Anyone familiar w/ the Gerson Institute or other nutritional cancer treatments?

go to quackwatch.com
I checked it a while back, not so good I'm afarid despite their claims.

lisa42 said:

Thanks Emily
Thanks, Emily! I will look into the book you recommended. Here's how addictive sugar is... the thought of having no sweets (and no meat) is a horrible thought to me- I am definitely addicted to sweets. I actually have gotten a lot better this past year & have eliminated a lot of the really bad things from my diet,and try to buy organic fruits and veggies as much as I can now, but it's definitely still not a great diet. I am going to try to do the juicing on a more regular basis. Even three times a day is a big deal for me, so I would try to do the modified way like you did. I'm not sure if I may end up with a different chemo or treatment soon, but I would think that I could still do the juicing even while on another treatment.

Also, I always take the websites that diss everything that isn't traditional medicine with a grain of salt. I did check out the quackwatch site mentioned, but I do believe they have an ax to grind, like you said.

Emily, did you (or anyone out there reading this) ever take any type of mushrooms for cancer? I know Serrana took mushrooms for awhile, but I don't remember what type. I'll have to email her and ask.

Thanks-
Lisa

Did the Shrooms too
Yes, I took Maitake mushrooms. I'm pretty sure Quillin addresses this in Beating Cancer With Nutrition.

I added anything in my arsenal that felt right to me be it mushrooms, organic coffee enemas, Essiac Tea, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, reflexology, massage, large amounts of powder Vit C (among a laundry list of supplements), fruit pectin, selenium, chiropractic manipulation, counseling etc etc.....anything and everything that I thought would help in my healing. This is different for everyone. I felt that much of my dis-ease was emotionally (grief) based since in Chinese Medicine, the lungs are the organ of grief (like the heart is to love) and the colon is "connected" to the lung's system. I was not going to leave one stone unturned. If it didn't "feel" right (I prayed about it) then I either didn't do it or dropped it from the line up.

The problem is (if we can call it a problem) is that I will never know if one of those things were "it" that did the trick or was it the combo. But who cares?! IT worked so far!

Ok Lisa, let me tell you that I WAS A TOTAL SUGAR ADDICT and if I could kick the habit so can you! I was 20 years old and drinking, eating typical college crud of pizza and pop and sugary everything. But I was so tired of feeling sick and getting migraines that I kicked my sugar addiction. I PROMISE you-seriously, that if you start juicing continuously and regularly, your body will be so nutrient rich that your sugar cravings will stop. You are addicted because your system is haywire and craves its offender food. The sweetness of the juice will satiate your sweet tooth. It just takes a little time to adjust and then, seriously, you will start "craving" your juice.

What I did (post surgery) was commit to a 6 month time period just as if I were doing a round of chemo. That way I didn't think of it as for the rest of my life. It was a smaller chunk of my life. Now, when I got off sugar it HAS BEEN for the rest of my life. BUt I have found ways to satiate my sweet tooth and we can talk about that later after you're free from your addiction. Addictions can kill us.

I love meat. When I was dx'ed everything I read told me to get off meat and give my digestive system a break. Again, I told myself I can commit to this for 6 months. So it wasn't like I would never have a Thanksgiving Turkey again, just not this year when I am trying to heal from cancer. Now the information out there is that grass fed meat is ok because of the good fats it has. But during those 6 months--no meat to give my system a break and allow it to completely clean out. When the time came I reintroduced wild salmon and got my meat fix.

This is really worth your effort.

When I was coming off sugar (like a drug addict) I had some incredible withdrawals. Pretty intense. One night my sister had to literally pull me off a pan of brownies. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was as if I needed to jab that needle right into my vein.

Now that I am gluten free, I am reading how gluten (and sugar) works just like a drug in our systems. In fact there is a correlation between gluten sensitivity or celiac disease and adenomcarcinoma of the small intestine which is what my sister died of.....some things are starting to make sense. Anyway, my drug was being taken away and for 2 weeks I had withdrawals and then something happened. I started to feel really good. Really wonderful. Actually downright fabulous! And I have never looked back.

You may also want to look into staying away from gluten. It damages the lining of the small intestine making it harder for the body to assimilate nutrients, and anyone who has had either radiation or chemotherapy needs to go on a gluten free diet (according to the doctor that wrote the book I'm reading).

YOU CAN DO THIS LISA YOU CAN!!!!

I'm right her with ya girlfriend!

(jeremiah 30:17)

peace, emily

Kathryn_in_MN said:

alternatives
My sister's friend is a stage IV breast cancer survivor (almost 10 years now). Lori Lober - she's written Bigger Than Pink, and now Still Bigger Than Pink - and while her battle was/is breast cancer, I still found it hepful and inspirational. She combined standard treatments with nontraditional - using every angle to get her body healthy, including Eastern and Western medicine.

