Breast Cancer: Go for a mastectomy!

Jane (not real name) is a 42-year-old Indonesian from Surabaya, Indonesia. About two months ago she felt a lump in her right breast. She went to consult a doctor in a private hospital in her hometown. An USG indicated a 32 x 30 x 18 mm solid mass at 10.30 o’clock of the right breast. The doctor suspected cancer which had probably spread to the lymph nodes of the arm pit. Her left breasts was normal.

A biopsy was done on 5 September 2016 and the results suggested:

Infiltrating ductal carcinoma, right breast.
Suspicious lymphadenopathy right axilla.

The doctor in Surabaya suggested that Jane remove her whole right breast. She decided to seek a second opinion and came to consult a doctor in one of Penang’s cancer hospital. A CT of the body was done.

Impression:

There is a 5.7 x 3.2 cm enhancing lesion in right breast, suggestive of breast tumour.
Right axillary lymph nodes.
Uterine fibroids.

The doctor in Penang also suggested surgery to remove her breast. In early October 2016, Jane came to seek our advice.

These are what we told her this morning:

The scan and the biopsy confirmed that this is malignant. The best option is to have the right breast removed.
To avoid, unnecessary problems later, a mastectomy should be done — not a lumpectomy. The tumour is too big for a lumpectomy any way.
In fact, Jane should not have gone to the “cancer hospital” when she first came to Penang. This cancer hospital only offers chemo or radiation to patients, besides scanning. So why incur unnecessary cost? Jane should have gone to a hospital that has doctors to do the surgery (which the “cancer hospital” does not offer).
What hospital to go to and which surgeon should do the surgery? This is what Jane wanted to know. Based from the feedback of our patients, we suggested the following:
Go and see Dr. Y at Z hospital. He is cheaper and can do a good job.
If Jane prefer another doctor, then Dr. C from D hospital is another option. He is a breast specialist. But the cost of the procedure would be higher.
Bring the USG, biopsy and CT scan to the surgeon and discuss with him what he can do to help. Make a request that the surgeon go ahead with the surgery. To save cost, ask not to undergo anymore scanning or biopsy again. Anyway, there is a lump in her breast — whether it is cancerous or not, Jane must have it removed.
Based on the meeting with Jane and her doctor, she should decide which doctor or hospital is more suitable for her. If she is not happy with the doctor during the consultation, then our advice is go and find one who is more caring and compassionate. Don’t worry. There are many doctors in Penang! So make your right choice.
It is better that Jane do the surgery in a hospital in Penang than in Surabaya. Costs of treatment in a Penang hospital is far cheaper than that of the hospitals in Indonesia. In addition, patients told us that Penang hospitals are cleaner and more organised.
Our final advice — go and talk to the surgeon. Then make up your own mind, who and where you want to do the surgery. Even though we advised Jane to see Dr. Y and/or Dr. C we made it clear to Jane what we do not benefit from this advice. We don’t get any “referral fee” and we also do not know these doctors personally. We do this purely out of our desire to help another fellow being in need.
Our “consultation fee” this morning for talking almost an hour is “zero”! God bless.

We shall give you an update if Jane comes back to see us again after her mastectomy.

Breast Cancer: She died after three shots of chemo

Mas (not real name) was a 44-year-old Malaysian lady. In May 2015, she felt a lump in her left breast and did not bother about it. About 7 months later, in December 2015, she went for a check-up. Why did you go for a check-up? Just to know what it was. An ultrasound and mammogram confirmed breast cancer. Mas also had pains in her backbone and a CT scan showed the cancer had spread to her bones and liver.

Mas underwent a mastectomy in January 2016. In February 2016, Mas was started on chemotherapy (drugs: EC). The treatment was scheduled for 6 cycles but after 3 cycles the doctor stopped the treatment because of her deteriorating liver function. Blood test on 22 March 2016 showed ALP = 455 (high), ALT = 96.1 (high) and AST = 200.4 (high).

Mas and her family came to seek our help in late April 2016. She was prescribed herbs for breast and liver.

Comments

A few weeks later Mas’s cousin to seek our help. At the same time informed us that Mas had passed on about 2 weeks after her visit to us. Mas benefited from taking our herbs. She felt much better.

This is indeed a sad story. But can we learn anything from such a tragedy. Let me quote what others say and leave them there for you to ponder on deeply.

Michael Gearin-Tosh was, for 35 years, a tutor in English at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. But he became famous as the author of Living Proof – A Medical Mutiny (2002) in which he described how he had challenged the medical establishment after he was diagnosed with myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) in 1994.

He was given six months to live. He was told to undergo chemotherapy.

Gearin-Tosh discovered that, according to one cancer statistician, chemotherapy brought significant hope of survival to just four per cent of patients with the same cancer, and that many doctors would not prescribe it for themselves. His conclusion was simple: “Touch it, and you are a goner.” Instead he embarked on a series of “alternative” treatments. Confounding the medical prognosis, he survived a further 11 years and when he did eventually die (on 29 July 2005, at age 65), it was from a blood infection rather than cancer.

Living Proof triggered angry responses from doctors and from patients undergoing chemotherapy. Some accused him of peddling false hopes and ignoring statistics which indicated a higher survival rate for patients given chemotherapy. “If there was anything in this stuff,” wrote one consultant physician, “don’t you think that the medical profession would have grasped these ‘cures’ with both hands years ago?” But for others Gearin-Tosh was living proof that alternative therapies do work, and that it is possible not to be dehumanised by the disease or its specialists.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1495451/Michael-Gearin-Tosh.html

Let’s do some calculation!

Gearin-Tosh was given 6 months to live. He refused chemotherapy and opted for alternative therapies. He went on to live for another 11 years before he eventually died of blood infection (and not cancer).

In May 2015, Mas found lump in her left breast. Eight months later, she had an operation to remove her whole breast. Even with cancer growing in her, she was still alive but of course with some discomforts and anxiety.

In February 2016, Mas was started on chemotherapy. Three months later, she was dead.

Is it not better to just learn how to live with the cancer and not do anything? Gearin-Tosh reasoned: Why treat if you cannot cure?

Is doing nothing a better option?

Dr. Atul Gawande is a surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School. He shared his thought as below:

Before you folks undergo chemotherapy, do you ever ask what the treatment can do to you?

If you don’t take care, you will die. Your husband can find a new wife!

Sixty-two-year-old WG is from Indonesia. She came to see us in October 2012. Her problem started after she found 2 lumps in her right breast about 3 years ago. She did not consult any doctor then. She took Chinese herbs for a few months. The lumps grew bigger.

In October 2012, WG came to Penang and consulted a doctor in a private hospital. The doctor suggested a mastectomy. She was told that the cost of the surgery would come to about RM 4,000 and she has to stay in the hospital for about 5 days.

After seeing the doctor WG came to seek our advice. These are what we told her:

Yes, she should go ahead with her surgery.
The doctor whom she met was also the “right” doctor. So there is no reason to go “shopping” elsewhere.
Tell the doctor not to do any biopsy — just remove the whole right breast right away.
After the surgery, she could come back with all the medical reports and we shall then decide what to do.

WG went for surgery as suggested. The total hospital expenses came to RM 4,800 and she stayed in the hospital for 8 days.

The histology report dated 16 October 2012 indicated the following:

A well defined solid necrotic tumour measuring 45 x 30 x 30 mm.
The subareolar tissue contains a cystic tumour with papillary structures measuring 30 x 30 x 20 mm.
One out of 8 lymph nodes shows metastatic deposits of tumour.
The tumour is negative for estrogen, progesterone and c-erb-B2 receptors.
Stage 3 B — T4bN1 Mx.

WG had a metastatic triple negative cancer. The doctor suggested that WG undergo follow-up chemotherapy. She refused and came back to seek our help. She was started on herbs and was told to take care of her diet.

The following are the blood test results over the years.

In April 2016, WG came to Penang for a routine check-up. It has been more than 3 years since her breast surgery. Over the years her blood test seemed to be satisfactory (see table above) We have always cautioned her about her diet — Do not eat anything you like! Take care of your diet. Unfortunately, our plea did not get into her head! She admitted at times she did “curi makan” (eat the forbidden food), but not often.

