February 2011 – CANCER STORY

An Unbelievable Story: Remove Your Kidney Immediately or Else You Die!

Moi, a 50-year-old female, had problems with her “gassy” stomach.

In October 2002, Moi went to a private Hospital A for a checkup. No problem was detected.
In March 2003, Moi went to another private Hospital B for endoscopy, ultrasound, CT scan and blood test. The results:

CT scan on 5 March 2003, showed a 3.3 cm well-defined simple cyst in Segment 1 of her liver. In the upper pole of her right kidney was a 2.4 cm enhancing nodule with exophytic component.
USG showed a well distended gallbladder with multiple polyps with an average size of 0.6 cm.
Blood test showed all parameters were within normal limits except for an elevated ESR (26 mm/hr) and GGT (40 IU/L).

Not satisfied with the above results, Moi went to another private Hospital C. An ultrasound on 13 March 2003 confirmed the presence of:

A 3.4 x 3.3 cm cyst in the right lobe of her liver.
A 6.7 mm polyp in her gallbladder.
MRI of her abdomen done on the same day confirmed the presence of a 2.5×1.6×2.5 cm, irregularly enhancing mass in the upper pole of her right kidney with features suggestive of an underlying renal cell carcinoma.
An upper endoscopy done on the same day indicated gastritis and gastric polyps.

The surgeon in Hospital C suggested a complete removal of her right kidney. Moi was unhappy with this suggestion. She went to consult another surgeon of another private Hospital D. She was given the same advice – “Remove the kidney as soon as possible or else you die.”

Moi defied the doctors’ suggestion and on 14 March 2003, she came to seek our help. She presented with the following:

Numbness of fingers for the past one and a half years.
Pains, two or three times a day. She would have pains if she walks or stands up. There would be no pains if she sits down.
Her sleep, appetite, bowel movements and urination are normal.

We prescribed Moi Capsule A, deTox tea, Kidney Tea and Stomach Function Tea. Surprisingly enough, Moi became well within a week. She continued taking the herbs for about seven months. Her last visit to CA Care, according to our record, was on 21 November 2003. From then on, we never got to see Moi again.

It was with great surprise and gladness that on 10 September 2010, i.e., seven and a half years later, Moi came to CA Care again. This time not for herself but to bring her sister-in-law who had ovarian cancer.

Listen to our conversation that day.

Comments

Do you believe this story? We find it hard to believe. But it is happening right at our centre. How could we not believe it? Perhaps there is something else that we could not believe? It would be an insult to those experts in those many hospitals if we were to say that their scanning machines were not functioning properly or that their opinions were somehow wrong, at least in this particular case. So, we are not going to say that.

There is something that makes us not want to believe it even though it is true! If you are confused with what we say, don’t worry. We are just as confused.

One thing, we would say, Moi was just been plain lucky. If she were to see us earlier and showed us all those scans and reports, we would also “press” her to go for surgery – to save her life in time! In this case, she took six months “hopping” around from hospitals to hospitals. And by the time Moi came to us, she was firm with her decision – Surgery? No thanks! So the decision to defy the doctors’ recommendation was entirely hers. She gambled with her life and thus far she had won.

Again, let us talk about opportunity cost. What could have happened if Moi were to passively follow the doctors’ recommendation? One kidney gone, and perhaps her gallbladder too would be cut off since there were many polyps. Then, what about the stomach polyps? What is life like after that?

There is one more thing that made us not believe this story – you mean to say by just taking herbs for a week, her problems were gone? That’s impossible!

During our conversation, Moi raised one interesting point. She said: “I went to the doctors because of my stomach problems – too much wind. I could not figure out why they wanted to remove my kidney. The doctors were unable to enlighten me what stomach wind has got to do with my kidney?”

She wanted the doctors to solve her stomach problems but they did not offer to do that.

One lesson to learn from this story: You just have to have guts to defy your doctors. Know that human beings are not God and we may not be right all the times. What made them think that Moi is going to die soon if she did not remove her kidney?

As a conclusion, allow us to quote an email that got into our inbox recently. Let us be clear on the onset that we are not sure of the truth of this email. Nevertheless, the message of the mail relates well with this case.

