Cancer Wellness & Recovery Blog

The term psychosomatic is often misunderstood. If we say someone has a psychosomatic illness it is easy to assume that we mean the condition is all in a person’s ‘mind’ – a figment of the imagination – unreal. This is not the meaning I attach to the concept of psychosomatic illness. I believe that many illnesses have their origin in a particular subconscious process; in other words that certain emotional patterns and psychological factors may contribute to the appearance of a physical condition in the body. For example if I were to suggest to you to imagine eating a food that you dislike intensely – and I mean really imagine it vividly – thinking about the smell or texture of that food, or whatever it is that puts you off the most, you are likely to feel physically nauseous. Such is the power of thought and I present this view in my book The New Cancer Paradigm. In a nutshell, a metal patterns or even a thought process can lead to a physical experience in the body. Author Marilyn Hunter says that “it is impossible for us to be sick or injured and not have an emotional response to that, it is also impossible to be emotionally distressed or overjoyed and the body not respond to that.” Basically what I am saying is, that if something is psychosomatic it simply means that the body and the mind are connected – that the body and mind are a complete integrated system. One does not exist without the other. If the mind is affected then the body will be too and vice versa – mind and body cannot be separated. Therefore virtually everything that we experience has a psychosomatic definition. When considering the psychosomatic origin of chronic illnesses or cancer – surely we have to open our minds to the possibility that certain emotional or psychological factors have promoted the presence of these conditions within the body? It is important to point out that this is not about attaching blame to illness. I am not saying that anyone who has a chronic disease or illness has ‘given’ himself or herself that illness by being negative. It is more likely that a mental reaction to a stressful situation has perhaps changed the chemistry of the body in some way or suppressed immune function thus allowing disease to become present. The field of Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) supports this theory. PNI is the study of the interaction between the nervous and immune systems and psychological thought processes. PNI has its’ origins in France in the 1800s but was advanced and developed in the mid 1970s by Dr Robert Ader at the University of Rochester. In relation to psychosomatic disease PNI acknowledges that illness is very real and definitely experienced. However because an organic origin cannot be found PNI assumes that psychological factors, emotional patterns and a certain state of mind must be responsible for the appearance of the physical illness. So if you are told you are suffering from a psychosomatic disorder at least explore the possibility that the person is referring to the relationship between your mind and your body, and the role that the mind plays in any physical experience we suffer from. Many medical professionals do take an interest in the field of PNI and accept that the mind can contribute to illness. They are now taking their interest further and looking into how much the mind plays a part in illness. The question, it seems, is no longer whether the mind plays a part in illness but more like “can we harness this capacity of the mind to reverse the process of illness and heal the body from chronic illness and cancer?” Hopefully, Psychosomatic Medicine or PNI may provide us with the answer to this question very soon. Continue Reading What You Must Know About Psychosomatic Illness?

Cancer patients can benefit tremendously from a realistic and multidisciplinary approach to healing cancer or any other chronic illness for that matter. This is why it is essential that Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners will be open to and committed to working alongside with the researchers, scientists and doctors. Conventional cancer treatments, despite their high cost to patient’s quality of life (both physically and emotionally) do save many many lives and that’s the bottom line. This may explain why most doctors would not offer their patients any valid alternative. This is a missed opportunity because about 73% of patients will seek some alternatives therapy to supplement their medical treatment. Why is it a missed opportunity? because patients are left to figure things on their own and may end up wasting valuable resources in the wrong places, not to mention precious time. So much has been written about the physical side effects of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatment. These are well documented and anyone who’s been through this medical process need no further evidence. It would have been to the benefit of the patient if their medical team would be able to guide them to some extent and teach them about their options. Complimentary alternative Cancer treatment In a general way, CAM practitioners view the cancer tumor as only a part of the problem, a symptom of something that runs far deeper. For the most part, CAM practices aim is to heal the whole person not just one part of the person; this way health and wellness may be restored. I could probably quote here a whole range of statistics showing the harmful impact of conventional treatment such as chemotherapy on the body. Likewise I could find a bunch of statistics showing that CAM is not a viable treatment for healing cancer. However, if you read my blog before you already know I am not interested in proving who is right or who is wrong with statistics. My belief is that we must all work together to provide the optimum care program, with the common goal of healing the cancer. The medical profession is waking up to the fact that CAM is a powerful partner for conventional medical cancer treatment. The hierarchy should be clear, medical care first and CAM second. Those who wish to integrate CAM practices into their treatment will maintain their safety and will benefit from this order in this relationship. An example for this successful relationship can be seen just up the road from my Brookline  MA office, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This impressive medical facility is working medical miracles and provide a wide spectrum of CAM practices in its Zakim Center. In my research I have found many other respected organizations recommending meditation, visualization acupuncture and hypnosis as an effective method for coping with the side effects of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Patients are the one to really benefit from this exciting partnership. Here is why CAM such as Hypnosis for Cancer may be right for you; • First, it’s designed addresses the the root cause of illness. In doing the body’s stress level is lessened and the immune response is revived. This will increase the effectiveness of medicine and improve your odds for recovery. • Secondly the therapeutic aspect of  many CAM practices can help to alleviate some of the physical and emotional distress caused by illness.This ensure you can follow through on your treatment and maintain your quality of life before, during and after treatment. • And finally CAM empowers you to see the bigger picture, take control of your health by taking part in your healing. It will and view your illness as a call to action. Continue Reading Benefits of Complementary Alternative Medicine for Cancer

Many people are infuriated by the idea that illness, especially a life threatening illness such as cancer is created by the mind. The thought that we are somehow responsible for this terrible abnormality in our body is simply intolerable as well as offensive, and yet research suggests there is truth to this argument after all. The fact that our mind and body are interconnected is not breaking news. From our day to day experiences we know this mind-body relationship intimately, for example, when we get sexually aroused. This particular state of mind has many physiological effects. But what about real health concerns, can our state of mind produce a life threatening experience in our body? The answer is yes, for example, we know that statistically most heart-attacks occur on Monday morning when the new work week begins. Ample scientific research is supportive of the above claim and provides the necessary evidence? Research by Cohen et al. (1991) for example, drew a direct link between one’s mental state and one’s susceptibility to the common cold virus. The findings of this research were very clear as Rob Van Overbruggen wrote in his book “Healing Psyche”. He wrote “Statistically, the risk of getting ill was directly related to the amount of stress participants had experienced in the past year. Stress was the only determining factor in getting ill. We now know that changes in the mental state are always accompanied by changes in physiology.” As my new book, The New Cancer Paradigm state, today we know for a fact that our mind; or better say subconscious mind influences our body and biology. What is yet to be determined is whether our mind can influence our biology enough for illness to evolve? We are emotional beings, there’s no doubt of that, and we are also a physical beings. In this respect it helps to see the body as an integrated system of psychological and physiological processes. When one system is affected the whole is affected. This point highlights the truth that we are actively participating in our own creation. The type of food we eat, our lifestyle, thoughts and feelings are all factors to be considered. Do you find the above insight empowering or aggravating? Continue Reading Should You Blame Your Mind for Your Cancer?