Monday, January 31, 2011

The Dark Side

I am a fan of the Stars Wars movies. In that movie series, the dark side represents evil.

I think every cancer patient has a dark side too but the dark side here represents the negative thoughts that engulfs a patient every now and then. In my case, you have seen me blog about it many times. All these arises out of fear. These fears include:

- The Fear Of Suffering (or of Nothingness)
- The Fear of Being Alone
- The Fear of Being a Burden
- The Fear of Abandoning Your Children and
- The Fear of Unfinished Stories

I will write about the above fears in a separate post based on what I read and also my own experiences. I am lucky because through counseling, I have identified them and also learn how to manage them. It's still work in progress for me though.

Many friends and family members often reminds me to be positive and not to think or talk about the illness or to have death thoughts. I take a different view and have no problems talking or even reflecting upon it.

Dr. David Spiegel, who has been supporting seriously ill patients for the past 30 years, believes firmly the importance of humor and optimism to stimulate the body's natural defense system. But he often reminds his patients not to let themselves be locked in what he calls "the prison of positive thinking". There is every reason to believe that the solitude the seriously ill impose upon themselves when they don't talk about their fear of dying contributions to making their conditions worst.

Further, some cancer patients are also fearful of socializing. They are embarrassed with their cancer and prefer to live in isolation. In fact, studies have shown that the connection between social isolation and the risk of death is great. Anything that prevents us from having a genuine connection to others is in itself a step towards death.

The realist credo: What's most important is to always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

My Sleeping Saga

Yesterday evening, after many weeks of searching, I finally managed to find and buy a top over mattress. I realised not many furniture and mattresses shops sells top over. This two inch layer which is super soft, is put on top of an existing mattress helps cancer patients or older people to sleep with less pain. As such, they are rather expensive and also have a limited market. Perhaps that's why many shops do not carry stocks or sell them.

I found two mattress shops (at Section 19 and SS1) that sells but they don't seem to have stock for single bed and if I order now, the delivery will be after Chinese New Year. The thought of waiting for another week for delivery was too much for me. Sensing my urgent need for one, the shop owner at SS1 offered me her display mattress at RM599 (US$195) plus a 50% discount. Well except for a few finger marks on the protective cover, it was in perfect condition. Well I just have to wash the protective cover.

I thought I can have a good night's sleep yesterday but it turn out to be false. While the mattress was very comfortable and I did not feel any pain when sleeping, it however caused me some other pain. Perhaps, the mattress is too soft, so I had back ache instead. Oh dear...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Surviving Cancer Program

This 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program developed by the Puna Wai Ora Mind-Body Cancer Clinic and Healing Center, has been designed to educate you on how cancer came to be present within your body, so you can take the necessary steps to heal within.

Step 1 – Healing Emotions / Eliminating Internal Stress

This area is most often neglected or in denial or totaled dismissed by some cancer patients. Emotional stress (anger, hurt, grief, hate) causes cancer at the cell level, by causing a depletion of adrenaline, which results in a build up of sugar, leading to low oxygen levels, fermentation, and cell mutation (cancer). Healing emotional pain (anger, hurt, grief, hate) is the most CRITICAL step in recovering from cancer. It is the first step in your 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program.

Step 2 – Avoiding / Removing All External Stress

Any external stress will feed cancer at the cell level by causing a depletion of adrenaline. ALL stress should be avoided, without exception.

According to Lothar Hirneise, world-renowned cancer researcher, late stage cancer survivors have all made considerable SYSTEMS CHANGE. This means they have either changed jobs or stopped working altogether, ended relationships or marriages that are stressful or depressing, moved house, moved to a peaceful location etc, all for the purpose of removing ALL stress from their lives.

Step 3 – Reducing Stress Hormone Cortisol Levels

Finding additional ways to remove / reduce stress inside your PHYSICAL body will help to calm the autonomic nervous system and lower stress cortisol Levels that have been proven to suppress immune system function. Those with cancer have abnormally high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Regular aromatherapy massage, yoga, tai chi, meditation, relaxation techniques, and regular laughter, will all help to lower stress cortisol levels. Lowering stress cortisol levels is an important part of your 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program. A DAILY regime of one-two or more of these relaxation techniques should be a minimum requirement for those recovering from cancer.

The use of laughter should be strongly considered. There are many instances of cancer patients who have used laughter therapy (i.e. Watched VERY funny movies/comedies everyday during their recovery) without using mainstream medicine and have fully recovered. Laughter is found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, and boost immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

Step 4 – Increasing Melatonin Levels

Those with cancer have abnormally low levels of melatonin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland of the brain during deep uninterrupted sleep. This is important because 1) Melatonin is responsible for inhibiting cancer cell growth and 2) because melatonin is the hormone responsible for regulating the immune system. Those with cancer have low melatonin levels because the internal stress they feel means they have difficulty sleeping well.

Daily meditation has been shown in studies to significantly increase melatonin levels and should be strongly considered as a key element of your 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program. It has also been shown that those who meditate regularly, have very low incidence of cancer.

Step 5 – Boosting / Supporting The Immune System

High stress cortisol levels, parasites, pathogenic microbes (viruses, bacteria, fungus), chemotherapy and radiation will all significantly weaken the immune system, whose job it is to keep the body healthy and to destroy cancer cells and other harmful pathogens in the body. Therefore it is vitally important to support the immune system during recovery from cancer and during remission.

Intravenous Vitamin C Therapy can also be used for this purpose and should whenever possible, be used PRIOR to chemotherapy and radiation.

Step 6 – Cleansing the Body of Microbes and Parasites

Prolonged stress suppresses the immune system. When the immune system is suppressed, somatids (tiny healthy organisms necessary for life that live in our body and our blood) - pleomorphise (change) from harmless (spore like forms) to harmful viral, bacterial, and fungus like forms.

Cancer cannot exist without these viral-bacterial-yeast-like fungus that a) ferment the glucose in normal cells, breaking the (oxygen) krebs cycle of the cell, causing cell mutation and the birth of new cancer cells and b) ferment the glucose in cancer cells, providing a natural growth factor for cancer cells and tumors to grow within the body.

It is also important to de-worm larger parasites within the body. These parasites weaken the immune system and secrete toxins in the body. A herbal formula such as Clarkia or another parasite cleanse should be undertaken every 6 months.

Step 7 - Detoxifying the Body

What are toxins? Toxins include “mycotoxins” or acidic waste products caused by 1) microbe and parasite secretions, 2) a poor diet, 3) chemicals, alcohol, tobacco, 4) anti-biotics, 5) chemotherapy agents, 6) fermentation of stress hormones, 7) poor exercise regime causing build up of lactic acid, 8) dead microbes and parasites, and 9) dead cancer cells.

These toxins build up primarily in the liver – the master immune system organ. When the liver is overloaded with these toxins, your immune system is weakened, you feel sicker, and cancer and virus-bacteria-fungus thrives. It is very important to have an on-going detoxification plan to detoxify the liver (the master immune system organ), the colon (intestinal immune system), the gall bladder and the kidneys, to prevent toxins building up within your body.

