Advice to Patients – Page 5

In a Nutshell – Our Advice to Cancer Patients

I know it is very confusing when people start giving you all kinds of “expert advices.” There would be well-meaning relatives and friends who come and give their opinions. I use to tell patients, Yesterday these people know nothing about cancer, but today they turn “experts” telling you what to do. Instant experts are just like instant noodle – are junks.

When I first started CA Care, I must admit I know nothing about cancer. My knowledge about cancer was “absolute zero.” With time, and with lots of reading and listening to many patients, I learn a lot.

Let me share with what I know briefly.

If you have cancer KNOW that no one on earth can guarantee a cure. At best, it is a remission and the cancer can come back again – months or years later.

What seems a realistic aim is to be able to live a quality life – to be as normal and healthy as possible knowing that cancer cells may be still in your body. Let us learn to live with our own cancer cells.

In general, it appears that neither modern medicine nor alternative medicine can claim great success – at most a 30 to 40% success rate. What do I mean by success rate? I don’t know and I don’t think anyone honest enough would also know. Anyway, 60 to 70% of cancer patients would, unfortunately, be left high and dry – often abandoned. I see many of such cases.

You have THREE options for your cancer management:

OPTION ONE: seek only treatments offered by modern medicine i.e. surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. Good bonus: YOU CAN EAT WHAT YOU LIKE and also continue with your old lifestyle. Literature says some people suffer badly from the side effects – vomiting, botak (bald) and later suffer possible damage to liver, kidney, heart, etc. Some people may even die from the treatments themselves rather than the cancer. There are the so-called scientific methods – the path that many would follow without questioning or thinking.

Listen to the video of our patient and also our friend.

OPTION TWO: seek alternative medicine without aggressive procedures. This is just as good or bad as there are good and bad apples. If the healer promises you a cure or you need to spend plenty of money for the procedure – be careful! He may be after your money not your cancer. For reasons only known to themselves most doctors consider this QUACKERY.

OPTION THREE: seek complementary therapy. This is marrying one and two above. Adopt the best of both worlds. Reject procedures what do not make sense to you or are too aggressive. This is what we do at CA Care. Unfortunately taking this path is no honeymoon. You need to work for your healing. You need to change your diet and your old lifestyle. It does not make sense to continue polluting and abusing your body further after it has been cleanse. We advocate this path and we also end up being called a QUACK. We hear comments like: Cancer patients can eat anything they like except herbs. Some even told their patients – Take herbs only after all the medical treatments that we give you do not work! You see Chris Teo – you die because you cannot eat what you like. So be it.

Ignorance kills! Kiasus don’t always win either. Make your choice and please yourself.

Don’t Be Complacent – When can I stop taking the herbs? Or go back to my favourite food?

We rejoice with patients when they get well. We hope they continue to get well. However, we would like to remind those involved – please don’t be complacent. The cancer may come back. If you think you are done with cancer – remember cancer may not be done with you yet. As such as we advise you to relax and be positive, we also hope that your healing experience has changed your lifestyle and attitude towards life permanently and positively.

Often people ask this question, When can I go back to my old favourite food? Some people learn easily, some others learn the hard way, yet many others don’t seem to want to learn at all. Our answer to such question is well known, Never go back to your old unhealthy habits. Later, for some reasons if you decide that you are bored or tired with life – then indulge in whatever you want to do, and pray that you go quickly and peacefully.

There was a man with liver cancer and was doing well after taking the herbs. When he tookthree pieces of lor bak + a plate of char-o-fan his alpha fetoprotein liver shot up three times to 40,000 plus. Is that worth it? You have a choice to stay healthy or to get sick! My advice to him and many others was, Take more of the lor bak so that it is worth the misadventure. It is not worth getting into trouble just because of three pieces. Take a lorry-load of it. Then it is worth it.

The second question often asked of us is, When can I stop taking the herbs? Honestly, we don’t know – nobody in the world knows for sure either. If you are willing to take the risk – then do what you wish. If you value life more and do not mind that extra chore of cooking and drinking the herbs, then continue. When people take vitamin pills or supplements they do it willingly – without fuss. It is hard for us to tell you to stick to our herbs for life – which is like trying to hook-winked you into buying the herbs forever and ever.

We know of many who are on the herbs for the last many, many years. They are still on them and are doing well. On the other hand they are those who took the herbs and stop after they get well. Then they go back to their old lifestyle.

