November 2017 – CANCER STORY

Sharing: You never know how your experience may help others

A patient (let’s call him Mr. Y) came to see us again after a month. He said he benefited from our therapy. When he stood up to leave he whispered, can I not go into the video? Yes, the story of his cancer journey was featured in our website. I am glad that he brought up his “concern”. This gives me the opportunity to explain to everyone why we post your stories in our website.

Since I promised not to use his video, for this story I took the liberty to crop this video and also change the original image into “Chinese painting.” So, it is only about me talking!

Let me share with you what I said that morning.

Share your experience!

Since we started CA Care twenty over years ago, we held to the concept that patients who come to see us are encouraged to share their experiences with each other. Therefore patients consult with us in the open. Everyone can hear what is going on at our centre. There is no one-on-one conversation in an enclosed room. In fact, in our centre, we knocked off the wall of a room to make it an open space.

All our consultation sessions are video-taped and this is stated in the “Release of Liability” form which patients sign before they consult with us. However, we also assure you that if your video is used in our website, your identity will be protected. We close your face and do not use your real name.

So far we have produced almost 1,000 videos which you can find in the You-tube. I am most grateful that almost ALL patients would not object to us sharing their stories. But over the years we did encounter one or two patients who were not happy to share their stories. That’s okay, we took those videos down.

Let me tell all patients — you all are my teachers. I learn from your experiences. Your stories are something that are not written in the medical books. Without your stories, I will not be able to know what is really happening on the ground. What you said and went through had to be recorded. And if you don’t mind your experiences are written up and shared with others.

I am extremely sensitive to the fact that all stories must be genuine not fakes or manufactured. Therefore everything that we wrote must be backed by your very own words and experiences. So everything that I wrote are true, not made up.

Many years ago, I received some nasty emails from someone (he would not reveal his real identity).He accused me of making up stories and asked how much I paid those people in the videos! He even suggested the those “patients” are just actors, not cancer patients. I suspected this person is a cyber trooper who earn some pocket money to “disturb” us.

Anyway, in one of my replies to him I said something like this: The more emails you write to me accusing me of faking stories, the MORE videos I shall upload onto my websites! Let’s see how many fake stories I know how to write.” Not long after this, he stopped writing to me!

Albert Einstein wrote, The world is a dangerous place to live. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.

Yes, the cancer world is a rotten world not because of such cyber troopers but because of good and educated men playing dumb and do nothing. You and me, who know the truth should speak up and share our experiences! Tell the world the truth.

You never know how your experience may help others

I read a lot of books and gain wisdom from these authors. One of my favourite author is a Jewish rabbi, Harold Kushner. Reflect on what he wrote.

I have lived almost 41 years now and there is one thing I know for sure, … Life Stinks!! You can’t avoid bad things. They are a part of life. People will die, people will get sick and suffer! There will be floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, job loss, the list goes on. You name it, it’s bound to happen.

People of faith try to search for answers to why this stuff happens. Why was God doing this? I was angry! Bad things have been happening to good people throughout history.

I was and am still … looking for answers to why all this was happening around me.

I do have some good news to share. What I have learned and what I want to share with you today is, God Is Love! I believe that God doesn’t want bad things to happen to us … God walks with us and loves us through all the difficult times.

We are God’s jigsaw puzzles. Each experience we have, both good and bad are pieces of our puzzles. and God patiently and lovingly puts the pieces together.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle.

Everyone carries with them at least one and probably many pieces to someone else’s puzzle. No one has within themselves all the pieces to their puzzle.

A certain piece you have appears worthless to you, but to others, that’s the missing piece he desperately needs.
Whether you know it or not, your piece can make OTHERs whole.
(Adapted from Rabbi Lawrence Kushner).

Life Stinks. I want to retract that statement; Life is full of so much to be grateful for. Things are going to be rough; we can’t avoid that, but YOU ARE LOVED!

Remember to pray, God hears you and loves you and stands by you through it all. We are who we are because of everything that we go through. We are God’s jigsaw puzzle! The love of God surrounds us ALWAYS.

One question I often ask all those who come to see us, Who ask you to come here? Most of them said they learned about CA Care from the internet. They listened to the videos in the You-Tube.

When Mr. Y was first diagnosed with cancer he did not know what to do — totally lost! He “swallowed” what were dished out to him. In spite of spending so much money he ended up in a “hole”. Then he found us in the internet. He decided to give up further medical treatment and came to us for help. Like many others, after a month, he experienced the benefit of our therapy.

Ask this question in your heart, don’t you want to share your blessing with others? Do you want others to fall into the same hole that you fell into?

Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won’t have time to make them all yourself.