This is what the email says:

“A friend of mine was diagnosed as a having a septic leg and being a diabetic, he was told by the doctors that the leg up to his ankle must be cut since gangrene has already set in. It will cost RM25K just to saw off the leg. I told him to get 2nd opinion … The specialist in YY told him that there is nothing wrong with the leg and gave him antibiotics instead. Today (four years after the incidence), at age 61, he is still working and doing things such as climbing without much problems. What would it be if he had listened to the xxx doctor at xxx? He would be walking with crutches! Poorer by about 25K and without a job to support his family. What a shame these…”

Another email is supposedly written by a medical doctor. It says:

“I am a general surgeon in private practice… An 8-year-old boy was brought to see me by his father after suffering from fever, cough and vomiting for 1 day. He DID NOT HAVE ANY ABDOMINAL PAIN. He was initially seen by a general practitioner who insisted that the father bring him to see ‘Surgeon G’ at a specific private medical centre… when he brought his son to see ‘Surgeon G’, the surgeon examined his son’s abdomen and pressed so hard that he elicited pain. Then the surgeon told the father that the son had a perforated appendix and insisted that he be operated the same night. The father was baffled because his son did not have any abdominal pain prior to that examination but he reluctantly agreed upon insistence by the surgeon. About 1 hour prior to the surgery, the father suspected that something was not right and he asked for his son to be discharged. He then brought his son to see me. After a thorough examination, I was convinced that the boy did not have appendicitis and definitely not a perforated one.”

The email ended with this message: “Please circulate this article to your friends and loved ones and let’s hope no one will suffer…”

Lung Cancer: Pain and Sleepless Night after Chinese New Year Dinner

Sujo (M858) is a 58-year-old male from Indonesia. Sometime in August 2010, he complained of breathlessness when climbing the stairs. A check up with a GP in Medan indicated fluid in his lungs. Sujo came to a private hospital in Penang in October 2010. A CT scan indicated gross left pleural effusion associated with severe lung collapse. There was lytic lesion at T4 vertebral body associated with erosion. His liver showed fatty infiltration.

Two liters of fluid were tapped out of his lung. A pleural biopsy showed a papillary, gland forming malignant neoplasm. According to the HPE report, a possible diagnosis includes:

Papillary adenocarcinoma of pleural origin – malignant mesothelioma, or
Metastatic adenocarcinoma from a primary in the bronchus/lung.

Sujo went to an oncologist at the cancer hospital for a second opinion. His blood test on 21 October 2010 showed CEA = 85.86 and CA19.9 = 78.6. Sujo was asked to undergo chemotherapy, which he promptly rejected.

Instead, on 22 October 2010, Sujo came to seek our help. He had no symptoms and was prescribed Capsule A, Lung 1 and 2 teas, Bone Tea and C-tea. After taking these herbs, Suja came back to see us twice and reported that his health had improved. He was able to eat, sleep and walk distance without any problem. His breathlessness had resolved. His bowels movements were good.

Pain After Chinese New Year Dinner

Sujo and his wife told us that on the eve of the Chinese New Year (2011) Sujo took chicken curry (only the gravy not the chicken). Besides that he also ate steam fish with salted beans (tau chiau). Two days later, on the morning of the second day of CNY, he suffered severe pains. Sujo said: “I am very tolerant to pain. But this pain was so severe that I cried. I have never cried before in my life.” It was a “pulling pain” and he was not able to lie down. He had to sit upright and the pain lasted from 8 to 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. Then he would fall asleep for about 2 hours. The pains persisted every day. Sujo took the painkiller, Tramadol 50 mg – once or twice a day. But the medication did not relieve his pains.

Sujo confirmed that before this dinner, he did not have any pain at all. The pains only came after the dinner.

Sujo came to see us on 13 February 2010. He presented with severe pains in the back and shoulder blade. He had partially lost his voice. Acugraph reading showed his Qi was very low. The past 8 days or so, he was not able to sleep.

Seeing Sujo’s condition, we put him on the e-therapy right away. See below for the amazing results.

Day	e-therapy	Response
13 February 2011 – night	Detox 2 (34 minutes)	Next morning, less pain and was able to sleep whole night.
14 February 2011 – morning	Detox 3 (51 minutes)Loss of voice (32 minutes)	Next morning, pain reduced. No problem sleeping. Voice returning – louder.
15 February 2011 – morning	Intercostal (24 minutes) Loss of voice (32 minutes) Lumbago FS (20 minutes)	Next morning. Pain 70% gone. Pain mainly at “Shingle” area suffered since 4 years ago. Voice even louder. No problem with sleep.
16 February 2011 – morning	Detox 3 (51 minutes)Shingles (35 minutes)	Next morning. Over all condition better than the previous morning.
17 February 2011	Detox 3 (51 minutes)Shingles (35 minutes)	Sujo is going home to Medan tomorrow morning. He looks good – health restored!

