Anticancer: A New Way of Life

Cancer. The very word inspires fear in most of us, and despite a declared "War on Cancer" in the US begun way back in 1971, clearly we have lost the war. While charity events are constantly raising money for research, the medical industry is always encouraging use of screening tests for various types of cancer and drug companies push new and ever-more-expensive drugs, none of this has stemmed the tide of cancer. In this book - the most helpful book I've ever read on the subject of maintaining good health - the author, himself a doctor and survivor of brain cancer, looks in a new direction for an answer to "living with cancer." In the view of Servan-Schreiber, cancer is a chronic disease which took on epidemic proportions after World War II because of changes in our environment. Cancer begins with micro tumors, which we all have, but some grow into bigger tumors that can invade other parts of our body, leading to disease and death. Or, they can remain small and harmless. Surprisingly, we can do a great deal to ensure that these micro tumors remain small and harmless. I learned about this book from a Nutritionist who was part of a team treating my husband when he had a melanoma removed from his arm. She strongly recommended the book, so I looked it up on Amazon and ordered it. I'm glad I did. The book is just the right mix of the author's own story of the life events surrounding his cancer and the changes he pursued to keep himself alive despite a gloomy prognosis. I could totally identify with him when he explained that his Oncologist, in response to his question about what he could do to help himself, answered, "There is nothing you can do. Just go about your normal life." The author could not believe there was really nothing he could do to help himself get better, and that attitude on the part of doctors keeps people feeling helpless and hopeless. It seems to me that doctors are conditioned to do their tests, check their data and prescribe treatments, but they seem to know (and care?) nothing about how we can help ourselves to live healthier lives. Fortunately for us, Servan-Schreiber, himself a physician, researcher and cancer victim, has amassed a huge amount of information in this book. Having to go from the lofty position of doctor to the helpless position of patient gave the author a new kind of empathy with other people struggling with illness. For himself, he made use of conventional treatments (surgery, chemo) and continued working as a physician. But he also began researching exactly how cancer does its damage, and found evidence that the immune system can sometimes defeat cancer's growth. He tells us about "mighty mouse," a lab animal who was supposed to die from the enormous number of cancer cells injected into him, but didn't die; instead, his own bodily resources defeated the cancer cells. Like mighty mouse, we too all have "natural killer" (NK) cells that fend off invading tumors. How can we encourage and strengthen our own natural defenses? We need to deny the tumors what they need to grow. The author's explanations are technical, but in understandable language. In any discussion of cancer, most of the conversation is around treatment. But there is another area just as important and probably more so and that is what the author calls our "terrain." This is our own body and the way we treat it. Do we live in a healthy environment? Do we ingest only healthy food? Are we aware of the effects of these on our body? Do we help our body through movement or are we passive and unaware of the effects of our daily living on our body? The discussion of food is particularly helpful, since changing our diet is something we can all do. We can learn which foods and spices discourage cancer growth and which feed it. For example, eating more vegetables and less meat, and drinking green tea can keep us healthier. We can cook with virgin olive oil and get to know a yellow spice, Turmeric, which is a powerful antiinflammatory. Turmeric is a large component of curry, so we can learn to enjoy Indian food (Indians have far less cancer than we in the US, despite their exposure to numerous carcinogens in their environment). Once a sarcastic critic of alternative healing methods, the author does an about-face as he discovers the power of meditation and mindfulness. When patients learn ways to reduce their risk of cancer growth, they feel less helpless and this itself promotes their own internal defenses. Feeling helpless is a strong marker for cancer growth. But becoming calm and aware can actually build defenses. He recommends regular practice of yoga or tai chi or similar practices to build inner awareness and strengthen the body. Having connections to others, dealing with emotions, and believing you have the ability to help yourself all point to a better outcome. The book has a center section of color charts showing in detail which foods promote and which retard tumor development. There is also information on household products to avoid and what to substitute. This is a book to keep on the shelf and consult on a regular basis. The book also deals with the ultimate inevitability of death. We all will die, whether we have cancer or not. The author relates a number of helpful stories of people who were able to find meaning in their final months of life through the methods explained in this book, which are not offered as a "magic bullet," but as a way of living that enhances each precious day of life, making us more aware of our own bodies and the beauty of the world around us, and helps us to connect to all living things. It is not "false hope," but, as the book's subtitle states, "a new way of life." A way of life in which we take control of our bodies, our feelings, our lives.

