Des Moines

Energy Medicine - Hype or Real?

"Your daughter will never walk again". When my mother heard those words from the neurologist at Maine Medical Center, she fainted. She was still mourning the death of her beloved husband, Bob, who had died just two months earlier after a long battle with colon cancer.

When she received the call from my friend Tiffany, informing her that I had an accident, she immediately assumed that it was something minor. She was used to me getting injured from playing soccer throughout high school. Nothing could have prepared her for something like this.

I went through the typical stages of grief after such a dramatic, life-changing event. At first I was in denial; then I was angry (mostly with myself), and finally I was depressed but resigned to my new life.

After coming to terms with my accident, I had a few years of relatively good health, with no complications typical of people in my condition. This all changed in late 1999. I developed serious health problems (including recurrent bladder infections and severe lower-back pain.)

Tired of my constant visits to the emergency room, and following my doctor's advice, I had bladder surgery. I would love to say that that put an end to my health problems, but nothing could be further from the truth. The pain persisted to the point where I was no longer able to get up in my wheelchair. I was completely bedridden and deeply depressed.

Throughout the following years I was prescribed many different pain medications and anti-depressants. The side effects were horrible beyond words. I was barely able to function, and I was constantly dizzy, tired, and nauseous.

During this period of time I kept putting my faith in the next magic pill, and the next one, and the next one. Only to be disappointed time and time again. The spinal cord specialist in charge of my case finally told me that there was absolutely nothing else that could be done for me and that I should learn to live with pain. That was the final blow for me; it meant that all I had to look forward to was more pain. I gave up all hope. I was emotionally and physically exhausted.

In early 2007 I read an amazingly informative book called "The Biology of Belief" by Dr. Bruce H. Lipton (a world-renowned cellular biologist), which helped me understand--from a scientific point of view--that our thoughts create our feelings and our feelings create our health. Despite all of the scientific evidence presented in Dr. Lipton's book, I was still somewhat skeptical; but I decided to ignore my skepticism and hang on to my new found hope. I was then introduced to energy medicine. I put some of the techniques to the test with the help of a friend, and I was astonished... how could something so simple be that effective?

I am not going to tell you that you can get rid of physical and/or emotional pain overnight with energy medicine and/or energy psychology, it is a process; but I can share with you how it is helping me. Before energy medicine and energy psychology, I was taking a powerful prescription pain medication three times a day--which provided only partial and temporary relief. After a few months of applying EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and other forms of energy medicine--such as Reiki--on a regular basis, I gradually stopped taking pain medications and anti-depressants altogether. And I am happy to report that, as I write this article, I am no longer in constant pain, and I am neither bedridden nor depressed. In fact, I am actually taking adult education classes in order to prepare myself to join the work-force once again. My plans for next year also include mentoring children.

In no way am I suggesting that you should replace your medications and/or medical treatments with energy medicine or energy psychology. I actually owe my life to modern medicine. I would not have survived breaking my neck in a country without cutting-edge treatment for spinal cord related injuries. What I am suggesting is that you don't have to give up when traditional medicine doesn't seem to be helping. There is a place for every form of healing.

While I still have break-through pain every once in a while, I no longer feel like a victim. I now know that virtually every physical ailment is the result of unresolved emotional trauma. I am currently working on my own list of unresolved emotional issues, one at a time. The more closure I bring to an old issue, the better I feel. I strongly believe that forgiveness played a crucial role in my recovery.

It is now my mission to reach out to people that are experiencing despair due to health problems, especially chronic pain and depression. I was once there myself, and I can completely identify. Whether you are suffering from physical or emotional pain, or you know someone that is going through a similar situation, I would like to invite you to join me in this journey.

I truly hope that through http://www.hotchocolateforthespirit.com I will create a community of people willing to share their experiences to help others, and also to find desperately needed help, information, inspiration and support.

