Article
/ Cancer
Homeopathy
for Cancer; Treating the Cause
as
published in the November 2004 issue of Vitality Magazine
The
intention of this article is to introduce you to homeopathy and
the important role it can play in treating patients with cancer.
Given the opportunity, I could write volumes on how cancer politics
have kept you in the dark; that most of what you have heard about
mainstream cancer treatment is false, or at the very least incomplete;
how powerful conglomerates like government agencies, international
drug companies and major cancer treatment hospitals put profits
first; why unsuccessful treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation
continue to dominate oncology and what role the petrochemical
and nuclear industries play in ensuring this gruesome reality;
AND how the public is mislead into believing that the millions
of dollars collected and spent for cancer research each year is
actually going to result in finding cure. While I am passionate
about my feelings on these topics, I am equally determined to
give you information in this article that will offer hope and
viable solutions.
In reality cancer cure already exists and many cases of cancer
have been successfully reversed. The answers are not found in
drugs, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, although, in moderation
and in rare cases they can be useful. Statistics show that the
most successful recipe to cancer cure is the synergistic approach,
combining a wholistic lifestyle with different natural treatments.
An arsenal consisting of a diet rich in raw organic foods and
juices, regular exercise, therapeutic doses of antioxidants and
other natural supplements, regular detoxification, a healthy emotional
state through counseling and meditation combined with homeopathic
treatment can dramatically increase your chances of combating
and reversing cancer.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a disease process in which healthy cells stop functioning
properly. The process begins with a specific change in the nucleus
of the cell, its genetic blueprint or DNA. The altered DNA makes
copies of itself and passes its information and gene sequencing
on to other cells, which then become cancer prone. In a state
of health, DNA mutation are repaired or rendered harmless by the
immune system. When undesirable genetic alterations remain uncorrected,
a cancer process can potentially escalate to its next stage of
uncontrolled rapid growth.
Among 150 different types, 5 major groups of cancer are recognized:
-
Carcinomas
form in the epithelial cells that cover the surface of the skin,
mouth, nose, throat, lung airways, and genitourinary and gastrointestinal
tract, or that line glands such as the breast or thyroid. Lung,
breast, prostate, skin, stomach, and colon cancers are called
carcinomas and are solid tumors.
-
Sarcomas
form in the bones and soft connective and supportive tissues
surrounding organs and tissues, such as cartilage, muscles,
tendons, fat, and the outer linings of the lungs, abdomen, heart,
central nervous system, and blood vessels. Sarcomas are also
solid tumors, but sarcomas are both the most rare of malignant
tumors and the most deadly.
-
Leukemias form in the blood and bone marrow and the abnormal
white blood cells produced there travel through the bloodstream
creating problems in the spleen and other tissues. Leukemias
are not solid tumors; they are characterized by an overproduction
of abnormal white blood cells.
-
Lymphomas
are cancer of the lymph glands. Lymph glands act as a filter
for the body's impurities and are concentrated mostly in the
neck, groin, armpits, spleen, the center of the chest, and around
the intestines. Lymphomas are usually made up of abnormal lymphocytes
(white blood cells) that congregate in lymph glands to produce
solid masses. Two prime examples are Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's
lymphomas.
-
Myelomas
are rare tumors that arise in the antibody-producing plasma
cells or hemopoietic (blood cell-producing) cells in various
tissues in the bone marrow. [1]
A key characteristic of cancer cells is their greatly prolonged
life span compared to that of normal cells. Not only do cancer
cells not die when they are supposed to, they also fail to develop
the specialized functions of their normal counterparts. Masses
of cancer cells may become like parasites, developing their own
network of blood vessels to siphon nourishment away from the body's
main blood supply. It is this process, that, unchecked, will eventually
lead to the formation of a tumor – a swelling caused by
the abnormal growth of cells. If the tumor invades adjacent normal
tissue or spreads through lymph vessels or the blood vessels to
other normal tissues, this tumor is considered malignant.[2]
How Homeopathy Can Help
Homeopathy is a medical science that aims to treat the whole person
rather than just the physical symptoms. It works on the principle
that the mind and body are so strongly linked that physical symptoms
or illnesses cannot be cured without understanding and considering
the person's emotional state, constitution and character.
Homeopathy does not treat the cancer. Homeopathy treats the patient
who has cancer as their primary physical manifestation. It works
by stimulating the body's own healing intelligence so as to activate
the healing process. This is the essential distinction between
orthodox medical approach to cancer, which seeks to destroy the
tumor, and the homeopathic approach, which treats the patient
enabling their system to destroy the tumor. Addressing the overall
constitution of the patient and administering one corresponding
remedy is called constitutional treatment using classical homeopathy.
This
was the method I used for treating a thirty nine year old patient
with an endometriotic tumor. The remedy Arsenicum album, which
corresponded to the patients overall constitution (energy patterns,
sleep, appetite, digestion, personality, etc.), was the only remedy
used. By the time of her next ultrasound four months later, her
body had healed itself and the tumor had completely disappeared.
In addition, the patient experienced considerable improvement
in her sleep patterns, stopped having nightmares, her anxiety
level decreased considerably along with her menstrual disturbances.
