Ayahuasca : Cancer and Responsible Detoxification

Holding cat's claw cancer curing herb

Drinking Ayahuasca was the last thing I considered as a treatment choice for cancer but when the opportunity came for me to venture into the Peruvian jungle to a shamans clinic, offering herbal detoxification and ayahuasca, off I went without hesitation. I was excited about my journey to South America, not thinking that it might be a risk or a bold move to take. Sometimes extreme measures can help to stabilize extreme conditions and trauma.

A few years earlier, I acquired multiple spinal injuries in a serious car accident that left me bed bound for most of my twenties. The spinal injuries healed over time with Chinese herbs, acupuncture and acupressure massage by a practitioner from Chengdu, China, but my integration back into the flow of life was halted when my physician diagnosed me with thyroid cancer. He told me I developed cancer because my previous doctor used outdated x-ray equipment to examine my neck after the injury.

Chinese acupuncture used to heal spinal injuries

I Initially signed up at an alternative medical facility for a two week whole body detoxification process. My body was oxygenated, cleansed and nourished through the veins with nutritional IV therapies. I opted out of surgery and the needle biopsy scheduled to confirm my prognosis. Instead, I chose a non-invasive early detection device called BioMeridian that owes its origin to the practices of electrocardiogram technologies. My diagnosis was good but needed more integration to fully recover.

Body traumas can continue to haunt us until we find a way to release the memories of the pain. Emotional and physical traumas are trapped subconsciously within our nerve tissue and can hold us hostage for a lifetime if we are unaware and ill prepared. And so for this reason I came to South America, the land of yagé, also known as ayahuasca: an intensely hallucinogenic potion made from boiling woody Banisteriopsis caapi vines with the glossy leaves of the chacruna bush. Me, then in my early thirties, grieving over the trauma from my bed bound years and lost twenties, was starved for experience. I was seeking truth and hungry for answers about the secrets of the cosmos and the mysteries of my undiscovered self.

Brewing herbal medicines

We flew to Pacullpa, a small logging town located on the Ucayali River in the Amazon Rainforest. The shamans casita was built high on a hill overlooking the marsh communities. His staff prepared a beautiful vegetarian feast the night before our morning journey deep into the jungle.

marshlands in the Ucayali Province Peru

It took a full day of driving , canoeing and hiking before we reached our destination situated in a Rainforest preservation camp near the river Rinquia. The shaman, Don Jose Campos, wanted to preserve the land for soul seekers wanting to experience the jungle in its pristine state, while doing the traditional Dietas that involve deeper ayahuasca work.

Our full day journey to the river Rinquia

I arrived with nothing except my toothbrush a journal and a bottle of Burt's Bees insect spray. I lived like the Shipibo indigenous peoples and ate the traditional shamanic diet. I washed with the wayusa leaves that arrived every morning outside my tambo and soon became acclimated to the jungle. I drank liters of medicinal tea brewed from the barks of the trees from the Amazon and between the herbal cat's claw brew and the ceremonial sips of ayahuasca, the thyroid tumor began to shrink.

Barks from the trees of the Amazon

The Peruvians diet consisted of fruits and vegetables and their bodies were firm with muscle and sleek with shiny black hair. They paced the mountain ridge with rifles protecting us from jungle predators. The only time I encountered any danger was when a long thick green snake came up behind me at the latrine. I froze and hissed at it like a snake, as I watched it jump and race away.

innocuous snake paying me a visit

At dusk we gathered at the main Maloca for the ceremonies to begin. Each night Don Jose would play his musical instruments as we drank from the sacred plant. During four hours each night, the plant ayahuasca revealed the world of infinite dimensions surrounding us, as we listened to the sweet sound of music and the jungles symphony orchestra.

*Community Maloca for ceremonies *

One night during ceremony, I was very present in the moment when a sensation from the back of my spine rushed forward to the front of my skull. I resisted these emerging thoughts at first but ayahuasca had me thinking about my mom. My family was conflicted with dysfunctions that had nothing to do with me. My essence was pure and clear energetically and I realized that remaining in a matrix full of vice, for the sake of the bloodline, would only be confusing for them and eventually unhealthy for me. I made peace with the tribe and my decision to move on in virtue as I joyfully purged into the bucket nearby.

Night after night as the jungle philharmonic played, I peeled away the layers to reveal the past. It was hard work and I found myself beginning to take longer to come out of the medicines effect. One night after ceremony, mother ayahuasca had followed me home. This time more gentle as before, she revealed to me the essence of true beauty and encouraged me to blossom as a young lady. I expressed my gratitude as I continued to process and puked late into the night as her presence began to fade. It had become obvious to me that my body was having to work too hard.

tambo dwelling

I came to the Maloca the next evening and participated in the ceremony but this time without drinking ayahuasca. The medicine was slightly active in me from the night before as I enjoyed the musical talents of the shaman and his work as a healer. Through the guidance of Don Jose and the plant medicine I found success for what the medicine was there to help me heal.

This was our last night in the jungle and I was eager to end our fast. We had plans for a big healthy breakfast in the morning and lunch before our departure. I look forward to my return visit to the forest one day but for now my body needed the nourishment. Besides, I had a lot to work with becoming a young lady not to mention filling a matrix full of virtue. Wish me luck!

Kissing the shamans pet squirrel

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