In Addition
Vol 3 Issue 2
March 2012
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
According to the National Cancer Institute, USA, Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is an uncommon type of breast cancer in which breast cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, a type of breast cancer that may not be apparent through routine screening methods (e.g., feeling for lumps, mammograms):
This blockage may cause the breast to become red, swollen, and warm. The skin of the breast may also appear pink, purple, or bruised, and it may have ridges or appear pitted, like the skin of an orange (called peau d’orange). These changes often occur quickly over a period of weeks. Another possible sign of this type of breast cancer is swollen lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone, or in both places. Often, a tumour cannot be felt, and may not be seen on a mammogram. The diagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer is based on the results of the biopsy and the doctor’s clinical judgment.
According to the Mayo Clinic, USA, signs and symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer include:
* A breast that appears red, purple, pink or bruised * A tender, firm and enlarged breast
* A warm feeling in the breast
* Itching of the breast
* Pain
* Ridged or dimpled skin texture, similar to an orange peel
* Thickened areas of skin
* Enlarged Lymph nodes under the arm, above the collarbone or below the collarbone
* Flattening or retraction of the nipple
* Swollen or crusted skin on the nipple
* Change in colour of the skin around the nipple (areola)
IBC is of particular concern because it progresses rapidly, and in most women it is already quite advanced before the symptoms become severe enough for them to seek medical attention. IBC was previously treated through surgery and was almost always fatal but nowadays, additional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy have greatly increased the chances of survival for IBC patients. ...www.snopes.com Note: Vibrionics practitioners, consult your books for the vibro treatment for breast cancer and emotional support to help a patient faced with this diagnosis.
Beautiful Houseplants that Clean Indoor Air
Homes and office buildings are being built and remodelled tighter than ever before to save energy. But sealing out drafts can mean sealing in dangerous chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde, which are released by many things, from carpet to pressed-wood furniture. Cleaning products used at home and the office also may give out chemicals, including ammonia and chlorinated solvents.
Prolonged breathing of chemicals such as these can cause headaches, throat irritation, congestion, even cancer. The US Environmental Protection Agency now ranks indoor-air quality among the five top threats to human health. The problem is worse in winter, when we spend the most time sealed in our homes and offices.
Expensive air-filtration systems are not the only solution. The US National Aeronautical and Space Administration discovered that simple houseplants can filter many dangerous chemicals out of indoor air. The plants’ leaves absorb and destroy certain volatile organic compounds, while the microbes that live around the plants’ roots convert chemicals into a source of food and energy for themselves and their host plant.
Some houseplants are much more effective at air filtration than others. Out of the ten that do a great job of cleaning the air and are easy to grow, the following four plants are exceptionally effective at cleaning the air:
1. Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) is also known as yellow palm or butterfly palm.
2. Lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) is one of the most effective houseplants for improving indoor-air quality, and it is highly resistant to most insects. It has fans, six to 12 inches wide, made up of shiny green leaves.
3. Rubber plant (Ficus robusta) is a hearty plant with thick, leathery, dark green leaves. It will tolerate limited light and cool temperatures and is very effective at removing chemical toxins from indoor air—the best of the ficus genus yet tested.
4. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp) produces beautiful white flowers, making it one of a relatively small number of plants that bloom reliably indoors.
The following 6 plants also work well:
5. Dracaena “Janet Craig” (Dracaena deremensis “Janet Craig”) is a pest-resistant leafy plant that can live for decades. It will tolerate poorly lit areas, though its growth will be slowed. Favour the ―Compacta‖ variety, which grows to one to three feet in height, not the regular variety, which requires more care and can reach 10 feet if not pruned.
6. English Ivy (Hedera helix) is best known as a ground cover, but it also grows very well in indoor hanging baskets. And it adapts well to a wide range of indoor conditions—though it does benefit from some time outdoors in spring or summer. English Ivy does not like high temperatures.
Warning: English Ivy contains chemicals that can irritate the skin or cause illness if consumed. Wear gloves when handling, and keep out of reach of pets and young children.
7. Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) tolerates neglect and low light and is extremely resistant to insects. Golden Pothos’s name refers to the splashes of gold or cream colour on its green, heart-shaped leaves. It usually is grown in hanging baskets, but it can also climb.
8. Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans “Massangeana”) is so named because its leaves look like those of corn stalks, not because it actually produces corn. It tolerates low light, though it prefers bright light.
