Welcome to my personal logbook of life with cancer.

"As a person I can be critical and forceful when communicating my convictions. My statements can come across bluntly with a lack of attention for the reactions that they can stir up in others. So please allow me to make something clear from the start. Should my positive attitude and the decisions and actions that I take result in a successful fight against cancer, then that will be my good fortune. I will have been lucky. There are many cancer patients, including some of my family members and friends over recent years, who have reached inside themselves and overcome their fears with an unbelievable amount of positive attitude and willpower, and a fighting spirit that has enabled them to survive battle after battle... to their last breath when they finally succumbed to cancer. There are no guarantees in life. But I can take responsibility for my personal actions, decide what is best for me, and I choose for quality of life. My cancer is a messenger, yet my real battles will not be against cancer. My real battles will be to rediscover myself and open up to family, friends and the universes that embrace me.

This website will evolve with my monthly updates. My insights, thoughts, moods and emotions will fluctuate along the way. My wording will reflect my feelings of anger, frustration, surprise, faith, hope, compassion and love. I will not restructure my story into a logical whole, but maintain the chronological progress through the monthly updates. This is my personal journey, my personal logbook of life with cancer."

Monthly update: March 2012

Time to round off the first chapter

Over two years have passed by since this website was started, and I believe it is time to round off the first chapter on the prevention and control of cancer. I have endulged into different areas of science and research, but at the end of the day my conclusions and recommendations (to myself and others) are simple.

"Cancer can be both prevented as well as cured by adopting a balanced therapy of Moerman diet, early to bed and early to rise, and starting the day with a walk in the fresh air. This approach is designed to revitalise the body, mind and spirit. The body, mind and spirit take care of the rest."

This chapter of the story has a happy ending.

Monthly update: February 2012

So many sources of inspiration in the world

Peter Johncke "The Trick Shot Master", having recovered from cancer in the 1990s, is an inspiration to many today. Enjoy!

Paralysis through analysis

The simple complete routine of Moerman diet, early morning walks and early to bed and early to rise, worked wonders for me throughout the course of 2010. Now, some 2 years after discovering that I had cancer, I feel as if all the additional "new insights" and "evidence-based information" is a net distraction rather than a net improvement. I can long for my resolution of two years ago, a balanced approach wrapped in the synergy of simplicity.

Golf makes me aware of a similar parallel, and it was expressed well by Ernest Jones in the introduction of his book entitled SWING THE CLUBHEAD first published in 1952. Here follow a couple of extracts:

"The teaching of golf has become overwhelmed in paralysis through analysis. I am as convinced today, as I was in 1920, that the golf swing can be readily taught, and consistently performed, BUT ONLY IF IT IS CONCEIVED AS ONE MOVEMENT. That is the only way to become a good golfer."

"The sooner you understand that you swing the clubhead with your hands, that from this cause comes automatically the effect of making all the correct body movements, the nearer you will be to the perfect swing. And perfection is achieved, finally, not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away. Those were my thoughts 32 years ago. They are, today, my theory of teaching golf."

"When teaching golf I attempt to create the picture of the fundamental principle which applies to all golfers. I repeat: To hit the ball. There is one categorical imperative, but no minor absolutes."

The fundamental principle which I adopted as a cancer patient 2 years ago, my one categorical imperative, was to restore my immune system (I use this term loosely.) From this cause came automatically the desired changes and effects such as controlling the cancer, resolution of the small clinical symptons, feeling of vitality, etc. Given the right cause, the body knows how to take care of itself.

Monthly update: January 2012

Ben Hogan - Tales of the Hawk

By far the best film footage I have come across to study the feel of Ben Hogan's swing and to start getting the feel for what it means to swing the clubhead and strike through the ball, as opposed to hitting the ball:

Relationship between my approaches to cancer and to golf

My reborn exposure to golf these past weeks has provided me with additional insight into living with cancer. My experience with cancer has provided me with additional insight that will (hopefully) help me to rediscover my golf swing.

As a reader of this logbook you will (probably) have realised by now that I am a patron of a holistic approach to dealing with cancer as a sympton of deeper underlying causes. I therefore have difficulty swallowing and digesting the scientific evidence-base, which has been produced by dissecting the whole into manageable (for science) smaller pieces, whereby the all important benefits of synergy are lost, and no attention is paid to the individual's ability to feel his body and bodily processes.

Here are a couple of quotes to illustrate the golf connection:

"In the last 25 years the handicap of the average golfer has remained the same." National Golf Foundation... and this is in spite of better technology and design of golf clubs, and "improved" insight into the mechanics and teaching of the golf swing.

"The hands are the medium which controls the golf swing, with body parts - arms, legs, shoulders and such - performing as admirable followers." Ernest Jones... Ernest taught the feel of a true swinging motion, sensing it through the hands -- that correct mechanics follow automatically.

"Chances are, if you don't swing the clubhead, a body part or position will go wrong. If you correct the body part or position, you are correcting the sympton, not the disease -- correcting the effect, not the cause. Today, golf instruction is backwards." revised edition 2003 of Ernest Jones's Swing The Clubhead Method.

"I never know why I hit the ball well. I just know when I'm doing it." Ben Hogan. All professionals play by feel, but that's not how they teach it! Some teach pure mechanics, while others combine mechanics and motion. And top players have the motion because of the countless hours of practice they put in, but when they lose the feel, they often go into major slumps.

Most of the above comes from the revised edition 2003 of Ernest Jones's Swing The Clubhead Method (original: Swinging Into Golf 1937 by Ernest Jones.)

When will I make the most progress with either cancer or golf? Probably when I learn to adopt an "and-and" approach.

Summary of recent insights (in Dutch)

As a result of discussions with Moerman doctors and MMV members over recent months, this is a summary of insights/suggestions that I communicated with MMV today:

Hierbij enkele gedachten die ik graag wil delen met jullie naar aanleidingen van mijn boeiende gesprek met Henk, waarin ik voornamelijk aan de luisterende kant zat

- ik had me nooit gerealiseerd dat vitamine C voornamelijk een reinigend/ontgiftend rol speelt; therapie van Max gerson heeft geleid tot mijn yin yang kijk op voeding (in) en reinigen/ontgiften (uit)

- ik had me nooit gerealiseerd dat Cornelis Moerman, net zoals Linus Pauling, dagelijks een groot aantal vitamine C tabletten slikte

- het Moerman dieet is voornamelijk een vitamine C en enzymen verhaal, naast het concept van volwaardige voeding; het reinigend/ontgiftend effect van vitamine C maakt ruimte voor de gewenste voedingsstoffen, en de enzymen zorgen ervoor dat de lichaamsprocessen goed functioneren, zoals het opnemen van voedingsstoffen

- onderscheidende kenmerken van het Moerman dieet met andere gezonde dieeten zijn het dagelijks nuttigen van ongeveer 5 citroenen, 2 eierdooiers en 1 liter karnemelk

- voor het promoten van de Moerman gedachte en werven van meer "actieve" leden aandacht richten op therapeuten in Nederland in tegenstelling tot artsen die belemmerd zijn (al jaren) door wetgeving, wetenschappelijk bewijs en eigen branchgenoten; er zijn duizende therapeuten in Nederland op alle gebieden van psychosociaal tot fysio tot voeding, die maakeli9jk aan te trwekken zijn door het aanbieden van een workshop/cursus over het Moerman dieet, de kleine klinische symptomen en het toepassen van vitaminen (alles conform het groen boekje van Dr. Moerman)

- terwijl ik ook gecharmeerd ben van het Max Gerson therapie, het is wel een therapie (bv de koffie klysmas, darmspoeling) die de zorg vanuit een kliniek vereist, en moeilijk is voor de patient toe te passen en te handhaven in een thuis omgeving

- het groen boekje van Dr. Moerman opnieuw uitgeven en/of herschrijven, met een focus op twee aspecten (1) dieet, kleine klinische symptomen en vitaminen therapie (2) anecdoten over Dr. Moerman zelf die het "practice what you preach" naar voren brengt en die de persoon en zijn denken zichtbaar maken b.v. inzichten in de man zelf, zoals dagelijkse cigar en net zoals Linus Pauling dagelijks vitamine C tabletten slikken, jodium druppels in een glas rood wijn - deze anecdoten geven kleur aan het dieet

- keep it simple - alleen basis dieet voor personen met kanker, personen die aan het herstellen zijn na reguliere therapieën voor kanker, en personen die zichzelf herkennen in de kleine klinische symptomen

- promotie - Moerman dieet en therapie bestaan nog! - zoveel mensen die reageren met "bestaat het Moerman dieet nog? is het niet allang ingehaald door modernere inzichten?"

- geen multivitaminen complexen (B6 kan kanker groei versterken) maar specifieke vitaminen voorschrijven voor specifieke (kleine klinische) symptomen en kwalen

Hartelijke groet,

Iñaki

Monthly update: November 2011

Annual deaths due to cancer 1899 - 2010 (source CBS) continued

The following chart represents the annual deaths due to cancer in the Netherlands 1899-2010. I am particularly intreagued by the sharp change in trend that took place during the war years 1942-1946. What caused this sharp reversal in cancer deaths? What caused the sharp re-reversal from 1947 onwards? How far would the downward trend of 1942-1946 have continued if the underlying causes had been identified and allowed to perpetuate (continue indefinitely)? Could a similar downward trend be initiated today? Someone somewhere must have investigated this phenomenon, but apart from Cornelis Moerman's scanty referal to a Dr. Romein who apparantly performed studies using the underlying data, I am still left empty handed. Yet the search continues for an explanation.

Annual deaths due to cancer 1899 - 2010 (source CBS)

Annual deaths due to cancer 1899 - 2010 (source CBS)

These annual figures show that deaths due to cancer (per 100,000 Dutch residents) has climbed steadily year-to-year over the past 110 years, with the notable exception of the war years 1942-1946 during which there was significant decline. This coincides with a period of German occupation, during which a food dictatorship was in play, entailing the following:
- white bread was replaced by whole grain, brown and rye bread
- there was no sugar, coffee or tea available, and no alcohol
- local fruits and vegetables were available
- margarine production was stopped, so that only fram butter was available
- meat was hard to come by

As soon as the war ended, the Dutch population quickly reverted back to its pre-war eating habits and factory processed foods returned.

Was it simple coincidence that a drop in cancer deaths during 1942-1946 coincided with a food dictatorship that resulted in a diet similar to that prescribed by Cornelis Moerman ?!

Deaths due to cancer have not changed significantly in the past 30 years

Whenever I make the above statement, I am always met with responses ranging from "rubbish and not true" to "therapies have improved greatly these past 30 years due to scientific evidence-based research, etc."

Well I stand corrected. I was wrong. Deaths due to cancer have changed significantly over the past 30 years. They have continued to rise !! And over the past 110 years deaths due to cancer have almost tripled (x3) !!

Let the following evidence-based CBS figures for the past 110 years (not just 30 years) speak for themselves:

Will organic farming survive?

Here is a Memphis News Channel 3 broadcast that grabbed my attention:

Mystery Crop Damage Threatens Hundreds Of Acres

Absorb what is useful and discard what is useless

Friends and family occasionally experience difficulty following me in my actions and decisions. It seems as if I am saying one thing one day and something else the next. There is some truth in that, but it comes from my somewhat simple approach to learning and hopefully progressing, and a recognition that we are all individuals and each of us is responsible for finding what works for him/her. My simple approach is:

- absorb what is usefull
- discard what is useless
- add a few ingredients of my own

I have talked about recovering from cancer as a process with two essential parts, detox/cleansing and nourishment, i.e. restoring the body's abilities to discard what is useless and absorb what is usefull. These abilities get screwed up / are impaired by bad eating, bad exercise habits, bad working habits and bad sleeping habits, and the inbalance that results between all of them that lead to a downward health spiral.

If you are blessed with what is generally termed a strong constitution, then you can endure alot before suffering the consequences at a more advanced age. If you happen to have been born with a weak or frail constitution, or genetic weakness, then the consequences will appear much earlier. In fact, a logical conclusion for someone with an inherent genetic weakness would be to place even more emphasis on good lifestyle habits such as the Moerman diet, daily morning walks in the forest and early to bed and early to rise. It just does not make any sense to me when people say that because a chronic disease is the (assumed) result of a genetic flaw, that diet, exercise and sleep are not applicable.

An introduction to Ben Hogan

Ben Hogan was a great source of inspiration for me during my teenage years. Here are a couple of recordings of his golf swing:

An introduction to Austinology

Yes, we are back to golf again. I can't help drawing a parallel between the discussion in this next video recording about the effectiveness of the conventional accepted approach to teaching the golf swing and the conventional accepted protocols for treating chronic diseases such as cancer. In golf the chronic disease is called the slice and over 90% of golfers are afflicted. Note that Mike Austin suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on the right side. He was 84 years of age when this video footage was recorded.

"U kunt meer dan u denkt" geschreven door Hans Moolenburgh sr.

This book is for the Dutch speakers. English readers will have to wait until the book is translated.

The book came out in June, and it is a real gem. Hans Moolenburgh (now age 86) has moulded his 50 years of experience as a practicing cancer doctor into a warm, humoristic at times and very readable book about the additional measures each of us can take to both help prevent as well as cure cancer. Somehow he has managed to cover most of the terrain that I have wandered into these short two years and linked it all together into a congruent picture. The book not only supports much of what I have written in this logbook, perhaps that's why I am so enthusiastic about this book, but also answers many of the questions that I still had left open.

Whether you are a laymen with a drive to learn more about preventing and curing cancer, or a medical specialist who is really interested in the health of the patient, or even a fitness coach or sports trainer working with "healthy" persons, this is one book that I can enthusiastically recommend without reservations of any kind.

Any golfers out there?

If you are a golfer, and concerned with the right way to exercise and avoid back injuries, the following Wikipedia extract is worth noting (reminds me of the principles of chi running and gentle exercise):

"The Mike Austin Swing is a golf swing. Some claim that this method is a more efficient and more accurate way of hitting a golf ball. The swing was developed by Mike Austin. Based on the principle of leverage, Austin, an engineer, demonstrated the power of the swing by hitting the longest recorded drive in a professional tour event, with a 515 yard shot while playing in the U.S. National Seniors Open in 1974. He was 64 years old at the time and was using a balata ball and a 43 inch persimmon driver. Guinness Book of World Records has confirmed this feat.

The Austin swing breaks from standard Professional Golfers Association teaching in a number of ways:
- The hips slide laterally rather than turning.
- The club head is thrown from the top of the swing, not released at the last moment.
- The golfer bends forward from the hips rather than bending with the knees.

Late in his career, Austin changed his hand motion to a counter-rotation of the forearms that keeps the club facing the target throughout the swing, making misses nearly impossible.

Austin designed his golf swing to use the joints of the body in the way they are designed. He claimed that his swing did not cause back injuries which are so common among professional golfers.

It is very similar to Ben Hogan's swing in that the transition from backswing to downswing is initiated from the hips. Most tour pros (Right-handed) come through impact with left elbow facing the target, and don't let it fold next to their left ribs as the right hand takes over to carry the club up and around the body for correct follow through. they instead let the left elbow point skyward as they come through the follow through until the club finishes.

With some tour pros generating clubhead speeds of 115 mph+, the reason for the back injuries is that their backs are absorbing all of that speed, rather than coming through impact with their forward elbows pointing at the forward hip. This allows the forward arm to fold around the body, transfer the maximum amount of energy through the ball, and produce a true mirror follow through of the proper backswing. Ben Hogan noted the rolling of the hands and the cup of the forward elbow pointing skyward rather than toward the target in his book "the five fundamentals..." and finished by describing the folding of the forward arm after impact while the rear arm straightens out to produce a mirror position of the backswing.

If you watch Mike Austin and Ben Hogan they both generate a huge amount of clubhead speed with very little "muscling" of the clubhead through the ball. Ben Hogan noted that done the right way, the golf swing should feel like a physical pleasure, which is far from anything that would injure you. He was a long hitter, and incredible ball striker, and mike austin was as well, not because they were gym roving juggernauts that could put more muscle behind the ball, but because they both understood how to achieve a TRULY efficient golf swing."

Below Mike Dunaway demonstrates this swing method:

Here's an up and coming long drive teenager who applies the Mike Austin swing method (whether he knows it or not, his leg action and the speed generated with the hips is as Mike Austin advocated):

Releasing the power of visualisation

It has been some 35 years since I played my last competitive golf. As a teenager I would spend most of my free time at the local golf course. Discovering my own personal golf swing was facilitated by a process of visualisation. When visualisation becomes intertwined with passion, emotions and a strong will or desire, the resulting concoction can be extremely powerful.

Last week I came into contact with my childhood passion again, golf, so the following videos are really just for me.

Below is some Old film footage featuring Mike Austin himself. What's so special about Mike Austin? On September 25, 1974, at the U.S. National Seniors Open Championship in Las Vegas, goosed by his playing partner, 1950 PGA champion Chandler Harper, to "really let one go," Austin, then sixty-four years of age, unleashed all hell on the ball, sending it 515 yards before it finally came to rest—sixty-five yards beyond the flagstick on the par-four fifth hole. Today, 37 years later, it's still the longest drive ever, according to Guinness World Records. Note: these past 37 years have seen alot of development in golf club and golf ball design and manufacture.

The film footage of the driving range below was recorded in 1987, which means that you are watching a 77 year old Mike Austin in action !!

Essential keys for success: detox & nourishment

As I mentioned in last month's update, I am gradually coming to the conclusion that successful cancer therapies focus on two key processes (1) detoxification which is basically a process of breaking material up and then disposing of it, and (2) nourishment which is basically a proces of intake and building up stuff such as body organs. But this is just the physical dimension, and our emotions, thoughts and spirituality are just as important.

The following sketch is what I like to refer to as a partly-baked idea or concept:

Although much of my personal focus these past two years has been on the nourishment side of this yin-yang sketch, I realise that the detoxification side is just as essential for success in cancer therapy. I used to associate detoxification with extreme activities such as colon cleansing and fasting, but it is much more. I always seem to return to the word "balance".

Sauerkraut juice or buttermilk before breakfast

As with all good things, there are alternatives to be found. For those who cannot stomach fresh lemon juice in a glass of warm water before breakfast in the morning, Dr. Johanna Budwig offers two alternatives, namely sauerkraut juice or buttermilk before breakfast. Now I just have to figure out the logic, as buttermilk (not factory produced, but direct from the farm) has always been part of my Moerman diet. And sauerkraut was discovered to be a good alternative for lemon juice on long sea voyages, e.g. Captain James Cook always took a store of sauerkraut on his sea voyages, since experience had taught him it prevented scurvy.

I wonder if the buttermilk helped me lose so much weight last year? I was drinking alot of buttermilk before breakfast, before lunch, before my evening meal, i.e. whenever I felt peckish I would grab a glass of buttermilk, sometimes mixing it into a smoothie.

No more canned fish and no more cod-liver oil for me !!

I was under the (wrong on hindsight) impression that canned tuna (and sardines and salmon) in e.g. olive oil was simply fresh fish preserved in cold pressed oil. I thought the same with regards to "high quality" cod-liver oil.

Then I came across a very old book (1952) from Dr. Johanna Budwig, where she points out that:

"The formerly esteemed cod-liver oil (fermented for 6-12 months) was beneficial on account of its poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Recently, it has become common practice to heat cod-liver oil in high temperatures in order to give it a longer shelf-life (compared to the fermentation process that preserves the good oil qualities, heating is instant and therefore a cost effective manner for the marketers.) The consequence is that cod-liver oil which has been treated in this manner causes serious health damage. The same is true of many oils in canned fish."

And then I searched out the following extract from wikipedia:

"As tunas are often caught far from where they are processed, poor interim conservation can lead to spoilage. Tuna is typically gutted by hand, and later pre-cooked for prescribed times of perhaps 45 minutes to three hours. The fish are then cleaned and filleted, canned, and sealed, with the dark lateral blood meat often separately canned for pet food. The sealed can itself is then heated (called retort cooking) for 2 to 4 hours."

So no more foods or drinks of any kind that have been factory processed, including the canned fishes and the fish oils. It would appear that any food that passes through a factory is subjected to some form of heating (e.g. pasteurization of milk and cream) for whatever reasons, mostly enhanced shelf-life and destruction of (infectious) disease causing bacteria are handed out as the reasons. Forms of heating include scalding (steam), flash and ultra-high temperature. To me it simply sounds like short cost-effective production processes.

And what about the fish liver oil sold as supplements in capsules? The following extract gives a pretty clear (for me) answer:

"Cod liver oil was traditionally manufactured by filling a wooden barrel with fresh cod livers and seawater and allowing the mixture to ferment for up to a year before removing the oil. Modern cod liver oil is made by cooking the whole cod body tissues of fatty fish during the manufacture of fish meal."

Here is an anecdotal comment from a lady with canning experience:

"The fish and liquid are put in the can, the lid is put on (but not sealed), it goes through a steam oven for cooking, then sealed whilst hot to ensure a vacuum. I worked in a fish factory a long time ago, I lasted from 8.00 am till tea break at 10.00 am ( 2 hours of purgatory), then quit."

So no more cod-liver or fish liver oils of any kind, and back to cold pressed flax seed oil !!

Food-grade flaxseed oil is cold-pressed, obtained without solvent extraction, and marketed as edible flaxseed oil. So I guess that there are still some factory produced products that have avoided heat treatments and additives. And yes, a short shelf-life of a few weeks, when kept under cool conditions.

Monthly update: October 2011

Unconventional cancer treatments

Click here for a transcript (I find the contents fascinating) of an extraordinary meeting held near the end of the process of preparing the OTA Unconventional Cancer Treatments report. Much longer than the article below, this is a must read as well. Please note that Patricia Spain Ward (the author of the article below) also spoke at this extraordinary meeting of the OTA (U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment).

Which cancer therapy should I choose?

After a 5 week holiday break filled with plenty of relaxation, impressions, reading and inspiration, there is much that I want to share about the process of detoxification and renourishment, and how all the different therapies (McCarrison, Moerman, Gerson, Gonzales, Burzynski, Burton, Revici, Simonton, Kelley, Pang Meng... the list goes on) can work effectively in preventing and treating cancer (I am becoming more convinced that there is an effective treatment of cancer, even in advanced cases) when adequate detoxification and renourishment is enabled.

On hindsight I recognise my good fortune on all the physical (food, sleep, morning walks, chi kung, yoga, coffee enemas, and I also include surgery from a detox viewpoint... this list is also long) and psychosocial (visualisation, belief, attention, mindfulness, reiki... yet another long list) techniques that I tried out... my own patchwork protocols that have varied with time. As my health improved thay became more flexible. But I now know where to tighten up again should cancer or any of the pre-cancer warning signs (symptons) return.

When you put all the pieces together the two key processes in a successful cancer treatment are:

a process of break down and disposal: detox for the body, mind and soul... different needs for different bodies, minds and souls;
a process of intake and build up: renourishment for the body, mind and soul... different needs for different bodies, minds and souls.

I was fortunate to discover something that has worked for me so far. Instrumental in helping me to understand what was taking place was recently reading various books about the Gerson therapy during the holiday break.

Below I include a lengthy article that covers most of what I would love to share with you. Of all that I have written so far, I would classify it as a must read. It comes from the Gerson Research Foundation website.

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History of the Gerson therapy

By Patricia Spain Ward

It is one of the least edifying facts of recent American medical history that the profession's leadership so long rejected as quackish the idea that nutrition affects health (JAMA 1946 1949, 1977; Shimkin, 1976). Ignoring both the empirical dietary wisdom that pervaded western medicine from the pre-Christian Hippocratic era until the late nineteenth century and a persuasive body of modern research in nutritional biochemistry, the politically minded spokesmen of organized medicine in the U.S. remained long committed to surgery and radiation as the sole acceptable treatments for cancer. This commitment persisted, even after sound epidemiological data showed that early detection and removal of malignant tumors did not "cure" most kinds of cancer (Crile, 1956; updated by Cairns, 1985).

The historical record shows that progress lagged especially in cancer immunotherapy - including nutrition and hyperthermia - because power over professional affiliation and publication (and hence over practice and research) rested with men who were neither scholars nor practitioners nor researchers themselves, and who were often unequipped to grasp the rapidly evolving complexities of the sciences underlying mid-twentieth-century medicine.

Nowhere is this maladaption of professional structure to medicine's changing scientific context more tragically illustrated than in the American experience of Max B. Gerson (1881-1959), founder of the best-known nutritional treatment for cancer of the pre-macrobiotic era. A scholar's scholar and a superlative observer of clinical phenomena, Gerson was a product of the German medical education which Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries considered so superior to our own that all who could afford it went to Germany to perfect their training (Bonner, 1963). As a medical graduate of the University of Freiburg in 1909, Gerson imbibed all of the latest in scientific medicine, with the emphasis on specificity which bacteriology had brought into western medical thought in the preceding decades. Gerson subsequently worked with leading German specialists in internal medicine, in physiological chemistry, and in neurology (U.S. Congress, 1946, 98). The historical record does not tell us whether his medical education in Germany (where much of the early work in nutritional chemistry took place) included a study of diet, a subject neglected in American medical schools after the germ theory gained acceptance.

We do know that by 1919, when Gerson set up a practice in internal and nervous diseases in Bielefeld, he had devised an effective dietary treatment for the migraine headaches which frequently disabled him, despite the best efforts of his colleagues. In 1920, while treating migraine patients by this salt-free vegetarian diet, he discovered that it was also effective in lupus vulgaris (tuberculosis of the skin, then considered incurable) and, later, in arthritis as well (U.S. Congress, 1946, 98).

Trained in the theories of specific disease causation and treatment that began to dominate western medicine - for the first time in history - as bacteriological discoveries multiplied in the late nineteenth century, Gerson was at first uneasy about using a single therapy in such seemingly disparate conditions. But he was committed to the primacy of clinical evidence, which he liked to express in Kussmaul's dictum: "The result at the sick-bed is decisive" (quoted in Gerson, 1958, 212). In later years, after research began to provide explanations for Gerson's clinical observations, he quoted Churchill on the mistaken course of action he had thus avoided: "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened" (Gerson, 1958, 212). Gerson persisted. In 1924 his success in treating tuberculosis of the skin brought an invitation from the noted thoracic surgeon, Ferdinand Sauerbruch, to test Gerson's diet in a special lupus clinic to be provided by the Bavarian government at the University of Munich. As Sauerbruch recounts it in his autobiography, 446 patients out of 450 recovered - once he had discovered and put an end to the smuggling of sausages, cream and beer to the patients in the late afternoons (Sauerbruch, 1953, 167-171). Later extended to pulmonary tuberculosis as well, this Gerson-Sauerbruch-Hermannsdorfer diet was widely used in Germany and became the subject of Gerson's first book in 1934 (Gerson, 1934; Hildenbrand, 1987 communication).

During the late twenties and early thirties Gerson had several experiences which informed his later thinking on diet and degenerative disease. As a member of the State Board of Health, appointed by the Prussian government, he was given extraordinary laboratory support for a clinical trial of diet in pulmonary tuberculosis. Besides the physiological parameters customarily monitored in such work, Gerson was able to track minute fluctuations in the patients' mineral metabolism and also in the chemical composition of the foods he prescribed (Gerson, 1958, 183). At this same period he served as consultant to the Prussian Ministry of Health on the best ways to restore to agricultural usefulness the exhausted soil around several major German cities (Gerson, 1958, 183). When he learned that modern farming methods often rob plant foods of their natural mineral and vitamin riches, while increasing their sodium content, he began to think of the earth's well-being as central to our own. Eventually he began to refer to the soil, which nourishes the food we eat, as our "external metabolism" (Gerson 1958, 175).

It was in 1928 that Gerson first used his diet in cancer, at the insistence of a woman who had jaundice, high fever and two small liver metastases after unsuccessful surgery for cancer of the bile duct (Gerson, 1958, 31). On the strength of reports she had heard of Gerson's work with tuberculosis, this woman insisted that he write out a diet for the treatment of her cancer. Gerson reluctantly agreed - after he obtained her signed statement that she would not hold him responsible for the outcome! As he recalled it many years later, this same patient had him read aloud to her a chapter called "The Healing of Cancer" from a big book of about 1200 pages on folk medicine, " edited by three schoolteachers and one physician, none of them practitioners. It was from this source that Gerson first learned of the special soup which Hippocrates supposedly gave to cancer patients and which Gerson made a fixture of his cancer Therapy (Gerson, 1958, 31, 403-404; Gerson, 1978, 449-450). Having taken up this challenge against his will, with no hope of success, Gerson was astounded when his patient seemed fully recovered within six months (Gerson, 1958, 405). In quick succession he had the same good results with two patients with inoperable stomach cancer, both referred by this first patient. Late in life he continues to marvel at these apparent recoveries under his diet treatment (Gerson, 1958, 404-405). (These notable histories, which Gerson recounted in some detail, have prompted one recent researcher to suggest the possible involvement of aldosterone as the mechanism of mineral-corticoid sensitivity in gastrointestinal tumors. See McCarty, 1981).

In Vienna, where he lived for a time after the rise of Hitler, Gerson's treatment failed in all seven patients he attempted to treat in this manner - a failure which, in later years, he attributed to inadequate dietary provisions in the sanitarium where he then worked (Gerson, 1958, 31-32, 405). In Paris, where he lived in 1935-36, the diet produced good results in three out of seven cases (Gerson, 1958, 32, 405; Gerson, 1978, 451), inspiring him to pursue such treatment further after he emigrated to the United States in 1938.

Gerson constantly sought explanations for his observations in the scientific literature, where he read widely in several languages (Gerson, 1958). In 1954, in "Cancer, a Problem of Metabolism," he credited J. Maisin (1923) and B. Fischer-Wasels (1929) with advancing physiological explanations of general predisposition toward tumor formation and abandoning the theory of cancer causation by local irritation. For the next few decades (according to Gerson's account of the evolution of cancer concepts) there was a tendency to interpret cancer in terms of constitution and diathesis, as was done with diabetes, gout and tuberculosis. It was Caspari (Nutrition and Cancer, 1938) who turned to metabolic explanation of the kind Gerson ultimately favored (Gerson, 1954, 1). He devoted an entire chapter of his book to a review of efforts, largely by German researchers, to alter metabolism by diet (Gerson, 1958, 89-104). He found special appeal in Otto Warburg, The Metabolism of Tumors, (London, 1930), in G. von Bergmann's Funktionelle Pathologie (Berlin, 1932), and in Frederick Hoffman's massive compilation, Cancer and Diet (Baltimore, 1937). Gradually, out of his bedside experience and his reading, he formed a unitary theory of degenerative disease (including cancer) which rested on one of the oldest and most pervasive concepts in the history of medicine: the vis medicatrix naturae or healing power of nature (Neuburger, 1926 and 1944; Warner, 1978). Endlessly seeking out the latest researches and theories in physiology, biochemistry, and - increasingly - immunology, Gerson rapidly integrated these massive bodies of new detail into the larger framework of what he called "the physician within", that is, the natural powers of resistance, which we today call the immune system.

Gerson believed that cancer changes the body's normal sodium/potassium balance, already disturbed by modern diet. Thus his therapy used foods low in sodium (no salt added), high in potassium, and rich in vitamins A and C and oxidizing enzymes. He excluded fats and dairy products for the first four to six weeks, considering them dangerously burdensome to the digestion in the extremely sick patients who usually came to him only after having exhausted conventional measures. Above all it was essential for patients to eliminate excess sodium, which Gerson believed responsible for altering cellular electrochemistry in favor of cancerous growth.

There is now a great deal of research suggesting possible mechanisms for the efficacy of Gerson's high potassium/low sodium diet. As he suspected and we now know, hypokalemia often accompanies cancer of the colon, and alterations in electrical and mineral states occur often in cancer patients (Newell, 1981, 87). Cone has furnished experimental proof of a correlation between the level of electrical potential across somatic cell membranes and the intensity of mitotic activity (Cone, 1971), a finding supported by Zs.-Nagy and his colleagues in studies of human thyroid cancer (Zs. -Nagy, 1983). Ling's association/induction hypothesis is based on laboratory studies which show that damaged cells partially return to their normal configuration in high potassium/low sodium environments (Ling, 1943), perhaps explaining the remarkable tissue repair which Gerson sometimes saw in his formerly debilitated patients (Cope, 1978). Lai has suggested that intracellular sodium and potassium levels may furnish the mechanism for regulating cellular differentiation and transformation (Lai, 1985).

To supply active oxidation enzymes and potassium-rich minerals, Gerson's patients drank hourly glasses of freshly prepared vegetable and fruit juices. As early as 1933-34, while living in Vienna, Gerson had begun giving injections of liver extract, as another means of stimulating the patient's liver (Gerson, 1958, 31 -32). In later years he had patients drink two to three glasses daily of the juice of calves' liver pressed with carrots. In addition to beta-carotene/vitamin A, this would supply iron and copper, both of which affect peripheral T cell functions and other peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations (Keusch, 1983, 345-347).

Although the AMA Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry labeled as a "false notion" the idea that diet can affect cancer, recent researchers have found that "nutritional status plays a critical role in immunological defense mechanisms at a number of important levels" (Keusch, 1983, 345) and that nutritional factors "can have profound influences on ... the development and manifestations of cancers" as well as other diseases (Good, 1982, 85). In "The Cancerostatic Effect of Vegetarian Diets" (1983), Siguel describes as the ideal way to strengthen bodily defenses against neoplastic cells a diet similar to Gerson's: high in carbohydrates and vegetables, low in protein.

