Life Over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment

Dr. Keith Block - referred to by Andrew Weil as the "father" of integrative oncology - has created the best cancer guidebook ever written (and I've reviewed plenty of them in my seventeen years as a Cancer Patient Advocate and survivor of three separate primary cancers -- kidney, colon and prostate). Dr. Block's 600-page book "is the program every cancer patient deserves in order to have the best chance for recovery and restoration of health," states Weil, who wrote the foreword to Life Over Cancer. I couldn't agree more!I have known of Dr. Block's international reputation as a clinician, researcher and educator - he's also the editor of a leading medical journal, Integrative Cancer Therapies - because we serve together on a National Cancer Institute editorial review board dealing with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Google PDQ CAM). I'm one of two Patient Advocates on this panel of otherwise noted doctors and scientists. But it was only recently when my prostate cancer appeared again in my left pelvic wall that I came to know what a remarkably unique doctor Keith Block really is. Having a clear, accessible "Radiation Support Program," outlined in his book, was enormously helpful at the start of my Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy at UCLA, but I knew I couldn't stop with just reading. I knew I had to get on a plane and get to Evanston (just north of Chicago) and experience The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment for myself. And what an experience it was: two days of non-stop sessions with the most informative doctors, nutritionists, physical therapists, and mind-spirit counselors I have ever met under one roof.And yes, I did come away with some new supplements and nutraceauticals which I wasn't taking before, but that's because Dr. Block and his accommodating staff are willing to take the time to explain exactly what Scutelleria baicalensis is, for example, and how this and the other supplements that were recommended for me can help me during this stage of my treatment. The Block Center, I learned, only began to sell supplements after they saw first-hand the disparity in quality and potency that exist in the supplement market, not such a surprise when one is aware that the FDA does not regulate or monitor the quality of "dietary supplements!" Many years ago - in fact years before most other cancer centers were doing so - the Block Center ran tests, known as "terrain panels," on patients and then recommended specific supplements to correct any imbalances. Some patients did extremely well, however, others saw little or no improvement and, in some cases, their blood levels worsened. It soon became clear that because supplement quality and potency varied, it was impossible to make a blanket recommendation for just any supplement on the market with the expectation that the quality and potency will meet acceptable standards. Thus, I learned, the products the Block Center sells are formulated by Dr. Block with no ingredients included that cancer patients shouldn't be taking - and their formulations are placed into independent testing for quality, purity, potency and absorbability.The CENTER'S "Anti-cancer Diet" and the basic "Block Center Core Diet Plans" are worth the price of Life Over Cancer alone, but added to that are very helpful chapters on Physical Care and Mind and Spirit Care as well. All of this sound advice is patient-centered and is not just scientifically-based, but sensitively based at the same time.I know of no better single volume than this for helping cancer patients boost their biology and enhance their treatment programs, be it surgery, chemo or radiation. With Dr. Keith Block there is always more that can be done, and he and his staff at the Evanston, Illinois Block Center leave no stone unturned. Your cancer care can cost tens - even hundreds - of thousands of dollars, but I promise you there will be no better expenditure of $25 than the purchase of this book.I wish you good reading and good health. --Carl Douglas Rogers, Patient Advocate, Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Block is a pioneer of integrative oncology, with about three decades of experience in cancer research and clinical care for thousands of cancer patients. For the past three years, I've followed his work with great interest, and I knew a while back that he was working on this book, so I awaited the book with eager anticipation. I bought the book the day it came out and have just finished reading it in its entirety.Though the book has a limitation which I'll get to in a moment, it's still overall an outstanding resource. In these 500+ pages, Dr. Block explains the philosophy behind his integrative treatment approach, and he also provides abundant details on how he implements this approach for patients on an individualized basis, addressing the goals of both extending survival and improving quality of life. Because (a) cancer is a huge social problem, (b) an integrative approach makes sense, is supported by evidence, and is (hopefully) the wave of the future, and (c) Dr. Block's credentials are as authoritative as one can find, this book will hopefully have a large influence and thereby offer a major contribution to human welfare.The limitation of this book is that it simultaneously addresses both patients/caregivers and physicians/researchers, but these are two audiences with very different technical backgrounds. I think two seperate books for these audiences would have been preferable, though this obviously would have required more work on Dr. Block's part.For patients/caregivers, I think that a more streamlined book would have been preferable, since the current book has the potential to be overwhelming (even with the "quick maps"). However, for patients/caregivers who are sufficiently motivated and have sufficient time, I suggest reading the book through once quickly, then reading it a second time to carefully absorb the details, and then referring to it as needed. That won't be a small effort, but the effort will be worth it, since it could add years to a patient's life if Dr. Block's advice is followed diligently.And for physicians/researchers, I think that a stronger case for Dr. Block's treatment approach could have been made if the book had been written at a higher technical level, and more details would also have helped physicians in applying this treatment approach. Of course, the Pubmed abstracts available through the website for the book are meant to address this issue, but it still would have been nice to include more technical information in the book itself. (The recent book  Integrative Oncology (Weil Integrative Medicine Library)  partly fills the need for a more technically advanced book and nicely complements Dr. Block's book, so I recommend it.)Despite this audience-related limitation, again, I do think this a landmark book which has the potential to make a major contribution, so I very highly recommend it to all cancer patients/caregivers and physicians/researchers, and I wouldn't dream of giving it less than 5 stars. This is the best book on integrative oncology that I know of, and therefore one of the best books on cancer treatment that I know of.Also, for those dealing with malignant brain tumors, please note that you're welcome to join the Yahoo! Brain-Research Group which I founded and co-moderate. The aim of the group is to identify and discuss treatments for malignant brain tumors, including promising ways to use and combine treatments, and the majority of the group members favor an integrative approach similar to what Dr. Block describes. In fact, I've referred many patients to Dr. Block's treatment center.

