I first treated Christina 38 (all names are made up) in February of 1997. She is the mother of three children. Her presenting complaints were a weight problem, arthritis in the right hip, irritable bowel syndrome and irregular periods, which were coming every second or third month.

In her history she told me that she was a very shy and scared child. Her father had a drinking problem, but she was very close to her mother. She grew up with lots of animals, and still has pets in her home. She loves chocolate and ice cream, and has an aversion to spicy food and shellfish. She loves thunder and lightning storms, and to walk on the ocean.

She is a perfectionist when it comes to parenting, and likes the house neat and orderly. Punctuality is important to her, and talking out her problems with people makes her feel much better. She has a strong fear of cancer; if anyone in the family gets a headache, she thinks it's a brain tumor. She fears, death, flying and heights.

I prescribed Christina one dose of Carcinosin and at her follow-up in July of this year (three years after she received her one and only dose of the medicine) she was still doing very well. Her periods were regular and she was not experiencing any trouble with irritable bowels. Christina's case is a beautiful example of how a single dose of a well-chosen homeopathic remedy can restore balance, and bring many years of excellent health.

Three months prior to my treating Christina, I treated her daughter, Elizabeth, who was nine years old at the time. This little girl had a long history of problems with ear infections and allergies. Her nose would get stuffy in the mornings; she would get itchy eyes, and skin rashes on the back of her knees and the bends of her elbows. She was always either sneezing or blowing her nose, and this was worse on going to bed and on waking.

She craved salami, french fries, butter, ice cream and chocolate. She had an aversion to vegetables, fish, citrus foods, milk and eggs.

Elizabeth was perfectionistic in gymnastics, and in her homework. She liked to do everything just right. She suffered from separation anxiety, and feared kidnappers, burglars, spiders and closed in spaces. She got very upset if reprimanded, and was a very competitive and determined child.

I prescribed Carcinosin to Elizabeth as well, and have been giving her one dose of this remedy every year during allergy season. At one point we put her on Pulsatilla for awhile, but it was not as effective, and we went back to the Carcinosin. The remedy worked beautifully to keep her allergy symptoms in check, and she has not had any problem with ear infections.

I saw Christina's younger daughter, 6 year old Megan also in July of 1997. Like her mother she suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, which was exacerbated if she was nervous. Her mother complained that Megan worried a lot and had problems with separation anxiety. She cried everyday for a long time when her mother took her to kindergarten.

Megan also experienced drastic mood swings; her behavior was unpredictable. She would get angry, upset or frustrated from the slightest cause. Her mother said that she formed strong attachments to one person, who could be a teacher.

The irritable bowel problem acted up if she was nervous or anxious, and right before she went to school she got a stomachache. She had continuous ear infections from age one. These cleared up after seeing another homeopath. Both she and her sister had whooping cough at around age two, though they had been vaccinated against it.

"She is very funny about her feet. If her sox are not perfectly aligned it annoys her. She is also very particular about her shoes. If they have a bump she won't wear them. If she makes a mistake when she is coloring she can get very upset."

Her favorite foods are ice cream, chocolate, fruit, olives, pickles, hot dogs and frozen peas. She loves animals and fears heights, going on airplanes, spiders, bugs and sharks.

Like her mother and sister, I gave Megan Carcinosin. The first dose helped right away with the irritable bowels, stomachaches and other symptoms. This dose held two years, and she had a second dose in July of 1999. I saw Megan again two months ago when the stomachaches were starting to come back. cream and chocolate. She had an aversion to vegetables, fish, citrus foods, milk and eggs. This time I gave her a higher potency of the same remedy and she is doing very well.

Many of my clients have already seen the article I recently wrote on Carcinosin, but I would like to highlight a few of the salient points of this vast and miracle producing remedy. Carcinosin is a remedy that homeopaths see often indicated nowadays, and I consider it to be the most frequently indicated nosode for our age. Nosodes are remedies that come from disease substances. This particular nosode comes from breast cancer.

