Healing Metaphysics Home > Archive> Cancer Treatment and Weeding

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By Michael Finn
Copyright Michael Finn Weeding, a necessary act, albeit not one of my favourite pastimes. I am most cognisant that, when no recourse is made to poisons, there will always be, despite great efforts to apply mulch, repetitive and enduring weed regrowth. This means that the very act of weeding doesn't penetrate to the depth required to provide much more than temporary benefits. I also realise that the very method of pulling weeds, ensures the soil is aerated, giving weedlife a spur-on, due to this unfortunate oxygenating process. This effort then, creates a merry-go-round of activity and a tiring maintenance routine. Garden weeding then, recently reminded me of some aspects of modern standard cancer treatment and its therapeutic gaze. More than likely, the weeds which defy my attentions, will evolve into 'adept survivors' and all the more hardy for the experience. Also, due to deeper, unseen root networks, the next generation of weeds may well appear again, far from the original appearance site. They won't look connected to their forbears, but they will have shared parenting. Migration is the dread of the gardener and the oncologist alike. So, just as weeding inadvertantly instigates new weeds, and the well-intentioned use of weed poisons make toxic the garden bed, any overly zealous medical treatment regimes will weaken the vitality of the total human, whilst concurrently creating toxic conditions, thereby providing a groundswell favourable to the survival of super-survivors, radicals which migrate somewhere else in the body; in time, mestastasis, secondary cancer occurs. I believe these aggressors locate the energetically weakest, or most vulnerable body organ/part. It is often these, through their inexorable ravaging, which ultimately take cancer sufferers out. So cancer and weeds have common grounds. There is an ongoing level of activity, both above and below - at the surface and in deeper domains. If only one level is attended to, there will remain unaddressed potential for the manifestation to continue. Roots, like cancer cells, have but one hardwired desire - to proliferate. The catch-22 with allopathic cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy is that 'attack-mode' medicine deals troublesome blows to the body's constitution, nutritional status, immune system and the whole bodymind, as a result. This leaves an ailing core with the implausible task of withstanding powerful chemicals and their side effects, the entrenched tumour-struggle and the demands of everyday life which hanker incessantly. Never lose sight of the fact that lurking silently are circumstances have led to the cancerous state in the first place. These conditions prevail within the individual who has not countenanced their existence and importance. There is a prevailing idea in naturopathic circles that most people can manage to survive one round of chemo, severe side effects notwithstanding. But exposure to subsequent courses will threaten the weakened responses of body and mind, very severely, potentially strengthening the 'opposition's' game. This is akin to inadvertently destroying something, by attempting to save it. A tumour or cancerous tissue becomes the singular focus of mainstream medical treatment. Neglected, are both support mechanisms and also the deeper roots running parallel with the development of the pathological entity. Allopathic medicine famously ignores emphasis on the great need to nourish and support the healing mechanisms with correct, individualised nutrition, appropriate exercise, lifestyle changes (the most resisted aspect), and introspective practices. In a word, vital reserves to help the sufferer survive the journey and compensate for the vigour of the agents used. The above scenario is almost always complicated by the fact that most people dealing with cancer, have other disease states operating and are often on a or a number of pharmaceuticals. The question of 'quality of life' versus 'quantity of life', remains all too often unexplored. Some of the 'deeper roots' alluded to above, include the likes of : rigidified personal belief systems and habitual perceptions which have become redundant in one's life, but are enduringly clung to; chronic stagnant emotional states (e.g., depression, anxiety states, etc) and an immense variety of pathological processes, consequent to on-going stress. These are examples of 'dragging anchors', energy consumers, perpetual stressors, which are part of the bedrock of dis-ease, which produces poor immune surveillance and ultimately submits to the march of those radicals - cancer cells. I am not ignoring genetic predispositions nor the plethora of environmental factors which are part and parcel of industrialisation; toxic and ubiquitous, these, by virtue of exposure over time, are potentially direct precursors to cancerous states. I am however focussing on the lesser discussed, lesser realised, lesser investigated inner factors, deeply ingrained aspects of our personal identities which, over time, are subject to internal conflicts over years leading to energic imbalances, weakened responses and a resigned spirit, a deficit vitality. Given the ageing process, which demands even more bodycare, anyone facing the challenges of surviving cancer, is already behind the eight ball. Proposal - ideas concerning treatment In terms of adopting the most favourable course of action, to weed out states such as cancers, here are some ideas: Develop the 'therapeutic relationship' Ask your advisor/ medical doctor what they would recommend, if you were their mother, partner or loved one. This is designed to make the doctor-client relationship more personal and often elicits a raised level of empathy, rather than the potentially indifferent 'ivory tower' delivery of medical opinion. Become more fully informed Reach out for information. Use valuable resources such as libraries, universities, the internet, etc, not to be overwhelmed by the plethora of information regarding cancer, but to develop an informed opinion of the realities of and reasonably expected success of whatever treatment path you have been advised to follow. Such things as age, type of cancer, duration of disease and treatment courses, statistical outcomes, case