The story below represents the reflections of a man who assumed accountability for his health and chose to fight the onset of prostate cancer.  He has chosen to share his story with Organic Communication so that others may benefit, and we appreciate his candor!

"After only 60 days on my new nutrition protocol, my PSA score dropped from a high of 3.8 to 1.8, over half!!!  And the only thing that could have affected my score was my change in diet." 

After the age of 40, having a father and brother both diagnosed with prostate cancer, I thought it wise to be periodically checked for prostate problems.  Up until this time, I had a few PSA tests and my score was always under 1.0.  Then, in 2002, being 44 years of age, my PSA jumped to 3.6, very close to the borderline 4.0 where anything over is a definite sign of concern.

I visited a local New Jersey urologist who suggested a prostate biopsy, taking out 12 samples from various locations of my prostate.  If you are not familiar with the procedure, it is not very enjoyable.  With little or no sedative, they insert this 3 inch diameter object up your rectum that shoots needles through your rectum wall and into your prostate…12 times!  The after effects are some discomfort, blood in your stools, and brown semen for the following month.

The results from my biopsy were High Pin cells, which I was told are pre-cancer cells, the closest to cancer without actually being cancer.

With my wife having been to Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital for breast cancer treatment a few years prior, I chose to get a second opinion at Sloan Kettering, one of the nation’s most recognized cancer hospitals.

I presented the urologist at Sloan with my biopsy results and he chose to complete another set of 12 biopsies, 2 more times!  The results were still conclusive, High Pin.  I asked the doctor what I could do to prevent this from getting worse, and his reply was “you could try Vitamin E and Selenium, I hear that they are beneficial for the prostate”.  When I walked out of the office, I felt that the doctor was just waiting for my cells to turn cancerous and then he could operate and pay his mortgage!

As an aside, after my last biopsy procedure, I was walking to the train station in New York when I felt myself bleeding.  When I put my hands on the back of my slacks, they were full of blood.  Apparently there were some areas that did not cauterize properly and continued to bleed after the procedure.  So here I am walking down Park Avenue with blood continuing to flow out of my bottom.  Stopped rush hour traffic and no policemen in sight!  So I have no choice but to walk 8-10 blocks back to the hospital, hoping that I do not faint from blood loss.  I did make it back and the personnel in the urology department made light of my predicament, shoved some paper towels up my behind for a half hour and then sent me home…without much compassion at all!  Good thing my slacks were black and not white!

Shortly thereafter, my wife brought home a book titled, “Prostate Health in 90 Days” by Larry Clapp.  The book stated that you are what you eat and that all the antibiotics, pesticides and hormones that we eat these days are causing havoc on our homeostasis and health.  When I thought about it, my diet consisted at that time of mostly cheap Chinese food full of pork (nitrites and nitrates, etc) and all those artificial flavor enhancers like MSG.  I said that “pork is killing me!”

The book suggested that an organic, vegetarian diet would be beneficial and that the author had great success in reversing his prostate problems.  The protocol also included juicing fresh vegetables.

So I changed my way of eating!  I juiced dark colored vegetables every morning (kale, collards, celery, beets, turnips, celery, ginger, spinach), and even added some tofu in the blender and ground flax seeds.  These were meant to cleanse the blood, make the body more alkaline (I have read that cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment, only acidic.), eliminate impurities, and provide nutrition and healthy oils.  At first, my urine turned red from the beets, a bit scary but I am sharing so that you will not be freaked!  It didn’t necessarily taste the best at first, being used to a less natural diet, but I felt very cleansed and much more energetic.  And I was determined to fight these high pin cells!

After only 60 days on my new nutrition protocol, my PSA score dropped from a high of 3.8 to 1.8, over half!!!  And the only thing that could have affected my score was my change in diet.  

The rest of my lifestyle stayed the same.  I was always very active and continued to run and play tennis regularly.

So I called my doctor at Sloan and told him the news of my lowered PSA.  His reply was “well, you don’t need to see me for 6 months”.  I replied, “before we hang up, are you interested in what I believe may have been the cause of this effect?” and he said sure.  So I told him and again he said, “OK…I’ll see you in 6 months”.  I replied, “before you hang up, have any of your other patients ever told you that they followed a similar protocol and had similar results?”  His reply was a resounding “Yes”.  I said, “Thank you very much”, hung up and never called them again (except to fight over some bills!).

