Cancer 101, Helpful, Uplifting Lectures From Cancer Retreats

Self-Education and Self Help Sourced From Balya Self Help & Wellness Inc. Retreats From 20 years ago.

Disclaimer: Notes recorded by Debby Blettner

The Immune System.

Self-education began for me in 1998 when I first attended Cancer Retreats at Balya Self Help & Wellness Inc though it is no longer existent.

A student nurse was browsing through my notes commenting they seemed very similar to her nursing notes from nursing school! So the information I am presenting is not new and could probably be found in many textbooks, yet my intent is to relate it specially to fighting cancer, as it was presented to me at the Retreat.

Immune System:

The first lecture was about the immune system. Dr Ivy Bullen, first explained about the different cells present, the T Cells, T Helper Cells, T Suppresser Cells, Natural Killer Cells and B Cells. The Thymus is the training ground for the immune system and is located under the chest bone, the sternum. Tapping this area, with your fingers, at least 20 times per day has the effect of stimulating the immune system. Effectively stimulating the immune system.

B Cells are made in marrow and they spot viruses. After spotting the virus they become an ammunition factory of antibodies. This is not the most effective way of fighting cancer because they need ammunition to shoot.

T Cells fight and damage invading cells. They mop up war zones.

T Helper Cells are non killing scouts that send messages to T Cells who kill on command from headquarters.

Specialised T Cells called NK Cells, (Natural Killer Cells) are well trained! They need no messages. They shoot to kill – the SS Squad!

T Suppressor Cells are the Headquarters who regulate all production of cells and prevention of more production, keeping things at a correct balance. There is a Stop – Grow message between cells. Accelerator and brakes help to control cell division.

“Cytokines” say grow, and “Anticytokins” say stop. This red light, green light system needs to be balanced for controlled growth and good health. If the brakes fail the cells reproduce and divide without check, and tumors develop.

NK Cells poke “fingers” into cancer cells and inject granules into the cancer cells (perforans), to kill their target. If their target is a cancer cell, they inject the granules and chemical reaction results in blowing a hole in the cancer cell to kill it!

The KSR’s (Stimulating receptors) detect between normal body cells and cancer cells and tell the NK when to kill. It leaves the normal cells alone. An inhibitory cell tells the NK cells to leave the normal cell alone and protects it!

If your immune system is fully switched on, you won’t get cancer.

Power of Prayer: 3oo patients in a group were separated into 2 groups. People from outside the group were given information on the cancer patients. One group of cancer patients was not prayed for and the other was. The people prayed for had less death, were sent home earlier, had less cardio arrests, healed much faster and had less problems than the group that was not prayed for!

Though some Cancer Patients Choose Complementary and Alternative Medicine instead of Conventional Treatment, the outcome of using both can enhance the performance of the conventional treatment.

Any surgery can depress the immune system. Do anything you can to take antioxidants after surgery to build it up to counteract the depression to your immune system.

Immune typing is a Blood test to check for NK’s (Natural Killer Cells.) Another name for it is LSM, (Lymphocyte surface markers).

There are 5 known causes of cancer:

1) Carcinogens- poisons

2) Genetic Disposition.

3) Radiation.

4) Diet.

5) Life Styles and Stress.

Carcinogens:

Examples include tobacco, which is directly linked with lung cancer, car fumes are linked to leukemia, PVC making pipes is linked to liver cancer. There is more cancer in heavily industrialized countries, as there are more carcinogens. Carcinogens penetrate the nucleus of the cell and cause damage to genetic material causing mutations, which equals cancer.

Genetic Disposition:

Or predisposition. An experiment was performed on mice, all of which had the same genetics. They all had oncogenes, which predispose them to cancer. Some were given 4 times greater stress than the others, and they developed cancer. The highly stressed mice developed cancer, not the non stressed ones. Both groups were ‘oncogene’ predisposed. The gun was loaded, it just needed a trigger. Stress is often the trigger.

Japanese women have the lowest levels of breast cancer in the world. Yet, Japanese women in Hawaii have a much higher incidence of breast cancer. Could this be related to diet, or lifestyle?

Radiation:

Leukemia, lung cancer and thyroid cancer, can result from extreme exposure to radiation. Everyone is daily exposed to radiation through microwave ovens, televisions, computer and electrical currents radiate a radiation field.

Never leave an electric blanket on while you are sleeping, due to radiation exposure The cut off point for harm is not known.

Don’t look in microwave while cooking.

Diet:

7th Day Adventists have been found to have significantly lower levels of cancer. Himalayan Tribes live to 100 years and are vegetarian, they eat no meat. The Japanese diet is high in fish and rice and has overall low cancer statistics.

Life Style and Stress:

A workaholic is someone who works 60-70 hours a week with no time for rest. They have high physical and emotional stress.

8 hours of sleep is required.

Interleukens (produced by sleep), are good for the immune system! Laughter, singing, and quiet meditation and thinking positive thoughts also greatly benefit the immune system as does exercise recreation and healthy food. Avoid junk food.

Emotional Stress:

1) Inability to express emotions.

2) Unresolved conflicts.

3) Unresolved problems.

4) Denial behaviour.

5) Excessive need for approval.

6) Helplessness.

The above have been found to be common in cancer patients.

Anger:

It is very important to express your emotions and tell the other person you are angry. An alternative to this is to run around the block, to get rid of anger.

Confusion about medical procedures and options for treatment can be very stressful.

Denial:

Denial of any health problems, spending lots of time helping others at the neglect of your own health can sometimes be symptoms of denial, ignoring the problem or not wanting to face it or accept it.

All these things can lead to stress, which can encourage cancer. It is not what happens to you but how you react to what happens to you, that is experience!

It is important to focus on the person, not the disease, to change the outcome of the illness. A change of thought patterns causes different hormones and chemicals to be secreted in the body. So a positive mind and keeping on top of things is very important.!

152 very ill patients were studied. Those with a positive attitude responded better to treatment and did better than negative patients with less serious diseases!

Depression is very bad for the immune system and Natural Killer Cell count. Look at your stress level to improve your immune system.

IIn conclusion to this article, I would have to add that the knowledge that our bodies contain Natural Killer cells, that are capable of destroying cancer cells, is phenomenal! Anything necessary to increase these is worth learning about!

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