Time for the final post

   It is with great sadness that I write the final chapter in this all too short story. The beautiful Miss Becky took her final breath on this earth on October 9th, 2012 at 9:11 pm. She was sleeping peacefully when she passed away into heaven to enjoy her new perfect body. 

   In the end, cancer had spread to almost every part of her body. While the original tumor was long gone the crucial mistake of having that first biopsy done was likely the single biggest mistake we made together. Doing that broke the protein shell containing cancer and let cancer cells loose in her body. The lymphatic system picked those up and they spread to her upper spine, lower spine, left shoulder, inner chest cavity of both lungs and the pleura of her heart. Also involved were her entire pelvic structure, both hip joints, and both large thigh bones. 

   There is a photo of Becky online at Facebook showing her a week before her passing. Her face is alive and hopeful and you can tell that she feels happy and loved. SHE never gave up! Even the day before her passing she asked me if I'd gotten a prescription for oxygen because she as going to need it when she got home. Her eventual decline and passing were extremely rapid.... happening over the course of only about 4 hours. All of her monitor readings just kept getting lower as the moments ticked by..... her body was tired of it's long and difficult battle with a ruthless enemy. 

   Prior to her passing, the old Becky made the last appearance to comfort me. She was weak but said she wanted to sit up in bed. So I went around and eased her feet over the edge.... then put an arm around her and lifted her up to sit beside me.... holding her in place with my arm. Slowly I felt her arm move across my back until her hand was on my side and she gave me a little squeeze. I grinned and looked over at her and said: "That was a damn sneaky way to get a hug!" She got a happy little smile on her face and said softly: "It worked!"  We sat like that until she became tired and I helped her lay back down again. I kissed her and told her again that I loved her.... and she said I love you too. Those were the last words we spoke to each other. 

She got her daily foot massage the morning of her passing. Although pain medication had her out I'm sure she knew I was still doing my best to take care of her. 

   She always wanted to donate her body to science and so I made sure that her wish was granted. She was flown to Oregon on the 11th of October. She said she'd never fly until those TSA goons were gone from the airports.... but I suspect she sailed right through security without a body scan or pat down. I should have her ashes back about the second week in November. Her final wish was to have her ashes scattered in Caprock Canyon State Park. It was a place she always called "Magical": when we went there. It was the first place she took me camping.... and the last place we camped together too. All of my memories of her there are of her being happy, smiling, relaxed and totally at peace with everything. Fitting that she remain forever in the place that was so very special and "Magical" to her. 

   There are still huge lessons to be learned from our journey together down this road.  1) If you even suspect that you have cancer.... NEVER get a biopsy!! Doing that only floods your system with live cancer cells and they are then free to spread all over your body. If you suspect cancer... then just go ahead and start treatment immediately! 

   2) There are reasons why alternative cancer treatments are not available in America and every one of them has to do with greed. The treatments that PAY (Bbutbutig Pharma) have a 4% cure rate on average. The treatments which WORK and cannot be patented, because they are natural, average an 80% cure rate. YOU do the math. 

   3) Go to cancertutor.com     and proceed directly to the stage IV treatment protocols. I don't care if you only are at stage I either. Cancer is absolutely ruthless and it is out to KILL you 100% of the time 24/7 - 365. IT never takes a break or a day off.... it does not rest on Sunday. YOU have to be even more dedicated and ruthless in your treatment than it is in its desire to destroy not only your life... but also the lives of all those whom your life touches. Trust me.... being left behind sucks. 

   4) What works? Cesium works.... as do other methods which raise the alkalinity of your body internally. Diet can be a big help here and if you're okay with eating raw foods now that part will be an easy adjustment to make. Be careful with Cesium though! It is the most alkaline substance on the periodic table and it tends to deplete other vital minerals from your body. If you are going to use Cesium go through Larry, at Essense of Life, for all the necessary products and his telephone support for dosing. Cesium is weight dependent so monitor the patients' weight closely and adjust as necessary. Numbness in the lips is one sign that the dose is too high. Cesium is particularly effective against bone cancer and the pain of cancer. This is NOT the radioactive form of cesium..... it is the elemental mineral form. Rubidium (2nd most alkaline substance on the periodic table) is sometimes combined with the cesium to make it more effective.

