Winning the War on Cancer???

Hello True Believers,

I'm back to enlighten you with my wit and words of wisdom. Actually I just have a few things on my mind and some observations I would like to share. But first an update, I am still doing very well, feeling better, am now down to 174# (down from 210 back in May), and very few vertigo and dizzy spells. I have been swimming almost daily, and although my arms are atrophied as heck from a year of Dexamethasone (steroids) and very little exercise or energy, so I am pretty sore, but working through it and getting better. The changes made to my diet and increased intake of water has also helped me maintain. I have also gone 5 1/2 months with no seizure activity. Score! My girls are both in school now, Carol in 6th grade at the middle school and Destiny in Pre-K. Susanna's birthday was yesterday and we took her out to Dave & Busters with a lot of our friends.

Back to my observations now. If you all recall, last March the clinical trial I had been involved in was unblinded after I had experienced a notable decrease in my condition and functionality, and an MRI revealed that my tumor had become malignant. It turned out I was on the placebo wing on the study, which in hindsight explains why it had shown activity so soon after I had already undergone Radiation and Chemo for six weeks back in Sept. 2010. It may be a little confusing for those not versed in this disease, or those who depend strictly on medical science as the answer to everything.

Let me change gears for a second before I really get rolling. I was at my oncology appt. today in the waiting room reading a magazine before they called me in for my infusion. As I flipped through the Readers Digest, I thumbed across and article titled "Winning The War On Cancer" (Oct. 2005, Pg. 167-178). My interest piqued, I began reading the article thinking "what wonders will this reveal, what does the future of cancer research hold, what breakthroughs are in the near or not so near future?" I was so not thrilled by what I read, I was not proud and hopeful for the future. I was actually a little bit angered, awe heck I was pissed off. It started off talking about a woman who had undergone a clinical trial of a drug and had responded well and had a miraculous recovery. I read on to see where this was going in terms of future advances, Well I am going to post a quote from the article and then elaborate on what is wrong with it.

...'What is within reach, according to Dr. von Eschenbach, "is an end to the suffering and deaths associated with cancer." He predicts that 10 years from now, when patients hear the words "you have cancer," they will no longer hear "you will therefore suffer and die." Instead, he says, cancer will come to be seen as a manageable chronic disease like diabetes or arthritis.'...

Which reminds me of another quote from my De-motivational Posters, "If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made in prolonging the problem." Don't get me wrong, I am not saying help or hope is a bad thing, but I swear they throw out so many wonder drugs and long term band aids, all with cool name and patents guaranteeing profits for the pharmaceutical companies and their wonder drugs. If they actually developed a cure for cancer, then there would be no gross profits that they can generate on selling a long term treatment.

This infuriates me so much because I have already done a round of radiation and chemo, and when it was discovered that I was on the placebo wing of the Avastin and Temadar trial, they took me off the protocol and the Radiology department wanted to start me on another round of radiation after I had done only 2 rounds of the actual Avastin with no change in my tumor. Having a bit of a background in radiology, I was hesitant, but I was also on Steroids, narcotics, and dealing with rapid development of tumor growth inside my skull, I was worn out and almost let them do it, had my wife not put her foot down and made me wait longer. I am so glad she did too. I asked every question under the sun about cancer treatment and development from my Physicians and oncologist and they always had the same response, more or less, more drugs and keep doing this and you might have another 3-6months. They were even talking about looking into hospice for me. My wife became driven to find another way to help me. We have 2 beautiful children and so much to live for. I was a little reluctant to read what she had uncovered at first, mainly because I just thought she was trying to turn me into a vegetarian, which I wasn't going to have. I figured if I was going to die, I was going to eat and enjoy myself while I could. But reading over some of her "Cancer Cure" books I began to notice that many shared several similarities and philosophies. A friend of our had also mentioned Shark Cartilage as a treatment, which reminded me of my college days when I wanted to be a marine biologist and some of the research I followed and volunteered for and a light went on, I started to join Susanna in her search and began taking notes with her. First I had to identify the mechanisms behind cancer and how it works. Please forgive me if my interpretations are very simplified, but a tumor needs 3 things to grow and develop. For those who don't know, a tumor is basically different cells that for whatever reason begin to develop abnormally and, depending on the type of tumor, grow rapidly. In order to develop a tumor must have a blood supply, so it can get bigger, establish more blood vessels to supply the growing tumor, and continue, a process known as angiogenesis. Tumors develop and form approx. 4 times more rapidly than normal, healthy cells do and they require a food supple, and tumors strive on glucose and sugars for nutrition. They also strive in environments with low Ph. levels/high acidity. So I began reading books from some pioneers in the field of cancer treatment and natural cures and supplements, mainly drawing from Dr. Budwig and Dr. Gershon, both well-known and a tremendous resource. I also learned a lot about the foods we eat and where they come from.

