[seekay]

Thanks, Sandy. I skimmed through half the article or so (have to read fast when two year old is present!).

Some observations:

Gerson diet is mostly a live, raw vegetarian diet. The article is incorrect when it says that Gerson recommends cooking most vegetables, because, in fact, 17 lbs. of the vegetables one consumes every day are in the form of the juices (13 8 oz. glasses a day). Only a small percentage of the daily diet is cooked, and that part he recommends cooking very WELL. Make the broccoli and cauliflower very soft, because, he reasons, you’ve already killed the enzymes and changed the colloidal content of the vegetable by applying heat to it, so make it as easy for the body to digest as possible. Only lightly steaming veggies is neither here nor there for the body–it’s actually the worst of both worlds he thinks.

In the cooking utensils section, I would add not to cook in aluminum. Only glass or stainless steel is best.

Gerson Institute folk are skeptical that RO takes out the fluorine ion, because it is so small and can pass the through the membrane. If one has fluoridated tap water (as we in LA do), Charlotte advises bathing in distilled water via sponge baths, because one will absorb fluoride, chlorine, and other contaminants through the skin.

SODIUM–much worse than sugar because it also inhibits enzymatic action in the body. People who have had tumors die while on the diet have had them grow back because of increased sodium content in the diet. [I never understood why Bernard Jensen is such an advocate of sodium, but have not read any of his stuff in depth.]

The body can get all the sodium it needs from food. What it doesn’t need, it will excrete, through urine, perspiration, saliva. So if your sweat tastes salty, you are consuming too much sodium.

Potassium, on the other hand, the body does not “hold onto” like sodium. The chronically ill body often has a potassium-sodium balance that is badly out of whack. The cells need the potassium, but have difficulty holding onto it, so Gerson diet, like others, recommends potassium supplementation. It is not potassium chloride, but a different tri-combo that patients take. I don’t know the fine details on this issue, only the general explanation, but this is an important point for cancer patients to research and learn.

SWEETENERS–a great sweetener not mentioned here is unsulphured blackstrap molasses. Molasses is the byproduct of making sugar and is high in iron, calcium and potassium. We add it to our oatmeal in the morning. Organic rolled oats with reconstituted unsulphured dried fruit that has been stewed is the Gerson diet breakfast for two years. That, along with perhaps a small glass of organic grapefruit or orange juice and peppermint or chamomile tea. Everything has a reason on the diet. The reason for the rolled oats is that besides being high in nutrients, they create a wonderful lining of the intestinal tract to allow the juices to pass through and be easily abosrbed in the intestines.

BERRIES–Often people with cancer have very weakened digestive systems and have difficulty with things like berries, cucumbers. They are “verboten” on the diet initially.

BLOOD WORK–This is a must. All Gerson patients have a panoply of labwork done on a regular basis to monitor their blood chemistry in relation to the diet. Dr. Max Gerson worked with a doctor in Germany who was an expert in this field and learned a lot from him, and he always included this kind of analysis in his treatment of patients. It is done at the Baja Nutricare Clinic in Mexico and also afterwards–patients who leave are asked to get their lab work done regularly and to fax it to the doctors at BNC for finetuning of the therapy–a process that can go on for two years.

[seekay]

I would highly recommend the Omega 8003 Juicer. It is a slow speed triturator with a large plastic auger–the same kind of juicing action as the Champion.

It weighs only 15 lbs. I recall–sturdy construction and much less heavy than the Champion, and is easier, much easier, to clean. Also, the pulp comes out noticeably drier than in the Champion, from my test.

I think it’s a well-kept secret. Better than the Green Power too. Less moving parts. It works really well. I got ours at http://www.livingright.com (I think it was? in AZ. Google “Open Chute” and “Omega” and that should bring you to the company’s website). It was $205 shipped and worth every penny.

As far as juicing recipes, I like plain carrots and apple. Four organic carrots and one organic apple (though they are hard to find in the summer). Right now, we just do an organic carrot juice every morning. Carrots are fantastic alkalinizing veggies and detoxifiers for the body. Also chock full of a large complement of vitamins, minerals/phytochemicals, enzymes, and even protein.

Look on Gerson.org and click on the Hawaii retreat for the two juicing recipes they use in the therapy. One is the carrot-apple juice, and the other is a dark leafy green-apple juice. The malic acid in the apple, when juiced with the other veggies, allows more phytochemicals from the vegetable to be released.

