YS is a 50-year-old lady. She had many lumps in both breasts.
Although most of these lumps appear to be benign, there is one lump that does not look good. This one is found at 12-1 o’clock of the right breast and measures 13x9x12 mm in size. A biopsy indicated an invasive ductal carcinoma.
In addition,. CT showed a 7.4 x 5.7 cm nodule in her liver and multiple uterine fibroids. The liver nodule could just be a haemangioma.
I suggested that YS consult a breast specialist. YS must have the malignant lump removed — either by lumpectomy or mastectomy. I told YS: Taking herbs will not make the cancerous lump go away!
YS agreed to my suggestion. A few weeks later she came back with her medical report which stated the following:
Right breast lump, 9 x 10 x 7 mm, shows grade 3 infiltrating ductal carcinoma with a predominant ductal carcinoma in situ component (80%).
There is no evidence of metastatic deposits in the 3 sentinel lymph nodes studied.
Pathological staging: pT1 pNo pMx
Oestrogen receptors: Positive
Progrestrone recptors: Positive
HER2/NEU: +2 -HER2 gene is amplified.
The above shows that this is an early stage cancer. However, after her lumpectomy, YS was asked to see an oncologist for possible follow up treatments.
YS spent almost an hour with a caring oncologist. The consultation cost RM 180.
The oncologist suggested that YS undergo the following treatments:
Twelve cycles of chemotherapy.
Four cycles of Herceptin — because the tumour is positive for Her2 gene.
Radiotherapy to be considered after completion of (1) and (2).
Hormonal therapy — taking either Tamoxifen or Fermara for 5 years.
According to the oncologist the chance of obtaining a cure is 90 percent.
YS refused to go for these treatments and opted for our CA Care Therapy instead.
As usual, I asked YS why she did not want to go for chemo. YS explained that her grandmother died of cancer when she was small. Her father also died of lung cancer. He had all the medical treatments at the cancer hospital. So she knows what chemo is like.
Chris: So you have already made up your mind NOT to go for chemo even before you come and see me?
YS: Yes.
C: What does your husband say? Is he not unhappy that you don’t want to go for further medical treatment?
YS: He learned about CA Care from someone, so he was the one who asked me to come and see you.
Comments:
Cookbook medicine is defined as the practice of medicine by strict adherence to practice guidelines, which may not be an appropriate substitute for clinical judgment.
Try to google, “cookbook medicine” and see what you can find. The first entry of my search is this:
Cookbook Medicine Is a Recipe for Disaster … An astonishing new article from JAMA Internal Medicine reveals that at least 150,000 people per year may be needlessly killed, rendered disabled, or otherwise harmed due to misdiagnoses in doctors’ offices.
Is that not scary — 150,000 people per year needlessly killed, rendered disabled or harmed by doctors? I thought you go to the doctor to get well not to be killed or harmed.
The truth is, according to an oncologist, Dr. James Forsythe, it is okay to be killed or harmed by chemotherapy as long as the standard protocol is adhered to.
I wonder how many patients know the “rule of the game” before they undergo their cancer treatment?
Let us look at the case of YS again.
She had breast cancer — early stage. So after surgery, the standard operation protocol (SOP) is (just to be safe) the patient must undergo follow up treatments.
The tumour is malignant. Therefore she needs chemotherapy. Generally a patient is given 6 cycles of chemo. I don’t know why YS has to go for 12 cycles — is her cancer that serious? The medical report does not say so. Anyway, the oncologist is supposed to be “smarter” than you and me. So be it.
While chemo cost a “bomb”. It also comes with severe side effects. Generally oncologists down play these side effects, brushing it off as “it is like ant bite.”
Since the tumour is HER2 positive, YS needs Herceptin injection — 4 cycles to start with. I have patients who told me that they received up to 20 to 30 injections with no beneficial effect.
Herceptin can damage the heart and its ability to pump blood effectively. This risk has ranged between 5% to 30%. The damage can be mild and result in either no symptoms or signs of mild heart failure, like shortness of breath.