   5) High dose Vitamin C works. This has to be done as an IV therapy though as simply taking pills cannot get the serum vitamin C level up nearly as high as it needs to be in order to be effective. Here we're talking in the range of 5000 times the Federal minimum daily requirement level. Sounds risky but it's not and here's why. Normal healthy cells have a gene in them which effectively blocks the entrance of vitamin C into them. Abnormal (cancer and free radicals) cells lack this gene so the vitamin C gets to enter those cells. Inside it is metabolized into Hydrogen Peroxide and that super oxygen molecule poisons the abnormal cells and kills them. 

   6) Hydrogen Peroxide therapy works. As above this is given through an IV over several hours rather like chemo. Being a super oxygen molecule... and cancer being an anaerobic process.... the excess of oxygen in the bloodstream effectively poisons the cancer. 

   7) Hyperthermia works. The famous Greek physician, Parmenides, stated: "Give me the power to create fever and I shall cure any disease" This has been proven to be true time and time again. Native Americans use the famous Sweat Lodge to purify the body and cleanse it of illness. This is because all the little critters that make us sick are actually weaker than normal healthy cells..... and this includes cancer. How they get us down is by sheer numbers and through the release of toxins into our systems.... which overloads our defenses. By gradually elevating the body temperature internally to the 106 to 107-degree range and maintaining it there for a minimum of 3 hours.... these weaker cells are killed off while our healthy cells have little trouble dealing with this environment. 

   Hyperthermia is not without risk, however. Persons who are already in a severely weakened state should avoid this until better health returns. Until you are healthy this therapy should only be done at a facility where you can be closely monitored the entire time. Once health returns you may purchase a far infrared sauna and use it several times a week for general health maintenance and cleansing. A regular sauna isn't the same as its heat is only on your skin. Far infrared works by putting the heat energy up to 3-1/2 inches deep into your body.... heating it internally. This deep internal heating also helps eliminate harmful toxins through the pores in your skin and will leave you feeling healthier and stronger in a short time.

   8) IPT therapy works. IPT stands for Insulin Potentiated Therapy. Cancer is a very ineffective converter of energy and thus it requires a LOT of fuel to survive and grow. As with every other cell in the body, it gets its energy from glucose. However normal cells combine glucose with oxygen to "burn" it for energy while cancer cells "ferment" the glucose for their energy. (a process that happens without oxygen) Therefore to get the same level of energy output cancer cells takes up to 10 times more glucose than normal cells.

   IPT works by the Dr. first injecting you with insulin. This increases the burning of sugar in your body which brings your overall blood sugar level way down. At the point at which you are about to become hypoglycemic, they begin an IV with a glucose solution to which has been added 1/10 the normal dose of a chemo drug. Because the dose is so low the vast majority of people do not suffer any of the traditional chemo side effects. However! Due to the greed of the cancer cells for glucose when this mixture hits your system they quickly gobble up all the glucose they can get...... along with the chemo drug. Thus the drug is "targeted" almost entirely to the cancer cells and the rest of your cells are pretty much unaffected.

   9) A positive attitude, Prayer, and Meditation help. The worst thing you can do is feed yourself negative thoughts or energy. Statements like "My parents died of cancer and I know I will too." act upon all levels of consciousness. There is the conscious mind which just caused you to speak or think those words.... and there are also both the superconscious and the subconscious minds. You speak or think the words and your mind will instantly begin to try to give you that which you gave voice to. Kind of like the old truism... Be careful what you ask for... you just might get it. So immediately rid yourself completely of ALL negative thoughts, words, and emotions. Replace them with positive affirmations to support your fight. Statements like: "My body is aware that cancer is inside and all of its defenses are constantly engaged in seeking out and destroying abnormal cells where ever they are found." Be careful with affirmations because you can word them to be self-defeating.  Never make a statement like "my body WILL" do something. That's not positive... only hopeful. The statement has to be in the NOW. The action you are invoking is ALREADY taking place and working NOW! This causes your mind to implement the desired action. 

   Scientific studies have shown time after time that both prayer and meditation impart measurable changes in both the mind and the body. The mind can be measured as shifting to a more calm and peaceful state with an increase in the alpha and theta rhythms. In the body, breathing slows and blood pressure lowers... heart rate also lowers as the body becomes comfortable and relaxed. In this state, you may ask for healing or do focused mental imagery. Envision your body's defenses as little "Pac-Men" scouring your system for abnormal cells and gobbling them up whenever they are encountered. Whatever you are comfortable with will work. 

