by Dr. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Dr. Robert Ullman
The Mystery of the Miasm
Homeopaths learn from the beginning of their training, as we read Samuel Hahnemann’s The Organon of Medicine, that miasms are hereditary layers of predisposition. The term, miasma, which, prior to homeopathy, translated as swamp gas, stain, pollutant, unhealthy or harmful influence or atmosphere, or defilement, was of considerable practical import to Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy. He found that his homeopathic principles of like cures like, totality of symptoms, the minimum dose, dilution, and succussion proved effective in treating most acute illness and some chronic disease. It became evident to Dr. Hahnemann that some diseases in some individuals appeared to be intractable and unresponsive to the well-indicated homeopathic medicine. He concluded that this lack of success was due to some predisposition which was so deeply entrenched in the organism that even the simillimum (single closest match of a homeopathic medicine to a patient’s symptoms) could not produce a cure. This observation led Hahnemann to introduce the concept of the three primary miasms of his day: psora (from scabies), syphilis, and sycosis (from gonorrhea). Other miasms were later added added. The first of these was the tubercular (tuberculosis) miasm by Samuel Swan, MD, in 1874-6, and the second, the cancer miasm, by the British homeopathy, Donald Foubister, MD in the mid-1900s.
When we began to study classical homeopathy in the late 1970s, there was still little agreement and means of clinical application of the concept of miasms. The literature was, at best, preliminary. During a vacation to Mexico, we visited the clinic of the most famous homeopathic scholar and physician on the subject of miasms—Dr. Proceso Sanchez Ortega in Oaxaca. His students were kind enough to allow us to observe their case taking, which consisted of assigning a miasm to each and every symptom in the patient’s case. Totaling these numbers allowed Dr. Ortega and colleagues to select the corresponding miasm and choose an appropriate homeopathic medicine. Although the method appeared to work for them, we found ourselves more confused than ever.
Over the next eight years or so, in our practice and in our teaching students through the International Foundation for Homeopathy (IFH), we basically dealt with the subject of miasms in ostrich form, by ignoring them. We would later come to learn that this was, in fact, a very sycotic approach, but that is another subject. It was not until 1993, when we attended our first seminar with Dr. Rajan Sankaran of Mumbai, India, that miasms made sense to us and began to occupy an important role in our clinical practice. During the last thirteen years, as we have continued to study Rajan’s continually-evolving approach, miasms have become indispensable in our prescribing in most, if not all, cases in our practice. Even if the medicine is clear, the new concepts of miasms serve as a confirmation of the prescription.
The Nine Miasms According to Sankaran
As we have elaborated in our previous articles, thanks to Rajan, we are now facile with nine, rather than four or five, miasms: acute, typhoid, malaria, ringworm, sycosis, cancer, tubercular, leprosy, and syphilis. He has provided us with a clear, versatile, workable method of applying the concept of miasms and a preliminary map of which homeopathic medicines fit into which miasms. Before this was possible only by looking up the particular disease, such as gonorrhea or phthisis (tuberculosis) in the repertory or by a study of the clinical cases cured by particular medicines. Not only has Rajan made practical sense of the classification of miasms, but he has reinterpreted the relevance of the concept of the miasm. Instead of merely a hereditary or acquired level of predisposition to disease, Rajan views the miasm as the degree of desperation in the patient or, in other words, how the chief complaint and health concerns affect the patient.
The nine miasms begin with the “acute” miasm, which is the most immediate and involves the feeling of a life or death threat—a fight or flight response. The subsequent miasms, from typhoid to syphilis, become deeper, more severe, and involve increasing levels of desperation. Ultimately, in the syphilitic miasm, there exists the feeling that the situation is hopeless, cannot be salvaged, and requires radical, destructive intervention. This brings to mind, in contemporary times, anarchists or suicide bombers.
