Category: Wisdom, Living & General

Stop the Cancer Drug Ripoff!

by Ralph W. Moss, PhD. | Jan 25, 2019 

The public is fed up with the cancer drug ripoff of runaway prices. Just when you need financial and emotional support you are hit with crazy expenses. Big Pharma has set cancer drug prices way beyond what most people can possibly afford. This has got to stop!

When the $40 billion Big Pharma company Merck launched its immune system drug Keytruda in 2014, it priced it at $150,000 per year. Keytruda thus became one of the most expensive drugs in medical history. But bear in mind that average American workers make $857 per week or $44,564 per year. So how on earth can people come up with more than three years worth of salary for just this one drug?

Then, to add insult to injury, in 2017, the FDA approved another type of immune drug, called Kymriah. Seeing what others were getting away with, Novartis demanded a mind boggling $475,000 for each infusion. This drug treats a kind of leukemia that mainly affects children and teens. So it was truly a case of “your money or your kid’s life.”

Then another company released a competing drug, Yescarta, they priced it at a “mere” $373,000 for adult lymphoma, Novartis then reduced the price of Kymriah for lymphoma to match the price of Yescarta. Apparently it could afford to “lose” $102,000 and still make a huge profit. But it kept the $475,000 price tag for kids with acute leukemia.

And, mind you, YOU, the consumer, paid for most of the research on these new drugs through the part of your tax payments that went for medical research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states at its website:

“The NIH invests nearly $37.3 billion annually in medical research for the American people.”

Thus, the “the American people” pay twice–once to help develop these drugs, and again to pay their outrageous costs.

Source: https://www.mossreports.com/cancer-drug-ripoff/

Hurt your gut microbes, you hurt yourself

Very often patients are told, Eat anything you like. No need to “pantang”. Food has nothing to do with your sickness. Well, that advice is only sensible if you regard that your body as nothing more than a machine.

Dr. Emeran Mayer (in The Mind-Gut Connection) wrote:

  • “For decades, our understanding of the digestive system was based on the machine model of the entire body. I viewed the gut mostly as an old-fashioned device that functioned according to the principles of the nineteenth-century steam engine.”
  • “We ate, chewed and swallowed our food, then our stomach broke it down with mechanical grinding forces assisted by concentrated hydrochloric acid before dumping the homogenised food paste into the small intestine, which absorbed calories and nutrients and sent the undigested food into the large intestine, which disposed of what remained by excreting it.”
  • “This industrial-age metaphor … influenced generations of doctors, including today’s gastroenterologists and surgeons. According to this view, the digestive tract’s malfunctioning parts can easily be bypassed or removed.”
  • “… this model is overly simplistic … we now know that … our digestive system is much more delicate, complex and powerful than we once assumed.”
  • “Recent studies suggest that in close interactions with its resident microbes, the gut can influence our basic emotions, our pain sensitivity and our social interactions … reflected in the concept of gut-brain axis … the complex communication between the gut and the brain plays a role when we make some of our most important life decisions.”

So here it goes, the new science shows that the gut is not just a “physical tube” — like a dead water pipe that brings tap water to our house! What is more, the gut is another dynamic, living, powerful and intelligent “organ” which plays a great role in maintaining our health and well being.

  • “The major role your microbes play in essential jobs such as digestion, elimination, and gut health is just the tip of the iceberg. Microbes are also the main defenders of your health.”
  • “The immune cells residing in your guts make up the largest component of your body’s immune system — in other words there are more immune cells living in the wall of your gut than circulating in the blood or residing in your bone marrow.”
  • “The lining of your gut is studded with a large number of endocrine cells — specialised cells that contain up to twenty different types of hormones that can be released into the stream if called upon.”
  • “The gut is also the largest storage facility for serotonin in our body. … (where) ninety-five percent of the body’s serotonin is stored. Serotonin is a signaling molecule that plays a crucial role within the gut-brain axis.”
  • “You and your microbes coexist in … a mutually symbiotic relationship. Your existence depends upon them and their existence depends on you. Certain microbes protect you from other microbes that would harm you. The “good” microbes defend you because you and they are in a symbiotic relationship. The deal is that you feed them and they protect you… they even communicate their happiness by making the most of the feel-good hormones such as serotonin, for you.”
  • “However, if you alter this relationship, the roles can change. Drive off the good microbes or bring bad microbes in, and it’s as though gang members have taken over your pleasant neighbourhood… As long as the good bugs are in the majority, you should be in good shape, but when the bad guys dominate, problem prevail. Fostering the right mix of microbes is essential to restoring health and preventing diseases.”

From the above, it is clear that microbes in our gut play a vital role in influencing our body functions. According to this new science humans are closely interconnected with the microbes and they are inseparable and dependent on each other for survival. Therefore, it is important that we take good care of our gut. Take note that the well-being of our gut microbes depends on the food we eat and our life style. Unfortunately in this so called modern age, what we do and what we eat tend to hurt our gut microbes which also means it hurts us badly. Here are some examples of what we do that can hurt the good microbes in our guts.

  1. Modern diet makes you fat and sick!

“Some microbes help keep you slim and healthy. Other gut bugs contribute to weight gain. Some other bugs that make you sick … making you crave the foods that they need — namely sugars, fats, junk foods and fast foods… You must feed the good microbes what they need to thrive, while simultaneously eliminating sugar and other foods on which bad microbes feast.”

  1. Dangers of medical drugs. 

Many patients who came to seek our help brought along the medications which were prescribed by their doctors after being discharged from the hospitals. Some were told to take 6 to as many as 17 drugs each day. I shook my head in despair, real pathetic. There is a common saying, Doctors know how to treat your illness, but they don’t know how to make you healthy! 

Try, go and see your GP with some health problems — even a minor one. More often than not you will be prescribed antibiotics and/or pain killer! It looks like this is a given when visiting your doctor!

A new study from Mayo Clinic researchers shows that seven out of 10 Americans take at least one prescription drug. The most commonly prescribed drug is antibiotics — taken by 17 percent of Americans — followed by antidepressants and opioids — each taken by 13 percent of Americans.

A New York Times article said this,

  • “An increasing number of Americans — typically older ones with multiple chronic conditions — are taking drugs and supplements they don’t need, or so many of them that those substances are interacting with one another in harmful ways. Though many prescription drugs are highly valuable, taking them can also be dangerous, particularly taking a lot of them at once.
  • “About one-third of adverse events in hospitalizations include a drug-related harm, leading to longer hospital stays and greater expense. One-fifth of patients discharged from the hospital have a drug-related complication after returning home, many of which are preventable.”

Danger of antibiotics: Dr. Steven Gundry wrote: 

  • “Broad-spectrum antibiotics are capable of killing multiple strains of bacteria simultaneously… these antibiotics effectively allowed doctors to carpet-bomb an infection without worrying about exactly which bacterium was the culprit. We doctors were so impressed with these antibiotics that we used them, and sadly still do, even in situation where our best guess is that a virus, which isn’t killed by antibiotics, is the culprit. Little did we know … that we were also carpet-bombing ourselves.” 
  • “Every time you take a course of …. broad-spectrum antibiotics …for an infection, you kill most of the microbes in your gut. Shockingly, it can take up to two years for them to return . Many may be gone forever. Even worse, each time a child takes antibiotics, the likelihood increases of him or her developing Crohn’s disease, diabetes, obesity or asthma later in life.”

(Note: Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It causes inflammation of your digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition). 

  • “Don’t get me wrong, targeted antibiotics can be lifesaving; but you should be very cautious about taking broad-spectrum antibiotics for anything other than life-threatening infection.” 
  • “Almost all American chicken or beef contain … antibiotics …You can bet that it indiscriminately kills the friendly bacteria in your gut.” 
  • “Broad-spectrum antibiotics make pigs, chickens, and other animal grow faster, larger and fatter. And if they have the effect in animals, it’s unsurprising that they’d do the same to humans….a single dose of antibiotics taken by a woman during pregnancy can make her children fat. A single round of antibiotics given to a child can make him or her obese.” 

Danger of Nonsteroidal  Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Dr. Steven Gundry wrote:

  • “…we now know that NSAIDs damage the mucosal barrier in the small intestine and colon … initiating a war within your body. Evidence of the war is increasing inflammation, which you feel as pain. And the more pain you have, the more NSAIDs you take.”
  • “So remember this: Swallowing one Advil (ibuprofen) or Eleve (naproxen) is like swallowing a hand grenade.”

Danger of Stomach-acid Blockers: Dr. Steven Gundry wrote:

  • “… acid-blocking drugs such as Zantac, Prilosec, Nexium and Protonix are to be avoided at all most.” 
  • “The use of acid reducers …prompts a totally new population of intestinal bugs …. to grow in place of our normal bugs. People who use acid blockers have three times the likelihood of getting pneumonia ….than those who don’t use such drugs.”
  • “Acid-blocking drugs also foster incomplete protein digestion… we have produced an entire generation of senior citizens who are protein malnourished. That’s not because they aren’t eating enough protein; instead, it is because they have no stomach acid to digest it .”

The above are three dangers which we need to be aware of. But in his book, The Plant Paradox, Dr. Steven Gundry wrote about four more dangers that we should avoid:

  • Artificial Sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, aspartame, etc.
  • Endocrine or Hormone Disruptors, found in most plastics, scented cosmetics, preservatives and sunscreens. etc.
  • GMO — Genetically Modified Foods and the herbicide Roundup.
  • Constant exposure to Blue Light — as in televisions, cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices and even certain energy-saving light bulbs which are bad for health.

As a conclusion, let me quote what Drs. Justin & Erica Sonnenburg wrote in their book, The Good Gut:

  • “Your genome is not your destiny — while there is nothing we can do to change our human genome, our microbiome offers opportunities to exert control over the genetic hands that we’ve been dealt. Changes in our microbiome can’t affect our eye color or the shape of our nose, but many aspects of our biology, such as weight and immune system are heavily influenced by our gut microbes.” 
  • “Environment plays a huge role in our internal collection of bacteria. Since there is much we can do to shape the environment within our gut, we have control over our microbiota and can compensate for the lack of control we have over our human genome.” 
  • “One of the largest levers we have to control the inhabitants in the gut is diet. The modern Western lifestyle (and diet!) has resulted in an alien environment for the gut microbiota.” 
  • “There are four main tenets of a microbiota-friendly diet. 

Consume foods that are rich in dietary MACs — microbiota accessible carbohydrates ( not to confuse with the Big MAC, please!). This MACs come in the form of brown rice, whole barley, beans, vegetables, fruits, etc. Limit your consumption of simple carbohydrates, refined flours, etc. Stay away from factory-produced packages foods.

Limit saturated fat intake. Diets high in saturated animal fat are detrimental to microbiota diversity. Bacteria that are able to flourish on a high-fat diet include … pathobionts … that can trigger inflammation in the gut. Plant-derived monounsaturated fats don’t promote pathobionts as readily.

