I was very surprised to see this article on the WSJ editorial pages earlier this week. While I was undergoing my cancer treatment 15 or so years ago, I read one of the authors of the article, Andrew Weil, and I read several of his other books too. He seemed to offer the sort of hope that didn't have taking prednizone, having a port installed for the introduction of various other chemicals, and getting nauseated associated with it.
Then a contemporary who had the same diagnosis about the same time as mine died, after shunning chemo and embracing "natural" remedies.
Glenn Reynolds linked to some criticism of the article that is worth reading. Here's more.
This is not to say that I did not take to heart the "healthy living" aspects of Weil's writings and others in the genre. Carol worked very hard to "reinvent" herself as the food preparer in our home, and was very successful. We steered away from fatty foods. Although we have not become vegetarians, we have far less meat in our diets and, of that, very little beef and pork. We went to Weight Watchers and we both lost some weight (30 pounds in my case). We exercise daily. We are not total abstainers from alcoholic beverages, but we rarely drink and, in such cases, we will only have wine at dinner now and then. Neither of us smokes. We work at keeping our marriage healthy. (It's great work!) We take vitamins.
And we had during my treatment and we continue to maintain an active prayer life. I seemed actually to "feel" the prayers of others when I was in treatment, and there were a lot of them being offered. I believe that God answered those prayers through my physicians in large part and in what they prescribed, through the loving care that Carol provided, and the support of the rest of my family and other friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment