Holistic Healing and Cancer
By: Elizabeth Joyce
It has been demonstrated through bio-feedback and other ways that what we think and feel influences the response of our bodies. When the medical journey began hundreds of years ago, philosophers and scientists separated the mind from the body. We owe great advances in medical science for making that sharp distinction. Scientists analyze organs, tissues and cells independently of the mind, and learned how to explain disease in terms of germs or wayward genes. They never thought to ask the mind or emotions to play a part or to explain sickness. They felt it wasn’t necessary. Infectious disease such as smallpox, polio and cancer succumbed to a medical model that leaves the mind and emotions out. With the approach and interest in Alternatives to Medicine that has become prominent in the U.S. in the 90’s, scientists have begun to challenge this fundamental assumption. Some Scientists feel we are on the verge of a medical revolution that is bringing the mind and emotions into the equation of healing.
Scientists have long thought that the immune system, our defense against disease, operated alone, making us better or worse on its own, without the mind’s influence. But neuroscientists have now traced the nerve threads that run like wires between the human nervous system and the immune system. The mind and the immune system talk to one another. We can no longer pretend that the patient’s perceptions and inner feelings don’t matter with regard to healing, just as we can no longer think that healing is something a doctor does to a patient. People have learned to surpress their immune systems through fear and guilt.
Other scientists have been exploring the chemical link between the mind and the body. Molecules called neuropeptides act as messengers, traveling through the body and linking with specific receptor molecules as if guided by antennas tuned to the brain. Because their activity fluctuates with our states of mind, they have been referred to as the biochemical units of emotion translating emotions into bodily activity, for good or for ill. If we smile and feel joy, our whole being responds, as it does when we feel discouraged and depressed. The most dangerous threat to our immune system with the possibility of causing serious disease is chronic depression. Traditionally, we have thought the brain houses the mind. However, with the acceptance of Alternatives to Medicine and through studies of the Eastern Philosophies, we are finding that the mind resides within the body as well. The more we know about neuropeptides, the harder it is to think in the traditional terms of a mind separate from a body. It is making more and more sense to speak of a single integrated entity, a body-mind-spirit.
The steps to begin healing from within are:
- Emotions are important, logic is important, emotions are more important. They influence health and recovery from disease, which included cancer. Emotions are a strong driving force in our immune system and other body healing systems.
- Our beliefs influence our emotions, and in doing so,influence our health as well.
- You have the power to significantly influence your beliefs, attitudes and emotions which significantly will influence your health.
- Helpful ways of influencing beliefs, attitudes, and emotions can be taught and learned by using a variety of accessible methods.
- All of us function as physical, emotional and spiritual human beings. All aspects need to be addressed in the broad context of healing, with a focus on the needs and predisposition of the person who is ill, and that person’s family, community and culture.
- Harmony_balance among the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of our being, is central to good health. This applies not only to the health of the individual’s mind and body, but also to their relationships; with self, family, friends, community, planet and the universe.
- We have inherited genetic, instinctual tendencies and abilities that aid us in moving into the direction of good health and harmony.
- As these inherited natural abilities develop, proficiency develops, as when learning other skills. The result is greater harmony and a better quality of life, which significantly impacts one’s state of health.
- This learning about our inner spiritual power also changes our relationship with death, whenever it may come, lessening fear of pain and feeling more energy towards getting well and living life more fully and actively today.
- Self-Responsibility and Conditioning
It’s not what happens to us, but how we react to it, and we each are 100% responsible for our experiences. If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.
- Changing Your Life Habits
Including diet, exercise and your thoughts. Food combining, Macro-Biotic, Natural Herbs, Vitamins, Homeopathy. Yoga, trampoline, walking, dancing, cycling, tai-Chi, Swimming, Sports, Martial Arts, etc. Meditation
In any form, this is a wonderful way to quiet the mind and allow your “inner voice” to come to the surface. It’s simple. Sit quietly, ask yourself what it is you need to know and allow the answer to come to the surface. If it doesn’t right away, that’s okay. It will another day. There are many spiritual groups u can be a part of.
- Stress Reduction
Systematic desensitization, Deep breathing, Biofeedback, Sauna, Water therapy (Hot Tub), Slant board, Music.
- Therapeutic Support Groups There are many in the New York area, some stemming from hospital centers or hospice locations.