Consume meat in limited quantities. Red meat contains the chemical L-carnitine, which certain microbes in the gut can convert to trimethylamine (TMA) which then gets oxidized into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). High levels of TMAO increase risk of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiac events.

Consume beneficial microbes or probiotics… in the form of fermented products like yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, etc. The modern Western way of eating … coupled with the rising rise of antibiotics and antibacterial products, presents numerous challenges to the microbiota.

For the past twenty plus years, we at CA Care have been telling patients to take care of their diets and to change their lifestyles. Now, I am real glad to learn that more and more research are pointing to the same direction — diet has a lot to do and to contribute towards your healing!

 

Are we 100 percent human? Nope

Some weeks ago, I bought some books. I am glad to say that I read and learn many things from them. Often we buy books but never read them! I am even more glad that the information in these books made me think harder — to evaluate what we have done thus far in CA Care. Indeed, what we have been telling cancer patients all these years are now being substantiated by newly discovered scientific research!

I have to write more to share with you what I have learned. Let me start by asking this question: What are we? Are we really 100 percent human? Let me say that I am asking this question strictly from the point of view of biological science — it has nothing to do with “religion” okay?

Here are more questions to ask before we can get to really know what we are.

What are we, humans made up of? In school we learn that the smallest living unit of life is the cell. So we are a collection of cells — I stress, human cells.

How many cells are there in a human body?  Try searching the internet and you get different numbers for the answer. The figure varies from 15 to 70 trillion cells. But presently scientists concluded that the average human body contains approximately 37.2 trillion cells!

Each of these cells contains genes — that determines what we are and how healthy we are.

How many genes are there in the human body? Before the completion of the human genome project, many scientists expect to find 100,000 or more genes in our genomes. This is based on the assumption that we are the most complex creatures on Earth — so we should have a lot more genes than other animals. But it turned out the we only have about 24,000 genes — this is just a few more than a chimpanzee or a mouse!  Are you surprised that even bananas (with 30,000 genes) have more genes than we do.

What is a gene? A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Each of us has two copies of each gene — one inherited from each parent.  Most genes are the same in all people, but a small number of genes (less than 1 percent of the total) are slightly different between people. These small differences contribute to each person’s unique physical features. Also, some of these differences are what makes us have or be prone to certain diseases.

The above are just basic stuff that they teach in school. But, how many know that we are more than our human cells and genes? Many of us may not be aware that our body is also  a house for microorganisms or microbes — like bacteria, virus, fungi, worms etc. These microbes are also cell and they also function like our human cells.

How many microbes are we housing in our body? Some years back, scientists say there are 10 times as many bacteria in the body as human cells in the body (that makes us only 10% human, right?).

But a recent study stated that the number of microbes, mainly bacteria, may actually be very similar to the number of human cells in the body (with this statistics, are we then 50% human).

Where do these microbes live in our body? They live on the surfaces of the human body — inside and out. For example the skin, face, nostrils, mouth, between our teeth, vagina,  and the intestines. The gut or large intestine is by far home to the largest population of microbes. Trillions of them live in the dark and nearly oxygen-free world of our gut.

There are 1,000 bacterial species that make up the microbe population in the gut.  The microbial population in our gut contain more than 7 million genes. The bacterial genes outnumber the host (human) gene by 360 times.  What does this statistics tell us? 

Are these microbes harmful? Some co-exist with us, without harming us. Others are said to have a mutualistic relationship with us , i.e. each individual benefits from the activity of the other. Certain microbes perform tasks that are known to be useful to the human host but the role of most of them is not well understood. However, there are also harmful microbes (less than 1% of bacteria) which invade our body and make us ill.

Dr. Emeran Mayer in his book, The Mind-Gut Connection wrote, 

  • “Just a few years ago, it would have sounded like science fiction. But new science confirms that our brains, guts and the gut microbes talk to each other in a shared biological language … they live in intimate contact with the major information-gathering systems in our body” … they listen in to the brain signals … and they can influence our emotions. In fact the “gut has capabilities that surpass all your other organs and even rival your brain…. it has its own nervous systems .. and is often referred to … as the “second brain.”

Here we are — scientists are now suggesting that we actually have two brains, not just one. Unfortunately, this other brain in the gut is often neglected and its importance not recognised. 

There is great lesson to learn from this new found knowledge. Read what Dr. Emeran Mayer wrote:

  • “When President Richard Nixon signed into law the National Cancer Act of 1971, Western medicine acquired a new dimension and a new military metaphor. Cancer became a national enemy, and the human body became a battleground. On that battleground, physicians took a scorched-earth approach to rid the body of disease, using toxic chemicals, deadly radiation, and surgical interventions to attack cancer cells.”
  • “Medicine was already using a similar strategy successfully to combat infectious diseases, unleashing broad-spectrum antibiotics — antibiotics that can kill or cripple many species of bacteria — to wipe out disease-causing bacteria.”
  • “In both cases, as long as victory could be achieved, collateral damage became an acceptable risk.”
  • “For decades, the mechanistic, militaristic disease model set the agenda for medical research. As long as you could fix the affected machine part, we thought, the problem would be solved; there is no need to understand its ultimate cause. … The machine model was useful in medicine for treating some diseases. But when it comes to understanding chronic diseases of the body …. it’s no longer serving us…. Are we failing because our models for understanding the human body are outdated?”

Dr. Steven Gundry, a distinguished surgeon, was professor and chairman of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University. He changed his focus to curing modern diseases via dietary changes. In his book, The Plant Paradox, he wrote:

  • “One of our biggest health misconceptions comes from our collective lack of awareness of who we really are. The REAL you — or the WHOLE you — is actually what you think of as “you” plus those multitudinous microbes. In fact, 90 percent of all the cells that constitute you are no human. To go a step further, 99 percent of all the genes in you are nonhuman.”
  • “The multiple life-forms with which we coexist may seem like an alternate reality. Yet you and your microbes are literally in this life together. You health is dependent on them — as theirs is on you. At the most basic level, you are not alone. Most of us think that we are totally in charge of the decisions we make and the things we do. Your microbes … would vigorously disagree. You may recoil at the thought that minute nonhuman organisms … exert so much power over you … we know that this is true.”
  • “Germ-free mice, which are raised without a microbiome, are shorter and small, live shorter lives and are more susceptible to disease because their immune system never develops properly. As a result, we know how vital it is that you keep your holobiome well fed and happy.”

(Note: microbiome = the combined genetic material of the microbes;  holobiome = the sum total of the component genomes in an organism)

Next article:  Hurt your gut microbes, you hurt yourself

 

 

Cancer: Why Some Patients Choose Not to Undergo Invasive Medical Treatments

Eveline Gan wrote an interesting article: Treatment for cancer? No thanks, say some patients (28 April 2018, https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/treatment-cancer-no-thanks-say-some-patients). Try to read this article if you have time. For those who don’t want to know more, let me quote some of the salient points that the author said about cancer treatment in Singapore.

  1. Medical advances have made many cancers highly treatable or potentially curable, especially when detected early, but it is not uncommon for doctors to meet patients who refuse standard treatments.
  1. One in five patients might decline treatment when they first see a cancer doctor due to various reasons.
  1. Some patients opt to rely on the power of their faith, while others hold negative views of standard treatments and think they will end up worse off as a result.
  1. While most patients who refuse treatment are in the terminal stages of the disease, this is not always so… some are even in the early stages of cancer.
  1. Although doctors strive to provide the right information to those afflicted with cancer, treatment decisions are highly personal and patients’ wishes should be respected.
  1. Some patients also believe treatment for cancer causes more harm than good, and may prefer to rely on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
  1. Patients who rely solely on CAM “may have heard about the harmful side effects of treatment from friends and loved ones who have suffered after undergoing treatment or might have passed away sooner than expected. But this point of view may not be correct as it is often the cancer, not the treatment, that killed them”.
  1. “Usually, the issues patients deal with while on treatment are the toxicities of the drug …. With the newer range of drugs and less toxic side effects, things have improved.”
  1. Nonetheless, it is “not illogical” for some advanced cancer patients to refuse treatment that may prolong life but will not cure them.
  1. “Death comes to all of us, and early open conversations about death, preference of treatment and end-of-life placement should be as automatic and practical as planning for your will.”

Dr. Wachter wrote this article for The New York Times, The Problem With Miracle Cancer Cures, 19 April 2018. He said:

  1. I frequently care for patients with advanced cancer. A majority have already tried some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Many have landed back in the hospital because the cancer has returned or spread widely, and left them in intractable pain or struggling to breathe.
  1. Over the past 20 years, evidence has demonstrated that palliative care decreases pain, improves comfort, and in some cases, prolongs life by a few months. In my experience, conversations about turning to it often begin with patients recognizing that curing their cancer is impossible.
  1. A new generation of cancer treatments that have become available in the last few years. Some, called immunotherapy, harness the patient’s own immune system to battle the tumor. Others, known as targeted therapies, block certain molecules that cancers depend on to grow and spread.
  1. Much has been written about the promise of these treatments, as well as their staggering costs — many cost several hundred thousand dollars a year.
  1. A recent analysis estimated that about 15 percent of patients with advanced cancer might benefit from immunotherapy — and it’s all but impossible to determine which patients will be the lucky ones …. researchers noted that most patients will not respond to the new treatments, and it is not yet possible to predict who will benefit.
  1. And in some cases, the side effects are terrible — different from those of chemotherapy but often just as dire.
  2. Sadly, for some patients, a cure will prove elusive. As we continue to chase progress in cancer, let’s be sure that we don’t rob dying patients of a smaller, more subtle miracle: a death with dignity and grace, relatively free from pain and discomfort.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/opinion/sunday/problem-miracle-cancer-cures.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_ty_20180420&nl=opinion-today&nl_art=13&nlid=54459356emc%3Dedit_ty_20180420&ref=headline&te=1

My Comments

There are much truths in what the two authors wrote. Let me add my views to some of the points discussed in their articles.

  1. Meaning of cure.

From a patient’s viewpoint, cure means the cancer is totally removed or killed and it would not recur — i.e., the patient never gets cancer again some years down the road. In other words, after the so called “cure-treatment” you are done with cancer. But is the cancer done with you? Unfortunately, not.

Dr. Wachter wrote, a majority have already tried some combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Many have landed back in the hospital because the cancer has returned or spread widely.

Yes, that is the reality about cancer treatment. Over the years, hundreds of patients came to us because their cancer recurred. Let me give you a few examples.

My aunty had cervical cancer and she received the standard medical treatment. She was “cured” — i.e., if you define cure as being able to live for 5 years! Twelve years later, the cancer recurred and spread to her lungs. She died.

Nancy (not real name) had breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, refused chemotherapy and opted for herbs. After 5 years she believed she was already cured (that is what most doctors would tell their patients) and she stopped following our therapy. Fourteen years later, Nancy came at our centre again and this time in severe pain. The cancer had spread extensively to her bones. She died soon after that.

JS had kidney cancer. After his surgery, he opted for our herbal therapy. He was well for almost 22 years. Then through a “misstep” the cancer recurred and attacked his lung. He died.

