Fighting Cancer
This book is available to you without charge with the belief that it offers you methods to improve the quality of your life and increase your chances of successfully fighting cancer. After you have read the book, please give it to another cancer patient. If you are unable to do this, please give it to a library or minister so that they may loan it to someone it can help.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. This book is available to you without charge with the belief that it will truly help you and increase your chances of successfully fighting your disease.
We would appreciate hearing from you after you read this book. Drop us a note. We care about you!
Annette Bloch
Bloch Cancer Hot Line
One H&R Block Way
Kansas City, MO 64105
816-854-5050
800-433-0464
hotline@blochcancer.org
Fighting Cancer
By Annette and Richard Bloch
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO HELPING YOURSELF FIGHT CANCER
Foreword by Vincent T. DeVita, Jr.,
M.D.
Director of the National Cancer Institute
1980-1988
Copyright © 2008 R. A. Bloch Cancer Foundation
Published by R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation at Smashwords
R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation
A not-for-profit corporation
The Cancer Hot Line
One
H&R Block Way
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
816-854-5050
800-433-0464
hotline@blochcancer.org
blochcancer.org
First Printing May 1985
Second
Printing May 1988
Third Printing October 1989
Fourth Printing
July 1990
Fifth Printing May 1991
Sixth Printing July 1992
Seventh Printing March 1995
Eighth Printing March 1998
Ninth
Printing October 1998
Tenth Printing January 1999
Eleventh
Printing October 2002
Twelfth Printing April 2005
Thirteenth
Printing August 2008
eBook version December 2011
Cover design by Gary Worth Cover
photography by Mick McGee
eBook conversion by Mike
Lyon
Editor’s Preface
I was terrified that I would lose my father, Richard Bloch, after he was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer and given three months to live. That was March of 1978. Thank God he sought a second opinion, underwent a long and difficult treatment and was completely cured! For the remaining 26 years of his life, my father devoted himself to helping other people fight cancer, and my mother joined him in that mission.
In 1984, my parents finished writing Fighting Cancer. They handed it to me to edit and publish. This is the thirteenth printing, and with each printing as I read through Fighting Cancer, I am surprised at how good it is!
We have periodically revised the book to make sure that the statistics and treatments are current. In this edition, the University of Kansas Cancer Center staff aided us in updating the contents. I want to especially thank Lynn Marzinski RN MSN AOCN CNS for her work on this revision.
We receive letters regularly from people who have found Fighting Cancer to be extremely helpful. As long as that is the case, we will continue to distribute the book. So, even though my father passed away a (from heart failure, not cancer!), my family and I with the wonderful support of our dedicated staff and volunteers will continue with my father’s mission of helping the next person who gets cancer. This book is my father’s voice start to finish; it sounds just like him. I hope you, too, can hear Dad’s voice as you read, and that his unsinkable spirit will inspire and assist you as it has so many others.
-- Linda Bloch Lyon
Dedication
This book is written for and dedicated to the people with cancer who want to do everything in their power to help themselves and their doctor so they will have the best chance of beating their disease.
Five days after I was told I had “terminal” lung cancer, another doctor told me he would cure me so I could work for cancer. I promised that if he did, I would. CANCER…there’s hope, Fighting Cancer and Guide For Cancer Supporters are three of the many projects we are working on to fulfill that promise. We trust this book will provide you with the knowledge, hope, inspiration and desire to successfully fight your disease.
One woman wrote to us saying, “Last August 24, I had surgery for ovarian cancer. The doctor said the cancer had spread throughout the abdominal cavity and he saw no point in putting me through chemotherapy or radiation. He felt I should live whatever time I had left in peace and dignity. I refused to accept that and decided to read everything I could on my enemy. One of the first books I read was Richard Bloch’s CANCER…there’s hope. After reading this, I started practicing “imaging” and continued to read and practice attitudinal healing. When the doctor next saw me, he was so surprised at my appearance and progress, he decided to go ahead with chemotherapy. The cancer now seems to be localized in one mass that should be removable by surgery... I feel I owe a great deal to Mr. Bloch’s books...”
We know everyone cannot beat cancer. If this book helps just one person overcome their problem, all our efforts will be worthwhile. Maybe that one person can be you.
Acknowledgments
Our sincerest gratitude to the wonderful doctors and other individuals without whose conscientious and dedicated time and assistance, this book would not have been possible:
Dr. Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., former director of the National Cancer Institute, and his very capable staff who assisted in reviewing this manuscript.
The outstanding medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, pathologist, diagnostic radiologist, surgeon and psychologist who, even though extremely busy, took their valuable time and meticulously went over this book, offering valuable comments and suggestions.
The well-known and beloved minister who helped us examine the spiritual aspects of a life-threatening illness.
Our daughter, Linda Lyon, whose countless hours of editing and efforts in publishing made this book a reality.
And particularly to all those wonderful doctors who donated their efforts at the R.A. Bloch Cancer Management Center, from whose guidance and inspiration we were able to gain the knowledge to assemble this information.
Table of Contents
Growth and Detection of Cancer Cells
Does Cancer Chemotherapy Work?
