Wellness News by Cancer Support WA

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WELLNESS NEWS online magazine of the Cancer Support Association

BEYOND MAMMOGRAPHY

RULES FOR GETTING WELL & STAYING WELL

EXPERTS QUERY CANCER TREATMENT

BREAKFAST IDEAS FROM PETREA KING

THE FULL CATASTROPHE!

GEOFF BARBOUR’S STORY OF HOPE & HEALING

SUGAR: THE AGE DRUG www.cancersupportwa.org.au

editorial

Bimonthly magazine of the Cancer Support Association of Western Australia Inc. Wellness magazine is distributed free to members of the Cancer Support Association and also sold in retail outlets in the Perth metropolitan and regional areas. Wellness magazine is the only health publication in Australia dedicated entirely to environment, wellness and healing. The magazine is for people with cancer or serious health issues; for people who are well and want to maintain their good health naturally; and for complementary, alternative and integrative health professionals. The Wellness team cares for the health and wellbeing of our readers, and of our planet. Our publication is printed on 100% genuine post-consumer oxygen bleached recycled paper, eliminating dioxin and other potentially harmful chemicals from the product, and minimising consumer waste. Our printer uses only vegetable based inks and chemical free solvents in an environmentally friendly printing process. Please enjoy your Wellness experience!

news team... Editor .................................... Mandy BeckerKnox editor.wellness@yahoo.com.au Editorial Assistant: ............... Deanne Walker Editorial Consultant .................... Dr. Peter Daale Contributors: ................................ Don Benjamin, Ian Hamilton, Len Saputo, Christine Robbins Advertising: ............... Maryke Loren 9389 7258

Local CFA firefighter David Tree shares his water with a koala injured in the fires who has since been named ‘Sam’.

Dear friends, My intention this month was to write an editorial around the theme chosen for this edition which is Sound Healing. Since then the Victorian bushfires have happened, with hundreds of people dying in the most terrifying circumstances and thousands of others left homeless and devastated by the loss of their homes, friends, family members, communities and life as they knew it. Like most Australians I feel deep empathy for everyone affected and an overwhelming desire to help ease their pain and distress. Humans have the most incredible capacity for caring for others in need, and the stories which have emerged from Victoria – such as the one depicted in the picture above – remind us that this is who we truly are – loyal, caring, compassionate beings with a deep love for our fellow humans, our communities, our environment and all the creatures we share this earth with. The fires have reminded us of what is fundamentally important in life, and that we are all completely interdependent on the environment and each other for survival. In a recent speech Prime Minister Kevin Rudd singled out the qualities of ‘courage, resilience and compassion’ displayed by firefighters, rescuers and survivors as the values of true Australian heroes. Each of us has the capacity to be a ‘hero’ – because each of us will be confronted with suffering at some point in our lives, and what will get us through that suffering are these very qualities and also the love and care offered to us by others. Let us all practice living a little more courageously, resiliently and compassionately in our everyday lives while the going is relatively good – let us all give a little more and take a little less and nurture our communities and let all the people we share our world with know that we really do care. ✦

cover art...

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Printed on 100% genuine recycled oxygen-bleached paper using environmentally friendly vegetable based inks. Fully recyclable.

Swami Sivananda

Love and peace, Mandy

A HUGE thanks to our volunteers who help send our magazine out.

80 Railway St, Cottesloe, Western Australia. PO Box 325 Cottesloe WA 6911 Australia Phone 08 9384 3544, Fax: 08 9384 6196. Email: csa@cancersupportwa.org.au Web: www.cancersupportwa.org.au

“The ability to care for others is not an intellectual or calculated exercise. It is a spontaneous abundance of heart. When you get in contact with that inspired self, caring is simply an unconscious way of being.”

‘Lily Pad’ by C.K. Chang

‘Deep Peace’ by Mandy BeckerKnox This month’s cover art was created using an original painting by C. K. Chang M.D. who is a full time physician and an amateur artist. Dr. Chang is an enthusiastic nature lover, fascinated and awed by nature’s beauty everywhere, any time of day and in all four seasons. Inspiration for his art work comes from the beauty of nature. He has worked at St. Marys Hospital in Wisconsin U.S. for over 30 years. Twenty years ago he started painting and studied art at university. Many of Dr. Chang’s paintings are displayed in his online gallery at www.ckchang.com.

Wellness magazine is published by the Cancer Support Association of WA Inc (CSA). Wellness magazine contains a diverse selection of articles and information on subjects related to cancer, wellness and healing. The contents of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the CSA and should be not be construed as medical advice. CSA encourages readers to be discerning with information presented and when making treatment, dietary and lifestyle choices. © Copyright of all articles and images remains with individual contributors.

in this edition

“When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow which is now giving you joy” ~ Kahlil Gibran

BEYOND MAMMOGRAPHY New screening technologies oﬀer more accurate results and less invasive methods of detecting breast cancer

RULES FOR GETTING WELL AND STAYING WELL

10 12

THE FULL CATASTROPHE Strategies from the work of Jon Kabat-Zinnto to cope with the dilemmas, sorrows, tragedies, and ironies of life THROUGH THE CATASTROPHE INTO THE CALM Geoﬀ Barbour is a well known CSA cancer survivor. His story oﬀers insights into how to stay hopeful, optimistic and calm

LISTEN, FLOW & CHANGE

SUGAR: THE AGE DRUG

RECIPES Brilliant Breakfast Ideas from Petrea King

BOOKS & MEDIA REVIEW Inspiring reading, viewing & listening

PUZZLE Wellness Word Match

IN THE NEWS Experts query cancer treatment; rural travel subsidies

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To apply or for more information call The Gawler Foundation on (03)59671730 or visit the website www.gawler.org

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4 WELLNESS NEWS

B E Y O N D

Mammography By Len Saputo, MD

The most devastating loss of life from breast cancer occurs between the ages of 30 to 50. Fortunately, women today have more options available to them to help in the detection of breast cancer than in the past decades. Unfortunately, education and awareness of these options and their effectiveness in detecting breast cancer at different stages in life are woefully deficient. The first part of this in-depth article explores the latest findings on the effectiveness and shortcomings of various detection methods used by the mainstream medical community, including mammography, clinical breast exams, ultrasound, and to a lesser extent, magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and PET scans. The second part of this article goes beyond mammography, exploring a highly advanced but much maligned detection tool for breast cancer – breast thermography.

For women between the ages of 40 and 44, breast cancer is the leading cause of death,

according to the American Cancer Society. Yet the AMA journal, American Medical News(0), reports little evidence documenting that mammography saves lives from breast cancer for premenopausal women, which are many of the women who fall into these age ranges.(1) Good evidence supports mammography as a valuable breast cancer screening tool for women in their late 50s and 60s, but reveals room for substantial improvement. For women over the age of 70, accumulated data documents limited value in doing mammograms since they do not signiﬁcantly extend life.(2, 9, 10) Obviously, as a detection tool, mammography has a valued place in clinical practice; however, other technologies are proving to be more effective in breast cancer detection and should become part of mainstream clinical practice in order to save more lives.

Mainstream Breast Cancer Screening Technologies The gold standard study that assesses breast cancer detection technologies stems from the “Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project: Five year summary report.”(7) This study reviewed 283,000 women between the ages of 35 and 74 who had undergone mammography and clinical breast examinations. Over a ﬁve-year period 4,400 women were found to have developed breast cancer. So, the purpose of the study was to see how well clinical breast exams and mammography worked in identifying women with breast cancer. The BCDDP study documented that overall, clinical breast exams discovered only 60 percent of women who actually had breast cancer. When these women had tumours that were less than 1 centimetre, only 47 percent were identiﬁed. However, detection rates were 66 percent for tumours between one and two centimetres in size, and were 79 percent of tumours bigger than 2 centimetres. Clearly, clinical breast exams are important, but overall they miss nearly 40 percent of cancers.

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feature Mammography & Women Under 50 Mammography has been the state-of-the-art screening test for several decades. However, considerable controversy remains regarding its value, particularly in women under the age of 50. (1, 8-10) Results from the widely accepted BCDDP study documented that the overall ability of mammograms to detect cancer was only 70 percent. This means that 30 percent of mammgrams found to be negative for potentially cancerous lesions are actually positive.

False Positive Rate High The false positive rate of mammograms – those patients without cancer but with a positive finding on testing – turned out to be another problem. Only one biopsy in six was found to be positive for cancer when done on the basis of a positive mammogram or breast examination. The combined false positive rate was determined to be as high as 89 percent. Identifying and performing biopsies on these clinically insignificant lesions represents over diagnosis and over treatment. Further, the physical and psychological stress associated with mammogram findings is not a small concern nor are the additional costs.

Too Many Mammograms Performed? Recent data from the University of Washington and Harvard University reveals that over a period of a single decade, one out of every two women will have a false positive result as the result of mammography, and of those, nearly 20 percent will undergo an unnecessary breast biopsy. (9)

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WELLNESS NEWS 5

Breast thermography, which involves using a heat-sensing scanner to detect variations in the temperature of breast tissue, has been around since the 1960s. However, early infrared scanners were not very sensitive and were insufficiently tested before being put into clinical practice, resulting in misdiagnosed cases. Modern-day breast thermography boasts vastly improved technology and more extensive scientific clinical research. In fact, this article references data from major peer review journals and research on more than 300,000 women who have been tested using the technology. Combined with the successes in detecting breast cancer with greater accuracy than other methods, the technology is slowly gaining ground among more progressive practitioners. “Beyond Mammography” concludes that breast thermography needs to be embraced more widely by the medical community and awareness increased among women. Not only has it demonstrated a higher degree of success in identifying women with breast cancer under the age of 55 in comparison to other technologies, but it is also an effective adjunct to clinical breast exams and mammography for women over 55. Finally, it provides a non-invasive and safe detection method, and if introduced at age 25, provides a benchmark that future scans can be compared with for even greater detection accuracy.

