Cancer=Profit Center

Mainstream media appears to view the cancer industry much the same way as conventional medicine. Both seem to view it with a sense of entitlement, closed mindedness and greed. This became especially apparent to me while watching Dateline on February 20th. The program was titled- "A Dose of Controversy". It was a weak attempt at what was intended to be an unbiased expose featuring Suzanne Somers and her book "Knockout".  Suzanne has long thrust herself into the age old battle between conventional and alternative medicine practitioners on such topics as: cancer, bio-identical hormones, etc. I am sure Dateline would have succeeded in a well balanced program had the subject matter been anything other than diet, nutrition, or disease related. The specific disease that the book Knockout references is cancer. It describes some specific M.D.'s "unorthodox" treatment methods for cancer. I say "unorthodox" because anything other than chemo, radiation or surgery is frowned upon by conventional medicine as well as by their hired mouthpiece, mass media. You see the cancer industry is a multi billion dollar industry, a machine, with the triad of treatment options providing an unlimited income stream. Anyone or anything outside of this unholy trinity is viewed as a threat and the attempt to discredit or label it "quack" medicine is the main goal of the machine. This ostracization of innovations in the treatment of cancer by alternative practitioners has been a long running battle. For many years, the AMA (American Medical Association) and the ACA (American Cancer Association) have coordinated their "hit" lists of innovative cancer researchers and Md's. Incidence of payouts to top FDA officials provided in order to fast track certain drugs, goes back to the 1950's. Conflicts of interest within the FDA as well as the NCI (National Cancer Industry) were identified back in the 1970's by a prominent investigative team from a Long Island newspaper. In 1986, Congressional hearings uncovered an organized NCI cover-up of an effective alternative cancer treatment. A Senate investigation as far back as 1953 reported a conspiracy existing to suppress effective cancer treatment. The Senator in charge of the investigation "mysteriously" died, causing the demise of the investigation. This wasn't the only strange death of people who were in a position to do damage to the money making cancer machine. This is just a small sampling of stories which I have unearthed to prove a point. The point being, the cancer industry, a.k.a. business, is one rife with corruption and incompetence. In my opinion, the goal should be to eradicate existing cancer and prevent future cancer, anything falling short of what should be a unanimous goal, is heinous and criminal! Vast amounts of people have suffered and will continue to suffer horrible pain and ultimately death due to these morally devoid groups of so called humans. Most conventional cancer treatments simply add insult to injury as they do more long term harm than good. One such example of this is a drug called Avastin used in breast cancer protocols. This ONE drug produces 855 million annually and costs the user about 8,000 dollars a month. This is hard to believe since this drug has not proven to be of benefit to cancer patients and has a laundry list of deadly side effects. The benefits do not outweigh the risks by any means, yet, news programs such as Dateline interviewed critics of the alternative practitioners in Suzanne Somer's book, many claiming that the alternative treatments were costly as well as ineffective. Costly? What is more costly than mainstream cancer treatments? One practitioner's program mentioned in Suzanne's book cost about 12,000 a year! Not only that, but, this practitioner has had success in treating patients who were deemed hopeless by conventional doctors. I would pay 12,000 in a year in order to live, rather than 8,000 in a month to die faster. In fact, the majority of drugs that conventional practitioners utilize in their cancer fighting arsenals, actually have the main side effect of causing cancer in healthy people!
The BOMB....chemotherapy, is a huge profit center in and of itself, yet has an average five year survival success rate of slightly over two percent!  Big Whoop! Unbiased and true research points to the fact that chemotherapy is only effective, which by the way, in cancer speak, defined by the ethical people at the FDA as reducing a tumor in size by fifty percent in twenty eight days in two to four percent of cancers! In fact, chemotherapy ultimately helps hasten one's demise by destroying one's immune system and its ability to respond to the cancer.
I for one, will take my chances and if I were to ever develop cancer, would utilize every alternative medicine therapy at hand without question. All one has to do is spend some time researching on the Internet, as I did for this article to come to the stark realization that the main motivating forces behind conventional cancer treatment are power and the generation of endless income streams-not to cure the cancer patient.

