Kanker-Usus Hati 3: Makan apapun yang kamu suka, mati lebih cepat!
In our discussion with Jasmine’s daughter and son-in-law, I related the story of one of our patients. He was a 79-year-old Datuk — an educated man of high standing. Let’s call him Peter. He came with his brother who was a minister in the government. He had cancer in his colon that had spread extensively to his liver.
Peter refused further medical treatment in spite of the seriousness of his illness. According to him: I would not be able to endure all these treatments. Presented with such a situation, what could I do?
There were two realities we must face in this case.
One, there was a tumour in the rectum and this had not been removed. It was almost blocking the passage way. I pointed out to Peter, if the tumour grew bigger and block the passage of stools then he would be done. Peter understood the message. But he was told by his doctor that even if he was to go for an operation, his life could be prolonged by another three to four months only. Peter categorically told me he would not want to go through the hassle. Okay, this was my bargain with him. Take the herbs and change your diet and lifestyle and if the stools become smaller and smaller (meaning the passage way is blocked) then he has no choice but to go for surgery. There is nothing much I can do to help if this happened.
Problem number two is obviously more serious. The cancer had spread to his liver. I make it clear to Peter that no one on earth can cure liver cancer (for that matter any cancer!).
We prescribed herbs to Peter. Surprisingly he got better. I often called me over the phone. One time he asked if he could continue to enjoy his cigar after dinner. He said he had “sacrificed” enough forgoing all his favourite food when he was invited out for dinners. Then he wanted to know if he could still drink his wine since he had a good collection of wine at home. To that I remember saying, No – why don’t you have just give those wine to your friends. He answered, But you know each bottle cost a few thousand ringgit.
Once Peter called me to say that according to his niece who is a medical specialist, it was dangerous not to remove the tumour in his colon. The tumour would grow bigger and bigger and eventually block the passage way. According to theory or textbook knowledge the tumour will grow if not removed but my experience shows that with herbs and change of diet, this does not necessarily happen!
I asked, But can you pass your stools? Are the stools getting smaller and smaller? He answered, No. Then I said, In that case the tumour has not grown in size yet. We can still wait – but of course you can go for surgery if you like. So we waited. Six months passed and Peter was still alright – no problem of blockage.
About nine months later, I got a phone call from his brother. I was told that Peter was not doing well. His stomach was bloated and he felt uneasy and had no strength, etc. Without hesitation, I asked: What did your brother eat the past few days? The brother replied: I was told he ate pulut laced with sugar and salted fish. Not long after this, Peter died.
There are two lessons that we can learn from this story.
One, if the cancer has already spread, from the rectum to the liver, what good is surgery unless the tumour has blocked the passageway. In this case, Jasmine was able to move her bowels without any problem. You may wish to ask if what Jasmine underwent was the best option?
Two, learn that: What you eat is important. If you want to get well, you need to refrain from “bad food.” You cannot eat anything you like!
After hearing this, Jasmine’s son-in-law was eager to tell me his story too.
From the internet, the family learned that the chances of Jasmine surviving her cancer is extremely low. So all the family members had come to term with this and adopt this attitude: Let her eat what she wants to eat. Although the son-in-law did not agree with this he could not do anything. So there was tension in the family about Jasmine’s diet.
The daughter said, Even the doctor said my mother can eat anything — no pantang.
Last week they were all in a shopping mall in Medan. The son-in-law said, She does not like shopping.But she likes eating. So she ate laksa, koay teow and rojak. My mother-in-law became so ill that she had to be rushed to the hospital after that.
So it goes again. The same old story being played over and over again!
So I told Jasmine’s daughter and son-in-law. If she is not going to take care of her diet, then there is no point taking our herbs. It would just a wasted effort. If you don’t want to take care of your diet, you die faster. It is as simple as that. And if I know that my patients go back to their old eating habits after being well, I would not want to see them again. I am just fed up. I can help with the cancer, but I know I cannot change human being.
