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
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
#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
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
Thursday, March 10, 2011
#25 Surgery
On the 8th of March 2011 we checked Becky into the Hampton South Hospital for surgery on her left breast and a few benign lumps on her scalp. How did we get to this point? Well, from the beginning Becky had been against Chemo and Radiation therapy. Surgery, however, had always been an option which we may elect to use at some point.
The decision was made by Becky since it IS her body and she was the one who had to live with both the procedure and the lack of a breast for the rest of her life. My main job (besides chief researcher) has always been simply to support Becky every step of the way. I voiced my opinion which was that 1) I had no objections to the surgery at all and 2) I felt that by eliminating the tumors in her breast we stood a much better chance of eliminating the other cancers in her body. She agreed and we spoke with the surgeon and he scheduled the operation for us.
The operation began about 0930 and only lasted about 35 minutes. She spent about 2 hours in recovery outside the operating suite before I was permitted to escort her up to her room. Once there she was basically in and out of consciousness for the next 24 hours. It seems that her body reacted more than expected to the anesthesia.
What happened was that her entire left breast and two adjacent lymph nodes were removed. While there was no sign of involvement the nodes were removed as a precautionary measure. Within the breast was one large mass (roughly golf ball size at this point and 4 smaller masses which were laid out radially around the main mass through a 180 degree arc towards the center of her chest. She has about an 8 inch incision running horizontally across her chest then upward towards her arm pit. It is closed with perhaps 25 staples and she has two vacuum assisted drain tubes located about an inch and a half apart and perhaps an inch below the main incision.
All the questionable tissue was sent to pathology and we should have those results in about two weeks. It will be interesting to see how well our alternative therapy has worked. We know it has been successful at shrinking the tumor mass. What we're interested in is if it has also been successful in actually killing or converting the cancer.
As I said before.... she was mostly asleep for the first 24 hours following the operation. This was supposed to be a day surgery however her reaction to the anesthesia was not going to permit her to leave that day. On Wednesday she was still quite groggy at breakfast time. By lunch, however, she was much more alert and able to eat a good bit of her meal. The Doctor's opinion though was that she really should spend one more day in the hospital.... and that she should take a shower.
It's the Doctor's belief that showers are therapeutic for patients. Naturally they feel cleaner afterwords but the shower is also a relaxing experience. He was right. Becky felt much better after having a shower and getting into a new gown. About an hour after the shower she was walking the hallway for exercise and to get her circulation going. We took a short walk first then a longer one several hours later.
On the third morning she was awake and quite alert when I arrived shortly before 0800. She ate the majority of her breakfast and we waited for the Doctor to arrive and make his assessment. He arrived about 10 and was pleased with the progress he saw. Since she was more lucid today he fully explained what had happened during the surgery and answered all of our questions. This Doctor is a *very* caring man and we both feel blessed that we were able to find him to help us in our battle with cancer.
He said that she had made great progress and that she could be released...... right after she took a shower. So we got her into the shower again and she did spend a good 15 minutes in there enjoying the nice warm water. Dried, dressed and ready the nurse showed up with a wheel chair and we rolled her towards the front door. She got into the car all by herself and we bid farewell to the hospital and the wonderful staff who had done such a great job.
She is home now and both resting and taking care of small projects she can do while seated. While she was gone I only saw one of the stray cats we look after at our house.... and she was the shy one! Becky gets back home and within minutes of her arrival all of the strays make an appearance for her. Okay.... I see who they like best! :-) Inside her Paige kitty wanders around for a while then jumps up into her chair to check on her and get some pets. Home seems as happy to have her back as she is to be back!
I'll post another update when we have the pathology reports back and let you folks know what was going on. Till then....... Peace
The decision was made by Becky since it IS her body and she was the one who had to live with both the procedure and the lack of a breast for the rest of her life. My main job (besides chief researcher) has always been simply to support Becky every step of the way. I voiced my opinion which was that 1) I had no objections to the surgery at all and 2) I felt that by eliminating the tumors in her breast we stood a much better chance of eliminating the other cancers in her body. She agreed and we spoke with the surgeon and he scheduled the operation for us.
The operation began about 0930 and only lasted about 35 minutes. She spent about 2 hours in recovery outside the operating suite before I was permitted to escort her up to her room. Once there she was basically in and out of consciousness for the next 24 hours. It seems that her body reacted more than expected to the anesthesia.
