overlooked causes of cancer

Did You Overlooked this Possible Cause of Cancer?

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Cancer is often associated with toxic environments, exposure to the sun, habits such as smoking or poor diet and even our genes. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that certain life events may have caused or influenced the onset of the disease in the body. This is a central idea in my practice, one that may resonate with you as well.

overlooked causes of cancerSeveral studies conducted specifically with cancer patients found a strong correlation between the appearance of cancer and what the people participating in this study have experienced in years prior to their diagnosis. Mostly the study refers to sever experiences or life changing experiences such as loss of a loved one for example.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer, in one particular study, were found to have a significantly higher number of events related to loss prior to their cancer. And loss entails broken relationships or severe distress in relationships as well.

In some of these studies, researchers noted that the impact of one single major event is more damaging than an ongoing exposure to negative events. What this basically means is that those of us who are more equipped or able to manage life’s stressors might be less physically affected by them. This is good news because learning better coping skills is something we can all do.

The question many of my clients ask when we get to the topic of life events is How is it possible for things that happen outside of us to affect us inside? Affect our health and well being?

Without dwelling on the philosophical aspect of that question, let me just say this, it is not so much what is happening outside of us but rather how we react or respond to that event that count.

We process our moment to moment experience, interpret it and conclude its meaning using our already existing knowledge, what we already know about the world.

Throughout life we have accumulated ideas about who we are and how the world should be. When these ideas are reinforced over a long period of time they became our beliefs, and our beliefs shape our attitude and outlook on life.

If the type of beliefs we have is negative and self limiting it is likely that they will mature into a negative outlook on life and construct a negative attitude. This is important because our outlook and attitude are the lenses through which we perceive the world outside.

And when we talk about chronic illness and cancer, a negative outlook on life is likely to produce a negative prognosis in one’s mind. One may focus more on the negative aspect or facet of the illness and begin to identify himself of herself with illness rather than health. This brings us back to the study on how negative states of mind influence and suppress our immune system.

If you have seen my video on Immersive Healing, you already know how this methodology aim to identify, address and heal these life events which have impressed negatively on us. The goal is to resolve them and heal them so that the immune response can be revived. If you have not seen that video yet it’s available on various media outlets.

If you find a correlation between something that happened to you and your illness please share?

anger and illness

The Most Unexpected Response to Cancer Recovery

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cancer anger and healing

An uncommon response to recovery from cancer

Why Some people will be angry if you heal and recover from Cancer?
When a patient battling cancer is attaining positive results with his or her treatment plan, it is only natural they’ll want to share the good news with those around them. It is generally expected that when positive news is shared with those around us they will react with sympathy and joy.

Much to the surprise of many patients it is not always the case. Yes, for the most part people will celebrate ones recovery but there are those who will react with anger and resentment when good news is presented. As strange as it may seem, resentment is a fairly common response to healing and here is why:

Loss of a Loved One.
You must consider your audience. It may be that some in your audience have lost loved ones to cancer and severe chronic illnesses. If so, seeing you with the same disease that took their parent, sibling, spouse, or even their child could bring back very painful memories of their loved one’s illness and loss.

Hearing that you are overcoming the same illness that took the one they loved could make them think “why you?” They may wonder why you get to survive the illness while their loved one, who was a good person, had to die.

Coming Face to Face with Mortality.
It is likely that you know of someone or have heard of someone who battled cancer, some survived and other passed away. Anytime life threatening illness is present in your life you are reminded of your own mortality or the possibility that you too may become ill.

Fear of Incompetency.
When you are strong and begin to heal, those around you may wonder if they would experience the same positive results if they were in your place. The fear they feel when considering the prospect of being in your place can trigger a strong anger reaction (or over reaction).

You Action Plan!
Choose your company well. If possible, avoid discussing your illness and positive results with those whom you do not feel safe with or have an honest relationship with.

Try not to share intimate details of your healing process with people outside of your support circle. Select a small group of people who are positive and supportive and share the joy instead of resentment with these people.

If you encountered anger or felt it’s necessary to keep the good news of your recovery to yourself, please let share?

support system for cancer patients

Can Your Support System Save Your Life?

