Welcome to the Rethinking Cancer Newsletter 22.
The current rage in conventional cancer treatment, according to a recent New York Times front page story, is hot chemo, “a treatment patients liken to being filleted, disemboweled and then bathed in hot poison.” The grueling 8 hour plus surgical protocol had been an obscure procedure used mostly for rare cancers of the appendix. Now, with increasing pressure to attract patients and boost income, more major medical centers are offering this very expensive, very risky option to people with more common cancers, like ovarian and colorectal – and desperate patients are lining up!
While critics proclaim there’s no scientific evidence the technique actually works, proponents cite one study in which the usual 12.6 months survival time almost doubled for some patients, though 8% of the participants died – miserable deaths in some cases -as a result of the treatment.
Something is terribly wrong with this picture! To us long time supporters of non-toxic, biologically sound therapies that offer the possibility of improved quality of life and long-term survival, this whole idea is exactly the wrong direction. But what is most disturbing is that doctors are still so bereft of fresh thinking, so locked into the same limited choices, that many patients come to regard the “hot chemo bath” as their last, best hope. The primary goal of our website and F.A.C.T.has always been to educate people about all their viable medical options. Clearly, there is much work to do!
New Video Presentation: Doris Sokosh: Recovered Breast Cancer Case History. Doris is one of the long-term recovered patients featured in the film Rethinking Cancer and author of the cookbook,Triumph Over Cancer.
We’ve gone to China! Check us out on Youku, the Chinese version of YouTube.
To your health!
Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (F.A.C.T.)
P.S. Ruth Sackman’s book, Rethinking Cancer, is an excellent overview of the comprehensive, non-toxic approach, as is the film DVD, either of which you might consider giving to your doctor! As always, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Bug Off! (Naturally)
Insects are creatures of Nature and, therefore, have every right to exist. However, as fellow inhabitants on this earth, we humans have a right not to be bitten! Here are some natural ways to repel those pesky bugs without harming them or us: READ MORE
New Research:
Healthy Lifestyle Changes Vital for Preventing Cancer (duh!)
About 340,000 cancer cases could be prevented every year in the United States if Americans ate healthful diets, exercised regularly, limited alcohol consumption and made other lifestyle changes. This is according to findings released in February of this year by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in conjunction with World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). The report estimates that significant reductions in common cancers could be achieved, including breast (38 percent of cases), stomach (47 percent of cases) and colon (45 percent of cases). READ MORE
Out of Step?
5,117 – Average number of steps taken by Americans per day
7,168 – Number of daily steps taken by Japanese
34% – Americans who are obese
3% – Japanese who are obese
Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise October 2010
Nobody Knows It But Me
There’s a place that I travel
When I want to roam,
And nobody knows it but me
The roads don’t go there
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me
It’s far, far away
And way, way afar
It’s over the moon and the sea
And wherever you’re going
That’s wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me
– Patrick O’Leary
Sound familiar? Patrick O’Leary was a copywriter at the Detroit ad agency promoting General Motors. The poem was read as a voiceover by actor James Garner in the TV ad campaign for the 2002 Chevy Tahoe. (Picture sweeping views of car winding through spectacular mountain roads, music swelling in the background as narrator speaks…..) The poem became wildly popular, to the great surprise of its author and GM! People said they found a unique comfort in it and were convinced it was the work of a great poet like Robert Frost or Walt Whitman. No word, however, if, therefore, they bought more Chevy Tahoes…
Fruitsicles
If you don’t have plastic molds (available at most housewares stores), just pour one of the following purées into four to six paper cups and put them in the freezer. After an hour or so, insert a wooden stick into each cup – the mixture will have solidified enough that the stick should stay upright – and continue to freeze until totally solid. To remove the pops from their molds, run them under cool running water for a few seconds to loosen. Then unmold and enjoy a cool, lick-able treat!
Strawberry/Basil
Purée (in a blender or food processor):
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
1-2 tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup, to taste
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
enough water (preferably distilled) to get things going
Cherry/Vanilla
Purée:
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1-2 tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup, to taste
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
water as needed
Peach/Ginger
Purée:
2 cups fresh peaches, unpeeled if organic
1-2 tablespoon raw honey or maple syrup, to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
about 1/4 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
water as needed
