Challenging Chemotherapy

Many people diagnosed with cancer are "treated" with cytotoxic (that is, cell killing) chemotherapy (that is, treatment with chemicals or drugs). Commonly people refer to this treatment as having "chemo".

It is important to be aware that cell killing drugs injected into a person with cancer are distributed throughout the body and do kill many cells that are perfectly healthy along with some of the targeted cancer cells. This is largely why people react in such a toxic way and frequently experience profound nausea and vomiting, hair loss and other less obvious problems.

According to Gordon Zubrod, M.D., (a researcher for the National Cancer Institute), chemotherapy is considered to be highly effective only in these 10 types of cancers:

• Burkitt’s lymphoma
• Choriocarcinoma
• Acute lymphocytic leukemia
• Hodgkin’s disease
• Lymphoscarcoma
• Embryonal testicular cancer
• Wilms’ Tumor
• Ewing’s sarcoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Retinoblastoma

Apart from testicular cancer, all of these malignancies are rare in adults. These are not the only cancers that can be treated by chemotherapy of course, it all depends on the type of cancer, how early the cancer is caught, what other measures are taken to treat the cancer, and so on.

Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D., one of the leading researchers in alternative cancer therapies, and author of the book "Questioning Chemotherapy" states that when an oncologist (cancer specialist) speaks of a "response" to chemotherapy, that should not be taken as an implication that "increased survival" is probable. Dr. Moss urges cancer patients to ask these questions before beginning chemotherapy:

1. What is being promised: short-term tumor shrinkage, or actual life-prolongation?
2. What effect will chemo have on quality of life?
3. What is the cost?

I have seen far too many people treated with chemo who should not have had the treatment. Unfortunately, in the shocked state newly diagnosed people often experience, it is far too easy for doctors to lead patients down a particular path or to make referals to their oncologist colleagues who will offer very predictable patterns of treatment.

It is worth recalling that when oncologists were asked if they would themselves have the treatments they regularly prescribe for others the overwhelming response was a clear "no". Nor would they use the treatments on their family members. This should make a person think twice before resorting to the oncologists and their toxic treatments.

Regretably, after the damage caused by chemo has been done, alternative therapies face a much more difficult task. First, the chemo damage must be adequately dealt with before maximum benefits can be expected. Why do people first go down the orthodox route and then try the alternative path when orthodoxy has nothing more to try? It is because of the dominance in health care that orthodoxy enjoys. It’s a pity, because it makes much more sense to tackle the problem in the reverse order, using orthodoxy’s destructive techniques only if absolutely necessary.

I have previously explained that I don’t support extensive immunization or vaccination programs. They are something people of western society have been "sold" and the marketing of vaccinations is no different to the marketing of other components of western medicine. It claims to have strong scientific justification but this is largely wrong. Add to this the known and unknown harms associated with vaccination and the lies to downplay these, the lies used to cover up its failure rate and the lies that claim it is the only hope of civilization and I find it all a bit too much.

The average doctor or specially licensed nurse administering vaccinations actually knows very little about what they are doing. They may have read the package insert, they will have been told by a trusted source that vaccination is essential or important or safe. Uncritically, without actually researching the practice, they will then go ahead and not merely administer the vaccinations, but actively promote their use. As with pharmaceuticals, they become the happless sales force for quite dangerous products, in the guise of health professionals.

Have you ever wondered why a government agency spends so much time and energy (not to mention tax dollars) trying to convince you to get a flu vaccination every year? Is it entirely motivated by a commitment to achieving your best health outcomes? If so, then why don’t we ever hear any government officials urging everyone to take vitamin C and other nutritional supplements or herbal remedies of proven efficacy?

Every year in the U.S. an official flu vaccine media blitz is funded by the Department of Health and Human services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, the CDC oversees a National Immunization Program (NIP).

So why exactly aren’t these officials urging U.S. citizens to take vitamin C and other supplements that have been shown to help reduce the risk of picking up colds and influenza? That’s simple, they don’t have any of that to promote, but they do have millions of vaccine units to move, so peddle them they must. You see, most flu vaccines are purchased and distributed by the government. So the NIP isn’t in the health business; it’s in the flu vaccine business.

