One gulf between perceptions is well illustrated by contrasting the attitudes of doctors and patients towards the simplest of all methods of birth control – nothing. Unfortunately, the consequences of this method frequently require some medical interference at a later date, postcoital contraception or termination, for example. Doctors tend to see patients who use nothing as being ignorant, feckless or even stupid, and are tempted to treat a subsequent request for help in this light. Many patients will agree, in the cold light of the next day or a missed period, hence the amazing number of reported burst sheaths, but, if the real reasons for using no protection at all are not explored, the situation can easily occur again.
Many users of the ‘nothing method’ are under 16 years of age. It seems to be the policy of our society to emphasize that using contraception is an adult affair. Social concern with the rising tide of teenage pregnancies may be on the increase, but for the young themselves, newspaper headlines blazon adult priorities and moralities. Should parents be told of medical consultations concerning the under-16s, whatever the wishes of the young individual concerned?
The message is clear, sex is private – unless you use birth control.
*35/197/1*
Lunch
Try to make one fresh salad every day. Use 6 different coloured vegetables. Choose from grated beetroot, bok choy, sunflower sprouts, fresh broccoli (use stems also), Brussels sprouts, cabbage nasturtium leaves, carrot, mixed lettuces, rocket, endive, dandelion leaves, fennel, capsicum, tomato, watercress, celery, spinach, kale, garlic, onions and cucumber. I normally mix in a handful of sun-dried tomatoes and a small amount of goat’s cheese or cottage cheese/flaxseed oil mix.
Dressing – 2 tablespoons of organic flaxseed oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to flavour.
AND
A good source of protein such as grilled or steamed fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, halibut, herring or cod), organic chicken or turkey breast, grain fed red meat tofu, tempeh, yogurt or nuts and seeds. Try to have at least 2 pieces of healthy protein per day. If you eat red meat, limit to 3 times weekly.
Supplements with Lunch
Coenzyme Ql0 120mg x 1 capsule
Glutathione l00 mg x 1 capsule
Vitamin Ñ Powder (with beta-carotene, 2000mg of Vit Ñ = 2 tsp zinc, quercetin, bioflavonoids)
Lipoic acid l00 mg x 1 capsule
Chlorella/barley grass/green formula 1 heaped tablespoon
Mid-Afternoon
One hour brisk walk in a clean, non-polluted environment. It is great to do this with someone you love or with your dog. Dogs are great companions. Often I try to sing or laugh (especially if no one is around) and often I practice cancer-clearing exercises and say positive affirmations out loud while walking.
On returning, I always make a fresh juice. Often in the afternoon I make a combination of fruit juices i.e. strawberries, papaya, apple, lemon, ginger, pineapple, mint, watermelon. Try to buy organic fruits. If you feel like a warm drink, make a fresh herbal tea or make up the cancer clear tea mix. If you feel hungry, grab a piece of fruit
OR
Corn or rice thins, spread with a thin layer of avocado, cottage cheese and flaxseed oil mix, tahini or hummus, sunflower or alfalfa sprouts and fresh lemon juice.
The late afternoon is often a peaceful and creative time. The sun is about to settle for the day and the moon is taking its place in the sky to light up our night. This time is perfect for practicing meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, creative imagery and positive affirmations. Use this time wisely to remove any resentment, hurt or anger from your heart and let this rise and disappear into the universe.
Supplements in between meals
Bromelain 500mg x 3 capsules
Proteolytic/digestive enzymes 6 tablets
Dinner
Try to choose from 5 to 6 different vegetables i.e. broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, sweet
potato, pumpkin, cabbage, snow peas, kale, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, onions, leeks, cauliflower, radish, carrots and turnips. Try to eat vegetables raw, lightly stir-fried in olive oil or steamed.
AND
One piece of protein such as tempeh, tofu, organic chicken breast or thigh, organic turkey breast, salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, halibut, herring or cod (deep water fish is always an excellent option).
OR
Brown or wild rice, legumes or wholegrains.
OR
A beautiful, hearty soup.
