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Author |
Topic: Faith Healing and alternative meds #1 |
kathy
Member
Member # 40
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posted March 29, 2002 08:08 AM
A good friend of mine has just been diagnosed with cancer
of the salivary gland, and his doctor has recommended radiation.
He has decided against this procedure and is relying on herbal
medicines and prayer to heal him of this disease. Are there
any survivors out there who have gone this route and would
be willing to share their experiences with him. Since making
this decision....the medical profession has not given him
any support and basically washed their hands of him. Is there
a group discussion that he could join? Thanks for any help
and suggestions you might have and good luck to all of you
battling this disease....Kathy
Posts:
3 | From: British Columbia, Canada | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Brian
Hill
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted March 29, 2002 09:16 AM
I try to be respectful of people's desires, so I do not wish
you to take the following in the wrong tone. But your friend
is not making a wise choice. I have talked with individuals
who have not wanted to go through a particular procedure because
they are more afraid of the procedure than the disease. This
is understandable, since radiation for instance is not pleasant.
But when you compare it to the consequences of not being treated,
which from all indications is death, it seems a bullet that
you have to bite, and get through it to the other side. In
the medical literature there are scattered instances, (so
few that they do not constitute 1%) of spontaneous remissions
of cancer. A persons defense mechanisms kick back in for an
unknown reason, and a disease disappears. Given the odds that
this will happen to any given individual, (given the thousands
that are stricken with cancer every year) it would not be
my choice to go down this path, dependent on herbs and divine
intervention. Spirituality and strong faith are powerful allies
in a battle with cancer, but they need to accompany proven
treatments. Salivary gland tumors are very treatable and survivable,
but delaying their treatment allows the lesion to spread to
deeper and deeper structures of the face and head, and of
course metastasize to more distant locations of the body.
This means the longer someone waits for treatments, the more
loss of biological structures that will incur, and with metastasis
of the disease, the less likely a positive outcome and survival.
I ask you to consider that God perhaps gave us free will and
intelligence, to not only develop the drugs and technologies
that we use to treat cancer, but the free will to use them.
There was a man trapped on the roof of his house after a flood,
and the waters were continuing to rise. It was becoming a
precarious situation. He began to pray. Not long after, a
man in a rowboat came by and offered to take the stranded
man to safety. He declined and said no, that God would save
him. The man continued in intense prayer. As the waters continued
to rise, a helicopter arrived and he again declined, and said
that he was praying to God to be saved. Eventually the waters
swept him off of the roof and he was killed. When he went
to heaven, he asked God why He had not listened to him. God
replied I did!! I sent you the man in the rowboat, and I sent
you the pilot and the helicopter.....
If all that is around us is indeed God's plan, certainly doctors,
drugs, and treatments are part of that plan. I have seen no
case of a cure of oral cancers from herbal treatments in any
literature anywhere. While I respect your friend's decision
to approach this any way he see appropriate, his decision
is not logical, and likely will not have a good out come for
him. The longer he waits, the less chance he has to beat this
disease. He must overcome his fear of the treatments, soon,
and deal with this deadly disease while there is still time.
As his friend perhaps you can help him with this.
[ March 29, 2002, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Brian
Hill ]
--------------------
Brian, stage 3 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director.
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.
The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a
servant."
Posts:
422 | From: Laguna Beach, CA | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Joanna
"Above
& Beyond" Member (200+ posts)
Member # 41
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posted March 29, 2002 11:26 AM
I must strongly second Brian's opinion. I lost a dear friend
to a cancer that need not have killed her. She enriched the
proprietors of the health food store, and lost her life. I
am a recently diagnosed patient who has found incredibly helpful
information here, and at other sites. Please direct your friend
to this forum where he can hear, as have I, from those who
have gone before in this scary situation.
Posts:
243 | From: Pacific Northwest | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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kathy
Member
Member # 40
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posted March 29, 2002 12:47 PM
Thank you both for your excellent answers to my questions...I
totally agree with your concerns about my friend...I and many
other friends of his have put the same points and arguements
forward to him to no avail and have reached a point of realizing
all we can do is support his choices. I feel that herbal remedies
and prayer should agument radiation....but he beat postate
cancer several years ago using these methods and is convinced
he can overcome oral cancer without medical intervention as
well. In the month since being diagnosed he has been praying,
fasting and using his herbal medicines, and the tumour does
seems to have shrunk. I found and directed him to this site
and he has checked out the messages but is frightened by what
he reads here and has asked me to pose these questions for
him....I will try to convince him to read more of the messages,
I found them so inspirational. Right now though he is looking
for a discussion group or forum of Christians who have beaten
cancer through prayer, fasting and herbal remedies. Are there
any out there??? Thank you to everyone....Kathy
Posts:
3 | From: British Columbia, Canada | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Brian
Hill
Administrator
Member # 4
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posted March 29, 2002 03:42 PM
I can't imagine there are enough people alive who have beaten
cancer through herbs and prayer, to have a discussion group.
