" Hope ... "

Shadow walks faster than you

You don't really know what to do

Do you think that you're not alone?

You really think that you are immune to

Its gonna get that the best of you

Its gonna lift you up and let you down

It will defeat you then teach you to get back up ... 

It will teach you to love what you're afraid of

After it takes away all that

You learn to love, but you don't

Always, have to hold your head

Higher than your heart ...

You better hope you're not alone

~ Jack Johnson ~ Hope ~

***

What is the purpose of telling someone how long they have to live ... to “prepare” them to die?  Does that really help anyone?   Yesterday, that was the question asked to me by a fellow cancer patient receiving intravenous therapy along my side.  I sat at the naturopath clinic and experienced profound sadness.  Sadness because the three other people in the room were considered stage IV, were told to get their affairs in order ... as they were completely written off at our famous cancer care centre.  

But here’s the difference ... they are still alive, beating the odds.  

They are awesome in my eyes.

First I met awesome#1: Greg.  Greg openly shared with me how he had surgery last September and was told that “we didn’t get it all ... and unfortunately you have about a month left to live”.  Greg has pancreatic cancer.  Greg told them “hogwash!” (yep, his words) and comes to the naturopath clinic twice a week for vitamin C IV therapy.  9 months later, Greg is struggling, but he is alive.  He said his oncologist doesn’t know what to do with him because he should be dead by now.

Next I met awesome#2: Liz.  Liz was diagnosed with breast cancer and after conventional treatment, it has spread throughout her body.  And every time Liz goes to see her oncologist, she is given 1 to 2 years ... she has been told this for 17 years, as that is how long she has been living with cancer.  Liz continues her vitamin C IV therapy twice a week, unless the weather is good, then she said she golfs instead.  

Finally I met awesome#3: Pauline.  Pauline has chemotherapy once every three weeks for her cancer.  Her initial diagnosis was breast cancer and after a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation then followed with a double mastectomy, Pauline now has secondary cancers in her bones and liver.  Three weeks ago she could not get out of bed, yesterday she told me she could finally walk around, assisted with a cane, and felt 1000 times better.  Pauline receives vitamin C IV therapy once a week, but due to the chemotherapy treatments she experiences severe nausea.

In some regard it was comforting to be in an environment where the doctors are heart full and not preoccupied with their cash register ... it was comforting to be in an impromptu support group, all of on different paths converging to the same place.

Besides the details mentioned above, all three had one thing in common.  They had been robbed of hope.  Hope that there was and always is a chance to defeat this illness and live.  Conventional doctors will openly tell you that there is no cure and within their scope, knowledge and medicines they are right.  So by the time the doctors send a cancer patient home to die, they have no immune system left ... and usually this is the time the cancer patient begins alternative treatments ... starting over, rebuilding and looking for new hope.

I believe the universe is always giving us messages ... it just depends on if we are paying attention.  I’ll leave it up to you to sort out how you interpret the above as I too dabble with the “what if” world and if this really means that and that really means something else ... regardless only we can decide if the path we take is the right one for us.

When the world says Give Up, 

HOPE whispers Try It One More Time ...

" I've Got the Urge (of Herbal) ... "

" I've got the urge ...
I can wait another minute
I've got the urge to herbal ...
Oh yeah yeah ..
I can wait another minute
I've got the urge to herbal
It's all so natural"

~ Britney Spears ~ I've Got the Urge (of Herbal) ~

***

After my diagnosis earlier this year, I found myself researching "alternative" therapies.  One of those that resonated with me is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  Having the urge to go herbal, Chinese herbal medicine is the main treatment method within TCM.  As mentioned in one of my previous blogposts, I have had the opportunity to be educated from Dr. Perez, a phenomenal doctor at the Amatsu Clinic in Canmore, Alberta.

TCM is the world's oldest professional medicine that continues to be practiced.  It has gained wide acceptance in the West and is one of the most popular and effective alternatives therapies available.  Probably because it is based on an individualized pattern diagnoses as well as a dis-ease diagnosis.  Your pattern is made up of your signs and symptoms, your emotional temperament and the overall composition of your body.  Chinese medicine formulas are created to treat your entire pattern as well as the symptoms or dis-ease that prompted you to seek treatment.  These formulas may include 6 to 18 herbs to treat the symptoms or dis-ease as well as your entire pattern.