A CLOSER LOOK

Generally Accepted Risk Factors

The Prevalence, Fear & Risk Factors of Breast Cancer

The risk for breast cancer is increased if you: • Had your ﬁrst period before age 12 • Went through menopause after age 50

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 44. Although breast cancer has only 10 percent the morbidity and mortality of coronary heart disease, it is generally more feared. (3) ACS statistics further document that every year in the United States there are approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer and more than 40,000 deaths. Not included in this number are more than 47,000 new cases of carcinoma in situ breast cancer, which is better known as DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) or LCIS (lobular carcinoma in situ) and is a very early form of breast cancer. DCIS and LCIS are very mild cancerous lesions that only become malignant in about 2 percent of cases. For this reason many physicians do not consider DCIS and LCIS true cancers. The risk of breast cancer at age 25 is less than one in 19,000 whereas by age 35 it is one in 217. (4) Yet, the statistic people are most familiar with is that one in eight women will eventually develop breast cancer. It is important to appreciate that this number is a cumulative risk that only applies to women who have reached the age of 90. The hereditary breast cancer genes, referred to as BRCA 1 and 2 genes, are known to be associated with both breast and ovarian cancers, but only account for 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancer. Newer, less well-known factors are estimated to account for another 10 percent of all breast cancers. In at least 70 percent of cases, however, the cause of breast cancer is yet unknown. (5)

• Had your ﬁrst child after age 30 or never were pregnant • Were on hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills • Consume one or more alcoholic drinks per day • Have a family history of breast cancer • Are found to have inherited the breast cancer genes • Are postmenopausal and gained weight (not so for premenopausal women) • Have elevated levels of insulin as seen with syndrome X or type 2 diabetes, which are conditions associated with central obesity and increased levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (6) • Are sedentary POPULAR MYTHS regarding what causes breast cancer include antiperspirants, wearing a wire bra, and having had an abortion.

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6 WELLNESS NEWS ...from previous page

Contrary to what many health-related agencies advise, recent ﬁndings seem to demonstrate that too many rather than too few mammograms are performed every year. Further, estimates show that for every $100 spent on the cost of mammograms, $33 goes to the unproductive and unnecessary expense of false positive results.

Mammograms for Women Over the Age of 70 A recent article from Duke University Medical Center reports that women over 70 are over-screened for both breast and cervical cancers.(10) The authors estimated the cost in the year 2000 for women over the age of 70 for the unnecessary mammograms they received was approximately $460 million. The article went on to point out that clinical guidelines for women over the age of 70 are ambiguous and based on almost no clinical research.

Mammography and Younger Women For younger women, mammography is more likely to miss breast cancers that are rapidly growing, especially in women with dense breast tissue who are at a signiﬁcantly increased risk for developing breast cancer.(15) At least 10 percent of breast cancers cannot be identified by mammography, even when they are palpable.(8)

Other Mainstream Technologies Advances in technology now allow digitally enhanced mammograms to be taken alone or after injecting intravenous contrast, but they have not been proven to be significantly more sensitive than regular mammograms, and they have the added risk of the invasiveness of an injection that can cause other problems. Further, they come with a substantial increase in cost and still expose the patient to radiation.(11) Similarly, MRIs with and without contrast are a step forward, but they involve similar risks and are even more costly. While their sensitivity is near 98 percent, their accuracy (specificity) in identifying cancer as opposed to some other benign finding is no better than mammograms.(12) PET scans are useful in identifying metastatic lesions but have an overall sensitivity similar to mammography. Further, for breast tumours less than one centimetre, only 25 percent of breast cancers are identifiable using this technology. (13) The most useful application of PET scans is in discriminating between viable tumour, fibrotic scar, and necrosis. Radiologists do not recommend PET scanning as a screening tool in asymptomatic women for breast cancer.(14) For women under the age of 40, no accurate or cost effective technology exists in mainstream medical practice that identifies lesions likely to be breast cancer with reasonable sensitivity and specificity. Given that breast cancer is the leading cause of death between the ages of 40 and 44, it is obvious that a pressing need exists for another test to identify these cancers when they are just starting to develop and still small enough to be cured.

Most breast cancers do not become palpable until they are greater than one centimetre in size – by that time 25 percent have already metastasized. Because most lethal breast cancers take approximately 15 years from their beginning to the time of death, women need reliable testing that starts when the cancer is initially forming – in their mid-twenties. Even though there is reliable technology existing today that is available, there is limited awareness and insufﬁcient education that has resulted in its being greatly underused in clinical practice.

The History of Breast Thermography Breast thermography has been available in clinical practice since the 1960s. Initially, physicians were very excited when they learned that breast cancers emit more infrared heat than normal healthy tissues, and that they could be detected using infrared scanners. However, this technology was brought into practice prematurely – before clinical trials were completed, and before sufficient information about other health conditions that also emitted large amounts of infrared light were understood. Unfortunately, this resulted in many women having breast surgeries that did not have breast cancer. Eventually, the high rate of unneeded surgeries led to the rejection of infrared breast imaging, with the entire technology being sidelined by mainstream medical practice for several decades. Since the 1970s, however, clinical research has continued, especially in Canada and France where this technology is considered more mainstream. More than 800 research papers have been published on the subject of breast thermography, and a research databank on more than 300,000 women who have been tested with infrared breast imaging now exists. In addition, major advances in infrared imaging technology have been achieved that improve the sensitivity to 0.05 degrees centigrade, which makes identifying breast cancer much easier and more reliable. The combination of improved technology and scientiﬁc clinical research is sparking the return of breast thermography into clinical practice today.

How Breast Thermograms Work

Breast thermography measures differences in infrared heat emission from normal breast tissue, benign breast abnormalities–such as ﬁbrocystic disease, cysts, infections and benign tumours–and from breast cancers. It does this with a high degree of sensitivity and accuracy. Breast thermography is a non-invasive measurement of the physiology of breast tissue. This technology is not meant to replace mammography or other diagnostic tests presently used in clinical practice that measure anatomical abnormalities in breast tissue. While breast cancer can only be diagnosed by tissue biopsy, breast thermography safely eliminates the need for most unnecessary biopsies as well as their associated high cost and emotional suffering, and it does so years sooner than any other test in modern medicine. Modern infrared scanners have a thermal sensitivity of 0.05 degrees Centigrade. Because tumour tissue does not have an intact sympathetic nervous system, it cannot regulate heat loss. When the breast is cooled with small fans in a room kept at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, blood vessels of normal tissue respond by constricting to conserve heat while tumour tissue remains hot. Thus, tumours

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WELLNESS NEWS 7 emit more heat than their surrounding tissues and are usually easily detected by heatsensing infrared scanners. Over time, cancerous tissues stay hot or become even hotter – they do not cool down. In sharp contrast, however, other possible conditions such as fibrocystic breasts, infections, and other benign disorders cool down as they resolve. Breast thermograms have highly specific thermal patterns in each individual woman. They provide a unique “thermal signature” that remains constant over years unless there is a change in an underlying condition. Thus, over time, it is possible to differentiate between cancers and benign conditions. Based on this ability to more accurately detect cancers over time, it becomes important to have a benchmark early on in a woman’s life. For this reason, women should have breast thermography performed beginning at age 25. Thermograms are graded with a system much like pap smears with grades 1-5. Th1 and Th2 are normal, Th3 is moderately abnormal, and Th4 and Th5 are severely abnormal and require careful follow-up because many of them are caused by cancer. Of significance, one recent study documented that women with Th1 and Th2 scores can be reassured with a 99 percent level of confidence that they do not have breast cancer. (16)

Clinical Research Supporting Breast Thermography At least five important studies published between 1980 and 2003 document that breast thermal imaging is a major advancement in identifying breast cancers not only with greater sensitivity and specificity, but also years earlier than with any other scientifically tested medical technology. These scientific studies include: • Cancer, 1980, Volume 56, 45-51.(17) Fifty eight thousand patients with breast complaints were examined between 1965 and 1977. Twelve hundred and forty five patients with abnormal Th3 mammotherms had normal breasts by mammography, ultrasound, physical exam, and biopsy. Thirty-eight percent of women with normal breasts and 44 percent of those with mastopathy developed biopsy proven breast cancer within five years. Ninety percent of patients with Th4 or 5 had diagnosis of cancer made on their first visit. • Biomedical Thermology, 1982, 279-301, Alan Liss, Inc, NY. Michel Gautherie, MD, followed 10,834 women over 2 to 10 years by clinical examination, mammography and thermography.(15) The study followed 387 people with normal breast examinations and mammograms but Th3 thermographic scores for an average of less than three years. In those without symptoms, 33 percent developed cancer. In those with cystic mastitis, cancer developed in 41 percent. These were predominately women between 30 to 45 years of age where breast cancer is the leading cause of death. • Thermology, 1986, Volume 1, 170-73. (18) The effectiveness of mammography, clinical palpation, and thermography were compared in the detection of breast cancer. Thermography had the best reliability, but the best results were found when all three were used together.

This is the change in the thermal heat of the breast of a patient aged in her thirties. The scan dated 13/10/08 shows early detection of breast cancer, then one month later the scan dated 10/11/08 shows the result of a natural program for the treatment of cancer designed by Dr Deidre Brophy of the Total Health & Thermal Imaging Clinic in North Queensland. Dr Brophy doesn’t advise patients to have a Biopsy as she believes this may cause cancer to spread to the lymph nodes, or to have a mastectomy. She believes these mainstream methods don’t cure cancer as they don’t look for the causes of cancer – if they did many more patients would be healed. Dr Brophy ‘s clinic specialises in thermal imaging scans an natural cancer therapies. She also hosts the website www.puttingitright.com.au.

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Cancer Support Online is the website of the Cancer Support Association. Designed to provide you with the cancer support you need 24 hours a day anywhere in the world! SUBSCRIBE for full access to a searchable database of hundreds of articles, Wellness magazine archives, interactive cancer treatment decision-making tools, free counselling, online library, a wellness shop for the best supplements and more!

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8 WELLNESS NEWS ...from previous page

• The Breast Journal, Volume 4, 1998, 245-51. (19) Keyserlingk et al documented 85 percent sensitivity in diagnosing breast cancer using clinical examination and mammography together. This increased to 98 percent when breast thermography was added. • American Journal of Radiology, January 2003, 263-69. (16) The journal reported that thermography has 99 percent sensitivity in identifying breast cancer with single examinations and limited views. Thus, a negative thermogram (Th1 or Th2) in this setting is powerful evidence that cancer is not present.

Important Highlights from Breast Thermography Studies Len Saputo, MD graduated from UC Berkeley and Duke University Medical School in the US. Board certified in Internal Medicine, he has been in private practice at John Muir Medical Center from 1971 to 2004. Len is a pioneer in bridging the gap between mainstream and “the new” Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is the founder of the Health Medicine Forum, a nonprofit educational foundation, and the Health Medicine Center, and co-founder of the Health Medicine Institute for Research in California, US. Dr. Saputo is a motivational speaker, radio show host with his wife Vicki, and the author of many books and articles. For more information go to: www.alternativehealth.com. References to this article are on page 63.

