Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong I have cancer and I'm scared

Hi, everyone
I had surgery for colon cancer, stage 2. One oncologist suggested chemotherapy, saying it would reduce risk of recurrence by 25 %. However, the National Cancer Institute's own bulletin says increased mortality using chemo of the kind suggested to me is only 2% or not statistically significant.
Under those circumstances, I decided against chemo. I know about the anecdotal cures of cancer using Qi Gong and am beginning a vitamin program with a doctor who is into that.
My problem is that all this stuff is anecdotal, as far as I know. No university tests have established *any* of this stuff as a help for cancer. The Life Extension Foundation mentions cox2 inhibitors (basically fierce arthritis medications) with statin drugs (cholesterol meds) that they say affect cancer--and this is still all anecdotal and based on analytic reasoning--not testing out their reasoning!
Folks, I am scared that the cancer will recur. I have a 1 in 3 chance and I'm not feeling particularly lucky about it. I bought the Qi Gong tapes but have yet to work with them regularly. I think I'm scared of feeling like a kook instead of someone who is into science. On the other hand, when I use Qi Gong tapes I *do* feel healthier, despite also feeling mild bodily pain.
I guess I'm scared, also, of putting all my eggs in the Qi Gong basket and still getting cancer again.
I am also overweight--severely so!--but I can't bend my knees in the "approved" Qi Gong manner to lose weight.
Darned if I know why I'm writing here. I think part of me wants to parade my sores to get alot of pity and then say to myself, "Mike, old son, life is really bad for you. People feel sorry for you." Another part is looking to share with others who are using Qi Gong out of desperation, and maybe still another part is looking for a friend.

best wishes all,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com

Hi Mike,
I had breast cancer eight years ago and I have to tell you that it was a gift. It taught me more about myself than anything else has. I also had 6 months of chemo and it really wasn't that bad. I would just picture the chemo as healing light going into my veins and I would see the nurses as angels. Never loss my hair and even had a perm in the middle of it. I truly felt like I was being held in the arms of God. Try to get some tapes by Bernie Siegel as they really are awesome in helping you with the process. Just remember that Cancer can open you up to the mysteries of life like nothing else can. We always have a choice and the choice is to see this as an opportunity to grow or as the choice to give up and get depressed. It is not easy but I promise you it is a worthwhile journey that offers lots of growth.

Hi, Claire

Claire, first off, I'm a messy guy who doesn't have a clean home or clean body. I could clean up my act for chemotherapy, but I dislike intensely *having* to do so. It would be necessary since any slightest cut can be the occasion for infection, and somehow I have the sense I would be open to more than my fair share of infections.

96% of the folks who get chemo have fatigue, and sometimes the fatigue lasts *years* beyond the actual time of administration of the chemicals. I already feel fatigued because of my obesity and because of a thyroid imbalance which is in the process of being corrected. It has affected me to such an extent that I felt depressed for decades and am not currently working. The idea of being superfatigued for years does not entice.

While it doesn't happen often, there is the possibility of my getting leukemia as a long-term result of the chemotherapy.

It's important to know that the chemo, even if it did affect the cancer recurrance as mentioned by my first oncologist, would only change recurrance of the cancer by 10%. There would still be a 30% chance of recuraance, even with the chemo.

The National Cancer Institute and www.uptodate.com state that chance of increased mortality if you have a stage 2 colon cancer with no complications is 2% or statistically insignificant. Did you really hear me when I said that in the earlier post, Claire? It's nice that you got through the chemo with minimal side effects, but that doesn't mean everyone will, or that it will cure anything.

That 2% isn't the whole story. I have a stage 2b cancer, so it is possible there are factors not mentioned in those bulletins that a good oncologist would know and could explain to me. That's why I'm going for a 2nd opinion at the City of Hope in Duarte, CA.

Importantly, since you're on a Qi Gong list, while I feel I should not quote anyone, it is my understanding that if the possibility of help with chemo is iffy (that's what my 2nd oncologist at Kaiser said), then it should not be done, rather Qi Gong should be used instead.

