Over the past thirty years of practicing medicine I have seen so many cancer patients at the end of their ropes. Most had tried some kind of conventional treatments and others wanted to do only holistic therapies. A portion of these patients were lucky enough to survive and stabilize, while others were not as lucky.
Cancer is a very complex set of over 100 diseases that can fool the brightest minds in medicine. By the time a patient is diagnosed, often the disease has advanced and spread without the person ( or their clinician ) even realizing it.
Studies have shown that patients who are assertive and proactive have better outcomes then those that don't. There is a new relm of the patient-clinician relationship called "Shared Decision Making ". This is where the patient often comes to the oncology appointment armed with a list of questions and concerns to be discussed. During the interview the risks and benefits of his or her therapy is discussed along with any other concerns.
Over the past decade a new kind of relationship has evolved. Patients with rare or advanced cancers are starting to look for other professionals to help research their illness. I would like to call these individuals medical liaisons or researchers. They could be your personal physician, nurses, nurse praticianers, or physician's assistants. The medical liaison can help you get past the gate keepers in doctors offices or medical centers. They could find consultants and specialists on your behalf and hook them up with your oncologist. A liaison can open valuable doors for you. They may be able to find opportunities and therapies that you or your clinician are not aware of. They also may be able to help you find integrative evidence based therapies for you to investigate. Moreover, they can use the library resources in medical schools or medical centers to assist in your research. Knowledge and information are very valuable weapons to use in your fight for survival. They are ESSENTIAL LIFELINES that many patients do not have access to.
An intelligent assertive medical liaison could help ( along with your oncologist ) tilt the balance between life and death. It would behoove patients facing rare or advanced cancer to consider finding a person such as this.
We are leaving the OLD WORLD OF CANCER ( SHOTGUN THERAPY ) and entering into " THE NEW WORLD " which is " PERSONALIZED CARE ".
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Asking God's Guidance / The New World of Cancer
I would not be sitting here today, June 6th, 2010, journaling about my survival, had it not been for God and Jesus giving me their healing love.
When I first got hit with the news that I had a catastrophic illness, I was a Christian of modest faith. This faith had guided me through a difficult childhood,my family's divorce and other traumas that followed. I had never been much of a church person, but I had a modest belief in God and his son Jesus. As I grew older and became a medical professional, I started asking for more responsibilities at work, possibly to compensate for the low self esteem I've had for most of my life. As time went on, my life took on workaholic tendencies that often wore me down. I leaned on the fact that no matter what I was going through, if I threw myself into my work and lectures, the internal pain and stress would seem to dissolve. At the onset of my initial diagnosis, I was heavily into this mode.
I remember traveling to MD Anderson Cancer Center and the moment I first saw that huge cross off the expressway in Tennessee. I had not slept for weeks and was exhausted. The shearing pain was coming in waves and getting worse in my right side. Moreover my fevers and chills were not abating even with the handfuls of Tylenol I was consuming. Over the previous seven weeks I had been leaning heavily on medical professionals and my friends for support and advice, but I seemed to be getting worse. ( Most patients with primary liver cancer do not make it past 18-24 months )Cancer can humble a person. The events during that day at the cross made me realize that there might be no earthly answer to my dilemma but, I could choose to "see this differntly" ( A Course In Miracles ). I started to understand at that moment that I could choose another way of looking at this. Starting the next day at MD Anderson, I was calm enough to read some bible verses and also lessons form a Course in Miracles. Each day as I awoke, I would do at least thirty minutes of reading followed by hands on imagery on the broken places in my body. During the next two to three years, each season that approached would lead me to new challenges, new mountain tops that I would need to face.As often as I could I would go out into nature. God would speak to me through the air, the wind, the sun the oceans, and the trees. His healing balm and spirit would be sent to me through strangers, animals, movies, humor and thousands of people praying for me. He would guide me to the best experts in the world through the internet, my colleagues, journals, obscure news articles, television programs, phone calls and other fellow cancer patients.The other survivors were invaluable to me. New oportunities of healing started to open up.
During the second year of my diagnosis ( During my divorce ) I recall that another chemotherapy had again failed to work against the advancing tumors. I was very sick and my clinicians at the time had no answers. At a support group in Michigan ( Gildas Club ), I met a woman who was battling advanced breast cancer. She was in a very simular situation as I was and she had also heard that I was a naturopath. During this session she whispered to me that she was giving herself a natural chemotherapy called Ukraine ( from Europe ) and that it was staving off the progression of her tumors. This therapy would attack only the cancer cells and had minimal side effects. I did some of my own research and found that it had potential with liver cancer and sarcomas . Sure enough, within weeks my friends and colleagues started putting on fundraisers so that I could pay the significant price tag for this product. I was on it for ten months and it did put me into a partial remission for awhile. I consider that a miracle. There are no coincidences in life. I know in my heart that God put this woman in my life for a reason.