To this day, I continue to juice and eat mostly raw foods.  My PSA is .90 and I am checked with a digital exam once or twice a year.

I have read that cancer did not enter countries like China until the Western diet invaded their borders and their diet changed from fish, rice and vegetables to French fries, burgers and soda.

We have higher cancer rates in the US than anywhere, and also the “best treatment” (sarcasm intended).  What is even more infuriating is that they are not treating the cause of the problem, just the symptoms.  Cutting out cancer, or bombarding it with poisonous chemotherapies, radiation or any other sort of highly invasive treatment does not prevent recurrence or help the body to heal and prevent future occurrence.  They just cause havoc on the body and temporarily remove the “problem” without providing an overall healthier body environment…just the opposite!  In my opinion, traditional treatments like chemotherapy just “poison” and weaken the body, making one’s life less satisfying overall.

A few more things I have learned about prostate issues:

When prostate cancer grows, it is almost always on the side of the prostate facing the rectum.  When cancerous prostates are biopsied or removed, the cancer is almost always on that facing.  The theory is that there is leaching of fecal matter through the rectum walls into the prostate, hence affecting the side facing the rectum, resulting in unhealthy tissue on this side.  When you have a digital prostate exam they can only feel the side facing the rectum.  

The prostate is also a gland that needs stimulation and blood flow to be healthy.  Don’t all of our glands and muscles?  So the theory is that increased blood flow can help to keep the prostate healthy and cleansed.

In Japan, I have read that prostate massage is legal and common.  Japanese men actually go to offices to have a therapist massage their prostate.  It is not for sexual pleasure, but rather for health, just like any other form of massage! This, of course, would be categorized as prostitution in the United States.

Regarding diet, I also eat a lot of soy-based products and think that soy helps keep the prostate healthy.  My 89-year-old father’s prostate cancer has returned 15 years after being treated with radiation (he chose radiation because he didn’t want to be unable to have sex.  My brother, on the other hand, had radical prostate removal and is using Viagra).  Dad is being treated with progesterone type hormones to slow cancer growth and it is working well.  Soy has been shown to have some progesterone effects on the body and I think eating some soy has a homeopathic effect on the prostate to help keep it healthy.

So there you have my story and perspectives.  Do some more reading and research on your own to determine the protocol that you are comfortable with.  Just don’t necessarily trust everything the medical profession tells you -- be accountable for yourself.  Use some common sense and objectivity and you might live a healthier, happier life. 

Remember, if I had gone the Sloan Kettering route, I probably would be without a prostate today!

Do you have a story or comment to share?

If so, please share your story for the benefit of others.  You may post a comment below, or if you have an experience to share, please reach out to us and so that we may share it with others. 

This is a world of cause and effect, and every little bit counts.

I am not a doctor, nor am I delivering advice.  I'm simply recounting a true story that was told to me by the individual who experienced a healing.  In this instance, she healed herself of fibroids using natural methodologies.

I've come to learn that we must do our own due diligence when it comes to health.  While we can seek council from a number of valuable resources, ultimately we are accountable for ourselves.  The woman in this story understood such accountability.

In short, she had a fibroid "...the size of a grapefruit" in her uterus.  The doctor told her that she would need surgery.  As the old adage goes, never go to a surgeon unless you want to have surgery.  Good doctors, of course, will be candid and tell you that you should try other options before surgery, when appropriate.  But in many cases, there is an irrational rush to the surgery option.

In this case, this woman was told that she needed surgery.  Not liking the idea of surgery in her uterus (who can blame her?!) she empowered herself to do a bit of searching on her own.  Instead of surgery, she opted to attend a healing clinic out in the Midwest that focussed on a combination of holistic vegetarian diet, detoxification agents and spiritual/emotional balance.

The recommended stay time for the center was three weeks.  At $700/week, she opted to go for two weeks instead. 

