Detox 4: Responses of My Father-in-Law

My father-in-law had prostate cancer in 1996 when he was 62 years old. Since then, my parents-in-law stayed with my family and together we switch to natural and health food. Yes, that switch not only saved and lengthened his life (from three to 13 years), but also improved his health tremendously (before passing away peacefully in early 2009). His medicine was health food.

Flu, running nose and cough have accompanied my father-in-law for a long time. Since young, just like everyone else, he took western medicine when these diseases occurred. Normally, he purchased medicines from Chinese medical halls. When these medicines were not effective, he sought medical assistance from the clinics. Such practice went on even after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Between 1996 and 2003, he took flu tablets and cough concoctions as he wished to recover as soon as possible. He took extra tablets when he felt necessary. He did recover temporarily only to find their recurrences after two or three months. I have constantly reminded him of detox responses but these fell on deaf ears.

In 2003, I told him, “the natural health diet is able to control your cancer cells and enables you to live a normal life, why don’t you give yourself a chance to handle the flu, running nose and cough naturally? You have read a lot on natural healing and understand the detox responses. Why don’t you put it into practice? The best way to face flu, running nose and cough is to rest. You are a retiree who does not need to work. When you have flu, just lie in bed and listen to soothing music or songs. You will recover without any medicine after a day or two.”

After listening to my advice, my father-in-law finally gave himself a chance to handle his flu and running nose naturally. He rested when there was sign of flu and running nose. He finally discarded all medicines used for treating flu and running nose.

Then, the problem of coughing appeared. Again, I encouraged him not to take any western medicine. He said it was difficult as he felt throat irritation. My advice to him was this coughing is a response to detox process. All books on natural healing explain this phenomenon clearly. Some people have cough for a few days, others for weeks. When you take cough concoctions, it seems you are stopping the cough, but actually you are suppressing the removal of toxins from your body. You have managed to overcome running nose and flu, why don’t you give yourself a chance to handle cough naturally?

This advice worked for him. He has more confidence to take health food in handling the cough. In the first place, he takes apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice, which is very effective in treating throat irritation. He also takes miso soup and black bean soup to reduce the cough. All these work well for him and he now has less cough compared with the past. No more cough concoctions.

A cancer patient is normally very sensitive to his or her physical reaction. Even though my father-in-law did not undergo any radiotherapy or chemotherapy, all his cancer patient friends did. They shared experiences of the side effects of such conventional treatments. One such effect is dental problems such as toothaches and tooth loss. In early 2002, when my father-in-law had minor toothache, he suspected it had something to do with cancer. We advised him that his situation was not the same as other cancer patients. Simply, we explained that he walks the health food path while most cancer patients are engrossed with the acidic diet. In short, minor toothaches may just be a detox response. What he needs is a little patience since his dentals are in good condition. He finally postponed his plan to extract the affected tooth and observed its condition. After two months, his minor toothache gradually disappeared.

In February 2005, my father-in-law began to feel some chest pains. The pain continued to be felt even while he was practising Quolin Qi Gong. He was worried and did not know what to do. External application of ointment merely brought about temporary relief. Though the chest pains were not serious but they were sufficient to cause alarm to him. Could it be caused by the spreading of cancer cells to the lungs? He wanted to visit the clinic for advice. Again, I advised him to observe for a few more days as it could be just detox responses. I showed him the literature on detox responses. Two weeks passed and the minor chest pain remained. He wanted to seek a medical specialist’s advice.

To ease his mind, we made an appointment with the medical specialist. I reminded him of detox process and its responses. He was asked to think about conventional medication. Why did he want to see a medical specialist, who will definitely prescribe medicine? Would the medicine benefit him in the long run? Why did he want to turn back to the old way of treatment after walking the health food path for nine years? What he needed was patience. The health food would turn a sick man into a healthy one.

In the meantime, one of his cancer friends informed him of the beneficial result of taking a plant-based herbal drink. He thought it could be a way out. He gave himself a chance and drank a glass of “Dark face general” or lidah jin/pecah biling (Strobilanthes crispus) (leaf) juice a day. The plant was grown by him. After a few days, his chest pain gradually disappeared. Of course, he also cancelled his appointment with the medical specialist.

In October 2006, he had chest pain again and the chest showed signs of swelling. The pain started on the central portion of the chest, moved to the right and then to the left. This caused alarm. He was worried that the tumour was coming back and spreading. I told him to be patient as it was likely to be another detox response again. Since he is on health food since 1996, he has managed to regain health. There is no reason for the tumour to return when potassium-rich foods are taken. He felt relieved and agreed that he needed to bear with the occasional minor chest pain. The chest pain disappeared by the end of December 2006. This chest pain, a challenge indeed, lasted about three months.

In the morning of 7 January 2007, after taking breakfast and performing prayer, my father-in-law got ready for his Quolin Qi Gong exercise. Before leaving the house, he felt dizzy, began to have cold sweat and felt physically weak. Instead of joining his friends in the Qi Gong session, he had to lie in bed and rest the whole day. He felt sleepy, no appetite and vomited even after taking warm water. We advised him to take the opportunity to fast. He was worried. He had heard too many stories from his cancer friends on various illnesses and sufferings. He wondered how and why this suffering happened to him. We advised him that this was a false disease and it was a detox response.

We asked him to think of the possible reasons for his current problems. He soon realized that during the November–December 2006 school holidays, while staying in Taiping, he had not taken good care of his daily diet. Instead of eating home cooked food, he ate from stalls. By eating unhealthy food, his body weight increased about five kg within two months. To detoxify, he had herbal drink daily. He also neglected the weather conditions. It rained on one occasion when he was practising Qi Gong and another when he was gardening.

This detox response did not last long. The next day, after sleeping and fasting for about 24 hours, he lost 2 kg. He gradually regained his appetite and began to take light meal, i.e. wholemeal bread and millet porridge. On the third day, he could eat normal food and was also able to drive to the bank. Smiles appeared again. By the fourth day, he was fully covered and went for his Qi Gong exercise. On the fifth day, 11 January 2007, he participated in a TV program shooting session organised by a private company. The TV programme was intended to share the experience of a cancer patient who did not go for conventional treatment and yet survives since 1996. It was aired over NTV 7 on 27 May 2007.

In February 2007, my father-in-law had pain in his right leg. This time the pain was unbearable and he had to walk slowly. My father-in-law suspected cancer cells had spread to his leg. It could also be related to a twist of leg muscle while gardening a few weeks ago. Respecting his feelings and perception, with our encouragement, we sought medical treatment for him at a local clinic on 12 February 2007. The doctor prescribed ointment to apply. This did not help to reduce the leg pain.

On 16 February 2007, my wife took him to a government hospital for further check-up. The X-ray examination showed that his leg bone is in good condition but a minor damage of leg muscle was observed. He was prescribed pain killer, vitamin B and muscular pain relieving ointment, which he took when very necessary.

The leg pain was not a small matter. Between mid-March and May 2007, he sought medical examinations at the government hospital again. He was informed that his leg pain was due to the lack of cartilage at the ankle and hip as well as bone spur. He was given medicines (Table 6.2) but he took them only when necessary.

In the process of practising health food diet, we do not reject conventional medical facilities and treatment. We believe that medical services and treatment should be sought when necessary.