TAKING YOUR DAILY MEDS: A PROGRAM FOR HEALTH
by DR. ISRAEL BARKEN

"Taking Your Daily MEDS" does not involve any pills or shots. It is a daily program for health, whether you have cancer or not. "Taking Your Daily MEDS" is a philosophy and an active path to healing.
Some patients, in effect, curl up and die inside from the moment they are told they have cancer. Others begin a new life, learning how to live and how to love. They seek out the strength of family, the experience of support group members, and the comfort of their spiritual community. They learn everything they can about their disease and seek out opinions about the latest medical treatments.

In the "Daily Meds" Program, the patient is taught to stop looking to the doctor for a quickie cure. Instead, he is directed to ask first what he can do for himself. With some guidance, he actively explores lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, and every possible avenue that might allow healing to occur. He learns how to turn the doctor into a "coach" and build a team. He learns that he is the one who has to step on the field and play the game. To be a player takes commitment and effort. In strategizing against the cancer, he learns to utilize every bit of optimism, inner resolve and life experience.

Here are a few examples of what the patient can do for himself. Every morning, the patient should take his "Daily MEDS".

M stands for Mental Attitude. What is a positive mental attitude? How do you create and maintain your mental attitude? First, pessimism, hopelessness, misery, self-pity, negative people or even negative doctors are eliminated from your environment. Mental attitude is an exercise in controlling one's thoughts, striving towards an inner peace, surrounding oneself with joyful experiences and optimistic people. Mental attitude is essential to appreciate being alive.

What are the vehicles we can use to keep a positive mental attitude? Family members can listen, share and be willing to accept the honest feelings of the patient as he expresses them. The patient can find friends among his support group buddies willing to share their experiences without being judgmental. In our support group, we teach new mind-body skills such as meditation, breathing, couples communication, releasing negativity. Many patients already have a spiritual community, those that do not will now seek one. Some people will pray, some will ask others to pray for them. Some people reach out to help others.

Some people sing, some recite affirmations, some meditate, some walk in nature. Some lead support groups, and some will wash the dishes and carry out the trash at home. Each person needs to set a mental attitude goal and strive for it. The key is action.

E stands for Exercise and Mobility. There are three elements to be achieved: Aerobic exercise, muscle building and maintaining flexibility. Couch potatoes get up! For the prostate cancer patient, a little does a lot, so don't minimize the importance of a 15-30 minute daily walk. The other element of exercise is muscle mass maintaining. You don't have to be Arnold Schwarznegger, but it has been proven that even mild muscle exercise elevates mood. Our bodies need to maintain flexibility. The Chinese say: "A man is as young as his spine". Gentle stretching and especially Tai Chi is an excellent way to maintain mobility. The key is action.

D stands for Diet. New research shows a link between the consumption of animal fat and cancer, therefore a diet low in animal sources and high in plant sources is encouraged. Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, protein from Soy based foods and small amounts of fat from olive oil are recommended. Genestein, selenium, Vitamin E, calcium and Vitamin D are being studied for beneficial effects on prostate cancer. Green tea is a good substitute for coffee. Dietary changes can be made with some simple substitutions and still result in tasteful foods. New cookbooks are being published for cancer patients. The key is action.

S stands for Spirituality. Everyone has his own definition of spirituality. Some see it as a internal feeling of goodness , others define it in actions, still others call it a state of being. We all need to strive for spirituality in our daily lives. I would like to share my personal understanding of this very big concept with you.

For me, spirituality is simply trying to be as kind, loving, and compassionate as you can be to your parents, your siblings, your spouse, your children, your closest friends and family. Spirituality is made up of many little acts, some so small as to appear insignificant. You may bring boxes of food to the homeless, but do you grumble when your spouse asks you to stop at the grocery store on your way home? You may serve food in the soup kitchen, but do you wash the dishes at home? Spirituality is not saving the world, it is not a call for human unity, nor is it making grandiose gestures for attention and admiration. I take off my hat to all those who work to house the homeless, feed the hungry, provide for the orphan, or bike across America for a worthy cause. But I believe that if we would just try harder to be kinder and more loving to our immediate circle, we would greatly decrease the number of those who are homelessness, hungry, poor, and in misery. I am convinced that before we save the world, we need to save ourselves by trying to be better to those we love the most, our closest ones. Once we have shared our love with our own families, we can share our love with the world. My definition of spirituality is not smiling at strangers and then snarling at your family when you come home. My personal understanding of spirituality is that it starts with small, humble steps taken in your own house first.

Having discussed the elements of MEDS, we see that the patient can have complete control in applying these elements to his individual situation. While the tools of technology are in the hands of the physician, the MEDS tools are in the hands of the patient.

Finally, Integrative Medicine seeks to bring new combinations to old approaches, to bridge elements of conventional medicine with alternative medicine. It seeks to forge a better relationship between the two most important members of the team - the doctor and the patient, the coach and the player. It seeks to maintain the integrity between sound medicine science and compassionate medical care.