The mind and cancer

The Mind and CancerThe Mind and CancerThe Mind and CancerThe Mind and Cancer

Dr. Rudy Dr. Rudy Dr. Rudy Dr. Rudy KachmannKachmannKachmannKachmann

Mind/Body-Body/Mind

• How does the brain effect the body?

• How does the body effect the brain?

• Every thought, conscious or unconscious affects the physiology of the body.

• Every physiological reaction of the body affects the brain-subconsciously or unconsciously.

• Every thought affects the 60 trillion cells of your body.

• Every one of your 60 trillion cells eavesdrops on your every thought.

What is Holistic Medicine?

• Physiological

• Physical

• Spiritual

• Each person is unique

• Each person should be part of decision making team

• The person has self-healing abilities

Mind/Body-Body/Mind

• How does the brain

speak to the body?

• How does the body speak

to the brain?

• Neuropeptides-CRH,

TSH, FSH, ACTH

• Hormones-Estrogen,

Testosterone

• Neurotransmitters-

acetycholine,

epinepherine

Molecules of Emotion

• Doctor Candice Pert

• The emotional body

• Opiate receptor site

• Monocytes make every neuropeptide in

the body.

• Mind/body-Body/mind

Psycho-Neuro-Immunology (PNI)

• White cells,

monocytes, T-cells,

bone marrow, spleen,

thymus

• Your Army, Navy and

Air Force can be

influenced by your

thoughts, positively or

negatively.

• “The will to live”

History of the Mind and Cancer

• In the literature for 2000 years

• 1846 Dr. Walter Hyle

– Nature and treatment of cancer was very clear to him,

questioning its reality would have seemed a struggle

against reason.

• 1865 Dr. Claude Bernard-A human being must

be considered a harmonious whole.

• 1870 Paget

– Depression plays a vital role in cancer as well as

anxiety and hopelessness increase cancer growth

History of the Mind and Cancer ctd.

• 1893 Snow – First statistical proof of increased rate of cancer in a group of 250 patients - in 156 there was recent severe stress – loss of relative, divorce, or death.

• Patients with severe mental disease like schizophrenic, idiots, or lunatics have low rate of cancer

• Paranoids – who think too much have higher rates of cancer than normal people.

Carl & Stephanie Simonton

“Getting Well Again” 78’ 80’ 92’

• The first patient

• The Simonton study of 159 patients

• “It’s more important to know what kind of

person has a disease – than what disease

the patient has – very true, “My forty years

of medical practice”

• Cancer patients live twice as long if they

are taught mind/body medicine.

Cancer

• 30%-45% are cured by

modern medicine

• But one dies and the other

doesn’t although they have

the same disease.

• Patients taught mind/body

medicine live twice as long

• They have a higher rate of

spontaneous cures

Spontaneous Remissions

• The placebo effect

• Placebo – Nocibo

• Immunology

• Will to live

• Love

• I believe

• Positive and Negative expectations

Cancer

• A weak and confused cell – a

reject

• Cancer begins with a cell with

incorrect genetic information.

• We have a few cancer cells

everyday. (white cells kills them)

• We make billions of cells daily – so

a mistake wouldn’t be a surprise!

• Malignant cells are weak and

disorganized

Causes of Cancer

• Carcinogenic substances – Nicotine, Tar,

Chemicals, Drugs.

• Loss of immunity

• Drugs, Stress, Depression, Genetic

Predisposition, Diet, and Obesity

• 20% of cancer caused by the diet – Breast,

Prostate, and colon.

• Japan – Little cancer, but when in the U.S. rate

same as Americans, due to diet and stress.

Cancer Causes

• Put cancer cells in humans and they are

immediately destroyed.

• Transplant Story

• Surveillance Theory

• Stress and illness – strong link

Mind Body Index

• Stress reduces immunity

• Dr. Hans Seley

• Christopher Reeve – Bereavement

• Dr. Holmes – Rahe – Stress test

• When life is too hectic and coping fails, illness is

the unhappy result, including cancer

• All animal research stopped – linking cancer and

stress – the proof is 100% certain.

Hans Selye

• General adaptation syndrome – chronic stress

• Stress suppresses immune system – your army

goes away

• Definition of stress – “Inability to cope with

perceived – real or imaginary, threats to our

physical, emotional, and psychological well

being”

• Selye – “Nonspecific response of the body to

stress”

The Individual

• Increased level of stress, increase

susceptibility to illness.

• Chronic, not acute, stress causes

suppression of the immune system.

• Acute stress is over too quickly

• Chronic stress – loss of white cells

enlarged adrenal glands, enlarged hearts,

weight loss, and death.

Psychological Evidence

• Dr. Lawrence LeShan – experimental

psychologists – foremost theorist of the

psychological life history of a cancer

patient.

• Emotional factors in the causation of

cancer

Emotional Factors and Cancer

Dr. LeShan

• Patients youth was marked by feelings of

isolation, despair and intense

interpersonal relationships

• Previous strong personal relationships

removed (death, move, divorce, and

retirement)

• Despair was bottled up – the zest left their

lives simply wanting to die, ready for death

Dr. LeShan

• 76% of 500 patients with cancer had a history of emotional problems or severe stress

• Only 10% of the control group without cancer had this pattern

• Other studies by Dr. Schmale – patients with cancer frequently had a history of hopelessness and frustration

• Dr. Green – Many patients with leukemia and lymphoma had history of dispair, hopelessness and discontinuity

• Dr. Kissen – Heavy smokers, the ones that have cancer were found to have high rates of chronic stress.

Carl Simonton

• The ranch hand

• Six kids and off to college, now what? Breast

cancer with metastasis

• Retirement, now what? Higher rates of cancer

immediately after retirement

• Identity problem

• Loss of coping, no purpose

• Hopelessness, and helplessness – no control

• Death is the solution

Recovery

• The purposeful life – Rick Warren, Dr.

