A Tape Transcription by Clifford Beckwith
The following is presented for educational and informational purposes only and in no way should be construed as giving medical advice.
As I narrate this in July, l998, seven and a half years have passed since I was found to have stage four prostate cancer. As I learned later I should have been dead at least seven years. What follows is an account of things that were done by me and by many other people and the results that followed.
The accounts that follow are not to be considered as specific advice, but the information given may be used by any individual as he or she sees fit, as is the right of any person.
In January 1991 I was diagnosed with Advanced Prostate Cancer. Bone scans and other tests indicated no spread so it was decided to operate. During the operation it was discovered that the cancer had spread to the Lymph glands making it stage four. The operation was not completed as that would not be the answer.
The only treatment used was Lupron and Eulexin to cancel the male hormones. I was told the male hormone does not cause cancer, but if cancer is present it is like throwing kerosene on a fire.
At the time of the operation my brother sent me a book entitled The Cancer Answer by Al Carter. He is a medical research journalist and very knowledgeable. He says scientists can cure cancer. "I know how, and I learned it from them." It is available from American Institute of Reboundology, Inc. - 3585 N. University Ave., Suite 300 Provo, Utah, 84604. He also has a recent video tape on the immune system as it relates to Cancer. The book or tape can be ordered by calling 1 - 888 -464 - 5867.
He quoted from another book, "How to fight Cancer and Win" by Fischer. There are three chapters on oils describing the work of Dr. Johanna Budwig in Germany. She is a Biochemist and blood specialist who has been treating cancer of all kinds with nothing but cottage cheese and Flaxseed Oil for over 16 years. She says that people with cancer have blood that is low in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and the blood has a greenish cast. Flaxseed oil is 56% Omega 3 and 16% Omega 6. Recently I read that most people have blood that is 80% deficient in Omega 3. Dr. Budwig has taken patients sometimes given only hours to live and restored them to health.
Doctors had attempted to treat patients with sources of Omega 3 but had not been consistently successful. Dr. Budwig's research found that in order for these fatty acids to be fully available to the body, they must be tied to a sulfur based protein; the best source of which is cottage cheese. Depending on the severity of the condition she had her patients use 3 to 6 Tbsps. of Flaxseed oil a day, with at least 4 oz or 1/2 cup of cottage cheese per day.
I would use at least 1/4 cup cottage cheese per Tbs. of oil. If 4 or less Tbsps were used per day and I'd split that up so that I took them at 4 different times, although there are no specific guidelines. I have learned recently that Dr. Budwig recommends that the oil and the cottage cheese be thoroughly mixed before eating it. I have realized that an excellent approach would be to mix however many Tbsps. Of Flax oil one plans to use each day in a bowl with at least a half cup of cottage cheese and some fruit such as crushed pineapple or frozen strawberries, put it in the refrigerator and eat a portion of it at different times during the day. For two and a half years I put a half cup of cottage cheese in a bowl, added a Tbsp. Of flaxseed oil, mixed in some crushed pineapple or frozen strawberries or honey and took it to school for lunch. That tasted good. An excellent method of mixing is with the use of a small hand held blender. Milk or juice may need to be added to make the mixture thin enough so that the little motor may be able to handle it.
After 3 months of treatment, the blood would be bright red, the tumors disappearing and the amount of oil reduced to 1 Tbs. per day per hundred lbs. body weight for maintenance. Yogurt will take the place of cottage cheese but more of it is needed; actually about three times as much and if fruited Yogurt is used it would need to be even more.
Flaxseed oil is increasingly available in health food stores though it must be kept fresh and cold. It will keep a year in a freezer, 4 months in a refrigerator but only 3 weeks at room temperature.
Barlean, in Ferndale WA, 1-800-445-3529, was, I believe, the first company in the US to process Flax oil for food and is an excellent source. Another source is Flora Inc. in Lynden, WA; 1-800-446-2110. Nature's Distributors in Arizona, 1-800-624-7114, is also an excellent source. They have other products also, including "Companion Nutrients" that are capsules containing dried sulfurated proteins and enzymes which activate the essential fatty acids. They guarantee that one capsule will activate one Tbsp. of oil.
We have recently learned that Omega Nutrition Canada, Inc. 1924 Franklin St. Vancouver. B. C. V5L 1R2 was the first company to process Flax oil in the Western Hemisphere. Omega Nutrition USA Inc. 5373 Guide Meridian, B22 Bellingham WA 98226 is the US outlet. Their toll free number is 1-800-661-3529.
They have a variety of information available on the value and use of Flaxseed Oil and other products as do the other companies previously cited.
When I began looking for sources of Flaxseed Oil the sources were quite limited, but, as the realization of the value of this material has grown, there are now more companies producing it.
I have been told by one company that, while they feel their product has somewhat of an edge, all these oils are good as long as they are cold pressed, fresh and kept cold. This cannot be over emphasized I would be skeptical of any Flaxseed Oil that was kept on a store shelf at room temperature.
In "How to Fight Cancer and Win", an account is given of a young woman, 35, who had cancer so advanced she could no longer eat. She was given enemas of Flax oil and skim milk. In a short time she was able to eat and in three months she was home taking care of her family. The three chapters on oils are worth the price of the book. Unfortunately, this book is no longer published.
I immediately found a source of the oil and started. At the time I had no real guidelines so used 2 tbsps of oil a day for six months. At the time of the attempted operation my PSA count was 75. It was six months before I had the second PSA.
At 4:45 the following Monday a call came from the doctor's office and the office girl exclaimed "Mr. Beckwith! Your count is completely normal!" It was 0.1 and 0.1 to 0.4 is normal. From that time until this, October 1996, at 6 month intervals, the count has ranged from 0.0 to 0.16.
As I revise this in July of 2001 I want to say that the flaxseed oil was not the only thing that was being done. I was also on Hormone Blockade which is also very effective for awhile in lowering the PSA. At the time I discounted it a lot because we had seen the PSA brought down with flaxseed oil alone in a number of cases and when I asked the doctor if he had expected the counts to go down that much he said, "No Way!".
