ACUTE LEUKEMIA. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE HAHNEMANNIC DOCTRINE TO THE TREATMENT OF A CHRONIC DISEASE

N.V. BULANKOVA
OLLO Homeopathic Center

I would like to draw your attention to a case from my practice in which I encountered severe and protracted acute leukemia.

In March 1994, a young woman, age 28, took a consultation with me. She complained of severe weakness, exhaustion, weight loss and complete hair loss. She suffered shortness of breath and dizziness from the slightest physical exertion and experienced dark spot before her eyes.

Her case history indicated that she had fallen ill six months ago after an attack of pyelonephritis, when enlargement of the lymph glands, weakness, elevated temperature (to subfebrile levels), night sweats and fevers were reported. As a result, she developed follicular angina. A general blood analysis revealed the presence of 24% blasts.

At that time, the patient was hospitalized in the hematology ward with a diagnosis of "acute undifferentiated leukemia."

I want to read an excerpt from her case history: "Was admitted to the ward in critical condition. Myelogram, Dec. 2, 1993: bone marrow consists of 100% blasts (cells of various forms and sizes), unitary red blood cells. Megakaryocytes not encountered. Blood analysis on admission (slide): Hb 50 g/l; RBC 1 580 000; WBC 3200; PMN 4%; lymph. 37%; blasts 59%; ESR 80 mm/h; plat. - unitary.

Underwent massive therapy with cytostatics, corticosteroids, antibiotics, symptomatic treatment, blood transfusions. The following medications were prescribed: cyclophosphan, cytarabine, 6-mercaptopurine, asparginase, prednisolone. In the second myelogram - blasts 1.4%, contents of bone marrow sparse in cells and polymorphous.

On discharge-the patient's condition has improved; lymph glands, liver and spleen cannot be palpitated. In the blood analysis - Hb 110 g/l; RBC 3.5; WBC 4000; metamyeloc. 1; band 8; PMN 37; lymph. 30; mon. 18; plat. 238 000; ESR 35 mm/h.

Patient was released after three-month stay in hospital with recommendation to take internally cytostatics in tablets daily with courses of intravenous infusions one week per month. One month after her release from the hospitals, the patient came for an appointment with a homeopath.

The young woman who came to my attention was exhausted from her severe disease. Her face was pale and sunken with blue circles under her eyes. After the courses of chemotherapy, full hair loss had occurred and she weighed 37 kg. The patient herself admitted that her "feet barely shuffled," she feels weakness in her knees, dizziness when she walks and she has trouble breathing. Disturbed by profuse night sweats and fevers. Early onset of menstruation (every two to three weeks) and is profuse. Blood dark, with clots. Bothered by swelling of the abdomen during menstruation. In blood analysis-increasing anemia, decreasing hemoglobin (slide).

Detailed questioning and collection of history was hindered by the pronounced weakness of the patient, who withstood even slight physical exertion with difficulty.

By taking on the treatment of such a severely ill patient, who had been weakened not only by a frightening disease, but also by destructive allopathic treatment, I took on the responsibility of choosing the first in a chain of homeopathic medications that would improve the patient's condition. The entire course of her long-term recovery depended on that choice.

It was necessary to act on her life force gently and cautiously. Any incautious influence could bring on undesirable aggravation that could bring the patient out of her fragile remission and have serious consequences, not to mention that I would be unlikely to see her for a second appointment if I lost her trust.

I chose the agent China 6 CH as the most appropriate for this stage of the illness. The patient took one dose of China 6 CH in solution.

At her second appointment a month later, the patient's condition had improved-the weakness had subsided, dizziness was gone and menstruation moderate, the patient no longer lost blood. In the blood analysis - Hb 120 g/l; RWC 3.5; WBC 4000; plat. 289 000; retic. 4; band 6; PMN 68; lymph. 18; mon. 8; ESR 10 mm/h; no blasts.

