But to really enter deeply into the internal energy arts, one should have an experienced teacher, a master or an adept whom has already tread the path you are beginning and knows the proper signs of progress as well as the pitfalls one may encounter.

Breathing is the core of qigong as well as other energy arts such as tai chi chuan and yoga. There are various types of breathing, as well as an energy gate or two that one has to open and close when circulating energy, or chi, along certain pathways. These can be learned from a book but it’s essential to have an experienced teacher to monitor your progress. And to answer your questions.

In addition, you may think the form of your body is correct when practicing moving qigong or holding postures—but it may not be. Incorrect posture can create unnecessary tension and negatively affect energy flow. A good teacher will help you practice correctly.

The Monkey Mind

One thing a new practitioner notices immediately when performing standing or seated qigong is the amazing amount of thoughts that flow through the mind incessantly. Once one begins to quiet the mind through meditating by focusing on the breath, these thoughts can become overwhelming. The Chinese refer to this as the “monkey mind:” Your thoughts are like a troupe of monkeys chattering and swinging on vines through a jungle canopy.

The monkey mind rebels when you first try to empty it; it’s accustomed to flooding one’s awareness with thousands of thoughts and judgments each day. It can be difficult to quiet it: Financial pressures, health and family concerns, work problems and interpersonal relationships all pop into the mind continuously.

Once one quiets these thoughts by focusing on one’s breathing, the imagination can take over and create all types of storylines and dramas. During the first couple of months I practiced standing post meditation all types of things popped into my head: symbols, archetypes and animal forms.

For some reason the image of a rhinoceros rampaging through a jungle was prevalent. With all the New Age notions floating about these days, it’s easy to take such an image and attach meaning to it: It’s God or the Universe sending one a message. Then spend time trying to decipher the message. One can become mentally attached to an image or a scenario and expect it to appear when meditating; then the imagination feeds it and one can become lost in it. These things are blind alleys.

A good teacher will tell you so and advise you not to become attached to images or scenarios. One should just continue to meditate and gradually these things will dissipate.

For someone battling cancer, no time should be wasted following the imagination down the garden path. One has to get beyond and behind the dramas of the monkey mind, empty the thoughts, focus on the breath, and allow the body to recalibrate. Relax and let the immune system do its job.

Finding a Good Teacher

How does one find a good qigong teacher? Look for a good tai chi chuan teacher; almost all also teach various forms of qigong and include it as part of their curriculum. Ask around. Then research the teacher on the Internet and find out how long he or she has been teaching and their lineage: From whom they learned qigong. Or ask the teacher directly. It’s important to find a teacher who is teaching genuine qigong.

When looking for a teacher, caveat emptor. As in every aspect of life, there are fakes: People who attended a few qigong seminars, declared themselves “teachers” or “masters,” then hung out their qigong shingle. They don’t know what they’re doing and studying with them is a waste of time. Look for a teacher who’s studied with masters who have a lineage going back to China. The real deal.

How did they arrive at this? Monks and hermits experienced this energy operating in their bodies through their practice of deep meditation in monasteries and in the mountains, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Over time, through “feel” and trial-and-error, they charted these channels and meridians of energy in the body and developed the practices of qigong (internal energy exercises) and acupuncture.

But is internal energy real? Or just imagination?

“Vitalism”

This idea that a form of electro-magnetic, life energy—a vital force--is responsible for good health has been around in the Western world since the days of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, and probably since the early Egyptians.

In the 18th century the German physician Anton Mesmer proposed the concept of “animal magnetism,” an innate force in human beings. Many other Western doctors proposed different forms of vitalism in the centuries since.

During the 20th century the German psychiatrist William Reich called this energy “orgone” and developed a theory that it was related to the sexual urge, one of life’s most powerful instincts.

However, Western medicine tested these theories in lab experiments and determined that any positive effects from vitalistic treatment were the result of the imagination. In short, the placebo effect. Vitalism has been completely out of favor in the West since the 1930’s.

Placebo Effect?

When I was first diagnosed with Stage Four lymphoma cancer in 1990 my chances for survival were slim-to-none. Typically patients with such advanced disease don’t last six months. So I felt I had to do something drastic to help myself. I remembered from my martial arts days that the Chinese practiced exercises to foster internal energy both for health and martial purposes. I reasoned that the Chinese are the most practical people on earth; they have to be just to feed their population. If internal energy exercises and acupuncture were bogus, they would have discarded them centuries earlier. I had nothing to lose, so I began study with a kung-fu master.

