- This topic has 28 replies, 20 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 2 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Haven’t been around much nor even lurked. About 6 weeks ago my doctor told me to stop krav. In truth I was getting violently ill after classes and then simply couldn’t recover for weeks. I guess I should have waited till the chemo was finished and my body recovered, but I was hoping to take a proactive stance. I am pretty frustrated and disappointed, but know it was the right call. Right now 20 pushup is a workout
Anyway, I’m not leaving the forum, but right now even posting this is uncomfortable, but I wanted to publically thank Adi for her help and understanding. Steve Tuna for the opportunity to meet and workout with him as well as the equipment he supplied me with to train. La Revancha for being a great support system in training and always having my back in class. Sam Sade for all his advice in healing as`well as the staff at kmso, who always made me feel welcomed. And of course Sean
Also, this forum has been a great place for me to learn and express myself, even the fights have been fun
Maybe in the future, I’ll be able to try again. Who knows
Mike
Re: Out of Krav
Keep fighting the good fight Mike. Listen to your body and do what you can, when you can. Don’t worry, Krav will be here when you’re up to it again! thumbsup
Re: Out of Krav
What Don said – don’t be too hard on yourself or frustrated!!!
It could be that in the context of underlying health issues, that making it through a training session was really the true equivalent of climbing Everest / completing a marathon!
If I may add – decoding from your post….there’s a doctor I know who I highly trust; non-egomaniacal, caring, very smart with a broad perspective and a lifetime of personal & professional experience – he works part time at a highly regarded cutting edge cancer clinic in North America where they have a ‘whole body’ approach which is comprised of the usual Western approaches like chemo, surgery etc but in combination with nutrition, diet, mind, body & spirit so they’ll do yoga, meditation, herbal supplements, counselling, vitamins like D which boost the immune system, chinese medicine, acupuncture etc. in order to support every facet of the person.
He told me that all the things they see as being effective in their practice have been covered in this new (as per 2008) book which he highly recommends for cancer patients obviously but also anyone interested in improving or learning about health & well being. I picked up the book last year & found it interesting & eye-opening. The ‘whole body’ concept makes a lot of sense to me.:
http://www.amazon.com/Anticancer-New-Life-David-Servan-Schreiber/dp/0670020346
In “Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life,” French-born psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. David Servan-Schreiber discusses his fifteen-year battle with brain cancer. Although conventional treatments worked initially, the cancer recurred. Fortunately, he has been cancer-free for the past seven years, and he attributes his success to an anti-cancer regimen that, he asserts, boosts the body’s natural defenses. Dr. Servan-Schreiber does NOT encourage cancer patients to reject their doctors’ advice concerning surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. However, he does believe that there is nothing to lose and everything to gain by making changes in one’s diet, level of physical activity, psychological attitude, and environment.
This book is an informative and eye-opening look at the mechanisms of cancer, explained in a way that a layman can understand. There are many helpful charts, tables, and illustrations that clarify the sometimes technical information about the latest research on the genesis and progression of cancer. The author maps out how rogue cells are nourished and conversely, how they can be starved of the nourishment that they need to multiply. Although researchers have undoubtedly made a great deal of progress, Servan-Schreiber assures us that we have a long way to go before we can declare victory over the many types of cancer that still plague mankind. In addition, he includes well-chosen quotations from literature (such as Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”), philosophy, and other physicians and scientists to illustrate his points, some of which deal with our fear of dying without having lived a full and meaningful life.
“Anti-Cancer” is a personal, touching, instructive, and thought-provoking. Whether or not the reader is interested in adopting the author’s recommendations concerning diet, exercise, meditation, and other lifestyle changes, no one who completes this book will ever think about cancer or about the human body in quite the same way. Servan-Schreiber is not a new-age charlatan who advocates far-out therapies. Everything that he suggests is based on solid and well-documented research, and he includes numerous citations from scientific journals.
Although no one wants to confront a fatal illness, Servan-Schreiber contends that his battle with cancer has had a positive aspect. “By exposing life’s brevity, a diagnosis of cancer can restore life’s true flavor.” Forced for the first time to look into his soul and evaluate his approach to living, he realized that he had been caught up in a treadmill that allowed him little time to appreciate the importance of mind-body equilibrium, inner peace, relationships with loved ones, and personal fulfillment. Everyone, no matter what the state of his or her health, can benefit from this stimulating and provocative work.
Re: Out of Krav
Another excellent overview of the book’s core concepts:
A REVIEW OF ANTICANCER: A NEW WAY OF LIFE by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, Ph.D.
