B6 and Green Bananas - an interesting story

I am in the Caribbean as I write this posting.  Little did I realize the kindness and blessing provided to me by a neighbour who suffers from a Bi Polar condition.

There's a story here that you may enjoy.  The poor man, whom I will call Benjamin for no other reason other then that he has a Bibical Christian name, went over the top about 3 weeks ago.  He got on a manic roll that left his neighbours alarmed.  He put spotlights around his house and he worked in a frenzy through the night.
In the morning his neighbours were aghast to discover that he had turned off the waterline to the street, and he barricaded the road so that no vehicles could advance, and to add a bit of spice to the mix he walked up and down the street, "preaching" sermons to the stars until his voice failed him.

When morning came, Benny's neighbours were standing on the road, looking blankly at him as he continued to richochet from one job to another.  I refused any part of it.  I am all to familiar with the horrors of mental illness, so I stayed clear of it all.  The upshot of it all was, that Benjamin was finally taken away by the police to the local mental hospital.

When Ben returned in a week or so's time, I saw him outside his house. He was medicated and subdued.
This is when I chose my time to speak to him.  I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder and said..."Welcome back Benjamin....we were so worried for you. I hope you feel better now." "Bi Polar is a tough illness..I know many people who have it and it makes life hard, doesn't it?"

That bit of compassion opened a door to me writing this blog.  Interesting how life works.

A day or two later Benjamin walked up to me, and he had two hands of green bananas he had cut from one of his stalks.

I brought the bananas home and asked my landlord how to cook green bananas and I did some online research - and I looked up their nutritional properties. I was surprised to see that green bananas - which are not highly glycemic, are loaded with vitamin B6.  And, being the neophyte that I am, I looked up B6 to see what that vitamin is all about.

My B6 search yielded a goldmine of information......all good.

a. it promotes lymphocyte and interleuken production. (I don't have the link so you will have to google it for yourself.)  Since my lymphocyte count has been low, this was wonderful news!

b. tests are showing that B6, has remarkable effects for people reducing their chance of getting lung cancer.  Click here to be taken to webmd.com.

It goes to show that a little kindness goes a long way.

Can it be - a High School Student Discovers a Cancer Cure?

If you ever worry about the future of America, there is no need: it is in good hands. A high school student named Angela is proof of that. We think you'll agree she is nothing short of amazing. CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman met her on the road.

Born to Chinese immigrants, 17-year-old Angela Zhang of Cupertino, California is a typical American teenager. She's really into shoes and is just learning how to drive.

But there is one thing that separates her from every other student at Monta Vista High School, something she first shared with her chemistry teacher, Kavita Gupta.

It's a research paper Angela wrote in her spare time -- and it is advanced, to say the least. Gupta says all she knows is its recipe -- for curing cancer.

"Cure for cancer -- a high school student," said Gupta. "It's just so mind-boggling. I just cannot even begin to comprehend how she even thought about it or did this."

"I just thought, 'Why not?' 'What is there to lose?'" said Angela.

When she was a freshman, she started reading doctorate level papers on bio-engineering.

"At first it was a little bit overwhelming," said Angela, "but I found that it almost became like a puzzle, being able to decode something."

By sophomore year she'd talked her way into the lab at Stanford, and by junior year was doing her own research.

In a lab area, Hartman asked Angela: "Try and make it for a feeble mind, such as this one, to understand."

Angela: "So I made something that's an iron-oxide, gold dangle...

Hartman: "You lost me." (laughter)

Eventually, here's what he did get.

Angela's idea was to mix cancer medicine in a polymer that would attach to nanoparticles -- nanoparticles that would then attach to cancer cells and show up on an MRI. so doctors could see exactly where the tumors are. Then she thought shat if you aimed an infrared light at the tumors to melt the polymer and release the medicine, thus killing the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells completely unharmed.

"I think it was more of a -- 'This is really cool, I want to see if it works' -- type thing," she said.

"And when you found out it did..." asked Hartman.

"That was pretty amazing."

It'll take years to know if it works in humans -- but in mice -- the tumors almost completely disappeared.

Angela recently entered her project in the national Siemens science contest. It was no contest. She got a check for $100,000 and promptly bought about a dozen more pairs of shoes.

"I got these shoes because they're purple and I didn't have purple yet," she explained.

