Can Colon Cancer Screenings Cause More Harm Than Good?

January 21, 2008

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/1/17/can-colon-cancer-sc\

reenings-cause-more-harm-than-good.aspx

Screenings for colorectal cancer may not benefit

patients with severe illnesses, and they may even

cause harm, Yale School of Medicine researchers

revealed.

Their new study estimated “payoff time” -- the minimum

amount of time it takes for the benefits of a test to

outweigh its harm (from complications and side

effects) -- for using colonoscopy to screen for

colorectal cancer among 50-year-old men with HIV, and

60-year-old women with congestive heart failure.

They found that the screening took up to five years to

payoff in the men, and nearly three years among the

women. Because patients with severe congestive heart

failure may live less than three years, the

researchers concluded that the test could cause more

harm than good.

However, among the men with HIV, who can often live

longer than five years, the screening would likely be

beneficial.

The findings have particular importance because

current guidelines encourage doctors to offer

screening to everyone, regardless of individual

benefit.

Sources:

Science Daily December 22, 2007

Archives of Internal Medicine November 26,

2007;167(21):2361-2365.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

For most people, colon cancer screenings are a simple,

relatively painless way to screen for colorectal

cancer, which is the third most common cancer in the

United States (over 52,000 Americans died from colon

or rectal cancer in 2007).

During a colonoscopy a long, flexible tube with a

video camera at its tip is inserted into your bowel,

which allows your doctor to view the inside of your

colon.

Assuming your doctor is skilled at detecting

colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps, the

screenings can save your life if you find a polyp

before it has advanced to a certain stage. This is

because removal of the small tumors is nearly always

able to stop the cancer from progressing.

However, this is clearly only addressing the symptoms,

and not the underlying problem. My approach is not to

focus on catching the problem AFTER the fact but to be

more highly proactive and prevent ALL forms of cancer.

While this may seem heretical for myself, I am

choosing not to do any cancer screenings. I believe

the screening would put the focus on fear and

potentially increase my chances for manifesting the

disease. However, I am not recommending this for

everyone. I believe that because of my healthy

lifestyle, I am very confident that I am at an

insignificant risk of any malignancy.

You can also achieve this confidence by applying the

principles I have outlined in my most recent book,

Take Control of Your Health. Some of the

cancer-preventative proven strategies are:

Make sure you get optimal sun exposure. This alone

should decrease your rate of cancer by at least 50

percent.

Get the right amount of exercise, which is one of the

most important steps you can take.

Rebalance the ratio of omega-3 fats you consume by

taking a high-quality krill oil.

Eat plenty of vegetables, ideally based on your body's

unique nutritional type.

Make sure you’re getting enough selenium. Organic

vegetables and apples are excellent sources of this

trace mineral.

What to Do If You Already Have a Problem or Do Need a

Screen

First of all I would not ignore any symptoms. If you

have rectal bleeding you will certainly want to follow

that up and seek appropriate consultations. If you

want to be more proactive and have a screening

performed then I strongly believe energy assessment

tools are the most sensitive biological indicator

available today.

There are a number of different instruments available

and most all of them are highly dependent upon the

skill of the practitioner. Most of these instruments

are descendants of equipment developed by Dr. Voll in

Germany in the 1950s.

I have had a number of different assessments done by

various clinicians, but one of the best was done by

Dr. Lee Cowden, one of the current leaders in energy

medicine in the United States. I will tell my story in

the near future, but through this technology he was

able to actually reverse a progressive kidney

insufficiency that was moving toward kidney failure. I

am happy to report that after struggling with this

issue for over eight years, only one session with him

and implementing his recommendations has resulted in

complete remission of my kidney challenge.

So, needless to say I am a strong believer in energy

medicine and would personally always use it over

conventional modalities. However, the science is weak

and it can’t be broadly recommended for all. Plus,

there really aren’t enough skilled clinicians like Dr.

Cowden to perform these assessments, however it is a

tool that you should know does currently exist.

However, at the core of nearly all cancers and disease

are unresolved emotional conflicts that typically

occurred before the age of 6. Along those lines there

are some aspects related to colon cancer you should

know of.

Overcome Ugly “Indigestible” Emotional Conflicts

Your emotions play a major role in cancer development,

and colon cancer is no exception. According to the

unprecedented research behind German New Medicine

(GNM), developed by Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, M.D., every

disease, including cancer, originates from an

unexpected emotional shock.

But the disease that develops is not random. Dr. Hamer

has mapped out precisely which area of your body will

be impacted by emotional shocks to different areas in

your brain. As he explains on his Web site, colon

cancer is triggered by an emotional conflict that is:

Ugly, indigestible anger (colon)

Ugly, insidious, dirty ”sh** conflict“ (rectum)

Ugly, mean ”sh** conflict“ (sigmoid colon)

Examples of such conflicts, as Dr. Hamer explains,

include:

“… A man thinks he has won the lottery and he has

already invited all his friends and relatives, when it

turns out that the lottery ticket was invalid. That is

to say, the person has already ”snatched the lottery

prize-morsel,“ but at the end he has to yield it up.

Another example would be that a patient suffers an

indigestible conflict because he has just ”swallowed a

morsel“ but cannot ”digest“ it. For instance, he just

bought a house but suddenly discovers that the

contract of purchase is invalid, that he has been

cheated, and that he has now lost the house.”

How do your emotions trigger illness? By causing very

real physical changes in your body. A traumatic

emotional experience, whether it’s the loss of a loved

one, a severe worry or any other threat or panic,

causes you stress on a physical and emotional level.

It also, according to Dr. Hamer, causes a brain lesion

that can clearly be seen on a CT scan.

This lesion is confirmation to your brain of the shock

you have experienced, and it then transmits a

biochemical signal to the corresponding body cells

that can result in tumor growth, visual or hearing

impairment, paralysis, diabetes or any other disease

(depending on the area of your brain affected).

The solution is not to treat the physical symptoms,

but instead to get to the bottom of the emotional

conflict, and heal yourself emotionally.

My favorite form of emotional healing is Emotional

Freedom Technique (EFT). If you’re not yet familiar

with it, it’s a tool you can use everyday to free

yourself of emotional challenges.

If you listen to these fundamental laws of nature --

to eat healthy foods, exercise and deal with your

emotional hurdles -- it will go a long way toward

keeping you out of the doctor’s office and helping you

prevent cancer altogether.

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