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Walking Pneumonia to Salem for the Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan HA-4-2-13

 

Done 28 February 2013

 

By Anthony J. Sanders

sanderstony@live.com 

 

"Pneumonia is an old man's best friend".   

WWI draft dodger believed to survive all veterans 

 

On February 4, the first day of the 2013 Oregon legislative session, nearly 1,000 Health Care for All - Oregon advocates converged on the Capitol steps in Salem, arriving to greet their legislators in nine buses, car pools, and private cars, from areas as far away as LaGrande, Prineville, Ashland, and the coast, as well as from the urban areas of Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene. Participants were gathered in support of Rep. Michael Dembrow's Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan (HB 2922). Dembrow (Democrat, District 45, Portland) has gained 24 co-sponsors so far in the new session, and is also introducing a bill to allow 1% of the $28.5 million bonus Oregon recently received from the federal government to be used for an economic feasibility study for the Plan.  In addition to Rep. Dembrow, speakers included co-sponsor Rep. David Gomberg (Democrat, District 10, Central Coast), who discussed the benefits of the bill for owners of small businesses like himself, Paul Gorman, MD, representing Physicians for a National Health Program, Rev. Joel Miller of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, and several people who shared stories of hardship due to our increasingly expensive and inaccessible health care system. Blues man Norman Sylvester sang the Health Care Blues, and musician David Rovics, along with Raging Grannies from Portland, Corvallis, and Salem, entertained the rally-goers. See Health Care for All Oregon (HCAO) for pictures, videos, and news coverage of the rally.  The Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan (HB 2922) would cover all Oregon residents with no co-payments, deductibles, or premiums and be funded by dedicated taxes, based on ability to pay. We believe that universal health care will result in a healthier population, a more prosperous economy, and a better business environment for the state.  The bill has been referred to the House Health Care Committee (HHCC). 

 

Although we can implement universal health insurance today by citing OHP statute in our medical research it will take the Democratic-Republican (DR) two party system some time to overcome their Democratic disease and Republican gun-violence to make the Oregon Health Plan in Chapters 413, Medical Assistance in Chapter 414 and Health Insurance in Chapter 743A and Chapter 743 of Oregon Revised Statute a single payer system.  But how long?   In the 1 pm meeting with Rep. Buckley declared his co-sponsorship of the Dembrow bill, and $250,000 medical market research (price list) bill.  He however expressed concerns that legislative advances in single payer health insurance might cause cuts in already anemic TANF assistance for needy families and asked Healthcare as a Human Right protesters to get universal health insurance/single payer on the 2016 ballot, whether or not Democratic-Republican (DR) two party system manages to pass single payer legislation.  He assured us that Governor Kitzhaber M.D. (D) shares our goals and having worked in the health system his entire life would be particularly vindicated to be the Oregon Governor to fulfill his lifelong political agenda for universal/single payer health insurance.  It seems that whether or not the Dembrow single payer bill passes the Governor intends to increase the Oregon Health Plan roles by 200,000 over two years to comply with the minimal standards of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but unless the Dembrow bill is passed will do so not a basis of medical necessity but on a lottery system.

 

Senator Alan C. Bates, M.D. had not yet read Debrow's single payer bill and therefore could only promise with 99 percent party loyalty that he would sign the bill, but assured us that he would read it that night.  He told us that he is a practicing primary care physician who has been working on single payer since 1998 and had recently returned home from a vacation to Australia where he found that the people received medical treatment for free on the basis of taxation and reasonable health insurance premiums of around $50 a month.  He confided that health legislation in in the United States is extremely difficult quoting Winston Churchill, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, but only after they have tried everything else".  An uninsured and self-medicated person who hadn't seen a doctor in a year expressed interest in seeing a naturopathic doctor.  An elderly lady summarized the position of the people that they are really tired of being driven into bankruptcy by medical bills.  I explained the reason for the mental incompetence that has retarded the development of universal and national health insurance in the United States for nearly a century is that the totalitarian Democratic - Republican (DR) two party system infringes on doctors and this is fascist.  The fundamental issue facing the American health system is that the American medical b(k)ill is both unique amongst global medical establishments and like the highest medical expenditure at 18% of GDP is as reprehensible as the lawyer's highest rate of incarceration at >750 per 100,000, around 2.4 million in jail and prison.  The medical b(k)ill minimally requires legislative prohibition or injunction against reporting personally identifying patient information to collections, the credit bureaus or to civil courts under HIPPA, like  lawyer fees were by the ABA in 2008.  Medical bills pose an extraordinary extortion motivated biohazard that corruptly favors the medical practitioner, in fascist style that must not be honored by the credit bureau or the court doctors must be dissuaded to send their patients to collections and encouraged to right off their treatment of the poor and or people unwilling to pay, and accept work-trade mostly tax free.  I therefore summarize for Sen. Bates' independent medico/legislative judgment; (1) Josephine County needs a new, probably Democratic, or ideally independent, Representative and government (Gilligan ’11); (2) propose a "Civil Law System Amendment" to the lottery system of Medicaid expansion in Debrow's single payer bill, and (3) consider writing a novel bill to outlaw the disclosure of medical b(k)ills incurred in Oregon to credit bureaus or court for collections under the Health Insurance Protection and Portability Act Pub.L. 104–191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996.  

