Mind-Body Healing and Cancer

Cancer: What is It?
Cancer follows a disruption in the lifecycle of the cells of the human body. Whereas, normal cells are born, live out their purpose, and undergo apoptosis or death, cancer cells tend to live on. They then begin to multiply, form tumors that can cause obstruction of vital organs in the body, and steal nutrients from surrounding healthy cells and cause depletion in the host.
Dealing with cancer depends on two points of view. Orthodox or traditional medicine sees cancer as a chance occurrence that results from genetic mutations. As such, the focus is primarily on killing cancer cells. On the other hand, unorthodox or non-conventional medicine sees the disease as the consequence of metabolic imbalances resulting from lifestyle choices. Thus, it focuses on restoring the patient’s inner biological environment to the state when it was free of cancer.
Cancer treatments such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, et cetera are generally identified with conventional/orthodox medicine, while treatments such as dietary and lifestyle changes, psychological programs, and nutritional supplementation are generally identified with non-traditional/unorthodox medicine.
Using radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, et cetera is also called waging war on cancer because the foremost goal of these treatments is to eradicate cancer cells or force them into remission. Though some will point out that these treatments are worse than the disease, most medical practitioners agree that they are effective in curbing the proliferation of fast-growing cancers or in treating diffuse blood cancers.
Since cancer is seen by non-traditional medical practitioners as a systemic disease, maladies that have the common characteristic of uncontrolled cellular proliferation, they point out that only in implementing "whole body" treatment programs can a long-term cure for cancer be found.
Some doctors are quick to offer somebody who has been diagnosed with cancer with the first option, i.e., conventional orthodox treatments. Bear in mind, however, that it is neither the only one available nor the best option there is.
You have cancer. Now what?
Do not give in to panic. Cancer is NOT a death sentence. You are still alive. People are cured of the disease. Remember that, even in the face of the bleakest prognosis, the oncologist is only making a prediction based on his current knowledge and data from conventional treatment methods.
You need to know the type of cancer you have, the stage it is in, if it has metastasized, the available treatments and their success rates, the alternative treatments available, the dietary, lifestyle, and psychological changes that needs to be implemented.
Getting a treatment program that is tailored to your requirements is of utmost importance, as well as finding the right health practitioner to implement it.
The second step is to look for as much additional information as you can. You can do this by reading books or visiting the Internet. It is advisable not to rely solely on information coming from your doctor.
Alternative views on cancer can be found in the pages of these books: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Cancer the full menu by Rolf Gordon, Healing Cancer by Simon Kelly and Enrida Kelly, Cancer Is Not A Disease by Andreas Mortiz, Alternatives in Cancer Therapy: The Complete Guide to Non-Traditional Treatments by Ross Pelton and Lee Overholser, Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, Winning the War on Cancer by Mark Sircus, and Everything You Need To Know To Help You Beat Cancer by Chris Woolams.
Because the Internet is not always a nice place, be extra careful when getting information from it. Believe it or not, there are people who will try to take advantage of your situation. Avoid sites that offer instant cures. Cancer is a disease that takes time to manifest. It is a good bet that the cure will likewise take time.
The next step is to decide on a course of action. There are four choices:
Go exclusively for orthodox treatments. An option for individuals who believe that it is better to leave health matters to the discretion of their doctors.
Implement a combination of both treatment types. These individuals want the best of both worlds. They might also be manifesting a very aggressive type of cancer that must undergo a rapid reduction in the number of cancer cells as a first step.
Implement only alternative treatments. People who go for this option have done their research, were not convinced by the success rate of conventional treatments, and have decided that pursuing alternative approaches offers them better chances.
Do nothing at all. An option for people in complete denial, whose cancers are developing very slowly, whose cancers are untreatable by any of the current available means, or are too old or frail and are likely to die from the treatment process itself.
You will then decide on a course of action based on your current condition, your temperament, your belief systems, as well as your existing social support structure.
Remember that treating cancer is also not a matter of the more treatments, the better. Going for a combination of both orthodox and unorthodox treatments will mean either chemotherapy or radiotherapy, treatment modalities that can contribute to the death of the patient.
The next posts will try to examine how mind-body healing can help cancer patients.