Perhaps the most stressful sentence you can ever here is "I'm sorry you / your partner / your child / your parent / your friend has cancer".
First of all comes the shock, then the fear and then the feeling of helplessness, "What can I possibly do to help?"
In our own case, Allyn was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2011; the initial shock almost paralysed us into inactivity. Luckily we were helped by a homoeopath friend to release the shock from our systems. We then felt able to confront the fear, work through it and decide how to proceed. Fortunately we had the information, help and the training to be able to contribute towards Allyn's recovery. Other people aren't so lucky. Eventually the shock wears off and the fear has to be dealt with but often the feeling of helplessness remains.
Disempowerment and Stress
This feeling of disempowerment is a huge stress to the system of the person with the cancer and to their loved ones who can offer very little help.
High levels of stress are not good for you, especially if you have cancer. The stress hormones weaken the immune system, create an acidic environment in the body and encourage inflammation. All these things make it harder for the body to heal itself from cancer. It also wears down those who are caring for you making them more susceptible to their own health challenges.
This is how Allyn was told he had cancer.
"Well you have cancer but the good news is that we can totally cure most of the people with this type of cancer."
Now leaving aside for the moment the poor communication skills of the person who thought that was a good way to give him such bad news, let's examine what he meant when he said that.
When we pushed him on what he meant by "totally cure" he meant that Allyn would live for 5 years from today. When we pushed him for what he meant by "most" he said 54%!
So what he was saying to us was that if people just followed his advice 46% of those people wouldn't survive for 5 years!
Everyone has about three quarters of a million cancer cells develop every day. What keeps them in check is your immune system.
Think of a balance with your immune system on one side and cancer cells on the other.
How can you swing the balance in your favour?
- Things which will increase the activity of the immune system and make it more effective.
- Things which weaken cancer cells so that their growth is slowed.
This information is useful to anyone who has cancer and wants to help themselves with their own recovery; those who have recovered from cancer and don't want it to come back; those who are looking after someone with cancer; and anyone who doesn't want to develop cancer.
In the meantime
In the mean time if anyone needs to talk to Allyn about any of this he is more than happy to help in any way he can. Please feel free to email him or call the centre on 01785 616010.
If you have found your way to this page because you have cancer, or a loved one does, here is a list of everything that we found helpful in contributing to Allyn's recovery.
This is by no means a difinitive list, rather it is only what we found to be helpful. Just because something doesn't appear on the list does not mean it should not be considered.
List of Services
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Cancer FreeList Item 1
Cancer-Free
by Bill Henderson
This is the one book I always recommend that people start with. I can't stress enough just how much help I got from this book, both in understanding about cancer and using its suggested protocol as a starting point for working out what I needed to do to get better. Full of resources to follow up on if you want to.
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Healing Cancer with Common SenseList Item 2
Healing Cancer with Common Sense
by Marcus and Sabrina Freudemann
This is a brilliant book that gives you a step by step approach to healing yourself. The DVD that is a companion piece to the book is excellent too. A bit hard to find now but Allyn has a copy if you want to borrow it.
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Everything you Need to Know to Help you Beat CancerList Item 3
Everything you Need to Know to Help you Beat Cancer
by Chris Woollams
This is a great book, very readable and packed full of advice from someone who has been through the process with his own family. I got lots of great tips from this book, although mine was an earlier edition.
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Conventional Cancer Cures - What's the Alternative?List Item 4
Conventional Cancer Cures - What's the Alternative?
by Chris Woollams
This is a review of alternative approaches. If you feel you want to explore some of the alternative approaches to healing your body this is a great place to start.
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The Rainbow Diet
The Rainbow Diet
by Chris Woollams
There is no doubt that what you choose to eat affects your health. There is an over abundance of suggested diets to aid in your recovery. If you are confused about how to begin your dietary approach then this is a brilliant place to start.
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Cancer - Why we're Still Dying to Know the Truth
Cancer - Why we're Still Dying to Know the Truth
by Phillip Day
This is a brilliant exposé on the suppression of natural approaches to treating cancer. If you want to know why you haven't heard of successful alternative treatments for cancer this book will tell you all. Mine was an earlier edition of this book.
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B17 Metabolic Therapy
B17 Metabolic Therapy
compiled by Phillip Day
If, after having read the above book, you feel you would like to incorporate vitamin B17 into your diet this book will take you through all the technical details. Bit of a tough read but full of information.
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Love, Medicine and Miracles
Love, Medicine and Miracles
by Bernie Siegel
The orthodox treatment approachs may be the perfect choice for you. This book explains how to get the most out of them.
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The Journey
The Journey
by Brandon Bays
There are undoubtedly emotional and mental contributions to getting sick in the first place. This wonderful book helps you to explore any mental or emotional causes for your illness so that you can change them and help the healing process.
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Flax Oil
Flax Oil as a True Aid against Arthritis, Heart Infarction and Cancer
by Johanna Budwig
The Budwig protocol is one I found to be very helpful and my body felt as if it was being really nourished.
