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The NHS medical model approach to cancer treatment

When someone is diagnosed with cancer they are usually given the worst case scenario by the doctors. This is due to a number of factors...

• Doctors follow what is called 'the medical model' which involves dealing with patients in a very factual way.
• Life expectancies are based on past research. It is not possible to do otherwise but this means that statistics are often out of date.
• Life expectancies are based on the patient doing nothing for themselves and not changing their lifestyle or diet in any way.
• The majority of doctors base their continuing professional development on medical research conducted by drug companies.
• Modern nutritional information is often suppressed or 'watered down' due to the detrimental effects it would have on the farming and food industries.

Medical information from drug companies

Most people totally trust their doctors to know what's best for them and to a large extent that's true. The problem is it's usually only true where conventional medicine is concerned. In the west medical practise is to treat when someone is already ill. Contrast this with the oriental medical perspective which is to keep people healthy in the first place.

UK Doctors get information on new treatments from drug companies. The problem is that it costs a lot of money to develop a new drug so drug companies are only interested in drugs which will generate a profit for them. For example, in 2006 the University of Michigan conducted research into the use of ordinary ginger in the treatment of ovarian cancer. They found the gingerol (the active extract of ginger) killed the cancer cells in test tubes in a manner similar to chemotherapy. Not only that, but the cancer cells were unable to resist the gingerol in the same way they can become immune to chemotherapy. No drug companies were interested in this research because they cannot patient a natural substance such as gingerol and therefore cannot make any money from it.

Even among UK Doctors opinions vary considerably. A patient attending a London Cancer Centre for over three years has never had diet mentioned to her at any stage. Another patient attending a Cancer Centre in Cornwall was told right at the start that they wanted her on a vegan diet as soon as possible.