Being a doctor in the holistic health care field can be very
frustrating at times. One morning I was sitting in a café
with some friends and fellow colleges of mine. We were teaching
an Applied Kinesiology class that morning to a group of health
care professionals. One of the doctors who flew in from out
of town to attend the class was talking to a group of people
who were all dressed in their running gear. There was a “Run
for the cure” that morning in Portland, Oregon. My friend
who is a cancer survivor asked one of the runners, “run
for the cure to what?”, “Run for the cure to cancer”,
they replied. He said, “There is a cure and I am one
person who is living proof of it”. They laughed and
one of them said, “yeah, right, then what are we running
for?” My friend proceeded to tell them his story of
how he went the natural, holistic healthcare route to overcome
his cancer and even went on further to say that the doctor
who helped him is sitting in the chair over in the corner.
They all looked at each other and laughed again.
So what are they running for? Most likely they are raising
money for cancer research. These days cancer research does
not seem to be saving many lives. Now don’t get me wrong,
I think that the uniting of many people for a great cause,
like the cure for cancer, is a magnanimous thing. But these
people are putting their hopes and money into a system that
is not very efficient. Unbelievable amounts of money are put
toward finding the magic pill that will cure cancer. Well,
we have been trying to do that for about 30 years now and
there has not been much success.
There was an article in the March 22, 2004 edition of Fortune
magazine by Clifton Leaf called “Why we are losing the
war on cancer (and how to win it)”. In his article Clifton
describes the cancer research culture as “dysfunctional”
because of the bureaucracy of the Food and Drug Administration
that stands in the way of research and the goals of the researchers.
These obstacles force them to only look to the tiniest of
improvements with in the same methods that are not working.
Unfortunately, the scientists and physicians doing the research
are rewarded for academic achievement and publication rather
than establishing new ground breaking ideas and new methods.
Why? Because the FDA will push through medications faster
if they are similar to past approved methods. This is the
reason why the medications that have been put on the market
from 1995 – 2000 have had no improvements over the older
cancer drugs but have a price increase of 350 times. Cancer
research is at a standstill compared to other areas of scientific
research like nuclear physics, rocket science and genetics.
Some of the stats for cancer in the United States that Clifton
listed are unbelievable. More Americans die in 14 months from
cancer than in every war America has ever fought-combined.
With 30 years of research and development, the death tolls
of cancer has still risen 73% (that is 1.5 times greater than
the United States population growth). In the next decade,
cancer will top heart disease as the top U.S. killer. The
number of people who die every day of cancer is the same as
one world trade center collapsing every day.
What is the problem? Clifton states the problem is what they
are researching. The bulk of research is in tumor shrinkage
and not in the spread of cancer or metastasis of cancer. The
metastasis, the spread of cancer throughout the body to the
vital organs, is what kills people. The study of tumor growth
is much easier with the current system of scientific research.
If a particular drug shrinks a tumor by 10% and increases
a patient’s life by 5 months that is a huge success
to the researchers who are working in this paradigm. This
method focuses on the individual cellular mechanisms (the
microscopic view of the problem). Generally the tumor size
is not what kills a cancer victim; it is the spread of the
cancer through out the body. To research this we must look
to what is going on in the individual as a whole (the macroscopic
view, the holistic view or the big picture). This is the work
that is not being done because it is not as profitable to
the drug companies or their shareholders. That is right, cancer
research is a business. If the methods are not profitable
they will not be researched. This is my personal view of why
natural methods of treatment and prevention are not researched,
because they are not profitable.
Through the wisdom of Chinese medicine that has been in use
for more than seven thousand years, disease is simply seen
as an imbalance in the body. In my personal view and the view
of many other doctors in the holistic health care field, cancer
is an imbalance in the body. I see cancer as a disease of
modern society stresses. Imbalances caused by the way we eat,
the water we drink (if we do drink any), the air we breathe,
the emotional stresses and beliefs we have. We are bombarded
by chemicals that are unnatural or imbalanced in our food,
water and air. We are eating foods with less and less nutrition
in them because of big business farming and processing practices.
We are led to believe that things are “Natural”
through product labeling because big business lobbies for
loopholes that let them claim all natural ingredients. Marketing,
public relations and biased research done by these companies
make us believe their products are good for us and our children
and even influence our health care professionals to tell us
so. This is where cancer and many other modern diseases come
from.
There is no magic pill for cancer, natural or man made. It
is a lifestyle disease so we must change the way we live if
we want to avoid it or reverse it. People must eat real, whole,
organic, unprocessed foods that we are designed to eat (see
eating right). The basic foods we should be eating are
natural, organic, free-range animal proteins with vegetables
and small amounts of fruit, only when in season. We must get
adequate sleep at the times our body cycles expect it. This
means, in general, sleeping from sunset to sunrise. We must
drink enough healthy water. When I say water I do not mean
soda, coffee, tea, flavored waters or sweetened drinks. The
best water in our current time is distilled water or mineral
water bought in glass bottles. The only regulations that the
bottled water companies have is that they must adhere to the
same standards as tap water (there are many chemicals, toxins
and pathogens in tap water). Stay away from reverse osmosis
water (affects the kidneys) and well water (unless the well
water is distilled) even if water tests say it is safe. Avoid
putting perfumes, colognes, scented products, deodorants with
aluminum and lotions on your skin. In general do not put anything
on your skin that you would not eat, because whatever is on
your skin will be absorbed into your body. These products
also affect you when you breathe them in. Try to avoid breathing
as little pollution and chemicals as possible (scented hair
and body products, car exhaust, cleaning products, etc.).
Keep electromagnetic exposure from computers, cell phones
and any other electric products and or wires to a minimum.
Most important of all find a doctor that is well experienced
with Applied Kinesiology
and works on a structural, biochemical, emotional and electromagnetic
challenges with their patients. If your condition is at a
point where you need aggressive medical treatment make sure
that you use an Applied Kinesiology doctor to complement your
medical treatment.
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