Books

Spectrum of Homeopathy 02/2014 Cancer

The subject of this edition is alarmingly timely in view of the World Health Organization’s recent declaration, which predicts that by 2025 around twenty million people will fall ill with cancer each year – around 40% more than at present. Although the chances of recovery for many types of cancer have improved in recent decades, most people regard a diagnosis of cancer as the worst imaginable nightmare.

A question which seem to be on everyone’s mind – Is homeopathy an effective cancer treatment? – has been explored in depth by Manfred Mueller in his comprehensive and fascinating survey of homeopathic cancer research worldwide. Despite the difficulties encountered by most researchers to have their results acknowledged, his findings underpin that which many homeopaths know from their own experience: homeopathy has a rightful place in the treatment of cancer, be it as a primary treatment, as a complementary treatment, working alongside conventional medicine, or as a palliative treatment, supporting patients dealing with the numerous side effects of conventional treatments. As he rightly points out, the research for homeopathic cancer treatment is driven by patient demands and our role is to accompany them on the path of their choice, primary, complementary or palliative.

In his insightful contribution, Declan Hammond writes of the reactions people have on hearing the diagnosis: “The first thought that comes to every patient I’ve spoken to on receiving a cancer diagnosis is Death. Regardless of the prognosis given, or how unlikely this outcome might be medically, as soon as the word ‘cancer' is mentioned, the patient’s mind turns to their own mortality.”And with theirs, so comes ours. Hammond demonstrates how a flexible approach and a deep commitment on the part of both patient and practitioner can bring about profound healing with homeopathy as sole treatment.

Cancer treatment is not just a medical but also a personal challenge. Distance is maintained in oncology with statistics and standard treatment protocols but this can also apply to homeopathy if we shield ourselves from the uncomfortable proximity of the patient’s suffering by generating comprehensive lists of remedies and protocols for the different types of cancer.

A range of cases on the different types of cancer – such as thyroid, breast, lung, stomach, bone or  lymph system – show the effectiveness of homeopathy even in apparently hopeless situations.

As shown by our authors, different approaches and insights can be used with success, stressing how important it is to be aware of the differences between complementary homeopathic care and an exclusively homeopathic approach. The common thread is that we need to remain flexible, according to the condition of the patient, the stage of illness, and its progress.

Guy Payen shows how accurate prescribing can eliminate the need for a mutilating operation. A.U. Ramakrishnan, who has developed the plussing method and promotes the use of organ-specific remedies in conjunction with patient-specific nosodes, points out the need to go beyond the original doctrine, while Alok and Aditya Parek remain true to Hahnemann's precepts for dealing with chronic disease when treating cancer,   

Jens Wurster, in his fifteen years of treating cancer patients in the Swiss clinic Santa Croce, realistically describes his own personal path to an individual treatment approach, appropriate to the stage of the illness and free of theoretical ballast. Nowadays, Wurster starts with acute or organotropic remedies before reaching the constitutional level.

Sujit Chatterjee and Sunirmal Sarkar concentrate on the current symptoms, which guide their treatment. Dinesh Chauhan discusses the question: is it sufficient to give patients a remedy for their current dominant pathology or do we need to pursue a holistic-individual approach? There is no satisfactory standard reply to this question, just as there is no standard treatment of cancer in homeopathy.

It is often the personal viewpoint that makes a difference. Anne Schadde focuses on the inner transformation that can be effected by healing or at least by a “new lease on life”. Dietmar Payrhuber charts a path to the remedy by paying attention to the psychodynamics, life issues, and personality of the cancer patient. Jean-Thierry Cambonie skillfully uses the sensation method for a breakthrough when conventional treatment was failing.

Many patients seek homeopathic help to deal with the side effects of conventional treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiotherapy. Jean- Lionel Bagot's palliative approach is not to treat cancer itself but to minimize the patient's suffering from the diagnosis and the side effects of treatment.  

Together with the treatment of side effects, the homeopathic focus here is on the strengthening of the life force, depleted by both the illness and the treatment.

The mostly pragmatic attitude taken by many of our authors will hopefully provide encouragement to colleagues who have so far shied away from treating cancer patients in their own practices. There is almost no other diagnosis for which so many different methods of the homeopathic spectrum are applied. Precisely because – despite the existence of proved indications for many types of cancer – there is no standard homeopathic treatment for cancer, we wish to offer you a range of suggestions to help you approach this challenging issue.

Seminars

Seminar with MAHESH GANDHI

Organised by the INHF (Institut National Homeopathique Français)

To register click on the link above

Simultaneous translation: English/French

Saturday 11 (9h-18h30) Sunday 12 October 2014 (9h-17h) in Cassis, France

Mahesh Gandhi, the internationally renowned psychiatrist and homeopath, will cover the themes of anxiety in adults and children with an emphasis on phobia, panic, and anxiety of separation. He will more particularly examine the second series of the periodic table and propose a differential diagnosis with the remedies of the plant and animal kingdoms, illustrated by numerous video cases.