Metastatic Breast Cancer: She Found Her Healing

WP is a 45-year-old lady. Within a period of LESS than a year, all these happened.

In November 2014, WP had a lump in the right arm pit. A mammogram showed multifocal clusters of micro-calcification. A surgeon did a bad, piecemeal excision of the lump. Test confirmed it was an infiltrating ductal carcinoma with DCIS margins involved.
A week later, another surgery was done to remove the other remaining half of the lump.
WP consulted an oncologist in Singapore. She was asked to do a PET scan.
PET scan results showed:

Small focal areas of mildly increased FDG uptake seen in the right breast — foci of satellite tumours have to be considered.
There are several hypermetabolic lymph nodes noted in right axilla and in the pre-carinal region of the mediastinum. These findings are suspicious of metastatic nodal disease.
No definite scan evidence of FDG avid hepatic, pulmonary and skeletal metastasis is noted.

WP was told she had a Stage 4 cancer and needed chemotherapy. She received her first shot of chemo in Singapore — AC regimen costing SGD 6,000 per cycle.
Not happy with the first oncologist, WP decided to seek another oncologist.
She did a total of 6 cycles of chemotherapy in Singapore. Since her cancer was Her-2 positive, WP was given Taxol + Heceptin. One injection of Herceptin cost SGD 4,000.
All treatments were completed in April 2015. Another PET scan was done. The results showed:

The foci of increased FDG uptake in the right breast have resolved.
The FDG-avid lymph nodes in the right axillary region and precarinal region of the mediastinum show interval metabolic resolution.
No new suspicious FDG-avid lesion is detected.

In layman’s language the first round of chemo was a great success! But this success did not last long.
Six weeks later, a lump was again found in WP’s right breast. FNAC confirmed cancer.
The oncologist wanted WP to continue receiving Herceptin. Each treatment cost SGD 4,000 and WP will need to continue receiving Herceptin for life!
CT scan was done and it showed lung nodules.
In simple layman language the first round of chemo was a failure. It did not cure her.
WP was referred to a lung specialist who suggested a surgical removal of the infected nodes.
WP consulted a breast specialist in Kuala Lumpur and had a mastectomy (total removal of right breast).
A PET scan was again done on 11 August 2015. The results showed:

There is interval development of several FDG-avid lymph nodes in the lower cervical, right supraclavicular, left internal mammary and medistinal regions. A consideration would be nodal metastases.
A stable subcentimetre subpleural lung opacity without FDG-avidity in the right lower lobe is non-specific.

The breast specialist suggested more chemotherapy — the same advice as the oncologist in Singapore.
18 August 2015, the breast specialist wrote: “The consensus on treatment from our Tumour Board was for her to complete her Herceptin and have radiotherapy to the chest well … radiotherapy to include the SCLN and Mediastinal LN as well as continuation of Herceptin and Perjeta in combination.”

After a month on CA Care Therapy, WP returned and said she was happy, confident and looked prettier! Listen to her.

Knee and joint Pains Gone After e-Therapy

WP suffered two side effects after her medical treatment.

After her surgery and axillary lymph nodes removal she felt numbness in her right arm. This is a very common problem suffered by patients.
After the chemo with Herceptin she had pains in her knees, ankles and joints.

Since WP planned to stay in Penang for 3 days, we took the opportunity to put WP on our e-Therapy.

After 3 sessions of the e-Therapy (each session lasted less than an hour) the numbness and pains were gone! Let WP tell you her experience.

Comments

Many cancer patients came to see us after all their medical treatments have failed them. We are their “last one stop”. We also reminded them: Don’t expect us to cure you! We don’t have any magic bullet. You learn how to heal yourself. In this case, we are indeed glad to know that we can help WP in many ways — If you can eat, can sleep, can move and have no pain, don’t ask for more! Be grateful and be happy. WP had demonstrated to us that she had found her way to healing!

We always tell patients to ask two questions before undergoing any treatment (medical or alternative).

Before undergoing chemotherapy (radiation or surgery), did you ask the oncologist if the chemo is going to cure you?

WP did not ask this question when she met the first oncologist. But the second oncologist did tell WP that chemo would cure her cancer — saying, Many of my patients lived for 5 years. To the doctors, surviving 5 years or more means cure, which unfortunately is not true.

I learned about Amy Cohen Soscia from the internet. She had breast cancer when she was 43-years old. Amy underwent a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She received treatments in one of the world’s outstanding cancer hospitals in the United States. In spite of the aggressive treatment, Amy’s cancer spread to her liver and spine. She also received Herceptin. The cancer spread to her brain. More chemo drugs and radiation but these did not help her. Before she died, she wrote:

In this case, WP had chemo with Herceptin. The treatment did not work. So, the oncologist’s respond was more chemo and top it up with radiation. For the chemo, there is a new but expensive “bullet.” This is the first time we heard about Perjeta. What is it? Perjeta (chemical name: pertuzumab) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in combination with Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab), another targeted therapy medicine, and Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel), a type of chemotherapy, to treat HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer (Perjeta was called Omnitarg in earlier studies).

Can Perjeta cure cancer? How much does it cost?

