Healing Testimonial

Self-Help for Cancer
by F. Russell Manuel M.D., MSc.

 

Why me? I was supposed to help others prevent cancer... not have it myself!

Nearly three years ago, I was diagnosed as having prostate cancer. What a shock this was to a holistic medical doctor who had been practicing complementary medicine in Alaska for 12 years and before that was a full-time tenured professor of preventive medicine for a decade. Why me? I was supposed to help others prevent cancer... not have it myself!

In truth, the news was so traumatic to me that I didn't want to tell anyone for two years. I didn't even tell my children. I was concerned about people's attitude toward cancer. Would people put me in a category of someone who didn't have much time to live? Would they feel sorry for me? As a doctor specializing in preventive medicine, I felt an element of shame.

I am pleased to report that I have now survived three years and am in good health with no symptoms or signs related to prostate cancer. Although my PSA (Prostatic Specific Antigen test, a serological test that screens for prostate cancer) is still elevated, it is static. I'm looking forward to many more years of teaching and assisting others. In fact, I expect to outlive Linus Pauling who, at age 94, died with cancer in his prostate, which he had been managing for several years. It is believed that more men die with cancer in their prostate than from it.

I found out about my cancer months after a routine physical, which included blood tests and a PSA. At the usual follow-up visit to the physical, three months later, the doctor pronounced me healthy and my blood tests all within the normal range. About a week later I decided to review my copy of the lab results and compare them with the previous tests. Low and behold, on the last page, standing all alone, was my PSA result. It was elevated to a level that indicated that I might have prostate cancer. I was stunned and angry. The doctor or his staff should have noticed this abnormality over three months ago, when the blood tests first came back, and notified me then. Not only had my doctor missed this positive test twice, but also I had lost three month's time in dealing with a possible cancer.

I had a repeat PSA done. As it was still high, I had a needle biopsy performed on my prostate gland. The biopsy was positive for cancer. Because of the degree of positivity, I was advised to have immediate surgery or at least consider chemotherapy or radiation. I turned these down and chose to follow a nutritional and herbal approach instead.

I want to be clear that even though I decided not to utilize conventional treatments, I do not recommend this for everyone. In my opinion, the conventional therapies of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy do have their place for some people and some cancers. The individual choice depends upon many factors. The most important of these is that the individual with cancer and his or her family actively seek out information on both conventional and alternative methods of treatment and only then decide what is best for them. Ultimately, the decision is yours: it's your life. A perfect doctor with a perfect solution is a rarity. I found this out when my own doctor didn't tell me about my positive PSA; I had to find it myself.

So how does a patient, or family, choose who is to be on the treatment team? How do you decide which treatment is best for you? The shock of a cancer diagnosis throws many people into turmoil, and clear thinking is often difficult. Because of this, an advisor in the form of a book or knowledgeable individual is very helpful. Everyone will benefit from a support team of trusted family, friends and empathetic health advisors.

One book I recommend is Complementary Cancer Therapies by Dan Labriola, N.D. (Prima Publishing; see www.primahealth.com). This book will answer many of your questions, and will provide you with a structure to find your answers. Another source of great hope, especially for those interested in nutritional therapies, is Dr. Lorraine Day. This orthopedic surgeon was given only three weeks to live; her cancer recovery story is amazing. Anyone with cancer could benefit from viewing her inspiring videos or audiotapes. Check out her website at www.drday.com.

Above all, find health care professionals who are positive and optimistic; avoid those who are not. A healthy friend about age fifty was recently diagnosed as having bowel cancer with secondary spread. What a traumatic pronouncement! The doctor made it worse by stating that the patient had only three months to live. This is atrocious! Any doctor with that attitude, using those words, I would fire immediately.

Hope is very important. The doctor could have truthfully said that although the biopsy findings indicate a very serious condition, people have survived from this and worse conditions, and we can't predict who the survivors will be. Miracles or unexplainable events do happen. Dr. Lorraine Day is a living example of this!

One final word of advice: It is important that your treatment team includes a health professional who has detailed and specific knowledge about nutrition and supplements that are supportive to the particular therapy you are receiving. Some supplements can interfere if taken at the same time as radiation and chemotherapy, though they may be helpful before and after.

When I ask myself why did I get cancer, why me, I think I have an answer. Perhaps I had a part in allowing this cancer to manifest so that I could use the knowledge acquired in my forty years of practice as a general practitioner, medical schoolteacher, researcher and epidemiologist to help others and myself. From this, a new career is developing. I will now lecture to groups and advise individuals on the rational management of cancer. My theme will always be that each individual has the knowledge and ability to find answers for his or her own particular situation. My role may be as a coach to assist others in finding their answers.