I have a cousin in California who lost his wife to cancer a number of years ago. He is militantly trying to get American doctors to look at this approach. He's talked to a group in Spain using an Omega 3 approach that is getting a 95% cure rate. Nothing in American medicine approaches that degree of success.
In 1994 he talked to Dr. Budwig. She said "I have the answer to cancer, but American doctors won't listen. They come here and observe my methods and are impressed. Then they want to make a special deal so they can take it home and make a lot of money. I won't do it, so I'm blackballed in every country." Dr. Budwig has been nominated for a Nobel prize 7 times, but her methods have incurred the wrath of the establishment and she is passed over. Especially upsetting is her refusal to use radiation or chemotherapy.
In the summer of 1991 we were at a Bible conference in Northern Ohio. While there a friend told me that he knew a doctor in Northwest Ohio who had developed terminal cancer. He took a nutritional approach and apparently recovered in 5 months. Now when a patient of his is diagnosed with cancer, he says "I can tell you the standard treatments, and I can tell you what works. Which do you want?"
Shortly after I found I had cancer my brother in California heard of a casual acquaintance who had prostate cancer and went to see him. He told him of these alternative approaches and his wife, who is an RN, practically threw him out. She said that if there were anything that would help, the doctors would be doing it and the only things that do any good are radiation, operations and Chemotherapy." About 4 months later I asked by brother how the man was getting along. He said "He died last week".
One of our teacher friends at Washburn had a friend in Knoxville who's husband was very ill with cancer. She told her about Flax oil in case the lady would want her husband to try it.
Then our friend said the conscientious little soul asked the doctor and the doctor said, "don't do that - you might make him sick" I asked our friend later how her friend's husband's was getting along and she said "she buried him last week." One can't get much sicker than that.
When we talk about these things there are a number of reactions. Some would not do ANYTHING that the that the doctor didn't tell them to do Some are very eager -How soon can I start? Can I get it tonight? In my case, I felt what in the world do I have to lose; it is a food, not a drug, and there are no side effects.
We have heard that in rare cases Flax oil can cause a slight rash. In those cases starting with a smaller amount will usually eliminate the problem. In cases of allergic reactions to dairy products, soft Tofu will work fairly well in the place of cottage cheese.
In the vast majority of cases we've known about there has been apparent recovery. Where it has not been successful those with cancer have not used enough in the first place, or switched to Flax flakes or capsules
Capsules scare me. In the first place, it takes a number capsules to make a Tbsp. and the sulfur based proteins are still needed. Also, bottles of capsules are likely to sit around on shelves at room temperature. I knew of one man who was quite badly off and began using the liquid oil and began making dramatic improvement. About a year later I learned that he had died. I later learned that he had switched to capsules.
Shortly after I found out I had trouble we learned that a friend of ours had been having trouble since 1987. He'd been to the doctors; they had done various operations and tried different treatments but he didn't seem to be getting any better.
One day my wife and I visited him and talked about the oil. He decided to use it and began using it 2 tbsps a day [Now e know that probably was not enough quite]. The doctor said his bladder had crystallized and lost its elasticity. He couldn't stay out of the bathroom 15 minutes. He couldn't go to church or carry on other normal activities. The doctor said it was a condition he'd just have to live with. One day he went to the doctors for a physical and he told his wife that if he didn't get a good report he was going to quit using that oil. The doctor examined him and said, "Mr. C, you've had cancer in your bladder and it's gone. The bladder is elastic again and everything is back to normal..
In December 1993 we were having a tree cut and the contractor and I were discussing the oil His assistant said, "I've heard of that. I knew a man out west who found out he had colon cancer. He didn't let the oncologist do anything. He just used Flax oil and cottage cheese and the tumors disappeared."
While at Washburn as a counselor I knew the head cook had left because of cancer. I was visiting the school on records day in May 1993 and Nancy, Maxine's sister in law said, " do you know if Maxine has ever heard about this?"
She called and Maxine hadn't heard of it. We visited her the next day and she wasn't able to do anything but lie around and hurt. She had had cancer in one place and had been treated with chemo and radiation. The next year it appeared in her back and was again treated and it disappeared. Now it had reappeared in her head. She had 18 shots of radiation and the doctor wanted to do the 19th but she said the 18th almost killed her and she refused it.
She decided to try the oil but didn't like it and didn't use it a lot. However, the cancer didn't get worse. When I told her about the man with colon cancer she said, "I'd better get with it and began to use it more heavily." Later when we talked with her she said she was feeling good and the counts were within a normal range. In march of 1994 her doctor moved out of town and her new doctor examined her and went over her records and said, "Maxine, this is a miracle! With all you've been through there is no way you should still be alive!"
In April 1995 Maxine called and was exceedingly cheerful. She'd just had a complete physical and her blood work was excellent. They had done an MRI on her head and everything was clear, and she was praising the Lord!
Lately, summer 1996, we heard that Maxine had stopped using the oil. She had another routine checkup and the counts were well above normal. For her condition, 35 or below is normal. She immediately began to use the oil again and the count was soon back down to 5. It seems the continuous use of Omega 3 is necessary to keep the body in shape to eliminate cancer cells. As I write this on Jan 10 1998 Maxine is doing fine. As this is revised in July of 2001 She is still doing fine. In 1993 her faint hope was that she could see a couple of grandchildren graduate from high school. That has happened and she is doing very well.
In the summer of 1991 we received a call from a man in Morristown who had prostate cancer. His PSA was 38. He started to use the oil but we didn't hear much more for some time. One day he called and said," My PSA is down to 1.5. Do you think I need to worry about this anymore?" In Sept. 1996 he called and is still making it in good shape. He was on no other treatment. He since passed away with emphysema.
In Feb. 1994 we were working in Maynardville and talking about Flax oil. One man expressed the wish that his Dad could hear about it. We sent information and the daughter-in-law, an RN., got the books. The father had prostate cancer, Soon the whole family was using the oil. The last time I talked to them the daughter-in-law told me, "Dad's doing fine. He's doing the same things he always did." I just heard he's still cancer free and enjoying life.
A friend of ours in Bristol, TN has an uncle, 72, who was badly off with prostate cancer and preparing to die. He owned some service stations and was at the point where he was deciding who was going to get what and felt he didn't have long to go. He got the information and began using the oil. We didn't hear for some time, but one day I saw his brother-in-law and he said, "Oh, he's doing great! He's going to meetings and there's no more thought of dying. He's telling everyone about the value of Flax oil.