What happened was that her entire left breast and two adjacent lymph nodes were removed. While there was no sign of involvement the nodes were removed as a precautionary measure. Within the breast was one large mass (roughly golf ball size at this point and 4 smaller masses which were laid out radially around the main mass through a 180 degree arc towards the center of her chest. She has about an 8 inch incision running horizontally across her chest then upward towards her arm pit. It is closed with perhaps 25 staples and she has two vacuum assisted drain tubes located about an inch and a half apart and perhaps an inch below the main incision.
All the questionable tissue was sent to pathology and we should have those results in about two weeks. It will be interesting to see how well our alternative therapy has worked. We know it has been successful at shrinking the tumor mass. What we're interested in is if it has also been successful in actually killing or converting the cancer.
As I said before.... she was mostly asleep for the first 24 hours following the operation. This was supposed to be a day surgery however her reaction to the anesthesia was not going to permit her to leave that day. On Wednesday she was still quite groggy at breakfast time. By lunch, however, she was much more alert and able to eat a good bit of her meal. The Doctor's opinion though was that she really should spend one more day in the hospital.... and that she should take a shower.
It's the Doctor's belief that showers are therapeutic for patients. Naturally they feel cleaner afterwords but the shower is also a relaxing experience. He was right. Becky felt much better after having a shower and getting into a new gown. About an hour after the shower she was walking the hallway for exercise and to get her circulation going. We took a short walk first then a longer one several hours later.
On the third morning she was awake and quite alert when I arrived shortly before 0800. She ate the majority of her breakfast and we waited for the Doctor to arrive and make his assessment. He arrived about 10 and was pleased with the progress he saw. Since she was more lucid today he fully explained what had happened during the surgery and answered all of our questions. This Doctor is a *very* caring man and we both feel blessed that we were able to find him to help us in our battle with cancer.
He said that she had made great progress and that she could be released...... right after she took a shower.
She is home now and both resting and taking care of small projects she can do while seated. While she was gone I only saw one of the stray cats we look after at our house.... and she was the shy one! Becky gets back home and within minutes of her arrival all of the strays make an appearance for her. Okay.... I see who they like best! :-) Inside her Paige kitty wanders around for a while then jumps up into her chair to check on her and get some pets. Home seems as happy to have her back as she is to be back!
I'll post another update when we have the pathology reports back and let you folks know what was going on. Till then....... Peace
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
#24 New Stuff
For those following we had another set of scans performed and a follow up visit a week later with her oncologist. We must be singlehandedly making the man bankrupt judging by his efforts to get her to do chemotherapy. Now Becky and I are not exactly on the down slope of the intelligence scale..... so if you're going to try to pull a fast one your game better be spot on or we'll nail you. He tried but we both caught him at it.
What he tried to do was show us two sets of scans to illustrate how the cancer has progressed and thus convince her to agree to chemotherapy. So he pops up the "before" and "after" scans and sure enough on the second set of scans there is about twice as much tissue involved in high uptake of the radioactive marker as in the first set. One minor problem though. Soft tissue still shows up on the scans as a faint shadow..... thus you can see the "outline" of the body being scanned. Well in his presentation the "after" scan showed the outline of a body that weighed perhaps 230 pounds. Becky only weighs about 145 pounds right now though.... so it's really tough to explain how she happened to gain and loose about 90 pounds in the 15 or 20 minutes it took to take the scans. BUSTED!!
Taken in their *correct* order the scans indicated that we've managed to reduce the cancer by a good 50% so far..... and we're still on the attack. We recently uncovered some more research on various over the counter supplements that we believe will be a good augmentation for the program we already have in place. One of the supplements goes by the abbreviation DIM which is much easier than Di-Indole Methane. DIM has been shown in clinical studies to promote the healthier metabolism of estrogen in both women and men. Since Becky's cancer is estrogen receptive this addition makes sense. She takes the Arimidex as an estrogen inhibitor already and we feel that the addition of the DIM will further serve to starve the cancer of this substance. As an aside I'm taking the DIM also since it is a fact that estrogen levels in men begin to rise over 50 years of age as the testosterone levels start to decrease. This estrogen increase tends to cause older guys to grow a nice spare tire around the middle. I'm sporting a lovely raised white letter low profile steel belted radial myself. Hopefully that will go flat and fade away over the next several months.