Viking Penguin, 2008.Mind and heart come together in this remarkable book, making it a must read. As a person living with cancer I found it impossible to put down. Servan-Schreiber, a physician and neuroscience researcher, co-founder of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was 31 years old, received treatment and went into remission. Eventually though, he had a recurrence. After the recurrence he started to look into natural approaches to prevent or help treat cancer. The book is both a memoir and a riveting journey through recent developments in the ideas about cancer. We learn about his personal story and how he slowly transformed himself from a laboratory scientist mainly interested in writing papers into a proponent of an integrative approach to cancer treatment who is keenly interested in human beings. He does a marvelous job of connecting the dots in widely dispersed areas of knowledge-all relevant to his interest in cancer and our natural defense mechanisms.
Key ideas presented are: 1) everybody has cancer cells in their bodies, but not everybody develops cancer; 2) we must include the concept of “terrain,” our whole being, in any discussion about cancer; and 3) at this point in history, we cannot attempt to deal with cancer without the tools of conventional Western medicine. Based on these ideas, he presents an updated view on cancer growth and how to mobilize our vital mechanisms and use the resources of the body to defend ourselves.
Chapter 4, “Cancer’s Weaknesses,” presents some of the current thinking about the immune system, inflammation, and angiogenesis. He discusses “natural killer” cells (NK cells), white blood cells that attack cancer cells, and activate their self-destruction. The more active NK cells are the more they can stop tumor’s growth. It follows that we must do all we can to activate them through a healthy diet, clean environment, physical exercise, and stress reducing activities.
The discussion on inflammation is clear and concise. Inflammation is the normal process that our bodies use to repair tissues after a wound. But, as it turns out, inflammation can be diverted to promote cancer growth, as if cancer were the outcome of a wound repair mechanism gone wrong. Cancer cells need to produce inflammation to sustain their growth and block the natural process of apoptosis-the suicide of cells. As Servan-Schreiber aptly puts it “Thanks to the inflammation they create they infiltrate neighboring tissues, slip into the bloodstream, migrate, and establish remote colonies called metastases” (page 37). Dietary imbalance in the ratio of essential fatty acids has led us to an incredibly higher consumption of omega-6s oils compared to omega-3s, which increases inflammation.
Judah Folkman was a surgeon whose great contribution to cancer research was to highlight angiogenesis, the fact that tumors need new capillaries to feed themselves and expand. Tumors hijack blood vessels by producing a chemical substance that attracts them and stimulates them to grow new branches. Though it took quite a while for Folkman’s ideas to be accepted, how to block angiogenesis is now one of the central areas of cancer research. There are some foods, spices, and herbs that reduce angiogenesis and diminishing inflammation will also prevent new vessel growth.
Servan-Schreiber gives very practical suggestions about these three areas of knowledge, so that we can stimulate our defense mechanisms, while receiving conventional treatment. Just this chapter is worth the price of the book!In discussing the contribution of the environment to the cancer epidemic, Servan-Schreiber writes about the typical Western diet, the changes in farming and raising animals during the last century, and the chemical contamination of our planet since the forties. Sugar and white flours dominate our diet and raise rapidly the level of glucose. Insulin and IGF-1 (insulin Growth Factor 1, a powerful growth hormone) are released to allow glucose to enter cells. Insulin and IGF1 also promote inflammation. He argues convincingly that we should eliminate sugar and white flour from our diet.
There is a detailed section about anticancer foods in daily practice. Servan-Schreiber has been influenced by the work of Richard BÈliveau, at the University of Montreal. BÈliveau, a cancer biologist working in medical pharmacology for twenty years, shifted to working on diet, through a series of interesting circumstances that I won’t tell you about here. Read the book! It is a fascinating story and it has led to the concept of anticancer foods, like phytochemicals, components of some vegetables/fruits, which have antimicrobial, antifungal, insecticidal, and antioxidants properties. They also act as detoxifiers of the body. There is also a wonderful description of the research on traditional spices, like turmeric, by Professor Bharat Aggarwal at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Center. A key substance called nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) is secreted by tumor cells, it promotes cancer cell growth and spread. The whole pharmaceutical industry is trying to find out drugs that inhibit NF-kappaB. Servan-Schreiber points out that two substances that do so are available easily, catechins, found in green tea and resveratrol, found in red wine. And as it happens, turmeric is also an antagonist to NF-kappaB. He also states that since the pharmaceutical industry and the food industry are not interested in any changes we badly need “… public institutions and foundations to finance human studies on the anticancer benefits of food” (page 115). Indeed!The book emphasizes the importance of a healthy mindset that will stimulate the will to live in cancer patients and the need to find support, to deal with emotions, and to find ways to relieve stress. There is a lot of work going on about the link between psychological factors and the immune system. White blood cells can detect the presence of stress hormones and react according to the levels of these hormones in the bloodstream by releasing inflammatory substances. Natural killer cells can be blocked by stress hormones, and become passive instead of reacting to viruses or cancer cells. Feelings of helplessness can influence directly our immune system. Meditation, yoga, and other practices that develop awareness and attention to the present moment can help the body’s harmonious functioning and in so doing stimulate the life force that keeps us healthy. Our bodies need touch and physical exercise, we can benefit from massage, and we must increase our sense of connection with others that it is so important to give meaning and purpose to our lives. A holistic approach needs to take all the dimensions of living into consideration and Servan-Schreiber pushes us to leave nothing out of the picture and to pay attention to our inner selves so that we can live fully and gracefully.
