Book Review: When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough

And the Story of A Millionaire Plastic Surgeon from Singapore With Lung Cancer

I have just finished reading this great book written by my favourite author – a wise and great man. He is a Jewish rabbi.

Then, I found an article in my mail box. Testimony from Singaporean, Dr Richard Teo, Plastic Surgeon, 40 years old … I almost deleted it thinking it was yet another “junk” mail. But his name attracted my attention. After all I am also a Teo – perhaps, people might think he is my brother! So let me reproduce this email and share with you the story of my “brother” (no blood relationship though).

Dr Richard Teo Keng Siang, was 40-year-old millionaire and cosmetic surgeon. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. This is the transcript of his talk at the Dental Christian Fellowship on 24 Nov 2011.

HIS BACKGROUND: Hi good morning to all of you. My voice is a bit hoarse from the chemotherapy, so please bear with me. I thought I’ll just introduce myself. My name is Richard. I’m a friend of Danny, who invited me here.

I’d just begin to say that I’m a typical product of today’s society. Before this, I was talking about how the media influences us, etc. So I’m a typical product of what the media portrays. From young, I’ve always been under the influence and impression that to be happy, is to be successful. And to be successful, is to be wealthy. So I led my life according to this motto.

Coming from a poor average family, back in those days, I was highly competitive, whether in sports, studies, leadership. I wanted it all. I’ve been there, done that. But at the end of the day, it’s still about money.

So in my recent last years, I was a trainee in ophthalmology, but I was getting impatient, cos I had friends of mine who were going out into private practise, making tonnes of money. And there I was, stuck in a traineeship. So I said, ‘Enough, it’s getting too long.’ At that time, there was a surge in protégés of aesthetic medicine. I’m sure you’re aware, aesthetic medicine had peaked over the last few years, and I saw good money in there. So much so that I said, ‘Forget about ophthalmology, I’m gonna do aesthetic medicine.’ So that’s what I did.

The truth is, nobody makes heroes out of the average GP in the neighbourhood. They don’t. They make heroes out of rich celebrities, politicians, rich and famous people. So I wanted to be one of these. I dived straight into aesthetic medicine. People were not willing to pay when I was doing locum back in those days. Anything more than $30, they would complain that “Wah, this lo kun (doctor) jing qwee (very expensive)”. They made noise and they were not happy. But the same people were willing to pay $10,000 for a liposuction. So I said, ‘Well, let’s stop healing the sick, I’m gonna become a beautician; a medically-trained beautician.’

And that was what I did – liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgeries, you name it, we do it. It was very good money. My clinic, when we started off, waiting time was 1 week; 1 month; became 2 months; became 3 months. There was so much demand that people were literally queuing up to have aesthetic work done on them. Vain women – easy life!

So the clinic grew. I was so overwhelmed, from 1 doctor, I employed 2, then 3, then 4 doctors, and carried on. Nothing is ever enough. I wanted more and more and more. So much so that we set up shop in Indonesia to lure all the Indonesian tai tai’s. We set up shop, set up a team of people there, to get more Indonesian patients to come in.

So, things were doing well. I’m there, my time has arrived.

Around some time in February last year, I said, ‘OK, I have so much spare cash, it’s time to get my first Ferrari. So there I was, getting ready for the deposit. ‘OK! There comes my first Ferrari!’ I was looking for land, to share with some of my friends. I have a banker friend who makes $5 million a year. So I thought, ‘Come, let’s come together. Let’s buy some land and build our houses.’

I was at my prime, getting ready to enjoy. At the same time, my friend Danny had a revival. They were going back to church, some of my close friends. They told me, ‘Richard, come, join us, come back to church.’

I have been a Christian for 20 years; I was baptised 20 years ago, but it was because it was fashionable to be a Christian then. All my friends were becoming Christians then. It was fashionable! I wanted to be baptised, so that when I filled in a form, I could put there “Christian” – feels good. In truth, I had never had a Bible; I don’t know what the Bible is all about.

I went to church for a while, after some time, I got tired. I said it’s time to go to NUS, stop going to church. I had a lot more things to pursue in NUS – girls, studies, sports, etc. After all, I had achieved all these things without God today, so who needs God? I myself can achieve anything I want.

In my arrogance, I told them, “You know what? You go tell your pastor to change your sermon to 2 p.m. I will consider coming to church.” Such arrogance! And I said 1 statement in addition to that – till to date, I don’t know if I’ve regretted saying that – I told Danny and my friends, “If God really wanted me to come back to church, He will give me a sign.”. Lo and behold, 3 weeks later, I was back at church.

THE DIAGNOSIS: In March 2011, out of the blues – I was still running around, ‘cause I’m a gym freak and I always go to the gym training, running, swimming 6 days a week. I had some backache, and that’s all I had, but it was persistent. And so I went for an MRI to exclude prolapsed disc. And the day before I had my scan, I was still in the gym, lifting heavy weights, doing my squats. And the next day, they found that half my spine had bone marrow replacement. I said, “Woah, sorry, what’s that?”

We had a PET scan the next day, and they diagnosed that I had terminal lung cancer, stage 4B. It had spread to the brain, half the spine, whole of my lungs were filled with tumour, liver, adrenals…

I said, “Can’t be, I was just at the gym last night, what’s going on?” I’m sure you know how it feels – though I’m not sure if you know how it feels. One moment I was there at the peak, the next day, this news came and I was totally devastated. My whole world just turned upside down.

I couldn’t accept it. I have a hundred relatives on both sides, my mom and my dad. A hundred of them. And not a single one has cancer. To me, in my mind, I have good genes, I’m not supposed to be having this! Some of my relatives are heavy chain smokers. Why am I having lung cancer? I was in denial.

ENCOUNTER WITH GOD: So the next day, I was still in a state of denial, still unable to accept what was going on. There I was lying in an operating theatre in a hospital, for a needle biopsy (for histology). There I was, just completed the biopsy, and lying in the operating theatre. The nurses and doctors had left; they told me I had to wait for 15 minutes to do a chest X-ray to make sure there’s no pneumothorax (a complication).

And there I was, lying on the operating table, staring blankly at the ceiling in a cold, quiet operating theatre. Suddenly I heard an inner voice; it was not like coming from the outside. It was from inside – this small inner voice that I had never felt before. And it said very specifically “This has to happen to you, at your prime, because it’s the only way you can understand.”

I said, “Woah, why did that come from?” You know, when you speak to yourself, you’d say, “OK, what time should I leave this place? Where shall I have dinner after this?” You’d speak from a first person point of view. You don’t say, “Where should YOU go after this?” Whereas the voice that came spoke as a third party. It said, “This has to happen to YOU, at YOUR prime, because this is the only way YOU can understand.” At that time, my emotions just overflowed and I broke down and cried, alone there. And I knew then, subsequently, what it means – to understand why this is the only way.

Because I had been so proud of myself, my whole life, I needed nobody else. I was gifted with things that I could do, why do I need anybody else? I was just so full of myself that there was no other way I could have turned back to God.

In fact, if I were diagnosed with stage 1 or 2, I would have been looking around busily for the best cardiothoracic surgeon, remove a section of the lobe (do a lobectomy), do preventive chemotherapy. The chances of it being cured is extremely high. Who needs God? But I had stage 4B. No man can help, only God can.

A series of events happened after that. I wasn’t sold after that inner voice. No I wasn’t. To me, it was just ‘maybe there was a voice; or maybe that was just me talking to myself.’ I didn’t buy the story.

What happened next was that I was being prepared for chemotherapy. I started off with a whole brain radiation therapy first; takes about 2 -3 weeks. In the meantime they prepared me for chemotherapy, supplements, etc. One of the things they used for chemo was a thing Zometa. Zometa. They use it to strengthen the bones; once the bone marrow is cured of cancer cells, it becomes hollow, so we need Zometa to strengthen the bone to prevent compression fractures.

One of the side effects of Zometa is that it can cause osteonecrosis (bone death) of the jaw, and I had to have my wisdom teeth removed. Years ago, I had my upper wisdom teeth removed, cos it was giving me trouble. The lower ones didn’t give me trouble so I said, “Forget it, just leave it.” So of course, Danny volunteered to remove it for me.

So there I was, lying there in a dental chair, asking myself, suffering all the side effects of radiotherapy, and now I have to go through wisdom tooth surgery. As if I’ve not had enough to suffer! So I asked Danny, “Eh, bro, is there any other way? Can I not go though this?” He said, “Yes, you can pray.”

I said, “What’s there to lose? Ok lah, pray lah!” And so we prayed. And we did an X-ray after that. Everything was all there, all the appliances and everything. And lo and behold, the X-ray showed that there was no wisdom teeth in the lower jaw. I know most people have 4 wisdom teeth, maybe some have none, but to be missing one or 2, as I understand – I’m not too sure, as I understand – is not that common.

Still I was, “Nah, I don’t care about that.” To me, as long as I didn’t have to take out the tooth, I was happy. At that point, I still wasn’t sold on prayers. Maybe it was just a coincidence – for whatever it’s worth.

I continued meeting my oncologist, asking him, “How long do I have?” I asked him. He said, not more than 6 months. I said, “Even with chemotherapy?” About 3 – 4 months, he said.

I couldn’t grasp that. It was difficult to come to terms. And even as I went through radiotherapy, I was struggling every day, especially when I wake up, hoping that it’s just a nightmare; when I wake up, it’s all over.

As I was struggling, day after day, I went into depression, which is the typical denial, depression blah blah blah that you go through. But for 1 reason, I don’t know why, there was this specific day that I was supposed to meet my oncologist. At about 2 p.m., I felt this sudden surge of peace, comfort, and in fact, a little happiness. It was just overflowing. For no rhyme or reason, it just came about 2pm, as I was getting ready, dressing up to meet my oncologist. So much so that I told all my friends, “Bros, I just feel so good suddenly! I don’t know why, it just came!”

And it was only days, or was it weeks after, that Danny revealed to me that he had fasted for 2 days for me and he ended his fast at that exact same point, about 2 p.m. thereabouts, that this surge of sensation came to me for no rhyme or reason. And I didn’t know that he was fasting for me. And when he ended the fast, I felt that sensation!

Whoa, things were getting a bit too coincidental. I was starting to buy a bit of the story, but still I wasn’t sold. As days passed by, I completed my radiotherapy, about 2 weeks plus. Getting ready for chemo, so they let me rest for a few days.

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate. Breast, colorectal (colon) cancer, and prostate cancer (the top few cancers in Singapore for men and women) – if you add up the mortality rate of these 3, it still doesn’t add up to lung cancer. Simply because, you understand, you can remove the prostate, the colon, the breast, but you cannot remove your lungs.

But there’s about 10% of lung cancer patients who do pretty well for some reasons, because they have this specific mutation; we call it the EGFR mutation. But still, my oncologist was still not hopeful for me to have this mutation.

The chances of it happening for me were maybe 3-4% for me to get it. That’s why I was being primed to go for chemo. But through all the intense prayers, friends like Danny, people that I don’t even know, it turned out that, during my waiting for chemo, the results came back that I was EGFR positive. I was like, “Woah, good news!” Cos now I don’t have to undergo chemo at that time, because there’s this oral tablet that you can use to control this disease.

AFTER AND BEFORE: Just to share with you some idea – this is a CT scan – thorax – of my lungs, before treatment.

Every single dot there is a tumour. You can see all the mets (metastasis) there. This is just one single plane. Literally I had it in both lungs, and I had literally tens of thousands of tumour. That’s why the oncologist told me, even with chemo, at most 3-4 months.

