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The world lost a true visionary yesterday with the passing of Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple. I remember back in the late 80’s when I was a young computer programmer/designer fresh out of grad school using the (Apple) MacIntosh computer for the very first time.
The MacIntosh user interface was so intuitive and such a leap ahead of the predominant Microsoft DOS operating system (remember? type commands at the green screen prompt) that I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
This new and emerging user interface in the 1980s that is taken for granted today rocketed the task of computer design light years ahead and allowed the development of computer systems to at last be something users could be involved in and easily understand.
There is no doubt that Steve Jobs’ passing at 56 years old was premature. He had much more to contribute to the world and I for one feel the world has been cheated now that he is gone.
Pictures of him in his final days showed a frail, shockingly thin frame consistent with a person who had undergone chemotherapy treatments for cancer.
While every single detail of Mr. Jobs’ cancer treatments over the years are not publicly known, one can’t help but wonder if his chemotherapy and radiation treatments contributed to his demise.
Just a few weeks ago, Kara Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Edward Kennedy died at age 51 from a heart attack. Her brother, Patrick Kennedy said that her many years of chemotherapy to treat lung cancer took a severe toll on her health and weakened her physically to the point where “her heart just gave out.”
Is Conventional Treatment for Cancer Worse Than the Disease?
It seems that chemotherapy/radiation treatments causing death rather than preserving life are becoming more common.
Radiation in particular ups the risk of heart problems in women undergoing conventional treatment for breast cancer. The May 2000 issue of The Lancet reported that women who had undergone radiation for breast cancer increased their odds of dying from other causes, usually heart related, by 21% compared with women who had not undergone radiation with the 20 year survival rate for breast cancer improving by only 1%.
Does that seem worth it to you? It sure doesn’t to me.
Chemotherapy is another conventional treatment for cancer that seems to hasten people’s death. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death in the UK reported that its review of 600 cancer patients who died within 30 days of treatment revealed that over one quarter had in fact been killed by the chemo and not cancer.
The extreme toxicity of chemo treatments is what causes the rapid demise, usually infections such as the very serious neutropenic sepsis.
In the case of Mr. Jobs, this appears to be what happened. According to reports from multiple sources, he had received chemotherapy treatments in recent months at the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto California and his devastating physical deterioration from these treatments almost certainly contributed to his quick passing.
Would You Ever Use Chemo or Radiation to Treat Cancer?
If you received a cancer diagnosis, would you ever agree to chemotherapy or radiation treatments or would you explore nontoxic alternative therapies?
I, for one, would not consider conventional cancer treatment as such an approach to disease seems more than a little misguided. How can use of toxic chemicals and/or radiation possibly be beneficial when both of these treatments actually have been shown to cause cancer in the long run?
It seems that a more holistic approach to cancer would be wiser than the slash and burn approach of conventional cancer treatments.
In his article A Holistic Approach To Cancer, Dr. Tom Cowan MD writes:
“… the job of the doctor is to distinguish between the therapy and the illness. What I mean by that is if you get a splinter in your finger, and then your body makes pus to get the splinter out, is the pus the therapy or the disease? We know that pus indicates infection and the presence of microorganisms, and we learned in medical school that doctors should kill the pus. But I don’t think it is that far of a stretch to see that if you have a splinter in your finger, the pus is the therapy for the splinter. If you don’t take the splinter out, the pus will do it for you. If you mistakenly think that the pus is the disease and you destroy the pus, the splinter will stay and your body will attempt this process again. If you destroy the pus again, your body might repeat this process three or four more times. Then you have a chronic infection as the body keeps trying to remove the splinter. Eventually it will either succeed, or it will encapsulate the splinter, which is a tumor, a new growth. It is not a cancerous tumor but a benign cystic tumor of the splinter. The understanding that the pus is the therapy allows you to predict what is going to happen in the future.
Now think of this example. Joe Bloke is a smoker. In other words, he puts a bunch of splinters in his lungs every day. Twice a year Joe gets cough, fever, mucus–all to get the splinters out of his lungs. I prefer to say “cough, fever, mucus” rather than “bronchitis” because the word “bronchitis” separates you from the reality of the situation. His body is producing an inflammatory response–it is making a mucus-pus-fever response to cleanse his lungs of splinters. If Joe goes to a doctor who makes the mistake of thinking that the response is the problem, he will give drugs to stop the bronchitis–which is actually the medicine. So Joe will be left with the splinters. That scenario will happen twice a year for thirty years and then Joe has a big bag of splinters in his lungs, and we call that lung cancer.”
Holistic approaches to cancer help resolve whatever caused the cancer in the first place. Conventional chemo/radiation treat only the “pus” of the cancer as described by Dr. Cowan.
Stopping cancer symptoms by “killing” the cancer cells with chemo or radiation is not in any way a cure as Mr. Jobs tragically discovered in his long running quest to regain his health.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
Source: Doctors Rely on Chemo Too Much
I think I would explore all of my options including diet, Essiac tea, defintely meditation, and check out anybody on hayhouseradio.com who could offer some suggestions! Chemo seems counterintuitive when you are vulnerable. My sister-in-law underwent chemo twice and more than ten years later is the picture of health I think. But, I am not sure if it is for me. I work for the nhs and see some benefits of conventional meds but as a spiriitual healer I see so many benefits of healing the spirit.
