The Cure for Cancer: Clean Up Your Act!

© 2009 John August

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A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with neck cancer - squamous cell carcinoma. By the time I went under the knife six months later (I’ll save my medical horror story for another time) my surgeon told me that not only was the disease at stage 4, but that if I didn’t undergo radiation and chemotherapy, I’d be dead in a year. Well guess what? Not only did I not follow the doctor’s orders, but I’m alive, well, and fit to be tied. So I thought I’d share my experience with others so they don’t have to learn the hard way like I did. What happened to me, could happen to anyone.

Post Op Pain 

For over a year now I’ve been in pain 24/7. I had what is called a neck dissection - an incision from my right ear going across under my mandible to my chin, then halfway across that was a vertical incision down my neck to my collarbone, then another lateral incision all the way across it. They opened my neck up like a book. Took out all my lymph nodes. All told, about 18” of sutures covering up damaged nerves, tendons, and muscles. Simultaneously inside my mouth multiple tissue biopsies revealed the source to be tonsilar cancer. That was removed too. I awake each morning with the feeling like I’m being strangled. I could live with that. I had no pain whatsoever pre-op. Now I’ve got a bad case of CRPs  - complex regional pain syndrome - all from the surgery. Actually I’ve got four different pains. One is the star wars effect - localized electrical shocks. Another is intense surface inflammation. Lidocaine pads take care of most of the flame issues. Then there’s the always present choking sensation, but the icing on the cake is the hot knife in the neck - which comes on around noon daily - when I take my first hit of pain killers. By then I’m at a level 7 going on 8 (on the pain scale of ten). There’s always one part of the post op recovery the smug surgeons don’t tell you about - how the heck you’re going to feel after they made their money. But, I’m a survivor, and a diehard one to boot. Make no mistake about that. I wear my gear out.

As I favor to my pcp (primary care physician) after my surgery I went to see both burnem and poisonem specialists. The radiation guy said that I would likely lose use of all my salivary glands - and would have to carry around a water bottle the rest of my life - and, I might also lose a few teeth as collateral damage as well. Then I asked him what was my prognosis after his “treatment.” He said he’d give me 50/50 chance. I politely told him to go fuck himself and walked away. The chemical guy was a real asshole. I checked in at the right time, but noticed the reception room was fool (sic) of patients. That always bodes a bad sign for a medical practice. (I have known a lot of medical professionals personally.) So I asked the receptionist “how long it was going to take to see the doc?” At least two hours, she replied. I went out, ran errands for two hours, came back, got put in a waiting room where my vitals were taken, and sat for another hour. I finally came out to the reception area, and in a loud voice (so everyone in the holding pen could hear) declared: “what the heck is going on here? We’re 3 hours late on an appointment. And you keep shoving other people ahead of me? I’m leaving, this is bullshit!” Needless to say, it didn’t make me a popular guy with the staff. “If you leave, you’ll never get another appointment.” I said, “I’d rather die an honorable death than come back to this whorehouse.” The deal was - he was running a chemical dispensary - oncologists are the only medical practitioners that can legally prescribe, administer, provide, and profit from their own prescriptions. In some states the practice is outlawed. In most states not.  Big pharma at it again. They got a real cozy deal with the FDA. When (in hell, probably) are people going to wake up?

Some background - Who am I?

I’ve been involved in competitive athletics pretty much most of my adult life. Mixed martial arts, swimming, triathlons, windsurfing, etc. In fact, just two months off the operating table I entered a hard & hilly cross country 10k race and placed 2/9 in my age group and in the upper third overall. I trained for exactly two weeks. Every footstep hurt like hell, but I’m also one determined guy when the need arises. No pain, no gain! Now, I’m not here just to toot my horn (well maybe a little bit) but only to add some guidance about health issues critical to us all.