But because of this mutation, they have this oral medication.

At that point, I said, “Well, it’s to be expected, isn’t it? The medicine is good.” I’m still not buying the story. Well, the guys prayed for me and the tumour markers started to come down. 90% of the tumours were wiped out, and the tumour markers came down to more than 90% over the next few months.

But still, you know, once you have the clinical knowledge, you know the statistics. One year survival, two year survival; having all this knowledge is not a good thing. Cos you live with the knowledge that even with all this, the cancer cells are so unstable, they keep mutating. They will overcome and become resistant to the drugs, and eventually you’re gonna run out of medication.

So living with this knowledge is a huge mental struggle, a huge mental torture. Cancer is not just about a physical struggle, it’s a huge mental torture. How do you live with no hope? How do you live with not being able to plan for the next few years? The oncologist tells you to bear with it for the next 1 – 2 months. So it’s a lot of struggles as I went through: March, then April. April was my lowest point, in deep depression, struggling even as I was recovering.

ACCEPTANCE & PEACE: And one of those days, I was there in bed, struggling in the afternoon, asking God, “Why? Why do I have to go through this suffering? Why do I have to endure this hardship, this struggle? Why me?”

As I fell asleep, in my dreamy state, a vision just came, that says Hebrews 12:7-8.

Now mind you, at this time, I had not read the Bible. I have no clue what’s Hebrews, I don’t even know how many chapters there are. Totally clueless.

But it says Hebrews 12:7-8, very specifically.

I didn’t think too much of it. I just continued sleeping. Then I woke up, and I said, “What’s there to lose? I’d just check it out lah!” Danny had bought me a Bible; it’s still quite new. I said, “It’s ok, just try.” So I flipped to the Old Testament. Hebrews to me sounds like something ancient, so it should be in the Old Testament right? So I flipped through the Old Testament. No Hebrews there. I was disappointed.

Then I said, “Maybe New Testament, let’s have a look!” WOW – New Testament, there’s Hebrew!! Hebrews 12:7-8 says, “Endure hardship as discipline as God is treating you as His children.”

I said, “WAH!! Where did that come from?” I was getting goose pimples all over my body. I said, “This can’t be, right?” I mean, what’s the chance of somebody, who has never read the Bible, to have a vision of a specific verse that answers my question directly?

I think God had called to me directly as I was there sleeping, struggling with it, asking God, “Why do I have to suffer? Why do I have to suffer this?” And God says “Endure hardship as discipline as God is treating you as His child.”

At this point, the chance of that happening is even lesser than my EGFR being positive. There’s just no way; there’s so many thousands of verses in the Bible, how can I just conjure up something like that?

So at that point, I was sold I said, “YOU WIN! YOU WIN!!”

Ok , I was convinced. And so from that day onwards, I started believing in my God. And the last time I heard that inner voice was the end of April. And that inner voice, same thing, in the afternoon, as I was sleeping (this time I wasn’t struggling, just going to sleep). In a dreamy state I just heard Him say, “Help others in hardship.”

It was more like a command, rather than a statement. And that’s when I embarked on this journey, helping others in hardship. And I realised that hardship is not just about being poor. In fact, I think a lot of poor people are probably happier than a lot of us here. They are so easily contented with whatever they have, they’re probably pretty happy.

Hardship can happen to rich people; it can be physical hardship, mental hardship, social, etc. And also over the last few months, I started to understand what this true joy is about. In the past, I substituted true joy with the pursuing of wealth. I thought true joy is about pursuing wealth. Why? Cos let me put it to you this way, in my death bed, I found no joy whatsoever in whatever objects I had – my Ferrari, thinking of the land I was going to buy to build my bungalow, etc, having a successful business. It brought me ZERO comfort, ZERO joy, nothing at all.

True joy comes from interaction with other people. And at a lot of times, it is a short term pride, the past. When you pursue your wealth, Chinese New Year is the best time to do it. Drive my Ferrari, showing off to my relatives, showing off to my friends, do my rounds, and then you thought that was true joy? And your relatives, wow, they share this joy with you? In truth, what you have done is just to illicit envy, jealousy, and even hatred. They are not sharing the joy with you, and what I have is that short-term pride that wow, I have something you don’t have! And I thought that was joy!

So what we have is basically a short-term pride at the expense of somebody else. And that wasn’t true joy. And I found no joy at all on my deathbed, thinking of my Ferrari – to hold on to it, sayang it?!?

True joy I discovered comes from interaction. Over the last few months I was so down. Interaction with my loved ones, my friends, my brothers in Christ, my sisters in Christ, and only then was I able to be motivated, able to be uplifted. To share your sorrow, to share your happiness – that’s true joy.

And you know what makes you smile? True joy comes from helping others in hardship, and because I’ve gone through this, I know what hardship entails. In fact, there’re some cancer patients who tell me a lot of times, people come up to them and tell them, “Stay positive. Stay positive.” Yah, right. You come in my shoes and you try to stay positive! You don’t know what you’re talking about!

But I have the licence. So I’ve been going out to meet other fellow cancer patients, to share with them, encourage them. And I know, because I’ve been through it, and it’s easier for me to talk to them.

And most importantly, I think true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God – I mean, you can read the Bible and know about God – but knowing God personally; having a relationship with God. I think that’s the most important. That’s what I’ve learnt.

So if I were to sum it up, I’d say that the earlier we sort out the priorities in our lives, the better it is. Don’t be like me – I had no other way. I had to learn it through the hard way. I had to come back to God to thank Him for this opportunity because I’ve had 3 major accidents in my past – car accidents. You know, these sports car accidents – I was always speeding , but somehow I always came out alive, even with the car almost being overturned. And I wouldn’t have had a chance. Who knows, I don’t know where else I’d be going to! Even though I was baptised it was just a show, but the fact that this has happened, it gave me a chance to come back to God.

Few things I’d learnt though:
1. Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart – this is so important.
2. To love and serve others, not just ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with being rich or wealthy. I think it’s absolutely alright, cos God has blessed us. So many people are blessed with good wealth, but the trouble is I think a lot of us can’t handle it. The more we have, the more we want. I’ve gone through it, the deeper the hole we dig, the more we get sucked into it, so much so that we worship wealth and lose focus. Instead of worshipping God, we worship wealth. It’s just a human instinct. It’s just so difficult to get out of it.

We are all professionals, and when we go into private practise, we start to build up our wealth – inevitably. So my thought were, when you start to build up wealth and when the opportunity comes, do remember that all these things don’t belong to us. We don’t really own it nor have rights to this wealth. It’s actually God’s gift to us. Remember that it’s more important to further His Kingdom rather than to further ourselves.

Anyway I think that I’ve gone through it, and I know that wealth without God is empty. It is more important that you fill up the wealth, as you build it up subsequently, as professionals and all, you need to fill it up with the wealth of God.

I think that’s about it. It’s good to share. Thanks.

(Note: He was diagnosed with stage 4B lung cancer in March 2011. He was told he had 3-4 months to live but he lived for another 19 months. He died on 18 October 2012.)

In When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, Rabbi Harold Kushner asked, Was there something I was supposed to do with my life? Let me quote what he wrote:

This book is not about how to be happy or how to be popular. There are a lot of other books to do that. It is about how to be successful, but not in the way most people use the word… It is about how to know that you have lived as a human being was meant to live, that you have not wasted you life. It is a book about giving your life meaning, feeling that you have used your time on earth well and not wasted it, and that the world will be different for your having passed through it.
Ask the average person what he wants out of life, and he will probably reply, “All I want is to be happy.”
Even the rich and powerful find themselves yearning for something more. We keep thinking that if we had what they have, we would be happy…. For all the outward trappings of success, they feel hollow inside. They can never rest and enjoy their accomplishments. They need one new success after another.
Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning.
What frustrates us and robs our lives of joy is this absence of meaning. Our lives go on day after day. But do they mean anything? Is there anything more to life than just being alive…What does life mean? Does our being alive matter? We will find ourselves sick, lonely and afraid if we cannot answer them.
What we miss in our lives, no matter how much we have, is that sense of meaning. We may have all the things on our wish list and still feel empty. We may have reached the top of our professions and still feel that something is missing.
The need for meaning is not a biological need like the need for food and air. Neither is it a psychological need, like the need for acceptance and self-esteem. It is a religious need, an ultimate thirst of our soul.
The question of whether life has meaning, or whether our individual lives make any real difference, is a religious question not because it is about matters of belief or attendance at worship services but because it is about ultimate values and ultimate concerns. The pursuit of happiness is the wrong goal. You don’t become happy by pursuing happiness. You become happy by living a life that means something.
The happiest people you know are probably not the richest or most famous, probably not the ones who work hardest at being happy by reading the articles or buying books and latching on to the latest fads. I suspect that the happiest people you know are the ones who work at being kind, helpful, and reliable – and happiness sneaks into their lives while they are busy doing those things.
You don’t become happy by pursuing happiness. It is always a by-product, never a primary goal. Happiness is a butterfly – the more you chase it, the more it flies away from you and hides. But stop chasing it, put away you net and busy yourself with other more productive things than the pursuit of personal happiness, and it will sneak up on you from behind and perch on your shoulder.
And worst of all, society applauds this imbalance, honouring us for our financial success, praising us for our self-sacrifice.
In the Bible, the sin of idolatry is not just a matter of bowing down to statues. Idol worship is treating the work of your own hands as if it were divine, worshipping yourself as the highest source of value and creativity … believing that you have enough power to control the world in which you live and the other people who live in it.
Hell is having worked so hard for success that it corroded your relationship with other people so that you learned to see them only in terms of what they could do for you … hell is the loneliness of having everything and knowing that it is still not enough.
When you have learned how to live, life itself is the reward. It is a sign of maturity when we stop asking, What does life have in store for me? And start asking, What am I doing with my life?
How do you overcome the fear of dying? he asked me. I told him that I was not ready to die, that I hope to live for many more years, but that I was not afraid of dying because I felt satisfied with what I had done with my life. I had the sense that I had not wasted it, that I had lived with integrity, had done my best, and had an impact on people which would outlast me. It is only when you are no longer afraid to die that you can say that you are truly alive. The final ingredient which enables us to say, “I have lived and my life mattered,” is the knowledge that we have made a difference. Nobody on his deathbed ever said, I wish I had spent more time on my business.
Who needs God? Can we deal with the issue of life’s ultimate meaning without reference to God? The existence of God in not the issue; the difference God can make in our lives is.
In the same way that the human body is fashioned so that certain foods and certain kinds of activity are healthier for us than others, I believe that God made the human soul in such a way that certain kinds of behaviour are healthier for us than others. Jealousy, selfishness and mistrust poison the soul; honesty, generosity, and cheerfulness restore it. We literally feel better after we have gone out of our way to be helpful to someone.
God is the answer not because He will intervene to reward the righteous and punish the wicked but because He has made the human soul in such a way that only a life of goodness and honesty leaves us feeling spiritually healthy and human.

Comments

Over the years – 16 plus years, I have all kind of people coming to CA Care for help. Some were wealthy and famous. Some had impressive tittles in front and behind their names. But some were plain simple folks with no viable income at all. Some were nice and gentle while others were outright abusive and rude. Some cherished the idea that they did not have to pay anything talking to me, while others were happy that they had to pay very, very much less for their medicines than if they were to see their oncologist.