Taking account of the beneficial action of the medicine, it was decided to repeat the administration of the same agent at the same potency. One more dose of China 6 CH was prescribed.

At the next appointment, a month later, the patient's condition had continued to improve. Menstruation proceeds normally, there is no anemia. The patient is beginning to gain weight, her hair has grown back, her life tone. In the blood analysis, remission is maintained.

This time, it was possible to question the patient more thoroughly. She had only one complaint at that time: weakness in the knees while walking or climbing stairs, feeling that her legs were "like cotton," numbness in the lower extremities.

The patient was a woman of medium height, slight build and elongated proportions. Dark hair, coarse and curly. Skin soft, very pale and dry. Tendency towards herpes sores on lips and runny nose.

From her medical history: she is Rh+, her mother is Rh-. Received two blood transfusions in infancy. Until age 3, she had an enlarged liver. Anemia and elevated temperature, from 37.0-37.2 C was noted. Rarely caught colds. When herpes sores appeared on her lips, cold symptoms passed quickly. At age 12, she suffered an outbreak of furunculosis, which was treated with UV rays. At age 20, she became a chemist and worked with heavy metals, cobalt in particular, without protective gloves. It should be noted that the patient's 7-year-old daughter has suffered from anemia, frequent attacks of paroxysmal tachicardia (heart rate up to 150 bpm) and nose bleeds. All those symptoms were removed by one dose of Phosphorus 30.

The hereditary influence of destructive miasm is clearly traceable to the grandparents' generation.

It also became known during questioning that the patient reacts poorly to cold, damp weather and dresses warmly. She has constantly cold hands and feet but sometimes experiences a burning sensation in the palms of her hands. Dislikes and reacts poorly to dark, since she sees poorly in the dark. However, bright light also irritates her. Reacts very badly to strong smells, which cause her headache and dizziness. Feels noticeably worse during changes of weather. Likes to eat delicacies, smoked foods and juices. Not inclined to heavy perspiration. Disruptions in stool not reported. Bothered by bleeding of the gums. Menstruation since age 12 moderate, painless and regular. Among her psychological symptoms, a large number of fears were prominent: fear of disease and death, fear of the dark, of storms, concern for the health of those close to her. The patient has had prophetic dreams and sometimes foretold the future, i.e., a tendency toward clairvoyance was noted. Over the long term, I became acquainted with the patient from another perspective, as gentle, friendly, sociable and deeply religious. Her attitude toward her disease was amazing brave and calm, even with full knowledge of all the prognoses and after-effects. She believed fully in the possibilities of homeopathy and conscientiously followed all the doctor's instructions and observed all limitations.

Hahnemann wrote, "For the suppression of a disease to be long lasting, so that it is possible to speak of the elimination of the disease, comprehensive treatment of the psora hiding in the depths of the organism is necessary."

I knew that I would have to give the patient a more similar antipsoric, and all the symptoms pointed to Phosphorus. However, I was still afraid of aggravation, because the patient's life force had still not been sufficiently fortified.

Analyzing her complaints and symptoms, I decided that part of the pathogenesis of the disease corresponded to the action of Calcarea phosphorica 6 CH.

One dose of Calcarea phosphorica 6 CH was prescribed.

After a month, the patient's condition was progressively improving, she had regained her normal weight and the weakness in her legs was gone. Ten days later, when those symptoms returned, although at a lower level, one more dose of Calcarea phosphorica 6 CH was given.

The next appointment with the patient was after two months. Her condition was satisfactory and she felt well. However, the patient was taking maintenance doses of cytostatic the whole time and one week a month she received an intravenous course of it in the hospital. It should be noted that, at this time, the hematologist began to speak of the positive course of the disease and the possibility of long-term remission. A sternal puncture found 1% blasts in the bone marrow and their morphology was altering remarkably. They proved to be lymphoblasts and the hematologist at that time established a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Lymphoblastic leukemia is the most treatable form of acute leukemia and the undifferentiated form is the most pernicious and fastest spreading of all blood diseases. I evaluated those data as an indication of a correct choice of substances and doses.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make contact with the hematologist, who flatly refused to collaborate with me, considering our treatment charlatanism. Therefore, for almost a year and a half (until the patient herself decided to abandon all allopathic treatment), I was forced I was forced to treat the patient against the background of the continual use of cytostatics.