Having been living with cancer for over 12 years this is decidedly the most informative book I've read on the subject so far. It's a handbook to which one can refer time and time again about a variety of issues. Block is especially goof on nutrition, a subject of which most NHS doctors seem to be woefully ignorant.

Keith Block has been at the forefront of what is now termed 'integrative' cancer care since the 1980s. In his recent book 'Life Over Cancer' he shares his wealth of experience in a very accessible manner, providing people with an enormous variety of approaches to treating themselves and augmenting their orthodox treatment. More than thirty years after Dr Block began establishing the foundations of his hugely successful Life Over Cancer programme, and the best part of a century after Max Gerson's groundbreaking nutritional work with cancer, the majority of oncologists and dietitians in the UK still tell their patients that it doesn't matter what they eat once they have cancer. In fact they generally advise them to eat piles of junk food high in calories so as not to lose weight through wasting (cachexia). Fortunately a fair proportion of the public don't believe them. It is not even common sense to say that a healthy diet can prevent cancer but has nothing to do with its treatment or preventing a recurrence. This is the direct equivalent of telling a lung cancer patient that they might as well go on smoking once they have cancer. All the evidence now shows that a poor diet directly fuels cancer growth, whereas a carefully targetted healthy diet can work to directly attack and contain malignancy.The scope of advice is both broad and detailed, and, as well as dietary strategies, covers supplementation, exercise, stress management techniques, psycho-spiritual support and group work, amongst others.The strength of the book lies in the authoritative nature of its contents, which are grounded in sound evidence and direct clinical experience. Extremely specific advice is offered on all the difficulties people with a range of cancers are likely to face on their journey, whether a factor of the disease or of the treatment.The book is illustrated throughout by stories of patients that are at times inspirational, but which are also used to provide warnings regarding mistaken choices based on misunderstandings of the nature of cancer.Life Over Cancer is not only an enormously welcome handbook to help people navigate their own path through the many and intense challenges presented by a cancer diagnosis, but also holds the potential to make an impact on the tunnel vision approach still absolutely prevalent in the UK of treating cancer solely by attacking the symptoms. The poor success rates with all major cancers and with all secondary cancers speak eloquently of the urgent need for the integrative approach outlined so authoritatively by Keith Block.

This book is amazing and I advise anyone worried about cancer or trying to help a loved one survive it to buy this book and follow the dietary protocols set out. It provides an easy guide to the foods you should eat and how much and the foods you hould avoid and why.

This item was ordered for a fiend who saw it in Canada and given to one of her relatives who had cancer.The item turned up promptly

Very interesting read even if you don't have cancer. The programme is very strict if you follow it closely, but offers hope for survivors who aren't doing as well as they'd like.