In short, I have seen them all – human beings in all their forms, attitudes and human values. But what made my heart bleed is to see those “high and mighty” coming to us with terminal cancer – their medical reports and scans showed that they may not make it through three to six months – yet they have not learned or realized that living life is more than just money. These people (not that they don’t have money) would call wanting to return the herbs (how much was that worth? RM 200 or RM 400?and you do that with your doctors do you?) that they bought after they did not get the results they expected, even if they had already lived six months or more!

But fortunately we have learnt early that CA Care is just a door mat. Some come to us expecting to extract the maximum they can squeeze from us! Some came in a BMW or Mercedes and still asked for special discount! We know that is the way life is!

May many of us learn and benefit from the story above and the wisdom of Rabbi Kushner.

Our Herbs Did Not Cure His Mother of Her Terminal Leukemia Within Two Weeks

H-733 was a 65-year-old lady. She came to see us on 6 November 2011. She had leukemia and was treated in the hospital in Sungai Petani, Kedah for eight days. Then she was in a Penang hospital receiving treatment from 3 October 2011 to 4 November 2011.

She received one cycle of chemotherapy consisting of seven injections. She was scheduled for four cycles but refused to undergo further chemotherapy. The only thing I could remember of this case was the patient telling me that her days in the hospital undergoing chemo were a real “hell”.

In this patient’s file are only two pieces of paper – the Disclaimer and Release of Liability form (signed by her son) and a short note about her case. There was no medical report of any kind. Understandable! She went to the government hospitals and if you are not “persuasive enough” or don’t know “your way” enough they don’t give you your medical reports.

Based on the patient’s story, I prescribed herbs for her leukemia. Listen to my conversation with this lady after she took our herbs for a week.

In this video conversation it was clear that the patient felt better after taking the herbs for one week. I have told this patient (and many more before her) that, If after you have taken the herbs for two or three weeks and still do not seem to benefit from the herbs – i.e., do not benefit in any way, my advice is: Stop taking the herb. Go and find someone else. Do not waste your precious time.

Take note of what she said after taking our herbs for a week, I am happy now. One month in the hospital (doing chemo) was hell but now I am in heaven. Unfortunately we never get to see this patient again after this. Why did she not come back to see us again? Did she think that she was already cured after being well? Or could it be that someone had told her to stop taking our herbs and go for something else “better”? I can’t understand. Definitely it is beyond me to comprehend why!

But as far as we are concern, her file was set aside and left forgotten. We know that a majority (70 percent) of patients who came to us were just shopping for a magic bullet. So this case is nothing unusual.

Nearly a year later, I received an email from the patient’s son. Let me reproduce the email exchanges we had. Perhaps we all can learn from this episode. The emails from Mr. Chin (that is what he called himself) are reproduced here as they are, without any editing.

Oct 16, 2012 Hello Dr Chris,

My Name is Mr Chin..I not sure you still remember last year December you have a Accute Myleoid Leukemia

Patient From Sungai Petani, Her name is Miss Ong. She was my Mother, she pass away this year March. The reason I write this letter to you, Just want to Inform you.. your medicine did not work at all for my Mother Case.. and I hope you can keep this Information for your own record. maybe Next time got the Some cancer patient, you can let them know my mother end result. Maybe 2 week also is a vey important time frame to the other Patient.

Thank you Chirs.. Regards, Mr Chin.

Reply: Yes…thank you. Is she the one who was in the hospital and she told me that she went through hell in the hospital? How long did you take the herbs? Only for two weeks? …two months or what? I cannot remember the case. Can you give me the file number? Chris.

Oct 17, 2012

Sorry I don’t have the File number with me anymore, yes My mother does mention she went through hell in hospital. But Chris to be frank, Me as a outsider, my Mother judgement on that time is not right anymore. Penang Hospital do the thing they suppose to do.. So nothing wrong with them. Just that time my mother is in pain and worries, and make such comment, and that time I just want her release her stress, so did not make a correction on that spot… My Mother took your herb for 2 week… Mr Chin.

Reply: You mean she only took herbs for 2 weeks … and you expect the herbs to cure her? I now remember, she came once to see me and never come back again. And you expect taking herbs for two weeks you can get a cure?

Oct 17, 2012

Mr Chris.. In the first Place you mention to us, let my mother try 2 week, If this medicine is not work, then this medicine is not effective to her. please move on and try another remedy… I guess you are too busy till you did not remember your word.

The reason i make a afford to write a letter to you, just want to share information to you… and hope this info will benefit to another patient. You will do a Job with Love and Caring , and please don’t fall to the trap of hate and criticism..” May God Bless you” have a strange to care to another cancer patient….Thank you. Mr Chin.

Reply: Yes… you are right. I have her file H 733 — your mother is 65 years old ..Ong WK ..is that correct? She had chemo once when she came and it was after 7 injections … she suffered the following side effects…a) rashes b) arms and legs swelling c) fevers on and off and d) skin peeled off.

She took herbs on 6 Nov 2011. That is the record I have. Yes, very correct …if you take herbs for 2 weeks and don’t benefit, go elsewhere. Yes, you are correct. I am here to help people but I cannot remember all the cases …I have people coming to see me everyday ….. especially if they come to see me only one time, I cannot remember them. How to remember? You are also correct that I need to know and keep my record so that I can learn and tell others. Yes, I am happy to tell others about your mother’s case. I also want to learn from your mother’s case. So to make my record complete …Can I ask you the following questions so that I can help others understand what is going on:

a) Did your mother go for more chemo in the GH?
b) Or did she go to someone else for help?
c) She died in March 2012 — can you tell me what happened between this time? If she took the herbs for 2 weeks …it means that by December 2011 she has finished taking my herbs …. but you only wrote me this email two days ago — almost one years after this? I wonder why you only write me only now? Why wait for so long? I am not trying to blame you, I am just curious to understand what is going on.

I also want to tell you that I am not angry …. I am just curious to know what happen and how people think. I see all kinds of people and they all write different things. So this is my learning experience. Thank you for writing and if you have the time, please let me have your answers. Regards and God bless you too. Chris

Oct 18, 2012 Mr Chris. Below is the answer you wanted..

a) No my Mother just go for 1st round chemo, and GH already said she are not fit to go for 2nd round of Chemo..

b) Yes.. we look for the China chinese doctor for help. http://yanqiang.net/

c) Her Body condition is getting weak, and putting palette and blood into her body.. also didn’t work for her anymore.

c) Chris as i mention to you at the first place, Just share this info so that you can use it for your reference.. I am not here try to Blame anyone…In Fact In this world there is no 100% way can cure cancer. So instead wasting the time condemn people medicine did work and how harmful to people, why not take this precious time study how to solve this cancer problem. But I know this is very Challenging… Thank you!

Reply: Thank you very much for replying. It is good for you to reply and complete the story of your mother. I would like to write this story. I have just written a book and the last chapter is called My Patients My Teacher ….. I am sending this copy to you. May be you want to read it.

Over 16 years I have helped thousands and thousands of patients …and there is NO cure for any cancer. Everyone should know that. Everyone who has cancer all die. Even without cancer, we all also die.

If you have time, it is good if you can answer the question I asked you earlier but understand that no one is trying to blame anybody. We understand that.

What I would like to know is this —- your mother only took my herbs for 2 weeks and she died some months later….the question is: Why did you write to tell me about this only NOW … many months after she died or almost one year after coming to see me once? Why not write earlier? I may have helped better.

What about the Chinese doctor — he also cannot help her? How long did she take herbs from the Chinese doctor? Did you also write to the Chinese doctor and tell him that your mother died?

It would be good if you give your answers so that we all can understand the real story. And I also can write a good story about this so that all patients understand what is going on. Thank you again for writing me. Chris.

Oct 18, 2012

Thank you for Sharing Your Book… hope this book will be benefit for the cancer patients and theirs family.

Chris Hope You can understand , with Lose a family member is not a easy thing… and we need time to calm down ourself and get refresh to think what we suppose to do , to help another cancer victim..

If the Chinese Doctor can help, My mother will not be died…My mother take 2 month for this chinese doctor herb… Yup I do wrote the letter to this chinese doctor, The answer from them is simple. thanks For Sharing, They will keep my mother as their study record. and thanks me for Informing them.

Chris i Just hope you just can share my mother Case to another AML Cancer Patient, Your Medicine is not work For AML Patient Before and at least let them aware about it. If They Still want to try your method then is their choice….and I also think maybe for some Patient 2 week try period also is a very important time frame for them.. I believe some Patient Family did not report the result to you, and make you can not judge your method is workable for which type of cancer..

Reply: Chin
1. Did your mother go to China for treatment?

2. How long was your mother on this Chinese treatment? … also 2 weeks like mine?

3. Is she on any treatment when she died? Was she on the Chinese treatment or no treatment at all.

When I share this story, I need to have as much information as possible, otherwise I cannot understand and explain why.

Oct 18, 2012

1. Did your mother go to China for treatment? No her Condition is not fit to fly over there, and the Chinese doctor also mention no need her to go over there because of my mother condition.

2. How long was your mother on this Chinese treatment? …also 2 weeks like mine? 2 month

3. Is she on any treatment when she died? Was she on the Chinese treatment or no treatment at all. No treatment at all when she died..

My mother also gave up for the Chinese Medicine after 2 month taking it… her condition is not improve at all, and at the last when i am on the mid of planning send her to try the DC-CIK treament is was too late. so I hope with Sharing this the next cancer Patient If have choice.. don’t waste the time to try the Medicine which is not work.. then with saving the time they maybe can find a better alternative way to treat this AML cancer.. Chin

Reply: You are right …don’t waste time on medicine that do not work …you tried the chemo … it did not work, you came to CA Care and took my herbs for 2 weeks and it did not work…then you tried 2 months of herbs from Chinese hospital in Shandong and it did not work … so where do you think you can find medicine that can work?

Do you think that DC-CIK you mentioned can work? If so, how do you know that it will work? … my patient had this treatment in Singapore and then went to Japan for the same treatment and for many months …to do this treatment and he died. It did not work either.

It only means, nobody in this world can cure cancer …. click this link and see what patients wrote me about their leukemia…. http://adaywithchristeo.wordpress.com/category/leukemia-2/

You can see they all need help…BUT who can cure leukemia????? Have you read anything about leukemia?

When I write your mother’s story, I shall explain that there is no one on earth who can cure leukemia. If and when you think you know where to find cure for cancer, please let me know. I too want to know.

And if you read the chapter of the book that I sent you…. I tell everyone who come to see me … there is no cure for cancer ….I have no magic bullet for cancer….that is why I tell you…take my herbs for 2 weeks and go elsewhere if you don’t think it helps you… simple as that.

It is good that you write me. I shall write some articles to let patients know more about cancer. It is not an easy problem. Chris.

Oct 19, 2012

Chris I know your frustration… Seeing people In front of you who’s seek for help and you can not do anything about it. Maybe Is good too, let me Paint my picture more clearly… as a Patient of the Family who do hope too Reduce the ” NOISE” during company our family member for the last journey… ” NOISE” mean’s the fault hope.. the hope that think this cancer can be fix, the hope thats make us didn’t prepare our family member will be gone.

I think if we were know this cancer can not be cure at all in the first place , then we will do a necessary preparation for it.

so please pardon me if i said it unclear…I believe my mother just a single small dot in your journey to help the cancer patient.. so with my mother result I telling you, maybe you can use it as a data. within of how many Leukemia person who come to seek for your help.. is benefit it form your medicine…and you can come out a percentage chart of a effectiveness of your herb toward Leukemia.

