This is an amazing article from one of our Focus alumni, David Loates. David and his wife Sharon came on our February 2, 2008, program. David writes about his personal experiences in battling cancer and why he decided to come to Mexico for treatment. It’s an amazing journey and one I am very pleased he shared with us.
Many people take their health for granted. When we don’t feel well, we run to the family doctor for a quick fix so we can return to our daily rituals, whatever they may be. This scenario continues from childhood to adulthood. We eat convenience and fast foods, exercise on occasion, and have more stress than we should.
Lifestyle choices are now recognized as major contributors to serious degenerative diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, strokes and cancer. We again look for a quick fix to these: medications, bypass surgery or chemotherapy and radiation, all with a view to getting back to our daily rituals as quickly as possible.
Our bodies have a unique ability to heal themselves given the correct environment. Our bodies require a well balanced diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, fish, pure water and limited amounts of red meat and dairy.
Why then, are so many people contracting life-threatening degenerative diseases? My search for an answer to this involves a personal journey dating back approximately 10 years. Some personal history is required.
As a young adult in my 20’s in the early 1970s, I had a passion for swimming and long distance running. My training was rigorous. I faithfully logged the miles I would swim and run, and record my times. Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s books ‘The New Aerobics’ and ‘The Aerobics Way’ were my constant companions. I knew nothing of Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals.
In the mid 1990s, my body was not able to recover from the training runs as it once did, and longer periods of rest were required. Reports were coming out which endorsed days of rest, whereas in my early days of running the adage was ’No Pain, No Gain.’
Between 1996 and 1998, a chronic, intense lower back pain developed from running, and a decision was made to seek the advice of a doctor. A full physical was undertaken, with, as memory serves me, x-rays, blood tests and, because of my age, a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test. The results of the PSA test at 10.4 left me very concerned. A PSA reading under 0.4 is considered normal. My doctor recommended a specialist, and a biopsy was performed to try and detect the presence of prostate cancer. As time passed, by late 1998, my PSA had risen to 25.4, with doctors desiring to perform another biopsy and prostate surgery.
Cancer had taken the life of my grandmother. My father had prostate cancer, with the radical prostate surgery leaving him incontinent, impotent and on hormonal treatment. My younger brother had osteogenic sarcoma, a very aggressive cancer that fist took his leg, and five years later his lung. With the family history of cancer, and the quality of life that I saw in my father and brother, I decided to research alternatives to the standard poison, cut and burn (chemo, surgery and radiation) therapies given by the medical profession.
My first challenge was to find a doctor who would guide me with his knowledge of alternative solutions to my challenge. A doctor born and raised in Africa who now resided in the village where I lived came to my attention. He was reputed to be on the cutting edge of alternative medicine due to his extensive years of practice in Africa. I called him, and he agreed to assist.
The second challenge was to educate myself. I visited libraries and bookstores, borrowing, buying and reading everything I could on alternative treatments for cancers. I became educated about diet, exercise, stress and people who had success overcoming cancer by alternative means. I read books by authors such as Ralph Moss, PhD, of the famed Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York City, who was fired because he dared publish an article about the success (and subsequent cover up) they had treating cancer with Laetrile (Vitamin B17). I read that vitamin therapies are not accepted by mainstream medicine because vitamins can’t be patented and there is no profit in that. (Cancer is big business.) I read about the success of Essiac, and how the medical profession had effectively shut the treatment center down in Canada. I watched Dr. Lorraine Day’s video, ‘Cancer Doesn’t Scare Me Anymore’ about her successful battle using alternative medicine against breast cancer.
I read about nutrition, eating fresh and raw vegetables and sprouts. I learned that cooking anything over 118 degrees F. effectively kills all the enzymes and nutrients in your food. I read about the lack of nutrients in our soil due to improper farming techniques.
I studied nutrition, and what our cells needed for optimum health. I also read everything I could to understand what environment cancer cells needed to thrive. Cancer is anaerobic (does not live in an oxygenated environment) and can’t survive about 104 degrees F. I also read that cancer can develop its own blood supply, and is normally found in an acidic (PH less than 7.0) body terrain.
A good friend introduced me to a nutritional supplementation regime that was formulated by a doctor utilizing a synergistic approach to overall health at the cellular level. These supplements were pharmaceutical grade, and included vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. My research further lead me to a book authored by Lyle MacWilliams, BSc, MSc; ‘Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, A compendium of Products Available in the United States and Canada’, in which the nutritional supplements available to consumers in North America are evaluated against a base line. The base line chosen by this independent researcher was none other that the ‘ESSENTIAL’ nutritional supplement regime my friend had introduced me to.
I studied Dr. Ladd McNamara’s ‘Medical Resource Manual for Nutritional Supplementation’. This book discusses many topics related to nutritional supplementation, and has personal testimonials from over twenty patients who had significant results reducing the symptoms of their diseases by following a nutritional supplementation program.
