After watching a controversial video report on CNN this morning, I couldn’t keep silent and wanted to share some thoughts with you. The report was about a mother of a 13-year-old boy diagnosed with a type of cancer called Hotchkins Lymphoma. Supposedly, the mother and the boy refused to get chemotherapy and chose a natural, holistic treatment based on Native Indian philosophies to heal the body. The boy said that he doesn’t want any chemo because he tried it once and believed it would kill him. Since the boy and the mom opted out for alternative medicine now court has issued warrant for the mother.
With all due respect to all my friends who are battling cancer and to those whose relatives are battling or have died from cancer, I think there is something fundamentally wrong with this report. First of all, the government has no business “forcing” anyone to get chemo. That’s a personal decision that should be left private. It’s no different than abortion, same sex marriage or choice of religious belief. Just because your views may not be shared by the majority it doesn’t make them wrong or less valid. Government intervention in such cases is nothing more than seizing our constitutional rights. If America still wants to hold the title as the Land of the Free, government should leave cancer victims to decide for themselves if chemo is the right choice.
Second of all, chemotherapy is not the ONLY way to treat cancer. If fact, it kills more patients than it helps, 27 percent according to a recent report by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, published at BBC. That’s roughly 1/3 of all people who get chemo! Disturbing statistic, isn’t it? If I was a mother of a child diagnosed with cancer, with this kind of fatality rate, I would opt out of chemo and go for alternative medicine too. There are much more natural and less dangerous cures out there but the general population doesn’t know because 1). the doctors who propose alternative treatments are ostracized by the medical field, 2). the mass media blackout on alternative and holistic medicine, 3). it’s estimated that an average chemo regimen costs between $300,000 and $1,000,000 so obviously the pharma field has no value in curing cancer. Just follow the money trail and you will understand why there is still no cure for cancer.
The problem with chemo is that is a temporary solution to cancer. It may prolong the life of the victim but it doesn’t cure the illness. Think of it this way, let’s say your car needed some major repair. Instead of targeting the cause of the problem and eliminating it altogether, you kept spending few bucks here and there to maintain the stability of the car. Sooner or later, your car will break down and you not only wasted money on small repairs but your car will no longer function. Now imagine that car was your body. Cancer is the major repair that needs to be eradicated. But conventional medicine only offers small repairs along the way called chemo. Just when you think your cancer has gone into remission it comes back again.
Earlier this year I wrote a blog about Matthew “Jett” Schaefer, an actor, model and private pilot. Matt was an inspiration to many especially after his battle with cancer last year. He underwent chemo too and thought he beat cancer. In January 2009, Maximum Fitness magazine featured him on their cover with a title, “How I cheated death.” Ironically, that month Matthew passed away unexpectedly not from the cancer, but from a rare sinus infection. According to his memorial web site, the infection would have not been as deadly had Matthew produced enough white cells to fight it off. But his body was too weak from the latest chemo therapy which killed all of his white cells. It makes you wonder, did chemo really helped Matt or killed him.
Here is another important point to consider. Cancer may not be curable but it’s surely preventable. For example, carcinogens such as parabens (another name for artificial fragrances), phthalates and aluminum are abundant in conventional beauty care products. They get absorbed by our skin into the endocrine system and produce cancerous cells. Genetically modified foods (GMO) and antibiotics/hormones treated animals are ever more present in our food. Humans are not meant to eat or drink such ingredients without the danger of developing cancer, diabetes, heart diseases and other disorders. It makes sense why such prevalent health problems today were virtually unheard of prior to 20th century. Had FDA applied stricter laws to food and beauty care products, cancer rates would drop drastically.
I may not be a doctor or even a cancer expert but my intuition tells me that there is another way. There must be! My wish is that more cancer researchers will turn to alternative medicine and shed light on those treatments. Perhaps there is already a cure, lingering right before our eyes, but we have not thought about it yet. It can even be simple and inexpensive. Or perhaps the cure to cancer is to prevent it from entering our bodies in the first place.
© 2009 Zoe Vaklinova – All Rights Reserved
zoevblog.com 
The problem is in this particular case his survival rate without the chemo is 5% with it 95%, I understand it reaps havoc on the body, mind and spirit, but it also destroys the type of cancer he has. This cancer has a 95% survival rate in children who receive the chemo treatment.
If she does not and he dies- that could be considered manslaughter, just because of the % of the survival rate in children. That outweighs her right as a parent to make a decision based on her religion and her own beliefs if it where not for the odds being so high, I would say let them be, but not in this ONE case…
Have a great day Sensual Zoe, and say hello to the boys….
Kat
Kat, I see where you are coming from but what is considered “survival rate” is just for the next 5 years. Cancer may go into remission and give you the false sense that you beat it but it may come right back. Chemo is not the answer…it’s like a drug that you take to prolong your life. More needs to be done to cure it in the future and that doesn’t mean more chemo.