   As with affirmations prayer must be in the NOW. In your mind what you want must have already been granted to you.... THAT is your God-given right. Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9 both tell us that God wants us to have all that we desire to be happy. (within reason of course) "Ask and it shall be given... Knock and the door will be opened" Certainly good health is necessary for us to serve God. But be mindful of the difference between actions and hope. Thank God for filling your body with His light and His love and for driving out the evil of cancer that was within you. That is a prayer of action! To word it otherwise is to say a prayer of hope. God helps those who help themselves so help yourself to His healing by accepting it.... not for hoping that you receive it.

   Most of these are lessons from the rearview mirror. The old "hindsight is 20/20" concept. In looking back I can see the mistakes we made along the way and there were many. 1st mistake.... if you suspect that you may have cancer.... DO NOT hide that fact from your partner! That one mistake quite possibly cost Becky her life because SHE knew she had a lump in her breast two full years before I saw it. She feared cancer and she feared cancer treatment.... so she hid it from me. I hold her completely faultless for her fears. The past is what is it. 

   DO NOT get a biopsy! Doing that only breaks the seal between your body and billions of living cancer cells.... setting them free to settle into whatever place they feel at home. If your immune system is not operating at 100% then that could be anywhere. If you are eating too much processed food and your system is acidic.... you've just made your whole body a free campground for it.

   IF you are comfortable with conventional therapy seek out the best you can afford and begin aggressive treatment as soon as possible. Try to go with someplace that treats the whole body, mind, and spirit because all are involved in your healing. Do NOT play patty-cake with cancer! It is out to KILL you so immediately demand the most aggressive therapy your body can tolerate. YOU are the one with cancer and YOU have to take control of the fight if you are going to win. If doing chemo demand the IPT method and if they don't do that go someplace else that does. It's YOUR life at stake! IPT is the safest and most effective form of Chemo.

   IF you are not comfortable with traditional therapy then, unfortunately, you will have to seek treatment mostly outside of the United States. Both Germany and Mexico have outstanding clinics and hospitals which can boast cure rates that put our system to shame. If you can afford it (and what is your life worth?) try to get to the island of Dominica and the Rogers Cancer Institute.  http://www.doctorofhope.com/  These folks use state of the art alternative treatments in a holistic environment.

   If Dominica is too far away they also have another clinic across the border from Del Rio Texas. They employ all the treatment options I mentioned above and many more. The typical treatment day lasts 3 to 6 hours and multiple modalities will be employed during that time to attack cancer on several different fronts. It's not an overnight thing and you may well have to seek treatment over many months..... but it's both safe and effective and you will not suffer any of cancer treatments traditional downsides. You didn't get cancer overnight....you won't cure it overnight. It takes a little time.

   If you happen to be in the Dallas, Texas area you may wish to consult with a Dr. A.G. Patel in Cedar Hill, Texas at the Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine Center. Get to this man as early as possible for assistance in getting your immune system working at optimal levels and for some of the therapies noted above. He does not take insurance but his treatments are very affordable with the most expensive being only $280 and they start at $75. He will take your entire history and work at eliminating the CAUSE of your cancer or other problems... NOT just at making the symptoms go away.   http://www.agpatelmd.com

   The thing to remember is that cancer does NOT have to be a death sentence IF you take control immediately and fight a relentless and highly aggressive war against it. Because information about alternatives is highly restricted we stumbled along trying different therapies which, while effective on lower stages of cancer, were too weak for what we were facing. This cost us precious time. Your immune system needs to be in top condition at all times. Do whatever is necessary to get it there and keep it there. Ultimately it is your own body which will win the war so you have to make sure that your strongest and best troops are on the front lines. For us, I discovered all of these things too late for them to benefit my beloved Becky. For that, I am truly sorry and hope that she can grant me forgiveness. YOU, however, can benefit from her loss and mine. God Bless us all.

#31 Urgent Update

   Things took a nose dive last night when Becky fell while getting out of the shower. As is typical for her she didn't let me know she was going to be taking a shower so I wasn't there when it happened. She stressed her left shoulder again (it has cancer and a fractured scapula) plus she hurt her right arm and shoulder and her hips.

   All that was Wednesday night. Thursday morning she was able to get up and walk okay but she tired easily. We had breakfast out and she was able to walk in and out just fine..... although slowly. She was to have a shot today (Thursday) at roughly the same time I was to be at work. I asked her if she needed me to drive her and she assured me she'd be fine.

