The Health Plus Letter
November 25, 2003, Vol. 1, No. 18
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher

Table Of Contents:
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Facts
Medical Freedom Alert
Mind/Body Approaches for Healing Arthritis (Part 2) by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN
Just A Few Facts About Conventional Medicine by June Russell
The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 4)
Reader Feedback
Recommendations


What’s New

To all my readers who celebrate the holiday, I wish you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! At this time of year when we contemplate all we have to be grateful for, I wish to thank each of you for your support of The Health Plus Letter and 1HealthyWorld.com. I am truly blessed to have both of these forums in which to serve you. I also wish to acknowledge the unwavering support I receive each and every week from my friend and partner, Marc Rohrer, who serves as 1HealthyWorld’s webmaster and ensures that this newsletter is delivered each week. For those of you considering hiring someone to oversee or design your web-based applications, I heartily recommend that you consider Marc’s services. He’s one of the best in the business and you can learn more about him by visiting his website: http://www.oneleaf.com.

This week’s issue features Part 2 of our article on how mind/body medicine can relieve and even cure arthritis. This week, we examine in more depth the relationship between stress and arthritis and provide guidelines you can use to determine if stress is affecting you. This information is excerpted from our eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Arthritis, co-written by Drs. Eugene Zampieron and Ellen Kamhi.

Also in this issue, health researcher and journalist June Russell returns with an article she wrote about little-known facts concerning conventional medical care. I think you’ll find the information June has to share very illuminating. It is taken from her website, http://www.jrussellshealth.com.

And I’m continuing my tribute to my sister Andrea with the fourth installment of The Power of A Human Spirit.

Please continue to send me with your comments and suggestions. You can email me at larry@1healthyworld.com. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.

Again, Happy Holidays!


Quote Of The Day

"You get what you conjure."
-Larry Trivieri, Jr.


Fast Facts

More than half of the advisors to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies that have an interest in FDA decisions.

(Source: Cauchon D. "FDA advisers tied to industry." USA Today. September 25, 2000:01A.)

"In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection of our country's air, water, public lands and wildlife." - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

(Source: Kennedy, R.F., Jr. "Crimes Against Nature." Rolling Stone, Nov. 19, 2003.)


Medical Freedom Alert

Please do your part to ensure that the misleadingly named "Dietary Safety Supplement" Act (S. 722) is defeated. To become informed about S. 722 and to take action to help defeat its passage, please visit: http://capwiz.com/nnfa/S722.html

To stay informed of other developments related to medical freedom, please visit http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org, the website of Dr. Mattias Rath, a leading crusader for medical freedom.


Health News and Commentary

Cavities Among Kentucky Children Double After Fluoridation

A study published in the July/Aug. 2003 issue of Pediatrics Dentistry found that the incidence of cavities among preschoolers in Kentucky rose to 47% in 2001, compared to a rate of 28% found in a survey conducted in 1987. Moreover, in 2001, the rate of cavities among Kentucky children attending third through sixth grades was 57%. Dental experts attributed the rise in cavities to poor diet, while other health experts, noting that Kentucky had mandated fluoridation (the addition of fluoride to drinking water) specifically to help prevent cavities, stated that fluoridation as a practice ought not to continue, given the potential health risks fluoride poses.

Fluoride is odorless and tasteless, and can cause death, as happened to a man in Alaska who died when his community water supplier accidentally poured in too much fluoride. Silicofluorides, used by over 91% of U.S. fluoridating communities have also been linked to children's higher blood-lead levels which, in turn, is linked to higher rates of tooth decay.

"We must remove all fluoride chemicals from water plants before a disaster occurs. Obviously fluoridation isn't even reducing tooth decay. So why risk an incident?" says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, commenting on the findings.

Source: Press Release - New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Thursday, November 20, 2003.

[Comment: Fluoridation is banned in many countries due to numerous scientific studies that show a link between fluoride and various illnesses, including cancer. If your drinking water supply contains fluoride, as it most likely does if you live in the United States, I suggest you consider a water filter. For about the dangers of fluoridation, visit http://www.fluoridealert.org.]

"Watchful Waiting" as Beneficial as Surgery for Prostate Cancer for Most Men

According to two studies published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, "Men with prostate cancer who decide not to undergo surgery and instead opt to treat only the symptoms of their disease do just about as well as men who are operated on, at least in the initial six or seven years after diagnosis."