Perjeta helped patients with HER2-positive breast cancer live significantly longer. But how long is that? According to a study rolled out at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting, Perjeta helped half of patients live at least 15.7 months longer than patients in the control group, the study data shows. In the world of metastatic, HER2-positive breast cancer, that’s a whopping result.”We’ve never seen anything like this before,” lead author Sandra Swain of MedStar Washington Hospital Center told The New York Times. “It’s really unprecedented to have this survival benefit.” Perjeta’s U.S. list price is about $5,900 per month, and it’s used in tandem with Herceptin, which costs $5,300 per month. Source: Roche’s Perjeta helps breast cancer patients live a record-setting 15.7 months longer

“Most patients will take the combination of Perjeta and Herceptin until their disease worsens, which is about 18 months,” the spokesperson said. “The estimated cost for a course of treatment … for 18 months is approximately $188,000.” Source: FDA approves Roche’s pricey new Herceptin partner, Perjeta.

Put this in the context of a patient in Malaysia. You need to spend RM 827,200 (current exchange rate of 4.4) to live for 18 months. The treatment does not cure you — does it prolong your sufferings?

Not too long ago, a friend whose wife had breast cancer was told by a renown oncologist: If you have a million or so, this is the time to spend your money, to show your concern for your wife. But the big question is, Can the treatment cure her? The answer is NO. My friend told me, It was a disgusting advice! We never went to him again.

One Indonesian cancer patient asked her oncologist if he could consider giving some discount for her chemo treatment. After all she had been receiving so many cycles of chemo from him but he could not cure her. The oncologist replied, Ask your husband to go and rob the bank to pay me.

Read more about medical cost: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/category/medical-costs-technology/

Reflect on the wisdom below:

WP came to see us a month ago. She decided to believe in her own body in wanting to get well. She did not want to go for anymore medical treatment. Would you regret for making this decision? WP said she is now happier, healthier and prettier! Will she make it to another two years without having to spend a million bucks? Time will tell.

Ella was told without chemo she had only three months and with chemo she would live for two and a half years (no cure!). Ella forgo chemo and made it to seven years. And today she is still healthy! At CA Care, we have seen many Ellas (and you don’t have to rob the bank!). Praise God, the Almighty Healer.

Click on this link to browse through the many cases of breast cancer that we wrote about https://cancercaremalaysia.com/category/breast-cancer/

Ella Survived Two Cancers Even Without Chemo or Radiation

Ella is from Australia. Many, many years ago, Ella was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She was told to undergo chemotherapy. She refused, turned to herbs and cured herself.

Later, Ella started a mission to help cancer patients in Australia. One day, while driving home from the hospital after collecting her mother’s ashes , Ella took a wrong turn and the road led her to a garden centre. Ella met Jim who introduced her to CA Care. https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2015/09/08/ella-found-ca-care-after-turning-into-the-wrong-road/

Ella wrote us and later we got to meet Ella in Kuala Lumpur. From then on we kept it touch. Fate has it that 7 years ago, Ella was down with another cancer — endometrium cancer. She underwent surgery to remove the large tumour. She was asked to go for chemotherapy. Her surgeon said, Without chemo you have three months. With chemotherapy, you have two and a half-years. This means even with chemotherapy, Ella would not be cure! Ella promptly refused chemotherapy and opted for CA Care Therapy.

One year later, Ella and her friend visited Penang. At that point in time, Ella had proven her doctor’s prognosis wrong! We wrote about Ella’s story then. https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2012/01/28/cancer-of-the-endometrium-no-chemo-you-live-only-three-months-with-chemo-two-and-a-half-years-with-herbs-she-is-still-having-fun-after-more-than-three-years/

Let us admit, then — surviving only a year — we were also too sure! Could she continue to live two and half years and again prove that her doctor was wrong? The odds were stacked against us! For how long can an Australian continue to take the bitter, awful tasting herbs? Will she give up after a while? What about her diet? Can she eat healthy? Forgo the steak, turkey, ham, beacon, milk, etc., etc.

October 2015 – seven years later: It was indeed a privilege and blessing to be able to meet Ella again in Penang. Ella and husband, Peter stayed in our home for three nights en route to Scotland. In 2008, Ella told us, the surgeon said she would have only two and half years to live, even with chemotherapy. But now she has lived three times longer than predicted and still going on strong.

Let Ella tell you her story.

Her survival against two cancers.

What does it take to win?

No two ways about it, if you want to survive and succeed, you need to change your diet and take the herbs, have peace of mind and a strong desire and determination to live.

Lastly, we spoke to Ella about how to keep healthy and going!

Ten ways how doctors in India cheat patients

Someone in India sent us the link to this article. Thanks for sharing!

A renowned physician Dr B M Hegde has shown how a large number of doctors working in five-star hospitals shortchange patients in order to keep their management happy and enrich their own pockets.

Prof. B. M. Hegde, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPG, FRCPI, FACC, FAMS. Padma Bhushan Awardee 2010.Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes, Chairman, State Health Society’s Expert Committee, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.Former Prof. Cardiology, The Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London, Affiliate Prof. of Human Health, Northern Colorado University, Retd. Vice Chancellor, Manipal University, “Manjunath”Pais Hills, Bejai. MANGALORE-575004. India.

He said:

To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Surgeons like to solve medical problems by cutting, just as physicians first seek solutions with drugs. So, if you take your medical problem to a surgeon first, the chances are that you will unnecessarily end up on the operation table. Instead, please go to an ordinary GP first.

What Doctors Don’t Get to Study in Medical School by Professor B.M. Hegde

https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2014/05/08/what-doctors-dont-get-to-study-in-medical-school/

Chemo Kills

Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a neurosurgeon and author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, Health & Nutrition Secrets to Save Your Life and Cancer Strategeries, http://www.russellblaylockmd.com) wrote an article: How Modern Medicine Killed My Brother.