Since our message did not seem to sink into her, we had to be more blunt but we tried to pass that message in a jovial and joking manner. We are glad that WG and her husband took our message in good spirit. Listen to your conversation that day.

Chris: Your liver function does not look good (table above, April 2016). Did you take care of your diet? Never pantang?

WG: Yes, I ate bad food once a while. If I don’t eat my legs and hands felt numb.

C: Well, I really don’t know what I can do. You have survived more than 3 years now. It is good that you can live that long. Some breast cancer patients would not even last that long. So please take care of yourself. I can’t really do much. So learn how to take care of yourself. Please don’t eat too much of bad food!

WG: Eat also die, don’t eat also die!

C: So, go home and eat what you like and then die faster after that.

WG: Yes, better die sooner so that I don’t have to come and see you anymore.

C: Good, you don’t have to disturb me also. So, go home and eat a lot of bad food and die faster.

GW: I also don’t have to spend any more money.

C: Ah, your husband can find a new wife. Prettier and younger one some more! See, uncle is smiling.

Comments

It is most unfortunate that most cancer patients feel that they are “cured” after being alive and well for 2 to 3 years. They often go back to their own lifestyle and diet. No one likes to know or be reminded that the cancer can recur. Unfortunately, cancer does recur in most cases. A study in Italy showed that the critical year for recurrence is at the 2nd and 5th year. And cancer does not go away even after 15 years!

Most patients are being taught to believe that after 5 years they are “cured.” This is NOT true. My aunty died when her cancer recurred 13 years after an apparent “cure”. Last month, a breast cancer patient suffered recurrence after 14 years. Read what Dr. Susan Love has got to say:

Breast Cancer: Six years without chemo, radiation or hormone. Happy, happy only!

ES was 49 years old when she was diagnosed with an invasive lobular carcinoma. The lump in her right breast was small, 15 x 10 x 10 mm. ES came to Penang for surgery. The doctor did a wide excision with right axillary sentinel node biopsy. The tumour was cleanly removed with margins clear of tumour. The four sentinel nodes removed from the armpit were also free of tumour.

The tumour was positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors and negative for c-Erb-2.

After the surgery, ES was asked to undergo follow-up treatment of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and oral medication, Tamoxifen. ES flatly refused and opted for CA Care Therapy instead. The doctor was unhappy her. He warned ES, I am your doctor. If you don’t want to go for chemo as I told you, I am responsible if anything happens to you. You take that risk.

ES went back to her doctor every year for check up. For the first two years, the doctor kept insisting that ES should go for chemo. At the third annual visit, the doctor stopped “pushing” ES to go for chemo.

ES went to see her doctor again in April 2016 — six years after the operation. The meeting with the doctor and an ultrasound cost her RM 212.00, The doctor said, Good. He was aware that ES was taking herbs instead of the chemo he had suggested. No, he did not ask ES about this “alternative treatment.”

Below is our conversation with ES and her husband in May 2016.

Some main points of our conversation:

Chris: Did the herbs help you?

ES: Yes. My blood pressure became normal, before it was always low, 90/60. I felt healthier.

C: During your six years after surgery, do you experience any problem?

ES: No. Happy, happy only.

C: Now, did you ever worry that the cancer can come back again?

ES: Before in the first two years or so, yes. Now, I have no fear.

C: Some patients are reluctant to take the herbs after some years. What actually is the problem?

ES: Lazy to brew them!

Comments:

What could have happened if ES were to undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy and took Tamoxifen as suggested by her doctor): Would her six years after surgery be a “happy, happy only” life?

What would happen if she had chemo and radiation? Surely, she had to spend a lot of money. In addition she would suffer side effects. Seriously or not, no one could predict.
Would she be able to have problem-free life after chemo and radiation? That depends on your “luck” (according to one onco).

3 Recent research result has shown that about 50% of women with breast cancer have been receiving chemo that they don’t need! So, is chemo given to women just as a matter of routine or SOP (standard operating procedure)?

Surgery and Chemotherapy Did Not Cure Their Breast Cancer: Equally A Big Mistake?

Lately, we encountered many breast cancer cases. Indeed pathetic. By sharing these stories with you, we hope that those who come after this unfortunate patients, can learn and understand that cure for cancer is rather elusive.

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Earlier, we posted about patients who took herbs to “cure” their breast cancer. They ended up in a deep, dark pit. It appears that we have a fool-proof scapegoat to blame. Ah, I told you so, why do such “silly” things taking those unproven and unscientific herbs! Sound familiar right?

But here are patients who did the “right thing” from the very start. They went to see their doctors, did what their doctors wanted them to do — i.e. surgery and chemotherapy. After undergoing all these treatments and having spent so much money besides enduring all the nasty side effects, they also ended up in the deep, dark pit — equally messy and equally dangerous situations like the patients who took the “unscientific” path.

Let us present you these 4 sad cases which we encountered very recently.

Case 1: Jati (not real name) is a 60-year-old Indonesian lady. She was diagnosed with right breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Then she underwent 12 cycles of chemotherapy and 5 sessions of radiation. She was told the cancer had already spread to her lungs. Jati took 2 cycles of Xeloda.

The cancer did not go away. Jati came to a private hospital in Penang and underwent 6 cycles of chemo. Each cycle cost her RM 4,500.

CT scan on 4 May 2016 showed:

The mass seen in the right axilla and right retropectoral region appears slightly larger compared with the previous scan on 24 February 2016.
The nodules in the right and left lungs are larger and more in number compared with the previous scan.

Blood test on 4 May 2016 showed her CA 125 was at 165 (High, normal 0-35) and GGT at 123 (High, normal 9-36).

The above results showed that the chemo was not effective. Not only that, the cancer had grown to be more serious. The oncologist asked Jati to do more chemo! And more chemo? Actually, Jati had just been hospitalised for 5 days due to severe diarrhea after the chemo.

Jati refused further chemotherapy and came to seek our help. Chemo made her skin turn dark like the pictures below:

Case 2: Shirley (not real name) is a 53-yer-old Indonesian lady. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Stage 2B, right breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy. Histopathology confirmed an infiltrating carcinoma, mixed ductal & lobular. The tumour size: 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 cm. One of 12 lymph nodes were positive for tumour cells. The tumour was negative for estrogen receptor, negative for progresterone receptor and negative for Her 2/neu.

Shirley received 6 cycles of chemotherapy. No radiation or medication was indicated since this was a triple negative cancer.

Shirley had regular checkup and everything seemed to be normal. CT scan on 17 April 2015 showed no signs of metastatic process. Upper and lower abdominal organs are within normal ecopattern. But the good news did not last. A few months later, blood test showed the CA 15.3 was rising.

PET scan on 14 August 2015, showed:

the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes — left collar bone and arm pit, paratracheal, etc.
there is fluid in the lung, probably due to metastasis.
there is a lesion in Segment 7 of the liver.
metastatic lesions in the bone — sternum and rib bone.

Shirley was asked to undergo chemotherapy again. After 2 cycles of chemo, she was told that the treatment was not effective. Shirley then went to another hospital where she received another 3 cycles of chemo — Brexel (Docetaxel), Epirubicin and Cyclophasphamide. After that Shirley decided to give up.

The following is her blood test results — in spite of the chemo.

	CA 15.3
30 December 2015	41.99
12 February 2016	43.00
30 April 2016	114.10

Having run out of option, Shirley and her husband came to seek our help.

Case 3: Mas (not real name) is a 44-year-old Malaysian lady from Sabah. In May 2015, she felt a lump in her left breast and did not bother about it. About 7 months later, in December 2015, she went for a check-up.

Ultrasound on 4 December 2015, showed:

a large ill-defined hypoechoic lesion at 2:00 – 26.9 x 33.0 mm.
two ill-defined hypoechoic lesons at 11:00 – 5.5 x 5.4 mm and 8.9 x 8.2 mm.
enlarged left axillary lymph node, 1 cm.

A mammogram on 4 December 2015, showed a large ill-defined mass with spiculated margins and architectural distortion at the left upper outer quadrant, 2 o’clock.