After five years of training as a Holistic Spiritual Healer, I had been strongly advised by my mentors never to begin treatment with a terminal cancer patient. My interest in their specific treatment began when Dr. Bernie Siegel’s book came out entitled, “Love, Medicine and Miracles.” I am not a physician, but I have seen many a miracle during my spiritual healing sessions. I wondered if the visualization techniques, dietary and exercise plan and basic belief in life with positive thinking could help these suffering people.
I began to feel that I could contribute to the cure for cancer because I knew full well that the patient is in partial control of the cure. I spoke to a cancer group and was amazed that the patients seemed to have no motivation to get well. They not only had no confidence in their own ability to get better, but they had no confidence in me or any doctor treating them for cancer. So, I began to look at this problem and to explore the possibility of getting patients to involve themselves willingly into a self-reflective healing process. I feel that if a cancer patient begins to look at the emotional reasons they may have for creating this disease, they could possible begin to let the tightly held emotions, hence the disease, go. This would enable the body to then respond to the treatments.
In my search to find ways to mobilize the patients’ inner resources, I studied meditation, visualization, Louise Hay techniques, positive thinking, Eastern philosophies, Shamans, fire-walking, sweat lodges, Silva Mind Control, Dr. Deepak Chopra and many, many other holistic approaches. I incorporated these techniques with what I had developed in my own work and found that I began to bring out dramatic changes in my patients’ attitudes, and thus in their responses to medical treatment. I have compiled a seven year study of my research and find the patients survival time to be changed from the original prognosis by five years or more, and some had surgery and did not need chemotherapy or any other follow-up treatment.
I have been able to maintain a follow up study with all of my cancer clients and the results have been overwhelming. I was not able to build an experimental group versus a matched and maintained control group which is necessary for maximum scientific study. This would have been my next step, but funding prevents me from continuing.
However, such a study has now been completed and was published in October 1989. This research was done at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley and it represents the highest standard in scientific evidence, in a controlled, randomized study. The researchers studied women with advanced breast cancer, and the results, which were reported by Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford, are very compelling. In their control study they followed up on fifty women in the counseled group. Their median survival time was 36.6 months in the counseled group. The survival of the control group, women who were not counseled, was 18.9 months.
These results are especially gratifying because Dr. Spiegel has admitted the researchers had set out to disprove any claims that meditation, visualization and counseling can affect survival. Instead, working with admirable objectivity, they have strengthened the conclusions of Alternative Medicine, with the highest order of clinical research.
In 1993 the National Institute of Health organized a branch to research Alternative Medicine further and is awarding grants to researchers over the next few years. Dr. Deepak Chopra heads the Board of Alternative Medicine at NIH.
While scientific proof of the importance of the Body-Mind-Spirit connection still makes headlines, doctors working with individual patients have observed such a connection since the beginning of recorded medical history.
In my opinion, the definitive research has been done to prove that the mind influences the body. Now it seems the most important area to address is how the mind can be used to influence the body most effectively. During the past seven years, this subject has been the focus of my healing work. Creating optimum health by using optimum therapy and our natural Mind-Body Pharmacy.
I believe that the power of the mind, as Dr. Carl Jung wrote about, goes far beyond whatever we have imagined up until now. In addition I believe that, beyond the mind and body, there is another aspect of healing that needs to be addressed and researched: the Spiritual aspect.
The dictionary defines spirit as “the principle of conscious life, the vital principle in humans. The divine influence as an agency working in the human heart. Devotional, sacred.” Working with spirit means enhancing our connection with the life principle. It means asking questions about why we’re here on the planet and about our unique purpose in life.
The mind is used most effectively when it is aware of spirit. Spirit gives us resources that can’t be reached through traditional psychological approaches. (Seat Of The Soul by Gary Zakov) It opens the mind and body to healing forces and energies that go far beyond our current understanding of our own limits. We can learn to bring that power into our own lives. (Timeless Mind, Ageless Body by: Deepak Chopra)
I’m sure that this conclusion would be very difficult to prove in the laboratory. However, through the day by day application and life experience, methods have been developed to communicate and work with spirit energy, and I am confident that what I have learned from my patients prove these techniques to be valid.