   An hour later she calls from the cancer clinic...... where she came close to passing out and had her blood pressure drop. Turns out that while driving over there she suddenly got very short of breath about half way and it hurt for her to breathe. Now at the clinic they start an IV to hydrate her and do an x-ray of her chest. Her left lung is filling up with fluid again but no additional fractures or breaks show up. (Oh.... lots of cancer markers in that fluid they drained last week..... not good) They gave her a shot for her pain and by the time I got there she was loopy as all get out..... and still in a LOT of pain just trying to breathe.

   They ended up not giving her the shot..... but did send her home with both pain pills and pain patches. We had to leave her car over there and when we got her home could not get in inside the house. She could neither stand nor walk. So we took off to get a wheelchair. To make a long story short the first place I went didn't have what I wanted BUT a man on the same isle asked if I needed a regular wheelchair and I said I did. He said he had one he no longer needed because his wife had passed away several months previous.... and he'd give it to us if we'd follow him home to get it. We did and he rolled it out. Our "payment" is that we have to give it to someone in need when we are done with it. Fair enough deal I'd say. :-)

   SO! God smiled on us with the chair.... putting the man that had one in the right place at the right time. I'm also hoping that this event will drive home the point that Becky is not doing nearly enough to keep her immune system strong...... which is why the cancer is starting to get the upper hand. We're getting her back on the Bill Henderson program 100% with the exception of the Budwig diet. At least the cottage cheese and flax oil part...... which she just cannot stand to take anymore. I'll find some other method of getting more oxygen in her.

   Anyway.... that's it for right now. It still is hurting her to breathe and she is still very weak too. Hopefully she will be a bit stronger in the morning. We'll see. Till next time..... take good care of each other......

#30 - An August Update!

   Unfortunately this is NOT the August which immediately followed the previous July posting. I seem to have missed a year somewhere along the way for which I apologize to the followers.

   The last therapy being used here at home was the modern version of the Rife machine. I suppose that using it ranks right up there with watching paint dry or grass grow. It's boring as hell. When operating in the carrier wave mode you feel absolutely nothing.... even though there is 10 watts of power being sent through your body.  There is a display which keeps track of the therapy stage but otherwise there's not much of interest going on. Since you feel nothing..... and running through all the frequency ranges necessary to cover both the X and Y strains of cancer takes hours..... it gets old fast.

   Unfortunately..... faster than is necessary to quantify it's effectiveness. [SIGH] We still have the unit though so perhaps it's a matter of getting it set up near where Becky spends most of her day. That way even though it's still boring.... she can continue to do whatever else she wants while that runs in the background. Previously we had it in the bedroom so she was stuck just sitting there for 45 to 90 minutes while the device cycled through all the frequency variations. In the living room she can still watch TV, read or use her computer while the device runs..... which should make using it much more practical.

   On other fronts the injectable chemo eventually gave way to a bag form known as Halavan. It is a rather new product which is specific for estrogen receptive breast cancers. The first 3 or 4 treatments went well and Becky was feeling pretty good in general. We had her hair styled in an easy to manage fashion that I could maintain for her at home. The week after we got her hair the way she liked...... it began coming out in clumps. Every time she would shower it would cover the shower floor. It would fill her towel when she dried off..... and her comb when the combed it. Nearly in tears she asked me one morning if I'd drive her to the salon so she could get it all cut off. "No..... it it's gotta come off then I'll do that for you." So I got out the barber stuff and a shaver and made her nice and shiny.

   Of course by then it was getting cool out so I got her a variety of hats and caps to wear to help keep her head warm. Stocking caps for really cold outside stuff.... and flannel caps for restaurants and things. And of course for those who know me...... bald didn't matter a bit. Loved her with tall Texas hair..... loved her with a short page boy look..... .loved her slick and shiny too. Same thing with the missing breast..... two..... one... none.... doesn't matter to me. Neither of those things is what loving someone is all about anyway.

   Okay.... so where the heck are we today? She was still on the Halavan the last time we went in..... but a scan seemed to indicate a bit of a spread in the large leg bone down from the hip..... so the Doctor may well advocate for something different as the cancer may have adapted to the previous drug. She also takes shots to help her bones stay together and another to help with her white cell numbers.

