Asbestos and Lung Cancer

Having spent years as a child in Wittenoom, my father a Miner and my Mother had a house full with 4 children, and many of my Uncles came to live with us and work in the mine. My Mother looked after us all and washed all the guy's work clothes, they were of course heavy with asbestos dust, which could not be avoided. We of course were all heavily contaminated. My father passed away from asbestos related disease several years ago now and my Mother is currently fighting asbestos disease and of course had the constant worry of what might happen to us all. So, I think I understand the constant worry it is to have a Death Threat in your past. I came to believe that Prevention was the only way forward for me. I had to take the worry out of it.

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I will try to put forward as many of the traditional approaches as possible. As I believe that it is quality of life that is important so it seems logical to me that anything, which may enhance or improve that quality is worth consideration.

Every creature is different in make-up and so are herbs, some of the herb chemistry is dangerous if used without a proper understanding of not only the chemistry of the herb, but also the synergistic effects of the chemistry entering each very individual body. For example, you may find one person that may have thin blood, so to administer herbs which thin blood may not be the correct or safe approach. Even though these herbs are so highly recommended by many untrained “herbalists”, it is in fact dangerous medicine for this individual. Many herbs are safe to use, however self-prescribing is dangerous.

My point is that a completely ‘whole’ approach and understanding is needed.

I feel one of the things we must realize is that we can utilize the best from all medicine to achieve our goal of improved health. And often people taking Orthodox drugs are benefited by taking herbs or diets to reduce nausea, and other side effects. Some herbs may be contra-indicated to some medications and therefore each persons prescription will vary depending on the medications you may be taking.
This needs to be discussed honestly with your Naturopath, Doctor, or Specialist so they may work for the good of you, the patient.

I believe that all plant matter has a purpose - to supply the body with chemistry or nutrition. We have to look at things differently for our physical and mental well-being. Some of this Nutritional chemistry may only be needed to supply a minute amount to the body. So some herbs are specific in their action, and the quantity safe for ingestion seems to depend on the action of the herb and this chemistry. Some herbs are for external use only, while others are for inhalation only, there is a natural order here, nutritional diversity.

We are seeing more and more wonderful scientific data being collected on herbs all over the world as research, but still we have only just begun. The answers, I feel, lay in many old writings, from all cultures around the world. I personally worked out my personal herbal approach within years of becoming a practitioner. I currently have a 5 cm dead tumour in my left lung, lucky for me I had killed it before I knew I had it.

I could write lists of food additives, their function and reams of other data that would do nothing more than completely depress and shock you, but I wont; I will simply tell you that I have studied the subject. During that time, I was so horrified I didn’t want to eat anything, I didn’t want to feed my kids as I felt I was killing them, with a full knowledge of what I was doing. However the fact is that the damage is already done, the only thing I can do is to grow as much of my own, and buy organic where I can to reduce the intake of harmful chemicals. We rarely have take-aways or any thing from a packet. I have adopted a general rule -

NOTHING FROM A PACKET, BOX, TIN, NO EATING FROM ALUMINIUM, NO MICROWAVE FOOD, OR PROCESSED FOODS, NO LOLLIES, CHOCOLATE (THIS ONE’S HARD), NO COOL DRINKS, NO CORDIALS, NO FAST FOOD. When we eat out I find the most wholesome food I can like sushi rolls, a Shiskabab, maybe a curried vegetable, or a baked potato, it just takes a bit of thought and a lot of will power. Everybody has a taste for modern food but the reality is it is dangerous food. Your local bookstore will have books on Food Additives if you do wish to look at the subject.

This is a huge subject. There are many pitfalls. For example many people have a variety of different allergies, and things they are sensitive to. The individual is responsible to understand his own nutritional requirements. This can be worked out with the help of allergy testing or muscle testing (kinesiology). I think at this point in time most people understand through the media the nutritional requirements of a balanced healthy diet. However, a better understanding of the process of digestion and assimilation of nutrients is required. As a general guide we should not drink milk when eating bread, food combining is important, as when the body is already suffering with cancer or pre-cancer it has made the statement that it cant cope so it will only tolerate the good stuff.

All structures and systems in the body have specific nutritional requirements.

We find ourselves exposed to something, which irritates or mutates the tissues in the body. The affects related to exposure are many and varied however; things like Asbestos irritate the Membranes surrounding organs e.g. the Lung pleura.

