Hypnosis Speeds Up Recovery From Cancer Operations

An article published in The Daily Mail on June 14th, 2011 caught my eye. It was entitled "Hypnotism 'speeds up cancer op recovery'." This article went on to discuss the positive results of some recent research conducted by a group of Belgium anesthetists with patients who were undergoing breast cancer surgery.

This is not the first example of such research being carried out, and neither is it the first that has produced positive and powerful results. Hypnosis has been found to aid recovery from many a serious physical ailment or surgical intervention, and many cancer operations thankfully fall into this paradigm.

How can hypnosis help one to recover more quickly from a serious surgical intervention? There are in fact many areas in which hypnosis can assist. The first is that a relaxed patient is inevitably a better patient. The second is that a patient with a positive expectation is also a better patient.

The powerful effect of hypnosis spreads further however then these two basic although hugely important predictive factors. Research has shown time and again that the use of hypnosis can lead to the patient feeling more comfortable throughout the operation, spending less time in the recovery stages, healing and getting back on their feet more quickly.

When you begin to think about it, these effects are potentially quite huge and a patient has absolutely nothing to lose in making the decision to use hypnosis to assist in their surgery. The use of hypnosis is not an either/or choice whereby you give up the chance of an alternative option; rather, it is a complementary treatment that can only enhance other more mainstream forms of assistance. There are no negative side effects, and so it's got to be worth a try.

The more positive you are in using hypnosis, the better the outcome will usually be. As stated before, a willing patient is a better patient and this is equally true of the application of hypnosis as it is of any other type of medical treatment, intervention or therapy.

If hypnosis is a strange or new idea to you in relation to surgery then I suggest keeping an open mind and reading up on the subject. It is also true that a well-informed patient is a better patient!

Riding the Mammogram Guidelines Roller Coaster

Have you made your personal peace with the 2009 U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations that annual breast screening should begin at age 50, rather than the previously recommended age of 40? Well, not so fast. Here comes another set of recommendations, this time brought to you by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The ACOG is recommending that doctors should offer all women in their 40s the chance to get annual mammograms.

The crux of the difference between the two groups recommendations is the age at which annual mammograms should begin - age 40 or age 50? Unlike the ACOG, the USPSTF's recommendations are based upon a broad comprehensive look at the numbers, numbers which clearly fire up emotions when we inevitably associate them with our loved one's. Dr. Michael LeFevre, from the USPSTF, breaks it down like this:

It's about balancing the benefits and the harms of a test. LeFevre explains that of every 1,000 40-year-old women, 30 would be expected to ultimately die of breast cancer if they never had a mammogram. If those 1,000 women are screened every other year between age 50 and 75, (as recommended by USPSTF), that number drops to 23 deaths. Starting screening in the same group at 40 instead would save one additional life, meaning 22 would die of breast cancer, on average.

What if that one additional life is our's!?

Part of the numbers analysis is all those women getting annual mammograms from age 40-50 who are not saved from breast cancer in the process but who potentially suffer through numerous false-positives and painful biopsies, and who potentially increase their risk of developing breast cancer due to the cumulative radiation exposure that comes with an additional 10 years of annual mammograms. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, further point outs that because most women's estrogen levels are still fairly high at age 40, their breast tissue is still generally quite dense, making it hard to distinguish irregularities on a mammogram. So are mammograms the best method of monitoring women's breast health before age 5o?

One woman writes into the Today Show's mammogram Q&A section with the following:

"Does anyone else ever look down at their breasts like they are ticking time-bombs?"

That was definitely me prior to my prophylactic double mastectomy. Now I wasn't your "average" woman with an average risk of developing breast cancer, not as a BRCA2 carrier whose grandmother, mother, aunt and sisters had all battled breast cancer. It was upon learning that I was BRCA positive that I finally felt like I had the specifics I needed to make the decision that was best for me. For most women, those at "average" risk of developing breast cancer, there are little or no specifics, just fear. Disagreements between those we look to for guidance just adds to our anxiety.

Natural Therapy For Breast Cancer

Is there a natural therapy for breast cancer that works? Yes there are many, and the reason you may not know about them is that they are suppressed by big Pharma because there is no big money in natural therapy for breast cancer.

I recently interviewed a lady who had stage 4 breast cancer and made a full recovery using natural therapies. So even at these advanced stages a natural therapy for breast cancer can still work and a full recovery can still be made.

It is important to understand and as simple and obvious as it may sound, we must look to nature for a natural therapy for breast cancer. Also remembering that our bodies are self-healing.

For our body's to heal, we must remove the stress, oxygenate the cells, promote blood flow, open the channels of elimination and flood the body with high-grade nutrition. This may seem complex, but it is actually very simple, so let's look at this natural therapy for breast cancer now.

Step 1: Look at your life and see what is stressing you. It may be a toxic relationship, your job, your living environment.... Stress creates acid in the body, which leads to a weak immune system and causes the cells to become cancerous. What ever is causing your stress in life, get rid of it, because this is your life and nothing is more important.

Step 2: With the understanding that cancer cells are anaerobic (meaning without oxygen), we must learn a correct breathing practice that will oxygenate all our cells keeping them healthy and vibrant. This step is not just important it is vital!

Step 3 is all about blood flow, so as well as oxygen we also want the blood to flow to all the cells, as circulation is a key element to activate our self-healing mechanism. Light aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, cycling, or simply bouncing on a rebounder / mini trampet is a phenomenal low impact exercise.

Step 4 is open the 5 channels of elimination so toxins can exit your body.

    * Spend at least 15 minutes a day with your feet in the sand or on the grass to allow electromagnetic chaos to leave and intake of the earths good energy.
    * Stop using antiperspirants and deodorants and get a good sweat on each day.
    * Keep hydrated so you are urinating at least 10 times a day.
    * Make sure your bowels are functioning well and you are going 2 to 3 times per day.
    * 70% of the body's toxins are expelled through the lungs, so that is another reason why correct breathing is vitally important.

Step 5 is to eat a raw vegan diet made up of green juices, fruit smoothies, salads and some nuts and seeds.