Overall, this is a superb book on cancer prevention and treatment. Regarding the technical content: 1. Servan-Schreiber advocates complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) approaches in addition to conventional treatments, not instead of them. Most people who have looked extensively into these matters agree with him (including me). While there may be rare instances of cancer cure or long-term survival using CAM alone, I believe that an integrative approach is the best option for most people. 2. His discussion of conventional treatments is very limited, so the book clearly focuses on CAM approaches. 3. He provides some useful background regarding cancer biology, but doesn't go into too much depth. In that regard, this book is clearly written for people who don't have a biomedical background. He correctly puts some emphasis on issues such as the role of chronic inflammation; immunosurveillance; glucose, insulin, and IGF levels; angiogenesis; and the need to target redundant biochemical pathways via combination therapy. Much of this relates to what he and others have called "terrain." 4. He provides some useful discussion on minimizing exposure to environmental toxins. I see this information as being most relevant to cancer prevention, rather than treatment or prevention of recurrence, but perhaps it plays a significant role in the latter also. 5. His discussion of diet is quite good and is consistent with the many other books on this subject. He reiterates the strong case that proper diet can make a huge difference, not just for cancer but also for health overall. 6. I was surprised to see that he has very limited discussion on supplements. There's very strong evidence that particular supplements can help with particular types of cancer, and most people familiar with the extensive literature on this subject advocate use of supplements, sometimes in fairly high doses (especially for aggressive cancers). For example, a randomized study by Lissoni et al (1996, PMID 8570130) involving glioblastoma patients (same type of brain tumor as Senator Kennedy) showed that adding the supplement melatonin to radiotherapy increased 1-year survival to 6 out of 14 patients, compared to only 1 out of 16 patients for radiotherapy alone. 7. His discussion of mind-body and psychosocial approaches is excellent and is much more extensive than what I've read in other cancer books. And I guess this shouldn't be surprising given that Servan-Schreiber is an MD/PhD neuropsychiatrist. 8. He correctly highlights the importance of exercise, which can make a very big difference (yet even people who recognize the importance of diet often don't pay much attention to exercise). One consideration to emphasize is that it's also important not to overdo exercise; for example, I don't think cancer patients should be trying to run marathons. Beyond the technical content, what really takes this book to the next level, revealing it to be a labor of love, is Servan-Schreiber's personal story as a brain tumor patient himself. He thus authentically understands the human impact of cancer and he doesn't hesitate to share the fundamental life lessons he has learned from his own experiences and reflections, as well as from talking with other cancer patients. He even has the courage to confront the issue of mortality head on, and I found his perspective on this to be wise and quite helpful. Suffice it to say that I was nearly moved to tears several times during the course of this book (I lost my mother to a brain tumor not so long ago, so I know this journey all too well). To summarize, Servan-Schreiber doesn't comprehensively address every aspect of cancer prevention or treatment, nor does he claim to, but he does cover a great deal of important ground addressing both the technical and humanistic dimensions of the issue. I therefore think that this book is MANDATORY reading for cancer patients and caregivers, and I highly recommend it to everyone else as well (for cancer prevention and general health). Regarding how to tackle this book, I suggest first listening to the unabridged audiobook (my local library has three copies) to get a sense of the lay of the land, and then reading the print version to absorb details and for general reference. Also be sure to check out the website/blog associated with the book. Several related books which I also recommend are: - Life Over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment - Surviving Terminal Cancer: Clinical Trials, Drug Cocktails, and Other Treatments Your Oncologist Won't Tell You About - Foods to Fight Cancer: Essential foods to help prevent cancer - Natural Strategies For Cancer Patients - How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine - Beating Cancer with Nutrition, book with CD - Integrative Oncology (Weil Integrative Medicine Library) - Natural Compounds in Cancer Therapy: Promising Nontoxic Antitumor Agents From Plants & Other Natural Sources - Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer

Based on sound medical reasoning this treatise explores the impact of diet, nutrition, healthy lifestyle, exercise and inner peace on minimising and managing the impact of cancer. It’s compellingly written and captures your attention. It’s a handbook available as a ready reference whenever needing to recall a fact or facet of the explored aspects of the book, important to you to maintain your motivation to manage or minimise the impact of your cancer. It’s a compelling life tool. With an emphasis on insight and motivation.

I was introduced to this book by someone I met while in hospital after surgery for a broken elbow. He was in post-surgery for oral and jaw cancer. This book could easily be titled "How to take action to improve your health", as many of the behaviour changes have benefits for health and wellness in general. The book is a very personal one (the author was himself diagnosed with caner at an early age), very well-written and authoritative (the author is a medic), and the information is trustworthy (the author is a research scientist an everything is based on well-conducted empirical studies). The latter should not put anyone off, as the book is eminently readable. If everyone read this book and put it into practice, the NHS budget could be vastly reduced and hospitals and ambulances would not be stretched to the max.

I found this audio book well written and full of practical advice on how to help one avoid cancer and/or avoid relapse of this illness. I think it should be required reading/listening for everyone. Information on the link between the excess consumption of refined sugar and cancer was an eye-opener. I have already been recommending this book to my family, friends and patients. Although the audio book format is easy to listen to, the written version would worth having as a reference. I found the narrator of the audio book perfectly fine although it would have been nice to have the author, Dr. David Servan- Schreiber do the narration personally. I heard Servan_Schreiber give a talk on his book and he was an entertaining speaker and he has a very inspiring story to tell. As a 30 year old physician and brain researcher, he coincidentally found out that he had a malignant brain tumour. Thereafter he decided to shift his focus from neurological research to instead learn everything he could about how one can survive (and avoid the onset of) cancer. What resulted is this book and we are all fortunate to benefit from the fruits of his labour.

Llegó en muy buen estado el día de hoy muy temprano ya voy casi a la mitad y es muy bueno su contenido, bases científicas , y me encantó como nutrióloga clínica que soy realmente es bueno y fundamentado su contenido.

Um livro para quem quer melhorar sua saúde física e mental, sob o ponto de vista de um doente de câncer que viveu muito além dos prognósticos médicos!