We added in another couple of vitamins and she started using a supplement called Alka-Max too. This is a powered "drink mix" which can be added to water. It has a slight citrus flavor so Becky mixes it with her black tea and it seems to be palatable that way. Of course the idea there is to shift her body to a more alkaline state which is inhospitable to cancer cells. This also seems to be a fairly easy and painless method of getting that result as she drinks a lot of tea anyway.
Otherwise she is visiting the surgeon on Friday the 25th and, with luck, will have a date for her surgery set when she leaves. If not that will at least be in the works. I believe I mentioned that he is 100% certain he can remove all the cancerous material with 0% risk of any breakout or spreading. We're both in agreement that this is the correct course of action as it will permit all of our efforts to concentrate on the cancer which had earlier spread to her spine and rib. The scans also showed dark areas on her left shoulder joint and hip joints....... but she has had arthritis in those for years so we believe that the darkness is the result of an increased uptake of the radioactive marker in those joints due to the increased blood flow caused by inflammation.
Otherwise bone density seems to still be rather good over all. She does take vitamin D and calcium daily. There is a treatment (Yes another alternative therapy) out there that can rebuild the arthritic joints in a fairly short period of time It uses a combination of an injection of a solution which irritates the joint...... and an infusion of ozoneated blood back into the system. The ozone in the blood makes far more oxygen available and triggers a rapid rebuilding of the joint material. (As a side benefit the extra oxygen also kills cancer cells as they are anaerobic)
That's it for right now. I'll fill everyone in as we learn more!
Needed now more than ever..... peace.......
What he tried to do was show us two sets of scans to illustrate how the cancer has progressed and thus convince her to agree to chemotherapy. So he pops up the "before" and "after" scans and sure enough on the second set of scans there is about twice as much tissue involved in high uptake of the radioactive marker as in the first set. One minor problem though. Soft tissue still shows up on the scans as a faint shadow..... thus you can see the "outline" of the body being scanned. Well in his presentation the "after" scan showed the outline of a body that weighed perhaps 230 pounds. Becky only weighs about 145 pounds right now though.... so it's really tough to explain how she happened to gain and loose about 90 pounds in the 15 or 20 minutes it took to take the scans. BUSTED!!
Taken in their *correct* order the scans indicated that we've managed to reduce the cancer by a good 50% so far..... and we're still on the attack. We recently uncovered some more research on various over the counter supplements that we believe will be a good augmentation for the program we already have in place. One of the supplements goes by the abbreviation DIM which is much easier than Di-Indole Methane. DIM has been shown in clinical studies to promote the healthier metabolism of estrogen in both women and men. Since Becky's cancer is estrogen receptive this addition makes sense. She takes the Arimidex as an estrogen inhibitor already and we feel that the addition of the DIM will further serve to starve the cancer of this substance. As an aside I'm taking the DIM also since it is a fact that estrogen levels in men begin to rise over 50 years of age as the testosterone levels start to decrease. This estrogen increase tends to cause older guys to grow a nice spare tire around the middle. I'm sporting a lovely raised white letter low profile steel belted radial myself. Hopefully that will go flat and fade away over the next several months.
We added in another couple of vitamins and she started using a supplement called Alka-Max too. This is a powered "drink mix" which can be added to water. It has a slight citrus flavor so Becky mixes it with her black tea and it seems to be palatable that way. Of course the idea there is to shift her body to a more alkaline state which is inhospitable to cancer cells. This also seems to be a fairly easy and painless method of getting that result as she drinks a lot of tea anyway.
Otherwise she is visiting the surgeon on Friday the 25th and, with luck, will have a date for her surgery set when she leaves. If not that will at least be in the works. I believe I mentioned that he is 100% certain he can remove all the cancerous material with 0% risk of any breakout or spreading. We're both in agreement that this is the correct course of action as it will permit all of our efforts to concentrate on the cancer which had earlier spread to her spine and rib. The scans also showed dark areas on her left shoulder joint and hip joints....... but she has had arthritis in those for years so we believe that the darkness is the result of an increased uptake of the radioactive marker in those joints due to the increased blood flow caused by inflammation.