Source: This story appeared on the website for the International Herald Tribune at the following link: http://www.iht.com/articles/70502.html. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be active.

[Comment: Prostate cancer is typically slow-growing, so the results of these studies are no surprise. Watchful waiting, in and of itself, is not the answer, but overall I consider it far more advisable than conventional prostate cancer treatments, so long as the cancer has not metastasized. But a better course of action would involve determining the underlying causes and imbalances of the patient and correcting them, using appropriate integrative strategies.]

Smallpox Vaccine Linked to Communicable Disease

People who get vaccinated against smallpox, itself a communicable disease list, can in turn become infected by the virus vaccinia (caused by immunizing agents in the smallpox vaccine) and pass it along to others, according to the NY State Health Department. This was confirmed by at least one of 700 emergency health care workers in the state who received the vaccine earlier this year becoming infected with vaccinia.

Source: Stashenko, Joel. "New infection emerges from immunization." The Associated Press 11/16/2003.

[Comment: I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg so stay tuned for further developments.]


Unabashed Plug

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http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Heart-Book-Info.cfm.


Mind/Body Approaches for Healing Arthritis (Part 2) by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN

[The following article is an excerpt from the eBook Burton Goldberg’s Definitive Guide to Arthritis, co-written by Eugene Zampieron, ND and Ellen Kamhi, Ph.D., RN. It is available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Arthritis-Book-Info.cfm]

Being "Stressed Out" Is A Pervasive Problem

Although the concept of stress—being "stressed out" or "under constant stress"—may be commonly discussed today, its role as a contributing factor in many diseases is underappreciated. Estimates suggest that as much as 70% to 80% of all visits to physicians’ offices are for stress-related problems. Chronic stress directly affects the immune system, and if not effectively dealt with, can seriously compromise health.

Stress is a pervasive problem among Americans, according to a 1996 poll of corporate executives. For example, 44% of employees polled said their work load is excessive compared to 37% in 1988; 43% are bothered by excessive job pressure; and 55% worry considerably about their company’s future; 25% of both men and women feel stressed out at work every day, another 12% feel it almost every day, and another 38% feel it once to several days a week.

Stress can be defined as a reaction (to any stimulus or interference) that upsets normal functioning and disturbs mental or physical health. It can be brought on by internal conditions such as illness, pain, emotional conflict, or psychological problems, or by external circumstances, such as bereavement, financial problems, loss of job or spouse, relocation, food allergies, and electromagnetic fields. Stress, when it becomes chronic, is often unrecognized by the person whose body is experiencing it; one begins to accept it as a fact of life, without being aware of how it is actually compromising all bodily function and preparing the foundation for illness.

More specifically, research confirms that high levels of emotional stress increase one’s susceptibility to illness. Unrelieved, chronic stress begins taxing and eventually weakening or even suppressing the immune system. Stress can also lead to hormonal imbalances which, in turn, interfere with immune function. Of all the body’s systems, stress damages immune function the most. It does so by overly activating the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system, the part that controls the "fight-or-flight" response and initiates adrenaline and cortisol release.

Research in psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI, has shown that the immune and nervous systems are linked by extensive networks of nerve endings in the spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and thymus gland (a primary source of T cells). At the same time, receptors for a variety of chemical messengers—catecholamines, prostaglandins, thyroid hormone, growth hormone, sex hormones, serotonin, and endorphins—have been found on the surfaces of white blood cells. Such connections serve to integrate the activities of the immune, hormonal, and nervous systems, enabling the mind and emotional states to influence the body’s resistance to disease.

Common Causes of Stress

Pain
Emotional Conflict
Financial Problems
Death in the Family
Job/Career Pressures
Allergies
Poor Diet
Substance Abuse
Fatigue
Environmental Pollution

The "Fight-or-Flight" Response

Pioneering stress researcher Hans Selye, M.D., a Canadian physiologist, noted a consistent pattern of response to stress and termed these the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), commonly referred to as the "fight-or-flight" response. The GAS occurs in three stages: the alarm reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion. Initially, the body’s biochemistry tends to react to stress in an orderly fashion. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (part of the autonomic nervous system) activates the secretion of hormones from the endocrine glands and constricts both the blood vessels and the involuntary muscles of the body. When the endocrine glands (pancreas, thyroid, pituitary, sex glands, and particularly the adrenals) are stimulated, heart rate, glucose metabolism, and oxygen consumption increase. The parasympathetic nervous system is also stimulated, which begins a process of relaxation. The pituitary gland responds by releasing a variety of hormones throughout the body, which influence the defensive and adaptive mechanisms. Endorphins, the body’s own natural painkillers, are also released.

