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To those that do business for the state of Oregon,

After about a month of mulling over the facts, it has come to my attention that we love Oregon– despite its rainy weather. And when I say, we, I mean the royal we, the collective we, the people that create this lovely green state, who partake in taxes and who read the daily funnies. Some of us prefer to be called weird, others progressive, and somehow we still manage to find room for the individualists with their personal ideals. Just yesterday, I saw a man walk down the street, an extra 5 feet off the ground because for some unknown reason he felt like being in a higher realm. Well, personally, I prefer my feet stationed squarely upon the ground, allowing my toes to tap into grassroot pursuits, but I am never one to judge and, thus, delighted in the uneven encounter. And so begins another round-about, rambling dialogue to my beloved readership. This time, I’d like to address those that choose to create change using the momentum of a business strategy.

Despite the flippant nature of our weather patterns, and the lull in our national economy, in Oregon it’s business as usual, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to say that it’s all good. I recently attended a Portland Business Journal luncheon about sustainability. You could say that I felt slightly out of place, but my boss said that you must understand how business works in order to be successful in any pursuit, as it is the pulsating vein that keeps ventures alive in the age of capitalism. Such is probably the case, and having recalled my graduate thesis on the Art of Medicine, based upon the Art of War, let’s just say that there were numerous books detailing how to get a strategic, business edge using the ancient arts of warfare.

So here I was, in the midst of mindful marketeers partaking in dozens of round-tabled discussions, rubbing elbows with individuals that I do not normally single out to associate with. However, just as my boss had described, I learned a lot from the experience. The intention behind the luncheon of industrialists quickly got to the point: sustainability and keeping a business in the green. The entire meeting can be summed up as: how to streamline costs and production from start to finish, so that a business remains profitable and able to grow flourishingly into the future. Well, this meeting wasn’t so foreign after all; in fact, this lapelled-laden language was quite akin to medicine.

So to make this worthwhile, in this letter I will formulate bridges of understanding so that anyone who chooses to learn how to create a prosperous business can also utilize these same principles to obtain optimum health. This integration of information is purposefully designed so that any businessman who successfully relates the two will have an immeasurable profitability for himself and for the greater community. Both practices are based upon similar rules: maintain awareness, understand all the components involved, keep costs down, exercise mindful decisions, and most obviously, have an dynamic plan or strategy to obtain your goals, projecting into the future so that your entity can continue to grow. Hey, in the very least, it might be worth your time to invest in this opportunity because we’re really talking about something bigger than business, we’re talking about your personal occupation, the ultimate definition of how you choose to live your life. Trust me, 10 minutes of your time, and I guarantee rewarding results.

Sustainability is certainly the buzzword these days, and aptly so because it denotes conservatism. Frivolity in business or health is not advantageous and depletes resources. Gordon Brinser, the VP of SolarWorld emphasized that its important to keep a sustainable system throughout, making sure that both suppliers and consumers understand the need for sustainability. If more businesses understand this, it puts Oregon into the driver seat as the leader in the new sustainable economy. Exactly, kinda common sense, yet it acts as a great marketing tool. In terms of health, do you have a sustainable lifestyle? Do you have enough energy to complete daily tasks? What type of fuel do you provide your body? How local is your fuel supply? These are questions that will enable you to identify if your production is running at an optimum level. Satisfaction is a rather lofty word, but does your lifestyle ultimately fulfill what you’d like to do with your personal lifetime? If it doesn’t then perhaps it’s time to reassess, find a personal plan that gives back, energizes you, and allows you to pursue your passions. Otherwise, my friend, chances are you are not truly in the driver’s seat, rather depleting the resources that you have, and, unfortunately, “going broke” in this business can have some unpleasant, invasive, and costly side effects.

Lean manufacturing was another hot topic during the business luncheon. Jake Nichol, Oregon’s Leatherman Tool Group president and CEO, cautioned companies to identify where “waste” exists and to eliminate it; streamline production so that operations can become more easily managed. Sound familiar? Now imagine if you conducted your daily routines with as much precision. Cutting out the fat so to speak, eliminating waste, such as unhealthy habits that undermine your true potential or mismanaged time where you wish you were somewhere else. Moreover, Nichol states that it’s best to invest in quality throughout production, skimping on value will inevitably short change your venture in the future because, as consequence, dissatisfaction and sub-standard results will occur. A sustainable business has a focus on high quality processes and outcomes, and in turn, possesses greater production values and a larger consumer demand for product. In terms of health, this means that anyone who deletes wasteful practices and incorporates more quality into the daily routine will have a more productive and satisfying life, less prone to sickness, suffering, and disease.

