Value of Screening

I recorded a daily journal five and a half years ago depicting my personal battle with cancer on our non-profit website. The journal was meant to help others who find themselves battling this disease for the first time, themselves; to familiarize themselves with options, treatments, and levels of pain to expect. Tips were also included for the support chains so they could also know what to expect. I received two larynx check-ups each year to ensure the cancer did not come back. It did not and just out of the blue 5 1/2 years later the hospital decided that I needed a Colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer; not because I had symptoms or signs of colon cancer but because I was 61 years old and had never had a colonoscopy before.

Absolutely no symptoms, no pain, no discomfort, no irregular bowl movements nor abdominal troubles. So why should I take the time or spend the money. I spent quite a bit of time thinking of reasons not to do it; but I could only come up with reasons to do it. I was preparing to retire and move to paradise, so why not get it out of the way before paradise. Some insurances would not cover later treatment if I declined medical advice previously. And then since Alternative Medicine is preventive in nature and not applicable in this case; It would be Western "procedure" instead. My wife had had two colonoscopies before and they didn't seem to bother her at all. So I agreed.

3/10/2008: My Colonoscopy. Of course they put you out for the procedure. I, myself, had never had a problem with surgeries nor anesthesia. I woke up after the procedure. My wife had been brought back when I woke up. She asked what had taken my so long? The doctor made his rounds soon after that. The doctor explained that I had broken all clinic records. He had removed and biopsied 13 polyps, however, there were at least 8 more that needed to be removed separately. One was located near my appendix and one was so big that it was blocking roughly 97% of my upper right colon. (If this had been located further into the intestines where the solid waste is processed, I would have been some very serious and painful times. Where it was, the waste is mostly liquid at that point in the process. He said he could not remove that big polyps and scheduled me for a surgical consult. He also scheduled me for another colonoscopy to remove another 8 polyps. Normally I would question this, but he showed me the pictures of the polyps in living color.

4/16/2008: My second colonoscopy. Another 8 polyps removed and snips taken for biopsy. The Doctor again said that 21 polyps were far past the previous record for one patient in 40 days; and I still have at least 2 more and probably many more in the strip of colon they could not get into because of the blockage of the two big polyps. 21 polyps removed and I was still feeling fine. Within another 2 weeks was my meeting with the surgeon to discuss my options for treating the two big ones.

4/25/2008: The surgeon explained that there are some people who just predisposition to making polyps (sometimes is hereditary). He recommended that my children get screened no later than at 35 years of age. Since the symptoms are non-existent and do not include pain or discomfort while the results could be colon cancer, I agreed. He did mentioned that the snips he sent in for biopsy all came back benign or pre-cancerous, he mentioned that he was only able to snip a sample from the near end of the big polyp so there was always a chance that the inaccessible side of the big one was cancerous.

5/12/2008: My right colon was re-sectioned; the area between and including the two large polyps was removed and the colon was reattached. Five day hospital stay and around 3 week recovery period at home. The doctor also said that he removed an ailing gall bladder and repaired a hernia during the surgery. During the 5 days in the hospital, he also said that the sample of the big polyp came back with Stage II Cancer. However, it had been completely removed during the surgery.

I think I will have an annual colonoscopy as recommended. This makes a second bought with cancer. This time early detection through Western procedures was the key.

Addictions

Really addictions or crutches to justify one's inability to overcome a problem? This is how Ampuku looks at what we call addictions:

• The brain is the body's regulator. It regulates the hormones, the enzymes, the immune and all the major systems in the body. Pain is not pain until the impulse the injured area sends to the brain's receptors is interpreted by the brain which triggers the reflex actions to eliminate the cause (remove hand from hot surface for example) or cause the body to go into shock to protect the injured area (activate the body's self defense system to cause the swelling to protect the area, send in the Calvary to defend against infection or other invasive threat, and release the body's natural pain killer to ease the pain). In other words, everything the body does is on direction by the brain. Any physical activity by the body is by direction from the brain.
• The controversy is that Ampuku believes there is no physical addiction; only mental addiction. Mental signifying that no matter what the physical symptoms are, the brain must be the one to overcome them. Treating symptoms rather than the problem is where convention medicine significantly differs from alternative medicine. Three times that I can remember, I have tried unsuccessfully tried to quit smoking. The fourth try was successful. Why was the fourth time successful? It was the only time, I "really" wanted to quit. My mind was 100% behind it. The first three times, deep-down I really did not want to quit. Because my mind was on my side, I quit cold turkey; without intervention, patches, without aid. I did not have to fight my mind; only convince "myself" that I really wanted to quit.
• If you take the latest way to quit smoking by way of injection; do you really think an injection can change the way your mind thinks forever. I do not. If it worked permanently; it would be brainwashing and every military faction in the world would be after it.
• I admit there are temporary ways to treat addiction like the current treatment for Heroine addiction available in some parts of this country. Acupuncture is being used to intercept the impulse sent to the brain that creates the craving for the drug. The conjecture is the same for all addictions: prevent the impulse and the brain's receptors never recognize it so it does not present itself.
• I have used this philosophy to quit smoking and prescription drug therapy without outside intervention, patches, gums, or injections.

