My Deductions About Cancer

Since Steve Jobs death due to pancreatic cancer there has been much written about his choice of treatment. It seems he eschewed all traditional therapies including surgery. He later said he had made a mistake not having surgery earlier.  I think it was a mistake too.

All the talk got me to thinking about cancer. My father was the poster boy for cancer. He had his first cancer in 1959 at the age of forty-six. He was diagnosed with a sarcoma in his upper thigh. There were not a lot of therapies available in 1959 so the consensus of medical opinion was to chop his leg off. That was not an acceptable option for my father so he told the doctors to just cut out the cancer and he would take whatever came with that decision. Over the next thirty-seven years he had two more rounds with cancer, prostate and lung, before he finally died of liver cancer in 1996. In no case did he have chemotherapy or radiation. He did have surgery where surgery was viable.

The observation that I make is that he lived thirty-seven years as a happy and seemingly healthy man. When the end came it came swiftly. He was diagnosed with liver cancer and given six months to live. In exactly six months he was gone having suffered only a couple of weeks at the end.

My father’s choices were intuitive. He acted on instinct. He didn’t let so-called “experts” tell him what to do. He listened to their recommendations and made his own decisions. He didn’t know anything about alternative therapies. Had he, he might have done even better. Still I think eighty-three would be considered by most a pretty long life. He was certainly happy with it.

When one is genetically linked to another with such a history you can’t help but wonder how it might manifest in your life. I concluded that I may well get cancer but that I have absolutely no expectation that I ever will.

The one thing my father couldn’t do was get control of his mind. My father was a very stressed out fellow. It didn’t have to do with the cancer. As near as I could tell he was just an angry man. Why I couldn’t say but he was given to blowing his top over the silliest things and I remember as a child thinking he was going to give himself a heart attack. Instead I think he gave himself cancer.

Over my life I have come to believe that stress is the root cause of ALL disease. It compromises the immune system and lets all kinds of attackers have their sway. If you watched the docudrama Pirates of the Silicon Valley, and it bears any resemblance to reality, you can quickly determine that Steve Jobs was a very uptight and driven man.

I think Jobs was on the right track with alternative therapies and it would appear that he lived much longer than the norm for one with pancreatic cancer. I bet he would have lived even longer had he had the surgery straight away. I don’t know much about what the alternatives are because I don’t really pay any attention. It seems a waste of time if you don’t have any particular need to know and may never need to know. I do believe that alternative remedies are more likely to help and less likely to harm than pharmaceuticals. And I would certainly educate myself should the need arise.

I’m fairly certain if I ever do need to confront cancer I’ll opt for surgery if it’s an option and then seek out alternative panaceas. I will never ever let anyone abuse my body with chemotherapy. I believe chemotherapy kills more people than cancer. And, worse, completely ruins whatever time the person has left. Cancer is a very big moneymaker for establishment medical practitioners and big pharmaceuticals. So, if you want to help line their pockets let them do your thinking for you. Keep in mind, however,  there is a big price to be paid for not taking responsibility for your self.

But, I think there is way too much attention given to cures and not nearly enough to prevention. On the ranch we would say it is liken to closing the barn door after the horse has got loose. Wouldn’t it be much better not to get the damned stuff in the first place? I truly believe everyone has the power to choose health over sickness. It all starts with your mind and your thoughts. If you can find ways to reduce stress in your life you will be taking a huge step. If you can become aware of your thoughts and choose to rid yourself of the non-productive ones you it will be making your body happier and healthier. Happy and healthy cannot co-exist with sickness.

Of course diet and exercises are very important for good health but I think reducing stress should be your number one mission. I know reducing stress isn’t easy. I myself took the cowards’ way out. I bought a ranch in the middle of the Montana wilderness and live happy as a clam with just my pal Lakota. Simply looking out the window at the gorgeous views can reduce any stress that finds its way into my sanctuary. But, for those of you who can’t do what I did I suggest you forget studying about alternative therapies, unless you already have something, and put your energies into studying and practicing ways to reduce stress in your life. The mind is a powerful thing and it will manifest that which it ponders. It’s your choice.


If you already have cancer reducing stress can still be a major help.  I strongly recommend you get this rubbish about "fighting" cancer right out of your head. The very word is chock full of stressors. Don't fight cancer work with it. Accept it is with you and invite it to leave.

“As you think, so your shall be” ---   Kinsey Barnard

If you have a minute head over to my Facebook Page  I'm focusing on Fall colors in Montana and the colors are brilliant. Turning your attention to things of beauty is a great way to reduce stress. 

©Kinsey Barnard