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Learning from True Survivors|Marala Scott Oprah’s Ambassador for Hope and David Tuccaro Jr.

We can learn from true survivors. It does not have be a cancer crisis – any crisis will do! When we learn from true survivors; we make deposits into our “Life Bank Account”. When in “credit” we have either acquired or learned skills as resources to help us navigate life’s crisis maze. Marala Scott is a storyteller and recently she authored the story of David Tuccaro Jr in Bad to the Bone whom I interviewed on Navigating the Cancer Maze Voice America Radio. Marala Scott has also shared her unimaginable life story to help others learn to forgive, accept challenges and adapt to changes in life, chronicled in her bestselling memoir, In Our House: Perception vs. Reality (an Amazon Best Seller).

What can we learn from true survivors? It does not have be a cancer crisis – any crisis will do!

David Tuccaro Jr and Marala Scott Oprah's Ambassador for Hope — David Tuccaro Jr and Marala Scott Oprah’s Ambassador for Hope

When we learn from true survivors; we are enabled and empowered to make deposits into our “Life Bank Account”. Crises can occur at any time in our life. We are often unprepared. When our “Life Bank Account” is in “credit”; we have either acquired or learned skills that we can access and utilize as resources, if and when we need to navigate life’s crisis maze. Without these skills, crises can become deep seated traumas that affect quality of life.

Marala Scott is a storyteller and recently she authored the story of David Tuccaro Jr in Bad to the Bone. If you missed the interview with David on Voice America Radio CLICK HERE TO LISTEN:

Marala Scott is a Multi Award-winning Author, Motivational Speaker, Ghostwriter and Oprah’s Ambassador of Hope who shares powerful words of inspiration wherever she goes.

Marala has shared her unimaginable life story to help others learn to forgive, accept challenges and adapt to changes in life, chronicled in her bestselling memoir, In Our House: Perception vs. Reality (an Amazon Best Seller) and Surrounded By Inspiration. The newly released book, Bad to the Bone: The True Story of David Tuccaro Jr. (an Amazon Best Seller) is a heart-wrenching story that inspires you to believe when there is no evidence of hope.

Marala Scott speaks from the heart with her life-changing words of faith and strength. Her efforts caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who honored her as one of her five Ambassadors of Hope in 2009 and stated, “A childhood of abuse almost kept Marala Scott from a life of happiness…until she discovered how to use her story to help others.” Ms. Scott is also a recipient of a Congressional award, among many others, for her humanitarian efforts for sharing her prolific life story in efforts to help and inspire others. Ms. Scott is a widely sought after Ghostwriter at Seraph Books that helps share the inspiration others have experienced with their power and passion.

More about David Tuccaro Jr’s Story: http://www.davidtuccaro.com/#

READ PRESS RELEASE AT:

http://vapresspass.com/2014/03/26/david-tuccaro-leukemia-survivor-talks-bad-bone-memoir-marala-scott-navigating-cancer-maze-grace-gawler/

David Tuccaro Leukemia Survivor talks about ‘Bad to the Bone’ his memoir by Marala Scott on Navigating the Cancer Maze with Grace Gawler

Navigating the Cancer Maze, Grace Gawler interviews David Tuccaro Jr about his Survival story and book ‘Bad to the Bone | The True Story of David Tuccaro Jr’. The book is authored by Award-winning Author and Oprah’s Ambassador of Hope, Marala Scott. The story is about David’s recovery from ALL, a childhood leukemia. The book is aptly named; leukemia being an illness that begins in bone marrow. As an adult with a leukemia that is predominantly seen in children; at 25 years of age, David’s prognosis was very poor.

If you want to be inspired by a well written, poignant survival story about recovery from Leukemia…
Then this is the book to buy!

In fact…….. if you only buy 1 book this year – then this is the one! David Tuccaro Jr’s story is powerful and well told. ‘Bad to the Bone-’ The True Story of David Tuccaro Jr is a book about his recovery from ALL – a childhood leukemia is aptly named; leukemia being an illness that begins in bone marrow. As an adult with a leukemia that is predominantly seen in children; at 25 years of age, David’s prognosis was very poor.