6 - Physician-Patient Communication
Three photographs of cancer cells
Thx Importancx of Propxr Trxatmxnt
Foreword
This book is a product of Dick and Annette Bloch’s own experience with cancer. The overriding message that cancer patients must utilize all available information to seek out the best possible care and do everything they can to maximize their chances for therapeutic success is a vital one. This is a strong personal statement about striving for life. It should motivate many cancer patients to obtain state-of-the-art treatment and to play an active part in increasing their own chances of being among the growing number of survivors.
Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D.
Director,
1980-1988
National Cancer Institute
Introduction
Cancer is the most curable of all chronic diseases. Today, the goal is not merely to prolong life the best that could be hoped for in the past but to cure the patient of the disease.
Everyone cannot beat cancer. Some people are going to succumb to it. If you try to fight it, however, you have a chance of beating it.
This book is not written to entertain or lecture. It is written as concisely as possible by a layman in layman’s language to help the individual who has cancer have the best possible chance of beating it.
Be positive! Start with the assumption that everything in this book applies to you. Don’t be negative. Don’t assume that anything may be fine for someone else but not for you. That particular constructive suggestion is specifically for you! Don’t knock it until you have tried it. After you give it a fair trial, then and only then can you honestly say it isn’t for you.
You are a unique person. You have been brought up with individual standards, practicing your own set of customs based on your beliefs from the experiences to which you were exposed. Not only is no one else identical to you, but they are not even similar to you. There will be many things in this book that you can readily identify with and completely understand. Other facets will seem contrary to your nature and beyond belief or comprehension. I urge you to remember that these are generally not only my personal opinions or beliefs; they are the recommendations of outstanding scientists, physicians and other professionals who deal with cancer patients regularly.
The only purpose in writing this book is to see that you have the best chance of beating cancer as easily as possible. We are not writing this book for money we will never get one penny from it. We are not writing it for ego we have had more than enough accolades, even though we always like to see your letters. We are not writing this book to keep ourselves busy there are more things we want to do than we have time for. We don’t know you and probably will never meet you. We are writing this book for your benefit only!
Nothing is put in this book to fill space. You got it to help you fight cancer, not to keep you busy reading. It is not possible to emphasize enough how important every item expressed is to the assurance of recovery. Don’t rationalize that one little item can be ignored without jeopardizing your chances of recovery. That single factor that you have never heard of and probably doubt the validity of and may seem like a nuisance could be the key to recovery. Let me assure you that each thought has been originated by someone other than me. They have been discussed over and over by many people. They have been tried by numerous cancer patients before you and are believed to be a positive factor in recovery. Furthermore, nothing contained herein is believed to have any downside risk. Many other things could have been put in but might pose a potential risk for some people. It is believed that nothing in this book, if properly implemented, has any negative possibility.
We want to go on record cautioning you that these are only suggestions for you to try in a positive view. In all probability, every detail will not be constructive for each individual. Do not get guilty feelings if you try something and do not feel that it is helping you. Very rarely can anyone actually “feel” cancer leaving. It is important, however, to try anything that is not harmful because it might help, but have no guilt feelings if it does not.
It is my personal opinion that the greatest cause of mortality from cancer is the individual equating death and cancer. When an individual is diagnosed with a malignancy, their first assumption is that it will eventually kill them, and they therefore do not muster all their resources to fight this vicious disease. Cancer is a word, not a sentence.
Often the physician who makes the initial diagnosis is a contributor to the problem. If he graduated medical school only 15 years ago, over half the cancers he was told were untreatable when he was in school are today curable to some degree. Furthermore, the physician has seen the suffering that went along with some of the primitive treatments in the past, and he cannot see putting his beloved patient through this. He recommends they go home and make themselves as comfortable as possible for the time they have to live.
I am not trying to say that everyone can beat cancer. Certainly some people are going to die from it, no matter what they do. I am saying, however, that if a person does not try, there is no way they can beat it. If they do try, they have a chance. And I believe it can do nothing but improve the quality of their life. To me, there was nothing worse than waiting to die with no hope. Whatever treatments I went through did not compare to the lack of hope I had the first five days after diagnosis. I was fighting to live rather than waiting to die.
It is believed that the average person gets cancer six times a year. Their immune system destroys the cancer cells, and they know nothing about it. Occasionally, something comes along to depress the immune system, which allows these malignant cells to get a foothold and multiply. When the immune system recovers, the cancer is already too well established and they have a detectable case of cancer. It is often discovered by a general doctor who tells the patient there is no hope, further depressing the immune system. The patient has complete confidence in this doctor who represents the entire medical system, so there is no purpose in getting a second opinion or going elsewhere. The patient is totally out of control at this point, compounding the problem.
There have been numerous studies documenting the effects of stress on the immune system, both with animals and individuals. It has been demonstrated that tumors grow faster in mice under stress. Mice have fared worse and died sooner when they were made to feel helpless. The incidence of cancer in individuals following a traumatic event such as the death of a spouse or child or retirement has been shown to increase dramatically. It has even been demonstrated that individuals with suicidal tendencies have a higher incidence of cancer, indicating that cancer could be a legal method of committing suicide.