Remember the message in September? The HHS and CDC officials were saying that the elderly, infants, people with chronic health problems and health workers should all get vaccinated. When it became obvious last month that about 70 million flu shots will be available in the U.S. this season however, health officials changed their recommendation to include everyone.

Well almost everyone. Children under six months of age, those who are allergic to eggs and those who have had poor reactions to flu shots in the past should not be vaccinated.

Interestingly, in a February 2005 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases compared flu-related mortality among older people to rates of immunization. Can you guess what they found? During the past quarter century, immunization rates for the elderly have climbed substantially while the elderly flu-related mortality rate has stayed the same. The researchers concluded that observational studies substantially overestimate vaccination benefit.

Before rushing out to be vaccinated for the flu, remember that the low effectiveness found in the study of the elderly is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vaccination’s failure to deliver on the marketed benefits. Also remember that flu shots contain additives you may not want in your body. In addition to strains of dead flu virus, each shot contains:

• Thimerosal (a mercury derivative added as a preservative)
• Formaldehyde (to kill viruses)
• Aluminum (to promote antibody response)
• Ethylene glycol (also known as antifreeze, used in vaccines as a disinfectant)
• You can ask your doctor about the FluMist nasal spray vaccine (which avoids an injection), but it’s much more expensive than a flu shot and it contains living flu virus. Do you really want a living virus sprayed straight into your head?

The flu shot is designed to prepare the immune system to fight only very specific virus strains. But you can broadly prepare and strengthen your immune system without an injection by taking these steps: 

• Exercise regularly
• Eat a balanced diet of nutritious, fresh, whole foods
• Manage your stress levels
• Get the right amount of quality sleep
• And you can further prepare with proven immune system enhancers, such as echinacea, vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene; all of which have been shown to help fight colds and flu. Selenium is also an effective flu fighter, as is zinc and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an amino acid that stimulates your body to produce the powerful antioxidant enzyme glutathione.

Think long and hard about the flu vaccination before rolling up like a drone to be done. Be sure to consider the alternatives and the downside to vaccination.

Can ginseng help prevent or lessen the symptoms of the common cold? A joint team from the University of Western Ontario and the University of Alberta set out to answer this question with an interesting research project. They found that ginseng extracts "have the potential to modulate both natural and acquired immune responses."

To test this potential against the common cold, researchers recruited nearly 280 subjects between the ages of 18 and 65. To qualify for the study, subjects had to confirm that they’d had at least two colds in the year before the trial began. Subjects were divided into two groups: 130 received 200 mg of ginseng extract twice each day, and 148 received placebo.

At the conclusion of the four-month trial (which started at the beginning of flu and cold season), 10 percent of the ginseng group reported two or more colds. That percentage was more than doubled in the placebo group.

The average number of days in which cold symptoms were reported was less than 11 in the ginseng group, but more than 16 in the placebo group. Using a four-point scale to score symptoms, those in the ginseng group had a significantly lower overall score compared to the placebo group.

In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that the extract used was a standardized extract of North American ginseng in a product called Cold-fX, produced by CV Technologies, a company that’s associated with the University of Alberta.

Full details may be found here: Efficacy of an Extract of North American Ginseng Containing Poly-Furanosyl-Pyranosyl-Saccharides for Preventing Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol. 173, No. 9, 10/25/05.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society last year, researchers enrolled nearly 200 elderly subjects to receive either 200 mg of North American ginseng extract or a placebo twice each day during flu season. At the end of the season, researchers found the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza to be considerably higher in the placebo group than among those treated with ginseng. They also noted that the treatment was well tolerated.

Full details may befound here: A Placebo-Controlled Trial of a Proprietary Extract of North American Ginseng (CVT-E002) to Prevent Acute Respiratory Illness in Institutionalized Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, Vol. 52, No. 5, May 2004.

It is good to see sound studies being published that don’t simply repeat ad nauseam the flase and misleading results promulgated by pharmaceutical company funded research. You must, of course, still apply your critical judgement to determine if the disclosed commercial associations may have influenced the research adversely.

