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How to help your body help itself
In this exclusive excerpt from his new book, Anticancer: A New Way of Life, French psychiatrist and neuroscientist David Servan-Schreiber describes how he survived cancer with medical treatment and by boosting his immune system’s natural defenses through diet, exercise and a positive outlook on life.
Cancer is a fascinating and perverse phenomenon. It borrows its disturbing intelligence from our vital functions to corrupt them and finally turn them against themselves. Recent studies have revealed how this corruption operates. Whether it’s generating inflammation or fabricating blood vessels, cancer imitates our basic aptitude for regeneration, while aiming for the opposite outcome. It’s the reverse of health, the negative of our vitality.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s invulnerable. In fact, it’s vulnerable in ways our immune system knows naturally how to exploit. At the outposts of our defense system, our immune cells—including our NK cells—represent a powerful chemical armada that constantly nips cancers in the bud.
All the facts bear out this conclusion; Everything that strengthens our precious immune cells impedes the growth of cancers. All in all, by stimulating our immune cells, fighting inflammation (with nutrition, physical exercise and emotional balance) and opposing angiogenesis—the development of new blood vessels—we undercut cancer’s spread. Acting in tandem with strictly conventional medical approaches, we can enhance our body’s resources. The “price” to pay is to lead a more fully conscious, more balanced and—in the end—more beautiful life.
From a scientist and researcher, ignorant of the body’s natural defenses, I became a physician who relies above all on these natural mechanisms. My cancer helped me make that irreversible change.
I’ve been celebrating the anniversary of my cancer diagnosis for 14 years. I think about what happened to me, the pain, the fear, the crisis. I give thanks because I was transformed, because I’m a much happier man since that second birth.
David Servan-Schreiber is a French psychiatrist and neurologist, and a columnist for Ode. This is an edited excerpt from his book, Anticancer: A New Way of Life
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I was thrilled to read about Dr. Servan-Schreiber’s experience using nutrition to heal his body following his cancer treatment. I was captivated by his experience and excited to know another doctor has recognized the immense importance of nutrition combined with positive attitude when it comes to healing the body.
I was diagnosed with Stage II Rectal Cancer in March 2007, and I also treated my body with a nutrition therapy, specifically, with a plant based diet focusing on a high percentage of plant based protein. Only I did the opposite of Dr. Servan-Schreiber and did my nutritional treatment prior to the chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. And what were the results? When the tumor and surrounding tissues were removed and biopsied, not a trace of cancer was found! These results are unprecedented among the physicians I work with at Guthrie Medical/Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, PA (one of the top 100 hospitals in the United States).
Within the first couple months, it became clear to me the cancer diagnosis had been a gift; my only hope was that the gift included longevity. The gift itself showed up was in countless ways: the opportunity for me to give up my need to do everything on my own and more importantly, giving up how I believed the world and life should be; the immeasurable generosity of so many people in our community; the opportunity to experience my treatment and healing while watching my new born baby grow; and the privilege of being married to a woman who shared my commitment to being joyful and playful regardless of our circumstances.
I have blogged my experience from the start at the following URL: www.bertscholl.blogspot.com Naturally, the initial purpose of the blog was to keep family and friends updated regarding my health status, my treatment, and what my experience was like. As time went on, I began to use the blog to publicize the effectiveness of my choice of nutritional treatment. As I received more and more positive responses and encouragement from my readers, I found myself committed to the transformation our cultural conversation about cancer - here in the U.S. - from one of fear and dread, to one that empowers those of us who have cancer, as well as our friends and loved ones. (I should acknowledge that my commitment is not only to those of us in the U.S., it's just that I have no experience with cultural conversations about cancer, outside of the U.S.)
I began my nutritional treatment on May 14, 2007 at the Gerson Clinic in Baja, Mexico then returned home and continued the therapy with the support of my incredible wife, as well as other family and friends. Due to the location of the tumor, I did a modified version of the therapy for a total of ten months, at which point the cancer had grown about a millimeter and painfully into a nearby nerve. As the pain became too much, I switched to the traditional cancer treatment.
For the complete story of my experience, please visit my blog at: www.bertscholl.blogspot.com I invite you to leave comments and/or questions at the end of any of the entries and I assure you I will read them and the questions I will respond to.
posted by RobertScholl on 10/25/2008 10:12 pm