Dr Christiane Northrup has some interesting insights into the emotional and energetic issues associated with ovarian cancer. Whilst it is impossible to generalize emotional and energetic responses, she highlights the issue of rage in ovarian cancers. She describes the ovaries as being 'female balls' which means they relate to an active participation in the world in a way that expresses our unique creative potential, as women, on an individual basis. She says: "...we as women must be open to the uniqueness of our creations and their own energies and impulses, without trying to force them into predetermined forms. Our ability to yield to our creativity, to acknowledge that we cannot control it with our intellects, is the key to understanding ovarian power." (p187, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom) She relates the issue of rage as deriving from being in an abusive relationship - not necessarily physically abusive, though of course this could be the case. And it may not necessarily be a personal or intimate relationship. It could be with work, societal, or even spiritual. But it embodies a way of relating and dealing with something or someone, where the woman involved feels controlled by the situation and does not believe in her ability to change it, or herself. It is a denial of her innate power and self-sovereignty. A denial of a woman's innate dignity, creativity, spirituality, and complexity. Interestingly, Dr Northrup notes that ovarian cancer is linked to a diet high in fat and dairy food. Dairy products in Oriental medicine, are associated with the liver meridian. Meridians are energy conduits, and though they have a specific anatomy, they are not equated necessarily with the organs of the same name, as understood in conventional western medicine. The emotion associated with a liver meridian that is out of balance, is rage and anger. Oriental medicine believes that diseases start in our energetic body first, and then progress to the physical body. And certainly not all women who have a high fat and high dairy diet develop ovarian cancer. Dr Northrup suggests that women take care of their ovaries and uterus by reclaiming and expressing whatever this deep creative energy is for them. She suggests taking the time to do this daily. A recent scientific study has also found that drinking two cups or more of tea a day can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 46%. This study was done in Sweden over a 15 year period. Sweden is a country where there is a higher risk of ovarian cancer, as are other countries with a high dairy consumption (Denmark and Switzerland). References:
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=64537
Dr Christiane Northrup, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (Piatkus, 1995) |
