An adventure
There is one book which I find very useful and inspiring in my quest to regain my health. It is entitled "You can conquer cancer" by Dr Ian Gawler. It has been reprinted 16 times. Thanks to Kian Foh for getting me this book.
Ian has his right leg amputated with bone cancer when he was 25 years old in 1975. The cancer reappeared again and his doctor gave him 2 weeks to live. He went on to recover and founded the Melbourne Cancer Support Group. He also set up The Gawler Foundation to help cancer patients recover (www.gawler.org).
I would like to share verbatim some paragraphs from his book where he described the mindset both he and his wife used to overcome his cancerous condition (page 4):
"When my cancer had recurred and the situation looked hopeless from the medical viewpoint, Grace and I remained confident that there was another way. Already we had been introduced to the idea that cancer involved a state of immune deficiency. To explain: it is known that throughout the lifetime of every healthy person, cancerous cells develop in their body. This is a medically accepted fact. It also is accepted that the body normally recognises these abnormal cells as a potential threat to its health and acts quickly to isolate and destroy them. It does so before any physical symptoms become apparent. However, in cancer patients, this does not happen and the growths continue unopposed. The body offers no resistance and symptoms of cancer the result.
So we began with the attitude that it was possible to re-stimulate the body's natural defences - in particular, the immune system. This being so, it followed that the body itself could destroy and remove all trace of the cancer. As an extension, if the immune system remained intact and functioning properly, there should be no worry about the cancer reappearing anywhere else. An exciting prospect!
The attitude was our starting point,our basic premise. All we did was directed towards the end. So, while we explored so many avenues of treatment, we felt it all part of the process of finding the right balance for me. What I am now able to do is recognise the basic ingredients in our success and at the same time give my impressons of all the other treatment we tried.
Approached in this light, cancer becomes something of an adventure. It becomes a growing, learning experience.
This attitude of adventure, growing and learning through cancer, is so different to the fears that normally surround the word. Probably no other word strikes as much emotional fear in the community today as does cancer."
Hmmm...I named my blog as amazing adventure before reading those paragraphs. Looks like I got the basic premise right ;)
Ian has his right leg amputated with bone cancer when he was 25 years old in 1975. The cancer reappeared again and his doctor gave him 2 weeks to live. He went on to recover and founded the Melbourne Cancer Support Group. He also set up The Gawler Foundation to help cancer patients recover (www.gawler.org).
I would like to share verbatim some paragraphs from his book where he described the mindset both he and his wife used to overcome his cancerous condition (page 4):
"When my cancer had recurred and the situation looked hopeless from the medical viewpoint, Grace and I remained confident that there was another way. Already we had been introduced to the idea that cancer involved a state of immune deficiency. To explain: it is known that throughout the lifetime of every healthy person, cancerous cells develop in their body. This is a medically accepted fact. It also is accepted that the body normally recognises these abnormal cells as a potential threat to its health and acts quickly to isolate and destroy them. It does so before any physical symptoms become apparent. However, in cancer patients, this does not happen and the growths continue unopposed. The body offers no resistance and symptoms of cancer the result.
So we began with the attitude that it was possible to re-stimulate the body's natural defences - in particular, the immune system. This being so, it followed that the body itself could destroy and remove all trace of the cancer. As an extension, if the immune system remained intact and functioning properly, there should be no worry about the cancer reappearing anywhere else. An exciting prospect!
The attitude was our starting point,our basic premise. All we did was directed towards the end. So, while we explored so many avenues of treatment, we felt it all part of the process of finding the right balance for me. What I am now able to do is recognise the basic ingredients in our success and at the same time give my impressons of all the other treatment we tried.
Approached in this light, cancer becomes something of an adventure. It becomes a growing, learning experience.
This attitude of adventure, growing and learning through cancer, is so different to the fears that normally surround the word. Probably no other word strikes as much emotional fear in the community today as does cancer."
Hmmm...I named my blog as amazing adventure before reading those paragraphs. Looks like I got the basic premise right ;)
posted by Hee Boon at 6:29 pm
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