Like von Bergmann, Gerson believed that "every defense and healing power of the body depends on the capacity of the body to produce a so-called 'allergic inflammation'" - a truth long recognized by surgeons, but somehow forgotten by medicine during the heyday of microbiology. To Gerson this capacity to produce inflammation was "the decisive part of the body's 'weapon of healing power'" (Gerson, 1958, 127-28).

Noting that fluid from a normal inflammation metabolism kills cancer cells, but that blood serum does not, von Bergmann concluded that a cancer metabolism occurs when the body can no longer produce this healing inflammatory reaction (Gerson, 1958, 120-121). Gerson agreed, but in contrast to von Bergmann and most of his contemporaries, Gerson believed it was often possible for the physician to help restore the vital power of inflammation, even in anergic patients with advanced cancer. If cancer was a degenerative disease caused by the cumulative effect of inadequate nutrition with foods grown in soils depleted by artificial fertilizers and poisoned by toxic insecticides and herbicides, doctors must respond by replenishing the entire human organism. For a condition that represented an ultimate failure of equilibrium in a poisoned metabolism, removal of tumors by surgery or radiation was merely superficial, symptomatic treatment. "Medicine," Gerson said, "must be able to adapt its therapeutic methods to the damages of the processes of our modern civilization" (Gerson, 1958, 199).

Gerson set about doing this by altering the basic diet he had used earlier in other conditions. Through meticulous observation of his patients in New York (where he passed state boards in 1939), he perfected a regimen of detoxication and diet requiring a high degree of compliance by the patient, heroic devotion by the patient's family, and close attention and frequent adjustment by the physician. His therapy aimed to detoxify the body and restore its healing apparatus, especially the liver, the visceral nervous system, and the reticulo-mesenchymal system.

Gerson first encountered the idea of detoxication in cancer in the version of Hippocratic regimen that he read with his first cancer patient in Bielefeld in 1928 (Gerson, 1958, 404). After losing several cancer patients to hepatic coma rather than to direct effects of the disease (Gerson, 1958, 191), he realized that "The digestive tract is very much poisoned in cancer'. The liver and pancreas failed to function: "nothing is active" (Gerson, 1958, 407). To stimulate the liver, he began to use coffee enemas, which 0.A. Meyer of Goettingen had found effective in opening the bile ducts in animals and which American surgeons in that period were using in acute adrenal insufficiency and in shock from postoperative hemorrhage and bleeding peptic ulcer (Beeson, 1980, 90, 96; Rothstein, 1987, 124). As he watched the progress of his patients, he found that he could accelerate detoxication by giving coffee enemas more frequently, with the addition of castor oil, by mouth and by rectum (Gerson, 1958, 81).

Although Gerson used caffeine enemas primarily to facilitate excretion of toxic wastes, especially from necrosing tumors, we now realize that these enemas also promoted the absorption of vitamin A, a process requiring the action of bile acids (Simone, 1943, 64). Thus the enemas that brought ridicule from Gerson's enemies actually enabled his patients to use the enormous amounts of vitamin A which his diet provided (recently estimated at about 100,000 IU daily: see Seifter, 1988). Vitamin A, in turn, plays a vital role in immune function, perhaps by causing the helper cells to induce the production of interleukin-2, or by causing killer cell precursors to activate cytotoxic mechanisms, or by causing suppressor T cells to eliminate down regulation (Keusch, 1983, 330-331).

Gerson also found that caffeine enemas greatly reduce pain, a particular boon in his regimen, which avoids the use of opiates and other painkilling drugs that might overtax the liver at a time when its limited capacity is needed for immune functions and for eliminating the toxic products of tumor breakdown.

Gerson gradually added a few medications to his diet. One of these was niacin, which he believed would help restore proper intracellular potential, raise depleted liver stores of glycogen and potassium, and aid in protein metabolism (Gerson, 1958, 32, 99-100, 209). Another was iodine, which Gerson initially used only in cases of low metabolic rates. When he found that "The best range of healing power" was a BMR of +6 to +8 (monitored by organic iodine in blood serum), and that iodine seemed to counteract the neoplastic effect of hormones, he incorporated iodine into the basic regimen, at first in the form of thyroid extract, later as inorganic Lugol's solution (iodine plus potassium iodide) (Gerson, 1958, 32, 409; U.S. Congress, 1946, 114). Several researchers have showed that thyroid raises natural resistance to infection by augmenting the power of reticuloendothelial cells and by increasing antibody formation - thus supporting Gerson's hunch that iodine was a decisive factor in the normal differentiation of cells (Lurie, 1960; Thorbecke, 1962).

Despite the fact that he had no inpatient facility until 1946, when he opened a clinic in Nanuet, New York, Gerson managed, through his thriving Park Avenue practice and an affiliation at Gotham Hospital, to amass enough data to publish a preliminary report in 1945. He presented his rather remarkable case histories modestly, concluding that he did not yet have enough evidence to say whether diet could either influence the origin of cancer or alter the course of an established tumor. He claimed only that the diet, which he described in considerable detail, could favorably affect the patient's general condition, staving off the consequences of malignancy and making further treatment possible (Gerson, 1945).

Gerson may have struck an Establishment nerve with his statement that many physicians use surgery and/or radiation "without systematic treatment of the patient as a whole" (Gerson, 1945, 419). But it seems more likely that it was his growing success in practice, or perhaps even his opposition to tobacco, that first drew the wrath of organized medicine. (Philip Morris was then JAMA's major source of advertising revenue: see Rorty, 1939, 182 - 194).

In any case the AMA did not openly attack Gerson until November 1946, a few months after he testified in support of a Senate bill to appropriate $100 million to bring together the world's outstanding cancer experts in order to coordinate a search for the prevention and cure of cancer. At hearings before Senator Claude Pepper's sub-committee in July 1946, Gerson demonstrated recovered patients who had come to him after conventional methods could no longer help. Dr. George Miley, medical director of the 85-bed Gotham Hospital, where Gerson had treated patients since January, 1946, gave strong supporting medical testimony (U.S. Congress, 1946).

In a surly editorial response, JAMA said it was "fortunate" that this Senate appearance received little newspaper publicity; the AMA was clearly outraged that Gerson's appearance had become the subject of a favorable radio commentary, broadcast nationwide by ABC's Raymond Gram Swing (U.S. Congress, 1946, 31-35; JAMA, 1946). The JAMA editorial focused on Gerson, even though it was not Gerson but a lay witness, immune to AMA retaliation, who had called Gerson's successes "miracles" and who had urged the Senators to secure their future cancer commission against control by any existing medical organization (U.S. Congress, 1946, 96,97).

It was not Gerson, but Dr. Miley, who told the Senators that a long-term survey by a well-known and respected physician showed that those who received no cancer treatment lived longer than those who received surgery, radiation or X-ray (U.S. Congress, 1946, 117). Perhaps because Miley was a Northwestern medical graduate, an established physician licensed in four states, and a fellow of the AMA and state and county societies of Pennsylvania and New York, Morris Fishbein did not attack him personally. Instead, he limited himself to intimations of fiscal impropriety in the Robinson Foundation, which owned Miley's Gotham Hospital, and to the scandalous revelation that the director of the section on health education of this Foundation (which was promoting "an unestablished, somewhat questionable method of treating cancer") was not an M.D. at all, but a Yale University professor of economics!

Compared to Miley's testimony, Gerson's was innocent, concentrating on the histories of the patients he brought with him and on the likely mechanisms whereby his diet caused tumor regression and healing. Only under pressure from Senator Pepper did Gerson state that about 30% of those he treated showed a favorable response (U.S. Congress, 1946, 115). Nonetheless, JAMA devoted two pages to undermining Gerson's integrity (JAMA, 1946). Showing no restraint where Gerson was concerned, Fishbein, contrary to fact, alleged that successes with the Gerson-Sauerbruch-Hermannsdorfer diet "were apparently not susceptible of duplication by most other observers. " He also falsely claimed that Gerson had several times refused to supply the AMA with details of the diet. (Fishbein said he could provide them in this editorial only because "there has come to hand through a prospective patient" of Gerson a diet schedule for his treatment.) Fishbein emphasized, without comment, Gerson's caution about the use of other medications, especially anesthetics, because they produced dangerously strong reactions in the heightened allergic state of his most responsive patients.

Fishbein attempted to tie together this strange patchwork of slurs against Gerson and against research supported by lay-dominated industrial corporations with his accustomed mastery of innuendo: "The entire performance, including the financial backing, the promotion and the scientific reports, has a peculiar effluvium which, to say the least, is distasteful and, at its worst, creates doubt and suspicion" (JAMA, 1946, 646).

Through no fault of his own, Gerson was again portrayed favorably in the news in 1947, when John Gunther, in Death Be Not Proud, credited Gerson with extending the life of Gunther's son during the boy's ultimately unsuccessful struggle with brain cancer. Beginning that same year the New York County Medical Society staged five "investigations" of Gerson and eventually suspended him for "advertising" his "secret" methods.

At this point Gerson's life took on a nightmare quality. The Pepper-Neely bill met defeat and, with it, the hope for coordinated cancer research free of prior restraints against investigations of anything other than "established" methods. In 1949 the AMA Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, in a report entitled "Cancer and the Need for Facts", rehashed material from the earlier editorial, adding that the Gerson diet was "lacking in essential protein and fat" and that Gerson's concern about the dangers of anesthesia was "wholly unfounded and apparently designed to appeal to the cancer victim already fearful of a surgical operation which might offer the only effective means for eradication of the disease". Without benefit of either a literature search or new clinical or laboratory research, the Council labeled as a "false notion" the idea that "diet has any specific influence on the origin or progress of cancer". They concluded that "There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to indicate that modifications in the dietary intake of food or other nutritional essentials are of any specific value in the control of cancer" (Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, 1949, 96). Gerson lost his hospital affiliation and found that young doctors who wanted to assist him and learn from him could not do so, for fear of incurring Society discipline. He was denied malpractice insurance, because his therapy was not "accepted practice" (Moss, 1980, 178; Natenberg, 1959, 136).

In the early fifties Gerson submitted five case histories to the NCI, requesting an official investigation. He was told that they would need 25 cases, which he promptly supplied, with full documentation. More than a year later the NCI demanded 125 case histories, saying that the 25 they had previously requested were insufficient to justify investigation.

According to a 1981 publication of the Gerson Institute, headed by his daughter, Charlotte Gerson, a manuscript for a book he was writing about his therapy disappeared from his files in 1956 (Healing, 1981, 19) At the age of 75, isolated from medical colleagues and unable to find assistants, Gerson undertook the work of rewriting the entire manuscript in order to show "that there is an effective treatment of cancer, even in advanced cases" (Gerson, 1958, 3). It was published in 1958, as A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases. Gerson died of pneumonia the following year, before finishing a second volume. His ideas have gained wide distribution through subsequent editions of his book (1975, 1977, and 1986); through a 1962 publication called Has Dr. Max Gerson a True Cancer Cure?, which had reportedly sold more than 250,000 copies by 1980 (Moss, 1980, 178); and through the publications and physician-training programs of the Gerson Institute in Bonita, California, and the Hospital de Baja California.

In 1980 a reformed JAMA carried a commentary called "The 'Grand Conspiracy' Against the Cancer Cure" by William Regelson of the Department of Medicine of the Medical College of Virginia. Surveying a series of "inappropriate judgments [that] have resulted in injury to good observations," Regelson said, "We may shortly have to ask if Gerson's low-sodium diet, with its bizarre coffee enemas and thyroid supplementation, was an approach that altered the mitotic regulating effect of intracellular sodium for occasional clinical validity in those patients with the stamina to survive it" (Regelson, 1980, 338).

Disregarding such suggestions and resting its case instead on the claim that the NCI had "found no convincing evidence of effectiveness" during a review of ten Gerson cases some forty years earlier, the American Cancer Society in 1987 stated that "The Gerson method of cancer treatment is not considered a proven means of cancer treatment, and on the basis of available information, the Institute does not believe that further evaluation of this therapy is called for at this time" (American Cancer Society, February 5, 1987).

Testing is underway, however, outside of the U.S. Since 1984 a modified form of Gerson's therapy has been in use at the Second Department of Surgery of the Krankenhaus in Graz, Austria. Omitting liver juice and niacin, using thyroid only in hypothyroid patients, and limiting caffeine enemas to two per day, Peter Lechner and his colleagues, all of them surgeons, have been testing the Gerson method as an adjunct, often with chemotherapy or radiation, in 60 post-operative cancer patients, male and female, ranging in age from 23 to 74, and representing many different forms of cancer. By pairing each patient who was willing to use the Gerson method (GP) with one of similar age and condition who chose not to try it (NGP) and observing the comparative progress of the disease in the two groups over a four-year period, Lechner and his colleagues have approximated a controlled study of admittedly imperfect structure (Lechner, 198 7).

Their findings show that the Gerson therapy made a notable difference in several forms of cancer. Although GPs with bone metastases had no better survival or tumor response than NGPs, their relief from pain and absence of hypercalcemia made for a better quality of life. GPs with lung metastases required fewer procedures to relieve pleural effusion. GPs with brain metastases experienced decreased edema and lived four months longer than their paired NGPs. Premenopausal and perimenopausal breast cancer GPs tolerated conventional treatments better, with fewer side effects; showed better liver and kidney function and blood counts; and had fewer local recurrences and no metastases. Breast cancer GPs with liver metastases tolerated chemotherapy better, and one of three has been in a steady state for more than a year, while the remaining five have died. GPs with colorectal carcinoma seemed to gain weight and recover better after surgery, but showed no significant difference in incidence of secondaries or local recurrence. The best responders to date are GPs with liver metastases, with two GPs showing improved hepatic enzyme profiles compared to two NGPs; in four other pairs, although profiles remained similar, the GPs lived twice as long as the NGPs (Lechner, 1987).

It is an irony of both history and geography that the first comparative study of Max Gerson's therapy should take place at the hands of surgeons, in that part of the world which Gerson fled as a Jewish refugee half a century ago and that the results, while not so outstanding as those he seemed able to produce, are most encouraging in patients with severe damage to the liver, the organ he considered central to recovery.

References

American Cancer Society, "The Gerson Method", Unproven Methods of Cancer Management (New York: American Cancer Society, 1961).

Beeson, Paul B., "Changes in Medical Therapy During the Past Half Century", Medicine 59:79-99, 1980.

Bonner, Thomas Neville, American Doctors and German Universities: A Chapter in International Relations 1870-1914 (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1963).

Cairns, John, "The Treatment of Diseases and the War Against Cancer", Scientific American 253:51-59, 1985.

Cone, Clarence D., Jr., "Unified Theory on the Basic Mechanism of Normal Mitotic Control and Oncogenesis", Journal of Theoretical Biology 30:151-181, 1971.

Cope FW. A medical application of the Ling Association-Induction Hypothesis: the high potassium, low sodium diet of the Gerson cancer therapy. Physiol Chem Phys 1978;10(5):465-468.

Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry, American Medical Association, Report of the Council, "Cancer and the Need for Facts", JAMA 139:93-98, Jan. 8, 1949.

Crile, Geo., Jr., "Factors Influencing the Spread of Cancer", Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics 103:342-352, Sept. 1956.

Gerson M. Diet therapy of lung tuberculosis [Diatbehandlung der Tuberkulose.] Leipzig and Vienna; Franz Deuticke; 1934.

Gerson M. Dietary considerations in malignant neoplastic diesease; preliminary report. Rev. Gasroenterol 1945-11/12;12:419-425.

Gerson M. Cancer, a problem of metabolism. [Krebskrankheit, ein Problem das Stoffwechsels.] Med Klin 1954-06-25;49(26):1028-1032.

Gerson M, Hildenbrand GLG (Editor). A Cancer Therapy, Results of Fifty Cases. 4th and 5th editions. San Diego, CA; Gerson Institute; 1986, 1990.

Gerson M. The cure of advanced cancer by diet therapy: a summary of 30 years of clinical experimentation. Physiol Chem Phys 1978;10(5):449-464.

Good, Robert A., Fernandes, Gabriel, and Day, Noorbibi D., "The Influence of Nutrition on Development of Cancer Immunity and Resistance to Mesenchymal Diseases", Molecular Interrelations of Nutrition and Cancer, M.S. Arnott, J. van Eys, and Y.M.Wang (eds.) (New York: Raven Press, 1982).

Healing: The Gerson Journal (Special Information Issue), The Gerson Institute, Bonita, CA 1981.

Hildenbrand GLG. Protein-calorie restriction in therapeutic nutrition. Healing Newsletter 1985-07/08;8:.

Hildenbrand, Gar, "Let's Set the Record Straight: A survey of the U.S. Peer Reviewed Medical Literature Regarding the Developmental Gerson Diet Therapy", Healing Newsletter, No. 14 (July-Aug 1986), No. 15 (Sept-Oct 1986), No. 16 (Nov-Dec 1986), No. 17 (Jan-Feb 1987), and No. 14-15 (Mar-June 1987).

Hildenbrand, Gar, communication of Nov. 17, 1987, "The Gerson Diet Therapy as Represented by the Peer Reviewed Literature Referenced in the Cumulated Index Medicus", typescript in process of compilation: partial listing as of October 1987.

Hoffman, Frederick L., Cancer and Diet: With Facts and Observations on Related Subjects (Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1937).

Journal of American Medical Association, "Gerson's Cancer Treatment", editorial, JAMA 132:645-646, Nov. 16, 1946.

Keusch, Gerald T., Wilson, Carla S., and Waksal, Samuel D., "Nutrition, Host Defenses, and the Lymphoid System", Advances in Host Defense Mechanisms, John I. Gallin and Anthony S. Fauci (eds.) (New York: Raven Press, 1983), Vol. 2.

Lai, Chiu-Nan and Becker, Frederick F., "potassium-induced Reverse Transformation of Cells Infected With a Temperature sensitive Transformation Mutant Virus", Journal of Cellular Physiology 125:259262, 1985.

Lechner P. Dietary regime to be used in oncological postoperative care. Proc. Oesterreicher. Gesellsch. f. Chir. 1984-06-21/23;

Ling, G.N., "The Association-induction Hypothesis: A Theoretical Foundation Provided for the Possible Beneficial Effects of a Low Sodium, High Potassium Diet and Other Similar Regimens in the Treatment of Patients Suffering From Debilitating Illnesses", Agressologie 24:293-302, 1983.

Lowell, James, "The Gerson Clinic", Nutrition Forum 3:9-12, Feb. 1986.

Lurie, Max B., "The Reticuloendothelial System, Cortisone, and Thyroid Function: Their Relation to Native Resistance to Infection", Annals of the New York Academy of Science 44:43-94, 1960.

McCarty M. Aldosterone and the Gerson diet -- a speculation. Med Hypotheses 1981;7:591-597

Moss, Ralph W., The Cancer Syndrome (New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1980, 176-178.

Natenberg, Maurice, The Cancer Blackout: A History of Denied and Suppressed Remedies (Chicago: Regent House, 1959), 136-145.

Neuburger, Max, Die Lehre von der Heilkraft der Natur in Wandel der Zeiten (Stuttgart, 1926).

Neuburger, Max, "An Historical Study of the Concept of Nature from a Medical viewpoint", Isis 3s: 16-28, 1944.

Newell, Guy R., and Ellison, Neil M. (eds.), Nutrition and Cancer: Etiology and Treatment (New York: Raven Press, 1981).

New York Times, "Dr. Max Gerson, 77, Cancer Specialist", New York Times obituary, p.29, col. 5, Mar. 9, 1959.

Regelson W. The 'Grand Conspiracy' Against the Cancer Cure. JAMA 1980-01-25;243(4):337-339

Rorty, James, American Medicine Mobilizes (New York: W.W.Norton & Co., Inc., 1939).

Sauerbruch F. Master Surgeon (a.k.a. A Surgeon's Life) [Das War Mein Leben.] London, Andre Deutsch, 1953 [Muenchen ,Kindler, 1951], 167-171.

Seifter, Eli, and Weinzweig, Jeffrey, "Contributions of Dr. Max Gerson to Nutritional Chemistry", paper presented at 1985 meeting of American Chemical Society, History of Chemistry Division (abstract supplied by Gar Hildenbrand).

Seifter, Eli, personal communication.

Shimkin, Michael B., "Neoplasia," Advances in American Medicine: Essays at the Bicentennial, John Z. Bowers and Elizabeth F. Purcell (eds.) (New York: Josiah Macy Foundation, 1976), Vol. 1, 210-250.

Siguel, Eduardo N., "Cancerostatic Effect of Vegetarian Diets", Nutrition and Cancer 4:285-289, 1983.

Simone, Charles B., Cancer and Nutrition (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1983), 64.

Tannenbaum, Albert, and Silverstone, Herbert, "Nutrition in Relation to Cancer", Advances in Cancer Research 1:452-505, 1953.

Thorbecke, G.J., and Benacerraf, B., "The Reticulo-Endothelial System and Immunological Phenomena" Progress in Allergy 6:559- 598, 1962.

United States Congress, Senate, Subcommittee of the committee on Foreign Relations, Cancer Research, hearings July 1, 2, and 3, 1946 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946).

Warner, John Harley, "'The Nature-Trusting Heresy': American Physicians and the Concept of the Healing Power of Nature in the 1850's and 1860's" Perspectives in American History 11:291-324, 1978.

Zs.-Nagy, Imre, Lustyik, Gyorgy, Lukacs, Geza, et al., "Correlation of Malignancy with the Intracellular Na+:K+ Ratio in Human Thyroid Tumors", Cancer Research 43:5395-5402, Nov. 1983.

Full body detox program

I am marking this website page on Jon Barron's Natural Detox Program because I want to evaluate it alongside the Gerson therapy's intensive approach to full body detoxification and daily use of coffee enemas for cancer patients.

Special note ( a reminder to myself): Lack of exercise forces the liver to do the elimination work that should be done by the lungs and the skin... try a brisk daily walk in fresh air, early morning.

Lessons to be learnt from Moerman Therapy & Gerson Therapy - continued

Max Gerson and Cornelis Moerman appear to be very different personalities. Cornelis Moerman worked on his own ideas and appears to have developed his therapy through his own clinical research. He makes no reference to the work of others. Max Gerson on the other hand supplemented his own ideas and clinical research with the ideas and studies published by others.

Max Gerson was born on October 18, 1881 and Cornelis Moerman on 6 januari 1893. So I have to assume that as doctors they both had access to the medical publications of the day.

Max Gerson placed alot of emphasis on the need to detoxify (clean up) the body and the major organs such as the kidneys and liver both up front as well as during the nutritional therapy. The more advanced the cancer case, the more intense the detoxification process. The liver has a huge built-in overcapacity and ability to regenrate after damage. Restoring the liver and its functions is key to restoring health to the body.

Cornelis Moerman's focus was on identifying the essential nutrients for the human body, and Max Moerman's focus was on restoring the health of vital organs such as the liver through a balanced approach of cleaning up (detoxification) and feeding (nutrition). That's how I see it at this moment in time.

Max Gerson also emphasized the central role of potassium and iodine, and maintenace of a healthy potassium/natrium balance. Cornelis Moerman identifed iodine as an essential nutrient, but never mentioned potassium. It is worth noting that many of the recommended foods in the Moerman therapy are top sources of potassium, and that natrium and natrium rich processed foods are on the forbidden list. The top foods such as lemons, oranges, spinach, brocolli, tomatoes, onions, curcumin and garlic are all part of my daily diet. A varied diet rich in fruits and raw vegetables/greens is simply put rich in potassium and low in natrium, ensuring and helping to restore a healthy potassium/natrium balance in the body.

Also worth noting is that the potassium and natrium content of fruits and vegetables are different for organic vs non-organic foods. Organic tend to have higher potassium and lower natrium content, and therefore non-organic tend to contain less potassium and more natrium. Organic vs non-organic seems to affect the potassium/natrium balance, aside from the issues surrounding pesticides, total nutritional value, and the presence/absence of essential micronutrients the workings of which we still have to discover. The more I learn about balance, the more I come to realise how little we still know about how nutrition works in the body's healing process.

For example, it is popular knowledge that eating lots of red, dark red and black berries are good for our health because of the antioxidant properties that may reduce inflammation in the body, but they also happen to be some of the best sources of potassium too.

Is this the food industry cashing in on the concept of antioxidants (just look at the promotional material for all the "healthy" processed foods), when the influence on good health may be as simple as raising the potassium/natrium ratio to a healthy level?

Wouldn't it be nice if these two schools of thoughts, Gerson and Moerman, were merged together? Food for thought...

Monthly update: September 2011

Lessons to be learnt from Moerman Therapy & Gerson Therapy?

I have just ventured into a more in depth evaluation and comparison of both therapies.

Already I can see areas of overlap (as expected), but also significant distinctions.

Both therapies activate the body's extraordinary ability to heal itself through an organic, vegetarian diet, raw juices and natural supplements.

Both therapies treat the underlying causes of disease. Both therapies treat nutritional deficiency, but the Gerson Therapy explicitely treats toxicity as well e.g. through the use of coffee enemas.

The design of the Moerman Therapy, because of its focus on nutritional deficiency, is well suited for preventative health. The Gerson Therapy was designed specifically as a treatment for chronic degenerative diseases, therefore there is no Gerson protocol (as yet) for prevention.

I believe that both therapies have valuable contributions to make to each other and that a merging of this knowledge might just lead to some more miracles. The September update on my "favourites" page presents a valuable lecture from Dr. Gerson in 1956 that can serve well as a starting point for merging both therapies.

A growing concern

I am growing a little concerned about the current trend towards foods that fight cancer, i.e. the move towards researching single nutrients that target cancer cells. For example, curcumin seems to be very popular judging from the number of ongoing research studies. This seems to a laymen like myself as just another form of cancer therapy designed to destroy cells, be it less toxic than chemo therapy or radiation therapy. I feel much more comfortable with mindsets and approaches based on rebuilding and repairing cells.

Where attention goes, energy flows

When vision, values and people are truly at the heart of our attention, the possibilities of what we can achieve together are endless. And that includes innovations in medicine, which brings me to the next video on innovative thinking:

Monthly update: August 2011

Anticancer vegetables

The graphs in the video are familiar to me as they were included in the Dutch publication of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber's book anticancer. And the video link is an excellent educational tool. Loved it.

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber was a strong source of inspiration for me last year, so I was saddened to hear that he passed away in July, finally succumbing to his brain cancer after almost 20 years of survival.

F.A.C.T. What an amazing resource!

How come I have never come across F.A.C.T. before now?

Why do I find it an amazing resource? For starters:

- 38 years of Cancer Forum magazines available in PDF format
- long term survivor stories from the survivors themselves
- audio and video presentations
- the concept of biorepair explained in DVD and book form
- and much more

How does the biological repair cancer therapy differ from conventional cancer therapies?

Conventional medicine holds that the tumor is, in effect, the disease and, therefore, treatment is focused on combinations of protocols, such as chemotherapy and radiation, which destroy cancer cells, but can harm healthy cells as well. These protocols can buy time, but have no intrinsic healing properties. The yardstick of success is the 5-year survival rate.

The biological repair approach views cancer as a systematic problem. A tumor or abnormal cells are symptoms of a biochemical breakdown which can be corrected with a comprehensive, non-toxic, metabolic program. Such a biorepair system seeks to balance and strengthen all body functions in order to produce healthy cells and restore well being. The yardstick of success is long term recovery.

This implies that patients do individualized programs, so there are variations in the treatments. However, the concept for all is the same:

"comprehensive, non-toxic, metabolic approach that focuses on repairing, rebalancing and strengthening the body's natural healing abilities. There is no magic bullet. Sometimes surgery may be called for, sometimes adjuvant therapies are used, such as cell therapy, whole body hyperthermia, immunotherapy. But the core program is the key: balanced diet, detoxification, organ/gland integrity, skeletal alignment, stress management, etc."

OK, biorepair may be a new term for me, but the underlying concept is oh so familiar and welcome.

And I have never talked about skeletal alignment, although it is implied (chi running, chi walking, chi kung movements for improved posture and injury free training, and even cycling and cross-training encourage skeletal alignment, as you soon discover through "pain" whether something is not correctly aligned) in my "gentle" approach to exercise. I hereby make a note to include some future info on Moshe Feldenkrais and Feldenkrais Training. Or you can google it for more info.

Co-operative cancer therapies (a need for clinical trials)

This concept of co-operative cancer therapies is at the preliminary ideas stage, and rests on the following principles:

The cancer patient is presented with an overview of co-operative cancer therapy protocols from which to choose. It is the ethical responsibility of the cancer patient's doctor to inform the cancer patient of all the available therapies that may be of benefit both from a survival perspective as well as a quality of life perpective. There is a growing amount of evidence to show that a correlation may also exist between quality of life and survival.

There are three main phases recognised by the protocols after diagnosis, namely (1) pre therapy (2) during therapy and (3) post therapy.

The base therapies are the current regular therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy.

There is a growing amount of evidence to indicate that cleansing the body of toxins and fortifying the body can benefit the cancer patient in three ways (1) quality of life throughout all three phases (2) effectiveness of the base therapies and as a result (3) survival.

Well designed protocols for exercise, nutrition and sleep have been shown to be effective in cleansing the body of toxins and fortifying the body.

The inclusion of exercise, nutrition and sleep protocols into co-operative cancer therapies, tailored to the needs and wishes of each individual, will be designed such that:

- pre therapy the body is cleaned first of as many toxins as possible, followed by a gradual fortification

- during therapy the extra toxification (the base therapy is toxic) is maintained at as low a level as possible, the body will require relatively more rest (sleep), and maintaining fortification will require a gentle approach to nutrition and exercise

- post therapy it will become easier to maintain low toxicity levels, and continue to fortify the body to higher levels.

Exercise, nutrition and sleep each have there own contribution to make regarding toxicity management and body fortification. The combined effects are additive, and may also include synergetic elements.

A word of caution regarding exercise: the cancer patient is exercising for body fortification (health), not for fitness. There is a growing amount of evidence to show that daily light-moderate exercise is beneficial, whereas intensive exercise becomes detrimental to the health of a cancer patient. It has to do with the extra toxins produced, the extra demand on nutrients, and the extra need for recovery (rest/sleep) time. A question of finding a workable balance per individual.

Stichting Kanker en Sport

This is for my Dutch friends and is an introduction to tegenkracht:

“Wij bieden kankerpatiënten de nodige sportfaciliteiten en begeleiding, om zo sterk mogelijk de behandeling van operatie, chemo en bestraling in te gaan en deze behandeling te kunnen doorstaan.”

Colon cleansing

My growing interest for colon cleansing was triggered by a discussion on linkedin. The best article that I have come across so far on this subject is about colon kidney detoxification and it also grabbed my attention with the following insight:

"A good cleansing program should always begin by removing the waste in your colon, the last portion of your food processing chain. If you attempt to clean your liver, blood, or lymph system without first addressing a waste-filled bowel, the excreted toxins will only get recycled back into your body."

On hindsight, I am reminded once again that I was fortunate to adopt the Moerman dietary guidelines from the start of my journey back to good health, i.e. "transitioning to a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables with very few cooked or unwhole or processed foods."

Hey, I've just summed up my food diet in one sentence. All that's missing is the phrase "nutrient rich" (to me this means "high quality") to qualify raw food. This may be organic, fresh, dried, naturally conserved, etc. and also include super foods in the form of supplements.

Bernando LaPallo's book

I ordered Bernando LaPallo's book yesterday, downloaded it, started reading it and read it from cover to cover by mid-afternoon. The style in which the book has been written appeals to me enormously, and finally I have found someone who also describes the beneficial effects of an early morning walk on the lymphatic system. His writing not only endorses my own experience to date, a short 18 months, but also takes me further into areas that I may or may not have discovered for myself over the coming years. Therefore I whole-heartedly endorse the following review of this book:

“When you see a man who is 107 years young and he looks like he’s in his early sixties at most, it’s hard to deny the words contained in this book. Of all of the health books and guides that I’ve read by famous doctors or big time athletes, none has matched what Bernando has accomplished. I recommend the principles in this book to everyone."

—Paul Nison, Author, Speaker and Raw Food Chef

Going back 1000 years

I can grow tired of reading the results of the latest research study or opening the newspapers to read about the latest cancer cure. So I have come to the point where I plan to sit back and relax by reading what Avicenna had to say in The Canon, and what Hildegard von Bingen had to say in Physica, both classic works on health and healing.

I am in need of solid information, some solid food for thought, so this morning I ordered both books (the English translations).

Avicenna on how to achieve health

Now I am really interested in his writings.

The Canon is in 5 volumes, of which only the first volume has ever been translated into English. And on the preservation of health Avicenna writes:

"Since the regimen of maintaining health consists essentially in the regulation of: (1) exercise (2) food and (3) sleep, we may begin our discourse with..."

Beyond nutritarianism

Fine that I was able to label my approach and way of thinking regarding food and nutrition under the term "nutritarianism". But that's only part of the story. It does not include the synergy with exercise and sleep/rest spread across the three dimensions of physical, mental/emotional and spiritual. And as much as I can appreciate our modern scientific evidence-based approach, I also recognise that our bodies, minds and spirits are infinitely more complex than our intellects can fathom. How many essential micronutrients do we still have to discover? How many essential chemical processes in our bodies are we still unaware of? When will we learn to harness and utilise the power of the placebo effect? All these questions led me along different alternative and complementary paths of exploration.

Recently I seem to have found an oasis congruent with my evolving thoughts. As a result of digging deeper into ancient Greek Arabic medicine, I came upon a traditional healing system that bears similarities to Ayurveda on the surface, but distinguishes itself in a number of characeristics. I refer to Unani. Never heard of it until this morning.

Later this morning I discovered that the handbook for all practitioners of Unani medicine is the The Canon written by Avicenna. And I had heard of this Arabian (Persian) physician before, because one of the institutions we work closely with in leadership coaching and training, is called Avicenna.

