Category: Failure Story

Brain Cancer – Marvelous Technology, Dismal Outcome

As far as cure is concerned, there is no use pretending that brain tumours are truly curable ~ Dr. Jeffrey Tobias and Kay Eaton in Living with Cancer

In the first two weeks of January 2011, we encountered three brain cancer cases at CA Care.

On 1 Janaury 2011, we received this e-mail.

Dear Dr Chris,

We are based in Melbourne and came to know about CA Care through a close family friend in Kuala Lumpur. As we are unable to come there ourselves, the family friend will be visiting the centre with Z ‘s medical reports and scans.

Patient Full Name: Z       Age: 4 years old

Gender: Female              Cancer: Anaplastic Astroblastoma

Medical History:

Z started with headaches and neckaches in early 2010. We only notified the problem when her eyes and mouth cannot move correctly in around March 2010. We had been visiting few doctors, until she started vomiting in the morning, one of the doctor recommended to do a brain CT scan for her. It was done on the 12nd May 2010. Z was referred to Melbourne Royal Children Hospital immediately after the scan. A size of a tennis ball tumor was found in her brain. She had an urgent brain surgery on 15th May 2010. The surgeon and the oncologist suggested radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but we refused to do so. We putted her on Bill Henderson’s cancer free diet since June 2010. Unfortunately her tumor re-grows. Now the surgeon and oncologist recommended the same thing again, surgery and radiotherapy. But we refused to do surgery immediately.

On 13 January 2011, was another e-mail.

Hi Chris,

My name is J. I am contacting you from Adelaide, South Australia. My father has got a brain tumour and has had it since 2004. He has undergone three operations along with radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments and is now looking for other treatment options. He mentioned to me that he heard that there is other treatment offered in Indonesia and asked me to investigate. What are your thoughts about the treatment you offer and if you think it’ll be beneficial to my father, and what is the process in commencing this treatment.

On 9 January 2011, we received this e-mail.

Hi Dr. Chris Teo,

We are coming to see you from Kuala Lumpur today.  We should reach your office around 7 p.m.

H504, nine-year-old girl came to our centre with her parents as stated in the above e-mail. She had a three-month history of weakness of the right upper limb which progressed to her right hemiparesis (weakness on one side of the body). A MRI scan showed a large solid tumour with cystic areas in the left parieto-temporal lobe extending to the thalamus.

Surgery was done on 15 November 2010. This cost RM 50,000. According to the surgeon only 60 to 70% of the tumour was removed. The histology is that of a sPNET (supra-tentorial primitive neuro-ectodermal tumour). No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was indicated after the surgery.

MRI done on 6 December 2010, i.e. about three weeks after the surgery, still showed a very large residual tumour, 8 x 7 x 6 cm, in the left parieto-temporal lobe extending to the thalamus.

A neurosurgeon in one private hospital was of the opinion that a second surgical resection could safely be done. The parents were reluctant to agree to this.  The treatment plan after the proposed second surgery is craniospinal radiotherapy (CSI) followed by four consecutive courses of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue (ASCR) each time, i.e. four tandem autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplants over a four to five month period.This procedure would cost about RM 200,000.

The parents were told that there could be a 50 to 70% chance (whatever that means?) if the residual tumour is first removed to about 10% of its size. The procedure carries a risk of causing some degree of handicap.

The parents went to Singapore for a second opinion. They were told by the Singapore surgeon that a second surgery could be done with good chance recovery (whatever that means again!). The operation in Singapore would cost S$60,000.

The Bench Mark: Heroic Acts by an Outstanding Neurosurgeon

Whenever I come across brain cancer cases in CA Care, I cannot help but remember the book, The Scalpel and the Soul written by Dr. Allan Hamilton – a neurosurgeon at the Arizona Health Sciences Centre, USA. Dr. Hamilton wrote a great book and I greatly admire him. Let me highlight some of the brain cancer cases that Dr. Hamilton wrote about. There are many things we can learn from these stories. Let these stories be the bench mark upon which you base your decisions when it comes to brain cancer.

Story 1: Anaplastic Astrocytoma

Taylor was a 18-year-old female and the daughter of Dr. Hamilton’s close friend, Candy. The entire left side of Taylor’s body had gone numb. Dr. Hamilton wrote:

“I was expert at using computer-guidance systems for neurosurgery, so I was not surprised that Candy asked me to do the biopsy procedure.

This kind of biopsy is dangerous – there would be little margin for error.

We would need to enter the brain in a relatively posterior location and then skirt past the motor cortex, where all the muscle coordination for the body lies. Then we’d have to slip seamlessly through millions of motor cell cables and sensory cells to gain access to a structure called the pulvinar. This was where the tumour seemed to have its epicenter. We plotted four different trajectories  … and looked over on the computer.

The team had done hundreds of biopsies together, but this was definitely going to be one of the most challenging cases. There was little doubt we would get the job done, but could we get it done right?

One of the advantages of computer guidance is that you know within a millimeter exactly where you need to drill through the skull. In fact, the incision of this kind of surgery is less than half the width of the nail on your pinky finger. We close it up with a single stitch and cover it with one of those dot Band-Aids, so I could assure Taylor she wouldn’t lose any hair. No one would even be able to see the incision unless she pointed it out.

The news from neuropathology was not good. The tumour was an anaplastic astrocytoma – a high grade malignant brain cancer. And inoperable. We’d to depend on radiation and chemotherapy.”

Chemotherapy-Radiotherapy

“This young woman became bald, bloated and acne-ridden. Taylor was transformed in front of my eyes. It was like being in a horrible fairy tale where a spell is cast upon the beautiful princess.”

Worse news: the tumour did not respond. MRI showed clearly that the tumour was growing ever larger despite all our therapies and best intentions. Taylor died less than two months later.”

Story 2: Malignant Glioma

Alfred was thirteen years old when he felt that his right arm and right leg were not functioning properly. Something must have gone wrong in his brain. A CT scan and MRI showed a large tumour in his brain stem – no doubt a malignant glioma.

Dr. Hamilton wrote:

There are few procedures in neurosurgery more daunting than getting a biopsy of the brain stem – because it’s so full of important neurological functions. We call it “tiger country.” There’s hardly a surgical move that doesn’t hurt the patient. Even a piece of tissue no larger than the tip of a ballpoint pen contains some vital function. There’s no such thing as a safe brain stem biopsy – just a less dangerous one.”

This was what Dr. Hamilton did:

“The patient is affixed to a precisely machined head ring … It’s attached … by four pins directly to the bone of the skull. It must be absolutely unmovable.  The patient then undergoes CT and MR imaging. A sophisticated software program allows the surgeon to pick out the target.

A tiny hole is drilled into the skull at the exact entry point picked up by the computer program. A foot-long probe is slid into postion. It passes down through the substance of the brain stem, almost to the hilt. The patient is awake so that brain stem function can be assessed.

Each time the probe moved into position, Alfred’s speech would become noticeably slurred. From the computer coordinates  … I carefully took a small piece. When I withdrew the biopsy cannula, Alfred’s speech immediately cleared, returning to normal.

Afred was a little groggy when we finally removed the head ring …. treatments in less than eight hours.”

Chemotherapy-Radiotherapy

“Alfred underwent the usual six-week course of radiation treatments. As always, this was followed by a long course of chemotherapy and steroids. His hair fell out. His weight, under the incessant appetite stimulus of steroids, ballooned up to nearly two hundred pounds. He also broke out in a raging case of acne from the steroids. Another brain tumour-induced disfiguration before my eyes.

The tumour resisted everything we threw at it. Alfred lost control of his legs.

Alfred died. He eased into death with a little morphine.”

The only substantive thing I did was to ensure that Alfred’s dog could cuddle next to him in bed. The dog was smuggled into the hospital room in a large shopping bag. When the nurse discovered it, I wrote an order in the chart: “Dog to be at patient’s bedside every nursing shift – no exception.”

Story 3: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)

Donald was a twenty-three year old truck driver. He suffered from pounding headache that soon became a daily event. Often the headaches came on with nausea. The sunlight on the road and reflection off the windshield bothered him. CT showed a peach-sized tumour in the back of the brain – in the occipital lobe. The tumour caused a significant amount of swelling and pressure on the brain.

Dr. Hamilton wrote:

“After six hours of surgery, the tumour was removed. He made excellent recovery and was eating breakfast the morning after. He was discharged two days later.

What followed was six weeks of nonstop radiation therapy delivered every single day. I saw Donald lose his hair. I saw the grinding fatigue set it. The circles beneath his eyes.  As soon as the radiation was finished, we launched into an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy for another six weeks. It was a marathon.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that every tumour is different. Every tumour is nature’s experiment of one.

GBMs are almost never cured. Only five out of five thousand patients with GBM had survived five years or more. The odds of being a long-term survivor were exactly one in a thousand. But the bottom line is that GBMs are usually incurable. You never get to stop the treatments – the only way to hold this tumour at bay was to keep pounding away at it.

Donald was put back on another three rounds of chemotherapy. We also hit the centre of the tumour cavity with the intense single-fraction radiatioin of “radiosurgery.”

For the second year, Donald’s scan appeared reasonably dormant. The tumour seemed to be in remission.

In the third year, however, the tumour did return. With a vengeance. It was like a creature that had been wounded, had gotten up and was now stalking him … the tumour was growing rapidly.

I reviewed the scans. We would need to start a new line of aggressive therapy. We also decided to resect as much of the solid tumour as we could. So once again, I would have to go back into Donald’s brain and attack the tumour surgically.

Following surgery, he threw himself with total concentration into the next round of energy-depleting chemotherapy. Within three months, the tumour’s spread was clogging the flow through the ventricles … we made the decision to take Donald to the operating room and relieve the obstruction.

The operation took an hour and a half. I installed a device called a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VP-shunt). By the end of the surgery, Donald was wide awake. He was back as bright as a brand-new penny.

Because the tumour was still growing, we turned to more experimental, far-out chemotherapies.

Over the next three months …. the shunt was keeping him out of life-threatening danger. In the spring – on April Fools’ Day – the shunt malfunctioned. It was completely blocked – tumour cells were growing inside it. Donald sank into a coma.

The day after surgery, Donald was already eating and asking to go home. The next morning Donald’s mother called me. She was sobbing. Donald had expired during the night. He was   gone. “

Story 4: Glioblastoma multiforme – A Failure

Sidney (Sy) is Dr. Hamilton’s colleague. He was one of the United State’s outstanding Alzheimer’s disease specialists.  He had a large brain tumour – the dreaded GBM.  Dr. Hamilton described this case was “one of my most public failures in my career as a neurosurgeon.” This is how the story goes.

“The tumour had grown into his speech area. For me, it was paradoxically dreadful. I could end up making things worse. The risk was I might actually destroy his speech capacity in the process of removing the tumour.

Before any big surgery case, I have a ritual. I wake up early. I turn on the shower, steaming hot. I climb in and let the water wash over me for a few minutes. I wash my hair, my body, my face and last my hands. Then I remain under the shower and visualize the whole surgery in my heads. It’s as if I’m already in the OR (operation room). I visualize my OR team there. I watch myself do the operations … the operation seems to roll like a movie behind my closed eyes as I stand there in the shower.”

The Surgery

“It took almost two hours from when we removed the tumour to when we finished reconstructing the skull and closing all the layers of muscle and skin. I wheeled Sydney back to the recovery area.

Sy could process and understand speech perfectly, but he couldn’t utter a single word. My inner state was stark and miserable. I had failed Sy. My skills had failed us both. I didn’t have a choice. I had to sacrifice the small artery along with the tumour wall … I knew that … I might be sealing Sy’s fate. I wondered if we would ever be able to say another word. If not, it would be my doing.