*213/34/5*
Magnets and magnetic fields, although unseen and unheard, are an important part of our everyday life. We use magnetic products in many different ways. Just some of these include: telephones, door alarms, audio and video tapes, computer disks, computers, magnetic strips on credit cards, on Medicare and health cards, bus and train tickets, magnetic cupboard door catches, and many more such items. More importantly, biologically, every cell in our body is an electromagnetic phenomenon. This is very important to understand, and one day, if not now, your good health may depend upon it.
There are two basic classes of magnets or magnetic fields, and several sub types. Permanent or ‘static’ magnets have been used since 850 ÂÑ, that is, for more than 2850 years. The earth has its own magnetic system. The source is in the molten core that generates earth energies and fields on and above the surface between the Magnetic North and South poles. The density is around 0.5 Gauss and oscillating around 9.6Hz to 10.5Hz. There are also the Schumann resonance field harmonics between the earth and the magnetosphere; the most important biologically oscillate between 7.5Hz and 8 Hz, depending largely upon sun spot flare activity. There are other less important Schumann frequencies.
At intervals over time, various physicians have found that the use of magnetic materials has helped to reduce pain and to improve healing processes. Naturally occurring magnetic ore is called ‘magnetite’ or ‘lodestone’ (leading stone’), as it aligns with the North-South magnetic poles of the earth and was used by early mariners to help in navigation. Nowadays we refer to this type of device as a compass.
Permanent magnets can be made out of several types of materials such as ferrous (iron), ceramic with iron particles, combinations of nickel-iron-boron-neodymium, and other ‘rare earth’ minerals, etc. Generally the newer combination materials have stronger holding powers and are not easily de-magnetized.
These permanent or static magnets are used to assist in the alleviation of many aches and pains, and in some instances can help the body to heal from minor discomforts and may assist peripheral circulation.
*194/34/5*
Pau d’Arco
Pau d’arco also known as taheebo, lapacho, ipe roxo, trumpet bush or ipe roxo, is made from the inner bark of a tree found in South American rainforests. It has long been used as a folk remedy in the treatment of cancer. In recent years, evidence is emerging that it may be helpful in breast cancer, sarcomas, carcinomas and leukemia.
According to a Brazilian report, one of the Russian tsars and Mahatma Gandhi both drank pau d’arco. It has strong immune stimulating and anti-inflammatory properties. Pau d’arco is beneficial as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of cancer. The native Indians of Brazil have used it in the treatment of cancer of the oesophagus, head, intestines, lung and prostate. It is especially good for limiting the pain connected with cancer.
Pau d’arco is rich in iron, an excellent detoxifier, and it gives the body the energy and defenses necessary to defend itself and resist disease.
The inner bark of this wonderful plant has also been used to treat constipation, poor circulation, snakebites, viral infections, Candida albicans respiratory problems, boils, fever and wounds just to name a few ailments.
What is the best way to use pau d’arco?
• Herbal tea – use the bark, which has been standardized to 2 to 4% la pachol content, to ensure
you are getting the real thing. Use 1 tablespoon of bark per cup of water and boil for 15 to
20 minutes. Drink 2 to 6 cups per day.
• Fluid extract – take 10-30 drops daily.
Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense)
Red clover, also known as trifolium pratense, has beautiful strawberry-coloured flowers. It was traditionally used as fodder for cattle. Today it is used medicinally in cancer treatment and prevention, due to its potent blood cleansing potential.
Red clover contains many nutrients and active ingredients, and is beneficial in preventing and in many cases removing tumours from the body. Many herbalists believe if you drink one cup of red clover tea a day, there is very little chance you will ever develop cancer or harmful tumours, especially if you combine this with a healthy, chemical free diet. Red Clover is rich in biotin, choline, copper, coumarins, folic acid, glycosides, inositol, isoflavonoids, magnesium, manganese, pantothenic acid, selenium, bioflavonoids, zinc, and vitamins A, Bl, B2, B3, B6, B12 and C.
Red clover is a natural antibiotic, appetite suppressant and relaxant.