When you are killing microbes and parasites or using an alternative or orthodox cancer treatment to kill cancer cells, it is important to detoxify the body at the same time, as your liver cannot remove from the body all the dead microbes and cancer cells that are being killed in the process.

Step 8 - Cancer Nutrition / Re-Alkalizing the Body's pH

Cleansing your body from the inside out also means making sure whatever you put in your body from now on is free from toxins. It is PARAMOUNT - as part of your 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program - to stop smoking and to stop drinking alcohol and to change your diet to one rich in anti-cancer foods. These are foods whose compounds have been proven in studies to fight and kill cancer cells in the body.

It is also essential to have a strategy to re-alkalise the body's cells to a pH of 7.0 or greater. Cancer cells can only survive in a low-pH environment and this is why nearly all those with cancer have a low pH of between 4.0 - 6.5pH.

This low pH is caused by the excretion of "mycotoxins" which is the acidic 'waste product' of the fungus-microbe in the cancer cell. And the presense of the fungus-microbe itself is caused due to prolonged emotional stress and poor nutrition.

As cancer cells find it difficult to survive in a high pH alkaline environment and cannot survive in a pH environment of 8.0 or greater, it is therefore essential to include a 3 step protocol to restore correct cell pH.

Step 9 – Overcoming the Subconscious Death Wish

All late stage cancer survivors have a strong inner belief that they can beat their cancer and overcome it. This is because all cancer begins with a 'subconscious wanting to die', and if this can be reversed, then the patient will survive.

This strong will to live sends direct messages to the immune system to 're-activate' and destroy cancer cells in the body. Those who feel cancer has beat them, or who feel tired of life and have lost their passion and joy for life, in other words have lost their will to live, send subconscious messages to their immune system to shut down and stop working altogether. It is important to understand that cancer is only a warning that you have momentarily 'lost your will to live' and that you can regain it at any time.

Step 10 – Connecting To God / Accepting Divine Healing

Those who have faith in God to heal them have a much higher rate of survival according to many cancer studies undertaken in this area. Prayer is a calling to God that you want to live, and this helps overcome the subconscious death wish, mentioned above.

Step 11 - Choosing An Alternative Cancer Treatment

The final step of your 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program is to choose at least one alternative cancer treatment that feels right for you. In most cases you should only need to choose one treatment in addition to the above steps of the 11 Step Cancer Survivor Program.

We highly recommend that your alternative cancer treatment at least include one dietary cancer treatment such as the Johanna Budwig Diet, the Gerson Therapy Diet, the Bill Henderson Diet Protocol (which is based on the Budwig Diet) or the Brandt Grape Cure (if you are up to it). These are a few examples and there are more. Very important: Always choose a diet you enjoy, as it is important that everything you do in your life bring you joy, not misery.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Another Alternative Cancer Treatment Drug

I have been following the blog of another cancer patient, Liz and in one of her postings, she reported of a drug called Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). She has started taking the drug and I am very keen to monitor the progress of her recovery. She has also opened another complementary treatment avenue for me.

I have checked out the resources and it seems that LDN have described beneficial effects on a variety of diseases:











CancersOther Dieases

* Bladder Cancer
* Breast Cancer
* Carcinoid
* Colon & Rectal Cancer
* Glioblastoma
* Liver Cancer
* Lung Cancer (Non-Small Cell)
* Lymphocytic Leukemia (chronic)
* Lymphoma (Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's)
* Malignant Melanoma
* Multiple Myeloma
* Neuroblastoma
* Ovarian Cancer
* Pancreatic Cancer
* Prostate Cancer (untreated)
* Renal Cell Carcinoma
* Throat Cancer
* Uterine Cancer

* ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
* Alzheimer's Disease
* Ankylosing Spondylitis
* Autism Spectrum Disorders
* Behcet's Disease
* Celiac Disease
* Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
* CREST syndrome
* Crohn's Disease
* Dermatomyositis
* Emphysema (COPD)
* Endometriosis
* Fibromyalgia
* HIV/AIDS
* Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
* Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
* Parkinson's Disease
* Pemphigoid
* Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS)
* Psoriasis
* Rheumatoid Arthritis
* Sarcoidosis
* Scleroderma
* Sjogren’s Syndrome
* Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS)
* Systemic Lupus (SLE)
* Transverse Myelitis
* Ulcerative Colitis
* Wegener's Granulomatosis


In human cancer, research by Zagon over many years, the increased endorphin and enkephalin levels induced by LDN, work directly on the tumors' opioid receptors — and, perhaps, induce cancer cell death (apoptosis). In addition, it is believed that they act to increase natural killer cells and other healthy immune defenses against cancer.

As of mid-2004, Dr. Bihari reported having treated over 300 patients who had a cancer that had failed to respond to standard treatments. Of that group, some 50%, after four to six months treatment with LDN, began to demonstrate a halt in cancer growth and, of those, over one-third have shown objective signs of tumor shrinkage.

The good news is that LDN can be obtained by prescription, not expensive, approved by FDA (50mg size, though not for cancer treatment) and virtually no side effects (other than having some difficulty sleeping).

The usual adult dosage is 4.5mg taken once daily at night. Because of the rhythms of the body's production of master hormones, LDN is best taken between 9pm and 3am. Most patients take it at bedtime.

Notable exceptions:

  • People who have multiple sclerosis that has led to muscle spasms are advised to use only 3mg daily and to maintain that dosage.

  • For intial dosage of LDN in those patients who have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with hypothyroidism and who are taking thyroid hormone replacement medication should note the cautionary precautions.

Cautionary warnings:
  • Because LDN blocks opioid receptors throughout the body for three or four hours, people using medicine that is an opioid agonist, i.e. narcotic medication — such as Ultram (tramadol), morphine, Percocet, Duragesic patch or codeine-containing medication — should not take LDN until such medicine is completely out of one's system. Patients who have become dependant on daily use of narcotic-containing pain medication may require 10 days to 2 weeks of slowly weaning off of such drugs entirely (while first substituting full doses of non-narcotic pain medications) before being able to begin LDN safely.

  • Those patients who are taking thyroid hormone replacement for a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis with hypothyroidism ought to begin LDN at the lowest range (1.5mg for an adult). Be aware that LDN may lead to a prompt decrease in the autoimmune disorder, which then may require a rapid reduction in the dose of thyroid hormone replacement in order to avoid symptoms of hyperthyroidism.

  • Full-dose naltrexone (50mg) carries a cautionary warning against its use in those with liver disease. This warning was placed because of adverse liver effects that were found in experiments involving 300mg daily. The 50mg dose does not apparently produce impairment of liver function nor, of course, do the much smaller 3mg and 4.5mg doses.

  • People who have received organ transplants and who therefore are taking immunosuppressive medication on a permanent basis are cautioned against the use of LDN because it may act to counter the effect of those medications.