By sharing your stories other people too may have the opportunity to come and seek our help. Like Rabbi Kushner said, each of us do not have all the pieces of jigsaw puzzle of our lives. Some pieces are missing and are in the hands of others. If your are holding the “missing piece” of my life, don’t you want to share it with me?

I am fully aware that at CA Care we have many missing pieces of jigsaw puzzle belonging to those who we do not know. But for those lucky ones, they find their missing pieces after coming to us. We are happy to give this missing piece back to you.

In the same way, each and every cancer patient could be holding someone else missing pieces. Don’t you want to share?

It is hard to do good

Over the years since we started CA Care, I realized that it is hard to do good. It is very much easier to be a dead fish and flow with the stream. To flow against the current is hard work and often very frustrating.

If you come to CA Care you will see the words of Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta) prominently displayed on the wall. Her words is the compass of our mission.

Liver-Lung Cancer: Hunting for a cure!

A healthy looking 82-year-old man (let’s call him K) and his family members came to seek our help.

His problem started a few months ago when he had coughs and fevers. He went to a university hospital for consultation.

A CT on 29 Sept. 2017 shows a 5.2 cm HCC in segment 8 of his liver. In addition there are nodules in his lung, suggestive of bronchogenic carcinoma.

A repeat CT scan was done at the same university a month later, on 20 October 2017.

The report confirmed the presence of 4.8 cm segment 8 liver mass (previously 4.6 cm). This statement implied the mass has grown in size.

The right lower lobe of lung with numerous nodules as well as the rest of the lungs are still present.

The report concluded with this words: “lung malignancy with lung and liver metastasis needs to be considered. A separate HCC is also a differential diagnosis, as previously noted.”

Common Sense

Why is there a need to do another CT a month later?

Do you expect the tumours in the lung and liver to go away without doing anything?

Are you not concerned that radiation due to CT scan is not good for cancer patients?

The above medical reports is rather puzzling. The CT scan report on 29 Sept. 2017 said the HCC is 5.2 cm. The report a month later said it is 4.6 cm. Something wrong?

The following are some of the points we discussed that morning.

After the 2 CT scans, the doctors suggested that K undergo radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for his liver tumour. This costs about RM 10,000 per treatment. K probably needs 4 to 5 treatments and even then there is no guarantee that he can be cured. The cancer can recur.

How effective is RFA?

RFA is a technique that uses high frequency electrical energy that creates heat, delivered through a thin instrument or probe, to destroy tumors.

It is used primarily to shrink or slow down the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma, and is not considered a curative procedure, although survival rates are good. It is used in liver cancer patients who are not good candidates for surgery Source: https://www.everydayhealth.com/liver-cancer/liver-cancer-tumor-ablation.aspx

RFA is best used for tumors no larger than about 3 cm across (a little over an inch). Source: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/liver-cancer/treating/tumor-ablation.html

Small tumors are generally best suited for RFA and provide the best results. However, larger lesions have also been ablated with mixed success. Small lesions are generally considered those that are <3–3.5 cm in diameter.

Overall survival rates were reported to be as high as 89% and 62% at 1 and 3 years, respectively, in a group of patients undergoing RFA for lesions <3.5 cm. Unfortunately, a disease-free survival rate of 24% at 3 years is less encouraging, with local recurrence playing a large role in disease relapse. However, most patients who recur locally are able to undergo repeat RFA.

Larger lesions are known to be more difficult to treat using RFA. Tumors >3 cm often require repositioning of the electrode or multiple treatment sessions in order to obtain clear margins. However, even using a more aggressive approach, the efficacy of RFA has been proven to be limited by tumor size. Lesions measuring >5 cm have at best only a 50% chance of being completely ablated. Therefore, most authors do not recommend the use of RFA for tumors >5–6 cm because of the technical limitations of the current equipment used and their inability to provide complete coagulative necrosis. Source: http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/11/7/801

Apart from RFA are there any other options?

K went to see a surgeon and was advised to undergo a surgery — “cut off” the tumour! That is to be expected, After all that is what he does every day for a living. Can surgery cure? That’s something else.

Another possibility is TACE. Will it cure? Not likely too.

What about going to China and undergo cryoabalation? Cryoablation is a similar procedure as RFA except it freezes the tumour instead of “burning” it.

The ultimate is liver transplantation. It would cost RMB 1 million and requires a 2-month hospital stay in China. If you don’t want to go to China, try the procedure in Singapore.

More common sense needed!

Yes, there are many treatments for your cancer. But the question is, can you cure it? Nobody can give any guarantee. K was told that he has to undergo 4 to 5 RFA treatments. But eventually the cancer will come back again after a few years.

From the literature we know that to get best result from RFA, the tumour has to be small — less than 3 cm. But the tumour in K’s liver is 5.2 cm. Too big for optimum result. But you can always try your luck.