As she explained her experience to me, the first few days they ate only raw, organic fruits and vegetables.  This diet ultimately culminated in a three-day juice fast.  Throughout this entire process, the center used wheatgrass as a detoxifying and healing agent.  For those unfamiliar with wheatgrass, it has potent phytonutrients from which people have claimed many healing benefits.  As she explained it, within a few days of this pure regimen, "...people reported hearing better, thinking more clearly and even seeing better."  They learned to juice the vegetables themselves, and people became such strong believers in the health merits of the wheatgrass that they were seen snorting it, putting it in their eyes and even sticking it in some more unseemly locations.  Long-held toxins in the body were expelled, seemingly restoring bodies to a more natural state where healing could occur.  I won't go into the more graphic details of what this expulsion looked like, but she certainly did! 

I know it sounds shocking, but this is the story.  Throughout this regimen there was also a spiritual/emotional component that focussed on improving thought patterns and removing stresses.  This of course, speaks to the psychosomatic (or placebo) effect -- that appears in every clinical trial ever conducted.  Our thoughts, coupled with our emotions, appear to have a profound effect on our health.  A disciplined approach is often necessary to implement positive change, or healing. 

Long story short -- after only two weeks her fibroid disappeared completely.  She went back to her doctor who simply said, "..oh, it must have disappeared."  This was the same physician who had recommended surgery just a few weeks before.  

Bottom line:  Assume personal accountability for your health.  Nobody else will do it for you.

Do you have a story or comment to share?

If so, please share your story for the benefit of others.  You may post a comment below, or if you have an experience to share, please reach out to us and so that we may share it with others. 

This is a world of cause and effect, and every little bit counts.

For seekers of truth and the meaning of life, this is a must read.   

Available here: 

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Disclaimer:  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net.

Dale Carnegie has long been a favorite author of mine. 

For sales folks, or people who just want to learn some of the more fundamental skills of human interaction, How To Win Friends and Influence People is among his more well known works. 

But Mr. Carnegie has some other stellar books to his credit.  In the spirit of personal development, you can read one of his other works right here.   It is titled, The Art of Public Speaking and you can immediately start reading it by clicking on the link below:

    The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie 

Disclaimer:  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net.

A rattleback, also known as a "celt," "Celtic stone," "rattlerock," "spin bar," "anagyre," "Tate's," "wobble stone" or "wobblestone," and by the product names "ARK," "Bizzaro Swirls," "RATTLEBACKS," "Space Pet" and "Space Toy," is a semi-ellipsoidal top which will spin on its axis in a preferred direction. But, if spun in the opposite direction, it becomes unstable, "rattles," stops and reverses its spin to the preferred direction. Behold the mysterious celt,with a property that amuses. One way it will spin, the other way it refuses. This spin-reversal motion seems, at first sight, to violate the angular-momentum conservation law of physics. Moreover, for most rattlebacks, the motion will happen when the rattleback is spun in one direction, but not when spun in the other. These two peculiarities make the rattleback a physical curiosity that has excited human imagination since prehistorical times.

Do you know what philosophy means?  Philosophy is the love of wisdom. 

Then again, what is wisdom?  According to 'The School of Practical Philsophy,' based out of NYC, wisdom is "the knowledge to enable life to be true and happy."

Throughout history, many people have purported that the key to happiness is to live a natural and simple life.  The ancients, the mystics & even many modern-day people believe this.  Here in NYC, where life moves at the speed of light, this is a daunting task.  But, believe it or not,  there are ways to find stillness -- amid all the chaos.  There are exercises that individuals can conduct (and it does take some level of discipline) to bring their mind back to a state of calmness.  I know for me personally, I have a busy mind -- one that is constantly making connections between things, and seeing at a high-level, possibilities everywhere.  This is a blessing and curse.

Having recently taken a qigong workshop with Robert Peng, a NYC-based qigong master, I have seen the value of such exercises first hand.  For those who don't know, qigong is, "a Chinese healing art using a series of gently focused exercises for mind and body.  The chi, our vital energy, is facilitated to flow smoothly throughout the meridian pathways of the body.  By increasing stamina, flexibility, relaxation and overall quality of life, the healing process in turn, is encouraged and accelerated."

I think that it is important to reign in our busy minds and balance our mind/body relationship, because often times that is when we find peace and health; that is when we can be most connected to our surroundings, raise our energy levels and return to a more natural state.  

So, the questions posed for you is,  "how can you simplify your life?" and "how can you calm your mind when it is way too busy, running away with itself?"  

A good start is taking a pause, closing your eyes, and focusing only on the sounds around you.  Give it a try, it helps.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  -- Albert Einstein