Jyoti Chhikara | Beyond Medicine: The Unspoken Link That Connects Grief And Cancer Care…

Losing my father to lung cancer was a defining moment in my life -- one that pushed me into the depths of understanding disease as something far more than a mere physical ailment. It was not just a loss; it was a call to seek answers beyond chemotherapy, pathology reports, and what I had learnt in textbooks. My father was a man of few words but vast emotions, strong built, resilient, strong-headed, one who would carry the weight of personal struggles with a smile. And so, when he developed lung cancer, I couldn’t understand the reason.

I wanted to dig into the invisible -- how grief and suppressed emotions carve their imprints, sometimes so deeply that they manifest as disease because cancer does occur in people who do not smoke or drink alcohol. During my research, I came across Dr Ryke Geerd Hamer’s German New Medicine (GNM) -- a concept that resonated with my own experiences. Dr Hamer, following the tragic loss of his son, discovered a startling connection that the body does not develop cancer randomly; rather, it is a biological response to unresolved emotional shocks, which he termed “biological conflicts” -- conflicts that leave traces in the brain and trigger corresponding changes in the body. This perspective struck a deep chord within me. Could it be that my father’s lung cancer was not just about mutations in the cell, but an embodiment of the unspoken internal conflicts which lingered in his head as he cared too much?

Grief is not merely an emotion as studies have shown that prolonged grief increases inflammatory markers, weakens immune function, and disrupts hormonal balance.

When emotional pain is buried rather than expressed, it embeds itself within the body, creating vulnerabilities that, over time, may manifest as chronic illnesses, including cancer. This understanding was reinforced when I met a 77-year-old woman diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She was undergoing chemotherapy, but her emotional landscape told a parallel story. She had shared a profound bond with her grandchild, who had recently moved abroad, leaving her feeling abandoned. Simultaneously, her family shifted homes, which left her displaced. Her disease was grief echoing through her lymphatic system, as feelings of abandonment often manifest in this form in circulation. After starting homoeopathic therapy, her PET CT showed a positive outcome, with about 50 per cent recovery in just four months.

Another case was of an 86-year-old man, a towering figure of humility and success, known for his accomplishments, who had always put his family first. Yet somewhere in the noise of expectations and responsibilities, his own voice had quietly faded. When he first came to me, he was afraid to eat, having lost trust in his own body. Food, once a source of joy, had become a source of fear. He had already undergone proton therapy and hormonal treatment for prostate cancer. As per GNM, prostate cancer often arises from territorial or identity conflicts -- when one’s position, dignity, or role within the family or society has been challenged. And a deeper sense of unease remained as his platelets were constantly elevated, a rare form of blood cancer named essential thrombocythemia, which GNM relates to self-devaluation, particularly when one feels emotionally displaced. With homeopathic care, his journey began to shift. He gradually began eating again, feeling safer in his body. His platelet counts, once chronically elevated, normalised. Over time, his thyroid levels and blood sugar came under better control, and, more importantly, he became more confident in handling his daily challenges.

Medicine once understood this connection. Before the 1500s, physical health was seen as inseparable from emotional and spiritual well-being. Somewhere this was lost in favour of treating symptoms without understanding their root cause. Only in recent decades has modern medicine started to revisit the psychosomatic nature of diseases, yet the response remains largely pharmaceutical.

Homeopathy continues to honour that connection as it focuses on the patient, not just the diagnosis. It acknowledges that deep-seated emotions shape disease patterns, and thus, true healing cannot occur without addressing these.

I remember a 48-year-old woman diagnosed with left-sided breast cancer. Rather than examining her tumour, I explored her story. She had lost her mother a year earlier and carried immense guilt for not doing more. Sensitive, dutiful, self-sacrificing, she fits the archetype of someone who suppresses her emotions to meet external expectations. Through homeopathy, meditation, and emotional processing, her tumour reduced by 30 per cent in six months -- without chemotherapy.

Dr Joseph Murphy, in his bestseller The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, shared his own journey of overcoming skin cancer by tapping into the healing potential of the mind. He believed that faith, affirmations, and the resolution of inner conflicts could transform health outcomes, something I have witnessed first-hand in my own practice.

As a physician, I am not against any form of treatment that saves lives. But I believe the future of healing lies in integrating the understanding of medicine’s ability to address inherent tendencies offering a powerful roadmap to healing.

Looking back, my father’s battle with cancer was not just a medical mutation. It was a testament to the mind-body connection, a reminder that what remains unspoken within can shape our biology. Today, as I continue to explore these dimensions, I hope to contribute to a world where healing is not just about battling disease but about transforming lives from the inside out.

For those diagnosed with cancer, the question should not only be: “how do I treat this?”; but also: “what is my body trying to tell me?” The answer to that might just be the key to healing itself.

Dr Jyoti Chhikara is a homeopathic physician and researcher based in New Delhi who is passionate about holistic wellness and preventive care