Comments
Over the years dealing with cancer patients, I have come to accept that we cannot help everyone. We can only help those who want to help themselves. I often tell patients: If you can eat, can sleep, can move around and have no pain – what else do you want? Each day, learn to be grateful for what you are.
Unfortunately not all patients have that virtue. Once they feel well, they will demand to eat what they like! Unfortunately most patients have to pay a heavy penalty after that. Click this link: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/category/diet-nutrition/, and pick your story!
To me, the secret of happiness in life is to cultivate a sense of gratitude.
Be grateful for what we are.
Be thankful for what we have and what we are blessed with.
This virtue on its own breeds a sense of contentment and satisfaction in life. That is healing. We learn to live with the cancer but at the same time we live in peace with ourselves.
Kanker Usus-Hati 2. Kemoterapi — menderita dan bisa membunuh
When Jasmine’s daughter and son-in-law came to see us, I asked both of them: Why do you come and see me?
The daughter said the family is not going to proceed with the chemo anymore.
According to the son-in-law, Jasmine was a normal healthy-looking person before the operation. No one could tell that she had cancer. After the operation, even a kid would know that she was sick. Then after the first shot of chemo, Jasmine’s health dropped. She had so much difficulty sleeping, was lethargic and overall felt very uncomfortable, she had sores in her mouth and felt nauseous and vomit often.
Jasmine had to be brought to the hospital twice while at home after her chemo treatment. She had to be carried down from the upper floor of her house and rushed to the hospital which is some hours away from home.
Again I asked, Are you sure you want to give up this chemo? After all, the doctor said after 8 shots your mother would be cured? You don’t want that? Why not complete the treatment?
Daughter: No, we don’t want chemo anymore.
Don’t you know anything about chemo and its side effects? Chemo can kill — do you know that?
Daughter: Yes, I know that.
Do you have any personal experience of knowing cancer patients who underwent chemo and died?
Daughter: Yes.
Tell me then … why did you agree to undergo chemotherapy in the first place?
Both Jasmine’s daughter and son-in-law said there were two reasons why the family opted for chemo.
One, while in the hospital, they met an Indonesia lady who had been undergoing chemo for her breast cancer. The advice of this lady was to go for chemo! There is a good chance for a cure than doing something else. So this testimony was a big push for Jasmine.
The second reason was, Jasmine wanted a cure so that she need not have to use the colostomy bag. According to the surgeon, after the surgery the cancer can be cured if she undergoes 8 cycles of chemo. So, Jasmine fell for his assurance — Must do chemo for 8 times if you don’t want to use the colostomy bag.
During our conversation, I pointed out that such logic may not be correct. The ability to rejoin the colon to the anus does not depend entirely on chemotherapy. It depends on how near the tumour is to the anus. If too much of the rectum has been removed during the operation, the chances of joining it back to the anus is very remote. I believe, a good surgeon would be able to know this if he /she studies the case properly.
I have learned many years ago that there is a colorectal surgeon in Singapore who could do a great job with such problem. I have not come across any surgeon in Malaysia who can do this. If there is one, please let me know (I would like to send patients to you!).
Now, back to Jasmine. Let us ask a few questions.
One, can chemotherapy cure stage 4 rectum-liver cancer? The surgeon said Yes. Really? You believe that?
One more factor that never gets into the equation is according to the medical report, the non-cancerous part of the liver shows features of chronic hepatitis. Can chemotherapy cure chronic hepatitis?Would surgery make the problem worse? Can surgery cure or treat chronic hepatitis?
Recurrence of cancer in the liver is a far more important issue than just not wanting to wear a colostomy bag. Unfortunately, the patient and her family do not seem to be aware of all these.
Second facotr, Jasmine suffered severe side effects after just one shot of chemo. Would the side effects get better if she was to undergo more chemo?
Read what others say about chemotherapy.
Three, what do we do now?