In a nutshell, I survived four bouts of cancer; the treatment included two bone marrow transplants. The high-dose chemotherapy administered during transplants is ferocious and debilitating; it makes normal chemo seem like Tylenol. I’m amazed I survived it twice.

When it was all said and done, my oncologist told me both she and many other oncologists brought in on my case had no idea why I was still alive: the cancer should have killed me, or the chemotherapy should have destroyed my immune system. She didn’t believe in chi, or internal energy, but she told me not to stop practicing my qigong exercises. She couldn’t explain why I was not as dead as the Hittites.

But—that being said—it took me four “tries” to finally beat cancer. Even after beginning qigong (energy work) in 1991 the cancer relapsed three times. So it certainly was not a “miracle cure.” In 1996 when I beat a relapse in my spine, my oncologist told me to be realistic: I’d endured four bouts; the lymphoma would come back again and again.

But it didn’t, and I’ve been clear of cancer for 14 years. Maybe I just got “lucky” (four’s a charm?). Or perhaps my daily practice of qigong turned the tide. Or perhaps my energy work has all been a result of the placebo effect. In other words, I’m not really alive—I just think I’m alive. I feel so foolish!

The Body Electric—Evidence, not Proof

Immediately upon starting qigong practice—in my case standing post meditation—I felt a strange tingling and heat in my palms. The palms contain the lao gung cavities, important points for absorbing and transmitting energy. But I couldn’t resist the notion that the feeling was just one of blood circulation. I was skeptical, and put it aside. But I continued to practice as I was doing extremely well despite the chemotherapy.

After a couple of years of standing post, areas about the size of silver dollars on the soles of my feet—about two-thirds of the way up from the heels—starting pulsing with what I can only describe as electricity. It didn’t seem like blood circulation; if it was, why would it pulse only in small, localized areas on the bottoms of my feet?

I investigated, looking up this phenomenon in a qigong textbook written by my teacher’s teacher, Dr. Yang-Jwing Ming of Boston—who is both a kung-fu master and holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Purdue University. He is not a man given to flights-of-fancy.

These cavities, I found, are known as the yong chuan cavities—when they begin to pulse it’s a sign that energy is flowing freely in the body. My teacher also confirmed that the same electrical pulsing had occurred in his feet after many months of practice many years earlier.

In the years since I’ve experienced seemingly electrical phenomenon in various areas of my body that I can’t explain. I take these experiences as evidence of internal energy. As it’s anecdotal, it’s certainly not proof.

But I’m just glad I’m still around after all these years to debate the question.

Tragic—yes. But the real tragedy is that if his parents had allowed conventional treatment proposed by oncologists in Canada—chemotherapy and amputation of his leg beneath the knee--Tyrell had a good chance of surviving his cancer. A 65% chance. Instead his parents opted for unproven alternative therapies—shark cartilage and laetrile. And their boy died a miserable, and probably unnecessary, death.

What was the cost of this "alternative" cancer treatment? $6,000 a week, for a grand total of $65,000. Not covered by insurance, of course. A lot of money to dish out for remedies that do not work and provide false hopes of a “miracle cure.”

Cancer Scams: Preying on the Desperate

Desperate people do desperate things. There are few people more desperate than those affected by cancer—a terrifying disease which often proves fatal. And there are scores of alternative health practitioners and companies who are willing to take advantage of their desperation by selling them products which have no scientific evidence to back up their claims that they can cure cancer. Shark cartilage pills and powders, laetrile and other herbal remedies fit into this category. Miracle cures for cancer are a billion-dollar industry—and they are scams!

Shark cartilage showed promise as a weapon in the fight against cancer back in the ‘70s. It was erroneously believed that sharks did not get cancer because their cartilage, which comprises their “skeletons” instead of bones, has properties that inhibit angiogenesis—the development of blood vessels that feed tumors. Cancerous tumors, which need blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrients to fuel their growth, can be “starved” and shrunk if these blood vessels are prevented from forming.

Enter William Lane, PhD, a biochemist who ran with the ball and wrote a book entitled “Sharks Don’t Get Cancer.” Research today by marine biologists proves him wrong—they do get cancer.