Now that’s a realistic line of thought to ask yourself: do you provide your body with quality products, such as wholesome food, fresh air, and relationships that support you? Stress is a good indicator if you haven’t quite figured out the ideas of quality. To expand upon this point, stress manifests in your life mentally as foggy thinking, physically as inflammation, and emotionally as unhappiness. Do you experience any one of these? Then sounds like it might be worth your while to reassess, realign values with routine, and make health happen for you. Disorganization and low quality choices lead to unhealthy circumstances and, ultimately, a mismanagement of monetary resources.

Next to take the stage was Intel’s General Manager, Lorie Wigle, who demonstrated the need to keep track of your carbon footprint, an elementary example of how efficient you are with any venture. This is a rather big deal within the context of global warming and nicely builds off the first two speakers. A carbon footprint enables you to measure how well you are able to adhere to the topics discussed above: efficiency and quality. And, more importantly, it’s best to keep an active awareness about your carbon impression on the planet so that you can continue to improve it, working towards the goal of neutral impaction. Neutral impaction means that there is an equal exchange between you and your environment, waste is at minimum, and you have more potential and energy for pursuing new enterprises. After achieving this, innovation is possible because you invested wisely. Innovation is about creativity compounded with ample resources, efficiency, refinement, and reduction of energy consumption. Are you in the creative driver’s seat for your health or are external circumstances defining how you identify and/or cope with your life? Carbon footprinting can be a valuable tool for those in search of how balanced one’s behavior actually is within the grand scheme of things, and can help direct those towards a low-impact, resource-rich lifestyle.

Towards the latter end of the discussion, PGE’s Vice President, Bill Nicholson, plainly stated that customers vote with their dollars, and that fundamentally the economy is driven by what consumers want. My ears perked up with this one. So even on the upper levels of business, they admit that power ultimately lies in the hands of the people. Yes, it is true, and also good to hear, and best left to the end of the discussion due to its double-sworded nature. Consumers represent a vast populace of untapped potential. If a business can convince the populace that their product is worth pursuing, then money will follow. For so long consumers have checked out, led by reigns of corporate greed, yet there is a great potential to alter the equation.

What if, as a collective, we clearly tell businesses what we want. In other words, vote with our dollars on products that scream quality, insist upon products that support health for ourselves and our environment; what if we buy with local economy in mind, sustaining community, getting to know and assisting the people who provide us with our products, and settle for nothing less than the best? We can set the standard, but it involves everyone one of us becoming mindful consumers, aware of ourselves, our interactions, and how we impact our external environment with our personal intentions. This is totally possible if we adopt a business strategy for our lifestyles based upon the principles outlined above. Moreover pursuing this possibility will give back tenfold with boundless bounty to ourselves and our communities.

Well, now that you are caught up with how business and health are related and what you can do as an individual to obtain optimum health with a business plan-approach for your lifestyle…. You might be wondering well, that’s all fine and dandy, C. Biscuit, but the focus of change is placed upon the small, individual scale. And although I can vote with my dollars to support the businesses that have my best interest at heart, the health care complex is pretty messed up. What can you tell me about the grander picture for the health care industry? Are there any strategic enterprises out there looking to reorganize, cut the waste, cut-to-the-chase within the health care industry? Yes, health care’s overarching organization is at an all-time low, and certain entities are actively profiting off of this, leading the innocent astray, but luckily there are benevolent movements working out the kinks, attempting the impossible: making health care sustainable. Hurray!

Please recall one very important fact: the health industry is made up of several businesses. Each of the businesses are dependant upon consumers and where the consumer dollar gets invested. A mobilization of public awareness about health care options, and thusly, rather obviously, grass rooted pursuits have a tremendous amount of potential. To assist those of you interested in becoming a more active part in the transition towards a viable solution for an effective, qualitative, and all-encompassing system of health care please read on.

