The most important advice is that if you have cancer, or any major health challenge, don’t try to do it all alone. Carefully choose a team of professionals and try to weave them into a support net for your healing process. A complementary health care provider—whether a medical doctor, osteopath, chiropractor, naturopath, or acupuncturist—can play an important role on your team. The stereotype of an untrained quack exploiting desperate, gullible late-stage patients is much less common than imagined. Work with your loved ones too.

Share with them what you learn, or let them do the research and share it with you. If you’re alone, find a support group to avoid the stress of trying to go it alone.

Because so much information is available on diet, lifestyle, and natural therapies, it’s necessary to sort through it all carefully. In this book I emphasize methods that science has soundly established and that will benefit the largest number of readers. It’s important to understand the scientific literature on diet, supplements, lifestyle, and stress. There are also methods, foods, and supplements for which the scientific literature is sparse or nonexistent. Chapter 1 presents the scientific principles supporting this book’s recommendations. This background knowledge is very important. Even if the terminology is unfamiliar at first, the ideas will soon be familiar.

Despite the ongoing barrage of optimistic claims from leading cancer research institutions that new breakthroughs are around the corner, a growing number of researchers and patient advocates are discouraged by the lack of progress. For most cancers, if a tumor has metastasized, the chances of survival haven’t improved since the “War on Cancer” was declared in 1971. What has changed is the new focus on natural medicine and complementary health care. Most of the improvement in longevity of cancer patients is the result of improvements in diet and lifestyle, and early detection (Leaf 2004).

Cancer’s widespread occurrence suggests that many people haven’t had access to the kind of information provided in this book. The promotion of lifestyle improvements has become more conspicuous in the last few years but is still the subject of controversy. An ample body of research evidence now supports the use of various nutrients, herbs, and supplements to slow down the progression of the disease and extend life span (Block et al. 2007). Some supplements have even been specifically developed to support conventional cancer therapy to protect the immune system from the ravages of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

A bewildering volume of information is available on how to treat cancer with unconventional methods. Some of these methods or remedies are supported by scientific data, and others have only been tested informally or not at all. Most people desire to combine “the best of both worlds,” by using conventional medicine and attempting to integrate it with complementary approaches. In most cases conventional treatment can be integrated with alternative treatments.

Certain diet and lifestyle measures greatly increase your odds of benefiting from conventional treatment. Using certain supplements can also enhance the likelihood of success. The question is, and always will be, what’s best for you?

People who are serious about their survival and quality of life adopt a positive approach to their health challenges. Resources and discoveries abound that can help you use positive thinking to its full advantage, not only to improve your quality of life but also to create better physical health in tangible and measurable ways.

Whether you’re a cancer patient, a cancer survivor, or the loved one of either, this book is designed to help you find a personal pathway through the ocean of information now available in print and online. The book covers the most important things that every person affected by cancer needs to know about diet, supplements, stress reduction, immune-system support, detoxification, exercise, and dealing with fear and the residual effects of old traumas. It covers basic information on some of the most common types of cancer, and reviews both conventional and emerging treatment methods. I’m optimistic about the scientific breakthroughs that are on the horizon.

Excerpt from The Whole Body Workbook for Cancer: A Complete Integrative Program for Increasing Immunity and Rebuilding Health by Dan Kenner Ph.D., LAc