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Prevention
by
David Findlay
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When I wrote about my cancer experience,
I was planning to write a follow-up with “Cancer – Part
Two” etc. But…
I wrote in the last issue that the solution to cancer was not to get
it in the first place! And I wasn’t trying to be cute –
I meant it. This led logically to the whole subject of Prevention.
How does one prevent getting cancer?
This led to me thinking – which led to a whole can of worms!
Actually earthworms, although not fuzzy creatures, are remarkably
useful. They prepare the ground, aerate it and make it more fertile.
So, rather than attempt to stuff the worms back into their can, I
decided to let them come out and play.
There is a basic philosophy behind this UnCommon Sense! series. It
is that, if something appears to make sense, it probably does; and
that, if something does not appear to make sense, it probably doesn’t.
Of course these basic principles are not absolutes. The sun does not
go around the earth, though it “obviously” does. However,
they can be used to unravel quite complex issues to come up with workable
approaches. They can be used in our daily lives, in business, in politics,
and in international and global affairs. However, since common sense
is an approach so rarely used, I called the column “UnCommon
Sense.” Someday I may write a philosophical treatise on the
subject. Someday there may be a Common Sense party. Someday…
But let me get back to reality! And back to cancer.
That prevention is better than cure is obvious – certainly a
matter of common sense. From this it follows that our healthcare system
should have prevention as its primary goal, and cure a secondary one.
In practice it is the other way round – which violates common
sense. What the proportion should be, I don’t know. How about
90% of one’s time, effort and money devoted to prevention and
10% to cure? Just a suggestion, but isn’t it one that makes
sense?
This could well be a rule of thumb in other areas. Take the “War
on Terror,” for example. At the moment we are probably spending
90% on going after the terrorists or trying to stop them, and maybe
10% – though this is probably exaggerating – on prevention
(dealing with the underlying causes). How about reversing this? How
much do we spend on catching criminals and punishing them, compared
to preventing crime in the first place?
But back to cancer.
It is almost axiomatic that, if I had been perfectly healthy, I would
never have gotten cancer in the first place. So what was I doing wrong?
A logical approach, but a bit depressing! Perhaps it would be more
helpful to look at “perfect health” and what it consists
of. A complex subject indeed! Maybe, using a common-sense approach,
we can arrive at certain basics.
Let’s first divide the subject into manageable segments.
(1) We have bodies. (Some would claim that we are bodies, but
I would disagree.) Bodies are machines and, like cars, they need to
be treated well to function properly. Any discussion of perfect health,
therefore, has to take into account maintenance of the body.
(2) We are spiritual beings. (Some would disagree, but I won’t
get into that!) Any discussion of perfect health has to include our
spiritual health.
(3) We have minds. (Some would claim that the mind and the spirit
are the same thing, or the mind and the brain. Again, I would disagree.)
Any discussion of perfect health has to include health of the mind.
(4) Emotions. I’m going to add these as another segment.
One could argue with some justification that one’s emotions
are part of the mind and/or the body. “Hate” for example
could be regarded as a mental attitude. Depression could be regarded
as mental and/or physical. But to have these as a segment is, as a
practical matter, useful.
(5) Relationships. We do not live totally alone. So perfect
health would have to include our relationships: spouse, family, friends,
etc.
(6) The Environment. Just as we live together with other people,
we are all affected by the environment. So it should be included.
I could no doubt go on and create more segments, but we already have
six which is more than enough for a start. Each could in fact become
the subject for a whole book.
How should one go about using these segments?
It is not practical to work on all six at the same time. And there
is no “right” sequence. Any improvement in any of the
six segments will tend to lead to improvement in the other segments.
For example, if I cultivate a positive attitude (mind), it is likely
to affect my emotions, my physical health (body) and my relationships.
If I improve my physical health (body), it is easier to think positively,
feel good emotionally, etc.
One approach, which fits the common-sense paradigm, would be to check
down the list and see either which seems to fit best or which is easier
to tackle first. Then work on that. Periodically one can review the
list as the emphasis may have shifted.
First, however, it is important to decide for oneself how important
perfect health is. My conclusion was that without good health the
rest of life becomes a strain. It is difficult to be sick and work.