A lady with breast cancer was responding very well to the herbs. After she was done with her chemo, she stopped taking the herbs as well. Barely six months later her father brought her in a car – half-dead, lying in the car and was unable to walk. The cancer had spread and was too far advanced to do anything.

Another lady with breast cancer was doing very well on the herbs – including no side-effects while on chemo. After the chemo treatments she stopped taking the herbs. Two weeks ago, she came back and told us that the cancer has spread to the lung and brain. We asked the husband why she did not continue taking the herbs – the answer, We thought that the cancer was already gone.

While on this, our mind went back to a pretty lady – our friend called Su, a matron in one hospital. She had thyroid cancer and was one of our earliest patients. The doctor said that she would not be able to get back her voice – she was in bad shape indeed. She took Cap. A and fresh rodent tuber juice plus radio-iodine treatment. With God’s grace and mercy she became well and could even sing with a beautiful voice. One evening she came to Centre with a nice cake as a present to us. That cake, loaded with lots of sugar really disappointed me (hi, be careful what you give to us!). A few months later, we learnt that Su was not well again – we called Su’s husband and asked if we could be of any help. Too late, the cancer has gone to the lungs; she was breathless and died soon afterwards. We went to her house and talked to her husband (also from a Health Department) and we asked him this frank question, Why did you stop taking the herbs? The answer was, We thought that the problem as over. We were over confidant because she recovered so well. So we stopped the herbs and went on eating our “catered food” again.

Dear friends, you have a choice – choose wisely. Reflect on the above examples – they are true accounts. We never attempt to dramatize or exaggerate them. If at all there is a lesson to learn or an advice to give, let not Su die in vain – she has a message for you.

Do Not Be Complacent

One most misinformed or misunderstood idea that many patients believe is that cancer is cured after one has undergone surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This is often further compounded by the doctors’ pronouncement that everything is alright! The patient goes home and continues to live their previous lifestyle. Unfortunately, soon afterwards, the patient suffers a relapse i.e., the cancer comes back. We know of cased in which a relapse occur even after 10 to 15 years in remission. This implies that there is no certainty in the complete cure of cancer. Perhaps cancer patients are not aware or have not been told of the disturbing fact that conventional medical treatments can only help (not cure) 40% of all cancer cases. Unfortunately, 60% of the cancer cases do not respond to these medical procedures.

In her book, The Activist Cancer Patient, Beverly Zakarian said that one of the few things known with certain about (ovarian) cancer is that it is uncertain.

Do not be misled. If you think that you are done with cancer, cancer may not be done with you yet. So, do not be complacent. We take the view that patients need to consider the change to healthy lifestyle and diet as permanent. From our experience, we know that most patients would ask for their unhealthy and forbidden food the moment they feel well enough to talk and eat. This is indeed most regrettable and disappointing. It makes no sense to revert back to an old lifestyle or habits at the first sign of regaining health. Also, patients may need to continue taking the herbs and cleanse the body for a long time yet. There are people who would reduce or stop totally, taking the herbs after the initial signs of recovery. The risk of a relapse is too great to take any chances.

Listen to Your Body

A 43-year old lady had constipation problem. She went to the hospital. The doctor did an operation on her and discovered that cancerous tumours had invaded the ovaries, pelvic cavity, omentum, part of the colon and the surface of liver. This was classified as Stage 4 (T3bNxM1) cancer.

Can cancer just appear like that? It is not likely. Perhaps there are early signals or signs that were being presented years before – could you recognise these signals? Do you care or are you not bothered?

In the desire to climb the career ladder it is worth realizing that health is most important. Take time to BE. In silence learn to know what the body is telling you.

As for this lady, there were some signals but she just took them for granted, referring to take Panadol to silence them all. To you ladies take note that irregular, painful, periods indicate imbalances in the body, especially the liver. This 43-year-old-lady had been having pains but ignored them. In addition she did not have her periods for up to six months, then when her periods came it was a very heavy flow, with dark coloured blood clots.

According to the Chinese, blood clots indicate stagnation. Absence or irregular period, etc., all indicate stagnation or poor qi circulation. Stagnation leads to blockage of blood and qi flow leading to pain. If stagnation is allowed to persist, over a long period it transforms into mass which later manifest as tumours.

So, please learn to listen to your body.