   A few months ago she developed a cough which persisted. It was a dry and unproductive cough but it plagued her day and night. Of course each time I'd voice my concern she would insist that it was nothing. Then on July 27th the hospital in Arlington drained 1880cc of "nothing:" from her left lung cavity. That's enough fluid to fill the cylinders of a LARGE V-twin motorcycle engine!!! (Think 2 liter coke bottle) She lost 5 pounds during the process. She was still coughing and in some discomfort as her lung tried to unfold back into the void available with the fluid removed. After a couple of additional days the coughing almost stopped and she was able to sleep through the night for the first time in months. She still has an occasional cough so I fear the lung may be filling up again.

   While I'm thankful that the fluid is gone and she can sleep all night..... I'm still bothered that *no one* made any attempt to figure out WHY her lung cavity filled with fluid in the first place. From what I read generalized inflammation is the main reason.... and if so then what is causing that? Is it a breakdown of her immune system? Is she developing some problem other than cancer now? What the heck is it? Most days she is SO weak that a trip to the bathroom and back just completely exhausts her. When she gets back you'd think she'd been out running a marathon or chopping wood for an hour straight. She is wiped out. [SIGH]

   While she was doing the radiation on her bones we gave the Bill Henderson book to a nice lady she had met there. Thus we ended up falling away from his protocol which is designed to boost the immune system so that the patient has more time to fight and (hopefully) beat the cancer. Last week I bought the updated version so I need to review the protocol and order the recommended products. The only part of the plan we'll probably not use is the cottage cheese and flax oil..... the Budwig diet. Becky forced herself to do it for about a year but just cannot stand the oily feel in her mouth that results from consuming the mixture. Since that part of the program is designed specifically to transport oxygen more effectively to the cancers.... I'll have to find some other method of getting her blood-oxygen levels elevated. I'm thinking as much stationary bicycle as she can manage while breathing pure oxygen might do the trick. At least it can't hurt anything.

   Since our kitchen project is coming along well I hope to have more time to devote to the therapy of writing again. Sorry I let this go for so long and I'll try not to let that happen again. Until next time......

Peace

#29 July update - Rife therapy

I’ll call this an early July update since it’s so late in June. Becky finished her round of radiation therapy a couple of weeks ago. She had opted for the radiation in the hope of minimizing some of the pain she had been experiencing. In all fairness to the process it *did* make a dent in her pain level for a couple of weeks…. Although it failed to reduce it by the level we had hoped for.

Meanwhile her “chemo” has transitioned from her daily pill into a once a month pair of injections. The substance is clear and about the consistency of Kero syrup and the number of cc’s is enough to construct a small 2 cycle weed whacker engine! The process does not appear fun in the least but thankfully it’s only once a month.

Since we were in a position to do so we have finally opted for the purchase of the modern evolution of the Rife machine. The unit is called the GB4000 and it is a frequency generator. In testing it is the -only- frequency generator capable of producing harmonic frequencies as the 1930’s vacuum tube Rife machines did. Thus it is the only frequency generator able to accurately reproduce the full spectrum of frequencies necessary to “devitalize” pathogens in the body.

The methodology of the Rife machine is fairly easy to understand. If you are old enough to remember the seeing a singer break a wine glass with her voice then you have seen the underlying principle. Microbes and all cells for that matter have an oscillatory rate at which their outer membranes can no longer maintain integrity. So identify the virus or microbe you wish to eliminate…. Select the appropriate frequency range and turn on the power. At either the prime frequency or one of it’s harmonic variants the target will simply loose integrity and come apart. Since these frequencies are very specific targeting can also be quite specific.

Dr. Rife identified cancer as basically a virus and those he worked on always fell into either an X group or a Y group. Thus they were labeled the BX and BY viruses. So by targeting these two groups the odds are you can eliminate the trigger which causes cancer in the first place….. And also kill whatever cancer is already growing. This is not an overnight cure but it can produce results in a matter of months.

Dr. Rife had a cancer center north of San Diego send him patience which they had declared terminal….. NO hope of recovery from cancer whatsoever. Of all these people previously declared “dead men walking” by mainstream medicine….. Rife cured 80% of them within 90 days! Cured!! NO sign of cancer left in their bodies at all…. None! Of the 20% remaining Dr. Rife adjusted this treatment frequencies and durations which resulted in those persons eventually being cured as well. Thus Dr. Rife was successful in curing 100% of *terminal* cancer patience. His methods work!!