This is exactly why Jasmine’s daughter and son-in-law came to see us for! They wanted a way out. At CA Care, we try to be as honest and upfront as we know how. Any patient who come to our centre will be given this notice to read. If patients come to see us wanting to find a cure, I would tell them, You have come to the wrong place! To help you attain a better quality of life — probably can, but to cure you — NO. Please read our notice.
Some important points for you to know before you see me
NO CURE FOR CANCER
Most patient who come here, have already undergone medical treatments – surgery, radiation or chemo. Do these cure you?
If you come here expecting me to cure you, know that I too cannot cure your cancer. From my experience, NO one on earth can cure any cancer. After some years cancer comes back again!
But if you want me to help you – to give you another option, to have a better quality of life — may be it is possible. But it all depends on you. Because your health is your responsibility. Are you willing to help yourself? Are you willing to change your lifestyle, your diet, etc.?
OUR HERBS ARE BAD-TASTING, AND HAVE AWFUL SMELL
Besides the bad taste and smell.
You need to boil the herbs a few times a day — that’s a lot of work!
You need to take two, three or four types of teas each day.
YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR DIET – YOU CANNOT EAT ANYTHING YOU LIKE
You cannot eat anything thatwalks – meaning, no meat, no egg, no milk, etc.
Don’t take sugar (sugar is food for cancer).
Don’t eat oily or fried food, table salt.
TRY OUR THERAPY FOR TWO TO FOUR WEEKS
May be the first 2 weeks on our therapy, you may suffer more pain, more tired, etc. That’s healing crisis. Don’t stop. Hopefully after 3 to 4 weeks you may feel better.
If after a month on our therapy you still don’t feel better — the herbs are not helping you in anyway — then stop following our therapy. Please ask someone else to help you.
If you feel better, continue with our therapy.
If you are still on chemo or radiotherapy (or are planning to do chemo or radiotherapy), or are taking other treatments elsewhere, Go ahead and continue with these treatments first, do not take our herbs yet.
Kanker Usus-Hati 1: Operasi diikuti kemo dan radioterapi bisa sembuh. Apakah ini benar?
Jasmine (not real name) is a 54-year-old Indonesian lady. Her problem started with bleeding. The doctor was not sure if it was from the anus or the female reproductive organ. Jasmine consulted a gynaecologist who told her that her uterus was “dirty” and may need cleaning up (whatever that means!). Jasmine did nothing after that.
Some months later, while at home, Jasmine could not stand up. She was also bleeding. The doctor diagnosed the problem as vertigo (dizzy spell and feeling off balance).
A few months later, Jasmine went to see a doctor in Medan who performed a digital rectal examination. He felt a mass in there! Jasmine was asked to undergo an operation.
Jasmine and her family came to Penang for further consultation. Her blood test results showed CEA = 247.03 and CA 19.9 = 72.2. Jasmine was also told that her cancer had already spread to her liver. She immediately underwent an operation in Hospital A. The procedure cost her RM 60,000 plus.
The pathology report indicated:
A moderately differentiated adeocarcinoma with metastases in pericolic lymph nodes (11/11) and segment 4a of liver. This was a T3N2Mx, Stage 4 cancer.
The non-neoplastic liver shows features of chronic hepatitis with grade 2 activity, Stage 3.
Jasmine was asked to start chemotherapy three weeks after the surgery but she was unable to do so because of infection. She was told she needed 8 cycles of chemo to be cured.
Later, Jasmine switched to Hospital B and had her first cycle of chemo there.
After her first shot of chemo, Jasmine suffered severe side effects and decided not to stop the treatment. No more chemo for her! Her daughter and son-in-law came to seek our help.
I asked her daughter: You had surgery in Hospital A but you went for chemo in Hospital B. Why did you switch hospital?
Daughter: The cost of chemotherapy in Hospital A is very expensive — RM7,000 per cycle. In Hospital B it was only RM3,500 per cycle.