The Cancer Miasm
The cancer miasm is the seventh of the nine, and its flagship medicine is Carcinsosin, made from breast cancer tissue. Let us explain, first the feeling involved in the cancer miasm. There are over two thousand homeopathic medicines now available, most of them proved, and more being prepared as we write. And an infinite number of substances that are candidates for preparation in homeopathic form since literally any substance in nature is a potential homeopathic medicine. In many cases in which we prescribed Carcinsosin in the past, we can now find other medicines that fit the particular case more closely and, therefore, yield even better clinical results.
The underlying feeling in the cancer miasm is a need for control. Think, for a moment, about the chaotic, seemingly unstoppable, process of uncontrolled mutation and undifferentiated cell division in an advanced cancer. There is an underlying feeling of lack of order which poses a threat to the organism’s very existence. The risk is that the organism will become overwhelmed, destroyed, and will die. The degree of desperation is high, but not hopeless (unless it is syphilitic cancer with bone metastasis, deep destruction, and the fight for survival is hopeless). The underlying feeling of weakness and incapacity leads the individual to resort to superhuman efforts in order to control the chaos. An individual in this state strives for perfectionism, stretching him/herself beyond imaginable limits in order to accomplish the impossible. We all know (or are or have been) people like this. Remember some relative or friend who wouldn’t allow a visitor in the house until every single pillow or speck of dust were in its exact, immaculate place? Or who couldn’t serve a meal unless every course were planned and prepared perfectly, every utensil polished within an inch of its life, and every flower in every vase picked just at the right time and placed impeccably on each table. Think Martha Stewart cubed!
Characteristics of Patients Needing Cancer Miasm Medicines
- Perfectionism—this is probably the one best word to describe those who need this classification of medicines. As children, these are the kids who must color exactly within the lines without deviating a millimeter. Mistakes are not well tolerated. If the child writes a number or letter that is less than perfect, (s)he will erase every mistake to the point of putting a hole in the paper. Picture the adult who writes and rewrites drafts, crumpling up paper after paper. Thank goodness for word processing programs and spell checker! These are the adults with a reputation for being fastidious, anal retentive, and even obsessive. Everything must be in its place and perfectly clean. These can be the hostesses with the white couches and carpets that by some stretch of the imagination remain immaculate. Imagine the extraordinary effort of this type of housekeeper with children or pets, constantly trying to stay on top of the chaos of clutter. These may also be the fashion-conscious types who dress in perfect color coordination with nary a hair out of place.
- Over-attention to detail and responsibility—Simply put, these folks can be control freaks. Everything must be handled, micromanaged, and beyond reproach. They won’t do anything unless the can complete it 200 percent, despite the toll that it takes on them on those around them. You can count on someone like this to do a more meticulous job than you had ever imagined, leaving nothing to the imagination, but she may be completely wiped out when the task is finished. Instead of crashing and taking a break however, she will proceed to jump into the next project, or plan every element of the family vacation, or manage her extended family business or affairs in her spare time. This predisposition to take on excessive responsibility can begin during childhood, and can look much like Aurum, though in a less structured, mineraloid way.
- Passion—These individuals are closely related to the tubercular tendency of burning the candle at both ends and fervently chasing after life. They can exhibit a strong fascination for the new and the different, travel, knowledge, nature, and most anything. Patients needing Carcinosin, for example, will recite an amazing list of foods that they absolutely love, especially chocolate and spicy food. Their intrigue with cultures and peoples can lead them to the fields of anthropology or sociology. And what they do, they pursued intently and intensely, in an effort to master the subject in its breadth and entirety. It is the passion and verve that lead those in the cancer miasm to love to dance. These folks are typically impassioned as well about animals.
- Intensity of physical complaints—It goes without saying that these people have a predisposition to cancer. Those needing Carcinsosin classically have a personal or family history of malignancies. Also common are moles, which are at risk of developing into melanoma. These individuals may have a personal or family history of diabetes or tuberculosis. Also common is a tendency to intense, acute physical illnesses—typically childhood illnesses—as adults. These are the adults with ear infections, strep throats, measles, or mumps.