Will say hello to the boy. 🙂
Chemo is the answer in this case cause its all we got…. until these “alternative” medicines are consistent, we are left with chemo. and fyi..ask any survivor and remission is not a false sense of hope. We know the cancer could come back, but just knowing it is gone is so powerful and gives us the strength to beat it!
yes, my son Matthew, after MUCH research, decided he had no recourse but to do the chemo when his cancer came back. He had finally determined that if chemo is done the first time, no alternative course will be succesful if the cancer comes back. Your immune system is not the same after chemo, and it will never be the same. I agree that alternatives must be completely consistent, and there must be more doctors and researchers in the medical field who are willing to determine whether there would be any success in it at all. There was a sense of finality in Matt’s decision to go ahead and do the chemo the second time, for he felt the chemo would kill him. He was completely prepared, and told us so. Yes, he did put the AML in remission again, but it took two rounds of heavy-duty poison to do it–a week apart–and without even one white cell to fight anything, who knows where that fungal infection came from? He spent the last month of his life with severe head (sinus) pain, with that fungus eating away his brain, eventually even his spinal cord. Cancer is evil. There seem to be no choices where it is concerned….it’s chemo or nothing. We realize that if the infection did not occur, he would have had a stem cell transplant, which could have been successful, after some immune system had come back. But he would have had to do chemo ONCE AGAIN before that transplant. That assault on the human body is unimaginable for most of us. My son was a brave soul who fought the only way that the medical field directed him, but somewhere in my heart, I know that there must be better ways that we haven’t found yet. He was adamant about that as well. He was a HUGE advocate of diet as a deterrent to cancer as well. Congratulations to those who have fought and won. None of us can imagine what you went through to get there.
Zoe, you are amazing in your search for truth. Kiss your baby for me……
Sharron
This is a tough pill for anyone to swallow… chemo or nothing… so many stricken with cancer would like a natural course of treatment & avoid the poison all-together… I for one am on both sides of the coin & believe that one has to way all their options; first looking at their particular illness… I feel that if one chooses chemo for a first course of treatment, that if the cancer comes back, they are rarely left an alternative but to do that same course again… as I believe it usually comes back with a vengeance, as it did in my brother. But on the same hand, I feel it to be nothing more than a bandaid…much like the seizure drugs that have been given to my daughter like they are candy… they are not fixing her problem, only putting a bandaid on it, and not a very tight fitting one at that. I do feel that western medicine has come a long way, and many good things can come from it; but I also feel that alternative treatments should not be shut out & that they should be explored as well, as there is benefit to be had from those as well… but, as most of us know…it’s all about the money… insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies…they don’t care about the person…all they care about is how much money they can get out of the treatment that is sold. I continue to pray for the day when doctors don’t dismiss & even suggest alternative treatments to their patients…but it should remain the choice of the patient as to what they wish to do; and for a child, it should be the choice of the parent. I have done some of each for my daughter’s seizures, and have found relief on both fronts…but I still am searching for her cure… seizures to me are a form of cancer because they are destroying my little girl’s life, and literally frying bits & pieces of her little brain…all the pieces that it needs to function… sometimes I can get them to go away, but they have always come back, different than before…always changing, always forcing more treatments, more medicine… but as long as there is someone out there fighting, there’s someone that may find the answer to fix it. Thanks Zoe, for continuing your fight 🙂 Big hugs to Denzin.
“That’s a personal decision that should be left private.”
Not for a 13-year-old.
And while parents have a great deal of control over their children, they do not own them. And a parent who puts their child at great risk of dying, which is exactly what this woman is doing, should be stopped.
If the kid was 18 and made the decision, I wouldn’t like it, but I’d agree that his decision should be honored. But not as a minor.
“my intuition tells me that there is another way.”
I’m sorry, but that’s not science. And it’s more than a little scary.
Alternative medicine, by definition, has either not been proved to work or been proved not to work.
Know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work? Medicine.
@Kat
You said “The problem is in this particular case his survival rate without the chemo is 5% with it 95%…”
The problem with this statement is the word “SURVIVAL” because the cancer industry has actually redefined this word – currently to be a cancer “survivor” you only need to be breathing 5 years after you’ve been diagnosed with the cancer. So if you were to die the 6th year, you’d be considered “cured” of cancer – but dead.
You can NOT cure diseases with poison, and that is exactly what chemotherapy, radiation, and drugs are – POISON.
Sharron & Keely ~ thank you for the detailed account of your experience dealing with Matt’s cancer and chemo. I know that if Matt was offered an alternative treatment to chemo he would have giving it a chance. None of us would ever know what his body and mind must have gone through injecting the chemo poison. To me, that’s not a viable option but forced decision. I’m going to continue my research on alternative treatments and will keep you posted. And thank you for the kind wishes for Denzin. 🙂 Keely, kiss baby Sara for me too. 🙂
morsec0de ~ if I were the boy and my mom made such a decision for me, I would be immensely grateful to her some day for opting out of chemo and pursuing a different path. Chemo is a poison that you inject into your body and along with killing cancer, it kills the person’s mind and body. It should not the ONLY option offered to cancer patients. Thank you for sharing your views nevertheless.