Rarely, the naltrexone may need to be purchased as a solution — in distilled water — with 1mg per ml dispensed with a 5ml medicine dropper. If LDN is used in a liquid form, it is important to keep it refrigerated.

The therapeutic dosage range for LDN is from 1.5mg to 4.5mg every night. Dosages below this range are likely to have no effect at all, and dosages above this range are likely to block endorphins for too long a period of time and interfere with its effectiveness.

More detailed information about LDN can be obtained here.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Incessant Rantings

There has not been any improvements around my neck and my back areas. The pain is still lingering. The coughing has become worst today and I am not sure if I cough up fresh blood for I could taste my blood, though it was very mild. The phlegm also showed traces of blood. There are also some needle like pain on the left and right sides of my ribs.

I have not been sleeping well for a while now. Previously I can't sleep on my sides because it's painful to rest on the ribs. Now I also can't sleep face-up as there would also be pain on my buttocks. The position I sleep most often now is facing down. It's the least painful position but is also the most uncomfortable.

I have modified my lugol drops intake to only three times a day as I discovered that my thyroid is still hyper active. The blood test also shows my TSH has not improved. Perhaps that's the reason why I lost weight. Also, my left side of my neck is swelling much more.

I don't know how long this pain cycle is going to last, but I do hope it ends soon. I am feeling very tired.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Choose Your Food Well

I would like to continue with the post on the link between Sugar and Cancer.

Glycemic Index
All scientific literature seems to point to people who want to protect themselves from cancer should seriously reduce taking in process sugar and bleached flour.

You should choose food according to its glycemic index. Cancer patients should should be selective of the food they take, even though it may be classified under low glycemic index.











































High Glycemic Index (avoid)Low Glycemic Index (take)
Sugar (white or brown), honey, syrups (mapel, fructose, dextrose)Natural sweetners: agave nectar, stevia (a Pacific plant), xylitol, dark chocolate (>70% cocoa)
White/bleached flours, white bread, white rice, overcooked white pasta, muffins, bagels, croissants, puffed rice cakesMixed whole-grain cereals: multigain bread (not just wheat), leavened ('sourdough') bread; Basmatic rice, pasta (preferred multigain) and noodles cooked al dente; quinoa, oats, millet, buckwheat
Potatoes, especially mashed potatoes (except for the rare Nicola variety)Lentils, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, yams
Cornflakes, rice krispies and most other bleached or sweetened breakfast cerealsOatmeal (porridge), muesli, all-barn, special K
Jams and jellies, fruit cooked in sugar, fruit in syrupFruit in its natural state, particularly blueberries, cherries and raspberries, which help to regulate blood sugar levels (use agave nectar for sweetening if necessary)
Sweetened drinks: industrial fruit juices, sodasWater flavored with lemon, thyme, or sage
Green tea (without sugar, or with agave nectar), which combats cancer directly
AlcoholOne glass of red wine a day with a meal
Onions, garlic, shallots (when mixed with other food, they help lower insulin peaks)

Source: McMillan et al. (2006)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

No Sugar Please

As the days passed, I am finding sitting more difficult, especially on hard surfaces. Besides the pain in the buttocks, my thighs becomes painful while resting on the chair. I think I will need to sit on a soft doughnut cushion. Sigh...

Cancer Feeds On Sugar
Many have heard this phrase before. What is the link between sugar and cancer?

Sugar and flour are foods that have a high glycemic index - which means blood level of glucose rise rapidly in the body. When this happens, the body needs to immediately release a dose of insulin to enable the glucose to enter cells. During the release of insulin, the body also releases another molucule called IGF (insulinlike growth factor) whose role is to simulate cell growth. So sugar actually nurishes and makes them grow faster. At the same time, the insulin and IGF promotes factors of inflammation which besides simulate cell growth, are also fertilizers for tumors and also have capacity to invade neighbouring tissues.

Nobel price winner for his discovery, German Otto Heinrich Warburg found that the metabolism of maglinant tumors is largly dependent on glucose consumption. Researches have found that after injecting breast cancer cells into mice, the cancer cells are less susceptible to chemotherapy when the mouse insulin system has been simulated by the presence of sugar. Studies of Ache Indians living in Paraguay showed that when there are no refined sugar or white flour, there are no peaks of insulin or IGF in the blood. The human body cannot tolerate the refined sugar that we are putting into our bodies. World consumption of sugar per person at the end of the twentieth century has grown to a shocking 70kgs (150lbs) a year.

There you have it. Do your bid to help yourself. Stop consuming refine sugar and if you have to take sugar, please consider molasses instead.

Monday, January 24, 2011

One Of Those Days

Of late, there seems to be more pain for me. I wonder if this is some form of cycle that I am going through. I have had good days and bad days and now it seems bad days are here to stay for a while.

Today, I have abdominal pain and also pain around my left back area. I also noticed that sitting for long periods of time now becomes painful and even driving is not so comfortable now. I am also having some problems with my legs, they feel a little weak, especially on the joints. After sitting for a while, I can stand but can't walk immediately. There would be pain around my joints and I need sometime before I could walk. I hope this is only a temporary problem.

My blood test results shows that I am still low on iron and I am now a little anemic. Perhaps that's explain my tiredness. The results are more or less about the same as previously.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Que Sera Sera

Finally, I had all my last amalgam tooth filling removed. My dentist wondered if I had a healing reaction as I had my root canal tooth extracted last week. Well, for the whole of last week, what I had was some pain but I did not take any pain killer. My dentist said it will take about six weeks for the wound to heal.

I also noticed that the lymphnode around my left collarbone seems to be "moving" around the neck area, especially so when I am doing my enema or generally when I am in a sleeping position. I felt some discomfort and also pain around both my shoulders. Somehow, the enema is not able to help ease much of the pain.

Yesterday night, feeling tired, I decided to have an early night and was lying in bed at about 8.30pm when suddendly I felt pain around my chest and right ribs area. I was not sure what to make of it, so I just continue to lie down and after about 30mins or so, the pain eased. There was no coughing nor did I cough this morning.

Last Friday, I met an ex colleague which I have not met for over 20 years. His wife has stage 2 breast cancer 9 months ago. Apparently she is now healed after going through radiation treatment. He said his wife refused chemo (as she knows about the side effects) but I did not have the heart to break the bad news to him that radiotherapy, which is life long poisioning, is even worst. Anyway, I wish her free of cancer for the rest of her life.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Health Status @ 22 January 2011

Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 15cm on the right kidney and 21 and 20 nodes all over my left and right lungs respectively with one up to 3cm in size on both lungs. Confirmed that it has not spread to the live. All other organs are also normal.

Latest scan on 26 November 2010 showed slight improvement in the kidney tumor (shrunk from 15cm to 11.4cm) but the nodes on the lungs were also a little larger. In the August 2010 scan, it was the other way around.

X-rays scan on 26 September 2010 over the scapula (the bone of the shoulder), pelvic and upper back areas shows no obvious bony metastasis.

Prognosis
Consulted four urologists (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologists (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologists suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three urologists do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the expensive (RM20K per month) drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.

