Justin Choo left a comment on Saturday's post and I quote "... For me, even though I try my best to be informed of alternative treatments, it's not the same when one is not really sick. The details don't stick in my mind." Fair enough and what he said is very relevant. So I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on pretreatment selection.
When there is no cancer incident, the mind just read and process the information and nothing much more happens, perhaps other than an awareness has been created. But when the cancer incidence has occurred, the situation becomes tense and urgent. Under such situation, the mind is also in a state of confusion. This is further compounded by the fact the the conventional doctors will say surgery or chemotherapy or radiation must take place immediately else patient will lose their lives. There is case where the doctors threatened the patient that if she check out of the hospital, he will not treat her again. More recently I heard about a case where the doctor said that the patient got only two weeks to live and he will be leaving for overseas the day after. So the patient is forced to do the surgery the very next day. The patient was not even given a chance to get a 2nd opinion. For the record, both patients died. So with so much pressures what can you do when in such a situation?
People with cancers even when discovered at very late stage (like mine) does not behave like an electronic device. It does not malfunction on the spot. I know of a friend who dispenses TCM remedies to cancer patients for over 15 years now and he has not seen a case like that. Most of the time, the doctors exaggerate. Yes, the patient's condition is serious but not to the extent he will drop dead immediately and that he or she is not even given a chance to get a 2nd opinion. We know why doctors does not want patients to get a 2nd opinion. He is very likely to lose the patient to the other doctor. So the first rule is always get a 2nd or more opinions.
The second rule when consulting with the conventional doctors is to always ask questions. Pretend to be ignorant. Force him or her to a corner. Explore all available options. Ask the doctor to disclose the risks and rewards attached to each option. Do not accept standard answers. Always find out the past statistics on success rate. More importantly find out currently, how many patients the doctor is treating and how many are responding. Those that did not respond to treatment, what is the life expectancy? If the doctor is not co-operative, change doctor. You have the right. Get more friendly doctors.
Normally, the seriousness of cancer is classified into four stages (kidney cancer has five stages, the first stage being stage 0), stage 4 is terminal in conventional medicine and means that the cancer has spread to other areas of the body, medically called metastasis. The primary cancer (ie. where the cancer first started) determine what the cancer is called. Like mine, it started from the kidney and then to the lungs. It's still called kidney cancer. The conventional treatment for stage 4 cancer patients is often to lengthened the life of the patient. The third rule is to question what is the life expectancy for those who went for treatment and those that did not go. Conventional doctors' mindset is that a stage 4 cancer patient IS EXPECTED to die. So what they are trying to do is to give a patient a better quality of life and the meantime lengthen their life. They think this is very noble of them. Utterly rubbish and sending patients to their death! Conventional doctors do not know everything.
For stage 4 cancer patients, the forth rule is to read about alternative therapies. This is because conventional medication cannot be of much help to such patients. This is also where alternative therapies shine, if the right one is selected.
In respect to alternative therapy, there are also a number of rules to bear in mind. NEVER SELECT A THERAPY PURELY BASED ON HEARSAY OR JUST TESTIMONIALS. Recommendations are good but should not be the only determining factor. The first rule is to question on what basis is the therapy based on? Testimonials are good but not good enough. Some therapies causes much inflammation to the tumors and if that is dangerous to the patient, then that therapy is not suitable. This would required some reading and where the tumors are located. Tumors located in soft tissue areas like the brain, lungs, kidney, pancreas, liver and etc must be careful if the treatment causes inflammation. Chances it will not only cause extreme pain and swelling, it will also cause internal hemorrhage and the patient could die of bleeding. Therapist that perform intravenous (IV) applications, should know how the therapy is to be administered like for example whether the injection is directly into the tumors (can also cause the tumors to spread quickly), surrounding areas or a general administration. What are the risks and likely reactions. Ask about the healing reactions and what to do in the event of bleeding, swelling, etc. Do not just accept blindly. If you not sure, get second opinion from other therapist or other people experienced with such procedure. If the treatment is to be performed overseas, make sure you find out more about the therapist/clinic first. Ask the therapist for the treatment plan besides the costs. Understand what therapies are to be used and prepare a list of questions and get the doctor to answer before you travel.
If you are going on alternative therapy, the second rule is always to select a primary therapy as the anchor therapy. Understand therapy requirements. Pay attention to the diet requirements. Find out the average time frame for the therapy to work. Normally supplements are also required. Find out what the supplements are and you must know what each supplements is for. Time must be given for the therapy to work and unless the patient's condition is deteriorating, it would be advisable to give a therapy a chance to work. Where a change of diet to vegetarian is required for example, expect some loss of weight and it can take up to two months before the body condition stabilises. Do not panic in the meantime if the patient is still able to eat. During this period of time, the patient should be able to eat and sleep well. However, if the patient cannot eat and/or sleep, then immediately consult some experienced therapist or people with experience for further help. Where diet is concerned, normally organic foods are recommended but if for any reason there are no organic food available for the time being, the sub-rule is to take non organic rather than not consuming.
In addition to the anchor therapy, when introducing supplementary therapies, the third rule is that those therapies selected MUST complement the anchor therapy. It is not suppose to be a replacement of the anchor therapy. Find out from the person recommending or from literature what that supplementary therapy is all about and how it complements. Be careful when reading product literature. Try to balance the information by searching the net. Introduce each supplementary therapy one at a time and watch out for the body reaction before continuing. Always listen to the body before deciding.