Otherwise bone density seems to still be rather good over all. She does take vitamin D and calcium daily. There is a treatment (Yes another alternative therapy) out there that can rebuild the arthritic joints in a fairly short period of time It uses a combination of an injection of a solution which irritates the joint...... and an infusion of ozoneated blood back into the system. The ozone in the blood makes far more oxygen available and triggers a rapid rebuilding of the joint material. (As a side benefit the extra oxygen also kills cancer cells as they are anaerobic)
That's it for right now. I'll fill everyone in as we learn more!
Needed now more than ever..... peace.......
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
#23 February Update
It's time to update everyone on what has been going on lately. We continue to see the oncologist at the Arlington Cancer Center. Much to his dismay we continue to have success *without* resorting to either Chemo or Radiation. (this, of course, does not help his income rise) :-) On our last visit, which was Monday the 31st of January, her cancer marker were slightly elevated but we're not concerned with that finding. Remember that we had Becky off the DCA for nearly 3 months and that is the main element in our alternative therapy. She is back on it now at her weight adjusted dose and we expect the progress to continue.
Earlier in January we had an appointment with the surgeon. He's satisfied that the tumor has shrunk enough to permit surgery and be able to have a nice clean closing line. He is also quite confident that he can remove *all* of the cancer tissue in her breast without any risk of metastasis. As of now we're considering tumor removal this month which will likely have Becky off work for a week or so. Pretty much the entire left breast will be removed. We think that this will help us combat the cancer that is in one rib and a couple of vertebra.
Even if the main mass is totally dead we'd prefer not to have that tissue in her breast. To us that just seems like asking for problems down the road. If it's mostly dead but has some active cells inside somewhere..... then eliminating it also eliminates the risk of those cells escaping and causing problems elsewhere. No specific date for the surgery has been set at the time of this writing. At most we honestly don't expect her to be in the hospital more than overnight.
Otherwise she is doing quite well. The dietary changes mean that she is still loosing some weight which is helping with her hips and knees as they have less weight to bear. We also got rid of our old "sleep number" bed and acquired a mattress from IKEA. We added a 2.5 inch memory foam topper to that and a 72 spring base under it. So far it has helped Becky get a much better nights sleep than before so it was a good investment. She typically sleeps on one side or the other..... but since the new mattress she has been sleeping more on her back. Before she complained of back pain when she woke up but that seems to be a thing of the past now.... for which I am most thankful.
As soon as we have any additional information about her surgery I'll post an update here. I doubt she will in the hospital long enough for cards or flowers to reach her there. We'll discuss the possibility of posting our address here..... but I suspect that anyone reading this already has that information.
As a parting thought...... "Love as if you'll die tomorrow but learn as though you'll live forever."
Peace....................
Earlier in January we had an appointment with the surgeon. He's satisfied that the tumor has shrunk enough to permit surgery and be able to have a nice clean closing line. He is also quite confident that he can remove *all* of the cancer tissue in her breast without any risk of metastasis. As of now we're considering tumor removal this month which will likely have Becky off work for a week or so. Pretty much the entire left breast will be removed. We think that this will help us combat the cancer that is in one rib and a couple of vertebra.
Even if the main mass is totally dead we'd prefer not to have that tissue in her breast. To us that just seems like asking for problems down the road. If it's mostly dead but has some active cells inside somewhere..... then eliminating it also eliminates the risk of those cells escaping and causing problems elsewhere. No specific date for the surgery has been set at the time of this writing. At most we honestly don't expect her to be in the hospital more than overnight.
Otherwise she is doing quite well. The dietary changes mean that she is still loosing some weight which is helping with her hips and knees as they have less weight to bear. We also got rid of our old "sleep number" bed and acquired a mattress from IKEA. We added a 2.5 inch memory foam topper to that and a 72 spring base under it. So far it has helped Becky get a much better nights sleep than before so it was a good investment. She typically sleeps on one side or the other..... but since the new mattress she has been sleeping more on her back. Before she complained of back pain when she woke up but that seems to be a thing of the past now.... for which I am most thankful.
As soon as we have any additional information about her surgery I'll post an update here. I doubt she will in the hospital long enough for cards or flowers to reach her there. We'll discuss the possibility of posting our address here..... but I suspect that anyone reading this already has that information.
As a parting thought...... "Love as if you'll die tomorrow but learn as though you'll live forever."
