Going Home

Cancer/CDD

Kathryn Alexander D.Th.D.

Suddenly, when it's time to go home you feel at a loss - everything has been done for you, medications, diet and juices all prepared, there has been someone reassuring you and explaining all your reactions and flare-ups and applying the correct procedure - but what are you going to do when you are on your own? It's much like starting a new school or a new job - once you are there you know you will learn the ropes pretty quickly and wonder why you had such trepidation - it is exactly like that with this therapy.

And then many are put off by the length of time - two years or perhaps even more, how will you cope? Dr. Melendez once said at a training program - think of the new born baby - "You give the milk, change the nappy and let them sleep: the same is true for the patient - you give the juices, take the enemas and let them rest." Somehow putting it into the context of having a baby that you care for night and day, where everything revolves around that child, makes it seem that much easier. You willingly give that time to your baby - will you give yourselves that much time? Remember, at least you get your night's sleep!

1. Medications

By the time you go home you will all have your medications for the next few weeks. They will be different for each one of you. You will know that the purpose of the therapy is to create a healing and along with that comes and inflammation. In the first month the therapy is turned on full - much like getting into a car in winter, you put the heater on full blast until you reach a comfortable temperature and then you turn it down to maintain a steady, comfortable heat. For each one of you, your maximum will be different. I like to see the body as a car - some people have Ferraris and you can accelerate really fast and maintain a high speed without the engine burning our; others have vehicles which are poorly serviced, the engine clanks, the brakes don't work very well etc. - but you still have to make that journey in one piece. Those people have to go more slowly - they can still get there but at a gentler pace. Your medications will have been tailored to accommodate this so that you can arrive at your destination in health.

Thyroid/Lugol's/potassium

The medications which turn the system on are the thyroid, Lugol's and potassium. You may have seen your dose being adjusted up and down during your first week - dependent on your blood results and how you are responding. These medications can remain the same for many months once you leave the clinic, but it's important that you keep your monthly appointments as very often you doctor, depending on your progress/symptoms, will adjust the dose accordingly.

Don't forget to dissolve your pot of potassium salts in one litre of distilled water and store in a glass bottle. Label the bottle - in case a youngster comes in a takes a swig - as happened in my home! The potassium compound solution dose is in 5ml teaspoons.

Niacin

Again, some of you may not be taking this medication, particularly if you have recently had surgery or any inflammatory disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract/ulceration etc. We also discontinue during menstruation. We use this vitamin to produce the famous "niacin flush" which is quite harmless, although some may find it extremely uncomfortable and if it antagonizes the healing it may be removed from the prescription for a while. Niacin promotes the irrigation of the tissues by the blood - taking nutrients to the site and removing toxicity.

Tip - dissolve slowly under the tongue, after meals, to reduce flushing sensation. Don't be tempted to substitute for nicotinamide which is a derivative and produces no flushing effect.

Digestive enzymes

Some of you will be taking around 11 tablets/capsules around meal-times of various products. Most of these will be your enzymes which you take before and after meals. Some of you will be on pancreatin with additional enzymes, plus the acidoll-pepsin. Gerson found that his patients had deficient digestive systems which is a problem when the basis for the healing therapy is diet. If your digestion is impaired you cannot liberate the nutrients from the foods, you do not absorb then and they will either pass straight through the digestive tract and cause terrible gas or into the blood stream as partially digested foods placing a greater burden of the liver. So the acidoll-pepsin prepares the stomach for the digestion of protein, while the digestive enzymes support the pancreas in its role by supplying the pancreatic enzymes required for the digestion of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

These enzymes are not only valuable in digestion but they pass into the circulation and go on to digest tumour tissue and "debris" in the circulation. You may have spent time looking over your live blood analysis photographs and been explained the various foreign objects swimming around - from undigested foods, to liver toxins, dead cells and debris, bacteria and fungi. Well, our natural diet, if it is prepared according to the Gerson protocol, is high in raw foods (juices and salads), contains sufficient live enzymes in a healthy person to help with its digestion (thereby not taxing the pancreas) and enough left over to enter the blood stream and keep the blood clean.

Tip - at the beginning of the diet many experience a lot of gas which seems to get worse as the day progresses. It can be extremely uncomfortable. It's a good idea to take some charcoal tablets home with you and take 2 whenever you get the discomfort. You will find that as the digestion improves (a good sign of the healing process) then this will be less of a problem.

Other medications:

As prescribed by your doctor.