If the answer is only 1% then, you can tell the patient are they welling to try it or not, But If 0% then I guess you can cloose down your herb section for Leukimia.. This Happen Is GH Penang too , Doctor Goh do mention to us, with my mother condition, the 2nd Chemo will have a 15% success rate only. She Ask us to think cafully… so we decide not to go for it.. In my First Letter to you I already wrote in this world still don’t have a 100% effective way to cure the cancer.. we all know that…Chin.

Reply: Thank you for your reply. After reading and replying to your emails, I think I need to send you the complete book that I wrote free-of-charge: Cancer – Is there another option. Take it, read it and try to understand it. It is definitely too late to save your mother, but perhaps it may be able to help others. That is if read and understand it.

(Available at http://bookoncancer.com/productDetail.php?P_Id=56)

Let me tell what you need to know that may help you in the future.

1. In the first two pages of the book, I talk about ignorance.

Over the past many years, many (thousands!) cancer patients had come to seek our help and advice. They wanted to know what else they could do, generally after modern medicine had failed them. Most of these patients were totally ignorant of what they were up against. Many think that they could easily find a cure for their cancers. They come seeking for that non-existent magic bullet for their cancer. Alas! Many failed to find a cure. At CA Care we don’t talk about cure, because we do not see a cure for any cancer.
Many patients come to us – not wanting to see the left or right – they have only one aim, expecting and wanting us to cure their cancer. No, we cannot cure you! Don’t ever expect that after you have taken our herbs the cancer will go away the next day or a few weeks or months later. Such expectation is ridiculous. The situation becomes even more ridiculous when patients who come had already undergone all the medical treatments and failed. Yet when they come to us they expect a miracle – to be cured! When I think of this – and it happens very often – I am flabbergasted. Simple common sense tells you that it is not possible and unreasonable.
In cancer, it is worth noting that ignorance kills. To be able to find healing, patients should realise that they must do something for themselves, not to rely entirely on others to help them.

2. You are right – your mother is just a single small dot in your journey to help the cancer patient. Yes, your mother died but it does not mean that other patients should follow her to the graves as well. Read Chapter 7 of my book: Chronic Leukemia: Blood Improved While On CA Care’s Herbs. This lady works in the Hospital in Hong Kong and she has been taking my herbs for two years (not two weeks like your mother) and she is doing fine.

After you have read that story, click this link: http://cacare.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=243&Itemid=57

This is the story of Pak Jam’s wife (teacher) who had leukemia and was in worse condition than your mother. But she survived and could go back to resume teaching again. She came to see me beginning of this year (2012). And she was taking herbs for more than 2 years, not two weeks like your mother.

Then you want to know what? She died after she came to Penang (in 2012) – because she went to the hospital in Aceh and they put in the wrong blood for her!

3. Same medicine, different patients

One lesson anybody need to learn is that you may give the same medicine but patients are different. If the medicine fails it is not because the medicine is not good – it may be the patients are not good. Human beings are not the same. They carry different baggages.
After helping thousands of patients over the years, I have learned that almost 70 percent of them are here to find a magic bullet or wanting to find cure on their own terms. Our therapy is not easy to follow. You need to heal yourself – and it is you and you alone who can heal you. Others can only help but you decide you own fate.
No two persons taking the same path would end up at exactly the same destination. Cancer is about you as a person. If you are not able to change your mental attitude, your diet, your lifestyle, etc. no one else can help you. You are a goner if you come and tell me: If I cannot eat meat life is not worth living; I have no time to cook the herbs; The herbs taste awful, etc.

4. Accept Reality

One thing we all must do is to accept reality. If the cancer is already serious, there is nothing in this world that can cure it. Read Chapter 12 of my book: Mayo Clinic Gave Him Only One More Week to Live. The Doctor Is Not Convinced That Chemo Can Kill the Cancer This Time. Do you know what Mayo Clinic is? This is one of the best hospitals in the world. Kings and rich men all over the world go there for treatment. Yes, after Mayo this young man wrote asking me to help his father. Let us face reality! I understand – he wanted to do the best for his father. Like you wanted to do the best for your mother – and you thought buying herbs from China can cure your mother.

Read also Chapter 13: Salivary Gland (Parotid) Cancer: The Doctor Said: It Would Be Useless to Keep Him Alive. Do you know that the wife of this patient is a dental specialist? She is medically trained. She too could not find a cure. She too wanted to do the best for her husband. But there is a limit to what anybody can do to help.

The same is true for you. Your mother went to the hospital and had chemo. When she came to me she was suffering side effects like rashes, swelling of legs and arm, she had fevers and her skin peeled. It was lucky that she did not die of the chemo. She was on my herbs for two weeks and then went for herbs from a hospital in China for two months. And you expect a cure for her leukemia when even the doctor in GH had told you the second round of chemo will only give you 15% success rate only. And you did not think 15% was good enough. What you don’t understand is success rate — success rate does NOT equal to cure. What is success rate? Nothing – it is not cure.

CA Care is the last one stop – we are people’s door mat

I jokingly tell patients – CA Care is your last one stop. The cases that come to us are usually beyond us to cure. Make no mistake, we are under no illusion. Over the years we always call a spade a spade and we face reality without any pretence. Death is a reality – it can happen to you or me, anytime – irrespective of whether you have cancer or not. Perhaps with cancer, the journey to the grave seems more certain and somewhat shorter!

I said this again and again, we at CA Care can only help you. Your healing is yours to seek and achieve. To those who truly need our help, we say this: Live and don’t give up hope. There is an option. There is hope. But if you want healing on your own terms and refuse to learn and change, then there is nothing much anyone can do to help you.

Okay, with this, I think I have written enough. I thank you again for writing. I would like to end this discussion and let me move on to help others who need my help. I hope you have time to read this book that I send you. Take your time to read and understand. It may help you or others one day. Chris.

Oct 20, 2012 Chris

Really appreciate your thoughtful and meaningful write back..Chris Please don’t miss understanding I am here judging what are you doing….In fact I don’t have a right and qualified to do this at all.I just hope I can provide my mother result as a data, so that maybe you can use it in the future..My mother AML Cancer is just a single case of so many different type of cancer. Me, by hoping provide you this info, you roughly may know your herb is more effective to which type of cancer…Lastly You mention to us just let my mother try 2 week your herb. but that time if you were tell us to try 2 years ( like a Hong kong Ladies) and follow your diet guide…then we will follow you…. That time is not we want to give up, we done that because you tell us 2 week is the limit.

Chris Really Thank you for Your Time ,and I think I took too much time from you.Please move on with GOD faith.. and continued your meaningful journey. ” God Bless You” Chris… Chin.

Comments: I have asked myself – why do I have to waste time replying to such emails? Let me tell you why.

I realize that it is not only the sick person who needs help. At times, the caregivers and family members or even friends too need help. If you view it from this perspective, it makes sense.
The message that Mr. Chin wants you to know is this: Coming to see us and taking our herbs for two weeks did not cure her mother of her leukemia. I fully agree with him. In fact I want to add a bit more to this message. If you come to us hoping to find an instant magic bullet for your cancer, then I am telling you plain and clear – you have come to the wrong place. Perhaps you have better luck going somewhere else. Go and find someone else who can promise to cure you.
Some weeks ago, one lady came to see me. She had cervical cancer. After surgery, she took Sabah Snake grass every day. A year later, her cancer came back. She came to seek our help. I told her to go for chemo but she refused. She told me she understood the serious risk that she was taking in wanting me to help her with our herbs. She did not come to see me hoping to find a cure! I was impressed by her attitude and plan to write a full story of this case. Then there is another case of a man from Jakarta, Indonesia. He had pancreatic cancer. I told him I am not able to cure his cancer. He told me he understood that very well and he wanted me to help him as best as I can. He knew that nobody can cure his cancer. I plan to write his story too.
Do you see that Mr. Chin’s case came at an “appropriate” time indeed? Mr. Chin’s case adds another perspective to my two other stories. Here, Mr. Chin came to CA Care expecting to find a cure. And my herbs cannot cure his mother’s leukemia within two weeks.

Let me end this article by quoting my favourite author, Harold Kushner, a Jewish rabbi. This what he said, When all you’ve ever wanted isn’t enough. This is what he wrote,… the irony of the phase “the best and the brightest”… The best and the brightest was the way we described the government officials who got us into Vietnam to begin with then kept getting in deeper and deeper. They were undeniably brilliant men, honor graduates of the finest universities, armed with mountains of information from the most sophisticated computers, and still they kept making the wrong decision. They had intelligence. They had information. But they lacked wisdom… smart enough to lead, but not wise enough to know where they should be going.

It there is one lesson which I think you can learn regarding this case. Use your common sense (or be wise!) when gathering information – especially from the internet. They are a lot of “junk” information in the cyberspace. We can find all kinds of claims – this and that stuff can cure cancer. Evaluate these claims critically. Mr. Chin’s mother underwent chemo for about a month. This did not work. After one cycle she gave it up. She came to CA Care and took our herbs for two week and decided that our herbs did not cure her. The son “hunted” for more herbs – this time from China and his mother took them for two months. It did not cure her either. Mr. Chin was in the midst of wanting to “send her to try the DC-CIK treatment” – also in China. But it was too late – his mother died! How long can you go on trying – hopping from one treatment to another? Leukemia does not wait for anyone. You don’t have the luxury of experimenting anymore when you have cancer. What many of us fail to realize is that healing starts from our own self first! The real good doctor who can heal us resides within us.

Let me quote Kushner again, indeed many of us believe are smart but only … smart enough to lead, but not wise enough to know where they should be going.

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Thanks for writing! For the time ever, I received some responses after posting this article: Our Herbs Did Not Cure His Mother of Her Terminal Leukemia Within Two Weeks

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Dear Dr. Chris,

Thank you for the sharing H733 story. In one if your book: “We also learned that for those who want to believe, there is no need for too much explanation or proof. But for those who do not wish to believe, no matter what evidence is provided, it is never enough. There is always something not right about it and there is always a reason to reject it.”

It was such a long time I didn’t visit you in Penang. But I never stop taking your herbs since Dec-2009 till now. BTW my recording is H237. God is good, He sent me to your place, I always remember “Our hands but God heals”. I just want to let you know I am very good now. I have been sharing my testimonial to those cancer patient but it is not easy to let people to believe especially Chinese medicine (Herbs). As usual they ask me how many cycle of herbs I need to take, my answer to them is that when is the last day God calls me home.

I have stopped my work and become a house maker for one year already. Life is great and I look healthy and young after taking your herbs for the past 3 years. I believe God will make a way for me. I want to Thank you again. Send my regards to Beng Im. God Bless you and your family. Jessie

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Hi Chris,

Simple mind uses simple interpretation. Simple minded read your sentence and put a fool-stop. Well, I think about 30 to 40% of people think this way.

I observe that many church members sway in the direction by one speaker and then in another by another. This leads to a temporal understanding of Bible. Reality of the world today. With kind regards, Siew

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Dear Dr Chris,

Thank you very much for sending me articles and updates regarding the good work CA Care is doing.

I only have one of your books entitled Understanding Cancer War and Cure. i have read it many times over and i am grateful that you have devoted your time and life to help people ‘manage’ their cancer. i hope to purchase more of your books soon.