Peace....................
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
#22 It's good news time!
For those of you who have been following these sporadic postings you know it's been an uphill battle right from the beginning. We had the previous cancer history of both of Becky's parents and their "main stream" medical outcome. Point blank... they both died wasted away and penniless after the medical system had "done all they could do." Nice code speak for keeping them barely alive long enough to drain them of not only their dignity but also their life savings.
Becky flatly refused to follow that path when she found out she had cancer too. She had seen how well "modern" cancer treatment worked first hand and the sad fact is...... it usually doesn't. People who recover after traditional treatment seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies don't make any money by curing you...... only by *treating* you... so there is no incentive to find a true cure in America.
Thus we began the slow and difficult investigation of alternative therapy options. The power of the FDA and big Pharma to intimidate, prosecute and imprison people for saying or writing things they don't approve of is frightening. (Hang on, gang, because the recent passage of S510 gives them far more power to control your life..... by controlling your food supply!) We had some false starts with therapies which were simply not powerful enough to combat what we were dealing with..... and we lost ground. More research and a couple of more trips in the wrong direction and we eventually started to make some progress.
Cancer has a few things going for it. #1 is that it is basically immortal. Once a defective cell changes enough to become cancerous the apoptosis (natural programmed cell death) stops. #2 is that it is highly adaptive. There isn't just one cancer... there are hundreds and they affect all parts of the body. #3 is almost complete environmental isolation. Cancer survives as a fairly isolated entity in an environment of it's own creation. It's mechanism for creating the energy it needs is totally different from what all normal cells utilize. It is also able to "hide" itself through chemical signals which make it invisible to the bodies normal immune system responses.
The treatment we eventually came to utilize targets as many of cancers unique properties as we can without having any one treatment compromise any of the other treatments. Everything has to work together for maximum benefit.
Becky's cancer is estrogen receptive..... meaning that it has the ability to convert estrogen into an energy source. That had to be dealt with so she takes an estrogen inhibitor called Arimidex. The immortality issue had to be addressed so we eventually settled on DCA to handle that task.
We started adding Oleander extract to accomplish two different tasks. One is to kill stray cancer cells should they be drifting around in her body attempting to settle in elsewhere. The second is that the Oleander interferes with atherogenesis which is cancers ability to cause the body to grow new blood vessels to support it as it grows.
We tossed Amygdalin into the mix to kill the cancer outright. This was taken via tablets but with those we had no way of verifying what *exactly* was in them. Might have been all fillers. So we use dried apricot kernels instead purchased from a Christian farm in Canada. With all these measures we were attacking the cancer from four different directions and attempting to target cancers various traits and weaknesses. To all of that we added supplements to support her immune system so it could deal with the treatment as well as help her effectively eliminate debris from her body. Many many of you.... added the power of prayer and for that we cannot thank you enough!
And now.... the GOOD news! On her last visit to the Oncologist he found that ALL of her cancer markers were down! The mass in her breast continues to shrink even if slowly. There is no sign of the cancer spreading to any of her internal organs either. Also the open sores that had appeared in her breast following the biopsy have all started to heal and grow closed. Even though we had declined conventional chemo and radiation at Baylor and even though we had declined the same therapy with our current Oncologist..... her cancer is still shrinking and being eliminated from her body. Her Dr. said he saw no reason to keep monitoring her monthly and we're going to go now every 2 to 3 months.
We both know that we're far from being out of the woods yet even though it is getting a bit brighter now. We will likely continue with our current therapy as formulated now for at least one to two more years. After that we'll likely keep it in place but at a lowered dose for the rest of her life as a prophylactic measure.
Meanwhile our focus is expanding to address other internal issues. I have made an appointment for her to see Dr. Liu who is a Dr. of traditional Chinese Acupuncture and herbal therapy. She also has 8 years and two degrees in "female" medicine. Our goal in seeing her is two fold. One is to bring her body back into balance so that it can more effectively combat the cancer that remains. The second is to address some female issues.
I consider Dr. Liu to be a miracle worker. I had suffered from various skin issues related to agent orange for over 20 years. The VA kept sending me home with more and more drugs to take..... but nothing ever improved. I stopped taking all the VA prescribed drugs and went to see Dr. Liu. She had my skin back to normal in less than 30 days! Over 6 years later and I'm still doing better than at any time the VA was "treating" me.