First order of business was to do away with most processed and conventionally made foods, especially meats (breaks my heart). The meats were important because the poultry, beef and pork industries use steroids and hormones on their livestock to make them grow fatter, juicier and more economical for slaughter and sales. And while they claim these chemicals do not affect the nutrition or properties of the livestock, these chemicals still remain in their tissues after they are deceased, and even cooking them does not remove the hormones and/or steroids. So what you ask? Well, these hormones/steroids get into the body and are processed, find their way to the tumor, and feed it, potentially triggering a rapid growth and development in the tumor. So it's locally grown, organic, and raw foods or as little cooked food as possible for me. I prefer juicing or smoothies using a mixture of vegetables and fruits, lots of kale and carrots.

Next was to cut off the food supply for my tumor, mainly no processed sugars or carbonated soda pops. Actually, artificial sugars are just as bad if not worse than sugars. While they do not contain fat, they are still broken down by the body and processed much like sugar. Energy drinks and coffee are also no go items, they are stimulants to start with, but they also have a very low Ph. (are acidic). Cutting these out will reduce, if not stunt a tumors ability to develop and grow. Starving a tumor can actually lead to a stop in the development of a tumor or even a reduction in side.

Which leads me to Ph. of your body. As I mentioned, tumors strive and develop in low Ph./acidic environments, but raise that to a neutral level, around 6.5-7Ph and tumors cannot develop. Actually, if we could raise the Ph. to an 8 or greater, a tumor will not be able to survive and begin to recede. So by changing to a high Ph. diet, I have been able to raise the Ph. levels of my body to an average of 6.2-7.0, not killing the cancer, but hopefully keeping it at bay. I am researching ways to alter my Ph. further in a safe manner. So far cutting out all acidic fruits and vegetables has helped and I have been drinking Kangen water. When I move in a few weeks and have the room I plan on getting one to save time and ensure I get fresh and properly treated water. It's great for cleaning my veggies and using as a laundry pre-wash.

Additionally I am using a lot of natural supplements to help me. Something I picked up from Budwigs book is a daily mixture using 2 Tbsp. cottage chase and 1 Tbsp. Flax seed oil 4 times daily. I do it twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. I'm not going to get into the protocol, but if anyone is interested in learning more about it, here is a link I found really useful in my beginnings searching for a treatment or cure. I usually take this with Essiac Tea, another cancer fighter (see link provided).

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Budwig.html

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Essiac.html

Finally, I take a complete regimen of supplements and vitamins daily consisting mainly of Shark Cartilage, Borage Oil, CoQ10, Multivitamins and Bee Pollen. I am currently on an organic vegetarian diet, 80% raw or uncooked food. Not Vegan, but eat a lot of vegan food mainly because they do not use animal meat products. I even drink almond milk, which taste a lot better than it sounds (depending on the brand you get, I prefer the generic "365" brand they sell at "Whole Foods"). And yes, this is extremely costly. My budget is tight as heck. But, as I mentioned in my last blog, it seems to be paying off. When I started taking Avastin in March, My tumor had shown further development in April and finally stabilized and seemed to be reacting to the Avastin and no longer growing. The oncologist even predicted that I may not have any problems with it for another year if all goes well. In May we changed my diet and I began to wean off of my steroids, pain meds, and one of my anticonvulsants. By the middle of July I had an MRI which not only showed my tumor was stable, but it had receded slightly. There had been no change in my medications, in fact, I had reduced greatly or outright stopped taking many of my medications, so I strongly believe that any changes that have come about with my tumor I attribute highly to the many Ph.Ds. and nutritionist who understand the mechanisms of the body, and the hard work and patience of my family who have aided me so much. I cannot think of another explanation. Plus the change in my level of alertness, memory, and energy has been incredible; I hardly have severe headaches and have only had to use my cane on a couple occasions for the past 2 months. I have a follow up MRI scheduled for Oct. 4th. I am hoping to see even more reduction.

