I am delighted to give a positive update on my status, maybe useful guidance
to friends, and some HOPE to those fighting the disease.



My status today is generally described as stable – this is absolutely
wonderful news.



The remaining liver lesion is slightly smaller and a very small lung lesion
is slightly denser but unchanged in size. At one stage I had eight sizable
lesions in the liver and one in the lung – growing at a rate of about 30%
every 6 weeks. In short I owe my life to the Hospital, plus to BCHC and The
Journey healing practices – and my family. My Prof believes that the
holistic measures I have taken are the reason for my body managing to
control a disease that, given my condition, would usually have taken me in
just a few months.



I have sent emails before, sometimes to tell people I have cancer and avoid
the same repeated questions and dreadful replies that inevitably arise,
sometimes to update friends on the wonderful news that I have received
unexpectedly – time and time again. I have also tried to help other poor
souls who are fighting the disease, to give them some handles on life and
HOPE – and also to maybe cause a moment of contemplation on just how
precious and wonderful our moment is.



Below is a greater missive – Today I send it out widely because you are
friends and just maybe there is something in there that may help you now or
in the future, or maybe one of your friends. Suggestions are always welcome.



Melanoma is one of the cancers which is regarded as ‘uncurable’, scientific
research work continues and life expectancies are extending. I am in awe of
the devotion of those helping suffers fight the disease.



To my cancer contacts I sign off ‘Love and Healing‘ – I see every reason to
send that same message to you also



Love and Healing



Ian



Example of covering Email



Subject: FW: FW: [melanoma] New Here







A few comments



I read an interview in an Easyjet flight book - a few months after being
given a terminal diagnosis of just six months - given December 19th 2003
(Happy Christmas!)



Interviewer to dot-com millionaire:

'So you were lucky then?'



Dot com millionaire:

'Yes I was lucky - I made my own luck'



There ARE things he can do - the white coats do wonders but they do not know
why I am alive over two years later – statistics mean nothing for one person
- my last scan was stable with just one lesion out of 9 or 10 (that was when
I had just a few weeks left - just under 2 years ago)



My recommendations



When you hear of a little child aged 3 - Sammy - dying from cancer - then
you appreciate just how lucky you are. When you see a small being, scaly
grey skin, matted hair and you look furtively a second time and then realize
it is a child aged about 10 - then you stop being sorry for yourself - these
are starting points for change



Bristol Cancer Help Centre run a residential 2 day course (cost for 2 would
be c £600 - but what is life worth? - this was my 'turning point'



Change diet



Reduce stress



Enjoy the gift of life



Meditate regularly



Some lucky ones say prayer works



I regularly go to a meditation session at St Michaels Sanctuary, Church
Street Ewell - the sessions are most Friday mornings from 10 a.m. to c 12 -
we tend to bring along snacks for sharing afterwards - he would be welcome -
contribution towards costs is £10



I am happy to receive calls or emails



Love and Healing


Ian

01372 377321

Leatherhead, Surrey



Below email to another friend:



_____

From: Ian Dixon [mailto:Ian.Dixon25LR@...]
Sent: 05 October 2005 22:06
To:
Subject: FW: FW: [melanoma] New Here



Hi Christine



I remember people saying – ‘sorry to hear your news’



and I grinned and beared it and felt like saying –



‘Your not half as sorry as I am’



– so I will instead just say welcome to the huge band of people fighting the
‘beast’. You have awoken to the fact that we are all terminal (most through
age) – today is the first day of the rest of your life – may you have many
joyous and beautiful days ahead



I know it is a shock, but remember that for many cancers most people do
survive – OK chemo, etc is not fun – but it is worthwhile



But also be aware that ‘they’ – the oncologists and doctors – who try so
hard – do not always understand or ‘know’ why some respond and others do
not. I am convinced that we can change the odds in our favour.



I am not saying that I ‘know’ – just that in my position – well the
prognosis was so bad I was open minded to most things – and have sifted
through piles of emails, websites and journals – the email below is the best
I can offer for sources of support.