The estrogen inhibitor and some other issues have resulted in a rather significant decline in her sex drive. While normal aging and menopause can have a negative impact in that area most women still exhibit some interest in sexual activity even if at a reduced frequency. Going from normal activity to no activity, however, is neither typical nor normal.
The battle wages on but at least we seem to have the upper hand now and are making measurable progress. Becky has lost a significant amount of weight but is fairly stable now right around 160 pounds. That weight loss simply takes more stress off her system. She remains happy and positive about everything we're doing and is enjoying being back at work with her friends.
If nothing else our struggle, although far from over, indicates that everything you've ever been told about cancer and how to treat it is a lie. Many clinics and many doctors all over the world are treating cancer very differently from the "standard model" here in America and are having amazing results. All without the ugly side effects and dangers associated with Chemo, Radiation and Surgery. Becky never lost her hair, was ill but never the deathly sick that Chemo and Radiation cause. Her cancer has gone down from the size of a grapefruit to perhaps the size of a handball. Still large..... but shrinking rather than growing. Even with our success there are therapies that were left untried....... most simply due to expense. All that means is that IF we need them..... there are still other effective treatment options left for us to use.
She sees Dr. Liu on the 8th for her first visit. From my experience it can take a few weeks before the effects of the acupuncture and the herbal teas are noticeable in a significant way. Once they begin, however, changes occur fairly rapidly and can be dramatic. I'll keep you posted.
Until then.... be good to each other and may God bless.
Becky flatly refused to follow that path when she found out she had cancer too. She had seen how well "modern" cancer treatment worked first hand and the sad fact is...... it usually doesn't. People who recover after traditional treatment seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies don't make any money by curing you...... only by *treating* you... so there is no incentive to find a true cure in America.
Thus we began the slow and difficult investigation of alternative therapy options. The power of the FDA and big Pharma to intimidate, prosecute and imprison people for saying or writing things they don't approve of is frightening. (Hang on, gang, because the recent passage of S510 gives them far more power to control your life..... by controlling your food supply!) We had some false starts with therapies which were simply not powerful enough to combat what we were dealing with..... and we lost ground. More research and a couple of more trips in the wrong direction and we eventually started to make some progress.
Cancer has a few things going for it. #1 is that it is basically immortal. Once a defective cell changes enough to become cancerous the apoptosis (natural programmed cell death) stops. #2 is that it is highly adaptive. There isn't just one cancer... there are hundreds and they affect all parts of the body. #3 is almost complete environmental isolation. Cancer survives as a fairly isolated entity in an environment of it's own creation. It's mechanism for creating the energy it needs is totally different from what all normal cells utilize. It is also able to "hide" itself through chemical signals which make it invisible to the bodies normal immune system responses.
The treatment we eventually came to utilize targets as many of cancers unique properties as we can without having any one treatment compromise any of the other treatments. Everything has to work together for maximum benefit.
Becky's cancer is estrogen receptive..... meaning that it has the ability to convert estrogen into an energy source. That had to be dealt with so she takes an estrogen inhibitor called Arimidex. The immortality issue had to be addressed so we eventually settled on DCA to handle that task.
We started adding Oleander extract to accomplish two different tasks. One is to kill stray cancer cells should they be drifting around in her body attempting to settle in elsewhere. The second is that the Oleander interferes with atherogenesis which is cancers ability to cause the body to grow new blood vessels to support it as it grows.
We tossed Amygdalin into the mix to kill the cancer outright. This was taken via tablets but with those we had no way of verifying what *exactly* was in them. Might have been all fillers. So we use dried apricot kernels instead purchased from a Christian farm in Canada. With all these measures we were attacking the cancer from four different directions and attempting to target cancers various traits and weaknesses. To all of that we added supplements to support her immune system so it could deal with the treatment as well as help her effectively eliminate debris from her body. Many many of you.... added the power of prayer and for that we cannot thank you enough!
And now.... the GOOD news! On her last visit to the Oncologist he found that ALL of her cancer markers were down! The mass in her breast continues to shrink even if slowly. There is no sign of the cancer spreading to any of her internal organs either. Also the open sores that had appeared in her breast following the biopsy have all started to heal and grow closed. Even though we had declined conventional chemo and radiation at Baylor and even though we had declined the same therapy with our current Oncologist..... her cancer is still shrinking and being eliminated from her body. Her Dr. said he saw no reason to keep monitoring her monthly and we're going to go now every 2 to 3 months.