We all know you have emphasised time and again that you have no magic bullet to cure cancer but you are here to offer another option; the herb and holistic approach to life. To me, only God can heal and people like you, Dr Chris, are willing instruments for God and i thank God for that. In fact, i understand very well the frustrations you face when patients and loved ones expect miraculous healing (which can only come from our God Almighty). i remember now the video where you said, ‘if you can eat and sleep, what more do you want?’

i would like to encourage you to keep up your good work because many people are helped by you. To God be the glory! Blessings, Grace

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Hi there! Your reply to that Mr. Chin was awesome. Take care! GG

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Hi Chris,

Thank you for sharing this. I admire your patience with this Mr. Chin. The way I interpret his reason for emailing you after such a long time after the death of his mother would have to be he is still grieving and has not fully come to terms with the loss of his mother just yet. It is unfortunate there’s no grief counselors or support groups available for him to help him stop raving on like a ‘lunatic’.

On a brighter side, Chris, I had my yearly follow up with my oncologist last week and told her I had stopped taking Tamoxifen since March due to the side effects and guess what ? She agreed that I don’t really have much benefits at all taking Tamoxifen because my excised DCIS tumour was only 7mm so it is ok to stop it. This blew me away! I thought to myself then why did she prescribe Tamoxifen in the first place? Anyway, I didn’t want to waste my time disputing the issue. I just thank GOD for guiding me to seek you.

Thank you and God Bless, LC

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Hi Chris and Im,

I have recently read the article you wrote re. the lady with leaukemia who tried your herbs for 2 weeks followed by 2 months of chinese herbs. All of this after receiving heavy doses of chemo prior to seeing you.

When I was diagnosed with stomach cancer over 20 yrs ago I was advised to try a new treatment called Chemo. 20yrs ago very few people contracted cancer and even the specialist whom I saw had difficulty explaining what Cancer is. After I read many books on the subject I formed a basis of why I contracted this disease. I was very impressed with Dr Binzel’s work, Dr Hans Nepier and the Oasis of hope clinic in Mexico. I devoured these books in a few short weeks as I was told that i must act instantly if i wanted to live. What i learned was that it is imperitive to take time and understand what was happening to my body and why. I called dr Hans Nepier in germany and asked if I should come to his clinic. He asked me what treatment i have had and when I replied none, he asked what do i intend to do. I told him I was taking herbs and changed my diet and also letting go of much sadness in my life. He seemed very impressed as he said I was on the right track and to continue with the herbs and my changed attitude to good food and letting go of emotional baggage. He said to have more tests in 6 months and if all is well continue what I was doing for the rest of my liife.

The specialist was amazed to find no cancer and even feebly said that perhaps I did not have cancer in the first place. Boy, was i angry at this response as If I had done what he instructed I may not be alive today.

Very few then, if any survived according to the Australian statistics. Chemo was not seen as a cure back then and many good doctors would advise their patients to have the surgery, if necessary, then follow a clean and healthy eating plan. I know a few people whom were given this advice and are still alive today. No side effects and in fact feel the best they have ever felt.

When I contracted Uterine cancer stage 3, 4 yrs ago, I knew why and I was one of the lucky ones as I knew what I needed to do to heal my body. You are spot on Chris when you say we are our own best doctors and with knowledge, understanding and assistance from caring people as you we can and do heal our bodies as I have long believed that the body can cure anything but first we need to know how. Mother nature is very powerful and I believe that god put on this earth everything to heal man’s ill. You in your wisdom and training in the use of herbs and your unstoppable desire to help your fellow man should be the first port of call when told one has cancer. I, like you see so many when they have exhausted all medical help and told “There is nothing more we can do”. I have seen so many times what this can do to the soul, when you put your trust in an establishment whom should be seeking the best treatment, whether orthodox or natural therapies. Sadly the medical system will not allow their doctors, oncologists etc., to administer any natural therapy as in their words “Where is the science behind such treatment”. I say to them , “Show me the INDEPENDENT research undertaken to prove Chemo and radiation cures cancer. They cannot as all research undertaken is Kill the cancer.

In the turn of the 1900 century Professor John Beard from Edinburgh University found that cancer cells were trophoblast cells, which now have no pancreatic enzyme termination agents to curtail them. When the people realise that instead of trying to kill the cancer it is best to heal the body and the best way to heal is to develop an action plan which I promote as E.K.A. Education, Knowledge, Action. How can one fight an unknown if we do not know what we are dealing with. Learn from the people who have had great successes, gain the know how of feeding the body good clean food, no animal, dairy, sugar etc. Raw is best and I love the new me and the energy and health I now have.

I was meant to find you Chris as I was guided to finding and reading your books. I devoured 3 books in one evening as it made complete sense to me what you had written. Modern societies, especially the west, is in the grip of an epidemic as cancer affects 1in2 of us. I call it the rich men’s illness as the poor countries do not have anywhere near our shocking numbers. Herbs have been used long before the introduction of modern medicine. They are the base of most drugs today, but sadly man made concoctions are added with terrible side effects. All in the name of medicine. I have read many books and spoken to hundreds of medical, herbalists and scientists whom seek the truth above all else and honour the Hippocratical Oath “DO NO HARM’

They, as you have Chris, assisted many in their quest to optimal good health. I am so glad I found you and I am living proof that if one opens their mind and not give in to the fear tactics thrown at them , can and do go on to lead a long and happy life. My surgeon is in awe that I am so well as I was told that without treatment, Chemo, I would not live any longer than perhaps 3 months. I believe in knowing all there is to know about ones illness so as we can make an informed choice based on this information.

Most people are only too happy to give their permission to someone else to cure them, they take no active roll in their healing. The brewing and taking of herbs, organic foods, clean water, being in control of your own happiness, deal with past traumas are all essential. the cancer is a symptom of the disease. Rid the body of the cause and the symptom disappears. It worked for me and many whom I have assisted. They are alive and well today.

You and Im have dedicated your life to assisting others in their time of need and for that you are blessed with the knowledge that you have reached out to your fellow man and this is rare in our societies today. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for giving me your knowledge and wisdom of how I can heal my body of cancer. Take heart that your time on earth was spent wisely and for the betterment of its people.

May you both live long and healthy, happy lives surrounded by those whom you love and marvel as I do at this wonderful world we live in. I am sure I speak for many of your patients in saying, God Bless You Both and thank you for your guiding hands, caring for the many whom seek your help.

One day, Orthodox medicine will see the benefits of natural medicine and this will be the basis of treatment as the people will demand it.

Love to you both and keep up the good work, the world needs more Chris Teo’s. xxx

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On Tue, Oct 30, 2012 at 5:22

H-733 was a 65-year-old lady. Our Herbs Did Not Cure His Mother of Her Terminal Leukemia Within Two Weeks

Dear Chris,

I wrote after seeing the above posting. My wife SJ.57 also passed away on the 24 October 2012 at 8.15am, with cancer started from her colon, ovarian, liver and lungs.

After her ops on her colon and ovarian on 22 May, 12, she declined chemo and we supported her wishes and my daughter took her to see your Subang branch and took the prepare boiled herbs for 2 months, then we went back to Sabah to attend her father’s 10 years death anniversary for 7 days. I asked her to bring all the herbs back but she said she can take the capsule type as not convenient to cook in others’ home. Told her we get a gas tank to compensate. She said too troublesome.

While there her feet swell and subside. On return my daughter saw her swelling feet and told her to go to Sunway Medical Centre but she declined. Saying there is no cure. I told them we go to Penang to see you but she declined as she said even Dato Punch Gunalan with a Doctor son also died. My daughter had to respect her wishes. She told me no cure for mum. Two weeks later her stomach bloated.

I told her that she might as well take holy water from her church if she declined chemo and Dr. Chris herbs. Then I gave Sabah Snake Grass for 2 weeks and nothing happens but her stomach kept growing every week at the rate like a pregnant woman baby growing per month. She blamed me and the Sabah Snake Grass but told her I only administrate it after her bloating stomach.

My daughter said no cure, her liver motas and discharged liquid. Her eyes showed jaundice. We requested the Govt. Hospital to tap the liquid. The Dr. said the motas had attacked her liver and ultrasound showed no liquid. We knew it’s a matter of time before her body system will shut down completely, yet I bullied her to fight on, until she chased me away. Saying I’m killing her faster.

Finally she agreed to go to Sunway Med. for tapping, the Dr. said there is no hope and he would not give chemo to his relatives AT THIS STAGE , but do pain management. Warded to monitor for tapping and this cost about RM10K a week to stay there. Her body was shutting down, she lost about 3 kilos fast every week. Eating 4-5 spoonful mee sauh every 3 hours. Tapping done twice. She died 5 days after the 2nd. Tap.

We thank GOD and Drs. She died peacefully with very little pain and we know we have done the best for her but we lost the battle.

I wrote to let Mr. Chin, the son of the above mentioned lady that I lost my wife, I blamed nobody but fate.
Let their souls RIP. Amen.

Ng Thian Yew

Reply: Thank you for writing. Do you mind if I share this email with others. I shall cut off your name if you want me to do so, but it is good if the name remains but with no phone number, otherwise people think I am cooking up this email. Thanks. Chris.

Dear Dr. Chris,

Please do with my name too for I wish to tell the truth. You did what you can to help others. My wife made the mistake to stop taking your herbs which help during the 2 months but she wanted a cure fast which is not possible as it was too late.

We wish to thank you, please continue to help us, as Dr. Amir wrote in the STAR saying
chemo may not be the solution (barking at the wrong tree) and the specialists should heed his warnings.

It is painful to lose a dear one and it is frustrating when no cure is found, but others were cured.

Thank you Dr. I admire what you do to fight cancer. May the GOD guide your hands.

Best regards,
Ng Thian Yew

31 October 2012

Book Review: A New Strategy for the War On Cancer

by Terry Thompson. His wife died of breast cancer, his eldest brother died of lung cancer and another brother died of a rare cancer that attacked his heart. Thompson is a retired colonel in the US Air Force. He was also a staff pastor of a large church. Later he became the GM of a nationally syndicated outdoor sports TV program. He is professor of John Brown University, a private, Christian liberal arts college in Arkansas, USA.

Why Write This Book

…at the time she (Connie, wife) was first diagnosed with breast cancer … We assumed that the narrow application of conventional treatment prescribed by our oncologist was the only option. In fact, this assumption drove our approach to her treatment for almost three years. Until just prior to her death, we continued to believe that conventional medicine alone was the only choice we had. There was never any advice offered concerning CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). We were not advised about diet, immune system enhancement, supplemental vitamins and herbs, … etc. We had been prescribed the traditional standard treatment of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, and we never considered that there could be other therapy options or complements.

Cancer will touch your life – hopefully indirectly, but likely directly. The knowledge you gain about it, and what you choose to do with that knowledge, will make a huge difference in your response to the disease. It will make a difference in your personal life and in the lives of your closest loved ones. Your knowledge and actions can save or enhance the lives of present and future generations.

Statistics

According to the World Health Organization, about 12.3 million people worldwide will develop cancer this year. Of those, 7.6 million will die from the disease – more than 20,000 each day.
In the US, over 1,500 cancer victims die each day from the disease. That is over 560,000 cancer deaths per year.
In America 140,000 people die each year from FDA approved drugs.
It takes an average of about 12 years and costs over $800 million to process one drug through America’s new medicines approval system.
Over 18 million people have died of cancer since 1971 (when the war on cancer was declared by US President Nixon). That is 16 times more cancer deaths than the number of deaths from all of our nation’s wars combined.

