This case study consists of three parts.

Part 1: The High Cost of Staying Alive in a Private Hospital

Part 3: The Last Option: CA Care Therapy After Chemotherapy Had Failed

On Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 11:18 a.m., the patient’s sister, MM, wrote me this email.

Dear Mr. Chris,
I saw your website accidentally this morning. I tried to search about the other ways of giving treatment to cancer patient whom doctor has already given up after giving chemotherapy treatment for 7 times. The first and second chemotherapy were given every 2 weeks. The third was given weekly 3 times and fourth chemotherapy given 2 cycles. The last 2 cycles of 4th chemotherapy showed the CA 125 (CA 19.9) increase … Based on these lab tests, the doctor suggested to stop using the same chemotherapy drug and change to other drugs. This is to be done on 16 October, and stressing that the drug is not for curing but only for prolonging life.

After discussing with family, I plan to go for herbal and found your website. At the same time, we are now staying at  XYZ  Hospital, Penang. So, I already tried to make an appointment with you this Friday at 3 p.m. and shall bring all medical report of the patient. For your information the patient is my youngest sister.

Reply:  If you are in Penang, come and see me tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. Go to www.cacare.org and you see map in there. No need to bring the patient, but bring all medical reports. I don’t think you need to do the chemo tomorrow yet. Wait until you come and see me first.

MM wrote, She is very weak, hard to walk and sleep, her tummy getting bigger of the tumor cancer and liquid inside. Actually I would like to ask your opinion about the need to continue the next chemotherapy which doctor said is not meant to cure only to prolong life. The next chemotherapy is tomorrow on Tuesday.

Reply:  I don’t think you need to do the chemo tomorrow yet. Wait until you come and see me first. Chris.

Meaningless Decrease and Increase of Tumour Markers 

The initial chemo treatment cause both CA 125 and CA 19.9 to drop drastically. But that did not mean much. After more chemo, these markers started to rise again. And it was at this stage that the oncologist told the patient’s sister that the treatment did not work. She needed to go for more chemo using other drugs. Or she could just go home – and go ahead and take herbs if she would like to do so!

Date	CA 125	CA 19.9
10 August 2012	6,794	90,055
22 August 2012	2,798	49,301
18 September 2012	1,260	14,694
25 September 2012	1,462	21,496
2 October 2012	1,739	25,110

 Do You Need Tumour Markers to Tell You That Patient Was Getting Better or Worse?

Medications While In Hospital

Based on the medical bills, MM was given the following medications while in the hospital.

