Health and medical information

Certain vegetables from the cruciferous family have been recognised as having anticancer properties. These include broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, turnips, kale and bok choy. They increase the level of the enzyme aryl hydroxylase in the liver, lungs and intestines. This enzyme detoxifies many potential cancer-causing substances and blocks their action.

Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and turnips all contain sulphuric compounds (glucosilinates, isothiocyanates, sulforaphane and dithiolthiones), which may help to prevent many forms of cancer, kill aflotoxins and act as powerful antioxidants. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, turnips and cauliflower also contain powerful anti-cancer compounds called indoles. Indoles are very effective in fighting and preventing cancer. They play a key role in the removal of harmful female sex hormones. These sex hormones increase the risk of breast cancer.

Studies around the world have shown that people who eat large amounts of broccoli and cabbage (indole-rich foods) tend to have a decrease in harmful sex hormones in their bodies. This indicates that indole-rich foods such as broccoli and cabbage may be useful in the prevention of hormone induced breast cancer and other hormone sensitive cancers.

Broccoli has extremely strong cancer-preventing properties. Research on humans indicates broccoli is capable of preventing breast cancer due to the ability of one of its main constituents, indole-3-carbinol. It is able to increase the excretion of (oestrone)-2-hydroxyestrone, a form of oestrogen which is linked to the development of breast cancer when in excess. Broccoli contains dithiolthiones, which stimulate your body s immune system to fight cancer on its own. Broccoli also contains a potent anti-cancer compound called sulphoraphane, which has the ability to increase anti-cancer enzyme fighting systems in cells. This compound is also found in cauliflower, brussel sprouts, carrots, green onions and kale. Steaming does not destroy this anti-cancer compound.

Women who eat lots of broccoli may substantially lower their risk of developing cervical cancer. Men who smoke and eat dark green vegetables (like broccoli) often have half the lung cancer risk of smokers who don’t eat this vegetable. The rich amounts of Vitamin A and beta-carotene found in broccoli have been shown to help your body ward off many types of cancer, including lung cancer.

The dreaded brussel sprouts are a child’s worst nightmare. Yet brussel sprouts are unique vegetables with an amazing ability to kill the highly carcinogenic substance, aflatoxin. This is due to their high sulphurous compound – glucosilinate. Brussel sprouts are able to retard many forms of cancer, especially cancer of the colon, very effectively. In recent studies, animals that were fed brussel sprouts and were then given incredible amounts of carcinogens were far less likely to develop cancer than animals that were not fed the sprouts.

Brussel sprouts are loaded with beta-carotene and chlorophyll and eating them has been linked to low rates of stomach cancer. Studies in Greece, Norway and Japan have shown that people who eat green vegetables (particularly brussel sprouts) have the lowest incidence of cancers. They are loaded with nutrition including, vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron. They are nearly half protein. Brussel sprouts should not be boiled, they should be lightly steamed or finely chopped and added to salads.

Cabbage is believed to prevent several forms of cancer, particularly breast, stomach and colon cancer. In studies in Japan, Greece and America, cabbage was shown to fight off colon cancer. Cabbage helps to protect against radiation and increases the removal of toxic drugs and carcinogens, and decreases tumours caused by carcinogens. Cabbage is effective in protecting against low level radiation.

Cultures with high cabbage intake, such as Asian cultures, tend to have very low levels of breast cancer. The Japanese people have shown that individuals who eat large portions of cabbage every day have the lowest overall death rate and Greek research has indicated that adding vegetables like cabbage to your diet can reduce the risk of colon cancer by over 800 per cent.

Regular cabbage intake may suppress the growth of colon polyps, which are thought to lead to colon cancer. People who eat cabbage once a week may decrease their odds of developing colon cancer by a very large per centage. Cabbage, apart from being a rich source of chlorophyll, also contains a magical nutrient called vitamin U. Vitamin U is believed to heal and assist peptic ulcers. Cabbage also contains two cleansing minerals, chlorine and sulphur. These nutrients work hand in hand to expel wastes from the body and to keep our blood clean and healthy.

