Pancreatic Cancer
Overview
Cancer is not a single disease with a single cause and a single type of treatment. There are more than 200 different types of cancer, each with its own name and treatment. Although cells in different parts of the body may look and work differently, most repair and reproduce themselves in the same way. Normally, cells divide in an orderly and controlled way. But if for some reason the process gets out of control, the cells carry on dividing and develop into a lump called a tumour. Tumours are either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Doctors can tell if a tumour is benign or malignant by removing a piece of tissue (biopsy) and examining a small sample of cells under a microscope.
In a benign tumour the cells do not spread to other parts of the body and so are not cancerous. However, they may carry on growing at the original site, and may cause a problem by pressing on surrounding organs.
In a malignant tumour the cancer cells have the ability to spread beyond the original area of the body. If the tumour is left untreated, it may spread into surrounding tissue. Sometimes cells break away from the original (primary) cancer. They may spread to other organs in the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system.
The lymphatic system is part of the immune system – the body’s natural defence against infection and disease. It’s made up of organs such as bone marrow, the thymus, the spleen, and lymph nodes. The lymph nodes throughout the body are connected by a network of tiny lymphatic tubes (ducts). The lymphatic system has two main roles: it helps to protect the body from infection and it drains fluid from the tissues. When the cancer cells reach a new area they may go on dividing and form a new tumour. This is known as a secondary cancer or a metastasis.
Cancer of the pancreas (also known as pancreatic cancer and exocrine cancer) is not as common as some other forms, such as lung, breast, bowel or prostate cancer.
Around 7,800 people are diagnosed with it each year in the UK. It is the fifth most common cause of death from cancer, accounting for 5% of all cancer cases. In the United States, estimated new cases and deaths during 2012 are as follows: New cases: 43,920; Deaths: 37,390. |
The pancreas is a gland (an organ that produces and releases substances to other parts of the body) situated high in the abdomen. It is approximately 15cm (six inches) in length and is found behind the stomach, where the ribs meet at the bottom of the breast bone.
The pancreas is shaped like a leaf. The wide end of the gland is known as the head, the thin end is the tail, and the section in between is the body.
The pancreas produces digestive enzymes (proteins) and a hormone known as insulin.
- Digestive enzymes help break down food into smaller fragments, so it can be absorbed by your body.
- Insulin helps to keep the sugar levels in your blood at a stable level.
Who is affected? Pancreatic cancer tends to affect people aged between 50 and 80, but it can occur at any age. Approximately 63% of people diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas are over 70. Men tend to be more affected than women.
Cancer of the pancreas is a very serious form of cancer, which is both difficult to detect and treat.
When cancer of the pancreas first develops, it rarely causes any symptoms. This makes it difficult to detect and diagnose because the sufferer may not notice anything unusual until the cancer has become relatively advanced. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer can be caused by a variety of conditions, so it can be difficult to diagnose.
It is important to remember that many of these symptoms are not usually caused by cancer. For example, nausea and fever are very common symptoms of a number of other illnesses.
But if any symptoms develop suddenly or if you are at all concerned, it is advisable to consult a licensed health practitioner immediately, especially if you experience the symptoms outlined below (the most common symptoms):
- Pain – Pancreatic cancer can cause pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen, which sometimes spreads to the back. At first the pain may come and go, but as the cancer becomes larger and more advanced it could be more constant and last for longer. The pain is often worse when lying down or eating. This tends to affect people whose tumor has formed in either the body or tail of the pancreas.
- Weight loss – Many types of cancer can cause weight loss or loss of appetite because the cancerous cells deprive the healthy cells of nutrients they need. Pancreatic cancer is more likely to cause weight loss than some other cancers because the pancreas is normally responsible for helping the digestive system digest food, by releasing enzymes into the intestines (bowel). If the pancreas is unable to release these enzymes because of the tumor, then it becomes more difficult to digest food, particularly high-fat foods. Sufferers can also become malnourished (where the body does not have enough of the right substances from food to keep it working properly.)
- Jaundice – This is a condition where the skin and whites of the yes become yellowed, urine becomes dark yellow or orange, stools are pace and the skin can become itchy. Jaundice Jaundice can be caused by a number of other conditions, such as gallstones or hepatitis, and is rarely caused by cancer. But it may develop if cancer forms in the head of the pancreas. This is because a tumor in the head of the pancreas can block the bile duct, which is responsible for carrying bile (a fluid that helps the body digest food) from the liver to the intestine. Bile contains a yellow chemical called bilirubin, which needs to be removed from the body by the liver. If the bile duct is blocked, the bilibrubin will build up, causing the symptoms of jaundice.