My urologist said my cancer is at stage 4 and did not recommend me to take any treatment. It is also my own choice not to take conventional treatment after considering all the facts of the case.

Subsequently during the 1 year review on 2 September 2010, my oncologist in Singapore recommended that I consider:

a. Tumor debulk and
b. Sutent medication or
c. Interferon treatment

I have so far rejected the recommendation.

MAIN THERAPIES
a. Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Following Gerson Clinic's recommendation of three enema daily and alternative day castor oil enema. Due to the strength of the coffee, my enema formula is 4oz coffee, 8oz camomile and 12oz of water.

a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 13 fruit and vegetables juices a day beginning around 8am and ending 7pm. 1 orange, 5 apple+carrot, 3 carrot and 4 green vegetable juices every hourly.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, mainly oats with some raisins, sometimes a little Manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavoring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Mainly boiled potatoes and sometimes Somali organic brown rice (once a week) is consumed. Hippocrates soup are also prepared every other day for daily consumption.
3. Supplements - K-salt, niacin, lugol solution, pancreatin, pepsin, Q10, Inflamezyme, Milk Tistle, Colostrum. Thyroid, Liver and B12 injections daily.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya, guavas, oranges and bananas are consumed at regular intervals.

b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS, PhD, Chennai, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2011.
Reaction: No further reactions observed other than mouth ulcers every now and then.
Stauts: Suspended since 3 December 2009.

c. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Clinic: CA Care, Subang Jaya Center (http://www.cacare.com/)
Main Consultant: Dr Chris Teo
Treatment Started: 27 August 2010.
Medication: Capsule A+B, 4 capsules 3 time daily. Lungs, liver and kidney herbs to be taken once a day. C-tea to be taken throughout the day.
Reaction: Stomach a little uncomfortable after taking Capsule A and the herbs. Increase frequency in night urine.
Status: Suspended since 3 December 2009.

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
d. Oxygen Therapy
Started using a personal oxygen generator with effect from 8 March 2010 about 1 hour in the evening, 20 minutes per session. Richer oxygen does help in controlling the growth of the tumors. It also reduces fatigue.

e. Zhineng Qigong
Started practicing qigong on 11 March 2010. Attend classes five times a week from 6.30am to 8am. As the time clashes with my therapy time, I have two choices, either I join another group or practice on my own.

Health Status
It's just over a month since I came back from USA/Mexico. I had my blood test today and will know the results in Monday or Tuesday after which I will contact my doctor in Gerson Clinic for consultation to see if I need to modify my therapy.

I now weigh 62kgs, a drop of 3kgs in just about a month, the most severe that I experienced to date. I have not been eating as much as before but it looks like I need to find a way to gain back some weight. I have been thinking of introducing some protein into my diet and will consult my doctor on this matter.

I do not know what to make of the loss in weight but I think it may have to do with my tiredness and also not eating well or other negative reasons. I am now finding it more difficult to sit as I think most of my weight loss occured on my buttocks and thighs.

Now, my motto is, I just do my very best. That's it.


Verdict
Notwithstanding the developments, quite a good week.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Not In The Mood

The tiredness saga continues. So I am resting more. This morning, by 10am, I was already tired. I have not been sleeping well, getting up once or twice at night for night urine. So my sleep is disturbed. Perhaps, this could also be due to my age. When you pass the magical 50, I noticed most things starts to slow down. What's more if you have illness.

Ever since (discovered July 2010) I had a marble size lump on my left collar bone, my shoulders have become stiffed and painful. It feels like having carried tons of load on my shoulder. By day end, I would end up doing self massage to ease the pain.

Chinese New Year is around the corner and like last year, the celebration will be simple. Again, I will not be able to partake any of the food and over the years, I noticed my parents have simplified the ceremonies too. Hopefully, next year I can be more active in the celebration.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bumpy Ride

Tiredness is the theme these days. So, I spent much of my time resting or taking naps, sometimes oversleeping and missing one juicing session. I just felt too tired to get up to make my next round of juicing.

I have been coughing every now and then and these days, I noticed every phlegm is always accompanied with some blood. There is nothing much to think of it, so I just let it be. Put it this way, if that development was negative, what can I do? If it was a positive development, then there is nothing to do either! So far, I have been breathing well, occasionally I do feel my chest is somewhat compressed, a little painful but it has never disrupted my breathing. My lungs are clear.

My body pain are minimal on most days, so I am able to go about my daily activities. Sometimes when I do feel some pain, doing coffee enema would help to relief the pain.

Thaipusam
Today many of my Indian friends celebrate Thaipusam. According to Wikipedia, Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February). It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia. The festival is also referred to as Thaipooyam or Thaippooyam. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

When I was in my teens, I would visit Batu Caves where the festival is held in the Klang Valley. Despite being a Hindu festival, thousands of devotees and tourists visit the caves during the festivals. Without fail, my father would bring me along and I would enjoy the festive atmosphere. I would look forward to the steam engine pulled train rides. This year, I thought I would pay another visit, something I have not done in many years. However, it was cumbersome for me to bring along my juices and food due to the crowds. Perhaps, next year.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Earth, Your Source Of Natural Energy

I don't know why, but I have been feeling really tired yesterday and today. I feel like just sleeping for the rest of the day at the expense of missing my juices. Although I tired to sleep early the day before, I just couldn't get to sleep. As a result, I felt even worst this morning, the cumulating effect of tiredness starts to build up.

So, today, I am going to start with a double juice at 2pm, meaning I will drink 16ozs instead of the usual 8oz of the juice and then go for a two hour nap. Hopefully, I will feel more energetic later in the day.

In sufficient sleep = body pain. True enough, I felt pain all over my back this morning.

Earthing
Emily, a friend that I met at the Gerson Clinic last December 2010 emailed me something very interesting. She says it's been helping her to sleep better and have less pain. I hope she don't mind me sharing her story.

Earthing is when the skin of our bodies touching the skin of the Earth, oblivious to the fact that such physical contact transfers natural electrical energy to the body. It's free. It's easy.

This is how Emily did it. The easiest way to do it is to just go outside barefoot in the grass, dirt or sand. Even concrete or stone works. It helps if the ground is a little damp. Stand or sit with your feet on the ground for half an hour or more, several times a day. Use a grounding strap on your feet at night while sleeping. It works by allowing electrons into your body from the ground and they can neutralize free-radicals that have built up in areas of inflammation.

For more information, check out the Earth Institute here.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Dental Risk - Cancer

I took a break from blogging yesterday. I have been a bit physically tired and spent must of my time resting.

Of late, it appears that every time I cough, my phlegm would also include some traces of fresh blood. Well, the only thing I monitor now is to ensure that I don't bleed from coughing. I just think it's part of the reaction from the therapy and there is no point in dwelling over it. However, I do take in peppermint tea with honey and lemon to smoothen the throat. I am also feeling rather tired lately and spend much of my time napping in the afternoons.