I wish you the best, Claire. I feel that you have a loving heart.

best wishes,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com

Mike,
I really am sorry that you seem to have misunderstood the intent of my post. I am not, in any way, trying to convince you to have chemo. That is an individual choice that only you can make. I simply was sharing my experience with you and trying to let you know that cancer can be survived and it can be a gift. Sorry if it seemed otherwise.

Hi, Claire
I guess anything can be a gift in that sense--including being hit on the head with a brick!
For me, having an operation with a 1 chance in 3 of another operation, and possibly in a position that can't be readily gotten at, sometime during the next 10 years or so, is not a gift.
I don't believe in God, nor in angels watching over me.
The One watching over me is me, with as complete a set of competent doctors as this indigent fellow can gather. Oh, yes, and also friends who I can share with!

best wishes always,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com

Hi Mike,
Your topic heading certainly caught my eye. My initial reaction was to shift into healer mode and tell you some things to do regarding the exercises/qigong, etc., but there are several issues you mention that seem to come first. [By the way, that 'was' a very thoughtful and caring response from Claire.]
In general, westerners tend to see the world from a western perspective, and don't acknowledge the fact that mosT of the world is populated by people/cultures that are not western. Most of them have been around much longer, and some, have a wealth of knowledge and experience that we are , to a large degree, ignorant of.
The structures ,processes, and criteria we have established for analyzing and testing some of these 'new to western medicine things' are very slow and cumbersome. To get a significant size test group with the same constants and controls is extremely difficult . Data has to be accumulated over a long period of time. Western treatment is usually going on simultaneously, making it difficult to discern what did what. If you were looking at qigong from an Eastern perspective, it is science. It is natural, and it is real. There can be a spiritual aspect to qigong study and experience, but it is not a requirement, and you can practice it
purely as physical exercise if you choose to.
You will feel benefits from it.
You don't have to stop seeing a doctor to practice qigong. You have access to both. You can utilize both. You have choices, and you do have some time to work with. If I was making difficult choices, I would want to be centered and clear. Taking better care of yourself will move you in the right direction. Take one step at a time. Do something positive, you will feel better, and you can build on that. I am not a beginner in regards to qigong. I have seen many people benefit greatly from it. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Check out the scientific studies area of the Spring Forest Qigong section of our website. I believe we discuss a couple of studies regarding cancer.

You will also find on the website a testimonial from Dr. Neil Kay of the Mayo Clinic. This past spring he received funding to study the effects of Spring Forest Qigong on Breast Cancer.

He became interested in Spring Forest Qigong when his wife was healed of breast cancer after practicing Spring Forest Qigong. At the time he was head of breast cancer research (I believe) at the Virginia Piper Cancer Center at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

If I had cancer I would follow Chunyi's advice:

Practice one to two hours every single day.

Use Qigong as a complement to any medical treatment you now receive. Do not change any medical treatment without telling your doctor. In other words, hedge your bet. Do everything you can.

Hi Pete
First off, after I do just one exercise on the video tape, my arm or leg hurts. So I decided to spread out the work throughout the day. Hope that works well.
Regarding hedging your bets, it's my understanding that when the use of chemo is iffy, that Master Li would say not to use it but to do chemo instead. Is that correct?

best wishes,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com

Hi, Gallen
I'll answer you as I read your post.

quote:

---

Originally posted by gallen:
Hi Mike,
Your topic heading certainly caught my eye. My initial reaction was to shift into healer mode and tell you some things to do regarding the exercises/qigong, etc., but there are several issues you mention that seem to come first. [By the way, that 'was' a very thoughtful and caring response from Claire.]
**I know Claire is trying to be thoughtful and caring Gallen, but my remark about this particular "gift" still is true. You can say anything is a gift, if you try to look for the silver lining in the middle of the storm. Nonetheless it doesn't change the fact that this particular issue is fearful and can be tragic. It requires faith in a God who makes everything purposeful, and belief also in an eternal spirit, to think of a disease that might end up in death as a "gift." I don't have that faith, for better or worse--and I like to think "for better."
In all fairness to her, there's a sense in which this kind of disease is a gift. It's like the world is saying to me, "Time to change your way of life to one that is more healthy--or else." That's a very hard challenge for me to take up, but I've begun to try. Just doing the Qi Gong work is hard for me, as I mentioned in my reply to Pete here.