Generally, patients are told to undergo radiotherapy while on or after chemotherapy.
Since the tumour is positive for Estrogen and Progesterone receptors, taking Tamoxifen or Fermara for 5 years is a must (in some hospitals, patients are told to take this for 10 years). Over the years, I have come across of ladies who suffered after taking Tamoxifen. Read the long list of side effects here: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/tamoxifen-side-effects.html
Why do you need to take Tamoxifen? The doctor says, it is to prevent recurrence. But I have patients who suffered recurrence even while taking Tamoxifen.
Having outlined all the necessary treatments, has the oncologist forgotten that YS also has multiple fibroids besides a big nodule in her liver? Perhaps doctors think these are harmful, but to me they carry a message that something is not right or normal. Yes, at CA Care we do have herbs to take care of such problems.
Over the years, I have breast cancer patients coming to our centre seeking help after medical treatments have failed them.
Read more here:
· Breast Cancer: Surgery, Chemo, Radiation and Tamoxifen Did Not Cure Them
Let me say loud and clear that you cannot blame this “caring” oncologist for proposing the above protocol. He is just following the SOP. He wants YS to get well. And the only way he knows how to make her well is to do what he had learned in medical school. He even said that by undergoing the full course of the suggested protocol, YS has a 90 percent chance of cure!
Do you ever wonder, why there is only a 90 percent chance of cure? Patients want 100 percent chance, right? So in this case, even if YS were to undergo all the suggested treatments she still has a 10 percent chance of failure or may even be killed along the way. Yes, Dr. Forsythe did warn us: …oncologist’s main hope is that the chemotherapy will kill the cancer before it kills the patient.
Read also what Dr. John Lee wrote in his book,
If the above are depressing to you, there is an article in the New York Times that may make your day a bit brighter —
Many women with early-stage breast cancer who would receive chemotherapy under current standards do not actually need it.
“We can spare thousands and thousands of women from getting toxic treatment that really wouldn’t benefit them,” said Dr. Ingrid A. Mayer, from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Chemotherapy can save lives, but has serious risks that make it important to avoid treatment if it is not needed. In addition to the hair loss and nausea that patients dread, chemo can cause heart and nerve damage, leave patients vulnerable to infection and increase the risk of leukemia later in life.
Each year, as many as 135,000 American women who’ve undergone surgery for the most common form of early-stage breast cancer face a difficult decision: whether or not to undergo chemotherapy.
The new findings suggest that at least 70 percent of women with HR-positive, HER2-negative, axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer—those with low scores and most of those with mid-range scores—can safely avoid chemotherapy. (This group of patients) do not benefit from chemotherapy.
Indeed the world of cancer treatment is not straight forward. For sure it is not as easy like sitting in front of an oncologist and within minutes you get his/her recipe for your survival. It is much more complex, puzzling and confusing. Ponder seriously the words of these two outstanding breast specialists. Perhaps you can learn something from what they said. Or do you prefer to follow the advice of your oncologist since he “knows best”?
GT is a 35-year-old single lady from China. About a year ago (in July 2018) she felt a lump in her left breast. She was asked to do a biopsy and probably followed by an operation. She refused.
GT works as a sales assistant in a health food company. She sells health drinks that are said to boost the immune system. Her boss gave her these “health foods” and she took these for about three months. No, the lump in her breast did not shrink.
GT then turned to TCM – Traditional Chinese Medicine. She consulted a TCM doctor in the hospital.
Chris: The TCM doctor did not ask you to operate and remove the lump in your breast?
Translator: The doctor said, “don’t cut.”
C: Did the TCM doctor say he can cure you?
Translator: Yes. This doctor is quite famous.
C: No, he did not know and he gave wrong advice!
GT was on TCM medications for almost a year. And these did not work for her either.
GT went back to the TCM hospital again. She did a CT scan. The lump in her breast had grown bigger, to 3.8 x 1.8 cm. The cancer had spread to her lungs and bone. Unfortunately, GT did not bring along her CT scan so I am not able to see the extent of her metastasis.