 

Dr. Russell Manuel retired from medical practice in Alaska in 1996 and now lectures and presents workshops throughout the U.S.A. and Canada. Contact information: website: www.holisticMDadvisor.com; e-mail: docmanuel@home.com; voice mail: 888-WHOLE44

Open Heart, Open Mind: Healing Cancer
by Rebecca Pollard

 

Every individual holds the key to their own healing…

Desiree Kuring didn't feel sick when she checked into a South Florida hospital almost two years ago to have an ovarian cyst removed. The twenty-six year old dancer from Miami Beach had great energy, her characteristically strong-willed wit - and no reason to doubt that the routine operation would end her slight abdominal discomfort.

It didn't. The forty-five minute procedure stretched to six-and-a half-hours as doctors removed tumor-riddled ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, and parts of her abdominal wall.

Desiree awoke the next day, drowsy with anesthesia, in the arms of her boyfriend, Andrew Berke. "Everything will be all right," Andrew reassured her, stroking her cheek.

He meant every word. Indeed, Desiree's path of healing led her from the initial death-sentence - a diagnosis of severely metastasized ovarian cancer - to a healer who has helped her choose to live. In that moment, standing over his girlfriend in the recovery room, Andrew saw clearly how Desiree could, in turn, help others make the same choice. "You have cancer," he told her gently. "But everything will be okay."

A look of confusion spread across her face, then he added, "Will you marry me?"

The Long Journey

Desiree has never been one to mourn the living. She greeted the diagnosis and the round of chemotherapy that followed with impassive determination. With the help of Chinese herbs, she managed to get through chemo with limited nausea. She and Andrew then embarked on the infinitely more satisfying task of planning their wedding.

Slowly, though, her telltale signs of fatigue derailed them. The tumors were back. With only a few weeks to go, the couple called off the beachside wedding ceremony, opting for a modest exchange of vows in their apartment instead.

Chemotherapy had failed, but where were the viable alternatives? Some therapies simply cost too much; others, says Desiree, seemed far-fetched. "My story is a testament to how long you might have to look to find alternative treatments that work for you," Desiree says. "So many people want answers immediately, but healing can be a long process."

With little money but a lot of hope, they traveled to New York City to meet a renowned specialist in gynecological Traditional Chinese Medicine. The doctor refused to treat Desiree, fearing liability for what he felt was her imminent death. Despondent, Desiree and Andrew sought care under another alternative oncologist back in South Florida. This doctor prescribed an expensive regimen of intravenous Vitamin C, ozone baths, and herbs. The couple sold their car to afford the treatments, but the cancer stayed. Finally, the oncologist suggested that Desiree return to chemotherapy.

During the second round of chemo, Desiree dropped fifty-five pounds; her hair fell out in clumps; she all-but-quit sleeping for the constant pain the tumors caused; and far worst of all, her determination started to erode. Bankrupt, the couple moved in with Desiree's parents and enrolled in hospice care. "All I could think was that I wanted my mother. I just wanted the pain to end. I wanted to fade away." For Andrew, these days were unendingly dark. He'd quit working as a piano teacher, months prior, to care for Desiree full-time. "My life was completely wrapped up in her survival," he says. "I felt that if she were to die, I would soon follow."

One final last-ditch round of chemo obliterated Desiree's immune system. She received a blood transfusion, and suffered from severe cycles of abdominal cramping. Andrew could no longer bear witness to her pain. On a well-timed recommendation, Andrew helped Desiree into her wheelchair and they flew across the country to consult with master healer Bo-In Lee. Little did they realize they would not be returning home.

A Place to Heal

Desiree's healer and teacher recently told her that when she first arrived at the New Life Health Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, "her soul had already separated from her body." She couldn't even climb the steps of the Center. Still, from the first moment she entered it, she knew she could heal there.

World-renowned acupuncturist Master Bo-In Lee did not initially undertake to help Desiree conquer death, as other doctors had. "He tried to prepare me for that natural and beautiful journey," Desiree recalls. He treated her for pain and instructed her in some Zen Buddhist approaches to dying. "I learned to see death as an extension of life. This made me feel totally calm. For once, I could let go of fear," says Desiree.

