“Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.”
“First, do no harm.”
—Hippocrates
The 9-episode documentary series “The Truth About Cancer: A Global Quest” by TTAC Publishing has ended its free run on the Internet, and now may be accessed/downloaded for a subscription fee. But the fee is small considering the vast wealth of information that it provides from interviews with cancer experts and testimonials of cancer patients who have been cured.
This column is not meant to be a medical discourse; it is intended to introduce readers to a source of data (www.thetruthaboutcancer.com) that would enable them to make a more informed decision should they or a loved one suffer this dreaded ailment. Knowledge is power, and the series is an excellent reference for identifying most of the alternative treatments available to cancer victims.
Be forewarned however, that many of the alternative treatments presented in the series are alleged by mainstream US, UK and Philippine oncologists as folklore, or, at best, experimental. In the top hospitals in the Philippines or the United States, the conventional protocol for cancer patients is still slash (surgery), burn (radiation) and poison (chemotherapy). These “cures” can be so damaging that at times they, rather than the cancer itself, may end up as the primary cause of death. Chemotherapy, for example, attacks and destroys both cancer cells and normal cells. Not only does it often cause extreme discomfort, it also weakens the immune system, thus impairing the body’s ability to fight off infection.
The 5-year survival rate of cancer patients who were administered these conventional western treatments is not high, suggesting that the battle against cancer using these protocols is far from being won. This is because these treatments mainly attack and destroy the “daughter cancer cells” and not the cancer stem cells, which survive and eventually come back with more potency.
It should be noted as well that often, traditional medical insurance plans cover only these conventional treatments and not the alternative ones mentioned in the series. However, there are a number of countries led by Germany where these alternative treatments are becoming mainstream.
The good news is cancer is not an automatic death sentence and may be curable. Cancer is characterized by an uncontrolled multiplication of mutated cells whose apoptosis (programmed cell-death, typical of normal cells) is turned off, making them virtually immortal. They develop their own angiogenesis (development of their own capillaries to feed the cancer cell growth). This uncontrolled growth leads to tumors that eventually impair the proper functioning of organs; it may lead to organ failure and, potentially, death. Cancer cells are anaerobic—meaning they live without or little oxygen, unlike normal cells—and source their energy from oxidizing sugar. They are able to camouflage themselves such that the body’s killer cells—those that attack and destroy foreign or abnormal cells—are not able to identify them. Cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment, and unlike normal cells, they have poor tolerance to heat.
The treatments mentioned in the series focus on boosting the body’s immune system, depriving the cancer cells of sugar/glucose, providing more oxygen in the blood, reducing the body’s acidity, and using enough heat to kill the cancer cells without harming the normal cells.
To rid the body of cancer, there is a need to first boost the immune system, which involves detoxification, cleansing, and providing the right nutrition (plants, vegetables, fruits). Sunlight is important, together with proper exercise, enough rest/sleep, and being stress-free. The body’s digestive system is the source of 70-80 percent of the body’s immunity, and it is thus imperative that the guts be cleansed and nourished to enable the body to fight chronic infection and cancer cells. An adequate dose of probiotics is essential in maintaining healthy guts. Included in this nourishment are certain nutrients that could potentially destroy the cancer cells’ ability to camouflage themselves from attacks by the body’s killer cells and macrophages (the “Pacman” cells that destroy and kill cancer cells, cellular debris, and foreign substances).
For cleansing the colon, colonics using coffee enema is recommended. For those who find this procedure uncomfortable, eating high-fiber organic fruits and vegetables will also do. It is essential, of course, that the body is not exposed to toxicity and other harmful substances in the environment.
The cancer treatments discussed in the series include, among others, electricity, light, cannabis, micronutrients, hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen tents, juicing, fasting, enzymes, meditation, earthing, and the Budwig Protocol (flaxseed oil combined with organic low-fat cottage cheese).
The Philippines still follows the US system with respect to procedures available to cancer patients, which is to be expected since most of our doctors opt to train in American hospitals. The Department of Health should take a serious look at these alternative treatments, adopt policies that encourage natural healing, and make these available to Filipinos in general. These alternative treatments offer a significant potential for medical tourism; the country can be a leader in natural healing.
David L. Balangue (davidlbalangue@yahoo.com.ph) chairs the Coalition Against Corruption, Philippine Center for Population and Development Inc., and Namfrel.