- Emotional traits—These are highly sensitive people. They care deeply about others and can exhibit a very strong anxiety and enmeshment with family members or others very close to them. They strive so sincerely to do everything just right that these patients can be exquisitely sensitive to reprimands. They are the children who will break down at the least intimation that they have done something wrong or the slightest glance of reproach. Another feature that they share with the tubercular miasm is a romantic, sentimental nature.
- Family history of chronic disease—Patients belonging to the cancer miasm typically, but not necessarily, have a family history of some type of cancer on one or both sides of the family as well as, in some cases, a history of some malignant or pre-malignant cases themselves. Diabetes and tuberculosis are also common in the genetic history of the family members.
Choosing Which Cancer Miasm Medicine to Prescribe
The first step in selecting the best homeopathic medicine in this category is a perceptive case taking. The patient will use words like control, perfection, stretch beyond my capacity, chaos, order, and cancer. The homeopath needs to be careful to understand when a cancer miasm patient is so highly compensated that (s)he may give the appearance of being highly functional, on top of everything , and problem-free while being on the verge of falling apart due to sheer overwhelm.
Next is to carefully elicit the sensation of whatever the patient perceives to be the chief complaint. This sensation will lead the homeopath to a kingdom: mineral, plant, or animal or to a nosode (homeopathic medicine made from the products of disease, such as Carcinosin. Delving into the sensation will allow you to make this determination.
- Mineral—Emphasis will be on structure, performance, roles, relationships. The primary issue will be what the patient stands to lose or gain.
- Plant—Sensitivity, reactivity, emotionality, adaptability to influences, stimuli, environment. Disorganization, fluidity, vulnerability,
- Animal—Survival, victim and aggressor, superiority and inferiority, strong and weak, sexuality and instinct. Need to belong to the group; nurturance.
- Nosode (such as Carcinosin)—Intensity. Characteristics of the nosode without marked features of any of the other kingdoms. Family predisposition.
Rajan’s delineation of which medicines correspond to which miasms is still preliminary and is derived primarily from material medica and, secondarily, from clinical practice. Some of the more well-known cancer miasm remedies are the following: Arsenicum album, Carcinsoin, Conium, Ignatia, Opium, Sabina, and Stpahysagria. One medicine can belong to more than one miasm. Over the next five to ten years, the classification of medicines and miasms should progress considerably.
What is to Be Treated and What to Expect
We are not talking in this article about treating cancer per se. We are referring to the treatment of the whole person, who fits into the cancer miasm, regardless of the specific diagnosis or pathology. We are not aware of any studies on the homeopathic prevention of cancer. Presumably, however, treatment with the correct medicine will have a positive effect on helping an individual who is susceptible to cancer to prevent the disease. The mark of whether a homeopathic medicine is effect or not is a significant improvement in the person’s symptoms, energy, and state—physically, mentally, and emotionally. This overall improvement should be at least 70 percent with the correct homeopathic medicine. In the case of treatment of cancer per se, this, of course, depends on many factors including the onset, type, grade, location, vital force, etc.
With the correct cancer miasm medicine, all of the characteristics that we have listed above—perfectionism, oversensitivity to reprimands, excessive intensity, excessive focus on detail and responsibility, and tendency towards acute and chronic intense illness, generally resolves. These are very deep-acting medicines and we often find that the same one is needed for many years to life, administered either as an infrequent single dose or as a repeated liquid dose. What may be considered to be personality traits, such as the fastidiousness and overdrive, can indeed transform, thankfully, with homeopathic treatment.
The thrust of this article is in explaining the cancer miasm and focusing on prevention rather than the treatment of cancer. For this topic, we refer you to our Summer 2005 Townsend Letter article on the homeopathic treatment of cancer.
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