Is This a Billboard?

I have mused with friends that it would be lovely if God would just fling a billboard out into view when important issues need to be addressed, or when significant questions call for God-inspired answers. Bright, pink neon would be ideal. If anyone sees a billboard with the reasoning behind the creation of mosquitoes, do let me know, because it's a question I have been asking for a while now.

On to more important issues: cancer. Or perhaps, CANCER is more appropriate. It is feared, dreaded, and for some, probably expected. With family histories, genetics, and dietary recommendations all over the news, we frequently hear about cancer, and most of us are very, very afraid of what it can do to us, and the treatment we might endure to fight it.

So here I find myself wondering if I have come upon a cancer billboard. When ideas and information continue to pop into view, one wonders if God is trying to say something...

I am not currently facing a cancer diagnosis, nor is anyone in my family, but it is likely to rear its ugly head at some point, and I would prefer to be prepared with at least some sort of information that might be helpful.

My "billboard" (if that's what it is) is not one large discovery, rather, a succession of events which together, have caused me to pause and think about our health, the medical establishment in the US, and how best to combat the Big C.

First: a family friend was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, and is now breaking ribs when she coughs too hard (and she can't get rid of the darn cough). She keeps wondering if her treatments have left her even more unhealthy than she was at the outset.

Second: I came across an ad that describes a German cancer treatment method that involves the induction of a fever in the body in order to fight off and kill cancer cells that the immune system is unable to attack. Perhaps it is worth investigating?

Third: The April issue of Reader's Digest features a cost-benefit analysis of sorts on cancer screening. I have to admit, I was surprised to find this article in RD, given the magazine is practically owned by pharmaceutical companies. You can't read it without scattering a multitude of "Talk to Your Doctor if " cards that cover every condition from tingling legs to over-active bladders. (I have a cure for these, by the way. Quit sitting on your foot, and go the the loo!)

The short version of this article (although I highly recommend that you read it yourself!), is that some cancer screenings are not only unnecessary, but can cause more harm than they might prevent. The exceptions are Pap smears, tests performed on individuals with a family history of a particular type of cancer, and those who have had cancer before.

Finally, I came across this video. It's about nine minutes long, and certainly worth watching. The link to David Walker's clinic in Mexico is here. At the top of the page, there's a link to click for Mr. Walker's "protocol".

Keep in mind, the cancer treatment business, is a business. Big bucks are made by the companies who make the screening equipment and supplies, the oncologists who essentially are experimenting on us, and the companies who make the chemo drugs. When we, or someone we love is diagnosed with cancer, a panic of sorts probably sets in, and we do what we are told by the folks who spent years in medical school, because certainly they know more than we do, right? Well...perhaps looking at alternatives is worth it. And doing so before we face a crisis, when we feel pressured by the clock, seems like a good idea.

"Let your food be your medicine, and medicine be your food"