So my poor sister had to find some other way to manage her pain. Fortunately for her, I had been reading good things about Boswella Serrata, also known as Indian Frankincense or Shalaki. It’s supposed to be an effective anti-inflammatory and painkiller, while having no side-effects. I gave my sister a few bottles to try when she recently visited me from overseas. Well guess what? She called me a couple of weeks later to say that it began working for her within a week! She said that she used to be unable to get up from a low position, such as her bed, without holding on to something like a railing. Now, she has no problems at all. The inflammation and pain has diminished considerably. I was so happy for her.

Just thought I would share.

I’ve found some time today to squeeze in some exciting news. Well, it’s not news exactly as it was announced in the media in March. Still, for those who may have missed it then, I thought I’d write about it here. Doctors in Singapore have developed a new treatment for prostate cancer which does not require radiation therapy or invasive surgery. This treatment uses, believe it or not, ultrasound waves! These waves converge on the tumor without affecting the surrounding tissue. What this means is that side effects of existing prostate cancer treatments, like impotence and incontinence, are eliminated.

Ultrasonic waves are used to heat the tumor to between 65 degrees C and 85 degrees C. effectively killing it. It works best for early-stage prostate cancers and is not useful for those with large or multiple tumors, as it targets only the tumors and not the surrounding cells. If large areas or many areas are targeted, there will still be side-effects.

The ultrasonic treatment is carried out in a magnetic resonance imaging chamber, so patients with devices like pacemakers or metallic heart valves, or who are claustrophobic, are also not suitable for this treatment. The treatment takes three hours so those who cannot keep still or who cannot undergo anaesthesia are also excluded.

Said Professor Christopher Cheng, the project lead who also heads the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) urology department: “The machine will correct for minor movements but, because the waves need to hit a specific point in the body, the patient cannot move around too much during the three hours.”

Called magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound, this form of treatment may have other uses, such as to treat brain and breast cancer and to shrink uterine fibroids.

This ultrasound treatment for prostate cancer, developed by the SGH together with the National Cancer Centre, is the first of its kind worldwide. The second clinical trial began in February and will involve 40 patients with early-stage prostate cancer to be selected over the next two years. If results are good, the procedure may be available in hospitals within three years. If not, a Phase 3 trial may be required.

Almost a month ago, my lungs were congested again. I had been researching the health benefits of raw garlic, which includes:

• Traditional cough and cold remedy
• Helps in the treatment of tuberculosis
• Relieves sore throat and toothache
• Powerful antioxidant (garlic contains high levels of selenium and Vitamin C)
• Boosts immune system to fight infection
• Helps lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL)
• Helps to lower blood pressure
• Remedy for arteriosclerosis
• Good for the heart
• Anticoagulant properties
• Helps relieve rheumatism pain
• Reduces cancer risk and also aids in treatment

Garlic is known to have antibiotic, antifungal and antibacterial properties, so it has been used for centuries to treat many health problems. To cut to the chase, I decided to eat a whole bulb of garlic daily more than three weeks ago. That’s  anything from 12-16 cloves of raw garlic each day. I ate half a bulb twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening, with food and lots of water to prevent any burning sensation in my stomach as the garlic went down. To my surprise, my congested lungs cleared up in less than 36 hours.

As a bonus, I realised that I was no longer suffering from fatigue, a malady which had been plaguing me for more than a fortnight, forcing me to take naps almost every day. I haven’t felt tired or sleepy ever since I started eating raw garlic daily.

So I’ve been burping something terrible every day, and passing more gas than I’ve ever had in my whole life but, having seen how garlic has improved my health and well-being so far, I’m going to keep eating a whole bulb of raw garlic daily just to see what else garlic may remedy in my body. I’ll keep you posted.

Ingredients
1 to 1-1/2 cups sunflower seeds (depending on desired consistency)
Juice of 4 lemons
1 tbs raw Celtic sea salt (or to taste)
1 crown / bulb (note: NOT clove) of garlic
1 cup water

Method
Blend until smooth and creamy. That’s it! Enjoy with healthy chips, crackers or toast for maximum benefits.

Toom is used in a variety of ways:

* Spread on bread when making sandwiches
* As an ingredient for making hummus or baba ghanuj or mtabbal
* As an ingredient for salad dressing
* When making meatballs
* In soups, stews or steamed vegetables, stirred in at the last minute
* As a dip for toasted bread

Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped in half.

2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

3 teaspoons of salt.

3/4 cup olive or coconut oil.

Optional: 1 small baked potato or 2 slices of white bread or 1/4 cup of mayo or drained plain yogurt.

METHOD

1. Peel the garlic.
2. Place the garlic cloves, salt, lemon juice in a mini food processor or blender. Whirl for a couple of minutes then drip in the oil with the machine running. Continue until the mixture emulsifies.
3. To thicken the toom and dull the sharpness of the garlic taste, you can add and process any of the following: cooked potato, or bread (American-style, crust removed), or mayo (from a jar) or drained yogurt. For a pure and more concentrated garlic paste, omit these ingredients.