C: What did the doctor say after the CT scan?
T: She was referred to other “bigger” hospital for treatment. But instead of going to the hospital she decided to fly to see you in Penang.
GT presented with breathlessness and severe coughs which make it difficult for her to sleep at night. Otherwise, she looked fine. The lump in the breast is hard and intact, not lacerated.
My advice
If you were to see me earlier when you first discovered the lump, I would have asked you to remove the lump.
This is the safest way for you. If you keep the lump in your breast it will grow bigger and one day it will burst. Do you like your lump to be like the picture below?
In addition to the painful and ugly wound like above, the cancer will spread. It goes to the lymph nodes, lung, bone, liver and finally brain. So you don’t want to take such risk. The longer the cancerous lump is in your breast the higher is the risk that it will spread elsewhere.
You are only 35 years old. You should not take such risk. Also, my experience showed me that breast cancer in young person tend to be aggressive. So, don’t take any chance.
Now, the cancer has already spread to your lungs and bone. I don’t know how extensive it is because you did not bring along your CT scan.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO for you?
I felt very sad after hearing her story. I was also upset. She was not given the “right” advice. Now her condition had deteriorated with such an “extensive” metastasis. I am afraid her recovery or survival is very slim. And this poor lady flew all the way from China to see me. What can I do? What did she expect me to do for her? That was exactly the question I asked her that morning.
GT’s reply was rather modest. She wanted me to help her with her coughs. I was glad that she did not ask me to cure her! No, I cannot cure her cancer! To help her, may be but not cure.
I spent time talking to GT trying to find out what could be the underlying problems that could have contributed to her breast cancer.
My advice to her that morning:
Physical stress: Her life is too stressful. GT works from 9 a.m. to up till mid-night sometimes. She stays by herself in the city. GT’s boss suggested that she takes a long leave from her job. Yes, I fully agree with that. GT cannot survive for long under such stress.
Emotional stress: What about emotional stress? GT admitted to having problems with her boy friend and she had broke off that relationship. But, she has a lump in her left breast — could it be due to a female rather than a male? GT admitted that a very close female friend had betrayed her. This had upset her very much but GT said that emotional stress has dissipated with time. I said this to GT: Learn to let go — don’t keep any ill feelings in your heart.
Family support: Her parent’s home is about 4-hour-away by bullet train. Life must be hard for GT having to stay alone in a city without any family support. I suggested that GT go home and stay with her parents. She agreed.
Diet: You can imagine what she eats everyday under the above situation. I can guess it cannot be healthy food every day. Unfortunately, the TCM doctor did not give good advice on this important matter. GT was told not to eat sea food and chilly. After much reading and receiving feed backs from our patients, I came to this conclusion: a) Don’t take anything that walks, including eggs and dairy products. b) No sugar c) No oily or fried foods d) Banana is bad for lung problems.
Herbs bitter and awful taste: Our herbal teas are bitter and have awful taste. She needs to brew each of the teas. It takes time and effort. Will she be able to cope with that? I know most patients cannot!
Monitoring: GT needs constant monitoring. After a month, I need to know how she progresses. Herbs need to adjusted. This means, GT may need to come and see me again. Or she needs to take more herbs after she finishes this first round of teas. Staying in China, how can we overcome this problem? Actually this is the problem facing most patients — even for those who live just a few hour’s drive from us. For such people, I never get to see them again after their first visit. What a waste of time and money.
Financial burden: At CA Care, consultation, no matter how long it takes, is free of charge. However, we request patients to pay for the herbs. Since we started CA Care more than two decades ago, the price of our herbal teas never increase in price (in spite of the inflation). We try to be as charitable and helpful as we can. But, we understand that for GT, even flying to Penang from China cost her a lot of money. How nice if there is such a set up like CA Care in her own hometown! For GT, sad to say that I would probably not be able to see her again.
Comments
Not too long ago, I read two news reports about cancer treatment in China that make me feel real sad.