Table 1: Medical drugs given to patient during one and half months in hospital

Drug	Treat	Side effects
Albumin Injection	Lack of albumin in the body	Allergic reactions – fever and chills, rash, nausea, vomiting, hypotension. circulatory failure, cardiac failure, pulmonary edema, bronchospasm.
Buscopan or Hyoscine inj	Abdominal  cramps	Breathing difficulties, constipation, dry mouth, eye or eyesight problem, faster heart rate, dizzy, lowered blood pressure, confusion, reduced sweating, skin hypersensitivity, urinary retention.
Carboplatin	Chemo drug for cancer	Short of breath, rapid heart rate, trouble concentrating, easy bruising, unusual bleeding, purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin, fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, sores in your mouth and throat, stomach pain, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice, numbness or tingly feeling in hands or feet, hearing or vision problems, low magnesium (confusion, uneven heart rate, jerking muscle movements, muscle weakness or limp feeling, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, tired feeling.
Chlorpheniramine	Allergies, itchy, sneezing	Fast or uneven heart rate, mood changes, tremor, seizure (convulsions), easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness, short of breath, urinating less than usual or not at all, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, nose, or throat, constipation, blurred vision, feeling nervous or restless.
Controloc	Acid reflux	Most serious: allergies – hives, swelling or closing of air passages and throat. Less serious:  flatulence, stomach upsets, diarrhea , insomnia.
Dexamethasone	Anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant steroid	Acne, dry skin, thinning skin, bruising or discoloration, slow wound healing, increased sweating, headache, dizziness, spinning sensation, nausea, stomach pain, bloating, muscle weakness,vision problems, swelling, rapid weight gain, severe depression, seizure (convulsions), bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood, low potassium (confusion, uneven heart rate, extreme thirst, increased urination, leg discomfort, muscle weakness or limp feeling), dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats), sleep problems (insomnia).
Diphenoxylate / atropine (Lomotil)	Diarrhea	Stomach pain or bloating, diarrhea (watery or bloody), numbness of hands or feet, depressed mood, confusion, fast heart rate, urinating less than usual or not at all, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, tired or restless feeling, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, loss of appetite, skin rash, or itching.
Dormicum	Sedative	Gastrointestinal disturbances, changes in libido, skin reactions, anterograde amnesia (selective memory loss), depression, restlessness, agitation, irritability, aggressiveness, delusion, rages, nightmares, hallucinations, abrupt withdrawal of Dormicum may provoke seizures.
DURAGESIC  patch	Pain	Slow heart rate, weak or shallow breathing, sighing, severe drowsiness, confusion, extreme fear, unusual thoughts or behavior; feeling like you might pass out, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, constipation, headache, drowsiness, tired feeling, white patches or sores inside mouth or lips.
Eprex	Anemia, bone marrow to produce red blood cells	Hypertensive crisis, brain problems or seizures, nausea, deep vein thrombosis – this may be fatal, diarrhea, flu or flu-like symptoms including fever, jointpain, musclepain or tenderness, pulmonary embolism – this may be fatal, skin rash, vomiting, heart problems, oedema of the extremities.
Heparinised Saline injection	Anticoagulants, prevent blocking by blood clots	Unexplained nosebleeds, bleeding from gums when brushing teeth, red or dark brown urine, bloody or black stools, rash, itching, hives on the skin, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or other parts of the body, shortness of breath, wheezing or trouble breathing, fever, chills, runny nose, watering eyes, vomiting, nausea, itchy soles of the feet.
A-Hydrocort	Allergic reactions, arthritis, blood diseases, breathing problems	Headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, restlessness, depression, anxiety, unusual moods, increased sweating, increased hair growth, reddened face, acne, thinned skin, easy bruising, tiny purple skin spots, irregular or absent menstrual periods, skin rash, swollen feet, ankles, and lower legs, vision problems, eye pain, muscle pain and weakness, black, tarry stool, unusual bleeding.
Intaxel inj	Paclitaxel (India), chemo drug	Decrease of blood cells, Numbness, tingling or burning of hands and feet, Increased blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain and shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats), Seizure, pale skin and unusual weakness, Fever, chills, body aches and flu symptoms, Joint and muscle pain, swelling, redness, skin color, mild nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or hair loss.
Kytril inj	Vomiting and nausea caused by chemotherapy.	Fast or pounding heartbeats, fever, body aches, flu symptoms, easy bruising or bleeding; unusual weakness, headache, stomach pain or upset, loss of appetite, diarrhea or constipation, dizziness; or