There’s basically three issues I want to discuss. Diet, exercise, and lifestyle. And not particularly in any order. However, since so much flak is going around about GMOs, maybe we should start with food. Chances are anything you eat out of a box or can is not only not good for you, but is detrimental to your health. A couple weeks ago I even threw away my can opener. If I gotta open a can (like pure coconut milk) I use my swiss army knife. My only exception is a fetish for canned sardines - they’re actually good for you. Very high in omega-3 fatty oils and protein. You even get to eat the guts.

Fortunately for me, 25 years ago I wrote a series of feature articles for a newspaper in Santa Barbara on alternative cancer therapies. I interviewed scores of cancer “victors” and learned a lot... especially about the field of oncology, and a lot of horror stories coming from their victims. One guy I interviewed said his oncologist had the “bedside mannerisms of a rutting elephant.” I also helped edit a book Third Opinion by John Fink (Avon Press 1988) on complimentary medical centers throughout the world. My paper file alone on the subject is about two inches thick. Recently I read The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis. It’s all about how both the NCI and the ACS are bullshit organizations (and I even said so 25 years ago). Why? There’s too much money to be made on the disease, so the trickle down of money to real research is a joke. Read her book, I’ll save my rap for later. Along this path I also found out back then that the AIDS virus was created in Fort Detrick, Maryland, and certain groups were targeted. The African-human-monkey story is a fairy tale - an absolute fabrication and coverup.

Anyway, it was then I made the decision about my own future. Should I ever contract the disease I would have a one time only surgery. If I couldn’t straighten out my act after that, well then it was tits up. At the time I was writing these articles I was in my mid 30’s and had taken time off from an early lucrative construction career for the rich and famous, while living on the beach in Malibu and immersed in the decadent lifestyle that went along with it. Everybody there did drugs... nose candy, and of course smoking the infamous Malibubu. I finally escaped up the coast to Santa Barbara and got serious about being healthy and fit. No drugs, alcohol, or coffee anyway. I was getting  high by being clean.  First it was doing more martial arts, then I switched to racing triathlons. In fact all my friends at the time were in the Ironman category of fitness. Animals - fitness freaks, channel swimmers, former olympians, ultra runners - and all admitted endorphin junkies. A good day was a 2 mile masters swim workout starting at 6 am, then a 3000 calorie food fest, followed by a 50 to 100 mile bike ride, more food, a nap, then running a 10k to polish off the day. This was the early 80s. We all thought we had good diets and a lot of us also tried to be vegetarians too. But these were the days before folks really knew much about what they should eat. And because we worked out like maniacs, the issue was always about taking in enough calories. After a long bike ride, the refir became a search and destroy repository. I ate a pint of Haagen Dazs every day! One night I bought two pints, one for the next day. It didn’t happen - I ended up eating both pints in one sitting.

One fellow triathlete finally asked his doctor why he felt so depleted, even though he was eating well, and of course, a lot. His doc gave him good advice - “Kevin, you need to eat more protein. Period.” I have to laugh when I think back about top Ironman Mark Allen, who was also trying to be a vegetarian, but then kept having these cravings about eating meat. So one night he snuck into a steak house (he didn’t want any of his friends to know) and got himself a huge steak. He admitted later that the experience was almost divine. We were all starving ourselves trying to be good by eating complex carbohydrates. But beans and tofu only go so far - if you’re really burning up the calories - you need a LOT of protein, plus carbs, and even fat. We had the lean and mean part down, but too many of us were bonking during workouts. It’s a horrible feeling - your body shuts down almost without warning. I knew a guy that competed in the original Ironman - they were all eating cookies, chips, doughnuts, burritos, and even a beer or two along the way. But as the years went by we all learned to train smarter - it wasn’t just about calories - the best competitors were also the most obsessed about burning clean, high octane fuel. Dave Scott was a particularly good influence.