studies/research, etc., are useful. Never lose sight of the benefits of second and third medical opinions of your situation. Integrating allopathic and complimentary approaches In my opinion, we, in the developed world, have a priveleged access to the 'best medical system that money could buy'. We can combine the two allies noted above. Historically and scientifically validated systems of healing such as: acupuncture, massage, naturopathy, herbal and nutritional therapies, can be employed to wonderful effect. Bio-Vigilance In order to maintain homeostasis, an observant, continuing vigilance of the body's status quo is vital. There are many sources of valuable feedback as to how one is tolerating both the struggle with cancer and the deep acting effects of various treatments. Lesser known, though extremely useful state-of-the-art devices which can be employed to assess important health parameters, include the 'Hemaview Live Cell Analysis unit', (darkfield microscopy), and the 'Bio Impedence Analysis' unit.' The likes of these are a part of the modern naturopath's tools of the trade. These wonderfully complement the likes of blood testing, scans etc. The point is that cancer therapy is often aggressive and protracted and often engenders poor overall health and quality of life. Devices such as those described, offer crucially important cellular/biological feedback and help with assessing the body's vital- nutrient status. This information will fine-tune which directions to follow, to hasten a return to homeostasis, that innate biological poise, and will more effectively supplant existing well-intentioned therapies, throughout the duration of the disease, the therapy and beyond. The idea is to more deeply support the entire human (healthy functioning is the result of teamwork after all), thereby promoting the integrity of survival and quality of life. Going deeper A most valuable adjunct to these therapies is the investigative path of 'transpersonal awareness'. This meta-personal approach, often termed “transpersonal psychology', helps one locate both his/her context in the greater schema of life, and on a more personal level, to realise and define those innate powers, wisdom and sensibilities, required, to traverse the entire course of an earthly lifetime, misadventure notwithstanding. Shadow boxing Another important and oftentimes overlooked stumbling block in regards the treatment of chronic pathological states, (cancer being a more obvious example), is what I call the 'point of identification dilemma'. If my perception of 'self' is too limited, there develops a deep flaw in the overall healing-process design. We have to be sure what we are treating and why. Example Prior to the diagnosis of say a cancerous condition, most people's idea of who they are, includes all parts of themselves. Suddenly, after diagnosis, an 'us and them' mentality prevails; there now exists a departure, a partition. On one side is 'me' and on the other is 'the tumour'. The new resident or body state, I suggest, becomes dissociated from one's sense of self and becomes an enemy, by focus. Aggressive therapeutic techniques, and I refer not just to allopathic endeavours, but also many too narrowly-focussed therapeutic approaches, tend to perpetuate this dichotomy, albeit in their best efforts to save the client. They emphasise fighting and overcoming the 'other' (the tumour). Thus, I am now actually opposing a part that I am considering to be, 'not-me'. Ironically, this 'other' is actually a part of me and my body, (the host) is supporting its existence. Surely this represents, at very least, a formidable inner (mental) conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest cause divisions and their subsequent 'scattering of energies', is one pathway leading to ill-health, dis-ease and imbalances, which defy innate homeostatic regulators. In short,the mind is at odds with its physical vehicle. If one were to investigate more deeply this paradox (of who's who and what's what), then the two-sidedness might be better addressed and this conflict minimised. The truth be known, this tumour is as much a part of me as my limbs and organs. So, are we missing something in our haste and fervour to destroy the tumour? Why is it there in the first place? Does it serve some unknown purpose, or is it a purely chaos personified? Is is simply a randomised aberration? Why is it so damned difficult to eradicate? Food for thought -radical healing Alongside the most appropriate therapeutic approach to symptomology, imagine that within the pathology (i.e., herein, the tumour), there exists a signal which seeks to express itself somehow. Allow for a moment the thought that the tumour is a living, breathing part of you.That it expresses itself, (a part of you in fact),in some special way. That the way one experiences its strong presence, is itself important. Imagine that: It has an important message which it is prepared to impress you with, at the risk of being lethal. This embedded 'signal phenomenon', issues forth from an unknown part of you. It is specific, dedicated, and not operating within the known confines of my ordinary consciousness. This expression (tumour life) may indeed have a radical context, a place in the greater schema of one's personal life and may be better understood as a 'directive for change.' A numinous, mysterious reality or process, patterns our symptoms and programs disease-state progressions. The Task To discover the deeper dimensions of what plays out on the surface, as a life and death struggle with cancer. Maybe what is surrendered to inner scrutiny will save one's life in some other fashion. Some forms of meditation are oftentimes extremely useful as part of one's personal/transpersonal investigative approach. New awareness may well lead to a revival of (forgotten) vitality, enhanced body responses, and act as a particularly useful vantage point concerning what having states such as cancer is all about. It is traditional to seek out the guidance and wisdom of a trusted advisor, someone who may suitably assist in all facets of the journey to deep healing. This person must have an awareness capable of following or tracking the Tao of the body-mind - the unfolding process of dis-ease, which has hitherto now been witnessed in purely and one-sidedly pathological fashion.

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