Cancer Updates from John Hopkins University

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not
reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumours.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies.. These could be due to genetic, environmental,food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies,changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6.. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage,like liver,kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns,scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size.. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from Chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with Cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to no urish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic,avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6,Flor-ssence,Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc..) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted,
or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Information can help save life....please share with family and friends.

IRON HAND NEEDED TO STEER PROJECTS TO ACTION

I have followed the debates in our local Newspapers in the recent past especially those debates touching on Performance contracts, Mau Forest evictions, school unrests etc with mixed feelings of sorrow and disdain for our beloved country Kenya.

I am saying with mixed sorrow because the way our leaders, especially the elected ones whether as MP’s or those elected to represent various professional Associations or Unions are behaving, portray a sad scene and narrows our focus on handling national issues with the openness of mind and grasp of facts as they are stated.

Take the issue of Mau Forest for example; it is common knowledge to all Kenyans that this is the largest water tower in Eastern Africa and several rivers feeding Lake Victoria originate from here. Any interference with this catchment means putting millions of people, wildlife and Marine lives into a state of jeopardy. Egypt relies solely on the river Nile as its source of drinking and irrigation water. If the lake is not able to sustain itself through the Feeder Rivers that originate from Mau and other catchment areas, it naturally means that the other dependants of the lake through the rivers such as Nile will suffer.

It is not too late to reverse the damage already done to the Mau forest by the past government; the current government seems ready to take the bull by its horns once and for all. It has shown that it is possible to salvage the damage done and restore the forest back to its feet and is even willing to take the onus of settling all the illegal squatters currently living in land hived off the forest. A good gesture indeed that should be appreciated by all.

I do not see a better way a government can serve its purpose other than marshal all in its wake and fight the challenges of global warming by replenishing a dying international heritage. Despite all these, there are people who for pure selfish reasons have by design refused to believe that this issue, hot as it is, is worth undertaking because it is going to interfere with their constituents… (read here the people who got me the job as an MP etc). What else would you say of a university educated legislator, well informed and savvy about environmental issues but refuses to engage in serious discourse and simply grumbles about an issue as serious as global warming?

The other lot are those who think that performance contracts are supposed to send employees home when they don’t perform to expectations. Whose idea is this if I may ask and who tells you that if you don’t meet your targets then you are fired? There are always genuine reasons that can make a person not to meet the targets and these could be both internal and external factors. A good example is the post election political upheavals that faced the country; it means that for a good part of the first quarter of year 2008 most targets could not be met due to a lot of insecurity and displacements etc. Some internal reasons could be funding problems or lack of necessary resources to undertake the tasks earmarked in the contract.
There is no better way for an institution or a person to show what they have been doing over a period unless they state what it is they want to do over the same period and work towards achieving that. In other words set targets for your work. World trends are catching up with us and if we truly want to achieve our blueprint of growth and development as envisioned in the 2030 document then this is the stage to start from. Whether you are a teacher, doctor, driver or judge of the High Court, the times have caught up with us, we just can’t hide under any other guise. Sign contracts now.

Now it is the talk on where the perpetrators of the post election violence that rocked the country should be tried. Groups have emerged supporting either the Hague option, Local tribunal as suggested by Waki and even the Truth and Reconciliation modelled alongside the S.African version. The people of Kenya who have suffered most in all these are now held captive by Selfish leaders who do little but defend their own interests. The leadership of our country currently steered by a duo in the form of Kibaki and Riala are themselves torn apart between party loyalty and duty to nation. It is quite sad that the cabinet which is meant to be a collective think tank and highest decision maker has openly defied the principals on almost all matters that in the past and currently need consensus to enable the nation move forward. Then there is the parliament, made up of hyena in the name of Hon members. These are the worst lot...more like Assasins for hire, they are bought left and right both within and without the precints of the August house...they will do duty to the highest bidder.

But all these objections to whatever the government wants to do can be achieved if an element of iron hand is employed to steer the projects on the tracks, push them several kilometers of the rail and then once momentum is picked let to roll down easily. Kenyans will always hide in democratic rights but we must realize that too much democracy breeds democrazy people. People must be cajoled and threatened and sometimes made to do things they don’t like as long as the results anticipated will help save the country or mankind.

Take a family comprised of father, mother and children, the children always want their way in all things and if given a chance would neither undertake any chores nor even attend school. All of us were forced to wake up in cold weather, sometimes in rain, bathe with cold water and trek several kilometers to school. I know if I were given a choice I would say to hell with school and stay at home. But our parents were firm in the knowledge that this was going to shape our futures and more importantly put food on our tables and make us better people. Many a times we were flogged and then frog-marched to school and handed over to teachers for further discipline. If our top leaders listen to these opposing voices and give them a chance to operate; we will forever remain hungry and worthless.

Together we should stand up in solidarity and develop our country through painful and hard decisions so that our children and grand children will rejoice in the knowledge that we sacrificed a little and used steely measures to make them comfortable. Above all we shall have done a commendable duty before God and mankind! Does the saying “nothing comes easy” come to mind?