I have never seen one anywhere. Certainly I have seen web
sites that try to sell you some unregulated herbal remedy,
and they have testimonials to go with them. But if there were
herbs that cured cancer, don't you think that the hundreds
of thousands of people who are afflicted with cancer each
year would be buying them and getting cured? Wouldn't it be
a major news story? There isn't a miracle cure out there.
Only people trying to get rich off of other peoples fears
and disease. The truth is that when people are desperate,
either to avoid a treatment, or to stay alive, they will try
anything...believe anything. Unfortunately the world is full
of unscrupulous people who prey on these individuals with
the herbal "cures" that they sell, or faith healing. There
is no peer reviewed medical journal that has endorsed any
herbal cure for cancer. At best they can be used in combination
with conventional treatments, usually to alleviate some of
the problems caused by the treatments themselves. Prayer plays
an important role for some. Those with strong religious beliefs
find comfort in their faith, and certainly it helps some cope
with the disease and it's devastation. But when prayer is
used in lieu of, (not in conjuction with), treatments with
known success, I personally find this direction misguided.
As to your friend's tumor shrinking as a result of an herbal
cure, this I would like to see. A before and after MRI or
CT scan will do. I will be the first on the bandwagon to promote
whatever regime he is on. In the meantime, the clock is ticking,
cancers cells are metastasizing to other areas, and the chance
of a cure becomes more remote. It's a waste. This is the wrong
forum to discuss the validity of religious belief. Any God
I believe in would want me to do everything possible to stay
healthy, and that includes the application of what scientific
knowledge we have obtained.
[ March 29, 2002, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Brian
Hill ]
Posts:
422 | From: Laguna Beach, CA | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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stefon
Member
Member # 13
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posted March 30, 2002 08:06 AM
Kathy,
I underwent cancer surgery in October 2000. My biopsy showed
squamous cell carcinoma with a note that said "the neoplasm
extends to the surgical margins" or basically, they probably
did not get it all. I consider our family to be very religious
and we prayed, and continue to pray, a great deal for healing.
In conjunction with the prayer, I also knew that my best course
of action was to follow my doctor's advice and remove any
suspect tissue/bone. I had three teeth and a portion of my
upper jaw bone removed, the biopsy of the removed tissue and
bone showed no sign of cancer. Do I regret having surgery,
no way! I feel that I have done all that I can do to beat
this disease. The biopsy of the tissue/bone removed during
surgery was not all inclusive so there may have been some
cancer cells they did not find, or there may not have been
any cancer remaining, It really doesn't matter. I have the
peace of mind knowing I've done all that I can do from a spiritual
and medical view. I am currently recovering from reconstructive
surgery to replace the bone and eventually will have dental
implants placed to replace the teeth I lost. I have no regrets,
your friend needs to know that the decisions he makes affect
not only his life but the lives of all who love and care for
him. If he is not willing to seek conventional treatment for
himself, maybe he can be convinced to do it for others who
need him. Continue to pray and accept the tools offered up
in answer to your prayers.
Best of Luck to you and your friend!
--------------------
Stage I diagnosed 9/18/2000
Dave
Posts:
21 | From: Lakeville, Minnesota | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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kathy
Member
Member # 40
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posted March 31, 2002 09:13 AM
Thank you Dave for your message...it was greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately this friend has taken the stance that he no
longer wants any input from anybody that's not a born-again
Christian and since I do not fall into that catagory, he will
no longer be discussing his health issues with me. I and others
are very hurt and concerned about this descision, but for
now can have no further input and must stand back and watch
and wait for his miraculous healing brought on by prayer,
fasting and herbal medicines, alone. My heart is breaking...but
he has made it clear that this is the way it will go...stubborn
old bachelor that he is. Thank you all for your concern and
input, although he has chosen to ignore it, I certainly do
appreciate hearing from all of you. My thoughts and good wishes
go out to all of you battling this dreaded disease....I lost
my dad a few years back to lung cancer, so understand the
worry, and heartache brought on by cancer. Godbless you all....Kathy
Posts:
3 | From: British Columbia, Canada | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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