In a Christmas letter, Dec. 1993, we heard that a friend of ours in Wooster, Ohio, was having a bout with ovarian cancer. The blood test for that condition is GAC 125 and the normal is 35 or below. Her count was 75. Later I learned she'd visited my sister in September and was very apprehensive. She'd had about 4 rounds of chemo and couldn't take that. We sent information about Flaxseed oil in our Christmas letter.
Joanie is an RN and she and her husband had been missionaries in Sri Lanka. They bought the books and started using Flax oil. In February she was feeling fine. On May 12, 94, she had a checkup and the count was 2 and she was praising the Lord. In October 94 she had another physical and now the count was 1. Since then there's been no further indication of cancer.
Since reading from Dr. Budwig, we've learned that one of the major problems with our diet is the use of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. That is the removal of electrons so the product will keep and not get rancid on the shelves. I've heard since that the worst food one can eat is margarine and that it is only one electron per molecule away from plastic. Not only do these foods have no real value but a burden is placed on the immune system to get rid of the material. For this reason I bake my own bread so I can use lard and we don't stint on the butter. I even hate to eat in restaurants because of the use of hydrogenated oils.
From physicals done in 1994 the doctor said that my bloodwork was excellent and Mary Anna's was the best he'd seen so far in her case. As I record this in October 1996 all physicals since then have shown the same result. Though as of July, 2001 I still have some cancer activity, I am in no danger. A body scan and other tests done in November were all normal. I quit the Lupron and Eulexin in October of 1995. For a man diagnosed with advaanced, semi aggressive, prostate cancer to be alive in ten years with all tests normal is not common.
In July 1994, we got a call from a lady in Jefferson City, TN. Her husband Roy had been found to have cancer all through his body. It was so extensive that no treatment was being attempted except for 5 shots of radiation in his right knee that were done in an attempt to reduce some pain. It hadn't worked and there were to be no more attempts. He began to use the Flax oil rather heavily; I'm not sure of exact amount.
I called his wife in September and she said they couldn't tell anything as yet as his condition was so massive. I called the day after Christmas and she said Roy had died on October 19. He'd gone in for a check up and it was found the tumors had all disappeared except the ones in his lower back and right leg. Now the oncologists felt he was going to make it but convinced him that if they didn't give him a massive shot of chemotherapy, he might loose his right leg.
They gave the shot and it apparently killed him. He didn't even make it out of the parking lot. His wife never met the oncologist at the University of Tennessee Hospital who gave him the shot, nor could she find him afterward. She had a hard time finding someone at UT who would sign the death certificate so she could get the insurance and have things settled.
The doctors knew the tumors were shrinking during the time they were doing nothing. I wonder if they just couldn't admit that anything other than standard treatment could be effective. As Roy's wife told me about this she cried and said," If only they had let him alone." Only the fact that Roy knew the Lord somewhat eased the feelings she felt for UT. Today she wishes she'd had an autopsy but at those times it's hard to think straight.
Sometimes I'm puzzled at the refusal of American Medicine to seriously investigate these methods that seem to have success. We hear blurbs on TV about some new procedure that seems to promise help down the road; one thought it might help one percent. I'm sure the oncology industry, with total income next to the energy companies, would like to find a cure for cancer, but only if it would require thousands and thousands of dollars in drugs and the services of at least two specialists.
Al Carter says that the only real defense against cancer is the immune system. Everyone gets cancer every day but if the immune system is where it should be those cancer cells are eliminated and we never know it. He says that once a person has developed cancer, even though treatments get it into remission, it will recur again unless the body conditions that allowed it to develop in the first place are corrected. One of the properties of Flax oil seems to be a strengthening of the immune system. It seems important to use enough oil at first to get the immune system deficiencies repaired. In rare cases, the liver may not handle oil well. In these cases, start with small amounts and gradually increase it.
Last Christmas a former shipmate sent me a newspaper clipping. It was a question written to the veterinary column. The question was "I have a pet squirrel that is losing its hair. Is there anything I can do?" The answer was, "Feed it Flax oil; it will build its immune system and it won't lose its hair."
On August 1, 1995, a friend of my son's told me his sister, who had majored in cytology at a Wisconsin college, told him that during her class work she had studied cells from the bodies of people who had used Flax oil and those cells were covered with a fatty, protective covering that didn't allow the cells to be invaded and they were healthy. Then she studied cells from the bodies of people with cancer and those cells had either no covering at all or it was very thin. The difference was so pronounced that she began using Flax oil herself right away.
At this point the essential information has been given. The rest of this tape is an account of various situations and what has happened, both good and bad.
When I first developed cancer, there was a young man in our community who had an advanced case of colon cancer. He'd had quite a lot of chemo and radiation and in a few weeks was scheduled for a colostomy. He decided he wanted to try this material, and did, for a short time.
The surgeons told him that if he got along well they could reverse the colostomy and I'm sure they told him that what we were doing was foolishness. Later I learned that the colostomy could not be reversed. As far as I know there is no active cancer, but his life style has certainly been changed.
The husband of a woman in our Sunday School class had known something was wrong for three years but wouldn't go to the doctor to confirm it. Finally he was diagnosed with very advanced colon cancer. We visited the family in the hospital one day when he was not expected to live through the night. However, he did get home and began to use Flax oil, but not a lot. He did not like cottage cheese. One day the oncologist asked him to come in for a check up to see how much the tumors were growing. They were not growing, there was no pain, and he had a good appetite. He felt good enough to work on a fence and drive his pick-up a little. He quit using even what little oil he did use because he didn't like cottage cheese and two years later he died from colon cancer.
In early summer of 1994 I heard from a lady in my hometown. She had breast cancer, a tumor the size of a baseball, but a nurse friend who works in oncology, told her that it was slow growing and that if she started then at age 72 with standard treatment she'd be miserable the rest of her life. She got a bottle of oil and used it. She told me that after one bottle the pain was gone. However the next bottle she got was rancid and she was told that that could hurt her. Consequently she didn't use it anymore. A few months ago she got fresh oil and began using it again. Recently we were in the area. The lady is 74 now. I couldn't contact her as she wasn't home, but I know she was working in her flower garden and I heard that she was doing well. I do know that she was not at death's door. Today, at 78, she is still making it, but has not stayed with the flax oil and may not make it much longer. She feels that the flax oil she did use is the reason she is still alive.
