ALTERNATIVES IN HEALING
The American Metabolic Institute
by Robert Ross

DR. RUBIO
"Cancer is getting more aggressive these days" says Dr. Rubio, Medical Director of the American Metabolic Institute, in Tijuana, Mexico. He continues on, drawing an analogy of the evolution of the almost indestructible fly. "You used to be able to kill them with DDT, but not any more, now they've evolved, it doesn't even affect them."

As with the evolution of the fly, the last decade has brought on a host of new resistant virus and bacteria which have made the fight against cancer all more challenging. And when it comes to treating cancer, the battle lines have been drawn between conventional medicine and alternative medicine.

With conventional cancer treatments one relies on statistics. An individual has a level two cancer, is given a treatment, and the likelihood of recovery is given to you as a percentage. End of discussion. In general, the treatments rely on radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.

However, with everything in life, there are alternatives. Dr. Norman Cousins was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which meant that his spine was disintegrating. He tried conventional medicine where he was told that his chances for recovery were almost nonexistent. Eventually he opted for an alternative. His alternative involved locking himself in a hotel room and watching comedies for three days, and, as the story goes, through positive emotions he was eventually able to mobilize his body's own natural healing resources. He spent the next twenty years of his life writing and talking about alternatives.

ALTERNATIVES
The American Metabolic Institute in Tijuana, Mexico is one such place that offers a unique blend of alternative health care combined with conventional treatments. Located in a suburb of Tijuana called La Mesa, the well maintained two story structure has the facilities and space to treat twelve patients.

The day I arrived for a tour of the facility I saw a large Winnebago type van parked in front. A couple from Texas had recently arrived. The husband was living in the van while his wife was beginning a six week cancer treatment program. I talked with him briefly, "In Texas my wife tried the conventional methods. It really wasn't working, they were destroying her immune system with chemotherapy, and it was causing complications in other parts of her body. She had a level three B cancer, which meant that there was a twenty percent possibility that she'd survive for two years". This seemed to be a common theme among those at the Institute. They had tried the conventional route and it didn't work.

CHOICES
You're given a twenty percent chance of living for two years. What do you do? Conventional medicine says, "we did what we could, sorry". Luckily when someone told the same thing to Dr. Cousins, he didn't listen. So, you ask around. Check the health publications, make some calls, and begin to hear stories of recoveries, some miraculous. People that had been written off by conventional medicine were now living healthy normal lives.

During my brief visit to the American Metabolic Institute I heard such stories. There was the six year old that had been diagnosed with leukemia. He was told that there was nothing that could be done. Yet, he recently completed his treatment at the Metabolic Institute, cancer in remission. There was the man with prostate cancer, his PSA reading was 484 when he began Dr. Rubio's treatment. He now maintains a PSA of below 1. The stories go on.

METHODS
To assist patients with their health challenges the American Metabolic Institute, in conjunction with Saint Joseph Hospital, offers just about every known holistic approach, coupled with conventional methods when needed. Some of the holistic approaches include Chelation therapy, Lymphatic congestion therapy, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Massage, Oxygen therapies, Immuno therapy, Colon therapy, Rife frequency generator technology, Cranial electrostimulation, Reflexology, Colonics, Colemas and Enemas, Mineral and Herbal baths, Shark cartilage treatments, Sauna, Clay, Private and Group therapy, Nutritional counseling, Writing programs, and Positive thought therapy. Dr. Rubio is keenly aware that patients respond differently to treatments, so he monitors them closely. If finds that something doesn't appear to be working, he tries something else.

THE DRIVE HOME
With my interview and tour complete, I faced the usual border wait and freeway traffic on the drive home. This was fine because it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my experience. Having recently gone to my local HMO for a physical myself, I was keenly aware of the direction conventional medicine was heading. At my HMO I waited in lobbies, stood in lines, went to door A, B and C. I watched videos in which I was told that taking vitamin C was too arduous, and instead, if I had a cold I would be better off with one of their recommended drugs. I was herded through, I was a number, "next, next, next" was the mantra.

The American Metabolic Institute offers an alternative, an alternative worth checking into.

Copyright 1995 by Robert Ross, all rights reserved

Robert Ross can be reached by e-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com   

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