Obviously hopefully you are stage 1 – i.e. the cancer is localized. The
stages go up to stage IV – ‘dead and dying/untreatable’ – I suspect it is
most unlikely you are other than stage 1. I was (and probably am) stage IV



Christine – I know what it feels like – I have been there – and attached is
my story and below my suggested sources of help



As you are local there are two further sources that you may wish to consider



Losely in Guildford run a church service and sharing every other Tuesday.
Sometimes they have healing – but although I have been maybe four or five
times now, I regard this as a support group which is more about socializing
than action



Friday mornings occasionally I go to meditation in Ewell – and I found this
sort of meditation hugely welcome – the group is small and is not just
cancer patients. The person who runs it is a journey practitioner – Marion –
and is very supportive. Some aspects feel are a bit cranky – but they have a
logic which I doubt I understand linked to acupuncture – anyhow they are
fun, and I see no harm in them and possibly some good – so I feel it worth a
try. If you are interested let me know and you can come along with me if you
like. They charge £10 a go – start at 10.00 a.m. on a Friday and finish at
12. Generally we all take some carrots/humus/snacks and have a shared lunch
together. I happen to be going this Friday.



Please do give me a call if you wish a chat – or would like just to pop over
for a cup of tea – talking about it really does help



Love and Healing



Ian



_____

From: Ian Dixon [mailto:Ian.Dixon25LR@...]
Sent: 04 October 2005 08:27
To: 'Valerie'
Cc: 'melanoma@yahoogroups.com'; 'fighttogether@yahoogroups.com';
'cancercured@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: FW: [melanoma] New Here



Valerie



I live in the UK and went to the Bristol Cancer Help Centre on a course –
they do provide dietary information along with spiritual healing,
meditation, art therapy, visioning and other tools – I know that sounds
cranky, but I have met sane people who are doing well against expectations
and who believe each of those tools have enabled their survival. I went to
BCHC for dietary advice because Prince Charles is their patron and therefore
I thought they would be benign (as opposed to some who merely seek to
exploit our disease for personal gain)

http://www.bristolcancerhelp.org/



Alternatively there is the Gerson Diet - or more an approach to cancer
itself – I gather that costs around $4,000 per year but it is a credible
therapy that many believe does have an impact in so many cases

http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/9_7.htm

http://www.gersonsupportgroup.org.uk/



Much cheaper is to subscribe to a new charity here in the UK Canceractive –
I have only recently found their journal ‘Icon’ but it seems to me to be so
useful - annual subscription here is c $45 p.a. for four issues. I am
actively trying to help them as it is a charity and is giving clear and
consistent messages which conform to my own learnings.

http://www.iconmag.co.uk/



But I would also seriously consider meditation – even if just to try a
session or two. Personally I have found it to have a profound effect –
clearing away unhelpful emotions (anger, rage, grief, STRESS) and replacing
them with positive emotions (joy at the beauty of life, appreciation of the
priority of love, a belief/hope that the mind can induce the body/immune
system to fight the cancer). I do go to a journey therapist – I have been on
one course and attended two more as a volunteer helper. I have seen them in
practice and I would recommend this also

http://www.thejourney.com/ourpractitioners.html



My strategy is to proceed cautiously but with an open mind – and take a few
gambles that might help but that have few costly risks. Who knows?



Love and Healing



Ian





Normal Missive:

Diet, Cancer and scientific thinking



The purpose of this note is to record and analyze ‘unanswered’ questions
relating to my own cancer, the various pieces of advice received and to
postulate how that advice relates to bodily response to cancer therapies. It
includes a number of ‘personal judgments’ for cancer patients to discuss
with their medical advisers.



My background was scientific at ‘A’ level and subsequently has been in
financial and limited general management. Whilst having a deep allegiance to
the scientific view that ‘effects’ result from ‘causes’, I also am
accustomed to managing situations where the future and variables are unknown
and therefore ‘strategies’ have to be put into place.



Unanswered Medical questions include:

-why did you get cancer?

-why did your skin cancer come back after 12 years rather than 5, or 20?

-is my so-far-successful and unusual response to both chemotherapy and
immunotherapy as a result of ‘good luck’ or other factors? And if the
latter, what factors?



I am not in a position to give ‘answers to these questions, but I can record
‘my personal experience before recurrence’. Maybe we can undo the incentives
for cancer to grow? Plus I consider the medical and non-medical responses to
my question ‘what can I do? And two further questions:

-what is a ‘healthy diet’? and should this contain vitamin supplements?

-what role does stress play in the recurrence and cure in a cancer patient?



