Yin Teing’s Health Blog

health through lifestyle change

Archive for the ‘Cancer’ Category

Danger of Coffee Enema Treatments for Cancer

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Coffee should be drunk and not inserted up your posterior- Dr Albert Lim (oncologist)

I have heard people recommending the use of coffee enema as a form of detoxification. Cancer patients are told to use the treatment to detox the toxins from the body. Pardon my ignorance but I have no idea that coffee enema treatment means shoving a tube from the anal and then put hot coffee into it. 

Until I read the article on The Star dated 5 October 08- I was shocked. Even with the colon hydrotherapy- I have a lot of reservations about that- basically pumping water up the anus all the way to the digestive track (and if I am not mistaken, the water pressure had to be high in order to clean the intensines properly) seemed all wrong. If you want to maintain a good digestive health, you will need to practice good eating habits- drink lots of water, take fruits and veges. Eating fruits about 10 minutes after a glass of warm water first thing in the morning is good.  On an empty stomach. Why I know it is good? Because I have tried it and I know of people I know who does it. 

Think about it- if you shove pipes from the bottoms up- and clean it with water or coffee, few days later, the dirt or whatever will come back. Toxins take long time to accumulate in the body, you can’t just barbarically flush it off. And it’s worst, when the intensines are so ‘clean’ because the good bacteria obviously had been wiped out in the process, it opens to infections and indigestion. I know, after these treatment, the person normally have to abstain from certain food. But at that time, the entire intensine track is very vulnerable- it is opened to infection and attacks.

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Written by Yin Teing

October 10th, 2008 at 1:00 am

Get Regular Medical Screening to Rule Out the Silent Killers

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The top 3 killer diseases in Malaysia:
No. 1: Heart Diseases
No. 2: Cancer
No. 3: Stroke


It’s sad to know that on all together- these 3 diseases combined take away one life every 5 minutes. All the 3 diseases are preventable and treatable with early screening.

Most of the time, we never thought of visiting the doctor until it is too late. Many a times, IJN (National Heart Institute) will receive emergency cases of people collasping suddenly due to heart attack. By the time the patient reaches IJN, it is already too late- since our brain cannot survive more than 3 minutes without oxygen. And heart attack does not necessarily strike those who are sedentary and/or overweight- it can strike apparently healthy and active adults too. It can be due to diet, genetics or stress- an active young person who always eat food rich in saturated fat (especially those on high protein diet) is susceptible as the saturated fat would cause gradual blockage in the arteries.

The New Straits Times paper published a very useful article titled Nip Diseases in the Bud (15 September 2008) that explains the need to go for regular health screenings to detect diseases before they became serious or better still, nip diseases in the bud. The article is writen by Suzanna Pillay. I would strongly recommend you read the article.

From the observation that I made, it is indeed very sad that many people are dying younger and younger. If you don’t believe me, read the obituary pages in the papers, the notices no longer indicate people passing away in their ripe old age. You will see a lot of people passing away in their 40s and 50s- some of them owing many big companies. So it is worth to work so hard in your life only to die before enjoying the fruits of your retirement? All it takes is to take one day out of the 365 days to go for medical screening. Early detection may save you your life and ensure you have many more good years to live. If you love yourself and your family enough, you should take time to get yourself and your loved ones checked. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Yin Teing

September 18th, 2008 at 1:10 am

Posted in Cancer, Heart Diseases

Cancer Detection & Treatment

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Any cancer diagnosis is traumatising to both the patient as well as the family members and friends. Most people are thrown off guard, with grand life plans coming to a screeching halt in order to decide what is the next course of action for treatment.

Should one go through conventional treatment, ie surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy or should one opt for traditional holistic treatments? It is often a very tough decision to make. The patient may sometimes let the immediate family member/spouse/children make the decision. And the decision maker is filled with worry and fear, for the wrong decision can cause the cancer to spread and becomes untreatable- and if that happens, the person will be filled with guilt for the rest of his/her life.

Recently, an ex-colleague of mine was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She opted for the conventional treatment- and anyone who have to go for surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy will have to suffer terribly for months, as the aggrestive conventional treatment will totally break down the body’s immune system in order to kill the cancer cells.

She told me that each time she literally shivers before the chemo section because they will put in the chemo cocktail mixes in a drip mixed with glucose water (it was too strong to go through via injection through her veins), and she will really suffer terribly days after the jab. She will also have to go back after 4 days for another 3 jabs through her stomach to boost her immune system (jabs are administered at areas where there are lots of adipose cells).

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Written by Yin Teing

July 20th, 2008 at 9:35 am

Posted in Cancer

Quackwatch- a site exposing cancer cure frauds

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From Hee Boon’s blog, I discovered another site which discusses in detail about dubious alternative treatments to cancer. The post A Special Message to Cancer Patients Seeking “Alternative” Treatments makes an interesting read.

