If you have been diagnosed with cancer

I received a comment from Kelly on one of my blogs and she asked me to tell her more about the role of macrobiotics in fighting cancer. I made some comments about nutrition with brief references to some research and to the Kushi Institute. Thinking about my response, I realised that there is a lot more that I would like to say to anybody that is diagnosed with cancer.

About ten years ago I hosted a bridal shower for my daughter. Among the guests was a woman in her fifties that I had not met before. She seemed quiet, very considerate, and gave my daughter a gift with a very poetic and beautiful note. There seemed to be an "aura" about her and people gravitated to her. I later learned that she had recently been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma.

Five years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and soon after with asthma, bronchiectasis and ntm in my lungs. I was in shock and the first person I thought of was Ella, the woman I had met at my daughter's shower. She was healthy and well and spoke to me at length about her experience, about the alternative medical therapies she had researched, and her decision to become macrobiotic. I heard about a woman in Beijing, a dancer, who had cured herself from cancer by dancing for hours every day. My husband told me the story of somebody diagnosed with terminal cancer who loved comedy. Since he only had three months to live he locked himself up in a room and spent three months laughing and listening to comedy shows. He survived, cured by laughter. Unfortunately I am neither a dancer or a comedian. What was I to do?

I am extremely good at research. I decided to research cancer and my options very carefully before making a decision. I read The Cancer Prevention Diet by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack, but I was most impressed by The China Study by Colin Campbell. This was a survey of 12 types of cancer conducted by Cornell and Oxford Universities over a period of 20 years. The scope of the book was far-reaching.

Their conclusions were based on much research; things that I could understand and trust. Vitamin supplements are not a substitute for good nutrition. Good nutrition can prevent disease in its early stages and can halt or reverse it in its later stages. There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants. Plant based foods contain no cholesterol. They linked low blood cholesterol levels to lower rates of heart disease and cancer. The average level of blood cholesterol in China was 100 points less than the American average. Traditional diets in rural China had a very low animal protein intake, 7.1gms per day whereas Americans average 70gms per day. They also found that rates of cancer and heart disease were extremely low in comparison with the US.

Breast cancer was linked to higher concentrations of estrogen in diets high in meat and dairy. Chinese women had about 40% of the estrogen exposure of the average American woman and about 1/5th the rate of breast cancer.

In summing up they recommended a diet low in meat and dairy, with sufficient amounts of sunshine in order to maintain a high level of vitamin D for proper regulation of the immune system and additional supplements of B12, if necessary. The diets of many traditional Chinese and Japanese were very similar to the macrobiotic diet. That, and Ella's support was what I needed. I became macrobiotic.

Since this study was published more work has been done on traditional diets. Many of these diets also seem to have lower rates of disease and some do include more meat and dairy. They do have much in common. Meat is not the focus of the meal. Food is minimally processed and often made from scratch. Caloric intake is lower. Meals are family occasions where food is eaten slowly and enjoyed.

So if you have been diagnosed with cancer or any other disease nutrition is an important first step. It does not have to be macrobiotics. As Michael Pollan said in his great book "In Defense of Food" ....".eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Many stories have been published of people healing themselves from terminal disease. Scientific studies have not been able to prove it and doctors do not always believe it. We all understand the placebo effect, so utilising the mind to heal yourself is vital. Find something that you believe in, something that you love to do. For me it was macrobiotics, the preparation of simple meals made from scratch with organic, fresh foods for the body; yoga, meditation and growing my own food, for the mind. Whether it is dancing or laughing or just preparing and eating good food, find what works for you, what you truly believe in; then do it as though your life depends on it.