Amalgam Fillings: What The Doctors Won't Tell You
Although amalgam dental fillings have been in widespread use for around 150 years, this started to change in the mid-1980s, when evidence began to emerge that mercury vapour was being released from these fillings. However, there was not much supporting evidence at that time. Indeed, as recently as 1997, the World Dental Federation (FDI) and the World Health Organization joint consensus statement on dental amalgam stated: "No controlled studies have been published demonstrating systemic adverse effects from amalgam restorations.”

However, recent advances in technology have allowed the mercury-Alzheimer’s theory to be tested directly on brain tissue samples from known sufferers of the disease. Two independent university laboratories have now shown that minute amounts of mercury can damage the membranes of growing brain cells.

A team of Swiss and Belgian scientists exposed brain cells to minute amounts of mercury and observed changes that mimicked “all the biochemical lesions of AD” (J Neurochem, 2000; 74: 231-6).

A year later, University of Calgary researchers found that mercury caused the "neurofibrillary aggregates" characteristically found in the brains of AD sufferers (NeuroReport, 2001; 12: 733-7).

In response to the concerns these findings raise, Sweden has banned mercury fillings, and Austria and Germany have restricted their use.

Mercury is more toxic than arsenic.

Dentists have the highest suicide and divorce rates among professional. Female dental personnel have a higher spontaneous abortion rate, a raised incidence of premature labour, and an elevated perinatal mortality.

Research has demonstrated that 100% of all root canals result in residual infection due to the imperfect seal that allows bacteria to penetrate. The toxins given off by these bacteria are more toxic than mercury. These toxins can cause systemic diseases of the heart, kidney, uterus, and nervous and endocrine systems.

You can read more about The Link Between Mercury Amalgams and Illness by Dr. Hal Higgins here.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Tooth Fillings And Cancer

Amalgam Removal
Today, I went for my root treated pre-molar tooth extraction. According to my dentist, he is quite sure that this tooth was the source of my kidney tumor problem. The mecury has leaking for years. After extraction, he showed me the tooth and said it was almost 'dead'. As a result, there was very little blood and the extraction was also not difficult despite much of the tooth has decayed.

Next week, I will continue my visit as I still got some teeth that requires amalgam removal. The doctor has been kind to me, offering about 25%-30% discount on his charges since I am a cancer patient.

Root Canal And Cancer
Is there a relationship between root canal and cancer? Root canal has strong relationship with breast cancer.

When a tooth is typically drilled inside and then filled with metal rods, that's root canal. The blood does not reach the root canal, hence the immune system cannot kill the microbes inside the tooth. Microbes orginates from elsewhere from the body such as cancer cells form. Other toxins are also lodged inside the tooth. When the filling is leaked as they often do after a while, it causes infections and a host of health problems.

Root canals are a major cause of the immune system being suppressed and they are a major cause of cancer:

  • Dr. Thomas Rau, who runs the Paracelsus Clinic (cancer clinic since 1958) in Switzerland recently checked the records of the last 150 breast cancer patients treated in his clinic. He found that 147 of them (98%) had one or more root canal teeth on the same meridian as the original breast cancer tumor. His clinic has a biological dentist section where all cancer patients, on reporting in, have their mouth cleaned up first -- especially all root canal teeth removed.

  • There are about 24 million root canals done in the U.S. alone every year. They were proven deadly disease agents in 1925 in a study by Dr. Weston Price and 60 prominent researchers. That study has been suppressed ever since by the ADA and the American Association of Endodontists (AAE). Read the book "Root Canal Cover-Up" by George Meinig, DDS, FACD for the full story. Dr. Meinig was an endodontist for 50 years. He helped found the AAE in 1943. His book is a mea culpa (apology) to the thousands of patients whose health he ruined doing root canal fillings. He discovered the Weston Price research only after he retired in 1993. His book was published first in 1994 and he has lectured widely since then trying to alert people to this danger to their health.

  • The Weston Price conclusions (i. e. that there is no safe way to do a root canal filling) track with my experience with counselling cancer patients for the last 8 years.


What is interesting about this quote is that 100% of the breast cancer patients had root canals, or other infections, on the same acupuncture meridian. Since the microbes do not originate in the root canal, what this implies is that breast cancer cannot form without the assistance of the metals and microbes coming from the root canals.

Dr. Weston A. Price did experiments many decades ago which at first were hailed by the American Dental Association, but which were later suppressed.

Dr. Price removed a tooth, which had had a root canal, from a person who was suffering from a disease, and then surgically inserted the tooth in a rabbit. The rabbit then developed this same disease and in many cases, the human patient was quickly cured.

This technique worked with heart disease, cancer, arthritis and many other diseases.

Dr. Price's research was followed-up by a Dr. George E. Meinig, who also wrote a book on the subject.

While it might be thought that this is an issue for after the cancer treatment, rest assured it is not. It is an issue during treatment if the microbes are constantly being released from the root canal tooth or teeth.

NO CANCER CURE will kill the microbes inside a tooth that has had a root canal.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Peace In Turmoil

Contemplating Death
As I paid my last respect to my mother in law, I could not help but noticed how serene she looks. For a brief moment, I thought she had smiled at me, for her I can tell she was surely at peace in her final moments.

As a Buddhist, I do contemplate on death, more so since I had cancer. But why do I do it? I believe on reflection of death, it teaches me how to live, how to appreciate life and gratitude for right living. I have visualized my own death before, when my tumors in my lungs spread, how my breathing would be affected and compounded by the severe pain that follows. Grasping for air and due to insufficient oxygen, the body slips into coma as the body shuts down, unable to function. As I lay motionless in bed, I had the last look of the world just before eyes are closed forever, unable to even utter a single word. I have totally lost control of my body. Only my consciousness remains. Waiting... waiting for the moment to move on.

What is my realization and what does it mean? I can only be grateful. My cancer has taught me, I will be grateful for all the healthy years I've enjoyed. I have learned not to miss for what I have not got but to be grateful for what I have had. Each day is a day gain, a blessing and a chance for me to live better. Most important of all, I am grateful for the chance to live this life, never mind if it's a short one.

If tomorrow never comes for me, I hope I am able to move on with contentment, at peace with myself. To die is to live because the price of birth is death.

Recuperating In Thailand
My very good friend, Chin Aik has again proposed that I consider moving to Chiangmai or Mae Salong, Thailand to continue my Gerson Therapy there. The last he proposed was almost a year ago.

He told me while holidaying there, he met a Malaysian couple and the husband has nose cancer. The air is fresh and water is clean and also cost is very cheap there compared to Malaysia. He has since recovered after having been there for two years. You can read more here.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Her Final Journey

Late afternoon yesterday, I left for Ipoh to attend my mother in law's wake and funeral the next morning. I left after office hours, just past 5pm and the was a light drizzle. The road leading into the North South Expressway (NSE) was jammed with cars and it took almost one hour just to get into the highway. So what was suppose to be a 2 and half hour journey took almost five hours. Besides the traffic jam on the North Klang Valley Expressway (which is part of NSE), it was drizzling all the way, especially on the stretches of Perak state. It was further compounded by repaving road works on certain stretches of the highway.