sleep problems (insomnia).LexaproAntidepressantConstipation, Insomnia, Dizziness, dry mouth, headache, nausea, exhaustion, Hallucinations, irregular heartbeat, panic attack, allergic reactions, seizures, stomach pain, deteriorating depression, mood change, irritability, severe insomnia, breath shortening, fatigue.Lignocaine InjectionDisturbances in the heart’s rhythmNausea, drowsiness, mental/mood changes, ringing in the ears, dizziness, vision changes, tremors, numbness, headache, backache, fever, unusually fast or slow pulse, trouble breathing, seizures, chest pain, allergic reactions – rash, itching, swelling, dizziness, trouble breathing.MetoclopramideHeartburn, nauseaTremors or shaking in of arms or legs, uncontrolled muscle movements in face, slow or jerky muscle movements, problems with balance or walking, stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, confusion, fast or uneven heartbeats, depressed mood, thoughts of suicide, hallucinations, anxiety, agitation, jittery feeling, trouble staying still, swelling, feeling short of breath, rapid weight gain, jaundice, seizure (convulsions), feeling restless, drowsy, tired, or dizzy, headache, sleep problems (insomnia), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, urinating more than usual.Morphine Sulfate InjectionPainMost serious: respiratory depression. Dizziness, lightheadedness, drowsiness, upset stomach, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, rash, difficulty urinating, fainting.NeurontinEpileptic and seizuresDizziness, drowsiness, weakness, tired feeling, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, blurred vision, headache, dry mouth, loss of balance or coordination, increased seizures, fever, swollen glands, body aches, flu symptoms, skin rash, easy bruising or bleeding, severe tingling, numbness, pain, muscle weakness, upper stomach pain, loss of appetite, dark urine, jaundice, chest pain, irregular heart rhythm, feeling short of breath, confusion, nausea and vomiting, swelling, rapid weight gain, urinating less than usual or not at all, new or worsening cough, fever, trouble breathing; or rapid back and forth movement of your eyes.OxycotinPain killerConstipation, nausea, drowsiness, dizziness,  itching , vomiting, dry mouth, weakness, sweating, loss of appetite, insomnia  or abnormal dreams, fever or chills, abdominal pain (stomach pain), diarrhea , indigestion, or heartburn, nervousness, anxiety , or an unusual pleasant feeling (euphoria), shortness of breath, twitching, hiccups, slow heart rate (bradycardia), difficulty passing urine, low blood pressure (hypotension), slow or irregular breathing, ringing of the ears (tinnitus).OxyNorm (oxycodone)Opioid painkillerItching, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, headache, sleepiness and drowsiness along with dizziness and euphoria (extreme happiness and feelings of well-being), difficulty passing urine, constipation, upset stomach, loss of appetite, slow body movements or tiredness, insomnia, disorientation, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, vision problems, hiccups,  shortness of breath, fast or deep breathing, confusion, nervousness and anxiety or hallucinations and hypothermia (a drop below the normal body temperature), facial flushing, rigid muscles and nervousness as well as difficulty swallowing, edema (swelling) of the legs, ankles and feet.PanadolPainAllergic reaction –  hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat, nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice, liver and kidney damage.SpironolactoneFluid retention (edema), low potassium levels in the bloodMild nausea or vomiting, dizziness, headache, gas, stomach pain, numbness or tingly feeling,muscle pain or weakness, slow, fast, or uneven heart rate, feeling drowsy, restless, or light-headed, urinating less than usual or not at all, shallow breathing, tremors, confusion, nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice, severe skin reaction — fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain, followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the face or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.StilnoxInsomnia and brain disordersHeadaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, anterograde amnesia, hallucinations, delusions, altered thought patterns, difficulty maintaining balance^, euphoria and/or dysphoria, impaired judgment and reasoning, when stopped, rebound insomnia may occur.XanaxAnxiety, depressionBlurred vision, headache, memory problems, trouble concentrating, sleep problems (insomnia), swelling in your hands or feet, muscle weakness, lack of balance or coordination, slurred speech, upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, increased sweating, dry mouth, stuffy nose, depressed mood, thoughts of suicide or hurting self, unusual risk-taking behavior, decreased inhibitions, no fear of danger, confusion, hyperactivity, agitation, hostility, hallucinations, feeling like passing out, urinating less than usual or not at all, chest pain, pounding heartbeats or fluttering in chest, uncontrolled muscle movements, tremor, seizure (convulsions) drowsiness, dizziness, feeling tired or irritable.ZantacUlcers in stomach and intestinesDrowsiness, dizziness, sleep problems (insomnia), nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, chest pain, fever, feeling short of breath, coughing up green or yellow mucus, easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness, fast or slow heart rate, problems with vision, fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash.ZofranNausea and vomitingDiarrhea or constipation, weakness or tired feeling, fever, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision or temporary vision, short of breath, fainting, fast or pounding heartbeats, slow heart rate, trouble breathing, anxiety, agitation, shivering, feeling like you might pass out, urinating less than usual or not at all.

Let me ask you to ponder critically what Dr. Andrew Weil, graduate of Harvard Medical School and currently Director of Integrative Medicine at University of Arizona, said In Health & Healing:

• The average patient in a hospital today is placed on half a dozen drugs simultaneously. How some of these chemicals react with each other is anybody’s guess. Moreover, a significant percentage of drug doses in hospitals involve errors: wrong drug, the wrong patient, the wrong dose, the wrong time …. Adverse drug reactions are the leading variety of iatrogenic illness (iatrogenic illness is caused by the effects of medical treatment by the doctors).
• Voltaire penned this magnificent snipe: Physicians pour drugs of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, into humans of which they know nothing.
• The excesses of drugging in allopathic medicine are one of its worse sins.
• I find allopathic medicine glaringly deficient in theory and philosophy of any sort … they have no clear conception or theory of what disease is, nor any general concept of treatment.

We understand – the doctors in the hospital were trying their best to help the patient.  They did what they knew based on what they  were taught in medical school. But Dr. Weil – a Harvard trained medical doctor concluded that:I find allopathic medicine glaringly deficient in theory and philosophy of any sort … they have no clear conception or theory of what disease is, nor any general concept of treatment.