 

In Sec. 1(8) the Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan (HB 2922) promises: A health care provider must accept payment from the plan as payment in full and may not bill a patient for an amount exceeding the payment made by the plan.  This satisfactorily abolishes the medical b(k)ill.  HB2922 is well written and instantly achieves universal single payer health insurance, however, Sec. 12 (9) is technically flawed, negating itself, stating: [Nothing in this section applies to basic health services, but basic health services do not include] This section applies to: (a) Magnetic resonance imaging scanners; (b) Positron emission tomography scanners; (c) Cardiac catheterization equipment; (d) Megavoltage radiation therapy equipment; (e) Extracorporeal shock wave lithotriptors; (f) Neonatal intensive care; (g) Burn care; (h) Trauma care; (i) Inpatient psychiatric services; (j) Inpatient chemical dependency services; (k) Inpatient rehabilitation services; (L) Open heart surgery; or (m) Organ transplant services.  Dembrowe must decide whether certificates of need apply or don’t apply these non-basic services, and whether he wishes to cure the source of his mental distress and delete (i) inpatient psychiatric services, from this otherwise honorable list.  Sec. 1 says it all (1) The Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan is established to ensure access to quality, patient-centered and affordable health care for all individuals living or working in Oregon, to improve the public’s health and to control the cost of health care for the benefit of individuals, families, businesses and society. (2) The plan shall pay the costs of medically necessary health services in the following categories within the scope prescribed by the Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Board, excluding health services provided only for cosmetic purposes:(a) Primary and preventive care, including health education; (b) Specialty care; (c) Inpatient and outpatient hospital care; (d) Emergency care; (e) Home health care; (f) Prescription drugs according to a drug formulary; (g) Durable medical equipment; (h) Mental health services; (i) Substance abuse treatment; (j) Dental services; (k) Chiropractic and naturopathic services; (l) Certified nurse midwife services; (m) Basic vision and vision correction; (n) Diagnostic imaging, laboratory services and other diagnostic and evaluation services; (o) Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitative services; (p) Emergency transportation; (q) Translation of spoken and written language; (r) Hospice care; (s) Podiatry; (t) Acupuncture; and (u) Dialysis.  (3) A person and the immediate family members of a person are eligible to enroll in the plan if the person: (a) Resides in this state; or (b) Is employed in this state. (4) Copayments, deductibles or other forms of cost sharing may not be imposed on enrollees under the plan. (5) Enrollees in the plan may choose any health care provider licensed or certified in this state or in another state for services within the scope of the provider’s license or certification. (6) Within the scope of services covered within each category, enrollees and their health care providers shall determine what treatment is medically necessary.  A need based system is clearly written deeply into the bill but there is always room in Oregon statute to educate the people how to write a brief and State of Oregon employees to read in a merit based civil law system.

 

Although I do not believe that I personally have anything to gain from universal health insurance, and already nearly lost my life and federal budget due to the infringement of the Democratic-Republican (DR) two party system on the topic of health insurance, I have high hopes that the Affordable Health Care for All Oregon Plan will instantly help the spiritual and socio-economic development of the health professionals in my biological family, from fascist extortionists in a bizarre quasi-private health care system to well healed healers with access to expensive modern equipment that runs on medical necessity alone, in a universal single payer health insurance system.  I do not have the heart to sell you any Hawthorne from my family farm until the berries are at their most medicinal just after first frost.  The prescription medicines I want for my medicine cabinet, doxycycline, ampicillin (Principen), metronidazole (Flagyl ER) and amantadine (Symmetrel), with the exception of Sporonox (itraconazole), can all be purchased without prescription online from Generics-discount.com on my meager $666 a month for three extra years for speaking out against the $666 for three years without COLA, budget.  It is here that I must grieve about the significant $250 cost of a family size medicine cabinet and demand to benefit immediately and indefinitely from OHP both as patient and medicine-giver adhering, much more strictly than the Oregon State Hospital, to Sec. 1(2)(f) Prescription drugs according to a drug formulary, in the style of ORS Sec. 414.32.

