Whenever I need to clean a wound, open sores or ulcers, I start with home-made saline solution. It’s a gentle, natural solution which is useful for debridement, or removing dirt, debris, fluids, blood, pus and so on from damaged skin. Here’s a a really easy recipe for making your own saline solution (NOT to be used for eye or contact lens cleaning):

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method:
1. Sterilise a glass jar and lid in boiling water. The jar should be large enough to hold one cup of water.
2. Pour one cup of freshly-boiled water into the glass jar. Add in one teaspoon of sea salt plus half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Stir throughly with a very clean metal spoon until the salt and soda are dissolved.
3. Cover the saline solution loosely with the jar lid and leave to cool.
4. Once cool, cap the jar securely and store in the fridge.
5. When the solution is required, pour a little into a separate, clean receptacle, like a bowl. NEVER dip your cotton directly into the main glass jar containing the saline solution.
6. Once the wound cleaning has been completed, pour away any saline solution remaining in the bowl. NEVER pour any residual solution back into the original glass jar.
7. Finish off the wound cleaning by using a clean piece of cotton to dab on a safe, gentle, non-toxic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-microbial solution like Eliminator. Eliminator’s alcohol-free formula will help to protect the wound as well as deodorize it, reducing offensive odors.
8. Cover the wound with a suitable clean dressing. I like to use a healing salve made of aloe vera, seaweed powder and essential oils spread on clean gauze.

Posted: January 17th, 2010 under Alternative Remedies, Recipes, Wound Healing.
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Several people have written to me privately to ask what kind of alternative cancer therapies I have tried. I have been treading carefully around this topic for some time, because I don’t wish to discourage anyone or cause alarm. I also do not want to be accused of disparaging any particular protocol.

There are people who have been diagnosed with cancer who believe that allopathic treatment will do nothing but harm, and so they refuse to even consider it. There are those who gave allopathic cancer treatment a shot, but it didn’t seem to work for them, or it worked for a while, then appeared to stop working. Similarly, there are those who chose to do only alternative cancer therapy, only to be disappointed with the outcome, often too late.

I followed one popular alternative cancer protocol for more than a year and, instead of the cancer dying or even retreating, it grew rapidly. I didn’t realize that certain key ingredients of that particular program’s diet were feeding my estrogen-dominant breast cancer. Stubbornly, I stayed on the protocol for some 14 months, wanting to believe as some supporters of the program said that the cancer sometimes gets worse before it gets better. By the time I reluctantly decided to consult an oncologist, the cancer was very advanced. The first time I was diagnosed, I was only at Stage 1.

My oncologist has been very sensitive to my aversion to allopathic cancer treatment. He takes a gentle, non-aggressive approach and gives me time to research the options available to me. He doesn’t make me do anything I’m not comfortable with. Under his care, I’m making good progress.

Interestingly, the dear doctor says that all my tests show that I’m in great shape, with many of the readings and markers being better than normal. I’m healing well too, apparently better than most.  Natural healing and natural wellness is still close to my heart, so I’m practising many aspects advocated in alternative cancer therapy, such as healthy dietary and lifestyle habits and taking top-quality cancer-fighting health supplements and antioxidants (read my archives for the details). Obviously, this approach is working well for me. Cats and dogs can get along.

Doctors don’t know everything and so-called alternative therapy proponents don’t know everything either. Nobody can offer guarantees. You need to do your own research thoroughly, and listen to your instincts. If something doesn’t seem to be working for you, in spite of the many “testimonials” you’ve read about, stop and re-think what you’re doing with an open mind. Don’t let ignorance, prejudice or stubbornness cost you your life.

Posted: January 14th, 2010 under Alternative Remedies, Cancer.
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My dear hubby just made a batch of delicious home-brewed ginger ale. It’s the best I’ve ever had and beats all the commercial ginger ales hands-down. It’s really easy to make. Just chop up lots of fresh ginger root, bring it to the boil with some water, and simmer for a while. Let it cool sufficiently before straining. Add a sweetener like honey or sugar to the strained ginger juice to make a concentrated ginger cordial. Keep the cordial in the fridge until required.

You can dilute the ginger cordial with either cold or hot water to make a refreshing drink. To make fizzy ginger ale, dilute the ginger cordial with chilled club soda or soda water. Finish the drink soon after adding the soda, or the ale will go flat.

The fizzy ginger ale came in really handy during the recent festive season when I was feeling nauseous and bloated. At one stage, I even felt like throwing up.  Just a few sips, and I felt much better. I could eat dinner shortly after. It struck me then that people experiencing nausea from chemotherapy for cancer might find relief in ginger ale. After all, studies have shown that ginger alleviates nausea, and is particularly helpful for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Ginger ale goes a step further in quickly relieving discomfort in the tummy.

Home-made ginger ale is best, but if you can’t make it yourself for some reason, make sure the ginger ale you buy contains the best ingredients possible, including real ginger. It makes a difference. When undergoing chemotherapy, always keep real ginger cordial and club soda or soda water handy in the fridge. It could save you some suffering.

Posted: January 12th, 2010 under Alternative Remedies, Cancer, Recipes.
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