The true picture is expressed in the following paragraph with thanks to Issels Cancer Centre in California.
“At the time of diagnosis, cells will have been detaching themselves from the primary tumour, entering the blood supply and seeking to establish a ‘new’ colony. This process may have been going on for years before the first tumour is evident.
Therefore time is of the essence along with an effective treatment plan. Cancer is a systemic disease from the onset and the tumour its late stage symptom. It usually takes years for cancer cells to settle down at the site of least resistance and grow into a tumour. This can only happen, if the surrounding tissues allow it (as recent research at UCSD and NCI has shown). Cancer cells can only thrive in a specific internal bodily environment with an impaired immune system and impaired mechanisms of regulation and repair.”
The paragraph indicates the folly of following a trial and error approach to cancer healing when time is critical. Many patients are placing faith in dietary regimes and experimenting while neglecting conventional therapies. Concepts such as the ‘raw foodism’ are gaining ground among the mainstream but most are new to the such ideas and have not ‘time tested’ them in their own bodies.
Precious time can be wasted while experimenting with extreme diets and harm may be done on numerous levles. In 35 years supporting cancer patients, Grace has never seen remissions due to natural diets alone, despite wanting it to be so. These observations have led her to advocate an integrative approach incorporating the best of all healing systems—like an each way bet.
Every cancer case is individual so healing programs must be carefully crafted to suit each person and that applies to dietary regimes. Acknowledging that diet is one way patients can be proactive, Grace nevertheless, usually advocates non-extreme diets such as healthy Mediterranean, because she has seen many cancer patients, including her ex husband, Ian Gawler, become emaciated from extreme diets which purported to ‘starve’ the cancer. In most cases their immune system was ravaged from, not only the disease, but from the dietary regime as well. Individual response to diet is varied and begs a rewrite of ‘you are what you eat’ with a more appropriate version being ’you are what you can assimilate.’
The latter is of relevance to cancer patients who may have varying capacities to assimilate certain foods. Raw food fundamentalists may not realise some people can’t digest and therefore assimilate certain raw foods. In fact, some cultures tend to do poorly on raw food regimes; Asia for one. What’s more, Asia acknowledges a spiritual and psychological component to food while their practice of wok cooking greens retains nutrient density and taste and thus may be more appropriate for cancer patients.
There will be more ideas in future articles, meanwhile our advice is to adopt a sensible, middle-path approach to complementary modalities to assist cancer recovery.