We have begun therapy with this system as an adjunct to that we are still getting at the Arlington Cancer Center. Lab work and imaging will eventually tell us how we’re doing. We’ll let you know more when we do.

Until next time…….. Peace.

Royal Raymond Rife background information

More Rife resources

#28 June update

It's been a bit bumpy lately. Becky opted to give limited chemo and radiation a try in an attempt to check the bone cancer. I believe I mentioned in some other posting that scans had shown evidence of cancer in three of her vertebra plus the ball of her left hip joint and the socket of her right hips joint.

The chemo consists of two huge injections in her hips. The compound is Fasladex and it is the next step up the ladder of estrogen inhibitors. Actually it doesn't inhibit estrogen itself.... rather it attaches to the estrogen receptors on the cancer which blocks it's ability to capture and metabolize estrogen. I'll have to check on the dose but each injection sure looks close to 8 to 10cc to me. Both together would add up to the displacement of a small Weedeater engine!! If the amount isn't bad enough (and it leaves a sizable knot in each hip) the consistency of the liquid is that of Kero syrup. Okay.... made that cold Kero syrup.

Radiation therapy was targeted at the hips from the front and rear as was the treatment for the spine. Most of it went well but the beam going in through her chest to her spine also managed to pass through her esophagus. That being more sensitive to radiation than other parts it started to swell until it was nearly closed. Even drinking water became painful for her. Becky's weight bottomed out between 123 and 124 pounds and may slip a bit more before her throat is back to normal. Today was a much better day for her so far as swallowing went.... but while constricted her stomach shrank some more. Thus she will be really hungry and 7 to 10 bites into her meal she is stuffed and can't eat anymore. Great for loosing weight but that's NOT something she needs to be doing.

After seeing her endure the pain of the injections and the massive discomfort of the radiation I got back into research mode again. One of the last therapy alternatives that we've yet to try is electrotherapy via frequency generator..... or Rife machine. We'd avoided it due to cost but after seeing what radiation costs it looks much more practical now. (I calculated that for roughly 6.7 hours of initial scans, molds and therapy the cost was $3880.60 per hour.) A frequency generator capable of duplicating the frequencies, and more importantly the harmonics thereof, to affect cancer represents an expense of only about $2600. It can be used whenever we want to use it..... both of us can use it for improved health..... and different frequency settings "devitalize" different pathogens so it's effective on much more than just cancer.

Rife's body of work is truly mind boggling. In all he spent over 30 years perfecting his "beam ray" device and testing it on every known pathogen. How effective was he? As part of a trial he asked a cancer hospital in San Jose to send him terminal cancer patients. When Rife got these people some literally had only weeks to live. In a 90 day trial cycle Raymond Rife CURED 80% of the terminal patience placed in his care! 80%!!!!! Given more time to adjust his therapy his overall CURE rate for TERMINAL cancer patience was 100%. Read that again. 100% CURE rate!!!

So how come we still have cancer and Rife isn't a medical god? Human greed. Rife, almost all of his research papers, his labs and his devices were systematically destroyed by the then head of the FDA. Why? Rife thought his research should help people... not generate huge profits. The head of the FDA wanted Rife to make him a 50% partner in the machines so he could profit and become rich. Rife refused.... and the power of the government came crashing down upon him. Rather than being famous for curing cancer (and every other disease know to mankind) Rife died a poor, unknown alcoholic...... totally destroyed by the greed of one man.

For an informative read..... and more technical information than you may wish to encounter... try following this link: http://www.rense.com/general31/rife.htm

That's it for today, boys and girls. I have a little black kitty demanding attention (not to mention helping me type by walking on the keyboard) so I need to love on her fur. Y'all take care of each other.

Peace

#27 April Update

Just touching base with the few folks who are following along with our journey. Since the surgery the battle has shifted to Becky's joints. Her left shoulder and right hip give her near constant debilitating pain. As you might suspect this makes walking and grooming a considerable struggle for her. (Try working a curling iron with one hand)

After a communications misfire with the Arlington Cancer Center, which resulted in us missing her first scheduled set of MRI scans, we're finally back on track to get those done. So on the 5th of May they have 4 hours of time blocked out for Becky to get her shoulder, spine and hips scanned. The x-rays tell us very little beyond the fact that there is an increased uptake of the marker in her shoulder and hip joint. That could either be accounted for by cancer or by localized inflammation resulting from arthritis or bursitis as all three will result in increased blood flow to the area. The MRI generates such a detailed image that we'll finally know for certain exactly what we are dealing with now.