Let me quote some of what he wrote:

Earlier this month, I traveled to Monroe, La., to bury my dear older brother, Charles. Charles, unfortunately, began smoking when he was in law school, something I warned him about repeatedly.
After misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis, Charles was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer. Once the diagnosis was made, an oncologist was naturally called, who wanted to start a complete course of chemotherapy drugs.
I advised my brother against it, knowing the cancer would not respond and the toxic drugs would dramatically increase his breathing difficulties, hastening his death. He took my advice.
Then, a radiation oncologist suggested radiating the tumor to shrink it. I wasn’t supportive of this treatment, but my brother wanted something done. Soon afterward, he started five and a half weeks of radiation treatment.
The oncologist told Charles he was losing too much weight and he needed to eat more bread, pasta and even sweets to gain weight. …I told him that losing the weight would make it easier for him to breath. I had given him a copy of my book on the nutritional treatment of cancer and told him it was critical he follow the advice exactly.
Unfortunately, Charles decided he didn’t like the taste of the blenderized vegetables and would do what the oncologist suggested. He began to eat ice cream, cookies and other items that cancer patients should never eat. Once he finished the radiation treatments, he developed fever, severe shortness of breath and had to be admitted to the hospital… he had to be intubated and placed on a respirator.
The practice of medicine has changed drastically in the world, especially in this country.
The new breed of doctor, like my brother’s doctors … are convinced this “cookbook” medicine is superior and their elite journals and medical associations know best… they are mere cogs in the wheel …They are unable to think for themselves.
Unfortunately, doctors, like those who killed my brother, are being turned out of medical schools all over the country like robots.

Read carefully what Dr. Blaylock wrote and you will soon realize that such tragedy can happen anywhere and everywhere; over and over again. And yet no one seems to learn.

Let it be known, this is how the world operates — misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis; surgery, chemo or radiation if it is cancer; eat anything you like, etc. etc. It is all the same in every hospital you are in no matter where you are. Then the patient may eventually dies! For those who can afford, not before spending a pile of money. Yes, the family feels good for putting up a great fight — heroic act, so to say, in trying to save their loved one.

I can fully understand how frustrated Dr. Blaylock felt having to go through the experience he had described — seeing first-hand how modern medicine killed his brother but being unable to do anything to help even though he himself is a medical doctor.

Chemo Kills

I decided to write this article to share with you my own experience, which is somewhat similar to Dr. Blaylock’s. No, it did not happen to my own brother or sister, but a very close dear relative, two years younger than me.

Not too long ago (June 2015) this dear relative was diagnosed with a recurrent cancer. Unfortunately the cancer had spread to her liver which had ruptured, spilling fluid in the abdomen and pelvis. The cancer could have infiltrated the pancreas as well. The right lung was filled with fluid and the cancer could have also spread to her lungs.

Her CA 125 = 775.6; CA 15.3 = 234.5; and CA 19.9 =171.2

No doubt, to anyone who knows something about cancer, this is a very serious case with no chance of a cure. Her doctor wrote: she is not a candidate for surgery due to the advanced disease and also her poor general condition. However, she may perhaps benefit from systemic therapy. In simple language, she had to undergo chemotherapy (what else?).

I was not involved in any decision that the family made — rightly, this is what it should be. Everyone in the family should have a say but no outsider involved!

Perhaps, as a matter of “courtesy”, I received a call informing me that she was going for chemotherapy as advised by the “best oncologist in the best hospital” in the country.

On hearing this, I did my part — not to object to chemotherapy but to explain what chemo is (even if I am aware that the family consists of medically educated members). It took me more than an hour to deliver my simple but crude message: Chemo is going to kill her. My estimation was she would not go pass three rounds of this poisonous treatment. She will die.

Round one of chemo caused much misery.

Round two of carboplatin resulted in an almost total disaster. She had to be hospitalised — she was weak, unable to walk, was very fatigued and had very poor appetite. All along, she was on morphine due to severe pain. Her blood was low and she needed blood transfusion. Fluid had to be tapped out of her right lung. At last, the doctor’s recommendation — supportive cares, no further chemo. In simple layman language they gave up on her after two shots of chemo.

It was at this point that the family went into a frenzy and started to call me for help. Needless to say, I was glad that the doctor had come to realise the folly of giving chemo to terminally ill patient. Chemo had been shown to add misery to the already miserable patient.

My advice to the family were:

Let her stay in the hospital for a while more to stablize her condition after all the damage done.
Okay, put in the blood because she is anemic.
Take care of the diet …no rubbish food.
Bring the house maid to our centre so that we can teach her how to cook “healthy food.”
Drink juices. But can take porridge BUT no meat, egg, sugar, oil, etc. … a bit of fish okay.
Once she is stable then we can slowly give her the herbs.
From the medical reports, she needs a lot of herb teas but I am not going to be too ambitious or aggressive because after the chemo had destroyed the stomach lining, she may react badly to the herbs.
Slowly, later, I shall replace the morphine with Pain Tea. But for now she can still take the painkiller because of the pain.

We need herbs for her liver, pancreas, lymph nodes, lung (even fluid in the lung) and abdominal distension / ascites. I have herbs for all these problems … but as I have said let her recover from the chemo damage first otherwise she would throw out all these.

Please let me know how she is recovering after the transfusion. Be sure that I am ready to do my best to help in whatever way I can.

Sadly, a day after I wrote the e-mail, a message came through that this dear relative died.