• Advances in infrared technology combined with data on 300,000 women with mammotherms document that breast thermography is highly sensitive and accurate. Today, this means that more than 95 percent of breast cancers can be identified, and that this is done with 90 percent accuracy. In women under the age of 50, where there is the most devastating loss of life from breast cancer, mammography, MRIs and PET scans cannot come close to matching the combined sensitivity and specificity (accuracy) of breast thermography. • Breast thermography involves no radiation exposure or breast compression, is easy to do, is done in a private setting, and is affordable. • The FDA approved breast thermography for breast cancer risk assessment in 1982. • It is important to begin breast cancer screening long before age 40. It should begin at age 25 in order to identify young women who are already developing breast cancer since it takes approximately 15 years for a breast cancer to form and lead to death. Further, young women with dense breast tissue are the most difficult to evaluate using breast palpation, mammography, and ultrasound examinations, yet their significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer can be accurately detected with breast thermography. • Mainstream procedures are not approved for breast cancer screening in women under age 40 – it is widely known and accepted that they miss too many cancers and lead to too many false positive findings that result in far too many needless breast biopsies.

Conclusion There is an abundance of scientific evidence supporting that breast thermography is the most sensitive and accurate way to identify women with breast cancer, especially in women under the age of 55, where it causes the most devastating loss of life. For women over 55, breast thermography is an important adjunct to clinical breast examination and mammography, as this combination has been documented to increase identification of breast cancers to 98 percent. Because of its low cost and high degree of sensitivity and accuracy, all women who want to be screened for breast cancer should begin having breast thermograms beginning at age 25. Clearly, there are situations that warrant the use of other modalities such as mammography, ultrasound, MRI, PET scanning, nipple aspirations, or biopsy, and these valuable tools should continue to be used in clinical practice along with breast thermography. Many new technologies are on the horizon that may become mainstream in the near future. With the advent of highly sophisticated genetic technology, new proteins are constantly being discovered that offer promise as markers of early breast cancer. (20) Recently published reports also suggest that MRI technology may be blended with spectrophotometric measurements that could diagnose breast cancer without even doing a biopsy. (21) The practice of medicine, just like everything in life, is in constant evolution– there is no guarantee that what is in the mainstream today will be here tomorrow. Yet, the advancement of all fields of endeavour often moves slowly and cautiously, sometimes at the expense of human life. We must remain open and alert as new, exciting, and safe strategies emerge, especially in situations where there is such a pressing need for new approaches. ✦

Beyond Mammography article from: articles.mercola.com.

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WELLNESS NEWS 9

The main secrets to a healthy life are: • Be thankful. • Bless the lives of others. • Healthy people serve others while the unhealthy are too often consumed with themselves and their own problems. • Learn to forgive and let go, so you can get on with your life. Many studies have now shown that forgiving enhances health and helps prevent chemical changes in the body that may lead to disease. • Live in harmony with those around you. Be a peacemaker. • Learn to accept whatever decision is made. Do your best to keep your peace of mind. Peace is a healer. • Learn from your mistakes and allow others to do the same. Don’t stand over people and supervise every move. Learn to give others the opportunity to grow and grow up. • Don’t talk about your misfortunes or illnesses. It doesn’t do any good for you or the other person you tell, and it presents an opportunity for them to do the same to you. Save it for your doctor. He’s paid to listen to your problems. • Don’t gossip. Gossip that comes through the grapevine is usually sour grapes. Be a person who speaks for the one who cannot. • Spend 10 minutes a day meditating on how you can become a better person. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Listen to and follow your conscience. • Exercise daily. • Keep your spine and joints limber. • Develop your abdominal muscles. • Expand your lungs with speciﬁc exercises on a regular schedule.

Reiki & Healing Therapies at CSA For CSA members with cancer, their families and carers. Need to relax and unwind? Or take charge of your wellbeing? Why not book a massage or reflexology session at CSA or drop in to the Reiki Clinic? Or try a self-help activity such as yoga or qi gong to restore energy and equilibrium. CSA is centrally located in Cottesloe. We welcome you to drop by for support groups, counselling and complentary therapies.

• Keep flexible and strong. • Walk 10 minutes barefoot in the dewy grass or sand everyday. You’ll sleep better. • No smoking or drinking alcohol or caffeine. Both nicotine and alcohol are depressant drugs. Both require energy to detoxify the body, which\ is better used for life and healing processes. Avoid anything that is addictive or habit forming. • Go to bed by 9 pm when you can. If you are tired during the day, rest more. Rest allows the body to give its full attention and energy to healing and rebuilding tissues. Write down your problems at the end of the day and go over them first thing in the morning when you are refreshed, so you can look at them with a fresh mind and body. ✦

Contact CSA on 9384 3544 for information on natural therapies on offer or check our website: www.cancersupportwa.org.au

From Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center: www.all-natural.com

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10 WELLNESS NEWS

The Full

Catastrophe By Christine Robbins

Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D. is a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing The Cancer Support Association’s Open Support Group offers participants an opportunity to share information, insights and experiences. Sometimes a story is brought in and read to the group, or a book that has been a particularly helpful tool in someone’s healing journey gets passed around. The CSA library contains many books, CD, and DVD’s which are valuable resources borrowed and reborrowed on a regular basis by our members. During a discussion on the challenges of trying to reduce stress and live mindfully in the present moment, the book “Full Catastrophe Living” was suggested as a valuable tool offering practical stress-reducing techniques to incorporate into daily living. The name stuck with me, and a few weeks later I noticed the book on top of a pile of returned books for the librarian to shelve. Needless to say I borrowed it immediately and the book came home with me for Christmas holiday reading...

mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he was founding executive director of the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, and founder and former director of its’ world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic. He is the author of Wherever You Go. There you Are, Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Coming to Our Senses Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness, and coauthor with his wife Myla, of Everyday Blessings; the Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. In the introduction, to this the ﬁfteenth anniversary edition of Full Catastrophe Living Kabat-Zinn begins with: “This book is an invitation to the reader to embark upon a journey of self-development, self-discovery, learning and healing. It is based on ten years of clinical experience with over 4000 people who have begun this lifelong journey via their participation in an eight week course known as the Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre. The “Stress” clinic is a new branch of medicine known as behavioural medicine, which believes that mental and emotional factors, the ways in which we think and behave, can have a signiﬁcant effect, for better or worse, on our physical health and our capacity to recover from illness and injury. The people who embark on this journey in the stress clinic do so in an effort to regain control of their health and to attain at least some peace of mind. They come referred by their doctors for a wide range of medical problems ranging from headaches, high blood pressure, and back pain to heart disease, cancer and AIDS. They are young and old and in-between. What they learn in the stress clinic is the how of taking care of themselves, not as a replacement for their medical treatment but as a vitally important complement to it. Over the years numerous people have made inquiries about how they can learn what our patients learn in this 8 week course, which amounts to an intensive self-directed training program in the art of conscious living. This book is a response to those inquiries. It is meant to be a practical guide for anyone, well or ill, who seeks to transcend his or her limitations and move toward greater levels of health and well-being.” The title of this very empowering book intrigued me, and a few pages into the introduction the author explains his choice of title.

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healing

WELLNESS NEWS 11

“In groping to describe that aspect of the human condition that the patients in the stress clinic and, in fact, most of us, at one time or another, need to come to terms with and in some way transcend, I keep coming back to one line from the movie Zorba the Greek. Zorba’s young companion turns to him at a certain point and inquires, “Zorba, have you ever been married?” to which Zorba replies, “Am I not a man? Of course I’ve been married. Wife, house, kids, everything...THE FULL CATASTROPHE” It was not meant to be a lament, nor does it mean that being married or having children is a catastrophe. Zorba’s response embodies a supreme appreciation for the richness of life, and the inevitability of all its dilemmas, sorrows, tragedies, and ironies. His way is to “dance” in the gale of the full catastrophe, to celebrate life, to laugh with it and at himself, even in the face of personal failure and defeat. In doing so, he is never weighed down for long, never ultimately defeated either by the world or by his own considerable folly. Ever since I first heard it, I have felt that the phrase “the full catastrophe” captures something positive about the human spirit’s ability to come to grips with what is most difficult in life and to find within it room to grow in strength and wisdom. “Catastrophe” here does not mean disaster. Rather it means the poignant enormity of our life experience. It includes crises and disaster, but also all the little things that go wrong and that add up. The phrase reminds us that life is always in flux, that everything we think is permanent is actually only temporary and constantly changing. This includes or ideas, our opinions, or relationships, our jobs, our possessions, our creations, our bodies, everything.” I found the introduction of this book so riveting that I will share even more of it with you, but will stop short of including it all! KabattZinn continues with: “In this book we will be learning and practising the art of embracing the full catastrophe. We will be doing this so that rather than destroying us or robbing us of our power, and our hope, the storms of life will strengthen us as they teach us about living, growing, and healing in a world of flux and change and sometimes great pain. This art will involve learning to see ourselves and the world in new ways, learning to work in new ways with our bodies and our thoughts and feelings and perceptions, and learning to laugh at things a little more, including ourselves, as we practice finding and maintaining our balance as best we can.” This book is comprehensive in its scope, and it is impossible to do it justice in such a short review. It is a wonderful mix and balance of all that is needed for healing and for living well. In the Mind and Body chapter, the author brings further empowerment to those individuals who have a cancer diagnosis. He writes: “Even if it turns out that there is a statistically important relationship between negative emotions and cancer, to suggest to a person with cancer that his or her disease was caused by psychological stress, unresolved conflict, or unexpressed emotions would be totally unjustifiable. It amounts to subtly or not so subtly blaming the person for his or her disease…..Whenever we can come up with an explanation for something, it makes us feel a little better because we can reassure ourselves, however wrongly, that we “understand” why that person “got” cancer. But doing this amounts to a violation of the other person’s psychic integrity, based on ignorance and surmise. It also robs people of the present by directing their attention to the past when they most need to focus their energies and face the reality of having a life-threatening disease...This attitude is far more likely to result in increased

suffering than in healing. From everything we know about the emotions and health, acceptance and forgiveness are what we need to cultivate to enhance healing, not self-condemnation and self-blame.” The chapter on healing/curing and cancer are particularly relevant to our Wellness magazine readership, as he continues to empower us with the reminder that there is more right with us than there is wrong with us. In conclusion, a few more words from Jon Kabatt-Zinn. “Healing” as we are using the word here, does not mean “curing”, although the two words are often used interchangeably. There are few if any outright “cures” for chronic diseases or for stressrelated disorders. While it may not be possible for us to “cure” ourselves or to ﬁnd someone who can, it is possible for us to “heal” ourselves. Healing implies the possibility for us to relate differently to illness, disability, even death as we learn to see with eyes of wholeness. This comes from practising such basic skills as going into and dwelling in states of deep physiological relaxation and seeing and transcending our fears and our boundaries of body and mind. In moments of stillness you come to realise that you are already whole, already complete in your being, even if your body has cancer, even if you don’t know how long you will live or what will happen to you. Moments of experiencing wholeness, moments when you connect with the domain of your own being, often include a palpable sense of being larger than your illness or your problems and in a much better position to come to terms with them. Thus to think that you are a “failure” if you “still” have pain or cancer after you have been meditating for a while is to completely misunderstand the practice of mindfulness. WE ARE NOT MEDITATING TO MAKE ANYTHING GO AWAY. Whether we are basically healthy at the moment or have a terminal illness, none of us knows how long we have to live. Life only unfolds in moments. The healing power of mindfulness lies in living each one as fully as we can. Am I more mindful in each present moment, now that I have read this book, you ask? Maybe not, but I am mindful of how often I am not mindful, and that’s ok too. ✦

Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D. is published by Random House, New York. It is available for loan from the CSA library, and can be purchased from the Inpiration Factory in Subiaco. Christine Robbins is CSA’s client liaison officer and support group facilitator.

of the Cancer Support Association of WA September 2008 Cancer SupportMagazine Association www.cancersupportwa.org.au

12 WELLNESS NEWS

through the

CATASTROPHE...

into the calm By Geoﬀ Barbour

In May, 1997, aged 45 I was diagnosed with advanced non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Initially I had a blood test. This was followed by a ﬁne needle analysis which, in turn was followed by surgical biopsy. About six weeks later the doctors offered no surgery, only radical chemotherapy as a life extension exercise. They told me my illness was terminal and that I had an outside chance of lasting four years. I was advised to take my family on a holiday. At that time I was a highly stressed, heavy drinking, marijuana smoking truck driver, doing too many hours. I had also been battling major depression, with suicidal tendencies, for 32 years. I believed modern western medicine was the only valid medicine. Any alternative or ‘complementary’ therapies were for hippies and crackpots.

Geoff Barbour has well and truly lived the FULL CATASTROPHE. After years of depression and an ongoing ‘battle’ with cancer Geoff raised the white flag and surrendered. Now at peace with the chaos and uncertainty of cancer, Geoff teaches others the tools and insights to live a life of adventure. Here is his story...

When I was diagnosed, it was if the doctor took a live hand grenade out of his drawer and passed it to me. I then had to take that grenade home, pass it on to my wife, family and work mates – everyone I knew. Words fail to describe the devastation I felt. My wife, girls aged six and four and I were overwhelmed. My older daughter became very ill with pneumonia. The whole family went into counselling – a great help at a critical time. My brother gave me Ian Gawler’s book, You Can Conquer Cancer. I was insulted by the title. I thought, ‘How could a one-legged, dress wearing vet have any idea as to whether or not I could conquer cancer!’ I went to dinner with my wife. She said ‘God has sent you this cancer as one last chance to change your life, or you will die.’ In my heart I knew she was right. In her wisdom she found out about the Cancer Support Association in Cottesloe, Perth. They were running a 12 week wellness course based largely on Ian’s book. I suspected the whole place was a haven for hippies and crackpots. But I was still holding the hand grenade. I was desperate. So, about a month after I was diagnosed my wife and I began the course together. Everything I heard I hated: give up alcohol, smoking, chocolates, pies and cakes; deal with depression. My inner voice said it was all the truth. I knew if I wanted to live, this was the path I had to follow. I gave up work. I had a love/hate relationship with trucks so did not think it would be a problem. But when the day came to give my notice, it was like a spear through my heart. I became the ‘housewife’ and my darling wife went to work. It was a time of huge upheaval. At this time I heard about the ten-day residential program at The Gawler Foundation. My inner voice said I should go and I made the decision to attend in October 1997. I found the program very confronting. Perhaps this was the case because at that time I was very depressed. An extract from diary: ‘Second day – beginning meditation. I’m up against the brick wall of depression. If I were solo I would be elsewhere. Third day – the battle continues. I’m suppose to let go, get the faith,

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personal story WELLNESS NEWS 13 cook up a whole lot of images; seems to me like a lot of bullshit. Fourth day – Have I wasted $2,000? If I don’t go home positive I lose. If I leave now I lose. If I pretend to be positive I am a liar. Such is the life of a man who has lost his faith.’ Luckily in my despair I still listened. If I could persevere I would surely gain something. Then, after two more days it was Sunday, and we had a break. I was still desperate. I walked off up a road, giving myself a hard time as usual. No idea where I’m going, thinking that if I had stayed teaching, maybe I would not have cancer (30 years ago I was a teacher. I love it but left to maximise my life experience.) What do I see in the distance but a school sign? By now I’m totally depressed, thinking I will go up to an empty school and have a bloody good cry. I walk up and what do I see? A rainbow over the entrance. The Steiner School’s having a fete. I walk under the rainbow. Children everywhere. Beautiful. I go to a mud hut and see 24 children playing stringed instruments. Then a play begins. It's Jesus' disciples on the Sea of Galilee in a storm. They are all depressed thinking they are going to drown. They wake Jesus. He calms the water. The message: God will take care of me. I don’t have to get depressed. To be reminded of that lesson by those children at that time hit me like an axe between the eyes. I became more positive. I decided I would soak up everything I learnt at the Gawler Foundation. I proceeded to do just that. Then I took it home with me. I returned to my wife and children still rather desperate, sick and in despair. In trying to implement The Gawler Program I also despaired. In 1998 I met Ian in Perth and told him that trying to get me to live the principles of the Program was like trying to steer the Titanic away from iceberg. It just was not happening. Then on the steps of the Cancer Support Association building in Cottesloe Ian collared me. 'Well Geoff, what are you going to do?' I was taken aback; but I knew what I had to do because I had chosen to live. I replied, 'I'll persevere with the bloody program.' I saw a naturopath. I managed to stay on the Gawler maintenance diet long enough to notice substantial physical, an surprisingly, mental beneﬁts as well. I gave up caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, salt, sugar, airy an wheat products. I cheat from time to time, an suffer in my health as a consequence. In my experience I have to say that in terms of diet, gawler is right on the mark. I believe that my depression was a major cause of my cancer. This knowledge in itself was very empowering. I am now convinced that as I heal my depression I am also healing my cancer. I ﬁnd counselling and support groups to be extremely helpful in this quest. A I worked with my depression I came to understand more of the link between mind and body in healing. I came to believe that if I could heal my mind, then my mind would assist in healing my body. I thought of the anger I carried, and was surprised at the extent of it: anger towards my parents for my violent upbringing; anger towards the world as I perceived it; and just plain angry about life. I looked at the hate I carried towards all those I though ha wronged me, or taken advantage of me. I was surprised at how much energy I expended on judging, then hating people. It seemed

The Gawler Foundation’s 12 week program at CSA with Geoff Barbour The Gawler Foundation’s acclaimed 12-week program has helped thousands of people with cancer and their families since 1981. It is a unique educational program for people experiencing cancer which teaches the principles that will enable participants to activate and develop their own healing potential. This unique and innovative program provides an active self-help approach designed to improve quality and quantity of life by helping people to help themselves. The program works complementary to any mainstream medical treatment. Each session focuses upon a specific self-help theme based on a chapter from Ian Gawler’s book ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’. There is plenty of time to practise techniques as well as discussions and questions. We encourage the attendance of support people/partners to maximise the effectiveness of the program. The program will be held at the CSA building in Cottesloe and facilitated by Geoff Barbour who is endorsed by the Gawler Foundation. Geoff ran this program at CSA last year with great success. There are limited places on the program so be sure to book your place early. The program commences on the 15th April. Phone CSA for more details.

continued on next page...

MEETING THE CHALLENGE!

one day cancer wellness workshop

NEW CSA members can attend free!

Life Changing Information for people with cancer presented by Dr. Peter Daale, Helen Maynier, Paul Alexander & Bavali Hill One day seminars for people living with cancer and their carers with a special focus on accessing key cancer information online, nutrition, and meditation. Held on the ﬁrst Friday of every month. Coming dates for workshops are 6th March, 3rd April, 1st May, 5th June, 3rd July from 9.30am-4.30pm.

To book phone CSA 9384 3544

of the Cancer Support Association of WA September 2008 Cancer SupportMagazine Association www.cancersupportwa.org.au

14 WELLNESS NEWS ...from previous page

as though I was needlessly devoting much of my life's energy to anger, judgment an a warped negative view. The best way to clean out all this mental garbage seemed to be to develop an attitude of compassion and forgiveness. I decided to leave the judgment business to God. A very liberating decision. Of course I am still human and I still falter. Make no mistake, for me this is difficult to put into practice but I know that the health benefits are enormous. I embarked on a journey of forgiveness. I met with people I had judged an apologise to them. From a healing perspective the benefits were profound. I made a supreme effort to forgive people and to let go of the hurt they had cause me. In doing that I was able to clear my mind of much anger and bitterness. After spending so much time regretful about the past an fearful of the future I put in a major effort into focusing my mind on the present. Dealing with the art of forgiveness, compassion an non-judgment is something I constantly need to work on. It is a constant challenge. It is a major key to my healing. It has been said that cancer patients often belong to a certain personality type. In lay terms, they are ‘people pleasers’. I know I was in that category. My cancer diagnosis helped me to say ‘no’. At times this has been difficult, especially when it concerns my family. However, when I say ‘no’ with a clear conscience an with a certainty that my motives are pure then good things often happen that are beyond my expectation.

Geoff’s Post Script This story was originally published in ‘Surviving Cancer’ . In his introduction to my story, the editor Paul Kraus refers to my battle with N.L. Lymphoma. I actually declared the battle ‘over’ in 1998. I raised the white flag – surrendered. Battles are about outcomes – win/lose – and are very tiring. I decided that I could only do my best day-by-day. I surrendered my concerns and fears regarding the outcome (ie possible death!) to God. Cancer is no longer my enemy, it is my teacher, a messenger. It carries a precious gift – the chance for me to look at my life, my relationships with others; and most importantly, my relationship with my Self. One day I will die. Cancer has given me the grace to develop a good life, so that when my time comes, I will be reconciled and in harmony with all. So. I will greet death, not with fear or regret, but with anticipation. After a life of adventure, I will face my death unencumbered, excited to embark on the greatest adventure of all.”