Couple this with the fact that rarely is cancer ever diagnosed by an oncologist. Around 85% of all cancer patients do not use an oncologist as their primary physician. Cancer is an extremely complex array of over 200 different diseases with at least six common methods of treatment, any one of which could successfully treat some cancer, but generally they are given in combination. If it is not treated promptly, properly and thoroughly, there usually is no second chance. Progress in cancer treatments is being made at such a rapid pace that no single individual could conceivably know all the latest and best treatments for any single type of cancer, let alone all the different cancers.
It is for these reasons that I believe the greatest single mortality factor in cancer is the patient believing that death and cancer are synonymous. Promptly getting the patient to a multidisciplinary panel or to a board-certified oncologist for a second opinion could do more to save lives than anything else. If they try, they have a good chance. If they don’t, they are as good as dead.
Cancer mortality has dropped dramatically! The age-adjusted cancer death rate has decreased by 2.1 percent per year from 2002 to 2004, almost twice the annual decline of 1.1 percent per year from 1993 to 2002. Much of this can be attributed to early detection, qualified second opinions, and prompt and proper treatment.
We agree with this completely but believe they are failing to give credit to the psychological changes that have taken place in the same period. The public has been bombarded with stories of cancer successes. Individuals who were brought up to believe that a diagnosis of cancer was equivalent to impending death were suddenly aware that if they tried to fight, they had an excellent chance, better than 60%, of beating the disease. Further, that if they caught the disease earlier, their chances of successful treatment were dramatically enhanced to 80%. And the treatments are not as bad as they have been touted because they have been improved.
One national figure in the cancer war stated, “It is likely that there will be a 25% decrease in the overall death rate from cancer, and possibly as much as a 50% decrease, in the next 20 years.” Progress is being made! There are two caveats in the data. First, the overall death rate, as compared to the age-adjusted death rate, continues to rise because the population is aging and cancer is a disease of old age. Physicians predict cancer will surpass heart disease as the nation’s leading killer.
Second, while African Americans have shown substantial improvements, the overall death rate is still 38% higher in black men than in white men. We believe that this second factor is primarily due to black men believing they cannot get “as good” medical treatment and therefore not trying to beat it, or procrastinating. A great deal of publicity of this fact should substantially reduce the adverse mortality figures.
1 - Understanding Cancer
There is no type of cancer from which some people have not recovered. The road to recovery generally is not very easy and requires real determination. Currently, the statistics show that 66% of all serious cancers can be cured. The one item that you rationalize is a bother or does not apply to you can be the deciding factor that would tilt the scale in your favor or against you. You generally have one chance. Use every resource in your power.
Cancer is a unique disease. There are five factors that make it different from any other known illness. First, cancer cells grow geometrically without limitation. That means 2 becomes 4, then 8, 16, 32, 64, etc. If they grew 1, then 2, 3, 4, 5, we probably would never have heard of it. Because of this geometric growth, we must treat it promptly and properly or it can soon grow to a point where it may be untreatable. If we break our arm and it is not set properly, we can have it reset again whenever we want. It is not irreversible and terminal. (See chart.)
Growth and Detection of Cancer Cells
One million cancer cells are smaller than the head of a pin. One billion cancer cells are the size of a pea and weigh about the same as a paper clip. Below is a chart showing the geometric growth of cancer.
Number of Cells
1 = The
inception of cancer = one malignant cell growing uncontrollably.
101
= 10
102
= 100
103
= 1000
104
= 10,000 etc.
105
106
107
108
109
The earliest that cancer will normally be detected by X-ray, scan,
mammogram or feel.
1010
1011
1012
1013
The stage at which the patient is generally dead. This chart is
meant to emphasize two critical factors: the importance of early
detection and prompt treatment. Time is of the essence!
To further illustrate the way cancer grows, picture algae covering a lake. This algae doubles in area each day until, after one month’s time, it completely covers the lake. When should it be noticed? When it covers one half of the lake? That is the day before the end of the month. When it only covers one fourth of the lake? That is two days before the end of the month. If you caught yours three or four or five days before the end of the month, you must feel very grateful!
The second unique factor is the property of cancer cells to spontaneously travel to distant sites. One million cancer cells are smaller than the head of a pin. One billion cancer cells are the size of a pea. This means that they have the ability to float freely through the blood stream or the lymph system. They could be in your stomach today and in your head, your lungs or your toes tomorrow. If you break your arm, it cannot metastasize (spread) to your hip.
Third is that cancer is actually over 200 different diseases. There is no similarity between brain cancer and breast cancer other than the word cancer and the fact that they are both rapidly dividing cells. Different types of cancer should be treated by different types of medical specialists with totally different methods after being diagnosed through different means. Furthermore, the advances being made continuously in the many different types of treatments make it absolutely impossible for any one individual to know the very latest and best therapy for every type of cancer. In contrast, if you break your arm, many physicians would know the state-of-the-art way to set it.
Fourth is the unique fact that while many cancers can be treated successfully the first time, if they are not, often there is no second chance. For example, with my lung cancer, I had all the radiation my lung could take; so, if I had not been cured completely and had suffered a recurrence, I could not again have successfully had radiation therapy. I had my limit on Adriamycin, a particularly effective cancer drug but one which can do harm if given in excess of certain amounts, so it would not have been available to me if needed a second time. After you have one lung removed, there is no point in talking about surgery because you cannot live without both lungs. These are just examples in my case, but the same principles apply in many cases. This is why we not only preach prompt and proper treatment but also thorough treatment so you know you have the best chance of being through with it forever. If you break your arm a second time, generally it is not more critical than the first time.
