Sandy wrote...
My father was recently diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the lung. He is
taking chemo with very slight improvement. His oncologist
told him not to "take anything" because it could make his tumors grow.
He does not have any one specific tumor, they are
small pea size ones throughout his lungs.
Question 1. Did your oncologist agree with you using alternatives?
Bob replies...
I asked my oncologist about taking vitamin supplements and herbal
alternatives and he was neutral, inferring that it probably wouldn't
help, but couldn't hurt. I kept him informed of what I was taking and
had a copy of my original chronological letter inserted in my medical
records. I have since given him a copy of my web page, because some
people wanted to contact him to confirm my story, and I wanted to be
sure that he knew what I had published. In early August of 1998 I asked
him if he thought the 50% shrinkage of the primary tumor could be due to
the alternatives, and he correctly stated that there was no way to know,
but he revealed his bias when he stated that maybe it was a delayed
reaction to the chemo. Since then I have never asked his opinion of my
case.
Question 2. I am looking for an oncologist or cancer center that will
work with the traditional and non-traditional in a program such as
yours. Any suggestions?
Your best bet would be to check with the closest
University or teaching hospital. There is more and more demand from the
public to
include alternative methods, and the big medical centers are the most
likely to have such programs.
Ultimately, the patient is in charge, and has the option to change
oncologists or to make an informed decision to add alternatives to the
therapy. If traditional therapies can not promise a cure, then the
possibility of increased tumor growth must be weighed against the
possibility of a cure. I would still double check with an oncologist in
case your fathers type of tumor definitely grows faster when
alternatives are used. All I can say is that in my case, whether or not
the alternatives played an important part, they certainly didn't hurt.
Anne asks...
Did your doctor qualify his use of the word "cured" in your case?
Bob replies...
I asked the oncologist if he had seen any cures similar to mine, and he
said no. He has also denied having used the word "cure", claiming he told me
there was "no detectible evidence of disease". It's all semantics, but I
know what he said. I even wrote him a thank you letter at the time
telling him that I hoped he would be able to say the word "cured" to all his
patients. Maybe he was overly exhuberant at the time and now
regrets his choice of words, or perhaps he was criticized by colleagues
after my story was publicised. He also said there could
still be cancer cells remaining, but even if there were a thousand cells
left, with a 45-90 day doubling rate for lung cancer, it could be many
years until there were billions of cells which could be detected.
Dan P. asks...
Question 1. What was your daily regimen? Did you take the tea or vitamins on an
empty stomach?
Hi Dan,
Following is my daily regimen:
I took the essiac first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, at least 1/2 hr before
breakfast. Then 200mg CoQ-10 and all the other herbs and vitamins with
breakfast. Another 200mg CoQ-10 and vitamin package with supper, and the final 4 ounces of
essiac before bed on an empty stomach. The CoQ-10 should be taken with
meals (preferably including lipids) to improve absorption. Of course I
stopped the anti-oxidants the evening before and the day of chemo
(see my reply to Rick for more information).
Question 2. We could not find the CoQ-10 in wafers, just capsules.
Does that make a difference?
The CoQ-10 wafers are available from Healthy Directions (same place I get
Whitaker's vitamins)
I have read that dry capsules or tablets of CoQ-10 are not absorbed very
well. The vitaline wafers that I used are emulsified with vit. E to aid in absorbtion. Gel caps
with the CoQ-10 in oil are also o.k.
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Bob's Updates Biography Tribute