By 2002 I had resolved three tumours across my chest, but had others growing around my large intestine. In 1997 the doctors had delayed chemotherapy. I had kept putting it off indefinitely. All the while I had been pursuing my fairly radical ‘Gawler’ lifestyle changes, knowing that healing was taking place. I had been warned of the strong possibility that a bowel obstruction would occur if I did not have chemotherapy. I refuse to countenance that possibility an believed that such a thing would not happen while I was on a ‘healing’ regime. My wife had real difficulties in accepting my decision. I recognised what torment I must have put her through. She would have had to endure the consequences! In the event I did not have a bowel obstruction and I stayed well. Much later, in 2005 I came off my bicycle at high speed – arse over head – cracked my helmet and my left knee was as sore as hell. I could hardly walk; did not go to the doctor because I figured my leg was not broken. I was laid up, waiting for the swelling an the pain to ease. I took it all as a good time to take that flying leap of faith from believing I might be healed, to knowing that I am healed. I turned my immobility into a great opportunity to deal effectively with the pain – all drug free. I sat on my be for a month, focusing on the view, listening or meditating or sleeping. The house became dirtier but the family had clean clothes and food. My knee healed really well. Yet 2005 was difficult in other ways. I became stirred up: lots of flash backs to past shadows. By then I had the wherewithal to cope with these stresses. Tests in November showed the tumours growing over my bowel had stabilised. At one level my life is still mayhem and madness. That is the way I am. I usually manage to keep myself in the calm bit, at the centre of the storm. It requires a lot of focus. I’m often flying around in the rough bits. Through it all I persist with meditation that helps attain peace of mind and keeps me calm. The past ten years has been a long tortuous road. It has also been an arduous process in that it has meant giving up my previous life. Like a death without dying. The changes an pressures on my wife have been enormous. I am convinced that the journey for the partner is much harder than it is for the patient. My marriage has at times been strained to breaking point. In looking at healing with a broad focus I recognise that I have been able to achieve fundamental improvements to my quality of life. I have to thank Ian Gawler for giving me the tools to achieve this priceless benefit. Tests in November 2006 showed that the tumours around my bowel ha shrunken by about half without any chemotherapy. Cancer has gone from being a death sentence to a passport to new life. I have changed my negativity and become a positive person; from being a judgmental person to being non-judgmental. I have learnt the huge value of love in one’s life. Love has become a major goal in my life. Love and compassion brings enormous benefits, including increased energy. It makes my spirit soar. I no longer worry about cancer. It no longer dominates my life. I now live in a state of calm that I had not previously known. I have not had an episode of depression since 1999. My quality of life is at unprecedented levels. Before May 1997 I was constantly regretful of the past, and paranoid about the future. Now I live for the moment. Good luck to you all. Be brave. ✦

From: Surviving Cancer: Inspiring Stories of ‘Hope and Healing’ edited by Paul Kraus. Published by Michelle Anderson Publishing, Melbourne 2008. ISBN 9780855723859

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WELLNESS NEWS 15

By Sandra Cosentino “Listening does not take place unless you are willing to be changed. Otherwise, you are just waiting for an opening to talk” ~ Alan Alda

the surprising variety of ways they reveal profound wisdom to us in our dreams, meditations and instant knowing. And even more importantly, they bring us direct energetic vibrations that help us release heavy energies and raise our frequency.

Do you hear a voice whispering in the background of your busy life

Medicine is coming into direct contact with Universal Source energies which restores our balance and perspective. This is the essence of healing. When our minds block ﬂow, when we quit listening, so often our bodies grab our attention by developing symptoms that force us to listen. Calling us back to our bigger cosmic blueprint. The cells of our bodies are never disconnected from Source. Like our medicine animal friends, our body is a true and loyal friend.

that seems to be calling you to some mystery? Subtle but always there, a presence that you sense is somehow your real essence. If we really let the voice of our soul and its connection to the universe ﬂow into us, what will happen?

What blocks our knowingness, which if heard, may lead to bold expression of innate creativity? Who is this me I have created as protection from pain – this inner critic that is afraid to Listen? Afraid to change, we keep oh so busy, unwilling to hear the voice of our dreams, the perspective of another person, the song of the bird who comes near us, the wake up call coming from Mother Earth as she shifts her axis and magnetic poles and weather patterns. Physics, like ancient earth-based spiritual practices, have shown us we are part of an expanding, dynamic universe. That every cell of our body is directly connected to the these flowing energies. That systems that are closed will build up pressure for release and change. We live in a sentient universe that responds to our observation, our thoughts, our energies. Just as when we listen to the messages constantly coming to us from our body, nature, friends, society, we shift. We become more fluid and wave like, less contracted. This sets off our inner alarm – takes us into resistance, avoidance. Humans are uniquely gifted with conscious ability to witness ourselves and create dynamic change, yet we so often limit this gift to what our logical, domesticated mind can conceive and control. We ignore the other ways of perceiving and direct knowing our animal friends so eloquently use all the time. Each animal species has a group soul, a dynamic energetic that is freely offered to us humans to enlarge our energy field and abilities, yet we don’t invite that wisdom in. We fear being in the wild places they inhabit on the landscape and in our inner world. Medicine animals in popular literature have been reduced to symbolic definitions so that even if we are open to their presence in our lives, we limit their expression by being overly defining. We miss the humour,

Many people in the modern world are responding to a voice that calls them to pilgrimage to landscapes that evoke awe and expanded awareness. Charged places that renew our energies and awaken new potentialities. The inner mystic is awakening in Western culture calling us back to a place of connectedness to spontaneous life and aliveness. Paired with being willing to listen, and hence change, is the action dynamic that gets set in motion in our life. Then we face the challenge to express and speak our truth. Just as listening does not occur without being willing to change, living your truth does not take place unless you are willing to reveal yourself, to risk disapproval, to move from passive to active mode. So when you are right there at that edge place moving into unfamiliar terrain, welcome the fear, use its energy as adrenalin to be so alive and aware. Just as when you are in a wilderness with big predators, you are so aware and alive and in the moment. To survive you have to pay attention, be one with that world. Ancient humans living close to the earth knew well too the power of intention and using ceremony and group energy to evoke change. We are conscious channels for direction of life energies. So what might happen in your life if you began really listening to the voice of your soul that is whispered on the wind, radiating from the stars, reﬂected to you in inner responses to people in your life, expressed in body language such as gut tightening or heart opening, or in the dream of the eagle pecking on our head calling you to go ﬂy and get the bigger picture of who you really are and of your vast potent-reality. ✦

From: www.crossingworlds.com

A weekly group held every Tuesday at CSA from 10am – 12noon. Anyone who’s life has been aﬀected by cancer or other life threatening illnesses is welcome to attend. of the Cancer Support Association of WA September 2008 Cancer SupportMagazine Association www.cancersupportwa.org.au

r a g u sthe age drug

16 WELLNESS NEWS

By Ian Blair Hamilton

What is the ‘fact’ of ‘aging’? Collins Dictionary says it’s ‘the process of growing old’ or ‘developing the

Let us first understand the facts, and then we may seek the cause ~ Aristotle

appearance of old age’. So a person who, for whatever reason at all, starts to ‘look’ old, must be aging. Hmm. Surely aging is a bit more speciﬁc than just ‘growing old’ or ‘developing the appearance of old age’. Aging, I suggest, is the process of decay that occurs as we grow chronologically older. It is the constant process that may accelerate, may pause, but never stops. It is therefore a state of motion, like a car rolling downhill. We are the car; the downward motion is aging, and a reverse action is required to it to slow it down. We push the car uphill. We attempt to ‘reverse’ its downward motion. So ‘reverse aging’ is the slowing down of aging. It is the reduction or delay of the actual process or ‘motion’ of aging.

Slowing Down Aging With apology to Collins Dictionary, to describe aging as ‘the process of growing old’ is about as useful as a parking ticket. It describes the obvious, but it doesn’t describe what aging is. We all know aging is decay. It’s what we fear; decay of tissues, reduction in bone strength, dehydration and degradation of the cartilage, degradation of the waste management systems, the blood, the lymph, the kidney, the liver, the skin... But what is it that causes decay? M. Carroll, a French scientist, once isolated tissue from a chicken’s heart. By constantly replenishing it with clean interstitial fluid and nutrition, he was able to keep the tissue alive for 26 years. It only died when his lab assistant took a smoko and forgot to change the nutrient solution. The conclusion is obvious; keep our innards clean and away from waste material and we may live indefinitely or at least until the cosmic lab assistant takes a smoko. So we can more correctly define aging as what happens when we are allowed to rot, rust, oxidise and degenerate through exposure to our own wastes. This is exactly what happens to us as we get older. We are exposed through excessive life and diethabits, to an excess of acidic waste products. Acid burns, rusts and rots anything it touches. Our foods, predominantly composed of carbon and oxygen, are ‘cooked’ by our cells to produce our energy. The ‘ash’ of this cooking is almost completely acid waste, rain to a balanced alkaline one, the same as it was for our ancestors, ‘reverses’ the ‘rot rate’. Amazingly, it is illegal to advertise this obvious science because we have no double blind peer reviewed studies to support the theory. So let’s quickly recap. To reverse aging isn’t to suddenly get pimples and smooth skin, and become wrinkle free and sexy. It is to work against the seemingly inevitable momentum of degradation of our body and if successful, to slow down or temporarily halt that momentum. We have witnessed many, many hundreds of people who acted to stem the acid aging tide. They have reported all sorts of beneficial health changes, and of course, any beneficial health change is, obviously, a reversal of deterioration or ‘aging’. But is it common knowledge or limited to the privileged or more curious few?

Obesity is Aging We are in an epidemic that has overtaken 120 million Americans and is now sweeping Australia. In 1991 aging in the form of obesity killed 325,000 Americans – eight times the number who died of AIDS, and more than the combined deaths from alcohol, drugs, ﬁrearms, and motor vehicles. Obesity is aging. Let’s look at the reasons. “Fat” says Dr Robert O. Young, author of The pH Miracle “is not the problem. The problem, according to him, is acid, in the many forms it takes, but particularly in the

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nutrition form of that sinister, insidious yet highly respectable hard drug called sugar. Gaining fat ages you. It’s simple science. But haven’t you ever wondered about all those obese people who complain bitterly that they really don’t eat a lot of fat? There’s a big secret that every giant food manufacturer wants to keep from you. It isn’t fat that ages you. It is acid. Fat may even be a friend in need. But wait a minute! Didn’t I just say gaining fat ages you? Yes, but why do you gain fat?