Fellow cancer patients and other survivors are an important link in the circle of life. They are undervalued and not talked about enough. They can open doors to new treatments that many patients are not aware of. They give hope and inspiration to others around them. Moreover they are constantly coming up with new strategies to save their own life and others. Many are doing integrative treatments on themselves and adding nutritional anti-cancer therapies to their regimen. These are the herioc individuals that are silently mentoring other survivors. We need to study them more closely and learn from them.
Take Home Points / Bullets :
Ask yourself what do I need to do to feel safe right now?
What are the components or circumstances in my life that may have contributed to my diagnosis ?
What do I need to do to get better ? ( Spiritually, emotionally, nutritionally )
What is this cancer diagnosis trying to tell me?
What do I need to change?
Should I make a list?
Is there anyone in my life or past that I have not forgiven ?
What am I holding onto that could have led to this illness or diagnosis ?
What do I need to look at?
What do I need to let go of?
Could I get on my knees and ask God for guidance for every inportant decision?
Remember: I am not a body I am free---for I am still as God created me ( ACIMs )
When I first got hit with the news that I had a catastrophic illness, I was a Christian of modest faith. This faith had guided me through a difficult childhood,my family's divorce and other traumas that followed. I had never been much of a church person, but I had a modest belief in God and his son Jesus. As I grew older and became a medical professional, I started asking for more responsibilities at work, possibly to compensate for the low self esteem I've had for most of my life. As time went on, my life took on workaholic tendencies that often wore me down. I leaned on the fact that no matter what I was going through, if I threw myself into my work and lectures, the internal pain and stress would seem to dissolve. At the onset of my initial diagnosis, I was heavily into this mode.
I remember traveling to MD Anderson Cancer Center and the moment I first saw that huge cross off the expressway in Tennessee. I had not slept for weeks and was exhausted. The shearing pain was coming in waves and getting worse in my right side. Moreover my fevers and chills were not abating even with the handfuls of Tylenol I was consuming. Over the previous seven weeks I had been leaning heavily on medical professionals and my friends for support and advice, but I seemed to be getting worse. ( Most patients with primary liver cancer do not make it past 18-24 months )Cancer can humble a person. The events during that day at the cross made me realize that there might be no earthly answer to my dilemma but, I could choose to "see this differntly" ( A Course In Miracles ). I started to understand at that moment that I could choose another way of looking at this. Starting the next day at MD Anderson, I was calm enough to read some bible verses and also lessons form a Course in Miracles. Each day as I awoke, I would do at least thirty minutes of reading followed by hands on imagery on the broken places in my body. During the next two to three years, each season that approached would lead me to new challenges, new mountain tops that I would need to face.As often as I could I would go out into nature. God would speak to me through the air, the wind, the sun the oceans, and the trees. His healing balm and spirit would be sent to me through strangers, animals, movies, humor and thousands of people praying for me. He would guide me to the best experts in the world through the internet, my colleagues, journals, obscure news articles, television programs, phone calls and other fellow cancer patients.The other survivors were invaluable to me. New oportunities of healing started to open up.
During the second year of my diagnosis ( During my divorce ) I recall that another chemotherapy had again failed to work against the advancing tumors. I was very sick and my clinicians at the time had no answers. At a support group in Michigan ( Gildas Club ), I met a woman who was battling advanced breast cancer. She was in a very simular situation as I was and she had also heard that I was a naturopath. During this session she whispered to me that she was giving herself a natural chemotherapy called Ukraine ( from Europe ) and that it was staving off the progression of her tumors. This therapy would attack only the cancer cells and had minimal side effects. I did some of my own research and found that it had potential with liver cancer and sarcomas . Sure enough, within weeks my friends and colleagues started putting on fundraisers so that I could pay the significant price tag for this product. I was on it for ten months and it did put me into a partial remission for awhile. I consider that a miracle. There are no coincidences in life. I know in my heart that God put this woman in my life for a reason.
Fellow cancer patients and other survivors are an important link in the circle of life. They are undervalued and not talked about enough. They can open doors to new treatments that many patients are not aware of. They give hope and inspiration to others around them. Moreover they are constantly coming up with new strategies to save their own life and others. Many are doing integrative treatments on themselves and adding nutritional anti-cancer therapies to their regimen. These are the herioc individuals that are silently mentoring other survivors. We need to study them more closely and learn from them.
Take Home Points / Bullets :
Ask yourself what do I need to do to feel safe right now?
What are the components or circumstances in my life that may have contributed to my diagnosis ?
What do I need to do to get better ? ( Spiritually, emotionally, nutritionally )
What is this cancer diagnosis trying to tell me?
What do I need to change?
Should I make a list?
Is there anyone in my life or past that I have not forgiven ?
What am I holding onto that could have led to this illness or diagnosis ?
What do I need to look at?
What do I need to let go of?
Could I get on my knees and ask God for guidance for every inportant decision?
