Leila's thoughts:

Thank you Jake for writing. Because you are a male and your cancer something else other than breast cancer shows we all are in the same boat. Other men have written that my book helps them too as survivors and also as family members of survivors. I am grateful for such letters and they give me a reason for having written it.
Perhaps most of us are interested in alternative treatments but only after cancer has left its visiting card. We are too busy until then and think cancer happens to others, not to us. I had plans and busy dreams to live to an old age in good health until that moment of no return. My life was never the same after that. I survived but thoughts of preventing a recurrence consumed me along with nagging thoughts of every possible symptom that might be a recurrence. I went through my life backward to imagine what I might have done wrong in the past to be guilty of getting cancer.
An entire book could be written to respond to Jake's thought-provoking letter and many have. We all have cancer cells so what makes some develop into cancer while others lie seemingly harmless and dormant but yet potential time-bombs? What can we do to make ourselves safely cancer-free? I don't think there are any guarantees but surely there are ways to reduce the risks.
1) We should find more ways to prevent cancer.
2) We should catch it when very small.
3) We should find the best doctors and get the best treatments.
To prevent cancer is by far the best. There is no money in prevention for pharmaceuticals but there is a lot of money for Medicare and tax payers, a lot of quality of life and productivity. Health is our best asset. Doctors study hard about illnesses and treatments but they have almost no time to learn about prevention of illnesses, about nutrition, role of exercise, alternative treatments, etc.
If cancer happens, we should catch it at the very beginning, to learn the signs and get access to best professionals for immediate treatments without delays costly to our long-term health.
We feel instant vulnerability and need to know what to do to prevent recurrence.
In retrospect, I wish there had been a support group the minute I was diagnosed instead of months later. I also wanted to have someone interview me for hours about my history - what a wasted goldmine that was totally ignored and could have been done through a questionnaire that I would have filled at home. Just talking about the fear and options would have released the tension and brought the cancer monster to bright light to reduce it.
I started thinking of alternative treatments right away but there was too much panic and fear and too little time right then. ı just wanted to cut the cancer out of me and think later. Mine was advanced to level IIIB so every minute counted although breast cancer diagnosis usually gives patients some time to find the doctors and decide the treatments they like.
Since we don't get help from doctors to discuss alternative treatments or the role of nutrition and exercise to avoid cancer or to deal with it, we must find ways to get the discussion onto the front burner. Every experience is valid and counts. Cancer is growing and there are reasons behind it and ways to cope and protect our health. This era of Internet can help us to reach others beyond the few survivors we might meet in the hospital or support group. Let's use it and benefit from it and help others.
A few thoughts to throw out there for a start... When we read or hear something, it is difficult to forget it and know if it is true. I heard of someone with cancer of uterus who opted to go sit by ocean and avoid all but the sound of waves and some food; she returned to the civilization a month later cancer-free. Would it have worked for me and was it true? Guilt doesn't help but I feel my inactivity and weight certainly did not help. On the other hand I read that being overweight before menopause helps prevent breast cancer but being overweight after menopause can cause breast cancer. If that is true, should we lose that excess weight in a minute or two as soon as the menopause starts?
Exercise surely cannot hurt. It can also help to cope with cancer to have good life and health and at the very least feel we are doing something within our power.
Good nutrition surely helps. No guarantees but I would still choose good nutrition at least most of the time when I can afford it.
Fear is not good although normal so it is good to deal with it and talk to someone like my daughter. She asked me to tell her each of my fears and then found sensible solutions to each one. The relief was amazing.
Humor helps. Acknowledging the cancer or pessimism or pain helps. Wrong friends harm, right friends help. This was my time and my right to deal with it my way.
I regretted my mastectomy but met a friend who told me not to regret. She knew someone who refused all traditional treatments to use only herbal ones but she died. I have been thinking of her but I don't know the details. Is it best to use a combination of traditional and alternative treatments? Some good ones are listed in my book. Personally, I took osteopathy and it relaxed me beyond expectations. Heat pad helped me during chemo better than any pills. I have regrets about radiation but was afraid not to do it. I had a few great years after cancer but I am now in a wheelchair unable to walk with a diagnosis unknown. ı keep wondering if this was caused by radiation. Yet I am now cancer-free. If I could do it again, I would opt for o Pet Scan first to see if radiation was needed.
ı guess we all have second thoughts.
ı am no Twitter on this subject so this is just a glimpse into a complex subject. Prevention of cancer should interest us all since we all have family members or friends touched by cancer. We all die one day but our years on this earth should be as healthy as possible.
Your comments are much appreciated.