Choices in Healing

Michael Lerner is the author of “Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer” (availble to read online). He's one of our leading thinkers when it comes to integrated cancer treatment. Here's what he would do if he faced a cancer diagnosis, in his own words…

• “I would give careful thought to choosing a mainstream oncologist. I wouldn’t need someone with wonderful empathic skills--I’m fortunate to have other people in my life who provide that. But I would want a doctor who was basically kind, and on top of the medical literature regarding my disease. I would look for a doctor who was willing to take the time to answer my questions, and who supported my commitment to be deeply involved in my treatment decisions, and my commitment to complementary therapies. Finally, I would want a doctor who would stick with me medically and emotionally if recovery were not possible and I faced death.
• I would use mainstream therapies that offered a real chance for recovery, but I would probably not use experimental therapies or therapies with a low probability of success that were highly toxic or compromised my capacity to live and, if it came to that, die as I chose.
• I would use complementary therapies. I would look for a good support group and a psychotherapist experienced in working with people with cancer. I’ve been a vegetarian for many years, but I would look for ways to enhance my nutrition. I would meditate and practice yoga more often, and spend more time in Nature, taking walks in the woods, by the ocean, and in the mountains.
• I would definitely use traditional Chinese medicine, both herbs and acupuncture.
• I would strive for life, for recovery, with every possible tool and resource I could find. But if recovery were not possible, I would also work to face death in a way that deepened my growth and led to some resolution of my life and relationships.
• I would pay a great deal of attention to the inner healing process that I hope a cancer diagnosis would trigger in me. I would give careful thought to the meaning of my life, what I had to let go of, and what I wanted to keep.
• I would spend time with the people I value, and with books, writing, music, and my own vision of God. I would do everything I could do that I didn’t want to leave undone. I would not waste time with old obligations, though I would try to extricate myself from them decently.
• I would try to live my own life my own way. I would try to accept the pain and sorrow inherent in my situation, but I would also look searchingly for the beauty, wisdom, and joy."

Well said Michael!!

TTFN... Rob; in Vancouver

"Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food."

Hippocrates

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Michael Lerner on Healing

Audacter et Strenue

Our Pollock’s came to Lachute, Quebec from Paisley, Renfrewshire in Scotland where they were weavers. They were part of a major immigration of Scots to Quebec in the early 1800’s. The Pollock name has taken on various forms in North America including Pogue and Polk. President James Polk, 11th US President, comes from the Pollock’s of Renfrewshire.

The name Pollock itself is derived from the lands of the parish of Pollock, in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is from the Gaelic “Pollag”, 'a little, pool, pit, or pond'.

The Pollock badge and coat of arms features the wild boar, passant (ie walking), pierced by an arrow or lance. The boar in heraldry typically means bravery and fierceness (fighting spirit), the boar “fights to the death”. I relate well to the arrow in the side of the boar as a symbol of “woundedness” which, in my case, refers to my many cancer scars... Ouch!!

The Pollock motto, Audacter et Strenue, is usually translated "boldly and strongly".
audacter, audaciter : boldly, proudly, fearlessly.
strenue, strenuus : brisk, active, vigorous/ turbulent, restive.

The characteristics of boldness (audaciousness) and strength take on new meaning for me as I dedicate myself to overcoming this dread disease. I love the word “audacious”. It names a radical, risky, unrestrained type of boldness that describes the type of “audacious hope” we need to have in the face of life-threatening circumstances.

“Audacious” has found its way into today’s business lexicon through the term BHAG. Pronounced BeeHAG, it’s an acronym for a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. It names a clear and bold vision for the future. I have a BHAG for my future and it has to do with being around to celebrate a 50 year anniversary with my beloved Pam!! (We just had our 28th). I look forward to each day in the meantime!

Here’s hoping… Robertus De Pollock;

“The very least you can do in your life
is to figure out what you hope for.
And the most you can do
is live inside that hope.”
Barbara Kingsolver

Will to Live

Foundations of Healing #1:  

In “The Mapmakers Wife” , Robert Whitaker tells the story of an 18th century Peruvian woman who makes a remarkable journey from the Andes Mountains down the Amazon River to be reunited with her beloved husband Jean. Isabel Godin left her home in 1770 with a large party which included her brothers, a nephew, and a fair complement of slaves, servants, guides, and mules.

