by the Gerson Therapy over the past 60 years.

•William D. Kelley, DDS (1925-2005) — Kelley’s Nutritional-Metabolic Therapy is based on the premise that a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes contributes to a faulty metabolism. These enzymes are required to attack and destroy the protective coating around trophoblast-like cells—cells naturally produced for healing purposes within the body. However, when these cells multiple out of control, they eventually turn into cancer cells. Pancreatic enzymes keep this destructive process in check. Kelly’s therapy combined large doses of pancreatic enzymes and other supplements intended to allow the body to naturally destroy cancer cells. He also prescribed vigorous detoxification of the liver, gallbladder, intestines, kidneys and lungs. He suggested at least one coffee enema a day. He individualized dietary requirements for each patient based on the ten metabolic types he developed and categorized. The psychological-spiritual aspects of healing were also addressed. Despite his outstanding success in treating cancer for 25 years, he was harassed and forced to shut down his business in 1986. Dr. Nicholas Gonzales in New York City currently uses a modified Kelly approach in the treatment of cancer.

Energy Healing

•Royal Ramond Rife (1888–1971) — The Rife Generator was a device that destroyed cancer-causing microbes using specific electromagnetic frequencies. Rife successfully treated many cancer patients in the 1930s, but the American Medical Association worked to destroy his therapy and technology. Doctors who used Rife’s instrument were harassed. Rife's device used a plasma tube modulated with a frequency that was precisely tuned to the resonant frequency of the targeted pathogens. It destroyed the pathogens, but not the other cells because of the differences in their respective frequencies of resonance. The original Rife treatment consisted of using a specific frequency three times a day for three minutes. Today many types of Rife boxes are on the market; however, there is little data to support their effectiveness. In addition, there is controversy regarding their duplication of the original device.

•Homeopathy — Samuel Hahnemann, MD (1755-1843) was the founder of Homeopathy in Germany. To stimulate a person’s natural healing response, a homeopath dissolves in water minute dilutions of natural substances from the plant, mineral and animal kingdoms. The more the solution is diluted, the greater its potency. Homeopathy considers cancer to be a symptom of an underlying imbalance associated with poor diet, chronic exposure to toxins, genetic disposition, and repressed feelings and thoughts, to name a few. A homeopath treats the person and their disease by using a client’s unique symptoms (considered “strange, rare and peculiar” to the disease) to select a remedy. Homeopathic treatment is intended to strengthen the cancer patient’s immune system, reduce or eliminate tumors, and control metastatic processes. Homeopathic remedies bring a person’s “lifeforce” back into a balance that promotes wellness. If the resonance of one specific remedy is incorrect, the person will require a new remedy to get well. Individual remedies have demonstrated prolonged survival and symptom relief. In the early 1900s the pharmaceutical industry in this country got stronger, and Homeopathy as a legitimate medical treatment was shut down.

•Not included here but worth mentioning: Chinese medicine uses acupuncture to treat cancer successfully.

Mind-Body Healing

Mental patterns stored deep within the subconscious mind have a powerful influence over the body. This unconscious programming is formed from the situations, traumas, emotions and interpretations an individual experiences from birth into adulthood. The experiences from birth to approximately seven years of age form rigid scripts and beliefs that can interfere with a person’s health and wellbeing. An important part of healing involves uncovering and clearing this subconscious programming because it influences a person’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors and spirituality on a daily basis. Cutting edge research is revealing the role cellular memory plays in the disease process.

Negative emotions, like hate, anger, resentment, frustration, fear, depression, helplessness, sorrow, guilt, and shame, to name a few, can produce harmful changes to the body’s biochemistry. In contrast, positive emotions produce life-enhancing biochemical changes. These chemical changes are documented in scientific research. Neuropeptides demonstrate that the body is fluid enough to match the mind. Neuropeptides move with thoughts and affect the body’s chemistry to promote health or destroy it. Chronic stress is another documented source of biochemical changes that interfere with the body’s ability to heal itself. The latest research on stress reports that 80% to 95% of the time stress is the underlying cause of illness. Long held negative thoughts and emotions and chronic stress, whether conscious or unconscious, weaken the immune system and disrupt normal processes within the body. When people change habitual negative thoughts and beliefs to positive thinking, they are changing their emotions and chemistry. They are promoting a healthy body.

According to mind-body therapies, people are able to contribute to their recovery by improving their emotional, mental and spiritual practices. The techniques of visualization, affirmation, meditation and energy psychology can change the course of a disease. A small number of people have healed themselves of cancer through mind-body techniques alone. They remind the health care community and people who are struggling with a disease that anything is possible when mind-body-spirit techniques are brought into the healing equation.

•Ayurveda Medicine — Ayurveda medicine treats disease holistically by including physical, mental and spiritual factors. From the Ayurveda perspective cancer has many causes—toxic environment, devitalized foods, negative emotions, sedentary lifestyle and lack of spiritual purpose or fulfillment. Emotional, mental and spiritual stagnation contribute to a weakened immune system.

A person develops cancer as the result of biological, emotional and spiritual imbalances. Treatment involves diagnosing the patient’s constitutional type (humor) and state of bioenergetic balance. Three stages of treatment include removal of the accumulated toxins in the body, balancing the excess biologic humor (constitutions—air, fire, water) and rebuilding and rejuvenating the body. Treatment includes herbal medicine, diet, massage, detoxification, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation and mantras. Ayurveda offers a holistic lifestyle of wellness.

•Carl Simonton, MD — Dr. Simonton, the Father of Psychosocial Oncology, died in 2009. He generated a new level of awareness and understanding concerning the mind’s role in healing. In Getting Well Again (1992), he highlights the role of emotional stress in the development of cancer. Through relaxation and visualization, people worked to overcome their cancer. Cancer Recovery Foundation continues his legacy today.

•Louise Hay — Ms. Hay guides many toward wellness. Her book, You Can Heal Your Life (1984), her affirmation tapes and DVDs associated with this book, as well as other books, offer insights and techniques to heal the body, mind and soul. Louise Hay healed herself of terminal cancer with mind-body techniques alone, a great inspiration for other cancer patients. Self-love and ownership, not blame and condemnation, enable people to look within themselves to uncover the psycho-spiritual causes of their illness and work through them.

•Deepak Chopra, MD — Dr. Chopra describes in Quantum Healing (1990) how the individual is central in the process of creating the universe that exists within the individual’s perception and without in the physical world. Awareness, attention and intention are an important part of the physical healing process. He describes the individual going to the deepest core of the mind-body system to the point where consciousness starts to affect healing. Bringing the body back into balance and harmony reawakens its own healing ability.

•Lawrence LeShan, PhD — Dr. LeShan encourages cancer patients to cope with the losses and disappointments of their past and do what makes them feel more alive. In Cancer as a Turning Point (1994), Dr. LeShan describes how people can make psychological shifts and create lives with personal meaning and passion. This mind-body approach influences the body’s ability to heal itself. Many of his clients with late stage cancer go into remission.