Heaven and Earth

"Heaven and Earth: Cancer Unleashed" is a hybrid science-fiction/self-help book. The science-fiction portion involves aliens from Treretum, a planet that orbits around the Sirius star system, who have visited Earth in the past and now share a common problem: invasion of the two planets by the Muimdac, a microscopic invader from outer space that invades the bodies of its host victims, consuming them from within and transforming them into agents who can then further their cause (Muimdac transforms). The story line includes scenes on Earth, on Treretum, and in the alien spacecraft that is racing back to its home planet at near the speed of light. The Earthly protagonists include Olga Ramos, a brilliant NASA engineer, and her friend and soulmate, Cuauhtmoc Gaviln, an environmentalist and protector of his Mother Earth through the operation of his environmental remediation firm. Their story includes a cross-country road trip from Los Angeles to Atlanta and interaction with scientists and engineers from the CDC and Georgia Tech, members of the LAPD and the FBI, alien protectors Cinz and Reppoc, and others. Two additional alien protagonists, Nivla and Suturb, are racing home against a distress signal sent at the time of the insurrection that resulted in their taking control of their spacecraft while concurrently dealing with an infestation of Muimdac. On Treretum, Nivla's family and others are having to deal with a corrupt planetary government, dominated by Muimdac transforms. The self-help portion of the book is incorporated into the sci-fi story line and is expanded upon in the "Cadmium Poisoning Facts" section at the end of each chapter and the appendices at the end of the book. (Muimdac is cadmium spelled backward.) These sections describe the toxicity of the carcinogenic heavy metal, its source as a contaminant in phosphate fertilizers and consequent introduction into the food chain, and its relationship with not only various forms of cancer, but also with other diseases like diabetes, kidney disease, osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, and induced zinc deficiency, which increases susceptibility to viral attack, including infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, cadmium is not on the radar screen of the medical community.