Jeff ~ that’s exactly what I said to Kat above. The term “survival rate” is only for the next 5 years. Thank you for responding to my blog and for thinking outside the medical box. I will take a look at your video too.
“I would be immensely grateful to her some day for opting out of chemo and pursuing a different path. ”
Wrong.
You’d be dead. Probably before your 16th birthday.
“It should not the ONLY option offered to cancer patients. ”
So your suggestion is that doctors should offer both treatments that work and treatments that don’t work?
Perhaps if your wisdom teeth become infected and impacts, the doctor can offer you either surgery to remove them OR herbal toothpaste.
Better?
You seem to be confused. “Alternative” does not mean “equivalent”.
morsec0de ~ I appreciate your passion on this issue but you seem to view the world as black & white. You forget that there are so many other colors out there. Alternative treatments don’t necessarily mean “weaker” or “less potent” treatments. I bet there is already a cure for cancer but the big pharma companies won’t allow it to be mainstream because it would steal all the profits they make of chemo regimens right now.
Think outside the box and allow yourself to explore other ideas. You may be surprised that what you don’t believe in today may be what you will believe in tomorrow. 🙂
psu:
It’s a simple thing called “evidence”.
If a ‘natural’ cure comes along, and there is evidence to support it, I will jump behind it wholeheartedly. But that hasn’t happened yet.
“Alternative treatments” means that there is no good evidence to support what they claim to do, but the people behind them still want to make money off of gullible people.
“I bet there is already a cure for cancer”
Nice conspiracy theory.
Now, where’s your evidence for that?
I know, I know, those big, bad, scary corporations must be evil and not care about curing people. So let’s take some herbs and die instead of going to them.
morsec0de has no clue what he’s talkin about.
The media is in bed with big pharma and western medical doctors and therefore they’re making it seem like alternative cancer treatments are inferior to toxic chemo, radiation, and drugs.
There is a cure for cancer and many of the doctors who perform these types of treatments are banned from the USA and forced to take their practice to places like Mexico.
If you want to see more about this check out my YouTube channel, I have posted many trailers to documentaries that talk all about these things.
http://www.youtube.com/JFHEALTHYandFit
if anything AT LEAST watch this video:
“There is a cure for cancer and many of the doctors who perform these types of treatments are banned from the USA and forced to take their practice to places like Mexico.”
Evidence?
Oh, that’s right. You have none.
So all your rhetoric can be dismissed.
Evidence? Here you go.
http://www.cancer-coverup.com
My beautiful sister Z,
I thought long and hard about this blog for many reasons. One of which, is respect and understanding for your passion. You have an inherent need to fight for all causes, big and small. I love that passion, so while my opinions may differ on many of the things that you wrote, I want you to know that I respect the fact that you have them. Am I clear on this because sometimes I feel like I’m not making any sense?
Your fundamental issue here is biomedical ethics.
Should the patient have the right to deny possible life-saving treatment?
If the patient is a child, should their parent’s have that right?
Another question could be: how does anyone know if the people making these decisions are qualified to be making them? A similar situation occurs with mental illness. Prior to the Baker Act, family members of rich, elderly people would have them committed to mental health facilities and their possessions taken. Who was to say whether or not these people were sane or insane? The Baker Act protects people even if they did something to harm themselves (like an attempted suicide).
The laws are in place to serve and protect people.
They are not infallible, but that is goal of our government’s laws.
I’ll give you a completely hypothetical twist to this story: What if the parents of the child had a big insurance policy out on their son? And with the economy being what it is…well, you get what I’m getting at. This may seem silly, but sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Who would protect the child in this situation??
First point that I will address: Your claim that this scenario is the same as abortion or same sex marriage or choice of religion. These are all completely different, with the possible exception of abortion which is also a biomedical ethics issue. Same sex marriage is a morality issue for the majority of America (not for me) and choice of religion is the basis upon which this great Country of ours was founded. While our forefathers may not have agreed on many things, they were unanimous in their desire for freedom of religion.
Second point: Chemo kills more patients than it helps? This is an irresponsible statement. Especially, since it would be impossible to measure the vitality of patients that need chemo but are not allowed access to it. Listen, I am not a fan of chemo. It is horrible. It is something that I would not wish on anyone, but what are the realistically viable alternatives? This is what I tell my friends fighting cancer: Do WHATEVER it takes to get better. Do chemo, participate in new medical trials, smoke holistic herbs, put essence droplets on your tongue and do a rain dance, I don’t care. Do WHATEVER you need to do to get better. Stay strong and keep hope in your heart.
Third, there is no cure for cancer YET because of the nature of the illness. NOT because it’s big money for pharmaceutical companies. That is an insult to those of us that have dedicated our loves to fight this disease. My team of 21 expert scientists and support staff work every day with the hope of making a dent into this illness. I know that you don’t know much about cancer and that is why you would make such a statement, but you really need to get educated. I could write PAGES on the new and exciting findings and research that is being done just here at the University of Miami, but I don’t have the energy and am already spending way too much time with this.
