1. Energy Stagnation

Breast cancer, like all cancers, begins with a condition known as energy stagnation. At this stage, a patient may suffer from vague, intermittent discomforts: headaches, stomachaches, constipation, breast tenderness, and menstrual problems like bloating or cramps.

These symptoms are often shrugged off by patient and practitioner as conditions to be tolerated—the price of being female. They are typically addressed with mild medications. These symptoms are actually early warning signs of energy imbalances that can lead to more serious problems. Why do we tend to ignore these vital signs when their purpose is to alert us that a change is needed?

Today’s culture teaches us to look outside ourselves for answers to our health issues. It is saturated with fearful messages about which disease or condition might be lurking inside and which medication or which physician might help. We are constantly being told to "… ask your doctor." The amount of mental programming we are subjected to diverts our attention from the reality that our birthright is one of spiritual fulfillment, joy, happiness and good health. Every cell is programmed for health! Your body wants to live in a state of good health. All ailments, no matter how minor, are signs of physical energy stagnation and a disconnection from one’s spiritual purpose.

Conventional medicine does not have a diagnostic framework for understanding and recognizing energy stagnation. This vital information that appears in the guise of physical difficulties frequently goes untreated and continues to progress. From a TCM perspective, energy stagnation is an early-stage problem and is relatively easy to correct using Acupuncture, Herbs and Qigong and even just rest, a highly undervalued healing activity.

2. Organ-Function Disorder

Left untreated, energy stagnation can advance to a condition known as organ-function disorder. Specifically in TCM, organ-function disorders of the Liver, Stomach, and Kidney are directly related to breast cancer. Their symptoms vary widely and are seemingly unrelated, yet a deeper look indicates each of the following symptoms relates to one of the preceding organs, including migraine headaches, acute menstrual cramps, adult acne, and mood swings, among others.

When a patient suffers from an organ-function disorder, her symptoms become harder to ignore. She may sense something is wrong with her body, yet conventional medical tests may still show nothing. This often produces frustration, especially for women with more severe symptoms, who are told the problem is "in their head."

At this stage, conventional medicine still has no method of identifying an organ-function disorder, or of treating it. Treatment typically addresses the symptoms only, not the underlying energy stagnation. When an organ-function disorder progresses to a physical condition, it can usually be detected with medical tests.

3. Internal Cold

Internal cold is a common and easily cured condition. However, paired with a Liver-, Stomach-, or Kidney-function disorder, it can lead to breast cancer. Symptoms of internal cold include menstrual cramps, having cold hands or feet, and always feeling chilled.

Internal cold enters the body in several ways:

• Never fully recovering from a cold or flu. Conventional medical treatments often suppress symptoms, which allows people to get on with their lives more quickly. Unfortunately, this approach discourages people from getting enough rest to help their immune system recover sufficiently. If the cold essence of the illness or sickness remains, it can cause deeper problems in the future should the immune system become weakened again.
• Exposure to cold. Not dressing adequately in cool or cold weather can lead to internal cold. Your mother was right … keep warm and dress for the weather!
• Eating foods with a cold temperature or cold essence. Too many cold foods and drinking cold beverages can cause internal cold. Too many foods with a cold essence, like salads or raw vegetables, can also cause this condition. You can alleviate internal cold by eliminating cold foods from your diet and eating foods that TCM recognizes as having a warm essence, such as ginger, scallions, and fennel. See recommended foods and recipes for breast cancer treatment and prevention.

4. Emotional Imbalance

Many women live with an organ-function disorder and internal cold for years, not understanding these important signs are the body’s way of communicating that their body is out of balance. At this stage, an emotional imbalance can become the tipping point. It can trigger the formation of breast tumors and masses, or even breast cancer itself.

The emotional imbalance is often brought on by a traumatic life event, such as a divorce or death of a loved one. It can also result from chronic, deep-seated emotions built up over time. When this happens, energetically, anger, sadness, and stress can take a quantum leap and transform into a mass or cyst, tumor, or even cancer.

In the light of modern science, this quantum leap is not so mysterious. In fact, today’s science and the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine are converging in their perspectives of the invisible world. We know that the more we examine atoms, the building blocks of life, the more we end up in a wondrous world where everything becomes nothing ... or everything becomes energy—everything—including the vibrations of beliefs, thoughts and emotions. While conventional medicine focuses on the physical, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) starts with the invisible, especially spirit’s purpose and the need for fulfillment. The energy of stagnating emotions can trigger matter to become tumors and even cancer. The process also works in reverse.

This scientifically agreed-upon basis is the essence of Albert Einstein's famous formula E=mc2. As he explained: Mass and energy are both different manifestations of the same thing. His famous equation E=mc2 demonstrated that small amounts of mass can be converted into a very large amount of energy … and vice versa. Today modern science believes mass and energy are equivalent and interchangeable at the speed of light. (See the Albert Einstein exhibit on the American Institute of Physics Web site – www.aip.org – for more details.)

While almost everyone experiences energy stagnation, organ-function disorder, and internal cold sometime in their life, it is the individual’s ability to deal with emotions in a healthy way that determines whether these preconditions lead to a tumor and whether that tumor becomes cancerous.

It’s important to remember that no matter how serious the health problem, the body always has the potential to heal itself or at least control the progression of a disease. Every cell in the body is programmed for health. Its highest mission is happiness and fulfillment in this reality.