- Diabetes – The pancreas is responsible for helping produce insulin. If the body does not have insulin, it cannot move sugar (glucose) out of the blood and into the cells. The symptoms of diabetes include: excessive thirst, passing more urine than usual, weakness, weight loss. Diabetes may occur as a result of pancreatic cancer, because it can produce chemicals that interfere with the normal effect of insulin.
- Nausea and vomiting – This only usually occurs when cancer of the pancreas is advanced. This is because when the tumor grows larger it can sometimes block part of the digestive tract, which is very close to the pancreas.
- Fever and shivering – You may become feverish and shivery if your pancreas becomes inflamed (swollen) as a result of the tumor.
Although pancreatic cancer is not yet fully understood, several risk factors have been identified that may increase the chances of developing it:
- Older age
Pancreatic cancer mainly affects people aged 50-80. Around 63% of people diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas are over 70, but it can affect people of any age.
- Smoking
Smoking is associated with almost a third of all pancreatic cancer cases. Smoking cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco can all increase your risk of developing cancer of the pancreas. This is because tobacco smoke contains harmful toxins and chemicals that can cause irritation and inflammation (swelling) in the tissues and organs within your body.
- Blood group
Patients with blood groups A, A/B or B are much more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than patients with blood group O.
- Chronic pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis (long-term inflammation of the pancreas) will increase your risk of pancreatic cancer.
Although very uncommon, patients with hereditary (inherited) pancreatitis have a particularly high risk of pancreatic cancer, especially from the age of 40.
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If you do the Jeff McCombs Candida Protocol you will already be avoiding all of the foods that trigger cancer. However here are the foods to avoid at all costs.
- Do not consume any artificial sweeteners, such as Splenda, NutraSweet or Aspartame
- Do not consume high fructose corn syrup or mono-sodium glutamate.
- Do not drink any carbonated beverages.
- Avoid all fast food or chain restaurants and all processed food.
- Avoid all canned food.
- Eat mostly fresh, organic vegetables and fruits.
Avoid all foods that are high in unhealthy saturated and trans-fats, hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats and oils, margarine, and shortening. Eliminate refined white flour, which is found in the majority of foods found on a typical grocery store shelf, including bread, bagels, crackers, cakes, cookies, and other baked good, pasta. Also avoid alcohol, caffeine, simple carbohydrates, sugars and sugar products, foods that are overly spicy, and all processed and commercial “junk” food. Stay clear of all inorganic pasteurized milk and dairy products, including yogurt and cheese; best to eat only raw, organic dairy products.
Empower yourself, and choose a diet emphasizing organic whole foods, including plenty of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, oats, whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat. Include a variety of preferably soaked, nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Minimize your intake of red meat; though be sure to consume adequate amounts of organic, free-range poultry, bison and wild-caught fish. Eat generous quantities of both raw and lightly steamed organic vegetables and large fresh salads daily. Preferably, cook with virgin coconut butter/oil and use extra virgin olive oil, high lignin flax seed oil and hemp seed oil as condiments on veggies and as the base for your daily salad dressing. Throughout the day, drink plenty of pure, filtered water, and avoid drinking—as well as bathing, and showering in—unfiltered tap water, as tap water contains heavy metals and pesticide residues that can settle in high concentrations in the body.
The raw food diet is a food plan that can be of great benefit if you suffer from colorectal (bowel) cancer. Using the guidelines outlined above as a base camp for a clean and healthy diet, one can then transition into a raw food diet as desired. Raw food generates rapid results because of its ability to thoroughly detoxify and liberate your body’s previously untapped energy.
The diet mainly consists of raw fruits, vegetables, and soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds, supplemented with daily consumption of fresh green juices made from a variety of vegetables such as celery, romaine lettuce, spinach, carrot, kale, parsley, and an ever rotating seasonal selection of other organic veggies. Raw foodists enjoy salads, dehydrated flax crackers, seed and nut patés, blended soups, smoothies, and marinated veggies, often mixed with soaked sea vegetables. Since little to no cooked food is consumed, the raw diet has the advantage of instantly eliminating many common allergens. No cooked wheat or wheat by-products are consumed, and generally dairy is omitted, though some might choose to eat moderate quantities of raw goat or sheep milk products, often in the form of a fermented food, such as homemade raw kefir or yogurt.
Dr Gabriel Cousins, at the Tree of Life Center, endorses the raw food plan as the ultimate healing diet, and offers 100% raw food meals at his healing retreat in Patagonia, Arizona. An important note when choosing a raw food diet: there is an issue of trade-offs. You might miss cooked foods, though you will not miss cancer. More times than not the raw food diet presents itself as an incredible tool that can be used to quickly transition from a serious health challenge into a healing process, ultimately resulting in greater health and well-being.