At that appointment, since the patient's condition was good, no prescription was made and she was instructed to return if she felt unwell.

That happened four months later. The patient came in on Oct. 13, 1994, complaining of weakness, exhaustion and spots before her eyes. In the blood analysis: Hb 106 g/l; RBC 3.4; WBC 3700; plat. 242 000; retic. 2; bas. 3; PMN 58%; lymph. 26; mon. 10; ESR 7 mm/h; blasts 1%. One dose of Phosphorus 6 CH in solution was prescribed. On the next day, aggravation appeared in the form of a cold, irritation of the throat, herpes sores on the lips, and an itchy rash on the neck, hands and rib cage. On the first day after taking the medication, follicular angina broke out, which was uncharacteristic of the patient. On the right tonsil, a round abscess 4 mm in diameter appeared, without pain or fever. No special medication was prescribed. After several days, the abscess disappeared. Her general condition improved significantly. In the blood analyses: Oct. 18, 1994: Hb 116 g/l; RBC 3.8; WBC 8300; plat. 325 000; bas. 4; PMN 60; lymph. 30; ESR 10 mm/h. Oct. 26, 1994: Hb 128 g/l; WBC 5100; ESR 7 mm/h; blasts 0.

At the next appointment, since the patient's general condition was good, no prescription was made The patient made her next appointment after seven months, in June 1995, complaining of missing her periods, hot flashes, swollen upper abdomen, a heavy feeling in the subcostal area and an unpleasant taste in her mouth. The back of her tongue was thickly coated with a brown film. The front was clear and the tip red. It should be noted that, even while in good general health, the patient was receiving huge doses of cytostatics. We read in Hahnemann, "A treatment that cannot cure the original illness, but only weaken and destroy a person's organism, not only accelerates the development of the psora and its emergence, but also gives rise to new, artificial diseases, as a result of which the life energy is burdened by the need to reflect danger from two sides."

We know the two most important substances used against the harmful consequences of allopathic treatment. They are Nux vomica and Sulphur. I chose Nux vomica as the more appropriate in this case. The patient took a single dose of Nux vomica 30 in solution. The next day, the symptoms of digestive distress disappeared and her general state of health improved. On June 13, 1995, the patient experienced the process of aggravation of chronic pyelonephritis, her temperature rose to 38 C and she had pain in her loin. In the urine analysis: leukocytria and albuminuria. She was undergoing treatment with nitroxoline. Perhaps that was a return to earlier symptoms, in accordance with Gering's Law. The patient's illness had begun with an attack of pyelonephritis. On June 18, 1995, one dose of Phosphorus 30 CH was prescribed. After a day, the pain in her kidneys had subsided. The patient was lively, had an unusually high amount of energy and was in an excellent mood. Under those conditions, blasts first appeared in her blood analysis.
July 19, 1995: blasts 2:100
July 22, 1995: blasts 2%
July 26, 1995: blasts 0
July 31, 1995: blasts 0

The worsening of the analysis against the background of a significant improvement in her general state of health was assessed as a side-effect of the treatment and a positive indication. In fact, without additional measures being taken, the analyses returned to normal after one week. At that time, 0% blasts were discovered in a sternal puncture of the bone marrow.

The patient's condition progressively improved over the summer. She gradually began to refuse chemotherapy, skipped the latest course of treatment and stopped taking cytostatic tablets at home. However, in NOVEMBER 1995, the hematologist insisted that she undergo an expensive and powerful five-day course of treatment with cytarabine, after which the state of her health sharply declined.