I arrived almost 10pm and was about just in time for the last chanting for the night. Although I was tired, I did not sleep well last night, only dozing off at about 3am. Before I knew it, my wife woke me up at 7.30am so that I could be on time for the 8am final rights. Although the ceremony was rather simple, there were a number of rituals to complete. The cortege left at 10am for the Sam Poh Tong Temple for cremation. It was followed by a simple vegetarian lunch. My journey back to Subang Jaya was less stressful and it took me about three hours including a pee stop.

I was really exhausted and tired when I reached home. I had suspended Gerson therapy for half a day this morning. The first thing I did when I reach home was to boil coffee and then do my enema. I resumed Gerson therapy and continued at what I need to do from 3pm onwards. I will do another enema after dinner.

I realised that I am not as strong as before despite taking my own sweet time driving. Not having sufficient juices really made me feel lethargic. A friend subsequently texted me to reflect on how tiredness and lack of sleep is affecting my cancer. Am I operating in conflict? This is to remind me of the importance of rests and not taxing the body too much.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Farewell My MIL

It's with great sadness I wish to announce the passing away of my Mother In Law (MIL) yesterday afternoon after a short illness. She was 84. As a Buddhist, she has made prior arrangements for her own funeral and she has opted sea burial as her final resting place. Buddhist funerals have an atmosphere of joyful remembrance as well as sadness.

When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. When you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
Buddha

She will be fondly remembered and missed by her brothers, sisters, daughters, granddaughters, relatives, friends and me.

In Buddhist tradition, may she attain a good rebirth.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

16 Months And Counting

Today is the start of my 17th month in therapy. Somehow times seems to fly and yet many a times, I feel it just stopped or grinded very slowly, especially during those difficult times.

Gerson Diet
You might think that having being in therapy for 16 months, I would have got used to the Gerson diet. Honestly, I have not. I can live without sugar and oil. But without salt is a totally different taste experience.

With a little salt, everything seems tasty. What's more, the varieties of fruits and vegetables that I have are also limited. Well, I guess the only thing that is keeping me going is my will to continue to live. Everything else does not matter anymore. I am working hard to earn my life back.

Cool Days Ahead
Last few days, I was complaining a little cold. Well, its seems that temperature in the Klang Valley has dipped. Yes, its a cool 26°C in downtown Kuala Lumpur at 12.40pm yesterday.

According to the Star, generally temperatures in the lowlands of Malaysia range between 29°C - 35°C during the day and 26°C - 29°C at night, depending on the amount of rainfall and sunlight.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department said the weather pattern was a bit erratic and the cool weather was expected to continue into the Chinese New Year (CNY). The weather during CNY is usually very hot and humid. Well, this year we will have a reprieve.

CNY is just about 2 weeks away but somehow the atmosphere is rather quiet. I think it reflects the state of economy in the country, although the country is now officially out of recession. Everything seems to be slow moving except for increases in prices of food!

I bought myself a pair of jeans. My old jeans are all size 34 but now I can only wear size 30. The last time I wore this size was when I was 20 years old. Hey, size 30 size is good, it means I am lean.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Blue, Blue My World Is Blue

I will make my post short today.

Bluey Day
My cough is persistent and today my phlegm also has traces of blood in it. My doctor in Mexico has replied. Under the Gerson method, the way to stop bleeding is to do peppermint or camomile tea vaporization (meaning breath the vapours) and then take 1/2 a cup of distilled water with four drops of hydrogen peroxide to gargle. My chest area feels congested and a little heavy when breathing.

My stomach gases is further contributing to the problem. Just when I thought I can eat well, I had developed another aphthous (or tongue) ulcer. I am also feeling a little feverish and cold, even at room temperature. I am not sure if those are healing reactions or not but it's bearable.

I am also feeling tired both physically and mentally as well. I have not been resting enough lately. The only comfort is that my body pains are minimal. I think the key is to have more rests.

Monday, January 10, 2011

My Kidney Tumor Image

Kidney Tumor Image
Have you ever wonder how a kidney tumor looks like? Most of the time in CT scans, it looks a white patch in the shape of a potatoe on a black film. Well, today I am going to share with you how my tumor looks. This scan was taken in November 2009, just before I went to Gerson Clinic in Mexico. I am able to show it because Assunta Hospital also gave me all the images of the scan. On my computer, I can actually take a 360° view of the image by rotating it.

The R is my right side and the F below shows the front view. As you can see, on the left of the image, the cloudy formation is that of my tumor encircling my right kidney. The left kidney is clear. Those ginseng looking roots that you see are actually blood arteries. My urologist wanted to see how many arteries are feeding the tumor in case I wanted to do a nephrectomy.

The tumor does look like some far away star systems but don't be fooled by the looks.

Blood In Phlegm
I have been having a mild cough since last Saturday and although mild, its consistent coughing in the evenings and mornings. This morning, I finally had another bout of some fresh blood in my phlegm. I also feel some congestion around my chest area.

The thing I learned about coughing blood while at Gerson Clinic is that the most important is to stop the bleeding. So the best way for me is not to cough! But the doctor did not teach me how to stop the bleeding, i.e. what I need to take or do! I also forgot to ask. Sigh...

Well, I think nothing of this episode. Whatever it is, it does not matter. I just go on with my life and do my best.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

People Scammers

Amalgam Tooth Fillings
This morning, I visited my dentist to have my amalgam filling removed from my tooth. So far I have five of them fillings replaced. However, unknown to the dentist and me, that tooth was a root canal tooth. The amalgam filling has leaked and also stained the neighbouring tooth. He said, this is the tooth that is most likely contributing to my health problems. I had the root canal done in the 1990s.

The root canal tooth cannot be refilled and will have to be extracted. I have been visiting my dentist weekly and will have that tooth extracted next week. After that, I have three more amalgam tooth fillings to replace.

Friendship Scammers
Somehow, in Malaysia, there are abundance of cases of people being cheated, especially of money. My closest experience was when my ex-colleague was cheated of over RM200K+ (about US$65K) in an eleborate scam, involving getting a job too good to be true. He not only lost his money but his existing job as well. He quit to join the 'new company'. When we found out, a few of us decided to help him out by getting the boss to rehire him. He managed to get his job back.

But there is also a group of people who targets unfortunate people, like cancer patients for example. I am not talking about selling fake cures or medicines. Apparently, there is a group out there offering counselling and support as a front and their intenton is to cheat the patient of his money and property. Some even to the extend or pretext of marrying the patient (if single).

Rumors of such scams in the neighbourhood are abound lately. The scammers will normally donate money to you for a start, then slowly scam you back for more money after they have become very friendly with you. My mother thinks that when someone I met recently treats me rather too well, is out to scam her son's money and property. I assured my mother I don't just make friends with strangers or let strangers comes into my life to take away my possessions. Anyway I don't have that much left, and whatever that is left is for my treatment. So unless, I am under a spell, it is unlikely I will surrender my last cent to that 'friend' at the expense of my own life.