Laetrile + hydrotherapy

(bone, breast and lung cancer). Some of you will have had laetrile by injection and then several times a week gone for hydrotherapy. Laetrile increases the temperature of the tumour which causes the destruction of tumour tissue and stimulates the healing. The hydrotherapy will of course amplify this effect. When you go home you will continue with the Laetrile but in tablet form and you should take it as prescribed.

Don't be tempted to take apricot kernels as you would have to take too many to get a therapeutic dose and they are too high in fat.

Ozone

- you will have noticed the ozone generators in your rooms and most of you will be having ozone by rectal insufflation twice daily.

It's a very good idea to invest in an ozone generator (or ionizer) for use in the home as it will purify the air by destroying, through oxidation, indoor pollution form mildew, mould, air-borne bacteria/viruses, gases, chemicals etc. The machine generates negative ions which will react with oxygen in the air to form ozone.

It is not always possible to continue with the application of ozone rectally once you go home. I do know that some practitioners of colonic irrigation have these machines and will perform this for clients. You can buy these machines but they are costly. They are easy to use and many feel that the cost is well justified. Ozone in the blood stream will kill malignant tissue on contact, kill viruses on contact and mop up free radicals.

Tip - apply either 30mins before the coffee enema or 60mins after.

Enemas

You all know by now the relevance of the enema. Removing toxicity from the cells is not the same as detoxifying. We have to help the liver release the toxicity by taking our regular coffee enemas and our castor oil treatment (castor oil by mouth followed five hours later by castor oil by enema). Most people have convinced themselves, by the time they check out, that the castor oil enema is not that relevant - even though they know to the contrary. In fact, as practitioners, we are more cautious in reducing the castor oil enema than the number of coffee enemas - so important is it to the release of toxicity. It is only if you have had chemotherapy or if you suffer from any ulceration/bleeding of the gastro-intestinal tract that you cannot take then - but you may still be requested to take two castor oil enemas a week.

The castor oil treatment.

Let's have a word about the castor oil treatment. Castor oil is not absorbed by the gastro-intestinal tract but, taken on an empty stomach it sends very strong messages to the liver to release a lot of bile at once for its digestion. Consequently the liver flushes the toxic bile into the digestive tract where it is trapped by the castor oil. Normally, bile reacts with dietary fat to emulsify it preparing for its absorption, much like adding washing-up liquid and hot water to a fatty pan. In the absorption of dietary fat, a proportion of the bile is reabsorbed. However, as castor oil is not absorbed, it traps the bile and carries it out of the system. The coffee enema will keep the momentum going but obviously a proportion of the bile is re-absorbed - the castor oil treatment gets around this problem and the subsequent castor oil enema ensures the rapid passage of all the toxic bile along the whole gastro-intestinal tract to the outside.

Sometimes the castor oil treatment can precipitate a healing reaction and cause diarrhoea that may continue throughout the day. In these cases you may need to adjust your dose of castor oil. Excessive diarrhoea, particularly after the castor oil enema, will cause dehydration and unbalance your minerals - so this is self-defeating. It is best to adjust your dose to find the most tolerable amount. For example, you may try 2 teaspoons (10mls) of castor oil instead of the 2 tablespoons or 20mls by mouth. The amount in the enema (4 tablespoons or 40mls) can remain the same.

Tips - take on an empty stomach but do swill it down with black coffee and sugar so that is clears the stomach quickly leading to less regurgitation. Sometimes you may need to drink peppermint tea to keep the bile flushing through.
Warm the castor oil so that it is more fluid and mix with some of the black coffee or orange juice. One patient I know made a funnel so that it went straight to the back of the throat - I'm not quite sure how that worked but he assured me it was a viable option.

General problems with enemas and tips for dealing with these:

Most people, when they start the enemas, have a problem retaining them for the full 15 minutes. This occurs when the body is low in potassium and the muscles, which require potassium for healthy tone (contraction and relaxation), contract and spasm, either making retention impossible because of the strong peristaltic waves or clutching the enema so that you can't release it. Neither of these symptoms are life-threatening. If you cannot release the enema you will absorb it and urinate more frequently, and if you cannot retain it - then no harm done - providing you make it to the bathroom in time!