Cauliflower is very effective at preventing colon cancer. Cauliflower supplies high amounts of potassium which helps to promote healthy circulation. Its other vital nutrients include vitamin C, magnesium, chlorine, sulphur, phosphorous and silica.

Radish seeds are thought to alleviate some forms of cancer. Radish seeds, applied topically to the breast as a heated poultice are a good accessory treatment for breast cancer. Radish seeds consumed as a strong tea may decrease the incidence of stomach cancer. Radishes are a rich source of chlorine which assists in the removal of acid-mucus poisons from the body and helps to maintain a healthy and clean respiratory function.

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Laughter is one of my favourite areas to explore! When I was growing up I was famous in my neighborhood for my infectious giggle that charmed those around me to join in with fits of laughter. Now that I think about it, I’m not quite sure if they were laughing with me or at me. Never mind, at least my laughter could provoke others to laugh, and that’s a good thing. As you grow up, you get so caught up in the seriousness of life that you forget the wonder and child-like innocence of laughter and it seems to flow less spontaneously than when you were a child.

Laughter is one of the easiest and most important methods used to enhance healing and well-being. Giggling for whatever reason uplifts the spirit and soul, and provides an array of positive health benefits and rejuvenating qualities.

Regular laughter vibrates the entire body and sends joyous sounds to the rest of the world. The joy and humour provoked by laugher relieves boredom, tension, guilt, depression and anger. Laughter is light-hearted; it frees depression and resentment from the heart! It is impossible to be depressed when you are laughing. Laughter stimulates the brain to produce hormones that trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins are natural opiates or happy chemicals that decrease pain and discomfort and make you feel great.

To overcome cancer it is important to love who and what you are, and to love what you do. Laugh at yourself and at silly situations in everyday life and nothing can ever touch you or affect your health. Life is temporary anyway; everything changes, life and its events are not permanent, this is the only thing which is guaranteed. So why worry, when you can laugh? Norman Cousins is a man who is famous for curing himself of a fatal disease with laughter. He has written books on the healing properties and uplifting benefits of laughter and I recommend reading them.

Life is fun, it can be a game, and it can be a joy! It’s all up to you! The sooner you can laugh at your problems, the faster you will be able to let them go. You will feel lighter, happier and full of joy. Laughing spontaneously and having fun in life will take many years off your physical and biological age. In fact, laughter is a major key to ‘longevity’.

If your mind is filled with negative thoughts, old resentments, fears, anger, sadness and pain, then there is no room left for love and joy to flow freely and lighten your life. Laughter cannot flow freely if it is not allowed to be free and childlike. Learn to let go of negative emotions and allow the free flow of positive feelings and thoughts to emerge. Do whatever you can to make your transformational change a joy and pleasure. Have fun and laugh as much as you can. When was the last time you had a good ‘belly laugh’ like when you were a child? Why not today? Laugh yourself to better health, wealth and happiness!

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Drawing

Drawing pictures while in hospital is another wonderful, simple and inexpensive tool to alter your destiny in life. Drawing can be done by anyone, even people who feel that they are unable to draw. It is especially a wonderful tool for children. To create the outcome that you desire, try to draw pictures of yourself healthy and cancer-free. Alternatively, draw pictures of the white blood cells in your body defeating the cancer cells. Creating visual images of this outcome sends signals to your subconscious mind which leaves a positive imprint to set up the pathway to better health and happiness.

Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises are great for increasing healing and directing energy to the area of the body that needs attention. A simple breathing exercise to enhance healing is as follows:

Become aware of your own breathing, of every breath in and every breath out. Try to slow your breathing down. Be aware of the air flowing through your nasal passages and into and out of your chest. Breathe only through the nose. Concentrate on slowing your breath down and taking deeper breaths each time. Don’t think of anything else but your breathing.

This is such a simple exercise, yet very effective in relaxing the mind and improving oxygenation throughout the body to increase healing. If your room has windows that can be opened, then do just that; allow some fresh clean air to enter your room and fill your lungs. Unfortunately, many hospitals use air conditioners that can dehydrate you and rob you of the full benefits of clean fresh air.

