By Eric Earley I wish to reinforce the statements made by Barbara Wright in her article "Cancer treatment and informed consent", in the Oct-Dec '95 issue of the Medical Consumers Association of NSW newsletter [reprinted in GLW #216]. In November '94 I was diagnosed as having a tumour in the upper left bronchial tube and was informed by the doctor that there was no alternative treatment to the maximum course of radiation therapy. In ignorance I went to the Queensland Radium Institute, signed the consent form and over a month had 20 radiation sessions. No-one pointed out the small print on the consent form that stated the treatment was not a cure. Nor did any of the doctors enlighten me on current alternative methods of treating lung cancer or of using them in conjunction with the orthodox radiation therapy. Interested friends and a sympathetic night nurse introduced me to books by Gerson, Ian Gawler, Horin, Cilento and others. With the knowledge gained I commenced meditation and breathing exercises, transformed my diet and took recommended vitamin and mineral tablets. My bouts of coughing and breathlessness became more acute and in May '95 a Brisbane lung cancer specialist found the tumour had grown again in the same place and was the size of a hen's egg. He gave me mist morphine to relieve the constant coughing and, bone-pointing, sent me on my way with the prospect of six to 18 months' life expectancy. I was most disappointed that my alternative healing methods seemed to be of little avail. I interviewed Mavis Roberston, another "terminal" patient who was curing herself of primary and secondary cancers with the boiled juice of paw paw leaves. I visited Dr Lynn Crehan in Lismore for vitamin C intravenous drips. These, with cold pressed flax seed oil, vitamin and mineral supplements, the preparation of vegetable juice drinks and organic brown rice meals, dominated my waking hours. And from a deep needler I had acupuncture once a week. Very slowly my health began to improve. A report in the
Sydney Morning Herald of a new successful lung cancer treatment led me to have an interview in Lismore with a visiting oncologist from the Royal North Shore Hospital. Barbara Wright mentions "... a paternalistic system exists ...". In my interview an arrogant attitude on the part of the oncologist prevailed. The treatment was chemotherapy, and if I could handle the drug I would possibly enjoy an extra eight months of life. I was wasting my time and money with vitamin C treatment. My coughing bouts could end up in a punctured lung requiring hospitalisation. My frequent headaches were probably the signs of an oncoming brain tumour requiring major surgery. Finally, this bone-pointing specialist stated that if I did not have the treatment, I was not to come staggering in her door on my last legs seeking help. Needless to say, on October 17, I wrote to her superior complaining of this insensitive treatment of a "terminal" patient. In January my local doctors examined my x-ray and considered that I was in a state of remission. The tumour had stopped growing, there was no sign of metastases (cancer cells spreading) and the lower part of the lung had slightly enlarged to compensate for the restricted air flow. I intend to continue with my alternative healing and in November this year I hope to visit the Brisbane specialist to show him that his "terminal" ex-patient is still alive and active. Perhaps we could all become increasingly aware of the multinationals' role in the perpetuation and spread of cancer. Most of the research and work on cancer deals with the symptoms rather than the causes of the disease. Annually, millions of dollars are spent on radiation machines and techniques, on chemotherapy drugs and their administration, in the search for a "miracle" cure and the training of specialists in orthodox treatments. Comparatively little is spent in researching the many causes of cancer. Western diet, over-rich in fatty dairy and animal foods, proteins and sugars, is known to be a major factor in many diseases, including the various cancers. Other factors include our rat-race city-bound existence, our polluted atmosphere, oceans and rivers and the ever present traumas of physical and spiritual survival with a quality of life that is fast deteriorating. In cancer clinics and hospitals, you will be inundated with bright appealing brochures containing a variety of milk, meat and other recipes designed to specifically deal with your particular cancer. The brochures are the inspiration of the multinationals and are published by the Australian Dairy Council, the Meat Board and a variety of government health departments and state Anti-Cancer Clinics. Huge areas of the most fertile land in the world are devoted to the production of meat, dairy products and fodder crops. These in turn are subjected to chemical and hormone growth additives, weedicides and pesticides, and the processed products are stacked in the supermarkets of wealthy nations. The multinationals have a vested interest in their chemical and food production industries. Any research or mass educational propaganda that demonstrated the major causes of cancer could arise from the processed contaminated food that we have been conditioned to eat would be disastrous to their profits. Perhaps, like lemmings, we are tied to our death wish and have not the energy, intelligence or ability to revolutionise our way of life either in the treatment of diseases or their causal factors. The multinational piper calls the tune and we dance along.