So it’s been summer. Kind of. And the necessary discipline and application for sqweekly blog writing diminished somewhat. But the almost imperceptible waft of autumnal smell, and the glistening september webmastery of ‘aving it’ garden spiders heralds a renewed commitment – to the writing of this weekly blog, and a workable routine of health, study, and livelihood focus.

As I have mentioned before, I tend to be quite a private and anonymous CGP, and don’t like to conduct my personal business out in the world (this blog has been quite a big step). People who do cross the line and inquire about my health in the public domain as a small talk/conversation starter tend to get met with a glare, or a glib brush off.

Sometimes and quite randomly I am happy to engage with the subject and am always suprised by the depth of conversations and also the incredulity I seem to be met with, either at my stupidity for choosing a non allopathic route from the offset (rare), or more commonly incredulity that I look like I do after eight and a half years of having breast cancer – I mean my dad apparently fervently believes that I had a misdiagnosis – but then he is in his dotage bless him, and in some funny way, it helps me that he thinks that. Sometimes, like at the moment, I find myself stretching the limits… stretching the limits of my own health and my body’s capacity for pain, and my body’s capacity to heal itself, and it is a bit challenging, but this is life  – trying something, having success, trying something else, failing, rejigging things, trying something else. A constant quest and a constant adventure that propells me to a greater understanding of my weaknesses, but also connects me deeper to a beautiful spiritual side of my being that I hardly dare to show even to myself.

You would not see that, if you saw me, and I would not wish to share that when it is work in progress, yet it contributes positively to my energetic presence in an invisible but tangible way. We are all the sum of our parts.

So what happens when people ask me … what did you do/what do you do/ How did you do it?

Sometimes in an irrational and overwhelming desire to communicate the vastness of *things I do/have done* my ego might want to to shock and dazzle you with the more outre and esoteric side of my ongoing health protocol. When I appear tonguetied and hesitant about replying to questions when out socially, in my mind the following dialogue might be playing -… I drank some mid flow morning urine, YOU DID WHAT! did 4 coffee enemas, COFFEE, UM ENEMA, LIKE DO YOU MEAN UM, communed with the fairies in the bottom of the garden, GLAZED LOOK did some cellular dna repair through autoerotic trance involving a moray eel, a unicorn and a Barbie doll and then  invoked a circle of guineapig guardians in the sweat lodge to instruct me on what herbs to use … Okay maybe I made up the bit about Barbie Dolls and unicorns. Maybe I am totally double bluffing. Squeeks and throws a joyful popcorn shape.

^{[59]When excited, guinea pigs may repeatedly perform little hops in the air (known as “popcorning”), a movement analogous to the ferret’s war dance.[59]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig}

Fact or fiction, truth or falsehood, cancer with no cancer….I can confidently tell you that some simple body de-tox stuff can work wonders if you do it regularly. Ten minutes of rebounding a day (thats bouncing on a mini trampolene – £29.95 from Argos to you) improves lymph function and oxygenates the blood. And yes it hurts at first, you will get used to it – and make sure your bladder is empty or you will be jumping with warm urine trickling between your toes…. Body brushing ditto-  but not the warm urine and toes.

And then there is juicing. Invest in a decent juicer. And a vegan diet. Or at least a diet that gives your body vibrant alive food, not denaturised, processed to f***, with sugar and salt in for good measure. I mean, really people, a vegan diet can work if used as part of a healing programme, as well as having a positive planetary impact on many levels. (I know I have been a vegan for about 22 years and I still got cancer, but I’m sure it’s the reason my immune system is so strong and my general health level is good). And refined sugar. Jettison it!

And then there’s the other stuff – like urine drinking, liver cleansing with coffee enemas and Andreas Moritz, ozone machines for water, mistletoe injections, things that are slightly more hardcore and out of the general comfort zone of accepted protocols.

But still, anyone could do these things. Yes, it’s all a matter of priorities and willpower. Often alternative health is seen as the domain of affluent middle class Guardian readers, but spending your food money on juicing vegetables from the Turkish corner shop is not going to break the bank, and stopping alcohol drinking so you can drink your own urine will save your money. (I do concede that the urine thing is not everyone’s cup of tea and has its own strict protocols, though if it’s good enough for Gandhi…) and having a daily practise of prayer or meditation is free.

But the physical condition is only a small part of working with cancer, and it is seductive but incomplete to only work with the physical aspects of the disease, which is where allopathic medicine has its strongest weakness. We live in a culture that is all about the seen, the results, factual data. A culture that doesn’t believe in re-incarnation and hence doesn’t have to factor in repercussions for actions that will be sometime in the future but not in my lifetime bother, a culture where animals and trees and the earth are not seen as entities in their own right, but inferior life forms to be harnessed and used for humanitys’ ends.

Wholistic and integrated cancer treatments mean embracing all aspects and challenging this industrial capitalist mindset from within each individual body. By this I mean choosing sustainable treatments and prioritising the continuing health of the person, instead of jeapordising the future for an immediate health result. Maybe it’s a call to re-address the balance? Meditation, prayer, positivity and forgiveness all play an integral part in any successful cancer protocol and the unseen certainly plays a large part in my continuing health.

Despite my protests and reticence I am really happy to answer questions on alternative healthcare protocols and would love to use my experience to help others treading this path so do feel free to write and ask.

The next short blog (on monday, yes!) will be on juicing for those of you who need an inspirational nudge.