An oncologist I previously had once told me that chemotherapy and radiation doesn’t kill cancer. At most, they help to shrink the tumors and manage the disease. Removing the cancer cells from the body, in other words surgery, gave a better chance of ridding the body of cancer. Even then, there were no guarantees.

So what do you do when allopathic cancer treatment has failed you and the cancer continues to progress? There is a saying that if you continue to do exactly the same thing every time, you will get exactly the same results. Nothing will change.

There are those who believe that a cancer cure can only be found if you get to the bottom of what caused the cancer in the first place. If you don’t, the cancer will just keep recurring, even if you do the whole gamut of conventional cancer treatment. This is where complementary, alternative and holistic therapy comes in. It’s a different, even radical, way of dealing with cancer. Some ideas may seem flaky but when traditional cancer therapy isn’t working for you, thinking out of the box may actually save your life. Keep an open mind, because there’s a great deal that even the best cancer researchers in the world don’t know.

For the past few months, I’ve been looking into alternative cancer approaches like the alkaline diet and lifestyle and the fungal theory. In the next few posts, I’ll share my findings.

As someone who was diagnosed with estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, keeping fit and trim may make all the difference in keeping cancer at bay. Besides the ovaries, estrogen is produced in other places, such as the fat cells, so losing weight has been a priority for me. So far, taking a realistic and steady approach, I’ve been losing a kilogram per month. Just three more kilograms to lose, and I’ll be back to what I weighed on my wedding day, pretty much my ideal weight. By following a daily program of walks and salads for either lunch or dinner, I actually lost weight during the December festive season, in spite of enjoying festive treats. My pants have become so baggy that I’ve started to give them away and I’ve had to buy new pants. What a great feeling!

The other positive and productive thing I try to do is take advantage of every beautiful day that comes along. The weather has been so cool and breezy lately that I venture outdoors as often as I can. Glorious nature and fresh air nourishes both my body and spirit every time. Some new cafes and restaurants have just opened up by the river just 20 minutes walk from my end of the river, and they’re perfect for chilling out at, while watching the sun set over the water. Absolutely delectable.

Then I try to spend more time with people who matter to me. Like my mom, for instance. She has dementia and she quickly forgets every visit I pay to her. But she’s happy when I’m there, so I’m glad about that. I try to have more conversations with my sister who lives overseas, so that she’ll know how much I love her and appreciate her. I try to cultivate a good relationship with my in-laws too, such as by remembering them in little ways. I tell my dear husband every day that I love him, and we spend lots of quality time together. We make time for fun, because joy is such a tonic.  Building bridges makes life richer and makes you stronger. When the dark days come, these relationships will sustain you.

It’s a brand new year. A clean slate, filled with opportunity. Forget the past, it’s time to look forward and make the most of every day. I know there’s lots more I can do to make my life better, healthier and happier. What about you?

When you think about it, those who have someone to love them and care for them are truly blessed, even though they may not seem to have much by way of material things. I don’t know how I could have survived the darkest hours of cancer had my dear husband not been there for me every step of the way. He’s the reason I live today.

My wish for the new year is that my hubby will be blessed from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. May every desire of his heart be granted to him, and may joy overflow in him. When the person you love is blessed, you will enjoy the spillover too.

May you all have more than enough love to carry you through 2011!

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which affects an estimated 26 million people worldwide. Brain cells are slowly killed off in those afflicted, and there is presently no cure for this disease. However, activities like walking have been shown to build brain volume.

The University of Pittsburgh study – published on Wednesday in the journal “Neurology” – began in 1995 and involved 299 volunteers who were free of dementia and who were asked to keep track of how much they walked. Nine years later, their brains were scanned to measure brain volume. Four years after that, researchers tested the volunteers for any dementia or cognitive impairment. They found that the risk of developing memory problems was halved in those who walked roughly 9.7km to 14.5km a week.

Researcher Dr. Kirk Erickson said: “Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems. Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease”.

Prevention is always better than cure, so put on your walking shoes!

Besides eating healthily, regular exercise is an absolute must if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Twice each day, I walk my dog Ginger for a minimum of 25 minutes each time. I like to walk briskly, which helps to burn calories as well as keep muscles, joints and other parts of the body well-oiled. At least every other day, I try to fit in another walk in-between of at least 25 minutes duration. Fortunately, there are several shopping malls just 10 to 20 minutes walking distance away from where I live, and there’s also a scenic river just across the road. Finding incentives to go for a walk is easy.

Don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t have iron-clad willpower. I still snack daily, and my nibbles include naughty things like chocolate, ice-cream and cookies besides healthier stuff like dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Hey, you’ve got to have quality of life! Of course, I’m particular about the quality of my snacks and go for top-quality ingredients with nothing artificial added, as far as possible. You can still lose weight without depriving yourself. Just be discerning about what you eat and exercise, exercise, exercise.

Being overweight causes all kinds of health problems, such as high cholesterol, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and joint problems. It can also be a factor in cancer. Maintaining a good healthy weight is plain common sense, if you’d like to live long and well.

My next target is to lose another kilogram by Christmas, which is less than a month away. Wish me well!