Remember: I am not a body I am free---for I am still as God created me ( ACIMs )
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Assertive Survivor / New World of Cancer
Cancer is a very complicated and complex set of issues that often fool the brightest minds that medicine can offer. I cannot tell you the number of phone calls I get each year from patients and their families that are at the end of their rope. The chemotherapy has stopped working and the complications are mounting while many of their medical centers are struggling to find answers. Between 1,500 and 1,600 patients go down each day in the United States and those numbers are not going away.We have much more to do to win the war over cancer. In the first two weeks of any diagnosis of a rare or advanced cancer, it is imperative that the cancer patient and their inner circle focus their intention on a battle plan. If they cannot, they need to seek out a lead researcher who can help them to formulate one. Webster's dictionary has various synonyms for intention. Included are: intent, purpose, aim, end , objective, or goal. It goes on to define a goal as something attained only by prolonged effort or hardship. Surviving a diagnosis of a catastrophic complicated cancer is hard work. It is a daily step by step process. One must focus an enormous amount of time and energy on survival. Many, many cancer patients want others to do this for them. If you are too sick or are not in a space to do this, then you must find intelligent strong individuals to bring into your inner circle to help you do this . Taking action will help you to save your own life.
Take home points and action steps :
1. Pick up the phone and start calling for help.
2. Use Integrative Oncology websites ( shown in my upcoming blogs )
3. Become familiar with tissue types and staging of your own cancer.
4. Learn the nuances of your type of cancer.
5. Find survivors with your type of cancer and learn from them.
6. Don't listen to the death sentences.
7. Write down goals each day.
8. Use the DataBase coming in my blogs.
9. Use a Frontal Attack, Go after the cancer. Stand up to it.
10. Walk through the fear.
Remember, It's possible. There is a way through this. Never give up.
Take home points and action steps :
1. Pick up the phone and start calling for help.
2. Use Integrative Oncology websites ( shown in my upcoming blogs )
3. Become familiar with tissue types and staging of your own cancer.
4. Learn the nuances of your type of cancer.
5. Find survivors with your type of cancer and learn from them.
6. Don't listen to the death sentences.
7. Write down goals each day.
8. Use the DataBase coming in my blogs.
9. Use a Frontal Attack, Go after the cancer. Stand up to it.
10. Walk through the fear.
Remember, It's possible. There is a way through this. Never give up.
Friday, May 20, 2011
ILLNESS AS TEACHER / THE NEW WORLD Of CANCER
Cancer and catastrophic illness are wake up calls to change one's life in all aspects. Over the past thirty years, ( practicing medicine ) I have watched thousands of individuals battle this disease. Many have put the majority of their hope and faith into one oncologist or medical center. Others might lend an ear to a close friend or family member for guidance. Unfortunately, when the cancer or complications start taking them down, many of these friends, family members, or providers, don't have the answers or strategies to keep them alive. God has hidden the answers inside of each of us. It is our job to call out and ask him to show us these secrets.
When I was stricken with my devastating diagnosis, I was a workaholic and a Christian of modest faith. Moreover, I had considered myself a failure at establishing a long standing, successful relationship. In the past, my relationships ended within five years. At the time of my diagnosis I was working myself to the bone at two medical centers and also giving many lectures on Integrative medicine. I was putting so many hours into my career that I had let my spiritual life slide. During one of these periods of exhaustion, before my diagnosis, I had a dream that there was something seriously wrong with me. I sensed that one of God's messengers was coming to warn me. I listened to the warning and told the messenger that I hoped that whatever diagnosis I was given....would be something that I could fight with dignity and courage. The entity in this dream, listened to me and then vanished. Approximately six months later, I was diagnosed with one of the rarest sarcomas in the world.
When I was stricken with my devastating diagnosis, I was a workaholic and a Christian of modest faith. Moreover, I had considered myself a failure at establishing a long standing, successful relationship. In the past, my relationships ended within five years. At the time of my diagnosis I was working myself to the bone at two medical centers and also giving many lectures on Integrative medicine. I was putting so many hours into my career that I had let my spiritual life slide. During one of these periods of exhaustion, before my diagnosis, I had a dream that there was something seriously wrong with me. I sensed that one of God's messengers was coming to warn me. I listened to the warning and told the messenger that I hoped that whatever diagnosis I was given....would be something that I could fight with dignity and courage. The entity in this dream, listened to me and then vanished. Approximately six months later, I was diagnosed with one of the rarest sarcomas in the world.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Building Your Personal Survival Team / New World of Cancer
( God is in Everything I See ) - ACIM
There is a scene in the movie " The Twin Towers " ( part of the Lord in The Rings Trilogy ), that every cancer patient needs to examine. In the movie, the majority of middle earth has been taken over by Saramon ( The evil one ). Gandolf the wizard and Aragon have rescued King Theoden from Saramons evil spell and are trying to warn him of impending doom to him and his people. The King is stubborn and suggests that he and his countrymen can fight this battle on their own. In the castle, Aragon pleads with him many times and begs the king to send out riders to bring reinforcements in from surrounding lands. Again and again, the king stubbornly refuses and lets his ego put him and his kingdom in grave danger.