So now the time has come for me to learn more about Unani, The Canon and Avicenna.

PS. How come I had never heard of The Canon until this morning? The Encyclopaedia Britannica calls it "the single most famous book in the history of medicine, in East or West."

Comments on the documentary film: Food Matters

What struck me the most in the documentary Food Matters were the words of the grand lady Charlotte Gerson, who has throughout her life helped improve the lives of countless cancer patients using the Gerson Therapy. She stated very simply that a normal, healthy body has such powerful defenses that it cannot and will not develop cancer or any other chronic disease. What a great reference marker to start from when dealing with health matters.

And I like the way of thinking of one of the filmmakers James Colquhoun:

“It's about education, not just medication. With access to solid information, people invariably make good choices for their health."

Protocol outline for dealing with chronic diseases

I believe we would really achieve something when medical protocols are based on the following mindset for dealing with the chronic phase (or side) of a disease:

"Above all, lifestyle modification should be the first step when diagnosed with a chronic disease. If weight loss, exercise, and diet changes do not result in improved health then supplements or medications may be appropriate."

Perhaps over-simplified, but it covers my way of thinking well.

Hypothesis about nutritional deficiencies and cancer

By micronutrients I mean the whole array of nutritional elements currently referred to under overlapping labels such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytochemicals, antioxidants, etc.

Micronutrients play important roles in the chemical processes that take place in our bodies. A deficiency of micronutrients will therefore affect these chemical processes. These chemical processes in turn can also affect our thoughts and our emotions -- our state of mind. And our thoughts and emotions in turn also affect the chemical processes, which in their turn affect the usage of micronutrients, that can eventually lead to micronutrient deficiencies. This completes the circle. And the circle is actually a spiral that is moving downwards ( => disease), stable or moving upwards ( => health).

So it no longer comes as a surprise (to me) that the direction (and probably rotational speed) of this spiral can be influenced directly and indirectly through interventions such as changes in diet, supplements, intravenous injections, morning walks and techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, chi kung, reiki, visualisation, etc.

Sometimes a small change is enough to reverse the direction of the spiral. Sometimes it is not (fast) enough and a more intense intervention is called for, such as a combination of intervention therapies or higher dosages of an intervention therapy (e.g. intravenous vitamin C).

Higher "dosages" can also come in the form of many practitioners focussing their intentions on one patient or practicing chi kung exercises in large gatherings of hundreds of students. Some persons are (unknowingly) very skilled at focussing their minds on intentions or visualising their healing processes. In short "where attention goes, energy flows."

The underlying causes of nutritional deficiencies appearing in the human body may not always be solely attributed to incomplete foods. Deficiencies can also be caused by thoughts, emotions, lack of exercise, too much exercise, not enough sleep and rest, genetic cell damage hereditary or otherwise, etc.

Although interventions may not be disease selective, one intervention may well work better for one person and another intervention better for another person. Successful interventions basically accomplish two things (1) they detoxify by removing obstacles and getting things flowing again in order to (2) renourish all the areas that were nutrient deficient.

In a human body where there is cancer, there is cancer because the defences have been weakened, and the defences have been weakened as a result of nutritional deficiencies. In a human body where there are no nutritional deficiencies, the defences are intact, and cancer cannot survive.

Micronutrient deficiencies

Micronutrients play important roles in the chemical processes that take place in our bodies. A deficiency of micronutrients will therefore affect these chemical processes. These chemical processes in turn can also affect our thoughts and our emotions -- our state of mind. And our thoughts and emotions in turn also affect the chemical processes, which in their turn affect the usage of micronutrients, that can eventually lead to micronutrient deficiencies. This completes the circle. And the circle is actually a spiral that is moving downwards ( => disease), stable or moving upwards ( => health).

So it no longer comes as a surprise (to me) that the direction (and probably rotational speed) of this spiral can be influenced directly and indirectly through interventions such as changes in diet, supplements, intravenous injections, morning walks and techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, chi kung, reiki, visualisation, etc.

Sometimes a small change is enough to reverse the direction of the spiral. Sometimes it is not (fast) enough and a more intense intervention is called for, such as a combination of intervention therapies or higher dosages of an intervention therapy (e.g. intravenous vitamin C).

Higher "dosages" can also come in the form of many practitioners focussing their intentions on one patient or practicing chi kung exercises in large gatherings of hundreds of students. Some persons are (unknowingly) very skilled at focussing their minds on intentions or visualising their healing processes. In short "where attention goes, energy flows."

Slowly but surely I am beginning to see a bigger picture.

How important is the role of nutrition?

When you read through this logbook, you would think that I was convinced about the role of nutrition from my early days with cancer. And yet the truth is that I have only recently started to really appreciate just how strong an influence nutrition can have in preventing, arresting and reversing both health as well as disease. This growing awareness goes hand in hand with an evolving understanding of what the meaning of nutrition is and what the various sources of nutrition can be.

Summary of my logbook to date

Would you like to see a summary of this logbook in the form of a film documentary? Please click here for a documentary film "food matters" that covers 80% of what I discuss on this website to date.

My immediate response upon watching this film in its entirity was "Just finished watching the documentary. Oh boy, so many evidence-based messages that people just don't want to hear."

The high vitamin dosages that are also discussed in the film have reminded me to share the following documentary of a "man cured by vitamin C" case history (note: it's difficult to argue placebo and mind over matter when the patient is in a coma):

60 Min NZ Living Proof Man Cured By Vitamin C door lulu7777

Are cancer anecdotes useful?

Anecdotes is fancy name for personal stories. If I wrote an anecdote, it would be about myself or about someone elses experience.

Anecdotes may not contain "evidence-based" information, but personally I have found them to be useful sources of inspiration, providing insights into new avenues of possibilities to be explored -- very much like road signs at cross-roads. Road signs, for travelers, can be the first time we hear of the existance of a small town or village. And in the absence of any maps, the only source.

An anecdote is a way of sharing a personal experience with others. As social beings it's our nature to share information by word-of-mouth. It's our nature to network in this manner. It's also our nature to value the information, not only by it's scientific "evidence-base", but also by the way we regard its source (belief, trust, reliability, intuition). After all, isn't this the reason why so many follow the advice of their doctor or oncologist, even if the "evidence-base" tells us a different story?

Do you believe in chemotherapy?

These are the results of a study completed in 2004 by three Australian researchers. They looked at about 73,000 cancer cases in Australia and 155,000 cancer cases in the U.S. from 1990 to 2004. Their overall findings were that chemotherapy improved the 5-year cancer survival rate by an average of 2%. The exact average percentages were 2.1% in the U.S. cases and 2.3% in the Australian cases.

The actual percentages are much lower for common cancers. This is because a couple of rare cancers have a much higher rate. Hodgkin's Disease has a 40.3% improvement rate; testicular cancer (that of the Lance Armstrong "poster boy" for chemo) has a 37.7% improvement rate. These two, even though rare, raise the average. For the most common cancers, the rates were: breast cancer 1.4%; prostate cancer 0.0%; lung cancer 2.0%; and colon cancer 1.0%.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2004 (16:549-560). It is available to all oncologists who want to do some serious study.

Why do so many oncologists continue to shout "show me the evidence" when it comes to alternative therapies, such as nutrition, exercise and rest, and yet continue to ignore the evidence regarding chemotherapy?

What am I with regards to diet?

Anyone reading through this logbook will realise that I have been searching for a label to fit my beliefs and practices regarding diet. I'm 80% veganist, and 80% vegetarian, and an 80% fit with a low carbohydrate diet, and over 90% Moerman consistant, and 80% raw food, etc. But so far no label that really fits what I am trying to achieve with diet.

So how would I describe the major changes in my diet and why I made them?

In short, my precancer diet was clearly short in a number of essential micronutrients, and at the same time excessive in calories. What I have done is simply to tip the scales in favour of micronutrients over calories. I have switched to high "micronutrient vs calories" meals that cover the broad variety of micronutrients. But I have also gone further, by not only revving up the micronutrient intake essential to rebuild my immune system and general functioning of my body organs, but also by reducing the work load on my body organs (processing foods, removing toxins, etc.)

Is there a label for this? Yes... a nutritarian (a tongue twister, easier to write than to speak it out), quote:

"Simply put, a nutritarian is a person who strives for more micronutrients per calorie in their diet-style. A nutritarian understands that food has powerful disease-protecting and therapeutic effects and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients via their food choices. It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats, consume foods with a low glycemic index, lower the intake of animal products, or eat a diet of mostly raw foods. A truly healthy diet must be micronutrient rich and the micronutrient richness must be adjusted to meet individual needs. The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits. For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods that deliver the highest concentration of nutrients."

But what about the phytonutrients we know little to nothing about, such as phytochemicals (more than 900 discovered to date)? I am working on the assumption that foods rich in known micronutrients are also rich in the unknown phytonutrients.

So I much prefer to include the following ammendment to the definition of nutritarian:

"Central to nutritarianism is the understanding that fruits and vegetables contain thousands of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals -— substances they believe are not found in any other food source."

And it goes beyond phytochemicals as well when it comes to health and disease. What about enzymes and flavonoids? OK flavonoids are one of the beter known phytochemicals. Fruit is especially rich in flavonoids that appear to modify the body's reaction to other compounds such as allergens, viruses, and carcinogens, as evidenced by their anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antiviral, and anti-cancer properties. And 75% of the enzymes we need for proper digestion are expected to come from the raw foods in our diets. Without enzymes, minerals and vitamins are useless.

In a nutshell, a Nutritarian naturally prefers the most nutritious foods for the body and:

Eats lots of high-nutrient, natural plant foods: vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds.
Eats fewer animal products and chooses healthier options in this food group.
Eats much less or almost no foods that are completely empty of nutrients or toxic for the body such as: sugar, sweeteners, white flour, processed foods and greasy fast foods."

Originally coined by Dr. Fuhrman, a nutritarian is someone who bases their food choices on micronutrient content per calorie of foods, striving to consume a broad array of micronutrients in their diet.

What appeals to me personally is that a nutritarian diet is a health-promoting diet that does not go to the extremes of excluding cooked foods, meat, foods grown far from home, or even all animal products. Nutritarian diets are "eat the rainbow" diets that include an abundance of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables accompanied by additional whole plant foods. Phytochemicals, antioxidants in particular, are pigments that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors.

And yes, the Moerman diet is definitely a Nutritarian diet based on the following three simple criteria (the Fuhrman philosophy) for the quality of a diet:

Levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals) per calorie.
Amounts of macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein) to meet individual needs, without excessive calories that may lead to weight gain or health compromise.
Avoidance of potentially toxic substances (such as trans fats) and limited amounts of other potentially harmful substances (such as sodium).

Monthly update: July 2011

Some more humour

A good sense of humour helps us to adapt and bounce back from those challenges that life sends us.

A valuable humour asset is the ability to tell those persons (including medical specialists and friends) who disagree or disapprove of our choices to butt out and mind their own business.

Whenever I am in need of a good laugh, I watch the following short film that my brother referred me to:

Time for a little humour

Have you heard of skid marks disease?

The adaptive immune system

Googling further on the line of thought below, I ecountered two new terms for me, namely, the distinction that is made between an adaptive immune system and an evolutionary older innate immune system. This seems to support my thinking that an adaptive (immune) system can only develop when challenged by outside or invading elements. More to come I am sure.

Whenever I have talked about the immune system previously in this log, then it would appear that I was really talking about the adaptive immune system. The capabilities of the adaptive immune system are strongly directly and indirectly affected (in ways we still have to verify through scientific evidence-based research) by our lifestyle habits -- in particular food, exercise and rest.

The human body has great adaptive abilities

The following extract reminds me once again of the adaptive abilities of our human bodies, essential for the process of survival and evolution:

"Above 10,000 feet, some people feel mild symptoms associated with decreased oxygen levels: a small headache, some loss of appetite, a slight feeling of malaise. But the human body has great adaptive abilities. By walking at a leisurely pace, drinking lots of water, and protecting yourself from the sun, most of these symptoms either never appear, or go away with a good night’s rest. The trek itineraries are designed specifically to minimize the chance of any altitude problems, and our experienced leadership is there to make sure all goes well. Should anyone begin to develop significant symptoms of altitude sickness, we have them escorted by a staff member down to the altitude at which they last felt well (usually the previous night’s camp), and they’re fine."

How does the saying go -- if it doesn't kill you then it will make you stronger? Interval training made up of intense exercise followed by a rest period, breaking muscle tissue down to build it up again. With adequate rest in between this is the equivalent of two steps back and three steps forward. With inadequate rest in between this is the equivalent of two steps back and one step forward, often experienced as the weakening effects of over-training.

The same could be said about our daily diet. So long as we consume just enough and regularly, then we can handle a deviation from what some would consider healthy food. And in our work and social lives we can handle the occasion of overwork or emotional stress. So long as we have the in between time to sleep and rest and recover, then we can come out fitter and fresher than before. Without adequate rest or a continuous line of stressfull events, then eventually something has to give way -- a nervous breakdown, an illness, a chronic illness, a psychosomatic illness -- take your pick.

This is why I cannot take an extreme position on food statements such as "no meat" or "no ice cream" or "no white bread" or "no alcohol". A healthy person leading a balanced life and following a healthy diet may even benefit from the occasional meat dish or ice cream or milk chocolate or night out on the town. These are temporary "extra loads" on our digestive system that the healthy human body is capable of recovering from.

The above applies to a healthy person with a fully functioning immune system. A person suffering from a chronic and /or metabolic disease including cancer would be well advised to stick to strict diet guidelines, as his/her ability to handle "extra loads" have already been exhausted. "Just enough" and regular loading in food and outdoor exercise (and fresh air and sunny days and fun(ny) activities and inspiring environments) and "just enough" sleep and rest in between is my recommended protocol. When in doubt about what is "just enough" food and exercise (intensity and duration), then opt for a little less. When in doubt about what is "just enough" sleep or rest, then opt for a little more. This last piece of advice applies to healthy persons as well.

Dr. Robert McCarrison (15 March 1878 - 18 May 1960)

I have quickly browed through The nature of health and reading through the available material will keep me busy for weeks if not months.

Yet already I can sum up the work of Robert McCarrison in one phrase:

"This illness results from a lifetime of wrong nutrition!"

Almost 100 years later we are still left wondering what the role of nutrition is in the prevention and control of illnesses. Why do we continue to ignore the great minds that have told us throughout history "let food be your medicine"?

If you are prepared to spare 15 minutes then here is a direct link to the medical testament.

What Robert McCarrison had shown was that a bad diet produced, not just one disease, but a whole recognisable pattern of diseases. The idea that a bad diet could have this overwhelming effect was lost in the hype over the latest new single vitamin and its specific effect, followed quickly by the interest in genomics. Yet it is precisely this image-pattern that we see today. Diseases that were a rarity at the beginning of the last century rose generation after generation throughout the century to be no 1 killers of today. This was not caused by a changing genome but a changing diet. The evidence can be seen from the data on the Japanese who migrated at the beginning of last century to the West of the USA. Their children and grandchildren have grown up to have the same disease pattern as their US hosts, whilst their relatives who stayed in Japan have, until very recently, been free from it.

Dr. Robert McCarrison (15 March 1878 - 18 May 1960)

Why do we continue to pump huge amounts of money into new research for preventing and curing disease, when we have a wealth of research studies available that provide solutions we continue to ignore?

Probably the most dramatic proof of how the body is affected by the quality of foods ingested was furnished, some 90 years ago, by the British medical researcher, Major-General Sir Robert McCarrison, former chairman of the post-graduate Medical Education Committee in the University of Oxford and director of research on nutrition in India.

Dr.Robert McCarrison, a brilliant English surgeon, took up the study of certain diseases common to the people of Asia. He was interested in finding out to what degree diseases in Indian peoples were caused by faulty food.

Before I go on, let me share the following observation. Contrary to modern research in western medicine which seems to focus on the disease, Robert McCarrison's research appears to have been focussed on health. Interesting angle of approach. A refreshing angle of approach that is almost 100 years old.

He was amazed by the remarkable health and vitality of these people. He wrote in his classic book 'Studies in deficiency diseases':

"My own experience provides an example of a race unsurpassed in perfection of physique and in freedom from disease in general. I refer to the people of the State of Hunza, situated in the extreme northernmost point of India (now part of Pakistan). Amongst these people the span of life is extraordinarily long.

During the period of my association with these people, I never saw a case of asthenic dyspepsia, of gastric or duodenal ulcer, or appendicitis, or mucous colitis, or cancer."

I was just about to order second hand copies of his book and lectures, when I stumbled across the following exceptional online resource The nature of health which is a medical testiment published by the 31 doctors of the Cheshire Panel Committee in England on March 22 1939 and was a milestone in the development of the infant organic farming movement.

Here follows an extract from the introduction which explains why I find this such an exceptional resource:

"Published in full at the time in the British Medical Journal, the "Testament" brought the major issues of organics to the forefront of public debate: that true health, as opposed to the mere absence of disease (the focus of most of the medical profession then and now), is a commodity whose manufacture begins in a healthy soil. A healthy soil grows healthy crops, which produce healthy livestock, and the final product is healthy people. And what it depends on is the return of the waste products to the soil to begin life anew in the form of humus.

Substituting chemical "fertilizers" for the humus knocks half the spokes out of the wheel, leading to disease throughout the system: pests, weeds, sickly crops, sickly livestock, and sickly humans. It's a living system, not just quantities of dead minerals in mechanical motion. Much of the food processing of the industrialized world produces a denatured product that simply increases the damage.

The "Testament" brought all the issues into focus, both the problems and their solutions. At the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, India, Albert Howard had put the art of composting on a scientific basis and used it to raise healthy, resistant, bumper crops that needed none of the "protection" of poison sprays, along with cattle that could rub noses with sick animals and remain healthy.

At the same time Robert McCarrison was investigating the legendary Hunza tribe of the north of India, mountain people who lived to a ripe and vigorous old age and never got sick. He discovered why, and proved it in a series of experiments at the Nutrition Research Laboratories at Coonoor in India: it was the food they ate -- and, just as important, not just what food, but how it was grown. Unless it was grown in fertile soil, it could not be health-giving food. Most doctors study disease; McCarrison had the rare opportunity to study health instead, and put the fledgling science of nutrition on a whole new footing.

Both Howard and McCarrison won knighthoods for their work. By 1939 both had retired to England, where Howard founded the organic farming movement, and the evidence was gathering on farms and in gardens throughout the land, and throughout the world. McCarrison meanwhile set about mending the poor-cousin status of nutrition in the medical world.

Howard and McCarrison both gave speeches in support of the "Testament" when it was presented at a public meeting in March 1939.

The "Medical Testament" is a classic document -- often referred to and reprinted in books and papers written at the time and subsequently, but now long out of print.

Strangely, what seems to have been sadly neglected even at the time were the extensive references published with the "Testament". Three times as long as the "Testament" itself, this is far more than just a set of attributions and publication details: it contains a host of valuable additional material, much of it not found anywhere else, as well as a full bibliography of the work of Sir Robert McCarrison.

We managed to track down a copy of the original pamphlet and the references at the Cheshire Library and obtained photocopies. (The poor-quality photocopy of the References could not be scanned -- many thanks to Steve Solomon of the Soil and Health Library for re-typing it.) We also tracked down some of the associated documents and publications, all available here in full-text, along with some related documents and some that aren't directly related but relevant nonetheless."

Repetitive Strain Injury

Morning walk and a new idea is born. Chronic disease such as cancer viewed from the mindset of a repetitive strain injury.

In medicine, a chronic disease is a disease that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course of the disease, or its rate of onset and development. A chronic course is distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between. As an adjective, chronic can refer to a persistent and lasting medical condition. Chronicity is usually applied to a condition that lasts more than three months. Diabetes is a good example.

Repetitive strain injuries are classified as a chronic family of disorders that result from fine movements performed very frequently. Though the motions are small, when compounded over a long period of time, they cause microscopic tears in muscles and tendons due to the strain. The parallel for a chronic disease is the daily strain we are subjected to physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually which builds up over time, eventually leading to a catastrophic failure of a weak link in our body, which can further spread as a chain reaction. Ways to prevent and relieve build up over time are nutrition, exercise and rest/sleep.

Bad posture and improper support cause repetitive strain injures. Bad diet and lack of or improper exercise and sleep can cause chronic disease.

Relaxation?

I am fascinated by the role of relaxation throughout the body/mind/spirit spectrum. The following principles are noted for further study.

"Murray Grossan, M.D. • Principles of why a placebo works:
In relaxation, you reduce the stress components. But it must be a "correct" relaxation where stress chemicals are corrected.
With reduced stress chemicals, natural healing can take place.
The brain can be directed to replicate healing factors.
The brain has memory. The red pill or shot: even if it is a placebo, the brain will direct the body's reaction.
The better the patient visualizes the treatment effect the better the action and effect.
More than belief in the treatment is the actual visualization of success of the treatment.

I go into more detail on this in my book, Stressed? Anxiety? Your Cure is in the Mirror.

You see, relaxation actually means less stress hormones/chemicals in circulation. Just because I TELL you to relax, is worthless, unless you perform the breathing, muscle actions etc that reduce the stress chemicals. This can be taught and learned."

Monthly update: June 2011

Body types and weight loss

Although I do not recommend diets designed for weight loss only, I have to be honest and admit that the Moerman diet helped me lose alot of excess unhealthy fat = lose alot of weight. Yet what works for me does not work for Eelkje. And that brings me to different body types and metabolisms.

There are various schools of thought, starting with the Ayurveda body types. Be careful with online body type tests as they are generally designed to push a specific range of health products.

Free viewing... the content will shock you!

If you can put the conspiracy theory to one side and watch the content for its intrinsic value, then you will find some food for thought and discussion.

What causes cancer?

Why did I refuse to follow toxic therapies such as chemo or radiation? The reason is simple. My ongoing belief (conviction) is:

"The cause of the cancer is in me and merely trying to wipe out cancer cells isn't enough."

Focussing on the "me" side of the equation through nutrition, exercise and sleep has worked remarkably well so far.

And I have no problem repeating the following for the umpteenth time. The strategy I adopted to deal with my cancer was to do anything in my power to improve the health and vitality of my body's immune system and help eradicate chemical toxins from my body. And I choose to define my body in three dimensions: physical, mental (incl. emotions) and spiritual. If you prefer to view emotional as a fourth dimension, fine.

What is cancer?

I continue to reflect on my thoughts and emotions over these past 15 months living with the knowledge that I have (had) cancer. I have repeatedely stated that I did not regard cancer as an enemy to fight, but as a messenger bearing a message for me. And my focus of attention has rarely been on the bladder cancer itself, but more on restoring a healthy balance of body, mind and spirit. And in my personal case the tools of choice were regular daily practices for nutrition, exercise and sleep. And at the center of all this activity was and is the human immune system.

When I use the term human immune system, or talk about integrative co-operative immunotherapy, I am probably thinking of something that is more holistic than the definition used by a medical practitioner.

I am still searching for words to express what I know intuitively to be true. So please excuse the clumsiness of the words I choose now, as they will surely be replaced by better expressions over the coming weeks and months.

If cancer is a messenger, then it has been sent by ? for a reason. When messengers were sent in times of war, they were often sent as a warning of approaching dangers such as armies that had just landed on the country's shores, or were marching towards the castle. It was a matter of survival.

So when I talk about integrative co-operative immunotherapy, I am focussed on ways and means of rebuilding the immune system to a healthy level. Wherever cancer appears in our physical body, the message is that our immune system is no longer able to reach and function effectively in that part of our body. The cells are subsequently deprived of nutrition, oxygen and/or water, as well as being oveloaded with build up of waste material, to the point that they are forced to switch to another modus for survival - the cancerous state. It's like a castle under seige - little flows in and little flows out. The initial onset of cancer takes place in the weakest areas of our body. And when we do nothing to deal with the real contributing factors, then the risk of further spread and breakdown is lurking just around the corner.

When medical practitioners talk about immunotherapy, their focus is still to fight the enemy cancer, and immunotherapies are just a possible alternative or complementary means for going into battle. This is a different battle, a different fight against a different enemy.

And what do I believe can influence this thing I call the human immune system? Of immediate concern is how can I restore a flow of nutrition, oxygen and/or water to the weak areas and restore the flow of waste products away from the weak areas. A typical engineer's question. And the integrative co-operative immunotherapy (my definition) is one that restores these flows to and from the weakest areas, whilst at the same time restoring and lubricating the flows throughout the body. The keys to success can be found in our daily activities, e.g. what we eat and drink, how and when we eat and drink, how and when we exercise, how and when we rest and sleep, how and when we deal with physical stress, how and when we deal with emotional stress, how and when we deal with shocks to our beliefs and convictions, etc. (I close that sentence with etc, but the list looks pretty complete).

You may regard this as an oversimplified laymen's view, and you are probably correct. As an engineer I prefer to view it as a functional description of a survival strategy. The details will evolve in the tactics adopted. My own tactics are described throughout this website, and include Moerman guidelines for eating and drinking, the early morning forest walk and early to bed and early to rise. And I am developing a better understanding and appreciation of the rational behind these adopted tactics, e.g. each one of the three tactics that I have employed over the past 15 months works (for me) at all three levels of the body, mind and spirit. And when balanced together there is an added synergetic amplification of the desired benefits.

Monthly update: May 2011

Danny Hillis: Understanding cancer through proteomics

A TED talk:

My personal sources of inspiration

Slow Food

This month seems to be a month filled with new insights and inspiring encounters.

I am a strong advocate for the power of co-operative networks along the lines of e.g. the Basque Mondragon organisation. How powerful a movement can be when it is built on vision, values and people. Mondragon was initiated by a simple priest in a simple Basque village. And where is Mondragon today? A multi billion international co-operative bringing value to the world.

This morning I read an article in the Dutch Volkskrant about the Italian Carlo Petrini, founder and president of the Slow Food network... click here for more information. An Italian initiative that is expanding as an international network of supporters who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment. Beautiful!

Integrative Medicine

This week I decided to become more active on Linkedin and searched for suitable groups. One of the groups I joined was "Innovations in Oncology" and one of the terms that came up in discussions was Integrative Medicine. So I searched the term and discovered here in the Netherlands the existance of the Nationaal Informatie en Kenniscentrum Integrative Medicine (NIKIM) that was set up in 2006. Definitely a path to explore further.

Phytochemicals hold the key!

The webpage I refer to below on food healing is one of the best (if not the best) compact overviews I have come across. I say "best" because it resonates with the essence of my own personal experience, including my love of the kitchen blender (staafmixer). I could try to summarise, but what's the point, when the page is a summary in itself... click here to read it. If you want to combat a particular disease or illness then you can zoom in on particular foods. If you want to maintain or restore general good health, then you will learn to appreciate why variety in whole plant-based foods is the spice of life.

The following wikipedia extract brings phytochemicals into perspective and is a good basis for further discussions:

"Phytochemicals are chemical compounds, such as beta-carotene to cite one well known example, that occur naturally in plants. The term is generally used to refer to those chemicals that may affect health, but are not established as essential nutrients. While there is abundant scientific and government support for recommending diets rich in nutrients from fruits and vegetables, there is only limited evidence that physiological effects result from any specific phytochemicals."

This phytochemicals approach is covered in more detail by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, professor Richard Béliveau and Dr. Denis Gingras under the heading "foods to fight cancer" presented in some of my first updates in 2010. So I suspect that the practitioner behind the qigong.com website "borrowed" his phytochemicals philosophy from these "foods that fight cancer" pioneers. I also suspect that the nine breath method is also "borrowed" from tummo breathing (Jeff Primack and a group of instructors were trained by Wim Hof in tummo breathing). So as much as I am impressed by the soundness of the concepts presented on the qigong.com website, I also suspect that I can skip all the books and DVDs and trainings i.e. credit for the content probably belongs elsewhere.

An interesting workshop with Wim Hof (the iceman)

Today I learnt about Wim Hof's take on breathing technique and visualisation, and I did my best to read between the lines. Please note that Wim is a practitioner of the Tibetan tummo - a discipline of mind, body, and spirit, known from Tibetan Buddhism as "inner fire" (also the website name adopted by Wim).

Wim has made an advanced technique accessible to the novice (that's me). Very simple, even if it will take much dedicated practice to master. Curious to see if and how I adopt it into my daily routines.

The breathing technique was enlightening and certainly worth integrating into my daily practices. The breathing technique is a means to increasing the levels of oxygen stored in the body (outside the lungs) and thereby improving blood circulation (and quality, or should I say purity) throughout the body (removing blockages, reaching the outer regions, as we get older some areas get left behind... opportunity for rejuvination, etc.). In qigong (Chi Kung) the building up of Qi. Once the Qi is flowing freelly, then the pathways for applying visualisation are open. The more you learn to master visualisation, and believe in your ability to use visualisation to influence your body (mind and spirit), the less dependent you will be on the breathing technique.

And what can you achieve with visualisation? Warm yourself up when immersed in ice water. Overcome hunger when there is no food. Exercise your muscles when you are lying down in bed. Recover from a chronic illness such as cancer.

This raises interesting thoughts.

When I do not have faith in my ability (through visualisation) to warm myself up when immersed in ice water, then I can fall back on the breathing technique. Either way, we still need to breath regularly.
When I do not have faith in my ability (through visualisation) to heal my cancer, then I can fall back on the Moerman diet. Either way, we still need to eat regularly.
When I do not have faith in my ability (through visualisation) to train my body, then I can fall back on my morning walk. Either way, we still need to exerise regularly.
When I do not have faith in my ability (through visualisation) to rest my body, then I can fall back on early to bed and early to rise. Either way, we still need to sleep regularly.

Come to think of it, all this reminds me of the nine breath method I came across some time back. I googled it again and that brought me to qigong.com and the following extract:

"Great breakthroughs in nutrition are revealing solutions for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The grocery store holds the Key! We've seen people reverse the worst diseases... It is the "synergy" of practicing Qigong to get your blood and qi circulating with greater power and then having the blood carry the proper nutrition to your organs that gets the most profound results."

I then browsed the qigong.com website and was fascinated by this page on their philosophy towards food healing. So congruent with my own convictions of this moment.

Cancer aside

I just had to share this photo of our cat Karel and myself.

(thanks to Pauli Langbein)

The times they are a changing

Curcumin Helps Change Gene Function to Combat Cancer

"In the midst of the heated turf battle between the Big Pharma-backed model of health known as Western medicine and those advocating more natural strategies to prevent and treat health problems, there arises some common ground."

Is it a coincidence?

Is it a coincidence that my interest the Moerman diet and nutrition, exercise and rest has led me to focus my attention on the human body's immune system?
Is it a coincidence that I was triggered (during my nutritionist study) by the role of dentritic cells within the functioning of the immune system?
Is it a coincidence that I stumbled across the KWF financed research of prof. dr. Carl Figdor into the possibilities of utilising the human body's immune system to fight cancer?
Is it a coincidence that prof. dr. Carl Figdor's research interests include immunology and cell biology, with a specific focus on the molecular mechanisms controlling antigen presenting cells, in particular dendritic cells?

Three major studies into nutrition and cancer

There may well be more, but so far I have only come across three major studies that have attempted to (continue to) correlate nutrition with cancer prevention and treatment:

The China Study - Drawing on the project findings in rural China, the China Study details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer;
EPIC - The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition;
The Continuous Update Project (CUP) from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is an ongoing review of nutrition and cancer research that provides the most up-to-date evidence available on how people can reduce their cancer risk through diet and physical activity.

KWF Kankerbestrijding on the move

Recently I have tuned in to some new developments that are rekindling my hope and enthusiasm about the direction that the KWF Kankerberstrijding is moving in. Namely:

a partnership with the Menzis organisation, in which both schools of expertise are being pooled together in a pilot project that aims to improve the psychosocial screening and support of cancer patients, with as target for 2014 that 80% of cancer patients are screened for their need of psychosocial support;
awarding one of the KWO research prizes to prof. dr. Carl Figdor to further his ongoing research into the possibilities of utilising the human body's immune system to fight cancer;
a pilot project in which a panel of (ex)cancer patients are involved in the task of evaluating project submissions for clinical research, with an aim to improving the quality of research projects by paying more attention to the needs of the cancer patients.

All promising stuff that gives me the confidence that the KWF Kankerbestrijding is on the right track. I am still critical of their attitude towards nutrition and cancer, but some of the winds are starting to blow in the right direction.

Who funds the EPIC project in the Netherlands?

Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports
Dutch Prevention Funds
LK Research Funds
Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland)
World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)

Near future research activities EPIC

Below I expressed my criticism of the isolated research approach in the EPIC study and the findings and conclusions that have been made so far. But that's on the surface. Under the surface something else is cooking that supports the synergy approach.

The near future research activities include:

"The key etiological research planned for the near future will be based on the baseline epidemiological and biological data of EPIC. Major areas of research will include the search for lifestyle, metabolic and genetic causes of cancers of the breast, colorectum, prostate, lung, endometrium, ovary, pancreas, bladder, stomach and upper gastro-intestinal tract. The following major etiological hypotheses will be investigated:

The role of complex interactions between genetic, metabolic, hormonal and lifestyle factors, including diet, overweight, weight gain over lifetime, with particular focus on the "metabolic syndrome" hypothesis. This line of research seems of particular relevance for cancers of the breast, prostate, endometrium and kidney.
The role of diet, as defined by a higher level of complexity that will include dietary patterns, glycaemic index, and some complex pathways such as the 1-carbon metabolism, the fatty acids-eicosonoids metabolism, and their role in inflammatory processes.

