Mind Over Cancer :: Healthy Lifestyles and Natural Weight Loss Information

Mind Over Cancer
by author Michelle Hancock

Not a day goes by that the word "cancer" doesn’t scare thousands of Canadians. Like a dreaded scourge, it hovers over us, presumably just waiting to claim its next victim.

But according to scientists in the growing field of mind/body medicine, the disease is not as much an external force as you might believe. Fear and anxiety–our thoughts and feelings–can impact our health just as much as a long list of cancer risk factors"Psychoneuroimmunology"’ is the scientific term to describe the study of the mind/body connection. Carl Simonton, MD, is an oncologist who pioneered research in this discipline as early as the 1970s. His book, Getting Well Again (Bantam, 1978), shows how “an individual’s reaction to stress and other emotional factors can contribute to the onset and progress of cancer [while] positive expectations, self-awareness and self-care can ontribute to survival."

Responsive Immunity

Scientists are still trying to chart the exact anatomical mechanisms for this phenomenon, but the key appears to be in the intimate relationship between the nervous and immune systems. In 1993, it was discovered that the nerve cellendings in the skin are close to the immune system’s white blood cells, and that chemicals secreted by the nerves can shut down nearby immune system cells. In other words, stress andanxiety can suppress the body’simmune response.

Conversely, when we use techniques or methods that enhance positive emotions and states of mind, the body is affected for the good. In clinical studies, cancer patients who participated in support groups where they could talk about their emotions had a better immune response and faster recovery times.

The Cellular Environment

Acclaimed cellular biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton was in Vancouver last November to present his breakthrough research showing how our environment–including thoughts and beliefs–affects the behaviour and health of our cells. We are not victims of our genes, according to Dr. Lipton. In fact, studies show that our DNA can mutate to adapt to specific environmental conditions. This means we have the tremendous ability to determine the outcome of our health by altering our environment. Our thoughts have energy that gets into cells through the cell surface or membrane; it’s up to us to choose whether those thoughts are positive or negative.

The Centre for Integrated Healing in Vancouver is the first provincially funded, integrated cancer clinic in Canada. Philip Wood, integrative bodyworker and counsellor, explains that an important part of the centre’s multi-pronged treatment program is helping clients rediscover this mind/body/spirit connection to facilitate healing. The process is different for everyone, Wood says. Yet in documented cases of spontaneous healing of advanced, untreatable cancer, patients tend to have several things in common, including a deep belief in the body’s ability to heal in spite of being told by experts that their illness is terminal, and a regaining of a sense of control in their lives.

"A lot of it is about getting over the fear," says Wood. Not only does fear interfere with decision–making and emotional health, but–as the theory goes"when you’re scared, your mind sends a message to your body and your body reacts by getting stressed, which lowers immunity. If, on the other hand, you send messages of well-being, healing and relaxation, the body’s cells react in a healthy way.

Elesa Willies from Vancouver discovered this for herself when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1997. She describes herself then as an "extremely bitter, angry, jilted woman who chose to punish herself for ‘being so stupid’ by not eating right, practising poor sleeping habits, working like a fiend and taking up smoking again after a 15-year hiatus."

After more tests were done and surgery was recommended, "I walked out of the specialist’s office in a daze, got into my car and started to cry. I was inconsolable and so scared."

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A graduate of the UBC School of Journalism, Michelle Hancock loves reading and writing and believing that everyone has the power to make a difference in their own lives and in the lives of others. E-mail: michellehancock@shaw.ca.

Source: alive #246, April 2003

Cancer
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A New Way to Look at Cancer
The cause of cancer is still not known. That's because conventional theory fails to explain the mechanism of rapid or unrestrained growth of cancer cells.

Food and Cancer Connection
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My Answer to Cancer-Get Lost!
I'm not the kind of person who likes to talk about himself. So, when I was asked to write an article about my experience with cancer, I felt quite uneasy, as I'm afraid that people will try to copy what I have done as though it were a magic recipe.

Exercise for Speedy Recovery
If patients do not participate in some form of exercise, their ability to function suffer.

Eliminate Root Causes of Cancer
The current assumption is that if one could surgically remove, radiate or destroy all the cancer cells in a patient with chemotherapy then the disease would no longer exis.