I decided to start taking the supplements, only to find after a month or more that I could not sleep, felt edgy, had joint pain and generally felt worse than before starting to take them. (This changed after I had detoxified)
I read articles about men with PSA levels many times higher than my own; some with metastasized cancers that were electing to go to Mexico for treatment for their cancer at clinics on the Baja Peninsula. I called one of these clinics from a phone number obtained in a magazine picked up at a Health Food Store. My symptoms were discussed with the clinic with a view to visiting their facility for treatment. One of their surviving prostate cancer patients and I were in contact and the clinic’s cancer protocol was explained to me. I do not know why, but I chose not to visit this clinic. Instead, I started to look at ALL clinics using alternative medicines that were located in Baja, Mexico. To my delight, the friend that introduced me to the nutritional supplements mentioned that the same doctor who developed the supplements had just opened up a new facility on the Baja, Mexico. The name of this facility:
‘SANOVIV’
In April 2000, I contacted Sanoviv to discuss my symptoms and inquire about visiting as a patient. A response to the affirmative was received within a few days, and I was on my way to San Diego, California, on April 24, 2000,for a two-week period of diagnosis and treatment. Sanoviv staff picked me up at the airport and proceeded to the border where we cleared customs and made the uneventful journey to Sanoviv, located south of Rosarito Beach on the Bay of Rest (Bayo de Descansos), about one hour from San Diego. This is the previous home of Levi Strauss, and according to NASA, the physical location of the Strauss estate has the world’s most healing properties. Sanoviv overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
My first day was very busy. The intent was to get as much history as possible, then do the necessary tests to make a proper diagnosis of the problem, and introduce a plan of action to reverse the symptoms.
The following was my schedule for the first day, but very typical of what was to follow:
- 7:30, vital signs taken
- 7:50, lab blood, urine and saliva work done. Ultrasound of prostate
- 8:15, dark field microscope blood work done
- 8:35, raw soup
- 9:00, dark field microscope blood work done
- 9:35, Vega testing done
- 11:00, clinical history
- 12:00, lunch (fresh and raw sprouts)
- 1:05, dental exam
- 2:00, salon for massage therapy
- 3:00, soaking and sprouting class (growing organic sprouts)
- 5:00, Qigong
- 6:00, dinner (fresh and raw veggies and sprouts)
After dinner each night, a few almonds and herbal teas were given as a snack prior to going to bed. The teas were cleansing and relaxing.
I was a guest at Sanoviv with approximately 25 other patients whose symptoms included Lyme Disease, diabetes, lung cancer from asbestos mining, fibromyalgia and leukemia to name a few.
The wife of the doctor in residence had a very interesting story regarding her remission from Multiple Sclerosis. She had been bound to a wheelchair for several years because of the disease. A friend had introduced her to the nutritional supplementation program that she rigorously followed. In time, she started to walk, and was eventually able to function without the use of a wheel chair or walker. Her husband noticed the improvement in her health during this period of time and questioned what she was doing. She related the news about how well she felt on the supplements. He was skeptical at first, but as she became whole again, he could not deny her progress. He contacted Dr. Wentz, and visited him at him office to learn firsthand why the supplements were so successful. Following this meeting, and upon his return to his own practice, several of his patients with degenerative diseases were given the supplements with extraordinary results. He left his practice in the USA and moved to Mexico to be the doctor in residence at Sanoviv.
By the morning of the second day, I was attending the physical fitness and meditation classes, lectures on detoxification, and drinking such things as wheat grass juice. This juice is ‘SOOOOO POWERFUL’… one teaspoon will make you nauseous, but it is one of nature’s great detoxifiers. A physical fitness evaluation was completed the first week that revealed the percentage of body fat, maximum heart rate, recovery heart rate and resting heart rate. A second evaluation was undertaken prior to leaving Sanoviv that compared the results…very interesting.
On the second day, I was assigned to the care of Dr. Bautista, a doctor trained in Mexico and the United States.
The main goal was to detoxify my body of deadly toxins, introduce a fresh and raw diet (comprised mostly of organic sprouts) to enable my immune system to function at full capacity, and give my body a regimen of nutritional supplementation (vitamins, minerals and phytochemical) that would allow my body the necessary nutrients to enable it to begin the healing process immediately. Classes were attended on cultivating sprouts, eating a proper cleansing diet, relaxation techniques using deep breathing methods and meditation. Other subjects of discussion included proper food combining, exercise techniques using a re-bounder (lymphasizer), eating an alkaline diet, enzymes (they are destroyed when foods are heated above 118 degrees F.), and the toxicity of our environment. Sanoviv was constructed using non-toxic construction materials and techniques such as shielded electrical wiring to reduce magnetic fields, reverse osmosis for all water supplies including the swimming pools, and specially made untreated natural fibers in fabrics for carpeting.
NOTE, a re-bounder (lymphasizer) is a small trampoline that stimulates the lymphatic system that is essential to detoxifying. It also stimulates cardiovascular activity, strengthens internal muscles, organs and joints and is a terrific cellular workout. The lymph system has no pump (unlike the blood system with the heart acting as the pump), and depends on physical activity for circulation. Re-bounding is an effective way to accomplish this.