That is what really chaps me about that article I read, and about the majority of care providers I have spoken with or questioned about cancer treatment. Many of them do not mention this stuff because they are taught that medicine is the answer to every problem, most won't consider, or just don't know enough about nutrition to try another route, or combine ideas. In all due fairness, I don't think it's their fault, but largely the pharmaceutical companies. Like record execs controlling and manipulating the music scene and influencing the trends, The Pharmaceutical company’s stand to make a lot more money over time treating a disease than they do implement or endorsing treatments that may just cure cancer. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want, but its how I feel.

Anyways, I have gone on long enough about this, bedtime. If anyone has any ideas, suggestion, questions or whatever, please leave a reply or shoot me an e-mail. I'm just doing my best, keeping my faith in god, and taking it one day at a time. In the immortal words of Charlie Sheen, "WINNING!"

Hope everyone is doing well and god bless you.

Almost a year now...

Hello everyone, been awhile, but not as long as the time between my last 2 postings. Lots to mention though. Where to start?
Well. Needless to say it was a year since my tumor was detected on the 20th and the surgery performed on the 23rd. I am still alive and doing pretty well. Still living in San Antonio, Texas and waiting for the Army to decide if I get to stay in or not. Susanna and I have been discussing what our transition options are if I separate from the military and where we would like to settle down. I am really missing the Bay Area, and the Santa Cruz or Monterey area, while Susanna wants to see about San Diego.
While I am not anywhere near 100% and still have a long way to go in my recovery, I am doing so much better this past 7 weeks. I have more energy most days, fewer headaches, balance good most days, less episodes of vertigo, I am completely off of my steroids and am only taking 1 anticonvulsant, have not needed Vicodin in over a month and only use Motrin when absolutely needed, no seizures in over 5 months, I am down to 184# (down from 210# last December when loaded up on Decadron). The biggest news that has me excited is that I finally heard from my Oncologist regarding my MRI from a couple weeks ago, and not only has there been NO new growth or development, but it appears to have decreased in size slightly as well. YAY! I know this is not a sign that I am cured, but finally there is a change taking place that doesn't scare the crap out of me.
I am especially excited about this news because Susanna and I have been reading up on, researching and studying Tumor formations and the mechanisms that drive them and allow them to flourish. I am going to slip back into my science geek days because, as I mentioned, this is exciting to me. It started out with Susanna obsessing over all of these special diets that were supposed to help fight brain cancer and the professors and doctors who developed them. After awhile my interest was piqued and I picked up a couple of her books, "Budwigs", "Gershons" and a few cancer curing nutrition guides. So, a very layman summary of our findings is. In order to survive and grow, a tumor needs a few things, first, a blood supply to nourish the tumor and aid it in it’s' development and growth, second they need a place that has a low pH. Tumors strive in environments that are fairly acidic and have a very low pH. And food, SUGARS, especially processed sugars, caffeine and sodas are terrible when fighting cancer, so how did I begin to fight back against cancer. Well, in our reading we decided to cut off all of the bad things in my diet that may have been contributing to tumor development. Drawing back on my days of researching and studying back when I was in college, I drew on some natural medicines to help my body build its own strength and defenses, Shark Cartilage, Borage oil, CoQ10, Flax Seed, Essiac Tea, and switched to an organic and about 80% raw food diet, mostly veggies and fruits, which not only began to show an improvement in my energy and alertness, but has aided me in my weight loss after being on Decadron and vicodin for so long. I still indulge in cooked food sometimes, but not too often. Even working on finding some raw recipes. By staying off of soda pops, coffee, sugary snacks and junk food and instead getting my sugars through fruits and veggies. Staying positive and keeping my stress level down is key.
In additionally, as I mentioned, I have also slowly weaned myself off most of my medications over the past few months at a very safe rate, with no withdrawal symptoms or breakthrough seizures in over 5 months. At one point I was taking 3 anticonvulsants, 1 steroid, 2 allergy medications, 1 antidepressant, 1 anti-inflammatory, 1 anti-emetic, 1 vasodilator, and several antibiotics on and off. Now I have been 5 months seizure free and am off of all but 1 of my anticonvulsants, off all steroids, and have reduced my doses of everything else.
In other words, I am feeling incredibly happy and blessed. I won't say it's been an easy year; I've been through a physical and emotional rollercoaster on all levels. Susanna and I put each other through the ringer with my bad days where fear and anger occasionally got the better of us, but love always got us through and continues to hold us and our family strong. She is my Corazon. All of those who have cared, supported, and prayed for us, I thank you with all my heart.
Things are almost settled down; we still have one more move back to base because our lease at Operation Homefront is up. I have mixed feelings about this, I am happy because our apartment is so small and the place we are moving to is huge and right next to Carols and Destiny’s school, yet sad because we have so many friends there who we will miss living so close too. I have been feeling much more inspired lately and have several writing projects in the works now, plus I really want to be more active on my blog, so after the move I will be writing more regularly.
I have also been more active spiritually. We have been attending church again weekly, and I have been very grateful for the blessings and love God has shown for my family and me.
Once again thank you all and God bless you. Til next time