In my case I thought I ate well. Plus being a pretty good cook, I’d have a field day in a real kitchen. (Back in those days I had a hotplate and electric griddle and lived in a treehouse in the middle of Montecito - probably one of the wealthiest communities in the world.) Lots of fruit, vegies, chicken, fish, but also toyfood. What’s that? Basically anything yummy that comes in a bag or a box and is usually hanging out next to the cash register at a store. It’s anything you can’t readily identify the ingredients. This includes a lot of products from beer to bread. Since weight gain was never an issue, almost anything at the time was game for the hungry palette. And you didn’t really need things like vitamins or supplements because if one ate enough greens, etc. one was covered in the mineral department. Guess what? I was wrong. And almost dead wrong.

Transition from Madland to Mayhem

In 1985 I moved to Maui with the goal to windsurf the north shore. I figured if I could be an itinerant artist & writer in Santa Barbara, I could do the same thing on Maui - after all - isn’t life really about fulfilling one’s fantasies? I began to get a little lax in some things. Started smoking pakalolo (which I didn’t do when I was racing tri’s), and began drinking like everyone else did in the islands. Hanging loose was in. Hey, no worries, bra! And besides, until I moved to Maui, I never really drank much alcohol. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever really been drunk. Oh... maybe six fingers.

For several years I lived in close proximity to the pineapple fields, where they sprayed poisons for the nematodes that were so bad that one drop of the concentrate on your skin could kill you. Then I moved to the beach, but across the street from a sugar cane field. It was a great lifestyle - the consummate wet dream for a waterman - a funky shack on one of the world’s most renown windsurf beaches... but then every other year they burned the cane field. The smoke was really nasty. It wasn’t just the sugar cane they burned, but all the irrigation drip lines, petrochemical fertilizers, and pesticides went up in smoke as well. It was always a contentious issue about the health hazards of “in your face” mega farming. But the local Maui News ran a propaganda story every year about how the jury was out about the dangers of cane burning and about the use of extremely deadly chemicals in the fields. But this was old hat for the plantation owners - after all, they were the ones behind overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy and establishing the islands as a territory of the US. They have had over a hundred year history of abusing anyone who got in their way of making money. Health and public safety were non-sequiturs. However, this is life in the land of paradox.

Fast forward 15 years. I had moved upcountry to heaven, cultivated a nice garden, grew lots of bananas, kicked the ice cream habit, quit sugar, and was slowly cleaning up my diet act. Then things got really nasty. One of my successful designs was outright stolen by two entities - one in Canada, the other in S. California. They were even using my tradename, mass producing my creations, and I had no choice but to sue for copyright infringement in Federal court or lose my business. Great choices, huh? In the end I prevailed, but it cost me over $60k, sunk me financially, and it was also two plus years of horrendous stress - the ultimate killer. I drank a lot, smoked a lot of pot, put on weight, got out of shape. I became an embarrassment to myself. I still worked out, but wasn’t consistent. Then a few years ago I moved to the Big Island for a fresh start. Maui became too crowded and crazy. But somehow things weren’t quite right. I’d go out and run 8 miles and come back feeling... off. Then I noticed a swollen lymph gland under my jaw, then a few months later there were two swollen glands.

Collateral Damage

The evening after I came home from the ENT’s office and the needle biopsy confirming what I already knew... I went to my computer and began pulling up whatever information I could gather on my condition and probable prognosis. None of it looked good. I proceeded to pass out twice. Once when I got up from my desk chair to go into the kitchen, and then a few minutes later in the kitchen. I was (and am) living alone and had no one to talk to. Needless to say I was freaked out. Fortunately I didn’t get hurt either time. But the next day I got my shit together, pulled out my voluminous stack of research, articles that other writers had published, and all the clinical trials for which I had records. Then I compared that with the info available today online. This is what I discovered: very little had changed in the past 25 years in the fields of conventional medicine and oncology. More and refined radiation and chemotherapy, and that was about it! The burn and poison routine was still the status quo. The ACI & NCS are still raking in the donations to promote their bloated bureaucracies, but little was being done in terms of legitimate research.

