Unfortunately, cancer has proliferated throughout society in the past century and everyone reading this article has in one form or another been affected by it. When it rears its toxic head, we often approach it with a take-no-prisoners attitude, the gloom and doom that often comes hand in hand with the Big C.
Is this the best approach? Do these negative energies affect the disease? Perhaps they feed it.
What is the best approach when you or someone dear to you gets notice that some form of this disease is eating away at their otherwise healthier cells in their body? Looking at this from a holistic approach, here are a few ways to support your friends and family when they hear the news that they need to get ready for this internal fight.
Lean on me. Right out of the gate the most important thing is just showing your love and support. Now from a patient’s perspective this may be outright annoying or invasive at first and respecting their time to mourn through this and get their head straight is very important, but as they start their journey towards recovery they need to be showered with your love and your light.
A close friend and mentor, Jessica Marie Hehn who is currently fighting the fight says, “Having friends, family and faith is what allows me to get through every day. I draw strength from their support and the belief that I am being cared for by the Divine. It helps to know this, I am not alone.”
While respecting their time to heal, reach out to let them know that you are there for them. Maybe offer to join them for Sunday service, bring them a healthy snack and an inspiring playlist, or simply offer your services to help out with their daily grind.
Food is medicine. “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food” is a famous quote from none other then Hippocrates himself and it is very sound advice. It is widely understood that healthy, nutritious food and exercise is the name of the game when it comes to disease prevention and the holistic community fully embraces this when getting clients back onto their path to total health. More often we hear that changing the diet at the onset of disease can be equally as important.
Juicing can be a very effective way to bombard the body with nutrients and at the same time detoxifying to prepare it for the fight. A very popular therapy in the wellness community that incorporates juicing is Gerson therapy. This powerful, natural treatment boosts the body’s own immune system to heal cancer, arthritis, heart disease, allergies, and many other degenerative diseases.
Another popular approach to using food as medicine is by changing to a vegan diet. A very popular documentary that is making the rounds and can be found streaming on Hulu is Forks Over Knives which chronicles the rise of disease and consumption of animal products. A community has risen around this doc and some say by sticking to this vegan lifestyle, disease is more effectively abated and recovery happens more quickly.
Laugh at it. Not to sound insensitive by any means, but laughter therapy can be a highly effective way of treating patients. When a friend is diagnosed, often they go into a very dark period of discovery. This is normal and it is extremely important to be close by to help them through this most difficult time of their lives, but bringing them or guiding them out of the darkness and into the light is often the most important at this stage of the game.
“Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors” a quote from Norman Cousins who famously “cured himself” from a debilitating illness through a self-prescribed Marx Brothers therapy. Daily, he would bring himself to gut busting laughter while viewing these films and this helped him in his recovery. Laughter therapy has been thoroughly studied and tested and is being taken very seriously as it is often an effective tool, along with conventional treatments, to bring patients back to health and offers ways to lift the spirit of your loved one and remind them the importance of staying positive.
Disease is serious business and treatment is the most important thing for those who become ill in your life. You cannot forget that it is much more difficult to go it alone. Make sure to reach out and bring a smile to your friend’s face. Assure them that treatment and health are the most important things in their life and that you will support them in anyway. Help to fuel their bodies with nutritious foods and thoughts. Allow them their space, but make sure they know you are there them.
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