Lifestyle Options

Ian Gawler of the Gawler Foundation has defined that there are 3 Fundamental Pillars for Health and Piece of Mind.

Diet

The Dietary options available to cancer patients are broad and confusing. All agree that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is a solid base by which to build a healthy diet to give the bodies immune system the best resources to keep you fit and healthy.

The most important thing when assessing your diet is to do whats right for you. A diet thats really healthy but makes you miserable is unlikely to have much of a positive impact on an individuals health. An analogy that can help is the 80/20 rule. Where you eat the ‘right foods 80% of the time, which still allows you to enjoy your favourite foods that might not possibly be great for you 20% of the time. This will ensure your still enjoying life and knowing that your taking control of your health is an empowering thing.

One of the first things for a cancer patient to consider is juicing. Getting up in the morning and having 6 vegetables and a green apple puts you soo far ahead before you have even left your front door, and it doesnt taste that bad either!

Ross Taylor’s book ‘ Creating Health… Yourself’ has been a great source of information for me on the types of foods to focus on and which ones to avoid. Just remember, do what is right for you, and if your not enjoying it your not going to stick to it long term and its not going to be beneficial, so enjoy taking control of your diet and ultimately your health.

The subject of Vitamins and Supplements is a very personal one, and all decisions on dosage of supplements should be discussed with your GP or a Nutritional GP seen on the list below.

List of Nutritional General Practioners in the Perth Area

Meditation

Meditation is deep physical relaxation with undistracted awareness. It is proven that it restores an individuals natural balance and promotes healing as decreasing stress levels is known to increase the immune system.

There are 2 options when learning to meditate;

1- Be Still (No method involved)

2- Preliminary (Location and Attitude), Prepare (Body Position) and Meditate

There are a number of centres that provide training in this form of health. Contact the Cancer Support Association of W.A. for information.

Positive Thinking

There are 3 principles when looking at developing and sustaining a Positive State of Mind.

1) Meditation

2) Positive Thinking

Set a clear goal

Be prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal

Have fun doing it!

3) Healthy Emotions

eg. Hope, Faith, Love, Laughter, Generosity

 

It is important to know what your truth is by assessing your personal

Values – Right or Wrong, Truth or Lie

Filters – What define our own personal truth

From this we are able to achieve peace of mind which enables us to reach a positive state of mind which is important in boosting the bodies defences through the immune system.

Ian Gawler’s ‘You can Conquer Cancer’ and Ross Taylor’s ‘Living Simply with Cancer’ are both recommended reading in gaining a better understanding of the importance of these 3 pillars of Health and Piece of Mind.