On the other hand, there was lots of new and integrated therapies being done by really dedicated researchers and mds. The only problem was: these mds were being forced to leave the country or risk losing their licenses for promoting “unsound medical practices.” Who was forcing them out? Big pharma, the FDA, the AMA, and anyone else who had their hand in the till of revenue from cancer victims. These groups aren’t interested in a cure - they only want to make money! And lots of it. Billions of dollars are made every year using treatments that kill as many people as they cure. Sweet deal, huh?

About a month before my surgery I stumbled across a website that changed my life. It’s http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/index.htm - I urge everyone reading this to check it out. I was curious about the alternative therapies - there had to be some common link to those that worked. Was it diet, lifestyle, or what? Alkalize for Health turned out to be my bible on diet and supplements, along with some tips from a naturopath friend, and a few other informed people. I bought some pH strips and started testing my saliva every morning. I was averaging around 6.0 - bad. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, and will regress or even disappear in an alkaline one. In my case I had to have the surgery - I was way over the line already. But then afterwards I created a daily diet diary, writing down everything I put into my body (no cheating here), including any beverage. Over a period of the next few months I was able to raise my pH to an average of 7.5 thru dietary changes and supplements. I was also on medication for hypertension. Then I got a blood pressure kit and added that to my daily biofeedback regimen. Turned out my hypertension was mostly related to “white coat syndrome” and not any heart disorder. Now I’ve got things so finely tuned in I know exactly what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. After a year now of keeping detailed intake records, I don’t even bother writing down what I eat. I’m gluten and sugar free for starters. I’ve had my morning pH as high as 8.5 some days. When I get really stressed out - like driving to town to run errands - the next day my pH will be low. Stress alone will make your body acidic, and the biofeedback is straightforward! Stress was also the cause of my high blood pressure. Now I try to let go of things as much as I can, and if I do get pissed off I just yell and move on.

The thing I like most about alkalizeforhealth.net  is that it doesn’t promote any particular products, therapies, or practitioners. It only lays out the facts and allows one to make up their own mind. In particular, they subscribe to the concept “everything in moderation, including moderation.” Which has always been my motto in life. Heck, if you have a craving for something, give yourself a break once in a while and indulge. I still drink alcohol and take a toke now or then. Not too long ago I was at a party and remarked to a friend of mine my age on how I needed to clean up my act more. He looked me and said, “shit, you gotta be kidding! Here you are 60 years old and you’re in better shape than most guys half your age. Lighten up buddy - give yourself a break and enjoy life a little.”

Anyway, no one - including myself - has a clue why I became ill. They say it takes from 10 to 20 years for a cancer to metastasize. So it was something that may have been growing in me for quite a while. In my case, the jury is out on a single causal factor. Was it diet, lifestyle, the poisons on Maui, or stress? Probably all of the above. I think it was the stress that did me in eventually. It really is killer.

Daily Regimen

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Don’t rely on any doctor to tell you how to run your life - you need to take personal control - starting with diet and exercise. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen - making all my own sauces and dressings. My resting pulse in bed before I get up is around 45. When I get up, I then sit down, clear my mind and take my bp. Usually three times - and each time I concentrate on relaxing even more. And each time it goes lower. I drink a big glass of water, just to make sure my saliva glands are flowing. Then I make myself a cup of cocoa with rice milk and use stevia for sweetener. While that’s cooking I shake up a concoction of trace minerals (Terramin), L-glutamine, and buffered C complex. Before I slug that down I test my pH. Your mouth must be clean and nothing but water consumed prior. Then I savor my cup of cocoa while I’m reading the latest on COTO :) After that I mix up a protein shake using brown rice protein powder with rice milk and a little stevia. (I still have a sweet tooth, but stevia is natural and calorie free!) Then I either lift weights or go for a bike ride. When I get back I have a cup of coffee - I buy green coffee beans from a local grower and then roast my own. I slowly nourish my single daily cup of java, enjoy the caffeine rush, answer emails, and take care of phone calls. I eat a late breakfast laden with protein, starch, and fat - something like huevos rancheros, or poached eggs on a bed of potatoes with verde sauce and gorgonzola cheese - then get on with the major task of the day. I try and stop doing everything around 4 pm and either go for a run or squeeze in some music practice. For dinner I down another supplement drink of multi minerals, B-complex, and psyllium husk. Also eat some apricot seeds for laetrile. Then comes a big mixed green salad with lots of goodies - lettuce, parsley, sweet peppers, radishes, tomatoes, etc. After that comes a plateful of complex carbs - dark green leafy vegies, squash, cabbage, etc. Then some good protein - fish or poultry mostly. No desserts, ever. I treat myself to a Haagen Dazs bar once a year.

