“I’m afraid I have some Bad News”
Four years ago a Doctor said that to us when Julie was initially diagnosed with Cancer.
Without going into the melodramatics of the time, there were lots of emotions (obviously), thinking (obviously), panic (obviously) and questions – lots of questions.
One of the key and most telling questions turned out to be:
“Doctor, if you were in our place what would YOU do?”
The first Oncologist / Breast Surgeon suggested a Mastectomy, Chemotherapy, Radiation and Drugs.
The classic Cut, Poison and Burn approach with no option to deviate, hesitate or ruminate. And, I love a good old ruminate, especially on a Sunday afternoon.
So, we fired her and changed Hospitals.
In fact, we got transferred to Christies Cancer Research Hospital in Manchester. One of the top drawer places to go in England, if you have Cancer.
Excellent move..
With much excitement and a little bit of Research behind us we trooped off to the Hospital and asked the telling question
“Doctor, if you were in our place what would YOU do?”
He gave us the same answer as before. HOWEVER, being a patient patient we asked a supplementary question:
“Doctor, if you get your body’s immune system into tip top conditions will it help to combat chronic disease?”
At this point, his many years of training kicked in and he said, without a moment’s hesitation.
“You are wasting your time and it won’t make a scrap of difference”
So, we fired him and changed Hospitals.
Our third Medic at our third Hospital turned out to be a part time farmer and would be Latin American dancer. (Don’t ask !!) She juices, has organic food and won’t touch dairy foodstuffs.
Jackpot ..!!
She still has to toe the NHS party line but is open to listening to alternative approaches, even though she cannot advocate them.
At last, someone to have a proper constructive conversation along the lines of:
Conventional medicine has a lot to learn when it comes to chronic illness. We are good at cutting it, burning it, and poisoning it with surgery, radiation, and drugs, but many doctors fail to treat the cause of the problem.
Conventional medicine focuses on naming diseases based on geography, body location, and specialty, instead of by the cause, or mechanism involved.
Doctors say you have liver, kidney, brain, or heart disease, but this approach to naming disease tells you nothing about the cause.
What are the underlying causes that lead to illness?
Modern medicine approaches illness like a mechanic trying to diagnose what’s wrong with your car by listening to the noises it makes and never looking inside to see what’s going on. Holistic Medicine allows you to look under the bonnet and find the root causes of what is going on.
Basically, she said that illness results from an imbalance in your system where the immune system can’t fight off whatever is going wrong.
But ….. you can make your body inhospitable to cancer or whatever else it is that is trying to bring you down. Bacteria, viruses, stress, bad lifestyle etc.
So, back the beginning.
“Doctor, if you were in our place what would YOU do?”
In summary, she would then say:
- Give up Sugar
Sugar feeds cancer and creates diabetes.
Have a high-fibre diet rich in real, fresh, organic whole foods and minimise or eliminate sugary, processed, foods.
- Eliminate Gluten and Dairy.
Cutting them out of the diet allows an inflamed gut and an inflamed body to heal.
- Reduce inflammation.
Inflammation is the common thread connecting most chronic disease including cancer. Besides removing sugar and food sensitivities like gluten and dairy, you need to eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods, including omega-3 rich foods like wild fish (not farmed) and flaxseeds etc.
- Improve gut health.
As well as avoiding inflammatory foods, adding in probiotics, pre biotics, and lots of phyto nutrients like curcumin (found in tumeric) and resveratrol (found in grapes), can reduce gut-based inflammation.
- Reduce toxic exposure.
Going clean and green means becoming more aware about how environmental toxins affect your health. Specifically, clearing your house and personal space of chemical based products.
- Change your thoughts to change your immune system.
This bonus point is often overlooked, but it’s just as important as the other items above. How you live, the quality of your relationships, the food you eat, and how you use your bodies determines your health as much as your genes do. These strategies to combat or prevent illness include getting enough sleep, controlling your stress levels, and exercising regularly.
Evidently, she is a smart woman.
One of the other things that I would personally factor in would be to have all your “silver fillings” and Root Canal work removed and replace by non toxic Dentistry.
But, that is another story.
The important thing is to figure out what works for you and develop a plan to stick with it.
Hope that this helps to guide someone.
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