After I recovered from the shock of my rare diagnosis, I realized that I was the one that would have spearhead my journey of survival. Everywhere I had gone in the midwest, I was given the same two words, " No hope ". Moreover when I went to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the reponse was the same. I even recall a conversation thst I had at a major cancer center in the midwest,after my return from Houston. The chemo was not working and my scans were getting worse. I asked the oncologist, could he please help me to find an agent that could help slow down the sarcoma. He looked at me and said........" Mark, what are you doing here? We just saw you 8 weeks ago". I said to him..." Doctor...I need your help. Im dying and want to live. Please help me. Is there a chemo. or agent that could stave this off or keep it at Bay? ". He looked at me and seemed upset. "Im wondering why you keep coming back" he said. "There is nothing more we can do, we told you that last time".
This physician seemed actually perplexed as to why I returned. His affect seemed depressed and angry.This conversation took place at one of the most well known major cancer centers in the midwest. This is a center at which they had seen a significant amount of sarcoma patients and did research. I walked away very sullen and in shock. I could not believe what I had just heard.
Cancer is a very formidable, intelligent opponent. It is a very complicated, sophisticated disease. Oftentimes, the most brillant medical, scientific minds in the workd cannot impede it's progression. Cancer cells and tumors can adapt and change at will. One of the biggest mistakes that a patient with and advanced or rare tumor can make is to assume that one oncolocist can lead them to safety. The majority of cancer patients I have talked to over the past 30 years have no idea what they are up against. The large majority of oncologists that I went to for help (over 25) told me in various ways that they did not know what to do with me. Some were nice about it, others were downright rude. Buiding your own survival team is Imperative if you are facing a rare or advanced cancer.
Lead Researcher
Cancer therapies and strategies are changing at a rapid pace. I feel personally that it is important to mount a three pronged attack when one hears that word," cancer". In order to survive, it's essential that you (the cancer patient), or someone you trust, take the lead and start gaining some expertise in understanding your diagnosis. The large majority of cancer patients and their families do not do this. The biggest mistake you can make, is to assume that your clinician or oncologist will understand everything that it will take to keep you alive. They may do their best, but you cannot make that assumption.
Most of the clinicians I spoke to, told me to eat anything I wanted to , to gain weight. They also told me to stay away from all natural medicines and supplements. They literally said that my natural protocols would increase my demise. When I walked out of these cancer centers, I did just the opposite. I stuck to my alkaline diet, my enemas, and my natural supplements that I carefully had researched.
The majority of chemotherapy offices across the United States that I visited were offering myself snd other patients a large array of soda pop, candy, sweets, and salted snacks that had a multitude of preservatives in them. They were also offering patients a supplement called, Boost, which has a very high sugar content. These type of foods are typical of the western diet, whick has been associated with inflammation. It would behoove clinicians to think twice before they advise patients to eat anything they want. There are many studies to back me up., including the ones published by the Life Extention Foundation and The New york Times. I have found that it's best to combine both conventional and holistic approaches to improve survival rates. Both sides need to understand the tremendous amount of lives that can be saved , combining these two sciences. My survival is proof of this. There are a number of providers in each state to help you do this.
Studies have shown that patients who are assertive and proactive have much better survival outcomes than those who don't. It's important for you or your lead researcher to gain knowledge concerning these topics:
* Tumor grade (Histologic grade)
* Staging system (which grade and why)
* Pathology report
* Five year survival stats and prognosis
* Clinical studies and trials
* Stem cell research
* Radiation Therapies
* Interventional Radiology options
* Targeted therapy options
* Cutting edge surgical options
* Genotyping
Holistic Theraputic Options
* Anti-Cancer/Alkaline Diet
* Herbal Adjuncts
* Vitamin Therapies
* Alkaline Water
* Intravenous vitamin therapies (in between chemo sessions)
* Guided Imagery
* Prayer and meditation
Cancer Patients Listen:
Each week, I listen to and talk with fellow survivors and individuals who are fighting for their very lives. Thousands and thousands of people I did not know came to my aid when I called out for help. God sent me armies of angels and people who gave me guidance and support when I was about to go over the cliff. I have seen Miracle upon Miracle since my diagnosis. Please don't give up. There is a way through this dark cavern. Take God's hand and he will lead you to safety.
There is a scene in the movie " The Twin Towers " ( part of the Lord in The Rings Trilogy ), that every cancer patient needs to examine. In the movie, the majority of middle earth has been taken over by Saramon ( The evil one ). Gandolf the wizard and Aragon have rescued King Theoden from Saramons evil spell and are trying to warn him of impending doom to him and his people. The King is stubborn and suggests that he and his countrymen can fight this battle on their own. In the castle, Aragon pleads with him many times and begs the king to send out riders to bring reinforcements in from surrounding lands. Again and again, the king stubbornly refuses and lets his ego put him and his kingdom in grave danger.