There is a movie, Dying to Survive, which has become a billion-yuan-success after being released in July this year. It is based on a real-life story of Lu Yong, a Chinese textile trader and leukemia patient. He imported less expensive generic drug from India and sold it to his fellow Chinese patients. Lu helped thousands of Chinese patients. Sadly, he was arrested and jailed in 2014 for doing such “illegal” activity.
This movie, Dying to Survive tells the same story in a more dramatic way. It featured an owner of an Indian Miracle Oil Store — Cheng Yong — who found out that the Indian-made generic leukemia drug, Gleevec, was sold at only 500 yuan in India. In China the authentic Gleevec is sold at 40,000 yuan, eighty times more expensive.
Lured by great profit, Cheng smuggled the unlicensed drug to China and sold to Chinese patients at 2,000 yuan. He made good profit and he was also regarded as a hero by many cancer patients who can’t afford the original version of the expensive Gleevec. Looks like he is a real modern day Robin Hood.
Cheng became rich. He then decided to stop the drug smuggling business. He opened a garment factory. However a large number of patients became desperate as they were forced to sell their houses or everything they have to pay for the expensive Gleevec. That prompted Cheng to change his heart, and renew his smuggling business. This time he even sold the drug only at just 500 yuan to save lives. Unfortunately, he was arrested and jailed for five years.
Note: Gleevec is developed by Novartis. In the US patients need to pay up to US$100,000 for the drug a year without government or insurance subsidy.
I got hit by another heart-breaking story. Tang is a 26-year-old doctor in Central China. He was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, three years after graduating and starting to work. He underwent surgery to remove the tumour but declined further medical treatment.
In China, doctors like Tang, earn an average of 63,000 to 77,000 yuan (US$ 10,000 to 12,200) per year. Tang just could not afford to pay for the expensive, follow up medical treatments.
On day, Tang decided to mysteriously disappear from home. He left behind his bank cards and a letter to his parents saying they would end up having to “spend all your savings and even run into debt just for dragging out my miserable existence for a few years at best. If I let you face the financial burdens and the sorrow of losing a child in your late years, it would be a sin for which I should die a thousand times. I also don’t want to live like a near dead person for the rest of my life. So please forgive me … I’m an unworthy son, and I will pay back your love in my next life.”
After the above two stories, here I was sitting in front of a 35-year-old lady from China who has breast cancer. I felt sad and frustrated. And this propels me to write this article.
What can we learn from these three stories?
The movie, Dying to Survive, has stirred discussion on the accessibility of cancer drugs and treatments in China. The original drug imported from the US are extremely expensive. But there are generic (or copy cat) drug from India which is much, much cheaper. But unfortunately smuggling cheaper drugs into China is illegal.
The movie has highlighted the exorbitant cost of healthcare. Not only in China, it is the same elsewhere in the developing countries. The cost of cancer drugs are being dictated by the “Cancer Establishment” of the developed nations.
The reality about cancer treatment is well understood by Tang, the 26-year-old cancer patient who is himself a medical doctor. After surgery, the next course of action generally is chemotherapy or/and radiotherapy. Based on his note to his parents — these treatments cost a lot of money. But will these treatments cure him? Unfortunately no.
Again in his note Tang explained to his parent the need to “spend all your savings and even run into debt just for dragging out my miserable existence for a few years at best. I also don’t want to live like a near dead person for the rest of my life.”
How many people understand what Tang wrote or understand the reality of the present day, medical cancer treatment? Cure is elusive — at best for some cancer you extend your life for another few months or years. From the experiences over the past two decades, I come to the conclusion that no one on earth can really CURE cancer. Read more here: https://badscienceblindtruth.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/there-is-no-cure-for-cancer/
Second, cancer treatment is expensive.
Third, the side effects of treatments are severe and “killing.” Is it worth it?
But, what bugs me most is this — does this need to happen in China?