Just before Christmas 1994 we heard of another lady in Massachusetts, a relative of a friend in Ohio, who had had exploratory surgery and was found to have breast cancer, one large and one small lump. After one round of chemo she heard of Flax oil and decided to try it. By the time the second round of chemo was due the small lump had disappeared and the large one was reduced by half. She declined further chemo and soon the larger lump had gone as well.
Another member of the same family, a woman I had known as a beginning teacher when she was a senior in high school, was found to have breast cancer; one large lump. She used Flax oil and it was gone in three weeks.
Just up the road from us lives a lady who is president of Kingswood School and we have known Miss Mary for many years. In July of 1994 we heard she had colon cancer and went to see her. Part of the colon was removed and she was undergoing chemo. All she could do was sit and hurt. She'd decided against more chemo as it was just too miserable and decided to try Flax oil. Later she told me, "When you walked in the door I expected to see an emaciated old man. You looked wonderful and that was enough for me."
Sometime later she told me she'd told her family doctor what she was doing and he said, "That won't help you any but it won't hurt you". Then she told her oncologist and he said "that won't do any good", then he examined her and said, "That last round of chemo must have been just right. It's killed the cancer". Shortly after that we received a call from a lady at Kingswood School and she said "What's that stuff Miss Mary is taking that she heard about from you folks? She's doing everything she always did."
We're beekeepers and a friend of ours, a retired serviceman, has had a bout with prostate cancer. He was treated at the Mayo Clinic and I believe operated on. The PSA was still rising, around 7.0. He started to use Flax oil and soon the PSA was 1.5. He's doing fine and really tickled.
A few years ago my brother in California had a physical. Cancer was found through the spine, into his skull and in the bladder and one kidney. The prostate was greatly enlarged and the PSA was 785. The cancer had progressed to where he was unable to eat and weight dropped from 195 lbs. to 150 lbs.
He improved to the point that he could eat and began using Flax oil as it should be used. Before long the PSA had dropped to 8, his weight had gone back to 185 and he was again working. An herbalist friend told him he could get his own flax seed and boil them to get the oil and it would be cheaper. He did not realize that heat destroys Omega 3. The doctors had given him Stillbesterol as a hormone blocker. He'd quit that because of the side effects. So he was, in effect, doing nothing.
He'd heard about Laetrile being used for cancer. It is present in apricot seeds that are sold by the pound in California. Roger ate apricot seeds as if there would be no apricot seeds tomorrow. Apricot seeds also contain cyanide and he didn't let up until he had definite symptoms of cyanide poisoning. He passed away in October but at least some of the tumors had disappeared. I'm wondering today if he didn't contribute to his own passing by over doing it on apricot seeds and not using Flax oil properly.
In early summer of 1994, Tom, a former teacher and friend, called us to refresh his memory on what we'd been using for cancer. He'd suddenly found himself unable to swallow freely and was diagnosed with cancer all through the esophagus with heavy involvement in the stomach area and elsewhere.
He'd been put on chemo but couldn't take that and came home. He was told he wouldn't make it for more than two to four months. He began using flax oil and cottage cheese to the extent he could get it down and didn't seem to be getting any worse. He used no other treatment. His problem was he couldn't get enough food down to maintain weight. A year later a feeding tube was placed directly into his stomach. I don't know what happened those last months or whether he stayed on the Flax oil. The doctors would probably have discouraged it. He passed away in late summer, 1966, about 18 to 20 months later than the time originally thought possible with standard treatment.
In 1994, through another cousin, I became reacquainted with my cousin Emily whom I had not seen since 1942. Her husband Bill had had colon cancer for at least two years. Part of the colon was removed and he'd had a lot of chemo and perhaps radiation. At the time we were reacquainted, Bill's liver had become heavily involved.
Bill and Emily were studying and using nutritional approaches and Bill began to use Flaxseed oil and began to show improvement. He developed a fever and Emily became alarmed and called the doctor. He scolded Emily for not calling him sooner and put Bill back in the hospital. Emily tried to smuggle Flaxseed oil and cottage cheese in to Bill and succeeded for a while but the doctor caught her and wouldn't let her do it anymore.
Bill stayed in the hospital for several months and went downhill. Finally he was sent home to die and was put under hospice care. Now Emily could use the oil and try to get Bill well. She ran into a lot of opposition from the medical workers. Once the nurse put her arm around Emily and said, "Emily, you've got to prepare yourself, you know Bill's going to die," and again, "can he still eat? Is he constipated yet? You know he will be."
One day Bill had a bad day and didn't get out of bed. The nurse said, "He'll never get up again." The next morning Bill was downstairs having a good breakfast. Perhaps the worst problem was the insistence on trying to keep Bill sedated. Emily would say, "But Bill isn't in pain."
"No, but you know he will be, and we want to keep him comfortable." Then the hospice workers would tell the doctors that Emily was uncooperative and she would be scolded.
I have no doubt the medical people had Bill's best interests at heart as they saw it. By now Bill was addicted to drugs and he let them be given. Soon he could no longer function and died. The real conflict the last months was between those who insisted Bill had to die because of standard expectations with standard treatment and those who thought he had a chance to recover.
Those who were giving standard treatment made it impossible for the alternative methods to have a chance. Of course, it seems to me that every death from cancer is evidence of the failure of standard treatments, at least as far as a final cure is concerned.
Of those who have apparently recovered that we know of, a significant percentage were given up for standard treatment. Others abandoned chemo and radiation or never had it in the first place.
A few years ago the National Cancer Institute set up a project to test four materials on tumors in rats. They were citrus, licorice, garlic and flax. The project was abandoned because of " lack of funding" even though the doctor in charge knew that Flax was a very effective cancer fighter. Incidentally, Al Carter says that when mice are used in experiments with cancer, a special breed of mouse with a weak immune system is used, because mice with a normal immune system cannot be given cancer.