The diversity and specificity of different combinations of risk factors in relation to specific subsites of cancers within a given cancer site and histology group. It is foreseeable that the new techniques for classifying tumours by patterns of somatic mutations will become readily available and applicable to the tumour samples that have been, and will be, collected within the EPIC study."

The above comes across to me as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Rather than focus on the effect of "200gm of vegetables" per day, the focus is shifting to the role of complex interactions, i.e. synergetic effects within dietary patterns and in relation to additional lifestyle factors. This really brings a smile to my face.

Unfortunately it has taken 20 years of research to reach this point in the EPIC project. How many more years are going to pass before the near future research activities start producing meaningful results? Perhaps my friend was intuitively correct in suggesting a crowdsourcing approach. I can't wait around for years for the EPIC project and the KWF to give a green light supporting the notion that nutrition, exercise and rest can significantly influence a life with cancer.

Pointing the finger

Whenever there is an incidence of someone following a natural therapy and finally succumbing to cancer, it is not unusual to find an article in the newspaper along the lines of "See, it does not work! Pure quakery!". Particularly when there is a celebrity involved.

The reverse is true when someone succumbs to cancer after following regular protocol and toxic therapies. All the daily newspapers would be filled with these incidents, even just those incidents where the patient succumbed to the stress of the therapies and not to the cancer. What I do read is how "we tried everything within our means" and "we fought the good fight" and "we hope to do better next time" and let's pour more money and resources into scientific research. Fine, but a more integral approach (more co-operation and less witch hunting) I would welcome.

Clinical trials vs retrospective research

A friend of mine raised the topic of "crowdsourcing" during our cycle ride this weekend. And that got my thoughts going again.

I can think of many obstacles that stand in the way of performing and completing effective clinical trials, starting from "how to enrol participants?" to "how to complete the trial?", not to mention the years that we have to wait before any of the results can be implemented after screening and evaluation and approval. So perhaps crowdsourcing offers a viable alternative or a means to a co-operative "and-and" approach.

After some searching I came across a project that I had never heard of before, that was initiated in 1992, and is still running. It's name is EPIC.

EPIC was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. EPIC is the largest study of diet and health ever undertaken, having recruited over half a million (520,000) people in ten European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

One of the first things I wanted to know was which Dutch organisations were/are involved.

The EPIC study in The Netherlands is based in two centres, Bilthoven and Utrecht. The population in the two cohorts has been recruited from two regions, from the general population (Bilthoven) and from those attending for breast cancer screening (Utrecht). Recruitment was carried out between 1993 and 1997. In 2006-2007, the two Dutch cohorts have been merged into one cohort (EPIC-NL LINK) to gain efficiency and sample size and to optimise the use of the data locally. The separate cohorts, however, will co-exist besides the merged cohort.

In Bilthoven, EPIC is co-ordinated by the Centre for Nutrition and Health of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and called the MORGEN-EPIC cohort.

The Utrecht EPIC cohort is co-ordinated by the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) and is called Prospect-EPIC.

The fact that I have only today indirectly stumbled over the EPIC project says something about the (inefficient) way I am searching for information and/or the way in which the EPIC project is (not) being supported or recognised or promoted here in the Netherlands. So I googled "KWF EPIC" and found the following KWF report from 2004 (click here for the PDF file).

After browsing through some of the research outlines, I find my critical side surfacing again and questioning the foundation of the study and the feasibility of researching the effect of synergy (nutrition, exercise, rest, psychosocial aspects) within a healthy lifestyle. Once again, I find that information is being gathered and evaluated in isolation, and I have to say it, with a bias. I feel like pushing scientific research to one side and making room for "crowdsourcing" historical qualitative evidence and experience and paying attention (listening) to the stories of those exceptional cancer patients who have survived cancer for a longer period than the general statistics indicate.

So I have plenty of reading and catching up to do over the coming weeks.

Final exam coming up in June

As a result of my encounter with the impact that nutrition had, and now has, on my health, I enrolled for a study to become a qualified nutritionist. Next month, June 18, I take my final exam.

One of the bits of knowledge that caught my attention during the study were the Langerhans cells, named after the person who first described them Paul Langerhans. They caught my attention for two reasons (1) they apparantly played a key role in our immune system and (2) they are present in tissues in contact with the external environment, such as the skin and the inner lining of the nose, lungs, stomach and intestines, and can also be found in an immature state in the blood. These were all terms that I associated with leukemia and parts of the body where cancer tumors seem to appear and spread to.

I recently discovered that the Langerhans cells are the same as what we now call dentritic cells, and that a key function of the dentritic cells is to roam around our body in search of intruders, such as cancer cells. When intruders are found, then the dentritic cell will capture one of the enemy (symbolic: the dentritic cell cannot kill or destroy cancer cells, but can collect some dead cell tissue) and bring it back to one of the lymph nodes where they interact with T cells to initiate and shape the adaptive immune response. Once activated, T cells are able to multipy their numbers quickly and launch a "search and destroy" assault on the cancer cells.

I know that I am still crawling forward trying to understand how our body copes with chronic diseases such as cancer, but the above insight into scientifically verified physiology confirms two points (1) a healthy body (through dentritic cells) is able to identify cancer cells and (2) a healthy body (through T cells) is able to search for and destroy cancer cells. When the two functions are working properly, the body can deal with cancer in a timely and effective manner, basically as a daily routine. Anything that hampers the functioning of the dentritic cells and/or the T cells, such as a deterioration in general health, will also hamper the body's ability to combat cancer. The reverse should also be true. And our general health is directly influenced by what we eat, how we exercise and how well we sleep.

Our Deepest Fear

The following poem, particularly the highlighted lines, by Marianne Williamson (often cited as a Nelson Mandela quote) has recently helped me resolve a personal issue. I found myself keeping quiet about my natural therapy when facing cancer patients who had elected to follow toxic therapies such as chemo and radiation, in order not to make them feel insecure or start doubting their decisions. Keeping quiet was wrong when these people actually asked me about my own approach to dealing with my cancer. I now openly stand up for my decision and conviction, without presuming to offer advice.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others."

Is food X healthy?

This seems to be the standard question that I am asked these days. And I cannot answer with a yes or a no. Because the answer depends on the food, on how often the food is consumed, what place it takes in the daily foods consumed, the medical / health condition of the person, whether the food is consumed before, during or after exercise, etc.

A question that I find easier to answer is "Which foods do I trust?". I trust most natural, complete foods, biological or otherwise, fresh or dried or frozen, or canned and conserved in olive oil. I distrust just about all processed foods, no matter how "healthy" the list of ingredients may appear. And I certainly distrust all the processed foods that are vamped up with the commercial slogan "good for you" because of "added omega 3" and "added fibres" and etc. Stick as much as possible to simple, natural, whole (grain) foods. Because I no longer eat meat, for me they are vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, fatty fish, egg yolks and buttermilk (from the farm, not the factory). Marginal products for me are cottage cheeses and yoghurts, because they are factory made and subject to additives (including bacteria) during production. And yes, I do deviate (slightly) on occasion e.g. when eating out with friends.

Do I trust or recommend biological foods? I am neutral, because although biological makes sense from the "less contaminated" and "better nutrition" viewpoints, the biological label is also accompanied by a higher price tag. And whenever commercial incentives appear, I start to question the underlying motivation of the manufacturer. So I prefer to keep matters both simple for myself as well as affordable.

And when we start eating more healthy and balanced meals, our taste buds start returning, and we are soon able to distinguish for ourselves between the foods that are good for us and those that are not. But when our daily diets are mixed, so are our taste buds, and it is easy to slip into a gradually decaying lifestyle without feeling or noticing the (long term) consequences directly, leaving the door wide open for chronic diseases such as cancer. As in my own case, I did not even recognise the warning signals (and there were plenty) over the 5-10 years that preceded my cancer.

Is cancer curable?

Somehow we always come back to this key question. Whether it is the right question to ask is beside the point when it is the key question that lives in the minds of many people, (ex)cancer patients and otherwise.

Every time this question pops up, I find myself searching for those few words that can describe my approach to "curing" cancer. It's an ongoing daily learning process. Today those few words are:

each day learning to gently resolve my physical, emotional and spiritual conflicts;
each day learning to gently support my self-healing process through nutrition, exercise and rest;
each day learning to gently detoxify my body, mind and spirit.

When all the safety buffers have been depleted healthwise, as is often the case with chronic diseases such as cancer, then the key word is "gentle", i.e. whatever treatment or therapy you choose to follow, the last thing your body needs is extra loading (such as more toxins to tax an already overloaded liver and lymphatic system). Chemo and radiation and other toxic treatments simply "will not compute" with me.

Moerman revisited - why raw egg yolks and why not rhubarb?

Moerman guidelines are (were) clear in recommending in favour of raw egg yolks daily and recommending against sauerkraut, red and white cabbage, rhubarb and asparagus.

One explanation is that in raw egg yolks, the cholestorel is kept suspended in solution by the lecithine. When heated (as in boiling, poaching, frying) the lecithine is destroyed and the cholestorol is released for aborption by the body.

I am still missing an explanation for the "recommendations against". In most cases "recommendations against" have to do with acidity and decalcification, as is the case with rhubarb. Admittedly I have not put much effort into finding one. Given the abundance of foods to choose from on the recommended list, it has not been a problem to steer clear of sauerkraut, red and white cabbage, rhubarb and asparagus.

And please keep in mind that for a normally healthy person, an ice cream now and then, or rhubarb and custard once in a while, or the milk chocolate bar is OK. The body has enough safety buffers to handle these small indiscretions. But for the chronically ill, whose safety buffers have been depleted, a "recommendation against" is equivalent to "forbidden". The body's detoxification processes are already being overtaxed, even before the onslought of additional chemo or radiation therapies.

The generally accepted toxic therapies

I can only guess at the amount of money that has been poured into researching toxic therapies such as chemo and radiation. Yet, among the hundreds of thousands of research studies and reports, I am missing some questions and answers, such as:

What are the long term effects on the health of the local environment around the cancer, i.e. structural damage / weakening?
Of the structural damage / weakening, what is temporary and what is permanent?
Can the structural damage / weakening be repaired or reversed? And if so, how?
How much of the "returning cancer (recurrence)" is due to the structural damage / weakening?
How much of the "more aggressive cancer" that returns/appears is due to the structural damage / weakening?

Maybe the questions and answers are out there, and I just havn't found them yet. Do I have answers? I can guess at the answers, but no, I have no verifiable answers. I do have a conviction though, that I am happy to share openly with you:

I should warn you that the following statement is critical and confronting (emotionally for some), but it is my personal conviction. It falls under the category "Iñaki, say what you mean! Get to the point!" and the more I observe and listen and read, the stronger my conviction becomes.

"Conventional cancer treatments, with the (under certain crisis situations) exception of surgery, actually harm the patient and the patient's immune system, making it even more difficult to overcome cancer in the future. Chemotherapy harms the immune system and impairs organs such as the brain, liver, and the heart and also the lymph system. It leaves the patient unable to stop the progression of the cancer. The real answers to cancer prevention and cure are found in nutrition, exercise and rest protocols that are designed to both treat the immediate sympton (foods that fight cancer) as well as rebuild / repair the surrounding environment (foods that help rebuild the immune system). Chemotherapy is not a cure for cancer, nor is radiation, because both of those treatments actually cause cancer. When you poison the immune system and irradiate tissues, you create physical imbalances which in turn can create cancer. This is the simple reason why so many people who subject themselves to conventional cancer treatments find themselves battling recurring cancer years later. And this is also the reason why we hear of the "miracles" that occur when toxic cancer treatments are stopped because the patient has been declared beyond redemption."

Grapefruit the forbidden fruit - from who's viewpoint?

One of my friends is currently undergoing chemotherapy. She made me aware that certain medicines and hospital diets forbid drinking grapefruit juice. She asked me why? I did not have an answer, so I looked it up.

I will not go into the technical details, but if you are interested I have included a Dutch text below. What it boils down to in the case of some medicines, for example those designed to reduce blood pressure, is that grapefruit juice can increase or decrease the desired effect of the medicine. Call me simple, but rather than forbid the "natural food", isn't this an opportunity to reduce the amount of medication required, as grape fruit juice will enable the patient to get the desired benefits with a lower dosage of medication? Or is that commercially not desirable from the viewpoint of the manufacturer?

"Medicijnen kun je maar het beste wegslikken met water. Grapefruit is uit den boze, dat is de afgelopen twintig jaar al doorgedrongen tot menig bijsluiter en sappak....

Bailey is de man van het grapefruitsap. In 1991 ontdekte de onderzoeksgroep van de farmacoloog (universiteitsziekenhuis in Londen, in de Canadese staat Ontario) bij toeval dat grapefruitsap de werking van een bloeddrukverlager gevaarlijk versterkte. In grapefruit zitten bepaalde stoffen – furanocoumarines – die de activiteit van een groep eiwitten in de darmen remmen.

Die eiwitten, met CYP3A4 als belangrijkste, spelen een cruciale rol bij de afbraak en afvoer van werkzame stoffen. Medicijnen werken intensiever en langer als ze minder snel worden afgebroken en er dus meer ervan in het bloed terechtkomt. De werkzame dosis van een medicijn wordt uitgevogeld in mensenstudies waarbij pillen over het algemeen worden weggeslikt met een glas water.

Wanneer er grapefruitsap wordt gebruikt, zal de werkzame stof minder snel worden afgebroken. Dat resulteert in een hoge concentratie in het bloed (soms een factor 5 ten opzichte van slikken met water). De bloeddruk zal daardoor verder omlaag gaan dan in de studies waarbij water is gebruikt. Dat kan leiden tot onvoorspelbare, gevaarlijke situaties.

In de loop der jaren is een lijst van een veertigtal medicijnen gemaakt waarbij het opletten geblazen is. Het drinken van grapefruitsap, zelfs uren voor het slikken van pillen, kan het effect van deze middelen versterken. Farmaceutische bedrijven zijn verplicht een eventueel versterkend effect te vermelden in de bijsluiter.

Op de lijst staan veel gebruikte, oraal in te nemen middelen, zoals de cholesterolverlagers simvastatine (Zocor) en atorvastatine (Lipitor), de bloeddrukverlager nifedipine (Adelat), het erectiemiddel sildenafil (Viagra), de rustmaker diazepam (Valium) en het antidepressivum sertraline (Zoloft). Vijftigplussers zijn de klos: vooral zij drinken grapefruitsap en slikken deze medicijnen.

Niet alleen grapefruit is in beeld. Ook andere vruchten, zoals sommige dikschillige sinaasappels en limoenen met een hoge concentratie furanocoumarines, kunnen de werking van bepaalde medicijnen remmen. Sommige sapjes doen bij bepaalde medicijnen zelfs het omgekeerde. Ze bevatten stoffen – vermoedelijk naringine-achtigen – die de opname vanuit de darmen richting bloed remmen.

Grapefruitsap remt bijvoorbeeld de werking van het anti-allergiemiddel fexofenadine (Allegra). Appelsap, aldus Bailey, remt de werking van enkele bloeddruk verlagende bètablokkers en van bepaalde antibiotica. Hij heeft een lijstje gemaakt dat, voorspelt Bailey, de komende jaren flink zal worden uitgebreid. Slikken met water dus, adviseert hij."

Video footage about the Roparun Parkhuys Almere

I came across this film footage about the Roparun Parkhuys Almere on the Stichting Nationaal Fonds Tegen Kanker website:

The Nationaal Fonds Tegen Kanker is convinced that a good cancer treatment is made up of three parts that are tailored to the specific needs of the patient:

effective regular cancer therapy;
complementary therapy;
good psychosocial guidance.

Food nutrition as medicine

In yesterday's Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant, I found an interesting article written by Maarten Evenblij, which shed a light on the growing interest (= hundreds of millions of euros being pumped into research) of pharmaceutical companies in the medicinal aspects of simple nutrition. Although the pharmaceutical industry will place a price tag on this "medicinal nutrition", and although their motivation is strongly financially driven, this news is nevertheless great. Why? Because the pharmaceutical industry is finally willing to state (based on scientific evidence naturally) that chronic diseases can not only be prevented through good nutrition, but also treated and even reversed (= cured). How are they making this statement? To coin a phrase, they are starting to "put their money where their mouth is."

In Dutch, here is a link to the article (in PDF format).

The first Pharma-Nutrition conference has now taken place between 18-20th April in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Over 200, nutrition and pharma specialists came together to present, share and discuss the current research on the gap between pharma and nutrition.

240km road tour in Friesland

The cycling tour is just 5 weeks away. Having put in a handfull of long distance runs of 100 - 170 km, I am happy to say that I have encountered no problems with saddle pain. However, I did suffer cycling into a strong head wind, and growing discomfort in my hand palms and wrists. So I have made two changes to my bike steup. I have removed the two travel bags that flanked my real wheel, and replaced them with a travel bag located behind my saddle. And I have attached a triathlon handlebar and went out for a test ride this morning. It felt great! Not for continued hours of cycling, but certainly for cycling into the wind and relieving pressure from the hand palms and wrists.

The cure for cancer

At some point in the future we will have a cure for cancer. And when we look back we will discover that we found the answer:

partly through applied medical research;
partly through food and nutrition;
partly through exercise and training;
partly through rest and sleep;
partly through psychosocial intervention;
partly through family and social support.

In short, the cure for cancer will be a personalised lifestyle change. Many (commercially) driven bodies will promote the lifestyle change as the cure, because one can put a price tag on it. I prefer to view the lifestyle change as a means to an end... the end being a healthy and vital body, mind and spirit that are able to heal themselves.

Monthly update: April 2011

Self healing colitis & crohn's

What a welcome new asset. A while ago I ordered a book "self healing colitis & crohn's" by David Klein Ph.D. And the views expressed on diet, exercise and rest and self healing appear to be 99% congruent with my own evolving thoughts.

Let me read through the book in more detail before I add further comments and findings.

The yoga practice of Inner Fire

Wim Hof has mastered the yoga practice of Inner Fire, or Tum-mo, the basic method used in the advanced stage of most tantra systems. When doing this practice, we will need to visualize our body in a certain way. This is called the "Vajra Body" and incorporating it into our self-image provides a useful way to work with our bodily energies. The structures visualized are not actually there when the body is autopsied. There are correlates with our physical bodies, yet that is only part of the picture. When we close our eyes and feel our bodies, it is hard to deny that different parts of the body have different energies and feelings. In any case, to do the practices, one needs to suspend disbelief and visualize the postulated structures and energies. After extended practice, the visualizations become internalized and become powerful tools for calming ourselves, connecting with the body and channeling energy.

Even without previous training, individuals are able to access their Inner Fire (or something similar) e.g. in times of crisis when a switch to survival mode is required. There are many spin-off techniques that I have encountered in reading the stories of cancer patients who have mastered their illness through visualisation techniques, acts of faith and even speaking to their inner selves. Athletes who are able to get themselves into the so-called "zone" for endurance racing know what I am talking about, e.g. they can hit a brick wall halfway through an endurance race and manage to pull themselves through into a new refreshed modus of operation. It's at the heart of both the advanced martial arts methods as well as the gentle practice of Zhineng Chi Kung.

Wim Hof is one of those rare individuals (masters) who can access his Inner Fire from the start, as demonstrated by his many world records and medical tests he has undergone.

Wim Hof - multi world record holder

Wim Hof has put theory into practice regarding how to boost our immune system and strive for good health. World record achievements cannot (should not) be ignored. The following video is in Dutch (sorry guys and girls):

Can you cure cancer through nutrition, exercise and rest?

This is not the way I would choose to phrase the question now, but it was the question I asked myself last year. My answer to this specific formulation is NO.

The only "thing" that can cure cancer is our being, our naturally programmed ability for self-healing. Nutrition, exercise and rest play a stimulating and/or slowing down effect on the self-healing process.

Traditional medical practice in the form of surgery, toxic treatments, medicines etc. is not about healing. These treatments and therapies bipass the self-healing process. They are about handling critical situations by removing, destroying and/or replacing localised culprits. Unfortunately there are almost always negative side effects, a disrespect for the surrounding environment.

Some side-effects are temporary, some are more enduring. They are in the form of overloading (stressing) our bodies and minds, thereby weakening our immune and resistance systems. Net result is a deterioration of the self-healing process. And when such treatments and therapies are performed over a longer period of time, the side-effects can be devastating.

No wonder that when the initial cancer has been removed and/or destroyed, that within a few years a more aggressive and wide-spread form of cancer returns. And if not cancer, the follower is often another chronic disease.

This is the way that I interprate many of the scientific research studies I have come across and read. Small example. When a research report comes to the conclusion that a chemo treatment will result in a "20% chance of surviving cancer free for the next 5 years", then the following statement is also true "80% chance of a new and more aggressive and widespread form of cancer within 5 years". Both statements are correct. The underlying messages are worlds apart.

Monthly update: March 2011

Remember the eliptigo? A crosstrainer for the outdoors...

The warm sun is shining again and the forest walk is generating inspiration. Remember my fascination with the eliptigo? Well today I was thinking about people suffering (and recovering) from chronic illnesses, and how difficult it is to get the daily exercise going. So I visualised "ligfietsen (reclyning bicycles)" (a lying down sit), then the 3 wheel versions, and then the combination of leg and arm exercise. So is there a lying down sit version of the eliptigo out there for individuals who are finding it difficult to go for a walk or a bicycle ride, or even tied to their wheelchairs. And yes, searching around the Dutch websites, I came across this inspiring youtube video about Berkel Bike:

PS. The most daunting aspect of my participation in the June 240km road tour in Friesland is the potential saddle pain, and a reclyning bicycle is looking attractive.

A closing note on Berkel Bike is about their way of thinking about how spinal cord injury can affect health. In the text below I find alot of similarity with the consequences for persons who are not taling care of their physcial bodies through good nutrition, exercise and weight control:

"A spinal cord injury results mostly in a reduction or even completely loss of muscle function and sensitivity. Besides a decrease of the cardiovascular condition, leads such a form of chronic muscular inactivity to changes alteration in muscles and peripheral circulation. Research has shown that the muscular system undergoes characteristic changes as muscle atrophy, a reduction of the oxidative capacity and a shift in muscle fibre composition. The so-called Type II, “fast twitch” fibre will predominate. The peripheral blood flow decreases by atrophy of the blood vessel bed (Hopman 1996) and of the myocardium (Kessler 1986). This leads to a risk increase of pressure ulcers. It has also been shown that the bone density decreases, which increases the risk of osteoporosis significantly. The reduced overall circulation could lead to digestion problems, cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

And by the way, I have raised my walking and cycling cadence to around 80, working on the principle that a higher exercise cadence means that the involved muscles are contracting and relaxing at a higher rate per minute, thereby stimulating (pumping action) a better blood flow through the smaller blood vessels, which implies both a better supply of oxygen as well as a better removal of free radicals (toxins such as lactic acid).

Moerman vs Montignac guidelines

In my own weight loss and diet guidelines for the past 12 moths, as readers know by now, I basically adopted the Moerman guidelines. As part of my nutritionist training I have also taken a closer look at other diets. There were areas of verlap qwith the Moerman guidelines, in particular Vegan and Ayurverda guidelines.

What surprised me this morning was the (at first hidden) remarkable level of congruence between my own diet and the Montignac method. Here are the basic Montignac guidelines (8 principles in Dutch):

No calory counting required Tellen van calorieën heeft geen nut; We worden niet dik omdat we teveel eten, maar slecht eten. Met de Methode leert u op de juiste manier eten en drinken.
Primarily plant-based protein Genoeg eiwit; Eten van voldoende eiwitten met de nadruk op peulvruchten, niet-geraffineerde granen en soja-producten.
Good carbohydrates Goede koolhydraten; Gebruik goede koolhydraten en u valt af. Goede koolhydraten zijn onder meer fruit, volkorenproducten en bonen. Slechte koolhydraten zijn onder meer suiker, witbrood en aardappelen. Het kennen van goede en slechte koolhydraten is een belangrijke peiler van de Methode Montignac.
Fibre rich foods Vezelrijke voeding; Natuurlijke vezels spelen een belangrijke rol in de Methode. Het voedingspatroon is dan ook vezelrijk.
Good fats Goede vetten; Er bestaan goede vetten, die hart en bloedvaten beschermen. Vooral olijfolie, vis en gevogelte worden daarom aanbevolen.
Plenty of plant-based vitamins and minerals Ruim vitaminen en mineralen; 'Goede' koolhydraten bevatten ook ruim voldoende vitaminen, mineralen en sporen-elementen.
Avoid consuming fats with carbohydrates (this is the only principle I find difficult to understand -- which fats? which carbohydrates? The good, the bad and/or the ugly?) Scheiden van vetten en koolhydraten;
Exercise Lichaamsbeweging is goed. Voor de glucose-stofwisseling is lichaamsbeweging goed. Calorieën verliest u er niet mee.

Who is Marilyn Joyce?

The personality and story behind Marilyn Joyce come alive in this video:

What is cancer - enemy, friend or teacher?

I choose not to see my cancer as the enemy. And I choose not to see it as my friend. So I guess it is my teacher.

More info about Marilyn Joyce

I have to admit that Marilyn Joyce has impressed me (see the video interviews below) with her down to earth and common sense approach and answers to the questions. And of course, because the viewpoints she expresses tie in so well with my own (developing) perspective. So I naturally googled Marilyn Joyce and learnt that she is both a cancer survivor as well as a Registered Dietitian, with a doctorate in Psychology and Nutrition -- and yes, also inspired early on at a Bernie Siegel workshop.

How to protect liver and kidneys from chemo/radiation therapies

In researching internet articles and books on nutrition during chemo and radiation therapies, practically all the information is focussed on how to get nourishment into the body when side effects are causing a lack of appetite. Yet one of the first things I learnt a year ago was the importance of restoring the health of my kidneys and liver. When a person is chronically ill, more often than not the kidneys and liver are overloaded by an ongong detoxification process. This means that additional food and drink entering the body, aside from providing the needed nourishment, also adds to the wastage disposal and loading of ther kidneys and liver.

Two of the daily habits I adopted early on were:

my first-thing-in-the-morning glass of warm water with fresh lemon juice;
the juice of 4-5 lemons mixed into my meals and drinks.

When researching the effect of chemo and radiation therapies on the kidneys and liver, I recently came across a herb called the "milk thistle" (mariadistel: Westmacott schreef in 1694 over deze Distel: "het is een vriend van de lever en het bloed, als je de stekels verwijdert, kun je ze koken, zoals vroeger veel gedaan werd samen met andere kruiden, maar zoals de wereld ontbindt, zo ook het gebruik van goede oude dingen en andere, meer delicaat, maar minder deugdelijk worden ingevoerd".)

Here is a short video, actually a series of 9 short interviews. Interview 5 will be of interest for cancer patients undergoing chemo and radiation treatments and experiencing loss of appetite for various reasons, such as nausea, is the fresh ginger and hot lemon drink. And interview 8 covers the hot lemon drink and milk thistle (the text for this interview is included below):

"What we need to do is have a lot of water continually. Water is one of the best detoxiants there is. One of the remedies that I use with my clients is just a hot lemon drink every morning and throughout the day if they have an urge for it, but especially first thing in the morning. It is hot water (not boiled water) with the juice of a half of a large lemon or one small lemon squeezed into it with a little bit of cayenne pepper and just a touch of pure maple syrup to take the edge off. The enzymes in the pure maple syrup and the lemon, plus the vitamin C, and the cayenne pepper which is very, very immune boosting will have a very strong peristaltic effect so the drink will really release a lot of the toxins first thing in the morning. This means that the person is getting rid of some of those toxins right away. We also know that for, not while you are going through chemotherapy, but immediately after, milk thistle is a very good herb to incorporate into your system or your regime until you have eliminated a lot of the toxic remnants of the chemotherapy."

Marilyn Joyce has plenty of recommendations for cancer patients undergoing cancer therapies. For example, in interview 6 she recommends (also from personal experience) the consumption of ginger tea (an inch of ginger boiled in hot water for 15 minutes) + lemon juice to alleviate nausea.

Dutch study links animal protein to diabetes

A Dutch study has established that a 5% increase intake of (animal-based) protein raises the chance of diabetes by 30%. So much for the protein rich diets. This appears to be congruent with the findings of the China Study in relation to cancer. Chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesites often appear to be interlinked.

Researching cancer diets and psychosocial intervention -- a catch 22 challenge

Persons with healthier diets tend to have healthier overall lifestyles.
Persons who walk in the forest each morning tend to reflect on and process their emotions and thoughts on a regular daily basis.
Persons who exercise each day tend to eat healthier diets.
Persons who eat healthier diets tend to feel more vital with raised spirits.
Persons who sleep well and relax easily tend to eat better and exercise regularly.
Persons with healthy diets and regular daily routines for exercise, sleeping and resting tend to survive cancer better than those with unhealthy diets and irregular eating, exercise and sleeping habits.

Why would you want to split up the above synergy to research individual correlations?

And what would I want to research from the above?
What constitutes a healthy diet and daily eating routine?
What consititutes a healthy daily exercise routine?
What constitutes a healthy daily sleeping and resting routine?

In fact this brings me full circle back to the same questions I started off with in February 2010. And note that all the psychosocial stuff (coming in to contact with and reflecting on emotions and thoughts) is built in by implication (and personal experience).

Human dignity (menselijke waardigheid)

I think about the manner in which the urologists have handled me as a bladder cancer patient. I recall the emotions and fears expressed verbally and non-verbally by other cancer patients, family members and friends. The more I reflect on all this, the more the term "human dignity" comes to mind. How do medical protocols, and doctors/specialists who nowadays base their decisions less on what the patient tells (and does not tell) them and more on the scientific evidence from clinical tests and laboratory results, pay attention to matters of human dignity? The same goes for the way in which a Moerman diet or psychosocial intervention is introduced into the "learning to live with cancer" arena, once again, how to we pay attention to human dignity for everyone involved or affected by cancer?

The Moerman diet and conventional cancer therapies

What to eat before, during and after conventional cancer therapies such as chemo and radiation? The answer is not easy, and sticking to the Moerman diet is very difficult, because certain nutrients may interfere with the effectiveness of the conventional cancer therapies, and the preferred Moerman foods may not fully compensate for and/or accommodate therapy side-effects.

Once you step onto the traditional therapy roller-coaster it's difficult to get off halfway -- you are probably on board for the duration of the ride and surviving the ride takes top priority. No wonder that many cancer patients only consider/adopt an alternative approach (such as the Moerman diet) after the traditional therapies have stopped, and more often than not (from what I have read) because the specialists have given up hope of recovery, i.e. they believe that the cancer can no longer be treated and therefore there is no point to continuing the therapies.

Added value of traditional medicine

By traditional medicine I mean medicine that is based on evidence from scientific research. The following chart is taken from the RIVM (the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) report "The Dutch 2010 Public Health Status and Forecasts Report":

Much progress has been booked by medicine and science to reduce the mortalities from infectious diseases and cardiovacular diseases. In sharp contrast to the continued rise in mortality from cancers. I now make the assumption that medicine and science have also made progress in treating cancer, which means that for cancer mortality to continue rising, the incidence of cancer is on the rise, and the same probably holds true for other chronic diseases including obesity and diabetes. And I find myself once again seeing a correlation with a net deterioration in lifestyle, i.e. nutrition, exercise and rest.

For the full report, which is packed with interesting trends, statistics and recommendations, click here.

Nutrition and lifestyle

A year ago I started on the Moerman diet and proceeded from there. The next step was to establish a lifestyle based on nutrition, exercise and rest. On hindsight I realised that this was not just physical, but also mental and spiritual. For me personally the big changes were at the physical level. Mentally and spiritually the changes have been relatively small. For other people the balance between physical, mental and spiritual will be different. Nevertheless, an essential building block will be physical nutrition, exercise and rest.

The closest school of thought that covers all 3x3 dimensions above, that I have come across to date, is the thinking behind Ayurveda. I find alot of Ayurveda principles that are congruent with my experience and thinking to date, but in some areas Ayurveda goes too far (starts branching off in different directions) for me e.g. the three doshas and the use of herbs and oils. This is where I love the simplicity of the original Moerman guidelines that cover food, exercise and rest. Simple diet, exercise and rest guidelines are for everyone. Identifying which dosha you are and modifying your diet to fit your dosha, learning about herbal remedies and the uses of different massage oils, is fine for some but not for others. And why pigeon hole your dosha? And what if you misdiagnose your dosha? And what if your dosha changes with time, or circumstances, or environment? And my simple approach to herbs is fresh herbs utilised in my meals, and flexible recipes that vary from day to day. Basic rule: variety is the spice of life. And a recent addition is the Duo Elixer made up of 120+ different herbs. And oils and massage. The only lotion I use now and then for skin irritation is a calendula balsem.

Basic lifestyle message: keep things simple, flexible and varied. Play around, have fun. This increases the odds that you actually stick to your lifestyle changes, and that you cover all the bases.

Suppressing cancer growth

There is sufficent scientific evidence available to enable the WCRF to openly state that nutrition, exercise and weight control can help prevent cancer, prevent recurrence of cancer and prevent spreading of cancer. There are two implied truths behind this statement, namely:

the human body has the natural ability to suppress the growth of cancer;
nutrition, exercise and weight control (lifestyle) affect the body's ability to suppress the growth of cancer.

A poor lifestyle weakens the ability to suppress cancer, but not necessarilly below a threshold level.
A good lifestyle strengthens the ability to suppress cancer.

