The United Kingdom feels polarized about Brexit and literally at sea regarding future directions; on a personal level I have been feeling sad, in fact grief struck, as we approach the 1^st anniversary of Kate Arnold’s (my partner Mike’s youngest daughter) sudden death from melanoma. Family and work colleagues are fund raising in her name and invite members of the public to join in these fund raising schemes.

As I survey the editorial features comprising Issue 255, I feel uplifted that this issue genuinely reflects, indeed embodies precisely what I have envisioned and espoused as Integrated Medicine and demonstrates the very best of healthcare at all levels – mind-body-soul:

• On the personal emotional / spiritual level: Rewire Your Inner Strength, How I Turned the Worst Year of my Life Around, and One Step Beyond: A Lifestyle Management Strategy to Support Your Health and Wellness Goals;
• Clinical and therapeutic articles addressing important, indeed vital and pressing issues: How Homeopaths Select Cough Remedies, Bruxism, TMJD and Migraines - The Terrible Triad, Is Eczema Blighting your Life?, Changing Minds about Medical Cannabis, Future of Medical Cannabis and CBD Products in the UK, and The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy;
• Nutrition Topics of Immense relevance to health on all levels of the body and brain: Disadvantages of a Dairy Free Diet and How to Solve Them, Vitamin D and Cancer, and Mushroom Nutrition: Impact on Gut-Brain Axis and Implications for Neurodegenerative Conditions;
• Body-related therapeutic features: Recovery from Fibromyalgia; CFS, Fibromyalgia & Arthritis Patient Update, Staying Healthy at Work and Concussion In Sport.

However, I do not feel joyful – in fact the reverse – because even after the past 25-30 years of diligently working to publish the clinically beneficial therapeutic effects of integrated treatment approaches, as well as research advances demonstrating successful patient outcomes with fewer serious side effects, the very same divided healthcare system is in place, with a dramatic schism dividing the allopathic from the complementary practices and disciplines.

My partner’s daughter Kate was admitted to hospital by her husband, was diagnosed with melanoma and was treated with chemotherapy such that she never regained consciousness and died two weeks afterward. We can never know whether Kate would have survived longer or even survived / recovered if she had been treated by a regime such as practised by Hyperthermia Centre Hannover or The Kroiss-Cancer-Center for Alternative Cancer Therapy or Hallwang Private Oncology Clinic or Oasis of Hope or numerous other clinics internationally.

Much of the political and health agenda is occupied by staff shortages, clinical performance and achievement of targets for admission to A&E, poor clinical performance and inadequate provision for mental health facilities, which are all correct topics to address. It is rarely communicated how bereft patients are – we are – when only (pharmaceutical) drug-treatment and surgical approaches are included in the clinical mix.

Moreover, when Complementary / Alternative / Integrated treatment approaches are mentioned, these are often accompanied by jeering, sarcastic and insulting tones, signifying accusations of quackery, rather than conveying to the public – the patients – the genuine prospects of an improvement Healthcare System with the Integration of all Healthcare Practitioners working together.

We should all imagine, visualize and campaign for an Integrated Healthcare System which considers the role of the Microbiome / Gut with the brain and the possible onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, the role of Vitamin D in Cancer, the Role of Endocannabinoids in Homeostasis – these approaches should genuinely be considered in the round and in the holistic treatment of all patients.

As John Lennon sang - Imagine!