American cancer society recipe

As a naturopathic doctor and certified nutritionist with more than 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 noninclusive. 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 far along so 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 each of these 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

It's been my experience that this segregation in the treatment of cancer benefits no one and creates deep and broad-reaching ramifications. Some of the most rewarding and beneficial work that I've seen in the fight against cancer combines the amazing power of not just one, but all of these elements: medical, nutritional, mental, and spiritual.

When we learn to properly combine the strengths of the medical field with the proper utilization and strengths of the alternative and nutritional fields and the power and liberating aspect of the mental and spiritual elements, we've created a true recipe for healing.

In truth, anyone can find a survivor who has had positive results from one of these modalities, which begs the question Is the use of all four better than using just one? Let's examine this issue carefully.

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 that 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 50 years ago were beyond conception. Some in the fight discovered medicines that are responsible for saving or extending millions of people's lives.

Unfortunately, many in the wholistic, 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

The natural approach has been the foundation of my work and the driving force behind some amazing results during the past 20 years.

In the natural approach there are some very fundamental steps that need 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, sources of happiness, sources of sadness, fears. What do they want out of life? What motivates them? What doesn't motivate them? What are their innermost thoughts about their illness, their fears about their condition, and their ideas of 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 that includes roles for all participants, especially the one with the illness.

This battle plan may include a three-pronged approach.

1. Strategic use of available medical tools and techniques. If the person's medical doctor is open to the idea, I invite him or her to participate in this plan and use the amazing technological powers of today's modern medical system to glean as much information as possible about the person, the illness, and available medical treatments.

2. Strategic, proper, and aggressive use of the most effective natural and nutritional modalities and techniques available. Examine the sidebar on page 13 to see an example of a natural/medical battle plan that has produced very positive results.

3. Allow the healing powers of God and the human mind to take on a role--possibly even a leading role--in the healing process. I'd like to share with yon two real-world examples to illustrate this point, revealing just how very powerful God and the mind can be in this type of situation.

I started working with a man who had advanced late-stage lung cancer. His doctors had given him 90 days to live. In essence, he was under a death sentence, or what I call a "prescription for death." "I have only 90 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.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a young lady came to me with a more aggressive form of cancer that had spread throughout her entire body, including her lungs and bones. Her doctors had also given her a death prescription.

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

Fighting cancer for life requires some tough choices, many of which may not be popular. Keep in mind that, except for children who suffer from hereditary or environmental elements that can spark the disease, there are very few cancer victims. The majority of cancer is earned.

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 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 one another and, over time, break down 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 categorization as a statistic. They do, however, desperately need love, hope, a plan of attack, guidance, coaching, real answers, support, a teacher, a doctor, a spiritual counselor. Most important, they need 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 to reactive medicine. An ounce of prevention really and truly is worth a ton of cure.

How we build our "temple of God" today will determine how well we weather the physical, mental, and spiritual storms of tomorrow.

RELATED ARTICLE: Battle plan for fighting cancer.

QUICK STATISTICS: Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer-related death in men and women. Prostate cancer is the second major cause of cancer-related among men.

"There are very few cancer victims. The majority of cancer is earned."

Aggressive DETOXIFICATION

By helping our bodies remove toxins and poisons from our cells, tissues, blood, and organs, we clear the way for it to begin to heal and fight the cancer on its own.

UPBUILDING the body

Upbuilding simply means building up the levels of nutrition (or nutrients) that our bodies need to sustain a healthy, vibrant, and full life. These nutrients, while few, are vital. Examples available from foods and supplements are protein, starch, essential fat, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, trace minerals, and other critical micronutrients.