Why do we get fat? When our body becomes over-acidic and is threatened with accelerated aging due to our modern lifestyle, consumption and stress, the body uses fat to bind to the acid, neutralises its effects on all other cells, tissues and organs that sustain life. When you eat sugar, it ferments to lactic acid. If lactic acid is not neutralised it does what all acid will do. It burns, rusts and rots healthy cells, leading to disease, decay and aging. In its inﬁnite wisdom. Our body retrieves fat from our food or from our own body to protect us from acid. The real aging agent. Surrounding the acid with fat neutralises its attack power. The body’s self management system is a powerful anti aging weapon. It is always in full ‘preservation’ or ‘reverse aging’ mode. Acid bound in fat can be eliminated or if elimination is compromised because of our poor kidney and liver health, (an extremely common modern health condition) it is stored in the extremities or away from the organs that sustain life. Acid binding fat accumulates in all those places the slimming ads tell us we need to reduce. We save our vital organs by stashing acid in fat! Seen as evil by a corporate marketing machine, fat can be re visioned as an anti-aging tool. The more acidic your lifestyle, the fatter you will become. So to reverse or slow aging, fat must perform its chosen task. You become fatter because your body is trying to survive an extended acid trip. The less acidic your lifestyle and diet the thinner and biologically younger (less aging) - you will be. Are over-thin people healthier than fat people? Not necessarily. Fat people are generally healthier than over-thin people because their fat is providing a place to park all their acids. If acids are not eliminated in a thinner person they do what acid does; breaking

WELLNESS NEWS 17

down (aging) tissues, muscles, bones and organs causing an array of symptomologies. Do you know someone who is underweight who can eat anything and everything and not gain weight? This may reﬂect a serious problem because the fat buffering system of the body is not working properly. ‘Underweight’ and ‘overweight’ are two sides of the same coin and can simply be a result of over-acidity.

Modern Dilemma of Acid Management Is everyone at risk of over-acidity? I am sure there are some Westerners somewhere who are not, but I haven’t met one yet. The modern dilemma of acid management is all about stress. Dr Theodore Baroody published an excellent chart of foods that acidify or alkalanise. He called it the 80/20 chart and a cursory glance will show that it is just not easy to eat enough alkali-producing foods in the right proportion. However, assuming you achieve this, then the second over-riding problem is stress. Stress will cancel out all your best dietary efforts in a moment, turning alkaline-producing foods into acid. Stress is a modern problem, particularly because it is overlaid on an increasingly acid-rich, alkali-starved diet. Socially, it is also increasingly ‘important’ that we don’t show stress. “Peace brother”, the catch cry of the seventies has come back to haunt us as repressed stress manifests as acid waste in the body. We are truly what we think, as our emotions are chemically translated into actual body mass. The Shaolin monks of China, the Dalai Lama and other spiritual leaders are more alkaline and healthy because they observe daily practices of stress control through meditation - their practices have a direct chemical beneﬁt in their bodies. What did you have for breakfast? Was it cereal? Milk? Yoghurt, oatmeal, an orange or apple juice? All of these foods metabolise to sugar, increase metabolic acids and cause your body to go into the reverse aging mode, binding acid to fat. Acid levels are expressed as obesity. Don’t blame your body for using fat to save your life. Blame your life choices. I mentioned earlier that sugar is a drug. One result of addiction will be hyper- and hypo-glycemia. A drug compels people to increase continued on next page...

7 Reasons Not to Consume Sugar 1. SUGAR CAUSES BLOOD GLUCOSE TO SPIKE AND PLUMMET. Unstable blood sugar often leads to mood swings, fatigue, headaches and cravings for more sugar. Cravings set the stage for a cycle of addiction in which every new hit of sugar makes you feel better temporarily but, a few hours later, results in more cravings and hunger. On the ﬂip side, those who avoid sugar often report having little or no cravings for sugary things and feeling emotionally balanced and energised.

hitting your bloodstream, ends up attaching itself to proteins, in a process called glycation. These new molecular structures contribute to the loss of elasticity found in aging body tissues, from your skin to your organs and arteries. The more sugar circulating in your blood, the faster this damage takes hold.

2. SUGAR INCREASES THE RISK OF OBESITY, DIABETES AND HEART DISEASE.

7. SUGAR TAKES THE PLACE OF IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS. According to USDA data, people who consume the most sugar have the lowest intakes of essential nutrients – especially vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B-12, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. Ironically, those who consume the most sugar are children and teenagers, the individuals who need these nutrients most.

3. SUGAR INTERFERES WITH IMMUNE FUNCTION in animal studies. 4. SUGAR ACCELERATES AGING. It even contributes to that telltale sign of aging: sagging skin. Some of the sugar you consume, after

5. SUGAR CAUSES TOOTH DECAY. 6. SUGAR AFFECTS BEHAVIOUR AND COGNITION IN CHILDREN.

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18 WELLNESS NEWS consumption. Sugar isn’t the sort of drug that, like cigarettes, carries a government warning. You can buy sacks of it off the shelf if you so desire. Yet the drug like results are obvious; diabetes, hypertension in children, and antisocial behaviour.

What happens when we eat sugar? A UK study found direct correlation between over consumption of sugar and arteriosclerosis and heart attacks. The UK Heart Foundations website has wonderful statistics that show heart disease by socio economic, age and racial groupings. One thing stands out; that beer and soft drinkers are loading up on sugar and dying in droves. I am at the moment compiling statistics for all countries I can find data for, to study and confirm this correlation, but it is too obvious. American kids now derive more energy from their ‘sodas’ than from their food. Alcoholics regularly substitute beer for food because the sugar is readily available. Low fat foods, the trend of the decade, also mask a sinister surprise. When you reduce fat, you also reduce flavour. When you reduce flavour, you reduce sales. The answer? Increase sugar, reduce fat. A University of Pennsylvania study confirmed that by giving sugar to patients, blood fats increase. It concluded that a person ingesting more than 120 g of sugar a day is more than five times likely to develop myocardial infarction as someone taking less than 60 g a day.

Greenlandic Eskimos have a diet very high in the fats from whale, seal, seabirds, halibut and salmon – yet are amongst the healthiest and longest living people in the world.

If we were to graph the increase in diabetes and the increase in sugar consumption we would see an almost perfect correlation. A century ago one person in 100 had diabetes. Today it is one in 12. If we look at drugs as something we want and crave and consume as much as we are able, it’s a sobering thought to realise that we consume around 170 grams every day; a massive seven kilos a year. The drug pushers are not found in the street or down an alley; they are found in our super markets with their new weapon: low fat foods. We are starting our kids early these days. A visit to the local fast food joint, a candy bar, a cola that is 100,000 times more acidic than their blood to give them a hit of the ‘real thing’, pasta, potatoes, buttery corn – it’s so easy when the drug pushers have a drive through. I mentioned earlier that fat/acid are stored in the body when the liver or kidneys are not capable of eliminating it. The liver is a filter. The toxins that we manufacture within the body include gastrointestinal, metabolic, respiratory and cellular metabolic acids. Yet on top of all that, we guzzle acid with coffee, tea, beer, wine, and colas, and still expect the liver to fulfill its part in reversing aging under a veritable tsunami of acids. Of course the liver degenerates! It was designed in prehistory and it is being used like a horse on a freeway. It has a maximum capacity and we’ve reached it. When homeostasis detects the liver in pain, it switches the job of acid elimination to the kidneys, which in turn can lead to dysfunction through overload. Finally, the acid will seep out of our last post of detoxification, that massive organ we call the skin. We see it in the form of acne, blemishes, rashes, eczema, or psoriasis. Yet people with the most terrible forms of disfiguring eczema experience a complete turnaround just by becoming more alkaline. Guess what our kids ingest when they try a smoke behind the schoolhouse? Nicotine? Of course. Sugar? Yes, sugar, the latest weapon in the tobacco corporation’s armoury of sales producing drugs. Tobacco is now fermented with sugar and yeast during the drying process of the tobacco leaves. When our kids try to give up, they face a combined whammy of nicotine and sugar craving. Smoking increases blood sugar. Blood sugar converts to acid. Acid causes fat retention, which causes aging. Aging causes death. Acid also breaks down insulin-producing alpha and beta cells, precipitating the risk of pancreatic cancer as localised acids breaks down the pancreas’ alkaline production ability. Acid is a wonderful meat tenderiser. It is the acid in barbecue sauce that tenderises steak. So imagine the effect it has on vital organs like the heart. Much heart disease is the result of the heart muscle turning to

in the Sun Room at CSA A gentle, holistic, relaxing class with Sydel Weinstein Tuesdays 9.30 – 10.30am. Suitable for beginners.

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WELLNESS NEWS 19 mush as sugars breakdown to acids tenderising the heart. Under live blood microscopy acid crystals look and act like shards of glass in the blood, scraping and cutting as they endlessly circulate. The body answers this by combining cholesterol with free calcium to produce the plaque that slowly chokes our blood ﬂow from our heart. If we were able to closely examine an arthritic joint, we would see micro calciﬁcations of calcium. This is the calcium that should be used for bone building, diverted by the body to attempt to reverse aging of an acid ravaged joint. Calcium also builds up in the brain in dementia or Parkinson’s, in the breasts in breast cancer, and in the liver or gallbladder, as in liver and gall stones.

Effects of reverse aging Reverse aging exposes many scientific half truths, because as we change from acid to alkaline, all manner of beneficial changes begin. Reverse aging lowers our cholesterol, yet increasing acid levels through lifestyle and diet increases cholesterol. Low density lipoproteins (LDLs) is yet another form of fat that binds to systemic acids. When the body fluids especially the blood is acidic, the body goes into preservation mode and creates LDLs out of fat to bind to acids in the blood. Intravascular coagulation (premature clotting of the blood) follows, causing circulation problems, oxygen deprivation, cellular breakdown, and further acidity, even perhaps culminating in arteriosclerosis, stroke and/or heart attack. Perhaps the most telling proof that fat is not the aging villain it has been portrayed as can be found in study of other cultures. In the Vasalian Alps in Switzerland, people share a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol, yet they have low serum cholesterol and excellent cardio health. The Samburu, the Somalis and the Masai in East Africa eat as high as 65% fat yet are almost free from heart disease. The Lancet (1981) published a study of Greenlandic Eskimos, showing extremely low incidence of arteriosclerotic heart disease, including coronary arterial disease. Not one case of diabetes mellitus has been reported in the population of Greenlandic Uhanak district. Yet these people are Eskimo, meaning, in their own language, “raw meat eaters”. Their diet is very high in the fats from whale, seal, seabirds, halibut and salmon.

