Once upon a time
in a land not far away, a small group of researchers discovered that a very familiar substance had the power to eliminate cancer. That wasn´t what they were looking for but the implications dazzled their puzzling minds. They tried it on every type of cancer they had for testing (lung, throat, kidney, colon, bladder, lymphoma, leukemia) and the result was the same. The cancer simply vanished.
In the minds of some in their society, this miraculous substance was forbidden, except for babies and infants. For the babies it seemed unavoidably vital, though providing it was deemed offensive to public decency. The providers were banned from view and even their participation in the socially legitimate ways of making a living was restricted. So the providers lived perilously close to poverty and dependence on the beneficence of others.
Naively, or simply propelled by unthinking objectivity, the researchers pursued their new mystery. To their amazement, there had been evidence in much earlier studies that this substance protected babies and small children from cancer too. Reassured by this validation, they presented their results to grand meetings of their colleagues and the media. The response was deafening silence.
Had they not stated it clearly? They had found a cure for cancer. Surely this stony silence would momentarily explode in jubilation.
When it didn´t, they felt shaken. Perhaps they hadn´t carried their work far enough to be granted public validation. So they set out, alone again, to find the mechanism, to pinpoint the elements, to establish the causality.
Time passed for cancer patients and their loved ones while the scientific picture came into focus. Many died. Many suffered. But with uncanny clarity, the picture emerged. The causality was undeniable, the mechanism was wholly natural and the elements were quite ordinary. This time they were ready. Surely.
But the response was unchanged. The major researchers waged high priced war on the disease and the clamor continued. The cancer patients suffered. The pharmaceutical companies churned out expensive, exotic, hazardous, profitable elixirs. The treatment centers struggled to administer the dangerous and damaging regimens. Where were the wholistic practitioners? Barely any interest anywhere.
No one would profit, except the lowliest of the providers, the ones without benefactors. Their status would have to change. Society would have to accord them decent livings to ensure quality and quantities adequate for the epidemic proportions of the cancer population. No more squalor and begging for handouts.
The societal costs would likely be so much less than the existing system and the cancer scourge would be over.
But it was apparently unthinkable. Minds stopped short at a blank wall and could not picture the lowliest of the providers as anything but trash, their act of providing as anything but forbidden and disgraceful, their gift would be dangerous. Some hearts could not see them as people, could not see their act as respectable. Others feared the implicit coercion that such an opportunity presented for such a defenseless group, in the way that underclasses have been abused when their assets were discovered. No one would even think to tackle the task of expanding the organizations that managed the provision for babies so as to meet the needs of cancer patients.
Clearly there was no profit for major players in a solution that was so easy. So unhazardous it needed no degree, no esoteric gadgetry, no standard players to administer. So free of complications it needed no treatments for side effects.
What were the researchers to do? They chose to dissect the elements of the cure to attempt to manufacture the ingredients so as to fit the natural into the unnatural scheme of their society. To make the elements a profitable venture for the existing establishment. As they drew closer to manufacturability, the media began to pay attention. Someday the basic elements of that cure may be available, but without the supporting and balancing elements in the original substance and without making any improvement in the cancerous social problems. Meanwhile the medical cancer patients sicken and die.
Including my brother.
For the substance is mother´s milk and the researchers are in Sweden. Their discovery is now more than five years past and even with that one exceptional media event, we find no cognizance of the Swedish results in any medical circles. So we are spreading the word in the hopes that this story will have a different ending -- and -- we are putting together an individualized program to try to find the path through the wilderness ourselves. And -- if you have cancer or someone you care about does, you can do it too. Particularly considering what we´ve found so far.
Your first priority is to find a doctor who is enthusiastic about wholistic, complementary or integrative medicine. We´ve found an oncologist who is also an acupuncturist and herbalist. Try the local referral services, such as Ask-A-Nurse at your nearby hospitals. But any sympathetic doctor will do. All that is required is a prescription for mother´s milk, something a caring, open-minded doctor would be happy to do, once they have the research in hand.
Next, contact your local library´s interlibrary loan department and request the research articles given below, as well as the more popular version in the June 99 issue of Discover magazine. So you can take your stand. Even just to spread the news.