On today’s Navigating the Cancer Maze, I had the pleasure of interviewing David about his memoirs and about Award-winning Author, Oprah’s Ambassador of Hope, Marala Scott, who transcribed his story of Leukemia diagnosis through to his remission. This episode is full of inspiring tips and tools for anyone who is navigating their own cancer maze. You can also download the show or listen on audio streaming at:

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/76857/beating-leukemia-bad-to-the-bone-the-true-story-of-david-tuccaro-jr-on-navigating-the-cancer-maze

At just 25 years old, approximately seven years ago, David Tuccaro Jr, a Mikisew Cree First Nation man from Fort McMurray Canada, was diagnosed with leukemia. He was facing a death sentence. His story is poignant, raw in its honesty and an inspiration to those who are navigating the leukemia maze.

Navigating the Cancer Maze serves as a reliable source of information for cancer patients and families. Every guest on the show has a well researched and authentic story to offer to the community. Such is David Tuccaro Jr’s story; a tumultuous journey of self-discovery through pain, hopelessness and the feeling of inadequacy to inspire others to overcome adversity.

After finding his purpose, he is living out his passion of teaching others to save lives by registering to become a bone marrow donor.
David says:“When I was going through what I’d gone through with the leukemia, I had my doctors telling me one thing, what to expect, and my family and friends telling me what to expect, but I didn’t have a survivor telling me what to expect; that’s what the book is really about, to answer some of these questions. There needs to be somebody that has gone through this to give you the hope that you really need to get through it.”

David Tuccaro Jr is a powerful advocate bringing awareness to the life-saving impact that a bone marrow donor unselfishly provides. David is alive after years of hospital procedures thanks to his spirit, medical science, support and the altruism of one man who donated his bone marrow. Four years after the lifesaving transplant David met his bone marrow donor, Christian Holtmann from Germany. He says: “I’ll never forget the first meeting I had with Christian; it was the greatest moment of my life.” David Tuccaro Jr hopes his and Christian’s story will inspire others to donate bone marrow. “That is what saved my life”, David said.

To buy the Book or you are interested in becoming a Bone Marrow Donor – please visit: www.DavidTuccaro.com

The book is available in Hard Cover or eBook – Kindle Kobo etc. BUY ON AMAZON

PUBLISHER: www.seraphbooks.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marala Scott is an Award-winning Author and Oprah’s Ambassador of Hope, (In Our House: Perception vs. Reality and Surrounded By Inspiration). Marala Scott takes you inside the horrific battle of a young man with Leukemia and shares the unique perspective of his bone marrow donor. The Story of David Tuccaro Jr. will give you strength and inspiration never before felt! For more information on Marala Scott visit www.maralascott.com.

“What he describes is that journey we are all seeking; it is that transformation to a better life.”
–Dr. Gary Ruelas D.O., Ph.D.

“This should be a television show done by a conscientious film maker— This story is nothing less than an epic.”
–Peter C. Newman, Legendary Journalist and Author

Dr Julie Crews| Why We Need to Search for the Truth in Cancer Cure Stories on Navigating the Cancer Maze Radio

The search for truth in healing stories is imperative for patients whose lives really depend upon it. Diagnosis cancer! It may be you or your husband or wife or father or mother. It may be your children or friends. People who are near and dear to you. When it comes to a diagnosis of cancer, the stakes are particularly high. So – the question is straightforward really – Do we want to be told lies or truth?

This year marks my 40 years working with cancer patients.The search for truth in healing stories is imperative for patients whose lives really depend upon it. Diagnosis cancer! It may be you or your husband or wife or father or mother. It may be your children or friends. People who are near and dear to you. When it comes to a diagnosis of cancer, the stakes are particularly high. So – the question is straightforward really – Do we want to be told lies or truth?

If asked about buying a product in a store – do we accept being lied to about its efficacy? No – most of us would be angry, depending on the cost of the product we might feel so cheated , we make a complaint to the Australian Consumer watchdog, the ACCC for making claims that are untrue….that is the product did not live up to its claims as advertised and the expectations of the purchaser.

Well the equivalent is happening right under our noses with society’s most highly vulnerable group of people – cancer patients!

Dr Julie Crews PhD- Searching for truth in cancer healing stories.

As the groundswell of would-be cancer entrepreneurs & patient experts claiming “I cured myself Naturally from Cancer” gains the momentum of a tsunami, one Western Australian woman, DR JULIE CREWS, a doctor of Business Ethics, is questioning why so many people have jumped on the ‘cure-all bandwagon’ to earn their living and why it has been allowed to go unchecked and under the radar for so long.

