Treating Cancer with Herbs

Book excerpt: Cancer is the scourge of our age. More than any other disease, cancer has captured our fears and projected despair throughout society. Our bodies have become the experimental "real life" testing grounds for countless chemical toxins, pollutants, refined foods and stresses. These toxins are clearly exerting their effect in the rise of numerous forms of cancer striking every part of our bodies. The medical profession is attempting to attack these cancers with every available form of chemical, radiation, and invasive surgery. While modern medicine has long recognized the healing potential of herbs (some of the most commonly used cancer medicines were originally developed from herbs), we have been indoctrinated to believe that surgery, radiation and chemical therapies are the only successful procedures, even though they tend to fail much of the time and may actually destroy the quality of life to such a degree that many believe the "cure" is wors than the disease. There is another approach to the treatment of cancer. Finding cancer's root causes and applying a holistic understanding of lifestyle, diet, stress-reduction and appropriate nutritional and herbal support can strengthen the body and its immune system, restore the spirit and balance the psyche of the cancer patient. With this integrative approach, a healthy mental and emotional balance joins a healthy approach to life to truly treat cancer. Not every cancer patient is "cured," but every patient is brought to a state of understanding which in many cases leads to what appear to be miraculous remissions. In other cases, it allows the individual to experience a quality of life and passing uncommon in our society: the ability to face life and death with dignity and a sense of completion. Book jacket.