Handbook I:
Confronting Cancer
with Greater Awareness

This handbook applies to all types of cancer and cancer treatments in general. A focus on head and neck cancers has been included due to the life-threatening challenges that arise after treatment. You are invited to take this content to heart from a passionately educated individual who has done his homework. As in science, we do our best to live in the inquiry, not the findings, as findings frequently change. That said, radiation has been used since the 1890s, and chemotherapy began to be used in the 1940s. Together, they have been used for over a century to treat cancer. In 2024, $10.87 billion was generated from cancer treatments, and by 2031, revenue is estimated to reach $18.36 billion. For financial reasons, despite compromised conditions, patients are often left to manage the consequences of this treatment.

Head and neck cancer encompasses cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nasal cavity, sinuses, salivary glands, and lymph nodes. Common symptoms include visible swelling and lumps, as well as internal manifestations that may initially be undetectable. Early detection can help prevent metastasis and may avoid a death sentence.

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The risk of developing head and neck cancer increases with alcohol consumption, tobacco use, exposure to toxic fumes, and chronic infections. To date, medical treatment typically involves surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. According to the American Medical Association, head and neck cancer is highly curable if treated early. However, life expectancy and quality of life depend on specific conditions described in this handbook. You will also come to understand why most cancers are curable and preventable.

Cancer therapies, notably radiation therapy, wreak havoc on the human body regardless of the cancer type being treated. The focus on head and neck cancer exists primarily because it remains among the most life-challenging after treatment is complete. This is due to radiation fibrosis, which continues to infiltrate living cells, and modern medicine has yet to find a way to stop it. The migration of irradiated tissue continues to produce additional fibrotic tissue, leading to numerous health challenges.

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There is still so much that we don’t know—and even much that we don’t know we don’t know—yet many of us live our lives believing that we do know. How foolish is that? When applied to the practice of medicine on human beings, this reality must underscore the importance of kindness and a commitment to minimizing harm. Future radiation protocols must either continue to be reduced in intensity or be wholly excluded as a treatment option. Patients who live beyond the radiation life expectancy for head and neck cancer (estimated at 0–8 years after receiving 3,000–7,000 rads of radiation, depending on protocol intensity) are often no longer followed by oncologists after eight years and are left to fend for themselves.

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This handbook is for anyone who has or has had cancer, as well as friends and family members who are confronting this life-threatening health challenge.