It is useful in the treatment of bacterial infections, HIV and AIDS, inflamed lungs, inflammatory bowel disorders, kidney problems, liver disease, bronchitis, skin disorders and a weakened immune system. It has also be used effectively by herbalists in preventing and treating breast, prostate, ovarian cancer and lymphatic cancer by increasing hemoglobin content in red blood cells.
Red clover became a popular anti-cancer remedy in the 1930s and has been used locally for cancerous growths. It can be very effective in breaking up growths and tumours when used in combination with chaparral and other cancer-fighting herbs.
What is the best way to use red clover?
• Infusion – pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 to 3 teaspoons of dried red clover and leave to
infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink 3 cups per day.
• Tincture – take 2 to 6 ml of the tincture 2 to 3 times per day.
Suma
Suma, also referred to as Brazilian ginseng, contains cancer-preventing properties. Research in Japan has shown that pfaffic acid, found in suma, is capable of inhibiting certain types of cancer. All parts of the suma plant are used, including bark, berries, leaves and root. Its active ingredients are many and varied, including pfaffosides, vitamins A, B, C, D, E and F, sitosterol, stigmasterol, tannins, germanium, malic acid, essential oils, pfaffic acid, albumin and allantoin.
Suma is used to treat anaemia, fatigue and stress. It is a wonderful immune system booster that helps to prevent and improve cancerous conditions, AIDS, high blood pressure, skin cancer, liver disease and a weakened immune system.
What is the best way to use Suma?
• Herbal tea – Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried root. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over this and
let it infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink 3 cups per day.
• Poultice – use in combination with comfrey, pau d’arco and red clover. Skin cancer responds
very well to this poultice.
*172/34/5*
A number of different studies indicate that melatonin levels may be linked with breast cancer risk. For example, women with breast cancer show lower levels of melatonin than those that do not have this disease. In addition, laboratory studies indicate that low levels of melatonin stimulate the growth of certain breast cancer cells. When melatonin is added to these cells, their growth is halted. For women whose breast cancer is not improving with tamoxifen (a commonly used chemotherapy drug), preliminary studies have shown that the addition of melatonin may actually encourage tumours to regress slightly. However, if you are considering taking melatonin supplements, you should first consult with a healthcare practitioner to design a comprehensive treatment approach suited to your individual needs.
Similar to the findings with breast cancer, studies of men with prostate cancer suggest that melatonin levels are lower, compared to men without this cancer. Laboratory studies have shown that melatonin inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells. Higher levels of melatonin in prostate cancer patients are associated with longer survival rates.
Meditation helps to raise melatonin levels within the body, showing the benefit of incorporating daily meditation into one’s cancer-beating regime.
Two severe side effects of orthodox cancer treatment and cancer are weight loss and malnutrition. Melatonin helps to combat these symptoms.
*154/34/5*
Vitamin A plays an important role in strengthening the body’s immune system. It can protect against cancer formation, suppress the transformation of healthy cells into cancerous cells and is needed for the repair and maintenance of epithelial tissue, of which the skin and mucous membranes are composed.
Shortly after its discovery in 1922, vitamin A was found to be effective in the prevention of cancer. Many studies suggest that high blood levels of vitamin A can help prevent certain forms of cancer. Protein cannot be utilized in the body without vitamin A. It r «educes the risk of many types of cancer by improving the structural integrity of mucous membranes that line various organs of the body. Specifically, vitamin A reduces the risk of developing breast, cervical, lung, mouth, pharyngeal, prostate, skin, stomach, testicular and uterine cancer.
Adequate levels of vitamin A protect normal cells from mutating into cancer cells after exposure to carcinogens. Vitamin A minimizes the toxic effects of radiation, if taken at 35000 IU – 100000 IU/day.
Vitamin A and Immune Support
Vitamin A is a friend to the body’s immune system by increasing efficiency of cells that produce antibodies. It is able to increase the body’s resistance to infection by enhancing phagocyte and antibody production and by protecting and strengthening the body’s thymus gland, which helps us fight against infectious agents and carcinogens.