I took this news with a heavy heart but I expected this tragic end all along. I was sad at the same time angry because I felt helpless.

Nevertheless, after seeing deaths like this happen a hundred and one times, it dawned on me that the ultimate and true healing for any terminal cancer patient is death. If possible, let death comes without pain or any added man-made sufferings. Let us die with dignity surrounded by our loved ones. Let us not die as a rotten vegetable. That is what I would want it to be — for me.

Do you really know what chemo is?

Let me end by asking you to reflect on what Henry Ford and Albert Einstein said:

To my dear relative. Now that you are gone, rest in peace with the Lord.

Heaven is such a beautiful place. In the not too distant future, we shall meet again.

What really matters at the end of life

The Cold Hard Facts About the US Cancer Program, Part 2: Misguided and Ineffective

Dissecting Chemotherapy 11: No Chemo for Dad’s Liver Cancer – Wisdom of a Daughter

Using Emotions of Fear or Hope to Sell Cancer Treatments

What really matters at the end of life

At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, love.

BJ Miller is a palliative care physician at Zen Hospice Project. Listen to what he has to say.

Gist of what Dr Miller said:

The American health care system has more than its fair share of dysfunction … I’m a physician … a hospice and palliative medicine doc, so I’ve seen care from both sides. And believe me: almost everyone who goes into healthcare really means well — truly. But we who work in it are also unwitting agents for a system that too often does not serve.
Healthcare was designed with diseases, not people, at its center. Which is to say … it was badly designed. And nowhere are the effects of bad design more heartbreaking … than at the end of life.
For most people, the scariest thing about death isn’t being dead, it’s dying, suffering.
It can be very helpful to tease out suffering which is necessary as it is, from suffering we can change.
The former is a natural, essential part of life, part of the deal, and to this we are called to make space, adjust, grow. It can be really good to realize forces larger than ourselves. They bring proportionality, like a cosmic right-sizing.
After my limbs were gone, that loss, for example, became fact, fixed — necessarily part of my life, and I learned that I could no more reject this fact than reject myself. It took me a while, but I learned it eventually.
Another great thing about necessary suffering is that it is the very thing that unites caregiver and care receiver — human beings. This, we are finally realizing, is where healing happens. Yes, compassion — suffering together.
On the other hand, so much of the suffering is unnecessary, invented. It serves no good purpose. But the good news is, since this brand of suffering is made up … we can change it.
How we die is indeed something we can affect. Making the system sensitive to this fundamental distinction between necessary and unnecessary suffering … our role as caregivers, as people who care, is to relieve suffering — not add to the pile.
Palliative care — a very important field but poorly understood — it is not limited to end of life care. It is not limited to hospice. It’s simply about comfort and living well at any stage. So please know that you don’t have to be dying anytime soon to benefit from palliative care.
So much of what we’re talking about today is a shift in perspective. Perspective … turning anguish into a flower.
After my accident, when I went back to college, I changed my major to art history. Studying visual art, I figured I’d learn something about how to see — a really potent lesson for a kid who couldn’t change so much of what he was seeing.
In my work over the years, I’ve known many people who were ready to go, ready to die. Not because they had found some final peace or transcendence, but because they were so repulsed by what their lives had become — in a word, cut off, or ugly.
We know, from research what’s most important to people who are closer to death: comfort; feeling unburdened and unburdening to those they love; existential peace; and a sense of wonderment and spirituality.
We need to … set our sights on well-being, so that life and health and healthcare can become about making life more wonderful, rather than just less horrible.
I am asking that we make space — physical, psychic room, to allow life to play itself all the way out — aging and dying can become a process of crescendo through to the end. We can’t solve for death.

Comments

We are indeed fortunate to have a medical doctor to share his thoughts about death and dying. Many terminally ill cancer patients come to us hoping to find a “miracle” — hoping us to “cure” their cancer. Don’t be misled, we cannot cure your cancer! To make your life a bit better, may be. As Dr. Miller said, our role as caregivers, as people who care, is to relieve suffering — not add to the pile. Not to add more man-made misery to the unnecessary suffering.

We always tell patients who come to us:

Be committed to your healing, change your lifestyle and diet and take the herbs. Go home and find peace with your Creator. If you can eat, can sleep, can move about and have no pain — then be grateful for what you are. When it is time to go, “go home” in peace.

After hearing these words, gladly some patients fully agree with us. Perhaps, for some, the healing process starts if they realise and learn to “accept” the reality of the situation they are in.

TN was a 65-year old lady with lung cancer that had spread to her bones and brain. She had 5 times radiation to her spine and ribs (end of October to early November 2013), 5 times radiation to her brain (January 2015) and another 5 times radiation to her spine, hip and brain in April 2015.

In addition she took Tarceva, starting 15 November 2013 and stopped in April 2015. The medication cost about RM 8,000 / month. She suffered dry skin and had a black spot on her nose after taking this medication (picture below).

The oncologist recommended chemotherapy since Tarceva was no longer effective. TN and her family decided not to go for chemotherapy as recommended by her oncologist. They came to seek our help in May 2015. She presented with constipation, breathlessness when walking, swelling of both legs and difficulty in sleeping (had to take sleeping pill). TN was prescribed some herbs and told to change her diet.