More aggressive methods are used depending on the seriousness
of the cancer. One approach includes using the constitutional
homeopathic remedy along with organ-specific remedies –
remedies that target the organ presenting the tumor. (e.g. Hydrastis
for cancer of the stomach, Chelidonium for cancer of the liver
and gall bladder and Phytolacca for cancer of the breast.). Specific
remedies can also be used to support as well as detoxify various
organs.
In the case of a fifty four year old man with colon cancer, I
used the organ specific remedy Aloe with his constitutional remedy
Lycopodium. The pains and the rectal bleeding stopped within the
first 3 weeks. The patient became more in control of his bowel
movements within 8 weeks. By the three-month mark, there was considerable
improvement in his energy levels, moods and mental outlook, appetite,
quality of sleep and digestion. Six months following the commencement
of homeopathic treatment, his follow up tests showed no trace
of cancer. My patient was convinced that had he gone through with
the recommended surgery and chemotherapy, his health would not
have improved and the tumor likely re-emerged.
G. Zajicek, M.D., of the H.H. Humphrey Center for Experimental
Medicine and Cancer Research at Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical
School in Jerusalem, Israel, challenges the way modern medicine
deals with cancer: "Modern oncology (study of tumors) needs to
radically rethink its cancer model, which is based on the Halstead
theory of cancer (developed by W.S. Halstead, 1852-1922). This
theory, whose central premise is that the primary fact about cancer
is the tumor, not the patient as a living organism, must be dropped
in favour of a more systemic model. The fact that the mortality
rate for breast cancer has remained virtually unchanged for 60
years (from 1939-1990) means that the standard treatments devised
to kill tumours have failed because they are based on false premises.
This hypothesis implies that tumor removal should cure the patient,
yet 60 years of intensive effort to remove the tumor did not change
the biological outcome of the disease. Obviously, the hypothesis
is wrong and should be modified. Focusing medical efforts on removing
the tumor is fundamentally a mistake, and will not cure cancer
because cancer is metabolically a systemic deficiency and a chronic
system disease. Halstead's cancer theory is flawed, because it
emphasizes the tumor and ignores the patient." [3]
Among the more profound benefits of homeopathy is its ability
to prevent disease (or tumours from re-ocurring) by changing the
"terrain" of the body, or the biochemical environment of the cells
that determines a person's susceptibility to disease. When the
terrain is improved, the immune responsiveness of the individual
can be profoundly strengthened. It is also possible to change
some of the hereditary weaknesses, called miasms in homeopathy,
which make some people more susceptible to cancer and other illnesses.
One seventy three year old patient had been diagnosed with pre-cancerous
intestinal polyps when he first came to see me. The prescribed
constitutional remedy was able to prevent and reverse the progression
of the disease. The next colonoscopy examination, a few months
later, showed no sign of the polyps. In addition, my patients
overall health improved in the process.
Homeopathy can be helpful in all stages of cancer. If you choose
to employ the conventional treatment methods of surgery, chemotherapy
and radiation, homeopathy can help alleviate the pains discomforts
and fears associated with surgery, as well as the side effects
of chemotherapy and radiation. In addition terminal patients entering
the death process can find relief. Certain remedies can help comfort
individuals and help them deal with their fear of death. It can
assist individuals in coming to greater peace about the death
process, enabling them to embrace the transition with greater
spiritual centeredness and dignity.
In overcoming any serious or terminal illness, I cannot stress
strongly enough the importance of a positive mental/emotional
outlook. Finding love and forgiveness, for self and others, holds
the key to our emotional health. I strongly believe that our consciousness
has a vote in everything that happens to us. We create our own
reality by every thought we have and every choice we make each
and every moment of our lives. Prolonged periods of emotional
stress can culminate in serious diseases. Homeopathy has the ability
to profoundly and positively affect one's emotions, which in many
cases is the underlying cause of illness.
"We're
holistic creatures. When we betray our truth, we can call illness
into our lives. Psychoneuroimmunologists like Herbert Benson,
Joan Borysenko and Hans Selye, all pioneers in the mind-body connection,
have found a link between disease and what we think and feel.
Norman Shealy, M.D., founder of the American Holistic Medical
Association and coauthor of The Creation of Health, wrote that
75% of his patients told him they wanted to die six to twenty-four
months before they were diagnosed with cancer." [4] Be careful what you wish for.
When facing a diagnosis of cancer, I highly recommend that you
explore your options by consulting a wide variety of health practitioners
and alternative cancer treatment modalities. And most importantly,
be realistic - expect a miracle!
Tamara
Der-Ohanian is a Classical Homeopath practicing and teaching in
Toronto and Bolton. She can be reached at 416-385-1001.
References
[1]
Diamond,
W., M.D., Cowden, L., M.D., Cancer,
Future Medicine
publishing Inc., California, 1997, p.518.
[2]
Diamond,
W., M.D., Cowden, L., M.D., Cancer,
Future Medicine
publishing Inc., California, 1997, p.519.
[3]
Diamond,
W., M.D., Cowden, L., M.D., Cancer,
Future Medicine
publishing Inc., California, 1997, p.517.
[4]
Cirocco,
G., Take step, The bridge Will Be There, Harper Collins,
Toronto, 2002, p.3.