On today’s Voice America Radio show “Navigating the Cancer Maze, Dr Julie Crews takes an investigative look through the magnifying glass to examine new trends in cancer entrepreneurship where patients who are either still in recovery themselves or who claim they have beaten the odds without medical evidence, are influencing the treatment choices of millions of other cancer patients around the globe. Another group of patients influencing choices are those who have had adequate medical treatment for their cancer, but then champion their ‘cure’ to the use of dietary regimens, alternative medicine, meditation and other healing forms.

Authentic hope is a powerful ally, but false hope as a recent article published in the West Australian suggests, provides More Hype than Hope by CATHY O’LEARY, MEDICAL EDITOR February 22, 2014 Dr Crews contributed to that media piece. Select the following link to read article.
MORE HYPE THAN HOPE THE WEST AUSTRALIAN DR JULIE CREWS

THE FOLLOWING IS SUMMARY OF DR CREWS TIPS as hear on Voice America’s Navigating the Cancer Maze today.

What Questions should the Cancer consumer be asking and why? What action can you take.

1. The first question is for consumers to carefully look at what the person is saying and promoting – look at the language the person is using and the claims they are making – a big one is they put down their cancer as a lesson….the fact is cancer does not discriminate. It affects good people who live healthy lives – It can affect anyone.

2. What is the background of the person(s) offering the cure-all?? Qualifications? Institutions?

3. If a person is claiming to have cured their cancer naturally, ask to see their medical records from diagnosis to recovery – remission. Ask to see medical verification. After all “Exceptional Claims require exceptional evidence” said Carl Sagan. Anecdotes and stories should not too be mistaken for truth.

4. If I follow this person’s advice – will they have any responsibility regrading my outcome? As happens in the medical profession or other qualified professional health fields- Will their insurance cover me in case of failure? (Not likely)!

3. If they are promoting products which cost money, are they receiving a ‘kickback’ or indeed do they have shares in the company?

4. What do they do when people ask questions and it challenges things they may promote? The more they have invested in the promotion the more they have to lose and will fight very hard to discredit anyone who may disagree with them.

5. Check out what they do if someone posts something that doesn’t maintain the image they are promoting!

6. Email them and ask questions and see what responses you get.

7. If they do speak of ‘medical’ doctors, they may use terms like ‘intuitive practitioner’ ‘integrative practitioner’ – the thing is, you only get THEIR version of their disease – it could be wrong…… and often is.
More soon on this important topic…..

Please listen in to this interview or download for later at Voice America:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/76576/navigating-the-cancer-maze-with-dr-julie-crews-why-we-need-to-search-for-the-truth-in-cancer-cure

Other Blogs of interest in the news about this topic: In particular a young woman who calls herself the wellness warrior. The following is some intelligent debate on this topic. Jessica Ainscough went public about her quest to cure her cancer. See the Australian: Title “Holding out for a Miracle ” Richard Gulliatt.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/editors-letter-cancer-miracles/story-e6frg8h6-1226489003339#

2014/02/21/the-wellness-warrior-denial-delusion-or-dishonesty/

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2013/10/17/sharyn-ainscough-dies-tragically-because-she-followed-the-example-of-her-daughter-the-wellness-warrior/

http://rosaliehilleman.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/the-wellness-warrior-denial-delusion-or-dishonesty/

Raw Versus Cooked for Cancer Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer| Grace Gawler

It is not only what you eat; but what you can absorb. Is raw food better than cooked food? Is vegan better for cancer patients than fish and meat? What about raw vegan? Extreme diets often pair with extreme supplementation to make up for what’s missing…so how safe is that approach? What about juices and their value? What is the truth about diet and Cancer?

Navigating the Cancer Diet Maze Special needs for Colon and Liver Cancer

Listen on Voice America Health & Wellness Channel – free to download or available on streaming

It is not only what you eat; but what you can absorb. Is raw food better than cooked food? Is vegan better for cancer patients than vegetarian? What about raw vegan? Extreme diets often pair with extreme supplementation to make up for what’s missing…so how safe is that approach? What about juices and their value?