Twitter Moms: The Influential Moms Network

Inspiring Friendship Quotes

"There are no such things as strangers, only friends we haven't met yet."
Anonymous
"Odd how much it hurts when a friend moves away - and leaves behind only silence."
Pam Brown
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can by trying to get other people interested in you." Dale Carnegie

"You can hardly make a friend in a year, but you can easily offend one in an hour."
Chinese Proverb
"It is the friends that you can call at 4 A.M. that matter." Marlene Dietrich

"In times of prosperity friends will be plenty; in time of adversity not one in twenty."
English Proverb

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." Anais Nin

"God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies." Proverb

"A friend is one who knows all about you and likes you anyway." Christi Mary Warner

"A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself." Frances Ward Weller

Friends are born, not made. Henry Adams

"Life without a friend is death without a witness." Spanish Proverb

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend" Robert Lewis Stevenson

"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend." Henry David Thoreau

How can sincerity be a condition of friendship? A taste for truth at any cost is a passion which spares nothing. Albert Camus

Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship never. Charles Caleb Colton

What a wretched lot of old shriveled creatures we shall be by-and-by. Never mind the uglier we get in the eyes of others, the lovelier we shall be to each other; that has always been my firm faith about friendship. George Eliot

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families." Unknown

"No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow."
Alice Walker
My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. Aristotle

Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. Aristotle

This communicating of a man's self to his friend works two contrary effects; for it redoubles joys, and cutteth griefs in half. Francis Bacon

Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another. Eustace Budgell

"My best friend is the one that brings out the best in me." Henry Ford

"If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country." E. M. Forster

Celebrated Ceremonies and cultural events

As promised in the last posting i will be discussing different ceremonies and cultural events that took place during my stay in the village. Some of these ceremonies have been very important in influencing my adult life and also enabling me to appreciate and value our cultural heritage and diversity.

Nyoluoro

This ceremony was held immediately after harvesting in appreciation to the abundance in harvest that God had blessed the community with. Why 'nyoluoro'? It was named so because of the nature of organizing this ceremonies where each home ( household) was expected to contribute and prepare foodstuff and brew local beer for the villagers to celebrate. This was a rotational event moving from home to home until all the homes within the village were exhausted hence 'Nyoluoro' meaning to go round.

I particularly liked this ceremony because it was always an avenue to meet so many old men, women and friends who always accompanied their parents to such events. While the old men and women enjoyed the local beer after a hearty meal of Nyama choma and ugali, roasted tripe and even the tripe bowel (known locally as Ojuri) we took the time off to play some football, volleyball and even competed in races. it was a great moment and the competition was very tight if i look back now i think it has been a worthwhile adventure and learning ground for me.

Usually the climax of the events was traditional dances and even traditional music that was always played to entertain the village folks. There would be the chorus guy leading these songs, in most cases this was Benjamin Okumbe, the rest of the women folk would ululate and sing along in a beatiful rhythm and such was the harmony and peace that we enjoyed growing up in the village. During these songs, there would be uniform dance style and the whole group would move from the main house dancing and singing upto the gate of the home and back again and this would go on and on for different songs till dusk.

It is quite nostalgic remebering these things so many years later when there is only one remaining old man still surviving out of the whole lot of them. As i write this piece i see clearly my grandfather Enoka Gauna, Riako Ndisi, Mariko Otiato, Ogude Apiyo, Nyangute Kasure, Ambila, Otana, Mawere Odiyo, Odipo Dalmas, Ndege, Peter Ogoyi, and the only surviving group member Benjamin Okumbe wuon Oyola. To the demise may God Rest your souls in Peace.

expect more in the next blog as we continue our village experiences.

My views from the Village perspective

Living in the village is quite interesting.. why do i say this? based on my upbringing which was basically in the village and my love for anything village and my friends in the villages coupled also with the fact that it is very natural staying in the village.

People of the village:

Usually this lot is very original in every meaning of the word. I remember when we were growing up, we had a tendency to go strolling in the evening most days either to the nearest market centre or just lazying around by the roadside. But the interesting part was the preparation that was always put in this endeavour. we would spend endless time trying to polish our cracked soles with some special stone from kamasia known locally as "kit kamasia". It was a black rugged stone usually of very rough edges that was curved to try and control our huge gullies of cracked skin and our wildly growing toe nails. Mark you this was not a preserve of men only but also of women especially when they were preparing to go to the market to buy or sell their wares, my Aunt Lorna Nyar Awino would spend so much time scrubbing her legs that most of the times she was always left behind by my mum and had to run some kilometres to catch up. After all the preparation of polishing the soles we would put on 'Akala' shoes made from car tyres and decend on the road to adventure, only those who were very luck could put on 'Lada' some rubber shoes from bata Shoe company and very famous for their strips of blue, white and red labels.