As far as the after effects of the surgery go she is doing quite well. The incision has healed nicely however there is still a bit of swelling in one area. This is probably a result of the reconnection of underlying muscle tissue which has not yet returned to a normal position. The fact that she has only very limited use of her left arm is likely the major culprit in this problem. Were she able to exercise a full range of motion and thus work the chest muscle more often then that tissue would have likely flattened by now.

Other than the fact that the constant pain is beginning to really wear on her both physically and mentally she is still doing very well overall. Her weight as stabilized between 135 and 140 which is 100 pounds lighter than her pre-cancer weight. I'm thankful for that because I doubt if she could move at all if her hip joint had to carry that additional load. No doubt she could safely loose an additional 10 pounds and still be just fine for her height and build. I personally have no problem with her current weight. What I do notice, however, is that overall her muscle mass and tone are well south of idea. This is attributable to her inability to do any sort of exercise in her current condition.

I'll post an update again around the middle of May by which time we'll have the results of her MRI scans back.

Until then..... Peace

#26 Pathology update 03-30-2011

We had a visit with the oncologist this morning and were able to obtain a copy of the pathology report. I'll be kind and spare everyone the "Doctor Speak" of the report. I figure that if you're here you either knew where you were going.... or you're lost as hell and wondering what the heck is going on. All those 17 letter words meaning front and rear or left and right would only serve to add to your confusion.

Translated into every day terms they made a football shaped incision <----- biggest Dr. word I'll use....... on her left breast removing a section if skin including the aureola and nipple along with three ulcerations which had been there for well over a year. Inside they removed the main tumor and several smaller items of interest as well as two lymph nodes. Top and bottom of the opening were drawn together and secured inside with two layers of regular stitches and the skin with 25 stainless steel staples.

All of that is healing nicely and the tenderness going away too. Downside of the (former) breast not hurting her anymore is that now she is more aware of pain in her hips. That aside the report on the stuff removed confirmed that it was cancer (no surprise there) but it also said that the main mass consisted of a cancerous outer layer covering a dead mass. That was significant to us because it did prove that the alternative methods were killing the cancer!

Because of the pain in her hips and left shoulder (which had all given her trouble in the past) the oncologist suggested an MRI to get a better idea of what is going on in there. So the first Thursday in April she'll go have that done. They will scan her shoulder, upper spine, ribs and hips. Our regular D.O. seems to think the problem is either arthritis or bursitis...... both of which can be controlled or treated. We're having the MRI done to find out for certain what the problem is.

Meanwhile Becky is going off the arimidex and starting Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen works by blocking various receptor cells on the cancer and thereby fooling the cancer into thinking it's feeding. Doing so ultimately causes the cancer to basically starve to death. (couldn't happen to a nicer Lytic metastases) (okay..... I lied about the big Dr. words) To simplify.... that's an area of the bone which is weakened by cancer activity. Now.... to be clear.... Becky does NOT have bone cancer..... rather she has breast cancer which has spread (metastasized) to the bones.... so we're still treating breast cancer. The difference is that we're treating it just a little bit differently from this point forward.

Part of the reason for that is that the estrogen inhibitor (arimidex) that she was taken can also serve to weaken the bones. This is because estrogen plays a roll in maintaining healthy bones so it stands to reason that less estrogen in circulation can lead to poor bone health. While Becky had the tumor in her breast there was a rational trade-off to be made. Since her cancer was estrogen receptive it made sense to risk using that therapy to help kill the cancer. While what remains is still technically breast cancer there is also far less of it in her bones and there are other, more effective, treatments which can be utilized to treat this cancer IN the bones. These treatments serve to both destroy the cancer while attempting to maintain and strengthen the involved bone.

The Tamoxifen is the killer aspect of the therapy. Once the results of the MRI are in hand that will help determine what ancillary treatments will be employed. One option is the addition of a form of Bisphosphonate. This family of drugs helps build and maintain bones. Targeted radiation is also on the table for the first time during our battle. This, when combined with minerals such as strontium, can not only kill the cancer but also strengthen the bones.

Otherwise we continue to move forward with an ever positive attitude and a continuing love of life. We continue to do those things which we enjoy doing and making plans for future events and outings. Give up..... defeat..... and failure are not a part of our vocabulary.

Take care of each other!

Peace