The mother of all juicers is the Norwalk. But it is heavy and expensive. The juice from that, though, is powerful. One can use the Champion, Omega, or any other slow speed trituterator with a manual hydraulic press to squeeze the pulp for more juice for similar effect. One has to be very careful with this juice, though, it is like medicine for the body, and will break down toxins in the blood stream which can cause headaches, etc. if they aren’t able to exit via excretion easily and rather quickly. I got a taste of the Norwalk-made carrot-apple juice when I went to the Gerson Caregivers Workshop recently. Foolishly, I had three 8 oz. glasses over the course of one day, and got a headache and nausea that prevented me from eating any dinner. Only after I made three trips to the bathroom, then finally “eliminated” an unusually dark colored substance did I feel any relief (at 7 pm on a Sat, most unusual). Next day, I felt really clear and energized.

Juicing is great because it allows one to absorb large quantities of raw, live nutrients in the most easily digestible manner–without having to chew all that stuff. This is why juicing is a critical component of many alternative therapies, including Gerson, because cancer patients already have compromised and weakened digestive systems and need nutrition in a way that does not put further stress on the body, and allows the body to focus its resources on fighting the cancer.

On the Gerson diet, one “eats” the nutritional equivalent of 20 lbs of produce a day, 17 of that in raw form (from the juices and a small portion from salad with meals) and 3 in cooked, soft form (e.g., well-cooked broccoli, cauliflower, baked potatoes, Hippocrates soup, etc.) This is what is meant by clinical doses of nutrition. What our bodies could do if we gave them the right kinds of foods, kept them away from the wrong kinds, and gave them such huge quantities of it. It’s beautiful to see.

[seekay]

I think part of the answer to the health care crisis lies in restricting the amount of profit that doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical technology can make off their service/products. I see a lot of talk here about the “cost” of health care. It isn’t really the true “cost.” it’s the “price” we as consumers are forced to pay, often highly inflated because of the great demand for something (e.g., a drug) and the inability to find enough supply of it.

It borders on criminal to my mind that drug companies can command such high prices for certain drugs–the effect of this extortion is to drive up insurance rates, etc.

If “price-based medicine” became truly “cost-based medicine” then the ballooning spending on health care as a whole would drop significantly. I’m not getting into the whole issue of fee for service versus universal health care. I’m just sharing thoughts on what are the proper, ethical implications of providing a service or product relating to someone’s health: buying drugs should not be like buying an expensive pair of shoes or diamond ring.

[seekay]

Dear Lucy,

Fever means your mom’s immune system is trying to mount a fight to help heal her body (probably also in response to the Mylotarg, which I understand is a form of chemo). It is a good sign. Have you considered helping her immune system to become strong again through nutritional therapy and detoxification? I just came from a three day caregiver’s seminar at the Gerson Institute in San Diego where among other things, I ate and drank a modified Gerson diet.

Over the course of the day, Saturday, June 17th, I (somewhat stupidly) had three 8 oz. glasses of organic carrot-apple juice. I started getting a headache in the p.m. (which was the result of stored toxins being broken down and released into my bloodstream, I believe), and couldn’t eat dinner/had to go to the bathroom to try to “eliminate” three times. Finally, around 7 pm, I was able to fully do so. Next day, my head felt really clear and I had lots of energy.

The carrot-apple juice, I later realized, is a powerful natural “medicine” for the body, full of phytochemicals that act as a powerful detoxifier. Drinking 3 8 oz. glasses is the nutritional equivalent of eating 12 large carrots and 3 large apples. That is the beauty of juicing, because you get large amounts of nutrition in an easily assimilable form for the body. Little bodily energy is expended in digesting a juice, which is great for people who have chronic conditions such that their digestive system is impaired, among other things.

If you and your mom can handle the idea of having a coffee enema once or twice a day (no more than that for a chemo-treated patient who has to detox slowly) and 3-4 glasses of freshly made carrot-apple juices along with organically prepared meals (probably for her the equivalent of 7 lbs. of fruits and veggies each day, mostly raw in the form of juices), you might consider going to the Baja Nutricare Clinic with her for two weeks. That is the fully-licensed Gerson Therapy clinic in Mexico.

At the seminar, I met a lady who was diagnosed with liver cancer in mid-April. She had just come from the Baja Nutricare Clinic and was glowing (after four weeks there with her sister who is her caretaker). Four weeks prior, though, she was very sick and very weak, when she checked into the clinic.

There are MDs there, well-trained, who run blood, urine, and other tests to regularly monitor how the therapy is affecting the body, making adjustments here and there.

CK

[seekay]

Hi Patti,

Where did you get those Chinese doctors names from? I am looking for someone good in New York City too.