Fourth: The comparison of cancer to a car is flawed (that is NOT the word I wanted to use, but out of respect for you I toned it down. A LOT). It’s like saying that a mechanic is the same as a heart surgeon. Yes, they both work on the “heart” of the “organism.” They both deal with valves and circulation problems, but mechanics cannot fix cars while they are RUNNING. Cancer would be like a “problem” that attacked multiple parts of a car and you had no idea where it started or why or where it was going to spread next or how fast it would spread. And every car would have UNIQUE parts that required tools that were made just for it. Do you know what would happen if cars got cancer? They would be scrapped: NEW CAR. We are not afforded that luxury with human beings.
Fifth: I’m sorry about Mr. Schaefer. When people lose someone they love they are in great pain. Part of the coping process is assigning “blame” for the untimely death of their loved ones. It’s just the way it is and it sucks because it doesn’t bring that person back to life. Do you know how painful it is for an oncologist to lose a patient? I know first hand, because I’ve been to funerals of cancer patients and seen their oncologist present. Cancer, more than most diseases, is a very personal foe. That is an extremely powerful sentiment…
Sixth: Cancer is SURELY preventable? Did you not read what you wrote immediately after that?? Aside from the few things that you explained were POSSIBLE carcinogens, you ommitted mentioning the harmful effects of the sun, HEREDITY and who knows how many other COUNTLESS chemicals that we injest daily in our foods and beverages. Hell, with all the pollution in the air, BREATHING can be a possible carcinogen. How do you SURELY prevent that kind of disease??
The ONLY thing that I 100% agree with you is that you are NOT a doctor or cancer expert. And yes…there are other ways to fight cancer. And I encourage cancer fighters to use them, but don’t go into battle with herbs and peace signs alone. Arm yourself with EVERY weapon possible.
And if you’re not a doctor or cancer expert then offer friends and family fighting cancer, support and strength. They will need it. And so will you…
Respectfully,
Ricardo Rincon
There are “stress tests” on US patients without even cancer by using radioactive fluids injected into them!!
This issue, should be really investigated by international crime watch, because my mother died on their hand.
Cant they put away the waste of nukes reactors fuel some another way?
Do not be fooled: If you feel no pain, no heightened body temperatureyou are healthy.
Take it as a sure thing against false diagnoses or against any call to a diagnose at all.
Personaly I believe “cancer”is a zodiac conspiracy, nothing furthermore.
Andy, you are making a very bold statement about cancer being a “zodiac conspiracy.” What do you mean by that? Could you elaborate?
This is an amazing blog. I first learned of these concepts after I started working with a company called Food Matters who are great admirers of 2 very outspoken men in this “alternative” field, Dr. Dan Rogers who practices in Tijuana, CA and lives in San Diego CA, and Dr. Robert Young author of the PH Miracle. Please look up these two Doctors when you have some time and thank you so much for these videos. They are awesome! Matt , San Diego CA
Correction on last comment. The company I was working for was Saladmaster and the DVD I discovered was Food Matters which stars Dr. Dan Rogers.
Bless this Blog.
Matt
Behind all these cases is the American health care system. For a European is incredible that a person have to pay for a treatment, although there is a private health system working in parallel with the public, private health system is used as a support in some special cases in the public and for some citizens is the first option because they think is better and is not true.
Click to access EUFocus-Healthcare-5-2008.pdf
“SICKO”, Michael Moore’s film, shows this reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicko
In Spain and others countries in Europe, health care is a universal right and free cost.
Thanks Zoe for your blog, it makes me spin my head, and for your exposure about Matt’s story.
This is certainly a tough call I agree. I also have Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and just completed chemo this March. I agree that the gov’t has NO business forcing a patient to undergo this treatment. it should be a family decision based on the best information the family has available. I would never want this or any gov’t forcing me, my wife or my boys to under go any treatment we did not feel was in our best interest.
THat however is an entirely different topic than the topic of chemo worth as a medical treatment. I find it said that while a healthy dose of spectism is good, there are rampant conspiracies about treatment vs. cure. Most of these are illogical arguments that contain very little logic or details. The famous “they” make more money off or treatments than cures. Who is “they?” Politians? Pharm execs? Doctors? All of these people I’m sure have had cancer touch their lives and if “they” had a cure don’t you think they would use it to treat their own loved ones? Also is they only in America or are they worldwide? Think of how insanely rich some could become if they truly DID find a 100% cure….
It is normal when people find a problem in which they have little or no control over to pass “blame” onto some nameless, faceless entity that must be responsible.
Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people, that is life, Our duty as humans is to make the best of the situation and help those we can. My situation has made me appreciate my life, my family, my folks, my job, my church, my friends. I would not want to taint that with thoughts that somebody is to blame for this and I have no control. I do have control. I choose an option that while not fun, gave me the best chance to live for all the things aI have going for me. That was a choice I made, not my government.
thanks for listening!