Having gained a distinction in nutrition plus assisting cancer patients for 40 years has given me great insights….there is not much I haven’t seen cancer patients try with regards to dietary regimens and alternative medicine during those decades. Most often, the outcomes have been far from ideal. Maybe short term dietary experiments are OK if you are not ‘relying’ on the diet for curing cancer – but the main issue goes way beyond symptoms, such as rapid weight loss, because the most important thing is that cancer is time sensitive – you don’t have time to wait and see if the diet works in 3 or 6 months. The wait and see mentality is heavily criticized in conventional medical systems – but clearly it exists on both sides of the healing divide.

We live in an age where fashion fads and dietary fads change like the wind. With lifestyle medicine a cultural trend; a lot of long term dietary experimentation is going on at the cost of lives. Cancer patients often get swept up in the winds of dietary fads and before they know it, they are inside a culinary tornado that offers more stress; less peace of mind, confusion, social isolation, unnecessary weight loss and nutritional deficiencies…all from a so called nutrient dense diet that many cannot absorb.
This I know from experience; in fact from 3 different roles in my life.:
as carer of a cancer patient
a qualified health professional
and then as a patient
Many others have experienced this – this website is a fascinating read!
Resource # 1: http://www.beyondveg.com/

So where does the truth lie for people just want to eat well? I think it lies in the middle of the road approach!

Cancer patients need to be careful that they are not buying in to an someone else’s ideological dietary regimens.

There is no cure cancer diet that I know of….and there is no one size fits all in the world of diet! But if you are a cancer patient and particularly if you have colorectal or a gastrointestinal cancer – you need to be even more cautious.
What is the best way of eating for this specialised group?
The only way is to access a health practitioner who can help you with a personalised diet based on results of functional pathology stool tests. Yes – your own stools hold the secret answer as to what you should eat and what you can absorb! Makes sense doesn’t it!

The best type of tests are those that require a stool sample collected over a 3 day period…
Why a 3 day period? As well as examining all the digestive functions and our end products…the 3 day test is far more accurate for detecting any parasite eggs from unwelcome intestinal hosts…this problem is more common that most people believe.

Some cancers such as cancer of the bile duct (called cholangiocarcinoma) is one example of a cancer known to be caused by a parasite – in this case – Chinese Liver fluke.
Resource # 2: Chart and references: Parasites and Pathogens associated with cancer

Resource # 3: In Australia – to source a test ask your health practitioner to organize a Healthscope functional pathology test for digestion including a 3-day parasitology test. They have an excellent series of different tests – your practitioner can advise which one is best for you..

For stool testing in the USA & internationally – CONTACT
http://www.metametrix.com/test-menu/profiles/gastrointestinal-function/dna-stool-analysis-gi-effects

It is almost a given that patients with colorectal cancer will have had surgery to remove a segment or segments of colon affected by cancer. Depending on the length of the segment removed – type of diet and quantity of food should be adjusted accordingly.

Excess fibre and raw seeds and nuts and even raw foods can become indigestible irritants causing inflammation and bloating to the patient who has had colorectal surgery….it can especially be a problem for the patient who loses a significant portion of small intestine. Yours truly in one of those people!

Prior to my own surgery losing 5 ft of large colon and the same amount of small intestine; I was a prolific salad & raw food consumer – but I also ate a great deal of cooked vegetables and seafood – I think you would call me a Pescetarian…I had a diet that contained a good deal of dietary fibre- a good balance of cooked and raw foods. However after my surgeries– my gastro – intestinal tract was clearly traumatised and it took years to recover to a satisfactory degree.

Remember the saying………… it is not only what you eat – but what you can absorb…..this statement becomes a simple rule to live by and is especially important for those dealing with or those who have had colorectal cancer.

Now back to diet….. cooked vs raw…

Now I am interested in the work of primatologist Richard Wrangham…. his research claims that learning to cook food was the hinge on which human evolution turned. Eating cooked food, he argues, enabled us to evolve our large brains, and cooking itself became a primary focus of human social activity — in short, cooking made us the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today.

His book – Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human is available on Amazon..

From the book’s promo:
Contrary to the dogmas of raw-foods enthusiasts, cooked cuisine was central to the biological and social evolution of humanity, argues this fascinating study. Harvard biological anthropologist Wrangham dates the breakthrough in human evolution to a moment 1.8 million years ago, when, he conjectures, our forebears tamed fire and began cooking.

