In our society, cancer is not regarded as one, single disease. The medical profession has classified more than one hundred clinically distinct forms of cancer, with differing biological behaviours and clinical manifestations.

Cancer is a term used to characterise abnormal growth of cells, which may result in the invasion of normal tissue or the spread to distant organs, termed metastasis. The degree of malignancy of a cancer is based upon the propensity of these cells for invasion and distant spread. Although there is a firmly established theory that the mode of transport of cells from the primary cancer to the metastasis is via the infiltration by cancer cells of blood vessels and lymphatic channels, this has never been truly established. Amongst scientist there are very differing opinions as to how cancer cells from one organ, one type, may appear in different tissues.

Equally, the generally accepted genetic link between particular tumour cells in one individual and a similar cancer in his/her family members is not a proven fact either. Factors such as similar behavioural patterns, eating habits and emotional coping mechanisms are also seen as possible explanations. Genetic factors are most inadequate to explain the occurrence of a new cancer type within a specific family, and since cancer was hardly heard of a century ago it remains an inadequate theory to cover the huge increase in cancer occurrences over the last fifty years, invading almost every family within the whole of this society. In addition, many viruses have been blamed, although these viruses have remained largely undetected, and several occupational and environmental carcinogens have also been identified as possible causes.

The list of these carcinogens is growing day by day, most of which is being contested by industry and authorities for as long as they possibly can, resulting in delayed protective actions and confusion amongst the general population. In addition to this, radiation and a great variety of medical and recreational drugs have been identified as cancer inductors. Once again, this is contested by the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry with all means and power available to them until the weight of evidence and the human price paid is such that the truth can no longer be hidden. It is worthwhile knowing that in most cases this knowledge was known to the industry even before a licence was issued for the use of these techniques and drugs as treatments.

And even after it has become generally accepted that these are carcinogenic, in many cases the population has been convinced that the benefits still outweigh the dangers. A good example of this we find in the radiation used for breast screening. It has been known for decades that this increases the risk of breast cancer significantly, and yet the practice not only persists to this day, it is in fact still advocated as the correct procedure and people are still being encouraged to submit themselves voluntarily to it. Similarly, the long-term administration of immunosuppressive drugs has always been known to be associated with a serious increase in cancer incidences, but is to date not only common practice, but also the use has actually been extended to treatments for ailments such as arthritic conditions and other diseases named as autoimmune diseases.

A well-known cancer treatment is of course radiation therapy. Are we allowed to ask the question as to why we are using a form of treatment that is known to be a cause of the very disease we are treating? All forms of radiation are said to be potentially carcinogenic. Even the very weak earth's natural radiation is blamed by some scientists for the induction of cancer in particular areas! And yet, they fail to acknowledge that radiotherapy, scanning devices such as CAT-scan and MRI-scan and X-rays are seriously disturbing the natural cell function, thereby causing permanent cellular damage, the very beginning of any cancerous process.

In older Western medicine, cancer was seen as a disease of melancholy or black bile. This translates in today's language as suppressed emotions. We view cancer as a multi-faceted disease group for which we have identified such causes as a toxic environment, devitalised foods, sedentary life-style and a lack of spiritual purpose or effort in life. Most of the efforts of our society are being focussed on naming the details such as each element or molecule in our environment that is potentially toxic to us, each ingredient in food items that we can link with cancer developing in laboratory animals, some of which are in their natural environment not normally artificially fed anyway. Although a series of articles and studies over the last couple of years have poignantly highlighted the lack of natural minerals and vitamins in the forced fruits and vegetables we consume-in today's society, we have not responded by-going back to demanding and buying naturally grown products. We keep, in droves, supporting the supermarket society that has created the demand for cheap, all-year-round products, which has led directly to the monoculture policy and the depletion of our soil. The depletion of the nutritional value of our food is now generally recognised as a major factor in the lower immunity status that is seen throughout the population in the Western world. This in itself opens the door to cancer formation widely due to the functional inefficiency of the immune system.

