Cancer Congress 2009

A.U. Ramakrishnan, D. Payrhuber, Drs. Pareek, P. Le Roux, R. Sonnenschmidt, H. Knauss

Cancer Congress 2009

25–27 September 2009 in Badenweiler

Group photo

For the first Cancer Congress in Badenweiler Narayana Verlag was able to welcome over 200 participants, some even from India, Canada and Cuba.

Six speakers illuminated the very complex topic of cancer from their very different approaches.

To the photo series
DVD of the Cancer Congress

The spectrum ranged from the classical method according to Hahnemann, through Jan Scholten’s prescribing based on the periodic table, a working method developed from personal experience and a miasmatic-oriented approach, to the spiritual approach of a healer. A harmonious evening at the publishing house with an Indian buffet and a signing session provided, alongside the beautiful venue, the bright sunshine and plentiful refreshments, the cosy-relaxing part of the congress.

The Indian physician Dr A.U. Ramakrishnan, one of the best-known cancer therapists worldwide, began the first seminar day with philosophical thoughts on the subject of cancer:
The problem of cancer is the point at which a normal cell becomes a cell that reproduces uncontrollably. What brings the cell to this point? Why do the formative forces of the body lose their control over the life of the cell in this particular part of the body?
Balance has been lost. A happy life filled with joy — a life in our centre, in balance, is the basis for health. – In today’s times so much has become uncertain. Values that were valid yesterday are already history tomorrow. People cling to the negative — anger, worry. We must help patients to understand life — to understand who they really are and so regain balance. This brings about both healing and prevention.

In the course of his practice Dr Ramakrishnan has treated more than 12,800 cancer cases and can therefore draw on a huge wealth of experience. After watching two of his siblings die of cancer without classical homeopathy being able to help, he set out to find his own special way of homeopathic cancer treatment. In all other cases he remained a classical “Kentian” — but with cancer time runs out: “When the symptom comes rushing in at 200 km/h, you cannot pull a pram along behind it.” Waiting to see whether a remedy works can, in the case of ineffectiveness, mean being too late. — Especially in the first stage of cancer as practitioners we have a high responsibility.

Not only must tumour growth be stopped, metastasis must also be prevented. Close monitoring and constant readiness to change remedies are required.

His following approach has proven successful: he alternates two remedies weekly; either a constitutional remedy and the matching nosode, or an organ remedy (local remedy) alternated with a nosode (possibly with a biochemical remedy as a maintenance dose over a longer period). The remedies are administered using the plussing method: In the first week dissolve 3 globules of the first remedy in a 250 ml bottle of mineral water and shake vigorously. Take a small sip from it 10 times at 15-minute intervals. Leave a small remainder for the next day and top up to 250 ml again. This is repeated all week, in the 2nd week with the other remedy, in the 3rd week again remedy 1, in the 4th week remedy 2, and so on… The best effect is seen with C30, C200 and 1M. Pain-relieving remedies are given in C30 or C200.
As important remedies for cancer treatment he described Arsenicum album, Arsenicum bromatum, Aurum muriaticum, Aurum muriaticum natronatum, Barium iodatum, Cadmium bromatum, Cadmium sulphuricum, Carcinosinum (to break open a case that is not progressing well), Condurango, Conium, Euphorbium officinarum, Hekla lava, Hippozaeninum, Hydrastis, the potassium salts, Magnesium phosphoricum, Ornithogallum, Phytolacca, Plumbum metallicum, Plumbum iodatum, Radium bromatum, Sabal serrulata, Scirrhinum and Scrophularia nodosa. Suitable nosodes include, for example, Carcinosinum, Scirrhinum, Tuberculinum bovinum and Medorrhinum.
He demonstrated the helpful effects of remedies for prostate tumours (Sabal serrulata, Barium muriaticum, Barium carbonicum, Staphisagria, Pulsatilla, Lycopodium, Solidago, Conium and Thuja) with several case examples. A 58-year-old man, for example, came to his practice with prostate carcinoma and liver metastases, as well as nodules in the presacral area. His PSA was 13.3. Due to his intellectual type, deep furrows in the face and a tendency to fall asleep around 5 pm, he received Lycopodium alternating with Scirrhinum in the plussing method as C200 over 16 weeks. The examination in the 16th week showed an 80% reduction of the nodules in the presacral area, the liver was unchanged, PSA 4.2. After a further 2 weeks (Lycopodium 1M and Scirrhinum C200) the liver metastases were reduced by 25%. From the 7th to 9th month of treatment he received Lycopodium 1M and Scirrhinum 1M. Finally the metastases had disappeared and PSA had dropped to 3.2. For prevention the two remedies were then continued alternately every half month at 1M.

Dr Dietmar Payrhuber, co-founder of the Austrian Medical Society for Classical Homeopathy, presented his working method according to Scholten:
A patient with hairy cell leukaemia came to him in visibly very poor general condition after a cycle of chemotherapy with severe sepsis. The prognosis was hopeless. The disease was diagnosed after a severe flu. The history included pneumonia with leukopenia that developed after an important relationship for her broke down. The patient had such severe bone pain that she could hardly climb stairs. Small tumours were also visible under the skin.

From childhood she reported a demanding mother but a good connection with her father. She is obese, insecure, cannot tolerate disagreements, craves soft-boiled eggs and sweats at the nape of the neck. The conclusion of Calcium is obvious.
Now, to select the appropriate salt, the second element must be found: her life theme is CONFLICT. The mother stands for relationship — this concerns the series from sodium to chlorine, in the middle of which Silicea stands for structured relationships, the family.
Stage 17 wants to hold everything on, but must go — as in the mother-child relationship, separation is necessary. In stage 17 of this series stands chlorine. Because of the guilt feelings and the lifelong problem of not being able to separate relationships, she receives Calcium muriaticum C30. Overnight her panic is the first thing to disappear. After 3 weeks the pains are gone and at some point the tumours on the arms also regress.
In his experience a plant remedy often follows the healing of a tumour. In this case it was Kalmia. In another case, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Wyethia followed Ferrum iodatum. The theme here was ENDURANCE, represented by Ferrum. Iodine stands for the necessity to rethink and leave the old state behind. Wyethia also carries the theme of asserting oneself.

Dr Alok Pareek and his father Dr R.S. Pareek, the main speakers of the second seminar day, run a modern hospital in Agra, India, with all diagnostic possibilities and several centres for homeopathic research and teaching. They therefore see over 24,000 patients a year, of whom 37% are cancer patients. It is important to them to document these cases as precisely as possible — with all possible conventional medical findings — to prove the effectiveness of homeopathy overall and especially in these severe pathologies. To this end they have founded a foundation for homeopathic research and are calling on the homeopathic world to compile healed cases.

In this context they also spontaneously invited Dr Spinedi onto the stage, who briefly presented his project for collaboration between European and Indian homeopaths.
Dr Alok Pareek explained his treatment approach using several cases — classically according to Hahnemann with single doses. He addresses the first shock at the cancer diagnosis with a dose of Aconite C200. This is followed by individualisation of the case… Thus he first gives remedies that support the healing process after an operation (Staphisagria, Calendula, Hypericum…), then constitutional-miasmatic remedies according to the emotional symptoms, acute remedies, organ-supporting remedies and intercurrent nosodes.

Dr Alok Pareek

Even in end-stage cancer the homeopath still has a wide range of options to give the patient quality of life. From sleeplessness, pain, weakness, through dryness of the mouth, mouth ulcers, taste changes, putrid odour, oedema formation to stopping acute bleeding — the long list of symptoms for which Dr Alok Pareek named remedies and added his own experiences was extensive.

Space-occupying intracranial processes, i.e. brain tumours, were the final point of his lecture with numerous case examples.

Also very impressive was the case of an infant with AGS (adrenogenital syndrome), which Dr R.S. Pareek has followed and documented for over 25 years. At three months the baby showed excessive “flesh formation” with simultaneous delays in bone development, beginning pubic hair, uterine bleeding and the development of breast tissue. The prognosis was very poor. From an allopathic point of view the only “chance” for the child would have been an operation, which the parents refused because survival chances were low. Dr R.S. Pareek took over the treatment: under Calcium carbonicum the symptoms slowly regressed — the obesity diminished, pubic hair and breast development decreased. Each time bleeding recurred she received another dose of Calcium. After 2 years her cortisol levels were within the normal range. The birth of a sister triggered marked jealousy and a flood of words. Therefore treatment was continued with Lachesis. Her intellect developed normally, she was able to complete her school leaving exam and is today happy and completely healthy.

After that the girl received Sulfuricum acidum (because of the father’s accident history and massive mouth ulcers), Sepia, Thymuline and, because of an intussusception, Staphisagria. Limenitis bredowii restored energy for a time after chemotherapy in an extremely high dose. Indicative was the little girl’s great fondness for butterflies and colourful clothing, as well as the extreme need for protection by her parents. Unfortunately after some time Limenitis no longer had any effect and the child died.
In another case Germanium was used, which is indicated in kidney disease and severe exhaustion. The girl suffered from a nephroblastoma and lymphatic metastases. The left kidney had been removed. Germanium children live in a very rigid environment, e.g. a military setting — in this case the child was completely under the regime of a rigid treatment protocol, so Germanium seemed appropriate. After administration of the remedy the mouth ulcers disappeared. She still takes Germanium today and is doing well.

The day concluded with an Indian buffet and signing session in the publishing rooms in Kandern. There was time to browse through the wide range of books, to enjoy pleasant company and to exchange ideas over a glass of wine.