I suppose I could rationalize that I’m not responsible for the patient’s anatomy. But it was my hand.  My agony persisted In silence. Months later, when the tumour reappeared, none of us even mentioned surgery.  Sy lived for another eight months.”

Dr. Hamilton wrote:

“There’s no loneliness like the solitary shadow that comes into a surgeon’s heart when he or she suddenly realize an irreversible error has been committed. You can make a mistake, hurt someone profoundly and not be able to go back and undo your error. The brain simply has no genetic capacity to regrow itself. One mistake and it’s all over. It’s the grace and curse of neurosurgery. “

Two Success Stories

Dr. Hamilton wrote:

“Much of my neurosurgical practice is devoted to brain tumours. I’ve had the honour of taking care of hundreds of patients with astrocytomas, malignant brain cancers. Very few survive for more than a couple of years. As I mentioned, the odds for long-term survival can be a thousand to one. To be cured one needs to be lucky indeed – it’s a real long shot.

Thank goodness every neurosurgeon who deals with astrocytomas has at least some survivors. Without this handful of the lucky few … it would be difficult to keep going. As surgeons, of course we must often resign ourselves to our patients’ unfortunate outcomes.

I have two “home-run” astrocytoma patients.  One’s named Rusty and the other Paul. They are different from each other.”

Story 5: The Story of Rusty

“Rusty was an alcoholic, chain-smoker and a ne’er-do-well  person who attaches himself to women and convince them to live with him. He has brain tumour. Rusty would come into clinic with his latest girlfriend. Usually he reeked of booze and sometimes he was downright obnoxious. When he was drunk, he had a habit of hanging off my shoulder as if he was my best buddy. Or he’d come swaggering down the hall, yelling, “Hey, doc! How ya doin’?

How long do I have? He asked me directly. I can never give a clear answer to that question, because there isn’t one … a surgeon has to be careful not to extinguish the patient’s hope … but the fact was I’d never had a patient survive more than six weeks after an astrocytoma had spread to the opposite hemisphere.”

Rusty was about two years out from the time of his original diagnosis. He had lived with three different girlfriends during that interval.

After thirteen years, in 2003, when I saw Rusty again in clinic, his scan hadn’t changed one bit. He still drank excessively, but he settled down with his mom and became a pretty good cook for the two of them.

His tumour defied all logic. It seemed to have just gone to sleep.”

Story 6: The Story of Paul

“ Paul was an engineering student who had a malignant astrocytoma.  I resected it a week later. The severity of subsequent radiation and chemotherapy forced him to suspend his studies for an entire semester. The following year, he returned to his master’s degree. On the final scans at the completion of treatment, there was no visibile trace of a tumour. He got married and started working on his Ph.D.

Paul’s scan remained pristinely clean of any recurrent tumour. He’d been able to finish up a very challenging doctoral dissertation. Our whole clinic staff attended his graduation. We threw a small party for him. There were five candles on the “birthday” cake one of the nurses had baked – one for each year he’d survived from his initial diagnosis. He was my first five-year survivor.

In 2003, Paul reached almost fourteen years out from diagnosis. He and his wife had just finished building a little place in the hills. That same year, Paul had a seizure. There was a new spot. It had never been there before.  Paul had to come back and undergo a course of focused radiation, aimed at killing the tumour – now he was haunted by the notion that his tumour was stalking him, lurking among the shadows of his MRIs. Bidding its time. “

On reflection, Dr. Hamilton wrote:

“I have learned that luck, good or bad, can spell the difference between surviving and perishing. It can be the power behind a successful surgery or a frightening complication. We have to just accept it: patient and physician. I still struggle to learn from their examples. But I still experience moments – years after they have passed away – when I cry for some of them. And for myself.  So few home runs.”

Comments

As said earlier, I have great admiration for Dr. Hamilton. I admired his expertise, his humility, his deep sense of connectedness with humanity, his dedication to his noble profession and patient and his compassion towards his patients.  I say this in my heart. If your want to fight and get even with cancer – this would be the man who would help you with the battle of your life. I read again and again the words written by Dr. Hamilton above. I would like to say as loudly as I can: the world needs more surgeons like this great man.

Dr. Hamilton’s book opened my eyes to what modern, high-tech, brain surgery could do.  The techniques and scientific tools are so impressive!

But let us not be caught up with impressive tools and technology.  More importantly, we need a pair of wonder hands who could do things with compassion and love.

Then, ultimately, it is the results that count. At CA Care we too have the privilege to help patients with brain cancer. We do not have those magical tools – ours are primitive by any standard – just drink bitter, smelly herbs.  The tools may be primitive but we too have scored a few home runs!

In our website we have documented the healing of:

Daisy of Indonesia, Sunan of Thailand, CT of Medan,and a twelve-year-old girl from Penang, using only herbs. For details click the appropriate links.

In closing, and when dealing with brain cancer, let us be reminded of what Dr. Hamilton said:

“One of the greatest secrets of surgery, which no mentor can teach, is knowing when to stop a surgical procedure, to call an end to it – when to keep pushing onward and when you’ve gone too far. So often, a surgical outcome depends on where to call a halt.  When to let the patient recover from the intrusion. Because surgery is just that – an intrusion of the body.  Getting out at the right moment is half of a successful surgical outcome.”

Quotation from: The Checklist Manifesto – how to get things right by Atul Gawande

We talk about our great saves but also about our great failures, and we all have them.

The question … to answer was why we fail at what we set out to do in the world.

We have just two reasons.

The first is ignorance – we may err because science has given us only a partial understanding of the world  and how it works.

The second is ineptitude – in these instances the knowledge exists, yet we fail to apply it correctly.

Failure of ignorance we can forgive. If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist,  we are happy to have people simply make their best effort.

But if the knowledge exists and is not applied correctly, it is difficult not to be infuriated… philosophers gave these failures so unmerciful a name – ineptitude. Those on the receiving end use other words, like negligence or even heartlessness.

Surgery and Radiotherapy Did Not Cure Cervical Cancer: Recurrence After Twelve Years

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers that affect the female reproductive organs. It occurs at the cervix – the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina. About 11,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and nearly 4,000 (or 36.4%) die from it. Worldwide it is estimated that there are 473,000 cases of cervical cancer each year and 253,500 women (or 53.6%) die from the disease.  This makes cervical cancer the number-one cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the developing countries of the world.

In order to detect this type of cancer early, women are asked to take a Pap test regularly. The rationale is that cervical cancer can often be cured if found and treated at its early stage. How true is this statement?

An Tee (not real name) was fifty-five years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. This was in 1996. Fortunately for her, the cancer was at its early stage. Her doctor felt surgery and radiotherapy were adequate to deal with her problem. An Tee underwent to remove the cancer and this was followed by twelve external-radiation treatments. In addition, she received internal-radiation treatment. The latter involved an exposure of radiation-tube implanted in the vagina. An Tee was kept isolated in the hospital for two days while receiving this treatment.

An Tee was asked to visit her doctor every six months for routine check up. Everything was alright. And life went on as usual. Ten years after this “apparent cure” An Tee started to cough since 2005 (i.e., about three years before this relapse). However, her doctor did not consider anything amiss and she was told everything was alright.

In August 2006, i.e., twelve years after her diagnosis, An Tee was told that her kidney was not functioning well. A MAG-3 Lasix Renogram was performed. The results showed that An Tee’s left kidney had normal function but her right kidney was hydronephrotic with reduced size and function and was significantly obstructed. Essentially there was only minimal (ten percent) right renal function.

A CT scan of the chest indicated both lungs were studded with numerous nodular lesions of varying sizes measuring 5 mm to 25 mm. A dominant 3 cm nodule was seen in the right lower lobe. There were also multiple small mediastinal lymphadenopathies in the aorto-pulmonary window and pre-aortic region. In short, the CT scan revealed An Tee had extensive lung nodules in both her lungs that had also spread to the adjacent lymph nodes.

A biopsy was performed resulting in bleeding and An Tee’s stay in the hospital had to be extended. The histology results showed the lung parenchyma was infiltrated by malignant cells. The pathologist concluded that it was a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma – representing perhaps a metastasis or TB.

An Tee was asked to undergo chemotherapy. She and her entire family refused and opted for herbs instead.

Comments:

  1. From the internet, I learned that lung metastasis due to cervical cancer occur in less than five percent of patients at presentation, 20 to 30 percent at autopsy. This metastatic cancer is staged as 4B – a serious condition indeed.
  2. It is also said that women who survive cervical cancer face a higher risk for developing other cancers in the days ahead. This is even more so in survivors who had been treated with radiotherapy. In this case, besides serious lung metastasis, An Tee’s  right kidney had failed – a side effect of radiotherapy done many years ago.
  3. This case once again demonstrated what we at CA Care have been telling patients: Don’t be complacent. Cancer may recur anytime. Always be on the watch. Listen carefully to what your body is telling you.
  4. In this case, An Tee had been having chronic coughs for the past three years before a CT scan was done.   In spite of consulting her doctors every now and then, none of her doctors ever had the “fore sight” to examine her chest! Perhaps many around her were “blinded”, believing that since she had survived five years, she was “cured” of her cancer. There is no scientific basis for this erred perception. The number “five” is an arbitrary figure. So being able to live past five years does not mean the cancer is gone forever. Patients must not be misled by this untruth.
  5. Dr. David Johnson, deputy director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center thinks that: “The five-year benchmark becomes a balm for doctors or patients who find the unpredictability of their situation intolerable. Physicians are reluctant to say cancer might recur, so they would rather us these terms like – OK, in five years you’ll be cure.”
  6. This case highlighted another inadequacy of cancer medical treatment, as articulated by Dr. Barry Boyd, director of Integrative Oncology program, Greenwich Hospital, Yale Cancer Center:“Many doctors don’t bother to counsel their patients after treatment. Once cancer treatment is completed, most patients are left on their own to cope with the rest of their lives. This is what I call falling off the cliff. Patients are left in free fall.” Dr. Boyd went on to say that: “In addition to the best medical care possible, nutrition, exercise and stress reductions are absolutely necessary to make your cancer treatment more effective and prevent cancer’s return.”
  7. An Tee had been on the herbs for the past 9 months. Then at about 7.30 a.m., 15 June 2009, our phone rang. We were told An Tee had just expired. The only daughter in my grandfather’s family was lost to cancer. In spite of this loss, we were glad that at the end, An Tee did not suffer any pains. At the later stage of her illness, An Tee became breathless and she had to use oxygen mask to help her breathe better. That was about the only discomfort she had.
  8. I flew home to be with An Tee’s family during this time of grief. Her face looked sweet and natural. This image remained imprinted in my mind. Above all, everyone in the family remained grateful that she died without any pain or suffering, that is so typical of many cancer deaths.  When her time came, she took two deep intake of air that morning and she passed off.

 

RM 300,000 of Medical Adventures Did Not Cure Him

Henry, a 54-year old male, came to see us on 24 April 2009. He told us that he had spent about RM 300,000 to cure his lung cancer but failed. He could not see how medical science could help him any more. Also, he had spent enough money and probably is not able to spend anymore chasing after his cancer. Below is a brief outline of what had happened.