Starting with Homo erectus—who should perhaps be renamed Homo gastronomicus—these innovations drove anatomical and physiological changes that make us adapted to eating cooked food the way cows are adapted to eating grass. By making food more digestible and easier to extract energy from, Wrangham reasons, cooking enabled hominids’ jaws, teeth and guts to shrink, freeing up calories to fuel their expanding brains. It also gave rise to pair bonding and table manners, and liberated mankind from the drudgery of excessive chewing (while chaining womankind to the stove). Wrangham’s lucid, accessible treatise ranges across nutritional science, palaeontology and studies of ape behaviour and hunter-gatherer societies; the result is a tour de force of natural history and a profound analysis of cooking’s role in daily life. More than that, Wrangham offers a provocative take on evolution—suggesting that, rather than humans creating civilized technology, civilized technology created us.
http://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/1469298708

Listen on Voice America Health & Wellness Channel – free to download or available on streaming
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/75179/navigating-the-cancer-diet-maze-special-needs-for-colon-and-liver-cancer

Thanks for visiting…..More on this thought provoking topic in next blog-soon: Enjoy! Grace

Professor Ian Frazer, The Man who Saved a Million Lives interview with Grace Gawler

During this past week, a book about Professor Frazer’s personal story and his discoveries relating to viruses and cancer was launched in Brisbane. It is one of those books that is a must read – an important contribution to Australia medical science history! Authored by Madonna King, the book titled: “IAN FRAZER….The Man who saved a Million Lives” is available in Australia from Dymocks, Target and many other bookstores. Buy online at UQP. Listen to my Interview with Prof Ian Frazer on Voice America…..

Have you ever wondered about the nature of viruses? What they are made of… how they operate….. and how they can do a takeover bid in our bodies and make us so ill? Did you know that viruses are implicated as a causative factor in the development of many cancers – not only cervical cancer? The bigger question begs; what can we do when a virus strikes and can we prevent a virus from causing cancer?

Fortunately for all of us Prof Ian Frazer began asking these questions at an early age. At about the age of nine, he remembers lining up with schoolmates for their polio vaccinations. He said in a recent Reader’s Digest issue: “The needle got my attention,” he says – which is where most kids are happy to leave it. “Then, I realized there were [crippled] kids around who had had polio. That got me interested in how the body fights infection … how the body repairs itself.” Thanks to his earlier scientific curiosity, HPV 16 – one of the leading causes of cancer of the cervix, is in process of being eradicated worldwide.
During this past week, a book about Professor Frazer’s personal story and his discoveries relating to viruses and cancer was launched in Brisbane. It is one of those books that is a must read – an important contribution to Australia medical science history!

Authored by Madonna King, the book titled: “IAN FRAZER….The Man who saved a Million Lives” is available in Australia from Dymocks, Target and many other bookstores. If you haven’t bought your Father’s Day gift yet – this one would a fantastic idea. (A percentage of proceeds from the book will be donated to the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation). Not available in e-book yet, the book is published by University of Queensland Press BUY ONLINE HERE
If you want to hear more about viruses and Professor Frazer’s work – Please do not miss listening to today’s special edition of Navigating the Cancer maze on Voice America’s Health and Wellness channel: http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/72540/navigating-the-cancer-maze-with-professor-ian-frazer
About
Professor Ian Frazer AC, FRS, FAACEO, 2006 Australian of the Year & Director of Research at the Translational Research Institute, Brisbane Australia; is one Australia’s most celebrated medical research scientists. Prof Frazer has received numerous national and international awards for his work in developing the technology that has enabled vaccines to help prevent cervical cancer. To link a virus to cancer in the 1980’s was contentious, but Ian Frazer persevered, convinced this needed further investigation. Now his successful research and development of a cervical cancer vaccine has sold worldwide under the brand names Gardasil and Cervarix. In May 2011, Prof Frazer was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. This achievement elevates him to the same status as world renowned scientists such as Stephen Hawking and Sir Isaac Newton. Today’s interview will probe in depth the connection between viruses and cancer and the function of immunity in viral destruction and management.
Short BIO – Professor Ian Frazer
Professor Frazer, a renal physician & clinical immunologist from Edinburgh, Scotland; came to Melbourne Australia in 1981 to pursue studies in viral immunology and autoimmunity at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of medical Research.
In 1985, he moved to Brisbane to assume a teaching post with the University of Queensland & was appointed Director of the Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research in 1991. He has taught immunology to undergraduate & graduate students at the University & has research interests in immune-regulation and immuno-therapeutic vaccines for HPV (Papilloma virus) associated cancers.