Dr. Selye points out, however, that eventually chronic stress depletes the body’s resources and its ability to adapt. If stress continues and remains unattended for a long period, coping functions will be compromised and illness will result.

Stress, the Adrenal Glands, and Arthritis

The adrenal glands, part of the body’s endocrine system, are located atop the kidneys. The glands are composed of two types of tissue: the adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex. The adrenal medulla, comprising 10%-20% of the gland, is located in the interior portion and is responsible for the production of the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). These hormones are released in direct response to the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight-or-flight response to stress or physical threats. The adrenal cortex, the outer layer, surrounds the medulla and accounts for 80%-90% of the gland. It is responsible for the production of corticosteroids (also called adrenal steroids). Over 30 different steroids have been isolated from the adrenal cortex, including cortisol and cortisone.

Cortisol secretion (as well as the adrenal gland’s other steroids, DHEA, adrenaline, and aldosterone) occurs in daily cycles, peaking in the morning and having the lowest values at night. Cortisol promotes protein building, regulates insulin and glycogen synthesis, and helps produce prostaglandins (hormone-like fatty acids involved in inflammatory processes). Under conditions of stress, high amounts of cortisol are released. Imbalances in cortisol secretion are linked with low energy, inflammation, muscle dysfunction, impaired bone repair, thyroid dysfunction, immune system depression, sleep disorders, and poor skin regeneration.

In a prolonged stressful state, chronic pain sets in as supplies of cortisol and other adrenal hormones plummet and eventually run out as the adrenals become exhausted. One function of cortisol is to act as a potent anti-inflammatory hormone. If you have arthritis, the pain and inflammation in your joints will worsen as your adrenal glands stop producing cortisol. This results in fatigue, muscle weakness, depression, and a magnification of arthritic symptoms.

Based on our clinical experience with hundreds of patients, we find that arthritis sufferers, both osteoarhtritis and rhematoid arthritis, are typically in a moderate to advanced state of adrenal exhaustion. Researchers are also beginning to find evidence of a connection between stress and arthritis. A recent study found that in 86% of cases, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis was preceded by stressful events in the patients’ lives. In addition, there was a correlation between arthritis flare-ups and stressful events in 60% of patients. When patients with psoriatic arthritis are questioned, the practitioner will often find a correlation between a stressful life event (divorce, loss of job, etc.) and the initial onset of the condition.

For a patient in this situation, conventional medicine typically prescribes pharmaceutical drugs similar to cortisol (corticosteroids) for the pain and inflammation; prednisone, for example, is 30 times as potent as endogenous cortisol. Many practitioners of natural medicine feel that, while the judicious use of corticosteroids is helpful for a short period of time to stabilize the patient, the long-term use and reliance on these powerful drugs is devastating. These drugs can suppress immunity, interfere with sleep cycles, and increase bone and collagen breakdown as well as suppress the proper function and production of the adrenal hormones and further diminish the functioning of the adrenal glands.

The Arthritis Personality

The most critical aspect of stress is not the event itself, but your response or interpretation of the situation. Do you respond with hope or despair? With helplessness or commitment to resolve the situation? With pent-up anger or tranquility? How you respond, to some degree, reflects your personality type.

Behavioral patterns are commonly broken down into two basic types: Type As and Type Bs. Type A personalities are described as aggressive and competitive, easily angered, always in a hurry, and hostile. Type Bs do not exhibit these characteristics, but are more deliberate, thinking through a situation and formulating a plan of action. Beginning in the 1960s, studies began to show that personality type can have a profound influence on your health. One study followed 3,000 middle-aged men over an eight-and-a-half year period and found that Type As were twice as likely to develop heart disease as Type Bs. A recent study of air tr/affic controllers found that Type As had three-and-a-half times more job-related injuries and 38% more illnesses overall than Type Bs.