–CK

[seekay]

Dear Mike

You might also want to get in touch with Dr. Leo Galland in New York City. Look him up on the web to get some idea of where he’s coming from. He’s a conventional Western trained physician (NYU Med School) who also has mastered a lot of information about nutrition and an alternative approach to treating chronic disease that looks to making the body strong again by removing toxins and giving the right kind of nutrition.

–CK

[seekay]

There are six case studies listed on Pharmion’s website for this product: http://www.vidaza.com. Click on the health professionals link to read them.

ck

[seekay]

This website may be of interest to you. I copied and pasted an excerpt below.

http://www.canceraction.org.gg/index2.htm

Beating the Odds

Home
BEATING THE ODDS
CANCER: A PATIENT’S GUIDE

Knowledge is power. If you want to fight cancer and win, or, at the least, gain more time, however grievous your condition, the best thing you can do is learn how to help yourself, in co-operation with your physician. The strategies outlined here are complementary to mainstream cancer treatment, but essential if you wish to change your long term prognosis. It is not sufficient treatment just to kill cancer cells. To help prevent recurrence and slow cancer progress, it is necessary to radically change the underlying conditions which may have enabled the cancer to flourish initially. Do not be pessimistic if you are told you carry the genes for your particular cancer; “Everything is 100% genetic and 100% environmental.” Cancer genes can be switched off in the right biochemical environment. (However, please note that very few U.K. physicians know very much about the strong scientific evidence for nutritional therapies in cancer and, in their ignorance, are likely to prove discouraging. The medical community are beginning to concede that nutrition can be cancer preventive. Indeed, the World Cancer Research Fund recently issued some consensus guidelines on this front. But the logical and increasingly well-documented conclusion that nutrition might also be therapeutic has not yet dawned on the average U.K. oncologist and doctor. You may even encounter hostility). If it is at all feasible, for the first few months after your diagnosis, drop everything and concentrate on yourself, and your health. This will give your body a chance to rebuild the necessary resources that will improve your chances of a good recovery.

If you have been told that nothing more can be done for you, that your treatment is just “palliative”, or have been given a very short time to live, please refer to In Extremis.

[seekay]

Yes, I believe it is, but the source must be pure. The Gerson therapy calls for liver to be administered in some form. It used to be injected, but that practice was discontinued in the mid 80s because despite extreme caution, they could not reliably find pure, uncontaminated liver.

These days, I believe they use some sort of liver product (dried perhaps?) that is drinkable. I don’t know the details.

You can read the rationale for this in Max Gerson’s book A Cancer Therapy.

Also, btw, the Gerson Institute is hosting a two and a half day Gerson Therapy Caregiver Training June 16,17, 18 in San Diego. Staff there, including Charlotte, will teach people the therapy. It is described as “[a] 2 1/2 day workshop dedicated to providing a thorough understanding of the application of this natural, effective treatment to individuals wishing to be a companion to a Gerson patient. It includes:

Hands-on juicing experience
Food preparation b a Gerson expert
How to administer a coffee enema
Safe injection techniques
Suggestions and practical guidance from staff and recovered patients.”

Cost is $500 to the General Public, $400 for Members, Seniors, and Students with ID. Registration includes: A Cancer Therapy, Gerson Therapy Handbook, The Gerson Therapy and Dr Max Biography–all provided free of charge with registration.

Call 619-685-5353 for more info.

I’m planning on going (they do this training once or twice a year, it seems).

Seekay

[seekay]

Liver function is highly interrelated with MDS and to many other chronic diseases (including all other cancers).

The liver is the single most important organ for getting rid of waste/toxins. The other three avenues for detoxifying are the kidneys (urine), skin (perspiration), and lungs (mucous secretions). From what I have read, when the liver is compromised in some way, this can lead to toxic build-up in the body that changes the biochemistry of the body such that immune sytem does not function optimally and cancer cells/mutant DNA begin to proliferate.

Symptoms of recurring respiratory secretions or night sweats are possible indication that the liver is obstructed, and that the body is turning to these secondary means for getting rid of waste.

Thus, I believe that helping the liver–

by decreasing toxic load;

by increasing in large/clinical amounts the phytochemicals the body/liver needs to break down and dispose of waste; and

by aiding the detoxification process (through herbs such as Essiac/burdock root/dandelion, coffee enemas, ingestion of highest quality liver products to create a para-enteral environment that can take some of the load off the liver by breaking down toxins in the blood stream)

–goes a long way toward overcoming MDS.