How could there be such a great difference, I wondered.
In Hospital A the oncologist suggested using Oxaliplatin + oral drug, Xeloda or TS-One. In Hospital B, the drugs used were Oxaliplatin + oral drug TS-One. They are basically the same!
This is one lesson I learned this morning. Though the drugs used are the same, patients who don’t know enough, may be asked to pay twice the price for getting the same treatment. So beware!
Before I proceeded further with our consultation this morning, I asked this important question (which I hope all patients should learn to ask their doctors).
Before you undergo the operation, did you ask the doctor if the operation can cure your mother?
This was what the surgeon told Jasmine. You operate first and then go for 8 cycles of chemotherapy. In addition you also need radiotherapy. If you do all these you will be cured!
Did you specifically ask the doctor if he can cure your mother by the operation?
Daughter: I did ask exactly that and the doctor said it depends on chemotherapy — must do 8 times chemo first, otherwise the cancer may recur.
When you started the first chemo in Hospital B, did you ask the oncologist if the treatment was going to cure your mother?.
Daughter: Yes, I asked. The oncologist in Hospital B replied: Cannot guarantee!
Did you tell the oncologist that the surgeon in Hospital A said that by undergoing 8 cycles of chemo it would cure your mother?
Daughter: Yes, I told the oncologist what the doctor in Hospital A said. He said just kept quiet. He said nothing!
Lesson number two I learned this morning — Someone is not telling the whole truth! Two doctors did not give the same answer for doing the same treatment! That much about the so called “scientific medicine.”
So patients, know that you are responsible for yourself. You have to find truth yourself. You can’t depend on others to tell you what you need to know!
So what is the truth in this story? You will know later. But in the meantime, please ponder carefully the following quotations said by doctors themselves:
I apologize for writing without the benefit of an introduction, I am writing this email, with hope that I can scheduled an appointment with you, on behalf of my father who has been diagnosed with nose cancer(T2N1).
My father, Aba (not real name), 58 years old, has been diagnosed with nose cancer (T2N1) in February 2017 and was scheduled for 33 sessions of radiotherapy and 6 rounds of chemotherapy (4 hrs of cisplatin IV infusion),with an approximate total cost of SGD$9,700.
He declined the chemotherapy treatment (oncologists here are very persistent, we had to go thru series of ‘debates’) but complied to radiotherapy treatments. We was initially ensured a total recovery. Doctor mentioned that only 30% suffered from mild side effects and seeing my father is young he is confident that my father will be able to spring back to life in seconds.
Little did we knew, radiotherapy is just as bad. He is currently on his 13th session. The tormenting days started as early as day 2. He is unable to eat maybe because of the many big ulcers, sudden chills, fever, nausea/vomiting and scalded skin. He is so weak. And ever since radiotherapy, I noticed he started to develop tight congestive cough at night. As of now, he said he had lost his sense of taste and hearing to his right ear.
On 6/6/17, during a scheduled consultation, we expressed our concern on his deteriorating health, and if there is anything that they can provide to aid him during this time, and they mentioned a few lists of medications in which they don’t recommended. Their only advice is to allow his antibody to fight it off naturally. At the end of the day, we was only prescribe with a tin of Ensure Vanilla powder.
Disappointed with their lack of concerned and couldn’t help feeling betrayed, that was when we finally decided to called it off and stop the radiotherapy treatments.
It has been more than 48 hrs from his last radiotherapy session and he doesn’t seems to be getting any better.
Our family do believe in herbs but we have no knowledge on it. He has been taking rodent tuber and jus rerama (butterfly plant) as supplements for almost a month now. We sincerely hope you are willing to look into my father’s case. My father is eager to take all possible aggressive measures to combat this disease or at least to live peacefully with it.
We understand that this is one of many such requests that come across your desk and greatly appreciate any guidance that you can lend. We live in Singapore and ensure that I have no issues travelling to Penang on behalf of my father for the consultation and also the follow up treatments.