My feeling is that people develop Carcinosin symptoms and characteristics as an adaptation to modern life. This remedy resembles and has points of contact with so many remedies. It is like Grand Central Station in New York City, a place where so many paths cross and link. We are taught to think of Carcinosin if there are symptoms for more than one remedy in the case, and if there are glaring inconsistencies in what looks like a solid case for a remedy.

For example if everything looks like its pointing in the direction of Natrum muriaticum, but the person loves to be in the sun, loves consolation, loves to travel, and has a passion for animals, I would prescribe Carcinosin instead, because these characteristics do not belong to Natrum muriaticum, but are a part of Carcinosin.

Carcinosin also embodies many of the ideals of modern society, such as perfectionism and fastidiousness. Workers who pay close attention to detail are highly valued. Doing the right thing at all times is the ideal we are taught to emulate. It is interesting how one sees this come out in very small children to an exaggerated degree. So much can be said about this remedy, but in the interest of space, I will list the most prominent symptoms.

Mind Symptoms

Addictive tendency (coffee, cigarette, chocolate, etc.)
Ailments from nightwatching (or caring for the sick)
Ailments from suppressed anger
Ambition
Anxiety about health (of oneself and loved ones)
Anxiety about time
Deep depression; suicidal depression
Depression with a family history of cancer
Desire for consolation
Desire to travel
Early sexual activity or drug use
Fastidious or Perfectionistic
Fear of abandonment
Fear of cancer, fear of AIDS, fear of germs,
Fear of crowds
Fear of dogs/animals, also love of animals
Fear of emotional pain
Fear of failure
Fear of heights
Fear of the medicine
Fear of narrow spaces (claustrophobia)
Feeling like I am not good enough
Feeling like there is something I have done to cause my health problems
History of abuse; history of sexual abuse
History of anorexia or bulimia
History of domination by others
Long history of unhappiness
Love of dance
Love of reading; love of reading medical books
Love of thunderstorms, and or fear of them
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Over responsible, strong sense of duty, loyalty
Prolonged unhappiness due to other people's
influence
Self-pity
Shyness from childhood
Sympathetic

General symptoms

Better by the seashore (love of the ocean)
Better from exertion (exercise)
Characteristic low time is 2 to 3 p.m.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue after an influenza
Chronic insomnia (sleep problems in children)
Eczema of children and adults
Love of the sun
Many brown spots, moles, or cherry angiomas (little red spots) on the body

Food preferences

Desire for: Berries, butter, chocolate, eggs, fruit (or
aversion to fruit), ice cream, potatoes, soup,
smoked meats (hot dogs, beef jerky, salami)

I have observed the health problems of children of all ages where there is a family history of cancer, and usually these are the children with the most health and behavioral problems. Usually present will be eczema almost from birth, early ear infections, asthma, hayfever, many allergies, and sleep problems of all sorts. There can also be a history of bad reactions to vaccines. The books describe a cafe au lait complexion, and blue color to the whites of the eyes. Children who need Carcinosin often have many fears, and one of the deepest fears is of abandonment.

I have often observed extreme clinginess and separation anxiety in children with a family history of cancer. They can be jealous of siblings, and want the parents' undivided attention, because of the fear of death and abandonment. These are the children who have to follow the parents into the bathroom, or will stand wailing at the door.

Another characteristic of these children is eating problems--often there will be a very narrow range of foods that they will eat. For example, hamburger only the way McDonald's cooks it. Feeding these kids can be a torture for the family. They absolutely refuse to taste anything new.

Temper tantrums are a constant reality, as are frequent illnesses. As soon as the child gets over one illness a new one starts. The child also may not develop immunity to a disease that she has had, so she may get chicken pox twice. A history of whooping cough despite vaccination is often also present, as in the case of Elizabeth and Megan. A
history of frequent high fevers is another clue to this remedy.