  1. Henry was then 50 years old. Sometime in September 2003, he started to have persistent coughs. Antibiotics did not help him. An X-ray, done in November 2003, showed presence of a 1.5 cm lump in his left lung.
  2. Henry went to Singapore and did a PET scan on 23 December 2003. The findings wereconsistent with a primary tumour of the left lower lobe without evidence of hilar or mediastinal nodal spread or distant metastatic spread. PET staging is T1NoMo.
  3. The next day, a FNAC biopsy was done and indicated Non-small cell carcinoma.
  4. Henry returned to Penang and underwent a surgery – a left upper lobectomy on 7 January 2004.  Pathologic diagnosis confirmed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the bronchus with foci of squamoid differentiation. There was no evidence of nodal involvement, i.e. Stage 1 disease.
  5. No additional therapy was advised and Henry remained well until late September 2004, i.e. barely nine months after the operation.
  6. His blood test on 27 September 2004 showed elevated CEA, at  21.1.
  7. A PET scan done on 29 September 2004, showed evidence of recurrent disease. Moderately FDG avid small soft tissue density adjacent to surgical bed, with one FDG avid precarinal node. This was suspicious of local recurrence. There were 2 nodules measuring 1.1 x 1.9 x 1.7 cm and 1.1 x 1.5 x 1.7 cm. There was no evidence of distant involvement.
  8. Henry subsequently underwent chemotherapy. He received a combination of Carboplatin and Gemcintabine and achieved a complete remission, after three courses of treatment.
  9. Henry went back to his oncologist in Singapore for consolidative treatment – consisting of radiation with concurrent weekly combination of Taxol and Cisplatinum over the entire six weeks of radiation.  This means he received a total of 30 radiation treatments and 6 cycles of chemotherapy.
  10. All treatments were completed by 26 January 2005. Henry appeared to be well except for a dry cough, which according to his doctor, was due to radiation pneumonitis.
  11. A repeat PET scan done on 21 Febraury 2005 showed no evidence of disease.
  12. Henry continued to go to Singapore for review every two months.
  13. From June 2005 to June 2006, Henry was prescribed Iressa. He took this oral drug as apreventive measure.
  14. From September 2007 to end of November 2008, Henry switched from Iressa to Tarceva, another related oral drug. This time, he also took Celebrex, 200 mg for pains. Henry took Tarceva also for the same reason – as a preventive.
  15. On 25 August 2007, a CT scan showed a new 1 cm nodule in the anterior segment of the right upper lobe, highly suspicious for metastatic recurrence. The means that the cancer had spread to Henry’s right lung.
  16. PET scan done on the same day, 25 August 2007, confirmed the development of a new nodule.
  17. A CT scan done on 11 October 2008 showed the nodule had grown to 1.9 x 1.4 cm. In view of the recurrence, the consumption of Tarceva was increased from 100 mg to 150 mg.
  18. Another repeat PET scan was done three months later, on 1 December 2008. The nodule in the right upper lobe showed marked increase in FGD activity and is in keeping with active metastatic disease. The nodule increased in size to 2.0 x 1.7 cm.
  19. In view of the deterioration condition, Tarceva was abandoned and Henry was started on a new oral drug called Alimta. Each cycle of Alimta cost $10,000. Henry received 6 cycles, costing $60,000.
  20. A CT scan done on 23 January 2009, showed the right upper lobe nodule remained unchanged.
  21. On 8 April 2009, Henry underwent a radiofrequency ablation (RFA) – a   procedure that cost RM 7,000. The lung nodule at this stage had already grown to 3 x 2.4 x 2.5 cm. The medical report said: Successful percutaneuos CT guided RFA is performed. A good ablation zone is achieved. A repeat CT scan after 6 weeks is scheduled.

Henry came to see us on 24 April 2009 and expressed his dissatisfaction and desperation. He was started on Capsule A, Lung 1 & 2 teas and C-tea.

Comments

This is indeed a classical story which most lung cancer patients need to read before undergoing any invasive procedures – may it be surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or taking of the oral drugs – Iressa, Tarceva or Alimta. Don’t be caught unaware and don’t be ignorant. There are some questions which patients should ask.

  1. Is this case an exceptional or rare case of failure? No, it is not rare at all. This story is often repeated far too often. Therefore this is something that can be expected. Read the various case reports on lung cancer in this website and make you own conclusion.
  2. Can surgery cure lung cancer? In this case, the answer is NO. To start with Henry had a 1.5 cm nodule in his left lung. In January 2004 a part of his left lung was removed. Nine months later, the cancer recurred on the same side of his lung.  This time there were two nodules. Surgery did not cure anything! But did it not make things worse? What could have happened if the original lump was just left untouched?
  3. Can surgery spread cancer? In August 2007, barely three and a half years after the so calledsuccessful surgery, a new lump was detected on his right lung, meaning the cancer had spread from the left to the right lung. Was it because of the surgery that made the cancer moved to the right lung?  The study of cancer biology tells us that surgery could spread cancer or can make dormant tumours grow and proliferate.
  4. Can chemotherapy cure lung cancer? In this case, obviously it cannot. It can give rise to false hope. After 3 cycles of Carboplatin and Gemcitabine, the original 1.5 cm nodule in the left lung disappeared. The doctor felt good and patient celebrated the success. But it is all a hoax, if I may use this word. I have seen such false hope happening all too often.
  5. Does the shrinking of tumour means a cure? Never and don’t be misled. Make no mistake, chemotherapy or oral drugs can or may shrink tumours. But shrinkage is not a cure. Soon the tumour will grow back – sometimes becoming bigger than the original size. Stephane Bonoist et al (J Clin.Oncology 24: 3939, August 2006: Complete response of colorectal liver metastases after chemotherapy: does it mean cure?) reported that 66 liver metastases disappeared after chemotherapy as seen in the CT scan. However, after 1 year of follow-up, 55 or 83% of these 66 liver metastases proved to be residual disease or recurrence. The authors concluded that in most patients receiving chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases, a complete response on CT scan does not mean cure. What is said about liver metastases may apply equally well to lung cancer tumours. I have seen enough cases to come to this conclusion. This is what Dr. Ralph Moss said about tumour shrinkage: This is a great lie about chemotherapy. Shrinkage of tumour is meaningless.
  6. Is consolidation therapy after an apparent “successful” result beneficial or meaningful?Henry received more chemotherapy and radiation treatments to consolidate what had been achieved. Theoretically, the procedure makes sense but in practice it is a disaster. Patient spent more money for the extra doses of chemo and radiation but this very same treatment might have prepared the ground for future recurrence. To the holistic practitioners, adding poisons strips the body off its immune system – how then can one expect the body cures itself?
  7. Is Iressa effective for lung cancer? It is well documented that Iressa caused more harm than good. In the Western countries Iressa was withdrawn because it was just a dangerous placebo! In Asian countries it is said that Iressa can make patients live longer by 4 months. Take note, no where in the literature is it written that Iressa cures lung cancer – it merely prolongs life by 4 months.
  8. Is Tarceva effective for lung cancer? Patients taking Tarveca prolong survival by 2.8 months. It costs about RM 8,000 per month to be on this drug that has not shown to cure anything.
  9. What about Alimta – a $10,000 per month drug? According to the website the median survival time was 8.3 months in the Alimta treatment arm and 7.9 months in the docetaxel arm. The study did NOT show an overall survival superiority of Alimta. In simple language, Alimata is NO better than docetaxel (and this was what Henry received for 6 weeks in December 2004). Sure enough Henry did not benefit from Alimta.

After all said and done, Henry had already spent about RM 300,000 for the above treatments. What did he get in return? Nothing, no cure. An initial lump of 1.5 cm had turned to become a metastatic lump of 3 x 2.4 x 2.5 cm in size, growing in the other side of his lung. This is more than what Henry has ever bargained for with his RM 300,000.

Needless to say, Henry was greatly disappointed. And disappointed patients are driven to herbalists and other alternative practitioners. What choice have these patients got now? Most of them, after an adventure like this, have almost exhausted their life time savings as well.

Let others who come after Henry learn from his experience.

 

Iressa Does Not Cure Lung Cancer Expensive drug with side effects

AstraZeneca informed the FDA of a study involving 1,700 lung cancer patients:

1. Patients who took Iressa lived for 5.6 months.

2. Those given a placebo (inactive, dummy pill) lived for 5.1 months.

The study shows by taking Iressa, patients live longer by TWO weeks.

As a result, Iressa was withdrawn in Western countries.

However, patients of Asian origin responded slightly better. They lived FOUR months longer.

1. With Iressa lung cancer patients lived 9.5 months.

2. Without Iressa patients lived only 5.5 months.

As a result, Iressa is still being prescribed to patients in Asian countries.

Lethal Lung Cancer Drug … 444 deaths

In July 2002, Japan was the first country in the world to approve Iressa for lung cancer. In less than 2 years later, 1,151 cases of side effects were reported and 444 were thought to have died of Iressa in Japan.

The most common side effects of Iressa are:

diarrhoea, rash, acne, dry skin, nausea, vomiting, interstitial lung disease (ILD), which involves scarring and inflammation of the lungs that can cause breathing problems, and pneumonia (causing difficulty breathing, coughs, fevers).

Sut is a 73-year-old female from Indonesia. She had lung cancer and was on Iressa for nine months. She suffered severe itchiness of the whole body.

The cost of Iressa was RM 8,500 for one month when she brought it from the hospital pharmacy. However, this same drug cost only RM 6,500 when she bought it from a pharmacy outside the hospital.

This is not lesson we can learn: When doctors prescribe you the drugs, the hospital make an enormous mark-up and make great profit. Try to find the same drug from the pharmacy outside the hospital – you may find a bargain there! This does not only apply to Iressa, it applies to all drugs.

Sat is a 68-year-old from Indonesia. She had lung cancer and was also prescribed Iressa. Before taking Iressa she led a normal life. After taking Iressa for a month, problems started to crop up. She suffered the following side effects:

  1. Could not sleep well
  2. Difficult to shallow
  3. Loss of appetite
  4. Nausea
  5. Could not talk for too long
  6. Diarrhea
  7. Shortness of breathe
  8. Dry skin
  9. Weight loss

She took Iressa for 3 months and then stopped.

Cost of Iressa: 20 Million Rupiah per month.

Again, you need to know that Iressa does not cure lung cancer!

Documented side effects of Iressa: Diarrhea, rash, acne, dry skin, nausea, vomiting, pruritis (itchiness), anorexia (poor appetite), asthenia (lack or loss of strength), weight loss, peripheral edema, amblyopia (poor vision), dyspnea (difficult breathing), conjunctivitis, and mouth ulceration.

Interstitial Lung Disease: could be fatal such as interstitial pneumonia, pneumonitis and alveolitis. Acute onset of difficult breathing sometimes associated with cough or low-grade fever, becoming severe within a short time.

 

 

Chemo Failed and He Moved On To Tarceva — Meaningless Shrinkage of Tumor While on Tarceva Treatment

Mark (not real name) is a 34-year old male. Sometime in September 2006 he had coughs which led to the diagnosis of lung cancer. A CT scan on 18 December 2006 showed a 5 x 5 cm mass at the right upper lobe of this lung. The right lung also had fluid (pleural effusion). In addition, there were several metastatic lesions in the partially collapsed right mid and lower lobes of the lung. The left lung was clear. Unfortunately the cancer had already spread to the fourth and sixth ribs. A core biopsy of the lung mass indicated a moderately differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma.

From December 2006 to February 2007, Mark underwent chemotherapy with Gemzar and cisplatin. Two cycles were given each month and he received a total of six cycles. The cost of each cycle was around RM 4,000. The oncologist told him that there would be no cure but the size of the tumor could be reduced by the treatment.

After the chemotherapy was completed, a CT scan on 7 March 2007 showed  right lung severely collapsed with a mass lesion measuring 6 cm over the hilum. Mark had to undergo a procedure tore-inflate his lung.

Mark was told that chemotherapy was not effective. He was asked to take the oral drug, Tarceva which cost RM 270 / pill. The progress of the treatment responses are as follows:

1.  CT scan on 9 March 2007 showed a 7.5 cm x 6 cm mass and a daughter nodule measuring 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm.

