In the early stages of the movie " Braveheart " there is a scene where William Wallace's father has been killed in one of the battles to free Scotland. The young boy ( Mel Gibson ) wants to fight back and avenge his fathers death. His wise uncle approaches him and states " Before you use this ( sword ), you've got to use this, he points to his head and applying wisdom.
Most of us are unprepared when we are given a diagnosis of cancer. Initially it can be a terrifying feeling followed by emotional and physical shock for a period of weeks to months. If one wants to live, it is paramont during this period to focus one's attention on survival. Webster's dictionary discusses intention as a purpose and objective," the determination to act ". Many cancer patients that I have counseled over the past seven years have had difficulty even initiating their focus on intention. Many others lose it along the way. A significant percentage of patients want their children, spouse, friends, or medical clinician to make decisions for them. Many of them fail to step up to the plate and face the Evil that is standing before them. This can be a grave mistake. Many new agers will tell you to go on with your life and wish it away, others perhaps vegetarians will suggest that a special diet will solve the puzzle. Others perhaps mindful Christians, will try and pray the diagnosis of cancer away. Let me be very clear, CANCER IS EVIL. When someone receives this diagnosis it would behoove them to get ready for battle. The bible describes putting on the armor of battle , defending yourself with the shield of faith, and picking up the sword of truth. The diagnosis of a tough cancer behooves one to do all of the above and more. It is and should be the Turning Point and Defining Moment In Ones Life. Our minds and bodies are terrified. Most of us are in such a stage of shock, that it's difficult to even feel and listen to one's soul.
Studies are starting to show, that patients who take charge and learn assertive behaviors have far better outcomes that those who don't .
I cannot tell you the number of phone calls that I get each month from patients and family's that are at the end of their rope. The chemotherapy has stopped working, the complications are mounting and their medical centers do not have the answers.
Over 1,600 patients go down each day in the United States and that number is not going away.
My diagnosis was so rare I realized that the only way to survive was to surround myself with the best experts ( Western and Holistic ) and support systems in the world. Within days of coming home from the hospital ( Extremely ill ) I was on the phone daily calling all around the United States and the World for help. I tried to build a survival team of various experts around the world that knew about liver sarcoma. After I had visited a number of medical centers in the midwest, it was decided that I should try a trial of very high doses of interferon. ( Biological Chemo) During one of these sessions, ( at a large medical center in Metro-Detroit )
my oncologist walked in next to me and said, "Mark, it doesn't matter what we try ( He went on to name a number of chemos and experimental drugs ) there is no hope for you." "It would be better now for you to get your affairs in order and enjoy what short time you have left". He gave me this advice as I was laying there receiving chemotherapy and sicker than a dog. I was very discouraged when I left his office that day. I pondered those remarks and got madder than hell. I decided to refocus my intention to survive and give myself those treatments at home. After I fired him he kept calling me and my family for weeks to get me to come back in. Later I found a wonderful oncologist in northern Michigan who was open to trial chemos and integrative adjunctive therapies. Over the next seven years, I had to refocus my energy , a number of times. Day after day, night after night, week after week, for seven years, I was on the phone or on my computer searching for answers.
The danger never seemed to leave for very long. One day about three years into my journey, I went to work doing consultations at a rehab center. I had been feeling very weak for a number of days and feeling worse. I attributed this to side effects of my chemotherapy. I was standing there examining a patient and started getting dizzy. All of the sudden my world started falling down around me. My heart started beating in an irregular manner and it felt like it was going to explode. A physician ministered to me and put me in a car with himself and nurse driving. When we arrived at Henry Ford Medical Center ( Detroit ) I was pallor and my pulse was thready. A Trauma team stabilized me and started scanning my body. As they took me out of the scanner a physician came up and said " Mark, dont move an inch. Your medi-port has dropped into the right ventricle of your heart and is starting to go into your lungs.