MT was an Indonesian lady. She found a thumb-sized lump in her breast. It was cancerous. She underwent a mastectomy. Her doctor said it was an early stage cancer. MT had a 90 percent chance of complete cure with follow up medical treatments. MT totally believed her doctor and did exactly as what was told. She received 6 cycles of chemo and 30 radiation treatments. Then she was prescribed Tamoxifen, which she took for 5 years.

Each year she went back to her doctor in Melaka for routine checkup. At every visit she was told that she was fine. After 5 years, MT was told to stop Tamoxifen because she was already cured.

But barely a year later (i.e., in the 6th year), MT started to have pains in her tail bone and shoulder blade. Then her legs started to hurt. She became breathless. MT returned to her doctor and was told the cancer had recurred extensively to her bones and lungs. How could that be?

MT asked her doctor why the recurrence when she was told just a year ago that she had been cured. The doctor replied,  I do not know why. But don’t blame yourself. It is your fate.  Also the recurrence has nothing to do with what you eat. It is just your fate.

 So, take a deep breath and ask, Is modern day cancer treatment any different from going to the casino? Betting on your luck — how scientific is that? That’s right, read this book, The Big Casino: America’s best cancer doctors share their most powerful stories.

  1. Is there a cure for cancer?

If you are in my position, having come across hundreds of cases like above  — do you believe that cancer can be cured? At CA Care I never use the word “cure” because I don’t think there is such thing as a “permanent cure” up to this day, irrespective of what the medical establishment say. I am more comfortable with the term “healing” not cure.

Doctors sell the notion that with present day scientific medical advances, many cancers are highly treatable or potentially curable, especially when detected early. Yes, to treat is always possible, that is if you have the money to pay for the medical bills.

Over the years, I learned that some patients from Indonesia had to sell their house or land to pay for their medical  treatments. In the US many Americans ended up bankrupt after their cancer treatments.

Times Magazine of 20 February 2013, carried a lengthy article by Steven Brill: Bitter Pill – Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us.

Treating cancer is a huge and highly profitable money making industry. Besides the drugs, staying in the hospital is not cheap! So, there is always treatment for your cancer!

To add salt to the wound, what if someone comes out with an idea that finding a cure for cancer is not a good business model. Read this article, Is curing patients a sustainable business model?

  1. Don’t worry we have a lot of expensive “magic” drugs!

Almost all of the patients who came to CA Care for help had underwent medical treatments for their cancers. And these treatments failed to cure them. Let me just give you just one example from the hundreds of emails I received.

Email: 12 March 2018:  Dear Dr Chris Teo,

My name is Alice (not real name) from Singapore. I’m recommended by V, who used to have tongue cancer. 

My mum was diagnosed with advanced stage rectum cancer spread to the liver in May 2017. After going through chemo for 9 months, recently her oncologist has told us that her liver has worsen and even chemo won’t help. 

Alice said on diagnosis the family was told that her mother needed chemo immediately otherwise she would die within a few weeks. With no way else to turn to, she had chemo. After 9 months of failed attempt, the oncologist offered more treatment, now using a “wonder drug” that cost SGD 9,000 per month! Good for the family, but the honest oncologist said, But I would not recommend it because of the severe side effects!

As I was writing this article, a 68-year-old man walked into our centre. He had prostate cancer and had been on hormonal therapy. His PSA was initially at 254. With Lucrin injection the PSA dropped to about 20. Great, wonder drug, right?

Hang on, it is not time to celebrate yet. Soon afterwards the PSA started to increase to 80. Well, this is to be expected and nothing unusual. The doctor changed drug. The patient was put on a “magic” drug called abitraterone or Zytiga. This cost RM 12,000 per month. Can Zytiga cure him? After 6 months on Zytiga, his PSA dropped from 80 to 13. Time to celebrate? Not yet! The PSA level of 13 lasted for only 2 months, then it started to increase to 32 within three months. The doctor suggested intravenous chemotherapy!

All in all, this patient spent a total of about RM132,000 for 11 months of Zytiga. What did he get in return for this expensive adventure?

One oncologist told her patient, Don’t worry, in Singapore we have a lot of drugs for your cancer! Well, if you are willing to fork out something like  RM 5,000 to RM 20,000 per month surely there are many drugs to try out. But can these drugs cure you? Not likely but they may probably make you live longer by a few more weeks. Do you want that?

Michael Gearin-Tosh (in Living Proof – a medical mutiny) asked, why treat when you cannot cure? This professor from Oxford was diagnosed with myeloma and was asked to undergo chemotherapy. The doctors gave him less than a year to live. He rejected chemotherapy and opted for the unconventional self-treatment. He went on to live for another 10 years and died at the age of 65.

  1. Early detection can potentially cure your cancer?

This is the mantra of today’s modern medicine — cancer is potentially curable if detected early! Yes, I tend to agree with this but for most patients their cancers were often discovered too late — the cancer had already spread, at Stage 3 or 4. In such case, potential cure is questionable.

In fact, early detection is a two-edge sword. It may help or it may make things worse. This is a big subject to discuss. If you wish to know more, read this article, Overdiagnosis and Pseudodisease as a starter. Or try this, Is early detection of disease always an advantage?

  1. One of five patients declined standard medical treatment – why?

In Eveline Gan’s article, we learned that one in five patients might decline the standard medical treatment for their cancer. It’s rather surprising for this to happen in Singapore!

So why don’t patients want to go for medical treatments? I am sorry I cannot answer this question. It must be the patient himself/herself who should answer this question.

Some of the reasons laid out in Eveline’s article are:

  1. Some patients opt to rely on the power of their religious belief.
  1. Some others hold negative views of standard treatments and think they will end up worse off as a result — the treatment causes more harm than good. These patients “may have heard about the harmful side effects of treatment from friends and loved ones who have suffered after undergoing treatment or might have passed away sooner than expected.”
  1. Most people know that cancer treatments are toxic! Because of that some patients prefer the non-toxic or non-invasive alternative therapies.

This is where CA Care role fits in here — to provide you  with an alternative, if you so decide not to follow the medical path. My advice to all patients: Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You don’t have time to make them all yourself.

After coming to us — i.e., taking the unconventional path to your healing — most patients want to know if our therapy can cure their cancers. We tell you clearly, honestly and sincerely — No, we cannot cure you. Because we believe no one on earth can cure any cancer!

  1. Truthful or biased and skewed opinion?

At CA Care we tell patients to be wise and don’t just depend or believe entirely what the “experts” say. Again this is just common sense. We are all humans — we all have our opinions and preferences. We tend to see things only from our own perspectives based of our own experiences and training.

In her article, Eveline wrote, Although doctors strive to provide the right information to those afflicted with cancer, treatment decisions are highly personal and patients’ wishes should be respected. Cheers! This indeed should be a noble principle of all healers.

Unfortunately it is easy said than done! More often than not, patients were “threaten” under the guise of giving truthful professional advice. One surgeon told a lady with breast cancer — if you don’t go for chemo after surgery, I am not going to be responsible for your well being anymore! In the case of Alice above, the doctor warned that her mother needed to do chemo immediately otherwise she would die within a few weeks. May be just advice was given in “good faith” but was it the real truth?

GK had melanoma in 2007. This rare cancer had spread to her lungs — i.e., Stage 4. Without immediate radiation treatment she would die soon. GK refused to follow her doctor’s advice and came to seek our help. It is now 2018, GK is still healthy and very much alive!

In April 2012, Heny coughed out blood. She was later diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. There was a 4.8 x 5.1 cm   cm mass in her right lung, and a 4.2 x 5.6 cm mass in her left lung. She was told to undergo chemotherapy. Without chemo she would die within 6 months. With chemotherapy she would live for another 2 years. Heny refused chemo and came to seek our help. Just two weeks ago, (in April 2018) Heny came to our centre, very much alive!

Elly from Melbourne had endometrial cancer in November 2008. She had an operation and was later told to go for follow up chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The doctor told Ella that without these treatments she would probably die within 3 months, but with chemo and radiation she would probably last another 2 and a half years. Ella told her doctor, I will prove you wrong! It is now 2018 (almost 10 years), Ella is still alive and healthy!

I can go on and on with such stories. But, I think my message is already clear. Patients and those around them need to cast the net wider. There are more to know and learn about cancer treatments way beyond what you find in the hospital.

Is CA Care Therapy scientifically proven? Although I am a scientist, I think the application of simple common sense is far more important than trying to practise science!

In his book, The Laws of Medicine, Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote, The laws of medicine are really the laws of uncertainty, imprecision and incompleteness … They are laws of imperfection.

How many patients know this law of uncertainty and imperfection when they go and see their doctors? More often they are told medicine is scientifically proven! It is sad for me to say this — how many people know or realize that most of the findings published in the medical journals are biased and false?

On the other side of the fence are the alternative healers. Many think of them as just quacks — fly by night, snake oil peddlers!

CA Care has been around for more than two decades and we have helped thousands of cancer patients. Go to our website, https://cancercaremalaysia.com/cancer-story/ and read for yourself all those cases we documented. Common sense will tell you that if we are not effective, we would not last that long and we would not be able to write those case studies.

  1. Death with dignity.

Death is a taboo subject for many patients. But in CA Care, I spoke to patients freely about death. All of us have to die one day. Birth ends with death. Accept that death is a certainty which no one can escape

But you don’t have to die yet after being diagnosed with cancer. I have learned this form my patients — sometimes their spouses, who did not have cancer, die before them!

At CA Care we teach patients to live one day at a time, and learn how to accept things with grace. Even if we cannot cure cancer, it is okay. No use fighting it because we cannot win the war!  But remember this, When we are still alive, it is important that we live a happy, pain-free life. If you can eat, can sleep, can move around freely — what else do you want? Learn to appreciate and be grateful for every blessing that come your way! Unfortunately, some cancer patients cannot see that — they just want to be cured and then quickly go back to their old lifestyle again!

Yes, it is “not illogical” for some advanced cancer patients to refuse treatment that may prolong life but will not cure them. I fully agree. This is just good common sense. Dr. Wachter also come to a similar conclusion, sadly, for some patients, a cure will prove elusive. As we continue to chase progress in cancer, let’s be sure that we don’t rob dying patients of a smaller, more subtle miracle: a death with dignity and grace, relatively free from pain and discomfort.

Let me end this discussion by sharing with you an email which I just received a few hours ago. This email was written by a daughter of our patient who had nose cancer (NPC). He refused the standard medical treatments — radiation and chemo. It has been some years since he came to see us and was on our CA Care Therapy.

Hello Doc Chris,

I wish this email makes your day more fulfilled and accomplished.

My father received the herbs a week ago. Prior to that, his swollen neck was really huge. During my holiday there (in the Philippines), we had beach outing and outside activities most of the time. After that, he complained of severe pain at night especially right after when he went swimming at the pool for more than 2 hours. It must be from the chlorine and the hot weather. 

