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> " HSI - Jenny Thompson "

> <HSIResearch

 

> A Road Less Traveled

> Tue, 14 Sep 2004 08:35:19 -0400

>

> A Road Less Traveled

>

> Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

>

> September 14, 2004

>

>

************************************************************

>

> Dear Reader,

>

> I recently received a remarkable note about cancer

> survival from an

> HSI member named Bob. More than 20 years ago, at age

> 62, Bob was

> diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent emergency

> surgery to remove

> a length of his upper colon. A few days after the

> operation, an

> oncologist dropped by to set up a chemotherapy

> schedule. But Bob had

> different ideas. As he puts it: " I had no desire to

> nearly kill my

> immune system in hopes of also killing a cancer

> recurrence. "

>

> Instead of chemotherapy, Bob (who says friends

> consider him a " health

> nut " ) opted for a therapy based on mega-doses of

> vitamin C. Long story

> short: He's still here today to tell about it. Bob

> writes, " One does

> not know the 'road not taken', so I might well have

> had no recurrence

> if I took the chemotherapy. But I did not have the

> cost, pain, bother

> and risk of chemotherapy either. As it was, the only

> part of the

> medical establishment I believe I convinced AT ALL

> was my surgeon. He

> was impressed by my rapid recovery from the

> operation. "

>

> In Bob's e-mail, he summed up his thinking with this

> comment: " I

> figured that it was my life and I had a right to

> risk it. "

>

> Bob's unwavering independent attitude reminded me of

> a book I told you

> about last year. It's one of the most moving things

> I've ever read

> about alternative health care for cancer because it

> offers insightful

> advice as well as tremendous hope for anyone who may

> be faced with a

> cancer diagnosis.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> An unexpected turn

>

---------------------------

>

>

> The book is titled " Living Proof: A Medical Mutiny, "

> and the author is

> Michael Gearin-Tosh, a don of English literature at

> Oxford University.

> In 1994, at age 54, Gearin-Tosh was diagnosed with

> multiple myeloma, a

> cancer of the bone marrow, considered to be

> treatable but not curable.

> Less than 3 percent of multiple myeloma patients

> survive 10 years.

> When diagnosed, he was told that with aggressive

> chemotherapy he might

> live two years.

>

> On one level, Gearin-Tosh's story is about the world

> of challenges

> that every cancer patient experiences. The aspect

> that sets his story

> apart from so many others is the course of treatment

> he chose. After

> being told by one specialist that treating his

> cancer with a dietary

> regimen would be " useless, " and after consultations

> with several

> doctors, a good deal of personal research, and

> discussions with family

> and friends, Gearin-Tosh chose to forego chemo,

> opting instead for

> less abrasive alternative treatments.

>

> Against all odds, ten years later, Gearin-Tosh is

> still alive. He's

> not cured - he still has myeloma - but the fact that

> he's still vital,

> still teaching, and still pursuing his treatments,

> puts him,

> statistically, in a class by himself.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> The road to therapy

>

---------------------------

>

>

> During the first weeks after his diagnosis,

> Gearin-Tosh researched

> different treatments on his own while weighing the

> advice of friends.

> During this conflicted time (made no easier by the

> anemia associated

> with his disease) he consulted several doctors, some

> of who were

> impersonal in their manner and vague when answering

> his questions.

> They insisted that immediate chemotherapy was the

> only reasonable way

> to go. What Gearin-Tosh found lacking was a rational

> support for

> chemotherapy. He wondered: If chemo is not a cure,

> then what's the

> point? When pressed to explain the merits of chemo,

> all they could

> offer was further insistence that it was his only

> option.

>

> But the book is in no way a diatribe against the

> medical profession.

> One doctor, (a consultant, retired from practice),

> became a reliable

> guide without ever pushing the patient in a

> direction he didn't want

> to go. Another doctor helped advise him in a wide

> variety of options,

> both conventional and alternative.

>

> Finally, two months after his diagnosis, just as he

> was about to

> reluctantly begin chemotherapy, Gearin-Tosh made a

> breakthrough in his

> research of treatments when he learned about a New

> York City physician

> - Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez - who had successfully

> treated many cancer

> patients with detoxification, vitamin supplements,

> and a strict diet

> of vegetable juices.

>

> Although he didn't become a patient of Dr. Gonzalez,

> Gearin-Tosh

> cancelled his chemotherapy and proceeded with a

> dietary regimen (based

> on the Max Gerson cancer therapy) in combination

> with high doses of

> vitamin supplements (following the guidelines of

> Linus Pauling and Dr.