This is not the perspective upon which conventional chemotherapy/radiation/drug treatment operates. Conventional treatment aims to eradicate the mature cancer cells, without much concern for the effect these toxic methods have on the liver and other organs/tissues in the body.

The whole-body approach treatment (for lack of a better term) aims to change the conditions in the body that gave rise to the disease in the first place through long term “treatment” that includes as primary components: 1) detoxification and 2) correct nutrition and supplements based on the individual’s needs. This approach sees all “symptoms” as part of one whole. Thus, the liver, secondary conditions, recurring night sweats, etc. are all related to the MDS, and vice-versa.

Sincerely,

seekay

[seekay]

Fran,

Check out Patrick Quillin’s supplement for people on chemo. It contains nearly every known naturally occurring substance (including vitamins, phytochemicals), and is formulated in a two week supply for people undergoing chemo. It will help the chemo or conventional drug therapies by protecting normal cells and thus directing the drug’s effects on the mutant cells.

He has a Ph.D in nutrition, I believe, and wrote a good book, Beating Cancer Naturally.

Best,

seekay

[seekay]

Hi Sugarwhale,
Glad to hear your mom is doing so well. If she won’t eat, will she drink freshly-prepared juices? If you think she might, you might try getting a good juicer like the Omega 8003 (has a large round plastic auger, kind of like a Champion juicer except a fraction of the weight, very quiet, and much easier to clean, I have one I use every day). We juice two organic carrots and one organic apple in the morning, and sometimes I make a green juice with various kinds of organic lettuce (Romain, endive, mixed organic baby green salad) and one tart organic apple. Sometimes I add a squeeze of lemon to either juice. Very painless to “eat” because you just swallow it, and you get a lot of poten phytochemicals that are fantastic for health. I bought the juicer for $205 shipped from a company called Open Chute, Inc. I think the website is http://www.livingright.com.

You can also juice wheatgrass and make pasta with this juicer (although refined flour is another thing to avoid).

I would try to get her to avoid sugar as much as possible because cancer cells love glucose. Ice cream is no good.

–seekay

[seekay]

Dear Marilyn,

The skin is one of the body’s main avenues for detoxifying. The others are: the kidneys, the liver, and the lungs). My guess is that her body is trying to get rid of toxins through the skin. To truly alleviate the symptom, one would need to really help her body detoxify more fully, by–for example–starting to take Essiac capsules and eating a detoxifying diet (staying away from all processed foods, eating only organic vegetables and fruit, trying to juice daily–drinking lots of green juices). Medication can also act as a toxin in the system; perhaps the medication is helping to create the effect.

Rather than trying to shut off the sweating which is her body’s way of trying to detoxify, I would do what you can to help her be more comfortable when she sweats and also to provide her with pure clean water to sponge off her body after wards. By pure water, I mean water not contaminated with chlorine, fluoride, etc. Use warm distilled water and a clean, well-rinsed off washcloth to wipe down her body during and after the sweating episodes. Also frequently change her sheets and clothes if necessary. Make sure she is drinking non-chlorinated, non-fluoridated water. Distilled is okay. Freshly made carrot-apple and dark leafy-green apple juice is also good.

Hope this is helpful.

CK

[seekay]

Hi LuAnn,

I agree with what Patti says. There are trained Chinese doctors who do both acupuncture and treat with Chinese herbs. You want to find someone who is trained in both, ideally. There is an excellent doctor here in Los Angeles, Dr. Baolin Wu. He has a degree in Chinese medicine from a university in Beijing (can’t recall the name offhand), a Ph.D in neurophysiology from Kyoto University in Japan, and also is a Taoist master who uses QiGong therapy in his practice. I had back pain and numbness last year from a bad car accident, and he made me feel much better after just one visit, and pretty much “cured” my pain and numbness after two months of visits, three times a week. I received acupuncture (probably in conjunction with QiGong therapy, although he didn’t tell me that) and Chinese herbs. He is an expert in his field, I believe.

After taking his QiGong class, I understand that Chinese medicine is based on 5,000 years of observation of nature and direct application. Very different from Western medicine.

Also, I would suggest checking out the Gerson therapy and orthomolecular medicine/orthomolecular oncology which you can read about elsewhere on this forum.

Good luck to you,

CK

[seekay]

Dear LuAnn,

There is an excellent physician in NYC named Leo Galland, MD. He practices holistic medicine, although he is a licensed MD (Harvard U, NYU Med). He may know of a respected Traditional Chinese Physician. Also, you may want to speak with him anyway, to see if he can help you. He treats adults who suffer chronic illness, such as cancer, that are not easily treatable through conventional means.

Sincerely,

CK

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