How To Beat Cancer

Cancer is like any other disease in that it is something that goes wrong inside the body. However, unlike most diseases it can get out of hand and, unfortunately, can lead to the death of the body. If you are looking for special herbal cures or secret techniques to rid the body of the disease, this is not where to find them. Don't get me wrong -- I do believe in miracles -- but my experience has taught me that even when cancer goes away and someone is cured, eventually something causes the heart to stop beating and the spirit or soul or essence of what makes you the person you are can no longer be supported by this incredible, miraculous machine we call the human body. In short, everyone eventually dies of something.

If you are looking for special herbal cures or secret techniques to rid the body of the disease, this is not where to find them.

So how do we beat cancer? To best give you my answer to this question, I would like to share with you a personal story.

My mother's older sister was a vibrant, smiling, colorful person. She was the kind of person that you could never ignore. She had a way of walking in the door and making the whole room smile. She was gorgeous and full of energy. But yes, she was diagnosed with cancer when she was around 50 years old. Her cancer had spread all over and could not be cured. My version of the story -- they way I like to tell it -- is that the doctors started explaining the chemotherapy and the radiation and the surgery (and oh, by they way -- you have to quit smoking) and when the question came, "will I be cured?" the doctors said, "well, no."

...when the question came, "will I be cured?" the doctors said, "well, no."

This is the point where she decided to beat cancer. She was not going to let the cancer tell her that she was going to die sick and miserable in some hospital bed away from her family. She lived her life the way she wanted. She moved back home with my grandmother and found remedies that worked for her to make her feel her best. Yes, she did receive some chemo or radiation treatments from what I recall (I was a medical student at the time), but she still lived life on her terms. I am convinced to this day that she lived longer and better than she would have had she followed the exact plan the cancer was dictating by algorithm. Because of this, she won her battle with cancer.

I'm not saying that what I do as an oncologist is useless. I am a human distributor of information. I learn things from various sources then process my patient's hopes, fears, desires, personality and their cancer's biological characteristics and help that patient pick a treatment plan that is right for them. True, many of these plans are dictated by science-based algorithms (such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network -- or NCCN -- guidelines), but if a particular cancer cannot be eradicated for the rest of a person's natural life, there are certain allowances that can be made. For example, if a patient has a less aggressive (albeit incurable) cancer biology, they might pause treatments from Thanksgiving through Christmas so they can have more energy, more appetite, and less side effects while spending time with family.

I am a human distributor of information. I learn things from various sources then process my patient's hopes, fears, desires, personality and their cancer's biological characteristics and help that patient pick a treatment plan that is right for them.

Likewise, it is possible for people to push through treatments and become more and more miserable, reaching again and again for things to prolong life. I will admit that some people need to do this because it is and always has been in their nature to drive themselves harder and harder and to do anything less would be out of character for them. However, it is also possible that stopping therapy can allow the body to recover from the treatments and actually allow someone to get up and start living again. That I most certainly have witnessed. Though it is true that the body does succumb to cancer's full invasion -- the mind and spirit never stopped living.

Losing the battle with cancer should not be about death and dying -- that is not a fair fight since everything that is living is destined to die. I believe you lose the battle when you spiral into despair and forget who you are. You let the cancer tell you that you can never again enjoy things you love. I, personally, would take a taxane as a last resort or on a limited basis. Why? Because taxanes often cause numbness and tingling of the fingertips and I play the clarinet. Playing the clarinet is part of who I am and I like to think I would refuse to let that go if faced with this decision. I'm not saying this is right for everyone, but only you can say what is right for you.

Losing the battle with cancer should not be about death and dying -- that is not a fair fight since everything that is living is destined to die.

Perhaps many will disagree or call me overly pragmatic, but let me leave you with another thought. When the body dies, the cancer dies -- all of it. It is part of the body. It does not hop out of one body and invade another or live on in any other form. If after the fight with cancer your body and the cancer both die, but your spirit lived to its fullest, you won.

Thanks for reading.

Dr. G