Lane formed a company which sold shark cartilage pills and powders, despite evidence that the protein in shark cartilage is digested by enzymes in the digestive tract and is not absorbed into the bloodstream, where it would inhibit angiogenesis. In other words, swallowing shark cartilage pills and powders have no effect against cancer at all—and is a colossal waste of money.

Andrew Lane, his son, formed a company called Lane Labs, again touting the effectiveness of shark cartilage in curing cancer. In 2005 a federal judge agreed with a Food and Drug Administration request to ban the company’s shark cartilage product “Benefin,” which Lane promoted as a cancer cure. Lane Labs was ordered to pay eight million dollars in restitution to customers who had bought Benefin and two other products.

Studies Prove Shark Cartilage Treatment is a Scam

Studies by responsible and well-respected doctors and researchers show shark cartilage pills and powders had no effect on tumor growth:

In 2007 a study was designed to see if patients with advanced lung cancer would live longer if they ingested shark cartilage. Directed by Dr. Charles Lu of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the study tested a liquid shark cartilage extract being developed as a drug by Aeterna Zentaris, a Canadian company. There were 384 lung cancer patients in the test. Those who received the shark cartilage extract lived a median of 14.4 months. Those who received a placebo—a sugar pill—had a median survival of 15.6 months—longer than the patients who received the extract! (http://www.skepdic.com/shark.html).

In the July 1st, 2005 issue of "Cancer", a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, Mayo Clinic oncologist Dr. Charles L. Loprinzi and his colleagues in the North Central Cancer Treatment group related their findings: In breast and colorectal cancer patients, there was no difference in overall survival between patients who received shark cartilage and those who had received a placebo. As a matter of fact, the study showed that the patients ingesting shark cartilage often became ill from its effects. In essence, they had a poorer quality of life than those who received a placebo. (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom).

Laetrile—a “Cure” That Can Cause Cyanide Poisoning

Laetrile (which is actually the chemical amygdalin) is the other “miracle cure” that unfortunately did not save the life of poor Tyrell Dueck. It is found naturally in the kernels of many fruits—apricots, peaches, plums, bitter almonds and others. Cultures as diverse as the ancient Egyptians and Chinese have been using this chemical as a medical remedy for thousands of years, particularly in the case of bitter almonds.

In 1920 Dr. Ernst T. Krebs, Sr., a California physician, began using an extract of laetrile to combat cancer. In 1952 his son, Ernst T. Krebs, Jr., a biochemist, developed a purified form of laetrile for injection into cancer patients. Neither the doctor nor his son had the evidence of replicable, controlled laboratory experiments to back up their beliefs about the efficacy of laetrile as a cancer cure. Only a few testimonials from former patients, which may or may not have been accurate and true.

Despite this, the “legend” of laetrile as a cancer cure has stubbornly survived throughout the last half of the twentieth century until present day. Cancer patients and some well-meaning doctors embrace it as a way to cure cancer without suffering the all-too-real and debilitating effects of chemotherapy and radiation. In the 1970’s movie star Steve McQueen hailed its benefits in his fight against lung cancer. He died shortly after from the disease at a treatment center in Mexico.

It’s not just that laetrile does not work and is outrageously expensive as a treatment: it has dangerous side effects, too. In the body, laetrile ultimately breaks down into the poison cyanide. Patients have reported fevers, rash, nausea and vomiting and other ill effects. A few have died when high cyanide levels poisoned them.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the American Cancer Society (ACS) have concluded that laetrile is worthless in the treatment of cancer (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3dx_laetrile.asp). There are dozens of tests, both on laboratory animals and humans, which back them up:

In 1973, researchers Isidore Wodinsky and Joseph K. Savinorsky, under contract to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), conducted laboratory tests using laetrile as treatment on four types of rodents with cancerous tumors. Laetrile proved completely ineffective, either as a cancer cure or in preventing tumor growth. Results were published in the September/October 1975 issue of Cancer Chemotherapy Reports.

Another similar experiment conducted under NCI auspices by W.R. Laster Jr. and F.M. Schabel Jr. of the Southern Alabama Research Institute found laetrile manifested no anti-tumor activity in mice with various types of tumors. Results were published in the above issue of Cancer Chemotherapy Reports.