Fifth and last is the major factor mental attitude plays in the recovery from cancer. Most oncologists agree that if a patient believes they will die from their cancer, they are right and cannot be saved. That is not to state that if they believe they will recover, they necessarily will, but at least they have a chance. If you break your arm, whether you think it will mend or not does not matter, it will generally heal in so many days.
Some people feel that because they don’t have sufficient funds they won’t receive the best treatments. In fact, these people are defeatists. They are making up their minds in advance that they are going to take the easy road out and give in to their disease. I have never seen the individual who, even though absolutely destitute, could not get the proper treatments if they applied themselves and really tried. There are resources in every major community. Remember, no one owes you anything. You have to work to get it like everything else in life. It can be done! An example of some of the resources that could be investigated are VA hospitals, state cancer hospitals, university hospitals or teaching institutions, and county or city hospitals. Treatment for patients participating in National Cancer Institute clinical research protocols at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health is provided free of charge. Generally, a local, qualified physician can give you suggestions on where to look.
Some people have said I recovered because of my financial position and that I must have gotten preferential treatment. I would like to dispel this myth. First of all, I am unaware that cancer shows partiality because of financial or any other position. I believe rich or poor people have an equal chance of surviving. I also believe that tall or short people have a relatively equal chance as well as fat or thin or black or white people.
As to receiving preferential treatment, that was hardly the case. At home, where I was known and possibly could have gotten superior attention, I was told it was hopeless and to get my estate in order. If that is superior treatment, I don’t need it. When I went 900 miles away to a mammoth institution where I was a number, I did receive superb service and attention, not because of who I was but because that is the way they do things.
My doctor, before giving me any treatments, gave me his home telephone number. He said in the next two years of treatments I would want to contact him many times in the middle of the night or over the weekend. Of course, I could reach him during weekdays at the clinic. However, he did not want me to waste my energy during a sleepless night or weekend about anything that would be bothering me. He wanted me to apply all my energy to getting well. For that reason, he gave me his home telephone number and told me to call him any time anything bothered me. He did this for his other patients also as should all good doctors.
This discussion of my doctor is only for the purpose of showing you where I got my support, ideas and knowledge and what you should look for and have a right to expect from your physician.
My doctor was the greatest! Not only did he cure me from cancer, but he taught me so much along the way. In the very first telephone conversation, he started, without my knowing it, by getting my undivided attention and ascertaining my dedication.
I was diagnosed on a Wednesday with “terminal” stage 3 squamous cell lung cancer. I talked with him Wednesday night long distance, and he wanted me to fly there Thursday so I could be examined and tested Friday. The clinic is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Because I was terminal and might never have seen my home or office again, I wanted to have four days to get my estate in order at the expense of one day of testing. I wanted to fly down Sunday to be examined and tested on Monday, one working day later. My doctor said if I did not fly down on Thursday, he would not treat me.
At the time, I may have thought he was being inconsiderate. Since then, that one little remark has taught me many things. First of all, cancer is never as treatable as it is right now! At some time in the future, it is probably not treatable. Whether that time is tomorrow, next week or next month depends on the individual case. This afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning is the best time to start trying to beat it.
Possibly even more important than that, I soon came to realize he wanted to be certain that recovering from cancer had my full attention. He wanted to be certain that I would make the commitment to do whatever was necessary to get well. There is no doubt that generally it is a long, hard road with plenty of obstructions and detours. He wanted to be sure that I wasn’t going to say, “OK, Doc. I’ll do anything you tell me to do as long as it is convenient with me.” He wanted to know that getting well came first before anything and everything else in my life.
And possibly the most important thing I learned from those few words was a third factor. He wanted to know that I had the dedication and drive to do what would be required to be victorious over cancer. That day may not have been critical. But that day represented just one of the many negative options that would lie in the path of my recovery that I would have to forgo if I were going to succeed. He knew my chances of recovery were much greater if I had a truly strong, burning desire to live. This was his way of testing me. This was his way of proving it. If I would give up four days I wanted so desperately to give him his one day he asked for, my dedication to success was guaranteed.
The biggest and the hardest single thing that you will be required to do in the entire battle is to make up your mind to really fight it. You must, on your own, make the commitment that you will do everything in your power to fight your disease. No exceptions. Nothing halfway. Nothing for the sake of ease or convenience. Everything! Nothing short of it. When you have done this, you have accomplished the most difficult thing you will have to accomplish throughout your entire treatment. This applies no matter how serious or how minor you are led to believe your cancer is.
If it is minor, great. Your commitment should not be difficult to abide by. If you are told you are going to die in 3 months or 3 years or whatever, then your commitment is that much more vital. There are a lot of “terminal” people alive, healthy and cancer free. There is no type of cancer from which some people have not been cured. There is no cancer for which there is no treatment.
To give up requires no commitment. You can stay in the comfort of your own lifestyle. Fighting means a complete change of lifestyle, absolutely leaving your comfort zone. There will be doctors doing things you might not like. There will be lots of work for you to do. There might even be some pain and suffering, and certainly lots of new and unexpected experiences. You must decide that the end is worth the means because you are the only one who can do it. No one else can do it for you. There is no half way. It’s all the way. But when it is all said and done, no matter what the results are, I’ve never met anyone who felt it was not the best way. Go for it with no second thoughts or regrets.