The healthy fat A comparative study of two groups of people living in close proximity lends a further clue. In Polynesia, the diet, body build, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol levels of the traditional following Atiu and Mitiaros were compared with their Westernised Rarotongan neighbours. The Atiu Mitiaro people live on a diet low in calories and protein but rich in the highly saturated coconut fat. The Rarotongans consume more, but comparatively little, coconut fat. It was found that 25% of the male Rarotongans suffered hypertension, as compared to only 10% of the Atiu Mitiaro mates. Serum cholesterol levels of the saturated coconut fat eating Atiu Mitiaro males were as high as European males, yet no tendency to coronary heart disease was discovered. Obviously, adults of different ethnicity on a high fat, high cholesterol, high caloric diet, can remain free of cardiovascular disorders. My own research supports the conclusion that a diet low in sugar will be low in acid. It will preserve the pH balance of body fluids, maintaining cellular health and integrity. The amount of fat or cholesterol consumed appears relatively inconsequential. Your fat is like a ‘renta store’ and the acid you create is what you choose to store. The more you have to store, the more ‘renta store’ you need to pay for. Taking care of your liver with clean alkaline foods and drinks and eating lots of good healthy fat from sources such as avocado, coconut and olive oil, flax, borage, primrose and marine oils can definitely fall within our definition of reverse aging. Fat burns cleaner than sugar. Our inner fluids are purer, our liver is stronger and less stressed. Our pancreas will be able to take a break from constant sugar metabolism and begin healing itself.

How to live longer... • Check for vitamin, mineral and hormone deﬁciences, particularly vitamin C, iron and the hormones DHEA, oestrogen and testoreone. • Eat less and more slowly. • Avoid low-fat foods which are high in sugar and kilojoules. Ensure you are eating enough protein and complex carbohydrates, as well as plenty of fruit and vegetables. • Get more exercise, particularly if you have a sedentary job. • Drink eight glasses of water a day, preferably ﬁltered.

However we do it, the realisation that aging as we have explored it here can be reversed is liberating in the extreme. The only problem we all face is coming to terms with the fact that we may actually already be sugar and acid addicts. Once we face this, however, for the sake of our own future, our loved ones and this wonderful country that is going to have to support our indulgence and its inevitable result – we can make the decision to alkalise, detox, drop the habit, and reverse aging. ✦

Ian Blair Hamilton is the creator of Conscious Aging workshops. He is also the Managing Director of Ion Life, suppliers of ionised water and air systems. This article was ﬁrst published in Living Now magazine, November 2005 edition: livingnow.com.au.

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20 WELLNESS NEWS

e a d i s t for n a i l l i r b

breakfast

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast! John Gunther

by Petrea King

As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it provides us with energy to sustain us through our busy schedule. These recipes will help you incorporate some variety and fun into a meal that can often be boring and predictable. The recipes featured here come courtesy of Petrea King, the founder of the Quest for Life Centre and are from her ﬁrst cookbook ‘Food for Life’. Established in 1990, the Quest for Life Centre supports people with life-threatening illnesses and those living with loss and grief. ‘Food for Life’ and other Quest for Life publications and resources are available from the CSA Wellness Shop, The Quest for Life Centre and other good bookshops. This book is also available for loan from the CSA library. We would like to extend our thanks to Petrea and the Quest for Life Centre for sharing these healthy, tasty breakfast recipes with Wellness readers.

apple pancakes

To add a bit of variety to your breakfast choices try these delicious apple pancakes. They are a yummy treat which will brighten your day.

Ingredients 1 cup wholemeal flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 egg 1 cup milk (cow, brown rice, oat or coconut) 1 tablespoon warm honey 2 apples, cored and grated Coconut or extra virgin olive oil or ghee Maples syrup to serve

Method Place the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Lightly beat together the egg, milk, and warm honey in a job and gradually pour into the flour, while whisking, to form a smooth batter. Fold through the grated apple. Heat a frying pan and add a small amount of oil or ghee, just to coat. Pour in ¼ cupfuls of batter and cook over medium heat, turning once, until the pancakes are golden on both sides. Remove pancake from the pan and keep warm while cooking the remaining mixture. Serve drizzled with maple syrup. Serves 4

rainbow muesli The more natural colour you incorporate into your food the more nutritious it will be – and what has more colour than a rainbow?

Ingredients 2/3 cup rolled oats 1 cup milk (cow, brown rice, oat, coconut) or apple juice or water 1 apple, cored and grated 1/3 cup natural yoghurt (sheep’s yoghurt is delicious while goat’s milk has a stronger flavour) Chopped seasonal fruits in all the colours of the rainbow (strawberries, cherries, papaya, oranges, apricots, bananas, kiwifruit, grapes and blueberries etc)

Method Combine the oats and grated apple and your choice of fruit and top with your favourite milk and yoghurt. Serves 2.

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recipes WELLNESS NEWS 21

crunchy granola Add a bit of crunch to your day with home-made granola. It is a tasty breakfast dish that is easy to prepare and extremely nutritious.

Ingredients 2 cups rolled oats ¼ cup sunflowder seeds 2 tablespoons sesame seeds ½ cup raw almonds, chopped ½ cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ cup honey 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots 1/3 cup sultanas

Method Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line 2 paking trays with non-stick baking paper. Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds and walnuts in a large mixing bowl. Gently heat the maple syrup and honey together and pour over the oats mixture. Toss together using a couple of metal spoons and the spread the mixture evenly over the 2 baking trays. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes or until evenly golden. You will need to rearrange the granola on the baking trays every 5 minutes so that it cooks evenly. Allow the granola to cool then fold through the apricots and sultanas. Store in an airtight container. Serve with you favorite milk. Makes 500g.

apricot & date bread If you are bored of toast for breakfast, have a go at making your own bread. There is no need for any toppings on this flavoursome yeast-free loaf.

Ingredients 1 cup spelt all-bran or Kelloggs All-Bran Original cereal 90g pitted dates, chopped 175g dried apricot, chopped 1 cup pureed apple (or apple sauce) 1 cup milk (cow, oat, brown rice or coconut) 11/2 cups wholemeal self raising-flour

Method Place the All-Bran, dates and apricots and purred apple in a large mixing bowl. Stir through the milk and soak for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Line a 20x10cam loaf tin with non-stick baking paper. Fold the flour into the All-Bran mixture and combine well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for 1 hour or until cooked (when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean). Place on a wire rake to cool.

Email your healing recipes and food news to the Wellness editor: editor.wellness@yahoo.com.au

Make Green tea your choice of beverage at any time of day Regular consumption of green tea may

reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer by about 12 per cent, according to a new study from the US and China. Writing in the Journal of Nutrition, scientists report that the “modest” reduction was observed for regular tea drinkers, compared to non-drinkers, after evaluating the diet of 3454 women with breast cancer and 3474 healthy controls aged between 20 and 74. The study, led by Martha Shrubsole from Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, adds to the ever-growing body of science supporting the anticancer benefits of green tea and its polyphenols. Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea. In addition to the potential anticancer benefits, previous studies have reported a range of health benefits for green tea and its extracts, including the potential to promote weight loss, and protection against Alzheimer’s. ✦

Source: Journal of Nutrition February 2009, Volume 139, Number 2, Pages 310-316. “Drinking Green Tea Modestly Reduces Breast Cancer Risk” Authors: M.J. Shrubsole, W. Lu, Z. Chen, X.O. Shu, Y. Zheng, Q. Dai, Q. Cai, K. Gu, Z.X. Ruan, Y.-T. Gao, W. Zheng

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22 WELLNESS NEWS

books & media

review

most of the books reviewed on these pages are available for loan from the CSA Library. If you are a CSA member you can borrow all titles from our library catalogue online: www.cancersupportwa.org.au

The Energy Medicine Kit Donna Eden is a well known American healer with an ability to see the body’s energies. After a long personal healing journey Donna now teaches others how to work with the body’s energy for healing purposes. “Your body is incredibly intelligent”, she says. “If you guide it correctly, it will begin to vitalise and heal itself almost immediately.” With The Energy Medicine Kit, Donna helps you to learn the unspoken language of your body to boost your energy levels, address many specific health problems, and foster overall health. You begin by learning a powerful Daily Energy Practice that combines simple movements, pressure point massage, and breathwork to create a reservoir of vital life force you can draw on throughout the day. With guidance from the DVD and CD, Donna shows you over 30 specific on-the-spot energy healing exercises to strengthen your immune system, alleviate fatigue and chronic pain, focus and sharpen your mind, stabilise your emotional energies, and much more. The flash cards act a quick reference to help you remember the exercises.

‘The Energy Medicine Kit’ by Donna Eden. Published by Sounds True, Boulder CO US. ISBN-10: 1-59179-208-8 Simple, effective techniques to help boost your vitality, restore health and feel better instantly

Included is: • A booklet that teaches you the fundamentals of energy medicine. • Illustrated Energy Medicine Cards – for quick reference to remember and use the exercises. • A DVD which demonstrates energy medicine and teaches you 15 restorative exercises. • An audio CD that guides you clearly through 21 more techniques for specific conditions. • A high-quality cut glass crystal – which you can use as a tool for directing healing energy to localised areas of the body. Overall, the kit is well designed and organised and has great contents. It is an excellent healing resource, particularly for people who’s energy levels are depleted and find it challenging or impossible to do other forms of exercise or activity. The exercises in the kit can be done seated, lying down or even in the bath! The simple but powerful ‘energycises’ work on a subtle level and in the longterm have the potential to help us retrain our response mechanism to stressful situations. On the DVD, Donna talks a lot about the effects of stress. “Stress is instant and automatic – the blood leaves the brain, preparing the body to either fight or take flight. Even thinking about something stressful can cause this physiological response,” she says. Longterm stress has been proven to have an adverse effect on health and has been implicated in disease. Donna teaches energy techniques which quickly return the blood to the forebrain to restore the body’s energy, vitality and equilibrium. With a bit of practice and instruction from Donna it is possible to stay relaxed and calm in the most trying or depleting of circumstances. ✦

Reviewed by Mandy BeckerKnox (MBK). The Energy Medicine Kit is now available for loan from CSA’s library

Use your CSA VILLAGE CARD online for great rewards Log on to the CSA Village at www.csavillage.nml.com.au Remember every time you use your Village Card a donation is made directly to CSA www.cancersupportwa.org.au environment • wellness • healing

review WELLNESS NEWS 23

From Sound into Silence: Meditations with Voice and Harp This collaboration between Ian Gawler and Peter Roberts was recorded more than 10 years ago, and is firmly established as a valuable meditation tool. Ian Gawler has since produced many more meditation resources which are available from the CSA Wellness Shop and Library, bookstores and directly from The Gawler Foundation. On this CD Ian combines guided instruction with the harp played by Peter Roberts to lead you into two powerful meditation and imagery exercises each lasting about 30 minutes. Track One is a ‘deep physical relaxation’ guided by Ian with Peter’s harp music in the background. Perfect to help you shift your attention from the physical, from the worrying to the peaceful reservoir of stillness within. Track Two ‘The Inner Journey’ is comprised of imagery and music to bring peace, regeneration and transformation. It is difficult to review meditation CDs – because if they are good you tend to relax too deeply to remain analytical – even when seated at a desk. This CD definitely falls into the category of a ‘good one’, because quite soon into track one I completely ‘let go’ and lulled into a state of deep relaxation drifted into a blissful void where there was no reason to remain objective...except I had a review to complete! From Sound into Silence has a good balance of voice, music and extended silence. The harp is exquisitely beautiful, yet non-instrusive. Ian’s voice is refreshingly Australian and reassuring. He uses simple language and concrete imagery which make it easy to follow. It is almost impossible not to relax listening to this CD.

