It's the 28th of July as this is written and we're roughly a month into the "chemo" with the Arimadex pills. So far...... we're not seeing anything positive. Could the pills be working? Sure... anything is possible. Are they going to make a significant difference as a stand alone therapy? Highly doubtful. Might they make a difference if they were augmenting some of the alternatives we've used? More than likely.... yes!
That brings me to the nut of the problem in this installation. When the cancer was first positively identified Becky wanted absolutely nothing to do with traditional therapy. I agreed to support her decision to use alternatives instead. Due to the general lack of information and any attempt by traditional medicine to properly test and evaluate alternatives...... finding the *right* alternative for your situation is simply a matter of trial and error. (sad as that is)
We made some judgment errors due mainly to that lack of information. (Thank you FDA, AMA, and all the rest of the FOR PROFIT cancer machine!) Our early selections were far too weak for the advanced stage of Becky's particular cancer and that cost us valuable time and money. After much trial and error, however, we did find a therapy that proved so effective that we had to scale back the doses to keep Becky from going toxic again.
At about that point in time we also figured that if the main tumor was removed we'd have a much better chance of defeating the rest of the cancer.... some of which is in her spine and other bones. NOT having to try to kill off a mass the size of a softball would free the alternative therapy to work more effectively on what remained no matter where it was. Thus we tiptoed back into the murky waters at the edge of the big pond that is main stream medicine and cancer treatment. We choose to stay with DO's rather than MD's as they tend to be more open to alternative ideas. One DO. agreed to remove the tumor *IF* we could manage to shrink it down somewhat and sent us to another DO. who is an oncologist.
So now we're back to where Becky never wanted to go.... and that's some form of main stream "Chemo" and a bit of traditional therapy. This started out somewhat adversarial but the pills are not like a bag of poison in the arm and are rather small to boot. When we got home that first night Becky typed a letter to all the Dr.'s letting them know of her intention to continue with the last alternative therapy we'd found along with the new pill. We either mailed or delivered all those letters. After that she followed her new plan for about two days...... then quit doing anything except taking the new pill.
A week or so later I got her to at least take some supplements that she had been taking.... anything to help keep her immune system healthy. She does not, however, seem to have any inclination to continue with the chlorine dioxide therapy at any dose rate. Since that decision she is in more pain..... mostly in her left hip. That may or may not have anything to do with the cancer..... we simply do not know at this point. It does seem reasonable, however, since we already know it has spread to some other bones. That being said... it could still be arthritis or bursitis just as easily.
Last night she complained that she hurt all over. Her *skin* hurt her from head to toe. I have not had time to research what that could possibly be yet.... but I will make time to do that later on today. My headache comes from trying to get Becky to do anything beyond the little pill to preserve her life and get rid of the cancer. Frustrating is far too mild a term for the emotion. It's almost like, "I'm going to prove this little pill won't work if it's the last thing I do!" Problem is that with cancer.... it damn sure could be..... and that truly scares me. (If you know me then you know that the list of things that truly scare me can be enumerated on one hand with several fingers left over)
Becky is not only the love of my life...... she's my best and closest friend. I adore her and do my best to make sure she knows that each and every day too. And while I know that she loves me too there is beginning to be something of a contradiction. Is your desire to be with the person you love strong enough to cause you to fight for that life together? I ask myself that each day she fails to do everything in her power and control to beat the cancer. As it has been said by people wiser than I...... "Dying is easy........ it's living that takes courage." I fought the misery of agent orange for over 20 years. I'm the lone survivor of my team in Vietnam mostly because I'm too damn stubborn to quit. Living isn't always easy....... but it always beats the alternative.
That brings me to the nut of the problem in this installation. When the cancer was first positively identified Becky wanted absolutely nothing to do with traditional therapy. I agreed to support her decision to use alternatives instead. Due to the general lack of information and any attempt by traditional medicine to properly test and evaluate alternatives...... finding the *right* alternative for your situation is simply a matter of trial and error. (sad as that is)
We made some judgment errors due mainly to that lack of information. (Thank you FDA, AMA, and all the rest of the FOR PROFIT cancer machine!) Our early selections were far too weak for the advanced stage of Becky's particular cancer and that cost us valuable time and money. After much trial and error, however, we did find a therapy that proved so effective that we had to scale back the doses to keep Becky from going toxic again.
At about that point in time we also figured that if the main tumor was removed we'd have a much better chance of defeating the rest of the cancer.... some of which is in her spine and other bones. NOT having to try to kill off a mass the size of a softball would free the alternative therapy to work more effectively on what remained no matter where it was. Thus we tiptoed back into the murky waters at the edge of the big pond that is main stream medicine and cancer treatment. We choose to stay with DO's rather than MD's as they tend to be more open to alternative ideas. One DO. agreed to remove the tumor *IF* we could manage to shrink it down somewhat and sent us to another DO. who is an oncologist.
So now we're back to where Becky never wanted to go.... and that's some form of main stream "Chemo" and a bit of traditional therapy. This started out somewhat adversarial but the pills are not like a bag of poison in the arm and are rather small to boot. When we got home that first night Becky typed a letter to all the Dr.'s letting them know of her intention to continue with the last alternative therapy we'd found along with the new pill. We either mailed or delivered all those letters. After that she followed her new plan for about two days...... then quit doing anything except taking the new pill.
A week or so later I got her to at least take some supplements that she had been taking.... anything to help keep her immune system healthy. She does not, however, seem to have any inclination to continue with the chlorine dioxide therapy at any dose rate. Since that decision she is in more pain..... mostly in her left hip. That may or may not have anything to do with the cancer..... we simply do not know at this point. It does seem reasonable, however, since we already know it has spread to some other bones. That being said... it could still be arthritis or bursitis just as easily.
Last night she complained that she hurt all over. Her *skin* hurt her from head to toe. I have not had time to research what that could possibly be yet.... but I will make time to do that later on today. My headache comes from trying to get Becky to do anything beyond the little pill to preserve her life and get rid of the cancer. Frustrating is far too mild a term for the emotion. It's almost like, "I'm going to prove this little pill won't work if it's the last thing I do!" Problem is that with cancer.... it damn sure could be..... and that truly scares me. (If you know me then you know that the list of things that truly scare me can be enumerated on one hand with several fingers left over)
Becky is not only the love of my life...... she's my best and closest friend. I adore her and do my best to make sure she knows that each and every day too. And while I know that she loves me too there is beginning to be something of a contradiction. Is your desire to be with the person you love strong enough to cause you to fight for that life together? I ask myself that each day she fails to do everything in her power and control to beat the cancer. As it has been said by people wiser than I...... "Dying is easy........ it's living that takes courage." I fought the misery of agent orange for over 20 years. I'm the lone survivor of my team in Vietnam mostly because I'm too damn stubborn to quit. Living isn't always easy....... but it always beats the alternative.
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