MY CANCER AND ITS RECURRENCE both are anomalous – I have always taken care
with sun exposure, and I moved straight from NED following stage I to stage
IV 12 years later – with a cancerous lymph node under an arm and 6
metastases in the liver. Recurrence followed an extended period of extreme
workload stress and also a dietary change. Metastasized melanoma is a
particularly difficult cancer to treat – prognosis is terminal.



Stress before recurrence: The organization within which I worked has a
governing body of Trustees who formed the view about 6 years ago that
radical change was essential for the organization within which I worked as
Finance Director. Around that time, mainly due to the ‘repetitive’ nature of
the work combined with a lack of opportunity for travel – I had experienced
‘stress’ caused by the dullness of my workload which I had totally under
control plus the tedium of daily travel. ‘Change’ as it effected me started
with a Finance ‘outsourcing study’ – a classic example of where
‘consultants’ whose mantra is of large organizations, tried to force an
inappropriate and inefficient system onto a small and highly diverse
organization. Personally I am biased towards change, maybe too much so, but
this study was against my advice and, after a period of about a year where
all our jobs were ‘at risk’ – my judgment was vindicated. Following this
quickly came a period of merger-mania. Again, and twice in quick succession,
CEOs advised all job were at risk as a result of potential mergers – my
cancers became apparent four months after a merger. Personally I ‘feel’ that
workload stress was a key factor in the recurrence of a cancer that had a
very low probability of recurrence. An eminent Melanoma specialist, a
Professor, commented to me when I first met him ‘I do not THINK stress
caused the cancer to return, I KNOW stress caused the cancer to return’.



Dietary change before recurrence: For some time our organization had a
restaurant as an employee perk. Due to the financial difficulties the
organization was encountering under different CEO’s, it was decided to
modernize employment practices and close the restaurant. Again this occurred
four months before my cancer recurred. Previously in the restaurant, because
my weight had been increasing, I daily ate lots of vegetables, in particular
I had larger than normal portions of broccoli because I liked it and it is
not fattening. I mention this because I have subsequently had broccoli
recommended to me on frequent occasions and indeed cancer brochures
highlight that this vegetable contains a very good variety of vitamins and
minerals. Following the closure of the restaurant, I tended to eat cheese or
ham sandwiches. As I frequently worked late, I tended to eat cheese and
bread at home in the evenings. This diet became boring albeit it was quick
and convenient. With home and work pressures, quick and convenient won over!




When I asked WHAT CAN I AS A CANCER PATIENT DO? advice received, broadly in
date order, was as follows:

-have a healthy diet (oncologist)

-eat slightly less meat (oncologist)

-look at your health holistically, reduce stress and eat a vegan diet
(Bristol Cancer Help Centre)

-there is a volume of dietary recommendations from virtually everyone I
know, plus from cancer patients I am in touch with electronically. The
interesting thing about this advice is that it is very consistent!

-referral to a series of articles in the New Scientist (by my eldest
daughter) and to various TV documentary programs (e.g. Horizon).



My interest in finding answers to ‘what can I do?’ was increased by the fact
that hoped-for cancer trials did not materialize in time with the result
that I was placed upon ‘bog-standard’ treatment programs following advice by
oncologists on 19th December 2003 that:

-you WILL die of this cancer

-you have six months, maybe a year

-the medical therapies ‘will not increase your longevity’



The latter two pieces of advice were clearly wrong. I am alive on 10th
January 2005 and am in some ways in a healthier position than I was on 19th
December 2003, the therapies have increased my longevity – I would have died
in April/May 2004 but for the treatments.



Having said this, my position today is still perilous – one cancer in the
liver (down from nine) persists and is probably now resistant to
chemotherapy, and the hidden after effects of chemotherapy linger on, albeit
hopefully the body is gradually detoxifying itself. As to whether I WILL
die of melanoma – that remains to be seen, although I am aware that
‘scientifically’ the probabilities remain extremely high.



But the purpose of this record is NOT to criticize the oncologists (who I
respect highly and who are doing a very difficult job) or to blame others or
myself for the recurrence. Instead it is an attempt to nudge forward
thinking and to provide information and provoke thought for others battling
cancer.







So – WHAT DID I DO?



I felt I needed to understand ‘diet’ and cancer and there was not much
sensible guidance around – so I booked myself on a course at the Bristol
Cancer Help Centre (which my employer subsequently paid for) two months
after the diagnosis.