Remember, once you have made the commitment, everything else is relatively easy. There will be pleasant experiences. There will be unpleasant experiences. But I can promise you it is not as difficult as making the decision to make the commitment.
Fighting cancer is not a simple matter of thinking positively, wishing it away and saying, “Hey doc, cure me.” It is a matter of knowledge. It is a matter of educating yourself about every detail and mustering all your resources. Use every drop of energy in an organized fashion to constructively concentrate on getting rid of cancer. Most cancers can be successfully treated, but generally you have only one chance. If you miss that first chance, if you don’t do everything in your power, often there is no second chance. This is why no cancer patient can afford the luxury of looking back and saying, “I wish I would have...” Never look back. Concentrate on this moment forward and do everything in your power. There is no downside risk. Now you may have a chance.
When I talk to a cancer patient who is still smoking (including but not limited to lung or throat cancer), the answer as to why that person continues to smoke is obvious without asking the question. Way down deep, this person knows that smoking is bad for them. No one has to explain. No one has to plead with them to give it up. What this person is saying no, what this person is screaming to me is that they only want to live as long as it is easy and convenient for them. They are not willing to do anything and everything to help their doctor cure them. They know they must do everything in their power if they want to have a chance of getting well. By continuing to smoke, they are saying that they are not willing to do everything in their power to be cured, and therefore their chances are dramatically reduced.
The Act of Deciding to Fight Cancer
Until you commit yourself, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, ineffectiveness. Once you commit yourself to do absolutely everything in your power to fight cancer, all sorts of positive things occur. The mere act of reaching a decision causes unforeseen incidents, meetings and assistance that could not have been anticipated. Goethe stated, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” You make it happen.
Maybe that is their privilege, but they should not ask others to do everything possible if they are not willing to help themselves.
I talked with a 42-year-old lady paralyzed from the waist down with cancer from an undetermined origin. She had been told she would never walk again. Asked if she smoked, she replied that she knew it was bad for her and had been meaning to give it up long before she got cancer. As soon as she could get up on crutches and walk, she was going to go to a hypnotist to quit. This told me that if she didn’t change her attitude, she would defeat herself. She obviously loved smoking and was dependent on it. She had promised to quit as soon as she could walk. She might have subconsciously procrastinated in her attempt to walk in order to delay as long as possible her quitting smoking.
Annette called my doctor out of the hospital room one morning to ask him a question about me. He marched her right back and gave her quite a tongue lashing in front of me. He told her never to ask him a question about me except in front of my face. There could be no secrets from a cancer patient if there was any hope the patient could get well. That single event probably did more constructive good for my mental attitude than any other factor. Just to realize that I was told everything honestly about my condition removed all doubts.
One day in the clinic we asked my doctor if a friend of ours, whom he was treating, would make it. His reply startled us. He said we could talk to him and look into his eyes and know as well as he did whether this person would recover. We tried it. This person’s posture was terribly bent over; his walk was a shuffle like someone 40 years older; his yellowish, sagging skin and head and face without a hair made him look like death warmed over; yet, the accent and genuine determination in his voice and glint in his eyes made us believe he was going to make it. And this was in spite of the fact that 85% of his liver had been replaced by cancer. And you know what! For several months thereafter, we got reports on how his tumor shrank and his liver regenerated itself. Truly a miracle.
The opposite had also been true. I talked with two volunteers at the Bloch Cancer Hot Line training program. Both of these women had experienced breast cancer. They had been treated by fine oncologists and had been told they were cured. One of them felt very depressed whenever she talked to anyone with cancer, and the other could not stand to even mention cancer. I came home and told my wife that I did not believe either of these people were through with their cancer in spite of what they had been told by their physicians. Today, one of those two is gallantly fighting against recurrent breast cancer and the other has passed away.
I wish there were an easy way to specifically list the points to take into account to render an accurate psychological prognosis. As each case of cancer is as unique as a fingerprint, so is each person’s desire and determination. To camouflage it as a positive attitude is oversimplification.
In a visit to Pittsburgh for a press conference on the opening of a new Cancer Hot Line, I was picked up at the airport by a woman with an extremely positive attitude. She knew she was going to make it. She was in her fourth recurrence of breast cancer. She had the finest oncologist, in her words, in Allegheny County. I asked what her prognosis was. She told me she had never asked him because she did not want to hear what he would say. She knew she would beat it! What did this tell me? She had a qualified oncologist in whom she had complete confidence. She was afraid to ask him about her future, believing he doubted she could ever recover. Therefore, down deep, she believed she would not make it. Sure enough, a few months later she passed away.
Failure to become intimately involved with all the details of your cancer is like closing your eyes after falling into quicksand. For the moment maybe, your ignorance will give you a false sense of security. However, to have a chance of escaping, you must muster all your resources and use and exhaust every option open to you.
