January 27, 2004
Hodgkin's DiseaseGREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS from Arnold's Way!
It was, was it was
It is what it is
And what we know –we don’t know
And what we think we don’t know-we know
So it is –that it began
And as it began-it ended
The dreaded words Hodgkin’s Disease
Slowly faded away
It is a snowy Monday morning with air brisk, the sun shining. I’m inside wracking my brains, trying to figure out my next sentence. It is on that note that I begin.
Why Hodgkin’s? I could have written about anything. Anything so less in value, so less complicated, so less rare. Hodgkin’s disease, as quoted by the Merck Manual is “a chronic disease with lymphoreticular proliferation of unknown cancer, that may present in localized or disseminated form. Its extent should be evaluated and staged since effective treatment is based upon such staging.”
The words so neatly stated, all written of the latest in updated technology. It is with these words that I think of Tom. Tom was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease and opted for the standard treatment of chemotherapy. I think of Ellen, who was diagnosed with large cell lymphoma. I think of Linus Pauling who said, “Everyone should know that the war on cancer is largely a fraud.” I think of Albert E. Carter in The Cancer Answer, “Cancer is not a disease, it is a naturally occurring condition.”
These statements became the guideline for this week’s newsletter. Their statements- this disparity between truth and lie- became the reason why Tom, age 30, who by appearances could be right out of a mid-America storybook, believed in the standard medical practice. Tom and Ellen were both diagnosed with forms of lymphoma, which according to the Merck Manual “was of unknown cause”. Each chose a path. Each was healed. Each has chosen a path as to how they eat, how they live.
Tom is the all-American guy, having the perfect job, the perfect life. All was not as it appeared. Tom wanted to do the right thing. He cared for his health. He went for annual medical check-up. In August 1999 he was given a clean bill of health. If he only knew that everything that he thought he knew and believed would come crashing down. Within a month Tom was having trouble sleeping and was having chest pains so bad that he checked in at the emergency room. Tom was given all types of tests – the full gamut of the latest technological tests from barium to cat-scan to MRI to injected radio-active isotopes. After two weeks of testing there was no answer. It took a biopsy to determine that Tom was suffering from Hodgkin’s disease.
Ellen was given the same diagnosis 5 years earlier. She to had to deal with the same symptoms and almost the same treatment. Ellen’s treatment was radiation. The cancer had spread to her bones, she was barely able to walk. Two months after her diagnosis and one week after her radiation treatment, Ellen met T.C.Fry, whose statement of truth forever became embedded in her memory. As quoted, “ You cannot poison your body into health.”
These were the words she heard and it became her truth. These were the words that Tom didn’t get to hear but was to discover years hence. After going through treatment they would become his truth.
Ellen stopped her treatment, against her doctor’s orders. Instead, she chose to change her lifestyle and stayed at a Health and Education Clinic run by Anna Innez for three weeks. This clinic specializes in organic fruits and vegetables and distilled water.
Tom had the treatments of his choice. He heard about radiation and chemotherapy as the standard medical treatment. What he knew and didn’t know, and what it appeared to be and what it actually was, Tom knew but did not want to admit. Tom chose his path and a second opinion. Tom went to Dana Farber in the Boston area, a major cancer treatment institution, known worldwide not only for its success, but for its usage of the most up to date therapies.
So we look at both strategies. We look at Tom. We look at Ellen. Ellen went for three weeks to Anna, who has no research, no fancy building, no certificate or doctorate, no tests. Just organic fruits and vegetables and a place for the body to cleanse, to detoxify and to rebuild itself.
I read Ellen’s letter Sickness to Complete Health in 3 Weeks. I read her testimonial – 17 months with a clean bill of health. I quote Ellen,” I hope I can direct even one person in the direction of Natural Hygiene. It works miracles. But the actual miracle is the human body. Feed it right and will give you many years of disease free living.”
Tom never heard those words. Instead he listened to the world renowned Dana Farber specialists. They had years of experience – years of trial and error – years of research. What they knew was chemotherapy. Tom was told that his best and only option was 6 months of weekly chemotherapy. Tom was told he was in stage 4, the worst stage in which the disease is present in a major organ or bone.
At this point, Tom had begun his own research. Although his cancer had initially gotten worse, after 3 months Tom was declared cancer free. The other side of being cancer free was the side affects of a weakened immune system. Rather than being treated with chemotherapy, Tom was being treated with antibiotics and another stay at the hospital.
Although declared cancer free, Tom was not hospital control free. Dana Farber’s oncology specialists recommended a scan every 6 months to see if the cancer returned.
Tom did listen. He did the scans, but with a slight alteration. Tom, like Ellen, began to have serious doubts about his treatment and his scans. Tom began learning learning about Essiac, about nutrition and about preventive measures that weren’t invasive. He wanted to know more and was not comfortable with the $5000 scan, which was beginning to appear to be a scam.
As Tom began questioning, Dana Farber didn’t have much information on nutrition. What they knew, what they supported, what they supported involved big bucks. Tom began by changing his dietary choices. The first change he made was to go to an all-organic diet. As he studied he became more empowered. He stopped eating red meat, then pork, then chicken and so on. He became all vegetarian and all organic. He began to realize that eating raw was the next step along with reducing the toxic chemicals in cleansers, soaps, etc. wherever possible.
So I end, as I begin. It is no longer Monday morning but Monday evening. I feel saddened that I have to write continually about the evils of our standard dietary choices. We live in an environment that thrives on habitually eating a chemical rich diet. I am saddened that I have to defend rather than explain the virtues of an all-raw diet. I am saddened when I visit the restaurants, the malls, the schools. It’s like living in a world of make believe where the truth of who we are is hidden by what we eat. The star rises slowly to occasion. I give thanks to Tom, who now volunteers at our store – for seeing the light.
I thank you for your time,
Arnold
Events
The last Saturday of the month, 8:15-9:45, Arnold is giving an easy food prep. Class
Cost is $10, please pre-register.
Feb 6 – Festival of Lanterns – Ben our Chef Superior will be displaying his skills
Food demo at 6PM –Dinner at 7PM, $20 –pre-reg.
Feb 7 6-8PM ,Club Veg is sponsoring a potluck dinner - FREE if you bring a dish for six otherwise $10 – pre-reg
Every Saturday 8:15 AM, Arnold gives a free breakfast lecture. Please pre-reg.
Feb 21- 10:30 – 12:00 ,Matt Goodman, Conqueror of M.S. , the Appalacian Trail and his latest adventure in Thailand – will be at Arnold’s Way to share his secrets- $10
Feb 20- 6-9PM, Arnold and Gabrielle will review from A to Z what it takes to Reverse the Adverse
Organic Produce at outrageously low prices retail or wholesale – call 215-361- 0116
EarthSave- the organization started by John Robbins to spread the message of the impact that our food choices have on the world – is here ! If interested call Tom at 215 490 2709 or ask Arnold for a sign up sheet.