 

In their book Worst Pills, Best Pills II, Sidney M. Wolfe M.D. and Rose-Ellen Hope, R.Ph, of the Public Citizen Health Research Group, exposed that forty to fifty percent of medications are overused and mis-prescribed, especially tranquilizers (including sleeping pills and mind-altering drugs particularly antipsychotic medication), cardiovascular drugs and gastrointestinal drugs.  The medications used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure and vascular disease were found to be the most abused (Rondberg ’96: 91).  Let it be known Hawthorne is the supreme herb for the heart.  Prescription psychiatric medicine, neuroleptics; hypnotics (sleep aids) and antipsychotics are the most frequent cause of fatal drug overdose reported to Poison Control Centers, and childhood stimulants and antidepressants the fifth (Bronstein ’11).  A hypnotic is a drug that produces sleep, a sedative is one used to relieve tension and anxiety.  The most commonly used hypnotics and sedatives are the barbiturates  Antipsychotic medication and child stimulants such as Ritalin have all been found to cause neuromuscular tics, known as extra pyramidal side effects and Tourette’s syndrome, respectively.  First generation antipsychotics caused a 30 percent chance of permanently disabling tardive dyskinesia for every year of use.  With the exception of Risperdone (Rispderdal), all second generation atypical antipsychotic drugs, including Lithium, are known to cause potentially life-threatening neuromuscular side-effects, known as extra-pyramidal symptoms, with just one regular dose, which is typically achieved gradually while under professional supervision in a psychiatric hospital.  Neuromuscular tics start after taking an irregular dose and may last until treated with Parkinson’s antiviral drug Amantadine (Symmetrel) untried, but FDA approved, to replace Cogentin (benztropine mesylate) which cures extrapyramidal side-effects in minutes, in just one dose, but was withdrawn from the market in time for the recent increase in autism diagnosis.  One half or one quarter dose, of either of these Parkinson’s drugs, is worth a try to permanently eliminate autistic tics in children and infants, if Amantadine doesn’t work don’t settle for less than Cogentin. Neurologists need to pass their own psychological tests and refer their mentally ill patients to licensed independent professional social workers (Sanders ’13: 191).  Oregon State Hospital needs to stop prescribing any antipsychotic medication but Risperdone (Risperdal).  Oregon must make Amantadine (Symmetrel) available to all people antipsychotic and childhood stimulant drug prescriptions to eliminate the risk of neuromuscular side-effects and should sponsor a drug trial to see if a half dose for children and quarter dose for infants will permanently cure autistic tics.  Just think: how many autistic children a school nurse might heal with one package of Amantadine (Symmetrel) and how many more with a state sponsored manufacturing of Cogentin (Benztropine mesylate)? 

Stimulants are a class of medications named for their effect on a person’s level of alertness, often appears to have a calming effect on people with ADHD for eight hours, although many people believe they are not as effective as the standard preparations.  Most people notice few day-to-day side effects.  There is a mild appetite suppressant effect, but weight loss in an otherwise healthy person is minimal.  The ability of Ritalin to suppress rowdy behavior in children is much more consistent than, for example, the effects of Prozac among the depressed.  Enthusiasts for drug treatment often claim hyperactivity in children is a biochemical imbalance, apparently corrected by Ritalin, but this theory has not been established by scientific evidence.  The first concern about Ritalin is serious or irreversible side effects.  The best documented problem is a form of brain damage called Tourette’s syndrome.  It causes tics, twitching and abnormal sounds or movement, sometimes of a bizarre nature.  In one study of 122 children taking Ritalin 12 has tics or abnormal movements and one child with permanent brain damage.  In another study 76 percent of boys had subtle and transient tics.  The most common side effects in another Ritalin study were loss of appetite in about 40 percent, insomnia in 20 percent and stomachaches in 20 percent (Moore ’98: 22, 23).  Stimulants worsen tics seen in Tourette’s disorder and can cause them on their own and most professionals believe that the presence of Tourette’s in the patient of the patient’s family precludes the use of stimulants, and that stimulants should be stopped if tics appear.  Children may experience slight growth retardation.  Periodic holidays from the medications, such as over the summer, can minimize this.  Stimulants can be abused for the euphoria they sometimes induce.  Dextroamphetamine probably causes the strongest effect, then methylphenidate, and there is a minimal effect with pemoline.  Stimulants can worsen and even cause psychotic thinking and manic episodes.  Stimulants should not be administered to someone with psychotic symptoms (Drummond ’00: 71, 72).  Blend Spearmint Mentha spicata in equal proportions with lemon balm to calm hyperactivity and anxiety in children.  Lemon balm Melissa officinalis is remedy for heart disease (and heartache), depression and anxiety, nervous disorders and a host of viral and bacterial infections.  Paralesus called lemon balm the “elixir of life” and Dioscorides used it for “sweetening the spirit”.  In the 1600s herbalist John Evelyn wrote “balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy”.  A tea made of lemon balm and chamomile is an excellent remedy for stomach distress and nervous exhaustion.  It also functions as a mild sedative, especially helpful for insomnia caused by grief and sadness.  Lemon balm is high on the list of herbs used to treat heartache and depression.  Lemons balm soothes and calms a restless child.  In combination with lemon balm milky oats Avena sativa, A. fatua can also be used to counteract hyperactivity in children and adults.  The milky green tops are especially renowned for their demulcent (soothing) and nourishing effect on the central nervous system effectively relieving all manner of nervous stress, exhaustion, irritation and anxiety (Gladstar ’12).

