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Cancer, which has been around for a long time, has been increasing in recent decades. Even with the tons of money poured into research, the "cure" has not been found. Or has it?

For those of us on a holistic path, we would posit that the origin of cancer is known and so is the remedy. There is no need to keep contributing money to research to find the cause of cancer. The causes are known and unfortunately rampant.

Is There a One-And-Only Cause of Cancer?

Researchers have shown that cancer cells exist in everyone's body, but only in some do they go out "on a rampage" and become destructive. So if we all have "cancer cells" living in our body, but only in some people do they start multiplying out of control and create cancer, then it is something in each and every one of us that allows the cancer cells to proliferate.

The reasons people develop cancer are numerous, yet, when one simplifies them, they all come down to one thing. Stress. Yes, stress in its many forms: in our environment in the form of pollutants in our air, food, and water. And stress in our personal lives in the form of anger, rage, resentment, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, repressed anger, spewed-out anger, built-up anger, unforgiven anger, frustration, and did I mention, anger?

All these toxins, physical as well as emotional, build up in our cells and affect the precision machinery that is our body. And some of these stressors have been handed down to us genetically from our parents and grand-parents as well.

Why Does One Person Get Cancer and Not Someone Else?

Now before anyone jumps up in anger and accuses me of saying people are to blame for their cancers, I will say that I am saying that, but in a much more general sense than on a one-by-one basis. We are all to blame for everyone's cancers. This is because we all live and support a society that spews out physical and emotional toxins every second of every day.

When we use toxic chemicals in our housecleaning, we are responsible for adding chemicals to the air and water, as well as supporting the companies that make these products thus motivating them to make more. When we ignore the companies that are pouring pollutants in our rivers and oceans and air, we are endorsing their behavior. When we enjoy watching TV shows and movies, or playing video games, that encourage and even celebrate spewing out rage and violence, we are participating in its continuation. When we harbor resentments and anger toward ourselves and others, we are feeding the cancer cells in the bodies of everyone concerned (which of course includes our own).

Who's Responsible for the Cancer Causing Scenario?

We are all responsible for the scenario that has been created on our planet, in our environment, in our workplaces, in our families, and in our own mind and bodies. We are in charge of what we put into our body. We choose the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, the thoughts we dwell on, the emotions we express and the ones we repress. We are responsible for the governmental agencies and representatives that allow toxins to be dumped in our lakes and rivers, and added to our food in the guise of additives and preservatives. We are responsible for allowing money and profit to be the measuring stick by which we gauge success.

And we are responsible for supporting or allowing an educational system that teaches only "practical things" such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, but neglects to teach the even more practical ones such as "the art of happiness", how to raise a healthy and happy child, how to honor the people around you, how to nurture and express your creativity, how to use the power of your thoughts and intuition, etc.

Why do "Supermen" and "Superwomen" Get Cancer?

The things that are essential for personal happiness are neglected in schools – and classes such as art, drama, cooking, and physical education have been dropped due to budget cuts. So the few classes that supported personal well-being and happiness have been left out of the education of our children.

Perhaps in "the old days" this was the task of "the mom" who stayed home nurturing her household and children. But, these days, moms come home from a full-time job exhausted and frustrated at their day, and then are expected to be able to provide 100% attention, love and caring to their children and spouse. Whew! Talk about having to be superwoman!

And yes the reverse applies to men also. They carry the frustrations from their workplace with them, often from jobs that they dislike, and these repressed emotions affect the people around them.

Cleaning Up Our Act

So, what do we do? Wipe the slate clean and start over? In a sense, yes. Each day, each moment, is a new experience, a new choice. The first choice is to "clean up our act". However, I have come to believe that the "emotional housecleaning" is of more importance than the physical one.

Years ago, I was a very strict vegan/vegetarian. Was I healthy? Probably, but my emotional health was not so good. I was judgmental and inflexible, mostly concerning non-vegetarians. Then one day I realized that many of the people I knew that were also strict vegetarians were tense, rigid, and constantly criticizing everything and everyone around them.

The point of that story is that while "we are what we eat", this is of less importance than "how" we eat it, i.e. with love or with judgment. You have probably heard of persons who drank, smoked, and ate red meat all their lives but lived past the age of 90 or 100. So obviously diet is not the only cause of longevity, but possibly our attitude towards life is paramount.

Living Until the Age of 122

I read recently about Jeanne Louise Calment, a French woman who lived to the age of 122. Her husband was wealthy which made it possible for Jeanne never to have to work; instead she pursued hobbies such as tennis, cycling, swimming, rollerskating, piano and opera. At the age of 85, she took up fencing, and was seen riding her bicycle until her 100th birthday. She was neither athletic, nor fanatical about her health. She ate nearly one kilo (2.2 lbs) of chocolate every week. She smoked two cigarettes a day until the age of 117 and died five years after giving up smoking.

OK, hold on, don't rush out to buy yourself some chocolate and a pack of cigarettes. I'm not advocating smoking and eating chocolate bars (though unprocessed cacao is good for you). But I am advocating pleasure. I am advocating being true to yourself. I am advocating peace of mind.

Being True to Yourself: A Cancer Prevention Tool

It is my belief that if everyone concentrated on inner peace and happiness (through being true to your “calling” and practicing the art of forgiveness) that the rate of cancer would drop immediately. If we were less concerned with impressing the Joneses and more concerned with fulfilling our innate need for being true to the desires of our heart, there would be no space available for the cancers to grow. That space would be occupied with joy, happiness, love, appreciation, and the bliss of being alive.

I raise my glass of organic sulfite-free red wine to you, and wish you a healthy and very joy-full life.

Recommended book:

Five to Thrive: Your Cutting-Edge Cancer Prevention Plan
by Lise Alschuler ND FABNO and Karolyn A. Gazella.

Penned by actual cancer survivors, featuring accounts of current fighters, and including commentary from those who have lost loved ones to the disease, this guide weaves personal stories with a game plan for avoiding an all-too-common ailment.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book on Amazon.

About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

More articles by Marie T. Russell

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