Now that I found meaning to my years of suffering, I understand that everything happens for a reason.

posted by hartfordjhnpwhi @ 10:02 PM 0 comments

Kinder, Gentler Chemotherapy

With the advent of technology brought to the U.S. from France, having to postpone, even stop, regular life activities to go to a chemo ward to receive chemotherapy treatments, may be a thing of the past. Utilizing a portable, computerized pump that can fit in a fanny pack, patients receive their chemotherapy at a time when it will be most effective and least toxic.

"Using a portable, computerized pump to deliver chemotherapy allows patients to participate in normal daily activities such as walking, jogging, yoga, and even sleeping while they are receiving their treatments," states cancer specialist Keith Block, MD, who brought this technology to the U.S, and is a member of the National Cancer Institutes PDQ Cancer CAM Editorial Board. This unique pump allows for a more specialized method of chemotherapy administration than just modifying the timing of the drug alone. This revolutionary delivery system has demonstrated in large randomized trials its potential to improve survival."

One patient, LisaAnn McConnell, used to go in-line skating along Lake Michigan wearing that special fanny pack. Little did anyone know that the fanny pack she wore was administering chemotherapy for her colon cancer.

"It allows for larger doses to be delivered more frequently, with higher efficacy and lower toxicity," said pioneering chronobiologist Dr. William Hrushesky, a senior clinical investigator at the Dorn VA Medical Center in South Carolina, one of just a handful of U.S. locations that offers chronotherapy. "It's kinder, gentler and at the same time, more aggressive and effective."

"Every drug has an optimal time when it is least toxic and most effective," says Dr. Block. "For cancer treatment, this is determined by several factors, including the biological uniqueness of the particular drug being given, the time when the specific type of cancer cells divide the most, when the normal healthy cells of the patient generally divide the least, the patients circadian clock and individual rest-activity cycles, and even the time zone the person resides in."

"We have found that often patients receiving their chemotherapy this way reduce what would have been recurring side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue," explained Dr. Block cofounder and Medical/Scientific Director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care, and Director of Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. This is important because the debilitation caused by chemo can cause patients to reduce or even stop treatments that could otherwise help them win their battle with cancer." In fact, current research shows that up to 1/3 of chemotherapy patients abandon treatments prematurely due to the side effects.

According to Dr. Block, "Even after prior treatments have failed patients, using our specialized pumps to administer chronomodulated chemotherapy, we have been able to re-challenge these same patients with the identical drug regimen and this time around gotten successful results."

McConnell, who was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 46, is the third generation in her family to have been diagnosed with this form of cancer, and until now there have been no survivors. Im happy to say that my doctors now think that my cancer is 100% gone, says McConnell, now 47.

The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care located in Evanston, Illinois, was founded in 1980 by Penny and Keith Block, M.D., committed to the unrelenting belief that no cancer patient should ever be given up on, and with a focus on treating the patient as a whole person, not simply treating the diagnosis. The Center's research-based treatment integrates an innovative approach to the best of conventional medicine with scientifically sound complementary therapies -- therapeutic nutrition, botanical and phytonutrient supplementation, prescriptive exercise, and systematic mind-body strategies, to enhance the recovery process. Block has pioneered this "middle ground" approach to cancer care and optimal health designing a total treatment plan that is tailored to the precise needs of each patient, using a unique set of clinical and laboratory assessments.

The Block Center is breaking new ground with the creation and development of Cancer Rehab as an innovative treatment modality, and is currently the only private North American medical center using chronomodulated chemotherapy. Dr. Block is a member of the National Cancer Institutes PDQ Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Editorial Board in Washington, D.C. While the Block Center is a full treatment clinic, it is also officially a CCOP site through the National Cancer Institute, and is engaged in clinical cancer research with the University of Illinois and other university facilities in the United States and Israel (http://www.blockmd.com)

Betty Hoeffner has been writing articles for various media outlets for the past 30 years. She is executive producer of the patient safety film, Things You Should Know Before Entering the Hospital and president of Hey U.G.L.Y., Inc. NFP, a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit organization that empowers teens with self-esteem building tools, to help them counter challenges such as eating disorders, bullying, violence, substance abuse and suicide. U.G.L.Y. is an acronym meaning Unique Gifted Lovable You.

posted by hartfordjhnpwhi @ 1:05 AM 0 comments