Taking Control of Your Health
The Stern Chiropractic Newsletter
Featured Topic: CANCER
Referral Corner:
The Greatest Compliment my Patients Can Give is the Referral of Their Friends and Loved Ones. Thank You For Your Trust. This month, I would like to thank the following people for their trust: The Eicoff Family, The Berke Family, The Novoselsky Family, The Opper Family, and Dr. David Kanarek.
Charity Corner:
Stern Chiropractic is a proud sponsor of the American Cancer Society’s Buffalo Grove Relay for Life and Dr. Stern will be donating his services to the Deerfield and Buffalo Grove walks. Come out and support the cause. In addition, Stern Chiropractic is collecting donations for The American Cancer Society (ACS). Proceeds from the June 15th Patient Appreciation Day will also be donated to ACS. Please join me in helping to find a cure.
Topic of the Month : CANCER
Why is a chiropractor writing about cancer? This is a very difficult yet easy topic to address. I lost my mother to cancer 2 ½ years ago and as I helped take care of her both at home and in the hospital, I found that companionship, a caring touch, manual therapies and nutritional support were very helpful and comforting to her. I know that many of you are either fighting cancer, have a family member or friend that is fighting cancer or have had very close family members and friends lose their battles with cancer, but I want you to know that the fight can be won or at least be made more tolerable.
As a chiropractor and acupuncturist, I do not treat cancer itself, but I do treat people with cancer. This is not a play on words. My focus is not treating the disease, it is treating the person. This means addressing their nutrition, their body, their Qi (life force) and their psyche. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the focus immediately goes to the treatments and therapies that are utilized to kill off the cancerous cells (and rightfully so), but many times we forget about strengthening the person’s body, immune system, Qi and psyche. In addition, once the chemical and radioactive treatments begin, we forget that the body needs support to properly handle these toxic agents.
What Can Be Done To Help The Person?
No matter what stage of cancer exists, human touch is always healing. Manual therapies such as the chiropractic manipulation, joint mobilization, massage and acupuncture (needless acupuncture if necessary) can all be used to help the body heal, treat the nervous system, restore normal joint and muscle function (thereby restoring some of the bodies’ resources) and reduce swelling and edema.
What Can Be Done To Strengthen the Life Force/Qi?
When Qi is weak, the body is susceptible to disease. Strengthening the Qi will help protect the body from disease and help the body heal itself. Strong Qi is vital when your body is fighting cancer and recuperating from cancer treatments. You can strengthen your Qi with meditation, Tai Chi, Chi Gong … When your Qi is weak and you are fighting disease, Acupuncture or Meridian Therapy (Needless Acupuncture) and herbal therapy are the best tools for rebalancing and strengthening your Qi.
What Can Be Done With Nutrition?
Nutrition therapy makes medical therapy more of a selective toxin on the tumor tissue. The following vitamins and supplements help protect the body and enhance its functions without interfering with the chemo therapy and radiation treatments:
Fish Oils (EPA) & Plant Oil (GLA) – selectively toxic to tumor cells while enhancing chemotherapy. These oils also are anti-inflammatory agents and help reduce pain.
Vitamin C – helps boost the immune system and may increase tolerance to radiation therapy.
Vitamin A & Beta-carotene – help boost your immune system and serve as potent anti-oxidants.
Vitamin E – helps boost your immune system and serves as a potent anti-oxidant. In addition, Vitamin E is needed with increased fish oil intake and is commonly found deficient in cancer patients.
Niacin – seems to make radiation therapy more effective at killing some cancer cells.
Selenium – helps repair DNA damaged from carcinogens.
Note: The antioxidants listed above appear to enhance the effectiveness of chemo therapy, radiation, and hyperthermia while minimizing the damage to the patient’s normal cells.
These were just a few examples of vitamins and minerals that could be beneficial to cancer patients, there are many more.
Good Advice for Cancer Patients
– Take a high quality multi-vitamin that is 2-3x RDA and add in extra B-complex, C, E and Fish Oils.
– Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water.
– STOP SMOKING, cut out caffeine and eat fewer sweets (diets high in sugar have high correlations with cancer).
What Can Be Done To Support The Psyche?
Yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, relaxation techniques, psychological counseling (both individual and group), support groups and time spent with loved ones, just to name a few. You must keep a positive mental attitude and have a reason to live! Mental toughness is what gets you through those hard times and a solid support network will help maintain and reaffirm those reasons to go on.
Products of the Month : Mega Omega Fish Oil Caps
EPA & DHA oils are great sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation and reduce pain for both acute and chronic conditions. In addition these oils have been shown in research to enhance “Heart Health” and are highly recommended by many cardiologists. The Mega Omega caps provide the highest quantity of EPA DHA oil per capsule on the market today.
I hope this information helps you take control of your health and your life! If you have any questions, feedback or have any suggestions for future topics, please call or email me.
If you know someone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, if you would like to receive this newsletter via email, or if you would prefer to no longer receive this newsletter, please let me know.
Don’t forget the importance of maintaining your health with regular chiropractic and acupuncture care.
Sincerely,
Gregg Stern, D.C., FICPA