2.  CT scan on 31 May 2007 showed a mass measuring 4 cm x 2 cm, a significant reduction in size of the right lung mass.

3.  CT scan on 13 September 2007 showed no significant change compared to the previous CXR.

4.  CT scan on 13 November 2007 showed a larger mass measuring 8 x 6 x 4 cm. There was fibrosis in the right apex and the right lung base. There was destruction of one of the lower left rib suggestive of bony metastasis.

While on Tarceva, Mark was told that initially the tumour had shrunk to about eighty percent of its initial size. Unfortunately this shrinkage did not last. After eight months of Tarceva (costing him approximately RM 64,000) it was clear that the treatment had failed.

Mark was told the disappointing news that the tumour had grown bigger again. Tarceva was not effective. In addition, the bony metastasis got worse. Mark was on Bonefos since his diagnosis and this medication cost about RM 400 per month.

Mark and his wife came to see us on December 2007. They wanted to know if by taking the herbs the tumour would shrink and how long would it take for the herbs to be able to do this. Honestly and frankly my respond was: I am sorry I don’t know.

Comments

Mark and his wife came to us to seek an assurance that herbs can help him. We have lung cancer patients who were told by their doctors that they only had six months to live, but after taking the herbs they went on to lead a normal life for another two to three years before they eventually succumb to the cancer. A man with bone cancer was told: Go home and prepare your will. You only have six months to live. He declined Bonefos medication, took herbs and is still alive to this day – almost seven years now. However, it is absolutely wrong on our part to claim that herbs can cure cancer. Unfortunately when Mark came to see us, I was unable to provide him the guarantee that herbs can cure anything if that was what he and his wife came to see me for. I told them, we could only do our best to help.

I am reminded by what Randall Fitzgerald said (in The Hundred Years Lie):

  • For many people who grew by and dependent on technology and the laboratory drugs of Western medicine, breaking free of that paradigm or even considering the use of strange-sounding treatments from other cultures, requires a leap of faith.
  • For many of us, before we can discover natural healing alternatives, we must first experience the desperation of having exhausted the entire range of synthetic chemical remedies offered by modern medicine.

However, for some people even the experience of failure does not bring any message. The sad truth about advanced stage lung cancer is that there is no cure for it – not even with chemotherapy or Tarceva.

Stephen Spiro and Joanna Porter in an article: Lung cancer– where are we today? (American J. Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 166:1166-1196, 2000), wrote that although chemotherapy may be a logical approach, there is virtually no evidence that it can cure NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer).

Ronald Feld et al. (in Lung. Clinical Oncology. 2nd ed. Harcourt Asia) summed up the present scenario: Despite this large patient base for clinical trials, the role of systemic chemotherapy in the management of NSCLC remains one of the most controversial issues in medical oncology today.

Dr. Jeffrey Tobias and Kay Eaton (in Living with Cancer) were more explicit when they wrote

  • For patients with NSCLC …(treatment) in truth is likely to be more valuable for palliation of symptoms rather than a treatment with a real prospect of cure… a cure couldn’t realistically be attempted.
  • the early dramatic  response to chemotherapy is rarely beyond a year or two … perhaps six months later (there is) clear evidence of the return of the cancer.

What is Bonefos?

Bonefos is used in some cancers to reduce bone destruction that could result in bone pain and fractures. Its chemical name is Clodronate disodium belonging to a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. It stops the calcium from coming out of the bone which makes it weaker and hence increasing the risk of fractures and pain besides increasing calcium blood levels.  Nowhere is it stated that it cures bone cancer. And in this case, Bonefos was not effective.

What is Tarceva?

Go into the website and find some hard truth about this oral drug. According to the company’s website,   http://www.tarceva.net/survivalresults.aspx, Tarceva is the first and only oral HER1/EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor proven to significantly prolong survival. It significantly increased overall survival by 37% and demonstrated significant symptom benefits by prolonging the time to progression of symptoms.

This write-up is very impressive. But as always, let me caution patients to read information using some common sense. Ask what does increased survival by 37%  means in real term? The data presented by the company are as below:

  1. Median survival was 9.5 months with Tarceva versus 6.7 months with placebo.  In real terms Tarceva only increased survival by 2.8 months. Mathematically it is very correct to say that the increased survival due to Tarceva is 41.8%. Definitely 41.8% increased survival sounds very attractive indeed.
  2. Tarceva significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) by 82%. The actual figures are: PFS 3.6 months with Tarceva versus 1.8 months with placebo.

Nowhere in the medical literature is there a claim that Tarceva cures lung cancer! Patients need to decide if it is worth spending RM 8,000 each month on medication that was shown to only prolong life by 2.8 months. In this case, Mark had already spent RM 64,000, and found out that Tarceva had failed him.

Cancer Recurred After Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy

Tahe (M319), a 75-year-old male from Bogor, Indonesia started smoking since the age of eighteen. In 2000 he underwent a heart by-pass surgery. In 2005 he had flu-like symptoms and had difficulty in breathing. These problems persisted for about three months. He then went to a hospital in Jakartaand was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). He was put on TB drugs. However, after taking medication for a week he had more coughs. Not satisfied, he went to a private hospital in Singapore.

Tahe, his wife, daughter and son-in-law came to see us on 29 February 2008 and related the story of what happened in Singapore.

  1. The doctor thought he had lung infections. Tahe was put on antibiotics. After two weeks the coughs still persisted.
  2. A CT scan was done and there was a big tumour in his lung. According to the doctor it was an aggressive tumour.
  3. Tahe underwent chemotherapy, each cycle every three-weekly interval. He received a total of six cycles. The tumour totally disappeared.
  4. Four months later another tumour was found growing on the other side of the lung. Tahe again underwent six cycles of chemotherapy. The tumour disappeared again.
  5. Four months later, a tumour recurred. This time it was at the site of the first tumour.
  6. The doctor wanted Tahe to have more chemotherapy, but at that time Tahe suffered bleeding at the anus. Chemotherapy was not indicated.
  7. Since the tumour in the lung grew bigger, Tahe underwent twenty-eight times radiation treatments.
  8. In spite of all that were done, Tahe’s problem still persisted.
  9. The result of the CT scan of the thorax and liver done on 21 February 2008 indicated:
    • There is a small new left-sided pleural effusion.
    • There is extensive volume loss demonstrated within the left hemithorax. This is secondary to left upper lobe collapse.
    • There is mildly heterogenous pattern of enhancement to the collapse lung at the perihilar region.
    • There is a possible recurrence of a left hilar pulmonary mass causing bronchial obstruction.
    • There is a 8 mm pulmonary nodule in the right upper lobe.
    • There is an enhancing mass adjacent to the falciform ligament.
    • There is a 12 mm hepatic density within segment 6 of the liver.
    • There are several subcentimetre hypodensities scattered throughout the liver which are too small to characterize.
    • There is a left adrenal mass measuring 3.7 cm.
    • There is a right adrenal mass measuring 2.7 cm.
    • There is no destructive bony lesion identified.

It is obvious that the treatments thus far had failed to cure Tahe. The doctor suggested more chemotherapy. But Tahe declined further medical treatment. He and his family came to seek our help instead. Tahe was prescribed Capsule A & B, Liver Tea, Lung 1 & 2 Teas, LL-tea and Kidney Tea.

Below are excerpts of our conversation of the night of 29 February 2008.

Chris: Okay Bapak – do you want to undergo more chemotherapy?

Tahe: No. I don’t want any more. My body is already weak. I am already old and have no more strength.

Wife: All his bones ached.

Chris: You must have spent thousands for your chemo?

Wife: Yes, so much.

Son-in-law: He spent a lot of money!

Chris: I have written this before – People who have money and who think they are educated, often die sooner. From my experience, in the case of lung cancer the tumour may shrink or even disappear after the treatment. But this does not mean that the cancer is gone or cured.

Tahe: Ya, correct.

Chris: Now Bapak, you seem to agree with what I have said. But if I were to tell you this before you had your chemotherapy, you would not believe me.

Tahe: I did not know this.

Chris: Yes, even though you know this after I have told you this, you would not have believed me!

Tahe: No, I believe you.

Chris: No. Those who have not experienced what you have experienced or who had not taken the same road that you took, will never believe me when I say that:  after the chemo the tumour would come back.

Wife: The doctor told us before that his medication can only help 80%. No, the cancer would not go away totally.

Chris: Yes, this is what I have seen happen very often. After the surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the tumour may go way but after four or six months the tumour comes back again. And when it comes back, the cancer is going to be more aggressive. This is because the body is already weak. How can a weak body fight the cancer?

Wife: Now this is the time for God. Earlier on we were experimenting. The radiologist did tell us that doctors can only help 80%, the remaining 20% is due to God.

Comments: At CA Care we tell patients:  it is our hands but God who heals. We claim no credit. But in this world man believes that he is smatter than God! The fact of the matter is scientific medicine has failed Tahe. Let us be humble enough to accept that. The doctor suggested that Tahe go for more chemotherapy. What do you think could be the outcome – success or death?

 

Chemotherapy and More Chemotherapy Then Tarceva and Surgery Cancer Spread to the Bone and Brain

San is a 65-year old male from Indonesia. He sent us this e-mail on 8 August 2007.

I was first diagnosed with stage 3B lung cancer on August 1, 2005. The cancer was found in my left lung. At that time my left lung was two-third filled with fluid. The doctor tapped out the fluid from my lung and this was followed by chemotherapy. Doctor said chemo had to be done immediately otherwise the cancer would spread further.

I agreed and underwent chemotherapy immediately. The treatment consisted of six cycles of Gemzar and carboplatin. After the treatment, the cancer almost disappeared and the CEA dropped to normal value. The fluid in the lung dried up. After this round of chemo I was asked to continue with a drug called Tarceva. But the drug was not effective.

The doctor tried another round of chemotherapy on me. After the second round of chemo the doctor suggested surgery. After thinking for sometime, I and my family agreed to have an operation. This was done in April 2006. During the operation, almost one half of my left lung was removed. After the operation the doctor gave me another round of chemotherapy. This consisted of four cycles. He told me that this chemo was to clean up all the left over cell.

After the operation, I was cancer-free for eight months. By March 2007, while on a routine check up, the doctor found that the cancer had come back. There was fluid in the lung again. In addition, I was told that the cancer had spread to my back bone and brain.

When the doctor found that the cancer had recurred, he immediately suggested that I go for radiotherapy for my brain. This was followed by chemotherapy again (my fourth round). The first cycle of chemo did not appear to be effective anymore. The CEA was elevated. The doctor changed to another drug. The “new drug” was able to hold/control the cancer the way it was (it did not shrink the tumor but my CEA was stable). During chemotherapy my body felt pain and weak. I preferred to stay in bed and had no mood to do anything. I also experienced skin irritation.

After the chemo, my conditions had deteriorated.

• My both feet can not feel the floor anymore. The doctor said this was due to the effects of the chemo drug.

• I lost all of my hair.

• My hands feel numb.

• I have no appetite and no strength.

• I cannot walk straight. I feel out of balance.

• I feel pain in my left chest, my neck, and back bone. Sometimes I have to stay in bed the whole day because of the pain.

• I cannot sleep well. Probably I can only sleep 3 to 4 hours (maximum). Sometimes to force myself I take sleeping pills but it only works for approximately 4-5 hours (maximum).

• My bowel movements are uncertain. Sometimes I experienced diarrhea but there were times I was constipated.

• My appetite is not good at all but I forced myself to eat in order to regain strength. I always force myself to eat even though sometimes I cannot taste the food because my tongue is numb and has no taste.

• There are redness and small swellings at the side of my nails.

