Brio Medical is a holistic, integrative cancer healing center. Holistic and Integrative are intertwined. I have discussed holistic previously, so I don’t want to revisit that discussion here but check out that previous discussion.
As an integrative healing center, we integrate the practice of holistic medicine for the purpose of healing. We integrate at multiple levels:
- Integration of the spirit, mind, and emotions
- Integration of objectives to target cancer and heal the body simultaneously
- Integration of therapies
- Integration of allopathic and holistic therapies
- Integration with the body
- Integration of the science
Integration of spirit, mind, and emotions
The origin of healing is in the spiritual; it all begins with Jesus as the greater healer. Only with Christ, are we made new and made whole. Beyond healing, Jesus imparts wellness. Remember, dis-aise is the lack (-dis) of wellness (-aise).
Jesus is the only way to remove the ‘dis-‘ from wellness and restore wellness. Honestly, as we were made to worship, we to made for wellness. It was Adam and Eve through sin that introduced our separation from wellness. To be fair, we do our fair part in contributing to our current life as well. But, thanks to Adam and Eve for the ‘dis-‘ introduction and separation from our created wellness.
The mind, psychology, and emotions contribute to dis-aise. For so many, previous stressors or trauma promote dysfunctional emotions and psychology to create an environment of the mind and body that favors cancer.
Just look at Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. This overwhelming stress response leaves an ugly mark on the body’s stress response that ripples throughout the physiology of the body. These individuals are a greater risk of dis-aise, and cancer leads the list.
Likewise, the mind, psychology, and emotions can inhibit the healing from dis-aise. What might this look like?
Some people don’t think they deserve to be healed and thus, don’t allow themselves to receive healing. Sometimes, people don’t want to be healed. One can be defined by a ‘dis-aise’, and for some, there is comfort in that label.
More, the mind, psychology, and emotions can direct whether one live by fear or through hope. A mind of fear creates an environment that favors the origin of cancer and perpetuates its growth and spread. Conventional Oncology drives fear.
No word creates more fear then the word cancer. No need to add anything to it. Yet, the way cancer treatment is approached today, fear associated with cancer is just the beginning of the tidal way of fear that conventional cancer treatment will bring.
The only way to maximize physical healing is to integrate the spiritual foundation, the mind, and emotions. It is only through this integration of the spiritual (Jesus), the mind, and the motions can the physical healing potential be optimized.
Integration of the objectives to target cancer and heal the body
If one just looks at how medicine approaches cancer, you might think that cancer is some bad Sigourney Weaver movie where an alien, or tumor, is implanted in the body. As a result, you have no say in its placement and no say in its destructive capacity. As a result of this alien effect, conventional medicine only targets the tumor.
What is cancer, after all, but an adaption to an inhospitable environment for the purpose of survival? In the short term, this survival adaptation is a very good thing.
However, in the long-term, this survival mode, is without an off switch. takes on a life of its own and becomes something we know as cancer.
Healing from cancer can only occur if the target includes the integration of the target of the tumor and the healing of the body. It is actually easier to target a tumor for elimination. It is much harder to keep a tumor gone. This can only be accomplished through the healing of the body.
Through the integration of the targeting of the tumor and the healing of the body, can one change the environment within the spirit, the mind, and the body to achieve lifelong wellness?
Contrary to conventional medicine, cancer does not identify the individual. The sole focus on a tumor fails in healing of the body, a change of the environment within the physiology of the body, prevention of cancer, and preventing the recurrence of cancer. Remember, that the word physician in Hebrew, Rāphè, can be translated as a healer. The ultimate goal of a physician is to heal, not the targeting of a disease.
Integration of conventional allopathic and holistic therapies
A one-size-fits-all will never work in medicine. Though this is the standard of conventional medicine, this one-size-fits-all approach is doomed to fail. Intuitively, we know this. It never works for anything, especially cancer. But especially when it comes to the body, no two individuals are the same; likewise, no two cancers are the same.
Even in the same-named tumor type, take breast cancer, for example, there is going to be significant variations among individuals with breast cancer, but also within one individual with breast cancer. The concept of cancer is over simplified.
