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| complementary addition to conventional treatment. Believe it or not, many of the people I work with actually tell me that having cancer has been a blessing in their lives as their values change, relationships improve, and they begin to live life with joy rather than with fear. |
| I don't believe we were meant to live as far removed from nature as we do today, and we do so at our peril. Surely, God did not create us to lead lives spent in front of computer screens and TVs while eating processed foods and then try to correct our mistakes by ingesting high-tech medicines. We need to reconsider why we are here and to honor our connection with each other, with God, and with nature. We are naturally healed by these connections, and it is vital to include them in our lives. One of my favorite prescriptions for patients is to go home and grow a gardenas the garden grows, so does the gardener! |
| Drawing on my twelve years of experience in working with cancer patients, I have included in this book only proven and safe remedies for the prevention and treatment of this dread disease. I offer suggestions for treating not only common problems caused by the cancer itself, but also the life-disrupting side effects of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, interferon, or other forms of therapy. |
| As chapter 2 explains, cancer is a multistage process of initiation, promotion, and progression that can be influenced by both permissive and protective factorschoices under our control that may either cause a tumor to grow or stop it in its tracks. Cancer is not a single disease but many diseases, all of which involve many factors. It is characterized by the properties of unregulated growth, invasion, and metastasis. Distant cells and molecular processes are associated with each of these events. |
| Nutritional factors, for example, may account for up to 70 percent of avoidable cancer mortality in this country, according to an eye-opening report in a 1992 issue of Oncology. 1 With a statistic like this one, it is time to look at herbs, diet, nutrition, and natural healing modalities as normal and life-affirming, not as ''alternative'' choices. Herbal medicine is one of the main pieces of the pie in my approach to cancer and it is therefore the main focus of this book. Currently, herbal medicine is getting a great deal of long-overdue attention from clinicians and researchers. Studies have shown that herbs can strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, inhibit mutations, and battle cancer by supporting the function of the immune system, including the enhance- |
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