One of the main sources of toxicity in my body was from the mercury amalgams in my teeth. I had many very large ‘fillings,’ and over time as they break down, the mercury is released into your body. This was felt to be a major contributor to my compromised health. Chelation therapy was introduced to remove the heavy metals from my system.
Other treatments initiated to detoxify and heal my body included ultra violet blood therapy, hyperthermia (heating the body core to 104-108 degrees F. for an extended period of time (2 ½ to 3 hours) in a very small chamber under the watchful eyes of the nurses on staff), ozone therapy, vitamin C therapy and various intravenous therapies. Dr. Myron Wentz, the founder of Sanoviv, lectured on the structure of the human cell, a fascinating 30-minute discussion that as I recall lasted three hours. The effects of magnetic fields on the human cell were explained and demonstrated. Even the battery-operated watch on your wrist gives off a magnetic field that is capable of compromising your health as shown with various sensitive instruments.
All clothing is supplied as a guest at Sanoviv, woven from non-treated natural cotton fiber. No chemical processes are allowed to touch the fiber. The educational program also included what you put on your body that may be toxic as well as what you put into it. Deodorants are discouraged as they contain propylene glycol (alcohol) and aluminum products. Toothpastes with fluoride are discouraged, as is chlorinated water. Processed foods, red meats, acid forming foods (although lemons are acidic, they become alkaline once in the body) and foods high in carbohydrates are discouraged.
Proper diet was a large part of the education process. Acid vs. alkaline foods were discussed in detail, with a balanced diet requiring 80% of your food from the alkaline group and 20% from the acid group. Alcohol, coffee, refined sugars, salt, vinegar, tobacco, cashews, peanuts, barley, rice, oats, wheat, red meat, dairy products and eggs are not recommended at all. In lieu of dairy milk, almond milk is substituted. Alkaline foods include sprouts of small seeds, beans and most grains, leafy and root vegetables, vine-ripened fruits and vegetables (cucumbers, squashes, tomatoes, bell peppers etc.), sea vegetables (dulse, nori, wakame etc.), garlic, onions, fresh food herbs, tree ripened fruit, small grains (amaranth, millet, quinoa etc.), fresh beans fresh corn and freshly-squeezed green vegetable juices consumed on an empty stomach etc.
The foods’ glycemic index is also taken into consideration. This is the rate that the sugars in the food are digested and absorbed into the blood stream. It is important not o spike your insulin levels.
Massage therapies also play an important role in deep body cleansing. Various massage therapies and spa treatments were utilized to release and rid the body of toxins. These included very hot water Shiatsu Spa treatments.
At some point toward the end of the second week, the detoxification process seemed to accelerate. The release of toxins due to the exercise, diet, massage therapies, environment etc. became very obvious. Body odor was almost unbearable even after showering several times a day.
After two weeks of treatment, it was recommended by the doctors that a third week should be considered in my treatment. I agreed, and the therapies continued. As friends I had made were leaving Sanoviv for home after their two-week therapies having made ‘HUGE’ strides in their recovery processes, I was determined to be as successful. One friend from Vancouver with diagnosed leukemia left Sanoviv with blood results only one point from what was considered a normal range. She was elated. One other individual arrived at Sanoviv in a wheelchair, having been bedridden for nine months. She was involved in the exercise program in a wheelchair the first day, able to participate in a very limited way without the chair by about the third day, and totally able to join in by the end of the first week. The second week she made up for the last nine months.
I found Sanoviv to be, more than anything, an educational program. The program teaches you the importance of eating a balanced diet of fresh and raw vegetables, how to relax and remove stress from your life, what nutritional supplementation regime is the most effective to maintain your body’s immune system, and the necessity of keeping your body free of toxins and oxidative stress.
It is not a ‘silver bullet’ that will cure degenerative disease; it is a holistic and synergistic approach at the cellular level that will allow your body to heal itself. It involves a lifestyle change for you and your family. You will need their support.
Would I consider Sanoviv again should the need arise? In a heartbeat. The care was first class, the facility second to none. Eight years have passed since my visit to Sanoviv. I still maintain my nutritional supplementation program on a daily basis. I have been mostly vegetarian for the past six years, but have recently started to eat organic, drug- and hormone-free chicken, turkey and a small amount of red meat. I still rebound…almost daily. I now cycle instead of run, and I don’t swim because of the chlorine in the pool. I truly love and appreciate my wife, family and friends.
One other thing I have learned from this experience…each day is a gift that I truly appreciate and thank God for. I am truly blessed.
Live life to the fullest in the best of health.
Please note that this is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice. Please seek the help of your medical practitioner before embarking on alternative complementary therapy. Obviously, this is not intended to be a scientific document. This is an anecdotal account based on David’s experiences and research in his journey to battle prostate cancer.
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