Thank you, in advance, for your help. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Best of regards.
Reply: Come and see me with all the medical reports and scans … no need to bring your father … only you come ….. fly in the morning … go back in late afternoon.
23 Feb. 2017: MRI – Nasopharynx and Neck — right nasopharyngeal mass (4.8 x 3.9 x 3.0 cm) with extension across midline and into the right parapharyngeal space with right mastoid effusion. Enlarged right lateral retropharyngeal node, 1.4 x 1.2 cm.
23 Feb. 2017: Bone scan — there is no conclusive scan evidence of bone metastasis.
5 April 2017: Diagnosed with T2N1 nasopharyngeal cancer, EBV negative, p16 positive.
30 May 2017: MRI — Since the previous MRI stuy dated 23 Feb. 2017
stable size and extent of the known right nasopharyngeal tumour.
slightly larger right lateral retropharyngeal lymph nodes — 1.5 x 1.2cm fro, 1.4 x 1.1 cm.
larger cystic right level 2 lymph node suspicious for nodal metastasis — 2.2 x 1.5 cm fro, 1.3 x 0.7 cm.
Aba’s daughter (let’s call her Linda) and her husband came to seek our help. We talked for more than an hour. Below are some excerpts of our conversation that morning.
Here are some of the points we discussed.
Do chemo, 100 percent cure, if radiotherapy 80 percent cure
Linda: He was told to go for chemo – 6 times and radiotherapy – 35 times. He declined chemo but went along with radiotherapy.
Chris: Chemo! Can cure or not?
L: The doctor said, 100 percent cure with chemo. The doctor also said if the patient is my father or mother, I would also ask him/her to do the same.
C: So chemo can cure 100 percent. What about radiotherapy?
L: If he did radiotherapy it will be 80 percent cure.
Only 30 percent of patients will suffer mild side effects of radiation
L: The doctor also said that only 30 percent of patients will suffer from mild side effects of radiation.
C: Mild side effects? That’s what the doctor said?
L: The doctor said my father is still young.
C: Did you father know that the doctor said the radiation side effects is very mild?
L: He knew.
C: And after 13 times of radiation, why did he gave up?
L: He had bad mouth ulcers, etc. When to see the doctor and was told no medication to help him. Only let the body’s antibodies (immune system?) help him.
Why are you so against chemotherapy?
C: Chemo would give a 100 percent cure — why don’t you ask your father to go for chemo?
Son-in-law: He wanted to go for it.
L: I quarrelled with the doctor. I have read a lot of stories. Even my uncle — he had one cycle of chemo for his colon cancer and he wanted to die already. Only one shot, and want to die already.
Oncologist pushing my father to go for chemo!
L: The doctor was very, very …
SIL: insisting.
L: When I told the doctor that I don’t want my father to go for chemo, she was like trying to put the blame on me — if my dies, I would be the one responsible for it.
C: The doctor was really pushing you on that? How old is this oncologist?
L: She is a young lady doctor.
SIL: Some young doctors are like that! Very pushy — chemo, chemo, chemo!
L: She said, this is the standard American protocol.
C: (From my experience) Nobody can cure any cancer! There is another young oncologist who told one of our patients. In my professional life as an oncologist, I have not come across a case where a patient dies because of my chemotherapy!
Fellow patient undergoing the same treatment already died!
L: There was another patient who also underwent the same treatment (like my father in the same hospital). Last week my father asked the nurse what had happened to him. The nursed checked and found out that he already died.
Mom with colon cancer. Surgery but refused chemo. Ten years still alive!
L: I read a lot.
C: Before you father got cancer, did you also read?
L: Actually my mother also had cancer — colon cancer. She went for surgery but she refused chemo. It’s now ten years. She never go for any check-up and she is still alive.
7. My take on this case
We cannot change human attitude. So let me tell you honestly — out of ten patients who come and seek our help, only three patients would benefit from our therapy. We cannot help the remaining seven patients because we cannot change their attitudes. We can help the cancer but we cannot help human beings.