• I cough during the day and night. It is a continuous cough but sometime it stops by itself and then comes back again. Most of the time, it has yellow colored-phlegm.

• Most of the time I feel breathless. When I walk too far I feel I am running out of breath. When I walk up the stairs I need to rest several times after every 4 to 5 steps. Lately, there was one time that I felt a pinch pressure at my chest and I had difficulty breathing. This happened at night and I don’t know when it will come again.

Before the medical treatments I was a very active man and was able to do anything. I feel that the cancer is taking everything from my life.

Please advise how I can treat my cancer. I am taking “the oil from red fruit” but it does not seem to help. So I plan to stop it. My doctor only gave me vitamin B12 to counter the effects of my chemotherapy. Besides that I didn’t take any other supplement.

I’m now desperately seeking your help.

Comments: This is a sad sorry. It is also an often repeated story that we encountered most of the time. It reflects the state-of-the-art of medical treatment for lung cancer today. Patients and their family members can learn some lessons from this tragic story.

1. When someone is down with cancer, the initial reaction is panic. This is further compounded when the doctor said that chemotherapy must be done immediately otherwise the cancer is going to spread further. Gullible patients buy such veiled professional warning easily. Is this reasoning right? We always tell patients and their family members to keep their cool after their diagnosis. The cancer had already spread long before it had been diagnosed. Cancer cells were already in the body but remained undetected. Therefore, it is not entirely true to say that chemotherapy has to be done immediately to stop the spread. The cancer had already spread! It is wise to take time to evaluate your options. Why the rush? We believe any decision made is haste or under duress is never a good decision. There is a Arab saying: Haste is from the Devil.

2. After the chemo was done, the CEA dropped. Indeed the doctor is happy and the patients are happy. The magic bullet has done its job, so they say or that is what they want you to believe. But are patients ever told that this so called drop in CEA is not going to last?

3. As an insurance patients are often prescribed drugs. In this case, San was asked to take Tarceva. Not long ago, lung cancer patients were asked to take Iressa, but this drug had already been withdrawn (in the Western world but not in Asia!) because it had cause severe and sometimes fatal side effects besides being shown to be ineffective. Tarceva is just another sibling of the same drug family. It is not surprising at all that Tarceva, in spite of its high cost, was not effective. Medical literature showed that Tarceva only prolonged life by merely two months. It was never shown to cure lung cancer.

4. When the treatment is not effective, often the next course of action is to give more of the same thing! San was given more chemotherapy and this time more toxic drugs were used. Besides chemo, more fire power were called in — radiation and the knife. These methods are what they callslashing, burning and poisoning in the belief and hope that all cancer cells in the body can be eliminated. Perhaps the world needs to be reminded of what Einstein said: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity.

5. We have learnt early after establishing CA Care that removing a part of the lung is never a way to cure lung cancer. Our patient Number Two (of the thousands we have seen) had a lobe of his lungs resected. He suffered badly and eventually died. San had half of his left lung removed but the cancer spread to his brain and bones. The knife is not shown to have cured advanced stage cancer.

6. San wrote that he was cancer-free for eight months. I would dispute that. When the tumor is removed, no one is able to see the cancer anymore – therefore, the period-that-you-do-not-see-the-cancer is mistakenly perceived as cure. We also learnt that surgery is only to buy time — to remove the rotten tissue. It may not necessary remove all cancer cells from the body.

7. The thing that matters is: do patients recover and are truly cured? Evidence such as reduced CEA and shrinkage of the tumour do not mean anything much at all. These are good selling pointsto provide false hope but patients should know that these so called good signs don’t last. It is all an elusion.

8. In San’s case, the cancer recurred and spread to his brain and bones. The battle is about to be lost but the General thinks there is still a fighting chance that the war can be won. Give more fire power! This time, the embattled cancer cells fight back. This time the cancer cells have already become numbed and resistant to the drugs. And they strike back with vengeance.

9. At last, the doctor saw reality. Short of declaring the war lost, he prescribed vitamin pills. The patient, in this case, was left hanging high and dry often worse off than he first started — physically and financially drained to the core. They are lucky if the State Social security or Health Insurance pays for the costs. Unfortunately in this part of the world, the patients and their family members need to resort to their entire life’s saving or selling their property, etc., to settle the hospital bills.

10. Dr. Lai Gi-ming, Taiwan Cooperative Oncology Group, National Research Institute was right when he wrote: The thing that most frustrates modern doctors is that, after surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all they can do is keep chasing and chasing the cancer! It is only at this stage that patients come to CA Care for help.

 

The Patient Died After A Meaningless Decline of CA 15.3 and Tumour Shrinkage Following Treatment With Iressa and Tarceva

I received an e-mail from Dr. Mark (not real name), a Ph.D. in cancer biology working in a hospital. This is what he wrote:

After visiting the CA CARE website … I realized that this is what I have been looking for in order to help my mum. I would like my mum to try your herbal therapy.

My mum is 70 years old. She had coughs for months last year and her GP said she had asthma which was not known to her before. The doctor didn’t order an X-ray for her. Later she recovered from the coughs and we just ignored that incident.

At the end of April 2007, she kept complaining of stomach discomforts, bloatedness and loss of appetite. She saw a Gastro-specialist and the diagnosis was H. pyroli infection and she was given antibiotic treatment. Unexpectedly, an X-ray test was also done and her lung was found abnormal. She did a CT scan and blood test including tumor markers on that same day. The results showed a possibility of lung cancer. One week later she did a lung biopsy. The result showed that the lung tumor mass was a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. However, she didn’t have breathing problems or coughs at that time.

She was then referred to an oncologist at the same hospital. My mum is an Asian woman with non-smoking history and the tumor type is adenocarcinoma. Hence she falls into the category that may respond well to a new targeted drug (Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor) called Iressa. The doctor said we can monitor her progress using CA15.3, the tumor marker with highest titer when first found (5147 on 24 April 2007).

After one month of taking Iressa, her CA15.3 went down to 367 (on 28 May 2007). On 30 July 2007, it declined further to 68.  We were so happy that the drug worked so well. A CT scan showed that tumor had shrunk (August 2007). At the forth month, the CA15.3 raised to 154 (on 27 August). The doctor was a bit worried but mum continued taking Iressa. A month later the marker rose to 713 (on28 September 2007). A CT scan showed more shadow in the lung compared to scan done in August 2007. She did a brain CT scan for the first time and some metastases were found in the brain and bones but the lesions were small.

My mother started taking another targeted drug called Tarceva (works on similar mechanism but seemed to be more effective). She had side effects like rashes, dry skin and loss of appetite. We were very positive of this new drug because according to the literatures more side effects means higher chances of response. However one month after taking the Tarceva, her CA 15.3 went up to 1496 (on 26 October 2007). The doctor suggested that she go ahead and take for one more month and then do a CT scan after that. I have asked the doctor if results showed that Tarceva doesn’t work, will he put my mum into chemotherapy. He said yes, but due to my mum’s weak conditions, it will be a mild one.

Mum just has a routine blood test yesterday. The results showed that her kidney and liver function were fine. She is not anemic, but her lymphocytes count was quite low (10%). She is very weak now and cannot walk steadily. She had fallen down a few times due to the weakness of the legs. But luckily she didn’t hurt or break her bone. She eats porridge everyday due to poor appetite and has no strength to bite. All along her stomach is not good and she burps a lot after a drink or a meal. Sometimes she complains about having headaches. She sleeps well and her bowel motion is normal. She doesn’t complain about breathlessness or coughs.

Besides having Tarceva, she is on Bonefos for her bone metastasis. We also give her supplements.

All along I would like her to build up her immune system through taking of Traditional Chinese medicine. However, I haven’t found one that I feel comfortable with. I agree with your holistic therapy and want my mum to have a try.

On 18 December 2007, I received an e-mail from Dr. Mark again. He wrote:

My mum has passed away on 30 November 2007. I think she died from pneumonia. Her left lung was totally white. She had yellow sticky phlegm but she had no strength to cough them out. Her white blood count was very high and neutrophil count was over 94%.

My mum only managed to take the herbs and capsule A+B for a few days before she could became unable to swallow anything, including drinks. She was very brave and positive. She knew that I brought some herbs that could help her illness. After taking, she said that the herbs were bitter and salty, but she still drank it. She deteriorated very, very fast. I didn’t notice that she had any lung problems before visiting you, hence I didn’t get the Lung Phlegm tea for her.

In order to monitor her progress, we started a diary for her since 21 November 2007. We recorded what she ate and her response after taking the herbs. However, it ended after a few days.

On the evening of 26 November 2007, we managed to get a doctor to make a home visit. He said that my mum’s left lung was hardly functioning and she was dehydrated. However, her blood pressure was normal and had no fevers. He suggested giving her oxygen and dripped her with dextran saline. He said that her condition was considered stable at that moment and we have to be prepared if she gets worse – whether to stay at home or to send her to the hospital. My mum shook her head when I asked her whether she wanted to go to the hospital. The next day, we rented an oxygen tank and set up drips for her by a nurse at home. The nurse pointed out that my mum was having lots of phlegm and since she couldn’t cough it out, she might be at a risk of getting pneumonia.

On 28 November 2007, she was not improving at all and I asked her again trying to convince her to go to the hospital to solve the phlegm and constipation problems. She finally nodded her head. So we immediately arranged for an ambulance to send her to the hospital which is about 5 to 10 minutes away from our house.

An X-ray film showed that her left lung was totally white. Her heart was shifted to the right, probably due to the fluid in the lung. She had high blood pressure and her heart rate was over 130/min. The first night at hospital, we all felt that she was more conscious and comfortable and we felt more relief. However, on the evening of the second day, she became unconscious. The doctors told us that they wouldn’t do resuscitation because it would only prolong her suffering. On the night of the third day we lost her, while all the family members gathered around her. Although we were really sad, we were also glad that she didn’t suffer much from pain. My brothers who were overseas were able to return home in time to keep her accompany when she was conscious.

I really want to say thanks to you and your wife again, for your kindness and hospitality and of course your herbs. It’s too late for my mum to take your herbs. However, it is never too late to know you and CA Care Therapy.

Comments

Dr. Mark had written a detailed account of about his mother’s case – thanks to his training as a observant scientist. I have the privilege of meeting Dr. Mark when he came to see us with his mother’s medical report on 20 November 2007. What struck me most about this case was that CA 15.3 was used to monitor the progress of lung cancer. I asked him if this is a typing error in his e-mail. Shockingly the answer was no.

Initially on 24 April 2007, the doctors used a few markers such as CEA = 462.9; CA 125 = 324; CA 15.3 = 5147; and CA 19.9 = 14. Among them CA 15.3 turned out to give the highest reading. That being so the doctor decided that CA 15.3 could best reflect the treatment progress. Conventionally CA 15-3 is used mainly to monitor patients with breast cancer.

One notorious side effect of Iressa is pulmonary (lung) toxicity. Patients taking Iressa have been reported to suffer from a complex disease known as interstitial lung disease (ILD). This disease causes difficulty in breathing with or without coughs or low-grade fever. The symptoms become severe rapidly and patients have to be hospitalized. The New Straits Times of 6 December 2002 had this heading: 81 deaths linked to lung cancer drug. The Japan’s Health Ministry confirmed 291 cases of debilitating side effects and 81 patients died due to Iressa. On19 September 2005, Japan Today,had this heading: Miracle cancer drug turns into deadly remedy: The drug produced serious side effects such as severe pneumonia, resulting in death.

Recall what Dr. Mark said: She deteriorated very, very fast. I didn’t notice that she had any lung problems before visiting you. Was Dr. Mark’s mother another victim of the fatal side effect of Iressa? No one asked. No one dared to ask? Or no one wanted to know?