Trials of laetrile on humans were performed between 1979-1981 at various medical centers around the U.S. In all, 175 patients with myriad types of cancer were treated with laetrile. Ninety-one percent had tumors progress after three months of treatment; after eight months of laetrile injections, all of the patients’ tumors grew and metastasized (www.encognitive.com/node/2576).

Yet, despite a multitude of tests conducted by respected physicians and researchers over several decades, people continue to believe laetrile will cure cancer. Why? Desperation. In some cases, patients have exhausted traditional chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment, and feel they have no where else to turn. They want to survive, as do we all.

In other cases, people driven by conservative or fundamentalist religious beliefs reject Western pharmaceuticals and believe only “natural” treatments fit into their spiritual paradigm. And frankly, many don’t want to face the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation, which are very real.

As in the case of the boy Tyrell Dueck that begins this article, the costs of these bogus “miracle cures” can be staggering. And not covered by medical insurance, of course. Caveat emptor!

The Cancer Treatment Is “Natural” –It Must Be Safe and Effective?

People want to believe that natural substances—something that arises out of Mother Earth—have to be good, as God or evolution intended. But “natural” doesn’t always mean safe and effective. Various varieties of mushrooms are poisonous, for example. And one wouldn’t want to roll around naked in a patch of poison ivy.

Similar dangers exist in natural herbal remedies. Scammers promote unproven and potentially dangerous remedies such as “black salve” (an herbal concoction), laetrile, Essiac and other herbal remedies with claims that the products are “natural” (and therefore apparently safe) and effective.

A red flag here! Many herbal remedies are benign and perhaps helpful for various ailments if used in moderation; they have stood the test of time. However, no one has yet come up with an herbal remedy that is proven to cure cancer. Additionally, some botanical substances can either block or speed up the body’s absorption of prescription drugs, either nullifying their effect or accelerating them to dangerous levels. One has to be extremely careful using herbal concoctions when undergoing chemotherapy.
(http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Using_Dietary_Supplements.asp).

One must beware of the claims of some “natural” herbal remedies. Advertisers tout them with certain catch words that sound healthy and impressive—but really don’t mean anything when put under a skeptical microscope. A few examples: detoxify, purify, revitalize, balance, strengthen, support.

Advertisers may claim that a certain remedy “purifies” the body, or “balances” the immune system—but how would you, the consumer, ever know? Without the evidence of a series of controlled lab experiments conducted by respected researchers such claims are worthless. Let the buyer beware!

Vitamin Mega Doses to Cure and Prevent Cancer—“Natural” and “Safe?”

The sale of vitamins and supplements is a billion-dollar industry. One is constantly bombarded with television advertisements stressing the need to take anti-oxidant vitamins to destroy “free radicals” in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules produced through normal internal functions of the body as well as by exposure to toxic environmental pressures—chemicals and radiation. They attach themselves to normal cells in human tissue and can spur on the advent of cancer.

Several decades ago, Linus Pauling, Nobel-prize-winning biochemist, promoted the idea that mega doses of anti-oxidant vitamins are critical in preventing or curing cancer. In the late seventies he and a Scottish surgeon, Ewan Cameron, conducted experiments that seemed to indicate cancer patients survived longer if they ingested mega doses of Vitamin C.

However, in the decades since, a series of studies conducted at the Mayo Clinic have shown no evidence that Vitamin C taken in large doses inhibits tumor growth. As a matter of fact, the tests show that it might actually accelerate cancer growth! (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedEpics/cancer/chtml).

In other controlled experiments conducted in 1999, researchers found that Vitamins A and E—two other anti-oxidants promoted as cancer preventatives, might actually protect cancer cells in their infancy from the natural cancer-killing cells that exist in the human immune system. And neutralize the effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation, by protecting cancer cells from being eradicated by these treatments (http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19991114042505data_trunc_sys.shtml).

According to experiments conducted under the auspices of the American Cancer society, mega doses of many vitamins can be dangerous and toxic. For example, too much Vitamin C can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb copper—essential to properly functioning body chemistry. Too much phosphorous can inhibit the absorption of calcium, vital to bone growth. Large doses of Vitamins A, D, and K are not eliminated by the body quickly and can easily reach toxic levels when too much is ingested (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Using_Dietary_Supplements.asp).

