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How to Fight
Cancer for Life (Article to be published in Vibrant Life Magazine) Click Here For Printer Friendly Version
As a Naturopathic
Doctor and Certified Nutritionist with over 40,000 documented clinical
hours, I've seen my share of cancer patients—from the simplest cases
to the most frightening, aggressive, and unexplainable. Allow me to share
with you a few lessons I've learned along this healing journey. Unfortunately, the treatment
of cancer in our society today has become extremely segregated and non-inclusive.
The medical, or allopathic method, treats cancer for the most part using
a standard approach: identify, label, and aggressively attack. The nutritional,
or alternative field, treats cancer with nutritional alternative medicine
only, hoping that the cancer is not so far along that nature can turn
the patient back toward health and healing. In 1998, there were 890
million physician visits and, according to a study published in the Journal
of the American Medical Association, consumers made almost twice that
number of visits to alternative and complementary health care providers.
With this many visits to both medical and alternative doctors, something’s
obviously not working optimally. Very rarely will the two be combined
and even more rarely will they be combined effectively. Add to this unfortunate
situation the fact that so much of the time, proponents of the medical
or alternative fields will leave out two of the most critical areas to
address when it comes to this devastating illness: the mental and spiritual
elements. Segregation of
Treatment When we learn to properly
use the strengths of the medical field, combined with proper utilization
and strengths of the alternative and nutritional fields, combined with
the power and liberating aspect of the mind and spiritual elements, we've
created a true recipe for healing. The Medical Approach I believe that the greatest role any doctor can play is to be a guide and simply move people in the proper direction. I believe physicians, regardless of how, where, and in what areas they've been trained must know and truly understand that “my” way is not the only way. The more open we are to new ideas and new possibilities, the better we are at helping people. I've learned that I must
be willing to use any means necessary for the patient to win the battle
and overcome his or her illness. The medical world has
spent trillions of dollars coming up with the most sophisticated diagnostic
techniques that, fifty years ago, were beyond conception. Some in the
fight discovered medicines that are responsible for saving or extending
millions of peoples lives. Unfortunately, many in
the holistic, nutritional, or alternative field are quick to disregard
the medical world, labeling its methods as "bad, toxic, ineffective,"
or "unnatural." I disagree. My view is to utilize parts of the
medical field in an overall strategic plan to win the battle against cancer
if it serves the patient well. The Natural Approach In the natural approach,
there are some very fundamental steps needed to be taken in order to be
an effective healer, coach, or teacher. For example, you must learn everything
you can about the patient; their thoughts, likes, dislikes, what makes
them happy, sad, their fears, what they want out of life, what motivates
them, what de-motivates them, their innermost thoughts about their illness,
the fear around their condition, and what it would be like to be healthy
or whole again. When you understand these aspects of a person, you begin
to understand how to really communicate with and coach him or her. Next, you develop a battle plan which includes roles for all participants, especially the one with the illness. This battle plan may include a three-pronged approach.
I started working with
a man who had advanced, late-stage lung cancer. His doctors had given
him ninety days to live. In essence, he was under a death sentence, or
what I call a "prescription for death." "I only have ninety
days to live," this man kept repeating. He believed this so deeply
that it became embedded in his mind. Fear consumed him. Almost
to the exact day, he died, fulfilling the dire prophecy. But, she did not accept
it and decided to use the three pronged approach I mentioned earlier.
She utilized, to their maximum capacity, the medical field, an aggressive
nutritional plan, and the ultimate power, God. She rose above her illness,
destroyed it, and went on to enjoy a positive, vibrant, and fulfilling
life. Your Plan of
Attack Our choices and our lifestyle
play a huge role in the process. It's something I call the "cancer
spiral" and this is how it works: The fear generated by sin deep
inside of us creates anger. Anger creates stress. These all feed off of
ignorance. The ignorance then facilitates poor choices. The poor choices
manifest themselves in our lifestyle; diet, habits, addictions, bad relationships,
stressful jobs, negative thoughts, toxic emotions, etc. These negative
components feed off of each other and, over time, breakdown our cells,
tissues, organs, bodies, minds, and spirit. Then we wake up one day and
we’ve earned cancer. Stop this spiral and you lower, or in some
cases remove, the risk. Cancer patients don't
need fear, a prescription of death, or to be treated as a statistic. They
do, however, desperately need love, hope, a plan of attack, guidance,
coaching, real answers, support, a teacher, a doctor, a healer, a spiritual
counselor, and most importantly, to take the lead position in their fight
against the disease. The job of any physician is to help create that fertile
ground where all of those elements can grow and mature. Please, don’t earn
cancer. Do something about your life now so you won't have to read this
article from the perspective of a cancer patient. Preventative medicine
is much preferred over reactive medicine. An ounce of prevention really
and truly is worth a ton of cure. How we build our "temples
of God" today will determine how well we weather the physical, mental,
and spiritual storms of tomorrow. "Fighting cancer
for life requires some tough choices, many of which may not be popular."
Battle Plan for Fighting Cancer 1. Aggressive
detoxification 2. Upbuilding
the body 3. Diet and
supplementation to discourage tumor growth 4. Boosting
anti-angiogenesis which blocks tumor nourishment 5. Change your
diet and start your plan of attack 6. Strengthen
and rebuild the immune and glandular system In 1998, 53 percent of all cancer-related deaths in the United States were associated with four sites: lung/bronchus, colon/rectum, prostate, and female breast. In all four areas, death rates for blacks were higher than whites. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and is expected to become the leading cause of death within the next decade. * Women: Lung cancer
is the major cause of cancer-related death among men and women. * Men: Prostate cancer
is the second major cause of cancer-related death among men. A man in
his lifetime has about a 16 percent chance (1 in 6) of being diagnosed
with prostate cancer .3 percent chance (1 in 33) of dying from the disease. |