Chemotherapy and Holistic “Medicine”: suburban

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Chemotherapy and Holistic “Medicine”

Sep 18, 2009 12:55

Recently, there has been a spate of deaths related to cancer, such as Mary Travers, Farrah Fawcett, and Patrick Swayze to name but a few of the most prominent cases. The Patrick Swayze case is remarkable in that he survived the fight against pancreatic cancer for so long. Pancreatic cancer does not have a very good track record with or without treatments, and unfortunately the life expectancy is only about 5 to 8 months. However that number is a statistic that needs to be reexamined in light of new treatments. (http://www.pancreatic.org/site/c.htJYJ8MPIwE/b.891917/k.5123/Prognosis_of_Pancreatic_Cancer.htm) That Mr. Swayze survived for twenty-two months with the disease is promising, though I do not know what treatments he may or may not have received. Suzanne Somers, who also had a struggle with Breast Cancer, offers that Mr. Swayze was poisoned by chemotherapy. If chemotherapy was indeed used, and the probability is very high, then yes, he indeed was poisoned. That’s what chemotherapy is. That’s why there are side effects. To say that chemotherapy should not be used is irresponsible at this point until further non-chemical alternatives can be found, tested, and approved.

I know very little about pancreatic cancer, except that it affected my family doctor, one of my uncles, and countless other people around the world. Personally, I lucked out in the cancer lottery by only getting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is supposedly easy to treat and cure comparatively (though I’m on my fourth recurrence and the “cure/treat” claim has yet to be proven to me). I know about toxicity and toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs, as well as the detriments of radiation therapy. I haven’t had any major surgeries, just minor ones to grab lymph nodes. I know how the drugs made me feel, and I know what the drugs did to my body. I am still alive after seven years thanks to the chemotherapy drugs and the skilled doctors who performed countless procedures on me. My lungs and heart are weakened, my eyesight has degenerated, my bones more brittle, but those have not only to do with the countless drugs but also the effects of aging, albeit that aging process has been sped up. However, if you put aside that, I know that I am alive and I thank chemotherapy for this opportunity.

I do not love chemotherapy. In fact, I dread sitting in the comfortable leather chair with the liquid poison entering into my system. Cancer needs to be defeated once and for all, and while there are effective weapons to do it, it creates a “scorched body” as it eliminates all reproductive cells. Research has been going on for years to find better ways to cure the body, and I do agree with the Holisticators out there that natural means are needed to keep the body healthy, I do not see those natural means as any thing but a placebo right now. It is important to stay healthy and eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of filtered, clean water. Don’t put any more toxins in your body than necessary (which makes breathing, eating, and drinking in our world fairly precarious). New methods, however, are being tested daily. Doctors are increasingly searching for ways to lessen the toxicity while maximizing the effectiveness. Vaccines, immunotherapy, monoclonal antibodies (also immunotherapy), stem cells, ways to boost the immune system are currently expanding and making huge exponential steps. The treatments in the seventies have become third tier options, and the options of two years ago are being replaced with newer, more effective drugs or treatments. However, holistic medicine is not anywhere near the top of board-certified doctors’ lists. They may encourage use of these therapies as adjutant or complementary therapies, but by no means would a reasonable, logical, or sane person suggest that they be used alone.

During one of my previous recurrences, I was advised to “heal myself” with no other explanation. I was also advised to bring more lavender into my life. I am not sure what lavender would do other than possibly unblock a chakra or two, and I’m not entirely sure which chakra is connected to my lymphoma. I HAVE meditated. In fact, I meditate as much as I can. I do believe that Eastern Medicine and sagacity of the mystics has its place in healing and as preventative measures, but the facts are firmly in Western Medicine’s corner for the curative aspects when dealing with life-threatening disease. You can have it both ways if you deal with it in a logical fashion. Pray all you want, but not for a miracle. It doesn’t happen that way. If it did, we wouldn’t need doctors at all, and health insurance would rely on how powerful your deity is. However, I’m not saying don’t pray, either. It’s as good as meditation for preventative medicine.

So while Suzanne Somer’s particular point of crazy is true, Patrick Swayze WAS poisoned by chemotherapy, as true to its purpose, but coffee enemas, juicing, and jumping on a personal trampoline are not ways to cure or treat cancer. Crazy is not a treatment. Neither is placing a crystal over the affected area, applying oils, or meditating on a cure. It’s a surefire way to increase your odds of dying a drawn-out, painful death. Don’t accept one doc’s diagnosis, either, go to a second doctor for options, but be sure to know quackery from medicine. Holistic medicine might not be as bad as snake oil, but the way it’s pushed it sure does resemble it.

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You can follow me on Twitter @derylykt. Waldorf’s other blog, which contains some other things but is mostly just reposts of his Suburban Panic junk, at http://fauver.madpage.com/wordpress. It’s not nearly as exciting there as it is here, though.