9. Syngonium (Syngonium podophyllum) produces visually appealing, arrow-shaped, green-and-white or green-and-silver leaves.
10. Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) is about 50% less effective at cleaning indoor air than the other plants on this list, but it is so hard to kill that it’s worth including as an option for those who struggle to keep other houseplants alive. The snake plant has visually appealing, spear like leaves that stand upright, typically two to four feet in height. It occasionally produces small greenish-white flowers.
How many plants?
As a rule of thumb, one or two good-sized plants from the list above per 100 square feet of interior space tend to be sufficient. There is no health downside to having more plants than this as long as mould does not develop in the potting soil.
Helpful tip for those with access to hydro-culture: Latest research suggests that growing plants in hydro-culture significantly increases their ability to clean the air. With hydro culture, plants are grown in watertight containers and rooted not in potting soil, but in expanded clay pebbles sold for this purpose at some garden stores.
All of the plants listed above will grow in hydro-culture, and the Peace Lily, in particular, thrives when grown this way. Hydro-culture also reduces the risk that fungal spores, mould and soil-borne pests will develop on houseplants. Plants grown in hydro-culture need a complete fertilizer that contains micro- nutrients.
Source: „How to Grow Fresh Air‟ a Penguin paperback by B.C. Wolverton, PhD who worked as a scientist for over 30 years with US Military and NASA, developing systems to protect against toxic chemicals and pathogenic microbes.
The Loving Hands and Heart of a Practitioner
One of our very successful practitioners 2799...UK came to the office in Prashanti Nilayam recently to talk about Swami’s Vibrionics seva as she calls it. She is a Sri Lankan woman who is a retired maternity nurse and has lived in London for many years. In February 2010, she heard through the Sai Baba Centre in Harrow that there was going to be a two-day Vibrionics workshop in London. She was particularly interested in it because the workshop was free and believed that any form of healing that Baba was involved with would, of course, be free to patients. Her application was accepted, and she attended the course that took place in May 2010 at Oxford. At the end of the two days when the time came to pair off with another person to practice treating people, she was given a combo from the box to help a problem she had with her right shoulder due to ligament damage. It had been giving her pain for a long time as well as difficulty in lifting things. The doctors had told her that there was no cure and she would have to live with it. After one dose, her shoulder started to feel better and within a few days, the shoulder was completely cured! So she herself experienced the power of Swami’s Vibrionics first hand which was “a wonderful way to start this new seva work” she said.
After that, Swami kept her very busy with a never-ending supply of sick people who had a variety of diseases and problems. We give the first case she treated of a bypass patient and its successful outcome as well as others in this newsletter. In the first seven months, she successfully treated 325 people.
Recently the practitioner went for an allopathic medical camp held in Sierra Leone to give treatment to the poor in villages there. This is the first time a Vibrionics practitioner had accompanied a team of allopathic doctors to help patients. Most of the patients she saw were the ones for which the doctors had no treatment to offer. There was a mother who presented her eight month old baby. For a week the baby had been continuously crying, very lethargic and couldn’t sleep. After the first vibro dose in water, the baby became calmer although he continued whimpering. The practitioner told the mother to give a second dose in 15 minutes and by the third dose the baby was sleeping peacefully.
A boy of 15 years had been suffering with diarrhoea, vomiting and fever for four days and was so weak that he couldn’t walk. He was given vibro in water – one dose every 15 minutes. After four doses, he had stopped vomiting and after another 30 minutes, the diarrhoea had also stopped. The boy then started complaining that he was hungry! Lipoma or swollen glands was another problem the doctors gave the practitioner to deal with. In most cases, the swelling reduced by half after just two days.
The practitioner further stated, ―In most of my cases, there has been complete healing. Of course, there are some patients who did not show much improvement. I feel Swami sent me such patients to guide and help me to understand the real reasons why those people became ill. Swami says that all diseases originate in the mind. So, I feel that the real cause often lies in the hurt, fear, guilt, worry and unhappiness that many people are experiencing. So I spend as much time with my patients as they need, to talk about their problems. I think this in itself helps them to release their emotions by pouring out their problems to me and this helps to lift some of the worries they have been carrying. I believe such a consultation coupled with Swami‟s love, adds to the power of the remedies and thus helps us to achieve complete healing”.
Healing starts within the heart of the patient and each Vibrionics practitioner helps his/her patients’ healing by giving unconditional love as they offer the needed comfort, supporting help and treatment.