What this really means to you is that unless you really want to quit smoking or other habits, nothing will work permanently. You have to "want" to quit before any of these treatments will work permanently. Then if that was true; you could have done it yourself without outside intervention. You have more control over your addiction than you think.

Thanks for listening

Shujin

Safety of all natural products

Just because a product is "All Natural" do not assume that is without side effect or toxin; even if it is so claimed!

Please take this warning to heart. Especially with supplements which are not monitored nor governed by FDA. Listen to advertisements very carefully. Listen to this advertisement which recently played on the radio. Notice how many times they say the word "may"? Actually, they never said it "did anything" for sure. (Don't forget to adjust your sound before clicking the link!)

Consider the words "All Natural" also refers to all poisons in their natural form like some mushrooms, angel trumpet, and many plants. I wonder what would happen if you rubbed poison ivy all over your skin or even ate it. It is all natural is it not?

As we mentioned before; supplements are not regulated by the FDA which means their claims are not reviewed, substantiated, nor approved by the FDA. You must be very careful when starting a supplement regiment. We most certainly recommend you consult your physician. And as you'll hear us say over and over again; Alternative Medicine does not replace conventional medicine but works together with it. Involve your physician with any alternative therapies you are considering. If he/she does not believe in any alternative therapies; ask why! If the answer given does not concern a specific and known reaction to your medical condition; maybe you should get a second opinion. My brother is a General Practitioner, with a reputation in the international health community for his expertise in cholesterol, does not believe in any alternative therapies. I no longer ask for his advise in these matters; only for matters involving cholesterol. Had my oncologist believed in holistic care during my cancer, a major contraindication may have been adverted. My severe post nasal drip presented a severe problem during radiation treatment when the radiation solidified the phlegm in my throat essentially choking me. A holistic oncologist would have found that probability during the pre-exam as he considered the whole body (and mind) while treating a small portion of it.

Remember, many over the counter medications can adversely affect the safety and effectiveness of herbs and supplements and vice versa.

Thanks for stopping by....

Shujin

Welcome to the Ampuku Wellness Therapy Blog

Our first blog is more of a welcome that anything else; describing what Ampuku is about and what to expect from future postings.

First: What is Ampuku? Where did it come from? What is it to me?

Originally, Ampuku was a philosophy that combined mind and body in a single entity that was controlled by energy flows navigating the mind and body through pathways. The centre of these pathways was the Hara (Stomach). By stimulating these pathways in the Hara, one could correct or fine tune the ability for all the body systems to work together keeping the mind and body healthy and at peak performance. Ampuku Wellness Therapy takes what I learned from my mentors to another level. Summed up in what we call the 5 R's of Ampuku. It may be considered by some westerners to be rebellious to their way of thinking. And indeed it is. However, it is not a Western philosophy but an Eastern one, so that it would promote non-western ideas is not surprising. I studied Ampuku in Towada-ko, Japan in the mid-sixties under three practitioners that reorganized the philosophy after the lifting of General MacArthur's ban on massage during the American occupation of Japan. It seems that the West was not ready to deal with Ampuku's claim to actually heal the body. After the lifting of the ban, other forms of Japanese/Eastern massage took up where they left off; Ampuku's claims kept them in the background.

What is it to you? Consider what it is to me.

• I drank like a fish; looking at life through the distorted glass fish bowl. I no longer drink- not even socially.
• I smoked up to 3 packs of cigarettes a day for over 35 years. I no longer smoke. Quit cold turkey; no pills, no patches, no interventions.
• I had been diagnosed with "Classic Migraine Syndrome" and on as many as 7 tranquilizers a day; every day for 24 years. I have been migraine free for over 6 years. I do not even take pain-killers. No pills, no pain, no hospitals.
• I am a cancer survivor. No side effects of the Radiation treatment. No Chemotherapy. No surgery. No Cancer; I have been cancer free 4 years now!

Most importantly, it is a drug-free (prescription drugs) alternative for everyone. Our non-profit interactive site is a good place to read all about experiences with not just Ampuku but other alternatives to conventional medicine or share your own.

In future postings, I will be providing alternatives on many health calamities you may be facing.

It was great talking with you.

Shujin