Stay Healthy During Chemo. Джо Диспенза

      Introduction

      I am writing this book because when I faced a cancer crisis of my own, I could not find a book that would give me solid, reliable information fast enough.

      Here is what happened. Out of the blue, my partner, who seemed to be enjoying perfect health up to then, was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The disease was both virulent and aggressive, advancing daily throughout his body's lymphatic system and threatening to attack his internal organs.

      After we got over the shock of an impending death sentence, we began to sort out what needed to be done. Both of us are confirmed natural healing advocates: I am a naturopathic doctor; he has written a book and scores of articles on alternative healing methods. By temperament and by training, we leaned toward seeking a cancer cure outside what is considered “conventional” medical procedure. But, mainly because of the cancer's rapid progress, we opted for traditional cancer treatment under the direction of a traditional oncologist.

      We understood that choosing conventional treatment over some of the new alternative, complementary, and integrative approaches probably meant chemotherapy and radiation, maybe even surgery. These are the standard weapons used by allopathic (conventional Western) oncologists in the “war against cancer.”

      We also suspected that this arsenal of medical chemicals, especially in the case of chemotherapy, probably would be effective in attacking the cancer, but might not be helpful beyond that. I knew that chemotherapy is designed to kill cells in the body and will stop rapidly dividing cells from multiplying. That is what it will do. What chemo will not do is make a person healthy.

      Overnight, I became both a full-time caregiver and nutritional researcher. I was highly motivated to find out how to help my partner stay alive. Because the cancer was advancing rapidly, I closed down my practice and put myself back in graduate school, with myself as the only student—as if I was working on another doctoral degree in naturopathy, this time with a specialization in staying healthy during chemotherapy.

      So, we entered traditional cancer treatment—sometimes referred to as “the cancer treatment system”—but with our eyes wide open, looking for every opportunity to balance the destructive work of the chemo chemicals with constructive, life-boosting foods and supplements.

      As my research progressed, I began introducing natural healing practices into my partner's personal anti-cancer program. The first order of business was to radically alter what he was eating. He had always been a careful eater, but the new situation called for a thorough scrutiny of the foods that had been his regular fare up to that point.

      If the first big area of concern was what he was eating, the second, and just as important, was what he was taking—that is, supplements. My research was showing that the most highly trusted sources were endorsing the use of supplements during chemo, and in therapeutic doses, many times the daily dosage for a healthy person.

      Six chemo treatments were prescribed by the doctor. They would be administered three weeks apart, allowing just enough time to recover from one session before undertaking the next. Again, because of the rapid spread of the disease, chemo would begin three days after the initial diagnosis.

      Along with conventional treatment, which included not only the chemo drugs but also other pharmaceuticals for various side ailments before, during, and after the actual chemo days, we embarked on a strict regimen of a newly formulated