How To Look For Carcinosin

In spite of what you have read here, you will need to make a deliberate effort to discover the Carcinosin cases in your practice, at least initially. I can now recognize them as easily as Natrum-muriaticum or Sulphur or Ignatia, or any of the other polychrests, but that was not always the case. The primary difficulty is that the case will never repertorize out to Carcinosin if you use Kent's Repertory. I myself always use the Synthetic Repertory first, and Jost Kunzli von Fimmelberg's Repertorium Generale for the particulars. The Synthetic Repertory contains the distillation of Pierre Schmidt's vast wisdom, and he evidently used Carcinosin quite a bit, because there are a number of Carcinosin additions in that Repertory with a "7" superscript identifying him as their source. Nevertheless, even these do not provide a complete enough representation of the remedy to have it come out in a repertorization. Rather, you have to know its hiding places and how to recognize its tracks.

The first thing that will make you think of this remedy is a case that seems like a perfect Natrum-muriaticum, except that the patient tells you how she loves to sit in the sun or how much she loves the juicy fat on pork chops, or you discover that she loves consolation. The same could be said of Pulsatilla, Sepia, Phosphorus, Lycopodium, Medorrhinum, Calcarea, and a number of other remedies, but I find that the majority of Carcinosin cases are either slightly kinky Natrum-muriaticum or Sepia cases or Medorrhinum with a twist: a little too gentle and without the edge, and maybe with an aversion to salt instead of a desire, and no amelioration at night. Natrum-muriaticum bears the same special relationship to the cancer miasm that Mercury does to syphilis, or Thuja to gonorrhea. At least this is my observation. When you suspect that something is cooking, pay careful attention to the family history. Look for cancer, diabetes, alcoholism, drug addiction, insanity. You will occasionally find tuberculosis in the history. Foubister says that pernicious anemia is also suggestive, but I have never found this in any patient's history. I think it tends to be the kind of thing that one's descendants don't know about; it is not as patently obvious as cancer or a heart attack. I have in recent times begun to suspect that severe asthma and hay fever in the ancestry is indicative, but I am not certain enough of this to assert it. I throw it out so that others may consider that possibility and report it to our fellows. Foubister says that the maternal history is more important This is true in my experience, but this should not suggest that the paternal history is insignificant. It is not necessary to have all four grandparents die of cancer or diabetes. When that is the case, then I have to be quite convinced that some other remedy is indicated before I will give it. You will, however, find Carcinosin cases when half the ancestors have a suggestive history.

Sometimes there are fewer tainted forebears but all five of the patient's siblings are alcoholics. It is not a cut-and-dried matter. Nevertheless, you will rarely use Carcinosin when there is no suggestive history at all. But you sometimes will. I wrote in the first draft of this manuscript that I had done so only once. On looking over some cases, I realized that I had been mistaken: I have used the remedy a few times - not often, but more than once - on its indications alone. This is not surprising. Who only uses Medorrhinum when there is a clear gonorrheal history? Next, examine the patient's own history. Constipation and insomnia from childhood are strongly suggestive, as are high or frequent fevers as a child. A patient of mine had, as a child, the highest temperature ever recorded at Providence Hospital, in excess of 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Another child would run about and play outside with a 106 degree fever. These fevers often accompany earaches or tonsillitis. Hay fever as a child is also a strong indication. Foubister gives a history of pneumonia and whooping cough as suggestive. I have seen these, but less frequently. Even rarer, in my practice, are individuals who have had childhood diseases more than once. Foubister does give this indication. He also writes that Carcinosin is suggested when there is unusually severe reaction to vaccination. I mention these for the sake of completeness, but cannot confirm them from my own experience. Carcinosin children characteristically have very high energy as children. The sleeplessness and fevers are just manifestations of this.