My sister's sister in law passed away from cancer recently. She had tried a nutritional approach and asked her oncologist whether he felt there was any value in nutritional approaches. "There probably is," he replied, "but I will never admit it and I'll never use it."
My family doctor told me in 1994 that he was impressed with how well I was doing but was cynical unless he saw the results of objective tests. There will never be objective tests, because in our society the purpose of objective tests is profit. If flax oil were officially found to be effective, it would destroy the financial structure of the drug and oncology industry. That will never be allowed to happen.
Now I may be naïve, and I may yet die of cancer, but as of July 9, 2001, I have already lived about 10 years longer than my doctor really expected. He told me a couple of years after I was diagnosed that most men who had the condition I had did not make it 6 months.
In October 1994 a woman called us from Sandusky Ohio. She had ovarian cancer and a blood count of 1000. She began using the oil somewhat but also said, "I told them I wanted the strongest chemo they had. I want to feel those cancer cells die." Later we heard there was quite an improvement. In May 1995 I heard she'd gone back to work. Later we learned there had been a real set back and she'd given up the Flax oil as she didn't feel it was helping. She passed away that summer.
Over the last five or se we have realized that where Flax oil and chemo are both used, length and quality of life seem to be increased but death from cancer may still occur. I wonder if the chemo doesn't largely destroy what the flax oil builds. The chapter on cancer treatment past and present in Al Carter's book "The Cancer Answer " really helps to understand the situation. Where chemo and/or radiation has been abandoned or not used, results have been far more favorable, virtually 95% where the oil is used properly.
A few years ago, through our church, we learned of a man who needed prayer. He'd been a missionary and pastor. Shortly thereafter I met his sister and wound up sending her brother a tape. He began to use Flax oil. His sister told me a short while later that he was doing great and the doctors were amazed. Then the word came that he was regressing and we learned that he'd switched to Flax flakes. I contacted him and learned that when he was first diagnosed, he wasn't expected to make it very long. He switched back to Flax oil. He has since passed away.
In April 1995 we heard from a man who's father had been in UT Hospital twice in 10 days and was not expected to live through the night because of advanced pancreatic cancer. However he rallied, got home, found out about Flax oil and began to use it. We have not talked with him directly but heard that in August 1995 he had a check up and the oncologist said, "we must have made a mistake in diagnosis - you couldn't have had cancer". Through a mutual friend we learned that in February 1996 a check up showed that everything was clear.
In September 1996 we learned he was back in the hospital and the doctors were giving him a new drug they felt would add a year to his life. Someone who knows him felt there was a strong possibility that he had quit taking the flax oil. He passed away soon after that. It seems that if Flax oil can build an immune system that will eliminate cancer cells, it must be continued.
Early in the summer of 1995 we heard from one of our good friends in Morristown that her cousin's husband, an ex-service man, had an advanced case of lung cancer and there wasn't much that could be done about it. They wanted us to send a tape, so we did. Later, we talked to them at length on the phone. Her husband began using Flax oil 4 Tbs. Day.
That November we saw a segment on TV from the Thompson Cancer Survival Center which said that advanced lung cancer is incurable but there is a new drug now that won't make one's hair fall out but will extend life, have fewer side effects, and give a better quality of life.
The next night we had a call from our cousin's friend. He said that he had just had a physical. The doctor read the X-rays and found the cancer gone. "I'm living proof that advanced lung cancer can be cured." This is the first of an annual phone call.
I'm aware of the fact that when a diagnoses of cancer is given, panic sets in and one really doesn't know what to do. I'm of the opinion that Flax oil should be used as a preventative for cancer by keeping up the body's supply of Omega 3.
Recently the mother of one of my friends was talking with a lady at church about cancer. The other lady said, "I had cancer, but I don't have it anymore. I went to Mexico and a German doctor put me on Flaxseed oil".
In March 1995, Nancy, the school secretary, went to the hospital with gall bladder problems. Before she left the hospital she had been operated on to remove a malignant tumor from her liver. She immediately began using Flaxseed oil and cottage cheese. In October she had another check up. A few days later she got the verdict, " everything is fine. See me next year." As of October 1996, everything is normal.
By this time, July 10, 1998, I know of at least 62 people who have had cancer and now are apparently recovered. That is a very strong percentage of success. I'm sure that if these successes had come about as a result of procedures developed by cancer researchers and cost a million dollars in drugs and services by specialists they would be shouted from the rooftops.
Near Christmas, 1995, we received a Christmas card from the widow of one of my former shipmates. A note was enclosed that stated she'd had cancer and was operated on, but they hadn't been able to get it all. She told the surgeon she didn't want chemo or radiation and he referred her to a doctor who put her on flax oil. She said she's doing well and felling fine. That is the first I've heard of an American doctor suggesting or recommending the use of Flax oil. In her Christmas letter of 1997 was a note which said, "I'm doing fine. Thank God for doctors willing to suggest alternative methods!"
In May 1995, a young woman called us from Anderson County, TN., and said, "I'm terminal, I'm 35 and have 3 young children. My husband has deserted me. I've tried using cottage cheese but I'm allergic to dairy products and can't use it. Is there anything else that will work?" We'd learned two weeks before that soft tofu will work fairly well and we passed that on.
We heard no more until March 1996. We heard from a friend that the young lady had nine tumors in her chest and they had shrunk to pinpoint size. She was almost well. However the oncologists persuaded her that she couldn't get well using Flax oil and that she should go to the Vanderbuilt Medical Center and undergo further chemotherapy. She was given a shot of experimental chemo and died, leaving 3 young children orphans.
A short time ago we received a call from an RN in charge of a nursing home. She said "Dad's in his early 60's. He was told nine months ago that he couldn't live three months without chemo but he refused it. Now he's in a lot of pain and takes his anger out on Mom. She gives it back and I'm in the middle". After talking with us, she ordered the oil immediately.
A few weeks later she called and said, "I've got to tell you this. Dad's used the oil for 10 days, 3 Tbsp. A day. Already the pain is gone and today he told me this is the first day in a long time he hasn't felt sick. Today he has hope, and that's more than anyone else has been able to accomplish."
