I was fascinated by the book ‘Dying To Be Me’ by Anita Moorjani. It describes her recovery from terminal stage lymphoma cancer (she was brought into the hospital comatose with multiple organ failures) after she experienced what she terms a ‘Near Death Experience (NDE)’. In the state of NDE, she discovers the ‘real’ cause of her cancer. This realisation and surrender (letting go!) leads to the awareness of her intrinsic worth, and sets off a chain of metabolic resets of her system. As a result she recovers within weeks without a trace of cancer in her body, a miracle in medical terms.
The concept of NDE although fascinating is open to debate as the whole explanation given by those who experience it varies and is often saturated with the belief system one is brought up with. Yet, the fact is, that this lady who was reduced to skin and bones recovered within 3-4 weeks, and was declared cancer free. In her state of NDE, Anita becomes aware of what caused her cancer and in this Aha! moment she decides to return into her body, convinced that she is now healed.
The chapter ‘Why I Got Sick…and Healed’ intrigued me the most because it allowed me to see and confirm the theme of the homeopathic remedy Carcinosinum (prepared from cancerous breast tissue). The remedy reflects the very theme and symptoms that Anita reported.
The author Anita grew up in a conservative Indian family with a strict father and lived in an orthodox community. Attitudes and social behaviour were regimented. The gender bias about girls and the racial bias and humiliation in a dominant ‘white’ school in Hong Kong, led to personality adaptation contrary to the intrinsic nature of the author. Anita’s temperament was impacted and she internalised the situation, which may have lead to her cancer.
Here are a few quotes from the chapter that set the basis for this discussion.
“I was a people pleaser and feared disapproval.” “Everything I did was designed to win approval”. “I realised how harshly I’d treated myself and judged myself throughout my life.” “I believe that my cancer was related to my self-identity, and it feels as though it was my body’s way of telling me that my soul was grieving for the loss of its own worth – of its identity.”
It is interesting to observe that the above statements parallel the theme of the homeopathic remedy Carcinosinum.
Let’s delve into ‘Irritation’ that could be considered as a cause or trigger for cancer. This irritation could be because of substance abuse or mental/emotional abuse. It was Rudolf Virchow, known as the father of modern pathology, who suggested that cancer was caused by severe irritation in the tissues, and his theory came to be known as chronic irritation theory.
We know that cells, when exposed to constant irritation, react by getting inflamed. When this inflammation is not checked, a process of induration or hardening sets in around the affected cells, as the body’s attempt to protect itself. The cells move on to the next stage – ulceration and gangrene sets in, or the cells may simply go berserk and proliferate rapidly into what we term cancer.
This process can be explained with the example of an irritation caused by wearing new shoes that are too tight. The tight shoe irritates the toes, which leads to inflammation. You continue wearing them and you then have induration or hardening of the skin – what you commonly refer to as a corn. Now you persist in wearing the shoes and the corn ulcerates. Other types of injuries may also turn cancerous, such as you will find in the case of mouth cancer among tobacco consumers.
We observe that the same irritation is also seen on the mental/emotional plane. Can the irritability that is suppressed for a prolonged period trigger cancer? Below are the mental/emotional elements of mental “irritation” noted in the symptoms of the nosode Carcinosin.
The proving of ‘Carcinosinum’ presents the following symptoms that are often seen in cancer patients. The quotes by the author, Anita Moorjani, can be presented as a diagram and co-related with some of the rubrics that follow.
Carcinosin:
IMPACTING FACTORS: Abuse, Domination, Humiliation, Early Responsibility (It could be a single or a combination of factors associated). agg = aggravation
Mind; responsibility; ailments from, agg.; early, too
Mind; abuse agg., ailments from; childhood, in
Mind; humiliation; ailments from, agg.
Mind; domination by others agg
RESULT OF THE IMPACT: Irritability, Anguish – Wants to fight, rebel but cannot, Grief prolonged, suppressed and unresolved.
Mind; irritability; ailments from, agg.
Mind; anguish
Mind; fight; wants to; rebellious
Mind; grief; ailments from, agg.; prolonged and unresolved
TEMPERAMENT OR NATURE:
Oversensitive
Mind; sensitive, oversensitive (Is affected profoundly – internal unexpressed anger)
Mind; admonition agg.