Listen to our video conversation:

Part 1: Pain and Bad Food

Part 2: Pain Relieved After e-Therapy

Comments

For most people, an auspicious day (may it be Christmas, Valentine, Thanksgiving, or whatever) generally calls for a celebrative feast. And very often cancer patients find it a good excuse to indulge in the food that they like. Of course, most of them could not get away from such folly after that. Last year, KM – who had colon-liver cancer and had survived for three years, decided to celebrate the 2011 Chinese New Year in style. He ate fried chicken, etc. Almost immediately he landed in the hospital with severe pains, He died after that. Now we have Sujo who did about the same thing like KM. His wife said: “I thought it is okay to eat such food since it is Chinese New Year!” Unfortunately, cancer does not understand Chinese culture!

Some people may wish to dispute that the pains had nothing to do with the dinner! Of course there is scientific proof to substantiate such connection. But common sense and experience tell me so. Let me give you some stories.

My close relative was brought to my house. She was in a semi-concious state with limbs all stiff. Not knowing what had happened the logical thing to do was to send her to the nearest private hospital immediately. She was admitted. In the meantime, I had the opportunity to find out what had happened. This relative had been eating a few of kilos of “dokong /duku” before the problem. She ended having a bloated stomach and went to see a GP who prescribed certain medication. After this medication, she become semi-concious and her limbs turned stiff.

While we waited around her hospital bed, the neurologist came. With an air of authority and competence he insisted that a lumbar puncture be done. I humbly tried to suggest to the learned doctor that this could be the result of the drug that she had just taken. No, he would hear it – go for the lumbar puncture. Preparation was underway for the procedure and it was almost mid-night when my relative awakened! She refused the procedure! The next morning, she was discharged and we became poorer by RM1,500! That was the cost of one night hospitalization without doing anything significant.

There was this man from Medan who had lung cancer. He was supposed to undergo radiotherapy that day, but unfortunately the machine broke down. Since he was free, he walked around the hospital and saw some durians. He and his son feasted on the durian – that was about 3 p.m. By 6 p.m. the man became breathless and had to be admitted into the ICU. A CT scan was done. Nothing appeared wrong on the film! The son asked the doctor if this was due to the durian. The doctor said, NO, nothing to do with the durian!

Bob had liver cancer that had spread to his lungs. His doctors told him there was no treatment and he would just go home and wait for his time. He came to CA Care and was started on the herbs. His health was restored. After being “well” Bob started to eat what he liked. A few days later he came back to us feeling “half dead”. The next day he died. Listen to what he said by clicking this link: http://cacare.com/index.php?option=com_easyfaq&task=view&id=338&Itemid=39

The story of June is worth repeating. June vomited and had to be hospitalized. Two hours before June vomited she was in perfect health. Her problem started after she ate a packet of nasi briyani at 4 p.m. By 6 p.m. the nausea and vomiting started. By about mid-night June was admitted into the hospital. One doctors said: “Based on my experience this is due to her recurrent cancer.” June was asked to undergo chemotherapy immediately. My advice was: “Do nothing! Try to flush out the “rubbish” in her stomach.” Of course the oncologists were upset. Anyway, ten days later June walked out of the hospital – without the chemo of course! Listen to her story by clicking this link: http://cacare.com/index.php?option=com_easyfaq&task=view&id=340&Itemid=39

In the case of Sujo, it is clear that for the past four months he was leading a pain-and-problem-free life. But on the second day of the Chinese New Year his life turned into “hell” – how could that be? He must have done something different or wrong. That was the question I posed to him and his wife.

The pains did not go away, and lasted for about eight days. Tramadol could not help him. When he came to CA Care on 13 February 2011 he was still in pain. But the next morning, 14 February 2011, the pain almost disappeared and he was able to sleep that night.

Okay, ask this question: Could the pains just appear and disappear without any reason? Common sense tells us that something must have happened to trigger the event. In the first instance he ate bad food – hence the pain. In the second instance, he was on the e-therapy for 34 minutes and the pains almost disappeared! Of course all these problems do not show up in a CT scan or MRI. So let us not waste time and money doing these procedures.