Laura came to me in the early fall of 1992. She was 26 years old and about to be married. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and had to face the possibility of having no children, plus the ordeal of a life threatening disease. We began the work, and as we looked far beneath the surface of the personality through ancient yoga breathing techniques and regression, a fear began to make itself present within her. Laura was very angry with her father for early childhood abuse. She felt she hated him and could never forgive him.
I explained to her that the hate was eating her body alive and had manifested as an ugly disease within her. We went deeper, and Laura became hysterical. She would not let go of the hate and justified anger within her. I asked her to picture the cancer cells as an eight ball in her abdomen. I then proceeded with “etheric surgery” and asked for the help of Spirit to removed the imaginary black ball, representing her dis-ease. Laura could feel the power of the healing energy move within her. She stopped and could go no further. With a tear in her eye, she left and told me she knew what she had to face, and the possibility of the cancer spreading, but she could not let go of her feelings.
I asked her to come back before the surgery if she felt we could do more work. It was entirely up to her. I also gave her several books to read, a suggested diet for cancer patients (per Louise Hay) and some meditation techniques to practice for several months. She sighed, said she still hated her father, and left.
A week later Laura returned. I had not contacted her at all, knowing that the rest of the inner healing had to be completely her choice. As we began the work, I saw Laura begin to smile. Her present life, her upcoming marriage and career, was far more important to her than any experiences she had suffered in the long ago past of childhood. I was pleased that she understood and embraced the process so lovingly and wholeheartedly.
This time, as we made the black ball on the abdomen, we decided to go into the hospital operating room and bless everything. We blessed the doctors, the nurses, the instruments, the anesthesiologist, anyone and anything present in the room. We also blessed all surgeries being performed the next day, as well as Laura’s. We held this inner vision until we could feel light in every nook and cranny of our visualization. A cool air seemed to permeate the room and Laura felt a pulling from her abdomen. As her father had been completely forgiven on all levels of her being, Laura felt light, energized, alive and complete. She had found peace in her heart. I knew a spiritual healing had occurred through Grace, and felt her operation would be successful.
It was after six week when I heard from her again, and the happiness in her voice will stay with me forever. She told me her surgery had been successful and the cancer was slight, much less than expected. She did not need any follow up treatment or chemotherapy and she had healed much faster than the doctor had expected. The doctor told her a story that afternoon that left her with a heart full of spirit and wonderment.
The doctor said he had one of the most successful day of surgery he could remember. He had done six operations, one on a small boy with a brain tumor. Every one of the patients had healed quickly and every one did not need chemotherapy. He also mentioned to Laura that his hands felt light and “guided” and had tingled through each operation.
It may take ten, twenty or more than a hundred years to prove the presence of Spirit and the importance of this energy to the human being, but that’s okay with me. The research will continue.
- Emotions are important, logic is important, emotions are more important. They influence health and recovery from disease, which included cancer. Emotions are a strong driving force in our immune system and other body healing systems.
- Our beliefs influence our emotions, and in doing so, influence our health as well.
- You have the power to significantly influence your beliefs, attitudes and emotions which significantly will influence your health.
- Helpful ways of influencing beliefs, attitudes, and emotions can be taught and learned by using a variety of accessible methods.
- All of us function as physical, emotional and spiritual human beings. All aspects need to be addressed in the broad context of healing, with a focus on the needs and predisposition of the person who is ill, and that person’s family, community and culture.
- Harmony_balance among the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of our being, is central to good health. This applies not only to the health of the individual’s mind and body, but also to their relationships; with self, family, friends, community, planet and the universe.
- We have inherited genetic, instinctual tendencies and abilities that aid us in moving into the direction of good health and harmony.
- As these inherited natural abilities develop, proficiency develops, as when learning other skills. The result is greater harmony and a better quality of life, which significantly impacts one’s state of health.
- This learning about our inner spiritual power also changes our relationship with death, whenever it may come, lessening fear of pain and feeling more energy towards getting well and living life more fully and actively today.
What can you do in a practical way to help yourself be cancer-free? How can you work to make sure you’re not one out of three who will get this terrifying disease? Some people feel that the more they learn about the various foods, chemicals, activities and personality traits the effect us, the more helpless they feel about their ability to do anything to help ward off the disease.