Many doctors will tell you that the best way to get one’s vitamins is through proper diet. The body is designed to absorb vitamins through the digestion of food. Until controlled experiments prove otherwise about the efficacy of vitamin mega doses, cancer patients must be careful!

Are Doctors and Pharma Companies Concealing the Truth about Miracle Cures?

People love conspiracy theories. Nowhere is this truer than in the field of medicine, especially concerning cancer treatment. No doubt the treatment of cancer is a billion-dollar industry in this country: oncologists, oncology nurses, chemotherapy drugs and radiation. Conspiracy junkies seize onto the fact that a lot of money is being made in this arena and declare that the hundreds of thousands of doctors, tens of thousands of cancer researchers and pharmaceutical executives are in a massive conspiracy to make money by concealing the “truth” about miracle cures. In short, the conspiracy theorists believe the medical establishment doesn’t want to cure cancer: it wants to keep people sick so it can make money from their misery.

Is this a proper bead on reality? Are the hundreds of thousands of doctors in this country all evil sociopaths? Did they put in the arduous years of medical school after college and several years in residency solely to make money while their patients suffer? Doctors get cancer, as do their family members and friends. Does it make sense that they would choose death for themselves and their loved ones if there were simple cures for cancer available?

Certainly, pharmaceutical companies exist to make money. That is the nature of large corporations, no matter what products or services they market. But cancer also afflicts pharma executives and their families at the same rate as the general population. Would they choose pain and death for themselves and their loved ones just to keep their profits high?

The notion is absurd. Such thinking defies human nature. Cancer treatment conspiracies don’t make any sense when one applies them to the human level of the alleged conspirators.

The Warning Signs of “Miracle Cure” Scams

Medical scams have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. With the advent of the Internet, they have “metastasized” like out-of-control cancers. Internet cancer cure scams generally share these things in common:

• Ancient Indian Herbal Remedy Cures All Cancers! If you see an advertisement making this claim run—don’t walk—in the opposite direction. Cancer actually comprises about 200 different diseases—each unique in its own right. For example, ovarian cancer is comprised of entirely different cells than lymphoma. Oncologists treat each disease with different chemotherapy medicines. Claiming a remedy can cure 200 different diseases is outlandish. Not only that, but each person’s individual body chemistry reacts differently to medication—no two people respond to chemotherapy in the same way, for example. It’s that way with many medications for many ailments and diseases.
• Vague language or technical jargon that sounds impressive—but was probably skimmed from a medical dictionary. It’s better to talk you your doctor and have things explained in plain language.
• Testimonials—which may be entirely made up, promoted by actors or models who are paid to endorse the product. Even when testimonials are put forth by actual consumers of the product, it is not credible evidence. Science demands results that are replicable under controlled laboratory conditions; two or three people who seemingly were helped by a product—out of tens of thousands who used it—is not evidence of a cure.

The bottom line? Talk to your oncologist about a remedy before you waste your money.

Get the Lowdown from Your Doctor—Questions to Ask

Before you buy “alternative” remedies for cancer, which may be quite expensive (in some cases, as with laetrile clinics, that may actually bankrupt you and your family), talk to your doctor. Ask a few pointed questions:

• Is the product safe? What are the risks involved in ingesting it?
• Does this product have any research—lab experiments by impartial researchers—to back its claims of effectiveness?
• Will taking this remedy interfere with my current treatment plan? As stated earlier, certain herbal remedies and other natural products can diminish the effects of chemotherapy or accelerate its absorption by the body, leading to toxic levels that may be dangerous or outright fatal (www.ftc.gov.curious).

If your doctor doesn’t know, do some research on your own to answer these questions. The Internet is a good place to start; it can provide answers or lead you to places to look for answers. Be an intelligent consumer. Caveat emptor applies to every dime one spends.

How to Report Bogus Claims

If you buy and use a product and it doesn’t live up to its claims, you have recourse. You can report scams to a number of official entities—both to get your money back and to prevent other people in search of cures from being led down the garden path. File complaints to:

• The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov/complaint)
• Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov)
• Your state attorney general. Check out this site to find the links for your state: (www.naag.org).
• American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or 1-800-207-2395

The Bottom Line

“Miracle cures” promise much but may not—and probably don’t—live up to their claims. Again, be an intelligent consumer. The Internet is at your fingertips; take advantage of it to do your own research.