One such venture that’s certainly worth a mention for the lovely state of Oregon is the Archimedes Movement. Talk about getting everyone involved. Archimedes is a bottom-up, top-down communication network, discussing the minute details for the business of health from the perspectives of legislation, insurance, private practice, to the delivery of quality health care to the average consumer patient. Moreover, the principles of sustainability discussed above are intimately part of its strategic structure and underline a clear road to a true solution. The idea is to accurately address how to clean up the mess so that everyone involved gets a fair piece of the pie. And they want you to be part of the dialogue: on June 14th, 2008, the first annual conference will be held at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Individuals from all walks of life across this fair state will convene and glean the tools for helping to organize our health care system for the better.

Access to health care on a grand scale means a genuinely sustainable, working system throughout, with an emphasis on quality and efficiency. An investment in this prospective venture has more than enough potential for change, and more importantly, change for the better. And if you’re still focused on monetary gain, there’s a HUGE demand for sustainable health care, locally and globally… that means there is an untapped niche market in search of a benevolent health care system that truly works, no smoke and mirrors. And to simplify even further, adopting the strategy above: happy workers = higher production. Are you providing your employees with optimum health coverage? The health care system that will ultimately triumph will succeed because it has the backing of millions of quality seeking individuals.

So I must ask you, where are you investing your dollars? Doesn’t it make sense to put your two cents where the investment can have a profound impact for yourself as well as for your community? Thanks for your time, astute business-minded people of Oregon, consider this a worthy tip that has the potential to surpass your wildest dreams. I guarantee it.

Now you have a friend in the health care business.

Best,
C. Biscuit

Dear Ms. Marianne Williamson,

First and foremost, thank you for being a peaceful leader in times of chaos and confusion, your words are profound and carry a true message for all human beings. My attention was initially directed to your Miracle Matrix website via a man who called himself, John F., and he corrected me for a quote from your book, A Return to Love. Unfortunately, I misquoted your influential passages and cited them to Nelson Mandela instead. This blunder has since been corrected, but falls tangential to my primary reason for contacting you.

After following up with the Mandela speech, I continued to search your website, following through with a few suggestions and getting to know a little bit more about The Peace Alliance of which you are a member (president?). Wow. Your “conscious citizenship” journal entries help me to see that an influential and clear perspective is present in our legislative system, again, thank you for your continued efforts. As a human being, you’ve really focused your attention through all the right places, harnessing the power of communication through the internet and governmental actions. With that said, I pursue similar goals both through conscious living and purposeful and productive habits, yet my communal focus lies in the realm of medicine and health, searching for a truly integrative health care system.

In short, my chosen purpose for this lifetime: increase the awareness for a quality-based, effective, and benevolent health care system, as well as finding sustainable support systems for health care practitioners starting with graduate school and lasting to the end of their professional career. Currently, neither population base is adequately supported by the local communities or government on a wide scale. The “Universal Health Plan” touted by our politicians only offer part of the solution; a holistic way of approaching health care is in order, and is in fact underway at two internet locations: The Helfgottblog and The Archimedes Movement. Many community-based organizations have also touched my heart, one such compassionate attempt to reach Oprah Winfrey moves me to this day: the Operation Oprah Campaign implemented by the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) and the Helfgott Research Institute. It just goes to show that anyone can create change. The process of creating working interrelationships for medical communities remains optimistic and creative, pulling everyone together for a truly benevolent cause.

Your Ask for a Miracle page caught my attention, and I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try. So here goes: the miracle that I seek is not for me, rather it’s for those out there that suffer needlessly, those that cannot afford health care, and those that are denied health rights based upon superficial qualities like geographic location, socio-economic status, or the color of their skin. Health is a basic human right, and I wish for everyone to have equal opportunity to experience and understand optimum health and happiness. I see unnecessary suffering on the streets of Portland on a daily basis, and my heart swells with compassion.

Perhaps you could inspire your audience to seek quality in their health care options, voice health concerns, ask for viable health solutions that seek the root cause for dis-ease, and encourage others to work locally in order to educate our populace about basic health through community organizations and schools. If more people become aware of what is possible, simply asking for balance in all aspects of life, the needless suffering may cease to exist; and we can all begin to work together as a global collective, supporting one another as we each experience the preciousness of life.

That’s my miracle request. It’s rather lofty, but the way I figure it, the internet is rather vast, filled with infinite potential… abundance abounds for those that dare to ask the difficult questions.

Humbly,

C. Biscuit

a letter from the rolltopped desk of C.Biscuit….

