HEALTH-THAILAND: New Cancer Treatment Gets a Second Opinion

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Prangtip Daorueng

BANGKOK, Sep 9 1998 (IPS) - A new approach to treating cancer is taking Thailand by storm, with its combined prescription of a “healthy” diet, regular exercise and positive thinking.

And while medical experts who are sceptical of the so-called ‘Chivajit’ way abound, more and more cancer patients are turning to it. This is despite the National Cancer Institute’s official stand that Chivajit is not a cancer treatment.

Cancer ranks among second the top 10 causes of death in Thailand, after heart diseases. The conventional way of treating cancer calls for medication, radiation or surgery, or a combination of two or all three of these.

Chivajit, which means “body and mind”, is the brainchild of cancer specialist Dr Satis Intarakamhaeng, who until a few years ago was suffering from nasal cavity cancer.

He says he gave up the conventional way of treating cancer after a time and took the advice of a Western doctor who told him to stick to nutritious foods. According to Satis, his cancer cells are now gone.

The core of Chivajit, Satis says, is “good nutrition and good mind”. This means mainly macrobiotic foods, a “rejuvenating” concoction made from rice grains, sesame, beans and carrot, regular exercise and an optimist outlook.

Chivajit enthusiasts shun “toxic” food such as meat, milk and polished grain, and avoid having an equally “toxic” attitude toward the world.

Satis says he makes no claims about Chivajit being a cancer cure, adding that he considt