Of course, we have no real idea of what is happening elsewhere. Earlier versions of these tapes have gone all over the country. It isn't illegal to give information as long as we avoid giving specific advice.
One lady in Blaine TN, got a tape for her mother. She was not expected to live long as her cancer was quite advanced. Today the doctor told her, "Everything looks great. See me next year."
Several weeks ago a man called us from South Bend, Indiana. He said, "You'll enjoy this. I have a 13 year old dog. He has cancer. He's eyes were dull and he was so weak he couldn't lift his leg. I should have put him to sleep but I didn't want to. I put a Tbsp. of Flax oil and a half cup of cottage cheese in his bowl and he wolfed it down. I did that three times a day for ten weeks. Today he's running all over the place, his eyes are bright, his coat is shiny and he's gaining weight." That was the 2nd dog I'd heard of in 3 days that showed improvement from using Flax oil. The other is owned by my cousin's daughter.
Two years after I was diagnosed with cancer another teacher at Washburn was found to have very serious cancer. The doctor gave her 3 to 5 months. She wouldn't consider doing what I was doing because the doctors didn't tell her to. For 2 years she went through rounds of chemo, with the drug being changed as the previous one wore out. (Chemo kills good cells as well as cancer cells, but the hope is the good cells regenerate faster.) Finally the doctors said that they had done all they could do. The immune system was gone and the only thing left was to notify the doctors as the pain got worse and they would prescribe a stronger pain killer.
At last she began to use Flax oil but with the companion nutrients instead of cottage cheese. She went back the next month for blood tests and the white count was going up and the antigen count had dropped from 1000 to 700. The doctors were mystified but 3 days later they called and told her they were encouraged by the improvement and wanted her to go back on chemo the next week. She did and died a short time later.
To me, this is an example of the real conflict. When things which can get people well oppose those things which provide the most income it is hard for me to believe that people's well being has first priority. As long as things which provide the most income are also things which get people well, there is no problem.
Recently a lady came to the greenhouse in Augusta run by my niece and nephew. She told my niece that her brother, 43, had been diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and liver and given but a short time to live. My niece gave her a tape, and she and her mother went to her brothers that night.
He immediately began using 4 Tbsp. of oil a day and in three and half weeks his count went from 560 t0 280. Three and a half weeks later it was 165. 100 is normal. He had a standing appointment with his family doctor but was a week and a half late. The doctor assumed he had died. The upshot of it was that the doctor wanted a tape to give to a lady in his church who had terminal breast cancer.
However, we have heard in recent days that the brother also began using tea from a Japanese mushroom and things have taken a turn for the worse. Somehow it has poisoned his system. The family doctor had told him previously that it was the first time he'd seen a count come down when pancreatic cancer was involved. We learned a short time later that he had died from the effects of the mushroom poison. When properly prepared it may have value but I read in the Prevention magazine that if it is not prepared properly it can be dangerous.
Recently I learned of a lady with an ovarian cyst that was malignant. A date was set in three and a half weeks for further examination and determination of the best course of treatment. Meanwhile she began using Flax oil heavily. When the day came the doctor seemed to be taking a long time with the examination. She thought, "How awful can this bee?" Finally the doctor said, "I can't find anything wrong.."
One thing we've learned lately is that some diabetes is caused by a lack of Omega 3 in the system. When Flax oil is used in cases like that the need for insulin may change and a doctor needs to monitor that.
We were asked by a friend to send a tape to his son who's wife was badly off with cancer. We have just learned that the daughter-in-law had cancer through her lymphatic system and her brain. She used 4 Tbsp. Of oil a day and today the tests for cancer are normal. The doctors can't figure out what's happened and she is not saying anything. However, her husband, mother, father and sisters are all using Flax oil for prevention.
In late February a doctor got on the Internet and said that people were using Flax oil for cancer and they were dying and the oil was a farce.
Another doctor got on ABC 20/20 and said we ought to eliminate the quackery in cancer treatment and stay with standard methods.
As far as the use of Flax oil is concerned, people are not dying when it is used properly, and many of those using the oil have been given up by those using standard treatments. One of my friends received a Christmas card last year with a note that a cousin, 77, had found he had a PSA of 83 in September. He used nothing but Flax oil, cottage cheese and fruit and it had dropped to 13 by December. They were thrilled.
We have a friend in Bristol, TN., who operates a wig shop and much of her business is the result of cancer patient's using chemo. She has shared tapes with anyone interested. One day she called us, all excited, and said that she just heard form a friend of hers in Florida who has stomach cancer. She'd just had the first checkup since she began to use Flax oil and the tumor had shrunk 2 inches in diameter.
This August [1996] one of my friends wanted a tape for a lady in his church. She is 62 and was seriously ill with breast cancer and other involvement. One morning I called her and she said she'd seen the oncologist the day before and he told her she couldn't live more than 4 to 6 months. She said as far as she was concerned personally it didn't matter. She was ready to meet the Lord but was concerned for the ones left.
The oncologist wanted to use chemo to shrink the mass and operate to prevent and eruption but said it would not extend her life nor improve the quality of life. After much prayer she decided against the chemo. The oncologist called two days in a row very upset at the refusal and she agreed to have a checkup in mid-September. The doctor did some bloodwork and then told her he had a drug that strengthens the bones and could give her another 2 years. Then, looking at the floor he said that as he expected the count was going up. It had been 83, now it was 105. He still wanted to use the Chemo.
After more conversation he told her that he could do some other things as she recovered. The nurse told her that she had more problems than she realized. She now has used the Flax oil 9 weeks at 4 Tbsps day. She's been feeling good and her color was improving at 7 weeks.
Sunday October 13, she told my friend at church that she felt good, still had some problems but was improving. Then she said that according to the doctor's expectations, by this time she'd be in bed with people waiting on her and close to the end. As it is, she is enjoying life and Praising the Lord!
At this point, July l998, I want to update this account. It may have some real significance.
After making rapid improvement, she apparently got tired of cottage cheese, which is understandable. She shifted to yogurt. This seems to work, but yogurt has only one third the amount of protein and I don't know how much she used. Around Christmas 1996 she was taken to the hospital for radiation on a place in her backbone. It didn't help. A massage of some type was done on her back that almost killed her. She got pneumonia and almost died. She was sent home and placed on hospice care. Her daughter told me later the doctor had told the hospice nurse that her mother couldn't last thirty days.
