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Volume 106 Number 2
48 AJHM Summer 2013
Abstrac
t: The characteristics of the cancer miasm are found in the remedy picture of
Carcinosinum
, which is prepared
from breast cancer and originally defined and developed by Dr. Donald Foubister.
Carcinosinum
has a wide spectrum of
indications. The character of
Carcinosinum
is related to modern life style, and is concerned with the effect of interpersonal
relations on abnormal psychic functioning and pathological physical changes. Intergenerational transmission is one aspect
of its broad interpersonal effects. Intergenerational transmission refers to the beliefs, values, attitude and conduct that are
passed (by nature or nurture) to the next generation. Two mother-and-child
Carcinosinum
cases are presented, with a brief
discussion on the intergenerational transmission of the cancer miasm.
Keywords
:
Carcinosinum
, Intergenerational transmission, mother-and-child cases
Ronko Itamura, M.D., Ph.D., MFHom
Carcinosinum and Intergenerational Transmission
of the Cancer Miasm
Materia medica & Miasmatic Theory
Introduction
I
ntergenerational transmission results from and contrib-
utes to intergenerational relations. (1,2) In the realm of
family behaviors, it refers to beliefs, values, attitudes, reli-
gious behaviors, and socioculturally-based conduct. In the
homeopathic consultation, it is sometimes difficult to know
what children are feeling and thinking. Mothers sometimes
admit this same difficulty concerning their own children.
This may be because the mother has anxiety over failed
expectations in raising her children - things not working
out as she planned - and doesn’t know what to do to cor-
rect and redirect her children. Particularly in mothers who
have difficulties with ambiguous anxieties, it seems that
their own unsolved problems lurk in these anxieties. This
then places their children in a situation of intergenerational
transmission: the children carry it and express it with their
own symptoms and behaviors. In these cases, the mother’s
patterns of object relations shaped by engagement with her
own parents are transmitted through engagement with her
own children.
Carcinosinum
is a medicine deeply related to the cancer
miasm. (3) In the Organon, Hahnemann wrote “the true,
natural, chronic diseases are those that arise from a chronic
miasm.” (4) Chronic disease is a deep-seated imbalance of
the whole body, showing itself in different ways at different
times. Its cause is a trait he termed a miasm. A miasm is
therefore a trait within a society, family or individual which
makes them susceptible to a particular pattern of morbidity,
i.e., an inherited or acquired disposition to be ill in a cer-
tain way. As Dr. Shore reported in his 1989 article in JAIH
on
Carcinosinum
cases, it is a very useful remedy for the
character of our modern life style, especially the effect of
interpersonal relations on abnormal psychic functioning. (5)
Case 1.
M.O.: 6-year old girl
First appointment; 16 December 2008.
Chief complaint: itching of whole body and cracked, sore
soles.
Diagnosis: Atopic dermatitis (AD).
History of present complaint:
The eczema began before she was two years old. She was
diagnosed with severe AD at the age of two and a half years
old following her recovery from chickenpox. She had an
asthmatic attack provoked by exposure to dog hair two years
earlier. With common colds, she needs bronchodilator and
antiallergenic medicines. She uses steroid ointments. Her
symptoms become more severe before elementary school
examinations.
Past history: not contributory. Family History : Mother
(Hay fever), Father (AD)
Blood tests: RIST (Radioimmunosorbent Test): IgE: 360
IU/ml ( normal range: <60)
RAST (Radioallergosorbent Test, rating from 0 [no al-
lergy] to 5 [extreme]): Japanese cedar pollen - class 2; Ticks
- class 5; House dust - class 4; Dog hair - class 3.
Homeopathic history:
Appearance: 120 cm, 24 kg.
Manner: she is a bright and precocious girl answering
politely. She seems to keep her distance from her mother.
General Symptoms:
Effect of Heat: She usually has a low temperature, and
has coldness in the hands and toes.
Weather: aggravated by cold (winter) and dry.
Perspiration: she has little perspiration.
Appetite: very good.