Sunday, May 6, 2012

Journey of Pain

I spent most of Wesak day sleeping. I think I have now moved into another phase of my journey which is rather challenging. I noticed that I have been experiencing more pain in my body as compared to previously. I give it a pain score of 5 (out of 10). When I start to walk, it increases to 6 but as soon as I take in a pain killer, it comes down to about 2. I decided to learn more about pain and I observed my pain come from four sources. The first is the nerve pain. This mainly affect my legs and occurs when I walk. The second pain is due to my bone tumors which affect my left knee joint and the right pelvic bone. This pain comes and goes as it likes but can be prominent at night. The third is from my abdomen due to the kidney tumor ablation. This is by far the most painful of the pain I am experiencing all day long. I don't know why? It should not be so painful by now but I guess the fourth source of pain comes from the cancer itself as the cancer also secretes chemicals that causes pain.

So besides using pain killer medication, I have to learn other methods of controlling pain. One way is to resume my coffee enema at least once a day. It's not easy for me to do coffee enema these days due to pain on right abdomen and my legs. I have also started to take CA herbs for my bone tumors and pain control. One thing I have learned is not to waste my energy to control pain but rather to use it for healing.

I find my stomach is bloated a little bit. My appetite at the moment is not good.

What You Should Know About Treating Cancer Pain

You don't have to accept pain.

People who have cancer don't always have pain. Everyone is different. But if you do have cancer pain, you should know that you don't have to accept it. Cancer pain can almost always be relieved.
  • Your pain can be managed.
  • Controlling pain is part of your cancer treatment.
  • Talking openly with your doctor and health care team will help them manage your pain.
  • The best way to control pain is to stop it from starting or keep it from getting worse.
  • There are many different medicines to control pain. Everyone's pain control plan is different.
  • Keeping a record of your pain will help create the best pain control plan for you.
  • People who take cancer pain medicines as prescribed rarely become addicted to them.
  • Your body does not become immune to pain medicine. Stronger medicines should not be saved for "later."
Source: www.cancer.gov

7 comments:

  1. Take care.

    Pray hard for you =)

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  2. dear chang
    I hope you are in good spirits. I read about u taking the ohhira extract and am wondering whether it help you in any way. I an currently taking 2 to 4 capsules daily.just wondering if it is good. My mom in law was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and she started to use a hydrotheraphy spa bath diligently twice to three time daily. Have u heard about it? I believe the SJMC purchased a few unit for their oncology dept to help their cancer patients. This year my mom in law was declared cancer free.I dunno what us it but perhaps it was the spa bath. Maybe u could hv a look at it. I think the name is Grandsun SG 2000 hydrotherapy bath. Also u should try hv a look at the Budwigg cancer diet which consist of organic cottage cheese and flaxseed oil. Well, hv a peaceful weekend and please let me know on your experience with the ohhira mountain extract .. Thank you

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    1. I took Ohhira quite sometime back in 2009 and stopped taking after a few months after I started the Gerson Therapy. I really can't tell you if it works or not. During those days, I take about 20 capsules (recommended was 30 capsules) a day.

      When I was at Gerson Clinic in Mexico in December 2010, my doctors did not give me hydrotherapy (and also Vitamin B17 IV) as it was for effective certain type of cancers only.

      I have tried Budwig diet for a short period of time only.

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  3. i read with some concern that you seem to be doing too much self-prognosis and self medications. you have explained to some extent why you have to do this. I can understand how laborious it must have been for you to do your own research, and it comes mostly from the internet? with all the suggestions/leads from readers, it must have been mind-boggling to just mine all the data by yourself and come to a sensible conclusion for the next course of action.

    i understand that you have sought second opinions from a medical oncologist in singapore before? may i ask who he/she is and which hospital did you go to? getting to a right doctor and team of doctors to review your case is key.

    another thing is i would like to throw this as a suggestion for you. have you heard of a drug called Everolimus? it's an oral drug to be taken daily to contain the spread of certain types of cancer, in particular advanced kidney cancer. there are very positive statistics on the efficacy of this drug. again, it is not curative but it's highly palliative and can greatly extend the quality of life of a patient. the downside is the cost. it's super costly.

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    1. For the record, I have seen 2 oncologists, 5 urologists and 3 orthopedic surgeons for my cancer treatment. My urologist after seeing ALL his kidney cancer patients who took surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and targeted therapy died within six months of treatment advised me against taking any treatment. My oncologist and urologist in Singapore are very friendly but still, their longest surviving kidney cancer patient was 3 years. It also shows how successful their treatment was. They are still willing to see me although I have rejected their treatment recommendation. So what is the purpose of meeting these doctors when I do not intent to take any of their recommended treatments?

      Oh, don't get me wrong. I am not saying I know more than these doctors but I do have access to some other conventional therapies that these doctors are not aware of. I constantly read major kidney cancer sites to read up on the latest medical development. For example, I am interested in the Interleukin-2 treatment and guess what? The specialist doctors in Malaysia have not heard about this newer treatment.

      I can understand your apprehension about self medication and I also do not encourage a cancer patient to go alone. I try to get help where possible because there are just too much information out there. By the way, I only rely on sites/books that I deemed reliable and will further research on the treatment first and preferable which has gone through some clinical trials.

      As for Everolimus, I have not heard of it but I will read it up. But I have an alternative drug called cimetidine which costs RM0.60 (US$0.20) per tablet that does the same job supported by clinical studies. Also another supplement called melatonin that also does the same job that sells over the counter in USA for US$6 per 60 tablets.

      Currently, I am consulting a doctor from New York via email. I am taking two conventional therapies called gammadelta and metronomic chemotherapy recommended by him. I have also checked with some local hospitals and they have not heard about these therapies. I wanted to get the drug from the hospitals. So how?

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  4. thank you for the reply. I hv only started to read your blog today and found it very informative and helpful. i would appreciate if you could let me know where to get the water filter system recommended by you in of your postings ( the one approved by the Japanese health ministry.)My email add is elfin14@gmail.com

    Again, thank you for sharing your experience. My father died of stomach cancer 2 years ago and i find the whole experience was harrowing as i was frantically trying to get as much info about cancer but was disappointed at the availability of support as well as info in Malaysia. i did my own research on the subject and was overwhelmed by info that i got (either via internet or word of mouth). There was even a few feeding me false info just to gain a few bucks.
    Hence, blogs like is super helpful and i thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please stay strong and stay positive. My prayers are with you. -Elf

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  5. how are you now Chang? my prayers with you

    regards,
    Lanie

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