Reality of the War on Cancer Today

We are in a war that has been waged for nearly a half century at immeasurable cost … and lives with seemingly little hope for victory. A battle is won here, and some ground is gained there, but, by-and-large, we’re mired down in a war that has been going on since before most of us were born …we are in a seemingly endless marathon, and the enemy is winning.

The plan depends on a trilogy of conventional medicine: chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery… my position is that the traditional strategy to defeat cancer … is powerless. It is ineffective. Conventional oncologists must stop limiting their methodologies repertoire to those of the last century… we absolutely must – find a more promising way to wage this war… We cannot just keep fighting a losing battle… It is time to deploy the unconventional forces.

The unbearable pain and morbid bodily disfigurement made the treatment much worse than the disease in many cases.

Aggressive Medical Treatment

Philosophy of the United States’ medical culture: aggressive, “if in doubt, do a lot.” But aggressiveness is not always a good thing, especially in conventional cancer treatment … European doctors will almost always opt for a gentler approach. The differences are because of their national culture, history and medical training. American medicine is aggressive partly because doctors are trained to be aggressive but also because many patients equate aggressive with better.

Most medical practices are reflections of culture – culture of the physicians and culture of the patients.

The Public Spin

…There is a need to put the best face on a war … the leadership hierarchy purposely avoids stating the obvious, choosing instead to focus on the incremental advances that are taking place. The major institutions and organization of the medical community regularly make celebrative announcements about new positive cancer findings and statistics.

…the fact that a few more people are surviving cancer has little to do with treatment breakthroughs and everything to do with earlier diagnosis and a healthier lifestyle… exercise, better nutrition, and ending bad habits prevent the occurrence of cancer.

Root of the Problem – Resistance to Change

A quagmire is ground that is mushy causing anyone attempting to pass over it to sink into it. It renders the person almost unable to move if not completely stuck. I believe the quagmire … applies to the war on cancer. What seemed promising decades ago has not materialised as the ultimate solution, yet the medical community continues, to pursue the course with limited results.

We are in a quagmire in the war against cancer. We are slipping, spinning around, and bogging down. Yet, many call it progress …It is time for a strategy change.

To rescue ourselves from a quagmire, we must understand what got us to that point, then try to determine why we’re still there.

Conventional thinking in medical world seems to be extremely difficult to change, regardless of the evidence. The syndrome tends to prevail that, if we have been doing it this way for years, it can’t be wrong. The status quo is usually the easiest course, but seldom the best.

Genuine progress in medicine, particularly cancer treatment, is being restrained by old thinking about new strategies. The established practitioners generally stand in staunch defenses of their methodologies.

We have to conclude that the lack of progress in cancer treatment is not a capability issue, not a motivational issue, not a science issue, and not a resources issue. Then what is it? In a word: it is politics. It is quite a paradox that a nation founded on the values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness finds little of the three reflected in its approach to health care. Regarding liberty, it controls its doctors’ practices and prescriptions, by legislation, policy, or culture more restrictively than most other places in the world. Regarding the pursuit of happiness, its citizens have less control over their treatment choices than almost anyone anywhere else.

I can’t point a finger at any individual, or any group of individuals and say that is why we are not making headway against cancer. The problem is much larger than that. It is an institutional culture that has been building for many decades… products of an environment that has standards and strategies established by the most powerful secular influences on earth. The institutions of medicine, pharmaceuticals, and government form a train that is seemingly unstoppable… This express train that moves the largest industry in America has reached cruise speed, everyone on it – practitioners and patients alike – are just going along for the ride.

A major political paradigm shift is critical to winning the cancer war. Congress, the FDA (Food and Drug Administratioin), the AMA (American Medical Association), the NIH / NCI (National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute), the ACS (American Cancer Society) as well as prominent cancer centers and medical schools must accept natural , non-pharmacological cancer treatment options. They must be convinced that these options are a necessary and integral part of the overall war strategy. They need to take a hard, honest look at the lack of progress in our ability to overcome the disease over the past several decades. Such a shift would begin with the medical establishment acknowledging the slow progress of the last half-century and that headway could be gained by looking beyond the traditional, conventional treatment options.

Hope for Success

Real hope must lie in more than the limited successes that conventional treatment has produced. Real hope will come with substantially more resources directed toward Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) research, and that isn’t happening. My best estimate is that CAM cancer research receives only about 1% of all cancer research grants … our nation allocate about 99% to conventional (medicine).

It is time for the established medical community to look outside the conventional medicine box to explore the vast realm of integrative possibilities… Nutrition for cancer patients is criitical. Yet, nutrition seldom receives high priority in conventional cancer treatment. Many oncologists remain skeptical about the efficacy of a particular diet in relation to treatment. Unfortunately, too frequently, conventional medical advice suggests that patients eat whatever they want. Acting on this advice can actually feed the patient’s cancer, promote their malnutrition, and contribute to the patient’s inability to tolerate treatment.

How Much Evidence Is Enough?

Shouldn’t acceptable evidence include both modern scientific research AND the experience of hundreds of years of practice? I submit that anecdotal or testimonial, justification for the use of a product or procedure should be a consideration. Granted, anecdotal data alone should not be the sole basis for agency approval, but it should be a major factor.

If enough people get the same results from a particular practice, it works! The evidence is not in the means; it is in the end – the person.

Obviously, no provider or patient wants to use medicine without evidence of efficacy. The question is what is acceptable evidence? The mantra of conventional medicine is “evidence-base practice.” However, the new cancer strategy should also consider “practice-base evidence.” There are many practices that have been effective for thousands of years but are not practised today simply because medical science has “insufficient evidence” of their validity… Sometimes, perfect medicine can be the enemy of good medicine.

Cancer As a Metabolic Disease

Author: This book is written by Thomas Syefried, Ph.D. He has taught and conducted research in the fields of neurogenetics, neurochemistry and cancer for more than twenty-five years at Yale University and Boston College. He has published more than 150 scientific articles and book chapters and is on the editorial boards of Nutrition & Metabolism, Journal of Lipid Research, Neurochemical Research, and ASN Neuro. Supported by evidence from more than 1,000 scientific and clinical studies, Dr. Syefried provided evidence that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease (NOT a genetic disease).

The author dedicated his 438-page-book to: The millions of people who have suffered and died from toxic cancer therapies.

Do you get his message? The present day cancer therapies are toxic! And millions die – from the cancer or from the toxic treatment? Do you ever wonder why the present day cancer treatment has come (or allowed to come) to such a tragic state of affairs?

Mitochonrdia – the Energy Production Houses of the Cell

The last time I sat in class (Universiti Malaysia) learning about energy production by mitochondria was in early 1970. That’s a long time ago. When I taught Plant Physiology at USM, I dabbled a bit here and there with energy pathways and that too was many years ago! So to fully comprehend what Dr. Seyfried said and then write this article – trying to put things in layperson’s language – did take a rather longer-than-usual-time for me. I have to go back to my textbooks again!

Let’s start from the basics!

Mitochondria are unusual organelles found in the cytoplasm and they are the powerhouses that generate energy for the cell. They have their own genome and they can divide independently of the cell in which they reside. Mitochondrial division is stimulated by energy demand, so cells with an increased need for energy contain greater numbers of these organelles than cells with lower energy needs. http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/mitochondria-14053590

A typical animal cell may have anything from 1,000 to 2,000 mitochondria. Indeed there are a lot of these structures in a tiny cell. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/mitochondria.html.

The mitochondria produce the energy-rich molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is required to drive all the cellular activities. Indeed ATP is the energy currency of the cells. ATP is like petrol, without it your car cannot move.

The process of energy production in cell is called cellular respiration. It involves a range of metabolic pathways and processes that take place in the mitochondria to convert biochemical energy from nutrients that we eat – sugars, amino acids and fatty acids – into ATP and other waste products.

This energy production (respiration) in cell can take place with or without the presence of oxygen.

If the energy production process occurs in the presence of oxygen it is called aerobic respiration. This process is up to 15 times more efficient than anaerobic metabolism (respiration without oxygen).

This is what happens in aerobic respiration: C₆H₁₂O₆ (sugar) + 6 O₂ (gas) → 6 CO₂ (gas) + 6 H₂O (water) + heat + ATP

Without oxygen the process of energy production is called fermentation. It is a less efficient way of producing energy because only 2 ATP are produced per glucose molecule (compared to 38 ATP per glucose produced by aerobic respiration).The waste products of fermentation still contains plenty of energy. However, this process creates ATP more quickly. During short bursts of strenuous activity, muscle cells use fermentation to supplement the ATP production from the slower aerobic respiration.

Beside energy production, mitochondria are also involved in the process of cell division and apoptosis (or naturally occurring process of programmed cell death).

In this book, Dr. Seyfried provides us with information saying that mitochondria are also deeply implicated in the initiation, growth and proliferation of cancer.

Energetics of the Healthy Living Cell

In order for cells to remain viable and to perform their functions, they must produce usable energy – and to do so as efficiently and economically (no wastage) as possible.

About 88% of total cellular energy is derived from oxidative phosphorylation. This oxidative phosphorylation pathway is probably so pervasive because it is a highly efficient way of energy production than other ways below. In theory oxidative phosphorylation yields 38 ATP molecules per glucose molecule but in reality the current estimate is about 29 to 30 ATP per glucose.

The other remaining 12% of energy is produced about equally by:

Substrate-level phosphorylation through glycolysis in the cytoplasm. Substrate-level phosphorylation is the direct transfer of phosphoryl group (a process called phosphorylation) to ADP to form ATP or GTP. This serves as fast source of ATP. This process takes place in the erythrocytes, which have no mitochondria and in muscles during oxygen depression. In this process only 2 ATP molecules are produced.
ATP is also produced through the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle or Krebs cycle) in the matrix of the mitochondria. The net result is production of only 2 ATP molecules.

It is obvious that substrate-level phosphorylation and TCA cycle area less efficient method of energy production since only 2 ATP are produced per glucose compared to 38 ATP per glucose by oxidative phosphorylation.

When AT P is hydrolysed (hydro =water, lysis = separation) the high energy stored in the ATP is released. The standard free energy change (ΔG) for the hydrolysis of the terminal pyrophosphate bond of ATP under physiological conditions is tightly regulated in cells between -53 to -60 kJ/mole.

The ∆G’ ATP among cells irrespective of how this energy is being produced is similar. For example, the as ∆G’ ATP in heart, liver and erythrocytes are approximately -56 kJ/mol despite of having very different electrical potentials.

The constancy of the ∆G’ ATP of approximately -56kJ/mol is fundamental to cellular homeostasis. Any disturbance in this energy level will compromise cell function and stability.Cells can die from either too little or too much energy.

Mitochondrial Dysfuction (or Defective Energy Metabolism) May Mean Cancer

Cancer cells produce more energy through substrate-level phosphorylation while normal cells produce most of their energy through oxidative phosphorylation. This goes to say that cancer cells are not efficient energy producers.

A major difference between normal cells and cancer cells is in the origin of the energy produced. Regardless, all cells – normal or cancer cells – require approximately -56 kJ/mol for their survival.

A prolonged reliance on substrate-level phosphorylation for energy production produces genome stability, cellular disorder, and increased entropy, i.e. characteristics of cancer.
Numerous studies show that tumour mitochondria structure and function is abnormal in cancer cells and they are incapable of generating normal levels of energy.

