positive data on new trial - fasting-like diet plus chemo

Well there you go, all that queasiness and nausea are trying to help. If I get chemo again done the road, I'll try fasting, instead of indulging like the last time.....................Dave

NewHere said:

If I were a mouse

With skin or breast cancer, instead of Colon Cancer, I would be more hopeful  

 Kidding aside I am a bit jaded on some things I have seen posted about diet and other things, particularly regarding hyperbarics, which really bummed me out.  I listened and watched some of the videos from the experts and they kept on saying things that were so wrong in terminology that I got turned off.

I am not against these things, in fact I would love if diet and hyperbarics worked, but maybe not as hopeful.   That being said I am looking into alternatives including some TCM with respect to seeing what can help keep me healthy.  And hopefully there will be more studies and hard eveidence about this one.  If cutting out garbage food (which it sounds like in part) helps with chemo, that is great.

 

 

TCM Links

They're like sausage links, but not as greasy.

Here's some non-fat TCM links:

http://csn.cancer.org/node/200670

Enjoy!

The Good, the bad, and the presidential candidate

Locating a great TCM practitioner is as difficult as finding a good surgeon, mechanic, plumber, wife, husband.....

Without wanting to sound of racial prejudice, I lean towards a practitioner of TCM who is of Asian heritage. My reasoning is one of a more practical sense. We are raised in households that usually carry our parent's experiences, and that of their parents, and their grandparents, etc. It's difficult to trust the experiences of those outside of our sphere.

Health concerns and the treatment of health matters can vary greatly according to the lifestyle and culture we were privy to from the time of our birth. A family's trust in certain practices carry over to their offspring. I.E.  Those of Asian descent are more likely to have faith in their traditional medical methods than someone of Italian descent, or Irish, French, etc. Make sense? Maybe not...?

Anyway, I lean towards a TCM practitioner with an Asian surname, rather than someone other than Asian that has only "studied" the Asian practices. I have found through my personal experience, that many American raised individuals that have gone into the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine seem to continue the leanings of western medicine. They use herbal therapy and acupuncture to resolve a symptom rather than to treat the actual cause of the symptom. Treating an illness in that manner doesn't resolve the root problem of the illness, it just covers up the problem by relieving the symptom caused by the problem.

In TCM, there is an attempt to resolve the actual problem. When the problem is resolved, the symptoms go away. It takes longer to "feel better", but well worth the wait. Taking away a symptom only allows the real problem to fester, returning twofold to wreck havoc in other, more debilitating ways. If you've been raised to believe that curing a health problem isn't just about how fast you can make a symptom go away, your faith in true, basic TCM practices will be stronger than it would be otherwise. As a TCM practitioner, your ability to actually help your patient in the manner TCM dictates will be more successful.

Your first visit to a TCM practitioner is totally different than with a western medicine practitioner. TCM does not refer to various symptoms by western medicine's terminology. The TCM practitioner will refer to "heat" and "fire", "wind" and "dampness". Words like "arthritis" or "diabetes" are not used to describe the problem. The TCM Doc doesn't care what western medicine calls the symptom, the TCM Doc will attempt to isolate the reason for the symptom and correct it. And there is rarely any "standard" "one size fits all" formula; each patient is treated as required.

An example? My Atrial Fibrillation was found to be from a "liver yin deficiency". I was treated for the liver deficiency for about 9 months (back in 2001 or so). The deficiency was corrected and no herbs needed again for that problem. I have not had any signs of Atrial Fibrillation since then. My surgeon in 2006 laughed and mocked the idea that the liver controls the heart. I asked of the balance of serotonin and melatonin had anything to do with regulating the heart. He explained that it did. I asked if he knew that the liver was one of the main organs that balance serotonin and melatonin. He stared at me, left the room and never talked about it again.

The terminology may be totally different between the modalities, but the science of TCM is spot on. Western medicine has no cure for AF, by the way.

So aside from looking for a TCM doc of Asian background and heritage, and one that has been schooled in an Asian facility that practices TCM, you would want to locate one that uses raw herbs in their practice. The TCM doc should formulate prescriptions for each patient as required for that patient.

The initial visit will include looking at the tongue, the eyes, complexion, fingernails and posture. The practitioner will take 3 pulse readings from each wrist. No "blood pressure" mechanics involved, or thermometers, or any other western medicine apparatus that you are used to seeing. With TCM it is unnecessary; the TCM doc will tell you what he sees and feels is wrong.

If your first visit is just like a western medicine visit, you're in the wrong place. Your first experience will seem very unconventional, almost unprofessional or even fake. Those feelings will disappear after the first problem that has gone on for years without resolve with western medicine, is cured. You will be amazed!

If your first experience is less than expected, or just did not seem right to you, locate a different TCM practitioner. There are good and bad in any occupation. Both my wife and I have been to quite a few different ones over the years, and there many practicing that should be doing something other than taking people's money. We walked out on a few that did nothing but tell us how good they were; spending more time praising themselves than examining their patient. I don't to have my time wasted. A good practitioner will examine you and explain what he feels should be treated. Herbs and/or acupuncture are not long-term, they are provided only until the problem is resolved. It is not like western medicine, where the treatment never ends.

And although the cost should not be prohibitive, it depends on the TCM practitioner. Our practitioner is absolutely fantastic. He has local physicians going to him. My wife's rheumatologist went to him to have his asthma condition resolved. (was subsequently cured). His prices began reasonable, but over the 15 or so years we've known him, his prices have driven many patients away. I'm retired, and as much as I believe in what he can do, I have become a bit reserved in making an appointment. I wish insurance covered things that can actually cure a person.

To help you in locating a decent TCM practitioner, I would do what I did to locate a good surgeon: Ask a nurse. They see and hear a lot of things from a lot of patients. My wife found out about our TCM doc from her gastro doc's bookeeper. She was a former nurse and knew of the TCM doc from her former physician/boss. Ask around!

Hope some of that was helpful? I type fast and get carried away. Sorry to have consumed your thread, Peter! I owe you one!

Be well,

John