The following are two follow up e-mails from her daughter.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My mom has taken the capsules & herbal teas for a week. Briefly here is her condition:

She has regained some strength – she can walk longer. Previously she felt breathless after 3 steps of walking.
Appetite slightly improved. (Thanks to the variety of recipes from your wife’s cookbook)
However she finds it difficult to speak more now due to shortness of breath. Her speech sometimes slur.
Still unable sleep well at night, feel tightness/heaviness in the chest.
No constipation – she passed motion after drinking the constipation tea for three days (3 times).
Stomach & feet remain bloated and swollen.

I have brought my mom to see the oncologist. This is a follow up visit after the last radiotherapy session on 20 Apr. The current X-Ray report is unfavourable. She has a lot of fluid in her lung as compared to the previous X-ray. Oncologist recommended to flush out the fluid from the lung and this to be followed by pluerodesis. This is to give my mom some relief. I am quite concern of this and unsure if this will be beneficial to my mom.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My mother was discharged from hospital on Monday (25.5.15).

The amount of fluids drained from her left lung is about 1.2 litres. The fluids were mixed with blood. We were informed by the doctor that was due to the bleeding from the tumour at her lung.
In addition her left lung has also collapsed due to the fluids. Thus, she is still experiencing shortness of breath when she walks far.
From the x-ray reports, it was found that some of the bones at the spine area have became brittle (osteoporosis). My mother was give 1 injection of XGEVA to relieve her pain.

Sadly, TN died not long after this. And this is the letter we received from her daughter.

Dear Dr. Chris,

My family and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your kindness and efforts to help my beloved mother in her journey of cancer illness.

My beloved mother has passed away 2 weeks ago peacefully. I believe the herbal teas . medicinal herbs prescribed by your had helped a lot in making her illness less painful and rough.

Once again thank you for everything you did for my later beloved mother.

Best regards. Daughter of late Mdm TN.

Datukn Haji A was playing golf when he suddenly felt severe abdominal pain. Subsequent medical check-up showed cancer in the pancreas that had spread extensively to his liver. The doctor told him to go home… no surgery or chemotherapy. Not knowing what to do, Datuk and his family flew to seek our help. Datuk told us, “I understand. The doctor indirectly told me to go home and wait to die.” He presented with severe pains. Indeed his condition was beyond “help.” Anyway, we prescribed him some herbs – at least to lessen his suffering.

The following are some e-mails that his wife wrote:

Fri, Aug 7, 2015

Dear Prof,

My husband hs been in great pain at his tummy & lower back especially in the evening & night till 4a.m. this morning.

This morning he woke at 8a.m., pain reduced. Now after the superfood pain again. It relieves when taking gastrovit in warm water. Thank you.

Dear Prof,

My husband’s condition is better today. Less feeling of vomiting, less pain at his tummy & able to do more exercise. Thank you.

Dear prof,

He is in great pain now. since last night on off pain. Ok. If he can’t bear I’ll give him hospital’s pain killer. He said he will try to bear it till he can’t. He always feel good after gastrovit. Thanks Prof.

Dear prof,

Suddenly he feel much less painful. Can read newspapers. Will this pain subsides after 2 weeks?

Dear Prof,

Of course 2nd week better than 1st week physically (rashes on skin disappear, energy level better, no vomiting, etc.) except for the pain inside which we don’t know why?

1st week pain was at the tummy. now no more at tummy and had gone to the back and at the bowel area. The pain could be sharp at times. He said, this week energy is better than last week except for the pain.I hope it is not the cancer attacking. Good night.

Dear prof,

The pain is so great he can’t lie down to sleep. Terrible. Backache. So worry. Is this normal?

Good morning Prof,

Last night was better. This morning pinggang & bowel area not painful but lower abdomen (below pusat) pain & urine not good. Stomach & lower back skin dry. Still Hiccup. What to do? Thank you.

Dear Prof,

He is admitted to hospital. Kaki bengkak & not able to urine (now fix a tube to drain out) & sakit at pinggang & lower tummy. Stomach bloated. Doc injected pethidine.

Yes Prof. His condition not good.

Thank you.
Sep 6, 2015 at 5:30 AM

Dear Prof & wife,

My husband passed away peacefully on 4th Sept 2015 @ 3.30am. Thank you for everything. The herbs help me a lot at this difficult time. No more discomfort at the tummy area. Thank you.

Let us end this article by highlighting a report in the mass media. Take time to reflect on this.

Survey shows nearly half Malaysian cancer patients go broke a year after diagnosed

See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/survey-shows-nearly-half-malaysian-cancer-patients-broke-a-year-after-diagn#sthash.rBFWg066.dpuf

A survey was done in eight Southeast Asian countries, and in Malaysia, had followed 1,662 cancer patients in public and private hospitals through their first year following diagnosis, with 44 per cent of them at 50 years old or younger.

The Asean Costs in Oncology (Action) study by Sydney-based George Institute for Global Health made the following conclusions:

44 per cent of respondents would survive the cancer with no financial catastrophe, while another 11 per cent died.

Around 51 per cent will be pushed into “economic hardship” after a year from diagnosis, with 49 per cent of them already used up all their personal savings, while 39 per cent of all respondents could not pay for their medication.
Of the respondents, 35 per cent could not pay for medical consultation fees, 22 per cent could no longer pay for their rents and mortgages, while 19 per cent of them just discontinued treatments altogether.
“The cost of cancer does not only affect patients, but also their families and society as a whole,” the institute’s Prof Mark Woodward said.
The survey found that the median age where Malaysians are diagnosed with cancer is at 52 years, and subsequently died at 59.
“Cancer diagnosis at stage III or IV (late stage) makes treatment more costly, less likely to succeed, and reduces chances of survival.”
It also found that patients become financially vulnerable from two reasons: high out-of-pocket spending on loans, debts and depletion of assets; and high treatment and medical spending.
The Action report said even patients in public hospitals face high out-of-pocket spending for many health services such as chemotherapy, biopsy, biomarker testing, innovative cancer treatments, and palliative care.
UM’s cancer epidemiologist Prof Dr Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy said the average cost for breast cancer treatment could reach up to US$15,000 (RM65,000) per year, and those earning less than US$1,100 (RM4,700) per month would have “a very difficult time” to pay for it.