Translational Research Institute Brisbane Australia

Now involved in revolutionary research, he is developing a vaccine/treatment for HSV-2 – the virus implicated in genital herpes.
He is a past President of the Cancer Council Australia, Chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s Medical Research Advisory Committee & Chair of the International Agency for Research on Cancer Scientific Advisory Committee.

More on this topic and a review of the book IAN FRAZER….The Man who saved a Million Lives in my next blog at www.gracegawlermedia.com

Navigating the cancer Maze on Voice America Heath and Wellness Channel is presented each week by the Grace Gawler Institute in the interest of informing and educating the worldwide cancer community. www.gracegawlerinstitute.com

Listen to the interview at : http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/72540/navigating-the-cancer-maze-with-professor-ian-frazer

Positive Health UK Streamlining Cancer Treatments: Choosing the Best of Complementary and Conventional Medicine Grace Gawler

Streamlining Cancer Treatments: Choosing the Best of Complementary and Conventional Medicine

by Grace Gawler(more info) Positive Health UK online – listed in cancer, originally published in issue 208 – August 2013

I am in a very privileged position having specifically worked as a cancer recovery strategist for almost 40 years. Age, experience and serving 15,000 clients during that period enables me to appreciate history, see trends, learn the mistakes and rejoice in the successes while examining present gains and looking to the future. As a veteran I have witnessed the gradual evolution of a one size fits all approach in both sides of medicine; conventional and alternative. The new culture of survivorship is based on a highly targeted, personalized and intelligent approach.

However, as personalized medicine is in its infancy, it is far from perfect, as professionals juggle for new definitions in this rapidly changing paradigm. For example, many of my colleagues describe personalized medicine in its parts, such as phenotype, targets for antibodies, genetics and molecules failing to mention the most important person in personalized medicine – the patient! This has long been the issue with conventional medicine, but now even natural therapies are following suit.

The alternative medicine cancer cure culture have realized that cancer is more complex to treat than they possibly imagined. Despite doing ‘all the right things’; veganism, juicing, meditation, and positive thinking; their tumours are still growing!
Below: Professor Thomas Vogel Frankfurt: the new ways of delivering cancer therapies

Professor Thomas Vogel frankfurt the new ways of delivering cancer therapies …

Select link to Read the article at

http://www.positivehealth.com/article/cancer/streamlining-cancer-treatments-choosing-the-best-of-complementary-and-conventional-medicine

Grace Gawler DHM (dist) DBSc ATMS Mem IPOS (International Society for Psycho-Psychology has been involved with teaching cancer survival strategies for more than 38 years. Trained as an Herbalist/ Naturopath with an early background, working in veterinary medicine, over the years Grace became a pro-life cancer coach and trained in body psychotherapy. She co-founded Australia’s first Cancer Support groups and residential courses and has worked throughout the world in the area of cancer as a public and keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. She has chosen to emphasize the emotional-psycho-spiritual aspect of cancer recovery and management at all stages. Grace learned a great deal when in 1997 unexpected post-surgical complications from a routine surgery left her with colon paralysis. After 21 surgeries geared at keeping her alive Grace eventually found her solution – an experimental ‘bionic’ sacro-neuromodulation implant performed in Holland. The procedure was a ‘world first’ for this condition. Grace had her life back knowing what it was like to be in the shoes of a patient with a life threatening condition. She wrote her memoir Grace, Grit and Gratitude in 2008 to celebrate her survival.

As Founder and Director of the Grace Gawler Institute, Grace can now help patients to find Integrated cancer Solutions. She helps patients to transform the challenge, PTSD, fear and myriad of emotional issues surrounding cancer into becoming a successful patient – the best one can be whatever the outcome. She works in conjunction with medical oncology and integrative oncology clinics in Australia and Europe assisting patients with fully supported medi-tours to Hallwang Private Oncology Clinic in Germany’s Black Forest. You can listen to Grace’s US-based free to air internet radio show Navigating the Cancer Maze on Voice America’s Health and Wellness channel. www.voiceamerica.com/show/2125/navigating-the-cancer-maze

contact institute@gracegawler.com grace@germancancertreatments.com www.gracegawler.com/institute

www.germancancertreatments.com www.germancancertreatments.org.uk www.facebook.com/germancancertreatments

Navigating the Vascular Maze in Cancer Patients-a Silent and Potentially deadly issue – Grace Gawler

Last Friday on my internet radio show, Navigating the Cancer Maze I interviewed a Gold Coast Vascular Surgeon because I was interested to get the latest information on how Cancer patients can manage the issue of DVT, embolisms and other blood clotting issues

Last Friday on my internet radio show, Navigating the Cancer Maze I interviewed a Gold Coast Vascular Surgeon because I was interested to get the latest information on how Cancer patients can manage the issue of DVT, embolisms and other blood clotting issues. I have known Dr John for some time and thankfully he had alerted me to the issues of DVT when I had been a patient undergoing repeated and long surgical procedures. His advice was invaluable.