Then there are the symptoms associated with the remedy itself. Carcinosin, as we have discussed, is pre-eminent among fastidious remedies. It loves to dance and travel, and is affected one way or another by the ocean. Carcinosin is said to be exhilarated by thunderstorms. To be honest, however, as a western Oregonian, I cannot vouch for relationship to thunderstorms. Where I live, asking people about how they react to thunderstorms is usually only slightly more fruitful than asking Eskimos if they are afraid of elephants.

Carcinosin is strongly moved by music. They tend to like classical music, though others will like rock. I have observed an aversion to jazz in several patients. There seems to be real aversion to this kind of music. My theory, and it is entirely the kind of idle speculation condemned by our illustrious founder, is that the syncopation offends their sense of order and propriety.

In small children, you will find head-sweats during sleep. This is a very important rubric in treating children. Kunzli gives it a black dot in his Repertory, a sign that it is a symptom this is often a dispositive symptom in his experience. He gives the following remedies for head-sweats during sleep: Bryonia., Calcarea-carbonica., Calcarea-phosphorica, Chamomilla, Cicuta, Lycopodium, Mercury., Podophyllum., Sanicula., Sepia, Silica. To this list I add from my own experience: Tuberculinum, and Carcinosin. Often this single symptom, in conjunction with the genupectoral sleep position, also present in Carcinosin, gives the case away. This symptom is of little significance in infants, as it is common in the first year or so of life. The Synthetic Repertory gives the following remedies in this rubric: Calcarea-phosphorica, Carcinosin, Conium, Euphorbium, Lycopodium, Medorrhinum, Phosphorus, Sepia, Tuberculinum. I have found these indications to have the force of generals of high rank: they are proxies for something very deep in the life of the child. Thus, in a small child, these symptoms must be present in the pathogenesis of the simillimum. For example, then, if there are both genupectoral sleep and head-sweats, the field is immediately narrowed to five remedies of all the entire Materia Medica.

Anyone who has treated children, and wondered how to choose a remedy based on no symptoms at all will appreciate the value of these indications. It should be mentioned that Carcinosin also often sleeps spread-eagled, arms and legs outstretched. This is not at all uncommon in small children, but I mention it so that its presence does not dissuade one from using Carcinosin.

One often finds the blue sclerae otherwise associated with Tuberculinum, and the cafe-au-lait appearance. The moles often mentioned as indicative of Carcinosin are of a very specific type. They are round, dark-brown macules. Carcinosin, like Medorrhinum, is suggested by a hairy spine and neck, and by unusual amounts of arm or leg hair, especially in children and women. Many writers have reported Carcinosin as being worse with warmth. I have seen this, but I have seen the opposite perhaps more often.

When there is a history of prolonged suffering, think of Carcinosin. This does not mean a broken heart or a disappointing date. K.A.'s case, quoted in this article in its entirety, gives a picture of what I mean by prolonged suffering. Foubister gives severe fright as another precipitating cause. I have no reason to doubt him, but cannot attest to it from my own experience. Unusually restrictive and suppressive parents or spouses point to this remedy also. When the history is parental, we may surmise that it is likely to have been causative. When, on the other hand, it is seen in a series of spouses, it is, rather, a pathological symptom. In other words, only a Carcinosin, or perhaps a Staphisagria, would, as an adult, put up with the abuse K.A. endured from her husband. George Vithoulkas gives as a keynote, "burning pain in the ascending colon." I have seen it only once. I suspect it is like the Thuja keynote of "nose runs at stool," dispositive but rare, at least in my experience. One individual reading this article is likely to recognize this latter symptom, since I was guided to Thuja in his case; but I have not seen it again. The food cravings are very important guiding symptoms to this remedy. Foubister says that an aversion or desire for any of the following foods is suggestive of Carcinosin: meat fat, sweets, salt, fruit, milk, and eggs. My own experience confirms this. What I will add to this is that a particular characteristic of the Carcinosin type is an alternation, often over periods of years, between aversion and desire for one or more of these items. The remedy tends to have a lot of aversions and desires, and that needs to be present for one to really consider this remedy on the basis of its cravings. Thus a desire for meat fat and salt and a neutral feeling about the other items would lead one away from Carcinosin. There is often also a sensitivity or allergic reaction to some of these items.

