instead of weary. The world of cancer, its causes and treatments, started coming into greater focus. With my antenna of awareness up, I would do my best to ask people about these two healers. I wanted to find them even though it seemed like “mission impossible.” While I had some apprehension, mostly, I was also curious about how this “trust walk” would play out. The search took a back seat as I prepared myself for a vacation in Hawaii and a mastectomy.
I realize that I chose this three-phase treatment approach because my beliefs and lifestyle were more in line with holistic and integrative medicine than conventional medicine. I worked as a mental health counselor in a medical center with doctors who practiced integrative medicine and acupuncture. I served on the board of directors of an organization in Princeton, New Jersey, that also focused on promoting holistic wellness. I also worked with the clients of a local chiropractor. My very being was immersed in holistic medicine, so that is the path I chose and trusted. I went into surgery with this three-fold treatment plan formulated in my mind. It gave me a sense of control and hope.
Chapter 2 Lessons Learned...
•Explore, explore, explore. Do your research because informed choices lead to the best cancer outcomes.
•Put your attention, time, energy and money into getting the whole story.
•Think outside of the box. Creative solutions may come from unexpected places.
•With trust, a positive attitude and persistence, you will reach a destination that is right for you.
•Divine interventions happen. Invite Spirit into your healing adventure.
•A health challenge can become an opportunity for personal growth.
•Be willing to change.
•The biggest get-well question is: “What am I willing to do to participate in my healing?” Getting well and staying healthy is a life-long inquiry.
Alternative and Integrative Approaches to Treating Cancer
These brief descriptions of the approaches available to me in 2000 are based on information I currently obtained from the books Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book by Richard Walters (1992) and Outsmart Your Cancer: Alternative Non-Toxic Treatments That Work by Tanya Harter Pierce, MA, MFCC (2009); and also official websites. Only the book Options was available to me in 2000.
— Sandra Miniere
Pharmacology
•Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, MD, PhD — Antineoplaston Therapy — In 1967 Dr. Burzynski discovered a group of peptides (short chains of amino acids) and amino acid derivatives occurring naturally throughout the human body that inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Peptides offer a biochemical defense that is separate from the immune system. Antineoplastons reprogram and destroy cancer cells and do not interfere with normal cell growth. Treatment involves oral supplements and intravenous infusions, as well as customized nutritional programs to complement the treatment. After an initial stay at the outpatient center, people continue their protocol at home. His treatment could cost as much as $5,000.00 per month for intravenous therapy. He has survived many government attempts to shut down his Houston clinic.
•Gaston Naessens (Biologist) — 714X is a camphor-nitrogen compound that is injected into the body’s lymphatic system. It is designed to strengthen the immune system and unclog lymphatic fluid. 714X enables the leukocytes (white blood cells) to resume their activity and destroy foreign cells. 714X is self-administered through injections in the groin area about once a day in 21-day cycles. It may also be inhaled through a nebulizer as additional treatment for certain types of cancer. Through the microscope he developed, the Somatoscope, Gaston Naessens observed live blood samples and discovered somatids, microscopic subcellular living and reproducing organisms. Somatids circulate within the blood and have life cycle patterns that influence the reproduction and growth of cells. A breakdown of the healthy somatid cycle can lead to cancer and other diseases. He is still harassed for his theories and treatment approach.
Immunotherapy
•Dr. Lawrence Burton, PhD — Immuno-Augmentative Therapy (IAT) — Dr. Burton’s therapy consisted of four blood proteins—substances occurring naturally in the body—that caused tumors to grow and shrink. IAT was developed in the 1960s. It aims to restore normal immune functioning so that the patient’s own immune system will destroy the cancer cells. His therapy involves replenishing the deficient blood fractions by injecting patients with them in amounts based on a blood analysis taken once or twice a day. Patients are injected with a non-toxic serum to keep the immune system in balance with these proteins, much like a diabetic with insulin. As a result of continued harassment for his work, Dr. Burton left the country and relocated to the Bahamas. The Immune Augmentation Therapy Clinic continues to help patients control their cancer.
•Josef Issels, MD — Whole Body Therapy — Dr. Issels’s immunotherapy program is designed to stimulate the body’s immune mechanisms to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. He treats all of the organs and systems of the body that affect the immune system. His complex healing approach is designed to remove causal factors, repair damages to organs and organ systems, as well as prevent disease progression and recurrence. Individualized treatment plans include cancer vaccines; organic foods; intravenous nutrition and nutraceuticals; Co-Enzyme Co-Q10; digestive enzymes; ozone therapy to improve cellular respiration; glandulars to help regenerate the liver, thyroid and thymus; Laetrile; chelation therapy; colon hydrotherapy; and more. His treatment facilities are located in the US and Europe.
Herbal Therapy
•Harry Hoxsey (1901-1974) — Harry was the son of a veterinarian. He had little formal education and originally used the family herbal remedy to treat animals. When he began treating and healing human cancer patients, he was hounded by the authorities for practicing medicine without a license and eventually left the country. The Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico, uses his approach today. Their treatment includes the original internal tonic and external salve, as well as diet, vitamin and mineral supplements and attitudinal counseling. Hoxsey’s remedy for external cancer consists of a red paste made with bloodroot, mixed with zinc chloride and antimony sulfide. The basic ingredients of the internal tonic are Red Clover blossom, Licorice root, Buckhorn bark, Burdock root, Stillingia root, Poke root, Barberry root, Oregon Grape root, Cascara Sagrada bark, Prickly Ash bark, Wild Indigo root and potassium iodide. In 1953, Hoxsey’s clinic in Dallas, Texas, treated 12,000 patients. These herbs were also used to treat cancer by Native American healers.
•Rene Caisse (1888–1978) — During the 1920s, a Canadian nurse developed an herbal tea formula—Essiac. This remedy contributed to many cancer cures and gave cancer patients symptom relief. On the way to developing her final formula, she experimented, tested and refined the mixture of burdock root, sheep sorrel, slippery elm bark and Turkish rhubarb root. When the herbs were blended and brewed in a certain way, they reduced tumor growth, purified the blood and strengthened the immune system. She initially gave the tea to her aunt who outlived her cancer death sentence by 21 years. For many years she treated thousands of patients. She was allowed to give her remedy to patients because she did not charge for it. She never received the recognition and approval she wanted for Essiac. A year before her death she gave the secret recipe to a Toronto-based company. Today many Essiac products are on the market.
•Not included here but worth mentioning: Chinese medicine uses herbs to treat cancer successfully.
Nutrition