After I recovered from the shock of my rare diagnosis, I realized that I was the one that would have spearhead my journey of survival. Everywhere I had gone in the midwest, I was given the same two words, " No hope ". Moreover when I went to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the reponse was the same. I even recall a conversation thst I had at a major cancer center in the midwest,after my return from Houston. The chemo was not working and my scans were getting worse. I asked the oncologist, could he please help me to find an agent that could help slow down the sarcoma. He looked at me and said........" Mark, what are you doing here? We just saw you 8 weeks ago". I said to him..." Doctor...I need your help. Im dying and want to live. Please help me. Is there a chemo. or agent that could stave this off or keep it at Bay? ". He looked at me and seemed upset. "Im wondering why you keep coming back" he said. "There is nothing more we can do, we told you that last time".
This physician seemed actually perplexed as to why I returned. His affect seemed depressed and angry.This conversation took place at one of the most well known major cancer centers in the midwest. This is a center at which they had seen a significant amount of sarcoma patients and did research. I walked away very sullen and in shock. I could not believe what I had just heard.
Cancer is a very formidable, intelligent opponent. It is a very complicated, sophisticated disease. Oftentimes, the most brillant medical, scientific minds in the workd cannot impede it's progression. Cancer cells and tumors can adapt and change at will. One of the biggest mistakes that a patient with and advanced or rare tumor can make is to assume that one oncolocist can lead them to safety. The majority of cancer patients I have talked to over the past 30 years have no idea what they are up against. The large majority of oncologists that I went to for help (over 25) told me in various ways that they did not know what to do with me. Some were nice about it, others were downright rude. Buiding your own survival team is Imperative if you are facing a rare or advanced cancer.
Lead Researcher
Cancer therapies and strategies are changing at a rapid pace. I feel personally that it is important to mount a three pronged attack when one hears that word," cancer". In order to survive, it's essential that you (the cancer patient), or someone you trust, take the lead and start gaining some expertise in understanding your diagnosis. The large majority of cancer patients and their families do not do this. The biggest mistake you can make, is to assume that your clinician or oncologist will understand everything that it will take to keep you alive. They may do their best, but you cannot make that assumption.
Most of the clinicians I spoke to, told me to eat anything I wanted to , to gain weight. They also told me to stay away from all natural medicines and supplements. They literally said that my natural protocols would increase my demise. When I walked out of these cancer centers, I did just the opposite. I stuck to my alkaline diet, my enemas, and my natural supplements that I carefully had researched.
The majority of chemotherapy offices across the United States that I visited were offering myself snd other patients a large array of soda pop, candy, sweets, and salted snacks that had a multitude of preservatives in them. They were also offering patients a supplement called, Boost, which has a very high sugar content. These type of foods are typical of the western diet, whick has been associated with inflammation. It would behoove clinicians to think twice before they advise patients to eat anything they want. There are many studies to back me up., including the ones published by the Life Extention Foundation and The New york Times. I have found that it's best to combine both conventional and holistic approaches to improve survival rates. Both sides need to understand the tremendous amount of lives that can be saved , combining these two sciences. My survival is proof of this. There are a number of providers in each state to help you do this.
Studies have shown that patients who are assertive and proactive have much better survival outcomes than those who don't. It's important for you or your lead researcher to gain knowledge concerning these topics:
* Tumor grade (Histologic grade)
* Staging system (which grade and why)
* Pathology report
* Five year survival stats and prognosis
* Clinical studies and trials
* Stem cell research
* Radiation Therapies
* Interventional Radiology options
* Targeted therapy options
* Cutting edge surgical options
* Genotyping
Holistic Theraputic Options
* Anti-Cancer/Alkaline Diet
* Herbal Adjuncts
* Vitamin Therapies
* Alkaline Water
* Intravenous vitamin therapies (in between chemo sessions)
* Guided Imagery
* Prayer and meditation
Cancer Patients Listen:
Each week, I listen to and talk with fellow survivors and individuals who are fighting for their very lives. Thousands and thousands of people I did not know came to my aid when I called out for help. God sent me armies of angels and people who gave me guidance and support when I was about to go over the cliff. I have seen Miracle upon Miracle since my diagnosis. Please don't give up. There is a way through this dark cavern. Take God's hand and he will lead you to safety.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Multiple Opinions / The New World of Cancer
( " Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference " ) Robert Frost
The battlefield of life, for most of us is often very complicated. It can have many twists and turns. Many of us, unfortunately, are someday going to meet an enemy that we ourselves have no answer for. When any of us are given a diagnosis of cancer , our normal response is:
* How am I going to survive?
* Where do I start?
* Who do I go to for help?
* Where are the " EXPERTS " who treat my type of cancer ?
We talk to friends, colleaques, even acqaintances. Hours, days, and weeks are spent searching the internet, journals and the media. Often we find a clinician or medical center that can lead us to safety and remission. There are many other circumstances where this is not the case. We find that the chemotherapy may not be working or there may be life-threatening side effects. Moreover, there are continuing road blocks and other challenges that seem insurmoutable. The decisions that we must make are not for the faint of heart. Discernment is imperative. When one is facing a grave diagnosis, such as an advanced sarcoma or carcinoma, multiple opinions are of the utmost importance. The answers are available to us...therefore, we must search diligently untill we find them. Seeking a myriad of opinions ( Western and Holistic Experts ) helps us to see things differently and empowers us with hope.
