Every day I get number of inquires from people suffering from various ailments including Cancer. One has to weigh the probability of cure and the immediate danger of aggravation and exacerbation at the necessity of withdrawal of the drugs already absorbed. The psychological impact on the patients is enormous when the facts are revealed to them as we see. It is a proverbial state. ‘Cannot get married unless rid of madness and cannot be rid of the madness unless married.’  The conviction and cooperation of the patient is essential. The first duty of the physician is to ensure that the patient does not suffer due to false fads. I adopt a method whereby I withdraw the medicines slowly and gradually with minimal discomfort to the patient. But many a time people do not stick to any one form of medicine. I will illustrate.

A very close friend brought Mr.T to me for treatment. He was about sixty-four years old. He was a tall and well-proportioned person, a good sportsman in earlier life, and exercised regularly. He also had some other extra curricular activities. A few years earlier he developed Lung Cancer. He was administered chemotherapy as well as radiation. He was continuing with some prescribed medication. When he came to me, he had no suffering in the thoracic region containing the lungs and heart. He said that he would feel tired after talking for a while. Yet he was very loquacious. I observed that his articulation would progressively become more and more indistinct and the lisp of the tongue increases. When I pointed this to him, he informed that this condition was prominent during his lung-trouble days. He would then look for a warm drink for the soothing effect it had on his tongue and throat. This was the only pointer of the existing individual symptom to lead the prescription. It was Causticum. I judged the dynamics of the patient’s situation to suit the 1M potency, twice a week.  I had also prescribed Carcinosin 10M, once in a fortnight, due to the reasons enumerated in the earlier article.

After three months, T noticed perceptible betterment in his condition.  He reported happily that he was not feeling tired with the tongue despite his natural tendency to talk continuously. He could distinguish the improved clarity and lack of lisp in articulation. A year later, the dosage was gradually reduced. He and his family were very pleased with the progress. I advised him to keep in touch and seek the dosage regularly.  Unfortunately after a while, he slipped on this since he felt so easy and fine. I did call a few times to enquire about his welfare.

A couple of years later I got a call that he had to be suddenly rushed to the intensive care unit. His deglutition or capacity to swallow was suddenly and seriously hampered. He was on emergency support systems and there was no way any homoeo medicine could be given since he had the oxygen mask and other tubes blocking his mouth and nose. He passed away in a week. My friend who originally brought him informed me that he was induced to take some miracle cancer medicine of Chinese vintage.

The other case is of a close relation of mine. The lady was about forty-five and lived in Hyderabad. One day she found a lump in her right breast. It was diagnosed as malignant and everybody scared her to immediately consent for mastectomy and irradiation. There was neither special diseased condition nor any suffering at all. Later on she came to me, though there was no acute manifestation. I had known her for long. She was also very talkative and extremely penurious. Better economic conditions did not change her attitude. With the susceptibility to cancer and the inherent mental propensity, I selected Arsenicum Alb. For a year there was no perceptible problem. For all considerations, she was feeling good. She then took it easy. Slowly the communication with me stopped. I naturally presumed that she was really well. I was later told that she stopped even the occasional dose of Arsenicum. Then, suddenly, within a week, everything went topsy-turvy. She started to cough violently. There was severe metastasis. The lungs and many lymph nodes were severely affected. She was immediately given radiation and chemotherapy. When I saw her in Hyderabad five or six days later all hope was given up about her survival. I visited her at 9 PM and she was leaning in an adjustable chair about twenty degrees from the vertical. That was the only position she could breathe though with severe gasping.  She did not sleep at all for four days. She could not even swallow a full gulp of water because of the intensity of the dyspnea. I had carried Narayani’s mixture-Conium, Hydrastis and Phytolaca tinctures. I put about ten-ml in a glass of water and saw that she was given a spoonful every minute. In less than ten minutes, she inclined her head and slept in the same semi-erect position. I was exulted since I could observe the medicine holding even with the severe threat. Swamis Narayani and Ananda, in their Handbook on Healing have recorded their very valuable clinical expertise on homoeopathic approach to treating cancer patients. In the exigency of the circumstances, that was the savior I could think of.

We continued the same mixture along with Carcinosin on alternate days and then biweekly. She was still in the hospital. The progress was astounding. In three weeks she could eat her meals, was taking a walk in he corridors of the hospital regularly and she even gained three kilos weight. At that stage, they wanted to give her the next dose of the chemotherapy.  I firmly advised against. She was anyway given the chemotherapy in the morning and she passed away at midnight. Call it destiny.