We both know that we're far from being out of the woods yet even though it is getting a bit brighter now. We will likely continue with our current therapy as formulated now for at least one to two more years. After that we'll likely keep it in place but at a lowered dose for the rest of her life as a prophylactic measure.
Meanwhile our focus is expanding to address other internal issues. I have made an appointment for her to see Dr. Liu who is a Dr. of traditional Chinese Acupuncture and herbal therapy. She also has 8 years and two degrees in "female" medicine. Our goal in seeing her is two fold. One is to bring her body back into balance so that it can more effectively combat the cancer that remains. The second is to address some female issues.
I consider Dr. Liu to be a miracle worker. I had suffered from various skin issues related to agent orange for over 20 years. The VA kept sending me home with more and more drugs to take..... but nothing ever improved. I stopped taking all the VA prescribed drugs and went to see Dr. Liu. She had my skin back to normal in less than 30 days! Over 6 years later and I'm still doing better than at any time the VA was "treating" me.
The estrogen inhibitor and some other issues have resulted in a rather significant decline in her sex drive. While normal aging and menopause can have a negative impact in that area most women still exhibit some interest in sexual activity even if at a reduced frequency. Going from normal activity to no activity, however, is neither typical nor normal.
The battle wages on but at least we seem to have the upper hand now and are making measurable progress. Becky has lost a significant amount of weight but is fairly stable now right around 160 pounds. That weight loss simply takes more stress off her system. She remains happy and positive about everything we're doing and is enjoying being back at work with her friends.
If nothing else our struggle, although far from over, indicates that everything you've ever been told about cancer and how to treat it is a lie. Many clinics and many doctors all over the world are treating cancer very differently from the "standard model" here in America and are having amazing results. All without the ugly side effects and dangers associated with Chemo, Radiation and Surgery. Becky never lost her hair, was ill but never the deathly sick that Chemo and Radiation cause. Her cancer has gone down from the size of a grapefruit to perhaps the size of a handball. Still large..... but shrinking rather than growing. Even with our success there are therapies that were left untried....... most simply due to expense. All that means is that IF we need them..... there are still other effective treatment options left for us to use.
She sees Dr. Liu on the 8th for her first visit. From my experience it can take a few weeks before the effects of the acupuncture and the herbal teas are noticeable in a significant way. Once they begin, however, changes occur fairly rapidly and can be dramatic. I'll keep you posted.
Until then.... be good to each other and may God bless.
Monday, November 8, 2010
#21 Minor Update - proper DCA dose & side effects
Hey, gang! I thought I'd provide an update based upon some recent developments with our alternative therapy.
As you'll recall one of the main items in our program is a substance known as DCA for short. This substance has been proven to re-awaken the mitochondria in cancer cells thus bringing on apoptosis or natural cell death. A slow process to be sure but a good thing none the less.
The dosage of DCA is a weight to milligram ratio. When we began use of this product Becky was above the 200 pound number on the scale. Based upon the numbers from an on line calculator her dose worked out to just shy of 1200 milligrams total for that weight.
Delayed light bulb moment here! As her weight declined so should have her dose..... a fact we both totally overlooked. Also we had decided that one capsule every 12 hours or so would ensure that there was always enough DCA circulating in her system so as to always be available to the cancer. Another OOPS moment. That initial 1200 mg dose was calculated to be taken once every 24 hours.... not 12. As her weight came down the dose should have followed to keep the same amount of DCA available in her system..... thus her dose NOW should be roughly 770 mg rather than the starting rate of 1200..... and certainly FAR less than the 2400 mg she was taking.
The effect of this higher than necessary dose rate has been the onset of a problem with her fine motor skills..... noticeable mostly by trembling hands. Additionally she had developed some peripheral neuropathy and also easily induced generalized fatigue. After spending several days researching everything she is taking for side effects and possible negative interactions with other medications and supplements I found the DCA connection.
Fortunately the "cure" for all those bothersome side effects is rather simple. Just stop taking the DCA for a little while..... three days minimum..... one to two weeks at the most. All those problems should be alleviated after that time and she can then resume the DCA at it's proper dose rate and level.