Chemo and radiation therapy, in fact all toxic therapies, weaken the body's ability to suppress the growth of cancer. Resulting side effects, that make it difficult for the cancer patient to follow a healthy nutrition, exercise and weight control lifestyle, will also weaken the suppression ability even further. So (partial) compensation through a good lifestyle before, during and after such therapies is a logical recommendation. In fact, an area that I plan to focus my energy on is the identification and development of guidelines that help cancer patients adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle before, during and after toxic cancer therapies.

This leaves only one area untouched. Will good nutrition, exercise and weight control also strengthen the body's weakened ability to suppress the growth of cancer once the cancer has been identified through diagnosis. My answer from personal experience is yes. It may not be enough to send the cancer into reversal (as in my case to date), and it may not be enough to bring the growth to a standstill, but it will make a welcome contribution towards slowing down the growth of cancer.

Once again, food for thought.

Neutropenic - ever heard this term before?

Probably not, unless you have cancer and have received chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and as a result of the chemotherapy or radiation therapy your specialist informs you that you are now also suffering from neutroponia and should follow a neutropenic diet. This is significant in warning us that a patient is immunosuppressed and at risk for infection and unable to adequately call on their "immune defense system".

Each time a patient receives a cycle of chemotherapy or a round of radiation... their risk of neutropenia increases. Patients who have been neutropenic in a previous cycle of chemo or radiation are at high risk for neutropenia in all subsequent treatments.

The Neutropenic diet seeks to reduce the amount of food introduced into the body that has high levels of bacteria. While there are many good bacteria in our food there are also many bad bacteria. Healthy people have immune systems that can easily deal with the bad bacteria, but such is not the case for those with reduce immune function. As you will see from the table below, the neutropenic diet puts some tight restrictions on the Moerman diet by forbidding e.g. raw vegetables, raw herbs and raw fruits.

FOOD GROUPS

ALLOWED

NOT ALLOWED

Dairy

All pasteurized, grade "A" milk and milk products.

Commercially-packaged cheese and cheese products made with pasteurized milk (i.e. mild and medium cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, Swiss, etc.)

Pasteurized yogurt

Dry, refrigerated, and frozen pasteurized whipped topping

Ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, ice cream bars, homemade milkshakes

Commercial nutritional supplements and baby formulas, liquid and powdered

Unpasteurized or raw milk, cheese, yogurt, and other milk products

Cheeses from delicatessens

Cheeses containing chili peppers or other uncooked vegetables

Cheese with molds (i.e. blue, Stilton, Roquefort, gorgonzola)

Sharp cheddar, brie, camembert, feta cheese, farmer's cheese

Vegetables

All cooked frozen or canned vegetables.

All cooked herbs and spices (add at least 5 minutes before end of cooking)

Raw vegetables, salads

Caesar Salads with Caesar dressing

Pepper

Garnishes

Uncooked herbs and spices

Fruits and Nuts

Canned and frozen fruit and fruit juices

Thick skinned fruits (oranges, bananas)

Melons cut up and used immediately

Canned or bottled roasted nuts

Nuts in baked products

Commercially packaged peanut butter

Dried fruits

Raw fruit; foods containing raw fruits

Unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices

Raw nuts

Roasted nuts in the shell

Precut fresh fruits

Bread, Grain, and Cereal Products

All breads, bagels, rolls, pan-cakes, sweet rolls, waffles, French toast

Potato chips, corn chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, popcorn

Cooked pasta, rice, and other grain

All cereals, cooked and ready-to-eat

Raw grain products

Bakery breads, cakes, donuts, muffins

Potato/macaroni salad

Entrees, Soups

All cooked entrees and soups

All miso products (i.e. miso soup)

Meat and Meat Substitutes

All well-cooked or canned meats (beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, shellfish, game, ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs)

Well-cooked eggs (white cooked firm with thickened yolk acceptable, i.e. hard boiled, over hard)

Pasteurized egg substitutes (i.e. Egg Beaters)

Commercially-packaged salami, bologna, and other luncheon meats

Canned and commercially-packaged hard smoked fish, refrigerated after opening

Cooked tofu (which must be cut into 1" cubes or smaller and boiled a minimum of five minutes in water or broth before eating or using in recipes)

Raw or undercooked meat,, poultry, fish, game, tofu

Meats and cold cuts from delicatessen

Hard cured salami in natural wrap

Cold smoked salmon, lox

Pickled fish

Tempe (tempeh) products

Sushi

Raw oysters/clams

Beverages

Tap water

Commercial bottled distilled and natural waters

All canned, bottled, powdered beverages

Instant and brewed coffee, tea; cold brewed tea made with boiling water

Brewed herbal teas using commercially-packaged tea bags

Commercial nutritional supplements, liquid and powdered

Well water (unless tested yearly and found safe)

Cold-brewed tea made with warm or cold water sun tea

Egg nog

Fresh apple cider

Homemade lemonade

Spring water

Fats

Oil, shortening

Refrigerated lard, margarine, butter

Commercial shelf-stable mayonnaise and salad dressings (including cheese-based salad dressings, refrigerated after opening)

Fresh salad dressings containing aged cheese (i.e. blue, Roquefort) or raw eggs, stored in refrigerated case

Desserts

Refrigerated commercial and homemade cakes, pies, pastries, and pudding

Refrigerated cream-filled pastries

Homemade and commercial cookies

Shelf-stable cream-filled cupcakes (i.e. Twinkies, Ding Dong), fruit pies (i.e. Poptarts, Hostess frit pies), and canned pudding

Unrefrigerated cream-filled pastry products (not shelf-stable)

Cream or custard filled donuts

Other

Salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar

Jam, jelly, syrups (refrigerated after opening)

Commercially-packaged (pasteurized) honey

Catsup, mustard, BBQ sauce, soy sauce, other condiments (refrigerated after opening)

Pickles, pickle relish, olives (refrigerated after opening)

Raw or unpasteurized honey

Herbal and non-traditional (health food store) nutritional supplements, Chinese herbs

Brewers yeast, if eaten uncooked

A logical suggestion that I would make is to get a cancer patient onto a Moerman (type) diet for a few weeks before starting chemotherapy or radiation therapy, to reduce the chance of (prevent) neutropenia.

Nutrition, exercise and rest for the body, mind and spirit

Work inside all three dimensions (body, mind and spirit) can exert influence on both the prevention as well as the control of chronic diseases. I guess that is what one could call a holistic approach.

Here in the Netherlands, the WCRF NL focusses on nutrition, exercise and weight control for the body. For me, weight control is a biproduct of a balanced approach to nutrition, exercise and rest. There is a danger to adopting weight control strategies that are adverse to health, e.g. diets that can only be followed for a short period of time because they are detrimental to good health, exercise that taxes the body's vitatility, a work load that interferes with the body's need for rest.

The mind and spirit are covered by psychosocial intervention and handled by the IPSO therapeutic centres, such as the Parkhuys walk-in centre to which I am attached as a volunteer.

Response from the WCRF

Dear Legorburu

Thank you for your email.

AICR has produced a DVD for cancer survivors on advice during and after treatment-
http://www.aicr.org/site/News2?abbr=pr_&page=NewsArticle&id=19194&news_iv_ct

WCRF-UK - has a conference for health professionals on 28 May 2011 and this will include advice for cancer survivors
http://en.wcrf-hk.org/audience/conference.php

WCRF-NL - has translated the WCRF-UK brochure for cancer survivors.

In terms of more information for cancer patients going through treatment, I agree that this is very important information for cancer patients. Our literature is based on the evidence available and in particular the evidence reviewed for the Second Expert Report. We hope that as part of the Continuous Update Project we will have more evidence based information on during and after treatment in the future. As I mentioned in the last email we are starting to look at the evidence on breast cancer survivors. One thing we would always advise people who are undergoing treatment is to check with their health care professionals before following our guidance.

Hope this is helpful.

Kind regards

Denise Parchment

The world of scientific research into nutrition and supplements

A year ago I was very sensitive to research and insights into specific foods and supplements, such as curcuma, omega-3, vitamin C etc. My attention and focus has shifted away from individual nutrients to identification of synergy between different nutrients. For example, I am very curious about an elixer that has come onto the Dutch market, comprising over 120 herbs. And not so much because of any scientific evidence to support its use, but the simple fact that it is recommended by the University of Wageningen to farmers. Why? Because so many farmers praised the results they were getting with it over recent years, that the University included it on their recommended list with the clause "research pending". Click here for more background information about the elixer.

Compact diet guidelines in Dutch

There are plenty of tips and (fine tuning) guidelines scattered throughout this logbook. But for my Dutch friends and family who ask for a simple overview here is voeding bij kanker from the Dutch foundation against cancer (STICHTING NATIONAAL FONDS TEGEN KANKER VOOR ONDERZOEK NAAR REGULIERE EN AANVULLENDE THERAPIEËN). As far as I can tell these guidelines are pretty close to the Dr. Moerman guidelines, i.e. the original Moerman guidelines are tighter in some areas (e.g. no meat, no fish, yeast bread) whereas the current guidelines are more flexible (popular).

Is there a hidden link between depression and cancer?

There are plenty of scientific studies that provide statistically significant evidence that there is a link between depression and cancer. But be careful. The link is a correlation link, that does not necessarily imply a cause and effect relationship. For example, a person who is depressed may also exercise less, be inclined to stay indoors and not get out, sleep badly, feel less relaxed, take less care with food, etc. Poor nutrition and exercise alone are sufficient to increase the chances of getting cancer.

Balanced and complete

Three aspects of living with cancer that are (in my experience) balanced and complete:

the original Moerman diet guidelines
the morning walks in the forest
the Qigong swing exercises

Both simple as well as easy -- a diet for life, walks for the outdoors and swing exercises for indoors.

And in the wise words of Meatloaf "two out of three ain't bad". Before I was able to start my morning walks, due to severe pain in my knees, I adopted the Moerman diet, which relieved my symptons sufficiently to start walking again. If I had known about the Qigong exercises a year ago, I would probably have started on the "Lift chi up pour chi down" exercises lying down and/or sitting up. However, I now find that my favourite indoor (and outdoor) Qigong exercises are variations on the warming up swing exercises (click here for a youtube intro).

One thing is crystal clear to me now -- the Moerman type diet was an essential place to start, and it can be adapted to whatever physical condition the cancer patient is in at whatever stage of cancer treatments.

There is indeed a light at the end of the nutrition tunnel

Here is the response I received from the WCRF:

Dear Mr Legorburu

Thank you for your email to World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF UK).

The Expert Report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer WCRF/AICR published in 2007 includes a chapter on cancer survivors (chapter 9) and one of our Recommendations is for cancer survivors - After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the Recommendations for Cancer Prevention. The 2007 Report found that there was not a lot of research conducting in cancer survivors whilst there are many 1000's of studies in people who do not have cancer. For this reason you will see that much of our websites is dedicated to cancer prevention.

Cancer survivorship is important to WCRF/AICR. We do need more research in this area. One of our grant programme priorities is on cancer survivorship in relation to food, nutrition and physical activity, our Continuous Update Project which continues the work of the Second Expert Report has started work on a review of evidence related to breast cancer survivors. Our Education dept (WCRF-UK) has produced a brochure on advice for cancer survivors. A search using the terms cancer survivors on the WCRF-UK website will show you some of the work we have been doing.

Thank you for your interest and continued support.

Kind Regards

Denise Parchment - Supporter Services Manager

There is a big smile on my face

I write this with a big smile on my face. Why? Anyone who has read through my log will have come to realise that I have a need (for whatever underlying psychosocial reasons) to hear the stories of other survivors of cancer, particularly those who attribute their survival (partly) to a change in lifestyle, e.g. nutrition and exercise. I smile because I have just joined Colin Campbell's social network for the survivors of disease, and also joined the cancer survivors network.

There is a light at the end of the nutrition tunnel (I hope)

I took a closer look at the introductory text on the WCRF homepage:

"World Cancer Research Fund International (WCRF International) leads and unifies a global network of cancer charities dedicated to the prevention and control of cancer by means of healthy food and nutrition, physical activity and body weight."

So control of cancer is clearly mentioned, yet this is the only place. Neither the WCRF site or the national websites mention "control of cancer" anywhere else -- as far as I can see. Not in their mission statements, niews, research themes etc.

I look forward to a response from the WCRF on this subject.

When those in science and medicine shut off their minds...

One of the unfortunate consequences of closed minds (ignoring evidence, denying facts) is that the open minds are divided into different camps and open co-operation encounters yet another setback on the path to the promised land.

Promise of the future

The following extract comes from "The China Study":

"Through all of this, I have come to see that the benefits produced by eating a plant-based diet are far more diverse and impressive than any drug or surgery used in medical practice. Heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, stroke and hypertension, arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, impotence and all sorts of other chronic diseases can be largely prevented. These diseases, which generally occur with aging and tissue degeneration, kill the majority of us before our time.

Additionally, impressive evidence now exists to show that advanced heart disease, relatively advanced cancers of certain types, diabetes and a few other degenrative diseases can be reversed by diet... the evidence can no longer be ignored. Those in science or medicine who shut their minds to such an idea are being more than stubborn; they are being irresponsible."

Many cancer patients opt for a traditional medical protocol on the recommendation of their physician, and some may (in a complementary way) then consider altering their lifestyle, e.g. nutrition and exercise. I elected to change my lifestyle through nutrition and exercise, and then consider (in a complementary way) whether the traditional medical protocols offered me any added value. This continues to be my approach.

Wouldn't it be nice if the medical protocols for cancer treatment were expanded to include nutrition and exercise guidelines for the periods prior to, during and after treatment?

Observations about cancer research foundations such as the WCRF and KWF

I regularly wonder if Dr. Cornelis Moerman would have been more successful if he had possessed better political/social skills when dealing with the medical institutions that blocked his work. Well, I have answered this question with a "no" after reading about Dr. Campbell and his early involvement with the AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research -- branch of the WCRF), ACS (American Cancer Society) and NAS (National Academy of Sciences). The observations I make below are specifically about the WCRF/AICR and the Dutch KWF.

The KWF has only recently followed in the earlier footsteps of the WCRF/AICR is recognising that nutrition can help prevent cancer. This standpoint originates from The China Study, which led to the NAS report, Diet, Nutrition and Cancer and the AICR's expert panel report, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. Here I quote Marilyn Gentry, President of the AICR "Today, AICR advocates a predominantly plant-based diet for lower cancer risk because of the great work Dr. Campbell and just a few other visionaries began twenty-five years ago."

So Dr. Campbell appears to have succeeded and received recognition for his work from the AICR, where Dr. Moerman faded away into obscurity and no recognition from even the KWF. Well, Dr. Campbell has only partly succeeded, because what he advocates is the whole truth and the AICR and KWF only now advocate part of the truth. The whole truth being "that degenerative disease can be both prevented as well as reversed with a predominantly plant-based diet."

As a cancer patient I naturally contacted the WCRF, AICR, the Dutch arm WKOF and the KWF for information about the role of nutrition in treating my cancer, and I received (what I recognise as) the standard response "sorry, but there is no evidence to support the idea that nutrition has any effect in the treatment of cancer. We do, however, have information about nutrition and the prevention of cancer." Sorry, but as I move forward I seem to be stumbling over more and more piles of (scientific) evidence about the effect of nutrition on the progress of cancer.

One thing I am certain of. Changing my diet to a predominantly plant-based diet (the Moerman guidelines -- please note that this is not strictly vegan or vegetarian, as I include butter milk and egg yolks on a daily basis) is the only cancer treatment I followed after my initial TUR operation, and 1 year later I am cancer free. This says nothing about whether cancer will return in the future, as my personal definition of "cancer free" is "cancer dormant", but so far nutrition has shown itself to be a very effective way to reverse my cancer.

When different signposts point in the same direction

What a welcome addition "The China Study" is to my favourite books. It contains so much new supporting evidence for my ideas and partly-baked theories. And for my hands-on experience this past year. I will start off by quoting:

We now have a deep and broad range of evidence showing that a whole foods, plant-base diet is best for the heart.

We now have a deep and broad range of evidence showing that a whole foods, plant-base diet is best for cancer.

We now have a deep and broad range of evidence showing that a whole foods, plant-base diet is best for diabetes and autoimmune diseases.

We now have a deep and broad range of evidence showing that a whole foods, plant-base diet is best for our kidneys, bones, eyes and brains.

And I now have some new names to accompany the soul searching pioneers, such as Cornelis Moerman (general practitioner), who had a lifetime of experience advocating a whole foods, plant-based diet in the medical setting:

Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., M.D., (born December 12, 1933) is an American physician, author, vegan and former Olympic rowing champion. Caldwell Esselstyn competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where he won a gold medal in eights with the American team. He is now a physician and author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease in which he writes about how his patients reverse atherosclerosis by following a vegan diet in some cases combined with cholesterol lowering medication. He attributes the success of his 12 year trial with heart patients to low mean levels of both total cholesterol (145 mg/dl) and LDL cholesterol (82 mg/dl). Esselstyn is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Nutrition Action magazine published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann Crile Esselstyn, have mostly followed a vegan diet since the mid 1980s. In 2010 after cardiac surgery, former U.S. president Bill Clinton mostly adopted the plant-based diet recommended by Caldwell Esselstyn, Dean Ornish and T. Colin Campbell.

John A. McDougall, M.D., (born 1947) is an American physician and author whose philosophy is that degenerative disease can be prevented and treated with a diet of whole, unprocessed, low-fat plant foods, especially starches such as potatoes, rice, and beans, and which excludes all animal foods (except honey) and vegetable oils. McDougall is a graduate of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, he performed his internship at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1972, and his medical residency at the University of Hawaii. He is certified as an internist by the Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners. In 1965, at age 18, McDougall suffered a massive stroke which he attributes to his high animal product diet. Since the mid 1970s he has followed mostly a vegan diet after observing that his elderly patients from the Far East, who lived mainly on rice and vegetables, were trim and healthy compared to their offspring tempted by an American diet.

George Macilwain (1797 - 22 Jan 1882) who was strongly against indiscriminate amputation, violent purgatives. He was also strongly opposed to the cruelty of vivisection of animals, and produced several commentaries on the subject. In addition to clinical medical writings, he published the Memoirs of John Abernathy (1858) under whom both he and his father had been students.

They were all medical doctors and champions of dietary treatment of disease.

Eight principles of food and health

This morning I received and browsed through my copy of "The China Study" written by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell, MD. Much of the information I scanned through is congruent with the thoughts, ideas and personal convictions That I have expressed throughout this website, in particular the following eight principles of food and health that I borrow from the book:

Nutrition represents the combined activities of countless food substances. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Vitamin supplements are not a panacea for good health.
There are virtually no nutrients (with the probable exception of vitamins D and B12 -- my main sources of vitamin D, apart from sunshine, are egg yolks, buttermilk and fatty fish -- my main sources of vitamin B12 are also egg yolks, buttermilk and fatty fish) in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants.
Genes do not detrmine the disease on their own. Genes function only by being activated, or expressed, and nutrition plays a critical role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed.
Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals (sigh of relief from me regarding PCBs in fish -- see the February 2011 update below).
The same nutrition that prevents disease in its early stages (before diagnosis) can also halt or reverse disease in its later stages (after diagnosis).
Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease will support health across the board.
Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence. All parts are interconnected.

What a breath of fresh air it would be to build more applied research projects around these eight principles of food and health. The Campbell's have provided me with an eloquently expressed framework to continue my search for ongoing research projects and co-operative initiatives in learning to live with cancer.

Monthly update: February 2011

Our bodies are not perfect

Whether we are young or old, our bodies are not perfect. We all have flaws. And each flaw has a threshold level as far as loading and endurance is concerned. And our flaws can come and go and change with time. In a young and healthy body, many of these flaws remain hidden because loadings are well below the allowable threshold levels. These threshold levels can be influenced by a number of factors. Some of these factors are under our control e.g. how we eat, how we exercise, how we sleep, how we rest, how we handle our thoughts, how we handle our emotions, how we interact with our social and work environments. Some of these factors are out of our control, such as (genetic) accidents, events, the aging process. Well, we can't (yet) prevent the aging process, but we can do things that enhance or slow down the aging process. And I view cancer in a similar way. We can utilise the factors under our control to enhance or slow down the occurrence and progress of cancer.

I wish for a traditional medical environment for cancer patients, where cancer patients are made aware that they can personally inluence the course of their cancer, irrespective of which protocols they are following. Here are some examples of what I mean (personally believe):

if I were receiving chemo or radiation treatments, I would appreciate nutritional guidelines on how to reduce side effects and/or maximise the desired effects of the treatments;
if I was diagnosed with cancer I would appreciate a more extensive diagnosis that also included measurable behavioural aspects of my lifestyle (diet habits, exercise habits, thinking habits, emotional habits)
when recommending a treatment protocol, I would like the protocol to include physical and psychosocial nutrition and exercise, based on the diagnosis, i.e. nutrition and exercise for the body, mind and spirit.

Not every cancer patient is the same. Some will require a drastic change in diet, whilst others will suffice with some fine tuning. Some will need to include daily exercise, whilst others may need to reduce the intensity of their daily exercise. Some will learn to manage their daily thoughts and emotions, whilst others may need the (initial) support of therapy interventions and group support.

Yet it all comes back to the concept of flaws and loadings and threshold levels. A simple definition of a flaw would be an entity with a threshold that is substantially lower than it should be. When we get cancer, it seems (to me) that one or more of these loading thresholds has been breached, either through extra high loads or extra low thresholds, or a combination of the two. The hidden danger is that the loading on other flaws may also be close to their threshold levels, and that new flaws are being created in the background. Chemo and radiation treatments add to the loading. Any poor eating/exercise habits we continue with will add to the loading. The new thoughts and emotions that are triggered by the news "you have cancer" are an extra load to our system. And as if increasing the loads was not enough, they unfortunately lower our thresholds as well e.g. by weakening the immune system and impairing the functioning of vital organs such as the liver and kidneys.

If we had gauges to monitor key parts of our body, we could think in terms of safe (green) operating zones and unsafe (red) zones, and early warning that we were close to entering a red zone and late warning (better late than never) that we were well into a red zone. Load changes would make the indicator (needle) move, whilst changes in thresholds would cause the background scales to shift.

Let's put cancer prevention, cancer causes and cancer cures aside for a moment. Let's focus on: for whatever reason, we have cancer. In learning to live with cancer, we need to take measures to both survive the immediate crisis as well as survive the follow-up period (danger of recurrence, which is normally more aggressive and more widespread). Surgery, chemo and radiation treatments are designed to deal with the crisis, but we need to contain the underlying causes as well (whatever they may be) by actively lowering the loading and/or raising threshold levels through nutrition and exercise (physical and psychosocial). Either way, the objective is to rebuild/restore safety margins between loadings and thresholds (where possible). And when preparing for and undergoing chemo and radiation treatments, nutrition and exercise are even more important (in my view) simply to get through the additional physical and emotional toll of enduring weeks/months/years of these treatments.

Medical cancer specialists who have experienced many cancer patients over the years, have witnessed directly patients who succumb after a few weeks and patients who recover completely. Even the survival rate statistics are based on the study and observation of such individual cases, i.e. even statistics that say "you only have 3-6 months left" can contain individual cases of complete recovery. Yet how many medical specialists show the kind of curiosity that drove colleagues such as Bernie Siegel, by asking the exceptional cancer patient the simple question "how did you do it?". In this short year I have been diagnosed by four different urologists. The last 3 urologists made the remark "hmm, I see that you have not received any BCG treatment", so I should be happy that they actually glanced through my case file beforehand, yet not one of them expressed any curiosity at the fact that the recent biopsies, blood tests, urine tests and cystoscopies came up clean. They were aware that I had not followed any of the recommended medical protocols, and that is as far as their curiosity has taken them thus far. Maybe that will change in the (near) future -- the next cystoscopy is 3 months down the road.

Why I have decided (for now) to reduce my fish intake

The reason is PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls). PCBs are man-made chlorinated industrial chemicals compounds with chemically stable properties that were great for industrial applications, but bad for the environment, i.e. they are difficult to break down. Because of this characteristic they fall under the general heading POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants). Most PCBs do not mix with water and as has been the case for many decades, industrial waste finds its way into riverbeds, lake bottoms and coastal sediments. Here they can enter the food chain and bioaccumulate in invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals -- including people. These disposal logistics for industrial waste are global logistics.

According to EPA (Environmental Protection Agency of the USA), contaminated fish are a persistent source of PCBs in the human diet. PCBs are not highly toxic with a single dose (as in a single meal), but continued low levels of exposure (for example, eating contaminated fish over an extended period of time) may be harmful. EPA rates PCBs as "probable human carcinogens," since they cause cancer in laboratory animals. Other tests on laboratory animals show damage from PCBs to their circulatory, nervous, immune, endocrine and digestive systems.

I am finding more and more scientifically based arguments for avoiding animal-based food, including fish now. I also find myself wondering about the growing incidence of cancer in our pets, and the correlation with the canned food they consume, which is animal-based.

There is also the correlation with the obervation that it takes many years for cancer to build up in the human body, and PCB poisoning is a process of continued low levels of exposure. And there is the correlation between the parts of the body where cancer (tumors) appear and the parts that are damaged by PCBs e.g. circulatory, nervous, immune, endocrine and digestive systems.

Dr. Moerman excluded all fish in his diet recommendations, but current guidelines are more flexible, because of the "more modern insight" regarding the positive health effects of omega-3, and now promote the use of fatty oils in fish, and it's in the fat that PCBs are stored. And there is the further correlation between obesitas and cancer.

Definitely food for thought, especially when we consider scientific studies in recent years that produce similar results, e.g. farmed salmon contain on average 10 times more PCBs than their wild counterparts. And oily fish contributes most to the intake of PCBs and dioxins in most people, since this is a food that is commonly eaten. What is a safe amount to eat on a daily basis of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines? And what are the levels of PCB and dioxine contamination in the fish we buy in the supermarket, tinned in olive oil or otherwise? I don't know.

Where observation is preferred to scientific evidence

My belief is that there is a need for both scientific evidence as well as simple observation. For example, when it comes to studying nutrients in food as Dr. Moerman did in identifying the 8 essential nutrients for a healthy body, this still did not cover the hundreds of unidentified micronutrients present in the source foods (variety is the spice of life). Common sense, logic and observation tell us that they are there and that they play an important role in a healthy diet, but many cannot (yet) be scientifically identified and therefore remain "not scientifically proven".

The Bach blossom remedies and homeopathic potions are a step towards bridging this gap, and they also start to touch upon the observation that when different nutrients are mixed together they can have a synergetic effect that exceeds the sum of the individual parts so that also smaller quantities are required to achieve desired results. Science can already measure some of these effects, e.g. when treating iron deficiency, we already recognise the role of iron absorption enhancers and iron absorption inhibitors (synergy can work both ways). And one of the foremost enhancers/catalysts, both from observation as well as scientific research, is vitamin C.

And I can't help but think that nature has already built in these elusive combinations into natural foods that grow around the world, taking into account the local climates and seasons. And we should recognise that when we start to pull these combinations apart, by isolating nutrients for scientific study and preparing extracts and supplements, that we lose some of the hidden benefits. In support of extracts and supplements, some of the benefits are better than none of the benefits. And so long as I can get the benefits from natural food sources, then I will avoid taking supplements. But in my mind, this is still an "and and" approach. If I find that a healthy diet is not providing my body with all the nutriton required to maintain a healthy state, or poor health requires additional support to rebuild the body's defences, then supplements are a welcome addition. But then it is a question of identifying which supplements. My gut feeling is in favour of supplements based on mixtures of natural herbs, and here I am still searching and keeping my eyes and ears (and mind) open. I am not so much saying no to supplements, as "not yet". And I am not so much saying no to chemo treatments, as "not yet" and hopefully "not at all", because they are not a natural treatment.

So when it comes to observation, I am reminded of Dr. Moerman's early pioneering work on pigeons, in particular why the German Bayer Group (they introduced the world's favourite pain killer Aspirin back in 1899) originally performed its cancer research on pigeons and then discontinued it: "the metabolism of 24 pigeons was comparable to that of an adult person, but they were unable to initiate cancer in a healthy pigeon, so they switched from pigeons to mice."

And observation has shown us time and again that people in general good health often recover from cancer, whereas those in poor general health succumb. Yes, there are exceptions, but the exception does not make the rule. The logic and common sense thinking that arises (within me) from these observations, and has been a key driving force for me these past 12 months, is that nutrition that builds up / restores the body's natural protective mechanisms might well provide some protection against cancer and make a significant contribution to the treatment of cancer. This was also the thinking of Dr. Cornelis Moerman, Dr. Ewan Cameron and Linus Pauling to name but a few prominent thinkers. No potentially provocative expressions such as "cancer cure" and "self healing" and "holistic healing" and "psychosocial or mind over body", just down to earth common sense and logic and the curiosity to observe the world around us through unveiled eyes.

My curiosity is (once again) sufficiently aroused to find out what (if anything) has developed in the world of pigeons over recent decades.

Why do people die of cancer?

There are probably more reasons, but the three main areas (groupiings) I have come across are that:

the growing cancer (tumor) creates blockages and interferes with body functions by stealing space from neighbouring tissues/organs;
the cancer steals available nutrition from the healthy cells leading to nutritional deficiencies;
generation of extra toxic waste overloads the body functions/organs that help process and remove waste from the body.

And when a cancer patient is subjected to chemo and radiation treatments, then the treatments place an extra load on the body in the above three areas, as well as the growing scientific evidence that nutrition can both influence the side effects of chemo/radiation treatments as well as enhance/inhibit the effectiveness of the treatments.

Whichever way we look at this picture, it seems logical to me that nutrition plays a central role in living with cancer e.g. by avoiding foods that feed cancer growth, by selecting foods that provide the body with essential nutrients for the least amount of effort, by selecting foods that produce the least waste material therefore relieving vital organs of their detoxification work, by selecting foods that can slow down the growth rate of cancer (based on scientific research?), by selecting foods that support cancer treatments.

How can we continue to ignore the important role for food in treating cancer victims? Why do we continue to talk about food in relation to cancer prevention and prevention of recurrence only, and not in controlling the progress of cancer? Why is it still (politically) acceptable to ignore nutrition when it comes to researching cancer treatments? For example, how many research projects into cancer treatments involving nutrition are being funded by the Dutch KWF or international WCRF?

Ever heard of Ben Hogan?

During my teenage years learning to play golf, the stories of Ben Hogan were a source of inspiration for me. Only now do I start to realise how much of an inspiration. He was a living example of believing in himself when all around him had given up hope. After an almost fatal car accident when "experts" informed him that he would (probably) never play competitive golf again. After his friends and business associates gave up hope of his golf manufacturing business ever amounting to anything -- a matter of "creative differences".

I mention this because I just ordered a 2nd hand copy for 1 euro of HOGAN by Curt Sampson, published May 2001, and I am really looking forward to aquainting myself again with the life of Ben Hogan (1912-1997).

Youtube did not exist in the 1950s and 1960s, but it does now, and so do some recordings of Ben Hogan -- enjoy:

If Ben Hogan's career was active today, he may well have labelled this recording "introduction to the chi golf swing".

The Moerman diet

However hard I try to deviate from the original "pioneering" diet laid out by Dr. Cornelis Moerman, evolving scientific research and evidence steer me back to the basic Moerman diet. World wide evidence is growing to support the correlation between growing incidences of cancer and the growing consumption of industrially processed food, meat and animal fat, and denaturalised grains and sugars. When consumed food is primarily raw and high fibre, whole grain products, fresh greens and fruit (i.e. balanced sources of vitamine A, B- complex, E en D, citric acid, iodine, sulphur and iron) then it becomes impossible for most forms of cancer to take hold. These are the original words of Dr. Cornelis Moerman over 60 years ago, and they describe the Moerman diet in a nutshell.

Side note: Cornelis Moerman thinking on cancer and nutrition was partly trigtgered (influencede) by his contemplating the presence of citric acid and iodine in wines. The same goes for ascorbic acid and acetic acid, as well as the roles played by yeasts and bacteria during fermentation, and the transition from wine to vinegar. Interesting consumable is wine, and the roles of vinegar and lemon juice in cuisines throughout the world.

Animal protein causes cancer?

The following video should stir up plenty of discussion and emotions, particularly the statement "cancer growth can be switched on and off by changing protein intake":

This video has introduced me to "The China Study" and there is a book about the study. I just ordered a 2nd hand copy. My expectations are high for obtaining insights and answers to questions I have asked throughout my updates, including a better understanding for Dr. Moerman's diet guidelines. Why did he say no to meat and fish and dairy products? Why did he make exceptions for buttermilk and egg yolk? I am (hopefully) a healthy sceptic of research and statements that force me into "either or" corners, such as "all animal-based foods" are bad. I strive to look for balanced approaches, in which some animal-based foods are allowed, e.g. egg yolk, butter milk, cheese -- and what about the honey produced by bees?

I googled protein and cancer

Some recent (breakthrough) research is suggesting that measuring the level of certain protein found in cancer can be used to predict the further growth and spread of cancer. There appears to be a correlation between protein levels and cancer spread, quote: "The gene can produce a group of different proteins that in turn regulate other proteins that normally prevent tumours from spreading in different ways." Maybe there is more to the vegan diet than meets the eye?

Some general comments on nutrition

I know that many people will not agree with me, but this is what I am (currently) convinced of. Because eating food is a daily activity, nutrition for the body does play a central role in causing, preventing and influencing the progression of chronic disease. And if nutrition can both cause as well as help prevent a chronic disease, then surely it can also help reverse the progress of a chronic disease.

There also appears to be a correlation betweeen eating animal-based foods and suffering from chronic disease, as well as a correlation between eating plant-based foods and enjoying good health.

And I repeatedly find myself grouping together the following (chronic) diseases: diabetis, obesity and cancer.