The forth rule is to continue to read and read, talk to people with prior experiences or engage a therapist.
The above are just some of my pointers to help you get started when embarking on cancer treatments based my own personal experience and also from my dealings with other cancer patients. It's not exhaustive but offers a starting point for the caregivers and patients. What I find disturbing is that the patients or caregivers do not know what they are into and become helpless. Exercise your rights and give the patient a better chance to recovery.
Fungicide Therapy Trial - Day 13 Update
I have suspended the fungicide therapy since Saturday evening and will resume it on Tuesday after slightly more than two days break. This is because my chest area is a little congested and also a little painful. I would not want the fungicide to cause further inflammation, however slight it may be. However, my pH therapy continued.
My coughing has improved and other than yesterday morning's blood stained phlegm, everything is normal back.
Yesterday, I spent most of my time in bed, other than the time required for juicing and cooking. I think I watched over 6 hours of Chinese costume drama while resting in bed. I feel so much better now. It's been a while since I appreciated the warmness of the afternoon air in my room that has been more therapeutic rather than of discomfort.
Hi CT,
ReplyDeleteVery exhaustive advice. Thank you.
You think the doctor will give such advice? It's the dark side of human nature. When he gets to see hundreds of dying and desperate patients a day, and a swelling credit balance in his bank accout each day; then each day is just another happy day for him. This is of course a very harsh and sweeping generalization. I will be very happy if proven wrong, and will apologise profusely for my "insensitive" comment. I do hope there are still the genuine and caring doctors around.
"I think I watched over 6 hours of Chinese costume drama while resting in bed. I feel so much better now. It's been a while since I appreciated the warmness of the afternoon air in my room that has been more therapeutic rather than of discomfort."
Congratulation! You are getting now.
Take care.
There are such doctors. This is why I consulted 5 urologists and 2 oncologists. Those I selected are the friendly ones and they are willing to see me even when I am on alternative therapy.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am trying to say is why do you want to see a doctor who goes by the book? After all, we pay doctors for their knowledge and opinions.
Hi CT,
ReplyDeleteI mean you are getting better now.
Just started to read your blog. Amazing that you can write so much to share. I learnt from my AOL class : Sharing is JOY. My mum is a rectum cancer patient. It hit her lung early this year and was told is Stage 4. Last week doc told us chemo is the only choice and she may take oral chemo if she still refuse to chemo port. And oral chemo can only last for 6 months. Mum decision is still the same - NO CHEMO!!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about your mother. Now that she has made a choice, there are still much to do.
ReplyDeleteIn case surgery is being considered or has been completed, please read my post on surgery induced metastasis (5 parts) starting here http://upekah.blogspot.com/2011/03/surgery-induced-cancer-metastasis.html. There are some things you can do to help your mother.
Good luck and speedy healing for your mother.
Thanks CT. Her Chemo and radiotheraphy was done in 2004 before the surgery. She is living with a stoma bag for life. After 6 years we thought it was safe zone, never know it will be back. Will try do read as much as I can. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteSengSwee
Dear Seng Swee,
ReplyDeleteOnce a person has cancer, he or she has it for life. Please pay special attention to her diet.
Best wishes.
In regards to yesterdays post. 08/05/2011
ReplyDeleteif you do take the baking soda therapy, how are you going to do it? If you have to juice every hour. Are you going to modify the gerson therapy for the 11 days.
Do you know of Don Croft? He has a "zapper" device you "experiment" with. Start at www.whale.to/b/croft.html
that cartilage is good , if you ask me. a healing reaction. It seem like in alternative medicine , pain is good but it would hard to know when and how long it is good?
Have you asked someone what it is and if good or bad? Do you have a therapy guide?
Dear John,
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to modify the Gerson therapy to accommodate baking soda maple syrup(BSMS) therapy. BSMS can be taken in between juices or meals.
I have not heard about Don Croft but I am aware of some zapper and other devices like Rife Machine (http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer03/FreqGenerators.html).
Even when I had my first cartilage episode in Gerson Clinic in Mexico, the doctors cannot confirm. Well, I would think positive in that the cartilage expulsion is good because the dead tumors are not part of the lungs. However, only with lab analysis can tell if the cartilage is a dead tumor or not. For me, it does not matter. I can still sing S&G's Bridge Over Troubled Water in original key and breath deeply without any difficulties. I feel quite good except for some minor pain perhaps due to the inflammation. I have about 43+ tumors in my lungs and so far I only expelled 3!
Healing reactions do cause some pain but it normally do not last that long and most can be controlled by say coffee enema. But it could be pain due to cancer. For me, I think I am able to distinguish the two and in my case, it's not due to the cancer. I have no need for pain killers (not even paracetamol) since day one seems to confirm it. The Gerson therapy book only documented a few standard healing reactions. I look at it this way. If the pain comes and after it goes, your body feels good, then it's a healing reaction. But if after the pain goes away and the body feels shitty (feel weaker, bleeding, cannot eat, etc), then its not good.
thanks and i agree with your reply.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to quickly get all the funguscide near your home.