Fresh Liver, anyone?

I am glad I made an effort to attend the Cancer Carers Conference yesterday, organised by the Cancerlink Foundation of Malaysia. Not only were the plenary sessions very informative with eminent speakers presenting topics of interest that benefits not only care-providers, but patients and survivors as well. There were 7 workshops in the afternoon, and I had selected to participate in the workshop by Dato Dr M.Rajen - "Validating Complementary medicine for Cancer". It was not a session that invalidated conventional medicine and treatment, but include discussions about holistic approach to healthcare, using resources provided by nature and using them as close as possible to their natural stage ( raw and whole foods).

Although I consider myself widely read in matters of health and healthy living, there was a lot of new things and tips that I gathered during the session. And of course, when I got the opportunity, I tried to seek Dr Rajen's thoughts about adjuvant therapies for breast cancer. He is supportive of those due to the very nature of the disease ( ie need to cut, poison and burn) as well as ongoing hormonal therapies ( in other words I got another "persuasion" to consider Tamoxifen as I am ER/PR positive). That does not preclude however that where possible cancer patients need to male sure their diet is rich and nutritious in the right food values so that the body is strong and immunity is enhanced to minimise threats of recurrence.

He is very knowledgeable. He has a weekly column in the Sunday Star, which I never miss reading. I asked about why is it that we have so many living testimonies about cancer survivors maintaining a reasonable level of health despite terminal prognosis of their illness due to their taking natural supplements ( eg pecah beling etc), and yet no one is willing to proceed with clinical trials to validate the usage of natural supplements. He shared that there are a few obstacles to doing that mainly relating to funding and IP issues. Assuming someone had invested to run a trial ( if permitted to do that in the first place), should the trial prove successful, how does one patent the use of a herb that is so easily available? How is the investor going to get a return on his investment? So it would appear that for the time being, unless the government takes the initiative, no one would be interested, and we would carry on this tradition of relying on testimonies on the wonders of our herbs. Any takers, out there?

Some 200 people were at the conference, and it seems all the states in Malaysia had some attendees. I met some who came all the way from Sarawak just for the conference. Cancerlink will be covering in detail their objectives for organising such a conference ( this is the first year they are having it) and it is their plan to have it as an annual event. Their next Cancerlink journal will feature a write-up on the conference. I was thrilled to bump into some familiar faces. These were old buddies I met at chemo sessions. We used to keep in touch during treatment to compare notes and then lost touch ( me losing my mobile phone twice last year and they too had lost phones - it is so common !). Of course they have real HAIR on their heads now, and look a wee bit different from the last time we met at the chemo lounge! It was lovely to see them so hale and hearty, and Insya Allah, we pray that we all remain that way.


The photo below is of me at the height of my baldness......I shaved my hair after clumps started to fall off within the first 3 weeks of the first chemo cycle. Cool, huh? Macam Yul Brynner.


( I can afford to smile then......???)


The phot below was taken yesterday at the afternoon workshop on Complementary Medicine.
That is Dato Dr M.Rajen standing next to me. My hair ( not re-styled yet as I am letting it grow naturally) is growing nicely now and I notice that I am using up Shampoo rather quickly as I wash my hair everyday after my morning exercise.

By the way, Dato Dr M.Rajen has a website www.alterni.com for anyone who wants to look up for information on complementary and holistic treatment. I will never forget the tip he gave to the group which he himself swears by. For energy and to strengthen your immune system ( especially if you re suffering from immuno-suppression due to chemotherapy), you may beef up your system with this: take one or two raw fresh kampung egg daily , and on every other day or three times a week, take this interesting concoction below. Dato Dr Rajen didn't have a name for it, so I will have to think of something for me!

I am going to call this " Liver Cocktail ". The recipe is as follows :

1 tablespoon fresh, raw liver ( about half a liver) of Ayam Kampung. Repeat-AYAM KAMPUNG!

1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

1 teasponn chopped fresh garlic

Blend the above. Put in a small cup. Then add 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice. Stir, close your nose and gulp it down.

I tried it this morning, and it is actually quite tasty. I expected it to be "hanyir" but it wasn't as the lime juice cooked it somewhat. Happy trying!