GUIDANCE FOR FIGHTING –
AND AVOIDING – CANCER,
FROM A PROFESSOR
"IN THE FRONT LINE"

How do the world’s cancer experts give themselves the best chance to avoid the disease? What lessons have they learned from their own patients - for their own lives, and for YOU?

One answer comes from Professor Dr Ben Pfeifer, Director for Clinical Research at the renowned Aeskulap Clinic in Switzerland, a specialist at the front line in the fight against cancer using both conventional and complementary medicine. He believes that 80 per cent of cancers are preventable, and lifestyle changes make all the difference.

Until 12 years ago, he was like the rest of us – rushing around, cramming in meetings, eating on the hoof, constantly on the move… But when he spotted certain patterns in patient lifestyles, he decided to change his own ways, as “I wanted to see my grandchildren grow up.” Today, he lives by these new guidelines, and advises all patients – with a range of illnesses - to do the same to help boost the immune system and thus fight – or stave off - disease.

TEN TIPS TO BEAT CANCER
The ten guidelines Professor Pfiefer gives to those with cancer and to others who want to avoid it:

1. Get daily exercise. It depends on your ability, but for cancer patients, I advise them to set aside an hour daily. Buy a dog; get out and about – it gives circulatory challenge, better perfusion, and improves immunity

2. Meditate for around half an hour daily. Stop to reflect; look into your past, make peace with yourself, family, friends, and colleagues. Cancer patients have different challenges here, as they can go through phases including anger and denial which they have to overcome

3. Look at your diet - maintain a well balanced diet, with no overt emphasis on animal fat – get a diet rich in vegetables and fruits, avoid refined sugars, alcohol and tobacco

4. Eliminate daily life toxins. It’s easier said than done, but smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs should be "out". There are exceptions, though – I would not hesitate to prescribe hashish or marijuana for patients fighting nausea and vomiting – in many countries this is legal
5. Eliminate toxins at work – eg: the smells of paints, thinners etc. Eliminate everything that’s stressing your liver, leaving it free to focus on protecting the body

6. We are 70% water, and all toxins have to be soluble to be excreted, so make sure you get 1.5-2 litres of clean, drinking water daily. Many industrialised countries pour in chemicals, like chlorine or fluoride, and of course, fluoride is good for teeth, but we know it’s a very toxic substance. Filter out these and heavy metals, and ensure the ph of your drinking water is above 8, using a machine or by adding bicarbonate

7. Get rid of negative stress – if a relationship affected you five years before – get rid of the problem. This needn’t mean getting rid of the partner, but maybe making peace with yourself; experimentation has shown that constantly negative (nagging) stress is dangerous


8. Supplement your diet – there are several antioxidants with definite anti-cancer properties. Number one is selenium, which I believe helps prevent prostate cancer at levels of 200 microgrammes per day. Also important is a good basic multivitamin mix and a well balanced Omega 3 and 6 fatty acid intake; and top up with vitamins E and C, and, if possible, resveratrol, a very strong antioxidant

9. It’s vital, too, to get enough sleep – ideally eight hours nightly - so the body is fit to fight potential invaders and cancer. Here many people have to deal with sleep disturbances – they constantly contemplate what’s happening to them and their family. The first option should be natural sleep, but if it’s impossible without pharmaceutical help, then first try melatonin.

10. And for the 10th, I’d revert back to lifestyle – get an open, relaxed attitude, firmly focused on getting the most out of life. Try to be positive.


He is interviewed this month on www.malehealth.co.uk, the health information website run by Men’s Health Forum which was voted the top medical website in 2004 by the Royal Society of Medicine.