Less strictly homeopathic and thematically more creatively oriented was the final day of the congress. Two speakers with holistic-spiritual healing methods presented their view of healing to the audience — and did so in a very lively way:

One of the first questions that HP Dr Rosina Sonnenschmidt asks when meeting a cancer patient is: What positive potentials does this person bring? How can they harness their healing process from this source? From her perspective a person with cancer is a very powerful organism, because they can endure all this suffering.

If it is possible to mobilise the available willpower, the patient can use the force that is currently working against them for the healing process.

Positive thinking, which starts with saying thank you, is necessary. Chronically ill people can no longer thank. They are no longer able to look beyond the bounds of their life field and are far from being able to say thank you. Thinking, behaviour and also the environment, the disease-causing structures, must change so that the effect of a remedy is not merely short-lived but leads to lasting healing. The patient should learn that they do not have their body by accident, but that it is valuable — a capacity that a person with cancer lacks: self-esteem. They must learn to appreciate themselves, because “as a person I treat a sacral room differently than a utility room, a cellar or even a storage room…” This must be practised repeatedly, for example through creative activities (painting, singing etc.), which Mrs Sonnenschmidt prescribes for cancer therapy just as she prescribes homeopathic remedies, healing nutrition and bowel cleansing. In this way the person can discover their I-POWER and learn to be (their) original self…
The two former patients who spoke live about their healing stories convinced simply by the visible change that had come over them. Both had come to Mrs Sonnenschmidt in hopeless, fully medically exhausted situations. Now before the audience stood two confident women with entirely new life perspectives, completely healed! Of course healing was not always easy. They had to go through many lows. In the end, however, the homeopathic remedies and great willpower helped them to resolve their conflicts and look positively into a new life.
Mrs Sonnenschmidt’s homeopathic therapy is strongly oriented to the miasmatic concept. Carcinogenesis is a syphilitic-sycotic cross-event that negatively influences each other. As in a house, floor by floor must be worked through in order to climb up from the cellar, the syphilitic level, into healthier rooms up to psora. Thus she begins with a suitable syphilitic remedy, continues with a remedy that has the ability to separate, i.e. to shift from syphilis into sycosis. This is usually a strong acid. After that the three sycotic levels must be addressed, possibly followed by the tuberculinic or scrofulous levels, until the patient finally reaches the level of psora and the disease leaves the body via the skin.
Another important point in treating her cancer patients is rhythm. Life is rhythm. Disease means the loss of rhythm. Stress overloads the life force. The person must first be reintegrated into the natural life rhythm, which includes the alternation between work and rest. A tried-and-tested way to relearn rhythm are exercises, for example for the breath. Cancer patients breathe too shallowly. Quite practically Mrs Sonnenschmidt invited the participants to experience rhythmic breathing for themselves: to music we should stand and inhale for two bars (8 counts), going up onto the toes and clenching the fists, then exhale for two bars and relax…

Harald Knauss, who accompanies people as a spiritual healer both on their path to recovery and on the passage to the other side, demonstrated very vividly the influence of mood on a person. Without mood — without being in tune, no instrument sounds good — without being in tune with oneself, no musician can truly be creative. The healer too must be in tune with themselves in order to be able to help others.

Disease shows that something is not right — something has fallen out of balance. Life is movement — it is creative.

There are two poles: the thinking pole (in the head), which consumes energy, and the life pole in the pelvis (gonads), which gives life or creative force. If we live from only one pole, usually the head, we will exhaust ourselves and fall out of balance. Only when we learn again to dance (to move the pelvis) — to get moving — do we stimulate this life pole.
As human beings we need dreams and visions — we need trust in ourselves. Not lab values tell us whether we are well — only we ourselves can do that if we trust ourselves. We must once again develop a sense of whether we are in tune with ourselves. Life is the ability to resonate, wholeness, power to transform, self-regulation, creativity, independence (freedom), autonomy, adaptability. Life must be practised.
One way to achieve this is creative occupation, e.g. music. Cancer patients in particular lose bodily awareness; the body must be experienced again. We were able to try this out practically in an exercise. Mr Knauss first asked the audience to read the given song text “Joyfulness, joyfulness …” aloud, a second time with more enthusiasm, a third time sung. Then joyfulness also includes gesture — so please with arms raised in jubilation, — please smile at the person next to you… We were already noticeably in better spirits as participants. — Then sing again with circling pelvis, — then marching, then on HA-HA-HA and Hi-Hi-Hi… A finale that will certainly send everyone back to their practice day with great joy…

My warmest thanks to the speakers and the whole Narayana team for a completely harmonious and above all very, very instructive weekend!

Silke Burzlaff

.....................................................................................................................

Author: Silke Burzlaff. Further impressions from the congress