I feel that the duration of 30 or more years to develop a Mesothelioma is significant as any irritation or exposure to the body increases the body’s need for nutrition and energy. As most of us are already eating a nutritionally deficient diet - even when we think we have a good diet we are mostly wrong usually for most of our lives we have been eating shop bought commercially grown nutritional deficient foods with the addition of poor food combining and binge eating so it is difficult for the body to sustain normal functions let alone the nutritional requirements for prevention of Mesothelioma and other cancers. So my conclusion is that all nutrients need to be bought back into balance for health and prevention. This can be done by eating organically grown vine ripened whole foods.

Another point here is EXCRETION - bowel movements, fluid intake and adequate urination, correct breathing even sweating are the way the body rids itself of toxins, if we are not eliminating or have irregular or scanty excretions we are not getting rid of the toxins we are consuming at an alarming rate each and every day. The entire food chain is contaminated, the air we breath is growing more toxic daily, our water is outright polluted and we do not exercise either our body or mind we watch TV and fill our heads with negative rubbish not many people read any more and if they do it is usually fiction not positive facts. History is full of good books written by masters like Hippo crates to Culpeper and many more. I believe ‘OUR GOAL IS OURSELVES’ YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, THINK AND DO. If you fill yourself with rubbish well you know you get what you pay for, you pay for what you get and do. This is just a simple age-old fact. So get real about what you want and do and your body and mind will respond. It’s what it wants nobody wants to suffer everybody wants to be happy and successful. In the end its up to you and none of us can blame anyone but ourselves if we rip our self off.

A short note on the Mind here, talking to people who have fought cancer has shown me the strength of mind of these people, they seem to have only been depressed for short periods, they wont let themselves indulge in self pity as it is negative and counter productive. In these periods they have decided that they will fight, the attitude seems to be that “this will not get me”. They fight on all levels, they are not scared to try something different, they seem to realize that not everything they try will work for them, but still they fight on.

Your Mind is an enormously powerful tool and learning to use it is challenging and rewarding. Being negative sabotages your being, giving in to negativity is quitting. Meditation teaches us to go quiet in the mind, to let go and quiet the ever constantly chattering subconscious mind. This I believe is the area of the mind, which has mostly been negatively trained. It nags us, worries us draws on negative past experiences to build negative future scenarios, puts us back in our box if we get too happy and start to enjoy life I call this self sabotage. Inside all of us is our Inner Child, which wants self to be happy and successful, free to live life to its full. Most of us have alienated our inner child and have got excessively close to our negative subconscious mind creating an unhappy separation in our mind. As well as this most of us refuse to use our intuition and imagination. I feel we can very easily - by practice - quite our negative - befriend our inner child (talk nicely, positively to this child and nurture it as any mature adult would) - trust our intuition and stop rejecting it - practice using our imagination by doing creative visualization daily.

Creative Visualization is a powerful tool to cancer recovery.

I use Histology photos (micro-photos) of cells and tissues these can be found in good anatomy books. Look at the structure of clean healthy cells; see all of this in your mind. Communicate with your unhealthy cells instruct them of what YOU want - TELL THESE CELLS YOU LOVE THEM- they are getting healthier and healthier each moment. Tell yourself to excrete the dying and unhealthy cells. This process will happen - it will not happen overnight as it takes time to build new healthier tissue, however, it will happen if YOU believe it. If you have no faith in this process it will not work. I know this works as I personally used it after a car accident, I had to heal a crushed vertebrae and the proof came for me after one year when I had X-ray to check for bone degeneration and they found I had none and the area was healed. I was told this was not the “normal” thing.

Each person needs to tailor the visualization process to suit his or her own imagination and needs so it is a highly personal process with no right or wrong way just your own way. Use your mind to your advantage and you will be amazed at your personal capacity.

Another tool is MUSIC THERAPY there is now an abundance of C.D’s available which work with vibrational frequencies to raise the body to a healthy frequency.

Yoga is a wonderful way to get fit and learn meditation - try it.

• DEEP CALM, by COLIN WILSON
• REIKI MUSIC
• NURTURING YOUR INNER CHILD, BY STEVEN HALPERN

Just go down to Hillary’s Boat Harbor to Quay Sounds and browse for a while,
OR phone 08 9447 2233

Some nutrients are so closely interrelated that their effectiveness in the body is markedly improved when they are taken together with other nutrients. Minerals are especially important in aiding the effectiveness of specific vitamins.