If the Budwig protocol is for you then this is a fascinating read about flax seed oil.
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Earthing
Earthing
by Clinton Ober
The first time I tried an earthing mat my surgical scar started tingling and so did my feet. It lasted for several hours after I got off it. Since then, with regular use, my scar has been getting fainter and we have been enjoying more restful sleep and experience more energy. It also protects me from electromagnetic pollution while I'm working at the computer.
This book is a joy to read and so compelling that you have to give it a try, even if it's just walking in the garden without your shoes on. It's such a simple concept and makes so much sense.
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Dragon and Tiger Qigong
Dragon and Tiger Qigong
by Bruce Frantzis
This form of Qigong is taught to people with cancer in China as it is thought to boost the immune system.
You can learn the form from this book and his companion volume but why not seek out an instructor near you to teach it to you.
We have one at the centre here in Stone and he runs classes and one to one sessions
List of Services
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The Winnable War Against CancerList Item 1
The Winnable War Against Cancer
by Phillip Day
Why we're still dying to know the truth!
Do you know that the latest cancer statistics are that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer in their lifetime?
Shocking isn't it?
What would you do if you were diagnosed with cancer? Furthermore what can you do to prevent getting cancer in the first place?
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Cancer, The Latest BreakthroughsList Item 2
Cancer, The Latest Breakthroughs
by Phillip Day
Recorded at the cancer convention Phillip hosts every year in Britain, this simple five-step program is designed to wreck the internal environment cancer depends on to thrive and boost nutrients and co-factors the body requires to overcome it.
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Meditations for Enhancing Your Immune SystemList Item 3
Meditations for Enhancing Your Immune System
by Bernie Siegel
On this compact disc, Dr. Bernie Siegel guides you through two individual and empowering meditations, each a combination of guided imagery and auto-hypnosis. These inspiring inner journeys are designed to assist you in dealing with negative thoughts, past hurts, stress, grief, and other conditions that can contribute to your lack of well-being. Bernie's calm, resonant voice gently helps you experience your own unique qualities, as well as your inner and outer beauty.
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Healing MeditationList Item 4
Healing Meditation
by Kelley Howell
This is used in cancer clinics to boost the immune system, speed up the healing process and generate a state of wellbeing: something we could all do with.
The experience is brilliant. It uses binaural beat technology to gently move you into a state of profound meditation, even if you've never mediated before. The guided visualisation takes you to a place where you can feel yourself getting healthier. It restores peace of mind, hope and an enthusiasm for the future.
You know when you've been told you've got cancer the future becomes a place you don't want to think about but this meditation gives you an optimism for it and you begin to look forward to it with a sense of anticipation.
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Deep Meditation
Deep Meditation
by Kelly Howell
When you have cancer you have to make some pretty tough decisions and often your clarity is not as good as it can be because of the stress you are going through.
In the late 1980's I was very interested in brain development and enhancement and Kelly Howell produced a fantastic audio program using advanced binaural beat technology for getting the two hemispheres of the brain working together. It was called High Coherence and it remains one of my favourite meditation tools.
You can still get it but it is now known by a different title, Deep Meditation. Bring the full power of your brain to those difficult decisions you have to make.
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Free Meditations
Free Meditations
by Kelley Howell
Kelley is giving away four free meditations so that you can try before you buy.
Allyn's Tip
I use the first free meditation, Relax and Regenerate, before the Healing Meditation. It's a great 8 minute relaxation so that I can get straight into the Healing Meditation and get even more from it.
List of Services
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Truly Heal from CancerList Item 1
Truly Heal from Cancer
by Marcus and Sabrina Freudemann
This is the new name of the remixed documentary "Cancer is Curable Now". You can watch it for free and it is a great introduction and encouragement to everyone. It is a shortened version of the 2 1/2 hour documentary that they spent 3 years making interviewing over 46 doctors, experts and researchers who are using various techniques to beat cancer all the time.
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Crazy Sexy CancerList Item 2
Crazy Sexy Cancer
by Kris Carr
This is a very inspiring film. In 2003 Kris Carr was diagnosed with an untreatable, incurable stage 4 cancer. The film documents her coming to terms with the diagnosis and how she finds a way to not only survive with the cancer but to thrive with the cancer.
Although available on-line if you look for it, why not buy your own copy of this amazing film and show it to all your family and friends.
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Food MattersList Item 3
Food Matters
by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Bosch
Find out just how important food is to your health and wellness. Eating the correct foods can make you healthier. You can watch this brilliant film on-line for a very small amount or own it on DVD to share with your loved ones.
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Hungry for ChangeList Item 4
Hungry for Change
by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Bosch
If the above film is about how good for you a proper diet can be then this film is about just how bad a poor diet can be and the dire consequences which can ensue. A must see for the junk food addicts in your life.
The solution to great health is simple. You are what you eat!
Pdf files of documents which helped us. We are pretty sure that all of these are in the public domain but if you own the copyright to any of this information please contact us and we will make sure you have the recognition you deserve for making such helpful information available.