Dr. Burzynski Battles the Cancer Industry
When a man stood in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square, the world gasped at his bravery. No less brave are health- care practitioners like Polish-born Dr Stanislaw R. Burzynski, who successfully stood up to a juggernaut of hostility toward his cancer therapy from both the US government and the medical establishment..

Look Good While Fighting Cancer
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Cancer-Fighting Recipes
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Childhood Cancer Epidemic
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Cancer-Fighting Herbs and Roots
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Pesticides in Our Environment
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You've Got the Power
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Cancer: Proof And A Plan For Healing
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Laughter: A Priceless Prescription
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Celebrate Life
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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
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New Therapy Shows Results Against Cancer and Viral Infections
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Vitamins Vindicated
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The Current State Of Cancer
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Practical Prevention Plan
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The Cancer Food Connection
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Advances in Cancer Care
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Complementary Cancer Care
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The Role of Mushrooms in Cancer
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The Power Within Illness
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Pessimist or Optimist-Live Long Enough to Find Out
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Cancer Prevention is Possible
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Joy and Happiness: The Same or Very Different Emotions?
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Health Really Is a Laughing Matter
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Head Colds
A friend of mine told me recently that her boyfriend had come down with a col.

Stories We Live By
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Natural Cancer Care
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Spring Into Your Autumn Years
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The Healing Truth
As many people who live with cancer know, the discovery of the disease marks the beginning of a new chapter in life. Researchers and healers continue to discover the role attitudes and emotions play in the healing process.

Laugh and Smile Your Way to Health
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Finding Joy
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An Attitude of Gratitude
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Cancer Diagnosis
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Three Steps to Happiness
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Uterine Cancer
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Love and Health are a Perfect Match
Through self-love we may come to know and accept ourselves in a healthier way. Many women's magazines suggest a warm bubble bath once a week equals self-love. While this perception may leave us a bit cleaner, it does not, in itself, translate to greater health.

Cancer-Defective Genes or Excessive Chromosomes?
The vast majority of current research into the underlying mechanisms of cancer is directed at the search for defective genes, even though they are found in only a minority of cancers, and it is hard to explain why inherited cancer genes would not cause cancer early on in life.

The Cancer Personality
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Maintaining Weight Through Cancer
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Cancer Prevention
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Fighting Cancer
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Cancer Comrades
Fruits and vegetables have become the darlings of the nutritional world, being deemed as the only safe carbohydrate sources to consume in the latest low-carb diet regimen.

Smell Comfort
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Cancer-Free Dining
Everyone wants health and potential protection from cancer, but few of us know how to successfully implement healthful chang.

Forever Young
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Locus of Control
We consider many of life's experiences as good, bad, or somewhere in between. We credit our accomplishments in life to luck or personal effort or, again, somewhere in between.

Swallowing Emotions
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Laughing Matters
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Saying No to Negativity
Recently, my friend Jim started complaining again about his boss and his job. "If you tried to have a positive attitude for a change, I suggested, "you'd be happier and feel better about life. "Oh, that's a bunch of bull, Jim replied..

Community Connection
Community" was a concept that most people took for granted a few generations.

What Do I Do With All These Feelings?
With Christmas having come and gone, many of us may be suffering from a post-holiday hangover-not just from the drinking, but from the spending, the eating, the partying and the dealings with family, too. So what exactly do we do to not get depressed and discouraged?The key lies in the ability to process our emotions..

Laugh Your Way to Better Health
We've all heard the bromide, "Laughter is the best medicine," but are we getting a regular dose? Besides our positive emotions and the discharge of endorphins, natural pain-killers released by the body when we laugh, there are many physical benefits to be gained by a laughter.

Cancer is Not Defective Genes!
According to mainstream medicine, defective genes sending the wrong signals cause production of too many growth hormone receptors in the cell walls and cause about 35 per cent of breast cancers.

Health Pioneer

De-Stressing Our Children This Holiday Season
When we think of the holiday season, weconjure up images of beautifully wrappedpresents, out-of-town relatives, and delicious food. Yet, even though the holidayseason can be filled with joy and abundance, this time of year can also bequite stressful for adults and children.

