Dr. Daniel - The Cancer Directory

Also described are the latest developments in alternative medicine in the fields of:

• herbal medicine, such as carctol, catechins, indole-3-carbinol and turmeric

• immunotherapy, such as immune boosters, dendritic-cell therapy and vaccines

• metabolic therapy, such as essential sugars, essential fatty acids, pH balancing, enzymes and antioxidant vitamins

• mind – body medicine, such as the ‘Journey’ process by Brandon Bays, and the transformational approach of the Bristol Cancer Help Centre

• physical therapies, such as hyperthermia, light therapy and oxygen therapy

• nutritional therapies, such as the Gerson diet and the Nutrition Trust.

The valuable role of complementary medicine as symptomatic relief and supportive care is described, using illustrations where recent research has shown maximum synergy. Information is provided as to how and when to build these into a treatment programme to minimize the symptoms of illness and side-effects of treatment. The Cancer Directory looks at the newest developments within these therapies, and their applications in pioneering hospitals and hospices.

Perhaps most important of all for a long-term sustained recovery is the section on proactive holistic health creation. New research continues to confirm the importance of incorporating the basic principles of promoting positive health and healthy lifestyle changes into any healing regime. Dr Daniel says, ‘After putting out the fire with cancer medicine, it is time to rebuild the house with holistic health creation.’ Long-term survival is most dependent of all, she feels, on this continuing work to achieve high levels of energy, immune function and happiness. She also considers the opportunity created by serious illness for a complete life reorientation, describing her unique new Health Creation Programme, which highlights and focuses the individual on where they are currently vulnerable, exactly what needs to change and how to change to maximize the potential for long-term sustainable health.

Once readers have identified their values and choices, they will be able to find the appropriate resources to get the help they need in Part 2 of the book, which contains the Cancer Resources Directory. This will provide the reader with a comprehensive set of resources in the areas of:

• frontier orthodox cancer medicine

• pioneering hospitals offering integrated cancer care

• alternative cancer medicines

• nutritional organizations

• alternative cancer doctors

• alternative cancer clinics

• integrated medicine doctors and services

• complementary medicines organizations (to find therapists)

• psychological and spiritual support services for people with cancer and their carers

• retreats, spiritual development and holistic holidays

• cancer information services

• cancer care and practical help with nursing, social needs, financial help and insurance

• cancer prevention

• product suppliers for natural medicines and supplements.

There is also a Bibliography containing a comprehensive collection of the most useful reading material, a section containing all of the scientific references for the research supporting the use of an integrated approach to cancer care, a Glossary of the terms used in this book and in the field of integrated medicine, and an Index for easy navigation through this book.

The Cancer Directory is essential reading material for anyone newly diagnosed with cancer and for the healthcare professionals who help them. Only by understanding the full range of needs and healthcare choices available to those with cancer will the very best choices be offered, the chances of survival be most enhanced and the most loving, compassionate care be given.

Only by fully empowering those with cancer during their treatment and recovery process will the innate creative intelligence and inner strength of each person be brought to bear in the quest to heal physically and spiritually through the crisis of illness.

Integrated cancer medicine is the medicine of the future, and Dr Rosy Daniel is undoubtedly leading the way.

This book is essential reading for everyone affected by cancer. Information is empowerment, and this volume contains all you need to know about cancer from both the orthodox and complementary worlds of medicine. This is simply the best guide to integrated cancer medicine there is!

PROFESSOR KAROL SIKORA

If you are reading this book, it is likely that you, or someone very close to you, have received a diagnosis of cancer.

My heart goes out to you at this painful, confusing and frightening time. Nothing prepares us in life for the shattering blow of a life-threatening diagnosis. Almost all of us live our lives feeling immortal – as if bad things only happen to other people. But, from time to time, we are pulled in on the fishing line of life and brought face to face with our mortality – and forced to face the completely fragile nature of life. The more perfect and settled our life has been, the harsher the blow and the more imperative it is that both you and those around you treat you with the utmost gentleness, care and sensitivity as you come to terms with what is happening to you. You will need time and very good support to find ways to make sense of the crisis and, most important of all, to bring all possible creative intelligence to bear in finding the most effective healthcare solutions for you.

My own understanding of both the pain and possibilities within the experience of cancer came from my intense relationship with the remarkable Penny Brohn, co-founder of the Bristol Cancer Help Centre. Penny was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 38, with three children aged under 10. Both of her parents had died within the previous two years, and her marriage was so shaky that, at the point of diagnosis, her world collapsed completely. But, after a few weeks of abject misery, grief and despair, the combination of her own native cunning and the immense unconditional love of her great friend Pat Pilkington enabled her to pick herself up, dust herself off, and find the complementary, alternative and self-help approaches that enabled her to turn a five-year prognosis of survival into 21 years of a glorious and adventurous life.

Her journey took her all over the world – from the alternative clinics of Dr Issles in Bavaria and Dr Contreras in Mexico to monasteries deep in Wales and mind – body medical centres in London. This journey also took her into the depths of her own psyche and spirit with counselling and spiritual healing, and towards the gentle restorative energy medicines of acupuncture, homoeopathy and craniosacral therapy. She learned how to nourish her body properly with healthy food, metabolic supplements and immune stimulants, and how to meet her emotional needs with the love of women friends instead of focusing only on the love of her husband. She lifted her spirit by becoming a writer, painter, mosaic artist and gardener, and fulfilled her life purpose by setting up the pioneering Bristol Cancer Help Centre, thereby changing the face of medicine for ever.

Penny was very frightened but she was also an extraordinarily brave person. She had no idea where to start and what would work. Every step of her journey was an exploration, a negotiation with herself, her carers and her medical team. The only guiding star she had on her journey was her profound feminine intuition and the counsel she received from those whom she called her ‘gentle giants’ – the doctors, nurses, therapists and healers who had also been brave enough to step outside of the rigid box of medical thinking in an attempt to understand the big questions: What role does an individual’s lifestyle have in the development of cancer? What are the person’s needs during the illness and its treatment? Most important of all, what power could a person bring to bear to affect the health of his or her body and the chances of recovery?