Mind; offended easily
Mind; reproaches; ailments from, agg.
Mind; anger; ailments from, agg.; mental and emotional consequences of
Mind; anger; ailments from, agg.; grief, with silent
Mind; anger; ailments from, agg.; suppressed
Mind; horrible things, sad stories affect profoundly, agg.; mental and emotional consequences
Need For Appreciation:
Mind; affectation
Mind; affection; desires
Mind; affectionate
Mind; fastidious (exactness – trying to live up to the expectation of others possibly a dominant parent and later a dominant spouse)
Mind; cheerfulness (A facade or a mask put on)
Mind; dance, desires to
Highly Anxious & Fearful:
Mind; anticipation; ailments from, agg.
Mind; Fear of cancer
Mind; anxiety; do something, when compelled to
Mind; anxiety; family, about his
Mind; anxiety; future, about
Mind; anxiety; health, about
Mind; anxiety; health, about; loved ones, of
Mind; biting; fingers (display anxiety and nervousness)
Mind; cares, worries, full of
Mind; fear; failure, of
Mind; fear; humiliated, of being
Mind; travel, desire to
Generalities; air; seashore air; ameliorates
(This was another interesting revelation by the author when she describes her love for seashore and the positive effect it has on her).
It is interesting to note that
Generalities; Pain – Carcinosinum is represented by 4 marks in the repertory.
Mind; anxiety; do something, when compelled to
Mind; anxiety; family, about
Mind; anxiety; health, about; loved ones, of
Mind; biting; fingers (display anxiety and nervousness)
Mind; cares, worries, full of
Mind; fear; failure, of
Mind; fear; humiliated, of being
Mind; travel, desire to
Generalities; air; seashore air; ameliorates
(This was another interesting revelation by the author when she describes her love for seashore and the positive effect it has on her).
It is interesting to note that under Generalities; Pain, Carcinosinum is represented by grade 4 in the repertory,
Note: This paper is not meant to suggest that Carcinosinum is a cure for all cancers. The remedy does possess the ability to positively influence some cancers (and other maladies) when symptoms agree as per homeopathic laws.
Notes:
- Virchow was the first to correctly link the origin of cancers from otherwise normal cells. [38] (His teacher Müller had proposed that cancers originated from special cells which he called blastema. In 1855, he suggested that cancers arise from the activation of dormant cells (perhaps similar to cells now known as stem cells) present in mature tissue.[39] Virchow believed that cancer is caused by severe irritation in the tissues, and his theory came to be known as chronic irritation theory. He thought, rather wrongly, that the irritation spread in the form of liquid so that cancer rapidly increases.[40] His theory was largely ignored, as he was proved wrong and that it was not by liquid, but by metastasis of the already cancerous cells that cancers spread. (First described by Karl Thiersch in the 1860s.)[41] But he made a crucial observation that certain cancers (carcinoma in modern sense) were inherently associated with white blood cells (which are now called macrophages) that produced irritation (inflammation). It was only towards the end of the 20th century that Virchow’s theory was taken seriously.[42] It was realised that specific cancers (including those of mesothelioma, lung, prostate, bladder, pancreatic, cervical, esophageal, melanoma, and head and neck) are indeed strongly associated with long-term inflammation.[43][44] In addition it became clear that long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, reduced cancer risk.[45] Experiment also shows that drugs that block inflammation simultaneously inhibit tumour formation and development. [46]
- Homeopathic Drug Proving https://hpathy.com/organon-philosophy/drug-provings/
- Further Reading: The Spirit of Homeopathy, Situational Materia Medica – Carcinosinum by Dr. Rajan Sankaran.
- The Soul of Remedies by Dr. Rajan Sankaran
- Philip Bailey on https://hpathy.com/materia-medica/carcinosinum-2/
- Homeopathic Remedy Carcinosinum is prepared from cancerous breast tissue. It was first used by D.M Foubister.
- Referenced repertory: Complete Dynamics, Homeopathic Software by Eduard van Grinsven and Roger van Zandvoort
- About The Author: http://anitamoorjani.com/about-anita/
Listen to Anita Moorjani TedEx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhcJNJbRJ6U