As always, the old adage applies: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Bibliography

Videos:

• Anatomy of a Cancer Treatment Scam (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO_Z7VsD9GI}
• Shark Cartilage Scam (http://video.asterpix.com/v/300582221/shark-cartilage-whaaa/)

Books:

• ‘The Remarkable Substance That Inhibits Tumor Growth and Reduces Pain: Shark Cartilage –Rita Elkins, M.E., Woodland Health, 1997
• ‘Sharks Don’t Get Cancer’ –I. William Lane, Linda Comac, Avery Publishing Group, 1992
• ‘Voodoo Science’ –Robert L. Park Oxford University Press, 2000
• ‘Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts About Alternative Medicine’ –Edouard Ernst, Simon Singh, W.W. Norton & Co., 2009
• ‘Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Alternative and Complementary Medicine’ –R. Barker Russell, Ph.D., Oxford University Press, 2009
• ‘The Cure Within: A History of Mind/Body Medicine’ –Anne Harrington, W.W. Norton & Co., 2008
• ‘The Power and the Glory: The True Story of Tyrell Dueck’s Public Battles With Cancer and the State’ –Owen B. Griffiths, Seventh Generation, 1999
• ‘Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About’ –Kevin Trudeau, Alliance Publishing, 2005
• ‘World Without Cancer—the Story of Vitamin B-17’ –G. Edward Griffin, 1997
• ‘Calling of an Angel: The True Story of Rene Caisse and an Indian Herbal Medicine Called Essiac—Nature’s Cure for Cancer’ –Dr. Gary Glum
• ‘How to Feel Better and Live Longer’ –Linus Pauling Ph.D., Camino Books, 1996
• ‘Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of the Nature, Causes and Prevention and Treatment of Cancer with Special Reference to Vitamin C’ –Ewan Cameron, Linus Pauling, Ph.D., Camino Books, 1993
• ‘The Anti-Oxidant Miracle’ –Lester Packer, Carol Colman, Wiley Books, 1999

Five years later my qigong/tai chi chuan teacher, Rami Rones, asked me to come to Boston for a picture shoot. His teacher, the renowned Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, wanted us to be included on his new website which discussed his new retreat center in California—a place where students could live and study traditional kung fu—white crane, northern Shaolin, Tai Chi Chuan and qigong—making a ten-year commitment to learn these arts. This was an honor.

After the shoot, Rami brought me up to see Dr. Yang. I was always a bit intimidated by this world-renowned master, who has practiced all aspects of the Chinese martial arts for over forty years. We went into his office. I bowed, and Master Yang stuck out his hand. I extended mine and he pulled me into a great bear hug. He laughed—which I’d never seen him do. It made me feel nervous. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and said “You conquered yourself.”

I was stunned; this was the highest praise one could give a martial artist, even though I hadn’t practiced fighting for years. I remembered an old saying from the Japanese karate I had once immersed myself in: ‘To defeat a thousand enemies is good, but the samurai who defeats himself is the greatest of warriors.” I felt humbled that a master of his accomplishments would even notice me.

But I understood what he meant. The true core of any martial art comes down to a person’s fighting spirit; in that regard, abilities to punch, kick and grapple are secondary. In life, most people do not encounter many physical confrontations. But sometimes you have to grapple with great challenges, such as cancer or any other debilitating or life-threatening disease. It’s not about winning or losing. It all comes down to your fighting spirit, which you build through disciplined practice. If your spirit is strong, you can overcome many challenges.

I’ve pondered that over the last 13 years since I finally beat the disease. I’m reminded of the two different types of actors: method actors and character actors. Method actors approach a role by going deeply into themselves and finding the necessary emotions to actually live the part—from the inside out. Character actors practice the lines a playwright has written, gradually absorbing the attributes of a character—from the outside in. The first is more internal; the second, external.

For me, finding my courage took a bit of both practices. When diagnosed, after a day of shock, fear and panic, I found my courage to confront the cancer. This probably was my nature, honed by playing football and years of hard-style martial arts training. I went on the offensive, immersing myself in the mind/body connection—meditation and visualization—and initially beat the disease.

But then the cancer came back—three times. And I had to endure the body-insulting and soul-numbing procedure known as a bone-marrow transplant—twice. As my ex-wife once said “Anyone can go through something hard once.” And she was spot on.