Catching up and sharing thoughts!

Back again, and hopefully well be dropping in to say hi more regularly than I have been. For all those who have been so caring and supportive of me and my family I wish to extend a very heartfelt thank you and God Bless You (if you happen to be Muslim, Buddhist, agnostic, wiccan, Atheist, or whatever, please accept my gratitude and well wishes toward whatever belief you follow). You get the idea. So let's get on with it.

First off I am very happy to announce that it is June 3, 2011 and I am still relatively healthy and hanging in there, 9 months after my initial diagnoses. Not saying it has been easy or without event and hardship, but my initial diagnosis gave me 3-6 months, and I have already passed that milestone. I also reached my 10 year anniversary in the army on May 15, Hooah! Since my last update I have been through quite a bit, so here is the health stuff that everyone always asks me about.

During the month of February and March I experienced a lot of changes in my health and condition. It started with my immune system dropping to unsafe levels every couple weeks resulting in my treatment being repeatedly delayed. During that time I began to experience some neurological issues, hands trembling involuntarily, legs trembling, vertigo and balance issues, and light sensitivity. I also began to experience headaches more frequently. I finally spoke with my Oncologist and requested a follow up MRI early to monitor the development of my Glioblastoma. So a second scan was done in March which revealed that not only had my Tumor become Malignant again, but that the growth and development was fairly rapid. I was also informed that with the results the team unblinded the clinical trial I was in and revealed that I was in the placebo group. This renewed my hope because I was becoming very concerned that My cancer was going to get the better of me sooner than expected. The light at the end of the tunnel, that since I had not been on the actual drug, Avastin, I had a pretty good chance of responding to the actual medication and possibly do better. Since I was going off study, mt care was transferred back to the Oncology Department at Wilford Hall, instead of me making the trip out to Houston every couple weeks by myself. I have now been on the actual Avastin off study for 5 treatments and have been doing much better. My balance is about 85% better most days, sometimes more, sometimes less. Trembling in hands is usually pretty mild and usually only affects me when writing or typing alot. I had an MRI done last Friday and will be meeting with my oncologist next week to discuss those results, nervous but very optimistic.