But what about brevity is the soul of wit? True, true, but I don’t think what we are after here is wit, but healing.
This is the level that most think of when the word integration comes to mind. Both allopathic and holistic therapy’s have much to offer. Conventional medicine can be very powerful, in many ways too powerful, and can create many powerful side effects at the same time. Maximum to tolerated chemotherapy is like a 2 x 4 piece of lumber upside the head.
Sure, it will destroy the tumor; but, it will destroy the body as well. Nothing healing about that. Research has shown that maximum to tolerated chemotherapy causes the metastatic spread of cancer, which is the cause of 90% of cancer-related morbidity and mortality [i] [ii] [iii]. The same applies to radiation [iv] [v] [vi]. That is like cutting your nose off to spite your face. Here, a targeted, lower dose would serve the body better. Likewise, tumor burden reduction through surgery can help all treatments become more effective. At the same time, surgery for tumor burden reduction can cause the metastatic spread of cancer as well. I believe that these conventional medical therapies in cancer are best served through the optimal timing and targeting of these conventional therapies to avoid damage to the body. Insulin potentiated therapy is the perfect example here.
In contrast, holistic therapies are very healing. Yet, if they under used, under dosed, their potentially powerful healing and anti-cancer effects are limited. Lost on most, because of inadequate dosing and frequency, are the powerful, potential anti-cancer effects through the use of holistic therapies. It is only through the integration of these two modalities: conventional cancer therapy and holistic cancer therapies, can the complexity of cancer be best attacked. More, it is the only mechanism how the prior objective of targeting the tumor and healing the body can be simultaneously achieved.
Integration of therapies
Most think of integrative medicine as the integration of allopathic therapies with holistic therapies. Though this is true, the simple integration of therapies is at the heart of integrative medicine in the treatment of cancer.
This integration can include the integration of nutrition with intravenous therapies, the integration of supplements with repurposed medications, the integration of the different holistic, natural intravenous therapies, the integration of natural, holistic intravenous therapies with conventional intravenous therapies, the integration of immunotherapy with different intravenous therapies, and the integration of the sequencing of these therapies together.
Integration of therapies that work with the body’s biochemistry and physiology
It is always easier and healthier for the body to work with the body. How is does the destruction of the body lead to healing of the body? They are paradoxical, to say the least. I know that conventional medicine doesn’t believe in homeopathy, but this destruction of the body to destroy cancer approach is really stealing from the homeopathic approach of “like treats like”. For those homeopathic physicians out there, I know that this “like treats like” statement is oversimplified here, but it rings true in the questioning of the conventional medicine approach.
The perfect example of working with the body’s biochemistry and physiology in the treatment of cancer is with the immune system. The body’s immune system is the created, by our creator, defense system to protect the body from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. The foreign enemies are the obvious viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Cancer falls into the domestic category. Dysfunction within the defense system is how and when cancer can occur. The contrast of how conventional medicine and holistic medicine approaches the immune system could be in more direct contrast. Conventional medicine approaches immunotherapy through a modern chemotherapy approach that yields any positive results only in up to 30% of cases, yet provides no benefit in the overall five year survival. In contrast, a holistic approach to immunotherapy is to work within the construct and design of the immune system and to specifically target and strengthen the immune system. Both approaches are working within the immune system, and both are immunotherapies. One, the conventional approach, works via the same mindset as chemotherapy—throw a monkey wrench in the middle and destroy. Though this can be helpful, it creates a lot of collateral damage we call side effects. The other, the holistic approach, works to target , support, and heal the immune system. This way, the tumor is targeted and the body is healed.