And I am growing tired of scientific research that isolates nutrients instead of exploring the possibilities of nutrient synergy. Instead of focussing on larger amounts of specific minerals, vitamins, supplements etc. in my opinion we should be focussing on "variety is the spice of life", i.e. smaller amounts of hundreds if not thousands of micro-nutrients -- a broad spectrum of stuff that helps maintain a healthy body.

And last but not least, I hear friends and family and aquaintances around me, including myself, saying "we eat healthily (we eten gezond)". But is that really so? We all seem to have different definitions of what are and what are not healthy foods and food combinations. So healthy according to which school of thought? "Potatoes are healthy... aren't they?" -- are they? why? are they good for a cancer patient? are they good for losing weight? should you eat them raw?

And I seem to have a fixation on protein in my food. I used to think of dairy products (meat, cheese, milk, eggs) as my prime source of protein, yet nowadays I seem to be switching sources to goji berries, quinoa, mung beans and the like. Is this a conscious switch? I mean, conscious to my body even if it is not something I can explain rationally? Am I finally allowing my body, mind and soul to function as a team and learning to observe the changes that they are implementing? Do they have something against protein from animal-based foods? Do they have a preference for protein found in plant-based foods? I need to explore this theme further.

And my 80/20% rule to protect me from taking extreme measures? I am considering tightening up on even the smallest amount of animal-based foods, including the occasional butter milk, egg yolks, goat cheese and roquefort sauce for the pasta. And should I do this, which essential nutrients, if any, would I then be missing? And does this diet have a name? Yes, apparently I have just described the vegan diet, and a good recipe for me to start with will be vegan chocolate. And the vegan diet rings another bell in my head -- the long distance (ultra) running and endurance sports covered throughout my logbook -- don't some (many) of the best competitors follow a vegan diet?

I had to get this off my chest, before moving on.

Research guidelines

One of the research areas I would love to get involved with is "goed lopende retraites" in which the benefits of well run cancer retreats (psychosocial interventions) are identified for the different parties involved. Not just cancer patients, but also their partners, employers, insurance company, therapists, government etc.

One of my criticisms (scattered throughout this logbook) of many research projects on cancer is the lack of distinction between established correlations and cause and effect relationships. One does not imply the other. In a search for useful guidelines for setting up a research project I came across the following essay, written in honour of the scholarly contributions of Bernard H. Fox, covering research on psychosocial interventions, which expands on this very point. Many thanks to the author.

For example, if I invited 100 cancer patients to participate in a cancer retreat and 50 accepted and 50 declined, I would venture to predict that the 50 participants would fair better than the 50 non-participants. Yet this would not necessarilly imply that the associated benefits were the direct result of participating in the retreat. There could be (probably are) other underlying and unidentified/unmeasured factors involved.

Spinning the plates of life

During this mornings's walk I was thinking about the purpose behind my daily walk, or daily exercise routine, and I found myself visualising the spinning plate acts. The following short video illustrates how I sometimes feel, as if the plates represent different aspects of my physical, mental and spiritual being. When I don't pay enough attention to a particular area, then I may need to step in and intervene with (desperate/crisis) measures e.g. a crash diet after piling on a few kilo's during the Christmas holidays, or a discussion that is getting out of hand and turning into an argument:

Yet when I watch the following video I find myself thinking of how a healthy immune system works on a human being at all levels (physical, mental and spiritual), and how amazing it is when everything is balanced and working together. And at the same time, how vulnerable we are as individuals and groups and societies, and how a malfunction in one area (of our immune system) can have a ripple through effect on the rest of our being, including our sense of well being. And vice versa -- a small improvement at the physical level (change of diet, morning walk, sitting meditation) can start rippling through to other areas and levels. Does it really matter where we start, so long as we take a timely step towards slowing down a downward spiral (don't let the plate fall to the ground) and directing it into an upward spiral?

I realise that my daily walk to help speed up the spinning of my plates can look "funny" when compared to someone who has successfully integrated this state of being into all his/her daily activities. No wonder that health and vitality are associated with higher frequencies and increased cadences.

Psychosocial oncology

Psychosocial oncology is a topic that is grabbing my attention more and more, particularly as a research area. Inspired by pioneers such as Carl Simonton, Bernie Siegel, Marco de Vries and Lawrence LeShan. A valuable source of recent scientific research projects is the Journal for Psychooncology, and direct access to some 1400 journal articles in the PubMed database is Unbound Medline.

An interesting observation: a search for the keyword 'simonton' delivered no results, and a search for 'mindfulness' delivered over 70 journal articles.

Friends and family -- helping them understand my emotions and thoughts

Monday I go for my quarterly (cystoscopy) checkup at the AVL. My family and friends are naturally hoping that the results are clean, as was the case 3 months ago. Yet for the past 3 months I have been restless, and I know why. I know where my real battle lies. And so does Ian Gawler.

"For many people, the point where they are told they are cancer-free is often more stressful than the original diagnosis," according to Ian Gawler, a cancer survivor himself who now counsels people with the disease.

"That's because when you're going through treatment you're doing something and there's a focus. When you get the all clear a few years later, there's nothing."

In the stories that I have read and been told by cancer patients, this is a theme that regularly pops up. Cancer patients who successfully followed the Moerman diet for many years, and then slackened off, and the cancer reappeared. The diet I adopt to help me live with cancer is a diet for life -- both a diet to stay alive as well as a diet for the duration of my life.

Introduction to the Gawler Foundation

The Gawler Foundation provides a range of healing cancer retreats and programs that embrace an integrated approach to health, healing and wellbeing that includes the body, emotions, mind and spirit.

Their cancer retreats and healing programs work within an integrative medical framework to provide access to the best possible instruction and support for the implementation of self-help techniques for people experiencing cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and other serious illnesses, and those seeking a preventative approach to health and wellbeing.

Personal key to balance

I believe that each of us has a personal key that helps us to live a balanced life. It may be emotional, physical or spiritual in nature. For me it is very simply getting to bed by 10pm. When I do this, it throws me into an upward spiral where all other activities start to fall into place. These winter months have been witness to my getting to bed much later, sometimes 1am and 2am, and this ripples through into the days. It affects my morning walks, my meals, my peace of mind. It throws me off balance and into a downward spiral. I can try paying attention to nutrition, exercise, meditation etc. but it costs a lot of effort and somehow I can't quite keep it together. Yet I am fortunate in knowing what my personal key is: get to bed by 10pm. So simple.

Growing appreciation and fascination with...

Each day I appreciate the Zhineng Chi Kung movements more and more. And mindfulness (mindful movements of body, mind and spirit) is also growing its roots in more and more of my daily activities -- preparing and eating meals, relaxation and sleeping, walking and squash, social interraction etc. I havn't got round to house cleaning yet, but who knows what the future holds...

There are plenty of videos available on youtube about mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh, and here is his short introduction to what mindfulness is:

Open Parkhuys on World Cancer Day Feb 4, 2011

Friday afternoon I was scheduled in as host for walk-in guests -- my first official activity having formally signed up as a volunteer. And being the annual open day this was a golden opportunity to meet and talk with many of the other volunteers, to observe how guests responded to the guided tours, and to sample and taste the different activities and get to know the therapists and cooks (who were there ot provide lunch). An opportunity for an introductory session to mindfulness. So simple, so effective and so familiar. How come I had never heard of Thich Nhat Hanh? How come I had never come across his HUNDREDS of books, writings and audio/visual material?

Just browsing through the reviews of his books I came to realise that here lies a strong foundation to build the Parkhuys retreats on. Here are a couple of book descriptions (borrowed from Amazon) to illustrate my associations and kindling ideas:

The Long Road Turns to Joy: Guide to Walking Meditation
"The simple practice of walking with attention and mindfulness can bring a spirit of prayer into everyday life. This book concentrates on this form of meditation, whilst walking and taking in the sights and atmosphere. It instructs in "walking not in order to arrive, walking just for walking".
Thich Nhat Hanh teaches his well-known method of "walking just for walking." Learn to enjoy each step, each breath, the blue sky, and the many sights and fragrances along the path. In his inspiring commentary, Thich Nhat Hanh reveals how this simple practice has helped him regain peace and serenity in difficult moments."

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
"This quote comes from H. H. the Dalai Lama. Lucidly and beautifully written, PEACE IS EVERY STEP contains commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from Nhat Hanh's experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader already is - in the kitchen, office driving a car, walking in a park - and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing, which can bring immediate joy and peace. Nhat Hanh also shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. The deceptively simple practices of PEACE IN EVERY STEP encourage the reader to work for peace in the world as he or she continues to work on sustaining inner peace by turning the 'mindness' into the mindful. 'This is a very worthwhile book. It can change individual lives and the life of our society."

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
"Drawing on the expertise of Harvard-trained nutritionist Lilian Cheung and Thich Nhat Hanh's rich experience in teaching mindfulness the world over, this book offers a path to living a healthy and active life. Where we eat, when we eat, who we eat with and how we eat makes the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship to food. As we become aware of the perceptions, feelings, incentives, and obstacles that prevent us from a balanced approach to food and diet, we immediately start to change our behaviour.

Peace Is Every Breath: A Practice For Our Busy Lives
"In his travels around the world, Zen master and international bestselling author, Thich Nhat Hanh, witnessed a growing unhappiness among the many people he encountered. He saw the hectic pace of our day-to-day lives taking a toll. In response, the renowned teacher wrote Peace Is Every Breath. He does not suggest that we escape from reality and put our busy lives on hold. Far from it. Rather he provides the insight and tools we need to incorporate the practice of mindfulness into our every waking moment. We can transcend the mad rush of our days and discover that within the here and now, in the small rituals of our daily lives, we have the ability to experience inner peace and happiness.
Offering personal anecdotes, meditations and advice for mindfully connecting with our present experience, Thich Nhat Hanh guides us through the potential pitfalls along the way, to show how we can harness the joy and peace that is possible with every breath we take. Now more than ever, he believes that the power of mindfulness can heal us from the suffering caused by the many stresses that surround us. Peace Is Every Breath is therefore a timely book filled with timeless wisdom and practical advice that is destined to become a classic."

Until I started scratching under the surface of mindfulness, I made the unconscious assumption (judgement) that it had to do with the mind and working with the mind, and that it was one of the many American trends in the mind over body movements. What I am beginning to discover is an "east meets west" co-operative approach, where the ancient eastern wisdoms and the young western scientific approaches are co-operating with each other to produce evidence driven protocols that are, for example, recognised by the (Dutch) health insurance companies. Mindfulness is specifically mentioned in my health insurance policy, and that tells me that it is more than just a trend. It is a key to the door for integrating psychosocial protocols with regular medical protocols.

Mindfulness could prove to be an essential part of the foundation upon which to build the Parkhuys retreats, because (as illustrated by the above titles), it already contains tested, proven and accepted protocols and practices that cover the physical and the psychosocial -- nutrition, exercise, thoughts, emotions -- the whole wide spectrum.

And one indirect closing thought from my previous life as a business consultant: an essential part of the huge global growth and success of a software package called SAP was the attention given to excellent training and certification of specialists, so that the quality/quantity balance of supply was maintained during growing demand from the market. And mindfulness in the Dutch market appears to have a similar setting, so that the Parkhuys can depend on well trained and experienced therapists. Once again, the health insurance companies are our quality auditors.

Amazing what a few hours on World Cancer Day can stir up in the way of inspiration for a way forward.

Monthly update: January 2011

A happy new year to all

What a year 2010 was. To be honest... what a fantastic year 2010 was.

As 2010 progressed, so did the accumulation of new insights and exercises. In fact, so many usefull "things to do" that it was impossible to pay enough attention to everything.

The learning process progressed in leaps and bounds. Phases of divergence followed by convergence. Learning to listen to my intuition and gut feeling, and at times trust in simple survival instinct.

Discovering one simple exercise, that I can do each day with pleasure and devotion, is a fantastic experience. For me personally it was my daily early-morning walk in the forest. Sometimes meditative, sometimes at a fast pace, usually a mix of different frames of mind and body. Sometimes 45 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. Sometimes wearing trail shoes, and sometimes wearing vibram 5 fingers. For the winter months I have cut off the toes of one set of compression socks so that I can wear them under the vibram 5 finger shoes.

Looking at the exercise routines that I regularly do, I come to realise that they are all personal modifications of standard exercises. No wonder that there are thousands and thousands of different schools for Tai chi, Qi gong, yoga etc. Every "teacher" developed his/her set of exercise routines by playing around and exploring variations to basic exercises. Discovering what worked best for himself/herself, and eventually for students, in line with whatever vision or objectives were in the driving seat. A personal quest. A personal journey of self discovery.

And on my personal journey I dscovered how strong the influence of words can be. The word "healing" ("genezing" in Dutch) conjures up different reactions from different people. Use the word healing in relation to a chronic illness such as cancer, and you will find a group of people splitting up into different/opposed/isolated sub groups. Believers and non-believers. Traditional and alternative, toxic and non-toxic, complementary and supplemental, mind and body, psycho and social, the list goes on and on.

So I searched for an alternative, more open, embracing and unifying expression, which I believe to have found in the word "recovery" ("herstel"). Recovering one's health, recovering from an illness, recovering one's balance, recovering from the shock of being told "you have cancer" or "your husband has cancer" or "your father has cancer". Even medical insurance companies can relate to treatments that speed up the recovery of patients, help patients to recover more effectively and more efficiently. Lower costs by reducing time spent in hospitals, intgegrative approaches that lower medications and expensive treatments, reduced recurrence of an illness or other illnesses that often accompany the first illness. And how about opportunities for containing the impact (ripple effect) on the health of family members and friends. Perhaps here there is a hidden guideline for further correlative research into treatments that are covered by basic medical insurance.

Some patients recover partially and others fully. Healing feels so absolute, black and white and limiting, whereas recovery implies an onging process that is open and all-embracing. And naturally, there will be at least one reader who disagrees with me.

So I hope that 2011 is a year in which I continue to recover my life and feeling of well being.

Some R words

Recover, restore, rebuild, reconnect, return. Overlapping areas of application, each with its own particular entry point / area of focus.

Het Parkhuys Inloopcentrum in Almere

This week I started as "vrijwilliger" at the Parkhuys walk-in center for cancer patients and their relatives. Actually, the Parkhuys is open to people affected by serious illnesses including cancer. The following is in Dutch, and an introduction to the founder/(ex)manager and her successor at the Parkhuys. Always good to know something about the people and the vision behind such an initiative:

ALMERE - Leonie Groosman neemt per 1 juli afscheid van 'haar' Parkhuys. De oprichtster van het inloop- en retraitehuis voor kankerpatiënten en hun naasten draagt het stokje over aan Katinka van der Linden. 'Het inloophuis staat er nu helemaal zoals ik het destijds voor ogen had, met alles erop en eraan. Nu ik 63 word, vind ik het mooi geweest', verklaart Leonie.

Het Parkhuys werd vijf jaar geleden geopend aan de Buñuellaan langs de Veluwedreef in Almere Stad. 'Maar daar is nog acht jaar aan voorbereidingen aan vooraf gegaan', vertelt Leonie. 'Na het vaststellen van je doelstellingen moet je een bestuur bij elkaar krijgen, een stichting oprichten en een pand zien te vinden. Dit laatste was het moeilijkste, maar dat is uiteindelijk gelukt dankzij de stichting Roparun, die ons dit pand in bruikleen geeft.'

Leonie Groosman heeft zich al die jaren jaren met hart en ziel ingezet voor het realiseren van het inloophuis. 'Ik wist gewoon dat het zou voorzien in een behoefte. Ik ben van oorsprong verpleegkundige en daarna heb ik mensen met psychosociale klachten begeleid. Ik merkte dat er veel behoefte is aan steun na de medische behandeling. Het krijgen van kanker is een levenscrisis en het is echt niet raar als je wat steun kunt gebruiken om die crisis door te komen. Deze ingrijpende ziekte verandert jou en jouw kijk op het leven. Het verandert ook je relatie, met je familie maar ook met vrienden. Hoe pak je je leven weer op na de behandeling? Dat valt nog niet mee.' In het Parkhuys kunnen (ex)kankerpatiënten en hun naasten terecht voor informatie, afleiding, contact met lotgenoten en vooral ook een luisterend oor. 'Tijd en aandacht voor de mensen, dat is eigenlijk onze basis', benadrukt Leonie.

Naast een kleine vaste kern betaalde krachten werken er in het Parkhuys ruim zestig vrijwilligers. Veel van hen zijn zelf gasten van het Parkhuys geweest en zijn dus ervaringsdeskundigen. Dat er draagvlak is voor een inloophuis als dit blijkt wel uit de achtduizend bezoekers die het Parkhuys jaarlijks trekt. Zowel volwassenen als kinderen en jongeren. Er zijn aparte groepen voor kinderen en jongeren die een ouder hebben met kanker en aparte groepen voor kinderen en jongeren die een ouder hebben verloren aan deze ziekte. 'Onze kinderbegeleiders helpen ze om te gaan met alle emoties waarmee ze worden geconfronteerd', vertelt Leonie. Verder is er een kleine groep mensen die echt behoefte heeft aan professionele steun bij het verwerken van hun ziekte. Daarom geeft het Parkhuys ook onderdak aan therapeuten, die zelfstandig werken binnen het Parkhuys.

Het Parkhuys biedt een heel diverse aanbod aan activiteiten; informatieavonden, lezingen, koffieochtenden, spreekuren, vrije inloop, voorstellingen, creatieve activiteiten, samen eten en samen zingen. Dit is nog maar een greep uit het aanbod. Bij het Parkhuys kun je ook terecht voor een retraiteweek, om even bij te komen en nieuwe energie op te doen. De meeste activiteiten zijn kosteloos. Het Parkhuys is volledig afhankelijk van giften van bedrijven en particulieren. Leonie: 'Wij zijn heel veel tijd kwijt aan het vinden van sponsors en dat is best jammer, want we steken onze tijd liever in onze gasten.'

Leonie Groosman vindt nu dat de tijd is gekomen om het stokje over te dragen. Katinka van der Linden volgt haar op als manager van het Parkhuys. 'Ik heb er heel veel zin in. Leonie heeft een prachtig centrum neergezet dat zoveel te bieden heeft. Ik wil daar de komende jaren verdieping aan geven, zorgen dat het nog meer ingebed wordt in de maatschappij. De basis is er en ik wil die verder uitbouwen, dat wordt mijn uitdaging', aldus Katinka, die zelf altijd in de ouderenzorg heeft gewerkt. 'Ik heb altijd een warm gevoel gehad bij het werk van het Parkhuys. Ik kende Leonie en toen zij mij op deze functie attendeerde, heb ik gewoon gesolliciteerd. Van beide kanten voelde het goed, dus ik ga ervoor!' Leonie voelt dat ze 'haar' Parkhuys in goede handen achterlaat. 'Dat maakt het makkelijker om het los te laten. Maar mocht Katinka mijn hulp of advies nodig hebben, mag ze me altijd bellen!'

The Parkhuys Walk-in Center

As January comes to a close, so does my trial period as a volunteer at the Parkhuys, and today I formally signed up as a volunteer. The two key functions I intend to participate in are as host to guests and as work group participant to get the retreats off the ground.

The lymphatic system

During almost a year of reading about cancer related matter only this month did I (indirectly) come across references to the lymphatic system. It was probably my focusa being directed elsewhere, because any general practitioner could have told me that checking the main locations of lymph nodes for swelling was a quick check for a person's general health. And when I read about how exercise and nutrition are used to stimulate the flow in the lymphatic system and help cleanse the lymph nodes, I suddenly come across more scientific evidence in support of natural treatments (nutrition, exercise, massage) to treat lymphedema. This information provides me with a better understanding of Cornelis Moerman's pioneering rational behind his nutrition guidelines, and a growing appreciation for gentle walking and running exercises, and in particular the movements in the Lift Qi Up Pour Qi Down exercise routine. I have even found fresh arguments in favour of why I use compression socks:

"The compression garments, aids, and/or bandages that are worn between treatments help control swelling by providing pressure that is needed to encourage the flow of lymph into the capillaries. Exercise is important in the treatment of lymphedema because the movements of the muscles stimulate the flow of the lymph into the capillaries. Wearing a compression garment during exercise also provides resistance to further stimulate this flow."

I studied some of the symptons that are associated with Lymphedema, and they are remarkably similar (overlapping) to the symptons that I have displayed over the past 10 years and that Dr. Cornelis Moerman highlighted as warning signs for oncoming cancer. So here is a new research area for the coming period.

Here's a short definition of Lymphedema that woke me up (my recurring cellulitis and wounds that would not heal):

"Lymphedema is a blockage of the lymph system causing a swelling in a leg or arm. The swelling could also be in the trunk or genitals. The lymph system follows the circulation system and lies very close under the skin. Think of it as a net that covers your entire body under the skin. Injury, surgery, radiation, removal of lymph nodes can all cause lymphedema. Folks with chronic lymphedema get frequent infections called cellulitis/erysipelas and some even have wounds that won't heal. Sometimes even carrying a very heavy purse over your shoulder can cause swelling of the arm. Things that can "crush the lymph net" can damage the lymph system."

For most of my adult life I have suffered from recurring erysipelas and a leg wound that never fully healed. Fortunately, since I discovered that I had cancer and adopted new nutritional and exercise habits, my bouts of erysipelas appears to be a thing of the past and that specific leg wound has finally healed. What was the original cause of my leg wound? Don't laugh, but he was a hospital specialist almost 40 years ago who carved out a chunk of flesh -- a biopsy to find out more about my erysipelas.

During the last 10 years I have had recurring bouts of erysipelas (in Dutch: wondroos) followed by antibiotic cures, up to three occurrences per year, and not once was there mention of lymphedema.

And as is the case with cancer, lymphedema is currently classified as an incurable illness. However, incurable or not, I have provided myself with enough evidence these past 12 months that diet and exercise can influence the progress of these illnesses. Sufficient arguments for me to continue the pursuit of a healthy regime of food and exercise.

Peter Kapitein - an exceptional cancer patient

I have not met Peter Kapitein personally, but for me he is an exemplary exceptional cancer patient. He is the founder of the Alpe d'HuZes that raised more than 10 million euros for cancer research in 2010. He is also the organiser of the Understanding Life conference in Amsterdam where scientists, researchers and doctors came together to bundle their thoughts and energy focussed on cancer research for the coming decade.

Here is a recording (for Dutch readers) of his appearance on the Pauw en Witteman Show this month:

Peter Kapitein asks the key question "Why do cancer patients with the same cancer following the same treatment(s) display a huge variance in survival rates? Why does one person survive and why does another person die?". Exactly the same question that I asked myself almost a year ago. The same question that Dr. David Servan-Schreiber asked himself. The same queston that Linus Pauling asked himself. The same question that Dr. Bernie Siegel asked himself. The same question that Carl Simonton asked himself. The same question that Dr. Marco de Vries asked himself.

This is an appropriate moment (for me) once again to reflect on the words of David Servan-Schreiber:

"The body is a huge system in equilibrium, where each function interacts with all the others. Alter just one of these functions and the whole is inevitably affected. Thus each of us can choose where we want to start: with diet, physical exercise, psychological work, or any other approach that brings more meaning and awareness into our lives. Every situation, every person, is unique; everyone's way forward will be too."

Monthly update: December 2010

In search of cancer retreats in the Netherlands

Inspired by the work of the Healing for Cancer Foundation and their formula for weekend retreats, I naturally started searching for similar initiatives in the Netherlands. And I came across Roparun. The website is primarily Dutch, and partly translated to English.

They are a professional looking (first impressions) foundation that among many activities/projects also offer "inloophuizen", currently three centres in the Netherlands (and a number of other centres that they support financially), where cancer patients are welcome to walk in for a chat and friendly ear. One of their centres located in Almere, the Roparun Parkhuys in Almere, has recently launched a new initiative that offers week retreats for cancer patients. I certainly intend to find out more about their (planned) activities.

Amazing! After all the attention I have paid over the months to discussing chi walking/running and endurance events in America and in the Basque country, only now do I come across the Roparun -- a non-stop relay race from Paris to Rotterdam. It's not only a unique running event but it also has a unique goal: raising money for people with cancer. The motto of the Roparun is:

"Aiming to add life to the days that remain, when no more days can be added to life."

In search of cancer retreats -- continued

Inspired by the words of Dr Rob Rutledge of the Healing for Cancer Foundation, who in turn was inspired by Dr Bernie Siegel, I came across the Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECaP) Retreats. ECaP is an organization founded by Dr. Siegel in 1978.

The terror of positive thinking

The following documentary is in Dutch. It brings a healthy balance to the discussion surrounding the modern day cult of "positive thinking" and "putting up a good fight" in relation to living with cancer.

For me there is a huge difference between artificially generating "positive thinking" in comparison with opening up to my thoughts and emotions, without labelling them positive or negative. My challenge is to find a balance between my emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health. And an artificial focus on "positive thinking", or thinking of any kind for that matter, will by definition lead to imbalance if the associated emotional, physical and spiritual aspects are ignored or denied.

The process of healing, becoming whole again, is for me a focus on wellness and sense of well being, as opposed to goal oriented conditioning -- which is the case with the school of "positive thinking". And whatever I do, slowly but surely the life in me will wind down, be it from cancer or other (natural) causes.

As I have tried to express in previous updates throughout this website, my own perception of my "frame of being" could not and cannot be expressed in terms of "positive thinking" and "fighting". My "frame of being" had and has alot to do with acceptance of the here and now, learning to listen to myself and opening up to and respecting my intuition / beliefs / convictions / emotions. To the outside world it may appear as a positive fighting spirit, with focus and perseverence and determination, but for me it felt like a wave of freedom lifting me up gently and propelling me forward -- and it was my choice to surrender to this ride -- and stay in this "zone" -- for as long as the gift lasts. I am still searching for the right words to describe my experience, but one thing I am sure of -- the mindsets of "positive thinking" and "goal oriented fighting" are not congruent with what I am trying to express here.

Yes, I have had moments of what some people would label negative thinking, doubts, fears, depression, anger, impatience, frustration, etc. Yet strangely enough, in accepting them and embracing them and reflecting on them, I also experienced a calmness and joy in the awareness of opening up to -- myself -- my environment. All part of an evolving quality of life.

If I had to sum up what I have tried to express above in simple "rational" terms, then I would probably say:

Change those things that you can influence yourself (we influence more than we are sometimes aware of)
Accept what is beyond your influence (we all have our limits, yet limits can be stretched)
Utilise chances and opportunities (look again -- look again)
Be realistic/pragmatic (we define our own sense of reality)

Maarten van der Weijden - TEDxRotterdam 2010 from TEDxRotterdam on Vimeo.

In search of cancer research in the Netherlands

One of the sponsors behind the RopaRun Parkhuys is the Dutch National Cancer Foundation (STICHTING NATIONAAL FONDS TEGEN KANKER VOOR ONDERZOEK NAAR REGULIERE EN AANVULLENDE THERAPIEËN). And as is the case with the Moerman Vereneging, they are enthousiastic promoters of the Simonton Therapy.

What's the essence of life?

The learnings and wisdoms of old unfortunately get distorted, ambiguous, contaminated and lost through the passage of time and translations and interpretations. One of the learnings hidden openly in the Bible is "faith, hope and charity -- the most important of these being charity". I choose (at this monet in time) to translate charity as unconditional love and compassion for a fellow human being, or any living being for that matter, including myself. I choose to associate belief with my belief in the healing intelligence that my body/mind/soul have access to, and that it is my task to support this healing process -- which is simply to avoid/prevent the creation of barriers/blockages/constraints to the life energy flowing in me, and to take steps to remove any that have built up over time. And I believe it is better to kindle hope in a cancer patient than to encourage false hopelessness. And when it comes to love, my personal challenge is to venture into a more social environment where I can offer support and asistance to other people who are searching for assistance and support. I still have along way to go.

Appreciating the overlaps and differences between positive thinking/belief and healthy thinking/belief

Introduction to ECaP (Exceptional Cancer Patient) and Bernie Siegel

Beyond retreats

Many cancer patients who have just received the (shocking) news "you have cancer" are not ready for a group retreat or any kind of group healing sessions. I know that I researched my own information, did my planning and made my decisions -- very much on my own in my own time. I discussed with family/friends and I contacted specialists for advice, but much of my soul searching was a solitary activity. And much of my meditation and reflection is still a solitary daily exercise. 9 months later I can appreciate that although the possibility of a cancer retreat or Simonton therapy may not have been an opportunity that I was ready/willing to make use of back in February, that other new patients may well benefit. And also (ex)patients who have succeeded in surviving thus far, may now be ready for such a next step.

And some people, for whatever reasons, would also benefit from an online type of therapy. They can be too tired/weak to participate in group sessions and retreats, they may prefer to take things one step at a time on their own and not be influenced/distracted/threatened by external factors -- many different reasons to go it alone for a while.

In pursuing these thoughts, I was amused to discover that the work of the Healing for Cancer Foundation was originally (in the 1990s) inspired by the work of Dr. Bernie Siegel , who in turn was originally inspired (in the 1970s) by the work of the Simontons, and that the counselling/therapeutic support provided by the Parkhuys "Walk-in" Center in Almere is performed by qualified Simonton therapists. I choose to see this as symbolic for a healing circle.

And regarding online therapy, I was impressed by the complete "retreat program" available online from the Healing for Cancer Foundation. I also discovered a similar service (internet therapy) that the Dutch Helen Dowling Instituut provide on their Minder Moe Bij Kanker website. Whereas the "retreat program" is open and free for anyone to access and use (self education), the Dutch internet therapy is a paid service with a restrictive/selective intake (guided therapy).

There is also a relatively small Dutch initiative/foundation that appears to be successfully organising group retreats in France and in the Netherlands a few times each year -- Stichting Les Vaux - hulp en begeleiding bij kanker.

Also the Simonton Cancer Center in the Netherlands organises week retreats for cancer patients + guests twice a year.

And what about the Harmony Hill Cancer Retreats that are offered for free to cancer patients -- view the film below:

Understanding Integrative Oncology

Oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

The word integrative or integral can mean different things to different people and organisations. Researching integrative oncology in the Netherlands I came across a number of organisations/initiatives, in particular IPSO, the IKCs and VIKC. Further co-operation and synergy between these three country-wide initiatives in the Netherlands will reap huge benefits for cancer patients.

Further searching for psychosocial oncology activities in the Netherlands revealed Psychosociale (na)zorg bij kanker, Samenwerking Menzis en ziekenhuizen and Deelnemende ziekenhuizen Psychosociale nazorg. And also Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychosociale Oncologie.

Further co-operation in the Netherlands can be built on the basis of the "Nationaal Programma Kankerbestrijding" and an example of a developed survey tool (check list) that is being adopted is De Lastmeter.

A relevant extract (in Dutch) from the "Nationaal Programma Kankerbestrijding":

"Het signaleren van psychosociale problemen bestaat uit:

Inzicht krijgen in de ernst en aard van problemen van volwassen kankerpatiënten.
Bespreekbaar maken van problemen als onderdeel van de (na)zorg. Hierdoor kan worden voorkomen dat patiënten last krijgen van ernstiger klachten.
Verwijzen naar een hulpverlener in de psychosociale oncologie of een andere hulpverlener (wanneer nodig en gewenst door de patiënt)."

Recommendations for a friend's sister with cancer

His sister has been diagnosed with cancer. He has followed my progress closely these first 9 months, and asked me for some help. This is when I realise how diificult it is to predict how someone is going to react to the news "I have cancer" and what that person's needs will be over the course of time. But this also forced me to summarise my personal findings into a compact guidepost (see below) for the first decision crossing a new cancer patient may encounter.

Adopt an integrated approach, hands-in-hand with regular medical protocols:
- adopt nutrition and eating habits (Dr. Moerman nutritional guide, ANTT/orthomolecular specialist)
- adopt daily early morning walks (alone) in a peaceful/fresh air environment (forest)
- adopt psychosocial activities -- learning to live with emotions, thoughts, beliefs, hopes (individually and/or in groups through e.g. IPSO walk-in centres, IPSO therapeutic centers)
- adopt daily rest periods (body, heart and mind) and plenty of sleep (early to bed, early to rise).

Mind-body-spirit medicine

Can you spare 90 minutes? Here follows an introductory lecture on mind-body-spirit medicine. An introduction to integrative medicine.

Understanding the difference between correlations and causal relationships is one of the useful messages in the above video. For example, for me there is an evident correlation between my changes in nutrition and exercise and my improved health. But to state that my dietary change and/or exercise actaully caused my improved health is not so clear.

Monthly update: November 2010

Results from my visits to the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital in Amsterdam

This is my very first update for November.

Eelkje and myself kept an appointment with the urologist to hear the results from the blood tests, urine test and the CT-PET scans. They all confirmed zero cancer activity, which was great news for us.

The urologist was also open in presenting and discussing three options of how to move on. He presented the pros and cons to ensure that we could make an informed decision, and he did not confine himself to the limits of current medical protocols. For me this was a breath of fresh air.

As my bladder cancer was a very aggressive form of cancer, which may be latent now but may become active at some time in the future, we made a preliminary appointment in 3 months time for a cystoscopy. A regular 3 monthly check-up sounds fine to me. This option was not available to me at the hospital in Hilversum, so I am very happy to have found a new home at the AVL that is willing to both perform a check-up every 3 months as well as respect my (re)decisions regarding further treatment.

On face value the urologist in Hilversum presented the cancer treatment protocol as a restrictive rule, whereas the urologist in Amsterdam referred to the protocol treatment as an option, a guideline to follow rather than a rule to be adhered to, a starting point from which he felt free to diverge from with alternative options. Mind you, my situation was very different back in February compared to now, so a comparison resembles comparing apples with pears.