His hearings are getting worse every day that I had to go to the ENT clinic to get hearing aids for him. Unfortunately, they are very expensive … so we had to wait till we can save up some cash. 

Yesterday, my mom sent me a message that after taking the new herb (SAP) for a week now, his hearings started to come back. He said that he could even hear the running water from far as if he was wearing a hearing aid. His swollen neck is getting smaller as well.

Thank you for introducing this medicine. I guess if this continues, we don’t need hearing aids anymore. I’m always grateful to you and your wife’s hard work and genuine care for all your patients.

Sincerely,  Jazz 

I wish those involved with cancer patients can learn something from this discussion!

 

Fixing Frequent Urination Problems

Tom is a 76-year-old American. He found Penang a lovely place and decided to live here temporarily!

One day in March 2017, Tom came to CA Care to ask for help. One of his problem is frequent urination. For umpteen years (he could remember how many!) he had been deprived of a good sleep having to wake up 3 to 4 times a night to urinate. Generally his routine was to go to bed at about 11 p.m. Then every one to two hours he had to wake up to go to the toilet. With such disturbed sleep he woke up the next day “exhausted” feeling “terrible”.

Tom said, for him to go to bed is something he did not look forward to because he knew what would come after that!

Tom had been living with this problem for years. I asked him: Did you go to someone for help? Tom replied, No.

Tom explained that he had been to the doctor who examined him for prostate problem. No, he did not like the way the medical people treated him! So for years he just let it be.

When Tom presented me with this problem, I suggested that Tom took our herbal tea, A-Kid-6 which is formulated for such a problem. I also warned Tom that the taste of the tea is bitter and awful. Not many non-Orientals could tolerate that. Also, he can just try the herbs for a week or two and see what happens.

Tom did exactly that.

Tom updated me of his progress via e-mail. Below is what he wrote:

Day 4 on herbs

IT IS WORKING !!!  I ONLY GOT UP TWICE LAST NIGHT AND SLEPT FROM 10:30 PM UNTIL 6:30 AM.  I cannot remember the last time I slept 8 hours.  Fantastic and I feel much better this morning.

Day 5:

Unbelievable !  I … went to bed at 9:30 PM.  Had to get up twice and then slept until 7:30 AM.  Fantastic.  10 hours sleep.  I do not think I have had 10 hours sleep in the last 40 years.

Day 10:

Sleep and up to urinate has been up and down.  Last night was ok. Got 8 hours but up 3 times. Had a couple of nights last week that were bad again.  Little sleep and up 4 to 5 times.

Day 11:

Did you pray for me last night? I slept about 7.5 hours BUT ONLY HAD TO GET UP ONE TIME !

Day 12:

Good news.  Last night I got 8 hours sleep and only got up 1 time !  Thank you !!!

Tom shared his story in this video below.

Comments

Thank you Tom for sharing your story!

I am sure there are many others out there who have problems like Tom. But I hope they are not like Tom — having to suffer for years and years!

From this story, I hope you know that such problem can be easily fixed! And it can be fixed cheaply too! Come to CA Care and you don’t have to pay for any consultation fee. As for the A-Kid-6 herbal tea it is less than RM100 (about USD 22.00) for two weeks.

But to be fair, there is no guarantee that this herbal tea can definitely solve your problem although we know that this herbal tea did help many others like Tom.

When I prescribed A-Kid-6 to patients, one thing I always remember is how I learned to solve this problem. After all I only work with cancer, not urination problem. However, there are many cancer patients who presented with frequent urination problems.

Some years ago, Dr.  Adrian Larsen, President of Miridia Technology Inc., USA, donated us a unit of AcuGraph 3 for our research at CA Care. We used this tool to evaluate the energy balance of various organs in the body.  From this tool, we have come to learn that frequent urination could be the result of low or split bladder median (see: https://ejtcm.com/2011/03/25/low-or-split-bladder-meridian-may-result-in-frequent-urination/). Herbal tea like A-Kid-6 has been shown to restore the bladder energy.

CA Care is ever grateful to Dr. Larsen for his generosity. I told Tom, At least now I have a chance to help his fellow American! Dr. Larsen should know this!

 

 

 

 

 

Holistic Healing of Cancer — Sharing our 20 years of experience

Forty-three Video Clips on Workshop by Chris Teo, organised by CanSurvivepc-workshop_0002

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Part 1 Introduction — We are not anti doctors: http://youtu.be/e2UbMA5jRSM?a

Part 2: Medicine is broken: http://youtu.be/qv603Vw8PWw?a

Part 3: Empower yourself Part 1: http://youtu.be/Fz7jOBKyIS8?a

4  Empower yourself Part 2: http://youtu.be/hrBD582tuLA?a

5  Empower yourself Part 3: http://youtu.be/YrVNMzz_sdU?a

Part 4: Treating the Incurable: http://youtu.be/O1c4Ms5lA2w?a

7  You don’t have to die if you don’t do chemo: http://youtu.be/lfcXLyIW978?a

8  More harm than good: http://youtu.be/FaTslmXFLlc?a

9  Prolong life or prolong misery: http://youtu.be/_MIL-a0rH-Y?a

10 Making sense of what is going on: http://youtu.be/xomIZWjcBIc?a

Part 5: Is doing nothing an option?: http://youtu.be/n8bW9K750Gs?a

Part 6: Mission of CA Care & Sharing of Information: http://youtu.be/W2_sENlOmsU?a

13  Miraculous Healing: http://youtu.be/AqkXlmmOM9k?a

14  More Healing Stories: http://youtu.be/fELj9ZqjJDI?a

15  Non cancer problems: http://youtu.be/ubrAobuOGdI?a

16  The CA Care Therapy: http://youtu.be/7E8o4u0nqB8?a

17  Challenges to Healing: http://youtu.be/PD4YcKk2wNM?a

18  Healing Journey of a Patient: http://youtu.be/iZlPDWRZ0UY?a

19  Cancer is about YOU — Change!: http://youtu.be/tlqprwXeo34?a

20 Death — the ultimate healing: http://youtu.be/gn2rat7NkVQ?a

21 Gratitude: http://youtu.be/3eqth3jYfdU?a

A Time to Share

1 Truth from different perspectives: http://youtu.be/k0GNsY4nJoc?a

2  My first patient did well on herbs: http://youtu.be/bnqZUzo0Blw?a

3  I am glad that I am still alive: http://youtu.be/1mR1myzDXG4?a

4  I outlived my two doctors: http://youtu.be/BV0NSiTTrzs?a

5  Colon-Liver Cancer: Twelve years — I am healthy and full of energy: http://youtu.be/KcCHJeMSeWg?a

6  No chemo for me: http://youtu.be/6RsVSUCAtWI?a

7  I want to be beautiful when I die. But with herbs and good diet I am still alive and healthy: http://youtu.be/cOXBIIZlXLA?a

Question Time

1  Belief & Commitment: http://youtu.be/Fxf2STFwELM?a

2  His kidney function improved. Her blood pressure back to normal: http://youtu.be/qkHvK8pnaF0?a

3  Health is your responsibility: http://youtu.be/pdKGzGj_bqw?a

4  Sharing: http://youtu.be/4NigjKmPzi4?a

5  Diet and no durian: http://youtu.be/YiZE_kuVRlw?a

6  Cost of CA Care Therapy: http://youtu.be/gqVtuJQhdZw?a

7  Bringing herbs overseas: http://youtu.be/jbn2ObhVRcw?a

8  He married his doctor: http://youtu.be/ZG9jg1kmkz4?a

9  Would you go for surgery and chemotherapy again?: http://youtu.be/SLxnCphO55s?a

10  Our experience with kidney tumour: http://youtu.be/LSdF3CgTAe0?a

11  Flow with life: http://youtu.be/eg4njhQHZHY?a

12  Genetic or are you creating your own cancer?: http://youtu.be/6csebTHhHEk?a

13  Should I go for surgery?: http://youtu.be/nKf-gE2NosE?a

14  Healing crisis: http://youtu.be/ext7r29Zmzw?a

15  Kidney failure — Go see your doctor: http://youtu.be/-HlT5S9kTV0?a

 

 

We need to change behaviours, not write more prescriptions!

From: Reimagining primary care in an era of chronic diseases — Jeremy Lim, October 4, 2016. http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/reimagining-primary-care-in-an-era-of-chronic-diseases-jeremy-lim#sthash.StJwo84s.dpuf

Doctors’ clinics can often be sterile environments where patients occupy the waiting time reading old magazines, spend mere minutes with their physicians …. Not at Iora Health, a clinic with yoga, books and cooking classes, and where patients get as much as 90 minutes of consultation time each visit.

It is one of a small but growing number of clinics around the world that is trying to do primary care differently in an age of chronic diseases — by targeting behaviours.

Iora Health, a primary care group with 34 centres across the United States, and rapidly growing, eschews the traditional clinic set-up and physician-consult-based model, offering patients a homely environment that exudes warmth, security and perhaps even a sense of family.

…. Today’s patients tend to have diseases like diabetes, heart failure and chronic lung disease, explained founder Dr Rushika Fernandopulle, a Harvard-trained physician. So what matters are behaviours that are, in turn, influenced by attitudes and beliefs.

Medicines are only one part of the treatment plan.

“Managing a chronic condition is a time-consuming and costly endeavour,” Livongo says on its website, adding that it “reduces that burden” by adopting the latest technologies and behaviour sciences insights, combined into a mixture of behavioural nudges and human coaching delivered digitally. According to founder Glenn Tullman, patients want to know just enough to live full lives despite their illnesses. He compares Livongo with modern devices such as smartphones that the average person can use with minimal or no training.

At home, Holmusk, a Singapore-incorporated health data analytics company with operations in Singapore and the US, estimates that only a third of chronic disease management success is decided by medicine. For the remaining two-thirds, success can be attributed to changes in behaviour. Using insights garnered from patient clinical and lifestyle data, Holmusk is rolling out programmes for mental health and diabetes.

In this era of chronic diseases, we need to change behaviours, not write more prescriptions.

What Iora, South Somerset, Livongo, Holmusk and other innovators are challenging us to do is to embrace a versatile, truly patient-centric health system that customises and adapts to what patients want and need to live long, healthy lives. — TODAY

* Dr Jeremy Lim is a partner in Oliver Wyman, the global consultancy and leads its Asian healthcare practice.

From God’s Awesome Natural Pharmacy — papaya leaf for stubborn high fever!

10 pm Friday 4 March 2016

Im and I were on the Jet Star heading for Singapore. It was sort of an emergency trip. Albert, our “going-to-be-a-medical-doctor-son” was down with a painful throat infection and was running a stubborn, high fever — body temperature  at 39oC and above,

At such a high body temperature Albert was like a zombie — terribly sick and not able to do a thing all day. In fact after a dose of Panadol or Ibuprofen the high temperature subsided a little (down to 38oC or 38.6oC) for a while only to come back again. This  had been going for a few days.

When he first got the sore throat, we never thought it was a big deal — just see a doctor and it will be done! But it was not to be. Albert had seen the clinic doctors twice and was given antibiotics and painkiller. Unfortunately these did not work. His temperature persisted and his sore throat was getting worse — his neck appeared swollen.