‘From Sound into Silence: Meditations with Voice and Harp’ By Ian Gawler and Peter Roberts An audio CD combining guided relaxation and harp for deep physical relaxation, peace and transformation.

With Ian guiding you in meditation, you can relax deeply because he has a voice and a reputation you can implicitly trust. Ian is a cancer survivor, spiritual teacher and author with a vast amount of experience. His empathy and compassion for others is apparent in all of his works, and this CD is no exception. ✦

Reviewed by MBK

Opening the Door of Your Heart and other Buddhist Tales of Happiness Ajahn Brahm ia a Buddhist Monk and a British born Cambridge University graduate in Theoretical Physics. He trained in the austere Thai forest meditation tradition under Venerable Ajahn Chah, and in 1983 was invited to established Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, Western Australia. He is the Abbot of the Monastery and also Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of WA. Ajahn Brahm has taught Buddhist philosophy to Westerners from all walks of life, led meditation groups in prisons, and counselled the sick and the bereaved. Many of the stories which emerged from his encounters are included in this collection of ‘teaching stories’. Other stories in the book have come from his own life experience, or have been handed down orally in his monastic tradition – though they have been allowed to grow in each subsequent telling to adapt to the times and have relevance for the listener. Opening the Door of Your Heart reads as a collection of true-life tales which relate the timeless wisdom of the Buddha’s teachings to everyday situations we all ﬁnd ourselves in. Grouped under headings such as ‘Love and commitment’, ‘Perfection and guilt’, ‘Critical problems and their compassionate solutions’ and ‘Wisdom and inner silence’ the stories carry themes of love, forgiveness, freedom from fear and overcoming pain. While the stories are engaging and entertaining, they are also deeply profound and poignant. Traditional Buddhist teachings are at the heart of the tales which explore human nature and the Buddhist precepts of mindfulness, wisdom, love, truth and compassion. This book is certainly a reﬂection of Ajahn Brahm’s presentation style which many of us at CSA have come to appreciate during his visits to the CSA and our annual visit to the Bodhinyana Monastery. His storytelling is both witty and irreverent, yet insightful and wise. His tales reveal moments of compassion and insight in the lives of ordinary people, expressing the need we all have to make our lives meaningful. These are modern tales of hope, love, pain and forgiveness which we can all relate to. ✦

‘Opening the Door of Your Heart’ and other Buddhist tales of Happiness. By Ajahn Brahm. Published by Hachette. ISBN: 9780733623110. Funny and profound teaching stories which reveal the compassion and resilience of the human spirit.

Reviewed by MBK. We have included a story from Ajahn Brahm’s collection titled ‘The Most Beautiful Sound’ on page 58 for you to enjoy!

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24 WELLNESS NEWS

N 1 & 12

ACROSS

1. Table measuring rate of absorption of glucose into the bloodstream from diﬀerent foods 2. Going for a ___ is a great form of cardiac exercise 3. Mind, Body, ______ 4. Japanese word for Life Force 5. We need at least 20 minutes a day of ________ to stay ﬁt and healthy 6. New system of medicine integrating mainstream and alternative therapies 7. Joining a support group helps individuals to connect with others and become part of a ______ 8. It’s okay to say __ to people, situations and treatments which compromise your integrity, health or wisdom 9. Getting plenty of ____ is essential when undergoing cancer treatment 10. A juice fast may help to ________

C O

M 3

L 4

E M

6 & 17

G N

DOWN 11. Good _________ is essential to the success of any cancer wellness plan 12. Berry from the Himalayas regarded as a superfood 13. Ancient system of exercise and meditation from India 14. Inner contentment leads to lasting inner _____ 15. Adjunctive therapies which complement mainstream 16. Opposite of wellness 17. Ancient Chinese oracle 18. Life’s challenges give us an opportunity to ___ 19. Unconditional happiness 20. ___ Chi is a gentle, healing Chinese Martial Art

T A

I 8

D solution on page 62

in the news...

Experts query cancer treatment L eading oncologists have called for cancer treatments to be

independently reviewed to ensure toxic and expensive drugs are not overused at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Cancer Council Australia chief executive Ian Olver and Melbourne oncologist Ian Haines said a lack of independent research into the outcomes of cancer drugs made it diﬃcult to know how eﬀective treatments were for patients and those paying for the drugs. Writing in the Medical Journal Australia, they said there had been a decline in independent research in the last 10 years, with drug companies often paying doctors for their work and influencing treatment guidelines. There has also been a shift away in clinical trials from using drugs until maximum response and then stopping the treatment to avoid toxicity, in favour of using drugs for as long as they were tolerated, doctors said. “There are no survival or quality-of-life data to support this increase in treatment duration, which adds enormous costs if this design becomes the ‘evidence base’,” they wrote.

financial stake in the outcome provide substantial funding for their development and implementation, or when members of guideline committees also have substantial financial associations with industry,” they said. Professor Olver and Dr Haines said Australia needed a comprehensive system to evaluate the outcomes of treatments, particularly after they were approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. “These approvals are often based on data from very carefully selected subgroups of patients in studies that are often designed, funded and interpreted and written by the pharmaceutical company seeking the PBS listing,” they said. The doctors said high-quality data would help patients and their doctors achieve the appropriate balance between efficacy and toxicity of treatments. “We are all impatient for cures for more cancers and directing resources to clinical research is to be encouraged,” they said.

Australia also relied too heavily on the interpretation of clinical studies and their incorporation into guidelines by foreign clinical organisations, particularly those in the US, which were heavily inﬂuenced by drug companies and special interest groups.

“However, our ongoing routine clinical use of increasing doses of varying combinations of current toxic and expensive cancer therapies, which will not result in cure or substantial remission in many cancers, consumes enormous amounts of ﬁnite ﬁnancial resources that could perhaps be better spent in other areas.”

“Questions inevitably arise when pharmaceutical companies with a

The West Australian, 19th January 2009.

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WELLNESS NEWS 25 ‘Beyond Mammography’ References (from page 12) 0. November 10, 2003 issue of the AMA journal, American Medical News 1. Elliott, V S. Mammography debate: Who should get screened and when? American Medical News, an AMA publication. Volume 10, number 42, pages 35-37, November 10, 2003. www.amednews.com. 2. Kerlikowske, K. Use of mammograms in older women questionable. JAMA. December 10, 2003. 3. Time Magazine, April 28, 2003. Cover story: The No. 1 Killer of Women. 4. SEER, National Cancer Institute: Chances of developing breast cancer at a given age. 5. de Sanjose S, et al. Prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in young breast cancer patients: a population-based study. Int J Cancer 2003; 106 (4): 588-93. 6. Furstenberger et al. Insulin like growth factors mediate breast cancer growth and proliferation. Onkologie, 2003. Volume 26, number 3, pages 290-94. 7. Baker L. Breast cancer detection demonstration project: Five year summary report. Cancer, 1982, volume 32, pages 194-225. 8. Sickles EA. Breast masses: mammographic evaluation. Radiology 1989. Pages 173-303. 9. Fletcher, S W, and Elmore, J G. Mammographic Screening for Breast Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. Volume 348, no. 17, pages 1672-80. April 24, 2003. 10. Ostbye, T. Elderly women over-screened for cancers with little measurable benefit. Annals of Family Practice. November/December issue, 2003. 11. Pisano, E. Digital Mammography Offers Better Breast Cancer Diagnoses. Presented at the Radiologic Society of North America annual meeting, December 2003. Research conducted at University of North Carolina School of Medicine. etpisano@med.unc.edu. 12. Freidrich M. MRI of the breast: State of the art. European Radiology, 1998. Volume 8, pages 707-725. 13. Avril N, Rose CA, Schelling M, et al. Breast imaging with positron emission tomography and fluorine-18 flourodeoxyglucose: use and limitations. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2000. Volume 18, pages 3495-3502.

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

14. Avril N. Discussions in PET Imaging 2003. CMP Healthcare Media, DPI no. 621, PET and Breast Cancer. 15. Gautherie, M, Haehnel, P, Walter, J p, Keith, L. Long-Term Assessment of Breast Cancer Risk by Liquid-Crystal Thermal Imaging. Biomedical Thermology, pages 279-301. 1982 Alan R. Liss, Incl, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011. 16. Parisky, Y R, et al. Efficacy of Computerized Infrared Imaging Analysis to Evaluate Mammographically Suspicious Lesions. American Journal of Roentgenology, January 2003, 263-69. 17. Gautherie, M, and Gros, C M. Breast Thermography and Cancer Risk Prediction. Cancer, 1980, volume 56, 45-51. 18. Nyirjesy, M D, et al. Clinical Evaluation, Mammography and Thermography in the Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma. Thermology, 1986, volume 1, 170-73. 19. Keyserlingk, M D, et al. Infrared Imaging of the Breast: Initial Reappraisal Using High-Resolution Digital Technology in 100 successive cases of Stage I and II Breast Cancer. The Breast Journal, volume 4, 1998, 245-51. 20. Zangar, R. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. July 3, 2003. 21. Bolan, P. In vivo quantiﬁcation of choline compounds in the breast with 1H MR spectroscopy. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Volume 50, Issue 6, Date: December 2003, Pages: 1134-1143.

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WELLNESS NEWS The oﬃcial magazine of the Cancer Support Association

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