Move Over Has-Bean
Recently, while my friends and I were sharing a laugh over a cuppa java, I looked across the table at Amanda's cup and realized there was no ebony liquid in it. Instead, she was delicately sipping green tea. One of Amanda's jokes?

The Power of Love
It's not just an old-fashioned love song. Relationships have the power to nurture our wellness more than any other factor. The added benefit, of course, is that we can literally improve the health of all those involved-including ourselves. Tell the special people in your life that you appreciate them.

Cancer
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Immunity Gets Personal
In The Immune Power Personality (Dutton,1995), Henry Dreher outlined how character traits can build resistance to disease. Since then a range of experts have supported Dreher's conclusions. What are some of these traits and how can we foster them?

Healing with The Mind
In the 17th century the philosopher and scientist Descartes ("I think, therefore I am) proposed the separation of the mind from the body.

The Cancer Cottage Industry
When it comes to cancer, there can be such a thing as "good exploitation. Actors, musicians, and sports stars with the illness can create much-needed awareness and support.

Cancer-Proof Your Pancreas
A hidden health concern for some men is pancreatic cancer. Processed meats may be insidious culprits. Researchers believe that the chemical reactions in the preparation of processed meats may be the problem. A high fruit and vegetable diet dramatically reduces risk of pancreatic cancer. Those who consumed five daily portions of highly protective produce, particularly beans, carrots, citrus fruits, corn, dark leafy vegetables, garlic, onions, and sweet potatoes reduced their risk of pancreatic cancer by 50 percent.

Eradicate Free Radicals
Make a positive contribution to the cellular war against oxidative free radical damage and keep cancerous cells at bay by consuming a well-balanced diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Include a comprehensive, high-quality multivitamin and multi-antioxidant dietary supplement.

Boys will be Boys?
We all know that the average life expectancy of your garden-variety man is about five years less than the female. By being a little more proactive about your health and politely reminding your inner bad boy to grow up, you might be well on your way to outliving us ladies!

What's your expiry date?
To know the date of your death well in advance would be a rare gift. Or would it?

Seven Tips for Deriving Energy from Your Relationships
We all want to be physically healthy, but if our emotional life is unbalanced, efforts to reach our full health potential may be thwarted. Following these simple tips and surrounding yourself with positive relationships will re-energize you and pave the way to achieving your full health potential.

The Zen of Blacktop
How many times have we read articles extolling the soul-soothing attributes of nature? Many of us have come to believe we can only reach inner peace by leaving the city life behind. The sanctimonious gurus saying we can recharge the soul only through nature's retreats can be put to rest. Those living within the vortex of the city can find peace, too.

Happiness Equals Success
Does success bring us happiness or is it the other way around? In this chicken or egg debate, we often hear that success hatches happiness. The research revealed that happy people are more successful in marriage and work and enjoy better mental and physical health.

The Value of Volunteering
When you ask people why they volunteer, they usually tell you that they feel enriched by their activities and that it just feels good to do good. A 1991 report from Volunteer Ontario confirms that volunteer work lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immune system, and enhances self-esteem.

Moving on Up!
Just about everyone goes through an occasional bout of feeling down. Along with a better diet and daily exercise, adding a few tried and true mood boosters to your nutritional and herbal supplement program often makes a noticeable difference in a short period of time.

Why Act Your Age When You're Young at Heart?
The Red Hat Societ is a social group whose main responsibility is to have fun. The group's mission is to gain higher visibility for women aged 50 and older and to reshape the way they are viewed by today's culture.

Laugh and Play-Every Day
Take steps to actively incorporate play into your daily or weekly activities. Start small and work up to something bigger. It will enhance the quality of your life and the lives of those close to you. Plus, you'll be more fun to be around.

Did You Hear the One About...?
Just as many of us have forgotten how to laugh, scientists have begun to study the benefits of laughter. Dr. Lee Berk of Loma Linda University in California has researched laughter extensively and has shown that not only is the immune system boosted, but natural killer cells-which fight certain types of cancer-are increased when we laugh.

Create a Brighter Tomorrow
A positive vision of your future will keep you going and help you to learn, grow, and persevere. It will help you to boost your immunity to short-term failure and find the silver lining in temporary setbacks.