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Raising Self-esteem During Treatment

Chemotherapy can be a humiliating and debilitating experience at any age. As human beings, we love and cherish our hair. It is believed the most traumatic experience in life for any man is to lose his hair. Imagine how terrifying this thought is for a woman, when we put so much energy into looking and feeling great for both our own self-confidence and for others. Many chemotherapy drugs often result in hair loss or hair thinning.

To maintain good levels of self-esteem and self-respect during treatment, prepare yourself for this outcome by cutting your hair into a short style. If you still wish to keep your locks, have your own hair made into a wig. There are some excellent wig specialists, who will style and colour a wig exactly to your needs and to suit your face shape. It’s actually fun to have the opportunity to try so many wigs on and experiment with different styles, lengths and colours. My favourite wig was a cute little pink bob style – I had always wanted to be daring and have pink hair. Opportunity knocked.

Hats, scarves, bandanas and colourful turbans are all available to decorate your head and uplift your spirits. I found using coloured henna paints, glitter pencils and body art painted in beautiful swirls and designs on my head, to be uplifting and creative. For younger people, there are some great tattoos, Indian bindis and other forms of body art available to give you a boost.

Ask a friend to draw some wonderful inspirational artwork on your head. If you experience a drop in self-confidence from other side effects like weight gain, weight loss, exhaustion or pimples, take action and use natural remedies to avoid and rectify these problems. Alternative remedies can be highly effective in eliminating many side effects and in decreasing the duration of treatment. Great activities to improve confidence and positivity include affirmations, meditation, breathing exercises, maintaining a good posture, yoga, tai chi and guided imagery.

Be around people who are positive, understanding and accepting of your condition. Keep your sense of humour; see funny movies, be around positive people, laugh and have lots of fun. One thing is certain in life, nothing remains the same. The world and life’s effects are ever-changing. Time passes and in its passing you will find yourself in a completely different environment and in a completely different stage in your life, filled with happiness and good health.

Types of Chemotherapy Drugs/Side effects/ How Given

There are hundreds of different types of chemotherapy and anti-cancer drugs being used in orthodox cancer treatment today. To find a more comprehensive list of short-term and long-term side effects and complications involved with their application, refer to a current MIMS manual. MIMS manual is a drug guide used by health professionals in Australia and information from them can be obtained from your doctor, upon your request.

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What Options Do You Have for Natural Alternative Treatments?

It must always be remembered that you are not without choices. As a human being, you always have options and a right to choose which treatment best suits your needs. No one can force you into doing anything you do not wish to do. Ask questions, seek other opinions and know there can be many solutions to one problem. There are some amazing natural healers in this world, including YOURSELF.

Many natural healers specialize in cancer treatment and alternative methods of beating cancer. It is important to find a natural health practitioner who has many years of practical experience with a condition such as cancer. Natural remedies are excellent in building up the body’s immune system, fighting cancer, helping to find the original manifestation of your problem, balancing the body’s emotions and easing or eliminating many of the side effects associated with orthodox medical treatment. Some natural therapies being used to fight cancer include juice therapy, cancer orientated diets, sound/music therapy, colour therapy, mind/body therapy, herbal treatment, vitamin and mineral therapy, nutritional support, meditation, yoga, relaxation techniques, emotional cleansing, positive visualization, metabolic treatment and many more!

Incorporating Both Orthodox and Alternative Remedies into Your Treatment Regime

There is nothing more beneficial when fighting cancer, than incorporating both natural and orthodox medicine into your treatment regime. A natural wholesome diet rich in cancer fighting nutrients and foods is a great way to begin. This assists the body both in cancer prevention and during orthodox treatment. During chemotherapy and radiation therapy many of the side effects experienced are due to malnutrition. If an appropriate diet can be undertaken during cancer treatment, including lots of high-density nutrients, malnutrition can be avoided and elimination of the cancerous mass can be quicker than usual.