 

5 HTP is a highly recommended and sold over the counter treatment for depression.  5HTP is a serotonin precursor and can help the body to make more serotonin and leave the available serotonin in synapses for a longer period of time, therefore directly affecting mood and warding off depressive symptoms.  5 HTP can also help with insomnia, agitation, fatigue and lack of motivation.  It is often helpful in chronic pain situations because it increases sleep needed for healing, improves mood and decreases sensation of pain.  Again 5 HTP should not be used with other antidepressant medications, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. 5- HTP 100 mg two times daily.  SAMe can be helpful in the treatment of depression.  It acts as methyl donor and can help the body to complete and maximize its nerve connections in the brain.  SAMe has antioxidant activity therefore will help to reduce free radical damage in the body.  SAMe can help the body’s methyl metabolism improve, therefore functioning to increase energy, improve cognitive function and decrease pain.  SAMe has also been used to treat osteoarthritis, response tends to be noticed within the first month of use.  Insomnia, anxiety or mania states can be associated with overuse of SAMe.  Do not use SAMe with other antidepressant medications, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).  It may cause life-threatening symptoms (including agitation, tremors, anxiety, rapid heartbeats, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, shivering, muscle stiffness and excessive sweating).  SAMe dosage 400 mg daily. 

St. John’s wort Hypericum perforatum can be very effective for treating mild depression, anxiety, stress, tension, nerve damage, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  To be effective against stress and depression, St. John’s wort needs to be taken over a 2 to 3 week period, and it is often cycled over several months to treat chronic depression and stress.  Hypericin, one of the herb’s active constituents, increases the metabolism of serotonin and melatonin, which aid the body’s ability to receive and store light.  Hyperforin, another important constituent, contributes to emotional stability by slowing the uptake of those “feel-good” neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, allowing them to circulate longer in the body. Valerian root Valeriana officinalis is one the safest and most powerful herbal nervines, used for all manner of stress, insomnia and anxiety.  Valerian is a remedy primarily for stress, tension, insomnia and nervous system disorders.  Studies show that it works by depressing activity in the central nervous system and relaxing the smooth muscles of the uterus, colon and bronchial passages.  Two compounds, valerenic acid and valerenal, have been found to induce sleep and indirectly raise levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter that decreases central nervous-system activity and acts as a muscle relaxant. Valerian is effective both as a long-term nerve tonic and as a remedy for acute nerve problems such as headaches and pain.  For those people for whom valerian works, it works well.  Some people find it irritating and stimulating, rather than relaxing.  The root is rich in isovalerenic and valerenic acids, which give it powerful nervine properties.  Because of the volatile nature of its aromatic oils, valerian root is generally infused rather than decocted.  Generally considered safe.  If you take too much valerian you’ll begin to have rubbery-like feeling in your muscles, like they are too relaxed, or a feeling of heaviness.  Cut back the dosage so that you feel relaxed but alert.  Avoid taking large doses of valerian for an extended period of time, instead, use modest doses for just 2 to 3 weeks, with a week’s break before you begin taking the doses again (Gladstar ’12).

Sleep aids are ranked with antipsychotic drugs as the leading cause of fatal drug overdose.  A survey by the National Institutes of Health conducted in the 1970s revealed that 17 percent of the total population was bothered greatly by insomnia, and among older people the percentage was even higher, with one out over four people over the age of 60 reporting serious sleep difficulties. About 10 billion sedative doses are manufactured each year in the United States.  Each year, at least 10 million Americans consult physicians about their sleep, and about half of them receive prescriptions for sleeping pills (Chopra ’91: 2).  Barbituates are all synthetic compounds derived from barbituric acid, which is a combination of urea and malonic acid.  Barbiturates, commonly known as sleeping pills, produce all degrees of depression, ranging from mild sedation to coma.  They depress brain function, and in large doses the rhythm of respiration.  The fatality rate is higher for barbiturates than any other type of addiction (more than 3000 barbiturate suicides per year, or 20% of all suicides in the United States, and more than 1500 deaths from accidental poisonings).  Alcohol potentiates the barbiturates, the two depressant are synergistic and the practice of using both undoubtedly accounts for the unusually high number of accidental self poisonings and death from respiratory depression (Elvin-Lewis ’77: 435, 436, 437, 438). Chamomile Chamaemelum nobile, Matricaria recutita and related species are useful for going into a deep, restful sleep.  Chamomile is a popular remedy for calming colic and childhood digestive issues.  Some people are allergic to chamomile (Gladstar ’12).