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A growing body of evidence suggests that a strong support system and positive interactions with others is a key factor in recovery from illness.

boston hypnosis cancer support

boston hypnosis cancer support

An intriguing and important aspect of the healing process relates to our sense of connection to other people. This works on two levels, firstly the relationships we have with close friends and family and secondly the relationships we have with our wider communities.

At first glance it may seem somewhat trivial to suggest that there is any link between ill health and our friendships and relationships but this factor is actually emerging as an important indicator when it comes to who is more likely to heal and who isn’t.

There are many studies that have found that people who have more positive social connections tend to live for longer. People who are less sociable and especially those who are isolated have a higher mortality rate than normal from any kind of disease or illness including cancer.

It seems that it is the quality of your friendships and connections that is what’s important and not the actual number of friends and acquaintances. The amount of involvement a person has in social activities in the wider community also counts.

The Value of Social Interaction

So how may a good quality of social interaction and social support contribute to better health? The obvious answer is that being able to share your worries with a trusted friend provides some sort of emotional relief – feelings are not kept inside where they may go round and round endlessly in the mind. A good level of social support may help to lower your levels of distress and worry and thus help you to cope better with an illness.

Positive interactions within the wider community can help you feel your connectedness to the outside world in general. It can serve to remind you that we are all the same and that all kinds of people go through difficult life experiences.

On another level giving something back to the world in someway results in increased self-esteem. Whether you volunteer formally or just use your interactions outside your social circle to spread positivity or compassion, giving something back positively is a powerful way to maintain your mental health and possibly your physical health.

It’s important to remember that some people function very well and very happily without the need for lots of social interaction. Some individuals do not feel ‘lonely’ when they are alone. If this is the case and this is a long term pattern that has always worked for you then the chances are you may not be affected in the same way a person might do who is lonely in the true sense of the word.

However if you have a chronic illness, would like more positive social interaction and you feel well enough it may be worthwhile pushing yourself a little to see if increased contact with others makes you feel better in general. Developing social ties by volunteering, joining a club or spiritual group of any denomination that appeals to you could be beneficial.

If you are ill, pushing yourself in this way may feel like too much of an effort and that is understandable. Feel free to contact my office for any level of support you may need.

The bottom line is that positive interaction with others seems to be a factor in recovery and it may just help you to maintain good health and ultimately live for longer.

Is your support system the most important asset in your journey toward health?

beliefs and illness

Warning: Your Beliefs Can Make You Sick

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We are born into this world with an empty mind, waiting to be filled with knowledge, experience, and awareness. As we grow up, we acquire this knowledge and awareness from those around us. Through day to day interaction, feedback, statements and suggestions they shape our view of self, the world and how it function with us in it.

Complementary Medicine for cancer BostonThose statements (which are basically suggestion) which we hear over and over again form our perception. Our perceptions (positive or negative) compounded over time become our beliefs, what we believe about ourselves and the world around. Our beliefs then shape our outlook and attitude and ultimately our behavior.

Often enough, as kids, we were compared to other kids and were measured in a way that hinted or suggested to us that “we not good enough.” This is an innocent mistake which is hard for parents to avoid, and yet the result can be devastating.

Children who grow up with the mantra “you’re not good enough,” become adults who live by that belief. This belief has the power to either spawn a negative outlook on life or support an already existing negative outlook on life which creates toxic emotions such as shame and guilt.

Worse still a person who goes through life with a negative outlook will be less likely to take risks, and participate in new activities.

A negative outlook can do far more than inhibit a person socially and emotionally; it can also cause poor health. Negative beliefs lead to a negative outlook which translates to negative states of mind such as stress, hopelessness and fear. These states of mind allow the brain to produce chemicals that correspond to their quality, in this case negative and poor.The chemicals released by the brain are dispersed throughout the body via the bloodstream and are eventually absorbed into the cells.

In my book The New Cancer Paradigm I dedicated a whole segment to beliefs, thoughts vibrations and their effect on the physical body but this post focus on the biological process. Essentially, the chemicals released by the brain are the food that sustains the body’s cells. The chemicals created by a brain with a negative outlook and stressful state of mind are like feeding your cells a steady stream of junk food, poor in quality.

Many of us have seen the effects of a poor diet on our bodies; we gain weight, tire easily, and tend to be less resilient when we become ill. The same thing happens to our cells when they are fed the poor diet of chemicals produced by a stressful state of mind; they become weak and less resilient which in turn leads to greater instances of disease and mutation.