Other ways to combine the two include undertaking meditation, relaxation techniques or yoga during treatment. This relaxes the mind and helps to maintain a positive attitude to decrease the tumour size further. Vitamin and mineral therapy is extremely beneficial, providing the body with necessary anti-oxidants and energy-giving nutrients to combat harmful cancer cells and to provide higher levels of energy. Side effects experienced during chemotherapy, surgery or radiation therapy can be reduced or completely avoided with the use of certain vitamins, minerals and herbs.

It is important to never limit yourself to only one type of therapy. By using a combination of orthodox and natural remedies, a great attitude, positivity, laughter and a wholesome diet, your good results in fighting cancer will be realized faster than expected.

Even though I am a naturopath with total belief in alternative therapies I decided not to close my mind to orthodox medicine, realizing that each has its place in this world and in my own particular healing needs. I used surgery and chemotherapy along with every natural therapy I felt was most beneficial and suitable to my needs.

Originally my treatment was planned for six months, as the cancer was larger than a newborn baby and had spread to many sites. After three months of treatment with both orthodox and natural medicine, I was completely cancer-free, stunning doctors, family and friends. It is amazing what a totally open mind with the desire to heal can accomplish. Never doubt the power of your mind!

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incidence: common

cause: mite (Sarcopetes scabei)

symptoms: bumps and burrows on the skin that itch, especially at night

treatment: topical creams

Scabies is a very contagious skin infection caused by the mite Sarcopetes scabei, a parasite that lives in and on the skin. Scabies can be sexually transmitted.

WHAT IS IT?

HOW COMMON IS IT? It is not known how many people are diagnosed with scabies each year, but the infection is common.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? When a person is infected with scabies, the adult female mites burrow into the skin and lay eggs, which hatch in about ten days. The body’s immune response to the mites causes itching and a rash, which usually appear two to four weeks after first infection. In a person who has had scabies in the past, however, the symptoms may start within a day after reinfection, because the immune system “remembers” the previous infection and can mount a quicker response.

The scabies rash is a series of tiny, wavy lines (the burrows) and dots or tiny bumps that may look like little blisters. Bigger bumps or small nodules can also occur, especially in the groin area and in the armpits. The rash generally occurs in adults in the genital area, around the waist, in the armpits, on the wrists, on the hands (primarily on the webs between the fingers), in the crooks of the arms, on the elbows, on the buttocks, and on the ankles and feet. Other regions of the body may also show symptoms, although the palms and soles, upper back, neck, face, and scalp are usually not involved in adults.

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The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) blood test has been available for a long time. Although it will accurately detect whether or not a person has herpes infection, it is very poor at identifying the specific type of herpes. The ELISA test looks for antibodies to the virus— the body’s immune response. It is helpful only if the result shows that a person is completely negative for both type 1 and type 2 herpes. For a person who has either type 1 or type 2 herpes, the test will often be positive for both types. Nevertheless, this test is still used by many health care providers who are not aware of its inaccuracy.

Like the Western blot assay described in the next section, this test will only show up positive after a lag period, which may last months after infection. In the near future, newer and better ELISA tests will distinguish reliably between the two types of herpes simplex. If you have an ELISA test for herpes, make sure your health care provider understands which test is being used and how accurate it is.

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HPV is transmitted from one person to another through skin-to-skin contact with an infected partner. HPV is not transmitted through blood or genital secretions. The genital types of the virus are most easily transmitted to the thinner skin of the genitals, such as that found on the mucous membranes of the vulva, vagina, and cervix for women and on the penis and scrotum for men. The strains of HPV that cause genital warts most often stay in the genital area, although they may rarely be transmitted to the mouth area through oral sex. It is also possible, although very rare, for a person to transmit warts virus to the genitals from another area of the body, in a process called autoinoculation. However, most genital warts are transmitted through sexual contact and not through autoinoculation. There is also a small possibility that the virus can be transmitted by inanimate objects, such as towels.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine where someone acquired the infection, because of the often long lag time between infection and the development of symptoms, as well as the lack of an adequate screening test for HPV Transmission can occur whether or not a person infected with HPV has visible warts at the time, and most people don’t know that they may be infectious. Whether or not removing the visible warts serves to decrease the visible warts serves to decrease the likelihood of transmission is not known. Treatment, as described later in this section, is usually performed for cosmetic reasons.

