After unsuccessful chemotherapy and radiation therapy, advanced cancer patients often come to see me for a cure as a last resort. At the end of the session we often end up talking about time.

The patient usually asks me “How much time do I have? Is there any hope for a cure in time?” My typical response is “I don’t know.” I will dodge the questions with vague explanations for too many variables in life including fate and God’s will.

So, what is time? I want you to relax. I am not going to bore you with Einstein’s relativity theories of physics, new age meta-physics, or mind bending global scaling mathematics. What matters is our perception of time.

While I was reviewing some of my old conference lecture materials over the weekend, I found an article on “Time.” I want to share with you a short version of the article. Time affects every aspect of life as soon as we wake up in our own unique Time-Scale. Here is the story:

There are 86,400 seconds per day. You must live in the present on today’s time. If you fail to use the day’s 86,400 seconds, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow.” The clock is running. Make the most of today.

• To realize the value of One Year, ask a student who has failed a grade.
• To realize the value of One Month, ask a mother who has given birth to a pre-mature baby.
• To realize the value of One Week, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
• To realize the value of One Day, ask a daily wage laborer who has kids to feed.
• To realize the value of One Hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
• To realize the value of One Minute, ask a person who has missed the train.
• To realize the value of One Second, ask a person who has avoided an accident.
• To realize the value of One Milli-Second, ask the person who has won a silver medal in Olympics.
• Treasure every moment that you have!
• And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special; special enough to have your time…and remember time waits for no one.
• Yesterday is history;
• Tomorrow a mystery;
• Today is a gift;
• That’s why it’s called the present!

Each individual has a different meaning for “Time.” While you are reading the above article, it may resonate or move your heart differently based on your life experience. For me, I can feel my heart start to quibble when I read the line, “To realize the value of One Day, ask a daily wage labor who has kids to feed.” For you?

Every chronic illness has multiple causes for that particular illness. It takes time to correct as many underlying problems as possible. Given enough time, for most minor medical illnesses, one’s body will heal itself. Time is the best healer. The essence of “Time to Heal” or the healing time is unknown. We have our own unique Time-Scale for healing.

When an advanced cancer patient or ALS ( amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease) patient come to see me for an evaluation, the patient and I understand that we are racing against time to beat the odds of the inevitable, dying and death. So, where do we start?

The patient’s life history including a medical history (past) takes you to the current situation (present) and gives you a glimpse of the future outcome (tomorrow). Most people do not recognize the seemingly unrelated underlying chain of events that lead into the present medical condition and how it effects their future medical outcome.

Last week, I saw a young mother with severe IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) with diarrhea and abdominal cramps. She was on multiple medications and has been in and out of the hospital. She was desperate to stay out of the hospital.

Her story starts as a young girl who had frequent ear infections (she probably had food allergies) and has grown up taking multiple antibiotics over time. In her early 20’s, she had several root canals. She has been suffering from constant sinus congestion, sinus infections, and bronchial infections. She’s frequently been taking antibiotics.

Recently, she had another ear infection and tried several different antibiotics. She’s developed severe diarrhea and abdominal cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, and whole list of unexplainable physical symptoms.

When she came to see me, the evaluation included an assessment based on the ancient medical knowledge of acupuncture called Acupuncture Meridian Assessment (see my website for an explanation). I started her on specific probiotics and parasite medications. Her abdominal cramps responded immediately within a few days with stabilization of her bowel movements.

Most people assume the disappearance of the symptoms means they are cured. However, it will take many months of treatment including dental work for her body to reorganize and heal itself.

Racing against time is essential for most people who have far more advanced, life threatening medical problems. My job is to prioritize the problems in a timely orchestrated manner and “tune the violin” (the body) accordingly. Read my short article on “Luthiers and Physicians.” It is up to the individual patient how they “play the violin” and realize that the symphony of life is Timeless. I am running out of Time Space. I must stop.