To the disenchanted and the disillusioned,

Fear not, for there is hope. I, too, have traveled through a road lined with thorns, but spring has come and there are beautiful roses now blossoming amongst the trenches of our health care system. Each rose has a unique story to tell, detailing the fruition within each organization afoot in the fertile ground below. For this, my heart soars. But it wasn’t always this way for this little potentillas; it was a wrought path, challenging a rise above the unrest, allowing illumination only after a retrospective contemplation.

Over the past few years I have discovered many inadequacies within our health care system, and these areas of neglect made me feel disappointed and disillusioned about making change for the better. The items of discord continued to mount, adding more to the side of what was wrong, and less to what was right. For a while, I avoided all media, feeling as if contemporary society could never truly commit to a healthy change of the existing systems, and that investigative reviews would prefer to poke holes in viable solutions, rather than attempt to understand. My myopic view insisted that a benevolent health care system was unattainable, citing that politics and institutions were always about the money and not about providing quality health. Corruption of values seemed the norm, as were side effects from medications in addition to a continuous progression of chronic and preventable diseases…. At times, the situations made me feel under equipped and overwhelmed, burdened, what could a horse like myself do to create change? If health care is about health, shouldn’t that be the cardinal point for all health-related endeavors? If only they could see and understand that taking care of the individual would in turn, provide a healthier economy, healthier domestic and international relationships, and a savings of money overall! But it was never really about the money for me and would explain why for so many years I grappled with the line for communication to these entities.

During the Dark Ages in search of the Gilded Ages, I coped, bandaged up my wounds, yet continued to persevere, by padding myself with new information and then stepping back into the health care arena for a few more rounds. How did I manage? Anger is the emotion that initially directed me towards health care and kept me at it through this point in my life. And it wasn’t the typical violent or aggressive form, rather my anger manifested as a slow and festering feeling of frustration. However, the fuel of frustration burned me at both ends, scalding my insides, wearing my sanity thin. How could our health care be so misdirected? What was so tantalizing about monetary gain that it usurped basic and sound reasoning? All of these questions remained unanswered for years and smoldered beneath my red badges of courage.

Through all of this, I adamantly focused upon every detail as to why the world appeared built backwards in respect to health care. Hence the hiatus from the media, and in some respects exodus from the southerly foothills of Georgia. I was fed up with stretched medical advice, superficial constructs and quick-fixes, tactics based upon a limited point of view, and all other perspectives that chose to parcel a piece out of the whole picture for diagnosis and treatment. My frustration swelled and my steppenwolf reared its head instructing me to find solace, find a state of balance so that the entire situation could reveal itself to me. I was too emotionally involved to act a part in the play of sustainable health care; my internal biases would interfere and unseat anything I would construct. It took about 5 years of academic isolation in Portland, Oregon (my current stomping ground). And under the direct guise of NCNM and the Helfgott Research Institute: a holistic perspective was finally achieved. All those years of grooming had paid off!

Over the past few months I have began to monitor the activity of negligence and unjust loopholes in our medical systems again, watching the short-sightedness undermine even the best of attempts at correcting the imbalance. Initially, nothing seemed to change, and the litany of “wrongs” continued to heap upon my computer’s desktop, collaging my backdrop with pale unanswered blank stares, all awaiting closure, awaiting solutions of change. Like fatty white deposits, they clogged my thought processes until the day I decided to organize the ideas, categorizing those little white pages in order to sift, refine, and construct conduits where the Pony Express failed to express before. All that was needed was an open line for communication and an impartial ear. Surprisingly the list of “not dones” was exactly the starting point for addressing the necessary change and paved the way for the Helfgottblog. What was at first a clutter of cantankerous confusion turned into a strategy for creating change, clarity was achieved.

My primary focus has, and will always be, about the ultimate goal of a universal and sustainable health care system, but my own limited perspective kept me from figuring out at truly feasible solution! How silly of me to exclude some of the pieces, unknowingly believing that those dark areas could be overlooked in the process of putting the whole puzzle together. So, I give you a distillation of my thought-processes over the last few weeks: how can we effectively relate the message of functional health care to others interested in the same ideal as well as organizations out there to make money? The two internet solutions resulting from this question were The Vivid Health care Plan and Community Resource page. Both of which are in regards to awareness and facilitating information about viable health care solutions, directing quality care and knowledge to the patient and the entire health care system, from the bottom up. There are still numerous opportunities to make money during this process, for those that like the monetary reward, but these fiscal features will take a backseat to health and prove more lucrative in the long run. The ideas are based upon something sung to the tune of functional health care; it’s that plain and simple, with no strings attached.