In one report, opioid drugs, which include OxyContin and Vicodin, accounted for three out of four medication overdose deaths, although the Poison Control Center ranks opioids around sixth.  It is alarming that opioid overdose deaths have increased for the past 11 years.  Only 17 percent of these deaths were suicides, meaning the vast majority were unintentional overdoses (Castillo ’13). The Department of Justice reported that fatal overdoses from methadone increased from 500 in 1999 to more than 5,000 in 2006.  Narcotics, also known as opioids, are derived from opium (Papaverum somniferum) that has been used for pain relief for thousands of years.  Opioids are the frontline against severe pain whereas other non-addictive painkillers are under development.  Percocet is usually prescribed for the first few days, then Oxycontin for more prolonged pain.  These drugs work on the central nervous system, as muscle relaxants do.  They are addictive, but mild and graduated dosing and withdrawal help reduce or prevent the cravings and withdrawal symptoms.  Most patients fear becoming addicted but unless they have a history of addiction, this is a worry that is not likely to come true.  When chronic, severe pain goes untreated or is inadequately treated, problems can also arise, and those problems can become permanent.  Continuing, urgent pain signals from nerves can result in hypersensitivity in the injured area (Fishman ’06: 129, 130).  Potent opioids commonly use in the postoperative patient are morphine, Dilaudid, and rarely, Demerol.  In some cases, a superpotent synthetic narcotic, fentanyl, is used postoperatively.  Fentanyl is about 100 times more potent than morphine in relieving pain.  Weak opioids drugs, like Darvocet and Vicodin, are widely prescribed narcotics for mild to moderate pain following surgery.  Codeine is another weak opioid available in liquid form and more commonly uised for mild to moderate pain in the pediatric population.  The disclosure of patient residential address by the pharmacy to the breaking and entering of the state office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is probably the greatest aspect of opioid overdose risk, that can be reduced by state law abolishing the DEA reporting requirement of patient address under the Health Insurance Protection and Portability Act Pub.L. 104–191, 110 Stat. 1936, enacted August 21, 1996; and possibly eliminated by transferring the agency to the state Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) federally.  The State of Oregon needs to make sure that narcotic antagonists complement every opioid prescription.  Narcotic Antagonists prevent or abolish excessive respiratory depression caused by the administration of morphine or related compounds. Naltrexone (Narcan) became clinically available in 1985 as a new narcotic antagonist. Its actions resemble those of naloxone, but naltrexone is well absorbed orally and is long acting, necessitating only a dose of 50 to 100 mg.  The State of Oregon must ensure that Narcotic Antagonists are provided as rescue medicine with all opioid prescriptions.

 

Cancer is a much more dangerous game than heart disease although treatments are improving and it is the second  leading cause of death.  60 70 percent of all cancers can be prevented by staying physically active, not smoking and most important, by choosing predominantly plant-based diets rich in a variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes and minimally processed starchy staple foods.  Vegetarian diets decrease the risk of cancer.  The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet.  Vegetarians eat more fruits and vegetables than meat-eaters.  This is one of the reasons vegetarians live longer, and cancer rates for vegetarians are 25 to 50 percent less than those of the general populace, even after controlling for smoking, body mass index and socioeconomic status. There are many environmental factors that can contribute to cancer.  The list includes exposure to radiation, pesticides, and exnoestrogens (synthetic chemicals which mimic or block estrogen in the human body) and many others.  Much of the damage is caused by “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs) a group of highly toxic, long-lived, bio-accumulative chemicals.  Many of these chemicals cause irreversible damage in people and animals at levels the experts called inconsequential a decade ago.  People receive about 90 percent of their total intake of these compounds from foods of animal origin.  Dioxin is an extraordinarily carcinogenic and perilous threat to health and the environment.  Yet the EPA says that up to 95 percent of human dioxin exposure comes from red meat, fish, and dairy products.  Dioxin may be responsible for 12 percent of human cancers in industrialized societies.  Overall, the incidence of cancer is decreasing in women in the United States.  Between 1947 and 1971 the rate has dropped from 294 per 100,000 to 256, although breast cancer remains a constant threat.  For men the peril is rising.  During the same period the cancer rate in males increased from 280 per 100,000 to 304, and the death rate rose by nearly 40%.  Lung cancer was the biggest factor in this increase, accounting for about 63,000 male deaths in 1975. Since 1990 the rate has gone down.  Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide.  In the US 150,000 lives are lost every year.  Smoking is the primary risk factor, second hand smoke is a risk factor (Robbins ’01: 39, 42, 44).  Strangely, however, in longer lived nations such as Israel and Japan, there are higher rates of smoking.  One thing is certain; "No protein, no tumor growth factor (Cotran et al '94).

