The moment the word ‘cancer’ is mentioned — whether in casual conversations or serious discussions — a pall of gloom invariably pervades the vicinity and such abject negativity is surrounding the disease. The play of individual destinies, the biology of tumour and also the grind of treatment ordeals have together prevented us from gathering rich, actionable insights into this enigmatic disease, leaving us perpetually wondering, “Can cancer be vanquished?”
One patient at the same stage of cancer does not make it, while another manages a miraculous recovery, even at the point of no return. In my personal experience, I have seen many patients who follow a path of healing which others are unaware of. The moment we acknowledge cancer as an affliction of our mind and spirit, as much as that of our physical bodies, we embark on a spiritually therapeutic path of healing.
Every thought and emotion that we experience, affect some part of our genome in a profound manner. Germs exist all around and yet, only some of us fall ill. Elusive as it may seem, those who fall ill actually have a different thought pattern compared to those who are more immune. The human body has the uncanny ability to eliminate cancerous cells through a normal immune mechanism. And contrary to what people believe, our bodies have been doing this thankless job all along.
These reflections should serve as a ready reckoner for any cancer patient who wishes to look beyond reluctance and open a new gateway to the countenance of hope, love and healing. Healing of mind, body and soul is the key mantra, not fighting cancer!
The first and foremost prescription for any cancer patient is to consciously cultivate and reinforce the conviction: “I may have cancer, but I won’t let cancer have me.” We often hear patients being vociferously advised: “Fight your cancer”. But do we ever tell people to fight their noses when they catch a common cold? Or for that matter their kidneys in case of a renal stone? A child developing from an embryo in a mother’s womb starts with a single cell and grows to a trillion cells in nine months, way faster than most cancer cell proliferations. We would never call a new life in the womb as a tumour. Similarly, it is not wise for a patient to fight cancer instead, the patient should provide the cancer cells as much love and healing as possible, to bring them back to harmony, thereby fighting a mind which is generally consumed by negativity in most cases.
Getting in sync with oneself is most critical in the healing process. The positive affirmations are in fact healing mantras that are invoked by the innate potential of one’s own self, through prayer, diet, Yoga and holistic treatments. A mantra in Sanskrit is a combination of two words: ‘Manas’ (mind) & ‘Tra’ (instrument), which literally means ‘an instrument to silence the mind’. These mantras reaffirm the fundamental healing principles of the universe towards restoring the social contact of cancer cells to normalcy.
Interestingly, science yet grapples to answer a basic quandary. Why don’t the normal cells, or the immune system, kill the cancer cells? Well, our body cells are smarter than our ignorant minds. They know these cancer cells are their kith and kin, not a bacteria or virus that needs to be flushed out. Given the fiercely negative minds, most cancer patients mechanically go through their treatments, completely unaware of the drugs being administered, their mechanism of action, nature of the scans, or the probability of the outcomes. Conversely, the cancer patients actively participating in treatment, using the healing mantras, create an immensely powerful innate healing force in their bodies. We all have an innate ability to raise our consciousness to a state of love; the consciousness abounds with the ability to heal lives, not just cancer.
The writer is the Regional Director, Head Neck Surgical Oncology and robotic surgery and the Associate Dean for Centre of Academic Research at HealthCare Global (HCG) Cancer Centre, Bengaluru.