Mas complained of pains in her backbone. A CT scan on 15 December 2015 indicated the following:

confirmed earlier finding of an irregular mass in the left breast, 2.0 x 3.8 x 3.8 cm in size.
multiple hypodense lesions of varying sizes scattered in both liver lobes in keeping with liver metastasis. The largest at segment 8, measuring 3.4 x 3.2 cm.
a small hypodense cystic lesion at pancreatic body measuring 0.5 x 0.3 cm, likely benign.
multiple lytic lesions scattered in almost entire visualised vertebrae, both iliac bones and sternum in keeping with bone metastasis.

Mas underwent a mastectomy in January 2016. The tumour was ER positive, PR positive and HER2 positive.

After surgery, in February 2016, Mas was started on chemotherapy (drugs: EC). The treatment was scheduled for 6 cycles but after 3 cycles the doctor stopped the treatment because Mas’s liver was badly affected. Mas also suffered side effects of the chemo for the entire 3 weeks after each cycle of chemo.

	1 March 2016	22 March 2016
ALP	308 H	455 H
ALT	153.3 H	96.1 H
AST	228.7 H	200.4 H

Case 4: Yan (not real name) is a 36-year-old Indonesian. She felt a small lump in her breast in January 2016. The nipple discharged pus. A biopsy indicated cancer. Yan underwent a mastectomy on 26 February 2016 in a private hospital in Melaka, Malaysia. Histopathology confirmed an invasive ductal carcinoma. Fourteen of the 16 axillary lymph nodes showed evidence of tumor metastasis. One lymph node at Level II showed evidence of metastasis.

The tumour was positive for oestrogen receptor, negative for progesterone receptor and positive for C-erbB-2.

PET scan on 23 March 2016 confirmed the cancer had spread to the numerous lymph nodes in the body.

Yan was referred to an oncologist for follow-up. Based on the above, the oncologist recommend the following:

Chemotherapy – 8 cycles, 3 weeks once. Cost: AC + Gran RM 2,500 x 4 = RM 10,00. Docetaxel + Pegasta RM 5,600 x 4 = RM 22,400. So in total the 8 cycles of chemo would cost about RM 32,400.
Heceptin, total of 17 injections, to start at 5th chemo session. This could take a year at total cost of RM 150,000.
Radiotherapy, 15 sessions, for three weeks. Cost RM 10,000.
Hormonal therapy to take for 10 years. Nolvadix (or Tamoxifen), 20 mg, RM 150 per month.

Did you ask if the above treatments are going to cure you? I never ask! I only asked about the side effects.

What are the side effects? Total hair loss, nausea and onset of menopause.

So what do you want to do now? I don’t want to do any chemo.

A quick addition of all costs: RM 200,400 (besides the surgery).

Can we learn some lesson from all these cases?

These four patients did the “right thing” from the medical perspective. After all we have been told and made to believe that medicine is scientific and proven. Reflect on the various quotations below, then ask these question: Is the present treatment of breast cancer (or any cancer at all) based on science? Or is it just a guessing game based on biased opinions? Are you being told the truth or being misled?

Why The Current Cancer Treatment Failed

Cancer Treatment is a Guessing Game — no one can tell why

Am I Not Told All These?

You are not alone. Even educated people like an army colonel also got trapped.

The Cruel, Mad and Greedy World

We really felt sorry for Yan, sitting in front of us not knowing what to do.

Let’s take a closer look at her case. She was 36 years old when diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery, the follow-up chemo treatments alone would coast her about RM 200,000. That did not take in consideration cost of travel and stay in Malaysia (on and off) for the treatment for about a year. Let’s assume that everything comes to about RM 300,000 for the treatment.

Let us also assume that she will be cured after all these treatments — which may not necessarily be the case. She may die half way through the treatment. She may suffer a relapse after spending that RM 300,000. No one can predict, no one can tell and no one can know for sure.

If there is a recurrence, there will be another pile of medical bills to settle.

If Yan were to start saving right on the first day when she was born, it would come to about RM 694 per month or RM 8,333 per year. Do that for 36 years to be able to raise that kind of money for her “unpredictable” breast cancer treatment.

Look at it another way. If Yan were to go to the university and started work at age 20, it would mean that each year she has to save RM 18,750 per year or RM 1,562 per month for 16 years to be able to accumulate RM 300,000 to pay for her medical bills.

Indeed, something must have gone wrong in this world today? Is it not about time that someone come out with an cheap but effective option to heal cancer? Knowing how the world operates that is another illusion! Read these quotations:

After all the staggering cost and believing that there is a cure, here’s the real bomb shell

Breast Cancer: Surgery, Chemo, Radiation and Hormonal Therapy Did Not Cure Her. Xeloda made her miserable! Patient, Only You Should Decide What You Want To Do!

Breast Cancer: Surgery did not cure. Recurrence and cancer spread extensively to her lungs. But does she want to live?

Look at the Bigger Picture Part 2. You don’t have to “swallow” everything that they offer you!

2.3 cm Malignant Breast Lump: Surgery, Chemo and Radiation — Disaster

Breast Cancer: Surgery, Chemo, Radiation and Tamoxifen Did Not Cure Them

Bawang Dayak, Soursop leaf and Kunyit putih Did Not Cure Her Breast Cancer: Another Big Mistake

Lately, we encountered many breast cancer cases. Indeed pathetic. By sharing this story with you, we hope that those who come after this unfortunate patient, can learn and understand the “folly” of taking the wrong path.

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Ani (not real name) is a 31-year-old Indonesia lady. In December 2013, Ani was breast feeding her baby. Her breast swelled. A month later, she felt a lump in her left breast. In April 2014, Ani felt her whole body was uncomfortable. She went to consult a doctor. An ultrasound done did not show anything wrong with her breast.

Ani went back to see her doctor again in May 2014. The lump in her left breast was removed. Unfortunately, this time it was said to be cancerous — infiltrating ductal carcinoma, Grade 3 with microvascular invasion. Ani was asked to have a mastectomy — i.e., removing the whole breast. She refused. She was also asked to undergo chemotherapy. She also refused.

Ani turned to folk medicines, taking teas made from soursop leaf, kunyit putih, and bawang dayak (also known as bawang tiwai).

Ani started to take bawang dayak from April 2015 until early 2016. She believed that bawang dayak helped her in spite of the fact that in September 2015 many small lumps appeared in her left breast. These lumps then grown bigger and coalesce into a single big lump.

Ani underwent a second surgery to remove the lump together with a large portion of her breast tissue. Histopathology report dated 4 November 2014, indicated that her breast tumour as negative for estrogen receptor, negative for progesterone receptor and negative for Her2 receptor.

Ani was asked to undergo chemotherapy. Again she refused and continued with her bawang dayak.

Her recipe: She would boil 7 bawang (like onion bulb) and take the tea 3 times a day. One kg of bawang dayak cost IDR 200,000 (about RM 60.00).

Things did not work out well for Ani. In January 2016, CT showed the cancer had spread to her lungs. She was referred to an oncologist who asked her to undergo chemotherapy. Again she refused.

In May 2016, Ani and her husband came to seek our advice. She presented with hot, pulling pains in her left breast. The pain lasted the whole day and night. She had difficulty sleeping due to the pains. Indeed, as in the picture below, her whole left breast was badly affected by the cancer.

What Do We Do Now?

You may wish to read a similar story — Lucy and her misadventure with bawang tiwai (https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2016/05/08/bawang-tiwai-did-not-cure-her-breast-cancer-a-big-mistake/).

In Lucy’s case as well as this case, we believe it is better to remove the cancerous breast entirely. Looking at Ani’s breast, unfortunately, the cancer had already spread extensively. No surgeon would want to cut off the breast without first undergoing chemotherapy. The reasoning is …hopefully chemo would shrink the tumour so that surgery can be performed.

Unfortunately again, Ani had a triple negative tumour — a more difficult type of cancer to treat. It tends to be more aggressive than other type of breast cancer. About 15 to 20 % of breast cancer is the triple negative type. It occurs more commonly in women under the age of 40.

Lesson We Can Learn From This Case

No matter which angle you look at it, if you have a cancerous lump in your breast, it would not go away! From our 20 plus years of observation, the best solution is to have it removed right away after you are told that you have cancer. Why keep that cancerous breast? If you still insist on keeping this cancerous lump in there, know that it will come back to haunt you one day in the future — a dreadful nightmare indeed!