There Are Answers Out There For You.
* Keep praying for guidance.
* Keep seeking.
* Keep looking.
* There is a way through this.
If things aren't going well for you, don't be afraid to seek out as many opinions as possible.
Im Europe currently, physicians are performing chemoembolization on patients with advanced gastro-intestinal cancers with liver metastasis. They inject chemotherapy into the liver lessions followed by the patients own stem cells and watch them clinically. Often in this study, many of the patients show shrinkage of the tumor so that the surgeons can remove them. Dr Gunther Furst out of Germany is publishing very positive results.
Early into my diagnosis, in between chemo's, I journeyed to southern California to a holistic medical center where they taught me more advanced teachings about natural medicine than I had learned in my formal training. I received intravenous glutithione and ginseng which helped slow down and stabilize my liver tumor growth. I also learned practicle methods on how to alkalinize my body.
I feel that deep discernment is imperative as each choice we make can result in positive or negative outcomes. The one huge mistake many patients with advanced cancers make is putting all of ther hope and faith into one physician or medical center without looking at multiple options. Cancer is a very complicated disease that can outsmart the most brilliant medical minds in the country. Often patients stay at the first physician or center they find and do not look for multiple options.
Month after month I get calls from families, husbands, relatives who ask my help when it is too late. I have warned many of them in the early stages to call out for help from around the world and get multiple integrative opinions. Many of the decisions and choices patients and their families make are out of naivete' or fear. Out of the gate when our backs are against the wall..that is the time to call out for help. It is imperative to come up with three survival/ backup strategies when we are diagnosed. I was taught that lesson early on and it was essential in my survival.
I recall having visited a number of East Coast hospitals during my fight for survival. My condition had declined and my tumors were encroaching upon the major vessels in my liver. As I looked down at my feet each day I saw more and more fluid buildup in my ankles. My liver was failing. Two very prominent experts in two prestigious medical centers on the East Coast tried talking me into receiving a cutting edge proceedure that had recently been developed. They were trying to stave off my tumor and minimize potential complications. As they were speaking, I recalled that two of my own patients recently had gone through this proceedure over the past year. Both of them got very sick after this and died shortly thereafter. I declined.
Another specialist in the midwest discussed performing a major debulking proceedure on my liver to keep me alive. Upon leaving his office I sought out council from my teams on the East Coast regarding his plan. Each of these specialists shared with me that this plan would certainly end in a fatal outcome if I chose it. My guidance told me to stay on my current chemotherapy regimen ( Sutent ) and look for more successful options. Dr. Robert Taub and his team at Columbia ( NYC ) gave me wise counsel during these critical periods. I know that I would not have survived had it not been for him and his wise guidance.
When given a diagnosis of catastrophic illness, one's condition can change at any moment. Situations are fequently evolving and transitioning. Sometimes it's best to wait and do nothing. Later you might have to add more aggressive therapies. If things look bad....having multiple face to face or phone consults can pay off.They could tilt the balance between life and death.
Cancer is a test. The defining moment in your life.
* You can do it.
* There is an answer out there for you.
* God is waiting for your call.
* He will answer.
* Never give up.
The battlefield of life, for most of us is often very complicated. It can have many twists and turns. Many of us, unfortunately, are someday going to meet an enemy that we ourselves have no answer for. When any of us are given a diagnosis of cancer , our normal response is:
* How am I going to survive?
* Where do I start?
* Who do I go to for help?
* Where are the " EXPERTS " who treat my type of cancer ?
We talk to friends, colleaques, even acqaintances. Hours, days, and weeks are spent searching the internet, journals and the media. Often we find a clinician or medical center that can lead us to safety and remission. There are many other circumstances where this is not the case. We find that the chemotherapy may not be working or there may be life-threatening side effects. Moreover, there are continuing road blocks and other challenges that seem insurmoutable. The decisions that we must make are not for the faint of heart. Discernment is imperative. When one is facing a grave diagnosis, such as an advanced sarcoma or carcinoma, multiple opinions are of the utmost importance. The answers are available to us...therefore, we must search diligently untill we find them. Seeking a myriad of opinions ( Western and Holistic Experts ) helps us to see things differently and empowers us with hope.
There Are Answers Out There For You.
* Keep praying for guidance.
* Keep seeking.
* Keep looking.
* There is a way through this.
If things aren't going well for you, don't be afraid to seek out as many opinions as possible.
Im Europe currently, physicians are performing chemoembolization on patients with advanced gastro-intestinal cancers with liver metastasis. They inject chemotherapy into the liver lessions followed by the patients own stem cells and watch them clinically. Often in this study, many of the patients show shrinkage of the tumor so that the surgeons can remove them. Dr Gunther Furst out of Germany is publishing very positive results.
