Month: January 2012

Melanoma, the deadly skin cancer. Three of her fellow patients have died – but she is fine and still taking our herbs

SN (H19) is a 50-year-old female. Sometime in 2007, she had a black mole on her right foot removed through surgery.  It was a melanoma, a dangerous and deadly skin disease.  After the surgery she did not do any chemotherapy or radiotherapy. There was no medication either.

About a year plus later, she had swelling in the right inguinal region (see diagram).

Source: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/inguinal+region

A biopsy was performed. The histopathology report dated 20 October 2008 stated, “Right inguinal dissection – right inguinal node malignant melanoma (metastatic)”.  SN underwent another operation to remove the lump which was about 1 inch in size.  Later she received 30 sessions of radiotherapy.

She was asked to undergo chemotherapy. She declined. There was no further medical treatment. She continued to visit her doctors every three or six month for routine check. Two doctors were involved – the surgeon and an oncologist at the government hospital.

On 23 March 2009, SN came to seek our help. She knew about us after reading the Chinese newspaper – Kong Ming.  She did not have any problem, except for a swelling leg. She was prescribed Capsule A, Lymphoma 1 and Lymphoma 2 tea, C-tea and Lower Edema Tea.  Ever since her first visit to us, SN returned to update her progress every three to six months. In December 2010, she complained of hot flashes and pain in the back. These were probably due to her menopause. We prescribed Menopause Pill and since then her problems were resolved.

SN came to see us again on 16 December 2011 – this is almost three years since she first came to see us. She and her husband shared her experience which I believe many readers ought to know.

Gist of our conversation

  1. 20 March 2009: Since she has declined chemotherapy, the doctor did not have any medication for her. She was left on her own. She read about CA Care in the Chinese newspaper – Kong Ming. So  she decided to come and seek our help.
  2. 16 December 2011 – 2 years 9 months later: Patient:  I am dong fine. My tail bone is painful. I had a fall. Otherwise I have no problem.
  3. Chris:  You came in March 2009. Now it is December 2011. That’s about 3 years now. And there is no problem!
  4. P: I go for follow-up with my doctors regularly. I see two doctors – one is the oncologist and the other is my surgeon. My doctor said, “Since there is no swelling, etc. There is nothing wrong with me. Come back every 6 months for check-up.” At one time the oncologist took an X-ray of my chest. He found everything was okay.
  5. Husband: I think the most important thing is the change of diet.
  6. P: I followed your instructions. My friend – fellow patients in the hospital. She just died about two months ago. She had an operation like me and then suffered recurrence. She underwent a second surgery, had radiotherapy and chemotherapy. She did not change her diet and did not take herbs. I told her about you but she did not want to come and see you.
  7. H: The doctor who operated on my wife was very curious. He asked her a lot of questions. He told her that he operated on four melanoma patients – one was my wife. My wife is the only patient surviving today. The three other patients have already died.
  8. P: I told the doctor that I am taking your herbs and also changed my diet.
  9. C: Good. I cannot tell doctors such thing. But patients can tell their doctors!
  10. P: I want the doctor to know the truth so that others who come to him may also have a chance to live like me.
  11. C: I understand. Patients get all kinds of suggestions and advice when they get cancer. All these make them confused. You are our second success case. The other one is also a lady. She had metastatic melanoma that had spread to her lungs. When she came here she was coughing with blood. I did not expect her to survive. Today she is still around – healthy and with no problem.
  12. H:  Now my health is getting better. I am “forced” to eat what my wife is eating – following her diet!

Comments

Melanoma is a deadly disease for which chemotherapy or radiotherapy does not seem to be effective. Read the review of the literature below to know. However, we are really lucky that it is a rare disease – at least in Malaysia. Over the 16 years dealing with cancer patients, we encountered less than a dozen cases of melanoma.  Off hand, I could only remember four cases.

Last week, a man came with melanoma that had spread to his brain. He underwent a brain surgery. He told us that the doctor had taken everything out and he has no more cancer. I do not know what he came to see us in the first place because as far as he concerned he has no more cancer and he did not want to take the herbs or change his diet.

About two years ago, a young lady came to us after surgery on her leg. It was a melanoma. While waiting to consider if she would go for chemotherapy or not, she came to try our herbs. After a few weeks we did not get to see her again.

Guat (read her story here: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2010/12/12/metastatic-melanoma-lung-cancer/) is a 53-year-old female. She was diagnosed with a melanoma which has spread to her lungs. When she came to see us in November 2007, Guat was having bad coughs with blood.

The doctor told Guat that her condition was very serious and suggested chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Guat refused further medical intervention and was started on the herbs. It has been four years now and Guat is till healthy and living a normal life. Once she came and told us that many friends have been asking her why she did not die yet! Perhaps it is hard to live a life according to people’s expectation.

Perhaps SN’s life is even harder to live. During the last visit to us (video) she told us that she had just visited a fellow-patient who had just died. This lady also had a melanoma and underwent surgery at the same hospital at the time as she. However, they chose different paths of healing. While SN came to see our help and was on herbs and good diet, this lady went for chemotherapy and ate anything she liked. Although SN shared her healing experience with her friend, this friend would not listen. Back at the hospital, SN was told by the surgeon who operated on her that he had operated four patients with melanoma at that time when SN was his patient. Now, three patients have already died and only SN remains alive. The surgeon wanted to know what SN has done to be able to survive that long.