At the beginning, after a lumpectomy confirmed it was a cancer, Ani did not want to undergo a mastectomy. Our advice again: it is better to lose one breast than to lose your life. And along the way, you also have to suffer!

Know also that when the lump is small, it is easier to remove it totally. But when it has grown big and has spread all over the breast, mastectomy is difficult to perform. Even if you agree to the mastectomy at that stage, the chances of removing all of the cancer is very slim indeed. Even worse, you cannot perform the surgery without first undergoing chemotherapy. From the very beginning Ani did not want chemo. Understandable. But when the cancer had gone out of control, she must, whether she likes it or not, submit to chemo. So, Ani is back to square one.

Seek Reliable Knowledge

If you are diagnosed with cancer. Our advice is don’t panic and don’t despair. There is still life if you make the right choice. Yes, the key is the right choice.

To know how to make the choice that is right for you, you need to read …. read and read. Nothing comes easy. So take time to be well informed. There are enough information in the internet to help you. But remember that what is written in the internet may just be unsubstantiated “garbage”, fake testimonials, manipulated results, etc. So be careful.

Before you believe anything picked from the internet, please check and recheck your facts. In spite of this hazard, we still feel the internet is the start of your search for knowledge.

Your Ultimate Choice: Devil vs Deep Blue Sea

After surgery, you have to make an important decision of your life.

The doctor would want you to go for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy (or any combination of these). That is the standard “medically right” way to go. But you need not follow your doctor’s advice if your heart tells you to take a different path. In another posting, we wrote about how patients who took this route ended up in an equally messy and dangerous situations.

To-day, in the internet, are numerous alternative therapies which claim to be able to “cure” cancer without having to undergo the aggressive, dilapidating medical treatments above. But in this article, you learn about the fallacy of following this alternative route. This does not mean that other alternative therapies are useless. It is up to you to evaluate these therapies and decide what you are comfortable with.

Over the years, we have helped numerous patients heal their cancer — of course not all who came were successful. Many failed miserably too.

We understand many cancer patients are caught in a limbo. They are not accustomed to be in a situation where they have to make a decision for themselves. If possible, they prefer to have others or the experts, to tell them exactly what to do. They just want to follow — swallow hook, line, and sinker.

Reflect on these quotations below and know that when it comes to cancer, there is no such thing as a right or wrong choice. It has to be your choice. Follow what your heart says!

Bawang Tiwai Did Not Cure Her Breast Cancer: A Big Mistake!

Lately, we encountered many cases of breast cancer. Indeed pathetic. By sharing this story with you, we hope that those who come after this unfortunate patient, can learn and understand the “folly” of taking the wrong path.

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Lucy (not real name) is a 40-year-old female from Indonesia.

An USG of her breasts on 13 July 2013 showed:

Anechoic lesions seen in upper side of both breasts, size 2 to 7 mm in diameter, well defined margin.
Hypoechoic lesions, unclear border, lying in the skin seen in both axilla, size 3 to 7 mm. Suspected atheroma (an abnormal mass of fatty or lipid material deposited in the inner lining of an artery) in both axilla.
No evidence of suspicious abnormal enlarged lymph nodes in both axilla.

Conclusion: Suspected of atheroma in both axilla. Cysts in both breasts.

In January 2014, Lucy felt a lump in her left breast. A mammogram and USG were performed on 30 January 2014 which indicated:

An irregular slight hyperdensity lesion in left mammogram with subtle microcalcification, highly suggestive of malignant mass.
Breast ultrasound demonstrate malignant and indeterminate solid mass in left breast and bilateral breast cysts.

Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy concluded a left breast, ductal carcinoma.

Lucy was asked to undergo an operation. She refused. Instead she started to take Bawang Tiwai as a remedy for almost a year. Her problem did not go away.

A year later, January 2015, Lucy sought the help of a herbalist in Surabaya. She was prescribed herbs besides undergoing a tapping treatment. The herbalist tapped certain parts of her body as a treatment. Each tapping treatment lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. This treatment was done once a month for a year.

A PET scan on 12 March 2015, showed swelling of the liver. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes while the condition of her left breast had deteriorated.

Lucy stopped this herbal and tapping treatments in January 2016, after an USG had shown that Lucy’s breast cancer had worsened.

In May 2016, Lucy and her husband came to seek our advice. We told Lucy to go and consult a surgeon and have her left breast removed. There is no compromise about it! Lucy went to a private hospital for further consultation.

A CT scan on 3 May 2016 showed:

An enhanced irregular mass in the left breast measuring 49.8 x 56.8 x 57.1 mm.
Multiple small satellite nodules are also seen.
Infiltration into the nipple and skin seen, with thickened overlying skin.
Multiple enlarged left axillary lymph nodes, largest measuring 38.6 x 51.3 x 53.3 mm.
Multiple metastatic lung nodules noted bilaterally.
Multiple enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes seen, largest in right paratracheal region measuring 37.3 x 24.8 x 55.0 mm or hilar lymphadenopathy seen.
Enlarged left upper paraaortic lymph nodes seen measuring 14.9 x 28.4 x 31.0 mm.
Gross hepatomegaly. No focal liver parenchyma lesion.
Uterus is anteverted and bulky with a uterine fibroid seen measuring 65.9 x 54.9 x 68.0 mm.
Several lytic bone lesions seen in the spine, sternum, liac and ischium.

Conclusion: Metastatic left breast carcinoma.

Here are Lucy’s blood test results.

	CEA	CA 15.5
6 November 2014	Less than 0.50	17.0
12 February 2016	0.89	234.9 H
3 May 2016	1.1	680.0 H

It is obvious that Lucy’s breast cancer had gone “beyond rotten”. The surgeon would not want to perform a mastectomy for her. Lucy was asked to consult an oncologist and undergo chemotherapy — the treatment which she did not want to undergo.

Lucy and her husband came back to see us again. These are the gist of what I said to them.

Wrong Path

You have taken the wrong path to start with. In January 2014, you had a biopsy. The lump was cancerous. The doctor wanted you to undergo an operation. You refused. You turned to Bawang Tiwai and was taking it for almost a year. Then you turned to a herbalist who gave you some herbs and did some “tapping magic” on you. The cancer worsened.

That was the greatest mistake you have ever made. Why do I say that? In my twenty years dealing with breast cancer, I have learned that a better option is to remove the cancerous lump as soon as possible. In this way you may be able to save your life. To me, surgery is a necessary evil. If you were to come and see 2 years ago, I would NOT prescribe you any herbs — not until you have your cancerous breast removed.

No Need To Find A Scapegoat

I have never heard of Bawang Tiwai before. (This is also known as Bawang Dayak). So last night, I surfed the net and searched for more information. This onion-like herb (Eleutherine palmifolia) is grown in Kalimantan. This is what it looks like (picture from the internet).

This herb is supposed to be good for the following (reproduced from: http://www.herbs-medicine.com/2016/01/benefit-eleutherine-palmifolia-treat.html)

Insomnia
Healthful heart Muscle
Support overcome lymph node cancer
Shrink irritation of the tonsils
Treating bronchial asthma
Ulcers
Lowering uric acid
Overcoming piles
Help deal with lung melanoma – Lung
Aid overcome breast melanoma
Support treat uterine cancer
Support overcome colon melanoma
Support deal with whitish
Aid deal with cysts
Aid overcome cholesterol
Reduces suffering ulcer
17 Help deal with migraine

As a botanist, I am glad that I get to know this herb. At least I have learned something new. But to say that this herb can cure your breast cancer is altogether another thing. For one year you have put your hope on this plant. Did you cure anything? On the contrary, your breast cancer worsened.
If you were to believe what is being written about this herb (read above list carefully), it is said it can help with lung cancer and fibroid besides breast lump. Now your breast cancer had spread to your lungs, bone and lymph nodes. You also have a 6 cm uterine fibroid. As it is, the herb helps to cure “nothing.”
Maybe other patients may benefit from this herb but NOT you. After a year you found out the “truth” the hard and dangerous way. You stopped taking Bawang Tiwai. In fact, I am going to tell you — on the same day that you came to talk to me, there was another patient who also took this Bawang. She was also in deep trouble.