Anyone can get worn down, and I’m certainly no different. I began this cancer journey as a method actor, finding the courage to confront it within myself. As time went on, and the cancer continued to relapse, I had to look outside myself to maintain my courage.

Learning qigong—sophisticated, but simple, Chinese internal energy exercises—allowed me to outwardly practice and eventually replenish my courage. But I also looked back to my ancestors, for inspiration. I read the fifth-century English epic poem Beowulf, about a man of superhuman strength who had to defeat monsters—and continuously test himself. I also immersed myself in Shakespeare’s Henry V, learning by heart Henry’s rousing speech before the battle of Agincourt, when the English were outnumbered five-to-one (“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers…”).

I became a character actor, to help replenish my stores of courage. And I realized I always had to appear strong to my wife and sons. How would they feel if I allowed myself to be weak? Couldn’t have that. Even if I failed, I was going to go down fighting. You owe that to your family.

Marlon Brando—method actor. Sir Laurence Olivier—character actor. No one has cornered the market on how to approach life.

But in many ways it shaped my life—and gave me a lifelong discipline for keeping in shape—and sticking with things. My junior year. My coach, Don Minski, wasn’t sure if I had the guns to start varsity offensive tackle. I thought I was a shoo-in; but one of the senior linemen tipped me off that the coach was considering moving him to the position I wanted.

Double sessions—practice for hours a day, twice a day, in the August heat. A player’s performance during this time was an indicator for the coach. Did the player have the sand to start?

When I was “tipped off” by this senior lineman at the start of double sessions, I decided to pull out all the stops. I attacked each session of practice relentlessly. I took on the biggest defensive lineman, practicing the techniques I’d learned in junior varsity—hit a man low and never stop driving your feet until you moved him out of the “hole”—off the line. Keep your head on the side of the defender and drive him away from where the running back would be. I wanted to start very badly, and I drove myself to the point of exhaustion at every session. Then I did it again, every session, all week.

At the end of the week we had a meeting. The coach announced the starting lineup. I was sick with anticipation. When he got to starting “weak side tackle” he announced my name. Then he singled me out and said “Bob Ellal is the most improved player on this team.” I’ve never felt so proud of any accomplishment in my life.

The seniors on the team turned around and looked at me with gleams in their eyes. I knew what I was in for. The next practice they gave me “the business.” They came at me relentlessly to see how “improved” I was. I passed the test, although I was beaten up and bloody by the end of practice.

The following year I played strong side tackle and nose tackle on defense, and a couple of special teams. Coach Minski prepared us—and me—for this by conducting hard, physical practices always culminating in running “hills” relentlessly or ten 100-yard sprints. The conditioning came in handy in the fourth quarter, when physically exhausted by playing both ways, one had to summon strength from unknown places to press on.

Anyone who has played any sport—football, soccer, basketball, or baseball—knows what I mean.

This practice of summoning up energy, despite exhaustion, helped me survive the agony of bone cancer and the debilitating sickness of high-dose chemotherapy administered during my two bone marrow transplants.

It also helped me to stick with the daily discipline of Standing Post meditation (see article ‘Standing Post meditation’)—pushing through pain, and pushing myself beyond where I thought I could go.

Thanks, Coach.

This can happen. But unfortunately, the evidence is purely anecdotal. We hear about one person who beat cancer using alternative methods, but not about the other 99 who died using the same means.

I talked to my acupuncturist, Peter Thompson, who trained for five years in Japan at a noted acupuncture institute—one of the first Caucasians allowed to study there. I asked him: “Can you beat cancer with qigong and acupuncture alone?”

He replied that he thought it would be possible under very controlled conditions. A cancer patient would have to go away to a retreat for an extended period—many months—and be away from worldly concerns, such as finances, bills and family problems. Then, the person would have to be completely immersed in healing: daily acupuncture sessions, hours of meditation and qigong, Chinese herbs and a special diet to support the immune system.

Of course, the cost would be prohibitive, and not covered by insurance. And who could just “drop everything” for a year and go off to a mountain retreat? In essence, he said, it’s just not practical. So in general, the answer would be “no.”

From my own experience, I believe chemotherapy and/or radiation is a person’s best shot at beating cancer—strongly supported by employing complementary means. Such as exercises that enhance the mind/body connection. In my case, it was qigong. For others it may be yoga, Transcendental Mediation or other forms of mediation and visualization from other traditions.