But first consider the stress caused by a diagnosis of cancer.



Before I go further, consider this example: people watching television
easily imagine the stress that hostages in Iraq suffer knowing they may be
about to be executed. Cancer patients are under the same stresses, but for
longer, and also know that their end is unlikely to be so quick or painless!



The Bristol Cancer Help Centre approach is meditation and to convey a
holistic approach to cancer treatment. On the first morning of guided
meditation, when relaxing and just allowing emotions to surface, I collapsed
into uncontrollable tears of grief. For two months I had continued to
operate fairly normally, working normally and just trying to improve diet
and ‘eat slightly less meat’. I am not prone to breaking down or to crying,
especially in front of others. Indeed this was probably the first time I had
cried for decades. I record this as there are some therapists that believe
the release of suppressed emotions is a key part of removing the causes of
cancer. For the benefit of other cancer patients - there is no shame in
crying, indeed I was advised at the Bristol Cancer Help centre that it is
quite normal.



The unexpected release of suppressed emotions through crying has occurred
unexpectedly several times since then. Last Autumn at a church service and
‘healing session’ again I was surprised as hidden emotions surfaced and
unexpectedly I cried. Again recently at a meditation, emotions surfaced as I
talked of recent battles and deaths and I cried. Each time I ‘felt’ so much
better after than before – I felt I had more energy, I was able to do more
and feel in control. I do not ‘meditate’ or attend church as regularly as
maybe I should. I am now aiming to meditate at least twice a month.



I listened to suggestions on dietary change and read articles on the
relationships between diet and health.



Inevitably this record is ‘subjective’ and if I were to try to detail each
fact or reference it would become so much more difficult to read and
therefore would be less likely to be read.



Everyone agrees a healthy diet can only help. Oncologists feel unable to
‘recommend’ what a healthy diet is as ‘scientific studies’ have not yet
provided ‘proven’ results. But WHY DO SOME PEOPLE RESPOND TO MEDICATION,
WHEREAS OTHERS DO NOT?



I do not believe diet alone is the sole factor, hence my reference to stress
above and my implied recommendation to take stress therapy - probably
through meditation. But I do believe that diet is also an essential element
to success as follows:



INCLUSION - if our bodies do not ingest all the necessary nutrients (call
them vitamins or minerals or whatever), our immune systems and remedial
responses may not work properly.



EXCLUSION - if our bodies are stressed by our diet or lifestyle habits
(smoking, alcohol, drugs, ‘binging on chemicals’, etc) then our bodies may
not respond to the medications





DIET INCLUSION i.e. what to include and how to include it.



Clear cut advice on what to include is fairly consistent – a broad range of
fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc. All agree that going to a supermarket and
selecting a wide range of fresh fruits, nuts, pulses and vegetables of
widely varying colours is good for you.



Less clear is whether ‘organics’ are worth the extra money. A New Scientist
article mentioned that the content of some rarer essential vitamins and
minerals were up to six times higher in organic produce. My judgment – my
life is on the line, and I am willing to afford organic produce or take the
trouble to buy from a farmer’s market.



Also less clear is whether the wide variety of ‘curing plants’ do help or
not. To list a few: garlic; green tea; ginseng, Echinacea, lemon grass,
liquorice, honey,

The list is ever expanding. My judgment – take each occasionally, maybe they
might have essential nutrients that our bodies may be deficient in and need
or can use in the battle.



What is contentious is vitamin supplements. A BBC Horizon program referred
to a number of research projects including one which was aborted as vitamin
supplements actually increased the incidence of cancer, even though there
was a large amount of evidence, or some correlation, that lack of those
vitamins increased the incidence of that cancer. My judgment is that daily
inclusion of a ‘one-a-day’ vitamin supplement may be counter-productive –
especially where one takes the trouble to ensure the diet is balanced. I
therefore take a ‘one-a-day supplement maybe once a week, thereby enabling
my body to correct any deficiencies without any binge overload. I also have
a question in my mind as to whether the method of ingestion in the form of a
tablet is sensible. Tablets may create chemical ‘spikes’ which may be
unhelpful, so I try to ensure I take the vitamin supplement with food.



Certain vitamin B's reportedly help in the battle with cancer. I do eat
marmite daily and observe that contains vitamin B12.



