INSIGHTS

I am beginning this section in response to emails I have received that ask many of the same questions. Rather than typing out long email responses to each person (and inadvertently omitting things if I answer late at night!), I hope that this page will answer some of your questions or concerns. You can also find other information contained in our Q&A section. Please also note that this information is solely the opinions of the author and is not meant to take the place of a qualified physician or healthcare worker in your health challenges. It is meant to help you to think about other perspectives though.

One question I get asked frequently is "Which herbs or supplements are the best ones for xxxx cancer?" Please understand one thing: Your body is different than anyone else's on the face of this planet - and so are your needs. Yes, there may be a few things that are common that I suggest during my conversations with people, but for the most part, each of you respond to cancer - and treatment -in your own very unique way. This point is absolutely crucial in developing your own treatment plan. I also find it difficult to respond to emails with so little information for me to go on. If a person is undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy...etc., it will make a difference in the way things should be approached. What is intestinal function like? (This is imperative to know for the utilization - or not - of anything ingested!) What are their individual symptoms, what type of foods do they eat, and on and on.

Herbs (and many supplements) are like "natural medicines" and need to have the same type of respect given in their use and consideration as we would give pharmaceuticals. Because of the nature of my work, I prefer to talk to persons in-depth regarding their health issues. Together, we assess their needs, talk about possible options to consider, and go on from there. I do not charge for these "consultations." All you pay is the price of the phone call to me. Psychologically, if you were to pay me, many would feel bound to follow what I say. That is NOT the point. The point is, that you become aware of choices! It is your body. I do not want the responsibility of making choices for you. That is yours to do. I do not have all the answers, but in my work, I do speak with many people who have shared with me, and from that I learn. I also do a lot of research. If that will help someone in some way, then so be it.

Herbalism, in it's traditional sense, is not at all like allopathic (or Western) medicine. Allopathic medicine seems to focus on the symptoms - and how to suppress or stimulate organs and systems. Generally speaking, cancer is a symptom - that of an immune system gone haywire. Modern medicine frequently approaches cancer from the stand point of 3 options - kill the cancer cells with toxic chemicals (thereby also destroying the immune system and compromising all other body systems), radiating tumors to "burn" them away with resulting diffusion of the radiation throughout the body, or surgical removal. (All of which are highly invasive and totally focused on the tumors - not the rest of the body!) More oncologists are beginning to utilize the "low dose" or metronomic dosing of chemotherapy - closely monitoring the immune system so that it is not totally compromised while they are giving individualized chemotherapy dosages. Radiation procedures are becoming more refined and focused. This does absolutely nothing to help support the rest of the body though!

Allopathic thinking generally follows that with any given set of symptoms or disease process that there is a set protocol, or certain drugs that can be used. Seemingly little thought is given to what that individual's needs may be, or digging deeper to resolve the issue. For a headache, take aspirin. What is causing the headache? I do not follow that way of thinking or logic!

In complementary "medicine", the goal is to assist the body back to homeostasis (balance). By knowing what other modalities a person is choosing to utilize, then the appropriate options can be suggested. The immune system can be approached from a perspective of balance, rather than over- or under-stimulation. I like the perspective of working with the body, rather than attempting to over-ride it's inherent abilities to heal. The bottom line though, there is NO one-size-fits-all treatment for any disease, any form of cancer, or every person. If anyone offers you that - run. I find it difficult to give you the assistance you deserve if I do not have the facts I need. Very general or broad based questions (ie: "What should I take for prostate cancer?") leave me little choice but to shoot from the hip into a dark room, and I don't like doing that!) It's not fair to either of us.

A major concern of mine is one I see almost every day: When a person is diagnosed with a possible life-threatening illness, fear, desperation and panic may set in. As a result of this, a few things may occur: 1) the person seeks out all information they can find on the internet, via books, doctor's office, etc on that specific illness (positive), 2) they may contact other people to see what options they are using - complementary and allopathic (positive) 3) they run out and purchase a bunch of supplements and herbs that were all recommended from various sources and begin taking them all at once (negative). What happens in the last option? In my opinion a few things happen.

Most people are not aware of interactions or contraindications for all of these new "goodies." Some may cancel each other out. Some may stimulate tumor growth of certain types. Because herbs and supplements are so readily accessible to the public, many persons have the misconception that they are all "safe" because they are "natural." This is simply not true. You should not consider taking anything unless you have fully educated yourself on that product or treatment. Also research carefully how each thing interacts with others. This also means you would be wise to not take everything a person in a healthfood store tells you as gospel. They are there to sell you products (as are suppliers on the internet), and I have listened in on countless store employees who blatantly give out erroneous information. Not all do, but more often than not, I have walked away shaking my head, saying a small prayer that the person doesn't listen to the store employee and follow their advice.