Hamilton Jordan, White House chief of staff under President Jimmy Carter, upon being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 41, stated, “One of my closest friends is a doctor, and he came to see me one day and said, ‘You’re going to have to manage your own damn medical care.’ That shocked me. It put a sense of burden and responsibility on me that I wasn’t sure I could exercise properly. But as I saw things unfold, I saw he was right. Although it was tempting to stay at (the hospital) and be among all my friends, and the (hospital) doctors thought they could do as good a job as anybody, I realized there were many choices to be made, and I had to make them for myself.”
One of the major problems is that the initial diagnosis, while traumatic and beyond comprehension, is often relatively innocuous. It is often discovered through a routine physical examination, surgery for another situation or a question about some minor symptom. Some people feel that maybe it isn’t as bad as it is cracked up to be and maybe, if they do nothing, it will just fade away. These individuals are looking in exactly the wrong direction. They should be grateful that their cancer was discovered at such an early stage and then promptly do everything in their power to successfully treat it.
The initial diagnosis of cancer makes many feel they have totally lost control. It is vital to get some part of this control back. The patient and the entire family faces a multitude of decisions. It is helpful to the patient and the family if the strategy is openly discussed and defined so that all members understand it. Also, the more information you have, the more power you can have to deal with the situation. By gaining knowledge, you can get back some of your control.
This is your life, and you are entitled to make your own decisions, but only if you have adequate information to make good decisions. These are all human judgments because no one has a God-given power to make them. Information will help you feel some personal control and security during treatment. The peace of mind gained by knowledge is an important factor in healing.
There are many sources for this information. Make a list of what you would like to know to ask your doctor the next time you talk to him. He is usually more than willing to explain anything you want to know. Look up your disease and the treatments in the public library or on your computer. I recommend the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at www.cancer.gov or the Bloch Cancer Foundation at www.blochcancer.org. Call 800-4-CANCER (U.S. Government Cancer Information Service), the Bloch Cancer Hot Line at 800-433-0464, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or other appropriate support groups. They generally have a great deal of information available that they will be happy to send to you and answer your questions. It often proves helpful to talk to someone who has had the same problem. This can be arranged through your doctor, a support group or by calling the Bloch Cancer Hot Line.
At a meeting of the psychiatrists and psychologists who donated their services at the R.A. Bloch Cancer Management Center, a discussion was had of the priority of the various goals they try to accomplish. It was determined that one objective stood out above all others: that of ascertaining the patient’s support mechanism. Whether it be family, friends, neighbors, paid people such as a companion, nurse or doctor, the most important single controllable factor in your recovery is to establish a good support organization.
Stress and depression are integral parts of this disease. The sooner we realize that, the better and easier they are to cope with. We must have outlets to vent our emotions and support us in times of need. No matter how strong we each think we are, without a good support mechanism we will crumble.
At the initial trauma of being diagnosed, a person will mistakenly feel that they do not want to burden their loved ones with the depressing aspects of the disease. They will feel that they do not want to bore or inflict their discomfort on their friends or neighbors. Nothing could be further from reality. Your family who love you want to show their love by having you share your feelings with them. Your friends want to express their support by understanding your problems and trying to help you with them. You are not imposing on them by opening up. You are allowing them to do what they deeply and sincerely want to do by sharing your emotions and feelings with them. If you shut them out of your life, you are not doing them or yourself any favor. It may be hard to believe at first, but it makes no difference how old or how young they are or how strong or how infirm they are; everyone you know wants honestly to help you and is capable in some degree to help you. You are hurting them by saying you don’t want them to. Allow them in. Make them feel wanted. Let them share and do their thing. It is one of those situations where everyone wins. Everyone is better off.
In Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, Eugene, 14, mentions Aunt Blanche, “You see, her husband, Uncle Dan, died six years ago from...this thing. They never say the word. They always whisper it. It was (he whispers) cancer! I think they are afraid if they said it out loud, God would say, ‘I heard that! You said the dread disease. Just for that, I smite you down with it.’ There are some things that grown-ups just won’t discuss.” For many cancer patients, the reticence and awkwardness of acquaintances is an additional burden.
When talking about your problem with anyone, always include a statement to the effect, “With the help of my wonderful doctors, family and friends, we are going to do everything in our power to beat this disease.” It would not be wrong to state when appropriate, “Even though the statistics for my problem are (not) terrible, I am not a statistic. I am going to do everything possible to be one of those who survive this.”
Make a written list of your support mechanism. In addition to family, friends, neighbors, companions, office co-workers, trades people and professionals, don’t forget to include volunteers and organized support groups. Many are organized for the prime purpose of helping you. Help them by allowing them to help you. On your list, next to the name of each member of your support team, write a date on which you will contact them if you have not heard from them. When you make contact, cross this date off and put the next date to contact down. By doing this, you will be helping them and yourself.
Rabbi Hirshel Jaffe, in his book Why Me, Why Anyone? states, “I feel more in command of things. Strangely, somehow I feel more alive. By facing death I am learning how to live. I’ve learned you shouldn’t feel cursed if you have a disease with a foul name. Don’t think of yourself as worthless because you’ve been stricken. Tell the people you love how you feel about them while you still have the chance. Be kind to yourself. We should be thankful for each day granted to us and treat it joyously. Every moment is special to me.”