We have repeatedly seen certain common personality characteristics exhibited by those with arthritis. One of our observations matches that of Louise Hay, author of Heal Your Life, who notes that arthritis is a disease seen frequently in men and women who develop a constant pattern of criticism of themselves and others. We’ve also noted that the critical tendency does not always have to be overt: it might be completely internal, a type of inner voice that keeps telling the person that things are not ‘OK’, that they could be better.

However, it is generally not in the nature of the arthritis personality to express their feelings or to attempt to creatively change the situation that disturbs them. This is the second trait of the arthritis personality: they are more likely to appear to accept it, but have an internal resistance to change. Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, conducted a study to evaluate the personality traits of rheumatoid disease sufferers. Their findings indicate that "patients with rheumatoid diseases are likely to be excessively conscientious, fearful of criticism yet critical of themselves and others, frequently depressed, and have a poor self-image." The study group exhibited characteristics that led them to try to be overly nice to other people at the expense of their own well-being, to be stoic, and to conceal their emotions (especially anger). "Many rheumatic disease sufferers have a situation of long-standing tension or anger in their lives, yet would assert when questioned that everything was ‘OK’, even though it was furthest from the truth. They were remarkably conforming to these traits, which seemed to precede their disease, not be caused as a result of it."

In these individuals, unfulfilled expectations lead to a sense of increased frustration and even anger that they keep to themselves, perhaps eventually turning the immune system against itself. From this perspective, arthritis can be seen as a type of frozen impulse. The arthritis personality, due to their critical nature, wants things to be different, but the impulse to change is constantly suppressed by an unwillingness or inability to change. Biochemically, this may manifest itself by the accumulation of stress hormones in the body, particularly in the joints, the area of the body representing the greatest flexibility and mobility. Stiffness and rigidity are the dominant states of mind and they are also the dominant conditions of an arthritic joint.

Those traits seem related to a third one we have noted in our work with arthritis sufferers: a pronounced tendency to cling to the status quo. They tend to be very rigid and structured in their dietary routines, sedentary or overly active lifestyle, and even dependence on medications. We have found it extremely difficult to persuade arthritis patients to adopt the lifestyle changes needed for recovery, sometimes even though they are experiencing severe pain.

Are You Stressed Out?

If you answer "yes" to more than five of the quest/ions below, it indicates that you have too much stress in your life. In parentheses after each question are some potential underlying causes for the problem.

Do you often grind your teeth? (digestive dysfunction, parasites)
Is your breath shallow and irregular? (low metabolic energy, food allergies)
Are your hands and feet cold? (hormonal imbalance, adrenal/thyroid weakness)
Do you have trouble sleeping or tend to wake up tired? (liver dysfunction, food allergies)
Do you often have an upset stomach? (food allergies)
Do you get mad or irritated easily? (liver dysfunction)
Do you feel worthless? (low metabolic energy, chronic fatigue)
Do you constantly worry? (hormonal imbalance)
Do you have problems concentrating and articulating your thoughts? (low metabolic energy, digestive or hormonal imbalance)
Do you frequently fidget, chew your fingers, or bite your nails? (food allergies, digestive disturbances)
Do you have high blood pressure? (food allergies, digestive disturbances)
Do you eat, drink, or smoke excessively? (low metabolic energy, poor diet)
Do you sometimes turn to recreational drugs just to get away? (low metabolic energy, poor diet)

Other Symptoms Associated With Stress

Anxiety
Indigestion
Weight Loss or Gain
Depression
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Bad Breath or Body Odors
Muscle Spasms

[Continued next week.]


Unabashed Plug

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To order this life-changing guide, visit
http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks/Mind-Mastery-Book-Info.cfm.


Just A Few Facts About Conventional Medicine by June Russell

[June Russell, following a serious and prolonged bout with illness that was only resolved after her discovery of alternative medicine, has gone on to become a very respected investigative health journalist. The follow article was culled from her website, http://www.jrusselshealth.com, which I highly recommend.]

1) Many Americans do not enjoy the freedom of medical choice, nor are physicians allowed to practice unconventional therapies without being harassed - even though these therapies have been proven to be safe and effective. The movement of citizens demanding the freedom to access safe, alternative health care has prompted several states to pass a "Medical Freedom Act," which permits any individual to be treated by a health care practitioner with any requested medical treatment if it does not violate any licensing laws. The passage of this bill requires grassroots support and politicking of mil/lions of concerned citizens, just as did the 1994 passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Passage was possible because the people demanded it.