Why did he say such a thing against his own profession? Let me venture to explain. Take a critical look at the table of medications above again. MM was given 11 to 19 drugs (either orally or infusion) each day while in the hospital.  What do these drugs do while in the body? It is anybody imagination! And what is the purpose of each drug – trying to “repair” the damage caused by another drug?

Table 2. Patient received 19 drugs on chemo-day – 18 September 2012

Table 3. Patient received 18 drugs three days after receiving chemotherapy – 21 September 2012

Table 4: Patient received 11 drugs on an ordinary day – 6 October 2012. 

Even on an ordinary day (Table 4), her daily staple was 11 drugs consisted of the following:

1. Albumin injection.
2. Three types of pain medication –  Durogesic patch, Oxycontin, and Oxynorm.
3. Two types of anti-depression and anxiety medication – Laxpro and Xanax.
4. Medication to acid reflex.
5. Medication to prevent blood clot.
6. Medication for nausea and vomiting.
7. Medication for low potassium in blood.
8. Medication for insomnia or sleeping pill.

Why did she need 11 drugs a day?

Why did she need albumin every day?

Where did the albumin go to after infusion each day?

Ask this question: If you give these medications (11 to 19 types of drugs) a day to any healthy person– what do you think would become of that person?  Would he/she not go ko-ko?

Study the various side effects that can be caused by each drug received by the patient.

Let’s take albumin injection for example. She was given this injection almost every day for the past one and a half months.  This injection may give rise to various side effects such as allergic reactions – fever and chills, rash, nausea, vomiting, hypotension.

So she has to take medication for nausea and acid reflex, for example, to take care of the side effects of albumin infusion.

But this is not all. There are 10 more drugs that she was taking and all of them have side effects.

For example, she took 3 types of pain killers – Durogesic patch, Oxycontin, and Oxynorm. The possible side effects of these drugs are:  Slow heart rate, weak or shallow breathing,  severe drowsiness, confusion, extreme fear, unusual thoughts or behavior; feeling like you might pass out, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, constipation, headache,  tired feeling,  dizziness,  itching ,  sweating, loss of appetite, insomnia  or abnormal dreams, fever or chills, abdominal pain (stomach pain), diarrhea , indigestion, or heartburn,  shortness of breath, twitching, difficulty passing urine, low blood pressure (hypotension), slow or irregular breathing, slow body movements or tiredness, disorientation, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, vision problems, shortness of, nervousness and anxiety or hallucinations and hypothermia (a drop below the normal body temperature), facial flushing, rigid muscles and nervousness, difficulty swallowing, swelling of the legs, ankles and feet.

Looking at the list, is there any wonder that the patient was asked to take two types of anti-depression and anxiety drugs and one type of sleeping pill?  Again, these three drugs – anti-depression / anxiety and sleeping pills, would by themselves bring on more side effects.  So the list of side effects grows and grows.

On 18 October 2012, patient’s sister wrote:

Her main issues now:
1. Tummy hardened.
2. Hard to breathe.
3. Area on upper abdominal and gastric pain.
4. Swelling of legs.
5. Some redness of allergic that I observed maybe from the vitamin and milk infusion.

6. Hard to relax and cannot sleep well.

7. Tense.

Is this what Dr. Weil was trying to tell us when he wrote:  The excesses of drugging in allopathic medicine are one of is worse sins?  To Professor Jane Plant, this sounds like a battle between the disease and the treatments – with the patient as the battle ground!

Dr. Weil also said this: Adverse drug reactions are the leading variety of iatrogenic illness (iatrogenic illness is caused by the effects of medical treatment by the doctors).

The question we would like to ask is: To what extent are the drugs given to patient causing the problem? In other words,    are her problems caused by cancer or by the drugs that she was asked to take?

Some important questions to ask are:

What is the aim of all these medications? Just to keep the patient alive?

What are the medications that would improve her health and make her healthy?

Is there hope that she would be able to come out of this staple diet of medicines and become normal and healthy again?

What is the philosophy of the  treatment?  Often we hear, Your cancer can be treated! Yes, it is possible to treat the patient by giving her medications but where is the cure?

Dr. Weil said it out again loud and clear: I find allopathic medicine glaringly deficient in theory and philosophy of any sort … they have no clear conception or theory of what disease is, nor any general concept of treatment.

(Note: As I was writing this sentence, someone sent me an email with this message: Doctors destroy health.)

As a conclusion, let me be clear. I am not here blaming the doctors. They have done their best in wanting to help and save life but unfortunately they have to operate within their medical system, which unfortunately is still stuck in a quagmire.