Thermography, Safer and More Effective than Mammograms

I have only gotten two Mammograms in my life and did not like either one. I found out about a healthier, viable option about five years ago called Thermography. Since that time I have gone to my practitioner once a year, with the exception of the first visit. The first year, they recommend a baseline Thermogram and then another one at three months. The practitioner that I see will then prescribe dietary and lifestyle recommendations based on the initial finding.  So, as you can see, this is not some "hoax" based diagnostic tool, it is valid and it works! A Thermogram costs about 160.00 annually, which can be submitted to one's flex spending account. While the cost of a Mammogram is similar, that is where the similarity ends. Mammograms are touted as the gold standard of diagnostic tools in the breast cancer awareness arsenal, when in fact, what they do is expose a woman's breasts to approximately 1,000 times more radiation than a chest x-ray does. Radiation is cumulative, meaning that it accumulates in the tissues of the body and can mutate DNA.  Why provide more fuel for the body to develop breast cancer when you are trying to prevent the disease by having the mammogram??? In addition to the radiation exposure, Mammograms also compress breast tissue tightly and many times, painfully, which has been shown to spread any malignant tumors which are already present. Detection levels are also "suspect" when utilizing Mammography as cancers are usually detected when they have formed into a mass, versus, detecting single cancer cells or better yet, pre-cancerous changes, as does Thermography. Thermograms can also find inflammation throughout the body, as inflammation is the pre-cursor to many diseases. Thermograms provide reliable and accurate information for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. They also are not painful and can be done quickly. There are many uses for Thermography, however, this technology is best utilized for: breast imaging, pain diagnostics and early detection. Thermography can be very helpful in detecting a specific type of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, or breast cancer in the lining of the milk ducts. Since this type of cancer does not form a mass, Mammograms can not always pick it up. Proper breast self-exams, physical exams, as well as Thermograms annually, can provide one the earliest detection system available! In a nutshell, Thermography allows you and your practitioner to map changes to your body's heat patterns over time which can alert you to any deviations from your norm. When done consistently every year, this can alert you to changes before a disease state can develop fully!  When considering which path to take in order to maintain your breast health, do your research, don't let your doctor badger you into having a Mammogram if you do not want to. I recommend the following book by Dr. Carolyn DeMarco-Take Charge of Your Body-in this book, Dr. DeMarco describes all major breast cancer and mammography studies, giving you both sides of various arguments, so you can make an informed decision.

Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite!

You may be wondering why on Earth I am now talking about bedbugs in my blog? I have been and will continue to write blogs about current information as well as a mixed variety of blogs regarding health/fitness/nutrition, etc. Not to sound sexist, but, women do hold the "conch"!  This is a saying my husband uses, sometimes sarcastically, referring to women as the gate keepers of household information, therefore, the more we know, the more we can help our loved ones and friends! That being said, I am speaking about bedbugs in this blog as anything to do with insects is totally mortifying to me and when I heard that we are now experiencing the biggest resurgence of bedbugs in fifty years, I did some research about it. I am the kind of person who will scream as if I have been mugged upon seeing a centipede in the bathroom shower! Therefore, I did not need much impetus to find out how to protect myself and family from bedbugs! I work in the Wellness Department of a local food co-op and came upon an essential oil blend for the treatment of bedbugs while traveling. What is so good about essential oils, is that they come from plants and therefore do not leave a toxic "footprint" in the wake of dead bedbug carcasses! I will end this blog with the recipe to this blend (actually consisting of two blends).

The resurgence of bedbugs can affect anyone and everyone, not just the traveler, as they are showing up in increasing numbers in homes, dorms, apartments and hospitals. It is a misnomer to think that they only can be found in delapidated houses and flea bag hotels, as they have been found in million dollar mansions as well!