Early into my diagnosis, in between chemo's, I journeyed to southern California to a holistic medical center where they taught me more advanced teachings about natural medicine than I had learned in my formal training. I received intravenous glutithione and ginseng which helped slow down and stabilize my liver tumor growth. I also learned practicle methods on how to alkalinize my body.
I feel that deep discernment is imperative as each choice we make can result in positive or negative outcomes. The one huge mistake many patients with advanced cancers make is putting all of ther hope and faith into one physician or medical center without looking at multiple options. Cancer is a very complicated disease that can outsmart the most brilliant medical minds in the country. Often patients stay at the first physician or center they find and do not look for multiple options.
Month after month I get calls from families, husbands, relatives who ask my help when it is too late. I have warned many of them in the early stages to call out for help from around the world and get multiple integrative opinions. Many of the decisions and choices patients and their families make are out of naivete' or fear. Out of the gate when our backs are against the wall..that is the time to call out for help. It is imperative to come up with three survival/ backup strategies when we are diagnosed. I was taught that lesson early on and it was essential in my survival.
I recall having visited a number of East Coast hospitals during my fight for survival. My condition had declined and my tumors were encroaching upon the major vessels in my liver. As I looked down at my feet each day I saw more and more fluid buildup in my ankles. My liver was failing. Two very prominent experts in two prestigious medical centers on the East Coast tried talking me into receiving a cutting edge proceedure that had recently been developed. They were trying to stave off my tumor and minimize potential complications. As they were speaking, I recalled that two of my own patients recently had gone through this proceedure over the past year. Both of them got very sick after this and died shortly thereafter. I declined.
Another specialist in the midwest discussed performing a major debulking proceedure on my liver to keep me alive. Upon leaving his office I sought out council from my teams on the East Coast regarding his plan. Each of these specialists shared with me that this plan would certainly end in a fatal outcome if I chose it. My guidance told me to stay on my current chemotherapy regimen ( Sutent ) and look for more successful options. Dr. Robert Taub and his team at Columbia ( NYC ) gave me wise counsel during these critical periods. I know that I would not have survived had it not been for him and his wise guidance.
When given a diagnosis of catastrophic illness, one's condition can change at any moment. Situations are fequently evolving and transitioning. Sometimes it's best to wait and do nothing. Later you might have to add more aggressive therapies. If things look bad....having multiple face to face or phone consults can pay off.They could tilt the balance between life and death.
Cancer is a test. The defining moment in your life.
* You can do it.
* There is an answer out there for you.
* God is waiting for your call.
* He will answer.
* Never give up.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Asking God's Guidance / The New World Of Cancer
I would not be sitting here today ( June 6th 2010 ) journaling about my survival had it not been for God and Jesus surrounding me with their healing love and guidance. When I first got hit with the news that I had a catastrophic illness, I was a christian of modest faith. This faith had guided through a difficult childhood, my parents divorce, and other traumas that followed. I had never been much of a church goer, but I had a modest belief in God and his son, Jesus. ( In my adult life this faith carried me through a serious heart event and a significant depression ) As I grew older and became a medical professional I started asking for more responsibilities at work ( Possibly to compensate for the low self esteeem I've had for most of my life ) .As time went on, my life took on workaholic tendencies. I leaned on the fact that no matter what I was going through if I poured myself into my work and lectures, the internal pain and stress would seem to disolve. At the onset of my initial diagnosis I was heavily into this mode.
I remember that moment in Tennesee when I was lying in the woods, gazing up at the cross in agony. I had not slept for weeks and was exhausted. The shearing pain came in waves and was getting worse in my right side. Moreover, my fevers and rigors were not abating even with the handfuls of tylenol I was consuming. Everywhere I had been
( visiting many cancer centers ) they had given me no hope . Over the previous seven weeks I had been leaning heavily on medical professionals and my friends for support and advice but I seemd to be getting worse. Constant terror and fear can humble a person. The events that day at the cross made me realize that there might not be an earthly answer to my dilemma. But I could "choose to see things differently" (ACIM)
I started to realize (at that moment) that I could indeed choose another way of looking at this. Starting the next day, at MD Anderson Cancer Center, I was calm enough to read some bible verses and lessons from A Course in Miracles. Each day as I awoke, I would do at least 30 minutes of reading followed by hands on imagery on the broken places of my body. (I would see each organ and cell Whole)
During the next 2-3 years, each season that approached (of that year) would lead me to a new challenge, new mountain tops, that I would need to face. God would speak to me often though the air, wind, the sun, the oceans and the trees. His healing balm would be sent to me through strangers, animals, mountains, humor and the thousands of individuals that were praying for me. He would guide me to the best experts in the world (conventional and natural) through the internet, my colleages, journals, obscure news articles, television programs, phone calls, and other fellow cancer patients. New opportunities of healing started to open up. During the second year of my diagnosis (during my divorce) I recall that another chemo had failed to work against the advancing tumors. I was very sick and my clinicians at the time had no answers. At a support group at Gildas Club ( Michigan ), I met a woman who was battling advanced breast cancer. She was in a very similar situation, as I was, and she was giving herself a chemotherapy called Ukraine,(from Europe)And,that it was staving off the progression of her tumors. This chemotherapy would only attack her cancer cells and had minimal side effects. I did some research and found that it had potential with liver cancers and sarcomas. Sure enough within weeks, my friends and colleages started putting on fund-raisers for me so I could pay the significant price tag for this product. I was on it for ten months and in the end, it did put me into partial remission for six months. I considered that a miracle. There are no coincidences in life. I know in my heart and soul that God had put this woman in my life for a reason.