As far as cancer patients are concerned; this is a serious matter and more education is needed – especially interms of safe air travel and also whether a cancer patient or not – for any of us sitting immobile for long periods of time can be a problem. Dr John provides us with great advice – simple preventive measures for avoiding vascular problems.

Cancer patients have a dramatically increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and dangerous blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism) and in the legs (deep vein thrombosis). Did you know that – a cancer patient has 7 times the risk of developing a blood clot.
It is not all doom and gloom – but knowing this fact empowers us to to be proactive, seek good advice and or if we detect or suspect an issue – you may save your life by early intervention.

In this interview with Dr John you will learn about the vascular system and lifestyle issues that can cause a stroke. You will learn about tests and scans you should have to check out veins and arteries, things you can take to offset clotting affects – issues that MUST be discussed with your doctor or oncologist. Basically Clotting risk should be assessed in all patients with cancer. Whenever you are hospitalised, if you are a cancer patient……ask about treatment to prevent DVT or PE both in hospital and at home.

In hospital, you may be given heparin or low molecular weight heparin. Compression stockings…getting you mobile ASAP is a good intervention.However – Patients should be aware of signs and symptoms of DVT/PE – and if you suspect an issue – DONT DELAY GETTING ATTENTION…

I have had many patients who have ignored advice regarding anticlotting medications before during and after air-travel. Patients have returned from cancer treatments overseas not following the advice and have lost their lives to DVT and pulmonary embolisms or stroke. Quite a number of them had significant reduction in their cancer – but died due to their likely preventable vascular events. Fitted pressure stockings will help and in the interview Dr John gives us a powerful tool for clearing the large muscles of the calf when we travel or if we are immobile for a long period – particularly if there is pressure to the back of the calf muscle. Continue reading “Navigating the Vascular Maze in Cancer Patients-a Silent and Potentially deadly issue – Grace Gawler”

Grace Gawler Institute's Services, Events and the Launch of Grace Pink

Today the theme of this blog is to let readers know what we are doing at the Grace Gawler Institute for Integrated Cancer Solutions and to invite my Gold Coast subscribers to our March 2 Hope Island fundraiser. Every day we recieve calls from cancer patients who are confused and frightened about what they need to do to get the best results after a diagnosis. Many have tried only alternative medicine and find themselves in dire straits with tumours increasing in size and seemingly no options left; while others are experiencing a recurrence of a previous cancer and may be seeking treatments overseas.

Unfortunately, we mainly see or connect with patients with advanced cancer because when they were diagnosed, they did not know that any organisation such as ours existed to help them navigate the increasing complex cancer maze. They were not aware of the importance of psycho-oncology or how collaborative medicine could them to fine tune treatment strategies and get all treating practitioners communicating with each other for the patient’s benefit. By the time they reach our Institute, many patients are already finacially exhausted, especially by long term use of expensive alternative medicine supplements. In order to help them, we subsidise their consultations and find innovative ways of referring them into the public system for treatments. We turn no one away and each week we consult with a few patients at no charge. This means that fundraising functions like the one below are very important to us to keep our services active. We receive no Government funding and have limited corporate funding at the moment.

Ways you can support our work: A small amount donated by many, can make a real difference. If you can’t join us for our fundraising evening – you might like to consider a donation to The Grace Gawler Institute (tax deductible for amounts over $2 for Australian donors) receipts provided. We are a registered non-profit health promotion charity located on Queensland’s Gold Coast. You can also support programs for women with cancer by purchasing on line in my just released e-Book 23 Feb 2012 – Survivors Secrets – A woman’s guide: Strategies for surviving life-challenging illness. All proceeds from this purchase support our women with cancer programs for 2012.
To buy online ( $9.99 AUD) click link to our Bookstore:

Our event 2 March 2012: Hope Island Gold Coast:
Book online for this “Grace Pink Event” Click here

Tickets will be mailed immediately upon booking or you can… Purchase tickets directly from Grace (07 5577 2997) or from The Hope Island Deli ( address above). All proceeds go directly to support the work of the Grace Gawler Institute’s programs for women with cancer in 2012. Our institute maintains low overheads and admin costs with a high service delivery to patients.