Against Current Mainstream Thinking

As far back as 1924, Nobel laureate Otto Warburg postulated that cancer was principally a disease of mitochondrial dysfunction. To Warburg, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.

The question which needs to be asked is: Is it genomic instability or is it impaired energy metabolism that is primarily responsible for the origin of cancer?

Metabolic studies in a variety of human cancers showed that the loss of mitochondrial function preceded the appearance of malignancy. However, the general view over the last 50 years has been that gene mutation and chromosomal abnormalities underlie most aspects of tumour initiation and progression.

Gene theory of cancer would argue that mitochondrial dysfunction is an effect rather than a cause of cancer, whereas the metabolic impairment theory would argue the reverse.

It is suggested that genomic abnormalities found in the majority of cancers can arise as a secondary consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction. Impaired mitochondrial function can induce abnormalities in genes and oncogenes. Once established, somatic genomic instability can contribute to further mitochondrial defects. For example, impaired mitochondrial function can induce abnormalities in p53 activation, while abnormalities in p53 expression and regulation can further impair mitochondrial function.

Implications for Treatment and Prevention of Cancer

Numerous studies show that dietary energy restriction (DER) is a general metabolic therapy that naturally lowers circulating glucose levels and significantly reduces growth and progression of numerous tumour types to include cancers of the mammary, brain, colon, pancreas, lung and prostate.
Dietary energy or calorie restriction (DER) can be considered a broad-spectrum, non-toxic metabolic therapy.
It is the amount of the diet consumed rather than the composition of the diet that determines blood glucose levels. Many people have difficulty appreciating this fact because they often think that low carbohydrate diets will produce low blood glucose levels. This is clearly not the case here. Our data show that blood glucose levels are influenced more by the amount of calories consumed than by the composition of the calories consumed.
Malignant cells use glucose and amino acids like glutamine as their energy source through the process of fermentation even in the presence of oxygen. So cutting off glucose and glutamine should help in starving cancer cells of their fuel.
The cancer research field has drifted off course for too long in my opinion. It is now time for all cancer researchers to pause, and to reconsider the foundation upon which their views rest. In light of the compelling counter arguments against the gene-based theories of cancer together with our extensive in vivo studies in brain cancer, it has become clear to me that genetic theories are wanting in their ability to explain the origin of cancer.
I do not dispute the overwhelming evidence that defects in DNA, genes, and chromosomes occur in all cancers. The evidence is massive. What I do question, however, is whether these defects actually cause the disease. I will review evidence showing that most of the genomic defects seen in tumor cells can be linked directly or indirectly to insufficient respiration.

Interview with Thomas Syefried

Dr. Thomas Seyfried believes that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease and so should be tackled as such. Cancer cells have high metabolic needs and so by manipulating the energy balance in the body through diet restriction, Dr. Seyfried is convinced that these malignant cells would suffer more than normal cells and even be killed.

Pauline Davies: Well let’s go right back to the beginning, tell me why is cancer a metabolic disease?
Thomas Seyfried: Well, all cancers suffer from the same kind of problem; they have inefficient respiration. The inefficiency of respiration forces those cells to use an alternative fuel which is fermentation, and it can happen in cytoplasm or even in the mitochondria. It’s the fermentation that compensates as an alternative source of energy for damaged respiration. This leads to genomic instability, local inflammation and the features that we see as the hallmarks of the disease.

Pauline Davies: Because cancer cells are growing very rapidly, they need a great amount of energy to respire, to actually grow, and that’s where the stress comes from?
Thomas Seyfried: Well actually they need a great amount of energy because they’re not effectively metabolizing all of the energy in the molecules they take in. Cancer cells release significant amounts of un-metabolized molecules … the cancer cells are wasting this, and this is an indication of an inefficient respiratory system. And it’s the fermentation that drives the proliferation of the tumor cells and also it’s the fermentation that makes the cancer cells drug resistant.

Pauline Davies: Can you, in a very simple way, explain why the fermentation actually drives the cancer. Does fermentation give them more energy to do that?
Thomas Seyfried: Well, you know, we have liver regeneration, the division of normal liver cells to regenerate, they’ll actually grow much faster than a cancer cell and they don’t ferment. The cancer cells are locked into a fermentation profile because they have lost their ability to respire. Cells that can respire will stop their fermentation once the cell becomes more differentiated. The differentiation is also controlled by the energy efficiency of the mitochondria, and if that organelle is damaged in any way, it makes it incapable of using respiratory energy, the cells get locked into a primitive form, the way life was on the planet prior to oxygen. All the organisms were highly fermentative and highly proliferative. The cells were highly proliferative cells in a fermentation reduced environment. Oxygen then brought in stabilization and differentiation and this became the result of having mitochondria in our cells. When those organelles become damaged, these cells revert back to a proliferative condition as they were in ancient times before oxygen came onto the planet. And they will continue to do this now even in the presence of oxygen, because the respiration is deficient and cannot stop this fermentation process. So these cells, as long as they have access to the fuels that drive fermentation, which is glucose and glutamine, they will continue to proliferate and it becomes very difficult to kill them.

Pauline Davies: So you came up with some suggestions for actually controlling cancer. What did you say?
Thomas Seyfried: Our approach to managing cancer will be effective against all forms of the disease, because we view the disease as a singular disease of energy metabolism. So they all suffer from the primary inefficiency of respiration. Now knowing that, can we manage the disease? This becomes not an insurmountable problem. The first step you have to do is you have to treat the whole body, not just the tumor. The body has to be brought into a new metabolic state of metabolic stress where the evolutionary programs for our survival have evolved over millions of years, where we can then tap into alternative fuels due to the genomic flexibility that we have in our systems. Once our body gets into one of these metabolically, or I should say, an energy stress condition, which is actually very healthy, it’s not a painful or harmful situation, the cancer cells now become more stressed than the normal cells because they lack the metabolic flexibility. So the first things we do is put the patients in a state of energy stress by restricting the amount of calories they eat. We bring blood glucose down and ketones up. Blood glucose is the major fuel for the cancer cells and most other cells, especially brain cells. But many normal cells will transition to fat ketones, breakdown product of the fat, which cancer cells have great difficulty utilizing. So putting the patient into a global state of energy stress, puts great pressure on the metabolism of the tumor cell while making the normal cells healthy. The mutations that the tumor cells have, makes them restricted in their ability to adapt to this new energy state. Once we hit those fuels, we can manage the disease; patients can live a lot longer.

Pauline Davies: So what does it actually mean for a patient? How much do they have to restrict their diet?
Thomas Seyfried: Well this is an important point and this is one of the reasons it’s a stumbling block. Some patients have to realize they have to stop eating for several days, and get their blood sugar down to 55 to 65 milligrams per deciliter and their ketones up to about 3 to 2 millimolar and then they know they’re in the state. So we have clear biomarkers for patients to get into this particular metabolic state. The problem is a lot of patients are reluctant, they have other thoughts, the issue of cachexia always comes up and they say, “How could you have a patient who’s losing weight stop eating?” And as I said, they’re losing weight because the tumor cells are mobilizing glucose from their tissues of fats and protein. So by lowering the glucose in the patient, you are actually killing tumor cells that are releasing those cachexic factors, so you will lose additional weight at the beginning, but then the body will regain weight and become far more healthy. So it’s a whole systems physiology that has to be used, together with those drugs that target the ability to use glucose and glutamine.

Pauline Davies: So what should people do … What sort of food should they be eating after starving themselves for three or four days?
Thomas Seyfried: Well it various from one person to the next; people have to know what their own bodies are capable of doing. They just have to measure their blood glucose and ketone levels which gives them an idea as to, you know, does this food help or not help. You know some people just have to stop eating for a week, it sounds terrible but it works, I know it works, we’ve seen many people benefit from this.

The biggest obstacle to this is the medical establishment is clueless as to how this works. It’s totally different than the way people view the disease; the disease is not viewed as a metabolic disease. If you’re not viewing the disease as the nature of what the disease actually is you’re going to be doing things that are irrelevant to the nature of this. I mean there are some people who are cured by the standard of care and current therapies, but they pay a price for that. They have all kinds of other health issues in those who do survive the treatments. And you know, 60 percent of the people treated with cancer do survive. So you have these many survivors but they pay a price for that survival, they’re debilitated in many ways for the rest of their life if they don’t get a recurrent tumor some other time in the future. We want to eliminate that, we want to eliminate the tumor and keep the body healthy, and that’s what our therapy and understanding will do.

Pauline Davies: Why are we not doing this?
Thomas Seyfried: Because the physicians and oncologists are not trained to do this. If they were trained to do this they would be instituting this. This is not part of the medical practice of the field. Cancer is viewed as a very different kind of disease that needs to be treated with toxic chemicals and radiation. No one is talking about the nutritional metabolic approaches to managing the disease because the physicians themselves are not trained in this. If you’re not being trained to do this, how could you institute this, or even understand the principles and concepts? This is a major stumbling block for the improvement of cancer. We’re not going to make any major advances until the physicians in the field understand that this is a metabolic disease.

Pauline Davies: What I don’t understand is why people haven’t looked at cancer as a metabolic disease so much in the past. Why are they focusing on the nuclear problems?
Thomas Seyfried: Well that took place over a many year period, it really kind of exploded with the discovery of DNA in the 1950’s as being the genetic material, and you find broken chromosomes in cancer. It was a natural connection to say, “Oh this is the hottest area in biology; cancer cells have broken DNA; everybody’s looking at gene transcription,” all this kind of stuff. It was only natural course of action to go that route. But Otto Warburg had clearly defined what the nature of the disease was many years ago, and that was kind of considered not important for a variety of reasons, but it was the core issue here.

Pauline Davies: So is there any way of preventing cancer in the first place? What would you suggest, that people starve themselves for a couple weeks a year? Thomas Seyfried: Well I don’t like to call it starving because starving is a pathological condition which is very unhealthy. But if you stop eating for three days, two to three days, and see your blood glucose go down and your ketones go up, you already know you’re enhancing the health and vitality of your mitochondrial system. The inefficient mitochondria undergo autophagy, they’re consumed by the cell for the good of the whole. So the body has an internal control system to purge any cell inefficient in its metabolism. The best way would be to one-week fast once a year, would probably be the singular best way to prevent cancer. This is hard for most people, so maybe three days twice a year, something along this. And as I said you dovetail it in with a religious experience for whatever and it makes everybody feel happy. You can do this with whatever culture or whatever religion; it can be worked in for most people. Let’s put it that way.

In the foreword of the book, Dr. Peter Pedersen, Professor of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA wrote:

I have worked in the cancer metabolism field since the late 1960s and have extensively published works on the metabolic basis and properties of cancer.
I am very impressed with the excellent job he (Dr. Thomas Syefried) has done in highlighting abnormal energy metabolism as the central issue of the cancer problem.
I recognized long ago the privotal role of mitochondria and of aerobic glycolysis in sustaining and promoting cancer growth.
A key point made by Seyfried is that most of the genomic instability seen in cancer is likely arises as a consequence rather than as the cause of the disease. Seyfried’s book provide substantial evidence showing how cancer can be managed using various other drugs and diets that target energy metabolism. The restriction of glucose and glutamine, which drive cancer energy metabolism, cripples the ability of cancer cells to replicate and disseminate.
The cancer field went seriously off course during the mid-1970s when many investigators began considering cancer as primarily a genetic disease rather than a metabolic disease.
The inconsistencies of the gene “only” theory make it clear why little progress has been made in the cancer war and in the development of effective nontoxic therapies.
The gene theory had deceived us into thinking that cancer is more than a single disease … cancer is a singular disease involving aberrant energy metabolism.
Cancer has remained incurable for many due largely to a general misunderstanding of its origin, biology, and metabolism.
If cancer is primarily a disease of energy metabolism, then rational approaches to cancer management can be found in therapies that specifically target energy metabolism.