Chinese herbal medicine may include vegetables, animal and mineral ingredients, however, the majority of the ingredients are from vegetable sources ... leaves, flowers, twigs, stems, roots, and bark are among the parts of the vegetables used.  These herbs are adopted and incorporated from all over the world with 15-20% of the 500 ingredients considered standard originated from outside China.  There are few, if any, side effects, when prescribed prescribed to Chinese medical theory and a TCM pattern diagnosis ... only beneficial healing results.  Chinese herbal medicine is especially good for promoting the body's ability to heal and recover from illness. 

Of course first consult your preferred health practitioner when considering any form of medication, synthetic or herbal.  I for one am not in favour of self-medicating, yet am in favour of understanding your treatment plan.  Always, always, always do your research and know what you are ingesting in your body ... and know the benefits and side effects to determine if it is right for you. 

"Price Tag ... "

"Seems like everybody's got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night.
When the sale comes first,
And the truth comes second,
Just stop for a minute and Smile

It's not about the money, money, money
We don't need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag"

~ Jessie J ~ Price Tag ~

***

Well October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and brace yourselves ... this post may be a bit of a rant ... You see, everywhere I look there is a constant reminder ~ from PINK window displays in the shops, to magazines that have been taken over by the pink industry, to pink lids on bottled water, pink cookie packaging in the supermarket ... even pink ribbons on bathroom tissue packages ~ just bombarded with "help us find a cure".

Now, I am all for raising your awareness, hence why I blog as much as I do ... because when you are aware of an issue, you can try to solve it ~ real simple.  Yet what troubles me is the "help us find a cure"  part associated with the monies raised.  You see the marketing strategists for the pink ribbon campaign are absolute geniuses, as they touch all avenues, calling on us to donate to rid this horrid dis-ease.  But from my research, the whole campaign is not what it appears to be.  The money is suppose to help find a cure for breast cancer by the pharmaceutical industry.  But the Big Pharma has a really bad track record in the "war on cancer" ... over 30 years and hundreds of billions of dollars later ... they have increased the survival rate over fives years for major cancers by ~ 2% with chemotherapy.  And the cancer rate has gone from approximately 1 in 100 in the early 1900's to 1 in 2 or 3 today.  Just think about that for a moment ... does this resemble anything like a "cure"??  The monies raised in the pink ribbon campaign are  spent on more "cutpoisonburn" therapies ... for every one person that has cancer, 3 people make money because from diagnosis to either remission or death, the average cost for conventional treatment for a cancer patient is $350,000.  And if you don't believe me, just click on the link of CutPoisonBurn movie and watch the Navarro families battle to cure their child of brain cancer ... it will seriously break your heart.

And what I find incredibly offensive about the whole pink ribbon drive for donations is that they are exploiting the generosity of good hearted, kind people who believe that the cancer industry is doing all they can to find a cure.  Little do they know that there are many successful treatments and cures, like the Gerson Therapy, but this type of treatment has been harshly suppressed, proclaimed as "quackery" while mutilating, burning and poisoning treatments are given preference in a world run by corporate greed.  There is no other option given to patients - I was not given any other options.  I was told I would die in less than 5 years if I didn't follow what they presented to me.  I was terrified and rushed to make a decision, sign paperwork even before I could question the effectiveness of the treatment presented.

As I have said this to friends and family, I am not here to tell you what type of treatment is right for you .. I am here to share my story, my choice, and my journey thus far.  There are no guarantees and every single person has the right to make a decision that resonates with them.  Knowledge is power my friends.  What does make me sad is when the decision you make is not affordable.  You are on your own with no financial support.  Presently, we have two friends from the Gerson clinic that have had fundraisers set up so that they can continue with alternative treatments.  

So, why is it that once you accept the traditional, conventional treatment, most of your treatment in this country is covered?  Why is it when I decide on alternative treatments it is out of my pocket?

For the record, here is a breakdown of some of the costs we have endured during the last 7 months on the Gerson Therapy:

One Time: Flights to clinic = $1,500

One Time Gerson Clinic stay = $16,500

One Time cost of Norwalk juicer = $3,000

Monthly Gerson medication $500

Monthly Homeopath medications = $50

Monthly Traditional medications = $500

Monthly massage, reiki, TCM treatments = $500

Monthly cost of organic food = $1,200

*Therapy averages a minimum of 18 months and upwards to 3 years for some

The time has come for us to demand co-operation between conventional and natural practitioners ~ to assist the patient in reducing side effects, reducing the stress and reducing the financial burden after their treatment of choice.  I have yet to see any pink ribbon campaign for greater funds to help close this gap and carve a pathway for cancer patients to be given FULL disclosure of all the options available.  Unfortunately, the only language that the corporate world understands is money, but if people become aware of the deception and greed driving these campaigns, they can choose to spend their dollars on health education and dis-ease prevention.