Easy to forget, she is still high school. It's just her dreams that keep graduating.

"I'm excited to learn just everything possible," she said. "Everything in the sciences -- biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, even computer science -- to make new innovations possible."

Pretty big flats to fill. How will she top her cancer discovery? We can't wait.

Source CBS News.
Please click here.

Black Cumin - A White Knight to the Rescue?

The first major study of Nigella sativa in cancer prevention and treatment was performed by scientists at Cancer Immuno-Biology Laboratory of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. They concluded that a healthy immune system will detect and destroy cancer cells before the cancer endangers the patient. Th e immune system does this by supporting increased production of immune cells, bone marrow cells, and B-cells that produce antibodies. Black cumin stimulates neutrophil activity. These are the short-lived immune cells that are normally found in bone marrow but mobilized into action when there is a bacterial infection. Extracts of black cumin have also been shown to modulate production of interleukins, a quality it shares with some other highly revered herbs: ginseng, astragalus, mistletoe, garlic, and cat's claw.
In animal studies, while none of the subjects in the control group survived, two-thirds of the mice that had been given black cumin seed oil were still alive 30 days after deliberate efforts to cause cancer in the subject groups. Black cumin is particularly useful in aggressive cancers whose growth depends on angiogenesis.
In vitro studies performed in Jordan and the United States have determined that the volatile oil is anti-leukemic. Studies performed in Spain as well as England found that the fixed oil is useful in the treatment of rheumatism and other inflammatory diseases. This property is attributed to thymoquinone which is as high as 25% in the Egyptian seed and missing entirely is some seeds.



http://www.kitchendoctor.com/herbs/black_cumin.php

Robin Gibb of the BG's is Struck Down by Cancer

Cancer plays no favourites. The rich and the poor alike are its victims and Robin Gibb of the BG's is no exception.  What interests me in this article, is that Robin eventually succumed to the illness and took conventional medical treatment.  There's no shame in this story for the point of this blog is for the person who gets struck down with cancer to use whatever resources are available to do the job.

When you read the article which I have presented a link to, you will discover a retrospective Robin Gibb, who searches for the reason why he fell ill with the disease.  Gibb chalks it up as the price of the lifestyle he and his brother's lived. The price of fame.

The story can be found in Mail Online. (The UK's Daily Mail)  Please click  here.

Keeping the Safety Net Intact

Eduard Du Bono, is a noted writer and speaker on the theme of creative living. He theorized that people who have the most people holding up their personal safety nets, make it  the tough times easier then those who go it alone.

Let me share this small story with you. There is a man who lived near me. He came down with cancer. The man lived alone. They found his body after he suicided. Some people said that he was courageous in taking that kind of exit from life.  I think it's sad. I won't judge what he did, but I never entertained such a thought even during my worst of times. 

Men, as a whole are more prone to 'go it alone' through life.

Women are social beings and when women go through tough times, the first thing they do is call another woman to give them support.

I am fortunate, for I attend church regularly and there is an active social component built within my life.  And, even more then that I have had many people who have prayed for me during my darkest hours.  

Life is a tough grind when you have to sail alone through stormy seas.  I found that when I was at rock bottom, that I would lay in my bed, listening to my favourite cd's and feel really close to God.  I felt the comfort of feeling loved in the depth of my pain.  

The lesson I learned through it all, is not to abandon others during their low times in their fight for cancer.

You may be the only person they can reach out to.

If you wish to check Du Bono's website out. Please click here.

Using Facebook as a Cancer Fighting Resource

Pamela Bou Sejean, is in trouble. She's got Hodgkins Lyphoma a form of cancer which attacks blood cell production, within bone marrow. She needs a stem cell transplant.

You have to hand it to her for resourcefulness.
Her situation is outlined on her facebook page.
Please click here to read it.