A mother's job is never done and I know my mother worries too much for me, whether I will survive or have money to continue with the therapy or living expenses. So I had a good talk with her, assuring her that her son knows how to take care of himself, least be scammed by these people.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Health Status @ 8 January 2011

This is my first health status posting for the year 2011. I am glad I made it this far. New information are presented in italics.

Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 15cm on the right kidney and 21 and 20 nodes all over my left and right lungs respectively with one up to 3cm in size on both lungs. Confirmed that it has not spread to the live. All other organs are also normal.

Latest scan on 26 November 2010 showed slight improvement in the kidney tumor (shrunk from 15cm to 11.4cm) but the nodes on the lungs were also a little larger. In the August 2010 scan, it was the other way around.

X-rays scan on 26 September 2010 over the scapula (the bone of the shoulder), pelvic and upper back areas shows no obvious bony metastasis.

Prognosis
Consulted four urologists (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologists (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologists suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three urologists do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the expensive (RM20K per month) drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.

My urologist said my cancer is at stage 4 and did not recommend me to take any treatment. It is also my own choice not to take conventional treatment after considering all the facts of the case.

Subsequently during the 1 year review on 2 September 2010, my oncologist in Singapore recommended that I consider:

a. Tumor debulk and
b. Sutent medication or
c. Interferon treatment

I have so far rejected the recommendation.

MAIN THERAPIES
a. Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Following Gerson Clinic's recommendation of three enema daily and alternative day castor oil enema. Due to the strength of the coffee, my enema formula is 4oz coffee, 8oz camomile and 12oz of water.

a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 13 fruit and vegetables juices a day beginning around 8am and ending 7pm. 1 orange, 5 apple+carrot, 3 carrot and 4 green vegetable juices every hourly.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, mainly oats with some raisins, sometimes a little Manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavoring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Mainly boiled potatoes and sometimes Somali organic brown rice (once a week) is consumed. Hippocrates soup are also prepared every other day for daily consumption.
3. Supplements - K-salt, niacin, lugol solution, pancreatin, pepsin, Q10, Inflamezyme, Milk Tistle, Colostrum. Thyroid, Liver and B12 injections daily.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya, guavas, oranges and bananas are consumed at regular intervals.

b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS, PhD, Chennai, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2011.
Reaction: No further reactions observed other than mouth ulcers every now and then.
Stauts: Suspended since 3 December 2009.

c. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Clinic: CA Care, Subang Jaya Center (http://www.cacare.com/)
Main Consultant: Dr Chris Teo
Treatment Started: 27 August 2010.
Medication: Capsule A+B, 4 capsules 3 time daily. Lungs, liver and kidney herbs to be taken once a day. C-tea to be taken throughout the day.
Reaction: Stomach a little uncomfortable after taking Capsule A and the herbs. Increase frequency in night urine.
Status: Suspended since 3 December 2009.

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
d. Oxygen Therapy
Started using a personal oxygen generator with effect from 8 March 2010 about 1 hour in the evening, 20 minutes per session. Richer oxygen does help in controlling the growth of the tumors. It also reduces fatigue.

e. Zhineng Qigong
Started practicing qigong on 11 March 2010. Attend classes five times a week from 6.30am to 8am. As the time clashes with my therapy time, I have two choices, either I join another group or practice on my own.

Health Status
Two weeks have passed since I cam back from USA/Mexico. I have not taken my weight this week but I believe it should be around 65kgs give or take 1 kg.

The last two weeks have seen some body pains but I am feeling much better now. My mouth ulcers have also disappeared. My food intake has gone down as I don't feel so hungry all the time. But I have not been eating well the last two weeks, often unable to finish my food portions. I have just developed some mild coughing, nothing serious at the moment.

I have been sleeping much better now. I guess I am more comfortable with a firm bed.

I have also decided to stop two complementary therapies, at least the TCM for the moment. I will not continue with the Homeopathy therapy.

I have been thinking of spending a week or two at Cameron Highlands, just before the Chinese New Year which falls on 3 February 2011. I like the coolness and fresh air of the mountains.


Verdict
A roller coaster of ups and downs for the past two weeks. Glad to be alive.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Doing It Right, First Time

Gerson Therapy - My First Lesson
I am sure many of my friends, including my family members are anxious to see me heal but so far, I am not able to give any firm indication, despite 16 months into therapy.

My purpose of sharing is to let other cancer patients know what works for me and avoid what does not. It's not a guarantee that it will work for them too but it gives them another treatment option available.

Having been in this therapy for close to 16 months now, would I do differently if I can turn back clock? Of course, I would still chose the Gerson Therapy. I think doing the Gerson Therapy is not easy, so a preferred way is to start the Gerson Therapy first on your own for about three to four months to see if it works for you (ie. whether the diet is suitable, doing the enema possible, doing the 13 hourly juicing and ability to maintain the strict regime). If it does, the suggestion would be to go to the Gerson Clinic under supervision of the professionals and get an individualised therapy and thereafter follow the therapy from home. I know many patients are not able to follow the therapy when they get home, so the trial first will allow the patient to understand what he/she is in for. At the clinic, everything is catered for and so it not a good indicator of suitability.

The first lesson that I learned is this. If you do the therapy for too long without proper guidance and also do not consume the full supplements, what you are getting is a modified therapy that may not be so effective like in my case. After 14 months, I have actually wasted not only a lot of time, but much of my financial resources as well to maintain this therapy. Why not start correctly from the beginning?

Going on an organic diet is not cheap as I found it other countries as well. Your financial resources are limited. Do it right from the start and you may not only get better outcome but better use your financial resources as well.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Miracle Healing

My Progress
It's been one month since I started the full Gerson Therapy beginning in Mexico. I arrived at the Gerson Clinic on 6 December and stayed for two weeks. I have been following on my own for another two weeks. Many of my friends wanted to know my condition after going for treatment. My next blood test is on 20 January, 2011. So at the moment, all I can tell you is from my feel of my body.

I feel great, much stronger than before. My energy levels are improving. I feel energetic, can sleep and eat though not as much as before. I don't feel that hungry anymore and that's because of my thyroid imbalance which I believed is being corrected when I was at the clinic. My pain levels are again at the minimum, sometimes the pain comes (which could be due to a healing reaction) or it could be due to insufficient rests. I have no reason to complain.

Miracle Needed
I can tell some of my friends are rather concerned about my progress and have time and again offered very positive encouragements. Some still pray for miracles to happen to me.

I don't quite like the word miracle even though I have used it before in my posts (in a different context). If a miracle is needed for cancer to heal, then I am doomed. According to answers.com, miracle is defined as An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin. I have left out the religious portion of the definition. While you are trying to convey something positive, the meaning it suggest is that it's rare for cancer to heal.