These 'maraoundis' the rounds we made to the roadside or market places were meant to expose us to life and also to show another species (gals) that guys existed in a certain village and hence were capable of mingling and mixing in the hope of creating a lasting union.

Chores

Males and females had different sets of chores as dictated by culture but some of us were very unlucky 'coz my mum never believed in male or female you were children and must work as scheduled. You would find me in many instances washing dishes and cutting sukuma wiki but what i loved most was gathering firewood in the bushes. I still think i had a natural talent for identifying dry hidden trees right in the middle of the bush and had to get help to heave the bundle onto my head for the trip home. After learning to ride a bicycle sometimes in 1986 I found myself new status as the bike man. I would undertake all sorts of errands most of which used to be done by my uncle Tong'a. I would be sent to go buy household goods at Bondo market, send stipend to my grandmother in Asembo about 60kms away, relay messages of death and invitation for ceremonies and take my mum on her errands as Chairperson of Ndwara Womens' Goup.

I remember one time during these trips to my grand mother, I was on the bike and had covered about 15kms when suddenly in my ignorance I tried crossing the road and since these were murram roads the middle part was raised due to constant use by motor vehicles and my bikes front tyres could not go up the embarkment. The next thing I remebered was I getting up, tidying myself, looking around and talking to myself and smiling at nothing in particular. I had been thrown off the bike and had bruises on my hands and legs and worse still was the bike with twisted wheel. I abandoned the journey and trekked back home a very dissapointed person. I still bear the scars on my hands, a constant reminder of what happened many years back.

Foods

Plenty and variety of foods abound in the villages and most of them are free. The best times in the village are during the harvesting seasons when fresh produce is removed from the gardens and households cook something fresh from the gardens. As growing up lads we were lucky to have our grandmothers around and several aunts and uncles, so during meal time we would make rounds and have our fill before concluding with your own mums delicacy. I particularly liked Nyoyo gi nyuka ( mixed maize and beans and porridge). There is however a very bitter vegetable called 'Achak' in my language, most people ferment it with milk for a week before they can take it but i had a love for this veg so much that we would cook it and i would demand it in it's bitterest state and go ahead to swallow it without blinking an eye lid.

Other favourites that i liked were obuolo(mushroom). These grew naturally on anthills and once you spotted them sprouting all you needed to do was put a mark of ownership, something similar to a copyright label called 'tach' and anybody else seeing this would not dare touch them. But Obuolo had to be shared out once harvested with neighbours. Omena, rabuon(sweetpotatoes) were also very good delicacies. You can see why we withered hostile weather and never had malaria or pneumonia.

Make sure to read more on the same topic in my next posting focusing on social issues and ceremonies as seen from the village perspective.

Environmental Awareness:It is everyones responsibility

Environmental consciousness or awareness has become a leading term in forums as this is one of the most fundamental components of human life. The environment represents way of life and all the beauty that comes with life is compounded in our environment.

There is all the ambience, freedom and peace in a clean, well manicured and managed sorrounding and as such there is need for humanity to take a second look at our environment and start appreciating and preserving this resource and heritage that is so precious yet very vulnerable to destruction.

Having said that how many of us do take steps to keep our neighbourehood well kept? Many a times we see people throwing rubbish without any care on earth where it will land as long as it leaves his/her hands. This behaviour is not only sickening but it also points at what our society has reached in levels of irresponsibility as far as environmental management and protection is concerned. What annoys more some of the times is that the Local Authorities would go to great pains to put bins where litter can be dropped but still some people will go and drop the litter outside the bin even when the bin is empty, now tell me what kind of madness is that?

Drivers of cars and other personal vehicles plus passengers in public vehicles many a times eat, drink water and then without blinking an eyelid and as if it is so cosy to be seen littering the roads go ahead and drop mineral water bottles and plastic bags of chips(french fries) in full glare of everyone else including fellow passengers and nobody raises an eyelid. What has come of society? do we continually want to be choked up in filth and dirt? Already the global warming is causing remarkable impact on the climatic conditions of the world and pollution levels from other sources such as industrial wastes and emissions into our water sources and the like are becoming unmanageable. Where then are we likely to turn to for survival?

The solution lies with us and not elsewhere. We need to start protecting our trees from hungry charcoal burners. We need to plant two trees for several years before you cut one tree for whatever reason. We need to protect our water catchment areas by increasing forest cover in our countryside. We need to educate the masses on the importance of clean, viable environment because without proper civic education coupled with practical examples the world will soon be one big sahara desert. History tells us that Sahara was once an agriculturally rich area and trade in fresh produce thrived long before the changes seen today were experienced. There could be some scientific explanation to this but we shouldn't wait until science explains things to us, Action must be taken and now is the time to do it.

The governements of the world should take action by enacting punative regulations that will deter culprits while enhancing the status of our quickly dwindling environment and restoring it back to stability state.

It's my humble appeal that action however must start with me, you and everyone will join us. Lets take action !Lets make environmental Awareness our responsibility!