Five Important Considerations in Selecting Your Cancer Fighting Diet

Understanding What A Cancer Diet Is

With regards to a cancer treatment, every food that we eat or drink can be categorized into several different categories:

• 1) Foods that feed and strengthen the cancer cells and/or the microbes in the cancer cells and body. Examples would be: refined sugar, refined flour, soda pop, dairy products, etc.
• 2) Foods that cause cancer (e.g. trans fatty acids [margarine, french fries and virtually every other processed food you buy], aspartame [Diet Coke, NutraSweet, Equal, etc.], MSG, polyunsaturated oils [e.g. corn oil], etc.)
• 3) Foods that directly interfere with alternative treatments for cancer (e.g. chlorine, fluoride, alcohol, coffee, etc.)
• 4) Foods that occupy and distract the immunity system from focusing on killing the cancer cells (e.g. beef, turkey, etc.)
• 5) Foods that contain nutrients that kill the cancer cells, stop the spread of cancer, or in some other way help treat the cancer (e.g. purple grapes with seeds and skin, red raspberries with seeds, strawberries with seeds, broccoli, cauliflower, several herbs, carrots, pineapples, almonds, etc.)

Source: Cancertudor.com

Please click here to be taken to the source

What's a Body to do?

Canadian residents from Ontario, should have some serious questions about their medical system, if they have cancer.

Let me share this with you.
I struggled not only with cancer, but with the treatment I received.  Its not that I received uniquely bad treatment - it was no different, I expect then anyone else's. And that's the scary part.

I had 4th stage colon cancer. It resurfaced in my liver a few years after my initial surgery. This tumour was subsequently removed.

Now this is where the story gets interesting.

My oncologist recommended that I have chemotherapy and he carefully outlined the consequence of me not having it.  His report to me was that stastistically, my odds of survival were significantly reduced.

I said, "Thanks but no thanks. I'll take my chances.

As the year rolled along, I studied the results of my blood tests, and they were not good.  And even worse, some of these numbers were really terrible.  My lymphocyte count was in free fall, and it hovered slightly above zero.  I got the common cold and struggled with it for 2 months. I couldn't shake the fearful question, "What would happen if my lymphocyte count fell to zero? I don't want to even think of the answer to that question. In a nutshell. I would be in for a really rough ride.

When  you stir into the mix the fact that I also had a low iron and haemoglobin count, I was suffering from chronic tiredness. And finally, I had a history of white blood count failure when  I had previously taken chemo.

I don't think I was in fit shape to take chemotherapy.

This has left me wondering why my oncologist would advise me to take such a route.

a. They have total faith in the system that surgery, radiation and chemo was the singular route to take.
b. They neither know of nor support, nor believe that there is any other way.
c. They genuinely believe in that chemo works.  It heals. (Even though, from my perspective it appears that it kills older people)

Why was my poor blood count not considered?
a. The comment,"your normal numbers", is an evasive answer but yet, it is frequently said to patients.
b. Do they think low blood  numbers are something beyond treatment?

It is  honourable that our oncologists have faith in the efficacy of their treatment. I believe that oncologists genuinely want to heal people, and that they care for people suffer from cancer. I believe they are, as a whole, compassionate, caring, people. But I also beleive  they are hampered by their pharmaceutically driven system and by conforming pressures within the medical system and by their education (naturopathy is outside their educational training) and by a host of dangers if they step outside the prototocol.

 I also suspect that they are overworked, and have far too many patients in their case loads. Oncologists need time to reflect, analyze, and explore what can be done to improve the blood levels of patients. And, stastistics show that we as our population ages, there are more and more cancer patients and their resources are pushed to the limits.

Its a complex situation but unfortunately, our government and Ministry of Health seems to lack the courage or the money to creatively alter this course. Maybe they fear arm wrestling with the Ontario College of Doctors and Physicians.

The Hydrazine Sulfate Cancer Horror Story

TUESDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthScout) -- It's "buyer beware" when it comes to buying alternative health-care products from Internet peddlers -- a sad lesson learned by one cancer patient who had hoped that a chemical used in rocket fuel -- but touted to help cancer -- would at least slow the progress of his cancer.

Hydrazine sulfate, an industrial chemical, has had an informal reputation for reducing or stopping the wasting that goes along with cancer. Now, doctors in South Carolina and Hawaii have documented a case of liver and kidney failure they believe was caused by hydrazine sulfate. Their findings appear in the December 2000 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

To read this complete article, as it appeares in Annie Appleseed.Project. org,  please click here. 

Thestar.com - VideoZone - Last-chance cancer surgery

I have had liver cancer.

It was a small tumour growing on the surface of my liver and I had a wedge removed from the liver at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

The operation went well.

I had the usual issues -  back pain, reaction to medication, exhaustion but that goes with the turf.  When it all settled down my liver had regrown in about 3 months time and life went on.