Anorexia and bulimia, as well as a feeling that I am not good enough often starts as the child enters the teen years. The youngster wants to be the perfect child (to win the love of the parents). Often with the encouragement of society and the parents, they way overextend themselves. So we have kids who get straight A's, are never late to school, who take gymnastics or ballet or karate four days a week, plus drama class, and volunteer on weekends to wash pets at the local pet store. They never have any down time, and don't know what it is to relax. They are tormented by anxiety, by the need to perform, the need to produce, the need to prove themselves.

Often they burn out--sometimes it can be by the time they hit the second grade. Some can hold on until the freshman year of college or later, but at some point a breakdown of health can be in the cards.

Other things one often sees is a long history of unhappiness. This can be from any cause and it can start from early childhood. Often the individual will claim to be unhappy not from anything that they have done, but from what other people have done to them. There will frequently be a history of domination by a parent, or an abusive sibling. Often a
history of sexual abuse, or alcohol in the family is also present, which creates suppressed anger and humiliation.

In cancer families there will also often be a history of early responsibility. I warn parents to guard their children from this as much as they can, because this is a big predisposing cause for cancer. The children are not allowed to be children and are forced to grow up too quickly. The stress of that responsibility at such a young age can put on a cancer layer.

I have used the term cancer families several times and I want to clarify what I mean by this. I have read that in only ten percent of cancers is there a family history of cancer, so why is cancer so pervasive and why do cancer characteristics show up in children where there is no family history of cancer. I believe the reason for this is that all our actions, thoughts, deeds, conditioning and behavior has an impact on our genes and alters them constantly.

It is absolutely remarkable when I see babies under two years of age who have an obsession with time and watches--and I have seen this--and this has been in families where there is no family history of cancer. As much as possible I encourage the parents of children to try to reduce the impact of time awareness on their children. I encourage them to keep clocks and watches to a minimum in the house, and to avoid telling the child we are going to be late. I helped two children with eczema based on this symptom of obsession with time.

The next big symptom, which was present in Christina's family is perfectionism and fastidiousness. One of the big dangers here is that it takes enormous expenditures of time and energy and resources to create and maintain this perfection. It depletes the vital force.

Secondly, the focus of attention moves from the interior life to the exterior world. The healthier way is to maintain a sharp focus inside and a soft focus outside. I tell people that as they get healthier inside, they will naturally (or they should train themselves to) become more relaxed about the exterior environment, and to develop a higher tolerance for disorder.

One thing I have noticed is that having all these cancer characteristics does not necessarily mean that the individual will suffer from ill health. I have seen many elderly people who have been relatively healthy all their lives, despite all these cancer characteristics. By the same token I have seen many children where there is no family history of cancer, who suffer ill health almost from the first breath they take. Life and health are truly a mystery. I believe
that inherent vital energy has an influence.

I would like to share some of my theories with you about how cancer characteristics manifest in ill health at different stages of life. I believe that the manifestations are different, but the disease, which is essentially of a spiritual nature is really one. A time line would look like this:

Babies--severe colic, separation anxiety, insomnia, eating disorders, eczema, frequent ear infections, high fevers, fearfulness.

Toddler years and up--temper tantrums, eating disorders, separation anxiety, ear infections, asthma, frequent colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, fevers, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, fears.

Teen years--anorexia, bulimia, early sexual behavior, early drug use, addictive tendency kicks in, anxiety, over-responsibility.

Adult years--full range of disease manifestations.

I believe in a cause and effect relationship when it comes to cancer, but we have to know what to look for as cause. I have listed many symptoms that show the predisposition to cancer. Society's conditioning and many of the beliefs and values that we hold dear may be a contributing cause of cancer. The values that we are taught to cherish can lead to ill health when taken to extremes. We learn from our mothers and grandmothers to worry and be anxious about family members. We are taught loyalty at all costs. Orderliness, cleanliness and promptness are held up as high ideals. Are these values really good for our health? Are naturalness, spontaneity, simplicity, and ease of living sacrificed to these ideals? I hope that this article will stimulate thinking and self-examination.

Fall 2000