If you come home with a couple of bags of supplements, get boxes in the mail from suppliers, and begin taking a monumental amount of products at all once, you may be asking for trouble. Big trouble. Likewise, if you begin taking more than 3 or 4 items at one time. For cancer to grow, the body must be in a state of imbalance. As I have stated elsewhere on this site, the immune system recognizes stress and responds to it. Whether it be "good" stress or "bad" stress, it doesn't differentiate. Stress is stress. So, with the very best of intentions, you begin taking 10, 20, 30 or more pills or potions per day. Now, there's more stress on the body and the immune system. It's being bombarded with things with no chance of trying to gradually adjust. In my mind, that takes energy away from the immune system in fighting the malignant cells, and may put more focus on attempting to compensate for the new chemicals it has to figure out what to do with.

With my way of thinking, it would be best to work with the body and nudge it back to health, rather than over-run it. Not to say, you have all the time in the world to do this, but middle of the road approach seems to work better than too much or too little. Too much can have just as damaging consequences as too little. Just because you read that astragalus, reishi or shiitake mushrooms, IP-6 or MGN-3, cat's claw, and others stimulate the immune system, does not mean that you should useALL of them. Quite the contrary. You will probably find that you are worse off than before you began. So, before you begin a very comprehensive regime, remember that too much can send you several steps backward - maybe now, maybe later.

Rotating your regimen or schedule of supplements is also important. If you are taking A, B, C this month, then next month take A,C, D - continuing on like this monthly. For example, take the recommended 20 grams per day of Cat's claw this month, and next month substitute astragalus and ligusticum in your daily regime. Another example could be - take MGN-3 this month, IP-6 with inositol next month, the third month take germanium (Ge-132), then go back to the MGN-3 and start over. These should never be taken all at the same time. They each stimulate Natural Killer (NK) cell activity. Your immune system is not so simple as that. It has much more to it than just this one component. By taking more than one of these products at one time you are overstimulating only one part of the immune system - creating yet another imbalance. Another example - this month utilize reishi mushrooms in your diet, next month shiitake mushrooms, then the third month maitake mushrooms.

It can also be highly beneficial for you to take one or two days off a week where you don't take all your supplements. Not only is this psychologically a relief in many ways, but it will give your body a chance to kick in on it's own. There's a few perspectives here. One is the traditional herbal thinking of 5 days on, and 2 days off in taking herbs. (There are some that should not be taken long term for any reason such as echinacea, goldenseal, St. John's wort, and others.) There is also the thinking that our bodies go through cycles and rhythms that follow the pattern of sevens (7). Every 7 years all of the cells in our body are replaced (not all at once!) - no more than 7 days on any herb or supplement, no more than 7 months, etc. Pick which one feels right to you.

When considering what you would like to utilize and the schedule most comfortable to you, remember to count in the essiac tea if you are taking it as well.

Two simple, yet powerful, considerations that seem to apply to almost everyone with cancer: body pH and oxygen levels. I have written a general page on how pH can affect the body Indeed, most persons with cancer are acidic.

Malignancies do not just affect the lung, breast, brain or whatever organ or body part they are found. Nor, does the immune system play the only role in its progression or reversal. We are composed of a myriad of body systems, functions, chemical reactions, etc. all interacting with one another in the continuous orchestration of our body's dance to attempt to retain or regain health. Chemotherapy presents a unique challenge though in its harsh effects (most of the time) on all body systems. As an example, extreme fatigue may be explained to you as "a side effect of chemo so just live with it". (In fact, many of our clients who do not experience fatigue or nausea say their doctors are surprised!)

What if the chemo compromised your adrenal glands - your thyroid gland - your bone marrow - your liver - your digestive tract.....? Something not functioning correctly is making you tired! Fatigue is a symptom of something else wrong. There are many ways to assess certain body functions that are non-invasive, and at times more accurate than invasive measures. Your body's symptoms will tell you what organs or systems are in need of help. It's simply a matter of playing a little detective work and figuring out which one(s).

Now that you have read the above, hopefully it will give you an idea of how I take each and every person's health issues seriously and strive to give them the very best service possible. If you are hesitant about devoting the amount of time it may take for me to get a clear picture of what your body is attempting to say via symptoms, past lifestyle choices, etc, then please consider the following: Do you want someone to guess at what your body needs, or offer blind choices for your particular situation? (These options rarely work.) Are you looking for "instant answers", while not providing enough information to allow someone the opportunity to give you the most viable or accurate feedback? Are you serious about becoming a pro-active well-informed consumer? I commit myself to being here as a support person for those who are seriously considering complementary measures, and are willing to take as much time themselves as I will also devote to helping you. I simply ask that you not waste my time - and your's - if you are seeking "instant answers."

This information is provided for educational purposes and to promote discussion only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or claim cure for any disease or imbalance in the body.

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