It is difficult to maintain a positive attitude. Difficult to enjoy
relationships. But, although many of us could agree, in theory at
least, that maintaining good health should be a priority, how many
of us give it the attention it deserves? Also, and this is a practical
matter, achieving and maintaining good health can easily be more than
a full-time job. Most of us have a regular job, family commitments
etc. which take a lot of our time. It may be useful, therefore, first
of all to take a look at how much time one is prepared to devote to
the project. An hour or two a day? An hour or two a week? For me,
for a while, it was almost full time – but then my life depended
on it!
As a cancer survivor, my initial emphasis was on the health of the
body but, now that I’m feeling physically stronger, my attention
is turning more and more to some of the other segments.
The rest of this column, however, I’ll devote to health of the
body. Not because it is necessarily the most important, but because
this is where I started; and this may be the most real for many people.
Here are some basics:
(a) Water and food. Water apparently is more important than
food. One can go without food for a much longer period. Also the body
consists largely of water. So the amount and quality of our water
is important. Our food is the “fuel” we burn to generate
energy, repair the body, build muscle etc. Therefore, clearly the
amount and quality of our food is also important. If we gave our cars
the wrong octane of gasoline, we should soon find that they didn’t
run as well, if at all.
(b) Oxygen. We use oxygen to burn our food (fuel) which in
turn generates energy. Food and water would be useless without oxygen.
We can only live for a few minutes without breathing. Clearly the
amount and quality of the air we breathe is important. Some oxygen
we get through the skin and some from our food and water.
(c) Exercise. Apart from being an internal combustion engine,
the body has a number of functions. One of them is to move. Just as
a car is not designed to sit in the garage all day long, the body
is designed to do things: transport us and take us places. Today we
can do more and more without using the body but that does not affect
the fact that it is designed to move. If it does not move enough,
it will deteriorate.
(d) Disposal of waste. A gasoline-burning car is not totally
efficient. There is waste that needs to be disposed of, hence the
exhaust system. The body is somewhat similar. Not all the food we
eat is converted to energy or used usefully. There is waste that needs
to be disposed of, or it jams up the works.
The above four subdivisions do not complete the picture of perfect
health for the body, since they do not take into account the effect
of the spirit, the mind, the emotions, etc on the body. However, looking
at the body as a machine, we are pretty well covered.
Where to start? In some cases the answer is obvious. In other cases
it doesn’t really matter. Start somewhere. Any improvement in
any of the (a) to (d) will be taking a step in the direction of better
health. I put attention on all four.
(a) Water and food. I have known for years of the importance of
good water. There is a lot of debate as to what is good water (which
I won’t get into here) but one thing is clear that it is not
untreated tap water. We use distilled water with added minerals and
oxygen. We have made changes in the food we eat. For example, we have
added fresh fruit and vegetable juice. I have added a number of nutritional
supplements (too many to list!).
(b) Oxygen. I have tried to increase the intake of oxygen by
breathing better, spending more time out in fresh air, exercising,
and taking stabilized oxygen as a nutritional supplement.
(c) Exercise. During four and a half months of chemo I lost
a lot of muscle. Exercise, therefore, has been particularly important.
Apart from walking for a couple of miles or so every evening –
I have done this for years – we have added going to the gym
to work out 3 or 4 times a week. Something we enjoy much more than
I would have supposed!
(d) Disposal of waste. During the chemo, which inevitably involved
the intake of a lot of toxic material, I fully realized the important
of elimination of waste. Increasing exercise and getting sufficient
rest has helped considerably. Drinking enough good water has also
been important. An infrared sauna has also been useful.
I am giving the above just as an example. We all have limited time
and resources. Your individual recipe for good health is up to you.
Look over the various subdivisions; set some realistic goals; make
a plan; start working your plan; modify your plan as needed. Hopefully
the above will have given you some ideas. Think 90% prevention, 10%
cure. It’s worth it!
I appreciate hearing from you.
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MARCH/APRIL
2005
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FEATURE ARTICLES
Editorial
by Barbara Casey
Holistic
Health Q & A
by Dr. Felicity Talbot
How holistic health care can increase the health
and quality of life of animals.
The
Heart of Breast Cancer
by Inger Mercedes Padilla
The relationship between the health of the heart
chakra and a woman’s breasts.
The Right
Job
by Shannon Terry
Tips for choosing a job that matches your natural
mind/body type.
Uncommon
Sense!
by David Findlay
Click
here for more articles on the theme Relaxation
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