We felt sorry that the herbs were unable to help in this case. This is what we often tell our patients.It is not how long we live – it is the quality of life that we live while still alive that matters. Be happy and grateful if we can eat, can sleep, and can move around. To fight cancer and destroy it totally is an impossible task no matter what others may want us to believe. The initial drop in the tumour maker and the shrinkage of tumour are meaningless as this case had demonstrated. Don’t be misled by such an illusion. In fact, this is not an isolated case. We have encountered and documented many other cases like this, which delivers the same message of misguided and misplaced hope. You may wish to read our other articles (The Meaningless Shrinkage of Tumor While on Tarceva Treatment, Even High-tech Treatments Do Not Guarantee That Cancer Can Be Cured or Will Not Spread) about Iressa, Tarceva and Bonefos and what they can do for cancer patients.

 

Dying In the ICU After Surgery for Ovarian Cancer and Chemo for Lymphoma

(May this failing be a “Guiding Light” to those who come after her)

Chinese New Year (January/February 2009) was a time of celebration. Wan, a 30-year-old, married female with a 2-year-old child, visited her mother in Kedah. She enjoyed the food that mom cooked for that day. Wan was OK then – healthy as mom’s eyes can see. But after the meal, she felt some “wind” in her stomach. Mom suggested that she consulted a doctor. She did not get to see any doctor until 2 weeks later. Unexpected, this was the beginning of a tragic road to her quick death?

Wan’s mother and auntie came to seek our help on the morning of 25 March 2009. This was what had happened.

Wan went to see a doctor in a private hospital. She was told that she had ovarian cancer and needed an operation. Wan then moved on to another private hospital believing that another doctor was better able to handle her case. On 16 February 2009, Wan underwent an operation to remove her so-called cancer in the ovary. It was a total hysterectomy. But Wan’s condition did not improve in spite of the surgery. Her stomach was still bloated. Later she became breathless. While still in the hospital for a week, her lungs were filled with fluid. The doctor tapped out the fluid and she was able to breath.

Wan was still not well. She felt heaty. Wan was referred to an oncologist of the hospital for subsequent management. This doctor said Wan’s problem was actually due to lymphoma and the primary was not the ovary. The doctor also warned that Wan must undergo chemotherapy immediately. There would be no time to wait because the cancer was aggressive and was very serious.

On Monday, 2 March 2009, Wan was started on chemotherapy. The next day (Tuesday) she was alright. However, in the early morning (about 2.30 a.m.) of Wednesday, 4 March 2009, Wan started to have pains in her abdomen. The nurse gave her an injection for gastric. Later, the pains became unbearable and she was given a pain killer injection. On the morning of Wednesday, Wan started to have diarrhea. Later she had a fit, ground her teeth, became breathless and at one time her heart stopped beating. At 10 a.m. of Wednesday she was admitted into the ICU. Her face and hands were swollen. She was given oxygen and the doctor induced her into a coma and she became unconscious. On Saturday, 21 March her lungs had “bubbles” and she could not breathe. Her doctor had to fit tubes on both side of her chest to drain fluid out.

So from 2 March until 25 March 2009, Wan was in the ICU struggling to stay alive.

Just before Wan’s mother and aunty came to see us, they were told by the doctor that Wan’s chance of survival was very minimal.  The family can expect her to die any time.

See the video and read the transcript of our conversation.

Mother: She was admitted on Sunday. On Monday they operated on her. It was a total hysterectomy. However, her tummy was still big after the operation and she was breathless. On checking they found there was fluid in her lungs. The fluid was drained. She felt better after that. But she always felt hot. It is not a fever. The air-conditioner was set at 10 degrees and she would still be perspiring. On further checking, they said it is lymphoma.

Chris: How long was she in the hospital? Has she gone home?

M: No, she hasn’t gone home at all. She is still in hospital. It’s been more than a month now.  She was there since February.

Aunty: Since the operation, she hasn’t gone home. After her lung problem, she was referred to another doctor.

C: After draining the fluid from the lungs, she was okay?

M & A: Yes

C: Why was she still in hospital?

A: Because they wanted to give her chemo.

C: She was not allowed to go home first?

A: They say cannot wait. It is a very aggressive type. It is already very serious. Chemo must be done immediately.

C: When was the chemo done?

A: Only once, on Monday.

M: After that she was alright. She was alright on Tuesday. But at night, early on Wednesday morning around 2:30 a.m., she complained of stomach pains until daybreak.  She was given injections for gastric, as well as a pain killer. She had diarrhea. Her stools were very dark. She had diarrhea again from 7.00 am to 8.00 am. She had pains in her stomach again. She asked me to get the doctor to check her quickly as she could not stand the pains anymore. She was struggling in bed, kicking the bed very hard. She was biting and grinding her teeth. It looked as if she was having a fit.

When the doctor came, I explained what had happened (the events that took place throughout the night and morning). He did a routine check on her and left. He did not answer my questions or say anything. He just left.

I was waiting for some pain killer to be administered, but later when a nurse passed by, I asked about the pain killer and she explained that the pain killer had already been given the night before. So, they could not give her another pain injection now. Then she just went away.

I then requested for my daughter to be cleaned up. And as the nurse was cleaning her, she started to feel breathless. Then suddenly her head turned to one side, and a little foamy saliva started to drool out of her mouth. I screamed and a sister came in to adjust her drip and a couple of things. Actually, her heart stopped beating for a while.

C: Her heart stopped?

M: Yes, it did. They revived her. (by banging, etc – we were not allowed to see). An hour later, about 10:00 a.m. she was brought to the ICU. She is there until today. She is still there – unconscious. When they brought her in, her face was already swollen. The neck, shoulder and arms were swollen too. She looked very different. The swelling subsided on the third day. And now, she looked very thin.

C: How is she now?

A: Still unconscious. Never wake up yet. It is already about 20 days.

M: Cannot let her wake up. She is given oxygen. When the oxygen is removed, her pressure dropped. They kept putting her to sleep. We’ve never spoken to her since she went in.

A: I spoke to the doctor. He said she cannot let her wake up as the oxygen pressure is very high. She may not be able to take the high pressure. That is why they made sure she is totally unconscious.

M: Last Saturday, they drained more fluid from her lungs. It looks like there is very little chance of saving her. This morning, the doctor told us to be prepared. The doctor said her condition is very serious and the cancer will spread very fast.

A: I was wondering why the chemo must be done when she was still so weak.

M: Actually after the operation, she was alright. She could watch television and was normal. The nurse asked her to get up and walk and she got up and walked – just a little breathless at first (Mother cried).

C: If it is possible, you can start by giving her Capsule A and Juvo (food supplement made from a variety of beans). If after 2 or 3 days, there is some progress, then we can slowly add more herbs. It is a very difficult situation. What is going to happen the next few days no one can tell. But we will try our best.

A: They already conceded they could not do anything else anymore for her.

Comments

The total cost of her treatment as of 24 March 2009 is RM 194,730.13. Indeed it is very expensive to die in this modern day scientific age.

Can any body answer this question: Her mother told us: When the doctor came, I explained what had happened (the events that took place throughout the night and morning). He did a routine check on her and left. He did not answer my questions or say anything. He just left. Why did the doctor just left without answering her question? In a similar case, Sam and his wife were coerced into consenting to a liver operation on Sam. The surgeon even hugged Sam’s wife and assured her everything was going to be alright. At the same time warned that he must be operated on immediately. But after the cancer had recurred, the surgeon became “hostile” and did not even want to talk to them. Why is this so?

There is an Arab saying: Haste is from the Devil. Wan did not even have a chance to recuperate properly from her surgery. She was immediately asked to go for chemotherapy. She was told the cancer was aggressive. How true is this? Before she came into the hospital she was alright. What made the cancer aggressive? Or is this a spin – a veiled threat to instill fear into patients so that they would agree to chemotherapy?

The doctor’s medical report indicated that Wan required an emergency dialysis. Her renal function had reversed. What had her kidney failed? What could be the cause? The toxic chemo-drugs? Wan did not have such a problem before.

 

Meat Eater Turned Vegetarian

Alex is a 36-year old male. He and his family enjoy eating meat and rarely eat fruits or vegetables. In May 2000, Alex suffered pains in the left side of his back and started to lose weight. He lost over 10 kilograms within two weeks. A colonoscopy done on 27 May 2000 showed a large tumour, over 37 cm. in size. Three days later, doctors diagnosed it as colon cancer, Duke B. Alex underwent an operation, a left hemicolectomy. Subsequently, he had to undergo chemotherapy once a week for a whole year. Due to the chemotherapy, he was unable to sleep, lost his appetite, felt many discomforts and was very weak. He also lost much of his red blood cells.

On 21 July 2000, Alex came to see us and started taking herbs. On 5 August 2000, Alex said he passed out well-formed stools while previously they were loose and watery. He was more energetic. As a hair stylist, he had to stand all day long at work. After taking the herbs, he was able to work for twelve hours a day without stop and without problems. Previously, he could only work for about six hours a day.

On 30 October 2000, Alex had his third cycle of chemotherapy and this time he took the Chemo-tea. He felt better and he did not suffer any side effects. Alex said that he could sleep well, while previously his sleep was disturbed. He had now changed his diet, taking only fruits, vegetables and a bit of fish. He did not take meat and dairy products. Previously, he and his family were ardent meat eaters, rarely touching vegetables and fruits. Alex had found out that he had more strength now. Again he told us that he could work from 10.30 a.m. till 10 p.m. without problems.

On 20 March 2001, Alex came and told us that he was doing very well. The doctors were surprised at his condition. No one in the hospital seemed to believe he had cancer. He looked so good and healthy. His red blood cell count was excellent. So far, Alex had completed twenty-one times of chemotherapy. That day, I took the opportunity to have a chat with Alex. This interview which took place at about 11 a.m. immediately after Alex was given his chemo-injection. Indeed, he looked well, and he was well. We talked for almost two hours. The following are excerpts of our conversation.

You just came back from the hospital after your chemo-injection. Tell us what happened?

I just had my chemotherapy before I came here. I go for chemotherapy once a week, supposed to be for fifty-two times. Each chemotherapy session lasts for about one and a half hours. The drug is administered using a drip. There’s one solution with the chemo-drug and another without. The one without the chemo-drug is dripped in first, to let the blood vessels get used to it, before the one with the drugs is added in. Before the chemotherapy, I am given an anti-nausea injection, so as to make you dizzy and unable to vomit. But you will definitely vomit! Only after half an hour are the drugs administered.

If I drink the Chemo-tea, I don’t suffer. If I don’t drink the Chemo-tea, it becomes very difficult for me; I can’t eat or sleep for a day. If I take the Chemo-tea, I burp, urinate and clear my bowels often. I feel better. Then I go back home, drink the herbal tea and lots of water. After that I will be urinating and passing my stools often, like I have diarrhoea. Then I will be alright.

So, now as soon I get home, I start working until past 10 p.m. I could even wash my car and polish it too! Right now, I have just completed my chemotherapy session. I woke up at 5.10 a.m. this morning. I took my bath and recited my prayers. The prayers took about an hour and a half. Then I took my car and drove to Penang. When I got to the hospital, the first thing to do is to get my blood count done. This is to ensure that I am fit for my chemotherapy. If the blood is not high enough I can’t go for my chemotherapy.

After talking to you, I shall go home. Work, etc. and etc. Then tonight I am coming back to Penangagain. I go Tanjung Tokong to pray at 9 p.m. So, every week, that is my routine.

OK, this is you and the herbs. Did you see other patients who didn’t take the herbs?

Those who didn’t take the herbs did not look good. I saw quite a lot of them who were very weak. They were so surprised that I could still work. They told me that they could not even wake up and do anything, nor could they sleep. If I didn’t take the herbs, I would not be able to go on!