I think there is NO reason to. Why can’t the Chinese develop a much cheaper method of healing cancer? Why is there a need to depend on the expensive medical drugs imported from the US or elsewhere? I believe China can come up with a novel healing method of treating cancer if the Chinese doctors, researchers and entrepreneurs are not obsessed with following what the Western world is doing. Don’t follow others, develop your own way!
For more than two decades, I have devoted my life to helping cancer patients by using herbs, diet and lifestyle changes. There is nothing new about this approach. Through the ages, the Chinese sages have been telling us about this.
To the old Chinese, Indian and those who live in east, we are brought up to understand this culture very well. Unfortunately, the younger generations who come after us have failed to learn that heritage. We live like there is no tomorrow and eat “bad, branded food” introduced by the Western world — as a result metabolic diseases like diabetes, heart problem and cancer are on the rise.
Yes, China has the wisdom about promoting healthy life. Yes, there is TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) in China but I think the way it is practised needs improvement! The story as related by this 35-year-old breast cancer from China is indeed pathetic. From her story it is clear that she did NOT get the “proper advice” for her breast cancer. This could be the result of ignorance — either of her doctors or herself.
Over the past two decades I have helped thousands of cancer patients without having to use those expensive drugs from the Western world. The irony is that I first learned how to help cancer patients by studying TCM on my own. Since I don’t read Chinese, I had to rely on books written in English by non-Chinese authors. Oh, how I wish I can read Chinese! In spite of his handicap, we at CA Care have done extremely well. There are some 1,000 video clips about our work in YouTube. I have written more than 700 articles about cancer healing which you can read in my blog: CancerCareMalaysia.com
If I can do this in Malaysia, why can’t the Chinese do the same in China. After all, my approach to managing cancer is based on the wisdom of the old Chinese healing masters. I started with a blank mind. Then I started to read and read and read about TCM. I used my “scientific mind” to select what are useful and leave out what I thought are dubious. In other words, I develop my own method. I don’t blindly follow the “standard procedures.”
If Jack Ma can make Alibaba into such a great success story, I am sure there are many others like him who can also do the same with cancer. I think the real problem is to apply the right knowledge. This unfortunately is not easy — yes, there are many doctors, sinseh and researchers in China but are they really THINKERS and INNOVATORS who know how to apply their knowledge correctly? Or are they just following “cookbook” protocols when practising their trade?
One last word about working with cancer. Cancer treatment of today is more about making money and much less about making the patients well. This is what the “Cancer Establishment” of the developed countries is all about. So beware.
Frances M. Visco, the president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition wrote:
Breast cancer patients are tired of “breakthrough” therapies that do not extend life for even a day but do bring millions of dollars to industry, medical institutions and the doctors who care for us … The answer is clear, just stop circling the wagons focusing on financial gain and fame.
This is my basic principle I uphold right from the very beginning when I founded CA Care — to succeed we need dedication and compassion. If we go in there just for money — and only money — we would fail miserably. I am afraid in the Western world, cancer is indeed about money and making more money… that is why it fails so badly.
Let us not forget what the Great Chinese Sage and Physician, Sun Simiao said,
Whenever eminent physicians treat an illness … they must be free of wants and desires, and they must first develop a heart full of great compassion and empathy. They must pledge to devote themselves completely to relieving the suffering of all sentient beings.
I believe there are enough “kind and generous souls” in China or in this part of the world who want to help their fellow citizens in need. Approach cancer treatment as a noble mission to help others in need.
Some random quick facts about cancer problem in China
China has a massive population of 1.37 billion. Cancer is the leading cause of death in China and is a major public health problem.
In China in 2015: estimated 4,292,000 new cancer cases and 2,814,000 cancer deaths. Lung cancer being the most common incident cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. Stomach, esophageal, and liver cancers were also commonly diagnosed and were identified as leading causes of cancer death.
China has an immense cancer problem. The most common types of cancer in males were those of the lung (21.7%), stomach (19.5%), and liver (18.1%). Source: Cancer Biol Med. 2012 Jun; 9(2): 128–132.