2) Using unproven therapies is reasonable in some cases. The real sin is that the medical profession continues to use therapies that have already been proven ineffective, or less effective than other treatments (this is based on 1998 information from the following 3 sources: Science News, JAMA, New Scientist and Health). {Excerpted from Spectrum magazine, www.garynull.com - Aug. 2002}

3) Only 15 percent of the medical interventions are supported by solid scientific evidence, or in other words, 85 percent are not. {Journal of Medical Ethics, 1992}

4) One-third of all medical treatments were unnecessary according to the Rand Corporation studies in the 1980s. {"Rationing Health Care," June 27, 1994, Newsweek}

5) There has ne/ver been any valid scientific proof that the ‘Pill’ - nor any other forms of contraception - is safe. The initial trials were flawed and inadequate, says John Archer in his book, Bad Medicine. {"Hormone Heresy," Estrogen’s Deadly Truth, Sherrill Sellman, 1996. Extracted from Nexus magazine.}

6) According to an FDA document "its job is to ensure that the existence of dietary supplements on the market doesn’t act as a disincentive for drug development." {Facts from the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Nov. 1992. In Spectrum magazine, Jan./Feb., 1995}

7) Bernie Siegal, M.D., says that a lot of his colleagues take refuge in criticizing the research methodology of articles that support alternative therapies, saying that the sample size is too small, and that it is not double-blind placebo controlled. The truth is that the doctors don’t read the journals that cover the information on alternative therapies, and that’s why they pooh-pooh it. Because it is in a journal that they don’t regularly read doesn’t mean it’s not good science. After all, there are plenty of studies published in reputable medical journals that are poorly done and poorly controlled. It is the doctor’s role to give patients advice about the options and let the patients choose the therapy they think is best for them. The real distinction we need to make is between good and bad medicine, not between alternatives and conventional. Various approaches to healing are necessary to build a comprehensive and effective health care system. {Natural Health magazine, July/August 1998}

8) Marcia Angell, M.D., and Jerome K. Kassirer, in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1998 criticized alternative therapies but acknowledged that many of the treatments used in conventional medicine have not been rigorously tested. {Alan Gaby, M.D., Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, 1998}

9) Debra O’Conner, certified midwife, CNN, tells us that the U.S. government’s office of Technology and Assessment says that only 10 percent of obstetrical practice has ever been proven to be evidence-based. They have not done the studies, yet their practices have come to be accepted everywhere. {Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Dec. 1998}

10) In a report from the drug abuse warning network, adverse reactions from ephedrine are ranked number 67 (ephedra not listed at all), in marked contrast to aspirin which is listed as number 6, with 18,834 reports. {Citizens for Health Newsletter}

Influence of Money and Politics

11) Florida farmers paid the Heart Association $450,000 for the right to make the claim that grapefruit is a part of a heart-healthy diet. Yet, grapefruit was found to interfere with medications. {"Grapefruit, Just the Facts," Nutrition Action Healthletter, Jan./Feb. 1997}

12) The American Heart Association (AHA) accepts funds from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to promote lean beef - hardly a heart healthy food. And the only aspirin the AHA endorses is Bayer, a company that is said to give them more than $500,000 a year. {Sources: Center for Science in the Public Interest, Women’s Health Letter, Nan Fuchs, PhD, Feb. 2002}

Conventional Medicine’s Topsy-Turvy Advice - Then/Now

13) Eggs bad for you/good for you; vitamins useless/now recommended; milk for ulcers/milk aggravates ulcers; HRT protects women against heart disease/HRT increases risk; use margarine/use butter; express anger/redirect anger; ulcers caused by stress/caused by a bacteria; mental illness the fault of environment/biochemical causes; low fat/use healthy fats.

14) Do you remember these? X-rays were not thought to be harmful; PMS was an inner rebellion against being a woman; vegetarian diets were frowned upon.

15) Doctors differ enormously in their expertise - some are aggressive with drugs and surgery, some err on the side of caution; some are up-to-date on medical knowledge, some aren’t; some use alternative therapies, some don’t; etc. So when advised to check with your doctor this may not always be the best advice - the suggestion today is to back up medical advice with a search in books/on web.