It is my belief, that we physicians should construct targeted, healing therapies in patients with cancer. Work more with the body to heal. I find this is more consistent with biblical teachings. Paul didn’t say destroy to achieve renewal, but instead in Romans 12:2 said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” Work less against, through the throwing of monkey wrench in the cellular machinery of the body as a whole. Jesus didn’t cut out the eye of the blind to then replace with a new seeing eye. He healed the eyes and the vision of the blind. Jesus didn’t cut off the deformed arms and hands to replace with new functional arms and hands, he healed them. Jesus didn’t cut off the legs of the lame and disabled, he healed them. We physicians are no Jesus for sure. I just believe that if we take a more Christ like approach to the treatment of cancer, we will achieve more healing and less pain, side effects, destruction, and death. Less is more. Targeted is more. In direct contrast, more is often destructive and less. It just makes sense. But, of course it does if the goal is to heal as Christ did.
Integration of the evidence
This point is on that is missed on so many physicians and patients alike. Most in the conventional medicine arena think that holistic, integrative physicians just stick our finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, or simply throw things on the wall and hope they stick. Neither could be further from the truth.
Holistic medicine and integrative medicine are born out of science. One simply must read the science. I believe the more one reads the science, the more natural, holistic, and integrative one becomes. When one looks at the actual science of holistic therapies, I propose that there is more published and supportive science for holistic and integrative therapies than for conventional. Holistic therapies alone have thousands and thousands of years of observational data.
Observation is the foundation of science. There is no modern-day conventional cancer treatment that can speak of such data. Oh sure, there is the conventional medicine gold standard of the double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
But, where is the double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to show that the double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial is the most scientifically accurate assessment of data?
How many therapies and drugs have been approved through the same gold standard double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, to only be removed from the market because of the observation of great harm to the general public?
The human body is created by Jesus. So turn to our creator to hear it best:
“He said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” —Luke 20:25
In western culture, but particularly here in the United States, I believe we misinterpret what Jesus says here. He is not pointing to a separation of government and the church. In fact, he is pointing to the fact that God rules over it all. That rendered to Caesar is still God’s because he rules over Caesar. God rules over everything. Taxes paid to a corrupt government can still be used by God for good:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…”
—Romans 8:28
God is the author of truth. Natural laws are God’s laws that govern His truths within His creation. God says he is the author of all creation in Genesis. As a result, God is the author of, and ruler over science. But, the same misinterpretation of God and Caesar, government and the church, is also inappropriately applied to God and science.
God and science are not inconsistent with each other, but in fact, God and science are consistent and inseparable from each other. Science governs God’s laws for his creation and it cannot exist without His authorship.
So, the same question ask of Jesus about Caesar and God, can be applied to science and God, rendering to science the things that are science, and to God the things that are God’s, because God created everything, and God rules over everything.
[i] Ratajczak MZ, Jadczyk T, Schneider G, Kakar SS, Kucia M. Induction of a tumor-metastasis-receptive microenvironment as an unwanted and underestimated side effect of treatment by chemotherapy or radiotherapy. J Ovarian Res. 2013;6(1):95. doi:10.1186/1757-2215-6-95
[ii] Sanchez LR, Borriello L, Entenberg D, Condeelis JS, Oktay MH, Karagiannis GS. The emerging roles of macrophages in cancer metastasis and response to chemotherapy. J Leukoc Biol. 2019;106(2):259-274. doi:10.1002/JLB.MR0218-056RR
[iii] D’Alterio C, Scala S, Sozzi G, Roz L, Bertolini G. Paradoxical effects of chemotherapy on tumor relapse and metastasis promotion. Semin Cancer Biol. 2020 Feb;60:351-361. DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2019.08.019.
[iv] Gupta K, Vuckovic I, Zhang S, et al. Radiation-Induced Metabolic Alterations Associated With Tumor Aggressiveness and Poor Outcome in Glioblastoma. Front Oncol. 2020;10:535. doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.00535
[v] Lee SY, Jeong EK, Ju MK, et al. Induction of metastasis, cancer stem cell phenotype, and oncogenic metabolism in cancer cells by ionizing radiation. Mol Cancer. 2017;16(1):10. doi:10.1186/s12943-016-0577-4
[vi] Camphausen K, Moses MA, Beecken WD, Khan MK, Folkman J, O’Reilly MS. Radiation Therapy to a Primary Tumor Accelerates Metastatic Growth in Mice. Cancer Res; March 2001; 61(5): 2207–2211.
