Anticancer
a new way of life
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
All of us have cancer cells in our bodies. But not all of us will develop cancer. This international bestseller examines what we can do every day to lower our chances of ever developing the illness, and also explains how to increase the chances of recovery from it.
Dr David Servan-Schreiber was first confronted with cancer when he was working as a medical resident. Already a recognised pioneer in neuroscience, by his own admission he had all the arrogant and immortal confidence of a 30-year-old overachiever. Then he discovered he had cancer of the brain, and his life changed forever.
Servan-Schreiber went on to research alternative medicine, founding and directing the Center for Integrative Medicine at the highly conservative University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
This revised edition of his bestselling book is the culmination of his experience in the field of cancer, both as a doctor and as a patient. It is his personal story, the story of the cases he has come across, and the medical and scientific story of the disease and its mechanisms. He looks, in particular, at the relation between a body and its cancer; at the immune system; and at the roles played by nutrition, emotions, and physical activity in containing cancer.
Servan-Schreiber does not dismiss conventional medicine, nor is he anti-pharmaceutical: he empowers the reader with the understanding and the tools to tackle cancer alongside conventional treatments — or, better yet, to help avoid cancer altogether.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After undergoing chemotherapy and surgery for brain cancer, Servan-Schreiber, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, asked his oncologist if any lifestyle changes would prevent a relapse; the answer was no. Certain this was wrong, Servan-Schreiber spent months researching a mass of scientific data on natural defenses against cancer. After a lucid introduction to cancer and its causes, he points out studies indicating that a poor diet, unhealthy habits (like smoking), some hormones, and environmental toxins increase risk. But as his advice grows more specific, evidence dwindles that these steps work. Eating organic foods, avoiding red meat and processed food, and eliminating household chemicals seem reasonable, but readers curious about how much turmeric or garlic to consume and how much it lowers their cancer risk will find no answers. Servan-Schreiber also advocates a positive, life-affirming attitude, illustrating with anecdotes of patients whose cancers disappeared when they attained inner peace. Servan-Schreiber underscores that his advice should be an adjunct to, not a replacement for, conventional treatments like surgery and chemotherapy, in this spirited mixture of good medical information, helpful suggestions and alternative medicine.