Adequate supplementation and absorption of vitamin A can cause the thymus gland to doubles in size. It likewise enhances the thymus gland to manufacture cancer-fighting T-lymphocytes. During chemotherapy, vitamin A levels are often very low.
Carotenes or Carotenoids or Beta-Carotene
Many studies have suggested that diets high in carotenes can protect against several types of cancer including those of the cervix, ovaries, uterus, mouth, gastrointestinal tract, lung prostate and breast. Other studies have consistently shown that cancer victims have lower carotenoid levels than healthy individuals.
About five hundred carotenes occur in the plant kingdom. Some have vitamin A activity and some do not. Beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, is well studied and is very effective with regard to health benefits. Beta-carotene has some properties unique to itself as well. It is a potent scavenger of toxic oxygen radicals (singlet oxygen), especially those produced by chemicals in the air and those generated by our metabolism.
Beta-carotene has much stronger immune-stimulating and thymic supportive activity than vitamin A, and it is much safer to use. It protects the body’s mucous membranes and is effective in guarding against lung cancer and the damages of cigarette smoking on the lungs, and also from ultraviolet-induced skin cancers. In addition, it is an essential nutrient for normal ovarian function. Therefore it is very beneficial to have good amounts of beta-carotene during cancer treatment.
Alpha-carotene can reduce the incidence of liver, lung and skin cancers. It is believed to be 10 times more effective than beta-carotene at preventing various cancers.
Lycopene, the red-pigmented carotenoid, is effective in reducing the risk of prostate, breast, liver and stomach cancer. It also helps to prevent many of the side effects associated with radiation therapy, particularly burning of tissues. Lycopene has strong antioxidant properties and is a very effective quencher of singlet oxygen free radicals (a potentially dangerous cancer-causing agent), two times more effectively than beta-carotene and 100 times more effectively than vitamin E. It is able to retard the damage caused by oxidized LDL cholesterol and protects against cancer of the cervix. Women with high serum lycopene levels have 80 per cent less risk of developing cervical cancer than women with low levels.
Alpha and beta-carotene rich foods include sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, spinach, apricots, pumpkin, cantaloupe (rockmelon) and pink grapefruit. Lycopene-rich foods include tomatoes (fresh, sun-dried and tomato paste), pink grapefruit, red capsicum, watermelon, papaya, apricots and paprika.
*135/34/5*
In one study of 1,600 men with BPH, finasteride shrank prostate size over a two-year period by an average of 25 percent, improved urinary flow signifi-candy in 31 percent of the patients, and brought some relief of symptoms in 71 percent of these men. Finasteride achieved this benefit with very few side effects—the main one being the development of impotence, which occurred in only 3.4 percent of men and was reversible when the men stopped taking the drug.
Results from this and other studies show that while this drug is helpful, it’s riot for everybody. The gains in urine flow, for example, are much higher in men who undergo the TUR procedure, and for men with minimal symptoms, these gains would hardly be noticeable. However, the drug might prove helpful in men with moderate to severe symptoms of BPH—for example, those with a weak urinary stream, hesitancy in starting urination, or who are making so many nighttime trips to the bathroom that they’re losing sleep.
The bottom line: Currently, a man taking finasteride has about a 30 percent chance of seeing a significant improvement in his symptoms—and this will come only after six months to a year of taking the drug. Finasteride is not a fast-acting treatment for BPH. Its major advantage is that it causes the prostate to shrink—and in control studies, it appears that once the prostate does shrink, it tends to stay shrunk. Perhaps most exciting is that it may prevent the disease of BPH from progressing.
However, there’s another point worth noting: About 10 percent of men who undergo prostatectomy for the treatment of BPH are found to have some cancer in the bits of prostate tissue that are removed. This is one of the advantages of having surgery for BPH; you can rule out the presence of prostate cancer. But in men taking medicine to treat BPH, the presence or absence of prostate cancer is less easily determined.