I have saved what I consider to be the most important food desire for the last: chocolate. Schmidt give it as second type. I believe he understates the case: I feel that it should certainly be black type. Nevertheless, you will occasionally see an aggravation from chocolate, and I think I may even have seen an aversion to it on occasion. The remedy type also desires onions and garlic. It has a strong relationship to coffee, but then again, this is the addictive remedy nonpareil, so that should be expected. I have observed, however, that it is also particularly sensitive to coffee. In one of the cases quoted in this article, the patient, after marked improvement, took some coffee to stay awake on a transcontinental trip. She noticed her uterine symptoms returning before she had finished half the cup. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to throw the rest away, and suffered no lasting harm. When this manuscript was essentially complete, I scanned CARCINOSIN, the record of a symposium on Carcinosin in Hechtel, Belgium. Several of the practitioners mentioned desire for soup as being of cardinal importance in Carcinosin, second only to desire for chocolate as food craving. I did not know this, but the writers all gave ample evidence of a clear understanding of the remedy. This should therefore be taken as authoritative, and I also will take pains to inquire about soup in suspected Carcinosin cases.

The following case sketch is of a "pseudo- Staphisagria" woman. The prescription would easily have been missed had I not known what to look for. Her chief complaint was exhausting (3) menstrual cramps (2). She also had cramps at ovulation. The patient, M.E., is intimidated by anger (2), and NEVER expressed anger toward her husbands. She was introduced to abuse early. She recounts that at age 2 or 3, she lost all her hair. The diagnosis was "stress"; she now feels that she lost her hair because she would not cry out, of fear of her father, an alcoholic, who later left her mother, and died of metastasized stomach cancer. Her stepfather would ejaculate in her mouth, then beat her and threaten her with more serious harm if she ever told anyone. Later, at 11, it was an uncle fondling her, and a couple of years after that, a cousin forcing vaginal intercourse on her. She proceeded to become involved in successive abusive marriages. Both were to black men.

Why did I make a note of this? Prejudice aside, it is a matter of my observation that in the United States, whereas the decision to enter into an inter-racial relationship signifies nothing of interest to a homeopath, the decision on the part of a white woman to choose only black men as her sexual partners is noteworthy. Often it suggests the existence of a Staphisagria-like, or in this case, Carcinosin-like tendency. Before any readers who do not know the author of this piece cry "Racism!", such individuals should know that the author himself is a black man - one, moreover, who is married to a white woman, who, incidentally, is neither a Staphisagria nor a Carcinosin.

The first husband was an unregenerate adulterer, nineteen years older than she. He would even bring women back to the house and copulate with them while his wife cried in the next room. Her second husband was an alcoholic who beat her, and with whom she had sexual intercourse two or three times a day on weekends, but only out of duty, as she had little interest herself.

Why did I not give her Staphisagria? This might have been the logical choice. She had all the food cravings of Natrum-muriaticum, however: chocolate (2) [at the menses (2)], salt (1), garlic (1); she also loved the ocean (2) and was fastidious about time (1) and claustrophobic(1). Perhaps she was a Natrum-muriaticum, but she was not worse with sunshine, and was not worse from consolation (2). That ruled Natrum- muriaticum out. I observed that she disliked jazz (2), desired onions (2), and was worse from coffee (2). There was also a suggestive history: Her father was an alcoholic who died of cancer; his parent's history was unavailable, the mother had no remarkable history, but the maternal grandmother had DM, and asthma, and died of a CVA. The MGF was a severe alcoholic and died of cerebral hemorrhage in his 40's. With all pieces of the puzzle in place, Carcinosin was a much better fit than either Natrum- muriaticum or Staphisagria.