The normal body temperature is 37oC plus minus 0.6 oC. If your body is running on a high temperature for days this could be very damaging. Like running an overheated car engine, it is a matter of time when everything just shut down — stalled.

I remember what our patients told us some years ago..

  • A husband of one cancer patient had high temperature. No one thought much about it and after three days, he just died!
  • A husband of another patient took Panadol for his high temperature. Then he went to sleep hoping the problem would go away. He never woke up again.

What are we going to do now?

We took time to calm down and planned our strategy. We came up with two options:

  1. We shall fly to Singapore immediately with a supply of Sore Throat tea, Appetite & Fever tea and 6 papaya leaves. Albert shall take these teas immediately. If these teas do not help by the afternoon of the next day, then we have NO choice but to bring Albert to the hospital (no use consulting the GPs anymore). A tall order indeed. The cut-off point is 12 hours for the herbs to show their effects!
  2. We thought the throat infection was the cause of his persistent high fever. Since oral medical did not work, probably the better option is an infusion with a strong antibiotic. So the only way is to get admitted into a hospital in Singapore or immediately fly Albert home and get him into a hospital in Penang.

12 mid-night Friday 4 March

We arrived at Albert’s apartment at mid-night. Yes, his temperature was high and he was drained of energy, preferring to just lie down unable to do anything for himself! And he is living alone.

Without wasting any more time, these were what we did:

1) We took the three young papaya leaves (that we plucked from our tree in Penang) and blended them with a bit of water. And Albert drank it all down. Ooh, indeed very bitter!

2) Then without wasting time, Im started to boil 6 tablespoonful of Sore Throat tea. After about half an hour it was done. Albert took a cup of this tea.

1 Teas

Healing Process Started

About half an hour later, Albert felt better! We were hopeful and encouraged. Praise God!

We all went to bed. Throughout the night, Albert started to sweat profusely. He had to change his shirt twice. The mattress was soaking wet like someone had poured water on it. The next morning Albert woke up and his temperature was 37 oC — normal, the high fever was gone!

After bowel movements, Albert felt even much better but still weak. For the past few days, he had been having a little diarrhoea (due to the antibiotic that he was taking??). Now, after the herbs, his stools were well formed — normal!

To be on the safe side, Albert took another glass of boiled papaya leaf tea on Saturday morning. As said earlier, we also brought along from Penang, 3 matured, papaya leaves. We cut the leaf into small pieces and boil with plain water. Wah, this concoction was difficult to drink! Very bitter! Worse than the juice of the young shoots.

12.00 noon Saturday 5 March

We, as a family, went out for lunch at a near-by market place. By that time, we were more than hopeful that we need not go to the hospital anymore! Nevertheless with the heat, Albert felt a bit tired after the walk and came back to rest. Then, he took another cup of Sore Throat tea.

Evening Saturday 5 February

Albert’s temperature was at 37.5C and he did not have much appetite. He did not eat much for the past few days. We cut up  half a papaya leaf (2 lobes) and boiled it with 4 tablespoonful of Appetite & Fever tea.

The family had a good dinner. Albert was back to normal. He started to sit in front of the computer to study for his exams. He had missed classes and exams for almost a week and he had a lot to catch up. Good luck son!

12 noon Sunday 6 March

The family had lunch together and Im and I were packed to fly home. Thank God, our mission accomplished! Indeed, this morning, we saw Albert back to normal — unlike the sick and tired person he was some 36 hours ago! His sore throat did not bother him anymore and the swelling in the neck was gone!

Comments

For the past 20 years, patients came back to tell us that the herbs did help them. We know that herbs do help our cancer patients. We also know that our Sore Throat tea is extremely effective. We also know that papaya leaf is good for putting down high body temperature. For years we have been telling patients with dengue fever to take papaya leaf. And many who did got well after that.

When we flew to Singapore that night, we were full of hope and we know that God will bless us in His own way.

But we do not wish to take things for granted. So we had a back-up plan. If for any reason the herbs don’t work — Albert needs to go to the hospital and ask for help. That has always been our stand at CA Care. And we were ready for that eventuality.

As it turned out we did not have to do that, Indeed we remain grateful to God for this blessing.

Indeed the effect of papaya leaf as outlined above is very, very dramatic! Some people may not want to believe this story. Some people would argue that there is no science or research done to substantiate what we have written — Ah, another blooney story!  For all that you know, it was just luck — fluke shot that Albert got well!

We don’t need to convince the skeptics. If you want to know the real science of it, let’s not waste time debating — get on to work on this and see what is it in the papaya leaf that has such healing properties. For those who cannot do the research, perhaps it would be a good idea to just take time and learn how to grow a papaya tree in your backyard. One day who knows you may need the leaf of this wonderful plant when medical drugs fail you!

Here are the pictures of our two papaya trees from where we took the leaves. For your information we grow many papaya trees around our house.

2 Papaya leaf

 

 

 

Remove your healthy uterus and ovaries to prevent cancer, anyone?

Mei (not real name) came to see us on behalf of her sister who has just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Mei also told us that her mother died of the same cancer many years ago. That put Mei in a very precarious position — would she end up having the same problem? After all, according to the doctor this evil trait runs in the family! I told her, No!

Mei is only 40 years old. But to her, the future is rather scary. She went to see a gynaecologist  who did a Pap Smear and examined her. Everything was normal. But due to her family history, the doctor suggested that Mei remove her healthy ovaries as a preventive measure!

During our conversation we thought Mei has PMS (premenstrual syndrome) problems which can be easily taken care of by taking PMS pill and Utero-Ovary tea.

If you say “YES” to many of the questions below, the chances are you have PMS problems.

  1. Do you have blood clots in the menstural discharge?
  2. Do you suffer any of the following before the periods?
  • Breast pain / sensitive?
  • Backache?
  • Bloatedness of the stomach?
  • Mood swing?
  • Craving for certain food (e.g. chocolate, sour food, etc.)

Listen to this video

Okay ladies, do you want to take the Angelina Jolie’s pathway? Have all your female organs removed because you are afraid of getting breast or uterine/ovarian cancer.

The following are some medical terminologies you may come across relating to the removal of the female reproductive organs.

  • Hysterectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the uterus.
  • Oophorectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one or both of your ovaries.
  • Bilateral Salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) refers to the surgical removal of both ovaries and the tubes.
  • Radical hysterectomy refers to the excision of the uterus en bloc with the upper one-third to one-half of the vagina. The surgeon usually also performs a bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection. Removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes is not part of a radical hysterectomy; they may be preserved if clinically appropriate.
  • TAH/BSO means total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomoy.

Angelina Jolie removes female organs after cancer scare

http://www.app.com/story/life/family/parenting/shari-puterman/2015/03/26/angelina-jolie-less-woman-hotter-ever/70513236/

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/24/angelina-jolie-goes-public-on-decision-to-remove-her-ovaries

 Why I disagree with Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy decision 

  • When I heard about her double mastectomy, my heart sank for her because I’m sure she was paralyzed by fear. After all, nobody wants to hear the “C” word leave their doctor’s lips. Her decision was based on the doctors she trusts, but I disagree with it. She’s supposedly removing her ovaries next.
  • Preventive breast removal is a disturbingly popular trend that is being hailed as a reasonable, if not celebrated, choice. Angelina’s story makes me admire Suzanne Somers even more. She was diagnosed with breast cancer years ago and was forced to make a life or death decision. She chose well. The author of “Bombshell” still thrives today and is as vivacious as her old character of Chrissy from TV’s “Three’s Company.”
  • Mastectomies and breast implantation generate trillions of dollars for surgeons, radiologists, hospitals, pharmacies and drug companies. Lifestyle factors, diet, persistent organic pollutants, vitamin or mineral deficiencies and your body’s innate ability to detoxify poisons all play a role in developing cancer.
  • Common sense will tell you that if remove your breasts, or ovaries, or whatever … you’re still a delicious host to cancer in your lungs, uterus, pancreas, wherever.
  • It’s a dangerous trend. Don’t remove body parts to prevent cancer, instead make your body an inhospitable host!

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-05-23/health/fl-suzy-cohen-052613-20130523_1_breast-cancer-brca-1-mastectomy 

Removal of Ovaries, Fallopian Tubes Wrong Anticancer Option for Most 

  • Removing the ovaries triggers menopause and all of the symptoms that come with it. For women under 45, removing the ovaries can also result in bone thinning and increased risk of heart disease because of reduced estrogen levels. Women who have the procedure often have to undergo hormone therapy to reduce these effects. And although having a salpingo-oophorectomy does reduce the risk of developing cancer, it does not remove it completely. 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/removal-of-ovaries-fallopian-tubes-wrong-anticancer-option-for-most/ 

Below are quotations from books written on hysterectomy. They can shed some light on the problems facing women today. 

In What Doctors Don’t Tell You, Lynne McTaggart wrote:

  • If you are a woman in America, you’ve got a one in three chance of losing your womb by the time you’re 60.
  • Hysterectomy outranks all others when it comes to the most unnecessary of surgical procedures.
  • Three-quarters of all hysterectomies are performed on women under 50 for highly dubious reasons.
  • In abdominal hysterectomies, side-effects can occur in more than 40 percent of operations. These side-effects include bowel problems, incontinence, risk of fatal blood clot.
  • One-third to nearly one-half of all women report a decrease in sexual response.
  • If a woman’s ovaries are removed at the same time, she will experience severe menopausal symptoms.

In The Hysterectomy Hoax, Dr. Stanley West, M.D.; wrote:

  • More than 90 percent of hysterectomies are unnecessary.
  • Only 10 percent of all hysterectomies are done for cancer. Unless you have cancer, it is unlikely that you need a hysterectomy.
  • Hysterectomy can have long-lasting physical, emotional, and sexual consequences that may undermine your health and well-being.
  • It is no secret that many women develop serious health problems after hysterectomy. Depression, fatigue, urinary disorders, joint aches and pains, and unwelcome changes in sexual desire are the most common complaints.
  • No man would agree to have his sexual and reproductive organs removed for anything short of life-threatening illness.
  • The fact that women allowed this to happen (to themselves) attest to their lack of knowledge about the consequences of hysterectomy and about the availability of alternatives to surgery.
  • I understand why doctors want to perform hysterectomies better than I understand why women agree to them.
  • Hysterectomy is a relatively easy operation. It does not require the surgical finesse need to perform … many of the other alternative procedures. Many gynecologists simply do not have the experience to do all of the other operations that can be substituted for hysterectomy when surgery is needed.
  • Gynecologists are surgeons. We make our living by performing operations. If hysterectomy is the operation a surgeon knows best, it is the one he or she will recommend and perform most often.
  • Clearly, many doctors have an economic incentive to recommending hysterectomy.
  • Your reproductive system is a beautifully crafted apparatus powered by the ebbs and flows of a variety of hormones.
  • It is time for women to recognize hysterectomy for the threat it is and to refuse to have the surgery except when their lives are at stake.