What to Do Now?

When you came I asked you to go and see a surgeon to have the “rotten” breast removed. Unfortunately, according to his SOP (standard operating procedure) he would not be able to do that. He wanted you to do chemo first to shrink the tumour. If the chemo does not shrink the tumour you will have to go on with more and more chemo. If you are lucky, the tumour shrinks and you can get your breast removed totally.
I understand many patients do not want to go for chemo or radiation. They have heard enough of what these treatments can do to patients. So, I understand the predicament. But as I have said, surgery is a necessary evil — go and have the breast removed! If you don’t want to proceed with the follow up chemo or radiation, that is totally a different ball game.
In your case, since the surgeon did not want to remove your breast before you undergo chemotherapy, I suggest that you go and find some other surgeon who is willing the perform the surgery without chemo. May be there will someone like that. Although we know the chance is very slim. Go home to Indonesia and try to find such doctor.
If you cannot, then you have no choice but to do 1 to 3 cycles of chemo and see what happen. If the tumour shrinks, then you are lucky. But if there is no effect or you get worse, then know that chemo is not going to help you!
And understand this carefully:

Role of CA Care

At CA Care, after many years of observation and healing hundreds of cancer patients, We can come to a simple conclusion: Nobody on earth can cure any cancer! Because of this we are out-front with our patients. We tell them the truth that some may not want to hear.
All patients who come to us, hope that we can cure them. That we have “magic” bullets to make the cancer disappear. No, we can’t cure your cancer. To make your life better, probably yes. To make you live longer, may be yes. To give a better quality of life, most likely yes. But cure, NO.

To put cancer into remission for a while may be possible, but to make the cancer go away one hundred percent is not possible. The cancer can come back, even after 10, 15 or 20 years. We have patients who relapsed after such long years. So make no mistake about this.

In addition to taking herbs, we ask you to take care of your diet. Eat healthy not junk and toxic food! Go for exercise everyday if you can. Relax and don’t unnecessarily stress yourself. Learn how to let go. And above all, pray that the Almighty God guide you to do what is right for you.

So, our herbs are not magic bullets for your cancer. Unless you are prepared to follow what we have said, don’t waste your time and money trying to follow our therapy.

Breast Cancer: Declined chemo and radiation – alive and healthy. Relatives who had chemo, died.

TA, a 40-year-old Indonesian, was diagnosed with breast cancer. This is her story.

Sometime in 2013, TA felt a lump in her right breast.
For about 3 months, she had pain along the back bone.
In November 2013, TA underwent a lumpectomy. Histology report indicated a mixed type of cancer — papillary carcinoma, DCIS, LCIS, CCL, UDH, intraductal papilloma, adenosis and fibroadenoma.
Her case was referred to Singapore and TA was told that it might be a cancer (?).
TA came to seek our help and was started on the CA Care Therapy.

Recurrence – Mastectomy

The surgeon did not do a good job of the lumpectomy. A small lump appeared at the operation site.
TA underwent a mastectomy in 2014.
Five of 10 nodes were involved. TA was asked to undergo 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 30 session of radiation.

No to Chemo and Radiation

TA’s sister had ovarian cancer and underwent 18 cycles of chemotherapy. She eventually died. So this is the lesson that TA learned about chemotherapy. When told to do chemo-radiotherapy, TA just flatly refused the treatments.

CA Care Therapy vs the deadly chemotherapy

TA had been on our therapy since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After two years, TA came to our centre again – saying that she “missed” us and wanted to keep up.
TA told us that a relative in Palembang (Indonesia) also had breast cancer. This was after she (TA) was diagnosed with breast cancer. She shared her healing journey with this relative but unfortunately the patient’s husband did not believe in alternative medicine. This relative had 7 cycles of chemotherapy. After the 6th cycles, she was totally “down.” TA asked her to stop the treatment but her advise was ignored. After the 7th cycle, she went into coma and died. She died less than a year after her diagnosis.
TA had another 70-year-old relative in Jakarta. He had liver cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. Initially the response was good but his condition “dropped” after more chemo. TA recommended that he tried our herbs. The patient agreed but his wife was against taking herbs. She is a rich lady! The patient died after more chemo.

TA took the right path

Seated next to her while relating these stories was TA’s husband. Initially, her husband also wanted TA to undergo chemotherapy as advised by the oncologist. But TA went on to search more literature and found CA Care. From then on, TA decided to take a non-medical path.
It has been 2 years and TA is still alive and healthy.
Our reminder to TA: Take care, don’t stress yourself. And don’t eat bad food! The cancer can come back again and we don’t have any “magic bullet” for you.

Watch this video.

To those reading this story, just ask what you can learn from TA’s story. This is what we often tell patients: To live or to die is your choice. So, chose wisely!

Perhaps you may want to soberly ponder these quotations:

Study finds half of breast cancer patients don’t need chemo

The MINDACT phase 3 clinical trial involved nearly 6,700 women at 111 medical centers in nine countries.

In the clinical trial, researchers sorted breast cancer patients into four groups, based on whether MammaPrint testing or traditional clinical assessment recommended chemotherapy (from a tool that oncologists use called Adjuvant! Online).

The shocking results of the long awaited MINDACT clinical trial are in.

Many breast cancer patients have been receiving chemotherapy treatments they didn’t need.
And that chemotherapy made no difference in their survival.
After surgery to remove their tumors, early-stage breast cancer patients (0-3 positive nodes) with a MammaPrint score recommending against chemotherapy had a 95% survival rate.
“That’s very high, and we showed that it doesn’t differ between those who are treated and those who are not treated by chemotherapy,” said van ‘t Veer, leader of the breast oncology program at the University of California, San Francisco Diller Family Cancer Center.

“This study is telling us in a very clear way we can spare many women chemotherapy,” said Baselga, chief medical officer of Memorial Hospital at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City.

MammaPrint reduced chemotherapy prescriptions by 46% among the more than 3,300 patients in the trial categorized as having a high risk of breast cancer recurrence based on common clinical and pathological criteria, the researchers said.

Further, just over 2,700 patients who had a low MammaPrint risk score but a high clinical risk score wound up with a 94.7 percent five-year survival rate, whether they got chemo or not, the researchers said.

“If we can select those patients that don’t need chemotherapy, unneeded treatment can be avoided and we will be one step closer to making sure treatment for breast cancer is tailored to the individual,” said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Young women have been more likely to receive chemotherapy in standard breast cancer care, even though it can destroy their fertility and leave them open to long-term health problems, Vogel said.

“In my training, if you had a young woman with breast cancer, she got chemotherapy,” Vogel said. “But now we can be selective, and we know there’s a very large number of young women with small hormone-responsive tumors who do not need chemotherapy.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/many-breast-cancer-patients-may-not-need-chemo-study/ar-BBrVgRR?li=BBnbfcL

http://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/aacr-2016/breast-cancer-mammaprint-test-adjuvant-chemotherapy-treatment/article/490361/

Stage 4 Breast Cancer: No surgery, radiation or chemo! Only on hormone and CA Care Therapy

Our three earlier posts are on breast cancer — two “rotten cases” and one “rewarding” case. Here is another one for you ponder on.

e-mail: 10 October 2015

Dear Dr. Chris Teo,

My name is D. I am 37 this year and currently residing in Singapore. Out of desperation from searching for information about my mum’s breast cancer, I came to know about you and CA Care.

Having bought and read a few e-books from CA Care, I am well aware of the healing process suggested by CA Care.

Background: Sometime this year, my mother (J, 56) noticed a lump on her left breast. Only until Sep 2015, she decided to visit K Hospital for check up. Upon investigation, the doctor in K Hospital diagnosed her with breast cancer and she was being referred to Singapore National Cancer Centre.

Last week, we had the first appointment at NCC. Doctor confirmed that it was early stage 4 breast cancer.

At the moment, no surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment were ordered. My mum is currently prescribed hormone therapy (Letrozole Alvogen) with next follow up appointment in Nov 2015.

Note: Letrozole is also known as Femara.

Attached are her medical reports.

