by Gem Smith
As published in Total Body magazine, Winter 2005, p. 45
In this first part of a three-part series, Houston freelance writer Gem Smith re-examines her nutritional, physical and spiritual needs as she explores alternative treatments and prepares for the battle of her life.
“SURGERY.” I went numb when the surgeon told me I had breast cancer. Fortunately, a friend and survivor had accompanied me to the doctor’s office. After hearing the diagnosis, she insisted that I visit her doctor, and a week later we met with her surgeon.
In addition to reviewing my mammogram, this doctor looked at the pathology report and even redid the lab work. Chills ran down my spine when she told me she had seen cancer-free tissue removed from patients.
The doctor also took time to draw pictures of the breast and explain that the cancer (actually microcalcification, not a lump) was confined to one duct. Technically, I had ductal carcinoma in situ.
She also said it was at the zero stage of growth – the best news yet. While I had felt pressure from the first surgeon, this doctor told me I had time to research treatments and make a decision.
CLUES OVERLOOKED
In retrospect, my first clue should have been my original doctor’s request for a follow-up mammogram. Confident it would show nothing, I complied.
Even when she ordered a biopsy, I suspected nothing, Why should? I never even had headaches.
Another friend referred me to a third doctor, a man who practiced Western and Eastern medicine. The friend, my former yoga teacher, assured me this doctor preferred noninvasive treatments. Although I had to bear the expense, I knew consulting non-network doctors would allow me to obtain additional opinions.
After looking at the mammogram and reading the medical report, this doctor also suggested surgery, adding that since my breast was a useless piece of anatomy, why not cut it off?
Not exactly noninvasive. To a woman who still has her tonsils, the idea of surgery is unsettling, to say the least.
This doctor also prescribed a chest X-ray, bone scan and additional blood work. I am grateful my primary care physician authorized everything he requested. When the results came back, they confirmed the cancer was not growing.
SUPPORT IN NUMBERS
When word of my diagnosis spread, friends rallied to support me. One loaned me her nutrition library, and others called to check up on me.
Because the cancer I have is at the zero stage, I felt I had a window of time to explore alternative treatment. I delved into the nutrition books and began to explore the possibilities. I read about the Gerson therapy, the macrobiotic diet and others. I wasn’t entirely ignorant of the healing power of unconventional therapies. I had read case histories of illnesses in Let’s Get Well, by Adelle Davis. I also knew about editor and essayist Norman Cousins (1915-1990) who cured himself of a strange malady with laughter.
EATING WELL
With the luxury of time – and based on what I was learning – I decided to utilize nutritional therapy. News of a friend who had used a special tea to dissolve her gallstone and avoid surgery further encouraged me.
Although some friends thought I was taking a big risk, I decided that if I still needed surgery later, I could always schedule it then. In the meantime, I would build up my body. I considered it a win-win situation.
I wanted to continue following Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s recommendation in Eat Right for Your Type. I previously had excellent results following his diet plan and the intestinal upsets I once experienced with some regularity had since disappeared. When I saw Hulda Clark’s list of approved food in The Cure for All Cancers, I decided that was doable. Clark theorizes that parasites cause cancers. I really didn’t see any reason to argue with someone who had so boldly titled her book. I also used Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by Phyllis and James Balch.
Since my neighbor with chronic fatigue syndrome was familiar with supplements, we shopped together for items like garlic tablets, milk thistle, ginger and clove capsules. Garlic capsules reportedly strengthen the immune system, and milk thistle is said to have disease-fighting properties. I began taking 12 pills three times a day. One part of the program would build my immune system; the other part would eliminate anything that might depress it.
You may wonder why I put such trust in my neighbor, It is a fair question, but seeing the improvement she had made in her own condition made me optimistic. Besides, if I had a question about her advice, I could double-check my sources for confirmation.
Some of what I learned pertained to contaminants in the environment. I switched to aluminum-free toothpaste and deodorant. The books recommended drinking distilled or filtered water. I had my carpets shampooed to reduce the amount of cat dander I inhaled.
I coordinated my diet using D’Amado’s recommendations for people with type A blood and Clark’s list of cancer-fighting foods. With few exceptions, the lists meshed.
Because I rarely cook, creating a food plan was especially challenging. Before, if eating at home, I thought nothing of microwaving a frozen dinner. But that, of course, would not do under the new plan.
Most of the authors assumed their readers would cook their own food, but none said it was imperative. The path of least resistance led me to restaurants that served fish and vegetables. I ate no wheat or refined sugar. I already had switched to vanilla-flavored soy milk when I started the type A diet about two years ago. I substituted green tea for coffee. I eliminated cheese because of the molds it contains. I ate yogurt a few times a week if it contained live cultures.
Basically, my new diet consisted of fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts like pecans and almonds. I avoided chicken and turkey because of the steroids in those foods.
HIDDEN RISK FACTORS
My studies included the risk factors for breast cancer. To my surprise, in addition to age, doctors consider being childless a risk factor. I had been anemic within the past two to three years, and that certainly must have depressed my immune system. D’Adamo adds type A people are susceptible to infection.
During my research and visits with doctors, a chorus of people recommended Dr. Lorraine Day’s tape. Day, an orthopedic trauma surgeon, describes her struggle with breast cancer and how, through prayer and diet, she restored her health.
Day says traditional medicine offers only three options: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I already knew no one I had talked to had mentioned nutrition.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
It became clear to me that I needed to make some changes. I joined a Bible study group. I also began attending a weekly healing service.
My reading alerted me to the need for exercise. The reasons were twofold: exercise helps oxygenate the blood, which inhibits the growth of cancer cells, and it aids the lymph system. Unlike blood, lymph has no pump. I added a second yoga class to my routine as well as a line dancing class.
Something is working. I’ve lost weight, and people frequently tell me how great I look.
MORE QUESTIONS
Now my treatment consists of diet, exercise and prayer. But I’m not through. Wondering if I harbor heavy metals in my body – which would prevent my immune system from fighting the cancer – I decided to have my hair analyzed. If I have any heavy metals in my system that my liver cannot process, the analysis will reveal how much of which metals are present.
I also am searching fora healthcare professional to supervise my treatment as well as a way to monitor my progress, without radiation. I have good reason to avoid future mammograms. In Cancer diagnosis: What to Do Next, Dr. John W. Gofman estimates, “75 percent of breast cancer could be prevented by avoiding or minimizing exposure to the ionizing radiation from mammograms, X-rays and other medical sources.”
UNTIL NEXT TIME
I am confident this alternative path will work for me, but I have not ruled out surgery completely. If surgery becomes necessary, I hope I will have better prepared my body to withstand the trauma. I do believe this experience is for a purpose, and that purpose may include surgery.
I hope you’ll join me in the April issue of Total Body, where I will update you on the findings of my hair analysis and my experience in seeking a PET scan, a sonogram, an MRI and blood testing as a way of monitoring my progress.
By the time we meet again I will have learned if surgery was unavoidable. Should I have to travel that path, I will seek a surgeon who does sentinel node mapping in order to discern whether any or how many lymph nodes are affected.
Please join me next time as I continue my quest for optimum health.