Update (2018): This was written in the early 2000s. Although these guidelines are still true, more specific and effective holistic techniques have become available. I will add them when I have an opportunity to revise the article. 

I know that clammy feeling of discovering you have cancer — that something is chewing away at you every second. It always surprises me to see that so many people still assume the best or only options for cancer are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (otherwise known as slash, burn, and poison). I refuse to believe that God put us here to live in fear of dread diseases and to ransom our health back from the medical profession for tens of thousands of dollars. It’s time to get the word out: cancer, like any disease, is not a random misfortune. There are reasons for these things. When you understand the reasons, you can get rid of them. The main points are simple, and I can summarize them here.

1. Cancer is a toxicity issue. Therefore, you must stop taking in more toxicity. If you’re in any doubt as to what this means, see Michio Kushi’s book The Cancer Prevention Diet. It means a strict vegetarian diet: organic produce and grain, no animal products, no dairy, no refined, chemicalized, or processed foods, no oil, and no sweets, caffeine, alcohol, or spices. The best way to do this that I know of is macrobiotics, because it’s based on the principles of Chinese medicine and the idea of using the energy in food to promote health and help you heal. Avoiding electricity in cooking (microwaves, electric ranges) and chewing well are also helpful.

2. Besides not taking in more toxicity, you have to make sure your body is able to eliminate the toxicity that’s already there. This is not as simple as having a daily bowel movement, although some people don’t manage even that. It means making sure the organs are working together optimally and particularly that the liver, which eliminates toxins, and the gallbladder are functioning properly. Virtually everyone has some kind of energy blockage that needs to be fixed. The best way I know of to do this is Touch For Health, which uses applied kinesiology, also known as muscle testing, to ascertain which systems aren’t working well and balance them.

3. In addition to toxicity, any nutritional deficiencies must be addressed. Virtually everyone has nutritional deficiencies now, because of the poor quality of the soil in which conventional produce is grown and because most people don’t eat enough produce anyway. But even organic produce doesn’t have everything we need. Herbs are a good way to remedy these deficiencies. Herbs are foods, so the body assimilates them better than chemically synthesized vitamin or mineral pills. Herbs also have trace elements that promote their action, which synthetic products don’t. However, herbal manufacturers are not all the same — some make much higher quality products than others. Low-quality herbs are a waste of time and money and can even be counterproductive. Muscle testing by a competent practitioner is a good way to find what you need, how much, how often, and for how long.

4. For a certain period, while the body is coming back into balance, you may need something to kill the cancer. On the web site, I list a couple of preparations I’ve found effective. One of them is called Cansema Tonic I, made by Alpha Omega Labs (www.altcancer.com). It contains chaparral, a traditional cancer remedy, along with other herbs. The only drawback is that it tastes awful and is hard on the stomach. But considering the alternative, it’s not so bad. Alpha Omega also makes other remedies that may work for some people. However, the idea is not to have to take something indefinitely — just long enough to give your own defenses a chance to kick in. Other herbal products are also available and have been effective in some cases. Whether they work depends on what you need, and it’s an individual matter; one size doesn’t fit all. Again, muscle testing by a competent practitioner can tell if you need these things (although you may have to buy a bottle first and take it with you for testing. But if it’s unopened and you don’t need it, the company will usually take it back.)

5. A thorough blood test and urine toxic metals test are important. The blood test will show, for example, if you're low in vitamin D, which many adults are, especially in northern climates, since we get this from sunlight. It's important for immunity. The toxic metals test (available from directlabs.com if your doctor doesn't do alternative) will show your toxic metals load, which can interfere with immunity and healing. You can eliminate heavy metals via chelation, either oral, with suppositories, or intravenous (which usually involves weekly visits to a doctor and can be expensive).

   Mercury dental fillings can seriously degrade immunity and healing and cause numerous problems. Detoxification alone won't help — they must be removed by a holistic dentist who has the proper equipment for it.
   

6. Minimize exposure to electromagnetic radiation (see the Radiation page).

How long does it take to get well? It depends on how toxic you are, how far out of balance your organs are, what energy blockages you have, and how well you adhere to these guidelines. You may not feel better — you may feel worse, because the toxicity is beginning to discharge—but you should notice something. As time goes by, there’ll be periods when you feel lousy, but overall, the trend should be up. Depending on the seriousness of your condition, in three to six months the cancer should be pretty much gone. The subject of discharges is worth reading up on, and again Michio Kushi, one of the foremost teachers of macrobiotics in our time, is a good source — he covers it in The Book of Macrobiotics.

Don’t assume you have to go the slash-burn-poison-nausea- baldness route. Can you spare a few days first to try a better way? Remember that disease is a message about imbalance in the body resulting from improper diet, toxins in the environment, and energy blockage. As Michio Kushi put it in the title of an article, “Civilization is the disease; cancer is the cure.”