I had no compunctions about having it removed.  My reaction was, I wanted it out - immediately.

I strive to make the best choices available for me at any given minute. I am not a victim.  I am in charge of my ship. Its my body.  Victims don't have choices and if you take a stand against the medical system you  deny the best they have to offer. Or conversely, you can take the worst they have to offer. Its your call.

Please click here to see the Toronto Star's video on VideoZone - Last chance cancer surgery.

Graviola

Here's the story.  We spent 6 weeks last year in Barbados and on the last day, when we were packing, out our landlord said......"You should have been boiling the leaves from the soursop tree over there. Its a cancer fighter."  His timing couldn't have been worse.

So, when we got back home to Canada, I kept thinking of that soursop tree. I had never heard of it before.

But, somewhere along the way in my research I discovered that it is better known by the name Graviola.

My attention really came to life when I found this paragraph in Natural News.com: 

findings reported that the leaves of the Graviola plant were effective in destroying malignant cancer cells. Tests at Perdue University on cancer cells of prostate, pancreas and lungs have all shown results. Twenty further studies investigated the chemical effects of the Graviola in laboratory tests, but tests on animals or humans are needed to confirm the results. A Korean study found that Graviola killed colon cancer cells better than a chemotherapy drug called Adriamycin. Graviola results were ten thousand times stronger than the chemotherapy. And, unlike chemotherapy drugs, Graviola did not damage any cells except the carcinogenic cells. This means that there would likely be no hair loss or nausea as side effects from using Graviola as a treatment for cancers.

I have read some reports online which suggest that graviola may have some questionable issues.

Raysahelian.com states:

As you can read in detail in the research updates above, there is a concern that consuming the graviola fruit for prolonged periods (many years in a row or perhaps a lifetime) may increase the risk for a form of Parkinson's Disease. This is not known for certain at this time but to be cautious, it would be best to take holidays from use of graviola and not eat the fruit for months at a time without a break.

Please click here to be taken to the Natural News website.
Raintree.Com also has a lot of information. Please click here. 

Odds and Ends: New and Items from Other Cancer Blogs

USA: Dr.Len's Blog: comments on the shortage of the drug Methotrexate, used to treat childhood leukemia.
          Dr. Len comments on a news item from the New York Times.  Click here

          Dr. Bonnie Adario of the Bonnie Adario Lung Cancer Foundation  writes that a drug to treat cachexia, a
          muscle wasting and weight loss condition that accompanies cancer's effects is currently being tested.                          
          Click here.


                                 

Edgar Cayce on Almonds

Every year, tens of thousands of people from all over the world become interested in the life work of one ordinary man. He was an average individual in most respects: a loving husband, a father of two children, a skilled photographer, a devoted Sunday School teacher, and an eager gardener. Yet, throughout his life, he also displayed one of the most remarkable psychic talents of all time. His name was Edgar Cayce.



For forty-three years of his adult life, Edgar Cayce demonstrated the uncanny ability to put himself into some kind of self-induced sleep state by lying down on a couch, closing his eyes, and folding his hands over his stomach. This state of relaxation and meditation enabled him to place his mind in contact with all time and space. From this state he could respond to questions as diverse as, "What are the secrets of the universe?" to "How can I remove a wart?" His responses to these questions came to be called "readings" and contain insights so valuable that even to this day individuals have found practical help for everything from maintaining a well-balanced diet and improving human relationships to overcoming life-threatening illnesses and experiencing a closer walk with God.


extracted from: Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment). Please click here.

Almonds in Cayce's Readings Compared to Current Medical Research
I lifted this posting from the 'Healing Cancer Naturally' website, and the top section from the Edgar Cayce A.R.E, website. May they forgive me for my sins.

Pertinent Extracts Relating to the Healing of Cancer Naturally. Article by Dougas G. Richards @ 2001 Meridian Institute.

Mentions of Almonds in the Cayce readings fall into several categories 1. General Source of Nutrition  2. Sources of fats in low or no meat diets   3. As cancer tumor/preventatives 4 as a skin lotion/therapy  5 As a spiritual symbol. The use of almonds as a source of fats was commonly found in low or no meat diets, recommended as a cancer preventative or part of a cancer cure.