My pursuits will continue to grow exponentially, acting as clerk: collecting and providing avenue to those desiring functional health. However, I am still a horse and my animalistic qualities run deep, and my steppenwolf will inevitably resurface in my pursuit to get to the bottom of the details, my absolute attempt to make horse sense out of all this pretense… but that’s okay. I’ll mull on those areas of friction, rein in my focus, and eventually figure out what part it, too, can play in the grand scheme of things. Luckily, my internal struggle led me to where I am today, doing what I’m doing, outlining the silver lining to the clouded view of the health care system at present. What I enjoy most about the blog is that it provides a dynamic resource for others to see the change that is ongoing both inside and outside the Portland community. All of those unanswered questions that plagued me before have, in fact, found solutions from other compassionate and like-minded individuals. And it feels good to know that this information can be outsourced around the globe and provide knowledge to others who are also seeking answers to some of humanity’s most troubling and problematic sore spots.

So fear not, sit quietly with those areas of unrest, devoid of understanding and no clear direction for solution because one day your thoughtfulness will prove worthwhile in the end. Persevere my friends: the rewards of your journey shall prove abundant and fruitful.

Humbly surrendered to the illuminated light within each of you,
C. Biscuit.

At present, our medical community is at a critical impasse that demands the attention of parties across the board. Our current state of health care cannot meet the growing costs and concerns associated with a lengthening list of chronic pathologies, which require a more extensive treatment regime than presently available. Complications with chronic diseases cost a multitude of insurance and consumer’s dollars, yet management and prevention of our plaguing diseases are far from ideal. Despite such a large investment of time and monetary values, the effectiveness of health care is proving to be an inadequate treatment plan without curative effects. In essence, our population’s health concerns are reaching a decisive point, one that requires a paradigm shift. Perhaps a different approach to the management and treatment of patients is in order. One that could provide an answer to these goals, and at the same time, one that keeps our patient’s best interests at heart, focusing on compassionate encounters between doctor and patient.

All physicians take the Hippocratic oath stating, “never do harm to anyone,” yet our acceptance of side effects directly violates this aspect of our doctoral creed.

As practitioners of healing, we swore to protect the health and rights of our patients. Accruing side effects from any treatment methodology should not be considered normal.

Accepting any additional suffrage for our patients caused by our current methods of treatment is negligent.

As doctors, we have a responsibility to uphold the high level of trust that our patients place upon us. It is appropriate to both question and challenge methods that have a higher likelihood of causing our patient harm.

Perhaps a proactive approach is in order: let us actively seek out alternative methodology that better serves those in sickness and in health, and most importantly those devoid of side effects. Less conventional methods are widely available, but I would like to focus upon the conventionally misunderstood term of placebo. Researching the effects and characteristics of the illusive placebo can illuminate treatment modalities resulting in fewer, if any, side effects. Moreover, learning more about the phenomenon of placebo may give a greater understanding of how to approach a treatment plan, allowing the practitioner to treat the patient in a unique and compassionate manner.

The concept of placebo is multi-faceted and should not be generalized under a blanketed approach solely with the intention of controlling its unknown features. In actuality, the modalities fit nicely under an umbrella of misunderstood and ill-defined actions. Commonly these actions are described as miracles in a broad layman’s sense, and within the research based communities as the infamous placebo effect. Regardless of its title, these accounts are roughly sketched details in the areas of healing that are not fully understood by many scientists and practitioners of medicine. It is incorrect to refute the growing evidence for the positive effects of placebo, especially those that contain curative methods for treatment without side effects. More often than not, these methods are much more sustainable to the economic, environmental, social, and physical wellbeing of every individual on the planet.

It would behoove everyone to reassess the importance of studying the unique effects of placebo. Currently, placebo is approached in research models with counteractive measures, in an attempt to limit and control its effects. Rather, let us shift importance. What if: importance was placed on methods or interactions between patient and practitioner that are able to create a causative effect with without side effects? Moving placebo research into this direction would require a multi-pronged and holistic approach because the actions of placebo contain both immaterial and material components; therefore it is crucial that research concentrates on both ends of the spectrum in order to satisfactorily include all the relevant characteristics of placebo effects.

