A Plea for Change in the Approach to Cancer

review by Flora Biancalana, MD, family physician

The Good Fight: a Story of Cancer, Love and Triumph , by Greg Holmes, PhD, and Katherine Roth, MD

Paradox Press

© 2014; $16.99; 380 pp.

Family practice physician Katherine Roth, MD, and her psychologist husband Greg Holmes discovered in 2004 that Greg had a rare and fatal carcinoma of the sinuses. Greg began the expected medical path of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. However, Katherine, despite the shock of such a diagnosis, began to devote hours of research into alternative therapies directly countering continued negative and unbelieving input and comments from her medical colleagues. This book tells of their indomitable courage to value the life in Greg through using acupuncture, herbs, medicinal mushrooms, specialized diets and by embracing the spiritual realm. They, each in their own way explore the field of psychoneuroimmunology, the network of how the mind, emotions, and nervous system influence the immune system.

In an almost journalistic style, the book is divided between portions written by Katherine and portions written by Greg. In this manner, we discover an inordinately convincing drama of one couple’s refusal to accept the negative condemnation from traditional oncology and seek out a form of “medicine” that embraces all aspects of healing. The book includes information on critical supplements (MCP, curcumin, grape seed extract, quercetin, etc.), controversies of antioxidants in conventional cancer treatment, using medicinal mushrooms, the importance of maintaining a healthy GI system, and the potential of proteolytic enzymes. This information is presented in a way that a nonmedical reader can understand, with recipes and daily administration guidelines. Despite the inclusion of technical information and references, their story is carried by a powerful narration of love and commitment written with sincerity and profound emotions.

For years there has been a struggle between Western medicine as we know it and the diversity of other healing arts including Eastern medicine. The integration of these different modalities as so clearly detailed in this book makes it harder to simply discount “holistic” or “alternative” medicine. This compelling true story of a couple’s struggle with the diagnosis of cancer takes us on an emotionally profound journey – one that hopefully will open doors, insights, and appreciation for all the modes of healing and therapy that most assuredly do have merit, as these bright and informed writers make clear.

Katherine and Greg’s story is a plea for change in the way our medical system approaches cancer and the delivery of its treatment. This is a powerful book that belongs in the hands of everyone as we prepare for the changes that simply must come in our struggle to improve health care. This book belongs in the curriculum of every medical school and in every library in this country.