Cancer is often an eye-opener, teaching us that life is too short to postpone what we really want. It starts us thinking about how much we really enjoy life. In that respect, it can really be a positive experience because those who have cancer can use it in positive ways, to grow and to change their ways for the better and to profoundly affect the lives of loved ones around them in deeply positive ways.
2 - Initial Approach
According to Dr. Shlomo Breznitz, a visiting Israeli psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, there are four styles of response to the initial diagnosis of cancer. The first is hope. Hoping is an active process in which one imagines a positive future based on a realistic assessment of the present. Hope does not blot out the bad. Instead, it emphasizes the positive.
The second style, hope plus denial, is an illusion. People who “hope for the best” may fall apart when faced with bad news.
Third, total denial, is when the person blocks out the problem entirely. Denial is a psychological sign showing the person is unwilling to confront reality.
Giving up, the fourth style, means neither hoping nor denying and has the worst prognosis.
Norman Cousins, in his book entitled Human Options, states, “One’s confidence or lack of it, in the prospects of recovery from serious illness, affects the chemistry of the body. The belief system converts hope, robust expectations, and the will to live into plus factors in any contest of forces involving disease. The belief system is not just a state of mind. It is a prime physiological reality. It is the application of options to the maintenance of health and the fight against disease. It is the master switch that gets the most out of whatever is possible. The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of the body to heal itself but that force is not independent of the belief system, which can translate expectations into physiological change. Nothing is more wondrous about the 15 billion neurons in the human brain than their ability to convert thoughts, hopes, ideas, and attitudes into chemical substances. Everything begins, therefore, with belief. What we believe is the most powerful option of all.”
Norman Cousins indicates that he was cured from an extremely serious illness primarily by exposing himself to humor and laughing. Somehow, laughter can stir up positive hormones in the body. Expose yourself to humor and things that make you laugh whenever possible. Some hospitals have put laughing rooms in the oncology departments, so there must be something to this. Don’t pass it up as one of the many ways to help yourself. Appreciate the philosophy of laughter!
The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA tested strolling musicians, from a large surgical floor all the way to pediatrics, where live music calmed crying babies hooked to machines. Children with leukemia, each in an isolation room with only a small window to the hall, stood on step stools to see and hear the music. Three other visual arts programs are flourishing there, including art exhibits by fine artists who have experienced cancer. Their hope was that these concepts would be available in all cancer centers.
Keep yourself mentally and physically active during the term of your recuperation. Take courses, attend study groups, continue to work if possible, read books, participate in church or outreach groups or anything you would enjoy doing. Follow through and do these things even though sometimes you have to push yourself to do them.
It is important that you exercise regularly. Talk to your doctor about this. Whether this exercise is merely a simple isometric like tensing and relaxing different muscles of your body or walking or whatever you are able to do, the important thing is to do something regularly.
On the other hand, be selfish. Don’t overdo. Give in to yourself when you are tired or not feeling well. Recognize in advance that your recuperation will not always be a smooth easy road. It will have its ups and downs. Some days will be worse than others. Give in to yourself on those days. But remember that whenever you can, push yourself to do some kind of activity.
Don’t mistake the side effects of the treatments for the symptoms of the disease. Many treatments can make you tired, weak or upset your stomach. This is absolutely normal and expected and could even indicate that the treatments are doing their job rather than the disease is getting worse.
A woman called and said she had just been diagnosed as having cancer and was afraid of dying. That is a very normal reaction and certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I think all of us probably felt exactly the same way, but most of us wouldn’t admit it. To feel any other way would be abnormal. It is a good thing to get this out in the open, because once we can state a problem, we can often find a solution.
There are two aspects to face in that woman’s statement in order to resolve it. First is that death and cancer are anything but synonymous. Most cancers can be successfully treated. The five-year survival reported in 1982 was 46%, excluding skin and certain cervical cancers that are supposedly 100% curable. The figure for 1984 was 49%, which is the relative survival for the period 1976-1981 because of the time delay in collecting the data. The 2000 figure was 63% and the 2004 figure was 66%. Furthermore, it is my personal opinion that if every patient had been treated promptly, properly and thoroughly by qualified physicians and had done everything else possible to help themselves, the figure would have been substantially higher.
Second is the aspect of being afraid to die, an absolutely normal and rational thought but one which deserves reconsideration at this stage of the game. The greatest damage will be done if we don’t face it. The more an individual tries to avoid fear, the greater that fear will grow. Denying fear is costly in terms of personal energy. Suppressed fear will not dissipate but will continue to sap a person’s energy. It is particularly harmful to a patient who needs all his resources to combat his disease. It will not help to try to suppress the fear. Get it out in the open so that it can be relieved.
Fear is an absolutely normal response to a life-threatening disease. The only danger to fear is when we deny it. Once fear is expressed and admitted, an excellent antidote can be knowledge.
After you have faced up to the fact that you have a life-threatening disease from which you might die, concentrate all your thoughts on living and fighting cancer.
We are all human beings. One hundred years from now we will all be dead. This was a fact when we were born, and we have always known it. The only question is “when.” In my opinion, the quality of life is better for one who is fighting to live than one who is waiting to die. There is no possible way that searching for the state-of-theart therapy and taking it could shorten your life one minute, and maybe it could lengthen it.