What I appreciate is that the herbs being used and possibly promoted here, do not cause the dangerous side effects that their pharmaceutical competitors do. However, do review the Herb Health Guide for our important safety notes regarding ginseng use.

One of the most serious threats to health in modern developed societies is the western health care system. I kid you not. The evidence is rather hidden but not that difficult to uncover if you know what to look for and what questions to ask.

Do you know the rates of iatrogenic (doctor caused) mortality and morbidity? What about the documented drug error rate inside accredited hospitals? Or the rate of hospital acquired infections? There are many hundreds of such questions and the answers would give any intelligent person cause to pause at the use of "health" in the phrase "health care system".

In so-called less well developed, or more correctly just less industrialized, societies the health care systems are sometimes far more worthy of the name. I was very impressed with the essential soundness of the health advice provided in an article appearing in the main newspaper serving the Kingdom of Swaziland, The Swazi Observer.

This is not your typical American, British or Australian newspaper article. It is not a predictable piece extolling the claimed virtues of some new offering from a multinational pharmaceutical company. It is not talking about safe topics like colds or arthritis. It is not seeking to capture reader share with sensational rubbish about hypothetical bird flu pandemics. And it is not waffling on with fluff about the latest "discovered" benefit of some herb that has actually been used for centuries.

No, this is a well reported article about the health needs of people with HIV and AIDS. And it is brim full of high quality, sound and practical health promoting information. There is no hidden agenda to sell something and there is enough quality information to be really useful.

What is more, with only very minor qualification, I regard it to be equally useful health advice for anyone, with or without positive HIV status, living in any western developed nation. So make the time and take a few minutes to read the following article. It is titled: Are you HIV positive? and was written by Glory Mavuso.

Let thy food be thy medicine
SOME people living wth HIV are leading healthy lives for long periods.

Some of them, especially adults, have remained healthy for over 14 years after contracting the virus.

It is still unknown why some survive long, while others do not.

However, information gathered from the Swaziland Aids Support Organisation (SASO) somewhat gives answers.

"To a larger extent they survive because of support from family and friends; little stress; enough money to buy medication; low exposure to the virus; early medical treatment for infections; traditional medical treatment; gentle exercise and healthy eating. If you are living wth the virus, you can use good food as medicine. If you are not sick, appropriate food may help keep you strong for a long time. If you are sick, the right food may help you get well," says a member of the organisation, who preferred anonymity.

It was also gathered that HIV positive people might have problems with digesting food.

"Their digestive system tends not to work properly and, as such, they have difficulty absorbing what their bodies need from whatever they eat. They also have difficulty with eating. All this leads to serious weight loss," she adds.

Malnutrition, which is caused by lack of healthy food, is often the cause of death for such people.

"Digestion begins in the mouth, so remember to eat slowly and chew your food well. Listen to your body. It can tell you what food it needs. If you feel uncomfortable after eating a particular kind of food, then it is better not to eat it again. Listen to your body, love, and nourish it," says another member.

Traditional African food can give one a healthy diet. Foods bought in shops, are often less healthy. To eat a healthy diet, one must avoid the following types of foods;

Foods that are processed

Processed foods are those that are changed in food factories. The more the food is changed, the less healthy. This is because many of the nutrients in food are destroyed during the processing. For example, when fruit and vegetables are canned, most of the health-giving nutrients are destroyed.

Refined foods

Refined foods have some of the essential nutrients removed when they are processed. For example, to get white rice, the husks and germ of whole rice grains is removed; to get refined maize-meal, the husks and germ of the grains are removed before the crop is milled.

Refining removes the protein, vitamins, and fibre from foods. Fibre is important for bowels to function properly.

Foods that contain preservatives, artificial flavours, and colourants

Preservatives are chemicals added to food to stop it from rotting. Most processed meat and foods in bottles and tins contain preservatives. Artificial flavours are also chemicals added to food to change its taste.

The chemicals are harmful to the body and may interfere with digestion and stress the immune system. For example, if the food contains chemicals such as tartrazine or monosodium glutamate, it is better not to eat that food.

