Darlene wrote...
Dear Bob,
After a sudden onset of illness and jaundice, on January 30, 1999 I was
told I had a pancreatic mass that was most likely malignant. After some
tests and finding the right surgeon, I underwent a surgical procedure.
The cancer had metastized to the liver. I did have some rerouting of major
organs, but they left the tumor alone. I am scheduled to start chemo &
radiation on April 5th. I am setting up my own treatment
plan including prayer, visualization, imagery, Reike, and nutritional
supplements as complementary therapy. After reading your story and
treatment plan and reading Dr. Whitaker's information (as well as other
sources) I have some questions.
Question 1. Is there a particular reason you
did not use Hydrazine Sulfate?
Bob replies...
Hi Darlene, I decided not to try the hydrazine sulfate because it was
controversial and I think I read about some deaths due to cross
reactions with alcohol. I figured that any one of the five alternatives
I did use could possibly effect a cure by itself, so that by trying them
all I would have a better chance at a cure. This seems to be the same
logic you are using. I think that hydrazine sulfate also requires close
monitoring and it didn't seem practical to find a doctor who would
administer it while I was already being treated by an oncologist.
Question 2. Did you make any other major dietary changes when you
initiated your treatment plan? What type of dietary regimen did you
follow?
I think the steroid treatment before each chemo increased my
appetite because I gained 20 pounds. I made no major
changes in my diet --I ate whoppers and fries and pizza and an occasional
beer or wine, along with Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine microwave
dinners etc., a typical bachelor's diet (but not the recommended
diet). I did try juicing, I would juice
1 or 2 pounds of carrots and 4 or 5 apples and drink about 6 ounces a
day for several days. Please see the VDB letter below for
more on Vitamin A and cancer. I have recently seen articles on possible
anti-cancer effects of licorice and feel it is important to mention
that during my therapy I probably ate 1 or 2 black licorice vines each
weekday, since they were a fringe benefit supplied at my workplace.
Question 3. Why didn't your plan include shark & bovine cartilage?
I did mention that I tried it briefly (4 or 5 days) but it requires very
large doses which gave me lots of gas. Since I have never been fond of
taking capsules, and since I read about a study which showed no effect
of shark cartilage, I discontinued it. It may still be effective, but
there seems to be controversy about differing purity from various
manufacturers.
Question 4. What is the Cat's Claw used for?
Cats Claw Bark (Una De Gato) is from South America. I read
stories about people using it to reverse cancer. The National Institute
of Health is beginning to investigate various alternative therapies at
the University of Texas Center for Alternative Medicine Cancer Research (UTCAM).
They have chosen some of the most likely candidates to investigate
first, including essiac, cats claw, selenium, and hydrazine sulfate. If
you surf around their site you can find more info on these and other agents.
I want to thank you for taking the time and effort to write the
chronology of your treatment plan and to be open to answer questions. I
happened upon your story and letters when researching Essiac Tea on the
internet. And coincidently, a friend of mine had just given me a copy of
the part of Dr. Whittaker's book New Cures for Chronic Diseases that
dealt with Cancer so I was very interested in reading your story. I have
a few questions but let me give you a few details first.
Bev wrote...
My father-in-law was recently diagnosed with asbestosis. We immediately
obtained the four herbs and began to give essiac tea to him. He has
since had a major operation to relieve the fluid build up in his lungs
which would have eventually drowned him. We don't seem to be able to
find any information on effectiveness of essiac on asbestosis even
though it is a tumor. It is too early to tell if it has been helpful, but we are not going to give up trying.
We would appreciate any information relating specifically to asbestosis.
Bob replies...
Bev, I have had one phone call from someone in Long Beach, California who
had asbestosis. I gave them some information about alternatives, but I
don't know if they decided to try them.
I suggest you place a post about asbestosis on the popular
Mediconsult Lung Cancer
bulletin board, perhaps you get information from readers.
If I find anything about asbestosis, I will forward it to you.
VDB wrote:
I emailed you a couple of weeks ago about the oncologist
telling my friend not to take supplements containing beta carotene and
Vitamin A but to get these only from foods rich in Vitamin A. On the Mediconsult website, I have found
an article
concerning that topic called "Effects of a combination of beta carotene and Vitamin A on lung cancer
and cardiovascular disease." Have you read it?
Bob replies...
I looked at the article and I
am somewhat confused by some of the contradictions. Maybe the beta
carotene and vitamin A do increase risk of getting lung cancer, but may
still be helpful in treating it once you have it? Also, some of the
chemo agents are most effective on the most rapidly growing cells, so by
speeding up their growth rate, they may become more vulnerable to the
chemo. Someone should do some more studies to see if this could be true.
In my case the 20,000IU of vitamin A from Whitaker's program plus the extra
from juicing the carrots did not seem to have any negative effect.
Dr. Lorraine Day at http://www.drday.com is a doctor who
recommends and used vast quantities of carrot juice in her own recovery from
breast cancer. Again, more studies are needed in this area.
Bonnie wrote...
We have my mother-in-law on the same regimen that you took for your
cure. She is a young 68 but doesn't seem to have the fight that we think she
should have. Of course her doctors are not encouraging, they are straight
forward and it seems to have knocked the wind out of her sails. She did have
a bad bout with blood clots which is now under control. She went through
radiation with the side affects of no appetite and will start chemo next week.
But we are so concerned, mostly she stares out the window and thinks about death.
She used to have a very positive attitude toward life and enjoyed loving her family.
We are praying, wanting to see a change in her attitude for her sake.
How can we help her?
Bob replies...
I went into a state of shock and denial when my oncologist told me my disease
was incurable at the present time. It was scary not knowing how long
I had to live and frustrating that the doctor could not tell me
anything. He could only tell me that we would have to wait and see how
effective the treatment was. I was fortunate to be able to continue
working so I didn't have financial worries, but I could not know
what the future would bring.
Being a fighter, I wasn't about to give up although
I certainly realized and accepted the possibility of a limited life
span. I was hopeful that I would be in the 40% who get some benefits
from the chemo. When my 6 week and 12 week chest x-rays showed no change
in my tumor, my oncologist was pleased -- but I wanted more.
Fortunately, during this time my stepson convinced me that he knew of many people who
had been cured by various alternative therapies. Initially, I was
skeptical but after reading and researching I came to believe that a
cure was possible and started the alternatives with a positive attitude.
It helped to talk to a "terminal"
patient who was still alive after 4 years on essiac tea. I began my
treatment with generally good health which probably helped. Perhaps if
your mother-in-law sees some progress in shrinking the tumor she will get back her
fighting spirit. I was certainly elated when I got the results of my
7/28/98 CT scan.
Hoping the best for her and please stay in touch.
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