Arsenicum Album is a primary remedy for cancer and is often recommended for individuals with terminal cancer that are entering into the death process.  It helps the individual confront and deal with their fear of death – feelings of being stuck in limbo, not knowing what lies ahead, not knowing what to expect, feeling terrified of the transition, afraid to let go of their life.  When used appropriately, it can be a powerful tool for assisting individuals in coming to greater peace about the death process, enabling them to embrace the transition with greater spiritual centeredness. 

Arsenicum Album is also of great value to individuals that have just been diagnosed with cancer and are gripped with profound fear – fear of cancer, fear that they will never get better, fear of death, fear of not having enough money to sustain the treatment, fear of not getting the needed medical care.  In this state, the individual sees the cancer as being bigger than themselves and bigger than their own ability to heal themselves.  They feel powerless over the cancer, seeing it as being 100 feet tall and seeing themselves as being very small. 

This is not to say that the fears that come with a cancer diagnosis are not justified, but that these fears in an of themselves severely weaken the immune system of the cancer individual.  By taking Arsenicum Album (when indicated), it can help the individual reconnect with a greater spiritual center, such that they see themselves and their immune system as being bigger than the cancer. 

Arsenicum album may also be indicated for family members and friends that are gripped with these same types of fears – terror that their family member will die, that there are no therapies available, that the situation is out of control, that a new or different doctor is needed, that people are not taking the situation seriously enough.  In these cases, Arsenicum Album can help the individual let go of some of these fears, making it easier for them to affirm the ability of their friend or family member to heal themselves. 

On a physical level, Arsenicum Album helps the body release fear and tension held in the kidneys, adrenals, and nervous system.  This sometimes correlates with the detoxification of the heavy metal arsenic from these areas as well. 

In some cases, Arsenicum Album can be instrumental in actually turning the cancer around, arresting tumor growth and empowering the individual’s immune system to turn the disease around. 

Some of the physical symptoms that are included in the profile of an individual needing Arsenicum Album are: 

• Burning pains, better with heat (this is specific to arsenicum album – for the majority of other homeopathic remedies indicated for burning pains, the pain is better with cold application.  is one of the few remedies in which the pain is better with heat.) 
• Burning pains, felt deep within the body, burning pain in the bones, the nervous system, the digestive tract, etc
• Neck stiffness
• Craves sour foods and drinks
• Cold hands and feet, ice cold feeling, lack of body heat
• Itchy scalp
• Eczema, especially on the hands and on the scalp

Key mental/emotional symptoms associated with Arsenicum Album include:

• Fear of death, disease, cancer
• Survival issues
• Despair of recovery
• Fear of poverty, that there is not enough money to support oneself, that the insurance company is being stingy, that everywhere one goes there is not enough
• Perfectionism, fear of making a mistake which will be severely detrimental to one’s health and/or financial situation
• Obsessive/compulsive, rigid behavior, ritualistic, the tremendous fear drives the individual to a strict adherence to a protocol or routine, the feeling is that if they divert from this routine, they will not survive physically and/or financially