Tips:

Take a 0.5L Chamomile tea enema before the coffee enema. Do not retain. Chamomile will soothe and relax the muscles prior to your coffee enema.
Take and chamomile and coffee enema mixed (0.5L coffee:0.5L chamomile tea)
Take the enema in two smaller doses (this will take twice the time as each enema must be retained for the full 15 minutes).
Make sure the enema bucket is not too high. If the enema feeds into the rectum too quickly this can set up counter spasms in the intestine.
If you cannot release the enema - take another one back to back.
Add 2 teaspoons (10ml) of the potassium compound solution to the enema. This should not be done for longer than a few days as the solution can be an irritant.
Make your total day's coffee enema requirement at one go and keep as a concentrate in the refrigerator. Dilute before use.

Flare-ups or healing reactions

The healing process is a combination of clearing out the rubbish and regenerating new tissues. This happens on both the physical and mental/emotional level. When you release the body you also release emotions. This can happen spontaneously when old memories are suddenly stirred up out of the blue which are then mentally processed for their release form the body. So the healing reaction or flare-up, can involve bouts of irrational behaviour, depression and crying. Toxins in the tissues may also irritate the nerves and you may feel more irritable and short-tempered at these times. Of course the coffee enema is excellent for flushing these toxins through.

Clay and castor oil packs.

Healing will also involve the inflammatory process. Many of you will have already experienced this. It can be from the simple shifting of toxins which go out into the muscle tissue causing muscle stiffness and pain particularly in the shoulder/neck area. For this type of pain the warm castor oil pack is wonderful as it helps to improve the circulation to that area, relax the muscles and disperse the toxins. It is also useful for shifting mucous congestion in the lungs if you get a cold. You will all know by now how to prepare one of these packs and how to use it with your heat pad. Another idea is to use it with a wheat bag which can be heated in the microwave (the only useful purpose this gadget will have!). You can make these yourselves, any size and any shape and they will curve to your body. Also, with bone pain, the muscles will tend to contract around the bone exacerbating the pain and the castor oil pack will prove invaluable. The main job of the castor oil pack is to alleviate spasms and cramping. This pack can be used again and again and kept on for as long as required - all night if you wish. When you have finished using it just roll it up and store adding more castor oil as required. They don't keep indefinitely and don't attempt to wash them in you washing machine unless you want all your washing to come out smelling of castor oil with a vague greasy "stiffness" to it.

The clay pack is used for "hot" inflammations around the joints, tumour swelling and to reduce areas of fluid retention either through injury or general oedema. Clay packs are often administered twice daily over the liver area where they actively draw out toxicity. It is really important to keep on with your clay packs if this is part of your prescription. They can be kept in place for 2-3 hours and should be then thrown away as they are full of toxins.

You will experience these flare-ups: old injuries will be re-visited, scar tissue and bones will inflame and then heal, old injuries may also re-appear. Don't forget to use your clay and castor oil packs as they will greatly alleviate any problems.

Pain management.

In addition to the packs the coffee enema is the first line of treatment. Why should this work, you may wonder? Well the body releases a lot of inflammatory chemicals during the reaction which causes the formation of free radicals. All these compounds at the site of inflammation can create a vicious cycle and perpetuate the inflammation and the associated pain. By using the coffee enema, the liver is stimulated to clean the blood more efficiently of these toxic compounds and therefore pain management can be achieved quite successfully. The coffee enema is also useful during an allergic reaction to clear excess histamine from the body.
A second line of treatment may be medication: 1 aspirin, 1 niacin and 500mg of viatmin C (not sodium ascorbate). Don't forget to take a little gruel before the medication.
If this is insufficient there are less toxic medications on the market for pain relief but you should check with your practitioner before using any of these.

Nausea and Diarrhoea.

Elimination of toxic bile will cause either or both nausea/vomiting and diarrhoea. Toxic bile will often reflux into the stomach and make you feel sick. This can also occur after eating, drinking or taking a coffee enema because they all stimulate the release of bile (either for digestion of just the action of the enema on the bile ducts). If this occurs remember to:

Take your gruel just before and just after the enema (the gruel will line the stomach protecting it from toxic irritation and also bind the bile acids).
Take plenty of peppermint tea to flush the toxic bile through the system
If you don't feel like eating much make sure that you don't skimp on your oatmeal in the morning, take your Hippocrates soup, some potato and apple sauce. The juices can be mixed with a little gruel until you feel better.
If the problem is diarrrhoea then add 1/2 tsp bentonite clay to some peppermint tea after each bout of diarrhoea. You may also add 1/8 tsp of potassium gluconate powder. If the diarrhoea persists consult your Gerson Doctor.

Infection.