 

For primary prophylaxis of aspergillosis in immunocompromised individuals at high risk of invasive disease (i.e., neutropenic patients with acute myelogenous leukemia [AML] or myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS], hematopoietic stem cell transplant [HSCT] recipients with graft-versus-host disease [GVHD]). IDSA considers posaconazole (Noxafil) oral suspension the drug of choice; alternatives are itraconazole (Sporonox) my favorite, or micafungin.Red sap from bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) has been used for the treatment of cancerous disease by the North American Indians living along the shores of Lake Superior. In 1857 a British surgeon concocted a therapy based on a paste of bloodroot extract, zinc chloride, flour and water.  The past was smeared on a cloth or cotton and placed on the tumor dailu (if healthy tissue covered the tumor, it was eroded with nitric acid.  When the tumor became encrusted, incisions were made about one-half inch apart and the paste was inserted into the cuts daily.  Generally within 2 to 4 weeks the disease was destroyed, with the mass falling out in 10 to 14 additional days, leaving a flat healthy sore that usually healed rapidly.  All cases illustrated remissions, if not cures.  8 of 10 surgical patients returned within 2 years for further treatment, only 3 of 10 returned after using his therapy.  North American May apple (Podophyllum peltatum) rhizome or underground stem was used by the Penobscot Indians of Maine to treat cancer.  Podophyllum resins was used by physicians in Mississippi and Missouri as early as 1897 and by urologists in Louisiana for the treatment of venereal warts (condyloma acuminate).  Recent clinical reports signify that podophyllin has become the drug of choice in the treatment of human condyloma accuminata.   Others report a destructive effect of podophyllin on different cancer cells in animals and in man, but is highly toxic.  Seeds of the common apricot (Prunus armenicaca or Armeniaca vulgaris) native to China, were used there against tumors as early as AD 502.  Laetrile therapy is based on the theory that once inside the body, the extract from apricot pit breaks down into several components including cyanide.  Cyanide is released only when it comes into contact with an enzyme common to tumor cells, β-glucoronidase, at which time cyanide chokes off the tumor cells, leaving the healthy cells surrounding the growth untouched.  10 cases of inoperable cancer, with metastases, regressed, as well as dramatic relief from pain (Elvin-Lewis ’77: 123, 124, 125).  Apricot pits are as tasty as almonds. 

 

Herbal Remedies for Cancer

 

Vitamin

Indication

Vitamin E

Antioxidant, regulation of oxidation reactions, supports cell membrane stabilization. Found in polyunsaturated plant oils (soybean, corn and canola oils), wheat germ, sunflower seeds, tofu, avocado and sweet potatoes.

Mineral

Indication

Selenium

Antioxidant.  Works with vitamin E to protect body from oxidation.  Found in grains.

Herb

Indication

Asian Ginseng

Panax ginseng

Increases nitric oxide in immune cells, blood vessels and erectile tissues. Increases Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol

Increase protein synthesis. Antistress, antifatigue, muscle strength and recovery time, reaction time and alertness, intellectual performance, immune function and cancer prevention, sexual function, most beneficial for people over 40.  Ineracts with MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor, anticoagulants, steroids.  Contraindicated for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, bipolar disorder (manic depression) – may cause mania, discontinue 7 days prior to surgery, do not use for more than 3 months, may have long-term hormonal effects, do not use during preganancy or when breastfeeding, do not use with steroids, not for children under age 12.

Garlic

Allium sativum

Garlic is not only tasty, it is the herb of choice for treating colds, flus, sore throats and poor or sluggish digestion.  It stimulates the production of white blood cells, boosting immune function and is a potent internal and external antiseptic, antibacterial, and antimicrobial agent effective for treating many types of infection, including several forms of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.  It helps to maintain healthy blood cholesterol and helps prevent blood platelet aggregation, making it the herb of choice for many circulatory issues and lowers blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes.  Garlic can irritate and burn sensitive skin, cause heartburn, stomach distress, provoke anger and should be avoided by nursing mothers as it can cause colick.

Turmeric

Curcuma longa

Curcumin is a powerful agent against several types of cancers of the esophagus, breast, colon, prostate and skin and inhibits the growth of lymphoma cells. 

Burdock

Arctium lappa

The root is part of a very well-known Native American anticancer formula called Essiac. 

Red Clover Trifolium pretense

Though the FDA states “there is not sufficient reason to suspect it of any medicinal value” studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute suggest that red clover should be considered, as a preventative agent and perhaps incorporated in a health-promoting tea for people at risk for cancer.  Red clover has blood thinning properties and should not be used by those who are taking heart medication or who have any type of blood-thinning problem.  Discontinue red clover for 2 weeks before and after surgery.

Roseroot, golden root

Rhodiola rosea

Increase cellular energy production, protein synthesis, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.  Support DNA repair, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anticancer.  Improves oxygen utilization.

Rhododendrum caucasium

Antioxidant, blocks carcinogen absorption and 20% of fat absorption through intestines.  Increases energy in heart muscles and uric acid excretion.  Relaxes blood vessels, lowers blood pressure. Physical performance, high blood pressure prevention, cancer prevention, weight loss, antigout. No contradindications known.  Pregnancy, breastfeeding unkown.