At this point she couldn't sit up in bed for more that a few minutes. Now she began to use the protein again the way it should be used. On the following Easter Sunday she drove to the Sunrise Service. I heard later that she was driving around Knoxville and felt elated that the tide had turned.
Then she again slacked off on the protein and went down hill. Now she tried the companion nutrients and again showed some recovery However, she did not fully recover and passed away in the spring of 1998.
At the time she was put on hospice she was also put on narcotic patches for pain. She lived 26 months with the narcotic patches. One doctor told me that if a healthy person were on narcotic patches for an extended period of time there would be damage to several vital organs. "Of course," he said, "If a person is going to die very soon it doesn't matter."
In December of 1996 we learned of a man in Knoxville who was incapacitated with lung cancer. His sister was aware of the effects of flax oil and got him to use it at four Tbsps. a day but with Companion Nutrients instead of cottage cheese. He'd rather die than use cottage cheese. After Christmas 1997 he had a checkup and was found to be all clear. All that was left was a little scar tissue.
It does seem to me that if researchers were more interested in getting people well than in making payments on the Mercedes and maintaining a life style, that there is enough evidence on this tape alone to warrant serious investigation.
Some time ago a young lady in our Lions club asked me to send a tape to her father in Kentucky who had Prostate Cancer and I'd forgotten about it. I asked her how her father was getting along. She said, "Oh! Dad's had a complete recovery and he's thrilled."
At this point, March 25, 1997, I want to add a few updates. Recently a lady called us and said that her son, then 24 , had a seizure at work. He had an MRI and then was taken to a major Cancer center in the Southeast.
There he was diagnosed with an untreatable Brain Cancer. He was told he could probably make it about three months. Make the most of each day.
A friend gave him a tape and he began using Flax Oil about four tablespoons a day. After three months he returned for a check up and there appeared to be no change. A number of months more passed. Yesterday we received a call from the young man's mother. They had just returned from the cancer center. They were told there was no further cause for alarm. The doctor had no explanation. The young man didn't tell them that he had been using Flax Oil. Most people don't. No one wants to be ridiculed. Today, Aug. 17, 1998 I heard that the young man is doing really well.
We've just heard that this young man had a checkup recently and finally asked the oncologist if he knew of flaxseed oil and what he thought of it. He told the young man that if he was using flaxseed oil to keep it up and that he used it himself.
We have just learned on January 14, 1999 that Mitch has just had another check-up and the cancer has now disappeared completely. Praise The Lordd!!
His mother told me that six months ago a dear friend of hers had been told that she had about four months to live. She has been using Flax oil regularly since that time and today she appears to be well.
Recently we heard of a man in Knoxville who had Pancreatic Cancer. He had heard a tape and began using six tablespoons of Flax Oil a day and was clear in four months.
Two days later I received a call from his sister in law. Her husband, the man's brother, had a similar condition. He was losing weight, was getting weak and was the color of a pumpkin. He followed a similar regimen with the oil, and according to his wife, is today the picture of health.
Recently a man called us from Rockford, Tennessee. His wife had Ovarian Cancer with a count of 238. 35 or below is normal. He said that the doctor had given them no hope at all. He said there was a chemo which would add some months to her life. She began using flax oil at three or four tbsps a day. A few months later her husband called and said they had just come from the doctors. The count was now down to 8. The doctor wanted her to take more chemo. She said she would if the count went up.
Recently while undergoing a physical we were talking to a lady who told us that a friend of hers was trying an alternate method of cancer treatment and was doing great. It turned out to be the lady whose situation we were just describing.
Recently we heard from a friend of ours about a young man they knew who had developed cancer. He was told that he couldn't make it four months. He had read in a book about using Flax Oil and began using it. Six months later he seems to be all clear.
My cousin knows a lady in Ohio who has Leukemia who has been using Flax Oil and seemed to be well. She quit using it and in time there was a recurrence. She told the doctor that she didn't want Chemo. She was given some chemical under another name, became upset, threw it out and went back to Flax Oil and today is again free of symptoms. I know there are different types of Leukemia. Some seem to be helped and some are not faring as well.
Incidentally, we now know of four people who have apparently recovered and then stopped using the oil. After some months there was a recurrence. All we can guess is that they felt this was a medicine like an antibiotic and once the symptoms were gone forget it. They didn't go back to it and died. It would appear that this material enables the body to fight Cancer and must be kept up.
In mid April 1997 a man in Opalika, Alabama had Prostate Cancer so advanced he couldn't walk. The doctor had called the family together and told them he couldn't make it through the night. He had started using Flax Oil and by July seventh was out riding around.
Very recently a woman we've come to know found she had Breast Cancer. She had undergone three rounds of Chemo and after each one, as I now understand is normal, the white count is taken to see how far it has gone down. Then she found out about the Flax Oil and began to use it. She took two more Chemo treatments but now instead of going down the white count continued to go up. The tumors are shrinking and she is excited. She discontinued the Chemo and we just heard on Jan 11, 1998, that the tumor is continuing to shrink and they expect it to be gone by the February Check up
In November 1997 a man called from a neighboring town. His fiancee had just been diagnosed with a rare type of Bone Cancer for which nothing could be done around here. The following Sunday night she was anointed and prayed for at her church. He said that he believed she would be healed but didn't know how God would do it. He said that Monday morning someone handed him a tape.
I now know of seven doctors who are using this material themselves and some on members of their families. We now know of over seventy five people who have seemingly recovered using Flaxseed Oil and are hearing of new successes each week.
For all this we give God the Praise and Glory!
We did not intend to do anything like this. It started with my hating to write a long letter to a friend and deciding instead to talk the message into a tape. Then someone else wanted to hear it. As we shared it we learned more and began updating.
While I have concentrated on Cancer there is abundant evidence that the Omega three is very effective in the case of lowering Cholesterol and aiding recovery from Heart attacks.
There is no monetary gain on our part from these tapes. Our only motive is a hatred of seeing people die when it doesn't seem to be necessary.
