My Review of The Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Conference Presented by The Annie Appleseed Project By Jacky H., January 2008 At the beginning of January I left cold Canada and traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida to attend the Annie Appleseed conference. I was surprised to see the number of people in attendance in a large packed conference room at the West Palm Beach Hilton. The various speakers were kept to a brisk schedule for two days full of information. The conference was very up-beat and the food was delicious. I am sure an observer would never guess that a large number of the audience were cancer survivors. I myself have been battling ovarian cancer for 4 years. This was the first time since my diagnosis that I had the courage and energy to leave British Columbia, Canada. After having 2 surgeries and been on and off chemotherapy for several years I was enjoying a remission but I knew I was running out of options. My prognosis was a 0% chance of being cured after having two recurrences of ovarian cancer, and my remaining life promised to be short and dependent on chemotherapy. I have always been a believer in alternative medicine. Since been diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer one of my interests has been researching alternative and complementary cancer treatment, this is how I found the Annie Appleseed website and its wealth of information. I must admit than conventional medicine did save my life more than once, but they don’t have much more to offer me. At the Annie Appleseed conference I met people who had been written off by the medical profession years ago and yet had managed to survive and get well. Many of the speakers presented impressive scientific research. After having been a subscriber to Dr.Ralph Moss’s newsletter, I was pleased to meet him in person and very interested to hear his talk about Pancreatic Enzyme. He talked about the theory of the trophoblast put forward by Scottish doctor John Beard who lived from 1858 to 1924. Did John Beard find a cure for cancer 100 years ago? Trophoblast cells are involved in the early development of the fetus, but the action of these trophoblasts is turned off around the 8th week of pregnancy at the same time that the fetus develops a pancreas gland. John Beard after much research claimed that the enzyme trypsin, which is the main pancreatic enzyme, could devour and remove cancer cells. This research was published in the Lancet medical journal in 1902. But the establishment of the time rejected Beard’s findings and his work was ridiculed. John Beard died in obscurity, and his idea that enzymes could cure cancer was largely forgotten. In the 1960’s a Texas dentist William Kelley started treating cancer patients with enzymes, and in more recent times Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez studied and used this treatment. Dr. Moss’s talk led well into the presentation by Dr. Emil Schandl, a biochemist and oncobiologist who also talked about trophoblasts and unique characteristics of the cancer cell, and the similarities to embryonic cells in pregnancy. Embryonic cells secret HCG, also called the pregnancy hormone. HCG is also secreted by cancer cells. There were a number of presentations by people offering information on treatments and supplements and herbal preparations for people with cancer. An interesting presentation about iodine and the theory that a deficiency in iodine could cause breast cancer was given by Lynne Farrow who is involved with the Iodine Investigation Project directed by Breast Cancer Choices. I found it amazing and inspiring that there is a whole community of people interested in alternative and complementary cancer care. The fact that despite ridicule and persecution from the conventional medical system these treatments and ideas persist impresses me that there is truth there. The drug companies have failed to find a cure for cancer despite spending billions on research. I hope that in future more money can be spent on researching some of the complementary and alternative cancer remedies. My hope is that new methods less toxic than chemotherapy will be found to cure or at least control cancer. As a cancer patient I need to find something better than what the medical community and the large drug companies have to offer and it is one of my passions to continue my education in complementary and alternative cancer treatments. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.