While in Penang, Sujo had his blood test done. The results are as follows:

Before receiving his latest results, I was a bit skeptical – not knowing what to expect. But it was indeed a blessing to see that both his CEA and CA19.9 had gone down by about 30% and 24% respectively after 4 months on our therapy. Impressive results indeed bearing in mind that he did not receive any medical treatment!

Most amazing of all is the healing of his pain. When he came, we told both Sujo and his wife that we expected to solve his problem by about a week. So they should be prepared to stay that long in Penang. Based on experience, we were rather confident that the pain would go away after undergoing the e-therapy. Apart from our experience, we have no other option! Undergoing the e-therapy at CA Care in Penang is free-of-charge (only for our cancer patients!). The next morning, we were glad to be able to tell Sujo and his wife that they were really blessed! The e-therapy was effective for his pains and loss of voice. Most important Sujo was able to sleep. After three days, we were very happy to be able to tell Sujo and his wife that they could go home to Medan! Amazing healing indeed!

Liver Cancer: Benefit and Side Effects of Nexavar

Mutu (not real name,H520) is a 48-year-old male. In November 2010 he had coughs with some phlegm. In late December 2010 he was admitted into a private hospital with complaints of right hypochondrial pain (i.e., pain under the rib-cage margin). He was nauseated but no vomiting. He also had post prandial dyspepsia (i.e., a medical term meaning feeling of unusual fullness, nausea, loss of appetite or belching following a meal).

CT scan of the abdomen showed multiple masses measuring 7.3 x 5.1 cm, 6.3 x 6.1 cm and 7.3 x 4.5 cm, in the right lobe of his liver, suggestive of diffuse hepatocellular carcinoma or liver metastases. A biopsy was performed on 23 December 2010 and confirmed moderately differentiated infiltrating liver cancer.

A blood test results, done on 19 January 2011, are as follows:

Mutu was prescribed Nexavar – an oral chemo-drug that cost about RM20,000 per month. He was told that Nexavar would not cure his cancer. It would only control it (whatever that means, see discussion later).

After taking Nexavar for a week, he suffered the following side effects:

Bloatedness
Shoulder muscle pain
Sleeping difficulty
Nausea and sometimes vomiting
Dizzy when walking
Loss of appetite due to bloatedness
Cramps of fingers and toes
Constipation

Listen to our conversation on 23 January 2011, the day he first visited us.

Comments

Let me highlight some of the important points of this case in a question-and-answer format.

Assuming for a moment that you are a medical expert. I believe you have seen hundreds or thousands of CT scans and blood test results. From your experience, what can you make out of this case by just looking at the scans and blood test results? The images are bad and the AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) exceeded a million points. Honestly, is a biopsy really necessary? So, after a biopsy, what can you offer to “cure” the patient?
It appears that all that modern medicine can offer is Nexavar. Would you as an expert offer this drug to the patient knowing that it cost about RM 20,000 per month and it does not cure? I guess you would if the patient is rich enough to pay for it or if his insurance covers the cost. This is a win-win situation you may say. After all this is what buying a health insurance is for! But hang on. In this case what if Mutu’s total medical cover is limited, assuming it is RM 100,000? That means the insurance pays for only five months’ supply of Nexavar. What happens after that? And within 8 to 11 months patient dies (see point 4 below)?
As an expert, would you admit to your patient that Nexavar cannot cure his cancer? Yes, you did in this case. That is honorable of you. Obviously not many patients are going to pay that kind of money if there is no cure. You justified by saying that Nexavar can control it. That sounds good, convincing and heroic isn’t it? Especially if the patient is desperate and helpless. Such patients need that “last straw”. But what do you really mean by control?
Have you gone into the website of the drug company that sells Nexavar? If you do, you may find this very impressive table with equally impressive so-called “scientific” data.

In a study of 602 people … Nexavar helped slow cancer growth and helped extend the lives of patients compared with patients who did not receive Nexavar.
Nexavar extended overall survival by 44%.
See the diagram below (from: http://www.nexavar.com/scripts/pages/en/index.php. Accessed on 1 February 2011)

For the benefit of those who are not used to reading and interpreting research data, let me explain a bit more. From the diagram above, we know that there were 299 patients taking Nexavar (n= 299) and the median overall survival is 10.7 months. Compare this to 303 patients who did not take Nexavar (group called Placebo, n = 303) which had a median overall survival of 7.9 months.