One examining this subject I noticed and you may see that nothing in nature is separated or isolated. The body was not designed to run on single fuels.

In any plant the combination of nutrients will be made up of a main nutrient component supplied with all the essential partners for the specific Nutrient to be assimilated and utilized within the body then safely the waste will be excreted. In Food Alchemy we see that each food has a specific and unique job to do - an example here is the humble carrot. The carrot is specific for the eyesight and cancer. Its nutrients are delivered in balanced amounts.

For example, vitamin A can be utilized more effectively within the body when the following are in combination. As in the humble Carrot.

• Vitamin B - helps preserve stored vitamin A complex & Choline
• Vitamin C - Helps protect against toxic effects of vitamin A
• Vitamin D - 1 part vitamin D to 10 parts vitamin A
• Vitamin E - Acts as an anti-oxidant with vitamin A. If vitamin E intake is increased vitamin A must also be increased
• Calcium & Phosphorous - levels must be increased if vitamin A level is increased.
• Zinc - Helps absorption of Vitamin A

Cancer cells appear as immature persistently dividing cells that do not fulfilling their natural functions and invade surrounding tissue. These cells rob neighboring normal cells of their essential nutrients, causing a severe wasting away of the cancer patient. Cancer cells are capable of migrating and planting themselves in any part of the body, causing abnormal growths or tumors. Cancers are categorized according to the type of tissue from which they originate.

The importance of early detection in treatment of cancer cannot be over-emphasized. This is the only chance for successful treatment of the disease. We should all be aware seven warning signs of cancer:

• Unusual bleeding or discharge
• Appearance of a lump or swelling
• Hoarseness of cough
• Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing
• Change in bowel or bladder habits
• A sore that does not heal
• A change in a wart or mole

Symptoms and their severity vary with the type and location of the cancer.

In the treatment of cancer many foods and herbs have already proved useful and successful for thousands of years in my mind the clinical trials have already been done and past down through the ages in old writing, and even folklore etc. Also the side effects of taking Orthodox Drugs and treatments can be reduced and the general levels of health in the body improved which has obvious advantages to anyone and everyone.

The ill side effects from radiation therapy, etc., such as vomiting and diarrhea, can be lessened or prevented by foods and herbs high in vitamins C, E, and the B complex. Drinking hot lemon, Ginger and honey drinks every hours for two weeks prior to and after the treatment can lessen free radical damage. It is vital that you increase the intake of these foods as long as possible before you start the treatment. The psychological stress of cancer greatly increases the need for vitamin C and many herbs can assist by calming the nervous system and the mind. Herbs such as Zizythus, Lime Flowers, Chamomile, Valerian have a very calming effect and may be of assistance here.

X-rays and other radiation treatments suppress the immune system and destroy vitamins A, C, E, K, B complex, and UFA (unsaturated fatty acids), large amounts of vitamin E can protect vitamin A and UFA. (If you are taking Vitamin A please make sure you are also taking herbs such as St Mary's Thistle and Dandelion Root to assist your liver process the Vitamin A. As malignant tissues are being destroyed, harmful by-products are made. The liver is able to neutralize these substances if adequate amounts of vitamins C, E, protein, and the amino acid methionine are present. Vitamin E can prevent radiation burns, relieve pain, and reduce scarring. Again here taking synthetic vitamins and minerals only adds to the stress on the body and I don’t believe it will ever be the answer. I call it pharmacy of the future and don’t believe it will or can be successful because of the fact - it’s not real.

In animals, spontaneous cancers, especially of the thyroid, developed on iodine-deficient diets. Iodine deficiency (seaweed deficiency) has also been implicated in female breast cancer. Liver damage of any kind increases the susceptibility to cancer. Taking vitamin A as an isolate damages the liver. A strange thing considering vitamin A is known to assist with cancer or maybe not so strange if we understand that an isolated nutrient has not been delivered in its natural combined state. There are no magic silver bullets; only correct natural nutrition will prove out in the end.

It is obvious many trace minerals are necessary for cancer prevention. Additional amounts of copper given to animals in a laboratory test significantly retarded cancer development. In other studies, the ability to form antibodies and a poor resistance to infection were found to be caused by putrefactive bacteria inside the body. A lack of proper maintenance of the intestinal flora may be a factor in cancer and can be corrected by generous amounts of natural yogurt or acidophilus culture.

