cancer is not a disease, but a survival mechanism

Thoughts? Thoughts? How about outrage? Or will that cause cancer?

Lisa, I just can't find any scientific research in this. And, research has shown this attitude to be flat out wrong. But maybe that's okay for some people.

"Cancer patients typically suffer from lack of self-respect or worthiness, and often have what I call an "unfinished business" in their life. Cancer can actually be a way of revealing the source of such inner conflict. Furthermore, cancer can help them come to terms with such a conflict, and even heal it altogether. The way to take out weeds is to pull them out along with their roots. This is how we must treat cancer; otherwise, it may recur eventually."

I had to stop there, and just scan after that.

I call it crap. Notice, I am not flaming you, please. I just find nothing substantial or evidence based in this article.

We can all pull out lines and anecdotes that make sense to us, because we want validation of our positions. But I just feel like this is poison. If this makes perfect sense to you, so be it. Just don't tell me that I caused my DISEASE. And don't tell me cancer is not a disease.

Those are my thoughts. You asked.

Anne

I am one of 5 sisters. The only one in the family (besides mom) who has been dx with cancer. My paternal grandmother was one of 6 females. Each one lived well into their 80s and 90s and not one ever had cancer. I resent the implication presented in this article that i brought it on, but that appears to be the common thread in these sorts of writings. None of the theories are ever backed by solid scientific evidence - for every anecdote in favor, I can find another person who died by believing in quacks.

We all want to cure cancers - the thousands of cancers. No one wants any further deaths from cancer. We want to hope there is something that will cure when all else has failed. Unfortunately, placing too much credence in some of these theories may result in some people not getting the proper medical care.

Who knows the whys and hows of cancer?  May medical science find cures and provide additional long-term treatments.

Blessings to your mom.   

I think if I wasn't a bc survivor myself, I'd agree with most of what was stated in that article.  I think it's way too simplistic, however, to say that people develop tumors because "poor self-image, unresolved conflict and worries, or past emotional trauma that still lingers in his/her subconscious." C'mon, who DOESN'T have these elements in life?  To my mind, this fails to explain why some people develop tumors and others don't.  In fact, I think my mom could debunk this thinking singlehandedly.  Her case of bc happened decades ago and she never grew another tumor.  I think both she and her mother, also a bc survivor of many years before passing at age 85, would have had multiple cancers if this author was on target.  

What I can agree with is the assertions that mainstream medicine is way off track.  I think it's possible, perhaps likely, that prevention of cancer might turn out to be dirt cheap, or even free.  Such a remedy will not see the light of day in today's social climate of greed and gross consumption of materials.  People have been around for a long time, much longer than scapels and pharmacies.  Whatever the answer turns out to be, I think it will derive from something old as dirt.   

I believe there are illnesses that one can cause oneself. But I believe that cancer is random. My family medical history is more like a chop suey. Most of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side died of heart disease. My mother died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. My father died of complications of old age. My oldest sister died from alzheimers last year at age 68. I have been on medication for my blood pressure since I turned 40. One would think that in all probability I would die from some sort of heart problem or stroke. I was dx with IDC March, 2007. Luck of the draw? 

oooh, cancer in both breasts, for me, Genesis! I must be ready for the psychiatrist's couch!

Seriously, the left breast/right breast theory is IMO the biggest bunch of metaphysical doo-doo I have heard yet. And I don't need to do any soul-searching regarding this particular theory. Soul-searching implies I did something emotionally to cause my cancers.

Call me insensitive, then. But cancer is not my fault.

Anne

This is what I found, I had read this somewhere and found it quite interesting. Everyone is scrambling to find an answer to why. Although shit has hit the fan for us wouldnt it be nice to find the pieces of the puzzle so we can make sure they never align again perfectly ?

I certainly am appreciating any kind of information on this subject, and what makes conventional medicine anyway ? Holistic, naturalistic therapies which have been tested and have statistics created on them.

http://www.breastcancerref.org/old_site/newsletter/Jan03a.html

Breast Cancer
Research and Education Fund

Newsletter 2002 (Volume 1     Issue 5)

Many women with breast cancer experienced emotional stress before their diagnosis. This stress may relate to a conflict with a spouse or partner, with a parent or child, or with one's work. In my experience working with women with breast cancer, I have seen numerous women who felt trapped in a relationship, with no apparent solution or way out. Their creative energy has been sacrificed to please or cater to a husband who had the controlling hand in the relationship, and women may feel unable to break free. Healing from breast cancer often involves addressing this emotional conflict.

Dr. Hamer, a German medical doctor, found that an emotional conflict having to do with a mother-child relationship may manifest as a tumor in the left breast of a right-handed woman, whereas a conflict involving one's partner may manifest as a tumor in the right breast of a right-handed woman. I find this to be the case some of the time, but certainly not always."

Pardon my naivity but why the anger ladies ?

Oh and this Dr. Kaur also has a nice summary in that page:

 Dietary Strategies for Breast Cancer Prevention by Sat Dharam Kaur, N.D.