Question to ask: How do you want your life to end? Leave a hole in the family’s bank account? Many patients from Indonesia had to sell their houses or land before they died. You have a choice!

Ella Found CA Care After Turning Into The Wrong Road

One of our favourite questions we ask patients is: Who ask you to come here? Or, How do you know us? Over the years, we were given many interesting answers. The answers made us believe that in this Universe, we don’t live in isolation. Human beings are interconnected and things happened for a reason.

Ella, is an Australian. Many years ago she came to know about CA Care. Let her tell you what happened that day.

Ella’s mother died in the hospital. She went to pick up her ashes and the container was placed by her side as she drove home. With a heavy heart, probably saddened with her mom’s death, Ella drove into a “wrong” road instead of going straight on home.

Ella ended up at a garden centre. She did not know why she was there. Ella believed that mom is always her guardian angel. She turned to her “mom” and asked, “Are you trying to tell me something?”

Ella walked into the garden centre, eyes still filled with tears. She told Jim, the owner of the centre, that she did not why she was there in the first place. Jim asked Ella, “Are you alright? Do you have cancer?” Ella did not have cancer at that time, but she has a charity that helps cancer patients. Jim led Ella to his office and showed her our CA Care books.

That’s how Ella got to know us! Simple story but it has a lot of implications if you care to ask and reflect on this event.

This happened somewhere in Melbourne, Australia — not Malaysia!
Why was Jim so nice to Ella. She did not even know why she ended in Jim’s garden centre. She was not a prospective customer.
How does Jim know CA Care? Jim is a Malaysian who knew Chris a long time ago. They were both from the Agricultural College.
Why did Ella take the wrong turn to go home? Talking to her mom’s ashes, she asked, “Are you trying to tell me something?”
For most people, the story just ends there. But Ella felt there is something to what had happened. She visited Malaysia in June 2007 and took time to meet Chris in Kuala Lumpur. From then, we kept in touch.
In November 2008, we received a three-page fax from Australia with the following message:

“Here are the results of the tests. I am going in for an operation tomorrow 28 November 2008. I will call as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your support and love. Good health and lots of laughter. Love, Ella.”

The medical report indicated, “in the pelvis, the uterus is markedly enlarged with extensive heterogenous soft tissues measuring 7 x 10 cm in maximal diameters, entirely consistent with endometrial tumour.Conclusion: Intrauterine tumour. Poorly differentiated carcinoma favouring uterine origin. No evidence of tumour spread elsewhere.”
Immediately, Ella had an operation.
She was asked to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. Without these follow up treatments, the surgeon said she would probably have 3 months to live!
Ella opted for CA Care herbs and turned down further medical treatment (it is now, 2015 and Ella is doing fine. More of this later).

“Mom, are you trying to tell me something?” Mother has always been a loving and caring person. Even if mom was gone, she is still Ella’s guardian angel.

“Nothing in this world happens without a reason. That we are all exactly where we are supposed to be, and that the pieces of the puzzle have a tendency to come together when you least expect it.”
― Jane Green, The Beach House

Operate Your Tongue — No thank you!

Nur is a 64-year-old Indonesian lady. Her problem started about 4 years ago (2011) when she had a small lesion in the middle of her tongue. She did nothing about it. In 2002, she consulted a doctor who did a biopsy for suspected tongue cancer. The result did not find any malignancy and the doctor diagnosed it as “glossitis kronis dengan sicatrix” (chronic glossitis with cicantrix).

Note: Glossitis is an inflammation of the tongue that causes it to swell in size, change into different shades of red, and develop a smooth appearance on the surface. Cicatrix is a scar left by the formation of new connective tissue over a healing sore or wound.

The problem became worse and almost the entire tongue was “infected”. In addition, she had purplish patches on her forehead and hands as shown below.

In 2015, Nur consulted a doctor in Bandung and was told to operate her tongue. Nur and her family refused and came to seek our help.

We told Nur, we were at a loss — we have not seen such a case before. So don’t expect us to cure her. But we can try since Nur did not want to go for medical treatment (note: her daughter is a nurse!).

Listen to our conversation over a period of 7 months on the herbs.

Gist of our conversation.

First visit: January 2015

Patient: It started off as a small lump. I did not do anything about it. It was only after 2 years that the problem became serious and the lesion started to spread out over the tongue.

Daughter: There were some lumps under the tongue. We went to the doctor and was told it was a fungal infection.

P: I was given medicine to take but it was not effective.

Chris: Then the problem dragged on until 2015?

D: We went to see a doctor in Bandung and was told to operate the tongue.

P: Want to operate but I didn’t want.

C: Operation means to cut off the tongue?

D: The suggestion was to remove the top layer of the tongue and then do a transplant. We did not want to do that.

C: I have not seen such a case like this before. So I don’t know what I can do. I am not sure if it is cancerous or not. I have herbs for the tongue but for your case, I cannot say of the herbs will help you or not. If you want to try — okay. But if after taking the herbs for 2 to 3 months and you do not get better, then you should not take the herbs anymore.