List of Services
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The Budwig Cancer GuideList Item 3
The Budwig Cancer Guide
by the Budwig Centre
The Budwig protocol is one I found to be very helpful and my body felt as if it was being really nourished. This introduction to the protocol is very comprehensive.
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The Budwig CentreList Item 4
The Budwig Centre
You can find much more information about the Budwig protocol on the Budwig Centre's website.
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The Essiac HandbookList Item 1
The Essiac Handbook
by James Percival
I had known about Essiac Tea for many years before my diagnosis. I checked out the ingredients with a couple of herbalist friends and they assured me that the herbs in Essiac Tea certainly had the potential to strengthen and tone my system while at the same time helping my liver to detoxify my body, I tried some, and really felt that it was doing just that. Read the handbook and decide for yourself if you want to try it.
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Natural Heritage EnterprisesList Item 2
You can get Essiac Tea from various sources on-line. I got mine from Natural Heritage Enterprises as I was impressed by the standards of their organic production.
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High Raw
High Raw
by Kevin Gianni
If your tempted to add more raw food into your diet then this book will show you how increasing you raw food can lead to greater levels of health.
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Kevin Gianni
There are more great ideas about health at Kevin Gianni's website.
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Eliminate Cancer
Eliminate Cancer's Favourite Building Block from Your Diet
by Ty Bollinger
Cancers get their fuel by fermentation. They need sugar to do this. If you cut sugar out of your diet then it starves the cancer cells. This is one of the first things you should be doing if you want swing the balance in your favour.
Ty Bollinger runs the "The Truth About Cancer" website and he has written this guide to sugar and cancer. I have added an other brief article called "Sugar the White Death" by way of an introduction, also by Ty.
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The Truth about Cancer
The Truth about Cancer
There are more great ideas about helping to recover from cancer at Ty's website.
List of Services
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Cancer Active
Cancer Active
"CANCERactive is Britain´s Number 1 Complementary and Integrative cancer charity - some people call us an Holistic or Integrated Cancer Charity (and even cancer active!) We´ve taken the concept of UK cancer charities to a new level: We don´t just cover orthodox medicine but also complementary cancer treatments that may increase your survival and even prevent a cancer returning. We cover new and ´alternative´ cancer treatments and cancer prevention too. Extensively."
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CredenceList Item 1
Credence
"Credence Publications is an independent research organisation dedicated to reporting contentious issues that may harm the public. Our goal is to report properly annotated and verified information that enables you to make wise health decisions.
We also feature our own brand of specially selected health products as well as products by other companies that fit the ethos of healthy living and are of the highest quality."
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Yes to LifeList Item 2
Yes to Life
"YES TO LIFE is a charitable initiative to open up a positive future for people with cancer in the UK by supporting an integrative* approach to cancer care.
Yes to Life Aims To:
Help people with cancer in the UK build their own personalised integrative treatment programme.
Provide a point of contact for support.
Provide information on integrative medicine, practitioners and suppliers.
Raise public awareness of the rapidly developing range of Integrative Medicine treatment options through our education programme and wellbeing workshops.
* An integrative approach is one that allies the best of Complementary & Alternative Medicine with standard care, to widen choice, extend care and improve results."
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Cancer Prevention CoalitionList Item 3
Cancer Prevention Coalition
"The Cancer Prevention Coalition, which opened its national office in Chicago in July 1994, is a unique nationwide coalition of leading independent experts in cancer prevention and public health, together with citizen activists and representatives of organized labor, public interest, environmental, and women's health groups. The Coalition has about 100 local offices in the U.S., as well as international offices.
Our goal is to reduce escalating cancer rates through a comprehensive strategy of outreach, public education, advocacy, and public policy initiatives to establish prevention as the nation's foremost cancer policy."
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Truly HealList Item 4
Truly Heal
"All degenerative diseases are signs or signals of something else that disturbs our internal and external environment. Cancer for example is the survival mechanism of your body trying to survive in a hostile environment. There are many contributing causes that lead to this final breakdown of the immune system and only if you deal with each of the causes one by one do you have a chance to overcome this disease long term."
"At truly heal we have developed a systematic approach to uncover all internal and external causes that can lead to disease followed by a systematic approach to mend each cause in turn."
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Cancer Options
Cancer Options
"Cancer Options is a private, cancer consultancy where you can obtain consultancy, research and coaching for all the different cancer treatments and therapies.
You will find the best of orthodox and complementary approaches evaluated by Britain's leading experts in the integrative field."
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CanSurvive Resource Centre
CanSurvive Resource Centre
"Xandria Williams runs CanSurvive Resource Centre where the motto is "we treat people - not cancer". It is a health care practice based on a CAM (Complementary, Alternative and Metabolic) approach to health. This includes naturopathy, nutrition, herbal medicine and other related modalities. Her psychotherapy approach includes NLP, EFT and other methods of personal growth and development."