Canned foods

Canning foods involves heating it at high temperatures. The heating causes the food to lose many nutrients. Canned foods usually contain preservatives. Canned fish, meat, and beans are healthier than other canned food because canning destroys many of the vitamins but not the protein or minerals.

Junk food

Junk foods are made in factories. They contain preservatives, artificial flavours, and colourants as well as few nutrients other than refined sugar, starch, and fat. Cool drinks, sweets, chocolates, and chips are examples of junk food.

NO GO ‘ZONES’

Foods grown with pesticides

Many farmers use pesticides to grow their crops. Pesticides are poisons that kill pests and diseases which damage crops. The pesticides often go into the food or remain in it after harvest. Try to buy fruit and vegetables grown without pesticides, especially those from farmers and home gardens.

Alcohol

Do not drink alcohol excessively because such can have an adverse effect on the body. It prevents the body from using nutrients in the consumed food, stresses the digestive system, and stops the immune system from working properly. Beer and other alcoholic drinks made in large factories contain large amounts of alcohol. Home-made traditional African beer contains less alcohol.

Getting the nutrients you need

Water

Water makes about 70 percent of the body. If you do not drink enough water, you can have problems with every part of your body. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Spice teas are a good way of drinking water.

Vitamins and minerals

There are at least 17 different vitamins and 14 minerals. Each has a special function in the body. The body cannot work properly if anyone is missing. As the immune system weakens, the body’s need for vitamins and minerals increases.

Vitamins and minerals positive people are often short of; deficiency symptoms and treatment.

If you are tired, confused, and have anemia, numbness, nerve problems, ringing in the ears, dementia, and memory problems, you probably have a shortage or deficiency in vitamin B12.

You must eat lots of foods that contain vitamin B12 such as seafood, liver, kidney, heart, sardines, whole grains, tuna, yogurt, eggs, cheese, meat, and chicken.

Proteins

Proteins build and repair the body. With HIV and AIDS, the body has an extra need for protein. Proteins are sourced from plants and animals.

Protein combination

Food combine with

legumes: lentils, beans , peas grains, nuts, seeds

Grains: rice, maize barley, oats wheat, rye, sorghum, millet legumes, milk products

Nuts and seeds legumes, milk products

Example of complete protein meals;

Brown bread with milk, brown bread with beans, beans or peas with maize kernels, brown rice or millet.

Meat

Meat is a good source of protein and contains Zinc and Iron. People with HIV and Aids may find meat difficult to digest. Minced meat is easy to digest, but is more exposed to bacteria.

Organ meats – heart, liver, kidneys, tripe, blood and gut- contain the same nutrients like meat. Liver, especially, is an excellent source of many nutrients.

Poultry- Chicken and turkey is a good source of protein, fat, and minerals, and is easier to digest than meat.

Dairy Products

Dairy products that are cultured, such as sour milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese, are the best. Hard, yellow cheese and milk are more difficult to digest than cultured dairy products. Avoid processed cheese spreads and wedges. Avoid canned milk.

Fish

Fish is a good source of protein. It is easy to digest and contains good fat as well as minerals.

Seafood

Seafood is a good source of easily digestible protein. It contains minerals, especially zinc and copper, for instance, oysters.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are starches and sugars which provide the body with energy and are cheap and easy to find. Foods rich in carbohydrates are; fruit, grains (maize, wheat, millet, sorghum, rice barley, rye, oats), nuts, seeds, sugars, potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams and dry legumes (beans, peas, lentils).

Fruit

Fruit is easy to digest and contains natural sugars as well as many vitamins and minerals. Steam and mash fruit if you have sores in your mouth or your body is cold. Fruit cleans the inside of the body. Dried fruit is rich in nutrients, easy to digest, and good for gaining weight e.g raisins.

Grains

Grains build the body and contain important vitamins and minerals. Eat a variety of grains such as rice, maize, millet, sorghum, oats, barley, wheat and rye.

Sugars

Sugars that are natural and unrefined, such as honey and molasses, also contain minerals and vitamins. Eat sugars in small amounts, however, you may have problems with candida, which is a fungus that feeds on sugars.