The book ends by stressing three points: the importance of our “terrain,” the effects of awareness, and the synergy of natural forces. This last point is important. The body is a system in equilibrium, each function interacts with all the others. If we just change one of these functions the whole is affected. So, we can start with one thing, diet, psychological work, whatever makes sense to us and nourishes the will to live. Awareness in one area will automatically lead to progress in others, and little by little, the equilibrium will shift to greater health and will make changes easier. Finally, he addresses an important point, the worry that some oncologists have “not to give false hope.” He turns this idea around, and points out that “…this comes down to restricting ourselves to a conception of medicine that withholds the power every one of us has to take charge of ourselves. As if we couldn’t do anything to protect ourselves actively against cancer- before and after the disease. Encouraging this passivity creates a culture of hopelessness” (page 203).
One reservation that I have about the book is that the discussion about chemical contamination of the environment seems weak in comparison to the depth with which other topics are discussed. This is an area where individually we can do very little. This needs to be addressed at a system level, and in fact it is beginning to happen. For instance, in Massachusetts, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, a coalition of over 160 organizations, has relentlessly pursued legislation that will require the use of Safer Alternatives, when feasible, to dangerous chemicals. This year, the Senate voted unanimously in support of this but the House did not get to vote. The law will be introduced again in the 2009 legislative session. Keep an eye on it.
The book has eight pages in color on glossy paper that summarize visually the information about foods, inflammation, contamination in fruits and vegetables, effects of certain foods on specific cancers, detoxification, and an anticancer shopping list. And a list of ten precautions for cell phone use. Very useful!
If you want to take a look at Servan-Schreiber go to [….] and look for the video Anticancer, in English. He conveys intelligence and warmth. I highly recommend this book for everybody.
Rita Arditti
Re: Out of Krav
Just to be clear, the integrated cancer clinic I mentioned absolutely does utilize medical procedures like surgery, chemo etc but with an overall vision of mind, body & spirit so they’ll look at a wider picture of lifestyle, diet, stress reduction etc as well as incorporate some more esoteric elements – all under the direction of skilled experts. The Schreiber book is great because it makes the elements & findings of this new ‘integrated’ approach available to everybody in an easy to understand way. Fwiw – I do know someone who is referring to the book at the present time in order to fill in what they personally feel are some missing elements in their treatment, which is the regular surgery/chemo/radiation only approach. Hope all this info might be helpful in some way…
Re: Out of Krav
Well I didn’t know,I can’t believe you tried krav
taking chemo.You must keep up the fight an when
you feel better come back on to give us some sheet.
Try to keep us informed how it is going.Re: Out of Krav
Absolutely – doing KM while undergoing chemo? That is so d*mn hardcore..
No dent on the warrior ethos to withdraw, strengthen & heal – its tactics straight out of the Art of War.
Keep up the fight!Re: Out of Krav
Folks, I’ve had the privilege to have met Michael and spend a class as his partner. I’m fairly certain that his picture appears in the encyclopedia section for “warrior spirit.”
Aside from being tough as nails, Michael is smart, funny, compassionate and talented. He’s the kind of person we need more of.
Keep getting better, Michael. The Krav Maga community is with you!
Re: Out of Krav
Mike,
I’m so sorry to hear of your medical situation. I never new you had cancer and were under going chemo. And to tackle Krav while doing so — well it’s just amazing. What a fighting spirit. I echo above comments and pray for a speedy recovery and getting you back on the Krav training program.Re: Out of Krav
I wish you a swift recovery. We will be here when your feeling better, take care and keep your chin down and hands up till then.
Re: Out of Krav
Mike,
You are a warrior. There can be no question. You will win this fight. In fact this fight is won already. Your courage humbles and ispires all of us. Be well my friend. Embrace your healing. You are victorious!
Re: Out of Krav
You should know well by now you’re always welcome here Mike. Just rest up and when you want to try again, we’ll all be here cheering you onthumbsup
Re: Out of Krav
Mike, never met you, but I wish you the best. Tell my class often “you may or may not be attacked-but-make no mistake, you will fight battles”. Good luck friend.
Jeff
Re: Out of Krav
Michael,
All the positive energy and prayers we can muster is being sent your way!! Your positive outlook and your warrior attitude will be an asset to you during this fight. I have a very close friend who defeated Hodgkins three seperate times over three decades. His positive energy and will to survive, is awe inspiring, and humbling. You too have this energy…you will defeat this enemy!!!!! The people on this forum will help you in your fight. Lean on us whenever you need to!! God Bless You!!! JL
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