Siberian Ginseng, eleuthero

Eleutherococcus senticosus

Increase ACTH and cortisol, Norepinephrine, Serotonin and Protein Synthesis.  Antistress, strength and endurance, intellectual productivity, immune cell response, resilience during cancer treatment

Interacts with anticoagulants by interfering with some tests of digoxin levels.  Contraindicated for high blood pressure, heart disease – use with caution, bipolar disorder (manic depression) – can cause mania, schizophrenia – can cause agitation, women with hormone-sensitive cancers or conditions, pregnancy breastfeeding unknown, not for children under age 12, lack of safety evidence beyond 6 weeks

Source: Gladstar ’12, Brown ’04 

 

Hawthorne Crataegus laevigata is considered the supreme herb for the heart (Elvin-Lewis ’77)(Gladstar ’12).  The berries are tasty and often enjoyed in syrups, jams and jellies.  They also make good medicine, as do the flower and leaf.  The berries, leaves and flowers are rich in bioflavonoids, antioxidants, and procanidins, which feed and tone the heart.  Hawthorn works in part by dilating the arteries and veins, enabling blood to flow more freely and releasing cardiovascular constrictions and blockages.  It strengthens the heart muscle while helping to normalize and regulate blood pressure.  It also helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels.  Hawthorn is outstanding both to prevent heart problems and to treat high or low blood pressure, heart disease, edema, angina and heart arrhythmia. Hawthorn doesn’t store in the body and isn’t accumulative in action, it’s important to take on a regular basis if using as a heart tonic.  Hawthorn also helps to stabilize collagen and support the health and repair of ligaments, tendons and muscles.  Hawthorn strengthens capillaries, useful for bruises (Gladstar ’12). Cardiovascular drugs other than cholesterol reducing Statin drugs, which improve heart attack survival by 30-40 percent, are the second leading cause of fatal drug overdose, after antipsychotics and sleep aids, beware.  The key to controlling difficult high blood pressure, that is resistant to salt elimination, is a simple blood test to measure the activity of one kidney enzyme called renin, and an adrenal gland hormone called aldosterone.  The levels of fat in the blood after a meal turn out to be more important than the level of cholesterol measured in a fasting cholesterol test.  Most people who have muscle problems from cholesterol-lowering drugs in the family called “statins” can resolve them by reducing the dose, adding ezetimibe (a generic drug marketed as Zetia or Ezetrol) and taking CoQ10, a dietary supplement depleted by long term statin drug use, and should be discontinued for cancer, Alzheimer’s and hemorrhagic stroke from high blood pressure.  There is no substitute for a sugar and salt free vegan weight loss or heart attack response diet and vegetarian maintenance diet with sufficient cardiovascular exercise to burn calories, eliminate chest pain and permanently regain your health from cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes (Spence ’06).   

 

Antibiotics cure endocarditis.  Metronidazole (Flagyl ER) is an antibiotic that is uniquely indicated for its safety and effectiveness in the GI, bones and joints, but somewhat contraindicated for the central nervous system whose spinal tumors from Stapholococcus aureus with or without eruptions of S. dermidis are better treated with doxycycline, that causes permanent yellowing of children’s teeth, and for which no substitute is known but growing up with MRSA till 8, and bacterial meningitis and sinusitis with penicillin, ampicillin or erythromycin, if subject to anaphylactic allergic reaction to penicillin (Barbour ‘96).  Make sure you have exhausted the issue of antibiotic resistance before elective surgery.  Metronidazole is particularly well known for its utility in surgery avoidance, from unnecessary appendectomy to knee surgery (Fisher ’06). Glucosamine and Chondroitin is extremely effective at treating arthritic pain and cartilaginous tissue damage.  Studies dating back to the 1980s show that these two supplements can help relieve the pain of arthritis.  These supplements are postulated to enhance the cartilage at a biochemical level.   The recommended dosage is 1,000 mg to 2,000 mg of glucosamine and 800 mg to 1,600 mg of chondroitin sulfate every day (Debrowolski ’04: 123).  They are however quite large and often cause gut cramping when taken on an empty stomach and can be safely taken with one 25 to 50 billion probiotic organism capsules (Huffnagle ’07).  When crippled with pain, that doesn’t go away or gets worse with exercise, it is often best to reduce exertion to 40 percent of normal (Fishman ’06).  Consult a physician if the pain doesn’t go away after two weeks (Lane ’99).

