This Cancer Treatment Side Effect
Can Last for Years — and Make
Your Life a "Living Hell"
You'll want to think twice about
conventional treatments after you read this
Many people have been handed a life of "living hell" as a side effect of traditional cancer treatments, yet hardly a doctor warns of the dangers. What's more, the side effect doesn't go away once the treatment is over. You may suffer with it for the rest of your life.

One more reason to avoid conventional treatments. . .but what if it's too late for you and you're already afflicted with this nightmare? Conventional doctors will tell you there's nothing they can do. As often happens, they're wrong. We've got some tips to help you manage this painful result of mainstream cancer medicine. . .

Lymphedema is an abnormal fluid build-up that causes swelling, mostly in the arms and legs. It develops when lymph nodes are removed, impaired, or damaged, as often happens when a breast cancer patient has a mastectomy or lumpectomy. But it can also be a result of radiation treatment.

Any time the normal drainage pattern is disrupted, the swelling called lymphedema may occur.

Lymphedema is a common complication of conventional cancer treatments. If you've had ovarian or cervical cancer, prostate, testicular, bladder or colon cancer — and if you've undergone conventional treatments -- lymphedema would affect your legs and feet instead of your arms as happens with breast cancer.

Tamoxifen, a cancer drug, is another common cause of lower extremity lymphedema and blood clots.

And yet your doctor may never
warn you about this complication

Some people develop lymphedema immediately following these treatments… others do so months or years later. The degree of swelling varies. Some people experience extreme swelling, with the affected arm or leg ballooning to several inches larger than the other arm or leg.

How bad is it? Many patients complain that dealing with lymphedema has taken over their entire life.

Besides the damage to your looks and the painful side effects such as lost range of motion, tightness, and difficulty fitting into clothing in one specific area… lymphedema also increases your risk of serious infection, which can become a life-threatening emergency if it spreads throughout your lymphatic or circulatory systems and reaches vital organs.

Mainstream medicine's 'non-treatment' of lymphedema

While the best lymphedema prevention in my view is to avoid cut/burn/poison interventions in the first place, I also recognize that many people do them first and then learn later how damaging they can be.

After all, we're all learning as we go. Most people submit to conventional treatments just as their doctor tells them, and turn to alternative treatments only when the first way fails.

Although mainstream medicine is the main source of the problem of lymphedema, mainstream medicine leaves you high and dry when it comes to solutions to the problem.

For example, the Cleveland Clinic and others take the rather pessimistic view that there's not much they can do. They consider lymphedema a chronic disease that usually requires lifelong management.1

They suggest conservative treatments (catch the irony here?) such as bandaging, compression garments, and exercises.

Surgery has been tried as a lymphedema treatment, but it usually doesn't work and often makes the condition worse.

Doctors may also refer patients to a physical or occupational therapist who specializes in lymphedema. They will work with you to create a treatment plan that may include:

Specific exercises or a complete exercise program
Manual lymphatic drainage therapy (a gentle form of massage)
Mechanical pumping devices as needed
Very important… Be sure the therapist you see has specific training and experience with lymphedema cases.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

If it's not too late, consider skipping conventional treatment plans with their almost certain negative side effects… Or at least give extremely careful consideration to some of the alternative protocols available — such as the Budwig Protocol, and Dr. Max Gerson's.

If you have late-stage cancer, conventional treatments are just about sure losers and definitely not worth trying. If your cancer is early-stage, it's a tougher call. Me? I'd go with alternatives. (I don't like to keep reminding these unfortunate late-stage patients that their chances are so slim, but that's what this newsletter is all about. You need to start doing alternatives — pronto — and stop listening to the mainstream nonsense. The only way to say it is to say it, so I'm not going to mince words here. I'm sorry if it comes across as harsh.)

But what's your next step if you've already done the surgery, undergone radiation or chemo… and now suffer from lymphedema?

Hope and help from natural medicine

Counter to hand wringing from the conventional camp, there are some measures you can implement that may help control or even cure your lymphedema.

Detoxify.

As much as possible, detoxify your system to create the best possible health and internal cleanliness. Use Epsom salt baths, which are known to chelate ionizing radiation and radioactivity from your body.
Lose Weight

Studies show that lymphedema is typically worse in overweight individuals, so shedding a few extra pounds may give you relief.
Dietary and Lifestyle Protocol

Dr. Budwig's Protocol makes sense for anyone facing any kind of a cancer challenge. It may also, due to its somewhat "blood thinning" effect, help facilitate lymphatic flow.

Add enzymes such as bromelain (found in raw pineapple) to your diet. Bromelain and other proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzymes are known to reduce swelling and inflammation. (Note: If you're allergic to pineapple, you may develop a rash. There are many other proteolytic enzymes to choose from. They're also called proteases. For the full story on enzyme therapy, read our Special Report The Missing Ingredient for Good Health. EVERYONE should be taking enzymes, sick and healthy people alike.)

Better yet, go raw! Raw foods are filled with living enzymes and cancer fighting nutrients. Get out your juicer or food processor, even if you haven't used it in awhile. Juicing does some of the 'pre-digesting' for your body.