D: According to the doctor in Bandung, he said it could be a slow growing cancer based on what he read from the internet of a similar case like this.

C: It is indeed an exceptional case — rare. I believe the doctor himself has not come across many cases like this.

Daughter No. 2: She is afraid and anxious.

C: Don’t be afraid. Let’s be patient. Even if you are afraid, this fear is not going to cure you.

P: I can’t sleep at night. Worried.

C: If you can’t sleep because you are afraid and worried, this will make you worse. The more you don’t sleep the worse you become. Don’t be afraid. Go home, pray and ask God to help you.

Second visit – 2 months later: March 2015

C: After taking the herbs, how do you feel?

P: I have more strength. I am not tired anymore. Before I was able to work.

C: Now, can you work? Before taking the herbs, can you work?

P: Cannot.

C: Let’s compare the day when you first came here and now, 2 months later after taking the herbs — do you feel better? More confident in what you are doing for yourself?

P: I am better! More confident.

C: Did you feel you get worse?

P: Before I was half dead (with action). Now okay.

Son: Has high spirit now!

Third visit – 7 months later: August 2015

C: Ibu, you were on the herbs for 7 months now. Do you feel better?

P: Good! I can walk far. Half (of the tongue) is already good, only the other half not yet. Before taking the herbs, almost the whole tongue was infected.

C: Wonderful. Any problem now?

P: With respect of the tongue, no problem at all.

C: You feel better?

P: Yes. I have more energy. Before I came here I had to go for “infusion” to boost up my energy — once or twice a week for the whole month. After that I came here.

C: After the “infusion” you were better? More energy?

P: No, still not good.

C: After taking the herbs, you have more energy. Herbs are better than infusion?

P: Ha, ha.

Comment

What is the problem with her tongue? Cancer or not cancer? We don’t know. Let the expert decide what label to give to such a problem (see note below).

What is important to us (and also the patient) is, Nur is well. Before coming to CA Care she was desperate, lost and full of anxiety. Now, with the herbs, she is better — emotionally and physically. Even her tongue has improved.

What more can we ask for?

More healing will come if we learn to cultivate a sense of gratitude in our hearts. Be grateful for what we are each day. With God’s blessing the body gradually heals itself.

Note: Two ENT specialists responded to our enquiry — that is this problem?

One ENT suggested Differential diagnosis: 1. Oral candidiasis – painful? Usually with older immunocompromised patients. 2. Range from Leukoplakia/ hyper keratosis.This one is more of a pre-malignancy.

Another ENT explained: There is a large area of hyperkeratosis of tongue involving the greater part of dorsum and the Right lateral edges. The skin shows purpuric patches extensor surfaces of wrist, forearms knee, and the Left brow. Smaller flat brown macular spots on the limbs can be part of the purpura or café o la spots. Tongue irritation caused by betel nut, tobacco can cause the leukoplakia. Hairy Leukoplakia due to immune deficiency conditions. HIV, immune suppression can cause it. The problem is how to tie the above to a bleeding diathesis manifested on the skin. Leukoplakia is premalignant. Biopsy is needed.

From the internet we find the following information.

Leukoplakia is a clinical termrather than a definitive diagnosis that refers to a fixed white patch or plaque on the oral mucosa, assuming other causes have been excluded.
Leukoplakia is an important risk factor for carcinomas of the oral mucosa and patients should be followed closely.
- Leukoplakia is relatively common with a prevalence ranging from 0.5 to 1 %. It’s the most common pre-malignant lesion in the mouth.
- The main concern is transformation to malignancy, which can occur up to 20 years later. Malignant transformation may be recognized by changes in the lesion such as local hardening with nodule formation and/or ulceration.

Hyperkeratosis is a layered buildup of keratinized cell tissue and is distinctive for its leaf-like appearance and consists of a horny overgrowth of irregular margins on the vocal folds.
Both of these lesions are treated as cautionary signs for possible future malignancy.

Treatments for Leukoplakia and Keratosis: Surgery has been the main approach. Some patients seen who have undergone surgical treatment for the removal of these lesions have experienced a return of the growths.

Why do cancer drugs get such an easy ride?

BMJ 2015; 350 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h2068 (Published 23 April 2015)Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h2068

Donald W Light, professor and Joel Lexchin, professor

Rushed approvals result in a poor deal for both patients and cancer research

Unlike most other diseases, cancer instils a special fear and “is treated as an evil, invincible predator, not just a disease.”

The ability of drug companies to charge very high prices, even when most approved cancer drugs provide little gain for patients, drives much of the research, as desperate patients lead some governments and private insurers to pay whatever companies charge.

Officials within the US Food and Drug Administration are enthusiastic about new cancer drugs. Richard Pazdur, who oversees oncology activities for the FDA says that new cancer drugs are so effective that “We don’t have a lot of questions on [these] drugs because they’re slam dunks. It’s not if we’re going to approve them. It’s how fast we’re going to approve them.”

The methodological weaknesses in oncology trials do not support such enthusiasm.

Trials for cancer drugs were 2.8 times more likely not to be randomised, 2.6 times more likely not to use a comparator (single arm), ….

and to READ MORE ….. Article access for 1 day: Purchase this article for £23 $37 €30 * http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h2068

If you don’t have the money to pay for a one day access to this article, try “googling” the subject matter, and with some luck you get a “free ride” and enjoy comments from various sources.