 

While the bus ride to Salem on February 4, 2013 may have cured the crippling pain in my sacrum it took a five mile jog, 300 push-ups, 216 crunches, 50 pull-ups, 250 mg ampicillin, 100 mg doxycycline, and three mile walk to town to relieve the pain in my heart, from what I like to call the "walking pneumonia to Salem" after a disastrous 5 am breakfast of turkey chili led to coronary artery disease that ultimately caused a small heart attack whose hyperlipidemia did not go away for around five days leaving me with a stress fracture on my sesamoid bone of my right foot from jogging in wet shoes, to eat vegan and pray for medicine about.  Streptococcus pyogenes is a Strep Group A airborne pathogen, is transmitted between humans after extended exposure of hours rather than minute viruses, that if left untreated with antibiotics can infect the heart with a 25 percent chance of a fatal heart attack over a decade.  Since the 1990s when family practice ceased to do housecalls or hospital visits the prescription of antibiotics has declined 40 percent and there are a lot of people walking around with untreated S. pyogenes, Lyme Disease.  There are countless more chronically infected people who do not heal because they are infected with meningitis and sinusitis from Streptococcus pneumoniae, that is treated with penicillin or erythromycin for those who are subject to anaphylactic shock; antibiotic resistant Staph, which is treated with doxycycline, Clostridium difficile diarrhea and ulcers, that treated with metronidazole (Flagyl ER) that is also effective for bone and joint infections of bacterial origin, and when faced with elective surgery it is definitely time to finish the antibiotics course and practice metronidazole (Fisher '06: 330-334).  I have requested that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attach a prescription for probiotics within two hours of consuming antibiotics and for two weeks after completing the course (Huffnagle '07).  I am sorry I have not yet had an opportunity to harvest any large quantities of Hawthorne Crataegus laevigata the Supreme herb for the heart, from my sister's farm, where it seems to grow well at around 6,500 ft., while its leaves, flowers and berries were in season, and hope to market the herbal tea preparation to the Food Co-op this year.  For now we will have to treat our esophageal cancer with lots of fresh diced and pureed turmeric Curcuma longa roots, before the people are corrupted by the state Medicaid expansion decided upon in the briefing on National Health Insurance: Compromise to Immediately Achieve Universal Single Payer Social Insurance and Progressively Realize National Health Insurance that is Free for All by Hospitals & Asylums HA-28-4-08 

 

Bibliography

 

Barbour, Alan G. M.D Lyme Disease: The Cause, the Cure the Controvery. John Hopkins University Press. Baltimore and London. 1996

 

Bronstein, Alvin; M.D. et al 2010 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS). 28th Annual Report. Table 18. Informa Healthcare USA Inc. 2011

 

Brown, Richard P., M.D.; Gerbarg, Patricia L., M.D. The Rhodalia Revolution: Transform Your Health with the Herbal Breakthrough of the 21st Century. Rodale. 2004

 

Castillo, Michelle. With Drug Overdose Deaths on Rise, Experts Push to Recognize Signs of Addiction. CBS News. February 20, 2013

 

Chopra, Deepak, M.D. Restful Sleep: The Complete Mind/Body Program for Overcoming Insomnia. Perfect Health Library. Harmony Books. New York.  1991

 

Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Robbins, Stanley.  Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease.  5th Edition. Edited by Frederich J. Schoen.  W.B. Saunders Company. A Division of Harcourt Brace & Company. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1994

 

Dobrowolski,Christine MD. Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. Those Aching Feet: Your Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems. Revised Edition.  Ski Publishing. San Francisco. 2004

 

Elvin-Lewis, Memory P.F.; Lewis, Walter H. Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man’s Health. John Wiley & Sons. New York. 1977

 

Fisher, Margaret C. Immunizations and Infectious Diseases: An Informed Parent’s Guide. American Academy of Pediatrics. 2006

 

Fishman, Loren M.D. Ardman, Carol. Sciatica Solutions: Diagnosis, Treatment and Cure for Spinal and Piriformis Problems. W.W Norton & Company. New York, London. 2006

 

Gilligan, James, M.D. Why Some Politicians are More Dangerous than Others. Polity Press. Malden, Massachusetts. 2011

 

Gladstar, Rosemary. Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide. Storey Publishing. 2012

 

Huffnagle, Gary B. Ph.D; Wernick, Sarah. The Probiotics Revolution: Breakthrough Disoveries to Enhance Immune Function, Curb Inflammation, Fight Chronic Bowel Disease and Colon Cancer, Prevent Allergies and Asthma and Eliminate Yeast Infections. Bantam Books. New York. 2007

 

Lane, Nancy E. M.D. The Osteoporosis Book: A Guide for Patients and Their Families. Oxford University Press .New York. 1999

 

Rondberg, Terry A. D.C. Chiropractic First: The Fastest Growing Healthcare Choice Before Drugs or Surgery. Chiropractic Journal. USA. 1996

 

Sanders, Tony J.  National Health Care Debate. Hospitals & Asylums  HA-28-4-08

 

n  National Health Insurance: Compromise to Immediately Achieve Universal Single Payer Social Insurance and Progressively Realize National Health Insurance that is Free for All. Hospitals & Asylums. HA-28-4-08 

n  Neurology HA-21-2-13

 

Spence J. David, M.D. How to Prevent (A) Your Stroke. Vanderbilt University Press. Nashville, Tennessee. 2006