Never a dull moment

Much of my life I have spent moving away from situations as opposed to moving towards them. I took my first job with Shell in the Netherlands after graduating because I did not want to live and work in the UK. I studied in Glasgow because it was far away from my home in Southampton.

And I loved project and research work. I still do. Yet when I reflect back I now realise that I went out of the way to create my own projects and my own challenges. I was restless to move from one challenge to the next. I would maneouver myself into borderline areas, high risk and high reward... and high loss. I believe that my cancer was (probably) the final step in this phase.

What has changed since February is that I am now open to the challenges that life presents me with every day. Life's challenges presented themselves to me from the day I was born, but somewhere along the road I started to ignore (no longer see) life's challenges because I was focussing more on self-created situations. In simple terms, I became blind and deaf to certain aspects of life both around me as within myself.

Nevertheless I developed many valuable competenties along the way, and now I have the opportunity to put them to better use.

In many ways cancer has re-opened my "mind's eye" and presented me with the opportunity to learn how to see again.

The art of manifestation

The following extract expresses so well my own mindset for these past 8 months:

"The manifestation process is very organic and not always methodical. You just know intuitively what needs to happen next.

Manifestation works with energy to create form rather than trying to change one form into another. It doesn't "fix" things or solve problems. It gives birth to a whole new reality or circumstance in which the problem no longer exists or is irrelevant. It's a co-operative process of unfolding potential. The potential is what wants to happen; you partner with it by creating the optimal conditions for its unfolding.

Have you ever done all the right things to make something happen, yet couldn't get the results you wanted? And have you also wanted something to happen and in fact it did happen without taking the steps you thought were going to be necessary? Why did you succeed in one instance and not in the other? The answer is alignment of energy. Intentional manifestation aligns your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, decisions, and actions -- all forms of energy -- with what you desire or with potential wanting to unfold. This alignment sets up a vibrational frequency that attracts the circumstances and conditions for the potential to become a reality. You can take all the right steps and heed the advice of all the right people, but if your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, decisions, and actions are not in complete alignment with one another and with that what you desire, you may not get the result you want -- at least not in its full potential."

The above extract is taken from "The Manifestation Wheel" by Alan Steale.

Life is in the balance

Eelkje and myself WILL delve into the world of quantum physics. We both have a desire to learn more about this topic, and who knows, it may help us to bring our thoughts and emotions to a more co-operative level.

So what do I mean by saying that "life is in the balance"? I don't know yet, but since my cancer, the concept of "balance" seems to pop up more and more in the philosophy behind my daily approach to life. I have not been trying to cure cancer, but to bring my life back into balance. To restore balance to my body through nutrition and exercise and rest.

I instinctively feel that balance, for example visualised as a simple seesaw, can be used as a binding "mindset" to illustrate and learn to understand many situations. For example:

actions are (eventually) met with equal and opposite reactions
the cells that make up our living physical bodies die and are replaced by new born cells on a continuous basis
yin and yang
oppressing regimes are (eventually) met with freedom seeking protests and revolations... hmmm, did I mean to revolutions or revelations?
when regular (crisis) medicine does not support a holistic approach to health, then alternative disciplines appear
when the actions of a business enterprise are congruent (in balance) with their mission statement, that business thrives and prospers and feels as if it is "going with the flow"
forces of demand and supply
philosophy of give and take
fulcrums and leverage
fear driven actions and boldness driven actions
harmony and resonance and "in tune" when talking about music, sound, vibrating stuctures and even the human body in tune with the central heart beat
restoring balance as a result of a design flaw, for example in the suspension of a car, is cheap to correct when caught in the design phase, and becomes more expensive for the manufacturer if captured during production, and even more expensive for the manufacturer and /or the dealer and/or the customer once thousands of models have been sold and are out on the roads

I need to find out first what (if anything -- I am sure that it exists) has been written about the philosophy of balance in relation to quantum physics and the idea of a universal intelligence and field theory.

And I will use the visual example of a seesaw as a means to develop an appropriate mindest that can be used to explain and understand different situations. Not only when it comes to maintaining balance, but also how to restore balance. In crisis situations one has to resort to extreme immediate fast measures, whereas in (developing) chronic situations one can resort to more structural slower step-by-step approaches. One can build up and/or one can build down to restore balance.

In the above example of car design, I realise that there is a parallel to the human body design. If one considers that the design intelligence resides in a field that encompasses the physical body, then one can contemplate how changes to the field could result in changes to the physical body, and changes to the physical body would result to changes in the design field. Examples of this are birth defects and accidents along the way. Other examples are disease and evolution. One can strive to restore balance and/or move on to a new balance.

Our minds and bodies are in one state of balance when we are sleeping and a different state of balance when we sprint the 100 metres or ski a down-hill slalom. We can prepare ouselves for the anticipated change in balance by relaxing before we go to bed, by warming up for the 100 metre sprint, and by warming up and shadow moving/visualising the downhill course.

When we are in balance we experience vitality, a sense of going with the flow, the runner's high, the golfer's in the zone. Our whole being is present in the here and now.

And we have all experienced what it is like to be out of balance and balancing on the edge or pushing our balance to the limits and beyond.

One could write a book on this subject varying from engineering to business to religion to politics to alternative medicine and to healing practices.

Welcome to quantum physics

Could my belief have influenced the containment of my cancer?

Could the prayers and best wishes from my family and friends have influenced the containment of my cancer?

Was it the Moerman diet and exercise that helped me contain my cancer and/or did my frame of mind (consciousness) play a role?

Alternative areas of medicine such as healing, reiki, reconnection, quantum touch will have elements of truth based on the insights provided through a quantum physics approach. This makes them also vulnerable to modern day scams and commercially driven initiatives. Whether we question the commercial motives behind the huge pharmaceutical industries, or the balancing reactions from network marketing organisations, it is far too easy to fall into heated debates about scams. The challenge is to distil the truth and reality from the illusions and manipulations. The truth is in there waiting to be discovered. At times it feels as if I am searching through a rubbish bin.

Fortunately my passion is information engineering, and I love this challenge.

Here is a 10 minute intro to the buzz around quantum physics:

Field theory applied to organisations

The mission statement is the (conscious) field that contains a business organisation. When an organisation breathes life into the mission statement through its daily behaviour, then one can feel that mission field expand and engulf the satellites that revolve around the organisation -- the suppliers and customers. The mission statement, this field of consciousness, is the force that maintains equilibrium throughout this changing solar system.

Is equilibrium a better word than balance?

There are forces that push for change and forces that strive to maintain the status quo. The word balance has a static quality when used in expressions such as "restoring balance" -- restoring the status quo.

The word equilibrium has a dynamic quality when used in expressions such as "maintaining equilibrium" -- it implies motion and changing conditions.

Our immune system -- the guardian of equilbrium

We talk about persons having "fragile constitutions" and "strong constitutions".

The fragile constitution can be symbolised by a lightweight seesaw, which is quickly thrown off balance when a small bird lands on one end. It is also lightweight in terms of the load that it can bear before cracking/breaking up. Persons with a fragile constitution are immediately aware of small changes in work, emotions, food, climate. They are vulnerable to the smallest changes. It becomes a necessity to watch maintain healthy diets, avoid stressfull work environments, avoid coffee before going to sleep, eat gluten free foods, exercise every day, fit yoga or tai chi into their daily routines. To the outside world they can appear to lead a healthy life and appear to be healthy and full of vitality and fit. Yet they can still have, for whatever reason, a fragile constitution. This implies that when circumstances come along to throw them off balance, that the consequences are often immediate and severe and difficult to recover from.

Strong constitutions (body, mind, emotions -- one can be stronger in one area and weaker in another) are able to absorb stressfull work environments, bad diets, coffee late at night. They appear to be immune to these abuses of their body system. But are they? On the short term the effects can generally not be felt, because tehy take place slowly, gradually. But observers on the outside can see the seesaw start to tilt on one side. This momentum, however small, will continue even when short term corrective measures are taken -- gradually slowing down before turning direction. But when short term results are desired, then we can resort to extreme measures. A good example is our modern day diet which is associated with an unwelcome undamped seesaw effect.

Another effect of the strong cosntitution is illustrated in the following seesaw image:

Apparantly this seesaw can take alot of abuse. But how do we go about restoring balance. At the moment it is in equilibrium, but we choose to restore the original balance.

If we allow the heavier end to continue getting heavier, irrespective of what we do at the lighter end, the structure will eventually start to crack up and eventually break at some point.

We could add more weights to the light end, but we would probably start to damage the structure -- first cracks would start to appear and sooner or later those cracks would give way to a major break/fracture.

We could also take steps to lighten the heavy end. We could even combine the two approaches to restore the original balance faster, and from there switch to a mode where we continued to lighten both sides simultaneously. We can maintain the balance by doing nothing, and we can maintain the balance by lightening both ends a small step at a time... or even in one or a couple of large steps.

Fantastic series of 30+ lectures on quantum physics/mechanics

Below is the first lecture to get us started:

Consciousness - the balancing force around us and within us

When I start to look at the world around me and within me using the theories in quantum physics as a starting point, I begin to discover the networks that connect many previously isolated incidences (as they appeared to me).

Quotations from different religions/philosophies that have been subject to different interpretations, such as "an eye for an eye" and "do to others as you would have them do unto you" and "what goes around comes around" and "every action has an equal and opposite reaction", all of a sudden share a common meaning to me -- they are symbolic attempts to describe the universal balancing force.

Techniques and rituals in healing practices

Reiki is an example of a healing practice that requires one to learn and apply a series of techniques. Reconnective healing is promoted as a more complete practice that supercedes techniques. Different religious ceremonies embrace a shared use of rituals to be adhered to. And to me they now appear the same and I can relate to other applications that I am familiar with in sports. An and/and situation.

Let me take golf as an example. Learning the technique behind the golf swing, step by step, is the way golf is generally taught. There are those players that also learn by just giving the ball a good bashing, and learning along the way through trial and error and feeling the path ahead. Now and again when things come together for them they will experience that "wow" moment and get hooked on the game. Because however many bad shots they play on any given day, occasionally, by chance, they will experience a few "wow" moments.

But one also has to learn how to play the shot as and when required, in a match or tournament. The professional player warms up before the game, and warms down after the game. There are techniques, sometimes resembling rituals to the spectator, that the player uses to transition from one state to the next state. This becomes even more apparent with each golf shot. You only get one chance at each shot. Every player has at some time experienced "being in the zone". Some get there by accident, the top professionals have developed techniques (personal rituals) that enable them to do this for each shot. It involves mental visualisation, strange body movements as they address the ball, it varies according to the shot (be it a drive, long iron, bunker shot, chip or put). The player who is aware of the real purpose behind these rituals, to get them tuned in to the shot they are about to take, will generally prosper. The player who performs these rituals without a real understanding of why he/she is performing them, will have good days and bad days -- and get stuck inside the limitations of the rituals. And just as important as the warm up for the shot just taken, is the ability to warm down (let go of the previous shot) and relax in anticipation of the warm up for the next shot.

We place alot of trust in our medical practitioners :)

What I see in healing practices appears to have alot to do with the practitioner warming up and focussing his/her whole being on the "here and now" around the client. Little rituals are applied until the practitioner can feel the energy flowing. Then the practitioner will continue in (and out of) that state for the next 30-45 minutes. And the practitioner will need to warm down in anticipation of the warm up for the next client. And yes, each healing practice does have its own techniques for the actual healing process itself. And each practitioner will develop his/her own variations, as each golfer and athlete has his/her own personal style. Yet every personal set of techniques/style in the golfer's swing share one thing in common -- they are designed to get the club head moving at the desired speed and direction at the moment of impact with the ball. Some techniques are more effective than others. Some players succeed 90% of the time in hitting a good shot, and others 50% or 10% of the time. The same goes for healing practitioners. One will have a higher success rate with patients than the other. It can even resemble pot luck -- if you spin the roulette wheel often enough it will eventually land on your number. Miracles do happen now and again.

Sensitivity analysis in the 1970s

I look back on the experiments with sensitivity analysis in the 1970s. I was an engineer with Shell at the time, and I experienced first hand (as a participant) the devastating effect that these workshops had on participants, and consequently their families and business environment.

Sensitivity analysis worked on the assumption that each person builds layers of protective shields during the course of his/her life, and that these shields limit them in their potential. The workshops were designed to help participants become aware of these shields and consequently strip them down. Having removed these protective layers, participants were then thrown back into their daily lives.

I use the word "protective" now because I appreciate how these shields served a purpose to maintain balance. But at the time these shields were regarded as undesirables. It was like removing the weights from one end of the seesaw and throwing participants into an extreme state of imbalance. Some individuals and families had a hard time recovering from this experience -- restoring a workable balance to their lives.

Evolution of consciousness - the balance between love and fear

2012 ?! Fact or fiction -- fantasy or prediction -- on the verge of reconnection:

The Reconnection

Eelkje asked me about the reconnection, and what it means to be reconnected. Here is an explanation according to Eric Pearl:

"To become ‘Reconnected' involves reconnecting your meridian lines to the energy, or ley lines that encircle the earth, thereby enhancing and expanding your body's frequencies. This then allows you to heal.

Originally meridian lines/acupuncture lines on our body were connected to the grid/ley lines that encircle the planet. These grid lines were designed to connect us to a vastly larger grid, tying us to the entire universe.

Each of our bodies contains our own set of energetic lines and points. At one point in time we became disconnected from these lines and lost the fullness of our inherent connection to the universe. The Reconnection brings in and activates these new lines, reconnecting us on a more powerful and evolved level than ever before. They enable us to standardise unique vibrational levels and frequencies for healing, and ultimately, for our evolution."

And naturally my next step is to find out what meridian theory is all about. The following text is borrowed from an anonymous source.

Foundations of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine: Meridian Theory

The meridian system of Acupuncture is the network of vessels through which our energy flows. The proper flow of Qi, or energy, in our body regulates and maintains our health. By understanding how the Qi in our meridians connect and interact, we can begin to comprehend the intricate system of acupuncture.

Discovery of the Meridians

The meridians are believed to have been discovered through meditation and Qi Gong practice that allowed developed individuals to feel the flow of Qi in their body. Pressure applied to points along these meridians created a propagated sensation that revealed their intricate pathways from the surface of the body to the deep organs within. Later investigations of how specific points altered the flow of Qi in the meridian system lead to the development of comprehensive acupuncture charts and the formalized system of acupuncture used today.

Functions of the Meridians

The flow of Qi in the meridians regulates the functions of our body, including the internal organs, various tissues, and sensory functions. The meridians also protect us by preventing external pathogenic factors from moving into deeper levels of our body, causing more severe illnesses. In cases of pathological conditions, the flow within the meridians will be disrupted indicating diseases of the internal organs, or the meridians themselves. Palpation of the meridians and the pulse can assist an Acupuncturist in determining imbalances in the flow of Qi, and providing the proper treatment to return the body to balance.

12 Primary Meridians

There are 12 Primary Meridians that connect the 12 internal organs and the entire surface of the body; each meridian is named by its major connected organ, including Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Urinary Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Heater, Gall Bladder, and Liver. The primary meridians contain most of the major acupuncture points used in clinical practice. The meridians are organized in a complex fashion that allows a network of connection between specific organs and meridians. These meridians are symmetrical and follow lines that run vertically up and down the body for their external pathways. The internal pathways of the meridians connect their respective organs and their paired organs. The Oriental Medicine organs are not strictly the physical organs we know from Western Anatomy; they are energetic representations of body functions. As a note, the Triple Heater organ is a purely energetic organ and has no physical form.

Let’s look at the chart below to begin to understand the 12 Primary Meridians and how they are named. Each of these meridians is mainly named by their major connecting organ, such as Lung, Spleen, etc (under the column “Organ Name”). Of the 12 meridians, there are three hand Yang, three hand Yin, three foot Yang, and three foot Yin meridians. In addition, each meridian has an energetic level related to the Hand and Foot pairings (under the column “Energetic Level”). Each of these components forms the name of a single meridian. For example, our first meridian is named the Hand Greater Yin Lung Meridian. Another example would be the Foot Lesser Yang Gallbladder meridian. To simplify the names, meridians can also be labeled by only their organ name, such as Lung or Stomach. Also note that each meridian is associated with one of the five elements: Metal, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood; this will be important for later.

	Limb	Energetic Level	Organ Name	Limb	Energetic Level	Organ Name	Element
EARTH	Hand	Greater Yin	Lung	Hand	Bright Yang	Large Intestine	Metal
EARTH	Foot	Greater Yin	Spleen	Foot	Bright Yang	Stomach	Earth
HEAVEN	Hand	Lesser Yin	Heart	Hand	Greater Yang	Small Intestine	Fire
HEAVEN	Foot	Lesser Yin	Kidney	Foot	Greater Yang	Urinary Bladder	Water
HUMAN	Hand	Absolute Yin	Pericardium	Hand	Lesser Yang	Triple Heater	Fire
HUMAN	Foot	Absolute Yin	Liver	Foot	Lesser Yang	Gallbladder	Wood

Now that we understand the naming convention, let’s begin to look at the connections the names reference. There are six energetic levels listed in the chart above: Greater Yang, Bright Yang, Lesser Yang, Greater Yin, Lesser Yin, and Absolute Yin. As we move from the exterior to deeper in the body, we move from Yang to Yin in the order of the previous list. When disease invades the body, it moves from the exterior levels to the interior levels as it becomes a deeper, more serious condition. The meridians that share an energetic level exist in Hand and Foot pairs, such as Lung and Spleen meridians, to form the Greater Yin level.

There are also Yin-Yang pairs of meridians which are represented by each horizontal row in the table. For instance, the Lung meridian is paired with the Large Intestine meridian. These Yin-Yang paired meridians have additional connecting meridians that strengthen the connections between these two meridians and their corresponding organs.

Qi Flow through the Regular Meridians

So now we can bring it all together by discussing the flow of Qi in the body. The Qi flows through the 12 Primary Meridians fifty times each day. It travels through three major circuits: Earth, Heaven, and Human. The cycle begins with the Earth circuit, as the Qi flows from the Lung to the Large Intestine, then to the Stomach, and then the Spleen. By looking at our chart above, you can see we start in the upper left corner of the Earth circuit in the Hang Greater Yin Lung meridian. Then we move across the chart to the Hand Bright Yang Large Intestine meridian. Next we drop down a row to the Foot Bright Yang Stomach meridian. And finally the Earth circuit completes by moving left to the Foot Greater Yin Spleen meridian. The Heaven and Human cycles move through the chart in the same manner. To summarize, the Qi flows as follows: Lung – Large Intestine – Stomach – Spleen – Heart –Small Intestine – Urinary Bladder – Kidney – Pericardium – Triple Heater – Gallbladder – Liver. After Liver, the Qi cycles back to the beginning to start again with the Lung meridian.

8 Extraordinary Meridians

The 8 Extraordinary meridians are deeper meridians of the body that serve to act as reservoirs of Qi and Blood in the body. Only 2 of these meridians have their own acupuncture points (Du, Ren); the other six meridians can only be accessed by acupuncture points on the Primary meridians. The 12 Regular Meridians plus the 2 Extraordinary Meridians with their own points are commonly referred to as the 14 Major Meridians. The extraordinary meridians are clinically important to influence the body as they connect many of the Primary meridians of the body. In addition, these meridians serve to protect the body. Each of the 8 extraordinary meridians has a confluent point on a primary meridian which allows the extraordinary meridian to be accessed. The extraordinary meridians also function in pairs and are listed with the confluent points below. These acupuncture points are commonly needling at the same time to create a specific action in the body.

Chinese Name	English Name	Confluent Point	Area of Action
Ren	Conception	Lung 7	Abdomen, Chest, Lungs, Throat, Face
Yin Qiao	Yin Heel	Kidney 6	Abdomen, Chest, Lungs, Throat, Face
Du	Governing	Small Intestine 3	Spine, Neck, Head, Eyes, Brain, Back Leg
Yang Qiao	Yang Heel	Urinary Bladder 62	Spine, Neck, Head, Eyes, Brain, Back Leg
Dai	Girdling	Gallbladder 41	Outer Leg, Side of Body, Side of Neck
Yang Wei	Yang Linking	Triple Heater 5	Outer Leg, Side of Body, Side of Neck
Chong	Penetrating	Spleen 4	Inner Leg, Stomach Abdomen, Heart, Chest
Yin Wei	Yin Linking	Pericardium 6	Inner Leg, Stomach Abdomen, Heart, Chest

Other Meridians

There are several other types of meridians that exist to assist each of the 12 Primary Meridians. The Divergent meridians are 12 meridians that run deepest in the body to reinforce the connection between Yin-Yang paired meridians and organs, connect to areas not supplied by the Primary Meridians, and distribute Qi and Blood to the face. The Connecting meridians connect a meridian to its Yin-Yang paired meridian. The Sinew meridians exist on the surface of the body and follow the major muscles, widening the influence of their associated Primary Meridians. The Cutaneous meridians are the regions of the skin which represent the pathway of the Primary meridians. And finally, the Collateral meridians represent the small vessels that branch from each meridian to create a mesh-like network over the body spread the influence of the meridians over the entire body.

This network of Primary Meridians, Extraordinary Meridians, and Other Meridians function together to regulate our energy and organs, and protect the body from disease.

An evolving healing hypothesis

My mindset for dealing with my bladder cancer so far has been very simple from the outset. Namely, to inform my myself that I would do everything within my power to restore health and balance in my life. This naturally included the Moerman diet and exercise to help rebuild my immune system, but to also get (my ego) out of the way and allow my immune system to do its work. I don't know what my immune system is exactly, nor what the source of its healing intelligence is, but I do believe that its purpose is to restore and maintain a workable balance for my body. When the immune system is strong, and the body does not show any serious structural weaknesses, then I also believe that illnesses such as cancer will be cleaned up by the immune system. And our eating habits and (non)exercise habits determine how much load we place on our immune system. A strong immune system can take a fair amount of beating, provided it has the time to recover between bouts.

Please note that I also believe that a frontal attack on the cancer cells, be it by surgery, chemo, radiation or related treatments is a rough handed, often necessary, approach that deals with the immediate threat to life. There is no long term approach when we do not survive the short term. But the root cause has still to be identified and treated, otherwise the cancer will return, often more aggressively and more widely spread. I have been fortunate (so far) that I had the time available to start restoring balance to my life, where I believed my root cause lay. When the root cause is removed, often the problems/symptons they caused also start to evaporate and eventually vanish.

When it comes to (self) healing practices such as Reiki and Reconnective Healing, I also see similarities regarding varying focusses on root causes and resulting problems/symptons. When a healer gets involved in the healing process, by trying to identify what the ailment is and then focussing his/her healing work on that area, the healer is also treating the symptons and not the root cause. So if the healer treats a supposedely reumatic pain in the knee joints, and the pain miraculously disappears... great! But unless the root cause is identified and dealt with, the knee pain will in due course return and require return visits to the healer. On the other hand, this kind of healing could also trigger a "chain of events" process which brings the client into contact with the root cause. One of the advantages over regular treatments with medicines is that the healing treatment is regarded as a non-toxic approach.

And here we enter the "fuzzy" area of field energy intelligence (consciousness) that has an "all-knowing" God like resemblance. This is the intelligence that our immune system taps into. This is also the intelligence that a healer facilitates when he/she acts as a catalyst and gets out of the way of the healing process itself. In some healing philosophies and initiation protocols, Reiki included, we talk about attunement. Reconnective healing also talks about attunement. What this healer supposedly does during a healing session is help the client come into contact (not yet attune, yet a parcial attunement can take place) with one or more frequencies in the surrounding intelligence field, very similar to the manner in which we tune our radio into a radio programme at a set frequency. Once attuned, then the client starts to receive new information that will hopefully deal with both the root cause as well as the symptons. The skills of the practitioner will influence the success of the attunement. And I suspect that different healing philosophies attune to different frequencies, allowing access to different information.

Practices such as Reiki and Reconnective Healing also have attunment initiations for practitioners. Unfortunately, where there is a need, there is also a multilevel marketer, and these practices have been tainted (become incongruous) through the introduction of a hefty price tag. Fortunately, my understanding of how the multilevel marketing sales pitch works, has enabled me to strip away all this commercial wrapping (whihc includes all the superfluous rituals and relics) in order to take a closer look at the healing practices.

This has resulted in an evolving hypothesis which is hopefully congruent with my approach to living with bladder cancer, and congruent with the current theories in quantum physics and mechanics. An attunement, be it self performed or performed by a practitioner, will (re)activate and/or enhance an information flow. This information flow will start up and/or enhance work processes in our being. Some of these information flows deal with healing, others will deal with increased awareness, emotional intelligence, and so on, and so on. Once a flow is reactivated through attunment, it should remain active. As processes in our being start up, this information flow may well increase in speed accordingly. Repeating attunements could well speed up this process as well. Interfering with this information flow by allowing our ego to intercede could well interrupt and block and corrupt the information flow. This is an area where we can choose to trust the universal source and allow ourselves to "go with the flow".

So I do not know what caused my bladder cancer to fade away into the background. What role did the Moerman diet play? What role did the grape diet play? What role did the daily walks in the forest play? What role did the positive support of family and friends play? What role did my own belief and convictions play? What I do know is that I attuned to a voice inside me that knew intuitively which road I should take, and which advice I should heed and which advice I should ignore. And having attuned myself to that frequency, alot of things started to change in my life, including a growing awareness of how my actions and behaviour influence my surroundings -- the lives of my friends and families. Shared inspiration. Example is a powerful teacher. And on rereading this passage I see that my ego has popped up again, just to let me know that it is healthy and well.

And my interest in reconnecting once again with healing traditions is to continue searching out further attunements, yet to lay aside the commerce and rituals many of them come wrapped in.

And any exercises and techniques I pick up along the way will be the ones designed to warm-up and warm-down, and to assist in tuning in, and to assist in (re)attunement/(re)connection. All the information is out there in time and space, with an endless range of frequencies to access. I sometimes think of my physical body, including my brain, as one huge antenna that is only functioning at minimal capacity. New attunements lead to new information flows, which fuel and trigger new rippling "chain of events" processes (e.g. in the dormant parts of our brain), which continue to spiral and evolve and lead us to new attunements... in this life and the next.

Energy work

What a shame that useful techniques and practices in working with energy (chi, prana), such as Reiki and Reconnection, are wrapped in commercial secrecy and money generating schemes. And oh yes, the MLM favourite selling points such as "anyone can do it, even you" and "it's so simple". For people who possess the skills and capabilities and insights developed and evolved through consciencious years of apprentiship and study and dedication, yes, the practice is simple -- as the following two film footages demonstrates:

Like every person alive, I have my own beliefs and convictions and opinions -- and they change and evolve with time. When it comes to medicine and healing of any kind, regular or alternative, my personal challenge is to look beyond the glossy wrapping and identify the essential building blocks. To look beyond the party tricks and rituals that are demonstrated in trainings and workshops. There is nothing wrong with a little light entertainment, but to accept it without understanding the real potential. And when what I see and experience feels incongruent, then it generates more questions than answers with me.

I realise that I am not interested in "orange vs apple" comparisons between Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Reike, Quantum Touch, Reconnection, NLP, the various forms and styles of Yoga, the various techniques and approaches to running, walking, physical exercise and training. I am searching for a very tangible reconnection within myself, between physical, mental, spiritual, emotional -- the synergy between and in these different dimensions, that connects me with myself and with my environment. I have experienced personally how a significant (Moerman) diet and exercise change in the physical dimension has a significant ripple through effect to my mental, spiritual and emotional dimensions. Things start to flow -- there is motion. And that motion is made up of blocks of activity and blocks of silence/stillness. And whatever changes take place in one dimension start to ripple through and flow more easily throughout my dimensions. I gradually become more aware of who I am and where blockages/barriers exist, dissolve, come and go. As Eelkje would call it "de mens in beweging" "people in motion".

One dimension is not more important or significant than the other. They are all essential elements of our being. The challenge is to maintain a healthy balance within and between. And that balance is not static. There is energy, a rhythm, a harmony. There is motion. And there is stillness. The most important step may well be "the next step". Yet we also need pit-stops.

Please don't laugh like I did. I just discovered that Qi Gong (Chi-Gung) when translated means "energy work" -- the title I gave to this contribution.

So my next step was to look for a simple introduction to Qigong exercises:

This is a master that I would happily learn from -- watch the demonstration and listen to his explanations:

The website Pathgate Institute of Buddhist Studies also contains a bookfull of useful and (for me) enlightening information.

Potential risks / side effects with Qi Gong

Having started with some simple breathing and concentration exercises based on Qi Gong, I have to admit that after a few days, although I was clearly coming into contact with my chi, I also felt a very marked decline in my vitality (very tangible during my daily exercise/training) and pains in my upper back and shoulders which are very new to me -- very similar to the stiffness and pains that Eelkje has, which I also started treating a few days ago. And also similar to the muscle pains I can feel when a flu or cold is lurking around the next corner, although they are usually more wide spread. If I don't catch flu these coming days, then it's a clear sign that I need to understand the possible side effects associated with Reconnective healing, Reiki, Quantum Touch and Qi Gong and mixing the techniques. This is not about evaluating which is better or best, but understanding how to use the techniques efficiently and effectively for the purpose of well being of all involved. Working with energy is not as simple as ABC.

The following interview with a Qi Gong teacher sheds some light on the subject:

How long have you practiced and taught Qigong?
I've practiced Qigong for about 10 years and taught for eight years.

What are the benefits of Quantum-Touch?
Quantum-Touch allows practitioners to easily attain a deep energy very similar to Qigong without any side effects, other than actually feeling better after offering a treatment. Anyone with the desire to help another can be a practitioner, and be very helpful.

Are there limitations with qigong?
When practicing Qigong it is best to learn from a person rather than a book or a video. Even the practice needs to be watched to avoid what is called aberration. This consists of energy traveling through the body along incorrect pathways that can lead to illness and in extreme cases, what many would call dementia. It is considered best not to have a practice doing healing work, without supervision, for about two years. At this point you can start doing the healing work on a limited basis. Not all practitioners agree, but on the average, it is very easy to use ones own energy along with the universes. This depletes the practitioner and can lead to illness because they are using up their essence. This is not a good thing. It is also comparatively easy to pick up " dirty Qi" from others. This results in headaches, illness such as cold/flu like symptoms to even stronger reactions. So, it often takes 20 min or better to rid one's self of this dirty Qi. This all gets less severe with practice, however for me, after 10 years of doing this healing, I still had to be very careful. None of these are problems with Quantum-Touch.

How long does it take to learn each method to become effective?
With Quantum-Touch, once you've read the book, attended a live or video workshop, it takes about 15 minutes to begin to be effective. As with anything the more you practice the more you understand about the work. With Qigong, as stated above, it takes several years to get comfortable and effective. One could learn all the basics to be a healer in about a year, but it often is detrimental to the practitioner to hurry it. In addition, not everyone should " emit Qi" , if you are ill in any way it is said you shouldn't do healing work as your energy can contaminate others.

How effective is QT relative to qigong?
It's a little like comparing apples and oranges. I found that I could allow much more energy through me with Quantum-Touch than with Qigong. Easily 3 times as much. Qigong follows a much stricter protocol, in that you put energy into specific points or along certain meridians. In that respect Qigong can be more pin pointed. However, if a Q-T practitioner learns this methodology, they can be just as pin pointed. So, I'm saying that they are extremely similar. The Qigong practitioner does a great deal more study and a physical practice to build Qi within them each day. This is a must for a Qigong healer. It easily requires, 1/2 hour to an hour or more of " self care" each day. When working at the basic level, the Quantum-Touch practitioners really only needs to remember to sweep and breath. At the more advanced level, with Quantum-Touch, you use other techniques to aid the flow of the energy.

The ongoing search for synergy

As with my search for nutrient synergy, which has demonstrated welcome returns on investment these past 9 months, there is alot of potential in the search for synergy between different healing techniques. With a brief encounter with Reiki over 10 years ago, the workshop I recently followed for Reconnective Healing, my book study of Quantum Touch, and the Qi Gong lessons that I (intend to) start this evening, I am really looking forward to enjoying the new lessons to be learnt over the coming 9 months. My challenge will be to take things one step at a time and to avoid the ego driven "new lamp for old" syndrom of Aladdin.

And the following link will be a useful Q&A reference for me: Side Effects, Causes & Answers

In search of inspiring stories from cancer patients

This is a the story of Ginny Walden, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. Her story is a personal testimonial written in April 2000. Today she is more active than ever -- see her website Blue Sky Healing Arts. After reading her testimonial below, I browsed through her website, and was struck by the following extract that resonates with my speculation on my synergy page about healing practitioners working as a group instead of simply one-on-one with patients/clients:

"Also notice how the hundreds of students (the Chi Field) in the background interract with the Teachers chanting the affirmation "Huan Yuan Ling Tong", a special mantra to evoke healing qi.Their unified group intention accelerates the healing of the woman who stood up from her wheelchair after Dr. Pang gave her Fa Chi."

The cancer healing journey of a national champion swimmer,
Ginny Walden, Honolulu, Haiwaii.

Aloha Friends!
Here is my complete Testimonial, up to date, as of 4-30-2000.

As a child I was an avid swimmer and athlete. When I was 17, I was training for the 1964 Olympics and broke the national record for the 1500 meter Freestyle. All my life I was health conscious. I did not smoke or eat a lot of junk food. For a period I drank alcohol lightly. My diet was full of vegetables and fruits and not a lot of meat, but I did eat dairy, sweets and red meat. When I was 21 I moved from NY to Santa Fe, NM to pursue my calling as an artist. Now at 53 I have been a sculptor, classical and flamenco guitarist, and an unconventional teacher for over 30 years.