This resignation is certainly understandable. Statistics say that this year alone 1.2 million people in the United Sates will be diagnosed with some form cancer, and about half that many will die from it. Some 46,000 of those fatalities will be due to tumors of the breast. “By the year 2000, cancer will surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death.” predicts Dr. Harmon Eyre, deputy executive vice president of medical affairs and research at the American Cancer Society.
Even so, self-help health management shows that you can take precautions to lower your risk of cancer early in life. By following easy, sensible safeguards, establishing a healthy lifestyle, and practicing early detection, you can improve your chances of avoiding this disease and may never be exposed to it. However, you must start today!
- Good Nutrition
A good diet is your first line of defense against cancer. “No single factor has a stronger influence of your life than the food you eat,” says Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life. - Maintain a stable and correct weight
If you are 40% or more over weight, you run a greater risk of breast, uterine, colon, or gallbladder cancer. Estrogen stored in excess fat tissues may promote the growth of tumors. - Vegetables – Vegetables – Vegetables
Natural grown foods are a love to effective cancer fighting. If it doesn’t grow, don’t eat it. You cannot afford to eat TV dinners or processed foods. Broccoli contains sulforaphane, a powerful anticancer compound, while spinach and kale are high in the protective antioxidant luetin. Enjoy brussel sprouts, celery, green beans, lentils and peas. Also, cabbage may help to prevent breast cancer. Rates for this disease are far lower in Poland and Germany, where much cabbage is consumed. - Fiber To Cleanse
Enjoy whole grains, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Potatoes, popcorn, tortillas (without meat) and whole grain cereals are also high in fiber. These help to remove carcinogenic compounds from the body. The best junk food is natural popcorn. - Skip Smoked Foods and Processed Foods
Limit consumption of charcoal grilled, and salt or nitrite cured meats. Red meat cooked over hot flames absorbs a chemical that is carcinogenic. - Shed All Fat From Your Diet
Trim all meats, poultry and fish. People who derive 40% of calories from fat run a high risk for cancer. According to the National Cancer Society, people whose diets are heavy in saturated fats are five times more at risk of developing lung cancer. Avoid tropical oils, and limit your intake of nuts, seeds, commercially baked products, snack chips and fried foods, which are heavy in saturated fats. Eat only small amounts of butter, oil, margarine, creme sauces, gravies, and high fat dairy foods such as eggs, cheese and ice cream.
The secret is to use common sense, and read the book You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay. Her thoughts and techniques have helped many.
Also, be sure to do the following:
- Take Vitamins
- Lower Alcohol Consumption
- Stay Out of the Sun
- Exercise Regularly and Correctly
- Find Out About Your Family Genes History
- DON’T SMOKE
Be sure to get a yearly check up and practice a self-examination each day when you shower. Your best defense against cancer is early discovery of any abnormalities. The earlier the detection, the better your chances for a cure. A full check-up with complete tests every three years is very important and can help detect cancers of the breast, tongue, mouth, colon, rectum, cervix, and skin. This covers more than half of the cases of cancer.
As we read and listen to the research doctors and teams of trained professionals who are tentative, cautious, suggestive rather than emphatic about conclusions, we begin to believe them when they say we are a long way from understanding the manifold connections between the mind and the body. Americans are now experimenting and taking control of their own health. More that three billion dollars was spent in 1994 on Alternative Medicine. This is becoming very important work. If someday we do understand these connections, we will have redefined human physiology and gained the basis for expanding the frontiers of healing.
There are many, many avenues you can explore for alternative healing. If one way doesn’t work for you, try another. All these suggestions have proved to be beneficial but no one can say which one is right for you. That is something you have to discover for yourself. No one method, one group or one person has all of the answers for everyone. These are just stepping stones along your pathway to holistic health and balance of the body/mind/spirit.
So please, don’t decide that your current beliefs about the “spiritual” experience will exclude you from doing inner work. People have been treated who are atheists, and they are always able to find terms for their experiences that are comfortable and meaningful for them. Remember these techniques don’t ask hat you exclude what your doctors can do for you. In fact, most of the work in healing, especially critical or life threatening healing, helps people cooperate more actively with their treatment and with their health care team. These are suggestions to help you realize that you can go further with yourself and your mental abilities to influence your own health. Awareness and Self-Responsibility is the key.