K and his family are very worried — perhaps K is going to die soon if he does not undergo any treatment immediately. K told me, If I go for the RFA and manage to survive another 3 to 4 years, it is okay. After all I am already 82 years old!

I asked K. Even without any treatment now, you are still healthy. What if you do nothing and can still survive another 3 to 4 years? You don’t have to die yet, even if the doctors have found out that you are “sick”.

What about the side effects of the treatment?

There is a very low risk of bleeding or infection after the treatment as well as a low risk of injury to the gallbladder or bile ducts. Sometimes, a low-grade fever and flu-like symptoms may be present after the procedure for a few days. Other possible side effects include post-procedure pain, inflammation of the gallbladder, and injury to the bowel.

What about the cancer in your lung?

So far our discussion is only about treating the 5 cm liver tumour. Everyone is so obsessed about this, as if this is the only problem that K is facing. No, there is also cancer is his lung. According to the medical report it is a metastasis. K refused to undergo a biopsy.

According to K’s son, this lung tumour has been there for the past 3 to 4 years. Two doctors who examined K earlier said it was not cancerous! Well, the latest CT scan does not appear to support that idea.

So, what do we do now?

Treat the liver tumour with RFA but ignore the lung tumour? Does that make sense?

Do the RFA and at the same time treat the lung with chemotherapy? Havoc?

Our advice: Go home and think carefully. Discuss with your family what you want to do. Pray to your god and ask for guidance. You have to make your own decision and be prepared to accept the consequences of your decision.

At CA Care, we try to teach you how to think. If you think that the doctors can help you, go ahead and undergo the treatments they suggested. If you don’t want to undergo medical treatment, you can take the herbs. But know that we do not guarantee that we can cure your cancer, because we know that no one on earth can cure any cancer. But no cure does not mean that you need to die tomorrow.

Reflect on these quotations:

It is indeed surprising that K, his son and sister came back to see us again a week later. The family wanted to try our herbs. They decided not to go for RFA. It does not cure anyway.

Breast Cancer: Apparently “cured”, her cancer recurred after 18 years

WC is a 69-year-old lady. About 18 years ago she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She underwent a lumpectomy followed by 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 30 session of radiotherapy. She was not given any tamoxifen.

All went well for WC after these treatments. She did not bother to go back to her doctor for routine check up either.

Sometime in September / October 2017, WC felt her left breast (where she had a lumpectomy earlier) was hard. The nipple was retracted and discharged blood.

WC went back to the surgeon who operated on her earlier and underwent a mastectomy.

Tumour is positive for ER and PR receptors but negative for c-erbB2 receptor.
A total of 7 lymph nodes are dissected and 5 of these show metastasis.

After the operation WC was referred to an oncologist and was asked to undergo 6 cycles of chemotherapy. Radiotherapy is not indicated since she had this treatment before.

Each cycle of chemo would cost about RM 2,500 to RM 3,000. In addition WC has to take letrozole or Femara. This means WC needs to be on this hormonal drug for 5 to 10 years.

WC came to seek our help.

Comments

There was a lady from Indonesia. She had undergone chemo, radiation and took Tamoxifen for 5 years. After 5 years her doctor said she is cured after a CT scan. Unfortunately, one year later, on her sixth year, the cancer spread extensively to her bones. According to her doctor, it is just her “luck” that such disaster happened.

Nancy, a 54-year old housewife, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. She had a mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was indicated but the doctor wanted to put her on tamoxifen (for five years!). Nancy declined.

Prior to her breast cancer, Nancy was on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She was well aware that HRT could result in breast cancer. Her doctor checked and monitored her breast health every month to ensure that everything was under control. But it was not to be. Two years on HRT, cancer reared its ugly head in her right breast.

Nancy came to seek our help and was started on herbs. She was well. After 5 years, with her “all-knowing-attitude”, Nancy decided that she was cured and did not need our help anymore. Fourteen years later, Nancy came back to see us again. Her cancer recurred extensively in her bones. We tried to help but she died a few months later.

All patients like to hear that his/her cancer can be cured or is cured after treatment. I have been helping cancer patients for more than twenty years now and there is one bitter lesson that I learned — there seems to be NO CURE for cancer! Surviving and being well for 5 years is not a cure — but some doctors would say that is cure!

At CA Care, we tell patients that we cannot cure their cancer. If they come to us in search of a magic bullet to cure their cancer, my answer to them is: You have come to the wrong place.

Our mission is to help those in real need, and we don’t intend to mislead them by promising a “cure” — because we know deep down in our heart there is no cure!

We often remind our patients that you don’t have to die yet if you have cancer. Do remember that no one lives forever. All of us will have to die one day. If you can eat, can sleep, can move around and have no pain then what more do you want?

Learn to be contented and be grateful for each day that you have. In this way, your life would be more meaningful.