Dietary Guidelines

For those of you who really want to lose weight, the formula is safe and simple. Look, I’ve been overweight - by up to 40 lb - and I know exactly how to get it under control. Diet & exercise. It’s all about food combining and burning calories. Simple science. The basic rule of thumb is this: you can combine carbohydrates with protein, protein with fat, and  that’s it. Limit fat and carb combos. That means you can indulge in any of the above - but just keep them separated. Now when you look at this realistically - this will include all the toyfood imaginable - chips, cookies, cakes, pies, Cheetos, ice cream, Fritos, Funyuns, and Cherrios. Case in point - all the indigenous native societies, before white man came and screwed with them. In the far north the natives live on a diet rich in fat and protein. And mostly raw. When it’s that cold you’ve must burn a lot of calories just to keep the furnace burning. In the temperate zones, the diet is a lot more mixed. Fewer dead animals, more vegies. In the tropics, where being fat is not good (the wetsuit effect), diets tend to be predominantly on the vegie and cereal grain side with mainly fish for protein. Not vegetarians per se, however less fat, a lot more fruits, grains, nuts, and vegies.

Buy your food as close to the source as possible. Support your local organic farmers. Get a hand operated grain mill - usually found in Mexican food stores. You know, if you run brown rice thru a mill, it will cook up in exactly 5 minutes? Same with corn, wheat, whatever. I’ve got two mills - one dedicated coffee, and the other for cereal grains. Getting your cereal in a box is like going down to the local lumber mill and filling up a garbage bag of sawdust and taking it home and putting your milk and sugar on it. It’s called the pretentious diet. And I really think that’s why Wanker Kall booted me from his crib. I made a comment about having his nose too far up a Wheaties box to even begin to make sense.

Always try and buy organic produce, support your local farmers, and if you ever see anyone spraying Roundup - give em hell! After all it was brought to us by the very same company that gave us agent orange. I remember going to the first Disneyland shortly after it opened (this was back in the 50’s) and seeing the permanent Monsanto exhibit. Over the entry door in big letters was the motto: “Giving us hope for the future and a brighter tomorrow.” Orwellian to the max. I mean, are you going to even remotely trust such an outfit of ogres? Then on the other hand - how many of you COTO people here keep Roundup around, or have insect spray under your sink, or use petrochemical fertilizers on your “organic” gardens? I’ll never forget the photo I saw once long ago in a newspaper of a bunch of protesters with signs picketing some nuclear power plant. I counted at least two sign wavers also holding cigarettes in their hands. Some people are so far removed from reality that they don’t even come close to recognizing their own hypocrisy.

Backtracking just a little bit, there’s one important piece of information that you should know. Making the assumption that you are going to get all the right minerals and vitamins from a good organic diet is an erroneous one. The main reason being is that thru centuries of farming on the same cultivated fields, most soils have already been depleted of the nutrients we are supposed to be getting from eating certain plants. This is a fact. That’s why we really do need supplements. Jack LaLanne was right after all. Here he is, now in his mid 90’s and still as feisty as hell. He’s one of my favorite role models for fitness and health. And he still likes to sip some wine with his dinner. You can have your cake and eat it too... just make sure it’s gluten free and without sugar :)