One concern with finasteride is that it lowers concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood by 50 percent. Why is this a problem? In recent years, the PSA blood test has become an important means of checking for prostate cancer, and finasteride could obscure the results of this test in the men who are taking the drug. Therefore, before embarking on a long-term course of finasteride, it’s vital to have a digital rectal exam and PSA blood test and, if your PSA is high (see discussion of PSA in Chapter 3), a prostate biopsy to rule out the presence of cancer.
Once a man is on finasteride, his PSA levels should drop about 50 percent during the first year and then remain constant. If his PSA levels fall to less than 50 percent, or if they start to rise while he’s on the drug, something’s not right, and there are two possibilities. One is that he’s not taking the drug regularly or properly. The other is far more serious—he could have prostate cancer. In any event, a change in PSA levels definitely needs to be investigated.
*282\201\8*
An Unstable Bladder, with urge incontinence. From half to as many as 80 percent of men with BPH eventually develop bladder instability, producing the irritative symptoms caused by an embattled, strained bladder. In most cases, these go away with surgical relief of the obstruction—again, the results depend on how much of a burden the bladder has borne, and for how long. These symptoms include increasingly frequent or urgent urination, particularly during the night, and most significantly, urge incontinence—a real warning sign that the bladder is in trouble. If this is not treated (by easing the obstruction), it may reach a point where the damage is irreversible and this incontinence is permanent. Or, if a man delays treatment for too long and then has surgical treatment, this urge incontinence can actually get worse—because the obstruction has been relieved, now there’s even less tissue to hold back these uninhibited contractions when they occur.
*243\201\8*
When cancer spreads beyond the prostate, it cannot be cured— but it can be controlled. The main way to do this is by hormone therapy—shutting down the hormones that feed the prostate and nourish the cancer. There are several kinds of hormone therapy; each one targets a different link in the hormonal chain of events that affects the prostate.
Prostate growth is tightly controlled by a major hormone, testosterone, which is made by the testcles. Testosterone circulates in the blood and enters the prostate, where it’s soon transformed into another powerful hormone called DHT, the active hormone within the prostate.
The amount of testosterone that circulates in the blood is carefully monitored by the brain, and this is where the whole hormone chain really begins. The hypothalamus makes a substance called LHRH, a chemical signal that’s dispatched to the nearby pituitary gland. It tells the pituitary gland to make, among other things, a hormone called LH. LH, in turn, tells the testicles to make testosterone. Think of the domino effect—LHRH, LH, testosterone, DHT.
*204\201\8*
Scientists know that all cells, cancerous and normal, have a genetic pathway called programmed cell death. The problem is, cells often ignore this pathway. In the normal prostate, androgens keep androgen-dependent cells alive; these cells become relatively immortal (it’s like pumping air to a deep-sea diver). But when this life-giving supply of hormones is shut off—by physical or chemical castration—the picture changes. The change in hormones triggers a series of events in which certain genes are expressed, and new proteins are made. Some scientists believe these new proteins prompt a buildup of free calcium in the cells. And the prolonged increase in calcium activates what one Johns Hopkins scientist describes as a “suicide enzyme.” This “suicide” enzyme, something called a calcium-magnesium-dependent end nuclease, functions as a sort of wrecking ball. It breaks down the DNA in the nucleus, and wipes out the cell’s genetic memory bank. The cell no longer replicates, but dies. Over time, it begins to fragment; tiny chunks are later recycled as building materials by other cells. “This is an active process,” the scientist explains, “in which the cell that is destined to die is actively involved in its own death.”
This process happens all the time, particularly during fetal development, “or we wouldn’t be able to develop as people who have arms and legs and appendages,” the scientist continues. “When you’re developing, you have limb buds.
In order to develop digits—our fingers, for example—the cells that are in between the fingers literally have to die. And that’s a particularly tricky, coordinated process. You can imagine—you’ve got to make some cells die and other cells have to live, right next to them.”
Androgen-independent cells, while all this is going on, experience no such increase in calcium. Although they possess a similar suicide pathway, it is not activated.
This is an area of intensive work for prostate cancer researchers—figuring out how to kill these cells, or better yet, how to get them to kill themselves.
*166\201\8*