Further testing of animals show that the vitamins A, C, E, and B1, the minerals selenium and zinc, and various amino acids have prevented development of cancers. They do this by stimulating the body’s immune system and by acting as free radical scavengers. Free radicals are chemicals produced by the body when exposed to harmful substances such as radiation, food and drink containments, rancid fats, and air pollution. They damage parts of the human cell, especially DNA and RNA, which in part direct the actions of each cell. Once this process is disturbed, cancer can develop.

For the cancer patient, the specific food needs depend on the location of the tumor. Generally, however, a diet high in protein, antioxidants and minerals, is necessary to maintain and help restore normal cells. Iron is essential to the diet in order to prevent anemia, which is a frequent complication of cancer.

Lets look at our excretions. If we have changes in our bowel habits mostly they will go either unnoticed or unmentioned, it appears to be a subject no one wants to discuss. In oriental medicine, Meridian energy of the lung is linked with the meridian energy of the Colon. If one is weak the other will be disturbed, showing us a whole body connection.

Now via dietary means we can correct the colon disturbances to increase the energy to the lung and the entire body as energy flow begins to rise. The diet should combine foods specific to both organs.

We all know that raw fruit and veg are good for the Colon, and from Oriental food medicine we can see that and white vegetable or fruit increases the energy to the lung. Bowel Cancer is one of the most rapidly increasing cancers of our day. It makes sense to look after the colon by eating a diet high in raw salads and fruit daily and to stop filling it with foods like bread, “meat & potato” etc which all sit in the bowel and putrefy because we are not properly food combining not eating enough roughage to help the colon.

“The lungs are the rulers over autumn. Since the lungs correspond to the large intestine, both organs have to be treated together. The lungs are the stronghold and the root of the breath. Their condition manifests itself in the skin and body hair.” Chinese folk medicine.

THE LUNGS -- THE BREATH OF LIFE

THE COLON -- THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH - PREVENTS ACCUMULATION OF TOXIC WASTE BUILDUP, THUS KEEPING THE BODY’S FLUIDS AND CELLS FROM BODY WASTE CONTAMINATION.

Of course all the other organs have their own purpose and connection to the whole.

• DEEP BREATHING
• CHANGES TO DIETARY HABITS
• SKIN BRUSHING
• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (e.g. WARM CLOTHING)
• METHINONE (AMINO ACID) -- essential to the immune system.
• FOODS:
  • pumpkin seeds
  • sunflower seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • cashews
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Muscle meat esp.
  • beef steak
  • beef liver
  • Rump
  • short ribs
  • Sirloin steak
  • Poultry
  • cream,
  • goat’s milk
  • cottage cheese
  • Swiss cheese
  • yogurt
  • All fish esp. cod flounder herring tuna Mackerel
  • salmon
  • trout
  • shrimp
  • Apple
  • apricot
  • avocado
  • banana
  • Cantaloupe
  • dates
  • figs
  • oranges
  • Papaya
  • peach
  • pear
  • persimmon
  • pineapple
  • strawberry
  • tomato
  • increase your intake of fresh raw greens

We will see that many of the different types of diets will supply the same or similar lists of foods. A word on Microwave - don’t. If you look at the information available now on microwave food the harmful effects outweigh the convenience.

ABOVE ARE SOME EXCERPTS FROM NUTRITIONAL ALMANAC by Lavon J. Dunne. This is a favorite of mine. Another favorite of mine is OXYGEN THERAPIES by Ed McCabe. This book is a must for people with cancer. While I’m recommending books here are a few more:

• THE CELESTINE PROPHESY by James Redfield
• THE MIND MAP BOOK by Tony Buzan
• KUNDALINI AND THE THIRD EYE by Earlyne Chaney & William L. Messick
• HEALING AND THE MIND by Bill Moyers
• THINK LIKE A SHRINK AND KEEP YOURSELF SANE by Joe Dunn
• BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH - A GUIDE TO CHINESE MEDICINE by
• Harriet Beinfield & Efrem Korngold.
• THE COMPLETE MEDICINAL HERBAL by Penelope Ody
• THE NEW AGE HERBALIST by Richard Mabey.