The glaring facts of this study showed that:

By taking Nexavar patients lived longer by 2.8 months. Take note that they were not cured at all. Eventually patients died. The median survival ranged from about 8 to 11 months, irrespective of whether they take Nexavar or not.

So based on the above experimental data, ask this question. Would you spend RM 20,000 per month and for every month, to live 3 months longer? Again, take note that the price of Nexavar varies – depending on where you buy it and whether you pay cash or pay through insurance claim. Obviously the price is higher when your insurance pays for it.

Of course, if this point is crudely presented like I did above, extending life by 2.8 months is not impressive at all! The educated people deviced a better way of saying things in a nicer, attractive but deceptive way. Another way of saying is: Nexavar extended overall survival by 44%. Increasing survival by 44% is very impressive indeed.

Mark Twain (of the USA) made famous this phrase: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” This phrase is now used to describe “ the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments, and the tendency of people to disparage statistics that do not support their positions”. In simple language, the statisticians (the experts of numbers) “massage” the data to make what seems ugly to look pretty. Take note also this “manipulation or massage” of data is not wrong – it is academically legitimate!

So take it from me that “Extending life by 2.8 months” or “Extending overall survival by 44%” are both right and academically acceptable. Unfortunately I still cannot figure out how they come up with the 44 percentage figure. I need a bit more time to learn this “art of stretching the truth with numbers.”

With a simple mind like common folks, I would have just do this: I would take 10.7 minus 7.9 = 2.8. Then I would divide 2.8 by 7.9 and multiple by 100 to convert it into a percentage. If I did this, I ended up with only 35%. To avoid having to explain “the confusing concept of statistics” let us give the benefit of the doubt to the experts and the drug manufacturer and accept what they say: Nexavar extended overall survival by 44%.

But folks let’s concentrate on what matters most. You can choose between these two “options” below. But know that both mean the same thing!

As a patient if you are told that Nexavar can extend survival by 44%, what would be your reaction?
On the other hand, if you are told that Nexavar can extend your life by only 2.8 months, what would be your reaction?

Having got over this, what if you are clearly told that the extension of survival by 2.8 months is no free lunch. Apart from having to pay RM 20,000 per month, there are a variety of side effects you may have to endure. In this case, Mutu suffered eight side effects after consuming Nexavar for a week.

But don’t fault the drug company. You have been forewarned. Patients taking Nexavar may suffer the following side effects (according to the company’s website):

Decreased blood flow to the heart and heart attack.
Bleeding problems. Nexavar may increase your chance of bleeding.
High blood pressure.
A skin problem called hand-foot skin reaction. This causes redness, pain, swelling, or blisters on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet.
Perforation of the bowel.
Possible wound healing problems. You may need to have a surgical or dental procedure.
Birth defects or death of an unborn baby.
Rash, redness, itching, or peeling of your skin
Hair thinning or patchy hair loss
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Mouth sores
Weakness
Loss of appetite
Numbness, tingling, or pain in your hands and feet
Abdominal pain
Fatigue
Weight loss

Those medically trained may find the following list of side effects more exacting:

Very common: lymphopenia, hypophosphataemia, haemorrhage (incl. gastrointestinal, respiratory tract, cerebral), hypertension, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, rash, alopecia, hand-foot syndrome (palmar plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome), erythema, pruritus, fatigue, pain (mouth, abdominal, bone, tumour, headache), increased amylase and lipase.

Common: leucopenia, neutropenia, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, anorexia, depression, peripheral sensory neuropathy, tinnitus, congestive heart failure, hoarseness, constipation, stomatitis (including dry mouth and glossodynia), dyspepsia, dysphagia, dry skin, dermatitis exfoliative, acne, skin desquamation, arthralgia, myalgia, renal failure, erectile dysfunction, asthenia, fever, influenza like illness, weight decrease, transient increase in transaminases. Uncommon: folliculitis, infection, hypersensitivity reactions (including skin reactions and urticaria), hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hyponatraemia, dehydration, reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy, myocardial ischaemia and infarction, hypertensive crisis, rhinorrhea, interstitial lung disease–like events (pneumonitis, radiation pneumonitis, acute respiratory distress, etc), gastro oesophageal reflux disease, pancreatitis, gastritis, gastrointestinal perforations, increase in bilirubin, jaundice, cholecystitis, cholangitis, eczema, erythema multiforme, keratoacanthoma / squamous cell cancer of the skin, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, gynaecomastia, increase in alkaline phosphatase, INR abnormality, prothrombin level abnormality.