In her blood analysis -- pronounced leukopenia -- OCT. 17,1996: Hb132; RBC 3; WBC 2600; retic. 4; plat. 234 000; band 6; PMN 65%; eos. 2; lymph. 19; mon. 8; ESR 10 mm/g.

At that time, the patient caught a cold. Her body's defenses were compromised and she was unable to get over it. Her temperature remained normal but an abscess appeared on her right tonsil. She was troubled by weakness in her muscles, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, irritability, dark spots before her eyes, amenorrhea continued and she experienced hot flashes.

I would like to refer to the teachings of Hahnemann again at this point. "No psoric condition, neither in its latent form in the organism nor manifest in the form of one of the chronic diseases it gives rise to, can be cured with the application of just one antipsoric. On the contrary, to achieve a full cure, several of them must be employed and, in the most serious cases, many of them used consecutively."

Considering the symptoms and the cause of the deterioration, I thought it necessary to use the profound antipsoric Sulphur. One dose of Sulphur 6 CH in solution was prescribed on NOV. 22, 1995. On the next day, the patient's temperature rose to 37.7 C. The abscess on her tonsil shrank and disappeared on OCT. 24, 1995.

However, during the first week, the patient felt badly. She was disturbed by weakness, fevers and a hot feeling in the palms of her hands. In her blood analyses, up to 5% blasts appeared on Nov. 26, 1995. There quantity decreased to 1:200 and, on Dec. 22, 1995, were not present in her blood analysis. That was assessed as homeopathic aggravation. On that subject, we read in Hahnemann, "An intensification of ordinary symptoms under the influence of antipsorics should trouble us least of all. These symptoms usually appear on the first day, remain on the second day, then gradually lessen. That complication, which can be called homeopathic, is evidence that the treatment has started. It shows us that we can be sure, at least at that moment, of the cure of the symptoms brought to such a degree of excitement."

And indeed, on Dec. 26, 1995, we read in the patient's diary, "Full recovery. High spirits, condition improved. Menstruation has started after a long hiatus." Five months have passed since then. Not counting the five-day course, the patient has not received chemotherapy in ten months. No supplemental prescriptions were made. At present, the patient feels well. She has taken up a new profession, which she likes, and supports her whole family.

In spite of having witnessed the deaths of many of the patients with whom she began her treatment in the hematology ward, she believes in her recovery.

I consider her treatment far from over but I am glad that, through homeopathy, we were able to achieve a persistent, benign remission and rejection of chemotherapy. Long-term observation will provide grounds for the prescription of the next substances. It may be necessary to use mercurial preparations, considering the clear influence of syphilitic miasm traceable through the generations.

I wish to make several conclusions. Allopathy has made significant achievements in our times and we encounter such powerful pressure on and destruction of the life force as hormonal, chemo- and antibiotic therapy, radiation and surgery. Rarely do we meet a patient who has not been subject to allopathic treatment. I do not think that that is grounds to refuse to help the patient. As this case shows, it is possible to begin our treatment against a background of powerful allopathic substances, gradually lowering the dosage and replacing them. It seems to be that the best results are obtained while strictly following the recommendations of the person who stands at the source of homeopathy: observing the law of like, using a single substance, observing the term of validity of substances, not prescribing the next substance as long as improvement continues and taking the miasmatics and psychology of the patient into consideration. Even in the current difficult situation for homeopathy, it is possible to ease man's suffering and cure his ills.

I would like to finish with the words of Hahnemann, from the book "The Treatment of Chronic Diseases and the Homeopathic Doctrine," "During lengthy and extremely long antipsoric treatment, it is necessary for the patient's strength to increase from the beginning of the treatment through the recovery and restoration of the normal state of the patient. That strength increases throughout that time without the least dose of any medicine known to be a fortifier. It progresses on its own in proportion to how the organism frees itself from the enemy destroying it."