Shortly into the journey things go terribly wrong and she finds herself alone and lost in the jungle of the upper Amazon. Isabel endured over 6 weeks of wandering in the jungle. During this time she watched her brothers and nephew die of starvation and was beset by plagues of ants, mosquitoes, botflies, and other nasty insects. Against all odds Isabel was found, survived, recovered, and completed her journey.

In reflecting on Isabel’s ordeal and remarkable survival Whitaker states that what seems to count most in survival is “an inner psychological strength nurtured by purpose, hope, and spiritual beliefs”. He also points out that Isabel was “experienced in a humble act practiced by nearly all survivors… prayer”. For Isabel the commitment to be reunited with Jean formed a compelling "will to live" which sustained her in the end. 

When it comes to living with cancer, a strong "will to live" will influence a person to become proactive in seeking and evaluating treatment options.  A strong "will to live" will empower a person to become more assertive in dealing with the medical system. And a strong "will to live" will help to push a person through treatment regimes that, while potentially life-saving, can be very life-limiting while in the midst of them (chemo, surgery, radiation, etc.). 

There comes a day when we may "relinquish" our "will to live".    I've personally witnessed this in people as they draw near to death and literally "let go" into a peaceful and grace filled acceptence of the end.   Discerning the time for this "letting go" is one of the most important pieces of soul-work we can do as we face the terminal stages of cancer or other life-threatening conditions.

My own will to live continues to be strong.  I have a wonderful family life that is filled with love, I have a meaningful vocation that continues to be fruitful, I am relatively "young", and I love this life and want to get as much out of it as possible.

A strong "will to live", in and of itself, is obviously not going to get us through everything.  Many people die in possession of the strongest possible "will to live".  What it will provide is purpose for the journey and courage for the work along the way.Carpe Diem... Rob
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“I want my will to live to be strong. I want to get as much time out of this as possible. And so I need to work at that with complete focus and dedication and clarity and concentration, and right effort. And yet, at the same time, be unattached to the results either way. Pain is not punishment, death is not failure, life is not reward.”
Treya Killam Wilber

originally posted June 2007

Recurrence

One of the particularly nasty aspects of cancer is that it has a tendency to “recur”. I mean it sucks to get cancer to begin with, but to be hit with a recurrence after fighting it off once really sucks!! AND to be struck a third time... well, as many of you affirmed in your notes to me, "IT JUST ISN'T FAIR!!"

My original diagnosis was in August of 2004. I spent the rest of 2004 and the first half of 2005 undergoing surgery and chemo until I was finally found “All Clear”. Yee Haw!! It was a great moment to get CT Scans, PET Scans, and blood work results all back “negative”. I was celebrating what we know in cancer lingo as “No Evidence of Disease” or “NED”.

Then in the fall of 2006 I had another CT Scan. Initially it looked good and my surgeon and I were quite happy… then he got the radiologist’s report and I got the call to come back to his office (never a good sign!). The radiologist had seen things a little differently and a PET Scan was ordered to confirm if the “hypodensity” on the CT Scan was indeed malignant. Well it was… so, there you have it… a recurrence!!

Initially, the news of the recurrence was pretty devastating. But eventually, as hopeful treatment options began to emerge, a “we’ve been through this before, and we can go through it again” attitude began to take root. I had successful RFA (What is RFA?), another round of chemo, and once again emerged with "No Evidence of Disease"!

So... here we go again! This time a "local recurrence". Local recurrence is what we call a cancer recurrence that takes place at the original location. In my case it seems that some residual cancer cells grew to become a malignant tumour in the vicinity of the original site. This tumour then spread "posteriorly" to the sacrum. Ouch!

I met with the oncologists at the BC Cancer Agency today and they have recommended a 15 day course of radiation. I have decided to go with this and will probably begin within the next week. It is a "painless procedure" with "minimal side-effects" which should "significantly reduce" the amount of pain I am experiencing. (for which I will be most grateful!)



Living with the possibility of a recurrence is a challenge that all cancer survivors have to face in some way or another. Author, and cancer survivor, Vickie Girard has a great philosophy for living with that possibility. She says it is like planning for a picnic when the weather forecast includes a possibility of showers. Do you cancel the picnic and stay home, or do you go out and enjoy the day anyways, perhaps putting a tarp and raincoat in the trunk?

So… do we let the possibility of a recurrence diminish our lives, or do we “seize the day” and live life to the fullest? Cancer be damned!!

Carpe Diem… Rob; in Vancouver

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” Margaret Thatcher