LeShan, Dr. Kachmann

• Power of positive thinking – Dr. Norman

Vincent Peale

• “You can if you think you can”

Upward Spiral of Recovery

• With cancer – the individual gains a new perspective on his/her problem – (Wake-up call)

• The new permission slip to act differently –suspend the rules

• New rules increase psychological energy

• Hope and renewed desire to live

• Change in psychological state as well as change in physiological state.

“The will to live”

Dr. Arnold Hutschnecker’s

• Positive or negative expectations very

important

• You have only six months to live

• My son’s patient

• Voodoo affect

• Positive attitude was more important that

the disease according to studies by Dr.

Simonton

Our Society

• Lot of negative thinking by medical providers and patients – “You have only six months to live”

• Cancer is synonymous with death – not true

• Drastic effects of surgery and chemo –That’s all wrong

• 30%-45% are cured by modern medicine

• Another 25% live many years

• At least 50% are helped by mind/body medicine – Many live twice as long and a higher

spontaneous remission rate.

Positive Expectancy

• Cancer may not be fatal

• Your body defenses are mortal enemies of cancer

• Modern medicine cures many patients

• Medical and psychological treatments are great help - This is not false hope

• Marriage has only 50% success rate –cancer is no different

• Hope very important in cancer survival

Mind Body Index

• Depression, despair, hopelessness, helplessness – causes of mind/body diseases including cancer

• Limbic system – records depression and despair

• Hypothalamus – Metabolic center

• Neuropeptides control immune system through CRH – Pituitary gland – ACTH

adrenal glands

Recovery

• First step strengthening their belief in

effectiveness of the treatment and potency

of defenses and change in perception

• Teaching the will to live

• Pursue medical and emotional intervention

• Stress reduction and possibly psychiatric

treatment

Participating in Your Health

• Identify the major stresses six to eight months prior to their diagnosis

• Identify hopelessness and helplessness

• Identify benefits of illness

• Learning to relax and visualize recovery

• Value of positive mental images

• Overcoming resentment and releasing the past

• Creating the future and setting goals

• Increasing the will to live and creating a purpose in life

• Mental imagery – inner guide

Participating in Your Health

• Pain management with biofeedback

• Teach yoga – mind control and exercises

• Meditation – “The Breath”

• Loving support system –

My friend Andre Rieu says,

“There is no greater force in the world than

love.” “The heart beats in a rhythm of

three, just like the waltz”

First Week

• Read “The Will to Live” by Dr. Arnold

Hutchneckers

• “Mind as Healer” by Dr. Kenneth Pellitier

• “Seeing the Minds Eye” by Mike and

Nancy Samuels

• Practice relaxation/mental imagery x’s

three daily for ten minutes – have an

instructor teach you and have a CD

Second Week

• Relaxation mental/imagery

• Fill out stress questionnaire –

Holmes/Rehe and mine in “Welcome To

Your Mind Body”

• Start yoga, meditation

• Art – Draw your perception of the illness

• 30 minute walk daily if possible and

communicate with nature

Learning to RELAX

• Meditation

• Visualization

• Massage

• Ti-Chi

• Chi-Gong

• Shiatsu

• Biofeedback

• Acupuncture

Progressive Relaxation

with Mental Imagery

• Imagery – The language of the sub and unconscious

• Relaxation/Mental imagery x’s three daily – ten minutes

• CD with above

• Many meditative techniques all based on the breath – bring yourself to the center – the “Now”– Not before or after

• Mantra – Mind energy – “Ong Guru Deve Namo”“Sat Namo”.

Language of Motivational

Psychology

• Imaging – Picture desired events, movies, odors, sensations dress it up with ALL the senses

• Positive expectations

• Purposeful life

• Will to live

• Shower of positive neuropeptides, hormones and neurotransmitters

• Biofeedback

The Mental Imagery Process

• Meditation – Breaths centering – Quiet mind –Relax body – Mantra (Many methods)

• Think and visualize weak and confused cancer cells (Previously draw picture – art)

• Visualize your treatment entering your body

• Radiation – beams of millions of bullets of energy hitting your tumor cells

• Picture the chemo drug entering your blood –acting like a poison killing the weak tumor cells

• Watch yourself urinating out the dead cells

The Mental Imagery Process

• Picture your white cells destroying your

cancer – overwhelming them all over your

body

• Picture the cancer shrinking

• Visualize yourself as well with no pain – a

normal person

• Draw a real picture demonstrating what

you did

Value of Relaxation

of Mental Imagery

• Remove hopelessness and helplessness

• Decrease fear – regain sense of control

• Increase the will to live – Create a purpose

• Effect physical changes

• Evaluating and altering beliefs

• Tool to communicate with the unconscious

• Decrease tension and stress

Criteria for Effective Imagery

• Cancer cells are weak and confused

• The treatment is strong and powerful

• The healthy cells have no difficulty repairing any slight damage the treatment might do

• The army of white cells is vast and overwhelms the cancer cells

• The white cells are aggressive, eager for battle, quick to seek out cancer cells and destroy them

• The dead cancer cells are flushed from the body normally and naturally

• By the end of the imagery, your healthy and free of cancer

• See yourself reaching your goals in life, fulfilling your life’s purpose

“The Secret of the Non-Diet”

• Complex carbs

• Whole Grain

• Vegetables

• Legumes

• Fruit

• Fish twice a week

• Omega 3

• Multi-vitamin

• All you can eat

My Goal

• Have Mind/Body medicine available to all

cancer patients

• Almost all patients become more hopeful

with this approach

• It increases the will to live

• Patients are happier

• It may double their life span and increase

the chances of a spontaneous cure