Healing and Curing
"The physician's
highest and only calling is to make the sick healthy, to
cure, as it is called." - Samuel Hahnemann,
The Organon
of the Medical Art.
‘The curing may be in the body, but being cured is not
necessarily living a full life. Healing is coming to
wholeness.’ – Marion Woodman
In the intense
fear of the disease and the almost frantic desire for the
patient and care-givers to find a treatment, the issue of
the quality of life of the patient is often forgotten. The
decision about what kind of treatment, the effects of
treatment, the stage at which treatment is begun or
stopped, the age of patient, and other factors directly or
indirectly impact the quality of life the patient. That is
why decisions about treatment modalities should be made by
informing the patient about all the factors involved.
Orthodox medicine by its very nature and focus on
measurable outcomes, concentrates on the pathological
changes in the body (size of tumor, tumor markers, and
other tests). This focus often neglects to take into
consideration the human being who is manifesting these
physical changes, and the mental/emotional impact the
cancer has on the patient. We are more than just physical
beings. In an age of heroic orthodox medicine which desires
to 'conquer' disease and death, we have lost our ability to
deal with psychological and spiritual issues that arise as
result of dis-ease. That is the fundamental difference
between healing and curing.
For many
patients this distinction is not clear. It is important for
cancer patients and their care givers to understand this
distinction since the disease is more than just the
presence of a tumor. We should be interested in the whole
person and their healing journey, even if it means healing
into death.
Ian Watson,
a
professional homeopath and healer, speaks about the
elements of the healing journey for any human being:
1.
Symptom Relief: looking outside
until you are ready & willing to look inside
2.
Self-responsibility: recognition of
your participation in both suffering & healing
3.
Self-fulfillment: transformation
through and beyond suffering ~ becoming a whole person
This distinction is also discussed in some detail in
a chapter on healing from Michael Lerner's
book Choices in
Healing.
An informed and
integrated view of treatment options will allow the patient
to make their own decision as to what should or should not
be done in treating cancer.