(Who is this author, Dr. Stanley West? He wrote: At this point, you must be wondering who I am and why I am opposed to hysterectomy. I am a gynecologist … chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at St. Vincent’s Hospital, one of New York’s most prestigious medical institutions … I have helped hundreds of women avoid hysterectomy. I didn’t set out to crusade again hysterectomy. In medical school, I believe what I was taught: that hysterectomy is good for women. Then and now, prevailing medical wisdom holds that the uterus is a disposable organ that serves no useful purpose once a woman has all the children she wants. What’s more, it is regarded as something of a nuisance.)

In Sex, Lies & the Truth About Uterine Fibroids, the author Carla Dionne asked: Do physicians lie to their patients? Some do. Most don’t. Some aren’t aware that incomplete information is construed as a “lie” by their patients. Some simply don’t keep up-to-date on the latest medical information.

 

 

 

Ten ways how doctors in India cheat patients

Someone in India sent us the link to this article. Thanks for sharing!

A renowned physician Dr B M Hegde has shown how a large number of doctors working in five-star hospitals shortchange  patients in order to keep their management happy and enrich their own pockets.

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Prof. B. M. Hegde, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPG, FRCPI, FACC, FAMS. Padma Bhushan Awardee 2010.Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes, Chairman, State Health Society’s Expert Committee, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.Former Prof. Cardiology, The Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London, Affiliate Prof. of Human Health, Northern Colorado University, Retd. Vice Chancellor, Manipal University, “Manjunath”Pais Hills, Bejai. MANGALORE-575004. India.

He said:

  • To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Surgeons like to solve medical problems by cutting, just as physicians first seek solutions with drugs. So, if you take your medical problem to a surgeon first, the chances are that you will unnecessarily end up on the operation table. Instead, please go to an ordinary GP first.

Read more …  http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/-ways-how-doctors-in-india-loot-patients-17628.html

1)      40-60% kickbacks for lab tests.
When a doctor (whether family doctor / general physician, consultant or surgeon) prescribes tests – pathology, radiology, X-rays, MRIs etc. – the laboratory conducting those tests gives commissions. In South and Central Mumbai — 40%. In the suburbs north of Bandra — a whopping 60 per cent! He probably earns a lot more in this way than the consulting fees that you pay.

2)      30-40% for referring to consultants, specialists & surgeons.
When your friendly GP refers you to a specialist or surgeon, he gets 30-40%.

3)      30-40% of total hospital charges.
If the GP or consultant recommends hospitalization, he will receive kickback from the private nursing home as a percentage of all charges including ICU, bed, nursing care, surgery.

4)      Sink tests.
Some tests prescribed by doctors are not needed. They are there to inflate bills and commissions. The pathology lab understands what is unnecessary. These are called “sink tests”; blood, urine, stool samples collected will be thrown.

5)      Admitting the patient to “keep him under observation”.
People go to cardiologists feeling unwell and anxious. Most of them aren’t really having a heart attack, and cardiologists and family doctors are well aware of this. They admit such safe patients, put them on a saline drip with mild sedation, and send them home after 3-4 days after charging them a fat amount for ICU, bed charges, visiting doctors fees.

6)      ICU minus intensive care.
Nursing homes all over the suburbs are run by doctor couples or as one-man-shows. In such places, nurses and ward boys are 10th class drop-outs in ill-fitting uniforms and bare feet. These “nurses” sit at the reception counter, give injections and saline drips, perform ECGs, apply dressings and change bandages, and assist in the operation theatre. At night, they even sit outside the Intensive Care Units; there is no resident doctor. In case of a crisis, the doctor — who usually lives in the same building — will turn up after 20 minutes, after this nurse calls him. Such ICUs admit safe patients to fill up beds. Genuine patients who require emergency care are sent elsewhere to hospitals having a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) round-the-clock.

7)      Unnecessary caesarean surgeries and hysterectomies.
Many surgical procedures are done to keep the cash register ringing. Caesarean deliveries and hysterectomy (removal of uterus) are high on the list. While the woman with labour -pains is screaming and panicking, the obstetrician who gently suggests that caesarean is best seems like an angel sent by God! Menopausal women experience bodily changes that make them nervous and gullible. They can be frightened by words like ” cysts” and “fibroids” that are in almost every normal woman’s radiology reports. When a gynaecologist gently suggests womb removal “as a precaution”, most women and their husbands agree without a second’s thought.

8)      Cosmetic surgery advertized through newspapers.
Liposuction and plastic surgery are not minor procedures. Some are life-threateningly major. But advertisements make them appear as easy as facials and waxing. The Indian medical council has strict rules against such  misrepresentation. But nobody is interested in taking action.

9)       Indirect kickbacks from doctors to prestigious hospitals.
To be on the panel of a prestigious hospital, there is give-and-take involved. The hospital expects the doctor to refer many patients for hospital admission. If he fails to send a certain number of patients, he is quietly dumped. And so he likes to admit patients even when there is no need.

10)  “Emergency surgery” on dead body.
If a surgeon hurriedly wheels your patient from the Intensive Care Unit to the operation theatre, refuses to let you go inside and see him, and wants your signature on the consent form for “an emergency operation to save his life”, it is likely that your patient is already dead. The “emergency operation” is for inflating the bill; if you agree to it, the surgeon will come out 15 minutes later and report that your patient died on the operation table. And then, when you take  delivery of the dead body, you will pay OT charges, anaesthesiologist’s charges, blah-blah-Doctors are humans too. You can’t trust them blindly.

Related articles:

On top of consultation fee, she had to pay RM1,700 to the oncologist —  referral fee for radiation! https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2015/07/19/rm-2830-lost-for-not-wanting-to-proceed-with-radiotherapy/

What Doctors Don’t Get to Study in Medical School by Professor B.M. Hegde

https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2014/05/08/what-doctors-dont-get-to-study-in-medical-school/

 

 

 

What really matters at the end of life

At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, love.

BJ Miller is a palliative care physician at Zen Hospice Project. Listen to what he has to say.

Gist of what Dr Miller said:

  • The American health care system has more than its fair share of dysfunction … I’m a physician … a hospice and palliative medicine doc, so I’ve seen care from both sides. And believe me: almost everyone who goes into healthcare really means well — truly. But we who work in it are also unwitting agents for a system that too often does not serve.
  • Healthcare was designed with diseases, not people, at its center. Which is to say … it was badly designed. And nowhere are the effects of bad design more heartbreaking … than at the end of life.
  • For most people, the scariest thing about death isn’t being dead, it’s dying, suffering.
  • It can be very helpful to tease out suffering which is necessary as it is, from suffering we can change.
  • The former is a natural, essential part of life, part of the deal, and to this we are called to make space, adjust, grow. It can be really good to realize forces larger than ourselves. They bring proportionality, like a cosmic right-sizing.
  • After my limbs were gone, that loss, for example, became fact, fixed — necessarily part of my life, and I learned that I could no more reject this fact than reject myself. It took me a while, but I learned it eventually.
  • Another great thing about necessary suffering is that it is the very thing that unites caregiver and care receiver — human beings. This, we are finally realizing, is where healing happens. Yes, compassion — suffering together.
  • On the other hand, so much of the suffering is unnecessary, invented. It serves no good purpose. But the good news is, since this brand of suffering is made up … we can change it.
  • How we die is indeed something we can affect. Making the system sensitive to this fundamental distinction between necessary and unnecessary suffering … our role as caregivers, as people who care, is to relieve suffering — not add to the pile.
  • Palliative care — a very important field but poorly understood — it is not limited to end of life care. It is not limited to hospice. It’s simply about comfort and living well at any stage. So please know that you don’t have to be dying anytime soon to benefit from palliative care.
  • So much of what we’re talking about today is a shift in perspective. Perspective … turning anguish into a flower.
  • After my accident, when I went back to college, I changed my major to art history. Studying visual art, I figured I’d learn something about how to see — a really potent lesson for a kid who couldn’t change so much of what he was seeing.
  • In my work over the years, I’ve known many people who were ready to go, ready to die. Not because they had found some final peace or transcendence, but because they were so repulsed by what their lives had become — in a word, cut off, or ugly.
  • We know, from research what’s most important to people who are closer to death: comfort; feeling unburdened and unburdening to those they love; existential peace; and a sense of wonderment and spirituality.
  • We need to … set our sights on well-being, so that life and health and healthcare can become about making life more wonderful, rather than just less horrible.
  • I am asking that we make space — physical, psychic room, to allow life to play itself all the way out — aging and dying can become a process of crescendo through to the end. We can’t solve for death.

Comments

We are indeed fortunate to have a medical doctor to share his thoughts about death and dying. Many terminally ill cancer patients come to us hoping to find a “miracle” — hoping us to “cure” their cancer. Don’t be misled, we cannot cure your cancer! To make your life a bit better, may be. As Dr. Miller said, our role as caregivers, as people who care, is to relieve suffering — not add to the pile. Not to add more  man-made misery to the unnecessary suffering.

We always tell patients who come to us:

Be committed to your healing, change your lifestyle and diet and take the herbs. Go home and find peace with your Creator. If you can eat, can sleep, can move about and have no pain — then be grateful for what you are. When it is time to go, “go home” in peace. 

After hearing these words, gladly some patients fully agree with us. Perhaps, for some, the healing process starts if they realise and learn to “accept” the reality of the situation they are in.

TN was a 65-year old lady with lung cancer that had spread to her bones and brain. She had 5 times radiation to her spine and ribs (end of October to early November 2013), 5 times radiation to her brain (January 2015) and another 5 times radiation to her spine, hip and brain in April 2015.

In addition she took Tarceva, starting 15 November 2013 and  stopped in April 2015. The medication cost about RM 8,000 / month. She suffered dry skin and had a black spot on her nose after taking this medication (picture below).

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The oncologist recommended chemotherapy since Tarceva was no longer effective. TN and her family decided not to go for chemotherapy as recommended by her oncologist. They came to seek our help in May 2015. She presented with constipation, breathlessness when walking, swelling of both legs and difficulty in sleeping (had to take sleeping pill). TN was prescribed some herbs and told to change her diet.

The following are two follow up e-mails from  her daughter.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My mom has taken the capsules & herbal teas for a week. Briefly here is her condition:

  1. She has regained some strength – she can walk longer.  Previously she felt breathless after 3 steps of walking.
  2. Appetite slightly improved. (Thanks to the variety of recipes from your wife’s cookbook)
  3. However she finds it difficult to speak more now due to shortness of breath.  Her speech sometimes slur.
  4. Still unable sleep well at night, feel tightness/heaviness in the chest.
  5. No constipation – she passed motion after drinking the constipation tea for three days (3 times).
  6. Stomach & feet remain bloated and swollen.