According to some scientists, bedbug bites rarely incite serious illness. I don't know about you, but, this does not provide much solace to me, as the thought of being feasted upon at 4 a.m. in the morning by a bug gives me the "willies." However, severe allergic reactions, such as hives, is more prevalent as well as some other severe skin complications. Supposedly, this influx of the bedbug came from the collusion or perfect storm if you will, of certain elements such as: international travel, immigration, pest control practices and insecticide resistence. The insecticide resistance being referred to is to that of DDT, which was the modus operandi of treating infestations in the past. Although this methodology was both cost effective and did the job, it was at a high cost to society as many birds, namely the bald eagle, were nearly killed off from the use of DDT. This chemical can also be linked to many illnesses and cancers in humans, so, it is a no brainer to come up with some non-toxic method of killing these buggars! The chemical industry has other thoughts, as they believe that the only way to kill the bedbug, will be to develop some new lethal chemical. However, the pay off is not big enough for them to come up with the magic poison just yet, thank God! An effective large scale non-toxic, yet expensive method is called Heat Thermal Remediation and it costs about 200-1500 dollars per room! Rooms are basically heated to a certain temperature, as bedbugs will die off in extreme temps. Another way to control them is to encase your mattress and box spring in allergy cases and do not buy used furniture from non reputable sources! I will leave you with the recipe developed by Tim Blakley, which is a combination of essential oils which can be purchased online at such outlets as:  http://www.aromaland.com/, and http://www.aromatherapeutix.com/, as well as at your local health food store.

Formula Number One:

Afternoon Arrival Spray:

20 drops of Sweet Orange Oil

20 drops of Lemongrass

20 drops of Lemon Eucalyptus

20 drops of Veviter

Combine drops into 1 oz. of water and spritz it all over the non sheet area, under the mattress, the floor area around the bed, the bedboards, the box sprint, etc. Also, spritz the outside of your suitcase.

Formula Number Two:

20 drops of Veviter
20 drops of Sandalwood (the most expensive oil)
10 drops of Texas Cedarwood or Blue Cypress
10 drops of Lavender

Combine drops in 1 oz. of water and spray it on the sheets around where you will be sleeping but not necessarily on the exact spot where you will be laying. This formula is about as heavy as it gets, these oils are all heavy base note dominated oils, with the exception of lavender, but it should provide some lasting efficacy through the night! These oils are also relatively easy on the skin and because you will be sleeping next to them, they are also very calming to the body and mind.

The Heart of the Matter

February is national Heart Disease Awareness month. In reality, how aware is the public about the facts of heart disease, namely, how specifically this disease affects women? The answer...not very! For instance, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. It is also the leading cause of disability in women. Many people believe that heart disease is a "man's" disease, when in fact, it is more common and fatal in women. How heart disease manifests in women is also a highly misunderstood area, especially by the medical profession! Women do not manifest the same signs of a heart attack as men do. Women have symptoms like: shortness of breath, fatigue, pain in the upper left back, pain radiating down the arm, etc. To add insult to injury, many women are misdiagnosed after having minor heart attacks and presenting these symptoms to their doctor, which many times prove fatal! Heart issues, as well as many other "health" problems which manifest within our physical bodies stem from the emotional arena. Unfortunately, this aspect of disease is still neglected and misunderstood by many mainstream health professionals. I have had a book in my possession by Louise Hay, of Hay House for some time. It is entitled-"Heal Your Body"..I consider it to be a treasure trove of sorts, as it is the first resource that I go to when investigating an illness. The emotional "feed" behind heart disease, according to Louise Hay's book, is: longstanding emotional problems, lack of joy in one's daily life and belief in strain and stress in life. Wow! Now that would be some real prevention if we could openly talk about our feelings in society and embrace humanity for having them! Instead, we tend to let them fester for aeons, eventually morphing into the physical body and manifesting into full fledged illness/disease. If this concept, as well as that of prevention, nutrition, etc. were at the core of any "awareness" of a disease month, would really be substantial and go a long way to prevent disease, rather than attempt to cure it by utilizing the "one size fits all motif"! The favored treatment plan for male or female appears to be the drug class called Statins, as we as a society have been taught to demonize all fats, as well as the fat within our bodies, especially cholesterol. Cholesterol is the proverbial red-headed step child when it comes to heart disease. One can trace the demonization of cholesterol back to the famed Framingham study, which supposedly set the perimeters of heart disease. In reality, what this study should have done, was put to bed the idea that dietary fats and cholesterol (alone) increase blood cholesterol levels and cause heart disease! The findings from this study which did not support the "diet-heart" hypothesis, were conveniently ignored. The true lessons of Framingham are as follows: 1. Most people who die of heart disease have low or average levels of blood cholesterol, 2. For most people, LDL and total cholesterol have little "predictive significance" for heart disease, 3. High intake of dietary cholesterol doesn't increase blood cholesterol levels in the majority of the population, 4. High intake of dietary cholesterol, from foods such as eggs, shrimp, we are not talking trans-fats here, this is a different beast, will address that in a later blog, 5. Something OTHER than cholesterol and saturated fat are causing heart disease. Unfortunately, we are in a society that appears to be easily manipulated by the "powers-that-be". In this case, that would be pharmaceutical companies, as information from certain studies is conveniently deleted or honed by this industry in order to sell a certain drug, which, by the way, will benefit everyone? The main drug to lower the "bad" cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol, is in the drug class called statins. Unfortunately, this drug is not effective in many people and as a major side effect, it eliminates what is called Co-Q10. What is this, you ask?  It is the fuel for the Maserati, or Volvo...whatever model of the human body you possess. This nutrient fuels what is called Mitochondria, which are the fuel cells of every muscle in the body, therefore, it is not something you want to eliminate or cause a slight shortage of. I suggest that you do some investigating yourself, regarding the fabricated "war on cholesterol" and hopefully see it for what it really is: questionable science, doctors appointments, drugs! I suggest starting your research with the following books: "21 Days to a Healthy Heart" -Alan Watson, and "Heart Sense For Women"-Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. (yes, some M.D.'s "get it") as well as the following website: www.womenheart.org/kit. I wish you much enlightenment and health!