Candida, which is also called thrush or yeast, infects the mouth, digestive tract, and vagina. Avoid sugar if you have candida.

Fats and oil

Fats and oil are good sources of energy. They help the body to absorb some of the vitamins. The body uses fat to make other chemicals it needs to work properly.

Fats and oils are good for gaining weight. Good sources of fat and oil are meat, chicken, coconut, avocado, peanut butter, olives, seeds and nuts.

As the immune system of people living with HIV and Aids weakens, the body needs greater amounts of essential fatty acids because of difficulty with fat digestion and they increase chances of infection.

Skin problems can be a symptom of shortage of essential fatty acids in the diet. Excess fat also causes heart, liver and digestive problems. Diarrhoea can be worsened, or caused by too much fat. Avoid eating fried foods.

Using food to control your body temperature

Normal body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius. HIV lowers the body temperature. This is caused by frequent infection, side effects of drugs, incorrect diet, and toxins.

To raise your body temperature, use warming spices: garlic, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon.

Also eat foods with lots of protein such as meat, fish chicken, and chicken soup. Eat steamed rather than cold and raw foods.

Garlic

Garlic strengthens the immune system. It helps fight infection caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. Eat garlic every day to prevent and fight diseases which come with HIV and AIDS.

Food remedies for digestive problems

Weight loss, malnutrition, and wasting

Serious weight loss is a problem for many people living with HIV and AIDS. This is caused by HIV infection, other infections, and medical treatments. Your body needs extra nutrients to fight-off infection.

Weight loss is also caused by not eating enough food for your body’s needs. This can be the result of nausea, a sore mouth, no appetite, diarrhoea, vomiting, poverty, and depression.

With Aids, the body may lose it’s ability to absorb nutrients properly. It is not clear why this is so.

Foods to give you weight

Avocados, coconut, full-cream milk, or milk powder, yogurt, soya products, cheese, meat, fish, chicken, peanut butter, nuts and seeds, dried fruit, eggs, beans lentils, potatoes, sweet potatoes, banana, olives, cassava, millet, sorghum, oats, barley, wheat, and maize.

Ways to help gain weight

* To help digestion, squeeze fresh lemon juice to fatty foods like meat, chicken, and nuts.

* To increase your appetite and help digestion, use spices in food. To help the absorption of fats, add the grated skin of oranges and lemons to fatty foods.

* Eat many small meals a day.

* Drink between meals, not with meals.

Positive thinking

Positive thoughts that create love, joy, and laughter produce substances in the body that help the immune system to work well. Negative thoughts that develop anger, hatred, fear, and sadness stress the immune system.

If you think living with HIV means a death sentence, then it will be just like that. But if you believe you will be strong and healthy, then there is a chance that you will be.

Belief and hope

Have hope. Believe that you can live a healthy life. Think of love, light and God. Listen and talk to Him in whatever way you do. It does not matter what religion you follow. Know that your God will love, guide, and protect you. Think of a good future. Others have done so and remained strong.

NB: Some of the information sourced from Swaziland Aids Support Organisation (SASO) and Network of African People living with HIV and Aids (NAP+).

The article may be found at http://www.observer.org.sz/main.asp?id=13946&Section=main

Everyone, especially westerners, must ensure that accumulated toxins are removed from their body and any and all allergens must be avoided if the immune system is to perform optimally. After herbal cleansing and addition of immune boosting herbs and nutritional supplements (vitamins and minerals) careful attention should be paid to the elimination of allergens, especially food allergies.

Since gluten bearing foods (wheat, rye, oats and barley), soy based foods and dairy are very common food allergens I would strongly advise avoiding these until their tollerance is thoroughly demonstrated. Some shellfish should also be approached with caution.

With these riders addressed, I would say that the advice given to the residents of Swaziland could be followed by anyone with good health effects. Gloria Mavuso’s sources have plenty of "in-the-trenches" experience from which to draw and they are not playing commercial games. For them it is about quality and quantity of life and death. Enjoy your day.