Making Choices About Avoiding and Fighting Cancer: Scottsdale's Dr. Paul Stallone advises that we all need to live this day as healthy as we can, so that tomorrow doesn’t bring sorrow and disease

Fighting most cancers is a frustrating and relentless process involving pills, appointments, heartache and sometimes, victories. Battling cancer is a fight to the death. It’s a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year, constant struggle that many people don’t win. No one can offer a guarantee against cancer. There’s no vaccine to prevent it, no age limit to protect the young and no promise that it won’t come back.

The lesson is that every day, we need to remember to live, not just make it through. We need to live this day as healthy as we can, so that tomorrow doesn’t bring sorrow and disease. Many daily choices can lead to a healthier life, and also a more vicious fight against cancer. Hopefully, anyone fighting cancer has all the love and support they could ever want. Having someone to shoulder some of the weight can make a major difference in a patient’s life, and a positive attitude and sincere smile significantly impacts cancer treatment.

The thoughts we think release chemicals in the brain, and these chemicals and the electrical impulses connected with them dictate how we think and feel. Continuous, negative thinking can lead to depression and anxiety, which can raise cortisol levels (plus many other responses), which then stresses the body. Stress weakens the immune system, the very system that is fighting for your life. A yawn is not the only thing that is contagious; a smile can be, too. It might take some work in the beginning, but working on being positive can help keep you healthy and get you through the dark days.

Smiling isn’t the only thing that can keep you positive. If you don’t feel like being happy or being around people that are, do everyone a favor and take a walk. Exercise is great for a number of reasons. It releases those happy chemicals in your brain, reduces stress and increases breathing. Cancer thrives where oxygen isn’t present, so breathing deeply oxygenates the blood and aids in the fight. Exercise is also essential for the heart, brain and joints. No one can dispute the endless benefits of exercising. You don’t need to run a marathon every day, just do what you can and slowly you’ll want to do more each day.

If you exercise to take care of your body, then you’ll want to fuel it properly, too. One of the absolute best things anyone fighting cancer can do is to eat right. Every single thing we eat either feeds or fights disease, and there’s no way around this. Our bodies were designed to consume live foods, not processed, imitation food-chemicals. Proper raw, organic, whole foods have the enzymes, nutrients and building blocks our bodies need to fight cancer and disease. Many nutritionists state that most diseases and illnesses can be prevented with the right diet. This is not a new concept, just one that has been swept under the fast-food rug. Hippocrates said about 2,600 years ago, “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.”

It’s true that all the prevention in the world may not save you from cancer, although it does decrease your risk considerably. Conventional treatments can be extremely toxic to your body as they try to kill cancer cells unselectively. Research and oncologists agree that some cancer treatments can be just as fatal as cancer itself, but treatment doesn’t have to be so deadly. Many natural, alternative treatments support the immune system and facilitate the body to heal itself, which it is designed to do. Many supplements can harness nature’s cancer-fighting properties in a pill with no side effects or system damage.

Along with guidance by the right physician, natural cancer treatments can be very effective. Natural, but aggressive, alternative options allow people to beat cancer without sacrificing their health and lives. These treatments can even help reduce or eliminate the side effects someone might be experiencing from conventional treatments. However, the choice for alternative medicine should not be considered a last resort, because it’s not a miracle. Not only is an early diagnosis vital, starting a natural cancer treatment is just as important.

All cancers are completely individual, and so should be the treatment plan. What works for one person may not work for another. Speaking with a cancer-experienced naturopathic physician can greatly improve the fight against cancer.

Paul Stallone, NMD, founded the Arizona Integrative Medical Center, located at 8144 E. Cactus Rd., Ste. 820, in Scottsdale. He combines natural/alternative/conventional treatments to best fit and benefit each individual patient’s needs. For more information, call 480-214-3922 or visit DrStallone.com.