Although all our attention is focussed on identifying the outside culprit that is giving us cancer, it is well-known that the effect such toxins may have on the individual is totally dependent upon the status of his/her immune system. As the list of toxins known to be carcinogenic is growing day by day people have become more and more despondent. Reactions such as "If you believe all of that then you can't eat anything anymore" have become commonplace. It is in the alternative medical environment that you hear about boosting your immune system. A great variety of herbal products, vitamins, natural extracts and homeopathic remedies are available that claim to do just that. However, none of the people that work with these products can legally claim to "cure" cancer. Only the medical profession is by law allowed to claim it can cure cancer. Even if its track record clearly shows the absolute opposite, no one else has been given authority to speak about it or to challenge it. No wonder that in this kind of democratic system the power remains firmly where it always has been.

But even most of the alternative approaches seem to fail a lot of people in their fight for survival, and there is a tendency to settle for the "feeling better" factor, rather than the "being better". Yes, you'll still die, but at least you will be feeling better whilst you are doing it. In itself that is not to be dismissed, but it tells me there still is a reluctance about finding out more about the whole cancerous process.

If we are concentrating on the whole of the person, rather than on the elements that trigger the disease, and we look at the major parts of the way the cancerous person operates, we generally will find a very low digestive fire. Going back over the years we will be able to establish that the digestive system has been giving out signals of complaints for a long time. It is common practice in this society to dismiss those as being insignificant and a frequent occurrence amongst the general population, who perceive themselves as healthy. However, it is fair to say that cancer has now become a general occurrence as well!

Low digestive energy over a long period of time will allow toxic substances to build up within the gut. Cancer then represents the end-result of a negative life-energy developed within the very system that is supposed to nourish us. Instead of feeding us it has gradually been poisoning us; not out of choice, but because it did not have the capacity to clear up the amount of toxins that were accumulating. Distention, constipation and diarrhoea may be the basis on which this condition develops, and cancer cells, lacking oxygen (the force of life), represent a growth in the body outside the rule of the life-force. The reason behind this low or negative digestive life-energy is often suppressed emotion or emotional stagnation, which causes the accumulation of toxic material. Think about what happens to your digestive system and your appetite when you are stuck with emotions too large or too traumatic to deal with, such as bereavement. You can't eat. You feel nauseous. Now imagine you feel like that for ten, twenty or thirty years!

This now explains to us why physical remedial measures are usually not enough to restore health.

Therapies should be person-specific. This is to say that it is more important to concentrate on the kind of person who developed the cancer than the histological classification of the specific cancer. We need to know the person with the cancerous process, not the details of the cancer itself.

We should then focus our therapy, at all levels, on supporting and strengthening the immune system and on burning off as much of the toxic accumulation as possible.

Gems are able to balance the person's energies and to protect life. Blue sapphire set in gold is the best gem for anti-tumour properties. It helps to ward off the negative force invading the body and should be used with other stones which increase the positive life-force. Diamond is most important for sustaining life and longevity. Diamond, yellow sapphire and yellow topaz are the best stones for increasing the energy of the immune system. Together with the ancient knowledge of the power of gem stones goes the knowledge of the power of sound. Mantra therapy is excellent for treating cancer. Chanting is excellent for clearing the psychic air, for releasing suppressed emotions. But who cares about these things nowadays?

Increasing someone's energy uptake when it has been low for a long time is not always the easiest of things to do. Very often there isn't much energy available to even digest the simplest of foods. Proper breathing techniques and ear candling are two of the simplest and most powerful ways of delivering a lot of energy to a depleted system without any cost whatsoever to that system. Most of the time these methods are completely overlooked and ignored.

The herbal therapies for reducing cancer can be put into several categories:
1. Powerful alterative or blood-cleansing herbs, which destroy toxins, counter poisons and reduce infections. Such herbs are better if used fresh, and they go well with a detoxifying diet.
2. Strong circulatory stimulants or blood-moving herbs, which promote circulation, break stagnation, reduce masses and aid in the healing of tissues.
3. Immune strengthening tonics, which are better in debility conditions and to protect the strength of the person undergoing stronger therapies, whether herbal, dietary, surgical or chemotherapy.
4. Special expectorant or phlegm-dispelling herbs, which are better for thyroid, neck or lymphatic cancer but can be useful in other types as well.

Don't treat the cancer; treat the person with cancer. Don't fight the cancer; support the system that is forced to carry the cancer in its efforts to clear it up. Don't limit the support to the physical aspects; help the person to express emotions, to take responsibility for them and to act accordingly.

Written By Patrick Quanten MD

Reproduced with the kind permission of Today's Therapist