> Abram Hoffer). He also practiced visualization

> techniques involving

> special breathing exercises, took coffee and castor

> oil enemas (to

> stimulate detoxification in the liver), and visited

> an acupuncturist

> on a regular basis.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> A living part

>

---------------------------

>

>

> One of the most striking things about this book is

> the way Gearin-Tosh

> tells his story. He saves it from being a grim tale

> by frequently

> interjecting moments of gentle humor and interesting

> characters (such

> as a houseguest, a captain in the Russian Army, who

> Gearin-Tosh

> discovers one morning cooking breakfast and drinking

> champagne at 6:00

> AM).

>

> More importantly, Gearin-Tosh never preaches. He

> doesn't urge other

> cancer patients to embrace any particular therapies.

> He doesn't

> suggest, for instance, that acupuncture or coffee

> enemas or quarts of

> fresh carrot juice will save the lives of all cancer

> patients. And he

> doesn't even condemn chemotherapy, noting that

> certain doctors have

> developed specialized chemo techniques combined with

> bone marrow

> transplants that have helped make chemotherapy more

> effective in

> treating multiple myeloma.

>

> Instead, in what Gearin-Tosh calls the core of his

> argument, he

> encourages cancer patients to be open-minded,

> questioning, and to

> trust their instincts. He believes that the ideal

> goal is to become an

> involved, " living part " of any therapy that's

> chosen. But with the

> thoughtfulness of someone who's been there, he

> tempers this advice

> with the phrase, " if you feel you can. "

>

>

---------------------------

>

> Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition

>

---------------------------

>

>

> The book concludes with an eloquent, peer-reviewed

> case history of the

> patient, written by Carmen Wheatley, a former

> student of

> Gearin-Tosh's, and one of his most dedicated

> supporters throughout his

> treatment period. Dr. Wheatley (a doctor of

> philosophy) concludes the

> history with a statement by Dr. Jeffrey Bland, a

> biochemist who simply

> states that every cancer therapy should include

> nutritional

> consultation as a standard of care. Not to, he says,

> should be

> considered, " malpractice by omission. "

>

> Strong words. Hopefully they'll be heard by doctors

> and their patients

> far and wide.

>

> " Living Proof " is published by Scribner, and you can

> read an excerpt

> from the book on this web site:

> whale.to/c/gearin.html.

>

>

************************************************************

> ...and another thing

>

> It can't leap tall buildings in a single bound, but

> magnesium does

> seem to be something of a super mineral.

>

> In recent e-Alerts we've seen how a good intake of

> magnesium may

> promote bone flexibility while also helping prevent

> type 2 diabetes

> and heart disease. Now here's another benefit to add

> to that list:

> Magnesium is essential for keeping teeth healthy.

>

> Everyone knows that calcium is necessary to help

> form the tooth enamel

> that protects against cavity development. But

> calcium can't do that

> job alone. In fact, without the assistance of

> magnesium, calcium can

> only manage to supply soft enamel, which isn't

> strong enough to battle

> tooth decay. Magnesium and calcium together are

> essential to create

> hard enamel.

>

> Phosphorus also helps develop hard enamel, but

> studies have shown that

> the interior structure of teeth - below the

> protective enamel - can be

> weakened when too much calcium and phosphorus are

> present without

> magnesium. And guess what delivers calcium and

> phosphorus, but zero

> magnesium?

>

> Milk.

>

> And what's worse, a high intake of milk may

> interfere with your body's

> metabolism of magnesium.

>

> In the e-alert " It's Elemental " (10/21/03) HSI

> Panelist Allan Spreen,

> M.D., recommended a 2:1 ratio of calcium to

> magnesium intake. For most

> people, a 500 mg supplement of magnesium per day is

> a good idea

> because none of the dietary sources of magnesium

> (green leafy

> vegetables, avocados, nuts and seeds, and whole

> grains) deliver large

> amounts.

>

> So while it may not be naturally abundant in the

> average diet, it's

> obvious that magnesium is a nutrient that's well

> worth going out of

> our way for in order to get adequate amounts.

>

> To Your Good Health,

>

> Jenny Thompson

> Health Sciences Institute

>

>

************************************************************

 

> Sources:

>

> " Living Proof: A Medical Mutiny " Michael

> Gearin-Tosh, Scribner, 2002

> " Magnesium for Strong Teeth " J.I. Rodale and Harold

> Taub, Magnesium,

> The Nutrient That Could Change Your Life " The

> Magnesium Web Site,

> mgwater.com

>

> Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com,

> L.L.C. The e-Alert may

> not be posted on commercial sites without written

> permission.

>

>

************************************************************

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