You need to take care of your diet. You cannot eat anything you like. So what to eat now? I can’t help people like that! I know many people swear and curse me because I say you cannot eat this and cannot eat that.
SIL: My father is a very stubborn person. He likes to eat — so we have to change him on that.
C: That is the problem. I have no herbs to make him change his attitude, his stubbornness. I can tell you, I give up on such person. No use. My experience is when he gets well, he will not listen to my advice anymore. He eats anything he likes and he dies.
Comments
There are many lessons we can learn from this story.
It pays to read and read, to know more. It is not enough to just go and see an oncologist and believe he/she can take care of you.
Linda read about her father’s cancer treatment. She took note that her uncle almost died after one shot of chemo. Linda’s mother also had cancer. She was told to undergo chemotherapy after her colon cancer surgery. She refused. She is still alive after ten years!
When the oncologist told Aba and his family members that chemo was going to provide a one hundred percent cure of his NPC, Linda was skeptical. You can only be skeptical and dare to question the doctor if you have some basic knowledge of what cancer treatment is all about. Unfortunately, many patients dare not ask. And they don’t read. They swallow everything that is being fed to them!
Experience and wisdom are what you need to look out for when it comes to making life and death decision. Read and ponder the following wise words of Dr. Ruggeiri below.
It is not difficult to understand what Dr. Paul Ruggieri is trying to tell us. Substitute the word surgeon with oncologist and see how the message strikes you! It may sound like this … the first ten years of practice, an oncologist learns how to chemo people …. she is eager to chemo anyone who walks into her office … she is going to show off her stuff …. bla, bla, bla.
So if I have a choice, I would choose an experienced, sympathetic and wise doctor rather than a sweet, young one! (I know it is hard, wishful thinking?).
Radiotherapy provides a 80 percent chance of cure. And only 30 percent of patients suffer side effects. Even that, according to the oncologist, these side effects are mild. Do you believe that?
Obviously this oncologist does not know what it is like to suffer from the treatments she is dishing out to her patients!
Pastor Danny had NPC and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments (using the same drugs as recommended for Aba). And he suffered severe side effects.
Suffered severe side effects of radiation – mouth sore, difficulty swallowing, burnt skin, etc.
At the same time, he received two cycles of chemotherapy. The side effects were worse than radiation and he had to be hospitalized. He was unable to sleep, was in pain and became anxious and depressed. He was put on morphine and as a result suffered constipation and hallucination.
The treatment caused much misery. I would rather die – it was miserable and never again!
The oncologist told Linda that chemotherapy can provide a one hundred percent cure! What the oncologist did not tell is that chemotherapy can also come with a heavy toll! Sometimes, chemotherapy kills.
According to Linda, a fellow patient undergoing the same treatment as her father died along the way! Is that not proof enough? Read what these two doctors say.
Last week the newspapers reported that one of Singapore’s most prominent oncologist was suspended for eight months due to professional misconduct. According to this report, Dr. Ang Peng Thiam, a 35-year veteran and medical director of Parkway Cancer Centre, was found guilty of these charges:
That he made false representation to the patient who was suffering from lung cancer that there was a “70 per cent” chance of responding to the treatment he suggested, and
That he failed to offer her surgery as an option.
The patient died six months after seeing this famous oncologist.
The disciplinary tribunal found that Dr Ang “had no reasonable basis” for saying there was a 70 per cent chance of response and felt that he had “wrongly held out false hope” to the patient and her family. He made the claims intentionally even though he knew or ought to have known there was no basis for him to do so.
The judges said doctors were obliged to present the range of viable options and what the pros and cons of each of these were. Patients must get to decide for themselves what treatment they want, the judges added. “It was not Dr Ang’s role to decide, but to inform,” the judges said.
Cancer patients, can you learn anything from the above episode?
CANCER STORY 
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