Mammogram, 3 Sept. 2015: There is an ill-defined … mass …in left breast at 12:00 – 1.00 position. It measures 50x 35 mm.

Several other nodules are seen are both breasts. They are all subcentimetre .. and have well-defined borders.

At least two abnormal lymph nodes are seen in the left axillae.

Left breast core biopsy, 9 Sept. 2015: Invasive ductal carcinoma.

FNA left axillary lymph node: Metastatic carcinoma.

Hormonal status: Estrogen receptors positive, Progesterone receptors negative, CerbB2 negative.

Bone scan, 15 Sept. 2015: Increased tracer uptake in the right humeral head / proximal shaft.

I have spoken to my mum about your work and she is willing to heed your advice. Therefore, may I bring her over to Penang to see you asap? Dear Chris, please advice her and save her…

Reply: If you think I can help you, yes– come with all medical reports and scan …. Monday to Thurs at 11 a.m.

e-mail: 2 November 2015

D from Singapore here. It’s almost a month since we visited you in CA Care. I have to thank you for helping and speaking to my mum with regards to her breast cancer … my mum will be having her 2nd review (blood test) at NCC tomorrow, 3rd November. I will update you.

e-mail: 31 January 2016

Hi Chris,

Attached is my mother’s latest scan in Dec 2015. Verified that all tumors had shrunk in sizes and some had even disappeared.

To recap, my mother had been taking your herbs since Sep 2015 + Aromatase Inhibitor (Letrozole Alvogen) to block the estrogen. Any comments for the progress?

Comments

This is indeed a unique and amazing case! Why?

If you have a lump in your breast, it is most likely that you will be asked to have it removed. Then after the surgery, you will be asked to go for chemo and radiation. Then and only then would you be asked to take Tamoxifen or Femara for 5 years! That’s the norm — especially if you are to go to a private hospital and have the money to pay for the medical bills.

When this “healthy” 56-yer-old lady came and told us that she got none of these invasive treatments (except Femara) we were surprised — can this be an improved, non-money-driven-therapy? How great it would be if most women were treated this way!

After about two months on CA Care Therapy and Femara, the tumours shrunk and some seemed to have disappeared (listen to video). That is amazing.

And what is even more amazing is that the oncologist did not object to the patient taking herbs! In fact he was supportive of her doing so. Rarely can you find such a situation! Generally, patients are scolded and told NOT to take “unscientific and unproven” therapy like herbs. Patients are often told that herbs can destroy the liver or kidney!

In the U.S. some doctors would label alternative healers as quacks or snake oil peddlers. We are glad to learn that alternative healers do have some “friends” among the medical doctors in modern, no-nonsense Singapore! Bravo!

This patient came to see us twice. On both occasions she looked healthy — there was nothing much that bothered her, apart from knowing that there are lumps in her breasts, around the neck and chest. But as we always tell patients — let us learn to live with the cancer, not declaring war on the cancer!

If you can eat, can sleep, can move around and have no pain then be grateful for what you are. As it is this patient still has a job and is happily working! Imagine what happens if she was to undergo chemo and radiation — quality life gone but the cancer would not be cured anyway. Or possibly the cancer may even spread more extensively and aggressively after these treatments!

Breast Cancer: Four Years On Without Chemo or Radiation. She is still fine!

At CA Care — for some days in a week it is just frustrating stories that we get to hear from patients. But let us assure you that NOT all days are cloudy and gloomy. If it is so, we would have closed CA Care long, long time ago. There is no reason for us to be around pretending to help patients by taking them for a ride!

Let us share with you what it is like on certain blessed day when the sun shines brightly.

On 1 March 2016, one gentleman came to our centre with a friend who had cancer. We were curious and asked this gentleman: How do you know us? Who asked you to come here?

His reply:

I brought my mother to see you four years ago! My mother had breast cancer.
She is okay now, leading a normal healthy life.
Follow-up blood test showed tumour makers were normal.
She wakes up at 5.30 every morning to exercise.
She is on good diet.
It has been four years.
She seriously takes care of herself very well.

What a blessed day and a great news. This is what CA Care is all about. To be able to teach and help patients to get well. But remember, you need to put in a lot of efforts to help yourself to get well. Good health does not come easy!

Her Medical History

SK was 67 years when she was diagnosed with breast cancer by doctors in Singapore.

The biopsy report on 16 December 2011: Core biopsy, right axillary node: Metastatic carcinoma.

The tumour cells are ER positive, PR negative and cerB2 positive.

A CT scan done on 19 December 2011 showed: a spiculated enhancing nodule in the soft tissue of the right breast measuring around 2.8 x 2.0 cm. In the right axilla there is a lymph node with a asymmetrical thickening, highly suspicious for tumour involvement. A subcentimetre hypodensity seen in the spleen is too small to characterise.

SK underwent a right mastectomy with axillary clearance. The report on 13 January 2012 showed:

Invasive ductal carcinoma Grade 3.
Invasive / whole tumour 25 mm.
Lymphovascular invasion present.
All margins clear.
2/8 axillary nodes positive with extranodal extension.

SK was asked to take oral chemo-drugs for 5 years. She refused. She was also asked to undergo radiotherapy. She also refused. She came to see us in early February 2012 and was started on our CA Care Therapy.

Just A Reminder!

SK was indeed blessed and ought to be grateful to be able to survive 4 years without having to undergo chemo or radiation — this is in spite of the fact that she had metastatic breast cancer. She cannot ask for more although we pray that she can continue to live for many, many more years to come. We are glad to know that she is taking care of her health and is serious in wanting to stay healthy.

Let me ask you to read what I wrote earlier in Understanding Cancer War and Cure.

Her Breast Cancer Came Back After 14 Years

Last week (early March 2016) we had a call from a lady. Let’s call her Nancy.

Nancy called to say that her husband wanted to see us. Is her husband having any problem? Her daughter explained that was the one having problems and her mother wanted to come and see us with her husband. Okay come to the centre now if you like, was our answer.

Our Patient 14 Years Ago

Nancy was 54-years old when she was diagnosed with with Grade 2, infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the right breast in May 2002. After a lumpectomy, her doctor recommended a total mastectomy – just to be safe! The pathology report indicated no residual malignancy or lymph node metastasis. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was indicated but the doctor wanted to put her on tamoxifen (for five years!).

Nancy and her husband were fully aware of the side-effects of tamoxifen and declined to take the drug. But her doctor told her: You have only one in a million chance of getting cervical cancer! Nancy responded: That one could be me! Nancy’s is a case of once bitten twice shy. Two years prior to her diagnosis, at the onset of her menopause, she was on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). She was well aware of the risk of breast cancer while on HRT. Her doctor checked and monitored her breast health every month to ensure that everything was under control.

But it was not to be. Two years on HRT, cancer reared its ugly head in her right breast. Nancy came to seek our help in May 2002 and was started on CA Care Therapy. Nancy was in excellent health since then. But after 5 years we never get to see her again.

After all Nancy learned from her doctor and friends that if you survive 5 years then you can be considered cured. You will now learn from this story that you-are-cured-after-five-years-doctrine is an illusion, faulty and without basis.

It was one morning in early March 2016 — Nancy, her husband and daughter were sitting in front of me with her CT scan report (19 February 2016) which said:

There are lobulated mass lesion in the right breast 4 x 6 cm invading the pectoralis muscle and underlying chest well.
Multiple nodules seen in both lungs 5 to 15 mm.
Multiple enlarged right axillary lymph nodes seen.
Multiple enlarge mediastinal lymph nodes seen.
Mild right pleural effusion.
L2 compression fracture with spinal canal stenosis.
Multiple lytic bone lesons seen involving the sprine, sternum, ribs, pubic bones and left iliac crest.

Immunohistochemistry stains profile supports the diagnosis of high grade metastatic adenocarcinoma from the breast.

Blood test results on 19 February 2016

Platelet	353
Alkaline phosphatase	270 H
Aspaartate Transaminase	42 H
Alanine Transaminase	15
Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase	64 H
CA 125	50.7 H
CA 15.3	171.3 H

I was in despair not knowing what to say or feel. It was a frustrating morning indeed. It is hard to see apparently “successful” case turning rotten. Over the years we have warned our patients that there is no cure for cancer. One day if you do something “wrong”, the cancer will come back again. If you are well, continue to do what you are doing and don’t let go. For most people it is hard. They want to go back to their old lifestyle, they want to eat what they like again, they don’t want to take the herbs any more — in short, they just want to do whatever they like, believing in this faulty idea that the cancer is gone forever after surviving 5 years.