The site is operated by Stephen Barrett, M.D who aims to expose various frauds and quacks started by people with so-called cures. It’s true, there are many treatments out there that claimed to be able to cure cancer- and after the patient spends lots of money, eventually died from failure to seek conventional treatment. The site documents findings from verified sources on various alternative cancer treatments and how it had been proven not to work such as:

  • Vitamin C by Linus Pauling- Despite saying that taking mega doses (way exceeding the recommended dietary intake) will help fight cancer, both Pauling and his wife eventually died from cancer
  • Macrobiotic diet- Special diet consisting of lots of bean products, the founder’s wife eventually died of bone cancer

If you suffer from cancer and are considering alternative treatments, read the findings above before making your decision.

Having said that, I still believe that variouscomplimentary healing, that does not interfere with conventional treatment will help in the journey to battle/prevent cancer such as:

  • qi gong & energy healing
  • adequent exercise for improved blood circulation and a boost in immune system
  • change in diet (not necessary vegetarian or organic) but a well balanced diet
  • most important of all, a positive attitude and attempt to remove other stressors in life forgive past hurts and settle whatever that has been bothering you

Written by Yin Teing

June 22nd, 2008 at 11:51 am

A Cancer Blog & Insights Shared

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Early bedtime, early rise. I slept early yesterday and got up about 5.30am today feeling fresh. I wanted to read more on Chi Dynamics and when I googled under “chi dynamics”, I came across a blog started by a Malaysian who was fighting against cancer.

His name is Foo Hee Boon. He was diagnosed with end stage (stage IV) lung cancer in March 2005. He started a blog to document his journey with battling cancer. Sadly, he lost the battle on 4 August 2006. His blog url is http://fhbadventure.blogspot.com/.

However, if you read the blog via the Archives- from start to finish, you will read the amazing journey of a kind hearted person who attempts to battle and fight the disease. He shared so many insights and on treatments (conventional and alternative) that he had undergone. The pain, hope, gratitude, compassion pouring out of his posts are so touching. As so with a person who is diagnosed with any critical illnesses, there will be many people coming to offer alternative therapy.

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Written by Yin Teing

June 20th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

Posted in Cancer, Case Studies

How My Friend Dealt with Breast Cancer

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May used to be my mentor when I was starting out in the working world. By the time, she had already worked for many years, coming in at entry level and rising to managerial position. She always emphasized on work ethics and how we must do our best. She also shared lots of her own personal experience and given me lots of advise on how to deal with different colleagues, office politics, etc.

Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, undergone treatment and then, passed away when there were secondaries to her lungs (that time she did not complete the prescribed 6 course of chemo treatment). She was such a wonderful person.

Then, few years later, her younger sister Ling also contracted breast cancer. That was a few years ago. Ling took a very different approach compared to what her sister had taken after she recovered from the treatment (operation, chemo and radiotherapy):

  • she chose not to go organic like May did.
  • but she cut down on processed food- even till this day. This means, only once a few months, she will eat KFC or McDonalds. She also does not take sausages, ham or other type of processed meat
  • she ate meat but in reduced amount- she did not become a vegetarian
  • she took up exercising- joined the gym, did cardio and weights. Her fitness level is impressive- she was able to maintain a heart rate of about 150+ beats per min.
  • she joined Qi Gong- she felt Qi Gong exercises are beneficial as it increases oxygen flow to the body and improves circulation. She also sleep better at night after practicing Qi Gong twice a week (she told me sometimes, she gets lazy to practice at home but she makes it to the classes)
  • she learn to take things easy- no longer become too obsessed with work. Her mental and physical health is what matters. She does her best to eliminate all the stressors that goes on in her life
  • she devotes herself to God, prays often and goes to church

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Written by Yin Teing

May 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Posted in Cancer, Case Studies

How Stress Contribute to Cancer

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If we do not learn to manage stress, it will be managing us one day.

My colleague Georgie was telling me about a true life account that she had read about a woman in America who got breast cancer:

When the lady was diagnosed with breast cancer, she refused all conventional treatments such as radiotherapy, surgery or chemo. Instead, she resigned from her stressful job and stay at home (fortunately, her husband could finally support her). She try an unconventional approach- removing stress in her life, making herself as happy as possible and do everything she can to strengthen her immune system through exercise and good eating habits.

She took time for her self, ventured in hobbies that she had wanted to do so long but never had the time such as flower arrangement and basically kept her mind and body as relaxed and as happy as possible. Every night, she will spend about a hour or two watching rented comedies and funny tapes with her husband. They will basically keep laughing and laughing.

After the 3months, the cancer completely went off. A miracle?

I am not suggesting that a cancer patient should not seek conventional treatment. But the real life account above is a good example of how a person’s state of mind can influence the body’s healing process and ability to overcome any serious illness. Therefore, even though a person is seeking conventional treatment, trying to maintain a positive outlook is very important.. Sometimes, the family members and friends need to be strong, and constantly try to cheer up and make the person happier. To really be there for someone who is suffering from cancer takes courage, patience and maturity.

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Written by Yin Teing

January 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Posted in Cancer, Inner Peace