Rare: QT prolongation. Not known (cannot be estimated from the data available): angioedema, drug induced hepatitis, radiation recall dermatitis.

Date of Revision of the Text: November 2010

5. Solutions?

The lady was indeed sharp. She asked me: “Then, that are the solutions?” I must admit I cannot guarantee any cure. We know that in cancer there is no such thing as a cure (meaning, real cure, not just surviving 5 years). In the case of advanced liver cancer, we all know that survival is only in terms of months. So, we are faced with a difficult case. This is the first time that a patient came in with his alpha-fetoprotein reading well over a million. The highest we have ever seen in 14 years is about half that value.

We have two suggestions for Mutu.

a) Take care of your diet. He was given a list of food that he can and cannot eat. Unfortunately this list is way off the mark compared to our recommendation.

b) Take herbs and hope for the best. If a patient has no pain, can eat and sleep – these are about all we can hope for. How long to live is not ours to decide.

It is up to Mutu to decide if he wants to continue taking the Nexavar and reap whatever benefits (and also side effects) that are associated with it. But ask this: Is it worth it?

Some of you may say: Ah, you snake oil peddler – you and your herbs and dietary fad – these are just quackery. They are not proven and not scientific. Hang on, before you cast the first stone, take time to read the following ten stories. Tell us where we go wrong if you think that we are wrong!

1. Liver Cancer: Two months to live yet still fine after one and a half years!

2. Liver-Bile Duct Cancer: Herbs Kept Him In Excellent Health

3. Only On Herbs And She Lives More Than Five Years!

4. He Declined Medical Treatment

5. Hepatoma – He Refused Chemotherapy

6. Healing of Metastatic Liver Cancer

7. The Story of Tony

8. Colon-Liver Cancer: Seven Years On The Herbs

9. The Story of Goh

10. The Story of My Buddy: Colon-Liver Cancer

Liver Cancer: Two months to live yet still fine after one and a half years!

PC, 63-year-old female, had coughs for about three weeks. Then she developed fevers. She went to a hospital but the doctor could not find any wrong with her. She was sent home with a supply of Panadol (paracetamol). Not satisfied, PC went to a private hospital in Ipoh. A chest X-ray showed left pleural effusion (i.e. fluid in her left lung). The fluid was tapped out. An ultrasonography on 23 September 2009 showed a 2.6 cm lesion (suggestive of hepatoma or liver cancer) in the right lobe. In addition, there was underlying liver cirrhosis with portal hypertension and ascites. The spleen is enlarged. Biopsy of the lesion was not advisable in view of ascites, low platelet and the tumour site too deep and adjacent to the portal vein.

PC was asked to go home. There would be no treatment for her. She was also told that she had only two months to live. Four days later, 27 September 2009, PC came to CA Care for help. She presented with the following:

Difficulty sleeping
Poor appetite
Tiredness
A bit of difficulty in breathing
Feeling of “muscle pull” in the chest once a while

PC came to see us after being told by one of our patients who had been doing well with our herbs.

We prescribed PC with Capsule A and B, Lung 1 and Lung 2 teas, Liver 1 and Liver 2 teas. We reminded her that after taking the herbs for a few days, she might feel tired, have diarrhea, etc. This is a healing crisis and there is nothing to worry about – continue taking the herbs.

These are natural herbs with no additives. They have to be brewed. The taste and smell of the concoction are not going to be pleasant. PC replied: “If I want to get well, I have to drink them!”

Two months on the herbs, PC came back and told us that both her sleep and appetite had improved. Similarly her breathing had also improved. There was no more feeling of “muscle pull” in her chest. One year and four months later, on 14 January 2011, PC was still well. Below is the video recording of her visit that day.