Focus on these cancer-cell-killing, nutritious foods — all raw, of course: carrots, broccoli, cabbage, green asparagus, pineapple, whole purple grapes with seeds, skins and all, apricot seeds (they contain laetrile), strawberries, red and black raspberries, blueberries, beetroot, and turmeric.

Enjoy some "green power foods" and drinks… Freshly pressed organic wheatgrass, celery, and parsley juice, and spirulina have helped a great many patients overcome both cancer and lymphedema.

Choose anti-inflammatory foods — which means sidestepping wheat, sugar, dairy, and all processed foods.
Herbs

Certain herbs are known to help increase lymphatic flow, including butcher's broom, ginger tea (made from powdered ginger), sweet clover ointment (which contains coumarin — a lymph flow stimulant).

"Indigo Drops" — formulated by herbalist Ingrid Naiman for lymphatic blockages — has been reported to help "in as little as five to six hours". I don't have much information about this, but it sounds worth checking out.

Frankincense (boswellia), myrrh and ginger essential oils may also promote lymphatic movement… and cayenne is an all-round helpful herb.

Ginger tea prepared with about half a teaspoon of powdered ginger in a cup of water may help increase circulation of lymph, and reduce inflammation.

Red clover (which has anti-cancer properties) and fenugreek seem to be helpful also. As do the oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) found in grape seed or pine bark extract tablets, taken as supplements.

Several capsules of echinacea daily help stimulate lymph flow.
Activate Your Lymphatic System — Here's How…

Your lymph system is your waste removal system. But unlike your heart, which has a pump, your lymph must be stimulated by action and movement.

For example, you can stimulate it by brisk walking.

But some believe there's no substitute for jumping on a small trampoline (rebounder) for five to ten minute sessions without too much heavy breathing. This stimulates lymph flow like nothing else (except possibly jumping rope).

Lothar Himeise, eminent cancer researcher, proclaims in his book Chemotherapy Heals Cancer and The World is Flat:
"Please do not underestimate the pronounced positive effects that jumping on a trampoline can have on your lymphatic system. Even if you do not feel the healing effect immediately, this simple device offers immense support to your detoxification efforts."
Be sure to get a quality rebounder.

Another option is using a Power Plate, used in the space program to stimulate immune and bone health. It also induces the motion and gravitational forces of a rebounder — only much faster. Indeed, it is said to be able to multiply your exercise efforts, giving you far better results in substantially less time.

Another activation method is to brush... With a soft natural bristle brush, start at the tips of your fingers and brush toward your collar bone, left side then right side. Circle each breast, stroking gently but firmly, and always toward the respective collarbone. This is where the lymph fluid reenters your blood circulation.

On your lower body, start with your toes, and stroke with long strokes toward the lymph nodes in each groin, near your front lower abdomen — where your largest and most important lymph nodes are located, and where lymph toxins are "digested".
Wear loose fitting clothing

Never restrict lymph flow by wearing tight clothing such as bras and tight pants. Some observers say there’s a direct link between the length of time a bra is worn and breast cancer incidence… as well as a notable absence of prostate cancer in countries where men wear loose-fitting pants. (Tight fitting pants create local hyperthermia, restrict lymph flow, and 'starve' local cells.)
Cabbage Leaf Packs

It sounds bizarre, but cabbage leaf applications were a backbone of naturopathic Swiss doctor Father Thomas Haeberle's books and practices. Cabbage is well established as an anti-cancer food. But as a poultice it is relatively unknown in modern times, though there is some evidence it was popular during Roman times.

I know of no scientific studies that back this as a treatment — so please take the following story as it is intended, strictly as an anecdotal case.

A woman who reportedly suffered from lymphedema had tried elastic bandages with no improvement. Hearing that cabbage leaves might help, she crushed cabbage leaves and held them in place over her lymphedema with elastic bandages. She reported marked improvement in just one night, and almost completely dissipated swelling in three nights. There's likely no harm in trying this, but realize that we don't have scientific studies to show its efficacy.
Red Light Treatment

Several studies now show the healing benefits of light, and especially red light. (No blue light for lymphedema.) Red light wavelengths easily penetrate your skin, stimulating your mitochondria — the cellular powerhouses that make your tissues and organs run more smoothly.

The first study, published in the journal Lymphology in 19982, showed that women getting red light treatments once or twice a week for 10 weeks had measurably less arm swelling, and improvements in measures of pain, tightness, heaviness, cramps and arm mobility.

Red light therapy not only reduces lymphedema… it also helps activate the local immune system by stimulating the white blood cells that can kill and carry away pathogens. This makes for a more sanitary cellular environment and thereby reduces infection risk. I've seen a couple of products recommended: The X Light from Chee Energy Company and the Light Shaker from Light Energy Company. Haven't checked them out, I'm just passing the info along.

But the ultimate light treatment might be sunlight. After all, it's been available throughout the ages and assists your body to produce vitamin D which is highly protective against cancer.

The Russians found that sunlight speeds up detoxification by twice to as much as twenty times. But the best results were when sun exposure began before toxic exposure began — a compelling reason to get regular sunlight.3
Your lymph nodes do an amazing job of keeping you detoxified.

So, even if you don't have lymphedema, or have never had cancer — you might be well advised to employ many of these strategies strictly for their health-enhancing benefits. After all, if your lymph nodes do so much for you, why not give them the assistance to do their job better?