Within days, she felt "her soul return to her body." Master Lee felt it, too. He started to treat her with a powerful combination of herbs and acupuncture. He identified foods to replenish her denuded system. Most importantly, she says, Master Lee's counseling and philosophy continued. He prescribed daily meditation and deep breathing. Within weeks, Desiree was climbing the Center's stairs several times a day, she no longer relied on her wheelchair, and she was starting to gain weight. The tumors' growth had ceased.

Today, life has returned to both of the Berkes. Andrew has found piano students in Boston, and the couple has started to plan for their future together. They've established a medical trust fund to help pay for Desiree's ongoing treatments. As Desiree recovers more and more, she hopes to help others seek alternative therapies. "One of the greatest things we can do is herald the news that cancer doesn't have to be a fatal disease," says Andrew.

After eight months under Master Lee's care, no one would guess that the exuberant woman - with her cropped hair, elfin grin, and hearty laugh - is surviving one of the most virulent, most incurable cancers known. Her healing does not come from a bottle of pills, or through an IV drip, or even in an acupuncturist's needle. It comes from her open heart and her open mind. "Every individual holds the key to their own healing," says Desiree. "I hope that my struggles can help others recognize that."

Please visit the website www.dkbcancerfund.com to find out more about Desiree's treatments. You can write to Desiree or contribute to the DKB Cancer Fund at PO Box 67100, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467.

Healing Testimonial
by Sharon Viramonte

 

As I saw it, it was either die of the number one killer, heart disease, or of the number two killer, cancer – take your pick, Sharon.

For the past 40 years, my chosen profession has been hairdressing. As my job requires some long hours, I became accustomed to some haphazard eating habits - maybe I would eat, maybe I would not, sometimes late at night, and with soda pop all day long to keep me going. After 35 years of living like this, the truth came out: This is not the correct way to live for a long and healthful life!

When I first heard those chilling words from my doctor, "You've got breast cancer," my body went into shock. Could this really be happening to me?

When I awoke in the mornings, I would feel a stabbing pain in my stomach from thinking about not being able to see my grandchildren grow up and travel the world and experience for myself all those wonderful places I had read about.

Because I eventually chose not to follow the traditional treatment of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, I began to seriously study my alternatives. I had read Prevention magazine from cover to cover while I was growing up, as my mom and dad had it in the house all the time. Reading it had given me a deep interest in natural remedies. But all of this knowledge by itself would not help alone - I realized I really needed to do it too!

When I was first diagnosed, I discovered that I could take cancer marker tests to determine how much cancer was in my body. The first test revealed it was off the charts. The range for the cancer markers was 0 to 38 and mine was way over 38. I also had my immune system checked. The normal range for the test was between 3500 and 5000, and mine was 29. I feel the only thing that saved me during this time was the Colloidal silver I was taking to destroy bacteria and virus. If I had not been taking that, I feel I probably would have been just another statistic.

For three years I spent approximately ten thousand dollars on a variety of supplements, pills, teas and salves designed to (1) kill the cancer, (2) build up my immune system, (3) repair and build up my body, or (4) increase my body’s alkaline levels.

Because I could not find a diet including the correct balance of supplements and additives to keep my body alkaline all the time, I went to see a local naturopath. We did a metabolic test and the findings revealed that I needed a diet of 70% meat and 30% carbohydrates (which included bread, grains and dairy, fruits and veggies). I followed this program for 18 months and found that I was alkaline during the day but not at night. This was disturbing to me. I should be alkaline all the time, if my body was alkaline.

Then I found a program of eating whole foods (from the garden). I was told that the meat causes ammonia in the blood and would eventually cause heart disease. As I saw it, it was either die of the number one killer, heart disease, or of the number two killer, cancer – take your pick, Sharon.

I started eating whole foods for one meal a day and in six weeks my markers dropped from 25 to 17. I did not eat all whole foods because the change was difficult for me at first, so I continued the supplements also. That drop was very significant; however, usually the markers would go down slowly or maybe back up under high stress. When I started eating the whole foods, nuts, seeds and grains totally with the supplements, my markers went from 17 to 3 in just 10 days. Wow, I had finally found something very helpful to my body. Now I was giving it what it needed to heal itself.

I continue to eat this way and am no longer taking any of those $10,000.00 a year capsules, pills, teas or salves. I feel I will continue with this program for the rest of my life. Each of my mammograms shows that my cancer tumors are significantly smaller every time. Still, the doctor calls to see when I'm going to do the surgery. "Not today - life is too good."

For 40 years as a hairdresser, Sharon Viramonte has helped people feel confident and look great. She now directs her attention to the most important part of life – health! For more information, call 350-0975.