Can-do Attitude

Standards for Supplements

A Month of Awareness and Prevention

Wheeling and Mealing
Volunteering can improve the state of your own health while adding to the quality of the lives of others. In fact, helping others is proven to be one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Meals on Wheels provides great opportunities for this kind of exchange.

Vegetarians Show Reduced Rate of Cancer

Foods for Cancer Prevention

Happy Hemp Harvest

Stand Up for Clean Air

That's What Friends are For

Pets in Pants

Keeping an Eye on Blood Sugar

Attract a Positive State of Mind
What did you say to yourself the last time you looked in the mirror? Did you think about how wonderful you are and how good you look? Or did you say and think something negative? What you say to yourself can have as much impact on your health as careful eating and proper exercise.

Love's labours tossed
Whee-Valentine's Day. As holidays go, it's not exactly a rip-snorter, is it? But hey, I'm all for breaking out my credit card yet again and supporting the florists and candy-makers.

Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra isn't exactly known for being a man of few words. The New Delhi-born, California-based health guru is notorious for giving talks that last three to four hours and for peppering his speeches with personal anecdotes and self-deprecating jokes.

Turn the Cancer Switch Off
Every one of us is born with a unique genetic blueprint that defines our sensitivities to certain diseases such as cancer. But the latest research indicates it's not our genes that control whether we will experience diseases like cancer; it is the actual instructions those genes receive daily.

Canine Wisdom
One of my best teachers, Jessie, was also one of my best friends. She was with me right up until her 98th year-dog years, that is.

The Lessons of Spring
Spring is a sensuous teacher. Every year she steps out of the darkness and cold and seductively dances around us. She embraces us with her light and warmth. She intoxicates us with her fragrance. Like a potent elixir, spring revives our hope. She breathes life into death and teaches us the lessons of renewal and rebirth.

The Science of Feeling Great
Most people think of their metabolism as affecting their ability to gain or lose weight. But our metabolism also affects mood and the way we feel. The truth of the matter is that we feel our best when we maintain the production and function of neurotransmitters-essential elements of brain metabolism.

Escape from the Space Invaders!
Every morning and evening, Monday to Friday, I commute-with my face stuffed into someone's armpit or an elbow jabbing my ribs. I realized very quickly that, with my personal space being compromised this way, the need for a sanctuary at home was crucial for maintaining my sanity.

The Upside of Ulcerative Colitis
Some health conditions are a little classier than others. My friend has a plastic leg called Ursula, which she's removed and chastised for not performing well in Pilates-now that's classy. My disease involves gurgly guts, painful gas, bloody toilet tissue, and diarrhea-that's not classy.

Look on the Bright Side
Recall a day when you woke up in the morning feeling positive? I bet you had a great day. Want more of that?

Celebrate Life
Oscar Wilde once said, "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. The question is, are you merely surviving from day to day, or are you grasping everything you can from life?

Living an Authentic Life
In a world where success is defined by money, and happiness is just a weight-loss plan away, many of us have lost sight of our most valuable asset: our true selves. By living authentically, however, we can reach our potential and experience true happiness.

The Power of a Positive Mindset
I'm often asked for simple tips for achieving optimal health. Here are my three top tips: 1. Make the decision to change; 2. believe in yourself; and 3. apply the necessary strategies to get you there!

Helper's High
Is it good to be good? People express their compassion in different ways. Some volunteer with people. Others volunteer with animals. Although all good works produce health benefits, including improved immunity and reduced anxiety and depression, different activities have different ripple effects.

Volunteering - If It Feels Good, Do It!
Now that January's out of the way - the bills are paid, my sanity's relatively intact, the gift wrap's finally put away - I'm ready to tackle one of my goals for the year, which is to take on some kind of volunteer work.

A Conversation with k.d. lang
k.d. lang has sung with the best-Tony Bennett, Roy Orbison, Loretta Lynn-not bad for a girl from Consort, Alberta, population 739.

Alternative Medicine Magazine's Definitive Guide to Cancer, 2nd Edition
Anyone facing cancer-in themselves or a loved one-would do well to take this book as a definitive ally.