It is generally believed that after several months of sexual contact with an infected partner, the likelihood is high that HPV has been transmitted, whether or not the infected partner was showing symptoms at the time of contact. Studies are under way to provide more information about HPV transmission, but for now there is no test to tell who is or is not contagious. As already discussed, the more sexual partners a person has in his or her lifetime, the higher the chance that he or she has been infected, whether or not symptoms are present. Because there are no tests available at this time to screen for HPV it is difficult if not impossible to identify when or from whom infection takes place. This lack of information is, understandably, frustrating for many people. In research studies that have sought to detect the genetic material of the virus, up to 70 percent of the presumably “uninfected” partners of people with a history of HPV were also found to have HPV.

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Antoine had been with the company for about a year when he was invited to attend a yearly conference out of town. His wife Becky was four months pregnant with their first child, and although he felt a little anxious leaving her, he felt he had to go in order to keep moving up in the company. It was also exciting to travel to a new city.

On the first night of the conference, his co-workers invited him to a local brothel, which they said was a “company tradition.” Antoine had never been to a prostitute before, but, not wanting to seem different, he went along. While there, to decrease his anxiety, he got drunk, as did the other men. They kept encouraging him to do things he thought weren’t safe, but they promised him that receiving oral sex from a prostitute was safe—it was genital sex that was risky. With the alcohol clouding his judgment, he received oral sex from a prostitute. The next morning he felt terrible, not only from the hangover but also from the feeling that he had betrayed Becky.

Three days later, on the plane trip home, Antoine started noticing a burning, itching sensation inside his penis. After he got home, he also noticed a yellow discharge. He decided not to have sex with Becky until he had been checked out. He went to an STD clinic and was diagnosed with gonorrhea. He was given antibiotics, and he learned that if a partner performs unprotected oral sex on other partners, the throat can become infected with sexually transmitted bacteria such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, just like the genital or anal area. Other STDs, including HIV, can also be transmitted through oral sex. He knew that he wouldn’t learn if he had acquired other infections from that contact, such as HIV, until several months down the road.

Now Antoine had another problem: Should he use condoms to protect Becky and their child until he knew he was not infected with other STDs, such as HIV (which would mean explaining why they needed to do this)? Or should he hope that the gonorrhea was the only infection he had acquired and not do anything differently? Although it was difficult, he decided to talk to her, because he didn’t want to risk infecting her or their child.

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Recently, one group of doctors looked at PSA, transrectal ultrasound and digital rectal exam. They found these tests to be unhelpful, questioned their cost-effectiveness, and concluded that “screening for prostate cancer represents a clinical dilemma with no clear evidence to suggest decreased mortality from any diagnostic test.” Critics have contended that PSA test results could prompt thousands of men to have unnecessary and expensive diagnostic procedures, which might lead to unnecessary surgery One leading magazine told its readers that PSA “could do more harm than good by leading to premature biopsy or treatment”; that the biopsies it prompts are “an infection waiting to happen” (actually, this is not the case; see the “Biopsy” section in this chapter); and that the PSA test can be wrong “four times out of ten.”

Doctors at a National Cancer Institute meeting took the PSA arguments several steps further. Many men over age 50 have cancerous cells in their prostates, they said, but just a small percentage of men die from prostate cancer. Most prostate cancer, they argued, is slow-growing and causes no problems. As one doctor told a New York Times reporter: “There are millions and millions of American men who have this cancer and are never ill, yet these powerful tests (PSA) are going to detect them. If the PSA is elevated, the chance that it is prostate cancer is relatively small. But even if it does represent prostate cancer, there is no way to know whether testing and treatment change the outcome or improve the health of patients.” Some doctors went so far as to state that men should sign informed consent agreements before getting a PSA test. “The information you get back can lead you down a cascade of interventions that can be deadly,” one doctor said, citing controversial statistics from a Medicare study for incontinence, impotence, rectal injury, and death resulting from surgery to remove prostate cancer.

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