#19 Test results in her own words

We had the scans done last Wednesday. Becky was up in the air about them but ultimately it was a common sense decision to do them. With the sale of her company clearing the final hurdles the state of her health insurance is a question without an answer. Therefore we elected to proceed with the scans while we still have good coverage. Her blood tests cost $1350. The CAT scan and bone scans run roughly 10 times that much. Tough "pocket change" to come up with.

Anyway.... we got the results from the Dr. on Monday, the 27th, and here, in her own words, are Becky's thoughts on those results. Since this is a letter to a dear friend it will be edited slightly but not changed in content.

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Went to the oncologist today to get the results of the scans they did last week. I almost didn't have them done because I really feel like the radiation does more harm than the benefit from the info they get from them, but if I do lose my job there's no way we could afford them without insurance so I went ahead.

The CT scan showed no increased activity in the lungs, the spots that were there last year still are and about the same size, so I conclude no worries there. Absolutely no indication of mets to the liver, bladder, pancreas or stomach. The main breast mass is now actually a bunch of different smaller masses but he couldn’t answer our question as to which ones are actually active and which might be mostly dead tissue, except he said the “really black places indicate little or no blood supply” which to me says “dead”.

The bone scan showed about the same size and location of the T4/T5 vertebrae and ribs but there is now a lesion showing up on the T8. Also a lot of dye showed in the left shoulder and left hip which he reads as cancer. But those were the places I had treated this summer for bursitis and I think it may be the scar tissue from that picking up the dye. Also something in the right hip…but cancer? Don’t know.

He’s wanting to do more aggressive chemo and then radiation. Well, this is where I parted ways with the last doctor who said I wouldn’t live six months without that treatment and hmmmm, guess what?...that was almost a year ago and things don’t look much different. Still have breast cancer with bone mets, but unlike her dire prediction, my lungs and liver are NOT involved and I just don’t see the benefit of wrecking my immune system (basically for them to collect $12,000 a treatment for the chemo and who knows how much for the radiation?).

So, we have to weigh whatever possible advantages there might be to shrink the remaining breast mass with chemo then blast what’s left after surgery with radiation versus doing something I believe in and that will keep the rest of my body relatively healthy. The Dr.’s comfortable with what he knows and my basic point of view hasn’t moved much so Joe may be stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea on this one. I really think if he’d been with me with either of my parents there’d be no question.

For now, we’re going to continue the program we’ve been on the last 3 months since there is definitely nothing of a critical nature to deal with right now and we are seeing improvement.
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While that devil thing might be a bit scary..... I'm pretty darn comfortable in the deep blue sea so it's only half scary. While there have been many gains in cancer treatment since the struggle of her parents it's *still* the same big three. Poison, cut and burn. And there is a great deal to be said for the famous "placebo effect" too.

To used Becky's own words: "So, we have to weigh whatever possible advantages there might be to shrink the remaining breast mass with chemo then blast what's left after surgery with radiation versus doing something I believe in that will keep the rest of my body relatively healthy."

[emphasis added]

It matters little how effective any therapy is if the person receiving it has no faith in it's effectiveness. Conversely even in highly controlled medical studies a sugar pill often gives the same or better results than the test medication. If the person taking the treatment *believes* in the treatment then the odds of a successful outcome improve greatly.

For example..... my first wife had twisted her ankle and was in considerable pain. The V.A. had prescribed some rather powerful pain pills for me so I figured giving her one would be okay. Got to the medicine cabinet and discovered that I'd used them all. I finally found a regular unmarked aspirin and took that to her with a glass of water. I cautioned that it was a *very* powerful pain killer and that I was supposed to take 2..... but since she was much smaller than me 1 should do the job. She took the pill and lay down. 15 minutes later she was sound asleep and when she woke up 4 hours later said it barely hurt at all. She *believed* that I was trying to take care of her and *that* mattered more than anything she took.

This is the case here as well. Because there is only anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of any of the alternatives we're using we can't point to clinical studies and trials or study definitive empirical evidence of effectiveness. SO based upon what people say about method X or therapy Y we form an opinion or a belief in the efficacy of the treatment. And once we form a belief that something *will* work for us then we dramatically increase the likelihood that it will. This belief component is actually a benefit to therapy that too many doctors of all stripe fail to put to full utilization.

Becky is improving and that's obvious even without the scans. She's typically upbeat and positive, has a great appetite, and is enjoying life day at a time. Her weight is down to about 172 due, in part, to dietary changes and a healthier life style. She looks great! (Something I tell her several times a day too!) As long as she's happy, positive and actively fighting the cancer then her wishes and desires lead the way. Marriage is a two way street..... and right now it's my job to support her any way I can.

Y'all take care of each other out there........

#18 A Big Step Forward

The 7Th of September marked a big step forward for Becky. With something akin to the exuberance of a child at Christmas she happily returned to work. She had prepped for the day with a minor shopping expedition to acquire some new pants to compensate for the 70+ pounds she has lost. She also got a new bag to tote all her essentials in..... her work "life support system" if you will.

Physically the weight loss has done her some good. Still a minor amount of pain in her hip now and then but overall both her hips and knees are giving her a lot fewer problems. She looks more healthy and also hasn't needed her "walking stick" for over a month now. All good news indeed!

While that is all wonderful there is still a huge reality check out there that has to be cashed. Point blank she still has breast cancer and will for some time yet. On the other hand we've had some wonderful success at shrinking the size of the tumor. It's not happening at break neck speed.... but then again it didn't just suddenly appear in her breast the size of a softball either. Took time to develop and it will take time to eliminate too.

While I never thought the pill the oncologist prescribed was going to be a "magic bullet" it was common sense that it couldn't hurt anything either. Since her cancer is estrogen receptive then it's only logical that if you reduce her estrogen level you hamper the growth of the cancer. To that estrogen inhibitor we're augmenting with DCA (see a previous post for the particulars on that product) and also with Oleander extract. Both have been shown to be effective against cancer but each works differently. Thus we are attacking the cancer on three fronts and with three weapons which each exploit a specific weakness of the tumor and it's growth mechanism. As long as those three seem to be working then we'll keep pressing forward.

We've still got a good supply of the MMS product too. That's the one which proved to be somewhat too effective at killing abnormal cells. Since it is so strong and so effective we're holding it in reserve in case we hit some sort of impasse in our progress and need a stronger weapon.

In case there is worry out there about the weight Becky has lost..... it's not from lack of appetite as is often the case with cancer patients. To the contrary she has a very healthy appetite indeed! At many meals she sitting there with a clean plate sipping her water and waiting on me to finish. I think it is a by product of changes to her basic diet in general and in eating things which are more healthy for her. Those changes are also a part of the overall cancer fighting plan so we're not concerned that some weight has come off.

We're not sure what is ahead of us but it does appear that we have turned a corner of sorts. The tumor mass seems to be on the wane..... Becky is healthy and happy otherwise.... and thrilled to be back at work with all her wonderful friends. Our course is ,however, dictated by what the cancer does.

At this point she's a candidate for surgery IF she thinks removal of the breast is her best option. Since the tumor IS shrinking then we see no harm in simply continuing what we're doing and monitoring the progress of this therapy. If, at some future date, we need to consider surgery then the mass will be that much smaller and the surgery far less radical. We see no downside at this point in time. Our outlook remains positive and hopeful.