Ed
Ed ~
Thank you for sharing your experience with cancer and chemo. I congratulate you on completing your first chemotherapy and sincerely wish cancer never comes back. It’s also great to hear that you learned to appreciate life, family, job, church and friends more. To some of us such a wakeup call teaches us what truly matters in life.
There is nothing wrong or incorrect in your statements. But I would like to challenge you to think differently about cancer and chemo. No matter how you look at it, chemo is not a cure for cancer. It has never been. Some patients may be luckier to have chemo that kills their cancer once for all. But that’s the exception, not the rule. The majority of cancer patients get cancer back and sometimes even worse after the first chemo session. That was the case with my best friend Viv’s mom and Matt Schaefer. Chemo did not cure them.
When I say “they” make make out of the chemo regimen, I mean the pharma field along with select few FDA officials who are corrupted enough to approve cancer drugs that treat the symptoms but not the root of the problem. You are too naive to think that FDA or pharma execs have your best interest in mind.
Also, cancer research in the rest of the world is not as regulated and “censored” as in the States. Few people who replied to the blog told me that they had friends who went to get alternative cancer treatments in Mexico. I don’t know the details but it appears that doctors with differnt views than mainstream in the US go to Mexico to practice those treatments. They are “illegal” in the US. But why should they be illegal here if they work? I guess the pharma field doesn’t want to cure cancer after all.
The blame in the context of my blog is about the failed education of American citizens on how to live healthier lives so they don’t get cancer. FDA is not regulating all the toxins that enter our body though food and cosmetics. In Europe things are way stricter. Perhaps that’s why Europeans have lower cancer rates than Americans. But I do agree with you that it shouldn’t be solely government responsibility but personal one too. Each one of us, as I am doing, should read and learn about healthy diet and lifestyle. Don’t wait for someone else to do it, do it yourself!
Let’s continue our journey exploring alternative treatments for cancer together. There is nothing wrong with entertaining different points of view. It enriches our minds and helps us find out what we believe in.
Thank you for listening too and good luck on your recovery process.
Zoe
Ed
To get a better understanding of the alternative side of things, watch a documentary called “Healing Cancer from Inside Out”.
“Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people,
I do have control. I choose an option that while not fun, gave me the best chance to live for all the things aI have going for me. That was a choice I made, not my government.”
Who’s to decide who’s good and who’s bad?
And you chose the option that you THOUGHT would give you the best chance to live… because I can ASSURE you that there are better, more “fun” treatments that render much better results.
Most people who use chemo and/or radiation end up getting cancer back at some point in their life – it is just a continuation of the disease though, its not that its coming back.
It all comes down to the germ theory vs. terrain theory. The germ theory suggests that the tumor is the problem, while the terrain theory suggests that the persons body that allows for the tumor to grow – is the problem. If the environment of the body is unhealthy then tumors have a chance to grow, but in a body that has its immune system, detoxification system, digestive system, etc. functioning optimally – the tumors are incapable of growing there.
At the end of the day, you can’t successfully treat disease with poison. The body is capable, and will heal itself if you give it what it needs.
Again, please watch that documentary I mentioned above – it is absolutely amazing and eye opening.
I must admit I find this very refreshing to be able to have civil dialog on differing opinions without the usual nastiness that can sometimes happen in a debate. Example, acquaintances who are convince 9/11 was an inside job. I enjoy logical debate and while not wishing to change anyone’s mind, I appreciate being listened to and not summarily dismissed.
I have no problem with alternative treatments and those wishing to explore them, What I do have a problem with is those thinking that there must be a person or entity to blame when somebody falls ill or dies from an illness.
I agree that lifestyles do contribute to illness, but as yourself, I lead a very healthy lifestyle, very strict diet, 60 minute workouts 5 days a week 10% body fat, very fit for a 42 year old. This disease can strike anyone and when it does, it is the persons responsibility to act in their best interest, whether that be chemo/radiation as I did, or any alternative treatment. We can not know 100% our future, so we make the best decision at the time and live with that decision.
The only point I would disagree with you on is the need for more gov control over what we consume. That is the LAST thing anyone should want. If you can not trust a government agency to give us the proper cures for diseases, why would you trust the same government to tell us what to consume?
As for a cure, I admit don’t know? In my case, I am awaiting a PET scan next week to see if this is over, and will need to have check ups for the remainder of my life. My doctor gave me an 85% chance of 5 years. You know what, I’ll take it.
Thank you for bringing this topic out, I enjoy speaking on this and you giving me your time.
Ed
Had non-hodgkins lymphoma in 1994, had chemo, still alive with no recurrence.
Reply from the Medical Director at the Medical clinic where I worked:
I just wanted to thank Matt for his acknowledging that I look at medicine with a search for the truth, but I wanted to also say that This case is special for several reasons:
1) This cancer is specifically amenable to prescribed therapy (projected 85-90% cure rate) I would strongly recommend that this child undergo his therapy immediately
2) It is one thing for an adequately informed sane adult to decide against a treatment They can for themself (they have a right to make the best decision for themself–to live or die). It is quite another to impose ones’ will on someone else, who is legally incapable of making an informed decision himself. The supreme court made the definitions of ability to make informed consent. A minor, or someone else incapable of informed consent must have an unbiased legal guardian, acting as his advocate, make those decisions.
