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).
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.