Omega’s are proclaimed as helping to battle against cancer. They can be
taken in liquid form (but I am cautious about binging) or naturally within
oily fish. My judgment – to take a lightly baked wild salmon once a week.



Nuts, pulses and seeds advisedly contain protein and, if cutting down on
meats, it is important to maintain protein and calcium levels. My judgment
is to snack on a mixture of nuts and dried fruits such as raisins.



I add Soya to this list, but I will refer to this under ‘exclusions’.



I would also refer to pro-biotic yoghurt. Daily ingestion of harmful
bacteria, tummy troubles plus the various cancer treatments have digestive
implications. This seems a sensible way of helping restore a healthy
balance.



One further and important inclusion is WATER. Being properly hydrated makes
a big difference to the efficiency of the body. Drinks containing alcohol or
caffeine do not properly hydrate, so instead I drink either just plain
water, juices or the occasional ‘teas’ such as ‘apple and ginger’ or
‘liquorice’ teas sweetened with honey (I dislike normal tea or green tea).



EXCLUSIONS are equally contentious, and I will approach this by considering
chemical exclusions as a whole.



Medical advice tends to relate to alcohol (moderation) or to smoking (stop)
and is based upon scientific studies.



‘Binging’ on any chemical must be bad – whether it be those within alcohol,
salt, pesticides, orange juice, garlic or whatever. The body has NEEDS but I
sense it suffers if it is overloaded by any extreme imbalance (medical
advice is a ‘balanced’ diet – but they do not refer patients to a
dietician). It is just possible that some products, such as garlic, may have
healing properties – but that is for the medical profession to find out, so
my judgment is ‘avoid binging’ an anything.



SUGAR is commonly accredited as a cause encouraging cancers to grow.
‘Sweets’ and refined sugars are so tempting and are a form of ‘binging’. My
judgment – cut them out, with only the occasional desert/sweets. Instead I
buy a 70% cocoa low-sugar chocolate and bulk out smallish pieces with nuts.
I substitute honey for sugar in teas. I look for deserts (e.g. fruits salads
or baked apple stuffed with raisons, dates, almonds and honey) which are
free of added or refined sugar.



MILK PRODUCTS (including CHEESE). I had always thought of these as
‘healthy’. What is true is that many cultures cannot drink milk – their
bodies cannot cope. What I have also read is that the human digestive system
is well designed to digest milk up to the age of about 4 or 5 but then it
changes. It is also obvious that adults do not suckle. My judgment is that
MILK itself is not a natural adult foodstuff and should be eliminated as
should cream, yoghurt and cheese (all artificially produced from milk) and
especially cooked cheese in pizzas, etc. My logic is that this is so far off
what our animal bodies are designed to ingest, it should also be excluded.



In place of milk products, and this is another gamble, I use Soya produce
which is widely proclaimed as being harmful to cancer but I suspect has not
had a sufficient history to prove it case entirely.



PESTICIDES in food and other chemicals that we eat or inhale are potentially
harmful. Some products (e.g. farm grown salmon, shrimps, crabs) are
advisedly high in pesticides and PCBs and too frequent eating of these is
not recommended. My judgment is to use organic fruits, vegetables, fish and
meats as much as possible which should be pesticide free and to avoid any
environment where I may inhale chemicals (e.g. I do not paint the house
indoors for example). Again this area we make our own decisions, this is
mine.



ANIMAL FATS I avoid. I eat less meat but only lean meat and occasionally.







CONCLUSION



The medical profession do not agree on what caused my cancer, why it
returned and they do not know why I have responded so well and against such
impossible probabilities.



The diagnosis of CANCER is a trauma.



The only factors that I can identify that may have caused my cancer to
return and may have caused my good progress so far are



-stress and stress management (including meditation)



-dietary change



I believe that if our bodies have been losing on one battlefield, then we
should move to another and try to set the odds in our favour. Maybe we
cannot cure ourselves with stress management and dietary change, but I
believe that WE CAN influence whether the drugs work – and just sometimes
that will make all the difference.



I conclude there is HOPE even in the most frightening of stages.



Finally I would add that I am deeply grateful for the many who have guided
me or included me within their prayers.



Ian Dixon



10th January, 2005



critique, suggestions, comments and feedback appreciated

iandixon25lr@...







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