Within the last century, the advent of chemical and physical manipulations through herbal and synthetic compounds has taken precedent over our understanding of treatment methodology. This has lead to the dominating paradigm of medicine: a one-sided view primarily centered on the physical aspects of what practitioners are capable of achieving. The Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA houses several MDs and PhDs who, as a collective, delve deeply into the inter-relationships between placebos and its effectiveness in reducing symptoms of disease, albeit their focus in primarily on the neurochemical pathways in the brain. This analytical approach to understanding placebo is necessary, yet remains embedded in the physical aspects of medicine. Biochemistry is an important aspect of understanding the relationships between the brain and the body, but this level of comprehension is only the tip of the iceberg, a mere sliver of the full picture of placebo. And, more importantly, this level of understanding is devoid of the compassionate interactions between practitioner and patient.

An alternative approach is currently underway with Tom Janisse, MD, Editor-in-Chief at the Kaiser Permanente Journal, although he may not label his research as placebo-related at all. Janisse devotes a good bit of his time describing the doctor-patient relationship, attempting to configure the dialogue within interactions that remains unsaid; in short, he attempts to describe the delicate non-verbal interactions of personal characteristics. Non-verbal interactions are part of the picture of placebo, and this is evident with all of the constraints set by double-blind placebo measures, taking “human intention/bias” out of the scientific equation. Perhaps within these subtle interactions, true healers are better able to listen and understand the context and nature of suffering for the patient, and in turn, provide the best tools for patient recovery. To expand upon this concept, Janisse articulates the importance of the Power of Relationship in Medicine in an interview with Consciousness and Healing channel host, Marilyn Schlitz. Moreover, a Kaiser Permanente publication, Soul of the Healer, adds the compassionate integrity back into the medical profession, capturing artistic expressions of healing through the eyes of health practitioners, adding artistic and creative depth to the healing process on both sides of the equation. These examples are the sorts of strides in our profession that go beyond conventional medicine, that take the experience of healing to a level that is both pleasurable for the physician and the patient. In essence, this form of focus on interactions between people is a highlight of the hidden nature of placebo, and not an attempt to control and or discount placebo’s effects.

Donivan Bessinger, a retired surgeon and a mainstay in the medical field, writes primarily on the spiritual and ethical aspects of healing, suggesting that same concept in an article entitled, “Reflections on ‘soul’ and medical art,” by stating that:

“A medical philosophy which is germane to our current problems, would foster integration of bioethics, humanities, general knowledge, depth psychology, and spirituality as they relate to patient experience. By being sensitive to the ‘soul’ issues of patients, we improve our ability to ‘evoke the placebo response’ and to reduce patient interest in unconventional therapies”(Bessinger, 1993).

Ideally doctors could learn to use the placebo effect to advantage!

An attempt to accentuate and duplicate these more reasonable and sustainable effects of placebo in less conventional methodology is in order. Too readily our current research plays a heavy-handed approach based on the physical methods of healing. This approach ignores less understood immaterial aspects of placebo, resulting in treatment plans that lack compassion and causing unnecessary harm to our patients. New research into placebo that takes into account the compassionate and artistic qualities of humanities experiences could prove a noteworthy expedition, obtaining a greater understanding of how the human body is capable of healing itself. It would be unwise and costly to any discount research attempting to make sense of the black box of placebo, with a flippant disregard for the unknown, labeling these methods as debunked ideas. The curiosity that drives researchers into this ill-defined field of medicine is a noteworthy exploration. Without fully evaluating less conventional methods, as a medical community, we are causing great disservice to our patients, especially at a time when an overwhelming number of side effects are the norm.

Sincerely,
C. Biscuit

JeremyS,

And so the dialogue begins, thank you for taking interest in a topic that needs a bit of attention. After reviewing your comments, I thought long and deep about how to respond about the American Cancer Society (ACS). I have decided to dedicate a full letter to you so that the forum can continue in a way that adds insight for the average health-seeking layman. To answer your question bluntly, yes, I’m saying exactly that: if ACS works directly and more intimately within the public realm, this will expedite the process of preventing cancer, and that this can be achieved by educating the populace at an individual, grassroots level.