My perspective on Medicine and Physicians are expressed in the
“Ten Suggestions” above.
Had AML Leukemia….beat it and beat it because of chemo. I was within days of dying when they found it. Chemo was the only choice to quickly begin killing off the cancer in my blood. There was no tumor to cut out or herbs to rejuvenate what little blood I had left. Chemo saved my life. Don’t think I know better?…I’m a Registered Dietitian. Which means I ate healthy, exercised regularly and still got cancer. It was a rare genetic mutation. Cancer is a horrible disease, and like most other diseases some people die from it despite the medications and medical interventions. In the 1990’s I’d have died from my cancer. Sometimes hanging on, enduring the treatment, and taking your chances that you’ll live long enough through all the crap to see an effective treatment DOES WORK and IS WORTH IT.
Regardless, a 13 year old doesn’t know enough to make a decision about this. His mom needs to “put on her big girl panties” and just help him through the awful treatment as best she can so that she can enjoy him for years to come. I hope your blog doesn’t encourage anyone to not get the chemo treatment that their DOCTOR is recommending. Please go get greif counseling and leave those of us who owe our lives to chemo alone.
@kglick & @srpayne – Congrats on being cancer-free. 🙂 Just realize that you are the exceptions not the rule. Chemo doesn’t cure the majority of cancer patients, unfortunately.
Two-time Tour de France champion Laurent Fignon has confirmed that he has been diagnosed with advanced intestinal cancer.
“I am undergoing chemotherapy already and have been for 15 days,” he said. “I did the second session a few days ago. Things are going pretty well, I feel good. Right now, I don’t know more than you. Everything is going well.”
“Digestive cancer is primarily a disease of nutrition. The (doping) products I took were intramuscular, they didn’t pass through the stomach. So, no. If all the cyclists who doped would later have cancer, then everyone would have cancer … Whether those who lived through 1998, when a lot of extreme things happened, will get cancer after 10 or 20 years, I really can’t say.”
http://www.velonews.com/article/93220
Some of you should check out the book, Your Child Doesn’t Have To Die by Leanne Sorteberg. Fifteen years ago, her 2 year old son had a rare childhood cancer, stage IV neuroblastoma. He went through all the treatments (sometimes cancer feeds off the chemo), and then was sent home to die. She got a feeding tube in him and changed his diet, drastically, and he was cancer free in 6 months. My son has the same cancer, same age, same survival rate, fifteen years later. I’m having a hard time believing cancer research has improved anything but lying statistics, and rich doctors.
Something interesting in the news, but we knew this blog.
A Cure For Cancer? Eating A Plant-Based Diet
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/a-cure-for-cancer-eating_b_298282.html
hmm decided not to call out a few folks here but since many do not know of the success of natural treatments don’t assume they don’t work.
The cure for cancer is not to get it and lead a more natural lifestyle from jump. Cancer is a symptom not a disease and is big business, so it bodes well for clucks to quack on about keeping the establishment moving.
Chemo does cure blood cancers, and testicular cancer. there are only three types of cancer that chemo cures. Comparing the cure of blood cancers treated with chemo to other cancers is not fair. Cancers are not all the same.
My husband has esophogeal cancer. We are in the midst of testing to see what options he has. I vote for no chemo or radiation.
We used to clean a clinic that administered chemo, those patients looked like walking corpses. We have cleaned the homes of many cancer patients who were too sick from chemo to attend to thier homes, let alone themselves. Many of our wonderful clients died looking like their bodies had died a long time before their spirit left it.
I am very much against chemo and radiation therapies
I saw my husband murdered by an oncologist and chemotherapy. I realize they may have thought they were doing the right thing… but it was all lies. Chemotherapy is poison and should be outlawed. It is a disgrace to humanity that we treat our sick people this way. The tide will turn someday and big pharma will not rule our health care system. Until then we MUST take our healing in to our own hands as much as possible and we cannot let them posion our bodies or our minds with their lies or fear propoganda. I believe with every once of my knowledge and conviction that the best thing my husband and I could have done was to not let the ‘doctors’ get a hold of him in the first place.
