Cancer and Homeopathy

This month I want to tackle a subject that homeopaths have discussed and struggled with for 200 years - cancer. It is such a large topic that I've decided to split it into two newsletters. I encourage your feedback and thoughts for this intense topic. Thanks.

The homeopathic approach to cancer: part 1

Cancer is truly the disease of modern times. 150 years ago cancer wasn’t the scourge it is today; tuberculosis was claiming lives at a rapid pace. 250 years ago, syphilis was the disease that was ravaging. Each generation has had a disease to worry about and each disease affected and influenced culture in profound ways. No other disease has held this place of dread for everyday people. And there is a good chance we know someone who has cancer or who has died from cancer, as the National Cancer Institute research states, “1 in 2 men and women will be diagnosed with cancer of all sites during their lifetime.”

So what is cancer? A simple definition is that healthy cells become abnormal through some kind of negative influence. Each cell has a distinct function in the body. Cancerous cells become renegades that begin to proliferate and invade other healthy cells and organ systems much like the insanity of Nazi Germany or an inner city gang. Cancer turns distinctive, differentiated tissue into indistinctive and undifferentiated tissue.

The homeopathic perspective of cancer is unique. Cancer can be seen in the themes of control/chaos, perfectionism and suppression of emotion. This is a very common theme for people living in the West at this time. There is so much to do: many lists, keeping the house clean, kids fed, bills paid, boss happy, spouse happy. There is a lot of pressure to succeed and play by the rules. Where is there time to be oneself? Where is simplicity? There is so much emphasis to control the chaos, and it in controlling chaos, perfectionism can arise. And with perfectionism comes suppression of emotion. The perfect person need not show emotion, nor have any emotions. Is this how people get cancer? No, it is the energetic soil for a cancer state to begin.

As a homeopath, however, I am less interested in why it happened. I am more interested in how it is happening. I am interested in who you are as a person, how it affects you, what the pain is like, is there pain at all, how is it manifesting for you. A homeopath is like a detective looking for the clues that are important to the case. Some clues may be rather strange, rare and peculiar. I value every word coming from the person’s mouth, each hand gesture, each pause…it reveals the truth of the individual and guides the homeopath to the correct remedy.

Can homeopathy offer something for one suffering from cancer? There is some excitement as of late in the homeopathic community for the treatment of cancer. Homeopathy isn’t a “this for that” type of medicine, yet new protocols using very specific treatments for specific organ cancers have emerged with excellent results.

Next month I will discuss some of these protocols in Homeopathy and cancer part 2. 

A new homeopathic school! Homeopathic Community School of Seattle

We are blessed to have our own homeopathic school starting in Seattle in September 2007.  The Homeopathic Community School of Seattle has an outstanding roster of teachers, some of the finest in North Amercia.  The goal of the school is to train students to practice classical homeopathy.

To learn more go to www.homeocommunityschool.com  or you can call Lucy Vaughters, the school director, at 425.672.4458.

Comments / Feedback

I would love to hear from you! If you have any comments or feedback regarding this newsletter, please feel free to email me. I look forward to reading your responses. Thank you!