In China, cancer rates are exploding … Last year, more than four million people were diagnosed with the disease and nearly three million died from it. Every day, hundreds pour into (hospitals) from all over China. People wait months for a doctor’s appointment, but often it is too late for treatment and the cancer is too advanced.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in China … the cancer has increased at a rate of around 3.5% a year from 2000 to 2013, compared with a drop of 0.4% a yearover the same period in the US.
Breast cancer rates are higher in urban areas of China than in rural areas. And the higher the population density, the higher the rate.
YN is a 54-year-old Indonesian lady. She had problems with her lungs. The doctor in Surabaya diagnosed it as TB. YN had been taking TB medication for the past seven months. Her condition did not improve.
YN then did a CT in May 2008.
The result showed:
8 x 5.5 x 5.5 cm mass in right lung.
Segmental atelectasis, that is collapse of one or several segments of a lung lobe.
Multiple subcentimeter nodule in both lungs.
Subcentimeter lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph node).
Fluid in the lung.
Gallbladder stone.
Thyroid lesion, 1.5 cm.
YN came to the cancer hospital in Penang. The doctor wanted to perform a biopsy and if cancer is confirmed YN will have to undergo chemotherapy.
YN refused further medical treatment and came to seek our help instead.
Chris: Why don’t you want to go for chemo?
YN: My late husband had colon cancer and had surgery in Singapore. Then he had six cycles of chemotherapy at another private hospital in Singapore. He died immediately after receiving the sixth treatment. In all we spent about 1 milyar (one thousand million rupiah) for his treatments. And he died within six months after his diagnosis.
C: Did the doctor say chemo can cure your husband?
YN: Yes ,he said chemo can cure! So, I don’t want any chemo. I shall try your herbs and if they help me, I shall come back to see you again.
Having seen the CT scan (above) I explained to YN that taking our herbs would NOT cure her at all. To help her may be but to cure, no. YN understood this.
I was a bit more curious. Most Indonesian men smoke and ended with lung cancer. YN does not smoke. What about her working environment? She sells things at a store in the market.
YN told me that in 2011, she had a hysterectomy in a hospital in Jakarta. Was it cancerous? YN did not know.
Then in 2013, she had another operation to remove her ovary. Again, was it cancerous. YN did not know either.
Looking at the scan and know her medical background, it appears to me that YN has metastatic lung cancer — I cannot figure out how the doctor ever diagnose her with TB.
Part 1: YN first visit
Two Months on Herbs
YN came back to see us again after taking the herbs. Her condition has improved very much.
All pains throughout the body were gone after taking herbs for a month. Before the herbs, she had pain all day long.
She used to have pain in the left side of her chest. This was also gone.
She was still unable to sleep due to the coughs. Unfortunately the Cough 5 and Cough 6 that we prescribed did not work for her because each time she was taking only one TEAspoonful instead of the recommended 2 or 3 TABLEspoonful.
YN was not able to sleep flat and needed to be propped up when lying down. For this, I suggested that YN add in Lung Phlegm into her lung tea. The problem could be due to fluid in her lung (pleural effusion).
YN does not feel tired anymore after taking the herbs. She can also climb up the stairs. Before this she was always tired and unable to climb up the stairs.
The problem of wind in her stomach disappeared after taking our Gastrovit herb.
Breathing is normal now. Before YN was breathless.
Before seeing us, her right ear oozed out blood. This happened about once in every two weeks. After being on our therapy, this problem resolved.
Before YN came to see us for this second visit, she did a chest X-ray. According to the doctor her condition had deteriorated and she has much “less hope” now compared to before.
Chris: Before you came, did the doctor say medical treatment can cure you? Any hope?
YN: He said I have no hope. Now, he said I have much more “no hope”.
C: Two months ago, before taking the herbs, you had so many problems. And now most of the problems are gone. You are much better now. And the doctor said you have even LESS hope now. Do you believe what he told you?
CANCER STORY 
You must be logged in to post a comment.