by Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD
Surgery is the mainstay of traditional Western Medicine. It can be said, the philosophy is, “When in doubt, cut it out.” The burning question is: “If any body part isn”t necessary then why has it been there since the beginning of human existence?” Think about it%97if a body part wasn”t for a specific purpose, the human body would not have evolved with it in tact. Western medicine ideology is rooted in the language used by doctors and researchers. Their choice of words reveals their belief systems and the models they use to understand the way they think medicine works.
Western medicine perceives the human body as a battleground on which wars are waged against invaders and tumors. What they fail to realize is that diseases are not separate from the person. In fact every disease can be more accurately called an expression of the patient’s lifestyle, beliefs, and energies. Cancer is not a tumor, for example: it is a systemic disorder that can only truly be cured by helping to support the body, not by attacking it with chemical bombs. The tumor is merely one physical expression of the systemic disorder, and simply removing the tumor does nothing to cure the disease.
Western medicine’s approach to cancer has focused on getting rid of the physical symptoms — cutting out tumors with sharp instruments or attempting to shrink tumors with chemotherapy. But a critical analysis of these methodologies shows that treating tumors does little or nothing to actually improve the quality of life or the lifespan of cancer patients.
The body is designed to heal itself provided it has the proper support to do its job. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced “chee”), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.
The most common surgeries are:
Tonsillectomies: Usually performed on children under twelve, this surgery decreased from one million to 250,000 per year when evidence was produced that tonsillectomies didn”t stop throat infections and in fact could create Parkinson”s Disease later in life.
Myringotomies: The insertion of tiny tubes to prevent recurrent ear infection, usually in children under five. This procedure has increased 250% since the 80″s and is the sixth most common operation in the U.S. Cataract Removal: In 1993, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research warned that many operations to remove a cataract, or clouded lens of the eye, are not necessary. In those cases, the clouding had probably reduced visual acuity, but not enough to bother the patient. Despite the warning, the number of cataract operations has continued to rise%97an increase that far outpaces the rise in the older population.
Low-Back Surgery: Between 1983 and 1994, the number of operations for low-back pain rose from 190,000 to 335,000 per year. In 2003 approximately 31 million visits were made to physicians due to back problems, including more than 10 million visits for low back problems. (National Center for Health Statistics, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2000 (Using all three possible reasons-for-visit codes listed; data extracted and analyzed by the AAOS Department of Research and Scientific Affairs.) Low back pain is the second leading reason for patient visits to their primary care physician; up to 90% of people suffer from it at least once in their adult lives. A recent review of related studies in the Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation showed that the highest rate of back surgery in the developed world is in the U.S., with the most common surgical procedure of the lower spine being removal of disc herniation.
Despite these statistics, back pain can be healed, the cause of back pain is connected to an emotional wound. Reference: Heal Your Body, Louise L. Hay
Gallbladder Removal: A decade ago, surgeons developed a technique called laparoscopy to remove gallbladder stones. The procedure uses miniature instruments and a lighted tube equipped with a video camera, all inserted through tiny abdominal incisions. Since the advent of laparoscopy, the number of gallbladder operations has risen 40 percent. A study of 54,000 gallbladder surgeries in Pennsylvania found that the number of surgeries in patients with minimal or no symptoms has risen more than 50 percent. Apparently, laparoscopy has convinced some doctors to prevent pain before it occurs. Ten percent of Americans have gallstones, and most never develop significant symptoms.
Hysterectomy: One in three women has her uterus removed%97500,000 annually. Several years ago, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research group, found questionable justification for at least 25 percent of those hysterectomies and no justification at all for at least another 16 percent. Little has changed since then.
Hysterectomy creates scar tissue that can eventually cause intestinal obstruction. Loss of the uterus — and of the cervix, which is often removed as well — can reduce sexual pleasure. Further, surgeons remove the ovaries in roughly half of all hysterectomies. The ovaries are a woman’s main source of the female hormone estrogen and of male androgens. After removal of a pre-menopausal woman’s ovaries, the loss of estrogen triggers premature menopausal symptoms and clearly increases the risk of coronary disease and osteoporosis. After removal of any woman’s ovaries, the loss of androgens may compound the reduced sexual pleasure by reducing sexual desire. The loss of the ovaries and uterus precipitates the need for prescription drugs to replace the estrogen and androgens. These drugs frequently cause cancer.
Cesarean Section: A “C-section” the most common major surgery is performed in 20 percent of births. Down, from a decadeago, it is above the estimated 12 to 14 percent considered medically justified.
Most C-sections are done because labor is progressing too slowly%97a poor justification for major surgery. Cesareans are performed in about three-fourths of women who previously had the procedure. 90% of those women could safely have a vaginal delivery. Continuous electronic monitoring of the fetal heartbeat, used in nearly three-fourths of all births, is part of the problem. It triples the chance of having a cesarean, by picking up worrisome signs that are often normal. Continuous monitoring does not protect the infant any better than intermittent electronic or even old-fashioned stethoscopic monitoring.
Surgery for Sleep Apnea: Snoring is usually caused by an intermittent obstruction at the back of the throat. In severe cases, called sleep apnea, airflow to the lungs is completely blocked for up to 90 seconds at a time. The resulting oxygen deprivation increases the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke.
Surgery for Jaw Pain: Millions of people suffer from muscle or joint pain in the jaw, often caused by tense muscles, clenching or grinding the teeth, or chewing too hard. Some dentists prematurely prescribe aggressive, costly treatments to realign the teeth or jaws, including braces, caps and crowns, deliberately grinding down the teeth, and jaw surgery. These steps, particularly surgery, are seldom necessary and often ineffective.
Contrasting the AMA report of 250,000 medical deaths per year, the Nutrition Institute of America (NIA) a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization has reported on health issues for nearly 30 years, reported over 784,000 people die annually due to medical mistakes. Comparatively, the 2001 annual death rate for heart disease was 699,697 and cancer was 553,251.
Over 2.2 million people are injured annually by prescription drugs alone. Over 20 million unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics are prescribed for viral infections. The report shows that 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually and 8.9 million people are needlessly hospitalized. Based on these results, it is evident that there is a pressing need for an overhaul of the American medical system.
The findings, described as a “revelation” by Martin Feldman, MD, who helped uncover the evidence, are the product of the first comprehensive studies on iatrogenic incidents. Carolyn Dean, MD, a physician and author who helped uncover the findings said, “I was completely shocked, amazed, and dismayed when I first added up all the statistics on medical death and saw how much allopathic medicine has betrayed us.” See articles on Metaphysical Healing.
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life’s challenges as an opportunity for Personal Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net