For subscribers who have been enquiring about booking for our one day Survive & Thrive workshops: Please note our new workshop dates have been listed on the website.

Grace Gawler Institute’s Services, Events and the Launch of Grace Pink

Our event 2 March 2012: Hope Island Gold Coast:
Book online for this “Grace Pink Event” Click here

For subscribers who have been enquiring about booking for our one day Survive & Thrive workshops: Please note our new workshop dates have been listed on the website.

Out on a Limb – Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures Grace Gawler Appeals

The Eagles Syndrome Appeal: Gawler Family Member

It is a tragedy when a family member is ill and requires treatment that cannot sourced locally and needs substantial funds to pay for it overseas. I see this situation often in my practice and understand the difficulties faced by many of my patients; even more so since my own 21 surgical procedures – a personal journey I began in 1997. In 2002 my survival necessitated seeking an overseas solution if I wanted a life. My illness (the result of a complication following routine surgery) devastated my already compromised finances and I found myself in my fifties relaunching my career and owning nothing! Now that my son needs help; I cannot afford his surgery, so I decided that the most creative way of raising funds was through my ‘self-published’ book sales – a win-win for everyone. My son requires life-saving surgery in Los Angeles – delaying his treatment could severely compromise his life – the longer his medical situation is left unattended, the more challenging his surgery will be.

To support this cause – Please visit the Resources/Bookstore page at :
http://gracegawler.com/Institute/?page_id=1892
We are trying to raise $60,000 through book sales
Please send this blog link to friends in your address book….. Together – I sure we can make this happen!

Apologies to regular blog subscribers for my lack of correspondence during the past few months; a personal and imperative family issue has been occupying much of my time – hence the subject of this blog. Trying to raise funds whilst respecting my son’s privacy has not been easy & we have tried many obvious avenues including many requests to his father – all without success. So – as time is ticking by for this beautiful young man – as the heading implies, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Some Background: D lives with me and has done so for 29 out of his 31 years – he entered this world at Yarra Junction, Victoria on a stormy August night in 1980 into a life that held severe health challenges. He remains my greatest teacher. Although D is no stranger to pain, watching his deterioration as he bravely manages the affects of Eagles Syndrome is a distressing daily event and so ironic, given my vocation is helping others. I continue to support in every other way I can. Surgery has a high chance of success, but the longer the condition is left – the greater the risks. D needs some action soon.

As a child, Specialists said D would never be able to hear. As with Ian Gawler, whom I married when he had a 2 week prognosis; harnessing the same tenacity, I doggedly pursued healing options for D utilising the best of complementary and mainstream medicine. D can now hear without aid and he has achieved many amazing things. I am very proud of him.
Following my own recovery, I had been hoping to take a ‘breather’ from health related dramas – but it seems the universe has other ideas! About a year ago D began to be investigated for a stiff neck and jaw clicking.

The outcome – he was diagnosed with Eagles syndrome – a rare condition involving calcification, thickening and lengthening of the styloid process (a pointed piece of bone that extends down from the human skull, just below the ear.) See Xray left. As you can imagine these extended bones create havoc.

A normal styloid process length is approximately 2–3 cm and serves as an anchor point for several muscles associated with the tongue and larynx and other facial structures. Eagles Syndrome is diagnosed if the overall Styloid length in excess of 3 cm. In D’s case both styloid processes are grossly elongated … 6.5 cm and 5 cm! This excessive length has caused havoc with jaw and facial nerves and shoulder spasm; but not only is it painful, the growing styloid processes have already caused severe compression of both jugular veins. Continue reading “Out on a Limb – Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures Grace Gawler Appeals”

What can we learn from true survivors? It does not have be a cancer crisis – any crisis will do!

If you want to be inspired by a well written, poignant survival story about recovery from Leukemia… Then this is the book to buy!

Now back to diet….. cooked vs raw…

If you want to be inspired by a well written, poignant survival story about recovery from Leukemia…
Then this is the book to buy!