For those of you who have had young children you will remember that your doctor would ask you if your child was in good health or harbouring any infection before he gave immunization. If your child had a cold he would send you away to return when the child was better. This is because the child's natural immunity would be compromised if he gave the vaccination as the body can only fight one infection adequately at a time. This is the danger of infection in the patient - if you get an infection, your body's defenses which are busily attacking the tumour tissue will be diverted to deal with the more acute situation of the infection leaving the tumour tissue to grow and you may suffer a relapse. So do, in the most diplomatic way, discourage well-wishers and even family, from coming to see you if they have an infection - in the same way as you would discourage those with infection from visiting your new-born baby.

If you do get an infection it must be treated, probably with antibiotics, but make sure from proper laboratory investigation that you indeed do have an infection. You may also take a hot bath (for those on chlorinated mains run the bath water very hot, open the windows and let the steam evaporate - this will remove most of the chlorine) to which you have added 240mls of 35% hydrogen peroxide, preferably food-grade. Soak in this and repeat twice daily for 3 days and thereafter once daily for another 3 days. After each bath, while the skin pores are open, rub in a 2%-3% solution of hydrogen peroxide over the body. (To convert 35% hydrogen peroxide to a 2% solution use 16 parts distilled water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide). Hydrogen peroxide releases the oxygen radical which is a powerful disinfectant and killer of bacteria and viruses. You can also make a cloth poultice soaked in 2% hydrogen peroxide solution to place over a tumour site.

The diet.

I am going to give you some tips on the basic practical management of the diet. Sometimes these tips may seem really obvious but we don't always think of the obvious - rather look at climbing the mountain rather than going around the side.

Order in bulk from a reputable organic distributor and get them to deliver to your door once a week. You can buy your carrots, potatoes and apples in bulk plus other root vegetables like beetroot, sweet potato, pumpkin etc. Salad stuff and greens will have to be bought probably twice weekly as they can go slimy in the refrigerator.
If you can - then grow your greens! It is even possible to grow this produce in the polystyrene boxes that your vegetables may be delivered in. There is nothing nicer than going to pick just enough fresh greens that you need for your juices. We often grumble about the price of organic produce and its quality when it reaches our door. Well, there's more land in all your back yards and gardens put together than the land that is used for agriculture. Perhaps we should go back to growing our produce like our parents did and relive some of the stress of our life-styles by pottering in the back yard!
Either get someone in the household, or if you can afford it, employ someone to work 2 hours a day preparing all the vegetables for the meals and the juices. The soup can be kept for 2 days in the refrigerator. I have found some plastic vegetable bags with have a lining approved by the organic industry as being non-toxic which will enable you to weigh and prepare the vegetables for the day's juices in 12 bags and place in the refrigerator. All you have to do is to grab a bag and chop up the apple and put through the juicer.
You may be able to commission a local baker to produce a number of loaves of bread for you according to the recipe in the Primer. You can then cut these loaves in half and freeze them, taking them out upon requirement.
When you're allowed yoghurt (remember non-fat) you can also try making a soft cheese by hanging the yoghurt in a muslim cloth over the sink overnight. Save the whey as this is also part of your allowance. You will then have a small amount of soft cheese to which you can add onions, chives and garlic and have on your baked potato or as a spread on your bread. Remember that you are allowed 200g of yoghurt/day or 100g soft cheese/a day or an equivalent amount combined.
Adding protein - please don't be tempted to include this before you are allowed. The omission of protein for 6 weeks, or longer in some case, has an important stimulating effect on the immune system. We have two main branches of fighter cells: the T cells which fight Tumour tissue and the B cells which form anti-Bodies. All our cells have a "bar code" which gets "swiped" by the immune system. If a cell has the wrong bar code then this alerts the immune system to eradicate it. Tumour cells have the wrong bar code but very often antibodies are produced which are not strong enough to destroy the cell but end up attaching themselves to the tumour cell and cover up the bar codes (or antigenic sites areas on the cell wall which stimulate the immune response) inhibiting the T cells from attacking the tissue. The omission of protein in the first 6 weeks changes the immune profile substantially - T cell population is increased while the B cell population is decreased. This gives the body an opportunity to attack the tumour tissue. In order not to compromise the immune system and keep it at an optimal level and balance between these two branches (T and B cells) small amounts of protein in the form of non-fat, no salt yoghurt/cheese are then added at a later date. However, it is important to keep specifically to these amounts as excess protein will cause tumour tissue to release toxins which increases the oedema around the tumour. This has the dual effect of protecting the tumour from destruction by the immune system and making the surrounding tissue toxic and more vulnerable to spread of the tumour.

Good Luck, Good Health and Bon Appetite!

Kathryn Alexander.