Happy Thanksgiving 2017: Honey, I Shrunk the Tumor!
November 23, 2017
February 2018: Thank you for all the fundraising efforts
February 20, 2018Hi curious readers! Hope this finds you enjoying the lead up to the wonderful holiday season. What a whirlwind of events- I have lots of news, everyone! Instead of 4 weddings and a funeral, I have had 4 tests and a surgery!
December 1st 2017
I got the results back from two major blood tests. One test, called the Onconomics Plus test, they only do in Europe. It’s massive in scope. It told us that there are eight particular substances to which my particular cancer cells will respond. This is helpful news because until now, I have been taking some 30 to 40 different cancer-killing substances because we did not yet know which my cancer would respond to.
More good news: most of these 8 substances do not cost a lot compared to conventional chemo, and none of them harms healthy cells, only cancer cells. Now they will require time to work and consistent dedicated usage by me, as it can take up to 2 years to achieve full remission. But perseverance is my new middle name!
The test also revealed that my cancer would not have responded optimally to any of the three toxic chemotherapy drugs that the conventional medical team were proposing. So it makes me feel even more self-trusting that I did not take that route.
Finally, the test provided the genetic make up of the tumor cells themselves. Now we know which of the tumor’s genes were creating new blood vessels, had higher metabolism, more glucose receptors, were harder to kill, faster growing, which were drug-resistant, more self-repairing or at higher risk for metastases in the future. It’s a fantastic test with vital info on how to fight and heal. Cost $2500+ but well worth it. Highly useful and recommended.
More conventional blood test results: Long story short, it’s all good, mostly. Glucose is low, which is excellent against cancer. One inflammation marker is high-ish yet easily fixable. And thyroid T3 is low, also fixable.
December 4 2017
PET/CT Scan results. In a nutshell, the PET scan was taken in order to see if I had any metastases. The answer is no! And, drum roll please, there was no longer any clear evidence of a secondary lesion. Now this doesn’t mean that a tiny lesion couldn’t exist, but it does mean that it was now too small (less than 5mm) for the PET scan to pick up on. Originally the lesion measured roughly 1.9 x 1 x 1cm. In other words the lesion has shrunk in size just as the tumor has shrunk in size!
The CT scan revealed quite a few positive things besides the fact that I don’t have any metastases. It revealed that many of my organ systems are free and clear of any abnormalities. Lungs, heart, spleen, pancreas, adrenal gland’s, lymph nodes, bowel, bladder, appendix are fine – that’s a lot of healthiness!
Stuff to heal: there is one benign cyst on my liver, one in my thyroid, some fat in my kidneys, and a non-issue, calcified fibroid. But if my integrative regime works on clearing tenacious cancerous lumps, my integrative team sees no reason that these other benign lumps can’t be cleared out by my new superhero immune system too! I totally agree.
December 11, 2017
Lumpectomy surgery, in the morning. I’m a little bit sad that I need the surgery at all. After all, there are growing numbers of cancer patients who actually make their own tumors disappear entirely due to their integrative treatments. That is one club that I wanted desperately to be a member of! However my integrative doctors helped me to understand that it’s better to have the tumor gone from the body and then be able to focus exclusively on the circulating cancer stem cell‘s than to wait any longer for the tumor to shrink into oblivion. Plus, as I shared in November, I cannot afford the cryo-ablation which was my first choice. Insurance doesn’t cover it but does cover lumpectomies. So, may the surgeon, anesthetist, nurses and all others involved, be well-rested, clear headed, steady-handed and excellent in every way. My body is strong, ready and robust. I’m sure I will bounce back from this because I’ve been given loads of first rate tools to speed post-surgery recovery. I’ll share more about those next time.
So until the next check in, thanks to all and may you all be feeling robust and healthy yourselves!
Bev
P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider sharing the www.youcaring.com/helpbevs