In general, westerners tend to see the world from a western perspective, and don't acknowledge the fact that mosT of the world is populated by people/cultures that are not western. Most of them have been around much longer, and some, have a wealth of knowledge and experience that we are , to a large degree, ignorant of.
The structures ,processes, and criteria we have established for analyzing and testing some of these 'new to western medicine things' are very slow and cumbersome. To get a significant size test group with the same constants and controls is extremely difficult . Data has to be accumulated over a long period of time. Western treatment is usually going on simultaneously, making it difficult to discern what did what. If you were looking at qigong from an Eastern perspective, it is science. It is natural, and it is real. There can be a spiritual aspect to qigong study and experience, but it is not a requirement, and you can practice it
purely as physical exercise if you choose to.
You will feel benefits from it.

**The problem is that the chemotherapy may not be good for the type of cancer I have--stage 2B colon cancer. I'm getting a 2nd opinion at the City of Hope on the 23rd of August, and I'm seeing a doctor who is into vitamins but NOT into drugs--he's a bit of a crank on the subject, which scares me!!--but this is the best I can do, along with gradually getting into Qi Gong, gradually doing aerobic exercise on the machines I have at home, and going on a low carb diet to, hopefully, lose about 150 pounds of excess weight. Notice I said "gradually" about all this, because I'm not the type of person who can just jump into the water unless the fire is right behind me. I have to dip into the water gradually.

You don't have to stop seeing a doctor to practice qigong. You have access to both. You can utilize both. You have choices, and you do have some time to work with. If I was making difficult choices, I would want to be centered and clear. Taking better care of yourself will move you in the right direction. Take one step at a time. Do something positive, you will feel better, and you can build on that. I am not a beginner in regards to qigong. I have seen many people benefit greatly from it. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

**Well, I know that Qi Gong is certainly great for serious stress. I have an audio tape at home for anxiety and worry, created by Dr. Nathaniel Branden, probably the greatest overall psychologist of this generation IMHO. However, when the stress is serious, the tape does little, but the video of Qi Gong makes a HUGE difference. How much this will affect the recurrance of cancer, I have no idea.

---

Thanks, in any case, for your interest. What other issues did you want to bring up, Gallen?

best wishes,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com

Just some basics..
It will help the healing process to think in terms having "energy blockages". Don't define , say , the energy blockage in your colon as cancer, pre cancer, whatever... You don't want to manifest that possibility again. Just think of it as energy, neither good or bad. Work on removing energy "blockages". Focus on this as you exercise. Leave those other definitions out of it. Give yourself time in the present with positive thoughts of healing. Try spending the time spent exercising without fears, worries, etc. Focus on the present moment and the exercise. Give yourself this time and space to relax and not think about negative things. This can be challenging, but if you start with making the exercise time free of negative thoughts or emotions, it will spread out to your non exercise time. All you have to do is focus on the exercise, and nothing else. Keep your mind and intention there as long as you can. Your topic heading, " I have cancer and I'm scared." , is not what you want to hold. Just think of things as energy. What energy do those words/thoughts hold. Try to replace negative with positive. Use your time spent exercising to establish positive thoughts, healing thoughts. On another note, regarding diet: (This is suggested by Master Lin) No deepfried foods, spicy foods, or red meat. If you can , eat fresh, in season vegetables. Locally grown produce is good. Apples are good. Try the yin/yang water w/ honey. Get enough sleep. Daily xercise(qigong) is very important, as mentioned by Pete.