April 27, 2003 Foundation Meeting featuring Miriam Stone

HELEN READS MISSION STATEMENT.

She speaks about the education of the public vs. education of the institutions and allopathic medical professionals, which is considered "mainstream" in this country.

Integrative Medicine or CAM (Comprehensive & alternative medicine) is based in a holistic whole of Mind, Body, and Spirit. It is based upon the community sharing the burden of helping the patient to heal, with kindness, compassion, and understanding. Cancer is not an individual's disease, but it is a time-bomb that causes pain and destruction to the entire family and even the community.

OUR FEATURED SPEAKER today, who will follow my talk on India and Washington discussing Comprehensive Cancer Care, is Ms. Miriam Stone. Her mother, Kaufman Stone, passed away when she was a senior at Shaker Heights High School. She is now a senior at Columbia University and will discuss her new book "At the End of Words."

Read more about Miriam and her book at http://www.attheendofwords.com/

I want to introduce the people who made up the community of healers, supporters of her family and my family.

Miriam Stone, her father Steven Stone, her maternal grandmother Mrs. Joan Kaufman, and her paternal grandmother, Mrs. Maxeen Stone Flower along with her husband John Flower.

I want to introduce my family and members of the Foundation who are present. Besides my husband, there is my mother, Frances Smith, my son John, his wife Karen, and my granddaughter, Gabriel. Gabriel used to rub my bald head and kiss it. My youngest son, Jim, his wife, Sue Kirkhope, and baby Audrey. Board members here are Carol Adrine and Barbara Ruhlman.

Discussion of Integrative Medicine

I will discuss what I have learned about integrative medicine in my trips to Washington, Bangalore, and Boston, and I hope that it will be informative and not too dry. Information means empowering cancer patients and their families. Ms Stone's talk will speak of the soul and the spirit of her mother, family, and the entire community. Her talk is really what this all about and I hope that you will be patient until we get to the really important part of this afternoon.

The differences between Holistic Medical Conference in India and the Integrative Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference in Washington D.C.

The Indian Conference's tone represented and focused on spirituality, dedication to the healing of the patient as a whole person. "Mainstream" medicine in India is Ayurvedic medicine, an energy based system, explained in detail by Deepak Chopra who spoke for three hours at the Conference. I have VCR tapes of his lecture while Richard and I were there. I also have written a detailed 15-page report, in the Library.

Philosophical, conferees representing 45 different countries, with the opening ceremonies given by a representative of the Dalai Lama and the Chief Minister of India. It was the first conference since 1988.

Let me give you one sentence summaries of the Conference:

1. The Western medical doctor or the allopathic doctor attacks and treats the disease while the other health care professionals tend to the well-being of the patient, alleviating pain and suffering which does not equate to "treatment" according to allopathic doctors.
2. "Alleviating pain and suffering" in the allopathic doctor's opinion does not attack the disease; therefore, he or she tends to discount it.
3. Western medicine attacks the disease as if it were unrelated to the individual patient.
4. England is spending one billion dollars to train all their doctors in holistic and integrative medicine.
5. The conference recognizes the tremendous advances in science and technology but challenges its humanism.
6. Holistic medicine is neither a new discipline nor a mix of different systems of medicines. It is not the prerogative of a single system of medicine, but an approach that the practitioner in any system of medicine should take. IT IS THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PREVENTION OF ILLNESS. In short, the approach should be attention to the part with awareness of the whole.

Comment: Believe me, you did not hear this at the American Conference in Washington.

7. Disease is a manifestation of a lifestyle that has failed. In other words, you can remove the cancer but what caused the cancer in the beginning?
8. Informed Lifestyles of Patients, Informed Health Care by Doctors and Informed Networking by the Stakeholders of the Health Delivery System will work together to make the various Health Care Systems appropriate, accessible, acceptable, accountable, and affordable. At the same time, they will bring about an improvement in quality to the maximum extent and to the maximum number of people.
9. It is important to do scientific studies, but the problem exists of the lack of money.

Summary: The Conference tries to justify the "integration" of both western and eastern medicine. The speakers were very optimistic about this occurring.

Spirit - A typical day included artistic performances. Music, which some people may can "Music Therapy" was an integral part of the program. People were very friendly, there were parties every night (no alcohol), and everyone met new people and healers from 3rd and 4th world countries. There was absolutely no stress or confrontation: everyone was very accepting and very relaxed. Also I must say it was very spiritual and even fun.

We attended the opening of an Ayurvedic Spa outside of Bangalore, which was like going to a wedding. It was taken very seriously. One of the high points was Deepak Chopra, who is one of the best speakers I have ever heard - he spoke 2 ½ hours.

Deepak Chopra - I have talked to Dr. Chopra's representative and we are seriously considering bringing him in to speak at Severance Hall on one year. If he comes, there is good chance that our Foundation will have the opportunity to have an event the night before for 150 people to meet Dr. Chopra personally.

NOW ON TO WASHINGTON, DC

This conference brings together prominent figures from academic medicine and front-line doctors and researchers who are doing controversial work on the cutting edge. Thus, Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, presented a best case series of patients with advanced cancers other than those of the pancreas (the subject of his NIH-funded clinical trial). Stanislaw Burzynski, MD, PhD, talked about the state of antineoplaston research, and Merrill Garnett, DDS, explained cancer as a disorder of the human energy system and the use of his therapeutic substance, poly-MVA. E. Dieter Hager, MD, PhD, director of the BioMed clinics of Germany, spoke about his treatment with hyperthermia .

There were presentations by Dana-Farber, Boston; M.D.Anderson, Texas and two other major institutions in their new integrative programs. Dana- Farber was the best in my opinion, but they acknowledge that it is a struggle for recognition by the allopathic doctors. In fact, in 1998, the flyers announcing a speaker on acupuncture were ripped off the walls.

There are scientific studies being done on acupuncture for the alleviation of pain and to increase white blood cells to strengthen the immune system. We also learned about music therapy and food as medicine.

Carol Adrine and I met with the man who heads the Komen Foundation grants and he is interested in working with us on two possible areas: The Chopra Talk next year provided there is a breast cancer segment, and something called "Cancer Guides." There is a training program by CMBM to train social workers and even volunteers to counsel the patient, working with the patient and the doctor together to empower the patients and their families.

There is a 9-page report that goes into much detail regarding this conference. It was tense and energetic. It was a little defensive because of the resistance to holistic medicine here in this country. Dr. Ralph Moss of the Moss reports said that by 2020, there will be a 50 increase in cancer worldwide, which is very depressing. I have copies of the Moss reports in the library. He sends biweekly reports via the internet and they are free. Dr. Ben Case, an African-American doctor who is chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, spoke about integrative care and received a standing ovation. I would like to see him speak in Cleveland as well. I was very tired at end of this conference.

I am so pleased to introduce our speaker at this time, Miriam Stone.