I have brought my mom to see the oncologist.  This is a follow up visit after the last radiotherapy session on 20 Apr.  The current X-Ray report is unfavourable.  She has a lot of fluid in her lung as compared to the previous X-ray. Oncologist recommended to flush out the fluid from the lung and this to be followed by pluerodesis. This is to give my mom some relief. I am quite concern of this and unsure if this will be beneficial to my mom.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My mother was discharged from hospital on Monday (25.5.15).

  1. The amount of fluids drained from her left lung is about 1.2 litres.  The fluids were mixed with blood.   We were informed by the doctor that was due to the bleeding from the tumour at her lung.
  2. In addition her left lung has also collapsed due to the fluids.  Thus, she is still experiencing shortness of breath when she walks far.
  3. From the x-ray reports, it was found that some of the bones at the spine area have became brittle (osteoporosis).  My mother was give 1 injection of XGEVA to relieve her pain.

Sadly, TN died not long after this. And this is the letter we received from her daughter.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My family and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your kindness and efforts to help my beloved mother in her journey of cancer illness.

My beloved mother has passed away 2 weeks ago peacefully. I believe the herbal teas . medicinal herbs prescribed by your had helped a lot in making her illness less painful and rough.

Once again thank you for everything you did for my later beloved mother.

Best regards. Daughter of late Mdm TN.

Datukn Haji A was playing golf when he suddenly felt severe abdominal pain.  Subsequent medical check-up showed cancer in the pancreas that had spread extensively to his liver. The doctor told him to go home… no surgery or chemotherapy. Not knowing what to do, Datuk and his family flew to seek our help. Datuk told us, “I understand. The doctor indirectly told me to go home and wait to die.” He presented with severe pains. Indeed his condition was beyond “help.” Anyway, we prescribed him some herbs – at least to lessen his suffering.

The following are some e-mails that his wife wrote:

Fri, Aug 7, 2015

Dear Prof,

My husband hs been in great pain at his tummy & lower back especially in the evening & night till 4a.m. this morning.

This morning he woke at 8a.m., pain reduced.  Now after the superfood pain again. It relieves when  taking gastrovit in warm water. Thank you.

Dear Prof,

My husband’s condition is better today. Less feeling of vomiting, less pain at his tummy & able to do more exercise.  Thank you.

Dear prof,

He is in great pain now. since last night on off pain. Ok. If he can’t bear I’ll give him hospital’s pain killer. He said he will try to bear it till he can’t. He always feel good after gastrovit. Thanks Prof.

Dear prof,

Suddenly he feel much less painful. Can read newspapers. Will this pain subsides after 2 weeks?

Dear Prof,

Of course 2nd week better than 1st week physically (rashes on skin disappear,  energy level better, no vomiting, etc.) except for the pain inside which we don’t know why?

1st week pain was at the tummy. now no more at tummy and had gone to the back and at the bowel area. The pain could be sharp at times. He said, this week energy is better than last week except for the pain.I hope it is not the cancer attacking. Good night.

Dear prof,

The pain is so great he can’t lie down to sleep. Terrible. Backache. So worry. Is this normal?

Good morning Prof,

Last night  was better. This morning pinggang & bowel area not painful but lower abdomen (below pusat) pain & urine not good. Stomach & lower back skin dry. Still Hiccup. What to do? Thank you.

Dear Prof,

He is admitted to hospital. Kaki bengkak & not able to urine (now fix a tube to drain out) & sakit at pinggang & lower tummy. Stomach bloated. Doc injected pethidine.

Yes Prof.  His condition not good.

Thank you.
Sep 6, 2015 at 5:30 AM

Dear Prof & wife,

My husband passed away peacefully on 4th Sept 2015 @ 3.30am. Thank you for everything. The herbs help me a lot at this difficult time. No more discomfort at the tummy area. Thank you.

Let us end this article by highlighting a report in the mass media. Take time to reflect on this.

Survey shows nearly half Malaysian cancer patients go broke a year after diagnosed

See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/survey-shows-nearly-half-malaysian-cancer-patients-broke-a-year-after-diagn#sthash.rBFWg066.dpuf

A  survey was done in eight Southeast Asian countries, and in Malaysia, had followed 1,662 cancer patients in public and private hospitals through their first year following diagnosis, with 44 per cent of them at 50 years old or younger.

The Asean Costs in Oncology (Action) study by Sydney-based George Institute for Global Health made the following conclusions:

  • 44 per cent of respondents would survive the cancer with no financial catastrophe, while another 11 per cent died.
  • Around 51 per cent will be pushed into “economic hardship” after a year from diagnosis, with 49 per cent of them already used up all their personal savings, while 39 per cent of all respondents could not pay for their medication.
  • Of the respondents, 35 per cent could not pay for medical consultation fees, 22 per cent could no longer pay for their rents and mortgages, while 19 per cent of them just discontinued treatments altogether.
  • “The cost of cancer does not only affect patients, but also their families and society as a whole,” the institute’s Prof Mark Woodward said.
  • The survey found that the median age where Malaysians are diagnosed with cancer is at 52 years, and subsequently died at 59.
  • “Cancer diagnosis at stage III or IV (late stage) makes treatment more costly, less likely to succeed, and reduces chances of survival.”
  • It also found that patients become financially vulnerable from two reasons: high out-of-pocket spending on loans, debts and depletion of assets; and high treatment and medical spending.
  • The Action report said even patients in public hospitals face high out-of-pocket spending for many health services such as chemotherapy, biopsy, biomarker testing, innovative cancer treatments, and palliative care.
  • UM’s cancer epidemiologist Prof Dr Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy said the average cost for breast cancer treatment could reach up to US$15,000 (RM65,000) per year, and those earning less than US$1,100 (RM4,700) per month would have “a very difficult time” to pay for it.

Read more  Are Medical Bills Killing Patients?https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2013/04/11/are-medical-bills-killing-patients/

Question to ask: How do you want your life to end? Leave a hole in the family’s bank account? Many patients from Indonesia had to sell their houses or land before they died. You have a choice!

 

 

 

Medicinal Mushrooms: Are they any good?

My grandmother used to collect mushrooms that grew out of the ground. She would cook it and I had a chance to eat it. That was when I was a young boy. I also learned that we just cannot collect and eat any mushroom from the wild — it could be poisonous and some people die because of eating the poisonous mushrooms. That was all that I knew about mushroom.

When I grew up and was teaching in the University, I made many visits to Japan. There I used to see people selling mushrooms by the roadside around the railway station. I was told this was expensive but delicious to eat. I did not buy it even though I cooked my own meals while in Japan.

After my retirement from the university, my wife and I visited China. On one of our visits, we went to the northwestern part of Fujian province. On the first night at Wuyishan we ate many kinds of mushroom for dinner. I was amazed how delicious these mushrooms were. As a botanist, I was even more amazed at the many species of mushrooms that they had to offer. In the shops, they sell many, many types of dried mushrooms. I was impressed and up to this day I said to myself, if I can, I would like to go back to Wuyishan again to take a closer look at these mushrooms.

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Last year, 2014, I crossed path with mushrooms again when my daughter brought home two books on mushroom; Medicinal Mushrooms by Christopher Hobbs and Healing Mushrooms by Georges Halpern.  Well, this time I was hooked! I spent many months reading about mushrooms and their medical benefits.

While surfing the internet, I stumbled into a website by Dr. Alla Kiroshka from New Zealand, http://medimushrooms.com/info/about-dr-alla_11  She has a very interesting personal experience to share with us.

Alla was born in Moldova, one of the ex-Soviet Union republics. In 1983, Alla became a qualified Medical Doctor (M.D.) specialising in Facial-Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Alla wrote:  

Despite my love for surgery and my skill in the operating room, fate had other plans for me. After a good few years of being in practice, I developed an allergic condition that prevented me from continuing my career as a surgeon. 

Though I had access to the very best medical doctors and resources, traditional medicine failed me. No one could pinpoint what exactly I was allergic to and none of the usual treatments were working. 

I became so ill that I spent most of my days in bed. I had tremendous difficulty walking and talking. It got to the point that I was finding it very hard to breathe. I could feel my life slowly slipping away from me. 

Then, a family friend – professor of medicine in China – learned of my condition and suggested that I try some medicinal mushrooms since traditional allergy treatments were not working for me. He recommended three varieties of medicinal mushrooms – Reishi, Maitake and Shiitake. 

Unfortunately, these products were not available in the Soviet Union, and it was not possible to obtain them via the usual channels. So, our family friend devised an innovative way to get them to me. 

One day I received a package from him in the mail. It was a 500-page medical reference book. When I opened it, what I initially assumed to be dust flew out of the pages. However, I quickly realised that this was no ordinary ‘dust’ – it was the powdered version of the recommended mushrooms. No instructions had come with the powdered medicinal mushrooms. So, I devised my own dosages and began taking them. 

Within 2 or 3 days, I started seeing small improvements – my appetite and strength were returning. By day 10, I was up and about. The results I was experiencing were nothing short of miraculous! Each day the symptoms were diminishing and eventually were totally gone. 

Today, many years later, medicinal mushrooms are a regular part of my health regimen. The benefits are so great that I have no desire to stop taking them. 

From Being Healed to Helping Others:  Rather than return to the operating theatre, I decided to pursue another lifelong dream of mine – having my own business. In 1990, I started one of the first privately owned medical enterprises (i.e. clinics) in Moldova. I began my research on medicinal mushrooms. Unfortunately, political restrictions continued to prevent me from being able to import them and share them with others. 

 I immigrated to South Africa, where I lived for over 15 years in magnificent Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain. It was there that I was finally able to realize my desire to help others experience the healing effects of medicinal mushrooms. After a visit to New Zealand in 2006, I fell in love with this beautiful country. So, in 2007, I moved there with my family …. opened Organic Health Centre in Christchurch where I offered health consultations and sold my line of medicinal mushrooms.

In life, I like to believe what others say or write about. But I would not swallow everything blindly. So for the past many days while writing this article, I have been eating many kinds of mushrooms! I made my own mushroom mix (powder) and added them into the fruit juice or soup for my breakfast. I cannot claim that they heal me of anything (because I am healthy!) but one thing I know they don’t kill me like what my grandmother told me some sixty years ago! Some patients are also taking them. Are they any good? We will know the answer very soon!

Let me quote what I have read.

In the introduction of his book, Christopher Hobbs wrote:

Mushrooms have been valued throughout the world as both food and medicine for thousands of years. Throughout the world, many people enjoy hunting for wild mushrooms, delighting in the variety of shapes, sizes and colours … In Japan, pushcart vendors on the streets still sell medicinal mushrooms to the average citizen who uses them to maintain health and protmote longevity. Some Japanese people have even been said to travel hundreds of miles in order to collect wild mushrooms. Likewise, for over 3,000 years the Chinese have used and revered many fungi (mushrooms) for their health giving properties, especially tonics for the immune system.