Here is one link she recently gave me.
http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_285271/Healing_Cancer_Naturally_-_A_Holistic_Approach

When you talk about nutrition, here is something I think is pretty close to what we need to eat to keep our bodies healthy.
http://www.honestfoodguide.org

Here is Lori's site:
hhttp://biggerthanpink.org/btp_news.php

I started on the Isagenix Cleansing program from my resection until chemo. I'm off it during chemo - they wouldn't work quite right together. (I do still use some of the products right now - but am not doing the cleansing.) I fully plan to go back on it when I'm done with chemo. It has worked for Lori. My sister and her husband love it (he is a chiropractor that runs a Health & Wellness based office - holistic practice). If you want more info you can PM me.

WOW!!
Kathryn that foodmatters website is so right on! I felt like I was reading my own journey! Wow, I'm not alone!!

Lisa, the foodmatters website has a Gerson video you can purchase too. The holistic explanation to healing cancer is really good and should be a handout we get from our oncologists IMO!

peace, emily

lisa42 said:

Thanks Emily and Krista
Wow- lots to "digest"! (especially on a day I just devoured half of the Girl Scout Thin Mints I bought from my daughter's friend!) I've bought agave nectar before. I like it better than stevia. I've been back to sugar in my tea, coffee, etc. lately, so I need to substitute either the stevia or agave. I think I'll buy some more agave. I try to use stevia, but I don't like its bitter taste. If I were single and had no kids, this would be easier. Emily, how did you deal with your kids when you made all these changes? My husband is definitely not going to change his eating habits and gets upset when I don't buy the usual junk & so do my kids. My husband craves dinners with beef- he doesn't even like chicken and asks me to make hamburgers, meatloaf, etc. for dinner. I guess it comes down to my family realizing that they have got to support me in this & that my very life depends upon it. Maybe theirs too, but I have got to start with myself.

How did you ever go out to restaurants? We go out too often- we eat out 2-3 nights per week. Guess I need to make some BIG changes!

Thanks-
Lisa

Lifestyle Change Is Key!
Lisa,

Really, the Lifestyle Change cannot be stressed more in the plight of healing cancer. Cancer is a SYMPTOM of a deeper issue and chemo/radiation never addresses this.

I hesitate to come down hard on you (that happened to me with a total stranger who told me I would die if I didn't follow her diet). You need to know this is WORK. A full time job.

Eating out: with 5 kids on a support-raising missionary salary we just didn't do it unless it was Taco Bell and of course I didn't eat a thing. I made a choice a long time ago and besides, I'd die if I ate taco bell since I am allergic to cumin. Your family will just have to get over it in order to support you. Believe me honey, I had to have a few tantrums to FINALLY get their attention that Mama was SICK and NEEDED to do this and I NEEDED their help.

I had the added benefit of my parents temporarily moving to our town and my mother came over every night and made my family a meal and I made my own macrobiotic meal. My hubby and oldest daughter (who was 13)took turns making my quarts of juice.

Can you get your church ladies to sign up for a night each week to bring your family a meal for a few weeks while you transition to a new regime? This may be a time when you need to really ask for a lot of help. It's always humbling but people want to help. Maybe going to Health Quarters for a week to learn how to juice and take control of your health will allow your family to figure it out and know what it could be like without you.

Beef: buy organic/grass-fed and you don't have to feel bad about them eating it. Just abstain yourself but let them have the meatloafs.

Junk: taper back and just YOU don't eat it. I don't force my family to eat like me but I definitely influence them. I still cook them meals that I can't eat all of, and that's my choice.

Emotions: address them. I'd be pretty pissed off that my family was not being more supportive (that's why I found this place to be so helpful in those early days--we all "get it"). I remember yelling at my teenage son if he'd rather have me die because I could very well do that....sure a bit drama mama queen, but it was the truth.

fudge: mix tahini (ground sesame seeds much like pnut butter) with some cocoa powder and agave and put in fridge to harden. I named it "gudge" (good for you fudge)and things like this can take the place of the GS Thin Mints. :-)

If mama ain't livin' ain't nobody livin'.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

peace, emily

Meat substitutes
Lisa, go to Trader Joe's! They have a great selection of meat alternatives including ground not-beef, not-corndogs (they are DELICIOUS), fake sausage, and fake turkey slices. I use the ground not-beef in many things, and it's awesome. Oh, they also have a soy-rizo that tastes exactly like i remember chorizo tasting. Using meat replacements will help the transition A LOT!

Good luck!
Krista