I would feel much better than having to depend on a miracle to heal. Friends, thank you for your prayers but it would be better if you have left out the miracle part.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Changing Taste

Sweet Tooth
Just when I don't need it most, I have developed a sweet tooth when I was at the Gerson Clinic in Mexico. The food at the clinic always seems so sweet. The USA carrots are not only sweet but creamy when juiced while back home I use those from Thailand which are not sweet and creamy. Still I prefer to use Thailand carrots as I prefer the juice to be less sweet. Local organic carrots are not suitable for juicing. For vegetables juices, I also did not include an apple to make it easier to drink. I prefer pure vegetables juices. I have no problems drinking non sweet juices.

However, I am having a little difficulty with cooked vegetables. This is worst when I have mouth ulcers. I seem to like it sweet like the way they did at the clinic. Naturally, when I came back, I tried but just could not reproduce the same way of cooking. So far, I have refrain from adding raisins in some of the foods. The clinic uses lots of raisins in the cooking.

I just made a batch of tomato ketchup which I use in my noodles. Now I also use it on my cooked vegetables as well. It helps and make the food taste better. This is just a short term measure.

Reflections
A reader of my blog commented on my San Diego/Tijuana photographs yesterday. I am amazed at the details she can see from just photographs. She said I look a little lonely in my individual photographs. She even amazed me by saying my skin looks dry!

Perhaps the way I pose in my photographs made me look like that. It also could be the reflection of my state of mind at that time. The first week was tiring from the travel and I was also experiencing jet lag. But, I was enjoying myself at the clinic, really relaxing. The cold weather affected my skin. My skin around my hands and feet were so dry. I was not able to apply the normal lotion and in the end, the doctor gave me glycerin with water. But it was so diluted that it did not help much.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Going Easy

Health Status Report
This new year, I am making some changes in my blog. Previously, I used to report my health status every week but from this year onwards, I will now report only once every fourth night. This is because my condition has more or less stabilised and there is not much changes within a week.

I have also been reporting about healing reactions and pains as and when it happens. I know, sometimes people do not like to read about sad news. The reason why I am reporting these are for the benefit of those doing self medication, based on my own personal experience.

Air Bed Experience
I have been sleeping for two days in the new air bed. The bed is powered by a pump with two outlets, each connected to a series of alternating air pockets that made up the plastic bed. What this means is that the air pump will have to be on all the time and will regulate the amount of air that remains on the bed. The air alternates between each of the air pockets, which means you will feel on one row, the air is increasing while in the alternate rows, the air is decreasing. This gives you a massage sort of feeling, very good for those with back sores.

I am not used to the bed 'moving' throughout the night. I woke up last two days with back aches. I set the regulator to about 7, meaning the bed is not that stiff. Lower number means softer bed. I will set it to 9 (max) tonight and see if there will be any difference.

Body Reflection
It's been a long time since I last look at my own body in front of the mirror. The last time I did, I watched in horrors how foreign my body looks. Bathroom vanity. Hey, cancer patients still want to look good you know.

The last few days, I had another good look of myself. This time round, I can afford to smile a bit. The ribs that were seen protruding against the skin is now more subtle. This means I have put on back some meat.

The good thing about this development is that I can now sleep on my sides with less discomfort. Is my health improving? I certaintly hope so.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Reality Bites

Organic Produce
For people who are buying organic vegetables, I got bad news. The prices of organic greens will increase by between 10% and 20% with effect from 1 January 2011. In Malaysia, we always have this relationship between the prices of a few main items namely petrol, cooking oil, sugar and wheat flour and the general price increases of goods and food. The so called withdrawal of subsidies by the Government on these main items over a period of time had constantly pushed food prices up an upward trend. Organic greens are already over priced and now they are also jumping on the bandwagon.

Sometime ago, I posted some information on fruits and vegetables that are less contaminated and not so depending on the growing method. As organic food prices continues to increase, there comes a time when we may have to consider buying from conventional sources. According to Dr David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PHD, in his book Anti Cancer - A New Way of Life, the following list of fruits and vegetables which we can consider.

Fruits
Bananas, oranges, tangerines, pineapple, grapfruit, melons, watermelons, plums, kiwis, blueberries, mangoes and papayas

Greens
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, peas, radish and avocados

Personally, I have used conventional fruits like apples, mangoes, etc when organic sources are not available.

Following Alternative Therapy
Last June 2010, I received an email from someone (who was introduced to me by my ex-colleague) asking me information about the Gerson Therapy. His wife had breast cancer. After a few correspondences with him, it became apparent to me that he has been receiving his consultation from a MLM company. I have repeatedly advised him to read Dr. Max Gerson's book so that he get first hand information rather than relying on a company which in my opinion is not in a position to provide such consultation on Gerson Therapy. I wrote about this case in July 2010.

On New Year's day, I received a SMS from my friend. He said the therapy has failed (I presume he meant Gerson Therapy) and subsequently went for chemotherapy in Singapore. That too failed and the doctors told her there is nothing much they can do. She is now reduced almost to a veg, just waiting for the time to move on, within this or the next week.

What I am trying to say is this. Treat cancer with respect. It's not your ordinary flu. Don't just rely on information provided by third parties. Those information can help you jump start and provide you a starting point. Please read from referenced sources. Six months ago, when I spoke to her, she was still in good health. You will pay for with your life dearly for misinformation.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Trip To San Diego, USA And Tijuana, Mexico (Photographs)

I would like to thank all my friends who have sent me New Year greetings either through this blog, Facebook, email or SMSes. It's a beautiful way to start a New Year by extending good wishes to all.

This New Year, I also received a present from Bee Tin. She gave me a Bubble Mattress which is an alternating air pump and mattress system. It is suppose to make me feel like I am sleeping on air. I have installed the mattress and the air pump and hope to try out sleeping on my new mattress tonight. It's really thoughtful of her and I hope my sleep will even be better. Thanks, Bee Tin.

Trip To San Diego, USA And Tijuana, Mexico
The following are some photographs taken during my trip to San Diego and Tijuana.

With Charlotte Gerson during her weekly visits to the patients to understand their progress. She will answer to any questions that you have pertaining to the Gerson Therapy. Finally meeting her in person!


In downtown San Diego. Unfortunately, I could not sample the coffee at Starbucks!







The shop (I think Korean owned) in downtown San Diego where I had my vegetarian Burritos for breakfast. Later, I had my vegetarian Burritos at the Mexican restaurant next door for lunch.












The beach that is about 5 minutes walk from the Gerson Clinic. I spent much of my free time here. Those stones you see on the sand are actually beautiful round pebbles.






The background are the houses and shops that are fronting the beach.









Entrance to the Gerson Clinic.








Inside the compound of the clinic where patients can sit around read papers, mingle with other patients or just relaxing.






Getting ready for lunch in the dinning hall. Opposite me is Rochell of New Zealand, a caregiver. The dining hall looks empty because most of the patients and the caregivers have left. Last two days in the clinic.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Welcome 2011

I would like to wish all of you

Happy New Year 2011!



May the New Year brings you abundance of joy and health.