Georges Halpern, M.D., Ph.D. wrote in his book:

Many claims are made for medicinal mushrooms. Sometimes out of sheer enthusiasm and sometimes for commercial motives, authors make exagerated claims. A few of these claims border on the outlandish ….Throughout this book, I present scientific studies on medicinal mushrooms, their immune-modulating capabilities and their curative properties. Most of these studies were done in the East — in China, Korea and Japan. Western science has been slow to catch up to the benefits of medicinal mushrooms…. Some in the West have been quick to criticize scientific data from the East, but I believe that this criticism is unwarranted. No medicinal mushroom is cure-all and no mushroom can make the body unassailable to disease. What mushrooms can do is stimulate the immune response, giving a powerful boost to the functions of the body that are already in place for preventing and fighting disease. 

Mushrooms are excellent for your health ….Mushrooms can make you healthy in many different ways, but they do so chiefly by awakening the immune system and making it more alert…Mushrooms can promote good health by strengthening the immune system. Problems in the immune system come in two varieties. When the immune system is underactive, it make you susceptible to infections, cancer and other illness. When it is overactive, it may create allergies and autoimmune reactions. Autoimmune means the immune system is over stimulated and mistakenly attacks the body…. As more research has been conducted on medicinal mushrooms, it has become evident that some of them are immunoregulators, substances that can quiet or activate the immune system, depending on the particular circumstances.

In his book, Dr. Halpen presented fascinating facts and stories about healing mushrooms;

  1. Maitake or dancing mushroom. traditionally used in Japan as a tonic to boost the immune system and increase vitality … supposed to prevent cancer and high blood pressure…. ability to lower cholesterol levels. Beta-glucan from maitake may haveuse as an alternative therapy for prostate cancer. Maitake can help protect the liver against the effects of bad nutrition.
  2. Shiitake or forest mushroom. The Japanese Health & Welfare Ministry approved Lentinan (from shiitake) for treating many kinds of cancer. Lentinan triggers the production of T cells and natural killer cells. Lentinan is the third most widely prescribed anticancer drug in the world. LEM from shiitake is believed to be helpful against hepatitis B.
  3. Reishi or Lingzhi. This is the king of herbal medicines! Reishi is considered a tonic … used to treat a variety of ailments, including chronic fatigue syndrome and diabetes. It is believe to detoxify the liver and help cure hepatitis. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is used to treat asthma, gastric ulcers, insomnia, arthritis and bronchitis. In Chinese art, reishi is a symbol of good health and long life. Chinese women take reishi for beutification of the skin. In Japan it finds its way into hair loss formulas.  Reishi inhibits angiogenesis (development and growth of blood vessels that feed the cancer) and is used for prostate cancer.
  4. Cordyceps. The wonders of Cordyceps have been known in China for at least 1,000 years …. a national medicinal treasure … used to increase energy and vitality. It is used to treat liver diseases, cancer, angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmias, bronchial problems, anemia, jaundice, infertility and sexual dysfunction.
  5. Agaricus or Mushroom of the God. This mushroom is from Brazil. In clinical studies, it seems that Agaricus polysaccharides can inhibit tumors from growing besides stimulating the white blood cells to kill malignant cells. Preliminary findings also show that Agaricus has a potential in treating inflammatory and allergic conditions.
  6. Trametes or Turkey Tails. The Japanese have long used this mushroom as a folk remedy for cancer. In Japan this is made into an anticancer drugs called Krestin.The drug is almost always prescribed to cancer patients who have had a tumour removed and are undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is often prescribed for colon, lung, stomach and oesphageal cancer. In TCM it is used to treat lung infections, excess phlegm and hepatitis.
  7. Hericium or Lion’s Mane or Monkey Mushroom. In TCM it is prescribed for stomach disorders, ulcers and gastrointestinal ailments. Polyscaccharides from this mushroom may help against stomach, oesophageal and skin cancer. Extract of this mushroom has been shown to stimulate the immune system which in turn helped to control and reduce the burden of sarcoma tumour.
  8. Chaga. This is a mushroom from Poland, Siberia and North America. Chaga is a Russian folk remedy for cancers, including inoperable breast cancer, lip cancer, gastric, parotid gland, pulmonary, stomach, skin and rectal cancers and Hodgkin’s disease. Russians also use Chaga to treat ulcers and gastritis.

Below is a summary of what people say are the benefits of these mushrooms. Ask me if these mushrooms really have all the “magic” cures? I must admit, I don’t know. But I take the position that if you don’t try you will end up not knowing. If you don’t want to know, you will forever remain “under the coconut shell.”  If these mushrooms are not harmful or don’t kill you, then why not? I know one thing — I have been taking these mushrooms and I am still alive to write this article!

Documented to help in the following Cordyceps Reishi Maitake Agaricus
Anti-aging / longevity Yes Yes
Anti-inflammatory, decrease susceptibility to colds / flu Yes Yes
Anti-oxidant Yes Yes Yes
Circulatory problem Yes
Detoxification – chemical and heavy metal Yes
Diabetes Yes Yes Yes
Digestive problems Yes
Energy and vitality, endurance and stamina Yes Yes
Heart function Yes
Hepatitis  and Cirrhosis Yes Yes
Immune system – improves, modulates and regulate Yes Yes Yes Yes
Improve memory Yes
Insomnia / restful sleep Yes Yes
Kidney disease / function Yes
Liver –  detox and regeneration Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lower blood pressure Yes Yes Yes
Lower cholesterol Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lung: asthma & respiratory problems Yes Yes
Muscle strength Yes
Nerve function Yes
Osteoporosis Yes
Radiotherapy side effects Yes
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Yes
Sexual function for men Yes
Stomach disorder, ulcer, gastrointestinal (GI), Yes
Stress – emotional and physical, fatigue Yes Yes Yes
Weight loss / obesity Yes
For cancer Hepatitis, liver cirrhosis. Tumours, anti-angiogenesis, side effects of radiation, skin, liver Prostate, bladder, liver, adjunct to chemo. Liver, tumors, induce apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, preventive.

 

Documented to help in the following Chaga Lion’s Mane Shiitake Turkey Tail
Acid reflex, IBS Yes
Allergy Yes
Alzheimer’s disease Yes
Anti-aging / longevity Yes
Anti-inflammatory, decrease susceptibility to colds / flu Yes Yes
Anti-oxidant Yes
Detoxification  – chemical and heavy metal Yes
Diabetes Yes Yes
Edema – water retention Yes
Energy and vitality, endurance and stamina Yes
Gum disease Yes
Hair loss Yes
Heart function Yes
Hepatitis  and Cirrhosis Yes Yes
Hormonal imbalance (menopause) Yes
Immune system – improves, modulates and regulate Yes Yes Yes
Improve memory Yes
Insomnia / restful sleep Yes
Kidney disease / function Yes
Kidney stone Yes
Liver –  detox and regeneration Yes
Lower blood pressure Yes Yes
Lower cholesterol Yes Yes Yes
Lung : asthma & respiratory problems Yes Yes
Lymph node- – swelling Yes
Muscle strength Yes
Nail – brittle, crack Yes
Nerve function – calm Yes
Pain – muscle, joints Yes
Psoriasis Yes
Radiotherapy side effects
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Yes
Skin injury / rashes Yes
Stomach disorder, ulcer, gastrointestinal (GI) Yes Yes
Stress – emotional and physical, fatigue Yes
Varicose veiin Yes
Weight loss / obesity Yes
For cancer Breast, uterus, ovary, cervix, prostate, lung, stomach, liver. bone, lymphatic, rectum, skin, melanoma, leukemia,  brain, spleen, thymus, parotid gland. Stomach, oesophagus, skin and sarcoma Anti-cancer drug in Japan. Production of T and natural killer cells. Product: LEM and lentinan Breast, stomach and oesophagus.Product: PSK (krestin) and  PSP.

 

 

Success, True Happiness and Freedom

Donald R. Yance, Jr., is the author of Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer and Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism: Elite Herbs and Natural Compounds for Mastering Stress, Aging, and Chronic Disease. I have read both of his books and have high respect for his ideals.

Yance is an internationally recognized expert in botanical and nutritional medicine and a Certified Nutritionist and Clinical Master Herbalist. He devoted his life to developing a unique approach to health and healing. An article in his website, http://donnieyance.host01.cfdynamics.com/ is entitled Reflections on a Spirit-Filled Life. Let me share with you what he wrote.

  • There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t ask myself these two questions: “Where am I, and who am I?” These may seem simplistic, when considered as superficial queries. But my inquiry is rooted within the context of relationships: My relationship to my inner being and outer self, to others, to nature, to the universe, and to God, whose existence is found in all of these.
  • When we understand the interconnectedness of all of our relationships, we have the opportunity to experience a harmonious balance of spirit, heart, mind, and body.
  • All too often, we ignore spirit and heart and focus instead on the physical aspects of life, and the mind only as it relates to the goals of the material world.

What Is A Successful Life?

  • If something negative or tragic has occurred to us, it can draw us closer to God if we allow it to do so. I’ve often observed that a significant illness such as cancer rearranges priorities in life, and compels an individual to go within, to ask the important questions in life, and to find true balance.
  • Or it may be that we have experienced a sense of failure or disappointment. This can be a great means to true humility, which can also bring us closer to God.
  • My vision of success is to devote myself to healing; to facilitate union, harmony, and understanding; and to live by the light of respect and love for all.
  • In my quest, I humbly surrender myself to God. I desire to live in His presence and to be filled with Divine Love at all times. I have turned my life totally over to God, for He alone will I trust.

The Wise Use Of Freedom

  • We are given freedom so that we may make choices that will unite us with the Divine.
  • I must develop and use this freedom always to do what is good.
  • With the freedom to choose, I am always free to do more good and to bring myself closer to God, while serving and loving all of creation.
  • Our freedom to choose makes us susceptible to all types of false-self motives of purpose.
  • Our purpose must be the right purpose. Our conscience must teach us the right purpose. Conscience is the face of the soul, and the light that teaches and helps us to interpret the will of God in our lives.
  • I can only make good choices when I cultivate maturity, patience, and a wise conscience, so that I may have an accurate account of my motives, my intentions, and my moral acts. This is why a discipline of daily prayer is so essential. This is why reading the Gospels is so necessary.
  • In this way, we find ourselves truly happy knowing that our “doing” in life reflects our “being,” and that our being is a result of the freedom to pursue union with God. This is the fundamental purpose of life, to find God and to respond to God.

Happiness Comes From Letting Go

  • Most of us live our entire lives believing that happiness revolves around three main biological objective needs: (1) security and survival, (2) power and control, and (3) affection and esteem. But because the experience and presence of God is not found in these strivings, where do we go to find true happiness?
  • Most of us live either in our emotions or our intellect; … people who want power will always want power and will always want to dictate what is going on …
  • But if we put God at the center of our lives, and do our best to live in His light, we will find true peace and joy.

God also speaks to us through Nature. The more we learn about Nature, the more we learn about God. This is what St. Francis discovered and is what brought him such joy.

I’ve observed that most people carefully and quietly fit God into their lives, not allowing God to disrupt or alter in any way their strivings for what they believe will bring them happiness. But the simple truth is that there can be no true happiness unless we are willing to give ourselves completely and honestly to God. This requires us to let go, which few are willing to do.