After four times within four weeks, one person’s hands and veins just turned dark or black. I saw one patient with his veins all black. Wah, it was terrible. He was so shriveled up. His blood level was low, ten point something. When he started, his blood count was 13.75. After four times, it went down to 10.5.

I also had my bone marrow checked. The doctor said: Everything good! Normal. Everything is good! I also went to a blood specialist and he advised me to continue my chemotherapy. I was doing very well.

Did your veins ever turn black?

No, no. They turned a slightly darker shade of green at one point. After that, the colour was back to normal. It wasn’t like that for other people who were not on herbs. They had lines of black running through their arms. Very black lines.

Do you think the herbs helped you at all?

I went for four or five chemotherapy sessions before I started taking the Chemo-tea. It was very bad. I cried and I couldn’t eat. I only started taking the Chemo-tea after the fourth or fifth session.

Oh, you started taking Chemo-tea after the fourth or fifth session How did you feel before you started taking the Chemo-tea?

It felt very difficult. I was nauseous and couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep, for a whole night, you know. I could not work. This effect lasted until the following morning, sometimes extending into another whole day.

Wow! It was that bad? After taking the Chemo- tea, how did you feel?

After taking the Chemo-tea, I did not suffer from all these effects anymore. See, I just had my chemotherapy two hours ago. Without taking this Chemo-tea, I would not be able to come here for this interview. I would simply go back home, straight into the bedroom and lie down. But I would still not be able to sleep. For twenty-four hours, I will not be to move nor sleep. It will be very bad, and very painful. Without the help of Chemo-tea, I would just lie on the deck chair, unable to sleep or do anything. With the Chemo-tea, I’d be able to wake up, have breakfast and all, wash the car, polish it and still come back here later tonight! Every Tuesday is always like this. It is my routine.

So are you sure that the Chemo-tea helps?

It would be very difficult without it. True, without the Chemo-tea, it would be very difficult. However much I eat, I would still vomit. And the food couldn’t really go down. Now, I’m hungry. Once I get home, I will eat, bathe, change my clothes and go to work. Just now before coming here, I had a loaf of bread. See, no problems.

Do you take care of your diet?

Yes. I am very careful of what I eat. I dare not eat outside food anymore. The risk is too high. I can’t play the fool.

Before you had cancer, tell us about your dietary habits.

When I was a meat eater, I used to feel lethargic and my body ached. On my non-working days I woke up late, around noon. Since being on the herbs, I wake up early, between 7 a.m. – 8 a.m. By that time I would not be able to sleep already, I had to wake up. I become alert by that time. I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to. I also sleep easily and I slept very well, too.

When I finish work, I go back home and pray for a while. By then it is around 10 or 11 p.m. Then I go to sleep. It’s now so easy to sleep. I wake up in the same position I went to bed in. Before I had cancer, I barely ate any fruits or vegetables. All that I ate was just meat. All my meals consisted mainly of chicken, beef, pork, etc. I did not eat vegetables at all. Ever since I came to see you and started taking herbs, I stopped eating meat.

Your diet currently consists of fruits and vegetables. How do you feel now compared to the time when you were an ardent meat eater?

I feel more energetic and stronger on the fruit and vegetable diet. No meat no strength is a fallacy. I was feeling sleepy most of the time when I was taking meat.

Now my family members have changed their diet. My wife is very happy as the new diet makes her feel lighter. Even my children don’t eat meat anymore. So also my mother.  Ever since my wife and children eat like I do, they have not fallen sick – it has been a year already. Before this, when they were on the meat diet, they fell sick very often. Taking herbs alone is not enough, I must take care of my diet too. Now I do not like to eat out. The food does not taste or smell right anymore. The family complains about outside food: Why is it so salty? Why is it so sweet? Previously, outside food smelled great to me. Even my children don’t really want to eat out now.

Comments

I see a lot of trust, confidence and enthusiasm in Alex whenever he comes to the Centre. It is indeed a great pleasure, and very rewarding, to help a person like him. I feel the healing energy in him. His mental attitude is indeed very positive too. There is no doubt that Alex had benefited tremendously by taking the herbs.

Alex and his family were meat eaters. Now, all of them in the house have turned vegetarian – no more meat! And their health seemed to have improved by that switch of diet. Previously, the children needed to see the doctors very often. Now, there is no need for the frequent visits any more. Initially, Alex’s mother did not like the idea of only taking vegetables because according to her: No meat, no strength.

Let me also emphasise that healing is not only about taking drugs or herbs. This is just a minor part of the cancer remedy. You need to change your diet, your lifestyle and your mental attitude – be positive.

 

For almost two years, July 2000 to 27 March 2002, Alex was taking the herbs diligently. After that, he disappeared.

He resurfaced on 21 November 2002. It was a great shock for us to see his physical condition. He was thin and looked very sick. The cancer had spread to his liver.

We requested him to tell us frankly what had happened. From March 2002 till November 2002, he stopped taking the herbs but he still continued with his healthy diet. He concentrated on his daily prayers and continued with his meditation. He believed that in life there is always a cause and effect. Therefore, his cancer may be due to a cause or past bad karma. In order to redeem thisevil, he started to do good works by freeing fishes, birds, etc., that are in captivity. He felt good. To him, there was no further need to take any more herbs. After all, spiritual cleansing was all that is needed to liberate him. He took a holiday trip to Bangkok. Everything was fine.

Came September 2002, after his return from Bangkok, he did not feel well anymore. He became tired and felt something growing in his abdomen. His health deteriorated very fast. He could not eat. He vomited and could not urinate. He had pains. He started to take herbs again. He felt better after two weeks. There was less pains but he was still not able to sleep.

He went to see a doctor who told him to go for chemotherapy. He called us and asked for advice. He said he wanted to undergo this treatment as a last resort. We told him we respected his decision. Go ahead and do what you think is best for you. Fortunately or unfortunately, he came down with a fever and the chemo-treatment had to be postponed. On 10 January 2003, he died. There was no time for chemotherapy.

 

Chemotherapy as Insurance: What A Foolish Idea

On 29 July 2001, 9.30 p.m., I was on the phone talking to a lady from England. Her Malaysian-born sister had colon cancer sometime in March 1999. She underwent an operation. The doctor in UK said that since the cancer was at its early stage (Duke’s 2), there was no need for her to do any chemotherapy. Not satisfied, she came to Singapore to see another oncologist. Because she was still young (46 years old) the oncologist recommended chemotherapy. This would be safer for her – a kind of insurance policy. So she underwent six courses of chemotherapy in Singapore.

In March 2000, a scan showed a 3 cm mass in the liver. She again came to Singapore. Further investigations by doctors in Singapore showed that there was also a 1 cm mass in the lung. The doctors recommended surgery for the liver and /or the lung. However, when the doctors opened up the abdomen, they saw numerous nodules in the peritoneum. The surgery on the liver-lung was abandoned. The abdomen was closed back. She was again given eight courses of chemotherapy.

After the fourth chemotherapy the tumours decreased in size but subsequent chemotherapy did not bring about any further improvements. In short, chemotherapy did not achieve its

intended purpose. She felt hopeless and decided to quit and return to England.

She started on Gerson Therapy in Liverpool for five months. During that period the tumours had grown to twice their sizes. She then opted to participate in a clinical trial at one of London’s top hospitals. She was again subjected to another eight courses of chemotherapy.

Her sister called on 9 July 2001. The purpose was to seek our help since there seemed to be no other avenues left. Her condition as of 29 July 2001 was rather bad. She had pains. She was tired all the time. She was a wreck emotionally. She needed to take sleeping pills.

Comments

I have often encountered similar cases. Many patients have come asking for help after everything else has failed. Unfortunately they have little faith and belief in what I am doing in the first place. So, sometimes there is nothing much we can do. Their unbelieving attitude prevents them from seeking a new path to their healing.

Indeed, the buying of insurance policy for cancer seems to be a popular idea and sells well indeed. People are naïve because they have not read enough to understand what is happening. I have come to a simple conclusion; it is very difficult to deal with such so-called educated people. Their unbelieving and sceptical personality becomes the main obstacle. It is easier to handle the illness than an unbeliever. In another case report, I wrote about Dass. Both patients are around the same age and both have Stage 2 colon cancer. The main difference is that Dass is probably is less educated than this lady in England. In terms of healing, Dass, however, has more guts! He learnt his lesson fast.

 

More Than Six Years On Herbs, Relapse After Bad Food

WC was 58 years old when he was diagnosed with rectum cancer. He had a surgery on 26 December 1995. It was a Duke’s Stage C. Subsequently, he underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy – a total of 48 sessions of treatment.

Barely a year later, October 1996, he suffered a relapse and this time the growth was found in his pelvis. On 15 October 1996, he underwent another operation. Due to the operation, he was unable to control his urination. Urine flowed out through a tube tied to the leg. He was also unable to have erection.

He came to us on 9 May 1997 and was started on herbs. He improved and was well. We were very happy to see him doing well. He took herbs very regularly. He was one of our star patients.

Almost six years after we first saw him, i.e., 14 March 2003, his wife came with a panic look on her face. She told us that since the last few months, WC had been eating bad food. He feasted on wan than mee, sar-a-fun, lor mee, char bee hoon, etc. These are the famous forms of noodles – the hawker’s delight of Penang. As a result his health started to deteriorate two to three months afterwards. His legs swelled. He had severe back pains.

We prescribed some herbs. His condition improved. His fevers subsided and he was in less pain. The doctor suggested chemotherapy but at that time the hospital had run out of chemo-­drugs, so his treatment had to be put on hold for a while. It was with sadness that in June 2003, he died.

 

Surgery and Chemotherapy Did Not Cure Him

Ram is a 38-year-old male. He had stomach pains for about 3 months. His stools were hard and sometimes were blood stained. He went to a private hospital and did an X-ray. The doctor found nothing wrong with him. But his problems still persisted. Ram went to another private hospital. A CTscan on 17 April 2007 showed a 3.5 cm mass at the recto-sigmoid junction. There were multiple nodules approximately 10 mm each in Segments 6 and 8 of the liver. These represent liver metastases.

Ram underwent an operation to remove the tumour in his colon. Later, he underwent a second surgery for his liver. In addition to the surgery, Ram also received six cycles of chemotherapy. He suffered severe side effects from this treatment. When asked if he would want to undergo more chemotherapy, he sheepishly smiled and said: No – never again. Besides the nasty side effects, Ram suffered erectile dysfunction. In addition, Ram also received eight cycles of Xeloda, an oral chemo drug. Each cycle consisted of 14 days on Xeloda followed by 7 days rest.

A CT scan performed on 5 November 2007 showed:

  1. Normal CT of chest.
  2. Normal CT of abdomen/pelvis.

However, his illness did not go away. Blood test result on 1 December 2008 showed CEA = 15.9 (high) while a CT scan on the same day showed:

  1. multiple peripheral nodules in both lungs, predominantly the upper lobes. Conclusion: lung metastasis.
  2. the liver is of normal size and shape but there are multiple enhancing lesion throughout.Conclusion: liver metastasis and paraaortic lymphadenopathy.

The doctor asked Ram to undergo more chemotherapy. This treatment would cost him RM 30,000.00. Ram refused. All in all, Ram’s employer had already spent about RM 70,000.00 for his treatment and the company was not prepared to spend anymore money on his treatment. And with his condition, it is most likely that Ram might even loose his job.

