I am writing this at five in the morning. For years, this has been the hour I get into my office and begin my work. I am armed with my computers, phone, fax, files and several walls of books, old and new, which I have painstakingly collected over the years. I generally put in long hours in this office learning as much as I can about cancer treatment. Some people consider me a bit obsessed with the topic. But I want to be able to share accurate information with cancer patients and their families...and that takes study.

My work has often taken me away from my home and family, as I travel frequently to investigate new treatments around the United States, Europe, Mexico and elsewhere. I have visited dozens of physicians, clinics, hospitals and labs to meet innovative doctors and to interview their patients. I evaluate their data firsthand. I also try to make time every work day to do a phone consultation with a cancer patient and his or her family about their own individual circumstances.

What motivates me to keep up such a rigorous schedule after thirty years in the field? What keeps me charged up and vitally engaged with my work? Simply put, it's hope. There are no 'magic bullets' for cancer. But I have seen dramatic improvement in the lives of some my clients and subscribers. This certainly keeps me very hopeful and determined to make an even greater contribution to the cancer research world. I hope to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families as they deal with the many difficulties presented by this disease, including some insensitive doctors and intrusive insurance companies.

What exactly is cancer? What is its relationship to normal biological functions? These questions fascinate me. The last time I saw Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, he said that what kept him going was reading the top scientific journals and keeping up with the latest findings. And he was past 90 at the time. I understand that passion.

Because I am privileged to spend my professional life investigating new treatments, I have come to realize the full scope of society's cancer problem. Cancer is now the leading cause of death for people under the age of 85. But because of what I have learned, I have hope that people around the globe can have access to more effective cancer treatments than are currently available to most of them.

I have hope that insurance companies will pay for many treatments that patients desperately need. This includes experimental conventional approaches, as well as alternative clinics, herbal medicine, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, chiropractic, and many more.

I hope that, when presented with convincing, factual information, the mainstream medical profession will come to realize the great benefits that antioxidants, supplements and good nutrition can have in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Many cancer doctors now feel that antioxidants, in particular, can harm cancer patients who are undergoing treatment with chemotherapy or radiation. But the mass of evidence says the opposite. I hope that patients will be told how to use natural therapies to decrease chemo and radiation's side effects.

I have hope that doctors will tell patients about all the various alternatives to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. (This is the patient's right under the doctrine of informed consent.) I hope that they will include complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in this discussion.

I have hope that I can save cancer patients both time and money by teaching them to apply "friendly skepticism" to the exaggerated claims sometimes made for alternative treatments.

I have hope that the Food and Drug Administration will expand people's rights to choose their own treatments. Medical authorities should take a more humane and common sensical approach to parents who want to provide CAM treatments for their children.

I have hope that the federal government will see the urgent need to conduct full clinical trials of some of the more promising complementary and alternative treatments for cancer. Many individuals, myself included, have worked hard to goad agencies such as the National Institutes of Health to do so. But their work often goes very slowly indeed.

I have hope that public pressure will, in the near future, lead to more effective regulation of the drug industry. Driven by the desire for profits, the drug companies sometimes become an impediment to the development of non-toxic and cost effective treatments. They have unduly influenced many researchers, journals and institutions. Put simply, the whole medical field is in desperate need of thoroughgoing reform.

I have hope that CAM approaches to cancer will be assessed with the same scientific rigor as conventional treatments and that they will compete on a level playing field. So far, conventional treatments have gotten preferential treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some expensive cancer drugs have been approved after small, marginally positive studies. Yet, to date, no less-toxic cancer treatment or drug has been approved in this way by the FDA.

I still come to my desk every morning eager to get started. I feel that although I have spent thirty years in this field, my work has in some ways only just begun. I continue to learn about exciting new approaches to cancer, to help my report and consultation clients find new ways to overcome obstacles, and to find the answers that are best for them.

Please remember that no matter what your situation, there is a lot of help and real hope out there, if you choose your path wisely. I believe that my books, Web site, lectures, newsletter, Moss Reports and consulting sessions have helped many people with cancer over the past 30 years. I feel truly privileged to have been a part of so many courageous struggles. There is something truly ennobling about how ordinary people become truly extraordinary in confronting this terrible disease. That is why, rather than being depressing, dealing with cancer patients is generally moving and uplifting, and a source of renewed energy for me and my wonderful staff.

Finally, I hope you will make the smartest treatment decisions possible. It is not necessary to spend a lot of money to do so. The Internet has made it a great deal easier for people to obtain information that was previously unavailable to them and it is certainly an option to do one's own research into treatments. That said, I know that many people find that the information contained in our Moss Reports has saved them weeks or months of searching. I also hope it is true, as many of my clients have told me, that my years of intense study have given me a perspective that is hard to achieve any other way.

There is research showing that cancer doctors spend an average of 1.3 minutes answering their patients' questions. But understanding cancer really requires a great deal of careful study and reflection. And since everyone is truly unique, so too each one deserves personal attention.

There isn't one simple formula for success. People have overcome cancer using entirely conventional treatments. Others have had success with experimental chemotherapeutic approaches (one thinks of the champion cyclist Lance Armstrong). Then again, some people have been successful using CAM. But if I were to generalize, I would say that most survivors are independent thinkers who "think outside the box," so to speak. Doctors sometimes call them their "problem patients," but that doesn't seem to deter them. They and/or their loved ones research their options and seek expert guidance in putting together a winning battle plan. In many cases, these people avoid pain and disfigurement, improve their quality of life, build up their bodies and their immune system, and have lived long beyond their doctors' expectations. Their hopeful stories help keep me committed and inspired. As you learn about them, I hope they do the same for you as well.

Here are some of the issues I have been investigating lately:

• Who are the best cancer doctors--conventional and alternative?
  
  
• Alternative treatments-- how do you separate the frauds from the beneficial?
  
  
• How do you strengthen your immune system, especially in the face of radiation and chemotherapy?
  
  
• Are there any valid alternatives to surgery?
  
  
• Is it safe to use herbs and supplements with conventional treatment?
  
  
• What are the best cancer clinics in Europe?
  
  
• How about the cancer clinics in Mexico?
  
  
• How do you find the best clinical trials and experimental conventional treatments?
  
  
• How do you detoxify from a polluted environment?
  
  
• What is the best diet to follow if you have cancer?
  
  
• How do you assess Internet-based promotions?
  
  
• What role does the mind play in causing or controlling cancer?
  
  
• How do you harness the power of the psyche to fight this disease?
  
  
• How do you find out about--and reduce--the side effects of conventional treatment?
  
  
• What can be done to control pain and fatigue?
  
  
• How do you find inspiration in desperate times and reverse depression?
  
  
• Who will care for the caregivers?
  

My work is aimed at getting you the right information when you need it. Let us know if we can help you with a Moss Report or a phone consultation.

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