My aunty had cervical cancer. She survived 13 years and then started to cough for 2 years without anyone at home suspecting that something had gone wrong! Most tragic of all. there was a doctor living in the house! A CT scan showed the cancer had spread extensively to both her lungs. It was too late. After 8 months on herbs, one morning aunty died peacefully without any pain.

Over the years, we have seen such tragedies being repeated over and over again. But not many people want to learn. Everyone wants to believe what their doctors tell them —You are cured after 5 years!

This is another story: Breast Cancer: When a so-called “cure” was not a cure. MT had breast cancer in 2005 and underwent a mastectomy followed by 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments. Then she was prescribed Tamoxifen, which she took for 5 years. MT was told by her doctor that her breast cancer was at an early stage and that she had a 90 percent chance of complete cure with the treatments that she had undergone.

MT believed her doctor and did exactly as what she was told to do. Each year she came back to her doctor in Melaka for routine checkup. At every visit she was told that she was fine. After 5 years, MT was told to stop Tamoxifen because she was already cured.

Barely a year later, in April 2011, MT started to have pains in her tail bone and shoulder blade. She ignored the problem and did not go back to see her doctor. Then she started to take “jamu” (Indonesian herbal). The pains did not go away but rather became more intense. Then her legs started to hurt as well. She became breathless and was unable to walk far. In February 2012, MT returned to her doctor in Melaka. Examination indicated her cancer had recurred. MT asked her doctor why the cancer recurred when she was told earlier that she had been cured. The doctor replied, I do not know why. But don’t blame yourself. It is your fate. Also the recurrence has nothing to do with what you eat. It is just your fate. Yes, when modern medicine failed, God gets the blame!

Looking at things from a positive angle, at least Nancy was already lucky or blessed. Her cancer recurred only after 14 years. Many people even died 3 to 4 years after undergoing all the medical treatments of their cancer.

Nancy had radiation to her backbone and this helped ease the pains. She was told to undergo chemotherapy but she refused, prefering to take herbs again. We are out front with Nancy — we can only do our best to help her live a pain-free happy life but we cannot cure her. We urged her to seek medical help if necessary (whatever that means).

(UPDATE: Nancy died on 9 June 2016)

Let me ask you to ponder what I wrote earlier in Understanding Cancer War and Cure.

Listen, there is NO cure for metastatic cancer!

For the past few weeks, patients who came to seek our help presented with very depressing stories. For a start let us highlight two cases of breast cancer — among the many more other stories.

Patient from Sabah

This is an email.

Hi Dr Chris Teo,

How are you? I have heard of your cancer treatment through a friend, and would like to consult you for my mom. She is currently residing in Sabah and is 60 years old.

Please allow me to describe the situation for your understanding:

Mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 right breast cancer on 09 May 2015, metastasis to axillary, supraclavicular nodes, right hilar nodes and lungs.
Right mastectomy on 13 May 2015. Specimens report – Invasive ductal carcinoma, no specific type (NST), Grade 3 (Bloom and Richardson), largest tumour diameter 85mm, 9 out of 24 lymph nodes show tumour metastasis with largest tumor deposit of 20mm.
Did not proceed with suggested chemotherapy. Did Gerson therapy for 6 months, including Essiac tea, with monitoring of blood tumor markers every 2 months. No improvement, tumor marker CA 125 on increasing trend, latest report dated 02 Feb 16 results is 316..
Weakness and fatigue last week. Saw doctor and CT scan showed more metastasis to brain, lungs, lymph. Doctor prescribe Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy immediately. First Radiotherapy started today.

Can we arrange an appointment with you for consultation and your suggested treatment as soon as possible? Thank you for your time, please let me know as soon as possible.

Patient from Indonesia

This is a 57-year-old Indonesian lady. Sometime in 2010, she found a small lump in her right breast. She came to a hospital in Penang for consultation. The doctor told her the lump was not cancerous. Happily she went home rest assured that it was all fine. With time, the lump grew bigger.In July 2014, she went to a hospital in Surabaya. By that time, the lump was already 5 cm in size. A biopsy confirmed that it was cancerous. Patient underwent 4 cycles of chemotherapy. The tumour shrunk and in November 2014, she underwent a mastectomy.

After the operation, patient received 4 more cycles of chemotherapy followed by 30 times of radiation. Then she was put on Tamoxfen and took this pill for 1 year.

A follow-up check in October 2015 showed normal results. But this turned out to be untrue because 3 months later, January 2015, patient had breathing difficulties and abdominal discomfort.

She went back to her oncologist again. Her CEA was 1.55 (normal) but her CA 125 was 88.8 (high). A PET scan showed extensive metastasis to the lymph nodes, lung, liver, bone and left adrenal. There was fluid in the lung and the pericardium.

Her cancer had metastasized extensively (images above). The patient was asked to undergo 12 cycles of chemotherapy. She had one cycle of chemo on 5 February 2016 and gave up. Her condition deteriorated ( dropped) after the treatment. One cycle of chemo cost her family IDR 12 million.

She also underwent pleural tapping — about 1000 ml of fluid was removed from her lung.

The daughter was told that her mother would have only six months to live.

In late February 2016, patient came to Penang for further treatment. The oncologist in Penang suggested the following treatments:

Undergo 6 cycles of chemotherapy. Each cycle cost about RM 14,000.
Take injection for her bone.
Take hormonal pill, possibly Fermara.

It was at this point that the daughter of the patient wrote us an email asking to see us. It was surprising that the patient was rather “healthy-looking” and did not have much complaints. She felt a slight tightness in her chest (previous operation site) and was breathless when walking.

Lessons We Can Learn From These Cases

Dr. David Agus, an oncologist said this in his book, The End of Illness: Don’t put blind faith and trust in your doctor. Be your own doctor first. When this Indonesian patient found a lump in her breast, she came to Penang and consulted a doctor. There was nothing wrong! She went home with full faith that the doctor was right. But with time the tumour in her breast grew bigger. Why allow it to grow bigger? This is human attitude — people want to believe only in good news. They want to hear or believe what they only want to hear or believe. My doctor said this, my doctor said that — after all my doctor said I have no cancer. Within 3 years the breast lump grew to 5 cm. The doctor was wrong! That was what happen if you put blind faith and trust in just one so-called “expert”.

Kathleen Phalen, in Integrative Medicine, wrote: We’ve been misguided into thinking that our doctors … are deities capable of performing the greatest of miracles.

Our advice: Don’t just doze off after hearing what you want hear. Watch out if your condition has turned worse or better. Go for second or third opinion.

Ask this question before you undergo any treatment. What is the aim of the treatment being offered? This is what patients want to hear and believe. It is going to cure your cancer. It is going to stop the cancer from spreading. It is going to prolong your life. With such sweet assurance, patients are “bought” wholesale. They would jump into the “sea” when told to do so. Read the story of this unfortunate young man below.

So, evaluate what you are told carefully. It is good if you can tap into your own commonsense and ask — Is this guy after my cancer or my money? For all the promises made, ask — At what cost — physically, emotionally and financially?

Remember, cancer is a big business — there is plenty of money to be made in the cancer healing industry. The young man above, found out that he had been sold an empty promise after spending RM 500,000. And his wife died. An expensive mistake indeed.

Surgery does not cure any cancer if it is done too late. And surgery could be just meaningless if the cancer has already spread. Take the case of this Sabah patient. She had 4th stage breast cancer. The cancer had already spread to the lungs. She underwent a mastectomy and was told to undergo chemotherapy which she refused. Ask — what is the aim of the surgery? Can it not make the cancer more aggressive? Can it spread more cancer?

The Indonesian lady also had surgery followed by chemo, radiation and Tamoxifen. These treatments did not work either.