Tracing a negative state of mind to its root i.e. the beliefs that formed it, offers us a unique opportunity to care for ourselves. By identifying, reviewing and eliminating our negative belief system we can better manage our mind and mood and therefore our health and well-being.

If you could point out one belief (or more) that may have allowed or promoted your illness, what would it be?

biology and belief

Can our beliefs affect our biology?

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New research shows that that DNA may not be entirely responsible for steering the biological ship, so to speak. DNA is actually greatly influenced by energetic messages (including those coming from our own beliefs, thoughts and emotions) coming from outside of our cells.

Thoughts and emotions are energy, mind’s energy. The type of thoughts we think i.e. stressful or comforting, negative or positive stem from our beliefs. If our beliefs system is toxic it is more likely to produce negative attitudes and limiting thoughts which will result in poor health. If however our belief system is healthy, we are more likely to enjoy a positive outlook on life and think the type of thoughts that cause a feeling of health and well being.

alternative cancer brooklineThe kind of thought “energy” we allow in our mind, signal the brain to produce either health promoting or health deteriorating chemicals and disperse them into the blood stream. These chemicals when absorbed by the cells strengthen the cell or weaken it thereby leaving it vulnerable to attacks and decay.

In the context of chronic illness and cancer, our ability to understand these factors that influence our biology means we may be able to prevent illness from appearing and progressing.

Currently we are still operating by the old cancer treatment paradigm which has remained more or less the same since the 1940s; remove as much tumor as possible and pump the body full of cytotoxic agents to kill what remains.

Imagine you needed a hip replacement surgery and your surgeon saying he wants to perform a seventy year old procedure on you? Would you allow it?

Thankfully, the field of Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) proposes a more integrated approach to the treatment of cancer and chronic diseases. This approach looks at the body as a whole incorporating multiple disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, behavioral medicine, pharmacology, and any other discipline relevant to the treatment of a specific disease in a specific person.

One of the few certainties in the medical field is that “one size fits all” medicine does not work; each person has a unique set of circumstances that must be addressed on an individual level, our beliefs about life and who we are included.

Can you find evidence of this relationship between your beliefs and physical experience?

cancer and secondary gains

Does Your Cancer Serve You Well?

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The notion that illness benefits us in any way may not seat well with you. It might even offend you that I’m using these words illness and benefits in the same sentence, if so I apologies in advance but suggest you keep on reading just in case it does make sense.

The Power of Secondary Gains in Illness

natural healing cancer brookline and boston Massacusetts

The Answer May Lie Within

In psychology the term Secondary Gains, describes “any advantage, as increased attention, disability benefits, or release from unpleasant responsibilities, obtained as a result of having an illness” ~ Dictionary.com

In medicine, a secondary gain is described as a significant psychological motivator in reporting symptoms.
The phenomenon of secondary gains is well documented in professional literature. It’s a cause and effect pattern which we may have learned in early childhood when illness was often a time for emotional compensation, a time where we got as much attention as we needed.

Working with clients over many years I was privileged to witness and I am able to describe a wide spectrum of Secondary Gains (SG) and how they relate to a person’s particular challenges, yet there are some common SG at work.

Examples of Common Secondary Gains

A common SG will be to avoid chores, work and responsibilities. Another common and more personal use of secondary gains is to use illness (head ache etc’) as excuse to not engage in arguments or personal conflict or even make a decision. Another dominant secondary gain to illness is the fact that for some, something has to be wrong in life in order to feel important and lovable. This is may be common, but it is difficult to assess about ourselves, and even harder to admit.

Have you ever considered that you may be using your illness, limiting condition or situation to either hold on to someone, or that you use your illness as a way to push people away, make yourself so unattractive that no one will get close to you? Now this may not apply to you but this is a real example from the lives of real clients.

All of the above are powerful examples of hidden aspects and secondary gains which may promote the state of mind in which illness can thrive.

Secondary gains do not imply that the illness or the symptoms are unreal or unimportant. To the contrary! They tell us that there is more to the illness than meets the eye, the stethoscope and the x-ray.

If you can think of other secondary gains I did not mentions, please share with me?