My sister is lying in an ICU and is dying now bc of her chemotherapy. She went through her first chemo treatment on July 29th for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was told she had an excellent chance of survival due to the type of cancer she had. I believe she was only a stage II but she never told me what stage she was. Problem was there was a tumor in her stomach that the chemo opened up two days after she received her chemotherapy. She ended up having to have surgery to repair a quarter sized hole in her stomach where the tumor had shrunk. Her kidneys shut down that day due to the shock. At first they thought it might be sepsis, but her BP was so low and the chemo had caused her immune system to shut down. It was mainly just a problem bc her gastric juices were leaking into other parts of her system. They had removed the turmor from her stomach and also the two involved lymph nodes in that area. This was the only cancer she had at the time. Two days after the surgery her stomach began to bleed out due to low platelets from the Chemo. She wasn’t clotting. Massive transfusions and platelets were given to help her. She was given a 1% chance of survival that day. She survived it but now she is in a coma and there may be brain damage from the low BP she had at the time of her surgery. They took her back into surgery last weekend due to her stomach not healing. The surgeon said all her staples opened up on her incision all the way into her stomach repair. They also gave her a tracheostomy so she could get off the respirator. He restapled everything and sewed her back up after cleaning her stomach out as much as he could with a fungal infection growing inside of her. 4 days later this past week she has a massive fungal infection throughout her system, her trach tube came out when the nurses turned her to change her bed bc she isn’t healing. They reinstalled the respirator. She has fluid running out of her arms from where they had tubes. So much that they had to change her bed linens bc she was soaked. Her mouth has sores that won’t heal from the respirator. They had a meeting on Friday and said that she is not going to get better. This was a healthy working woman who had just turned 65. She is now a vegetable and she has no chance for survival according to her doctors. Her husband is giving her a week to see if her immune system will restart for her before he pulls the respirator. It has been over 3 weeks since her chemo. There is no hope for her, I believe, she has sepsis and I believe her organs will begin to fail even if they leave the respirator in her. They are giving her a few weeks to live. I am just sick over this. She should have never undergone the chemotherapy. She should have sought out another treatment but they told her this would cure her. Yeah, death is a cure alright.
Oh my gosh! What a tragic story. I’m in loss of words. You just reinforced my belief that chemotherapy isn’t a cure for cancer. I’m so sorry about what has happened to your sister and pray that somehow her health returns back to her. I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts. Please keep me posted.
Fish oil may hinder chemotherapy: study
http://www.japantoday.com/category/health/view/fish-oil-may-hinder-chemotherapy-study
I am going through chemo and it is terrible. I am 9 weeks post tumor removal and was feeling excellent until I started this horrible option. I am a very healthy 42year old female ,sports model and nutritionist. yes of course it is important to put the right foods into our body. but it doesn’t matter how active or healthy you are, if your going to get it ( genetics/environment) its going to happen. I continue to see a natural path for alternative medicine and I’ll tell you this..when I get a zero tumor cancer cell count back from the testing I do in other countries (mostly Germany) and I’m from Canada, hello universal health care??!!, I will NOT continue doing chemo. I will not continue to destroy my immune system so something else can take me down. I was told by a few natural health experts I would not be battling this stage 3 colon cancer if I lived in Europe as they test for these markers in a simple blood test when your just not feeling well. My GP has been telling my its been hemorrhoids..for a year….thats all we do here in the western world, chop burn and poison. And for the person that said cancer is a zodiac conspiracy, well I hope you never get cancer. You will not have the brain power to beat it. Explore your options. I’m not saying chemo does not have its place in the cancer world, but you must be your own advocate and fight for your rights. A survival rate that puts me at 47 does not seem like a good trade off if I don’t see my son graduate. Good luck to all fighting this crap disease. And to those of you that aren’t or are just looking for a debate, please look elsewhere for the soapbox.
there is a cure for cancer! but everyone is so blind and believes everything the media and the government says. wake uP ! the cure is called DCA, but you cannot get it, because big Pharmaceutical comPanies wont make any Profit on it ! its all about dirty money !
“Kat Says: The problem is in this particular case his survival rate without the chemo is 5% with it 95%.”
>>> I DON’T BELIEVE IT! I do believe, that THAT is what they WANT you to believe!
I did extensive research at the UCLA medical library when my 45 y/o cousin
was diagnosed with colon cancer. He underwent the treatment, but they never told him that the efficacy rate was a mere 7%! WHY is that? It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that THAT means that the failure rate is 93%!!!
No, DON’T believe what they tell you. Do the research for yourself! And if you don’t know how, or where to start – then hire someone who does!!! Chemotherapy is an answer for no answer. They have no answer – thus, kill it, any way they can! Some answer!! Kill it and everything good in its path.
Kill the immune system, the fighter T cells, induce alopecia, weakness, frailty, nausea, and residual compromise for years to come!
The modern medical system is deceiving the masses as blind sheep led to the slaughter! Shame on IT, and shame on us for checking our brain at the door of the doctor, or oncologist’s office. Don’t you realize, the cures of the day are “cut, burn and poison!” Surgery, radiation and drugs! Drugs, drugs, drugs!
Drugs when God has endowed this planet with healing plants and herbs! Oh, but wait, THEY can’t be patented. They can’t bring in Big Pharm millions and
billions of buckaroos!!
WAKE UP PEOPLE!