Thus we encounter again the dark side of alternative cancer therapy..... lack of good solid information due to the fear that either the American Cancer Society or the FDA.... or both are going to track you down and lock your ass up. (Yes... it happens all the time and has been going on for well over 60 years) There is very little "Freedom of speech" when the pocket books of large pharmaceutical companies are in danger of getting less money. Simply put.... your life and the lives of those you love come in a far distant second to profits for the drug companies and the power of the FDA.
Anyway.... if you are using or planning on using DCA keep a close eye on the weight of the patient. Change the total mg dose rate as necessary to compensate for fluctuations in total body weight. If you detect ANY of the symptoms noted above simply stop taking the DCA for a minimum of 3 days and monitor for the reduction of those symptoms. Use the DCA in concert with black tea and vitamin B1 to increase its effectiveness. If necessary adopt a program of DCA for three days followed by a three day break. Continue the black tea and B1 during the break.
Additionally..... remember that *everything* that enters your blood stream passes through your liver. The liver can become over taxed by both environmental toxins and debris resulting from dying cancer cells..... and needs to be maintained. One simple method is to squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon into an 8oz glass of filtered or purified water and drink that at the start of each day. During the day to can also take Milk Thistle to aid in cleansing and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (R-ALA or just plain ALA) to help generate new liver cells and serve as a powerful anti-oxidant.
As always.... be good to each other.
Peace
As you'll recall one of the main items in our program is a substance known as DCA for short. This substance has been proven to re-awaken the mitochondria in cancer cells thus bringing on apoptosis or natural cell death. A slow process to be sure but a good thing none the less.
The dosage of DCA is a weight to milligram ratio. When we began use of this product Becky was above the 200 pound number on the scale. Based upon the numbers from an on line calculator her dose worked out to just shy of 1200 milligrams total for that weight.
Delayed light bulb moment here! As her weight declined so should have her dose..... a fact we both totally overlooked. Also we had decided that one capsule every 12 hours or so would ensure that there was always enough DCA circulating in her system so as to always be available to the cancer. Another OOPS moment. That initial 1200 mg dose was calculated to be taken once every 24 hours.... not 12. As her weight came down the dose should have followed to keep the same amount of DCA available in her system..... thus her dose NOW should be roughly 770 mg rather than the starting rate of 1200..... and certainly FAR less than the 2400 mg she was taking.
The effect of this higher than necessary dose rate has been the onset of a problem with her fine motor skills..... noticeable mostly by trembling hands. Additionally she had developed some peripheral neuropathy and also easily induced generalized fatigue. After spending several days researching everything she is taking for side effects and possible negative interactions with other medications and supplements I found the DCA connection.
Fortunately the "cure" for all those bothersome side effects is rather simple. Just stop taking the DCA for a little while..... three days minimum..... one to two weeks at the most. All those problems should be alleviated after that time and she can then resume the DCA at it's proper dose rate and level.
Thus we encounter again the dark side of alternative cancer therapy..... lack of good solid information due to the fear that either the American Cancer Society or the FDA.... or both are going to track you down and lock your ass up. (Yes... it happens all the time and has been going on for well over 60 years) There is very little "Freedom of speech" when the pocket books of large pharmaceutical companies are in danger of getting less money. Simply put.... your life and the lives of those you love come in a far distant second to profits for the drug companies and the power of the FDA.
Anyway.... if you are using or planning on using DCA keep a close eye on the weight of the patient. Change the total mg dose rate as necessary to compensate for fluctuations in total body weight. If you detect ANY of the symptoms noted above simply stop taking the DCA for a minimum of 3 days and monitor for the reduction of those symptoms. Use the DCA in concert with black tea and vitamin B1 to increase its effectiveness. If necessary adopt a program of DCA for three days followed by a three day break. Continue the black tea and B1 during the break.
Additionally..... remember that *everything* that enters your blood stream passes through your liver. The liver can become over taxed by both environmental toxins and debris resulting from dying cancer cells..... and needs to be maintained. One simple method is to squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon into an 8oz glass of filtered or purified water and drink that at the start of each day. During the day to can also take Milk Thistle to aid in cleansing and R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (R-ALA or just plain ALA) to help generate new liver cells and serve as a powerful anti-oxidant.
As always.... be good to each other.
Peace
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