We are helping distribute information and observations. As is the right of each of us, what anyone does with this is his of her own business. It is now ten and a half years since I was diagnosed and with standard treatment I would have, according to my doctor's expectations, been on the wrong side of the grass for at least seven years with my wife financially destitute.
On March fifth 1998 we learned of a man in a neighboring community who had cancer behind his lungs and around the heart and aorta. He was on chemo and was given little time. He began using flax oil at four tbsps a day. After a month he told me that his doctor had told him that he seemed to be doing well. About a month later his son came to get more oil. He said that his father was weak and that the only thing he was able to eat was the flax oil and cottage cheese but he was staying with that. His last chemo would be in two days. A week later he called and said that his father had died Friday.
They had decided against any further chemo but while they were talking to the doctor the nurse came and got the father and administered the chemo according to her schedule.
One doctor felt he needed blood but the oncologist said he had pneumonia and put him on antibiotics. He died a day and a half later.
Then the son asked the doctor if he could see the X-rays as he wanted to know the extent of the pneumonia. The doctor looked at the films with him and said, "He didn't have pneumonia!" Then the son said, "Where is the cancer?" The doctor looked again and said, "It isn't there!" The son told me that he felt the flax oil had done the job but that the chemo had killed him.
Last winter a lady in our area contacted us. She had listened to a tape and was interested as her husband had a very advanced situation with lung cancer. She was an RN. She told me that she had had her husband buried but now there was some hope. In a short time she told me that she could see improvement.
One day we received an account of some supportive research that had been done at the University of Toronto and I called her as I knew she be interested in any scientific backing for this approach.
She told me that her husband was really going down. She said he had been doing really well but had decided that he wanted to add standard treatment and had gone for radiation. He had also started smoking again.
She said that the doctor had told her that to be smoking at the same time as taking radiation was very dangerous. Her husband died within a week.
We've realized one thing very much. That is the importance of using enough oil and staying with it continuously.
With each passing week we hear of new successes. They probably would add little new to this account but continue to emphasize the value of what seems to be happening
Very recently we have learned something which could be important. A lady we have known for a long time had been found to have colon cancer. She was not able to do much other that to sit and hurt. She began using flax oil and before long seemed to have recovered and was carrying on with normal activities. We had understood at the time that after the first three months the amount of oil that Dr. Budwig recommended was one tablespoon per day. We have recently learned that she actually recommended a tablespoon per day per hundred pounds body weight and there is a question whether the amount of oil she was using was actually enough.
I know that she had been put on Tamoxifen but I don't know when. Some time later breast cancer developed and a mastectomy was performed. She continued with one tablespoon of flax oil per day and later a mass was found in the lower abdomen. There was an operation to remove the mass. It was large and growing rapidly. The lady in question was naturally devastated by this development. She had a lot of faith in her doctor and concluded that the flaxseed oil was not good therapy for her.
Recently in a newsletter of an organization called people against cancer, volume 4, number 2, July 1998 there appeared an article entitled "Should women with breast cancer play Tamoxifen roulette?"
It was stated that one of the side effects of the use of Tamoxifen according to a Swedish study with 1400 patients was a 575% increase in the incidence of uterine cancer and that these cancers were frequently "high grade," according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in March of 1994.
The address of this organization is: People against cancer, 604 East Street, PO Box 10, Otho, Iowa 50569. Phone 515-972-4444, Fax: 515-972-4415.
AS of January 3, 1999 there are some interesting and significant updates.
A Week ago we received a call from Maxine. She had just had another check-up. It was fine. Then her doctor told her he had just found out he has cancer. She had not told him about her use of flaxseed oil but now she told him the full story of her use of it since June of 1992 and her belief that it was responsible for her remaining cancer free. Of course, since May of 1992 she had done nothing else in the way of treatment. She had given up and decided to let nature take its course. Of course, the doctor knew her history. Now she told the doctor that she was no doctor, but he had nothing to lose and he had better get with it. He told her that he would.
We know of a number of folks to whom doctors are giving experimental drugs. At the same time these folks are using flaxseed oil and saying nothing. Some are doing quite well. Of course, the doctors will attribute any success to the use of the drugs while it may be due to the flax oil. Doctors ignore results that we are seeing on the excuse that they are anecdotal and not the results of scientific double blind studies. People who have cancer know that the results are real and are not about to ignore them. Those of us with cancer cannot wait for the results of scientific studies which will never be done. We "grasp at straws" and where alternatives are known that give hope and a promise of success and can do no harm there seems to be no reason they should not be used.
Legislation had been introduced in congress to authorize these approaches and came within a few votes of passage but the medical and drug lobbies were too strong. It might help to write our lawmakers and urge passage of such legislation in the current session. It does not seem logical that the medical profession, in opposing this type of legislation, is mainly concerned with "protecting" the best interests of the public.
I have heard of one situation where a man's girl friend was involved in a double blind study and was one of those being given a placebo. He found out about flaxseed oil and he has her using it and telling no one. She is interested in getting well. She may get well and those on the experimental chemo may not.
One man was found to have colon cancer and it was decided to put a tube in the colon to prevent the colon from closing instead of a resection while a new drug was tried to see whether it would help shrink the tumors. He began using flaxseed oil at four table- spoons a day and the tumors are shrinking rapidly and he is feeling great. He found the tube uncomfort- able and believes it was expelled in a bowel movement. He is still taking the pills.
Lately we are reading about foods that are helpful in prevention of cancer. Flaxseed is one of those foods. I have read that the FDA has approved the use of flaxseed as a cancer preventative. In all such ref- erences to work with flaxseed oil I have not seen one instance where it is used with the sulfur based proteins which Dr. Budwig found essential for consistently successful results.
I will add a word of warning. I don't know much about diabetes, but I have learned that one type of diabetes is caused by a lack of Omega 3 fatty acid. Where that is the case, the use of flaxseed oil for cancer has also taken care of the diabetes. We have seen that a number of times.
However, with another type of diabetes the use of flaxseed oil can be very detrimental. If one has diabetes and uses flaxseed oil it is very important to have your doctor monitor the sugar levels closely, and if there is any change, follow his or her advice.
Cliff Beckwith