In the initial stages, when I first began preliminary searches into resources supporting cancer patients, I found solace in the recommendations described by ACS’s “The Complete Guide: Nutrition and Physical Activity”, thinking that this was a wonderful place to advocate for a person’s health. The initial paragraphs do describe some terms and conditions a person could employ in order to achieve a basic bill of health; and don’t get me wrong, this is valuable information. However, as I read more deeply into the different disease states, the advice appears rather bland, focused on a broad audience. It is presented in a cookie-cutter format: not really addressing how to adequately and effectively treat at the individual level, and not really covering all the bases for good healthcare management. These are not good details to miss when attempting to prevent or to treat a debilitating disease. This is where I see a limitation in ACS’s methodology, and a great opportunity for implementing a positive change.

An acute example of this discrepancy is located within the section describing “pancreatic cancer”, a disease where insulin plays a rather large role in most cases. The obvious details of avoiding foods containing high levels of sugar, like soft drinks, refined and processed foods, and other high-glycemic items like the potato go strangely missing. Its commentary focuses on studies that “may” do this or that, walking a line that creates vague distinctions for a person wishing to avoid cancer.

I say this, because basic instructions, aimed at a general population, and an ill-defined treatment or preventative approach can lead to: a poor plan of action for an individual who is seeking to be healthyand, more importantly, harmful consequences.

In all honesty, there is no advice presented on this level of generality that could replace specific and tailored guidance at the individual level. Overall, I found the information somewhat helpful, but in turn problematic, as it could cause a poor set of circumstances for an uneducated individual. Luckily, both of these points are aptly addressed when focus is placed upon individual-to-individual interactions. This is the area that I am concentrating, and likewise trying to get ACS to focus its attention upon.

We are all unique human beings and how we move and interact within our environments makes us who we are: the good, the bad, and… the ugly. Cancers are unique to each individual. The term “breast cancer” does not encompass all the different forms that breast cancer can take, nor does it address the metabolic blueprint for every individual affected by this particular form of cancer, or how the cancer developed in the first place. A systematic approach to treating cancer will lead to unnecessary side effects, greater risks for other diseases and ailments. Moreover, individuals who really need specific direction will fall through the cracks, and ultimately end up as dissatisfied customers. Therefore, it seems natural that to treat cancer successfully, we must begin with the individual, in the community areas where s/he interacts on a daily basis.

This is why I recommended working through grocery stores and school systems, as well as protecting people’s health by supporting products that do not harm the environment or the individual directly. I would even go so far as to send a shout to NCNM, my alma mater, a Natural Medicine school focused on treating ALL patients as individuals, each with a unique treatment plan, with a primary focus on treating the root cause of imbalance. Each of these areas seems like obvious places to invest.

The ACS has ample amounts of funds to divert towards these issues, but instead advocates that:

“Public, private, and community organizations should work to create social and physical environments that support the adoption and maintenance of healthful nutrition and physical activity behaviors.

1. Increase access to healthful foods in schools, worksites, and communities.

2. Provide safe, enjoyable, and accessible environments for physical activity in schools and for transportation and recreation in communities.”

Yes, this is a fabulous idea, in fact, I suggesting just that.

Let’s take their community oriented programs and bring them closer to home. Community based formats are actively being pursued in several small avenues, but this, unfortunately takes money. This is why these avenues have remained small and not the rivers of change, not the conduits of information to the public that we so desperately need.Advocating for a little funding from the ACS to support these organizations makes sense, especially because:

“The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.”

If ACS invests more heavily here, into these community based fronts, there will not only be a decrease in cancer, but other debilitating diseases as well. In some regards the ACS has taken steps towards this direction, I am simply advocating for a stronger presence into these areas.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, it keeps me thinking, assessing, and making sense out of all the information that is out there. I must admit, that it can be difficult being an educated consumer, however the rewards of knowledge are far-reaching and profound. Thanks for stretching my noodle.

Have a brilliantly beautiful day, JeremyS.

C. Biscuit

As an aside, in my search for answers to your questions, I found a website, also aimed at preventive measures for cancer: The Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC), which pointed out a few of the forgotten pieces not presented by the ACS. CPC’s board members are a collection of international doctors and professors with diverse and appropriate backgrounds. An MD out of Chicago, Dr. Samuel Epstein keeps this resource updated and provides advice to consumers ranging from protection against chemicals, pharmaceutical drugs, food additives, as well as environmental toxins. Epstein also acts as a watchdog for cancer-preventative based agendas, and keeps his audience updated and informed about the politics behind organizations like ACS, the US National Cancer Institute, and US governmental policies.