Then get in touch with either your local or the national LaLeche League representative to request the location and contact information for the milk banks nearest you. From Cincinnati, our choices were Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina. See the note below from our La Leche League representative with all the details on requirements, costs and protocol. The milk banks are affiliated with a few select hospitals and are the creation of the Human Milk Bank Association whose organization you can also contact through any of a network of websites since they are international also.
Now the going becomes more uncertain because dose and insurance coverage will need exploring. I´m hoping my brother will opt to pursue the mother´s milk route to cure his cancer as the conventional radiation and chemo have utterly failed and they´ve given him only about 6 months to live. All they´re offering him is mega-doses of the same, with huge likelihood of horrendous side effects and a paltry 20% chance of good effect.
His cancer is apparently very unique -- one large tumor tangled in major abdominal arteries and inoperable, along with hundreds of small tumors scattered all over -- squamous cell and stage IV -- some anemia. It would seem like mother´s milk would be an ideal match, particularly given the inoperability, the failure of conventional routes and the ubiquitous nature of the disease.
Although an infant´s nutritional intake may not be as great as an adult´s, a baby´s greater growth rate could suggest a larger cancer protective need per body weight, so that an adult´s need for mother´s milk could be less, at least per unit of body weight. Would there be something in the in vitro protocol that could indicate what amounts to try? Especially since even the in vitro results indicate that the complex mechanism is intended for ingestion, requiring stomach acids to transform and activate the process.
Here we are in luck. The voracious cancer cells steal the patient´s nutrient supply which should mean that even small quantities would go straight to the cancer cell population, wherever they hide, targeting them for self-destruction. In fact the Swedish researchers have suggested just such a strategy for those who try. Small amounts spread throughout the patient´s waking hours, such as 1 oz per hour.
Although the costs seem a little high at first look, they aren´t really. The costs of pharmceuticals is far, far from inexpensive, not to mention the hospitalization costs and treatments for side effects. Considering the evidence and even the NCI´s and ACS´s acknowledgement, though not major, for the research, it would seem reasonable for insurers to cover this as medicine. At least with some insistent ´encouragement´ added to research papers, and the necessity of a prescription.
Together with the alternative therapies to provide immune system support and improved quality of life, natural mother´s milk seems to complete the picture of an ideal solution for a patient with the will to live. I just feel sure it will work although I know no one can obviously make guarantees. Please consider the journey and know that we will be eager to share our results and someday these journeys will add up to a clear picture for those still to come. One step at a time. Stay tuned.
Also, "Molecular Characterization of ...." in the Journal of Biological Chemistry volume 274 issue 10 (5th March 1999) pgs 6388-6396 by Svensson, Svanborg, et al.
(Health Sci Lib, Cinci 558-5627)
Now from the La Leche League:
The following milk banks are closest to Cincinnati:
Wilmington Mothers' Milk Bank, Medical Center of Delaware , Maggie Conant, Coordinator, PO Box 1665, Wilmington, DE 19579, 302-733-2340, fax 302-733-2602.
Memorial Health Care, Regional Milk Bank, Darlene Breed, Coordinator, 119 Belmont St, Worcester, MA 01605, 508-793-6005
Triangle Lactation Center and Milk Bank, Wake Medical Center, Mary Rose Tully MPH, IBCLC, Coordinator 3000 New Bern Ave Raleigh, NC 27610, 919-350-8599, fax 919-350-8923
Milk is dispensed on a doctor's prescription and there is a processing charge of about $2.50/oz. It will depend on the supply whether there is available milk for your sibling´s needs as babies who rely on human milk for their nutrition do take priority. I would suggest that you contact one of the milk banks for more information.
La Leche League is very much aware of human milk´s role in cancer prevention. The Center for Breastfeeding Information at La Leche League International has numerous studies on this subject and does promote this knowledge. A recent study is "Breast-feeding and risk of childhood acute leukemia." Shu et al., J Natl Cancer Inst 1999 Oct20; 91(20): 1765-72. It showed that babies who breastfed for at least one month, reduced their risk of leukemia by 21 percent, a longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with even less risk. There are also studies which show a protective factor from some cancers, such as breast cancer, for the breastfeeding mother.
Messages, your ´dispatches from the front´
happily accepted via
email.
Please indicate whether your message and/or name may be used for
publication as we would like these pages to be a collaborative
venture, an exchange between and among experimenters.
