 The
Big Book
READ THIS BOOK
BEFORE YOU GET CANCER!
That was my working title for the book. I wanted a title and a front cover
that would reach out to you, the browsing book buyer, and catch you by
the lapels and shake you and say (shout, scream and plead): `Listen! You
should read me! You should read me now!'
Unfortunately they haven't yet invented book covers that do this! But
the basic point remains. I want to shortcut the following process:
- You receive a diagnosis of cancer
- You agree to undergo treatment according to the advice
of your doctor
- You start to read around the subject
- You start to suffer serious side effects from your treatment
- You realise that you really wish you hadn't started
this kind of treatment.
I'm not saying this is inevitable. For some people surgery, radiation
and/or chemotherapy is the treatment of choice and the treatment that
best fits the patient's belief system. But there are other people who,
if they only knew it, might prefer to take a different route to reaching
a cure. Most people who choose the alternative approaches to cancer treatment
have already been through the mill of the mainstream treatments. When
the cancer has returned they have decided they cannot bear to go through
all that again.
The problem is this: How can you make a choice to choose
non-mainstream cancer treatment methods as a first line of attack? On
what basis could you make such a decision?
None of the books on alternative medicine answered that question for me.
I had to put that together myself. Also, what were the rationales for
the various alternative treatments being offered? Were the people offering
them really quacks? [the quick answer is 'No'!]
And why were the sources of information on mainstream cancer treatments
so hysterical in their attitude to alternative treatments? (Yes, hysterical,
irrational, propagandistic - there wasn't a cool, well-argued, convincing
argument in any of the books and leaflets that I obtained from the FDA,
the American Cancer Society and the Campaign Against Health Fraud.
The British cancer information centres preferred to skirt
the central controversy with avoidance strategies (don't mention them
if you can help it) and cosy platitudes (show they're not to be taken
seriously!) for someone looking for a clear unbiased opinion it was a
frustrating experience. I hope I have managed to provide the background
that allows such a decision to be taken.)
But should you choose alternative treatments? Perhaps the mainstream methods
are better? Or perhaps there are ways of combining them?
And whose choice is this anyway? Obviously it is your choice. But how
can you make this choice if you are not properly informed?
And obviously your choices will be different from my mine. As I sat down
to write this book I had to accept that I had to respect your choice -
no matter how different it was from the choice I would make for myself
and my family. The best way - the only way - I could do this was to treat
you as an intelligent person who wanted to know the facts and wanted to
see the evidence - and above all wanted hope.
So `Fighting Cancer - A Survival Guide' was the book I would have wanted
to have at hand when my wife Bernadette was diagnosed with cancer. It
was eventually published by Hodder Headline in UK. Then it was allowed
to go out of print. I started to reorganize the information and became
aware of a great deal of new information. So I re-wrote the book and it
is now so complete that I have no hesitation in renaming the book Cancer:
The Complete Recovery Guide.
This is a critical personal look at cancer, what it is and how it is treated
and how patients can/should orientate themselves towards the disease,
the treatments and the doctors to give themselves the greatest possible
chance of surviving. It also looks at the business and politics of cancer
and of cancer research. The idea is to give you a rounded picture.
It is a basic tenet of the book that you must believe in the treatments
you opt for - whatever that treatment is: whether it is surgery, radiation
& chemotherapy or vitamin C, omega 3 oils, magnetic beds and meditation.
The power of the placebo is great. Don't let your doctor trample on this
power - don't let your doctor abuse it. Placebo Power is real and you
can make it work for you. The opposite is `Nocebo' power - the power of
pessimism and negativity and loss of control to undermine any treatment.
Whatever other books you choose to read - (go to Other Recommended Books
Reviewed) - I do advise you to read this one early on.
Book Contents
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Introduction
Section 1: The Basic Facts
What is cancer?
Basic Cancer Vocabulary
Symptoms of Cancer
Cancer and Pain
Causes of cancer
Cancer Incidence
Statistics
Cures for cancer?
Section 2:
The Orthodox Approach to Cancer
Treatment
Testing for cancer
Surgery
Radiation
Chemotherapy
Other Treatments
What orthodox treatments are recommendedfor your cancer?
Reducing the Side-effects of Radiation and Chemotherapy
Cancer Research
Politics of Cancer
Section 3:
Alternative Treatments
Introduction
1. Alternative Tests
2. Detoxification
3. Diets
4. Supplements
5. Herbs / Botanicals
6. Other Anti-Cancer Formulations & Products
7. Biological Therapies
8. Cancer Pioneers & Outcasts
9. Energy Medicine
10. Cancer and the Mind and the Emotions
11. Decision Time
12. Some Personal Stories to
Inspire You
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