From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150507135917.htm: Highly priced cancer drugs get rushed approvals despite poor trial methodology and little effect on the longevity of patients, cautions York University Professor Dr. Joel Lexchin in the School of Health Policy and Management.

“Patients and their doctors should demand that regulators require pharma companies to provide clear evidence of clinical effectiveness of the drugs, resulting from rigorous methodology,” suggests Lexchin. “Drug agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) don’t actually look at whether people live longer.”

In an article in the British Medical Journal, titled “Why do cancer drugs get such an easy ride?,” Lexchiin and co-author Donald Light, a professor in the School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University in New Jersey, note that accelerated approval and shortened review times also make it a smooth sail for cancer drugs.

Lexchin cites earlier research reviewing solid cancer drugs within 10 years of EMA approval to point out that these drugs improved survival by just over a month.

“Similarly 71 drugs approved by the FDA from 2002 to 2014 for solid tumours have resulted in median gains in progression-free and overall survival of only 2.5 and 2.1 months, respectively,” he says adding, “Also, only 42 per cent met the American Society of Clinical Oncology Cancer Research Committee’s criteria for meaningful results for patients.”

From: http://www.yourhealthbase.com/ihn260.pdf: How Effective Are Newer Chemotherapy Drugs?

An editorial in the April 23, 2015 British Medical Journal examined the recent accelerated drug approval process for cancer drugs in both the US and Europe. The subtitle was “Rushed approvals result in a poor deal for both patients and cancer research.”
This editorial contains some extremely disturbing statistics and information the authors obtained from reviewing the chemotherapy clinical study literature and other papers over the last 8 to 10 years.
Between 2007 and 2010, … almost 9000 oncology clinical drug trials were compared with trials for other diseases, the former were 2.6 times more likely not to use a comparator and 1.8 time more likely not be blinded (open to bias from the investigators) … this undermine the validity of the outcomes, it also reflect what regulators will allow. (In lay man language this means bad research. And the regulators — FDA, allows that!).
The European Medicine Agency … found that new oncology drugs improved survival by a mean of 1.5 months and a median of 1.2 months.
The 71 drugs approved by the US FDA from 2002 to 2014 for solid tumors have resulted in median gains in progression-free survival of 2.5 months and overall survival of 2.1 months. (Pay thousands of ringgit plus suffer side effects and you live 2.5 months longer? Not cured? As you told about this before you started paying though your nose?).
Post-marketing changes in the package insert (so-called label) were substantially greater for oncology drugs given priority approval as compared to those going through the much longer standard process, which the authors suggest reflects deficiencies in the accelerated review process. (In layman language it means, quicky, sloppy job — a rush to make quick bucks?)
Both the European and US regulators allow companies to test cancer drugs using a surrogate endpoint rather than survival or other more patient-centered outcomes. Tumor size is given as an example of an unreliable endpoint since it is highly variable in predicting overall survival. (In layman language the measure of trial outcome is not reliable. Just making the size of tumor smaller — or tumour shrinkage — may not mean anything. Surely it does not mean the cancer is cured! So, the measure of effectiveness is faulty).
In 2013, two peer-reviewed papers appeared where a total of over 100 oncologists protested against the high prices being charged for cancer drugs when 11 out of 12 approved in 2012 provided only small benefits for patients. (Do you realize that chemo drugs are getting more expensive …the prices of the newer drugs are beyond our imagination. But are they effective? Yes, make you live longer by 2 or 3 months????? But patients want a CURE)
The authors term the approval process an “Easy Ride” and suggest that this serves both patients and research badly.
It can also be argued that the majority of cancer drug development research currently leading to new drug approval is bogged down in merely getting more ineffective drugs approved in the hope that marginal improvements in survival will lead to enhanced profits. (The root of this evil is greed! They go after your cancer or after your money?)
… generally priced so high that the choice is between bankruptcy or declining treatment except for the wealthy.
The results discussed above are consistent with those presented in 2004 by Morgan et al14. Based on reports from Australia between 1992 and 1997, the contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adults was 2.3% whereas in the US it was 2.1%. These results suggest that over this period in these two countries chemotherapy made little contribution to cancer survival. (Yes, they tell you … chemo will give 60% chance, 99% chance, bla, bla …the Australian showed chemo is only 2 or 3% effective).
Furthermore, not much appears to haves changed between 1992 and 2014 from the patient’s perspective. It is important to note that we are talking about cancers that involve solid tumors. (Why change or improve? As it is – the drug companies are happy, hospitals and doctors are happy! And patients believe and trust them!)
BOTTOM LINE: When offered one of the new “wonder” chemotherapeutic drugs, it is important to ascertain the actual expected life extension in order to weigh this against the side effects. Trivial life extensions are sufficient to gain regulatory approval and allow patients to be told the treatment will extend their life. Unless carefully qualified, such an approach appears unethical.

Month: September 2015

Metastatic Breast Cancer: She Found Her Healing

Ella Survived Two Cancers Even Without Chemo or Radiation

Ten ways how doctors in India cheat patients

Read more … http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/-ways-how-doctors-in-india-loot-patients-17628.html

Related articles:

What Doctors Don’t Get to Study in Medical School by Professor B.M. Hegde

Chemo Kills

What really matters at the end of life

Let us end this article by highlighting a report in the mass media. Take time to reflect on this.

Survey shows nearly half Malaysian cancer patients go broke a year after diagnosed

Ella Found CA Care After Turning Into The Wrong Road

Operate Your Tongue — No thank you!

Why do cancer drugs get such an easy ride?