Lot of other exciting things have happened as well. In March we took a trip back to California and stayed in Monterey to see some of my old stomping grounds and some family. It rained almost the entire time we were there but we made the most of it. We got to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pebble Beach, Moss Landing, Capitola and Santa Cruz. Even took Susanna out for a date at Shadowbrook, the place we went to for our 1 year anniversary. Took Destiny out for mazes and laser tag for her 4th birthday. And ate lots of clam chowder from "The Fishhopper" (my favorite clam chowder ever). In april my best friend since high school Sean came out to visit and we met up at Sea World San Antonio. Got to see his wife and 2 boys. Was a little hot out and I got drained so was a short visit. But the big news is that the "Dream Foundation" fulfilled my lifelong dream of going to Hawaii in May and we spent 7 days there on Maui. That will be the focus of my next blog. I had to have 2 surgeries since my return, one to have a tooth removed and abscess drained and another to remove a mass on the sclera of my right eye, not sure if cancerous or not but awaiting results of biopsy. Had 5th infusion and MRI, so follow up next week will be exciting. Antibiotics upset my stomach something fierce and gave me vertigo like you would not believe, but have been off of them for a few days and balance and vision seems to be stabilizing. So hoping for the best.

Carol also just had a birthday and is graduating from 5th grade, so very excited about that. So that should bring everyone up to speed for now.

I just want to thank all of those who have been there and showed so much care and support for me and my family, We wholeheartedly appreciate it and there have been some rough times that I didn't thing I could get through, but still here. I hope you have all been well and look forward to catching up when I can. Later.

A Long time coming...

This is a post I wrote in early FEB. but for some reason it never got posted. I had gone through several things in the time since then and blogging took a back seat. Now that I am feeling a bit better, here is a retroactive update, And more current updates and ideas to come as well.

Hello everyone, I know it's been awhile since I have written on here and you are probably in great suspense to know how things have been going.
Well, this posting is going to be a mixed bag with a very uneven flow to it. First off I will start by saying that me and the family are doing very well. We were assigned a house on base and both children were enrolled in a childcare/School age program service. I am still on seizure watch and unable to drive so Susanna has become my own personal driver, which is a very thankless job for her but neccesary and much appreciated. I have been assigned to a Company here and have a great Squad Leader and Triad (team consisting of my Case Manager, Primary Care Manager, and Mental Health/Psychology). I have been weened off nearly all of my pain medications except for when absolutely needed, and even then am relying more on Ibuprofen and less on vicodin. Am still taking my anti-seizure meds and steroids, but my dose has been decreased drastically. That pretty much ends the status quo.
About 2 weeks ago I went in for my infusion of the Drug I am taking on trial, but when they drew me blood prior to the infusion as they normally do, my Platelet count came up dangerously low, something like 15,000 when the low end of the normal range is aout 75,000. So I was stopped from the trial and given an infusion of platelets. After carefully being monitored every other day for the next week, my count finally exceeded 100,000. But then it came to light that my neutraphil count was extremely low and my monocyte count was elevated, a sign that my body was preparing for an infection. So I had to drop off of the stationary volleyball team I was on and drop out of the try outs for the Warrior Games team I was planning on trying out for. So there is some dissappointment to pour in the wound.
And then the scary finally happened. Last week while I was filling out some paperwork I suffered a small, low grade seizure that scared the crap out of me. It was very monor and only lasted a few seconds, but up until now I had never experienced anything like it and all of my antiseizure medications were just a precaution until 6 months passed from my surgery and I could drive again. Now I am shaken and very, truely afraid of what this could mean. I spoke with my research nurse today and they agree that I should have an MRI on my next visit just to see how things are looking within my head. So as strange as it may sound, I am actually looking forward to having my head scanned.
And we have been enjoying, experiencing and taking in alot of what San Antonio has to offer as well. Over the holidays the kiddos got to see Santa Claus probably 6 times, we also witnessed the lighting of the Riverwalk, The Nutcracker Suite at the Majestic Theater, saw The San Antonio Zoo, Kaliedascope at the Alamodome, saw Cirque de la Symphony, Saw Monster Trucks at the Alamodome. Me and Susanna got to see Slade Ham at the Laugh Out Loud club, Lewis Black at the Majestic, and Bill Engvall at the AT&T Center, Plus I took my mother to see Ozzy Osborne with Slash at the AT&T Center and my Wife and I saw Train play there as also. So we have been a little active as well.
Lots more going on but need to take a break for now. Be back soon.