We cannot overcome our fear until we admit it. After we finally face up to our fear, there are ways to overcome it and learn to exist with it. Coming to terms with cancer means that denial must give way to free, healthy expressions of grief and fear. Moving from denial to realizing fear and anger can bring positive responses in many ways. The belief that our life has had meaning can lessen the fear of dying. The quality of our daily life affects our ability to handle fear. Being active and doing things you like gives less time to brood about your condition which, in itself, enhances your fear by allowing you to think about negative factors. Just the simple act of making a decision can give you a sense of moving forward and gaining purpose, of being in control.
From time to time, depression and negative thoughts will cross your mind. If they didn’t, you would not be normal. Anger, impatience and selfishness are absolutely normal and could even be considered positive reactions. The one thing you must avoid is continued depression. The mere diagnosis of cancer causes depression. Many cancer treatments are depressing. Depression decreases the function of your immune system. Your immune system fights cancer. It is important that when you do find yourself depressed, you shake this feeling. Do this by talking about your depression to your family or friends. Change your thoughts from depressing subjects to positive, pleasant subjects. Channel the energy you would waste in depression into more positive thoughts. Concentrate all available energy into fighting your cancer.
There is an old saying, “Worry is like a rocking chair. It keeps you busy but gets you nowhere.” Make up your mind that you have lots of things to do and lots of places to go. Whenever you feel yourself getting worried or depressed, try to change the direction of your thoughts and think about a forthcoming event. Plan things to do when you are with a particular relative or friend. Concentrate on your pleasant surroundings or try to recall some of the enjoyable situations you recently experienced or one of the many wonderful blessings with which you have been endowed. In other words, keep looking at the donut and not at the hole. Continuously plan new projects and goals that are realistic and attainable.
Common sense does not always give the best results, regardless of our intentions. We need to know how to help ourselves. If we allow ourselves to feel like a victim, we feel we have no control over our situation. We can’t control everything in our lives, but we can learn to become an active participant and have a strong influence on what happens to us. Helplessness increases fear, anxiety and depression and can even cause a person to lose their will to live.
We are conditioned to believe that sick people are victims. With a long-term chronic illness, it is important to correct this attitude. Victims are often resentful toward their doctor, their family and everything else. While it is certainly understandable that anyone with cancer will feel like a victim at times, we must get back in control of ourselves so that we will not feel helpless, hopeless, and depressed.
Not only the disease but the side effects of the treatments can cause fatigue and emotional stress that can lead to depression. Long-term depression can be harmful to the cancer patient because it builds. We may not even be aware of it because we are taught it is not right, we are frightened of being depressed or we are worried about what others might think. When we deny it to the point that we are not aware of it, it is most critical because it will continue to sap our emotional and physical strength until resolved.
Acknowledging the existence of depression will not make it get worse. Admitting that we are depressed can give us the strength to overcome it. That in itself can give us hope and a better quality of life.
The day after I was diagnosed and told to get my estate in order, I was at my desk prior to going to Houston. I wrote a long letter to my family basically describing my feelings and emotions. While I didn’t want to die and while I felt I was just beginning to reap the rewards for which I had worked 52 years, I had no regrets. I believe writing this letter helped me lessen my fear of dying. I gave it to one of my daughters to hold and open only in the event of my death. After I recovered from surgery some months later and felt confident that I was on the road to recovery, I got the letter back from her and put it with my will. Maybe something like this could help you. Often, when you talk something out or write about something that bothers you, it will stop troubling you.
An M.D. Anderson trained pediatric oncologist stated that he always discusses death and dying with each patient and their family because it is always a possibility in some types of cancer. He wanted to bring it out to avoid the patient’s often unspoken fear of it. However, he treated each patient, regardless of their prognosis, as if they were going to live.
After he discusses the possibility of dying, his theory is to put all energy and thought into working toward living. When asked about certain professionals’ belief that a person must prepare himself to die, his answer was, “That is nonsense.” He has seen patients, who recovered after they were supposedly given no chance of recovery, have a difficult time adjusting to living. He has never seen a patient have a problem adjusting to death. It may have been a blunt way of putting it, but think about that statement for a minute. It is an undebatable truism.
He said that “terminal” is a place where you catch a bus and does not usually apply to a disease. Furthermore, he is not treating people who are dying. He is treating patients who are trying to live. Another outstanding cancer researcher, Dr. Jimmie Holland, states, “People ... are fighters and they want to fight to the end. They don’t want to get the feeling that they have been given up. They want to be a part of the cutting edge of the fight against cancer.”
Cancer is a serious disease, or really an assortment of over 200 different diseases. There are often many options in treatments. Such rapid progress is being made that no single physician is capable of knowing the very latest and best treatments for every type of cancer. Dr. Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., former director of the National Cancer Institute, stated that anyone with a life-threatening disease should seek a qualified second opinion. He says, “The worst thing a physician can do is to declare a patient ‘incurable.’ In that context, where the patient has confidence in his doctor, the doctor will always be needlessly correct.”
Furthermore, he says, “I’ve been taking care of cancer patients for a long time. I have never taken care of a doctor who didn’t get a second opinion. I’ve never taken care of a doctor who didn’t have his microscopic slides read twice, by more than one pathologist, to make sure that he had cancer, knowing already that he had gotten into a pretty good system. And I think there is a message in that.
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