16) In the 1950s the American Medical Association reported that smo/king was not a health problem and that it could be beneficial. In the 1960s they advised their patients to smoke moderately. Today their advice is not to smoke at all.

Instead of herb/supplement bashing, why doesn’t the FDA and conventional medicine, with its supposed concern for the public’s health, use their energy to demand that chemicals, cosmetics, alcohol, microwaves, irradiation, etc., are tested and proven safe? As you can see, conventional medicine’s track record is not good enough to claim superiority over other therapies.

Copyright © June Russell, 2003. All rights reserved.


The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 4)

[The first three parts of this article appeared in issues 14, 15, and 17 of The Health Plus Letter, which are available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.]

Following her mastectomy and course of chemotherapy treatments, Andrea began to make a swift recovery and soon resumed her full and active life. Initially, her oncologist prescribed tamoxifen, but before long she began to notice side-effects and she told him to take her off it, which he did. She also began to complain of pain in her neck and upper back, a condition that remained with her for the rest of her life. Eventually, it was determined that her pain was due to a degenerative disk compounded by osteoporosis-like symptoms, both of which were caused by the chemotherapy. The pain was crippling at times, and she was referred to a neurosurgeon who promptly recommended surgery, but Andrea, not liking his "bedside manner" and the fact that the operation was fraught with risk, refused. Instead, she determined to get back to the things she enjoyed, and within a few months everyone in our family began to believe the worse was behind her.

During this time, Andrea cultivated new friendships with others in the area who also had cancer. She’d met them during her chemotherapy sessions and together she spurred each other on to "live Life," as Andrea put it. More often than not, she was the one from whom the others drew strength.

Life went on in this manner for another year and a few months, with Andrea’s regular checkups continuing to show that her cancer remained in remission. As 2001dawned, Andrea decided to take her daughter on a week long trip to the Bahamas during Alyssa’s high school winter break. Days before they were scheduled to leave, Andrea told me she thought she was coming down with the flu, but wasn’t going to let that stop her. She was really looking forward to the trip. She and Alyssa wound up having a wonderful time, although Andrea started feeling tired towards the end of it. By time they arrived back home, she was ready for a good night’s sleep.

In the middle of the night, she woke up barely able to breathe, and Alyssa rushed her to the emergency hospital, where the physician who initially examined her told her he suspected she had pneumonia. They would keep her overnight, place her on oxygen support, and due to the fact that she had previously had cancer, other tests would also ordered. Andrea was assured that this was simply standard procedure and that she needn’t worry. After all, her most recent checkup had shown that everything was fine. The following afternoon, Andrea called me from the hospital with the news. "Can you believe it?" she laughed. "I have pneumonia!" And then she told me not to worry, that everything would be fine and she expected she would be going home the next day.

The next day the test results came back. It wasn’t pneumonia she had. Rather, her cancer had returned with a vengeance. There were tumors throughout her chest cavity, as well as in her liver and along her spine. Her oncologist, told the news, broke down in tears, having grown close to Andrea due to her "wonderful spirit and attitude," and he was baffled how such a thing could be possible, given the clean bill of health she had received following her last checkup only a few short months ago. But now, here was Andrea, bed-ridden in the hospital, with cancer fully metastatic. Based on the evidence, the prognosis was that she only had about six months to live, and the doctors weren’t even sure if she would ever again leave the hospital.

The news swept through our family leaving devastation in its wake, and we took turns keeping vigil by her bedside, all of us dreading the worst. We had seen her just days before she’d left on her trip and now, less than two weeks later, she looked so suddenly weak and frail. She had a private room with her own bathroom, less than ten feet from her bed, but in order to reach it she had to take off her oxygen tube. I still vividly recall how she did so during my first visit, only to collapse back in bed a few minutes later, frightened and unable to breathe. Nurses rushed into the room, but even after she was again hooked up to the oxygen, it was long minutes more before her condition stabilized.

But even then, as soon as she was out of danger, she immediately made a joke about it, leaving everyone in the room laughing.

And the truth is that very few tears were shed during her stay in the hospital, simply because Andrea, sick as she was, provided all who visited her with her own strength and good humor. Which doesn’t mean we didn’t cry, because we all did, but we did so away from her, within the privacy of our homes. But in her presence, tears really didn’t seem necessary. And that was entirely due to Andrea. Her good cheer despite everything was that infectious.

Except for the third day of her stay, when some of my sisters and I joined her children by her bedside. Bryan, her son, had come home from college to be with her, and with both of her children beside her, Andrea’s love for them was never more palpable. Witnessing it, my sisters and I all intuited the same thought: Given Andrea’s condition, the likelihood was very strong that soon her children would be without her. As one, all of us began to cry as Bryan gently joined her on her bed to embrace her.

Andrea wept, too, at first, but almost immediately she stopped, telling us in a stern, strong voice, "I don’t need a pity party, and if you’re going to cry, you can all go home. I mean it! There’s nothing to be sad about. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die. That’s God’s will and there’s nothing you can do about it. But that’s no reason to be sad. The truth is, I’ve had a full life and done everything I ever wanted, and that’s more than most people can say, no matter how long they live."

And, just like that, we all stopped crying, realizing the truth of her words. She really had fulfilled all her dreams. Then she laughed. "Well, I didn’t do everything I wanted to," she admitted. "I ne/ver lived in New York City and I never got to the Grand Canyon. But other than that, I’ve fulfilled every one of my dreams and raised two great kids in the bargain, so there’s nothing to be sad about!"
The remaining hours we stayed with her that night were spent in love and laughter. Once again, Andrea had proved herself a healer. As I walked home that night, the streets were covered with a fresh snowfall and all was bathed in a peaceful stillness. It was a fitting tableau as I contemplated the precious miracle that Life is. A miracle that Andrea had that night made me even more aware of.

After we left her, Andrea passed peacefully into sleep. But a few hours later she awoke, thinking of the two unfulfilled dreams she’d mentioned us - living in New York City and seeing the Grand Canyon. In that moment, alone in the hospital, her body ravaged with cancer, she decided that she would fulfill them both. And that’s when the real miracles began . . .

[Continued next week.]


Reader Feedback

In response to what I’m writing about my sister Andrea, a number of readers have emailed me asking my advice about cancer treatments. I am not able to provide such advice because I am not a physician. However, the Resource Directory within 1HealthyWorld.com provides a wealth of information on this subject via a links to reputable sources of information about cancer, including a number of physicians and clinics that I know are doing good work. To view the links, go to http://www.1healthyworld.com/resources. Once there, click on "Cancer Treatments/Info" within the Therapies directory.


Recommendations

Websites:
http://www.enn.com - The online home of the Envrionmental News Network, this site is a valuable resource for the latest information regarding to health and the environment.

http://www.snopes.com and http://www.truthorfiction.com - Both of these websites are excellent resources for determining if the various emails you receive alleging certain information is factual is actually true. Many of the entries they contain also make for interesting reading.

http://www.themeatrix.com - Both a humorous parody of the popular film The Matrix and a shocking and informative expose of the practices employed by the commercial agriculture industry and the health risks that result from them. Be sure to check out the resources section for sources of organic meat and dairy products nationwide.

http://www.ironictimes.com - Each week this website posts fake news headlines satirizing world events. Definitely worth a look.

Books:
Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable by Thomas Levy, MD, JD. With over 1,200 scientific references substantiating his claims, this book by Dr. Levy does a masterful job of providing the truth about the plentiful health benefits vitamin C provides, as well as documenting the many disease conditions - including cancer - that it can reverse when administered in therapeutic dosages. Very highly recommended!

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. This recent novel by one of my favorite authors is a wonderful tale of one woman’s voyage of discovery during the 19th century, told with the sensitivity, lyricism and wisdom that Allende is so much a part of Allende’s talent.


See you next Tuesday.

Health and Blessings!

Larry Trivieri, Jr. (larry@1healthyworld.com)


Disclaimer: The Health Plus Letter is a weekly eZine published by Larry Trivieri, Jr. and Library of Health, LLC (dba www.1healthyworld.com). It is made available without charge for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical care. If you are experiencing a health problem, seek prompt medical attention.

Legal Notice: The information in this eZine may be freely and widely disseminated so long as full attribution is made as follows: The Health Plus Letter, November 25, 2003, Vol. 1, No. 18. Copyright © 2003 by Larry Trivieri, Jr. All rights reserved.

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