Become informed, practice preventative natural medicine, get involved, seek answers ... you will be giving yourself the best opportunity of living healthfully ~ with or without a pretty pink ribbon.

"Dream Weaver ... oh, Dream Healer"

"Dream weaver 
I've just closed my eyes again 
Climbed aboard the dream weaver train 
Driver take away my worries of today 
And leave tomorrow behind 
Ooh dream weaver"

~ Reo Speedwagon ~ Dream Weaver ~
***


Yesterday, I had a chance to go to the DreamHealer session in Calgary.  For some of you, you already know what this is all about.  ADAM is the DreamHealer.  He is a gifted individual who helps you with visualization tools and energy healing.  Now for all the skeptics out there, he does not have a magic wand, nor does he heal you ... YOU HEAL YOURSELF.  


I had a great deal of anxiety and excitement the entire day.  As my friend Joelle said, you could feel the energy and the healing already taking place prior to Adam's appearance.  Initially, we saw a video about Ronnie Hawkins who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and given minimal time.  Adam had an opportunity to perform individual healing sessions on Ronnie, remotely, and soon after Ronnie was cancer-free.  His doctors have no explanation and have called it a Miracle.  Along with this story, other testimonials were shown of people whom have fully recovered from serious illnesses.  It was emotional to watch as you could feel the empathy within the crowd.  Soon after, Adam appeared.  He explained that he has been speaking to crowds now for almost 10 years.  He no longer does individual sessions as he has less time and energy.  And his intention is to show how we can heal ourselves.  We just need tools, and he was here to show us how.  How our bodies know to heal itself.


Adam re-affirmed what I have come to understand and what resonates with me.  In the past, I had heard that our bodies talk to us .. but I didn't pay attention.  Adam talked in length about universal energy, our energy and energy healing and medicine.  Since he finished his degree in Molecular Biology and now studying to become a Naturopath Doctor, he provided scientific information explaining the power of intention - How our intentions affect our metabolism?  How do such intentions directly heal ourselves most effectively and efficiently?  He discussed our internal influences ~ Beliefs, Emotions, Intentions, Perception of Time, Cellular Memory and Mind-body connection.  He discussed our external influences ~ Healthcare Practitioner, Media, Education, Family and Friends, Diet, Exercise and Habits.

We learned about DNA and proteins, epi-genetics, gene expression and how our environment affects our healing process.  We also had a chance to participate in group healing sessions.  You could feel the energy in the crowd even before the healing session began.  With that much positive intention, it was simply Powerful.  We had to imagine drawing in energy from our feet, from Mother Earth, and expanding our auras.  Then, we had to imagine our auras merging with our fellow participants.  Next we had to practice our visualizations, or if that was difficult, project positivity ... as Adam said be "ridiculously positive".  

Our intentions to heal and/or heal others.    

So how do I explain the group healing sessions?  Well, everyone was so different ... My experience was powerful, I felt movement, I felt protected, I felt some twitches, pains, presence, dizziness.  Then, I felt empowered ... my intentions were strong, loud and clear.  The room was dark, silent yet full of warm healing energy.  Adam takes everyone's combined aura and works from a hologram to energetically affect our bodies.  It really is hard to explain, it has to be experienced to truly get it.  And, once they sessions were over, I was exhausted.  I needed to sleep and just let the process unfold.  

It will continue to unfold, as healing is a process, a unique journey.

"Practicing these affirmations and visualizations every day is essential.  Our thoughts and intentions are constantly influencing our health and our conscious intention must be synchronized with our subconscious intention.  We need to ask ourselves "What do I want?" and limit ourselves to one desired outcome - state it aloud and let it sit with you, feel it, know it, understand it and emit it.  This is what you want to expect, and focus on this to make it happen.  Our perception of our outcome makes a huge difference to our outcome" 
~ ADAM

(Reference: Intention Heals ~ a guide and workbook ~ ADAM, Author of DreamHealer)