Then in August 1997 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Advanced breast cancer. Actually, 2 years before, my healing had begun. At that time I let go of some destructive patterns in my life and began to feel truly happy. So when they told me I had had cancer 8-10 years I couldn't connect with the illness. I told my doctors that just because I now knew that I had cancer for ten years didn't mean I was going to stop being happy! So I began treatment with a positive attitude. The oncologist said with great seriousness that the AMA now approves a positive attitude. I laughed and asked "And how much does that cost?." A native American shaman told me that if I knew I had cancer ( in other words I am not in denial) and I could not "connect" to it, then it has no home, no place to land, and that it would leave my body. Also I went to talk to Dorje, a Tibetan monk connected with the Dalai Lama in Santa Fe. I asked him about cancer. He said "Ginny, do not be fearful. Fear increases illness. Do whatever medicine you choose, it does not matter. Just be joyful, be happy! Do what makes you happy!". This appealed to me so I maintained a truly joyful attitude throughout the next 9 months of treatment.

Acupuncture - Cancer Diet
Being mystical by nature but also having an inquiring mind I was praying to the Universe that I would not have to go through treatment and was searching through alternative therapies. The doctor was strongly against this and said I would be dead if I chose alternative. That was a strong fear message and I wondered why he didn't just say "let's try everything!". He said I had an aggressive cancer and needed surgery, 3 months of chemotherapy (Adriamyicin and Taxol, aÊ bit higher than normal dose), stem cell rescue and 6000 rads of radiation. I started praying and decided to begin acupuncture. My acupuncturist (I called him my "real" doctor) knew how to treat cancer patients. He suggested I lower my high stress levels by taking his Mind Body Stress Reduction program which entailed a little yoga, meditation and a body scan (1 hour a day) I brought my stress levels down 60%. I also chose a macrobiotic diet for breast cancer (Michio Kushi, The Cancer Prevention Diet) and cut out dairy, red meats and animal fats, sugar, stimulants and foods that create mucus. Then I went into surgery.

Surgery
The surgeon did not believe in mastectomy. She said cancer cells are left in the body anyway. Her specialty was large breast tumors and I am grateful for a small scar only 1.5 inches long! She took out a tumor from my right breast the size of an orange and found 21 out of 23 lymph nodes positive. She had to sever the nerve in my right arm to get the lymph nodes. I was diagnosed with a Grade 1 slow growing cancer, ductal carcinoma, Stage 3 Advanced breast cancer. I stopped chemotherapy after the first week to research more alternatives. The doctor was alarmed saying no-one stops chemo, but I insisted I needed 2 weeks to do more research on alternatives. He did say I had a slow growing cancer so I figured I could take off two weeks. But I could not find anything that would (note) convince my MIND that something other would work, so I continued treatment.

Stem Cell Rescue Therapy
I sailed through 3 months of chemo with no nausea, a good appetite, no diarrhea and my blood counts stayed normal! I attribute this to acupuncture (balancing of CHI) and his MBSR program (also balancing CHI). The nurses were amazed that my blood counts stayed normal. Then after a short break, I started stem cell rescue. Meanwhile I made a cassette of "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobbi McFerrin and played it continuously daily to keep my spirits up. Stem cell rescue is a rigorous and dangerous procedure. I insisted in going as an out patient to the clinic. I did not choose to be in the hospital because I thought I might be more vulnerable to infection there. This time they take out 5 bags of induced harvest of stem cells through a port in my neck and freeze them. Then they give me 3 High Dose Chemo drugs a day, 8 hours a day, for 2 days. After that supposedly a majority of cancer cells( (IF they are there, they really can't measure) are killed off (as well as all fast growing cells like the lining of my digestive system and white blood cells!) and they give me back the stem cells, hopefully" new blood". A good plan but unfortunately many die from the procedure.

I got nauseas, fainted twice, couldn't eat, got endless nosebleeds and internal bleeding. But I laughed the whole way through it! It was so bizarre and so outside my experience as an athlete and healthy person I just couldn't relate to it. After the High Dose Chemo they give the stem cells back and it takes 10 days for the new blood to function. On the ninth day I got a slight fever. Because my white blood cell counts were below 50 (and maybe one, since they cannot measure below 50!) I had no way to protect myself from infection so I was put into the hospital. The nurses there said it was unheard of to come in on the ninth day!

The Mind-Body Connection - the Source of Illness Discovered and Released.
In the hospital, they told me I would be there a month and a half or two before my blood counts would rise to a safe level. I was in an isolation room with red flags on the door to indicate I was neutropoenic and vulnerable to infection. So I could not have visitors and would be alone a lot. I said to myself, I can do this, and proceeded to fix up my room. It was 10 o'clock at night. All was quiet and I went into the bathroom to wash from the sink. I looked into the mirror and I saw Tweetie Bird. I was bald for the second time, had lost 12 pounds, had dark hollows under my eyes and pale skin. In that moment a miracle happened.

My mother was unable to give me unconditional love When I was 2 months old she threw me around. Where does the fear go? Into the cells and it stays locked there until someday I give myself that unconditional love. I believe this is the underlying condition that was my dis-ease. I needed to really love me. In that moment I felt this deep compassion for my body. Tears came down my cheeks as I slowly and gently bathed my body the way a mother would bathe an infant. I pressed the hot washcloth against my skin with love and compassion. Each touch was full of CHI. (I was doing Chi-Lel and did not know it yet.) Afterwards I felt lighter and happy. I went to bed and I said to the Universe: "I know I will get through this, and when I do I want to help with healing others. There are too many people suffering through cancer treatment. I want to help. Show me how and I will do it. My life will feel totally fulfilled. "Then I went to sleep and I had a dream. The Dalai Lama came to me in a tall triangular crystal. He had his hands in a praying position and looked up at me and said "Now Ginny, remember, BE JOYFUL!"

I woke up at sunrise that morning feeling energetic and happy. I danced around the room singing "Don't Worry Be Happy". The nurse came in and took my blood as usual. The Italian doctor came in to check the report. He threw his hands up into the air in surprise exclaiming "WHAT!?" and the nurses came running. He said "Yesterday her white blood cell counts were 600, now they are 13,000! How can that be?" The nurses said they had seen stem cell rescue patients for 5 years and had never seen this! The next day my counts were 22,000 and I was sent home. I was in the hospital a total of 4 days! How do I explain this? I believe it was CHI. After this two people in my cancer support group went through the same procedure. They both died.

So what's next?

My recent path has taken me to Qigong, to the website of Ginny Walden, to Chi-Lel (also known as Zhineng and Chi Neng) Qigong, to healing circles for cancer -- and searching for "cancer healing circles" I encountered the Healing & Cancer videos -- 43 of them -- here's the first one I am watching and listening to as I write:

The healing circle - healing and cancer weekend retreat

The following film documents the story of five ordinary yet remarkable people and their experience attending a ‘Healing and Cancer’ weekend retreat.

To learn more about the Healing and Cancer Foundation, visit healingandcancer.org.

The above is what I have been searching for all along -- the essence of what I have struggled to put into the words -- and the packaging that is not tainted by commercial objectives or technical/medical boundaries -- a holistic approach that abounds with possibilities. My homework is cut out for me the coming months and years as a new chapter is about to unfold in my journey through life.

I borrow the following text from the website:

"The Healing Program arose out of ten years' collaboration between Dr Rob Rutledge, an oncologist, and Dr Tim Walker, a psychotherapist. With it, they have helped hundreds of people. The success of their approach comes from people seeing and accepting the whole human experience, including 'negative' emotions such as fear. People who go through the Healing Program learn they can face - and potentially embrace and transform - whatever comes with diagnosis and treatment. You can have incurable cancer and yet feel your life has been healed.

In its essence, the Healing Program teaches you how to empower yourself by using information, skills and a loving perspective on ways to take care of your body and settle your mind."

All the "how to" information, in various forms such as instructional videos, is freely available on the website for all to use. This is not a commercial front end cleverly designed to pull money out of the pockets of the needy, but a genuine compassionate gesture to reach out to people who's lives have been turned upside down by cancer. Hopefully medical specialists will, one by one, be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

The Healing Program is the embodiment of my favourite quote:

"The future belongs to those who connect vision and values to people and put all three first."
Spirit of Mondragon

The Healing for Cancer Foundation - Dr. Rob Rutledge & Dr. Timothy Walker

It took me 9 months of searching to discover the following video. I wish that someone had handed it to me at the hospital when I was informed for the first time that I had cancer. Having the opportunity to share this here with others is a blessing. Enjoy!

For me, this film exposes the true meaning of healing and reconnection. Learn more about the Healing and Cancer Foundation at healingandcancer.org.

On their website they provide a Healing Program which has been divided into nine modules and they encourage you and me to do them at home. The program can be done in a small group, or with a loved one, or by yourself. Each module includes the video of the lectures, a segment on coping skills and small group discussions taken from a real weekend retreat. What a valuable resource to share so openly with the persons who need it the most.

Autobiography of an immune cell - Dr. Henk Fransen

Henk Fransen is a Dutch doctor who has spent over 20 years treating cancer patients. He regularly gives presentations for both patients as well as medical specialists. He promotes an integrated approach to dealing with illness, and his presentations are built up with a healthy dose of humour as he takes on the role of an immune cell, and presents from the perspective of an immune cell.

For my Dutch speaking visitor here is a film recording of one of his presentations. You might be tempted to stop after watching for 5 or 10 minutes. Please do yourself a favour and listen to the full 85 minutes. The questions and answers at the end are illuminating:

Click here to view a Henk Fransen presentation.

Monthly update: October 2010

Regarding Linus Pauling

Eelkje and myself have just returned from a (far too short) week break in Arnisdale, a small secluded spot on the west coast of Scotland. A change of landscape from the Netherlands. A time for new inspiration and reflection on, among other things, the life of Linus Pauling. His parents died at a young age from physical ailments. His own health does not appear to have been that strong either. And he did eventually die of cancer himself. What I see is a loving person who (partly through an orthomolecular approach to nutrition) lived a full life, successfully protecting his physical constitution from illness and keeping (latent) cancer at bay for 93 years.

Arnisdale: the front door of our cottage was just a few steps from the shores of Loch Hourn

Placebo effect and hospital environments

This next "controversial" piece is one of the reasons that I have not turned this website into a blog where readers can place their comments. It represents my thoughts and feelings and beliefs at this moment in time. They are what they are. One reader may experience it as a very negative viewpoint. Another reader may find inspiration and encouragement. Next week they may well have changed due to new circumstances, new information and new experience and insights.

I respect and admire the efforts being made on all fronts to develop better treatments for cancer patients and to improve the quality of life for both patients, friends and relatives, as well as the nurses and other medical staff who are an integral part of all the cancer related processes.

This coming Monday I have an appointment with the urologist at the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital in Amsterdam, for a second opinion/tests. My friends and family are all wishing and hoping for a positive outcome. Most of them believe the outcome will be positive. So why do I still feel reluctant about this visit? Is it simple fear of a negative outcome, or fear of the cystoscopy (bladder infection) and CT/PET scans (waking up the cancer)? These thoughts have crossed my mind in recent weeks, but the reluctance comes from a deeper emotion. This took up most of my meditative walk this morning. I believe the reluctance is based on association. I am reluctant to enter a hospital environment which I associate with mindsets such as:

there is still no cure for cancer;
food and exercise may help prevent cancer, but once you have cancer...
treatment protocols that are limited to that which has been scientifically proven (whatever that means)
there is nothing the patient can do for him/herself other than trust the hospital and the specialists and the treatment protocols
limited options, as my first urologist put it to me "You have two options. A second surgery, a RETUR, or an early death"
mixed sub-treatments as opposed to holistic treatments, i.e. you can find yourself taking two, three or more medications for two, three or more different problems, whereby the medications take over the driving seat of your body's health and quality of life gradually fades away in the background
an environment in search of "a cure for cancer", whereas my personal experience is an evolving awareness of how my decisions and actions affect myself, my friends and my family, which goes beyond curing my cancer, and has alot more to do with healing myself and healing others on many different yet interconnected levels. This is a growing awareness that I want to encourage and feed, and the hospital environment does not (yet) do this for me.

These are my personal associations and I make no apology for this. I find this environment a "complete turn off". I am grateful for the hospital services in "crisis" situations, varying from the fixing of broken bones to organ replacements, from pacemakers to antibiotics. But when it comes to treating chronic disorders, the hospital environment can literally be a turn off for any kind of self healing process.

I also believe in the placebo effect, which strangely enough is scientificaly proven, and is frequently used in scientific research to try and disprove new theories and findings. The placebo effect means, for example, that if you believe taking this yellow pill twice a day for a week will cure your infection, then it will. In other words, belief is a powerful trigger for the self healing ability/intelligence of our bodies. If I believe that there is no cure for cancer, then my body is not encouraged to heal itself. But if I believe that I can cure my cancer, then I may well succeed in doing that. The degree of success will be influenced by factors such as strength of belief, ability to focus "my mind's eye" on the healing process (visualising my cancer healing itself, visualising during breathing exercises how the healing energy flows through my body to those places where it is needed), and supporting the whole process by paying more attention to the nutrition, exercise and rest we offer our body, mind and soul. The degree to which structural body damage (genetic or otherwise) can be repaired/healed will also affect the outcome. I am not (yet) aware of any significant structural damage in my physical makeup.

For me personally, the hospital environment is not my environment of choosing. Yet for someone who believes that regular treatment protocals will help him/her, and this hope and belief is shared by friends and family, then this may well be the best path for that person to follow.

There is more between heaven and earth waiting for us to discover it. We are all part of a universal whole, a universe within universes. This is a huge network of intelligence available to us. All we have to do is evolve our ability to tap into this network. Throughout the ages various methods and techniques have been developed and used to tap into parts of this network, some more successful than others, some practitioners more skilled than others. Religious practices, tribal rituals, mantras, touch healing, reiki, yoga etc. The miracles at Lourdes, praying to the saints, calling upon god in times of need. We have felt the power of group energy at a soccer match, a rock concert, a work strike. The energy that bonds a fighting unit in time of war into a "band of brothers". Those moments in business or sport when one is "in the flow", when you feel... how does the expression go: "at one with the universe". Pre-competition mental visualisation of a downhill ski run. Mental visualisation in preparation of the next golf shot, getting "into the zone". Skilled practitioners, professional athletes and successful business people can associate with these words. They have experienced this first hand. They may not be able to explain how or why it works, but they now it exists. I know that Reiki energy exists, because I have felt it flowing through my hands like an intense laser beam.

I choose to live in a world of endless possibilities. So yes, I am reluctant to enter a hospital environment that encourages me to focus on limitations. To go for a CT-PET scan is a choice (from a few months back) that I now make for myself and for those who love me and whom I love in return, because I know that a positive outcome will help us to relax and believe that my cancer is under control for now. And yes, although the scan results may not be completely accurate, I naturally want to know what the current status looks like. Knowing that there may still be some cancer growth lingering and where it is located will help me to refocus my attention on these areas. This is a step-by-step process, not a sprint, not even a marathon run, but an endurance walk, and I am in for the long haul.

Hopefully these words have not come across all "flaky new age", because to me this feels very real. It always has, and it always will. The time has come for me to put aside any lingering reservations and open up completely to this life and "let it rip" (memorable words from the movie Tin Cup). I am ready.

Today's visit to the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital in Amsterdam

I did not forget my appointment today. And Eelkje went with me.

I was pleased with the discussions and outcome so far.

An intake specialist, Willem, met with us first. For the first time I have one person who is responsible for managing/coordinating the whole process. Great.

I then met with a urologist who briefed me on their treatment protocols, which was (as expected) in line with the advice I received back in February. Difference this time was that he presented a complete overview of pros and cons, which were consistent with my own research of recent months, and he actually listended to our questions and answered them.

He performed a cystoscopy. From the four areas that were surgically "scraped" during the TUR, two appeared to be completely healed, one was healed but still looked a little reddish (no concern) and the fourth (the one in the most difficult location, which was probably the one that continued to bleed for a few days back in February), not completely healed. So it is still unclear as to the actual status of that location, i.e. is there any tumor growth active under the surface, and is there any muscle penetration. For me personally, this was a better than expected outcome. I really expected the four wounds to still be not completely healed, as healing wounds have always plagued me in the past. For example, when I was 32 a biopsy was taken from the shin of my right leg, and that wound never fully healed until this past summer.

So what's next? As you know I wanted a CT-PET scan to be made, and an appointment has been set for next week Thursday, October 28. November 2 I have a review appointment with the urologist.

On the morning of the CT-PET scan they will perform a glucose analysis of my blood, so I can finally get a verdict on whether I am diabetic or not. I am guestimating that over the past couple of years I was, but that I am now clear. The CT-PET scan will also contain an experimental extra, which I did not have to request, as it was volunteered by the intake specialist. I won't elaborate on the details, but in order to improve the quality of the scan in the bladder area, they will insert a catheter for the duration of the scans, so that the bladder contents can be continuously flushed clean. It involves the radioactive glucose solution in the blood that concentrates in active areas, but also finds its way directly into the bladder fluids, making it difficult to differentiate the really active areas (the bladder appears more active than it really is).

Even if the CT-PET scan returns negative results, the urologist will still recommend a RETUR and BCG treatment. The RETUR to investigate under the surface of the remaining active area. This comes as no surprise, as it is the standard protocol from the urology side of medicine.

What do I personally expect from the CT-PET scan? I expect one or two potentially active areas above the bladder, and on the one not completely healed spot. With my adopted approach I have always planned 1 year to get myself back to normal weight and full health, and a second year to complete the cancer regression. And so far we are only 8 months into that 24 month period.

What is my profession?

After 59 years I still could not identify which profession was at the heart of my abilities and passion. Until my meditative walk this morning. Was I a golfer, a coach, a trainer, a business consultant, a manager, an engineer, an applied research engineer, a troubleshooter, a prototyper, an IT specialist, a university lecturer... all the professions that have occupied the last 35 years of my life. So what do I have a passion for, what do I really enjoy doing, time and again... information engineering. I love to collect and analyse information, and engineer it into usefull and meaningfull information for clients (including myself). A simple inventory of the activities that I enjoy doing shows that 90% is information engineering. Even when I am meditating, walking, running or crosstraining indoors... one of the reasons that I never get bored is that I am engineering information. And this takes many forms, e.g. playing around with variations in my interval training, focussing on my breathing and body movements, how are my muscles feeling, am I holding tension anywhere, etc. The past 8 months of learning to live with cancer is another classic example, as is this website.

If I have to give it a label, then I am an information engineer in the broadest sense of these two words.

Integrating healing practices into cancer treatments

As a cancer patient I continue the search for new yet reliable information. Particularly in natural cancer treatments including healing practices such as Reiki and Reconnective Healing. The search is difficult. It is challenging to sort out and distil the useful information from the emotional statements, the varying opinions and beliefs, and the "I have the answer but it will cost you money" offerings. I have no problem with someone earning money as a "fair exchange" for their time and effort in sharing valuable information or providing healing services, including coaching and training.

It is very refreshing to come across institutions that offer essential education for free. For example, I have made full use of the food recipes database of the World Cancer Research Fund, and today I discovered some very good educational videos on the Patrick Dempsey Center For Cancer Hope & Healing website. It makes a difference knowing that a successful actor such as Patrick Dempsey sets up such a center in order to give something back to society, and when this center offers many free services to both its clients and to non-clients online.

Through the Patrick Dempsey Center website I also discovered the website for clinical trials, a service of the US national institutes of health, that also includes trials into the effects of nutrition and healing for cancer patients. This database has a simple and effective search function for the user, with access to both national as well as local clinical trials worldwide. Current count is 97,722 trials with locations in 174 countries.

It took me a while, but I have finally stumbled upon an applied research resource that will keep me busy for a while.

How do healing systems work?

One of the current day explanations: reconnective healing, reiki and pranic healing involve working on our bio-energy body or aura (which permeates the physical body, and extends a few inches beyond it) and our chakras (there are seven major chakras in the body, each related to an endocrine gland, each with its specific color). Disease first manifests itself in the aura, before even appearing in the physical body. Energy healing works on the aura level and corrects the blocked or malfunctioning chakras to cure the disease.

For us humans, our hands are the favourite instruments for expressing affection and connecting and allowing energy to flow. Examples are the mother holding her child, friends embracing, lovers caressing, boxing and wrestling, placing of hands on patient, pointing with our finger etc. We also use our feet to kick. The elephant uses its trunk and body. The dog and cat use their tongues and paws, and their teeth and nails.

Our hands are a means to an end. For we also have distance healing where the hands may be used as a personal ritual to get the energy flowing, a kind of a warm up exercise, and the actual distance connection is set up and tuned into by our mind/heart/soul in synergy with each other. The synergy between belief, love, focus, opening up (internal and external), tuning in, cleansing of body, mind and spirit... and strength in numbers (group environments) are all aspects that come to mind.

When I first learnt to play golf as a child, much of my learning came through self experience and watching better players, and training in a group/team environment. When I progressed through my professional careers my degree of success was strongly influenced by my abilities to self-reflect and reflect on how my role-model peers performed, and working in team environments. So if I want to pursue a natural healing path for living with my cancer, then a similar approach is called for. Learning to listen to my body/mind/soul and reflect on my actions and their consequences for myself and my (close) environment. Searching (googling) for other (ex)cancer patients who are discovering new meaning and direction for their lives, and (successfully) pursuing their self-chosen paths. Moving into group environments where I can observe, interact and reflect, such as the Reconnective Healing workshop on Nov 5-7 in Amsterdam.

The previous sentence introduces the term "self-choice". Our ability to coose for ourselves. The questions we ask ourselves strongly influence the decisions/choices we make. Our questions can be driven by fear or by trust/hope/belief (difficult to find the right opposite for fear), and they can be driven by hate or by love, and by anger or by compassion. A lengthy subject in itself, and also at the heart of the ground principles of Maria Montesori's teachings.

Monthly update: September 2010

Discipline and simple guidelines

I have been fortunate over the past 6 months. Sticking to my diet and daily exercise routines has been easy and playfull. But the last 7 days have reminded me of how potential disaster is still lingering just around the corner. Here are some of the warning signs I encountered:

Alice's birthday. I decided to try some of the treats that Harrie had prepared. Small pieces of each. Very tasty, very tempting, yet I restricted myself to small amounts.
Some more intensely flavoured grated cheese in the daily salads.
Tinned tuna (in olive oil) or tinned salmon in just about every salad.
A number of salads and soups that were not prepared/supplemented with lemon juice.
Morning breakfast with some special Amaranth muesli mixed in.
Nibbling nuts, olives and chedar cheese.
Eating more spelt bread with salads and soups (to compensate for burnt calories during more intensive exercise?).
Eating more salads and soups in between the main meals (to compensate for burnt calories during more intensive exercise?).
The late nights are creeping in now and again... social commitments, the new film, book reading.

Each indiscretion in itself falls well within an 80/20 guideline, but when each small indiscretion is added up the resulting sum is an alarming warning signal. Too many processed foods instead of natural foods. Too many neutral/forbidden foods versus recommended foods. There is a clear and measurable shift of boundaries and balance in nutritional intake, not apparent in each indiscretion, but the summary overview tells a clear story. Is there a simple guideline that I can use? Yes. "Less is more" and "When in doubt, don't do it".

And because my exercise routines are increasing in pace each week, it becomes even more challenging to monitor and interprate my body's signals regarding exercise, rest and nutrition.

80/20 rule? 80% alkaline forming - 20% acid forming foods!

A sample video from an interesting series on youtube. Still using Dr. Moerman's guidelines as a base of reference, I can enjoy listening to the more extreme (yet sincere) viewpoints. And there are alot of concepts in this series of videos that match my own thoughts and convictions. The videos are at times crazy, but with over 500 videos to date, I have to smile and love what this guy does. Enjoy!

Well, that was the introduction to his top 10 foods. In the next video he actually gets around to telling us what his top 10 foods recommendations are.

Monthly update: June 2010

Reflecting on what I wrote above 2 long months ago, I feel happy that I recorded my thinking at the time. My insights, thinking and convictions will change with time and hopefully progress towards more balanced and effective ways of living with cancer. There is alot of information out there, and I will just have to stumble along and make my ongoing decisions based on the information and advice at hand. It's great to see how many research projects are now taking place in the area of nutrition, exercise and weight control in relation to cancer and obesity. Yet I can't wait another 5 years for these promising outcomes. I can find ways of getting involved and supporting these research initiatives. In the meantime thinking, learning, feeling and reflecting along the way lead to adjustments in my daily life. This is a time of change.

"Prevention is better than cure" so goes the saying. Alot of energy is focussed on finding and promoting ways to prevent cancer and ways to cure cancer. And there is also the reality of the cancer patient, irrespective of whether the occurrence of cancer could or could not have been prevented, for whom living with cancer and surviving cancer is a reality. Finding and promoting ways to live with and survive cancer is the middle road (between prevention and cure) that the cancer patient is travelling. Not every cancer can be/will be prevented and not every cancer can be/will be cured. I believe that all cancer patients share one common incentive: "Searching for better ways to live with and survive cancer." For some reason this reminds me of the emotional state of “flow” as once described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: “The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

Monthly update: July 2010

Among the many decisions I have been faced with was my decision regarding treatment(s). For some people the treatment decisions are clear-cut, but for me they were not. For example, although I had neglected my body for many years (what was I thinking of?!) I have intuitively always been more geared toward whole foods to maintain my health, and suddenly I was being told by my urologist that my best chance for survival lay in an arduous course of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation. I found myself having to do some deep soul-searching, and I had to do it quickly. On the other hand, if I had always followed a more traditional Western medical path, putting full trust in my doctor with no questions asked, I may have found weighing the options of any type of adjunctive approach (like the Moerman diet or yoga or reiki or martial arts healing) to be confusing and overwhelming.

My letter to my brother and sister-in-law on April 6, 2010

Here is a very compact version of my current thinking on cancer and how to cure it.

Vitamin C can have a toxic effect on cancer cells, either in synergy with other elements, or in sufficiently high dosages that are difficult to achieve orally, but can be achieved intravenously.

Spontaneous regression keeps popping up in studies, often preceded by “starvation” and/or “fever incident”. A body that is suffering from starvation has little to offer the cancer cells. In rare cases the cancer cells have themselves died from starvation. The extra impulse of a fever incident is that the little remaining nourishment is claimed by the immune system to fight the infection, which effectively leaves nothing over for the cancer cells. The cancer cells die from starvation.

Cancer growth can be slowed down/halted by a healthy body and immune system.

A healthy body and immune system can prevent the occurrence of cancer.

Tumors have been known to disappear within hours. Killing the cancer cells that then have to be flushed away takes time, so the process here is probably one in which the cancer cells are converted back into healthy cells.

Depending on which toxic elements reach the cancer cells, cells are either completely destroyed or part of the cell (microbes) are destroyed enabling the cancer cell to become a healthy cell again.

A balanced diet such as the Moerman diet is an excellent way to partially starve the cancer cells, thereby slowing down their further growth or halting the growth completely. With perseverance starvation can also lead towards regression, but the complete elimination of the cancer requires something extra (e.g. intravenous vitamin C). When people stop with the Moerman diet, even after many years, there is a good chance that the cancer will reappear.

Yesterday I started on stage 1 of the Johanna Brandt grape cure. It is the basic cure, but instead of water I drink Japanese green tea with lemon juice. The tea will not be consumed with the grape mush, but after say 1 hour, so that the concentrated grape juice is given every opportunity to reach the cancer cells undiluted. I try to consume the grape mush every 2 hours over a 10-12 hour period. And no additional vitamine C supplements, which work differently on the cancer cells, and would work against the starvation principle in the grape cure. The focus is on a daily cycle in which after 12 hours of no nourishment, the body is offered the grape mush/juice. As my body starts to lose weight during the progression of stage 1, the supply of glucose from my body fat for the cancer cells will diminish, gradually making the way clear for the glucose provided by the grapes. The grape glucose then functions as a Trojan horse, also bringing toxic elements into the cancer cells. Perseverance is required for as long as it takes to effectively kill the existing cancer cells, which could be 2-6 months depending on how much cancer there is in the body, and of course how overweight someone is.

This means that I will probably carry out stage 1 in iterations, each iteration lasting for say 3-4 weeks followed by a rest week in stage 2. The rest week is used to build up any deficiencies that may have occurred e.g. B12, iodine or sulphur deficiencies.

And the final progression through stages 2 -> 3 -> 4 is a build up back to the Moerman diet.

The best case scenario is a full regression during the next 2-6 months, and the worst case scenario is containment of the cancer through a healthy lifestyle and Moerman diet. In the Moerman diet I already apply the daily 12 hour fasting followed by vitamin C/lemon juice dissolved in warm water first thing in the morning.

Starvation of the cancer cells can be achieved in stage 1 and also in the Moerman diet without actually starving the whole body, which is a last resort.

And the effects of fever can be induced through e.g. intensive physical exercise which raises the body temperature and also claims nourishment that would otherwise find its way to the cancer cells. So in stage 1 the perfect moments to consume the grape mush are first thing in the morning after the 12 hour fasting period, and immediately after any physical exercise such as an hour’s brisk walk.

Love to you both,

Iñaki and Eelkje

My letter to friends on April 1, 2010

Since Eelkje and I became aware of my bladder cancer a lot has happened with us. And with you as well. My heartfelt thanks for all the cards, emails, telephone calls, health drinks : ) and all the positive thoughts and feelings.

The past few weeks have seen significant improvements in my physical and mental health. I love the Moerman diet, and I am in contact with my body again. My old Reiki and yoga exercises are once again part of my daily activities. And the morning walk in the woods is beneficial in many ways.

The realisation that I had cancer came as a shock, yet instead of triggering fear it triggered an awakening. Instead of a fear for cancer, my focus was an awareness of my desire to enjoy my life with Eelkje, family and friends. Also a realisation that the past 10 years have been a downward spiral health wise with a long trail of incidents e.g. Gavin's psychosis, Meniere, lung embolism, recurring erysipelas and antibiotics, unable to walk without crutch support this past year. In short my immune system has been steadily breaking down. So when bladder cancer was discovered, I was convinced that the extent of cancer could well have reached or was beginning to appear in other areas such as kidneys, liver and stomach. With my 145kg I am in fact surprised that diabetes has not arisen yet. So I hope that you understand why my focus has not been on the bladder cancer but on rebuilding my health and immune system.

I am convinced that a fully functioning immune system, assisted by some extra triggers, is capable of sending cancer into regression.

Did I/do I have any fears? Yes. The fear that operations, chemo treatments and radiation treatments further weaken my immune system to the point that there is no resistence to cancer appearing and /or developing further in place such as the kidneys, liver and stomach.

Today I went for a control visit to the urologist. But instead of the expected control, all he wanted to do was plan the next operation. After raising a couple of questions it became crystal clear that his intentions were to remove the bladder and give me radiation treatment. From his experience it was clear that he suspected the cancer had already reached the stomach. He also provided me with copies of two reports he had prepared a month ago after the operation, which confirmed this. When I asked him for alternatives should I decide not to have the bladder removed and not to undergo radiation treatment, his answer was that he could not help me and that I should look for another physician. So I terminated my patient relationship with this urologist.

My decision is to continue on the path that I am already travelling. To continue building up my immune system, to search out some synergetic triggers, and to rely on the healing intelligence of my body and mind. If you recall, having undergone the first bladder surgery I was open to BCG therapy. I supported the initial surgery, because I saw in this a huge trigger to my immune system, and I experienced it as such during the 2-3 weeks after the surgery. And the BCG treatment would also have been a trigger to my immune system, be it from the outside in and therefore limited to the residual surface cancer.

So next week I will talk with my doctor, and see if there is a specialist who will respect my decision and is willing to monitor my progress over the coming years. And if that falls outside the medical protocols, then so be it.

My convictions? That Dr. Cornelis Moerman achieved a beneficial synergy between the nutritional elements in his diet. That vitamine C plays an important role both as a trigger to the immune system as well as facilitating synergy between desirable processes in the immune system. And that it will take more than just a good diet to get through the coming years.

A warm hug,

Love,

Iñaki

My letter to my brother and sister-in-law on March 26, 2010

I decided to email you rather than phone you with the latest news here, so that you would be sitting down. Gavin was informed yesterday by Eelkje and myself.

A couple of weeks back I underwent a first surgery for bladder cancer. In a weeks time I will go for a check up and discuss eventual follow-up operations/therapies with the urologist who performed the surgery.

At the moment I am probably fitter than I have been for a number of years. Changed eating pattern, regular outdoor exercise and a conviction that I will regain my good health and that the cancer will in due course take a back-door exit.

I have had plenty of opportunity to step into this new arena and to immerse myself in the wealth of knowledge and expertise available. So my optimism is not based on blind hope.

If the bladder cancer had not appeared on the scene, then it would not have been long before the lung emboli that I suffered in 2004 would have been followed by other ailments. For the past year I have had difficulty walking without the support of a crutch, obesity and diabetes were lurking in the shadows, all signs of a deteriorating immune system. Anyway, these symptoms and others have disappeared over the past couple of weeks through a well thought out diet and exercise and a dose of positive thinking. The vitality is back again.

Until April 1, when I have a check up with the urologist who operated on me, I have no clear answers regarding how to proceed. I have a lot of options and alternatives in front of me, and many more questions that I hope to get answered over the next two weeks. But it will be the 1st week in April when I make the next set of decisions regarding how to move on.

In the meantime all constructive feedback is welcome.

Love from Eelkje, Gavin and myself.

Iñaki

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