Supplements:
- Coral Calcium – Coral calcium website
- Vitamin D has been shown to be a key factor in healing cancer. Take Vitamin D3 50,000-100,000 International Units a day for a period of up to 4 weeks.
- Wholefood supplements are the best way of ensuring your nutritional needs are met.The best we know on the market is Kevin Trudeau’s “KT Daily” product. You can find more details here.
- Omega 3s:
Hemp Seed Oil
Morter Supplements Trace Minerals
Prescription and non-prescription medication:
What non-prescription and prescription drugs are you taking? Your non-prescription and prescription are partially the reason that you have this illness or disease – you need to get off these medications but do so only under the guidance of a licensed health care practitioner.
We know that when the body is out of balance, energy doesn’t flow, leading blockages and eventually disease. Here are some things you can do to combat stress and restore balance:
- Go to a Dr Morter BEST (Bio-Energetic Synchronisation Technique) Practitioner.
- Sign up for Energetic Re-Balancing: 2 practitioners to consider are:
- Stephen Lewis, founder of the Aim Program. Find out more by clicking here.
- . Find out more by clicking here.
- Consider using Mary Millers Iching System Products – ichingsystemsinstruments.com
- Reiki healing is very powerful in releasing stress and emotional baggage. Find a practitioner here.
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has had remarkable results in dissolving stress. Find a local practitioner here or go to www.thetappingsolution.com or www.tftrx.com
- Try Hypnotherapy to relax the mind. Find a practitioner here.
- Alphabiotics
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Heal Your Body, Raise Your Consciousness (qigong for cancer) – NC_Newsletter_12-08.pdf
The cause of all illness and disease: NC_Newsletter_10-07.pdf
Anti-cancer diet – NC_Newsletter_08-05.pdf
Guided imagery and visualisations – low cost solutions for pain relief: NC_Newsletter_07-04.pdf
Alkalinize your diet to get well now – book review NC_Newsletter_07-01.pdf
Live cell therapy (the fountain of youth is real) NC_Newsletter_06-11.pdf
Fluorinated water and cancer linked NC_Newsletter_06-09.pdf
Traditional Chinese Medicine benefits: www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/articles/526-chinese-medicine-for-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month.html
Video
Cancer cleanse: www.detoxandcleansing.com/judy-seegercancer-cleanse-camp-cancer-natural-cures
Curing cancer using our own technology of emotion: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmMNlmn1DPc
Ayurveda and cancer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cusE4q7jAw0
Every cancer can be cured in weeks: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbdNNfotwM
Naturopathic Medicine for Pancreatic Cancer: www.cancercenter.com/pancreatic-cancer/naturopathic-medicine.cfm
Research
Complementary and alternative therapies in managing cancer: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/canjclin.49.6.362/full
Processed meat and pancreatic cancer: www.jonbarron.org/natural-health/processed-meat-pancreatic-cancer-blog
Sun exposure benefits in preventing pancreatic cancer: www.naturalnews.com/036247_sun_exposure_pancreatic_cancer_risk_reduction.html
Selenium reduces risk of pancreatic cancer: www.naturalnews.com/034550_selenium_pancreatic_cancer_prevention.html
DMSO and cancer: www.naturalnews.com/037485_DMSO_inflammation_muscle_pain.html
Further Information (links and books)
You Can Heal Your Life – Louise L. Hay; Heal Your Body by Louise L. Hay; The Journey – Brandon Bays; The Acid Alkaline Food Guide – Dr Susan Brown and Larry Trivieri, Jr; How I Said Bah! to cancer by Stephanie Butland; Thrive by Stephanie Butland; Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing – By Anita Moorjani; A Survivor’s Guide to Kicking Cancer’s Ass by Dena Mendes ; Cancer [Audio Book]by Louise L. Hay; Deep Meditation for Healing [Audio Book] by Anita Moorjani; Cancer-Free: Your Guide to Gentle, Non-toxic Healing by Bill Henderson
Andrea Butje | Aromahead [email protected] – aromatherapy
Carrie Vitt [email protected] – organic food recipes.
David Spector-NSR/USA [email protected] – meditation, stress
Judith Hoad [email protected] – herbalist.
Kath May [email protected] – reiki, tai chi.
Lillian Bridges [email protected] – Chinese medicine, living naturally.
Monika [email protected] – aromatherapy.
Rakesh [email protected] – Ayurvedic Practitioner.
Joanne Callaghan – [email protected] www.RogerCallahan.com Thought Field Therapy (TF) releasing unresolved emotions, stress and illness
Trusted products
Clean well – Natural Cleaning Products
EMF necklace – blocker and stress reducing pendant