I am truly shaken at the moment. I was just reading about the origins of chemotherapy and learned it was derived from agents used in chemical warfare. Mustard gas, to be specific.
In the 1940's Yale University physicians, Louis Goodman and Alfred Gilman, researched the medical records of WW1 soldiers affected by mustard gas.They found that many had a very low number of immune cells in their blood – cells that, if mutated, can go on to develop into leukemia and lymphoma. They surmised that if mustard gas could destroy normal white blood cells, it seemed likely that it could also destroy cancerous ones. And so it began.
More frightening is that I almost took one of these drugs. Carboplatin. It is commonly used for many cancers, including breast cancer. Nitrogen mustard is part of its chemical makeup (also called Mustargen or Mechlorethamine). Because of my sensitivity to chemicals, Carboplatin was alleviated from my initial treatment plan due to its harsh side effects.
Now I know why.
Take An Active Role in Your Healing
Chemotherapy kills cancer cells, but it also kills rapidly dividing healthy cells. It damages organs, your brain, blood cells, depletes immunity and leaves a wave of devastation in the body. It's vital to educate yourself on the potential long term side effects and consequences of chemotherapy. It's not the only way to treat cancer. Doctors are only allowed to tell you what is considered standard medical protocol. In my experience, they don't really want to hear what you are doing otherwise. As wonderful as they are, they are just not trained that way.
You can shrink tumors, but it doesn't mean that you have addressed the underlining causes of your cancer. You have to get to the cancer stem cells, and there are ways of doing that naturally. I write a little about this here. I've heard too many stories of people dying when their cancer comes back even more aggressive than before. Haven't you? And why are there so many remissions?
Be Your Own Advocate
Empowering knowledge is out there for everyone- books, articles, videos, studies. People have healed from cancer in all kinds of ways. And if you choose chemotherapy, be sure you really understand the survival rates. Weigh your options. Educate yourself. If you are too overwhelmed, let someone else be your research warrior. Whatever direction you choose, be sure it is a well-informed one. Get second and third opinions. Ask questions.
It's your life.
Eat Healthy
I talk about this extensively in other posts. Food IS medicine. Like thousands of others, I do not agree with doctors who say you can eat whatever you want when you have cancer. It's simply not true. Everything you put in your body helps or hurts it. Cancer uses refined white sugar for fuel. You're feeding the Beast. The research is out there and not hard to find. I was addicted to sugar, and I shudder to think what would have happened if I kept my old diet.
I was reading someone's Instgram post about the importance of healthy eating when you have cancer and especially after. One woman replied that she has cancer and she eats whatever she wants. "Life is short," she said.
Now her life could be even shorter.
Things are changing in the cancer world. Breast conservation. Gene therapy. SO many more! The immunotherapy treatment I took came out 8 years ago. But until years of data and studies are compiled, we are offered what has always been done. Toxic chemicals. Most of the the popular chemotherapy drugs are between 20-60 years old. Thousands of people are still dying and we have to wonder why? Cancer is the the second leading cause of death behind heart disease. More people are dying from cancer each year than all the U.S. wars combined.
Something is not right.
Are we someday going to look back aghast at cancer treatments that made people violently sick in order to get "well."
According to Dr. James D. Huysman: "Billions of dollars are spent each year on cancer fighting drugs with horrific side effects. The cost of new drugs approved to treat cancer is life-threatening for many Americans. Not to mention the myriad of drugs prescribed to to combat the side effects. Is it any wonder that the word "cancer" can send shockwaves of palatable fear throughout a room?"
I recently saw this quote on the Instagram page, The Truth About Cancer:
"The Pharmaceutical Industry does not create cures. They Create Customers."
"The Future of Breast Cancer is Immunology"
Early on, I remember a surgeon telling me that the future of breast cancer was immunology. It sparked something in me. It's what I wanted from the start. I was fortunate that my type of cancer had a targeted immunology- treatment Herceptin and Perjeta. These types of treatments work with the immune system to identify and kill cancer cells, without making the body sick. The standard treatment was to combine this with chemotherapy drugs. Almost no one was doing the immunotherapy alone. At that time, I was afraid and thought I didn't have a choice but to do chemo if I wanted to live. After all, that is what everyone else seemed to do. But thankfully, I listened to my body.
How I Healed
I healed from stage 3 breast cancer in 5 months without any medical procedures other than immunology ( technically, I did have a total of 11 minutes of chemo before my body called it quits for good). I believe it was the combination of traditional and alternative medicine, a radical diet change, supplements, rest, and emotional & spiritual healing that gave my body everything it needed to repair itself.
" The medical industry tends to view cancer in a linear fashion, like an unstoppable train. The assumption is that if you have cancer, your body is incapable of healing it. But there is actually a medical term for cancers that do away on their own. When cancer goes away on its own, the industry calls it spontaneous remission, but there's another word for it. It's called healing. The body creates the cancer and the body can heal it." Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally. By Chris Wark
Here is the Chis Beat Cancer You Tube Link . He also has a podcast and a fantastic Instagram page!
How Beyond Pink America Came to Be
I just purchased the above book yesterday, and I find the reference to the train remarkable. About the time I was thinking about names for my blog, my dear friend Bill told me of his recent dream: An 100 year-old engineer steering a train...called Pink America. I knew that dream was my answer. It's time to look Beyond the way things have always been done.
What If You Have Already Had Chemo?
I realize that everyone's journey is different. This blog is my story, and I truly hope there are parts that help you too. I know I am meant to do this. For those who have already taken chemo or are in treatment, there are so many ways you can help your body continue to heal that I write about in many of my posts. We have to dig deeper. Cancer often has an emotional component. Trauma on all levels is stored in the body and causes energy blockage. It needs to be released and healed. Our bodies are electrical fields. More on that later.
Wellness is a life-long journey. To truly recover, we can't go back to our old ways. Illnesses often come to teach us.
And heal us.
I originally sat down to write about vitamins and supplements. But this took a different turn. And when this happens, I trust that I am being guided.
Somebody out there needed to read this blog today.
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