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PATIENTS' |
NATIONAL |
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· By Recovered Patients |
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CANCER |
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· Not Governmental |
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INSTITUTE |
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· Not For Profit |
Volunteer
Support for Cancer Freshmen by Cancer Graduates
SITE
INTRODUCTION - BEGINNING
PART
1 of 4
A SPECIAL WELCOME TO FELLOW
"TERMINAL" PATIENTS.
Some of us were given 6 months to live, or 2 months, or just sent home to die.
As Mark Twain said, the news of our demise was greatly exaggerated. Watch for
the end of STEP 1 in the Treatment Section / Patients Protocol, (RE-)
SELECTING A WINNING TEAM where we share some of our "terminal"
experiences changing doctors, etc.
We all remember the feeling of panic when
we first heard the diagnosis of cancer. Some of us received a second blow when
we were told (incorrectly) how few months we had left to live. But gradually we
learned that most people die with cancer, not from cancer and
that common cancer cells are weaklings that may take 5 - 20 years just to grow large
enough to be visible. And most surprising, that the body is exquisitely
designed to destroy a normal amount of cancer cells all the time, as a natural
condition. That's why most people don't have tumors. Eventually we learned
about less-invasive international cancer treatments commonly lumped under
"alternative therapy" in America.
Government experts now recognize that
invasive conventional therapy can make things worse for certain patients, when
they can't tolerate the treatments or when the cancer is not really
life-threatening. For these patients they now recommend "watchful
waiting," meaning NO treatment.
This expert advice to consider
"watchful waiting" is actually a veiled warning for cancer patients
about a controversial policy unique to America. This policy allows doctors to
give invasive cancer treatments even when there is not a likelihood of benefit,
and even when they may do more harm than good. One justification given for this
policy is to keep patients from getting competitive treatment "from the
hands of quacks and charlatans." This cruel, secret policy will be
discussed later.
Thousands of us found success in the
middle ground between no treatment, and rushing into unnecessarily invasive
treatment. This middle ground is summarized later in THE PATIENTS' PROTOCOL
- How we won our war on cancer. These steps can also help to prevent cancer
or to keep it from coming back.
The PATIENT'S PROTOCOL is basically a list
of the conventional and alternative treatments that have made tens-of-thousands
of us well over the past 20 years.
How can we have a list of successful
cancer treatments when the American cancer industry says they need much more
money for many more years to find a cure for cancer? We believe they are using
the bulk of our money to research and develop future products to patent and
sell to future cancer patients. Since our own lives depended upon it, we have
ignored commercial viability and concentrated on existing treatments for
existing patients. A terminal diagnosis can really focus one's attention.
While successful, some of these existing
treatments are demanding and inconvenient. We hope that someday they can be
made easier. So we do not begrudge the government and the rest of the cancer
establishment the funds they need. Also we know that our healthcare system is
now based on profit, so we understand why they want to concentrate on those
treatments that can be patented in order to bring the greatest profits.
Meanwhile, we hope they will stop interfering with the idea of today's patients
saving themselves with today's treatments.
With your help we plan to become a
clearinghouse of non-commercial information for patients. To begin we will
identify which conventional treatments and alternative treatments from around
the world actually worked for us, and which did not.
Meanwhile we encourage you to learn as
much as possible about your cancer. Be warned. It's hard to uncover the truth.
The most prestigious and authoritative sources can give you one-sided or just
plain ignorant information. One reason is that their viewpoint may be too
provincial and restricted, ignoring international developments. Someone said
NIH stands for Not Invented Here, instead of National Institute of Health.
Another problem is the fact that research
results can be made to come out however the researcher wants, so you can't rely
on any single source. Science Newsletter reported that over 30% of the authors
of scientific papers had a secret financial interest in the results they
reported. We must rely on the integrity of the researchers, which in the other
70% is usually very high.
Politics and profits are most likely to
override good science when there is something to sell. Another clue to
identifying questionable research it
is often reported in the popular advertising media, such as TV health
"news" or magazines, instead of dry research journals where they are
held to a higher standard by knowledgeable peers.
The PATIENTS' NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
will strive to be as accurate as possible in this difficult climate. A key
purpose of this site is to penetrate the powerful politics of cancer, to try to
get you the best information available.
· Information on conventional therapy will usually come
from the American government's National Cancer Institute (Occasionally doctors
find them very wrong) plus medical doctors who are experienced in using
conventional therapy to successfully treat cancer.
· Information on alternative therapy will usually come
from established international cancer hospitals plus American and international
medical doctors who are experienced in using alternative therapy to
successfully treat cancer that we used to get well.
· Commentary will be by recovered cancer patients and
their spouses who have first-hand knowledge of the topic, unless otherwise noted.
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The question often comes up, Who
should I believe? One answer that seems to work pretty
well is this. Only believe sources
who have FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE of which they speak. Doctors who are already successful at
curing patients that way, patients who have already recovered that way, etc. Steel yourself against believing any
authority, competing doctors, websites and con-men, authors and book-sellers,
even well-meaning friends who do not have that FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE of what they
advocate or condemn. Competing
doctors are a real problem because they know how to make their living by
convincing patients (or as critics say, by scaring them) to buy their
services. (Studies show that doctors
almost always recommend their own specialty.) Websites, con-men and authors may be even more dangerous
because they are even more expert at making you believe. One friend died because her husband was so
convinced by a TV con-man that his book and products would cure her
cancer. The con-man lied about having
that first-hand knowledge, so you may have to insist upon talking with cured
patients. (See our section on CANCER
GRADUATES for names and cases.) Handling family and friends can be very
difficult. In one case, her family
flew in specifically to stop her from using the very methods now described on
our website. Fortunately she was able
to resist them because her widely metastasized cancer lumps were already
going away. |
Eventually we will share Frequently Asked
Questions and answers with you, but that will come later, as volunteer
resources and donations permit.
Meanwhile we will share the experience of
the tens-of-thousands of American cancer patients who chose to combine the best
of conventional therapy with the best of alternative therapy too often forced
to go abroad for freedom of treatment.
And right now, we want to help you
to get well and stay well, whatever therapy you chose.
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It may be too early for cancer freshmen
to appreciate what has happened to many of us cancer graduates. We became
grateful to this cancer adventure for leading us ( actually, pushing us ) through a doorway to a better
lifestyle, much happier for us and our loved ones. |
Please
Click "Next Page" below to continue the introduction with Part 2, our
recovered patients' view of cancer and the immune system.
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Patients' National Cancer Institute |
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(Last page update August 14, 2009
- www.PatientsNCI.org)