From the internet I have obtained the following comments:

His book is well-written; it has a lot of technical details which are suitable for biochemists and geneticists but at the same time he does a good job in making things comprehensible to the layperson. He has taken apart the official stand on cancer research – one that uses billions of dollars in research grants ultimately coming out of public money – while producing little if any useful results for the millions of cancer patients who suffer and die more perhaps from the toxicity of treatment rather than the disease itself, hoping for the next miracle drug which the drug companies promise to be just around the corner. His anguish at the state of cancer research as well as clinical management comes out quite clearly in the book ~ http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=29102.0

It’s (cancer) a huge field and it’s an intimidating field because decades of funding and efforts have resulted in perhaps hundreds of thousands of papers, so it’s impossible to grasp what is known. The good news is that unfortunately most of what we learn does not seem to mean much because we still haven’t made much progress in cancer.
I believe that they (mitochondria) play an important role in many diseases including cancer… What I think most people will now agree is that they play some kind of role. Because up to ten years ago most people thought mitochondria just damaged, just a result of the cancer process and therefore if you look at them as damaged, they’re not therapeutic targets whereas if you start looking at them as playing a potentially causal role, then all of the sudden they become therapeutic targets. And since the field is in desperate need for new therapeutic targets, mitochondria provide an extraordinary opportunity for new therapeutic options… I think it’s to break down all the existing biases and dogmas and start looking at what the data shows us, what the information about the mitochondria shows us and take a multidisciplinary approach … Keep in mind that there is this new theory for cancer but it hasn’t been based on dramatically new information, it’s just information that was always there, but people looked at it from a different perspective. So now people are just starting to look at it differently and now you have a metabolic theory for cancer being born. So alternate approaches and new ways of looking at the same data is really needed ~ Evangelos Michelakis, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
To me it’s what science is all about; the problem is on the table, you attack it in an intellectually honest way, let the chips fall where they ~Erik Schon, Colombia University, trained as a molecular biologist but have spent the last twenty-six or twenty-seven years working on human mitochondrial genetics and human mitochondrial disease.

It’s clear that the strategy to treat cancer as a genetic disease is not working, but this fuels the pharmaceutical industry. Enormous amounts of money are spent on large cancer genome projects, but this has not advanced our understanding or treatment of cancer. The information from these genome projects has actually created more confusion amongst cancer researchers, and this is very clear if one reads the literature. On the other hand, when cancer is viewed as a metabolic disease the strategies to treat and prevent cancer become incredibly simplistic and economical.
Why our own medical profession has not looked into this feature of cancer for therapeutic strategies is also odd.
The fact that our PET scans show high glucose uptake in almost all types of cancer proves that cancers have a unique metabolic abnormality unlike normal differentiated cells. Simply put cancer cells require large amounts of glucose, or sugar to survival and multiply ~ Dominic D’Agostino.

Comments

Let’s again highlight some of the important messages that Dr. Syefried wants us to know:

All cancer cells regardless of tissue origin express a general defect in mitochondrial energy metabolism.
Cancer can be effectively managed and prevented once it becomes recognized as a metabolic disease.
It … became clear to me why so many people die from the disease.

Many of the current cancer treatments exacerbate tumour cell energy metabolism, thus allowing the disease to progress and eventually become unmanageable.
Most cancer patients do not battle their disease but are offered toxic concoction that can eventually undermine their physiological strength and their will to overcome the disease. Cancer treatments are often feared as much as the disease itself.

The view of cancer as a genetic disease is based on flawed notion that somatic mutations cause cancer.
Substantial evidence indicates that genomic instability is linked to protracted respiratory insufficiency.
Once cancer becomes recognised as a metabolic disease with metabolic solutions, more humane and effective treatment strategies will emerge.

A study of medical history tells us that new ideas will be rewarded with toxic reactions by the Vested Interest. I am glad that Dr. Syefried has the guts to speak out. And he spoke with scientific evidence and data. Of course many self-serving researchers may label him as yet another quack or charlatan! That is the way most scientists behave anyway.

In reading this work of Dr. Thomas Seyfried, I am particularly disturbed with the following findings:

Although radiation therapy can help some cancer patients, radiation therapy will also enhance mitochondrial damage and fusion hybridization, thus potentially making the disease much worse.
Malignancy and invasiveness of tumours are directly related to vascularity (blood vessel development or angiogenesis). Reduced availability of glucose has been observed to reduce vascularity and cell proliferation. In light of our findings, it is surprising that the cancer field would persist in treating cancer patients with toxic antiangiogenic drugs such as bevacizumab (Avastin) and cediranib (Recentin), which show marginal efficacy and appear to enhance the invasive behavior of tumor.
Compared to bevacizumab (Avastin), which targets angiogenesis, while producing adverse effects and enhancing tumor cell invasion DER (dietary energy restriction) targets angiogenesis, while improving general health and inhibiting tumor cell invasion.
Is it better for oncologists to target tumor angiogenesis using toxic drugs with marginal efficacy or is it better to use nontoxic metabolic strategies such as DER with robust efficacy? Oncologists should consider this question.

The question I would like to pose is: In the light of Dr. Seyfried work, can we honestly say that chemotherapy and radiotherapy help cancer patients? Will these treatments do more harm than the cancer itself?

They say, ignorance is bliss but I also learnt from my observation that ignorance kills and it kills mercilessly.

To conclude, let me ask you to reflect on the quotations below:

The information in this article are extracted from:
1. Thomas Seyfried & Laura Shelton, Cancer as a metabolic disease http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/7

2. Interview with Thomas Seyfried: http://cancer-insights.asu.edu/2012/05/asu-psoc-worksop-wednesday-march-21st-friday-march-23rd-2012-2/

Metastatic Lung Cancer: Meaningless Fall and Rise of CEA With Iressa and Tarceva

DS is a 54-year-old lady from Singapore. In 2010, she had persistent coughs for about six months. In November 2010, she went to the hospital after having severe headaches and vomiting. She was hospitalised for tests. Subsequent imaging procedures revealed lung cancer that had spread to her bones and brain.

Brain scan on 29 November 2010: Multiple small intra-axial solid and ring enhancing lesions in the brain parenchyma. Findings highly suggestive of brain metastasis.

CT Thorax of 30 November 2010: A 4.8 x 4.6 cm mass is seen in the medial basal segment of the left lower lobe. Few satellite nodules measuring up to 1.2 cm are also seen distally in the left lower lobe. Left hilar lymph nodes are enlarged measuring up to 2.6 x 1.4 cm. Further, mediastinal lymph adenopathy is also seen involving the subcarinal and aorto pulmonary lymph nodes. Small subcentimeter sized pre tracheal lymph nodes are also seen.

Bone scan on 8 December 2010: Abnormal uptake projected over the right scapula /glenoid, suspicious of metastasis. Indeterminate uptake at the L5 vertebra. Mildly increased tracer uptake over the right temporal-mandibular junction. Degenerative changes involving the sternum, knees and feet.

DS was treated with Iressa (150 mg daily from December 2010 to mid-April 2012) and monthly injection of Zometa (for her bones). Iressa was stopped after the drug was found to be no more effective.

Her doctor then prescribed Tarceva. From mid-April 20-12 to June 2012, DS was on Tarceva (75 mg daily, and one 150 mg pill taken every two days). DS still continued receiving Zometa infusion once a month.

Within two weeks on Tarceva she suffered side effects such as: pimples and rashes. The doctor reduced the dosage to half. Her tumour marker – CEA – kept on rising. The lung tumour increased in size, her bone and brain metastases worsened.

Vitamins and Supplements

Barley Green / chorella powder
Vitamin B12 or B-complex
Vitamin C – 500 mg
Calcium 800 mg
IP6 (inosital hexaphosphate) 800 mg
Milk thistle
Glucosamine + Chondrotin
Omega 3 or Krill oil
Curcumin extract
Probiotics plus enzymes
Chia seeds, protein shakes, blueberry concentrate.

CT Thorax of 27 October 2011: Since CT scan of 30 May 2011, a mixed response is seen where the dominant left lower lobe nodule shows increase in size whereas the subcentimeter nodule nodule in the left lower lobe lateral basal segment has virtually resolved.

Bone Scan of 13 April 2012: Scan shows foci of increased tracer uptake at: inferior glenoid region of the right scapula (more intense and extensive); T12 vertebra (new) and L5 vertebra (more extensive). Since 25 May 2011, there is interval progression of bone metastases.

MRI Brain with Contrast of 16 April 2012: There are multiple new areas of pial /cortical as well as parenchymal enhancing lesions, highly suggestive of metastases.

Now, the doctor is suggesting that DS undergo chemotherapy with Alimta + Cisplatin. She refused.

DS decided to stop Tarceva and came to Penang to seek our help. She presented with the following:

Pains in left shoulder (scale 5 out of 10) if carry things.
Chest congested and “tight.”
“Crawling” sensation on back of head and sometimes face.
Internal “ticks or twitches” on face.
Sometimes, feet swollen.
Urination 7 to 8 times during waking hours, once at night.
Persistent non-productive coughs. Sometimes felt like being strangled and this feeling passes after a while. Very strong coughing fits sometimes causes urinary incontinence.
Pain in chest after coughing.

DS was prescribed Capsule A, Lung 1 and 2 tea, Brain 1 tea, Bone Tea, Pain Tea and Cough 10 and Cough 11.

Her AcuGraph reading on 7 September 2012 appeared fairly good compared to other cancer patients. She had imbalances of her LU (lung), SP (spleen), KI (kidney) and GB (gall bladder) meridians. Based on this reading, DS was prescribed A-Lung-2 and A-Kid-2 tea.

Comments

If you have been reading our articles in this website, I am sure you would have come across stories of lung cancer patients who have taken Iressa and /or Tarceva. I think I have said and written enough, just read the stories below:

Lung Cancer and the Side Effects of Iressa: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/08/15/lung-cancer-and-the-side-effects-of-iressa/

Meaningless Shrinking of Tumour by Chemotherapy https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/05/26/meaningless-shrinking-of-tumour-by-chemotherapy/

Lung Cancer: The Meaningless Decrease and Increase of Tumour Markers After Chemotherapy https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/04/30/lung-cancer-the-meaningless-decrease-and-increase-of-tumour-markers-after-chemotherapy/

Meaningless Shrinking of Tumor While on Tarceva https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/04/26/meaningless-shrinking-of-tumor-while-on-tarceva-treatment/

Meaningless Decline of CA 15.3 and Tumour Shrinkage Following Treatment With Iressa and Tarceva https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/04/26/meaningless-decline-of-ca-15-3-and-tumour-shrinkage-following-treatment-with-iressa-and-tarceva/

Lung Cancer: After One-and-half Years of Iressa, He Moved to Tarceva https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/09/04/lung-cancer-after-one-and-half-years-of-iressa-he-moved-to-tarceva/

Mom With Lung Cancer: Surprise! Surprise! Four Years on Herbs and Still Doing Well! https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/08/30/mom-with-lung-cancer-surprise-surprise-four-years-on-herbs-and-still-doing-well/

Let me conclude with some quotations for you to reflect on: