My 'association' with cancer happened circa 1958, when my grandmother was diagnosed with liver cancer. All I remember is that my parents then posted in Morocco use to send my Nani medicine to relieve her pain. I was told that she was in terrible pain and that there were no medicines available to her in India. Palliative care was still not known and strong pain killers deemed illegal. It is only in 2014 that that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been finally amended and will enable millions of Indians suffering chronic pain get better access to pain medicines. Amen to that! But in1958 my poor Nani had to suffer her pain helplessly.
Cancer came again into my life in 1989 when mama fell ill and though we were not supposed to mention the C word, we knew she had lung cancer that had metastasised all over her body. She refused treatment and her coping strategies were her betel leaf with tobacco, her moans and howls that use to terrify papa and I, but that she insisted made her feel better and her daily routine replete with pampering as an array of beauticians and hairdressers were summoned by my father to keep his beloved in good spirits. Added to that were lunches at restaurants and evenings at the theatre. All this worked spot on till a month before her death. Her last 30 days were terrible but she lived them on her conditions and died fully aware as she had always wanted to. Life was meant to be lived to the fullest, pain or no pain.
Come 1992 and Papa has colon cancer. Not willing to put me through the dilemma of having to make a decision, he accepts with alacrity the brutal allopathic treatment suggested. The colostomy goes against every grain of this spiritual man and he breathes his last 25 days after his surgery.
Today cancer is again in my life. This time it has chosen another loved one. The shock I got when I heard the news made me falter a little and accept conventional therapy as I was promised miracles. However this time was a tad different as, not many know this, I had started researching alternative therapies after papa's demise as I had been told that I was a probable candidate and thus would have to be 'tested' every year. The idea of anyone prodding inside me was abhorrent so I decided to look for alternatives. This is how I landed at the doorstep of my Tibetan doctor and burst into tears when she suggested an ultrasound. She being a healer and not a butcher, understood me and has never asked for a test in the past ten years. I see her regularly, she takes my pulse, prescribes her pills and I swallow them diligently. I never ask her what is wrong with me. The poof of the pudding is in its eating and I have not been ill. In the meantime, and more so after the arrival of the Internet I have searched for information and modified my diet and life style.
What I came across quite some time ago is the rainbow diet which means eating things that have different colours. I began doing this quite some time ago. Then I stumbled upon an article that stated that one should not eat anything white - salt, milk, white sugar, white flour and white rice. I introduced that in my life as best I could. Od course there were many cheat days as in those times no one had cancer. Come July 2013 and Ranjan's cancer and my mastering the art of Googling and sharing brought whole new perspective and the more I researched the more I found out how inefficient modern medicine and how a whole range of options has been surreptitiously concealed by the devious agendas of medical and pharmaceutical fraternity making us believe that the brutal trio of cutting, poisoning and burning - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - was the only available option.
Today I almost regret having subjected Ranjan to 11 lethal chemo sessions. Had I managed to learn all I did in the last 10 months in a day, I would never have done so.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this blog, in the recent days I have been privy to lot of sound and reliable information about alternatives that work. First and foremost the best way to keep cancer at bay, in control and even cure it is to go VEGAN! One needs to earth plants, grains, legumes, eliminate dairy, avoid processed foods etc. This is what Forks over Knives urges us to do. You can watch the movie on line.
The China Study backed by the most extensive study of nutrition ever conducted and bolstered by dozens of additional studies and cases — gave us a simple but powerful answer: The key to good health is nutrition. By adopting a diet based on whole, plant-based food you can reduce your risk of degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. In this study we are urged to give up dairy. You can find a cheat sheet of this rather complex book. Need I say more.
I also found out about a new book entitled The MD Emperor has no clothes. In this book Dr Peter Glidden reconciles the ancient methods of holistic medicine with the urgent health needs of our modern world, offers a key to the very survival. Watch this and you will be quite shocked.
It is not difficult to become Vegan. I urge you to avoid eating anything that ever had a face or a mother!
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