Stress-A Mixed Bag of Tricks

Stress is pretty ubiquitous, meaning there is good stress (eustress) and bad stress (distress). However, regardless of the type, it can all seem overwhelming at times. I know, I personally, am having huge distress periods due to recently passing the one year anniversary of both my mother's death and my last remaining aunt's death as well as being gainfully underemployed and yada, yada. My point being, we all have variations of these scenarios dancing like "sugar plums through our heads" at various times. Adding our exaggerated weather patterns in 49 of 50 states in the United States this winter as well as civil unrest in many countries, and you will have a whole bunch of people feeling very stressed! While we all have our own highly individualistic reactions as well as solutions for stress, it is not unlike cold air in the winter, it will find a crack in the armour and "creep" in ever so slowly! Thus, the key in dealing with stress effectively is to moderate it! I have not mastered this so far, but, continue to try. I truly believe that living in the "electronic" era in which we all do currently, serves to add an extra layer of stress. For instance, how many times have you cursed the fact that you can not detach from your I-Phone, I-Touch, Computer, etc., only to find yourself drawn back to them like you are under some spell? I too, am complicit in this dogma! I both love and detest technology all in the same breathe! The fact is that progressive amounts of stress can not only adversely affect one's body, but the mind as well, leading to increased levels of both anxiety and depression, etc. We all suffer from the physical symptoms of stress as well, such as: high blood pressure, hormonal imbalance, headaches and digestive disturbances, to name only a few! It is very important to find one's own way to deal with stress in a positive manner as if left unchecked for long periods of time, it will erode one's health over time. I will once again, refer to deep breathing as a great mechanism in dealing with stress as well as any activity which induces one to do so such as: yoga, aerobic exercise, meditation as well as partaking in alternative healing modalities such as: chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, etc. This blog is merely an introduction into the topic of stress. A person can find many books and internet sources which can lead them on their path to develop their individualized tools in dealing with stressors. In parting, I do have one brief stress tip that I would like to impart. I call it the ten commandments for reducing stress:
1. Thou shall not be perfect or even attempt to be
2. Thou shall not try to be all things to all people (women, are you paying attention!)
3. Thou shall not leave undone things that ought to be done
4. Thou shall not spread thyself too thin
5. Thou shall learn to say "no" without guilt
6. Thou shall schedule time for thyself
7. Thou shall have something to look forward to every day!
8. Thou shall sometimes be slack, idle and inelegant
9. Thou shall have a little piece of chocolate every day...as I did from Godiva today!
10. Thou shall embrace the present and let go of the past (biggie!)