Questions to Ponder:

  1. What do the 2 operations, 6 cycles of chemo and 8 cycles do to this young man? Any good has come out of this medical adventure?
  2. Is it really necessary to do the colon surgery, given the fact that he also had liver metastasis?
  3. Is liver surgery any use for him?
  4. Patients under expensive medical treatments with the full expectation what they are going to be cured – but is there such thing as cure?
  5. All said and done – don’t you think that we are all just play acting?

No healing For Those Who Acted Too Smart, Too Educated and Too Demanding

Mr. Nut was a 56-year-old male. Sometime in January 2001, he went to see a doctor with a history of bloody stools. A colonoscopy indicated colon cancer. An ultrasound scan demonstrated multiple metastases in the liver.

Nut underwent palliative surgery after receiving 14 cycles of chemotherapy. At first the treatment showed good response. Then the CEA started to increase from 5.7 in November 2002, to 24.6 in March 2003. A CT scan showed the liver lesions were larger compared to the previous examination.

In short, Nut’ story was a story of disappointment: after the operation and chemotherapy, there seemed to be high hope and encouraging sign. The tumour shrunk and the CEA went down. But thathigh hope did not last – an illusion at its best. A few months later, the tumour grew in size and the CEA shot up.

Nut came to see me in Penang in December 2003. He spent more than an hour interrogating meabout our therapy. He was looking for options and wanted to go to Singapore to seek further treatment after this. At the end of our meeting I said this to him: Go home and think what you want to do. There is NO NEED for you to see me again. Should you decide to take the herbs, then this is the prescription.

To my surprise, Nut came to our centre in late December 2003 and decided to take our herbs.

On 19 January 2004, we received a long note about Nut suffering from stomach spasm and wind. The note said: This stomach spasm pain had been a somewhat persistent occurrence since my first colon-rectal operation in January 2001. Nut complained that this pain had recurred since taking the herbs. The Stomach Function herb did not seem to work.  Then there was this remark: … with my current diet, there are very little left to eat.

In another long note, dated 23 January 2004 he wrote: I have never been much of a rice eater by nature, and much as I’ve tried hard to eat, the advised brown rice and plain veggies, I am finding it harder and harder to consume… The medicinal herbal tea recommended – I find them foul smelling and vile tasting. I am beginning to suspect that some of these teas are contributing towards my wind stomach condition.

On 30 March 2004, Nut made an appointment to see me in Subang Jaya. He came and shouted at me saying: I am not getting any better. My blood test results showed that the values had increased. He demanded: What have you got for me? Can you cure me or not? My answer to him was plain and blunt: No we cannot cure anybody. He replied: I have wasted three and a half months of my time. You did not say that you cannot cure me before. He walked off and left.

Comments: Of the many hundreds or thousands of cancer patients I have met and helped, Nut’s case stands out as one of the outstanding one. I am documenting this episode, not because I am angry or upset about it, but I am hoping that by writing this many others who come after him can all learn some lessons from such a case. Let me point out the following:

  1. Liver cancer patients are often bad tempered and are angry people. So, those of you who have to care for such patients, take note. In the face of such rudeness and bad manners, try to show understanding and love. Such behaviour is part of the hazard of people suffering from liver cancer.
  2. Very often, I have told patients this: healing is your responsibility and it must come from within. It would be a mistake to think that others have magic bullets to cure your cancer. Such thinking is misguided.
  3. When Nut was diagnosed with colon cancer, the medical report indicated that he underwentpalliative surgery. What this means is that such surgery is not meant to cure! In actual fact, Nut had already lost his battle even before he started the fight.
  4. Besides colon cancer, Nut had liver metastases. Fourteen cycles of toxic chemo drugs did not cure him. He did know where else to go to for help and came to us. When I first met him in December, I knew from our conversation that he would be a very difficult patient to handle – he appeared too smart and too educated. Patients who are arrogant and acted as if they know everything generally have difficulty following our therapy.
  5. It came to me as a surprise when I learnt that Nut decided to take the herbs. I understand he was desperate. And I must say most patients who come to see us for help are in the same category – lost, helpless, desperate and hopeless.
  6. As all those who come here already know, we require patients to sign the Release of Liabilityform before they see us or take our herbs. The first clause in this form said: I have on my own free will come to seek advice and help from Dr. Chris Teo and members of his CA Care with regards to my illness. I acknowledge that there is no guarantee or promise that the herbs provided by CA Care can benefit or cure my sickness. Nut signed this form when he came to see me on 19 December 2003. Nut’s wife also signed another form when she came to collect the herbs later on. So his outburst was illogical and ill mannered. He had forgotten that by displaying such arrogance, the real loser is himself, not anybody else.
  7. Generally when people are in trouble and need help they will follow and listen to our advise. But when they become well or unwell, they will speak with different tongues. Sometime, we become their punching bags or scapegoats.
  8. Unknown to many, how patients present themselves would indicate to me if he/she can make it or not. His/her attitude, facial expressions, emotional problems, lifestyle, commitment, family support etc. are observed and noted – all these enable me to assess and  figure out the REAL person we are dealing with. If a patient thinks he/she comes here wanting a quick fix or magic bullet, let it be known – we have none! Such thinking is grossly misguided. Cancer is a systemic disease of the body, mind and spirit. It is a result of a constant abuse of the body over years. The tumour is just an expression of such abuse. Removing the tumour is never a cure or the answer if the underlying cause of the problem is never addressed or corrected.
  9. Nut, according to his medical report suffered from rectal bleeding for seven months and he ignored the signal that the body was sending him. Was he ignorant or was he stubborn? He wanted to play the game according to his own rule? Be warned – in cancer game, you seldom or can never win. Chances are you will lose badly and dearly. Again, the medical report indicated that in 1996, Nut contracted hepatitis B but he still drank alcohol about a couple of times a week. He smoked approximately 30 cigarettes per day. Is this not a blatant abuse of the body? I dare say to anyone, if you persist with such habits, don’t blame others or God if you find yourself in bottomless pit. You cause your own cancer!
  10. Nut was a plantation manager. From what I know, such people (not all?) have colonial mentality. They are regarded as gods in their kingdoms or estate.  They would bark at their assistants, clerks and illiterate workers. Their wishes were obeyed and never questioned. They give orders not receiving orders. It is hard for such a person to follow this holistic path of healing. Nut protested about his diet. He could NOT eat what he likes anymore. To him, the herbs were foul smelling and bad in taste. His notes to us showed his anger and hatredtowards what he was doing. Under such stress nobody can find any healing?
  11. Nut is not the only person who felt this way. From my experience, only THREE out of ten patients who come seemed to benefit from our work, the remaining seven failed for reasons like this. But what are we to do? If you are unhappy or NOT prepared to walk this journey, go elsewhere for other options.

 

Cancer Recurred Three Months After Surgery

Suria was a 38-year old man from Indonesia. He came to Penang for his wife’s operation but instead found himself to be suffering from liver cancer. For the past 20 years he had gastric problems and since the last ten years he had blurry visions. His daily diet: ayam goreng (fried chicken). A CT scan of the liver dated 2 March 2001 indicated a lobulated mass seen in the left lobe of the left liver. This possibly represents a hepatoma. The small nodular lesions seen in the right lung possibly represent metastatic lesions.

Suria came to see us on 13 March 2001 and decided not to undergo chemotherapy. He was put on Capsules A and B, Liver P and LL-tea. He returned to Indonesia. After two months he came back again and reported that he was doing well but was bothered with our recommendation to abstain from meat, oil, salt, dairy products and sugar.

We were indeed surprised to see Suria in Penang again on 26 August 2001. After talking to him for a while we felt really sorry for him. He could only give us an anguished laughter once in a while. We also felt sorry for his small daughter and young wife who accompanied him on this trip. The short sad story went like this. On his return to Indonesia, he started searching for a cure for his liver cancer. He went to see a doctor in a Jakarta hospital who then referred him to a specialist inSingapore for further treatment.

Suria had a part of his liver resected on 5 May 2001 in Singapore. Before the operation, the surgeon told Suria that he had a 98% chance. Unfortunately, this assurance was misleading. Barely three months later, scan done on 21 August 2001, showed that there were at least two space-occupying lesions in the liver, the configuration of which would be compatible with the presence of metastatic disease. There were also multiple small pulmonary nodules seen in the lung bases on both sides consistent with metastatic lung disease.

The surgeon was unable to help Suria anymore. The 98% chance of success he gave to Suria was meant to be a guarantee that Suria would not die because of the operation, but it was NOT a cure or non-recurrence of his liver cancer. The doctor washed off his hands from this case and referred Suria to an oncologist in a university teaching hospital. Suria then met up with the oncologist and was given the obvious answer: Go for chemotherapy!

The following are excerpts of our conversation on that sad day.

Hello, how have you been?

I had the tumour in my liver resected.

When did you do that?

Three months ago, on 5 May 2001. After I came to see you and took the herbs, I went back toIndonesia. Then I went to see a doctor in Jakarta. The doctor in Jakarta told me that the lump was getting bigger. If I were to get it resected, I would have more chances and can live longer – ten or more years. If I did not go for an operation, I would have no chance at all. So he referred me to a surgeon he knew in Singapore.

When you were in Indonesia and were on the herbs, were you alright?

Yes. I had no problems. I could eat. I could sleep. I could work. I was fine. It was just that the doctor in Jakarta said the lump was getting bigger and I should get it resected.

The operation in Singapore, how much did it cost you?

About S$35,000.

Before the doctor performed the operation on you, what did he say to you? Can you be cured or not by the operation? Hejamin me (Indonesian word for guarantee) that I had a 98% chance. 

What else did he say?

After he operated on me, he told me that from what his eyes could see, everything was clean and clear. I should be OK. But he added that he would not be able to say for sure if the cancer would not recur.

What did you think the surgeon meant when he said he gave you a 98% guarantee?

My understanding was that I would be cured. That was what I thought all along. Now the doctorpusing sedikit (twist a bit) and told me that he only guaranteed 98% that the operation would be successful. But he only told me all this after he had operated on me.

Three months after the operation, you came back for a check-up?

Yes. I just went for the check up and had this CT scan done. After that I came to see you.

When you went to see the surgeon again, what did he say?

He said nothing. He just referred me to an oncologist in the university.

What did the oncologist say?

He asked me if I would like to take oral drugs for four weeks and see if they were effective or not. If the drugs were not effective, I should go for chemotherapy.

Did he tell you that the lumps have already come back to your liver? He told me something like that. (Suria was probably not told or aware that the cancer had also spread to the lungs).

Do you want to go for chemotherapy?

No. I don’t want to do chemotherapy. When I first came to see you I had already decided that I did not want to do any operation or any chemotherapy.

Then, why did you change your mind?

When I came to you and you gave me your herbs you told me not to eat meat, no oily food, no dairy products, no salts and no white sugar. I didn’t like that. So, when the doctor said I can eat anything I like, I preferred to go for medical treatment instead.

Oh, that was the reason?

Yes, yes. The doctor said I can eat anything I like.

Now Suria, you misunderstood me. Your diet has nothing to do with my herbs. The diet has everything to do with your liver cancer. Even if you do not take my herbs I would still advise you to keep to a good diet and abstain from all kinds of bad food. This is because of your liver cancer, not my herbs. If you are on my herbs and you still take bad food, you will not drop dead. You will be wasting your effort, your money and my time. So, the strict diet I ask you to adhere to is for your own good and for your liver cancer.

Comments

We felt really sad for Suria. We wonder how often and how many of such tragedies happen in this world? Where is truth, where is fairness? Rabbi Harold Kushner (in Living A Life That Matters) wrote that we live in the world of two opposing moralities. There is the morality of cleverness and wit, in which success means getting the better of the other person by means of a slick business deal or a clever answer … Then there is the morality of righteousness, in which the highest good is thoughtfulness toward others. The worst sin is hurting another person.