The combination of East and West is very powerful.

But I have to tell you—it didn’t work out that way.

It took me four tries to beat bone lymphoma, even though I used the mind/body connection to help my immune system beat the cancer—right from the start. With every relapse I went deeper into this mind/body connection and eventually discovered that the Chinese had been utilizing this vital connection for thousands of years. They called this art “qigong” which means “energy work.”

Miracles happen: spontaneous healings. I certainly believe in them and these occurrences have been documented. Science can’t explain them; they rather fall into the realm of faith.

And even though it took me four tries to beat cancer, my oncologist told me it was a miracle I survived. A miracle that took nerve, will and determination—and a bit of muscle. And a lot of qigong practice.

The mind/body connection is not magic, but it’s a vital tool in anyone’s fight against cancer. This I realized in my seven-year struggle.

And you know, I never won Powerball—but then again, I don’t buy lottery tickets. I am still waiting for that call from Hugh Hefner.

For a while, I thought the Devil had his thumb on the scale. True, I had survived my four bouts of cancer that had dogged me for seven years. But my wife divorced me, and I had to survive on a couple of disability checks—and pay child support.

Why not get a job? I tried, many times. I had experience as a writer in publishing and in the corporate world. But I found out that interviewers just don’t want to hire someone with cancer in his background and a ten-year gap in his resume.

I was struggling financially and got into trouble with the credit card companies. I was being treated for depression, and hadn’t quite gotten over the post traumatic stress disorder from facing down cancer so many times (see article ‘Post Traumatic Stress’).

I had lost my marriage, my career, my house, my retirement—and worst of all, was away from my two sons. And yes, I missed my two Great Danes. I started feeling very sorry for myself.

Over time, I have come to realize how extraordinarily lucky I am. I survived supposedly terminal cancer—and fought it off four times, enduring the horror of two bone marrow transplants. My sons love and respect me; both have told me that they look up to me for taking on the cancer and refusing to quit. Both my sons are healthy; the older, Geoff is in Special Forces; the younger, Dylan is honing his amazing artistic gifts at an elite art college.

I survived to be a father to my sons, coaching their sports teams, helping them with their homework, and playing games with them and their friends.

Life is still a struggle financially; but in this economy that is the norm for many people.

In the human balance, I am way ahead. Sometimes survival is a lot like virtue.

This is one of the stunts personal power guru Tony Robbins employs to give his clients confidence. But it is a scam: Scientific research has shown that walking across hot coals is something anyone can do: The perspiration on one’s feet protects a person from getting burned. Apparently, it all comes down to how the firewalk is prepared: Use wood coals, as Robbins’ does, and it’s a no-brainer.

From what I understand, firewalking is a practice that originated in islands in the Pacific. The natives there use superheated hot stones to test their spiritual development. Walking across hot stones without getting burned—now that’s mind over matter, and defies scientific explanation.

The point is: There is no magic trick that can catapult a person into an unstoppable force in this world. I have beaten cancer four times. Yes, it gives me confidence that I can meet challenges with nerve and determination. But that doesn’t mean I can overcome anything.

For example, I tried for a number of years to find a good writing job. I have good writing samples—actually, very good. I generally interview well and can pick up on what an interviewer wants to hear. But I had a “handicap:” I had cancer in my background and a ten-year gap in my resume. That didn’t make me a good candidate when stacked up against other applicants who did not have cancer in their past and had a continuous work history.

Some things are out of one’s control, and cannot be overcome. That is reality. No amount of books, DVDs or rah-rah speeches will change that.

But meditation—qigong, tai chi chuan, yoga or Transcendental Meditation—can give you the ability to roll with the punches. It improves one’s spiritual outlook, calms the mind and improves the health. It was a major factor in my successful battles against cancer.

In my bouts with cancer, I was depending on my oncologist’s judgment and the effectiveness of chemotherapy to kill the tumors. And I did qigong to keep myself strong to withstand the chemo. But she and I were united in one goal: beat the cancer. She did her part, the chemotherapy did its part, and through qigong, I held up my end of the bargain.

It’s rare in life that one gets such a combination. It doesn’t usually happen in the business world, where having the right connections means more to a person’s success than talent or a track record. No firewalk will turn you into the next Donald Trump.

But meditation—utilizing the mind/body connection—can prepare you to handle both your triumphs and disappointments.