Beginning of the Process
Recognizing the fact that disease consists in a succession of steps or a series of events, each depending upon the next preceding one and making possible its successor, and desiring to arrest or check this process and correct the damage done, in other words, “to cure disease,” the question arises, “Where does this process begin?”
If we wish merely to check the process or to modify it, as does medicine, the etiology of the disease is less important than the present state. It is then more important that we understand the changes which are taking place in the body at the time of our attempt, the condition of each organ at that time, and the general recuperative or resisting power of the individual.
But if we would correct all the damage done instead of merely preventing further damage or building up internal resistance against a still active destructive process; if we would so eliminate the effects of the earlier steps as to make the resumption of the disease process most improbable, we must know each step from the beginning to the present, understand their sequence and relation, and go back to the beginning with our correction, removing the cause.