60 per cent of cancer patients have some sort of surgery; sometimes for diagnosis, such as a biopsy, sometimes for treatment; Here we talk about five important things to think about before going under the knife.
Prepare yourself well for cancer surgery
(Chris Woollams. CANCERactive) Here we review how best to prepare yourself for cancer surgery.
1. Understand surgery is unlikely to rid your whole body of cancer
Some surgeons will tell you that they are going to cut all the cancer away. Some will even tell you afterwards that you are "now All Clear; they are really pleased with you; they got it all". Such claims are completely irresponsible. How can they possibly know what else is going on in your body? In colorectal cancer, it is now known that colonies of pathogens exist often involving Fusobacterium and E coli. Taking a tumour out, may just leave another pre-cancerous area no cancer surgeon could possibly see.
With surgery in breast cancer, it is essential that surgeons get good margins. According to research, your survival time depends on it.
In our view cancer is a disease of the whole body; it may appear in a localised lump. If your rose had three black spots on one leaf, and you tore the leaf off and destroyed it, would you think the 'blackspot disease' had left the plant? So too with cancer.
All the latest research points to the possibility that very early on in the cancer process, rogue cells containing messages may be fired off from the original primary location, to lie dormant around your body.
2. Prepare your whole body
There is research showing that people who meditate before surgery lose less blood.
Maybe you want to heal the wounds and cuts more quickly without scarring - look at taking total vitamin E or using aloe vera..
Make sure your immune system is in tip top condition before the surgery.
Maybe you are worried about the antibiotics damaging your good bacteria and that you might get bad yeasts, cystitis, thrush, mouth ulcers and bloating afterwards - look at taking oregano oil, pau d'arco, or caprylic acid to kill the yeasts. Take a top quality probiotic like Chris Woollams Probio8 Max - its practitioner Strength.
It might be a good idea to read our best-selling book to sort out potential gut problems. Go to: Heal your Gut, Heal your Body
3. Don't risk the surgery spreading the cancer
If you are going to have surgery (even just a biopsy) MAKE SURE YOU READ THE ARTICLE Can surgery spread cancer? and prepare yourself thoroughly before you go into surgery. You should look into taking an antihistamine - like Tagamet or Loratadine which can increase survival times. There is so much you can do to increase your personal odds of beating the disease.
Go to: Can Surgery Spread Cancer?
Pre-menopausal women need to know that Guy's Hospital conducted research showing that breast cancer patients who have surgery in the second half of their cycle (when progesterone dominates) have much better survival rates than breast cancer patients having operations in the first part of their cycle (when oestrogen dominates).
And, according to top surgeon Chris Eden, men who have prostate surgery should go to a surgeon with a lot of operations under his belt. The more he has completed the less your risk of side-effects. There's research on that too.
4. Biopsy can spread cancer
In Louisville USA, Dr John Jurige uses HIFU with great success for prostate cancer. But he doesn't just attack the prostate; he goes round the outside as he says 'to mop us the prostate cancer cells released by the biopsy. In Germany, Clinics like Klinik St Georg who use ablation, claim a near 100% survival record in people who have not had biopsies, but only 75% for those men who have. There are also studies from Guy's saying that biopsy can spread prostate cancer as they compromise the capsule.
5. Alternatives to surgery
Alternatively, you may want to skip the surgery and plump for HIFU - it uses ultrasound to heat and melt away the tumour. Or localised hyperthermia - radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation - or the Nanoknife IRE.
Just to be really controversial, you could look at using a herbal poultice to kill the cancer tumour and draw it out of the body. Far fetched? See Black Salve or the traditional Australian weed treatment for skin cancer Euphorbia peplus on this Website.
Also you should take a look at our simple guide to surgery - it will give you some of the questions you should ask in advance!
Go to: How to prepare yourself naturally for surgery