Again and again over the past seven years I was at deaths door with no where to turn.
Last year was one of my worst. My liver was failing and the tumors were advancing again. I was fainting often at work and my chemo was not holding the tumor growth. My teams in NYC were not sure about which proceedure I should have next before my liver transplant to keep me alive. They wanted me to stay in NY over the next few weeks to have tests done. I prayed to God for guidance about what to do. I also started scanning the internet for help. Sure enough a few days later I found a website discussing the work of the one of the most eminent liver interventionalists in the world. His name is Dr. Salem and he works out of Northwestern Memorial Medical Center in Chicago. I was so sick as I left Manhattan and started towards the windy city. The day after I arrived Dr. Salem and his team put me under and diagnosed the blockage that was threatening my life. A week later he went in again and performed
an angioplasty thru my vena-cava in my liver. His wisdom and wonderful guidance saved my life.
When you are up against the wall, with no where to turn, say to yourself: "Its possible, There is a Way". It is never to late to call out for help. Against all odds, we can take Gods hand and he can lead us to safety.
I remember that moment in Tennesee when I was lying in the woods, gazing up at the cross in agony. I had not slept for weeks and was exhausted. The shearing pain came in waves and was getting worse in my right side. Moreover, my fevers and rigors were not abating even with the handfuls of tylenol I was consuming. Everywhere I had been
( visiting many cancer centers ) they had given me no hope . Over the previous seven weeks I had been leaning heavily on medical professionals and my friends for support and advice but I seemd to be getting worse. Constant terror and fear can humble a person. The events that day at the cross made me realize that there might not be an earthly answer to my dilemma. But I could "choose to see things differently" (ACIM)
I started to realize (at that moment) that I could indeed choose another way of looking at this. Starting the next day, at MD Anderson Cancer Center, I was calm enough to read some bible verses and lessons from A Course in Miracles. Each day as I awoke, I would do at least 30 minutes of reading followed by hands on imagery on the broken places of my body. (I would see each organ and cell Whole)
During the next 2-3 years, each season that approached (of that year) would lead me to a new challenge, new mountain tops, that I would need to face. God would speak to me often though the air, wind, the sun, the oceans and the trees. His healing balm would be sent to me through strangers, animals, mountains, humor and the thousands of individuals that were praying for me. He would guide me to the best experts in the world (conventional and natural) through the internet, my colleages, journals, obscure news articles, television programs, phone calls, and other fellow cancer patients. New opportunities of healing started to open up. During the second year of my diagnosis (during my divorce) I recall that another chemo had failed to work against the advancing tumors. I was very sick and my clinicians at the time had no answers. At a support group at Gildas Club ( Michigan ), I met a woman who was battling advanced breast cancer. She was in a very similar situation, as I was, and she was giving herself a chemotherapy called Ukraine,(from Europe)And,that it was staving off the progression of her tumors. This chemotherapy would only attack her cancer cells and had minimal side effects. I did some research and found that it had potential with liver cancers and sarcomas. Sure enough within weeks, my friends and colleages started putting on fund-raisers for me so I could pay the significant price tag for this product. I was on it for ten months and in the end, it did put me into partial remission for six months. I considered that a miracle. There are no coincidences in life. I know in my heart and soul that God had put this woman in my life for a reason.
Again and again over the past seven years I was at deaths door with no where to turn.
Last year was one of my worst. My liver was failing and the tumors were advancing again. I was fainting often at work and my chemo was not holding the tumor growth. My teams in NYC were not sure about which proceedure I should have next before my liver transplant to keep me alive. They wanted me to stay in NY over the next few weeks to have tests done. I prayed to God for guidance about what to do. I also started scanning the internet for help. Sure enough a few days later I found a website discussing the work of the one of the most eminent liver interventionalists in the world. His name is Dr. Salem and he works out of Northwestern Memorial Medical Center in Chicago. I was so sick as I left Manhattan and started towards the windy city. The day after I arrived Dr. Salem and his team put me under and diagnosed the blockage that was threatening my life. A week later he went in again and performed
an angioplasty thru my vena-cava in my liver. His wisdom and wonderful guidance saved my life.
When you are up against the wall, with no where to turn, say to yourself: "Its possible, There is a Way". It is never to late to call out for help. Against all odds, we can take Gods hand and he can lead us to safety.
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