Saturday, November 10, 2007

What's the alternative?

Well, I whined a great deal about being 'too hot' last night and the result was that the referral letter to the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital's Complementary Cancer Care Programme finally arrived. How's that for a result?!
4th December I will meet Dr Sosie Kassab; or, at least, one of her team. She's been recommended (and I've been referred by) my oncologist - and she's not one to suffer fools gladly. Any praise or recommendation from her I'll grab with both hands.
I'm also going back to the London Haven; partly because I need to something to get up for on most days and partly because I guess I need a bit more TLC. Maybe I can sleep whilst I'm there ;)

This takes us into the tricky area of do I really believe these things work - I think there's a lot of evidence (medical) for the potential effectiveness of homeopathy, so I shall be interested to see what happens there. Of course, I'm also at a point of such desperation with it that if someone told me to stand on one leg for half an hour a day and then turn around three times and touch the ground whilst saying 'I believe in cancer-fairies' - I'd do it. I actually don't care what it is if it works. Well, within reason. I admit, I'm somewhat more sceptical about things like Reflexology and Reiki (to name two that I actually have experience of). I don't really see how they work or why they should. In both cases I enjoyed them - an hour to just relax and lay somewhere whilst someone is sympathetic about what you're going through. Plus with the reflexology - a foot massage. What's not good about that? Do I believe that that the foot massage moves the toxins out of other bits of my body? I dunno - I don't understand how it would but maybe I just don't know enough about it.....
The reiki - that was odd - I think I just snoozed my way through it really. I did have an odd experience of a sudden start in my body and a white light even when my eyes were closed. But I think that might just have been me falling asleep......
The one thing I really do need to avoid are the 'food facists' - I do believe that a healthy diet is important - and I'm pretty good when I'm not feeling too depressed; but I won't be lectured about 'acid ash' and the 'deadly dairy'. Perhaps that work for some people but it just makes me feel miserable, useless (because I can't stick to that sort of diet) and pissed off. Frankly, there's not much point saving this life if I'm going to spend it feeling miserable and guilty about food.
So there, now!

I'm actually loathe to ask you any questions about this for fear of grave recriminations - but, share your thoughts or experiences if you're so minded......

5 comments:

Dorothy said...

I'm so happy to see you writing. It means your feeling hopeful. I will continue to have you in my thoughts. My mom passed last week and I've been off my site more then on. Glad to read your thoughts..anything you need to make you feel better should be available...

Dorothy from grammology

Dorothy said...

I'm having a problem with everything in my computer..this is a test, you are in my thoughts and I was so glad to see you write.

My mom passed last week and I've been off the computer more then on. I'll catch up soon.

Your in my thoughts..
Dorothy from grammology

bella said...

I am so with you on the food thing. I'm all for healthy eating. But having cancer also woke me up to PLEASURE. And I don't want to live a pinched, negating, avoiding, repressive life.
As for "alternative" treatments? Yes, I did some. I still do. And I did/do the mainstream medical route. I don't see them as opposing.
Mostly though, I came to a place of needing to step away from the healing/self-improvement craze. Yes, I needed care. But I didn't want my whole life to be about it. I didn't want to be treated like i was, as a person, broken or fundamentally flawed. So, I began to limit what I did and it has been good for me?
For you? That's the thing, isn't it? We all kind of stumble along, having to find our own way, trusting we can change course at any time we need, taking one step at a time.
I love how your write. I'm happy to have found you.

Jhianna said...

Here's one from the other side of Reiki. I learned how to do it (just the first class, not the second - so semi-rank beginner?).

Even as I was taking the class, I had the little voice in the back of my head: "This is crazy and silly and just a bunch of poppycock."

But when we had a practice night a few weeks later, we had a woman get on the table. The first thing they had us do was feel her energy along her body and say if we felt a difference in any spots. Imagine my surprise when my palms wouldn't stop itching when I reached her midsection. She told me later that she'd recently had a hysterectomy and her stomach, intestines, and all her lower bits were up in arms.

I'm moving from the skeptical science girl over to someone who thinks that if it helps, go for it. Does it matter if it's our head/belief that helps rather than some mystical force or ability?

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