From the desk of Dr Sam Shohet
BDS MGDS RCS(Eng) LiAc MBAcC ICAK
HIV, Cervical Cancer and Viruses
Last week, the age-old custom of circumcision, practised by two major religions for thousand of years, has been hailed as a monumental breakthrough in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Studies have conclusively shown a 60% cut in the risk of acquiring the disease among heterosexual males.Health and Religion
Regardless of whether it is practised or not, whether you are lapsed, agnostic or atheist, whether you are a believer or a non-believer, it is generally accepted that religion plays a huge role in all our lives today.
Despite great change and much opposition, several religious customs dating back thousands of years have survived, and their survival in today's demanding and discerning world has been mainly due to their proven health benefits.
Circumcision
Perhaps the best known of these customs is that of male circumcision. It has long been established that the rates of cervical cancer (cancer of the cervix) are very rare amongst women whose spouse had been circumcised. In fact this is the only reason the custom is retained in the face of recent strong opposition claiming it to be barbaric, cruel, some even considering it to be an abuse of human rights.
Cancer of the Cervix
Although circumcision has long been known to work as a cervical cancer preventative, never-the-less many women have been allowed to develop the disease. It seems that the medical profession prefers to use other methods of treatment, the most recent of which is vaccinations against the HPV (human papilloma virus) thought to be responsible for the majority of cervical cancer cases. Without trials, these are now being given wholesale to young teenage girls!!
A Brief Review of Cancer and Viral Infections
Although both these topics are covered adequately in the website www.integralhealth.org, I feel that we ought to take another brief look at cancer and viruses.
Cancer
It is estimated that between 1500 and 2000 new cells become malignant during the course of every day. Under normal circumstances this would not be a problem since specialist white blood cells called Natural Killer Cells, recognise these rogue cells and deal with them.
However, sometimes in the presence of a weakened or compromised immune system placed under constant abuse, these cells are allowed to proliferate and eventually give rise to a condition we describe as cancer or malignancy.
Changing Cells
Cells do not change from being normal to cancer cells without an outside influence and this influence is one or more of the following four factors:
Viruses
Chemicals
Toxic metals and
Radiation
Once the cell is altered it requires other factors in order for it to proliferate or replicate, including growth factors, pH (measure of acidity and alkalinity), warmth, moisture, oxygen and so on.
For this discussion we shall only be discussing the role that viruses play.
Viral Infections
A virus is a very interesting organism in that, unlike other pathogens (infection-causing organisms) such as bacteria, parasites and fungi which mostly spread by cell division to replicate, it actually penetrates the cell wall and changes the DNA programme - very much like computer software - causing it to reproduce viral DNA instead. Once the cell nucleus becomes loaded to capacity with this new DNA it bursts into the circulation. The new viruses then have ten seconds to find another host cell before they are recognised and dealt with by the immune system's white blood cells.
Establishing Malignancy
During this process, some viruses create adducts or breaks in the DNA sequences of cells, and these breaks form the basis of altered or malignant cells. As these cells then multiply, they form a lump or tumour which on closer inspection under the microscope may reveal the tell-tale appearance of malignancy.
Vaccination
The long-established and recognised conventional treatment for viruses has been vaccinations since the method of spread defies the use of drugs in the same way as those used for the treatment of bacterial infections. Unfortunately, vaccinations have not been found to be very successful and they take a long time to be developed and tested by the pharmaceutical companies. Also, by the time a vaccine has been developed for one strain of virus, it immediately becomes obsolete as viruses change and mutate rapidly.
Route of Entry
Vaccinations rely on dead or dying viruses to provide an alert to the immune system for it to begin to prepare its defences, a sort of early warning system. However, not only is it virtually impossible to predict the strain of virus which makes it a total waste of time, it is also the wrong route of entry into the body for natural immunity to develop.
Mucous Membrane
Our defences are so sophisticated that we have sentries, the lymph nodes, placed in areas of maximum expected assault. Areas such as the throat (adenoids and tonsils) and the gut (mucus associated lymphoid tissue or MALT and the GALT or gut associated lymphoid tissue) where in fact 50% of our defence system resides since most pathogens enter the body through the mouth and nose and then end up in the gut, together with pathogens from food and drink. The white blood cells which come in contact with viruses along these points develop natural immunity by "learning" how to deal with them.
Injections
Skin is not considered a natural portal of entry of pathogens and is therefore not very rich in lymph nodes. Yet this is the very route chosen to introduce a vaccine into the body and the immune system is then expected to recognise the virus and to build some sort of resistance or immunity to it. It never fails to amaze me how in autumn flu vaccinations are injudiciously pushed on the old and the infirm in the name of prevention.
Unfortunately, instead of building resistance, many people develop a transient infection and a reaction to the biocides, preservatives and other chemicals contained within the vaccine, some of which has been known to lead to serious consequences, especially as the very people who receive them are, by definition, weak.
Natural Immunity
Surely, if we are serious about immunisation, we should be mimicking the virus by using the exact same entry points. A more plausible route perhaps would be something like a nasal spay for after all, the body design is faultless, despite what our scientists have us believe.
Death by Flawed Thinking
The flawed thinking of concentrating on the development vaccines rather than therapeutic options has created a serious delay in the treatment of many viral affected diseases such as HIV and cervical cancer at a cost of thousands of lives and untold, unnecessary suffering.
Proven Science
A natural process is far too complex to be subjected to the same scientific testing criteria used for a medicine or a drug, namely the blinded placebo controlled procedures. Interestingly though, millions of prescription are dispensed every year (and have been for decades) despite the fact that vaccinations have never undergone this gold standard of scientific scrutiny. It was simply universally accepted that if it works in theory then it should work in practice.
Proof anyone?
What about safety?
Do we dare mention cost?
Circumcision and Money
So where do we go from here? Will medicine finally join the dots and make the connection between cervical cancer and circumcision in the same way it made the connection between HIV and circumcision? Will medicine in the West follow the example of African medicine by using circumcision to cut the incidence of HIV instead of relying on mostly ineffective and expensive drugs?
The Painful Truth
I think we already know the answer to that. As long as money dictates the course of our lives instead of compassion and humanity, there is no likelihood in the near future for medicine to adopt a technique costing tens of pounds when there is a drug option costing millions of pounds. This is of course regardless of the proven science that the drug option is less effective and comes with a litany of unpleasant and very serious side effects.
Speak Out
This sad state of affairs will only change once every one of us becomes involved in all matters of health instead of leaving it to "the experts". It is surely only when we all speak out that we can bring about change and only then will the experts be forced to work for us and not for their corporations and their shareholders.
With warm regards,
Sam Shohet
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