One message we wish to impart to patients is this – Your healing and your life is a matter of your choice! You decide the path you wish to take and bear the consequences of that decision.

For us at CA Care, we feel satisfied that in spite of the grim and gloomy prognosis of melanoma, these two committed patients who came to us made it good. While they may not be cured – yet they live a normal, happy and pain-free life. To God be the glory!

What you need to know about melanoma

  1. Is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and is the leading cause of death from skin disease.
    1. Treatment is more difficult when the melanoma has spread to other organs. When it spreads to other organs, it usually cannot be cured.
    2. Melanoma that is very deep or has spread to the lymph nodes is more likely to return after treatment.
    3. Melanoma can spread to other parts of the body very quickly. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001853/)

Surgery

  • Surgery is needed to treat melanoma. The skin cancer and some surrounding tissue will be removed. How much skin is removed depends on how deep the melanoma has grown.
  • If the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, these lymph nodes have  to be removed too.
  • Surgery may be done to remove cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. This is done to relieve pain or discomfort associated with the growing cancer.

Chemotherapy

  • Chemotherapy has long been a mainstay for treating metastatic melanoma (that is, melanoma that has spread beyond its site of origin).
  • There is no clear consensus among doctors about the most effective use of these drugs, which most likely reflects their low level of activity. Nevertheless, chemotherapy does help some people.
  • The bottom line is that chemotherapy as an overall strategy is not very effective in treating melanoma. Only 15% to 20% of patients respond to chemotherapy, it typically works only for less than a year.
  • It has little to no effect on survival time — not to mention the side effects. http://skincancer.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/melanoma_chemotherapy.htm

Radiotherapy

  • The role of radiation therapy as primary or adjuvant treatment for melanoma is controversial.

Lung-Liver Cancer: Why Patient Refused to Undergo Chemotherapy, Part 4

This is an interesting e-mail we received on 16 December 2011.

Hi Mr. Chris,

Good Day, I’m H from Tanjung Pinang – Indonesia. I’ve visited you in 2007 when my late father suffered from Liver Cancer. However we did not revisit you since our first visit. Frankly I thank you for your help to heal my father. My father passed away in October 2008. I have faith and believe in you to help cancer patients.

Now my friend’s father suffers from lung cancer. His condition is very weak. According to the doctor, maybe he will only live for six months. Now his family decided to seek your help. And will visit you as soon as possible.

Since his condition is too weak, is there any possibility of not to bring him (patient) to visit you in Penang?

His son will bring his medical report and visit you in Penang. If the patient must come along, we will have to wait until his condition is better and pay you a visit. Now he has no appetite. So the condition is not good.

Hope you can understand our situation and give us your advice.

Thank You & Warmest Regards,

The writer of the e-mail and his friend came to our centre in Penang three days later, on 19 December 2011.

 

 

Guan (S-82) is a 58-year-old man from Indonesia. After having coughs for about two months, he went to see a doctor in his hometown. An X-ray was taken. The doctor suspected pneumonia with mass in his lung. Guan then went to a private hospital in Johor for further consultation. A CT scan done on 6 December 2011 indicated cancer in his right lung that had spread to his liver. There were also right pleural effusion and pericardial effusion.

 

Guan then went to Singapore where a biopsy was performed. This cost him about S$1,500 but the results were not definitive and rather puzzling.  This is what the doctor’s report looks like.

 

After the biopsy, the doctor suggested chemotherapy. He was told that with chemotherapy he would be able to live for another two years. Without chemotherapy, he would only have six months. His family refused to undergo any chemo. And the son said he would not even bother to ask how much the treatment would cost.

Why did the family refuse chemotherapy?

The friend who accompanied the patient’s son said, “My friend’s father also had lung cancer. He was around 50 years old. He underwent chemotherapy in Singapore. He died after receiving one cycle of chemotherapy.”

Chris:  What you have done was not right at all. If you have already decided not to go for chemo, why did you go for the biopsy in the first place? The procedure cost you money. It was just a waste of money doing the procedure if you did not intend to proceed to the next step. Also some patients told me that after a biopsy they suffer pains. Besides that some people say a biopsy can spread the cancer further. But for the CT scan, it is okay to do it once to know what is inside.

Friend: “Another friend of mine – he was about 30 years old. He had bone cancer. He went for surgery in China. He received one cycle of chemo. The doctor asked him to quickly go home. One week later he was dead.

Comment

I have only one comment to make in this case.  According to the good doctor the patient need to do chemo so that he would live longer – for another two years. Without chemo the patient would probably be dead by six months. But to the family members they have seen what happened to their two friends. Both of them died after just a shot of chemo. Perhaps to live six months without chemo is better than trying his luck on the deadly chemo. How trustworthy is the doctor’s prognosis?

Let me close by quoting what I have read in this book, “Doctors in general should be treated with the same degree of trust as used-car salesman.”