I have lost dear loved ones to cancer, and this post certainly supports the things I was thinking immediately after their deaths. I watched them go through many painful years of chemo/radiation to attempt to treat their illness. They were told they were in remission, only to have the cancer come back more viscious. AND THEN, even after they’d been given a timeframe of only a few weeks to live, the doctors STILL pumped cancer drugs into their bodies. Now, I truly believe that God is the author of life, and thet He alone appoints the day of death, and no matter what course we take in life- we must die. I really think though, that they would have not been so sick in their last days, had they not been dealing with side effects of those drugs at the same time.
Personally- I’d rather use alternative methods of healing the cancer, and have less sickness in my last days.
I find it interesting how some folks are so quick to slam me as never having walked in their shoes when they don’t even know what my shoes are. Just because I blog doesn’t mean you know me personally.
I have had two friends in their 30s die this year from chemotherapy. One had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, the other a form of leukemia. Both died not from their diseases, but from their treatment. I have to wonder if they would have survived longer with no treatment. Not only did the treatment kill them, they spent their last days feeling weak and sick. I don’t think I would ever consider chemotherapy or radiation for myself.
who are you talking to matt??
Hi, great article of awareness (thank you so much)…I never thought much about cancer treatment until I saw a documentary on hulu.com called “The Gerson Miracle” with my sister. After that she bought me and herself the book for further investigation. I continue to be enlightened by this book I learned a lot of beneficial knowledgeable info from it. what I have taken from it is a guideline to healthy eating and if I should ever become ill with cancer or other illnesses I will Not use chemo or radiation as an option towards a cure, but do my best to administer the full Gerson Therapy treatment which does not include that. Note:Gerson therapy does not treat all cancers, but has cured many.
For now, I read the book often to reiterate as a guideline for myself the concepts and importance of eating organic foods, no meat (still working on this one), increasing potassium and lessening salts and drinking carrot/apple juice daily and staying away from harmful chemicals etc. It’s been about a year now since I started using the concepts of the
Gerson therapy and I’ve noticed greatly an improvement on my quality of life even though I considered myself on an all natural chemical free path before.
Thanks for posting this.
Meat does not cause cancer!
I am a massage therapist and Reiki Master and I believe that the human body has an enormous capacity to heal itself if we allow it. Nourishing all aspects of ourselves–physical, mental, emotional, spiritual–keeps us healthy, happy and whole. I am a firm supporter of alternative therapies, however, I also keep in mind that allopathic medicine does have it’s place. There are times and situations where it would be the better choice.
Steve Jobs was a brilliant man who touched hundreds of thousands of lives through the company and products he created. He will surely be missed. Even in his passing, he is still touching people. If he hadn’t died as he did, would we even be having this discussion and sharing of thoughts? Would we even be thinking about how we would respond to a similar situation? Would we be having the conversations with our loved ones about our wishes should we become ill and have to rely on their care?
We can only speculate as to if he made the right choices and if there might have been alternatives that would have been better. Only Steve can tell us if he made the right choices and if he was happy with them. Sadly, he isn’t here to tell us.
Would You Ever Use Chemo or Radiation for Cancer? – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/QUuvjYTP
My son was diagnosed with a paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma, he underwent 6 months of chemotherapy after surgery to remove the tumour and and one of his testicles. I struggled with the decision, the treatment was brutal. Our health routine is otherwise totally holistic but let me tell you that when an oncologist looks and you and tells you that your otherwise healthy child has a malignant tumour, you do whatever it takes to give that child the future he deserves. Do you know how fast cancer can grow and spread through your whole body?
Sarah, I love your blog, I am dedicated to WAPF but I do agree that it is a little brutal for someone who has never had to make that decision about chemotherapy to have such a public opinion, it hurts those of us who have truly had to struggle with the decision. You just can’t know until you get there.
I am happy to say that my son is a very happy and healthy 5 year old at just over one year off-treatment. He grows and thrives and embraces life as fully, if not more, than other children his age.
With love and understanding,
NIcole
With all due respect to your difficult situation, how do you know what decisions I’ve had to make personally? That is a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?
Wow, your complete lack of compassion and humility toward a mother in this situation is appalling. And we can likely guess that you haven’t had to make this decision, because knowing your style of writing and your blogging history, you would have posted that you’d cured cancer with butter oil and grass fed ghee, or something of the like.
I have definitely learned somethings from your site, and I appreciate the alternate points of view you’ve helped me obtain. However, I cannot keep reading your site. It has started turning my stomach. My time is too valuable to continue to keep coming here.
And go ahead and flame me, as I know you will anyone who dares question your “wise ways.” Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll end up in your weekly “make fun of my readers” post.
There are many things I haven’t blogged about and will never blog about. Don’t presume to know me when you don’t.
Anyone who stands up for something will create enemies. And I’m sure Sarah will persevere through this because with this post she is helping others see that their fate doesn’t lie in chemo/radiation (if someone gets better in spite of those treatments- IT WAS NOT drugs or radiation that cured them!), it is apparent she will lose readers, but because of her courage to speak about this, she will gain some as well.
Wow, what a nasty tone in your reply. You could have made the same point in a nicer way.
My thoughts and prayer are with the Jobs family and the Apple community.
Having found the holistic approach to living while undergoing chemo I think often about what I would do if I had a recurrence of cancer. Knowing that 2 1/2 years later my life is a daily struggle with the side effects of chemo, steroids, and even the IV dies used for imaging, I know I’d do it differently if I had it to do all over again. Hinesite being what it is I may have had the treatment but I would have been more diligent with holistic therapies at the same time as well.
Now after a tonsilectomy, hysterectomy, and mastectomy I have learned that God gave us all these parts for a reason and insted of arbitrarily removing them maybe life should be spent making them healthy enough to fight off desease. I assure you I’ll think twice before I consider an “ectomy” of any kind again!