Nutrional Properties of Almonds:
Cayce makes occasional references to specific nutrional properties of Almonds.(e.g. 1861-10). In one reading he says; "The almond carries more phosphorus and Iron in combination, easily assimilated than any other nut. (1131-2) Almonds were also recommended to a pregnant woman as a substitute for milk as a source of calcium (480-46) and to a woman with lymph and uterine tumors as a source of calcium (1140-2).In reading 659-1, a general reading on the vitamin Biotin and remarks that it is most useful as a cancer preventative. Cayce most commonly identifiies almonds as a good source of fats/oil for people on a meatless diet. Recommended for cancer (4438-1, 3515-1,1012-1,1000-11,967-2, 787-1.)

Low Fe numbers on you cancer blood check? Read this then.

You are no doubt wondering, why I have inserted this picture, I took of a rock face near where I live. There is no coincidence in it being rust coloured because it is an underground vein of iron.  Iron is a critical part of our diet - and vegetarians run the risk of iron deficiency.  I know. I've been down this road.

Because I insist on getting all the copies of my blood tests,  I discovered when I went over them, that I had below average fe numbers. This wasn't matter of serious discussion with my oncologist.

Fe is ferric (or ferris) oxide - otherwise known as iron.  Iron creates haemoglobin which carries oxygen through the system and a body which is oxygen depleted, is not an efficient cancer fighting system. Cancer does not do well, in an oxygenated environment. Click here to read how oxygen actually fights cancer.

I found this article about iron, of interest:

Iron is a metal that is essential to the human metabolism. The transition from organic (Fe2+) iron to inorganic (Fe3+) iron or vice-versa brings about a transport of electrons. In this way, iron can function as iron donor or recipient in numerous biological reactions. The best known of these is the function of oxygen transporter throughout the blood. Other processes are also very important, such as transport of electrons in the mitochondria (‘cell respiration’), oxidative phosphorylation and the DNA synthesis. Iron also forms part of molecules which need to protect the body from damaging by-products of oxygen. 

A large portion of iron is stored in the liver, the spleen and in bone marrow. Just a small amount is needed daily for the numerous enzyme systems. When there is a danger of iron deficiency, the body is very economic with its iron reserves. An iron deficiency does not occur just like that. When an iron status is too low, we can speak of three stages. In the first stage, the iron reserves have been exhausted and there are no specific symptoms to be seen. The second stage is that of latent iron deficiency which goes hand in hand with decreased performance levels. Finally, anemia comes about. In this case, there is insufficient red blood pigment in the red corpuscles and the oxygen emission in the tissues is lower. This causes performance levels to further decrease and leads to increased susceptibility to infections because the immunological response has weakened. Iron deficiency also influences other bodily functions: loss of appetite as a result of a lower secretion of abdominal juices and slower growth rate in children. Many vague complaints such as: paleness, fatigue and weakness, slight temperature increase, ringing in the ears and headache. 

Source: Animal Freedom. Org. Please click here.

Since I avoid eating meat I have been running with an iron deficit.  And, because I had a length of colon removed, I was told by my surgeon to be careful about taking iron capsules - for they cause constipation.
The result being, that I could easily have 15 bowel movements a day - and this is really disconcerting.
But when my iron count dropped and I discovered it, I began taking iron capsules and - the constipation I was told to expect, was a relief from having the trots.  Even moreso, it wasn't the kind of constipation that most people experience. Nothing like that. My kind of iron induced constipation was a once a day bowel movement.

Please accept my apologies for being so graphic and blunt, but if there is one thing I have learned on my journey - false modesty is quickly thrown out the window.

Once again - its critical to check your blood reports over and if you are feeling to tired to make it through your day, its really important to correct your low fe numbers to build our haemoglobin count.

Chris Wark's Chemo-Free Cancer Survival Story

about 3 minutes long

Chris Wark addresses the Cancer Control Society's Convention in Los Angeles.  This video is a must view.  Lots of us identify with Chris's fight.  Check the right column for the link to his website.
Its an excellent site, produced by someone who has taken the journey. If you are serious about taking charge - then bookmark his site along with this one.

Turmeric Curcimin Amazing Cancer Fighting Properties

I include Tumeric in my diet each day.  Its good a good track record. This video explains why it should be included in your personal attack protocol.

Why I Have Added Aspirin to My Personal Cancer Fighting Protocol