Cancer Research
This is an exciting time in cancer research. From multibillion dollar medical research complexes to smaller university laboratories, cancer researchers are making extraordinary discoveries about the cellular mechanics of cancer.

Worrying Ourselves to Death
Have you ever tried counting your worries? While drafting this article I managed to squeeze in worries about my gobbled-down breakfast, my half-baked plans for the rest of the day, and what I can do to ease pain in various aching body parts-to name but a few ever-nagging worries.

The Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D may be one of the most important nutrients for preventing a host of diseases and improving longevity. This month's Research Watch discusses the new research about this long-overlooked vitamin and how it may be critical to long-term health.

Sunday Dinner
In the many years that have elapsed since moving out of my childhood home, Sunday dinner held about as much meaning as dinner any other day of the week. I ate whatever I could scrounge up, or went to a restaurant, or, for a rather debauched period, just ate chips in front of the TV until it was time to go to the nightclub again.

Building a Health Reserve
Hoping to be a healthy elder? Then stock your health bank as faithfully as your financial one. Healthy aging requires preparation. This month's Research Watch discusses what you need to know to build up your health reserves for a long and healthy life.

Acne's Oily Secret
From sunburn to psoriasis, acne to eczema, inflammation is often the common thread in unwanted skin conditions. Now, as nutritional medicine advances, it is becoming increasingly clear that dietary choices can influence inflammation in all parts of the human body, including the skin.

Imagine Your Way to Better Health
In my darker moments-when bills, work, and deadlines all conspire against me-I have a fantasy. In it, I return to a remote spot on the Mediterranean coast where gentle waves lap against a sleepy shoreline and vast, open skies arch overhead. Everything is blue, sensual, and calm.

What is Gratitude?
"Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing. Television character Bart Simpson's dinner table blessing is inappropriate, but we relate to it. Like Bart, we are often ungrateful because we feel a sense of entitlement. This Thanksgiving let's put gratitude on the menu.

Potent Pomegranates
In ancient cultures, pomegranates were symbols of life, regeneration, health, and vitality. In Babylon and Persia, soldiers chewed pomegranate seeds before battle, believing that the exotic fruits would reward them with superior skills and invincibility. The Egyptians placed pomegranates in King Tut's tomb, to help him in his afterlife.

Sampling the Fountain of Youth
I caught the end of a stand-up comedian's routine the other night while channel surfing. He joked that plastic surgery "makes you look young in the same way that a drag queen looks like a woman. There's just something a little off...

All I Want for Christmas
When I asked my daughter about what to write for December's column, her immediate reply was "snowmen. While that's probably not the ideal basis for an entire article, it did get me thinking.

Probiotics
There is a newfound interest in probiotics, and food companies haven't missed a beat. They have put these latest nutritional money-makers into flavoured sticks, special drinks, yogourts, cheese, and anything else you can put a bite on.

Tune into Your body's Rhythm
What images come to mind when you hear or see the word meditation? How many of those images include movement? For the average person, not many.

Volunteers for the Environment
We are so closely connected to other forms of life on our planet that survival without them is unthinkable. And although we have the power of intellect, we can never consider ourselves as superior. On the contrary, we need these species in order to survive.

Deal Out Cancer
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about 40 percent of women and nearly 45 percent of men in this country will face a personal battle with this fearful disease.

Milk Thistle
Even though milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is not a new herb to the health food industry, the studies and clinical evidence of this amazing medicinal botanical continue to expand each year.

Empowering the Feminine
Although its origins are uncertain, one theory is that belly dancing was performed to strengthen women’s abdominal muscles for childbirth.

Take time for yourself during the holidays
Many people either choose to spend the holidays alone or end up that way as a matter of circumstance. A solitary celebration is a great opportunity to create the holiday of your dreams. Here are a few ways to make the holidays a special time for you alone.

Every season has its purpose
The calm, still beauty of the winter months offers quiet downtime for personal reflection and healing meditation.

Cultivating romance
Ah, romantic love. When we’re in it, nothing could be more fulfilling. But when we can’t find it or there’s trouble in paradise, it can seem like a lot more trouble than it’s worth.

Social connections
There’s a sense of freedom that comes with being independent. However, as self-sufficient as we feel, at points along the way most of us need support.