1. eat a primarily vegetarian, organic diet.
2. consume 6-9 servings of fruit and vegetables daily (one serving is equal to ½ cup steamed vegetables or 1 cup of salad).
3. consume 2 tbsp. sea weed daily or use dulse powder regularly in your cooking.
4. consume at least 50% raw food, depending on constitutional type.
5. be aware of the glycemic index of foods and tailor your meals so that they do not create a dramatic rise in blood sugar levels. Eat several small meals daily, avoid carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.
6. keep your diet alkaline by loading up on vegetables and keeping grain and protein amounts lower. Monitor urinary pH and target it to be between 6.8 - 7.2.
7. use phytoestrogens regularly - freshly ground flaxseeds, soy, pumpkin seeds, red clover and mung bean sprouts - to displace the body's strong estrogens and xenoestrogens.
8. consume foods from the brassica family daily - cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc
9. consume a high fibre diet - 30 grams of fibre daily.
10. use turmeric and rosemary regularly.
11. use flaxseed oil (unheated) daily and use extra virgin olive oil in moderation. Use only olive oil in a small amount of water for cooking. Minimize other fats to 15% of your daily caloric intake.
12. avoid all sweeteners except stevia and fructose in small amounts
13. avoid canned and packaged food and preservatives
14. store food in glass, not plastic
15. avoid coffee and alcohol - these interfere with the liver's ability to detoxify
16. high potassium/low salt diet

Dr. Sat Daram Kaur lectures in Breast Health at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and specializes in the prevention and treatment of cancer in her naturopathic clinic. Submit your questions to Kaur's Korner by contacting us at the BCREF office.

Well I'm NOT buying these theories to blame myself or family members for my cancer. I do agree that a compromised immune system has a role in some individuals to allow them to be more suceptable to getting cancer.  Certainly a poor unhealthy life style contributes to all kinds of diseases including cancer.  However, I still believe the numerous toxins in our environment and daily products that we use are contributing to many diseases.

By the nature that we are human and have physiological responses to everything in our environment, it stands to reason that some of the responses will have a detrimental effect on our bodies.

By the nature that we are human, we will all die of something. For some of us it is cancer. For others, heart disease. For others, stroke, or accidents, or infections. I could go on and on.

All we can do is live the best life possible for us. I choose not to live in a bubble. I can't prevent the cancers I've already had. And I still have a better chance of dying from heart disease than of cancer.

Heart disease is probably a "survival" mechanism, too. Any illness can be read as that. Fill in the blank. My point is that you can take a gazillion steps to improve your diet, acidify your body, whatever, and still die of something. Do what you need to live well and live strong. But live life with the courage of your convictions.

Anne

Dear Michelle, You are so right!!! God bless you. You stated it beautifully. You helped me in November when I was concerned with my liver enzymes. You are a wonderful daughter. Kathy 

Without evidence-based research studies, any so-called statistics are meaningless. When discussing this with my husband he said, "How silly. Everyone knows breast cancer is caused by being born under the wrong astrological sign!"  Of course!  I was born under the sign of Cancer! OMG! Doomed! (Mom's a Scorpio, so that's trouble, too.)

If major, life-long conflicts are the cause of cancer, then someone please explain the 5 year old with lung cancer. The baby with a brain tumor. The men and women who live long lives with conflict galore with family members and never get cancer. Exactly. An anecdote does not make for evidence.

I can make a video and put it on the internet, but that doesn't make it true. I could say that prolonged, 25 years exposure to pugs (sorry, guys) causes cancer, but that doesn't make it true. At the moment they are the cause of plenty of irritation, but.....Likewise, I don't believe that using BCP, or having amalgam fillings, or eating canned food, or storing things in plastic gave me cancer. It hit me. Shit happens.  I do what I can to take care of it, see my doctors, get mammograms, have annual physicals, and so on. If, god forbid, it comes back, I deal with it. Death doesn't scare me. My way isn't the only way, but it works for me.

Of course I trust a medical professional who has spent literally half his life researching cancer treatments over theories without any basis in fact.

I dare say that more have been cured, or rather put into remission, with care by medical professionals than with internet theorists. 

Playing the blame game, be it on someone else or on yourself, is counter-productive and the angst it creates isn't worth it.

Hope is a powerful thing. I hope that one day there is no more blame, that we find not only what causes all the cancers but what will cure them or manage them as well.

Confirming "beliefs" is not the  same as confirming a scientific theory through decades of research following the scientific process. It's like saying that any group with "cancer research" in its name is doing true research and your donations go to finding a cure. Wrong!

Beliefs follow faith. Reliegious beliefs are not researched facts. You accept certain things in good faith. That's what you're doing with the "survival mechanism" topic (yes, I know the thread's topic). And that's okay. We all have our beliefs and value systems.

So, given your list of what causes lowered oxygen levels and that lowered oxygen levels MAY cause cancer, I'm surprised there's not more cancer than there is!! And yes, cancers were around a hundred years ago, without pollution, toxins as we know them today, yadayadayada. And, you may well be onto something, Lisa. That's exciting. Now, let's see funded research for cause and effect, and find appropriate treatments.

I don't feel we lose hope by saying "life causes cancer." Not at all. Cancer happens, and we can live long, productive lives with it (at least many of us can. Some are not so furtunate.) Our lives CAN be in harmony, and we can get cancer. Or hit by the bus. Or MS. Or not.

And still have harmony, without searching for an emotional reason of why our cell's basic survival skills got whacked. 

And we'll still die of something.

I promise, I'm done with my rant on this thread.

Anne

I'm sorry...."do us, the spouses, a big favor"...????  If I am to believe the whole stress/relationship crap as it relates to cancer, then perhaps it is our SPOUSES who need to do US a favor?

Honestly, I thought this sort of thinking went out with the dark ages.  Women, in particular, have been coerced into behaving like vacant little stepford robots by ideas such as this one. Lord save us if a woman is strong and opinionated....let's tell her it'll cause cancer. That'll scare her into acting like a "lady".

I am not generally combative or rude, but this whole thread has my fur up.