Can Mother Nature help rid us of the most dreaded disease of all, wonders Amira El-Noshokaty "When I started taking the aloe arborescens mixture and adopted a healthy diet, the tumour in the lymph nodes decreased," said 65-year-old Fatemah Mohamed, a breast cancer survivor in 2002. When a tumour was diagnosed in her lymph nodes in 2008, yet another cancer threat, she turned to natural remedies. And she is not the only one. At the premises of the Spiro C. Moros Foundation in Cairo, a lot of efforts are being made to raise awareness of key issues in combating cancer through the use of natural remedies including holistic medicine and organic foods. Established by the late Spiro Moros, an Egyptian of Greek origin in 2002, the foundation promotes the concept of healthy living and its impact on combating various ailments, among them cancer. Spiro Moros and his brother Tony were both cancer survivors who depended upon natural remedies, including a mixture of cactus, alcohol and honey, and a healthy diet in their treatment. "We do not sell hope," explained Tony Moros, today's chairperson of the foundation, adding that they are not quite a medical centre either. People are given the foundation's publications, and if they are interested they can then try the diet promoted by the foundation, as well as the cactus-derived aloe arborescens mixture, handed out free of charge. "The patient has to be involved and has to know that nothing happens by chance. Any ailment provides time to see where one went wrong and where one can fix things," Spiro says. Spiro uses dedicated honey and a special kind of cactus from his natural farm in Wadi Al-Natroun. However, his promotion of a return to nature in medical treatments has been paralleled by developments in mainstream medicine, and a lot of people seem to have benefited from such trials. According to Shadi Habib, the aloe arborescens mixture saved his brother's life. About three years ago, his brother was suffering from lung cancer. He had spent all his money on chemotherapy that cost some LE200,000, and then he started to look for alternative solutions -- hence the Spiro Foundation and the cactus treatment. "For two years my brother took the aloe arborescens mixture and adopted a healthy diet because he could no longer afford the costs of chemotherapy. The results were amazing: he felt better, his hair grew back, and his cancer stopped spreading. When he managed to resume chemotherapy parallel to using the cactus, his doctor was surprised to see him alive," Habib said. On a parallel note, Nadia Hanna, a breast- cancer patient, had read about the aloe arborescens mixture in the papers, had read the books handed out by the Spiro Foundation and decided to give it a try. "I had a serious problem with my blood platelet count, which was constantly decreasing, meaning that I could not enroll in chemotherapy as part of my treatment. When I started taking the aloe arborescens mixture and maintained a healthy diet, my platelets stabilised," Hanna says. arborescens was first introduced by Father Romano Zago in Brazil in 1988, Zago having learned about an ancient all-natural aloe recipe for use in treating cancer from the natives. He conducted studies and revealed this medical marvel to the world in his book Cancer Can Be Cured. As part of the Spiro Foundation's awareness- raising efforts, Zago's book and several others that promote the important of a healthy diet have been translated. In his preface to one of the books, Sherif Omar, ex-dean of the National Cancer Institute in Cairo and a current member of the International Union to Combat Cancer, explains that "this booklet is a summary that highlights important facts that the cancer patient will benefit from. For cancer has become a curable disease." Using cacti for medical purposes is not a new idea, however. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used them some 2,000 years ago. Why, then, have cacti, along with other natural remedies, often been overlooked by modern medicine in Egypt? "Unfortunately, there is no formal organisation to moderate and monitor the use of complementary medicine in Egypt, unlike in the United States where the Holistic Medical Association was first formed in 1975. Hence, there are a lot of con men," said Ahmed El-Dafrawi, a professor of neurology in Cairo. "Despite the fact that Egypt has a history of holistic medicine that is deeply rooted in the folk heritage, most people overlook this. It is only when they face terminal cases that people seek out alternative medicine. This should not be the case, since it complements conventional medicine, boosts immunity and reduces side effects, etc," El-Dafrawi said. El-Dafrawi added that the concept of cactus mixture, as a botanical medical component alone, is an incomplete discipline because holistic medicine has numerous pillars -- physical, psychological, rehabilitation, relaxation, hydro therapy, homeopathy, Chinese medicine -- but it's better than not having it at all. "The holistic approach is quite difficult to access, due to the development that has taken place in society. In our societies, you can buy eggs from a supermarket but not from a farm next door. As a result, holistic medicine has become something of a luxury today," Moros said. "I share my experience with patients. Maybe it will work for you, and maybe it will not," he continued, adding that his fundamental aim is to help promote healthy living. "If you are not feeling well, and test results say you are fine, trust yourself, for a disease takes years to develop," Moros argued. Unfortunately, many people still believe they have no role in their own treatment and depend wholly on their doctors. Moros says that, "you must have a plan, and you must use what you can because it's your life." Despite his efforts to promote awareness of natural complementary medicines in Egypt, whether in public or private hospitals, Moros's efforts have mostly been in vain. "I survived cancer, and that's why I want to help people, because a patient's time is limited. Each of us has a window that God gave him and all the windows complement each other." Enlisting nature in the fight Holistic medicine tips included in the Spiro Foundation booklet Combating Cancer through Nutrition include the following: - Be positive, be a fighter and have hope. - Be aware of the choices you have and get all the facts about the disease.- A variety of healthy food is a must. - Cancer feeds on sugar, so avoid sugar in all its forms. - Avoid malnutrition. - Nutrition plus medication gives the best results. - Charge up your immune system and reduce stress. - Healthy food has healing powers, and berries, tomatoes, green vegetables and garlic cause cancer "to commit suicide". - Either grill or steam food to keep it as close as possible to its natural state. - Herbal medicines like ginger can boost immunity. - Eat healthy fats, like cod liver oil, olive oil and flax seed oil. - Vitamins are essential, especially vitamins C and E. - Eat yoghurt. - Drink a lot of water. - Learn how to breathe properly. - Find out the cause of the cancer and modify your lifestyle accordingly. For more information, visit: http://spirofoundation.com
