February 24, 2004
Tuesday - 12:30 am

On May 30th, 2003, I shared with Sitnews readers the story of my Ohio  friend, Jan Lively (see Sitnews #14). Jan had survived breast cancer only to have it metastasize as liver cancer. In January of 2001, her tumor marker count (a measure of the number of cancerous cells in her body) was 4500. A friend introduced her to medical qigong and she began to practice routinely. She found a physician who placed her on a diet of macrobiotic, organic whole foods. I met Jan at a month long Chi-Lel Qigong retreat in Hawaii in February of 2002. At that time, her tumor marker count  was 2500; a count of 50 or less is considered "normal".

As roommates for the month, we spent a great deal of time together: eight hours of class each day, meals, and free time. I learned that in addition to the qigong and the diet, she had undergone chemotherapy,  and had committed herself  to being an active participant in her own recovery. She spoke of her belief that qigong and western medicine could work synergistically to her advantage. I gave her acupressure treatments to balance the energy of her liver. We talked about death, dying, and being a survivor.

We stayed in touch after returning to our separate corners of the world, and I'd like to bring readers up to date on Jan's progress since that article from  last May 30th.

• May 30, 2003: Jan reported her tumor marker count down to 123.  Her doctor is surprised, to say the least.
• June 6, 2003: Tumor markers fell to 76. She wrote, "My doctor finally  admitted that I am an unusual case. He  has only one other patient who has been doing as well after advanced liver metastasis".
• December 4, 2003: Tumor markers in the normal range at 34. She wrote, "My oncologist said this wouldn't happen. He was wrong! When I saw him last week, he said he's never had a patient recover from such an advanced state of disease. He now wants to make Qigong available to all his patients".
• February 18, 2004: This is my latest email from Jan and I am still in awe of the message. "Today I got the results of a PET scan - NO SIGNS OF CANCER ANYWHERE IN MY BODY! This just confirms the miracle we all believed and knew was happening. But, it sure feels good to have the tests to prove it!"

On the 21st of February, the Dayton Daily News ran a story about Jan, her fight to defeat cancer, and the methods she used. You can read this article by Kevin Lamb, The Healing Power of Knowledge, at www.daytondailynews.com.

I wanted to share this chapter of one courageous person's determination not to become a victim of her disease or a system that viewed her as  her disease. The classics of Chinese medicine tell us that we have within ourselves everything we need to be healthy. Jan has demonstrated how far we can go by being an active participant in the healing process, by believing in our own ability to heal. I hope that anyone who reads this, will believe like Jan, that they have the power to heal from within. I hope they will refuse to accept the position of victim, though everything they are told might suggest that to be the case. I watched Jan Lively move from a terminally ill person to a survivor, free of her disease, looking ahead toward a future with her family and as a teacher of sick. She is truly inspiring!

The Healing Power of Knowledge:

Jan's Story: The healing power of knowledge by Kevin Lamb - There must be something she could do herself, Jan Lively thought when she learned breast cancer had returned and spread to her liver and bones. She had to learn everything she could do to fortify her body and help her chemotherapy beat back the cancer. It was the only chance she would have. - Read this story...
Dayton Daily News - linked Wednesday - February 24, 2004 - 1:15 am

 E-mail Joann Flora

©Compliments To Your Health
Joann Flora 2003

 

Post a Comment -------View Comments

Submit an Opinion - Letter

Sitnews
Stories In The News