– Written by an R.N., B.S.N. who’s already lost two dear friends to Chemo!
ok. For all of you that state you are eating a good diet, or natural diet. What exactly does that mean? Is it organic? Because you can be eating all the fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, etc and All the other good stuff, but if it isn’t organic, then its not healthy. Your fruits and vegetables are sprayed with chemicals that cause cancer. Do you look at the ingredients on the foods that you buy. A lot of them are laced with cancer causing preservatives and chemicals that disrupt your immune system. Best advice on keeping cancer away is: eat only certified organic foods, fruits, and vegetables, stay away from cosmetics and cleaning products (household cleaning products, bath washes, shampoos, cosmetics) etc that contain carcinogens. And reduce your exposure to environmental toxins. Have a positive frame of mind, and exercise. Do all this and you are decreasing your chances if not preventing cancer all together.
hey morsec0de, if you think big pharma not wanting the best for our people is a “conspiracy theory” then tell me why marinol is legal and hemp oil is not. when you understand that marinol is just 1 of the 69 other cannabinoids that thc has to offer, it will make you wonder what those other CBDs do that they dont want the patient to experience. and if you think big pharma is really trying their best to find a cure, then tell me why etopiside and methotrexate are still the main chemo drugs used for the past 50 years. hmm >$50 billion and poison is all they can come up with? nothing new?
hi zoe, I love your blog, your work, etc. I love reading on health especially natural health, therapies, diets, etc.
This is a VERY interesting topic. I loved reading everyone’s comments.
I URGE YOU ALL to please refer to Dr Mark Sircus’s work on http://winningcancer.com/ and to the work of the Italian Dr Tullio Simoncini http://www.cancerisafungus.com
And please read the blog of one inspirational cancer survivor Mr Vernon Johnston http://www.phkillscancer.com
Cannabis Cures Cancer
theres a growing awareness community on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/There-is-a-cure-for-Cancer-but-it-is-not-FDA-approved-Phoenix-Tears-work/395190597537
or just search these words “cannabis cures cancer” on google and youtube
Chemo kills,no doubt about,refuse it they get pi**ed because they are losing your money.Fact Lung Cancer is incurable but they sure like to blast the patients with all the poisons they can mustare.Alternative cures are out there and they work,do someresearch before you give up your life to chemo
Alternative methods are not “proven” because they lack the money and subsequent studies to back them up. If something is better and cheaper, do you think big business will try to sweep it under the rug (think big oil and electric cars)? Search online and you will find tons of true survivors who have used alternative methods. FYI – most medical studies throughout history have been done exclusively on men because big business has traditionally been run by men. Also consider how many medications have been “approved” by the FDA only to be found later to be dangerous and deadly.
Also, chemo does not “CURE” cancer. Any medical professional who utters this untruth can be sued. That why they use all other kinds of terms, Chemo shrinks tumors to supposedly buy you time but destroys your body in much more horrible ways in the process, My mother died today from chemo, Even today her oncologist lied to us. After pressuring us too remove the ventilator that was keeping her alive, he assured us she would be heavily sedated, have an oxygen mask to make it easier to breathe, and she wouldn’t be gasping for air. None of what he said (during the 90 seconds he popped his head in during the morning to tell us) was true. What followed after the removal of her vent was the most horrific thing I have seen or heard ever, Worse than any horror writer could dream up. No doctor, nor anyone from the Cancer Institute of Florida was present. Two nurses and an RT. My mother’s eyes were wide open, terrified, and the screaming gasps and gurgles that she emitted will live in my nightmares forever. My adult brother and I were finally so overcome we could not witness this anymore. Truly THE most horrible experience of my life. I made my husband promise me that my children won’t ever have to experience what I did today. Those are the last memories I have of my mom.
The government does NOT have the right to impose treatment on anyone, Minor children and their care are the responsibility of the parents. The child has stated his desired plan of treatment, the parents support their child, case closed. I would do exactly the same thing specifically because I would do anything for my children including finding out the truth about issues concerning them. This is not to say that parents who choose chemo, which is most times given as the only option, do not love their children or have somehow failed them – ABSOLUTELY NOT. They simply chose what was offered in hopes of saving their beloved child. I just wish more people would scrutinize what they are told and seek the truth for themselves on every issue (health care, religion, politics, etc.)
I hope I am on the jury and I hope some people who have commented in blindness never get cancer.
I took the day off from work to have the lump in my breast checked. I knew it was not going to be good because it had attached to my skin. I waited too long to go to the Dr. Because the lump was left over after an injury something every website said did not cause cancer. When it attached I waited 9 months trying natural cures and seeking help from breast cancer websites scared to death as to what was in store for me. I was told I had late stage cancer that had gone into my bones. I started chemo last may and radiation in June which was going to kill me after 5 treatments. Feeling pressure from them I did one more and could not take it. I finished the chemo and to make a long story short here I am 11 months later an invalid who looks like an alien constantly in pain. I have never felt normal since my treatment began. My oncologist said the tumors had shrunk chemo and radiation did do that now I’m left with bells palsy no use of my left arm no hair sickenly skinny in a wheelchair bloodveins bulging and aching always in pain. My family is miserable. And I think of the precious children who are suffering from this and it breaks my heart. First time ive vented. thanks
Dawn, I am so sorry to hear of your horrible ordeal. I’m glad you were able to get it out. I pray to God that you get better soon and feel healthy again.