Liver Cancer Part 2: One and Half Years and Still Alive

Blood test results done over the past one and half years

	19 Oct. 2009	20 July 2010	24 Nov. 2010
ESR	70 H	39 H	n/a
RBC	4.1	4.1	4.0
Haemoglobin	13.2	12.8	14.0
Platelet	580 L	67.0	46.0
WBC	4.5	4.0	4.4
Total bilirubin	36 H	39.1	42.0
Alkaline phosphatase	165 H	137 H	193 H
AST	49 H	51 H	44 H
ALT	22	55 H	36
GGT	452 H	357 H	359 H
Alpha-fetoprotein	14.7	n/a	n/a
CEA	0.9	n/a	n/a
CA 125	19.3	n/a	n/a

Comments

After one and half years, PC was doing fine. Her blood test results did not show deterioration of her condition although some numbers are not good. Platelet count is low and we advised PC to take papaya leaf tea for a month or two. After that, go for another blood test. Hopefully her platelets will increase. PC is not keen to drink this tea because of its bitter taste!

Like most patients, PC is more interested to see if she can reduce the daily intake of her herbal teas! As much as we understand that it is really “difficult, bothering or even sickening” having to drink the awful tasting herbal concoctions, we told PC that she has no choice but to continue doing what she is doing. No change!

We have to remind PC of what happened when she went to see her doctors in September 2009. She was told that there would be no treatment for her. Just go home. She has only two months to live. Now PC has survived one and a half years without any problem. She is able to sleep well, her appetite is good and there is no pain. Life has been good all the while. What more can she ask for? We reminded PC that she must learn to be grateful and thankful for what she is now. Taking “bitter” herbs is a small price to pay for being alive – and good life too!

Our message to PC and to all patients: Be well behaved if you want to live longer! And there is no point being alive if you think that drinking herbal teas is an intolerable chore. And above all, learn to be thankful and grateful for what you have and what you are.

Stomach Cancer: After Three Biopsies She Declined Medical Treatment: Where is the logic?

DS-M906, is a 69-year-old female from Indonesia. Sometime in July 2009, DS had problems with her stomach. She consulted an internist at a private hospital in Medan. A biopsy was performed and the result indicated an adenocarcinoma, i.e. cancer of the stomach. After this examination, DS decided not to do anything. Her problem escalated and she suffered more pains.

In December 2010, DS went to see another doctor in another private hospital in Medan. A biopsy was again performed. The histopathology result indicated a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Not satisfied, in January 2011, DS came to a private hospital in Penang for further consultation. A CT scan did not show any focal lung lesion. Her abdominal organs were normal. A colonoscopy showed simple haemorrhoids while the rest of the bowels were normal. A biopsy of the pre-pyloric region was performed. The result indicated signet ring-type adenocarcinoma. There was also Helicobacter pylori associated chronic active gastritis. In short, for the third time, DS had been told that she had stomach cancer.

The doctor in Penang suggested two options – DS take medications or undergo an operation. DS declined further medical treatment and came to seek our help on 21 January 2011. Below is the video recording of our conversation.

Comments: Since DS and her children had already made the decision not to undergo any surgery, DS had no other choice but to take our herbal teas. We cautioned her to reconsider her decision to decline surgery. She was adamant that she did not want any medical treatment. One of her children said: “After surgery, she has to undergo chemotherapy. And we know that is not the thing we want to do.”

We posed this question to DS – and for that matter, to all patients. If she has already decided not to undergo surgery after a biopsy, why does she do one biopsy after another? It is understandable if only one biopsy is done – to determine what has gone wrong. But what does she expect to get by doing three biopsies?

This is one peculiarity we often notice among Indonesian patients. They come to Penang – bring all the money that they have. They spend their money on blood test, X-ray, CT scan, PET scan, biopsy, etc. When they are told that they have cancer and need to medical treatments, some of them just pack off and go home the next day. Is this not wasting money unnecessarily? Is there any logic in doing such thing?

This is our message to patient: Iif you don’t want to proceed with medical treatments recommended by your doctor, there is no need to do a biopsy. A biopsy is done to confirm if you have cancer, so that you can move to the next step – be it surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. If you did not want to do any of these, why do a biopsy?

Again we say – before doing a biopsy, ask yourself first: If it is cancer, do I want to undergo surgery / chemotherapy / or radiotherapy? If you agree to such treatment, go ahead with the biopsy to be sure that it is really cancer. But if you do not wish to undergo further medical treatment as in the case of DS, why do you spend so much of your money doing the biopsy in the first place?

Granted – some patients say, the medical treatments are expensive and they cannot afford it. Or, some may say they decline medical treatments because the doctors cannot guarantee a cure. If these are your concerns, why don’t you ask the costs first or ask for a guarantee first before doing anything?