Michio Kushi

The Role of Early Detection and Complementary
and Alternative Medicine in Women's Cancers

Testimony of Michio Kushi

Full Government Reform Committee Hearing
U.S. House of Representatives

2154 Rayburn House Office Building
10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 10, 1999

Dear Honorable Chairman and Government Reform Committee Members,

I appreciate the fact that conventional medicine has developed its technology for the diagnosis and treatment of various sicknesses, which are ever increasing and becoming more complex. We desire for the continuous support of its physical and chemical approaches for the treatment of sickness.

On the other hand, among people, and especially among those more intellectual, there has been rapidly increasing awareness of the limitations of conventional medicinal care. Such limitations can be summarized as follows:

1. The conventional approach is a symptomatic approach, not revealing and applying an understanding of the cause of these sicknesses, until very recent times.

2. Professionals engaged in conventional medicine often lack an understanding and support of other healthcare approaches.

3. Conventional treatment, including its way of diagnosis, has always produced side?effects, especially when treatments are over?applied, often to the extent of severe suffering of those who receive such treatments.

4. The conventional ways of diagnosis and medical treatment are expensive, often beyond the average person's income; this results in government or public or insurance systems needing to be applied.

Based upon these points, those who are dissatisfied with conventional medical approaches have searched for other health care approaches, which are comprehensively called "alternative and complementary health practices." Such tendencies have been increasing for the past forty years, and now about fifty percent of those who are suffering are searching for and receiving unconventional methods.

Let us use examples such as women's health, especially today focussing on the problem of cancer.

1. According to the experience of my associates and myself for the past forty years, many women are hesitant to receive chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other intensive treatments.

2. Many women who are under conventional care want to seek other ways because of their intense suffering experiences, both physically and emotionally. They seek other milder approaches.

3. Many patients wonder what is the cause of the cancer from which they are suffering, and yet they do not receive satisfactory answers.

The causes of women's cancers, as of most physical and emotional sicknesses, lie in daily lifestyle and dietary practices.

1. In the case of breast cancer, the major causes are over-consumption of fatty food, including dairy food, and simple carbohydrates, including refined sugar and sweets.

2. In the case of ovarian cancer, the major dietary factors are the overconsumption of eggs and poultry, as well as other high fat animal food.

3. In the case of uterine cancer, dietary causes include the over-consumption of animal food and heavy dairy fat, such as that in cheese.

4. In the case of cervical cancer, similar to prostate cancer in men) the primary dietary factors are the over-consumption of oily and greasy foods; salty foods; hard baked flour products; as well as heavy animal foods.

5. In the case of thyroid cancer, again eggs, poultry, dairy fat such as cheese, and hard baked flour products are the primary causes.

6. In the case of pancreatic cancer, poultry, cheese, shellfish, and hard baked flour products contribute.

7. In the case of skin cancer, the causes include oily foods, sweets, and fatty foods.

8. In the case of leukemia and lymphomas, the dietary causes include the over-consumption of dairy fat, Sugar, and sweets, as well as oily and greasy foods.

Over-consumption of stimulants and aromatic substances, such as hot spices, alcoholic beverages, and caffeine, accelerate the spread of a cancer condition.

Of course, lifestyle factors, such as exposure to high electromagnetic fields or radiation or smoking may accelerate the development of cancer, as does consumption of unnatural chemically-treated food and water. Non?organic chemically-cultivated agriculture, irradiation, microwave cooking, and other such methods of unnatural food production and artificial processing, along with daily unnatural lifestyle, are seriously questionable as well.

The macrobiotic approach, which tries to correct these undesirable points of current American lifestyle and dietary practice, has been practiced by many people since the 1960s, beginning from the grassroots. It initiated the natural food movement and organic agriculture, and now is spreading to many millions of people. As a healthcare practice, this approach has helped to prevent and to effect recovery from many, including many kinds of women's cancers.

Among those in today's audience, the following ladies and gentlemen are present:

Christine R. Akbar

A former physicist from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who recovered 14 year ago from Inflammatory Breast Cancer, 2 to 3 months predicted lifetime

Mr. Norman Arnold

A business leader and philanthropist from Columbia, South Carolina, who recovered 17 years ago from Pancreatic Cancer spread to the Lymph and Liver

Lizzz Klein

A businesswoman and inventor from Tampa, Florida who was diagnosed in 1985 with 30 various symptoms, including Brain Damage and Breast Tumors, suspected due to breast implants

Judy MacKenney

A clothing designer from Nokomis, Florida, who recovered 8 years ago from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Stage IV

Lynn Mazur

A public relations professional from Arlington, Virginia, who was diagnosed in 1989 with Hodgkins Lymphoma, Stage IV?B

Marlene McKenna

A mother of five, radio/television commentator, and investment broker from Providence, Rhode Island, who recovered 16 years ago from Malignant Melanoma spread to the Small Intestines

Kathleen Powers

A real estate professional originally from Ft. Myers, Florida, who was diagnosed in 1985 with Endometrial Cancer, Stage IV; and diagnosed in 1993 with Non?Hodgkins Lymphoma, Stage 111, terminal

Debora Wright

A graphic designer/yoga teacher from Athens, Georgia, who was diagnosed in 1995 with Infiltrating Duct Breast Cancer, Stage II?B.

Later, if you wish, these ladies and gentleman can be interviewed. They have not only survived, but have been actively contributing to society for many years after they recovered, without recurrence of cancer.

These people are only a few examples of the many who have recovered from cancer. In addition to them, many hundreds of women and men have gotten benefits from macrobiotic practice.

The National Institutes of Health made a small grant of about $30,000 available through Department of Public Health of Minnesota University. This fund was to be applied for collecting of data and gathering of medical records. The data are now under review by a research group of Harvard Medical School and oncologists working at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Sharply contrasting with conventional approaches are oriental herb medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, shiatsu massage, and other physical body care, emotional meditation, and psychological therapy practices.

We highly recommend the government should support the following:

1. Public education for a proper, healthy way of eating with a grain& vegetable base; and a more natural lifestyle.

2. Making more funding available for research of the effectiveness of alternative and complementary approaches, for both prevention and recovery, including diet and lifestyle as the base.

3. Making recommendations to all health facilities and medical schools to accommodate healthful menus and cooking instructions, as well as teaching of a proper healthy lifestyle.

4. Advise selected hospitals or healthcare centers to establish a pilot plan for macrobiotic diet and lifestyle, together with data creation, as a clinical trial.

5. Advise medical and healthcare professionals of simple, practical ways of diagnosis, based on oriental diagnoses of the face, pulse, meridians, and vibration, to effect low?cost, early detection.

6. Establish community and school educational programs, including school lunch programs and high school home economics classes to recover home-cooking and healthy lifestyles.

7. We would be happy to cooperate with such governmental efforts by dispatching well-experienced macrobiotic educators, counselors, and cooking instructors to any possible facilities. We recommend funding of educational training centers at the level of college or professional schools.

Women are the center for love, beauty, health, and longevity among mankind. Home and family are the base for health and happiness. If this country establishes its way of health and happiness, reducing in a more natural way various physical and emotional disorders, America will become a symbol of health and happiness for the entire planet.

And America will become a leading light for all mankind, beyond power, politics, and the economy. This is the way of a great America, to open the new era for humanity for the 21st Century. In this way, America will become the creator of One Peaceful World for a healthy mankind.

Thank you very much for this opportunity for presenting my humble statement.

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