When first and/or second line of treatments failed, you may be offered more of the same treatments — more aggressive, more expensive drugs, more of the so called targeted “magic” drugs. Ask — would this make any difference to your condition? Are these “additives” going to cure you? Learn from the experience of the late Amy Cohen below:

If there is anything we learn about the treatment of breast cancer, here are what the experts said:

What then is the role CA Care with regards to the above two cases who came to seek our help?

These are what we usually tell patients when they come to us.

We cannot cure you. There is no magic bullet to cure your cancer — Worse still, most of you come to us when all those standard treatments failed! Nothing else worked, then you come expecting us to cure you. No way! We know many leave our centre disappointed. Yes, it is better to be blunt and honest rather than taking you for a ride.
At CA Care we try to help you heal yourself — we don’t cure any cancer because cancer is not the real problem. Cancer is just a symptom that something had seriously gone wrong within your. For that reason, just removing the tumour does not always work. And radiation or chemo does not work most of the time.
While you are told that chemo or radiation is done to kill all the remaining cancer cells or to stop the cancer cells from spreading, we believe you are being mislead. Diligent search of the medical literature shows that sometimes radiation makes cancer more aggressive! Similarly, chemotherapy has been shown to spread and makes cancer more aggressive!
Knowledge is power — it can save your life and your money. But it is up to you to work hard to find your own solution to your problem after you have read. But unfortunately, most patients or their loved ones who are not sick, don’t want to know or read. Sad.
At CA Care, we tell patients to accept reality and learn how to live with their cancer. If after following our therapy, you can eat, can sleep, can walk and have no pain — what else do you want? In a situation when no one can cure your cancer, perhaps that is the only alternative you have — to be able to lead a normal, pain-free life for the remaining time that you have on this earth. Remember, no one lives forever. All of us will have to die — irrespective of whether you have cancer or not.
Patients heal yourself. No one can heal you except you, yourself. We realise this is a tall order. Many patients just don’t know how to take care of themselves to get well while some don’t even want to put in any effort to get well — they just want to find the easy-to-swallow-magic bullet that does not exist! To be able to heal yourself means, you have to change your lifestyle, your diet and your mental attitude. After seeing cancer patients for well over 20 years, we came to a conclusion that healing cancer is about healing a human being, the tumour is secondary. There is something in you that is not right that creates the cancer. Are you prepared to change?

Let’s ponder the following quotations:

Breast Cancer: IDR 4 Billion Gone, One Breast Lost

Jenny (not real name) was 44 years old when she found a lump in her right breast. A mammography done in a Singapore hospital on 21 December 2009 indicated no mammographic evidence of malignancy.

An ultrasound done on 22 December 2009 in another hospital showed the following:

Right breast

1 o’clock palpable nodule, 2.15 x 1.8 x 0.9 cm
2 o’clock nodule, 0.72 x 0.56 x 0.39 cm
12 o’clock nodule, 0.36 x 0.54 x 0.29 cm

Left breast

4 o’clock nodule, 0.84 x 0.72 x 0.41 cm
10 o’clock nodule, 0.45 x 0.74 x 0.22 cm

Bilateral axillary lymph nodes

Right – 1.07 x 1.35 x 0.66 cm
Left – 1.31 x 1.44 x 0.55 cm

A lumpectomy was done and the histology report showed:

Extensive high grade ductal carcinma-in-situ with foci of stromal invasion.
Largest grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma is 12 mm across.
Lymphovascular involvement suspected.
Multiple resection margins involved.
Tumor is positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors.
There is HER2 and p53 over-expression.

In September 2010, Jenny and her husband came to seek our advice. We told Jenny to go and have her entire right breast removed. She hesitated and we did not get to see Jenny again until 5 years later.

In November 2015, Jenny and her husband came to seek our help again and shared with us her IDR 4 billion adventure with the oncologists in Singapore.

Listen to our conversation that day.

Gist of our conversation.

Chris: You came in 2010.

Husband: Dr. Chris asked to go for mastectomy. My wife did not want to go for the operation. She had chemo.

C: Wait, first there were lumps in her breast. Why did you not want to go for operation?

H: Afraid.

Chemo and More Chemo — Bleeding Financially

C: After you consulted us, you went home and then went to see an oncologist in Singapore. You had chemo. Did you ask if the chemo was going to cure you?

H: The doctor said, yes can cure — guarantee!

C: Oh, that oncologist guaranteed that the cancer could be cured? Another breast cancer patient also went to this same oncologist — also guaranteed a cure! But unfortunately, after chemo and more chemo the cancer went to her brain. She eventually died (see story under comment). So for you, chemo after chemo — also can cure?

H: The lump was gone.

Jenny: Normal.

H: Normal but the oncologist kept wanting us to have more chemo. So we ran away from that oncologist.

C: Why did you run away from that oncologist?

H: Cannot afford to pay anyway — we were bleeding financially.

C: Oh, you ran away because you could not afford paying for the treatments. That was after how long of receiving the chemo?

H: Almost one to one and half years of chemo like in the chart below (chart prepared by husband).

Note: From 25 October 2011 to 14 June 2012, Jenny received:

12 injections of Herceptin.
16 injections of Navelbine.
20 injections of 5-FU.
In addition, she was given Eprex and Gran (self administered at home) to deal with her low blood counts. Refer to comment section to know what this blood boosting injection is all about.

Another oncologist: Don’t worry. We have a lot of medicine to treat you!

C: You ran away from the first oncologist and found another one. This oncologist once told a patient, “Don’t worry, we have a lot of medicine to treat you!” And this oncologist gave you one drug after another? When one medicine is not effective, change to another one? So you were started on oral drugs. Was it cheaper?

H: Ya, much cheaper because my wife just need to swallow the pills.

Jenny: Cheaper!

C: Did you ask the oncologist if the medicines were going to cure you?

J: Just to control.

C: How long were you taking these medicines — one type after another?

H: A long time, from January 2013 to November 2015. When the first round of oral drugs failed, the oncologist started her on Herceptin injections as well.

January 2013 to November 2013: On Cyclophosphamide + MTX. PET scan showed failure.
December 2013 to July 2014: On TS1 + Herceptin injection.
July 2014 to October 2014: On Herceptin injection + Kadcyla (Trastuzumab emtansine)
October 2014 to November 2014: Back to oral drug TS1 again + Tykerb (lapatinib).

January 2015 to June 2015: On Herceptin injection + Tykerb (lapatinib) again.
July 2015 to September 2015: On Herceptin injection + Perjeta (pertuzumab) + Taxotere + Filgratim (Gran).
November 2015: On Aromasin (exemetane).

C: What happened after taking all those oral drugs for more than a year?

H: The cancer came back again. The oncologist then started her on Herceptin injection again. She had a total of 7 injections.

C: Did you ask if this kind of injection was going to cure her?

H: The oncologist said the medicine given earlier did not work. Because of that the medicine had to be changed and changed. After one medicine failed another different medicine was tried. Then the doctor tried Kadcyla injection. This too did not work and the doctor changed to lapatinib. After lapatinib failed it was back to chemo injection again.

C: Then what eventually happened?

H: When the cancer did not go away in spite of all those treatments, Jenny had to remove her breast. After the mastectomy the doctor wanted to continue giving her chemo again — more Herceptin and pertuzumab (Perjeta).

Confused

C: I am really confused!

H: Me too. I also know that Herceptin can adversely affect the heart.

C: When you first came to see us, I asked you to remove your breast. But you did not do that. You opted for chemo. Then after chemo and more chemo and also spending a lot of money you also lost your breast. How much did you spend for all those treatments?

H: A lot of money, about IDR 4 Billion.

C: Do you think the oncologists are good?

H: They spin money!

J: More and more chemo, until we have no more money!

Comments

When injecting toxic chemo drugs into patients, the oncologists also gave their patients Eprex and Gran. These are blood boosting shots. Perhaps this was done as a precaution because chemo could make the platelets, red and white blood go down. Perhaps too this is also a way to keep patients happy and well. Of course patients pay for such injection. But what is not known to patients is that this “red juice” and “white juice” may encourage tumor growth! Dr. Otis Brawley is an oncologist. Read what he wrote below:

Different Oncologist, Different Business Model but Similar Pathetic Story

Cure Guaranteed!

From: http://bookoncancer.com/productDetail.php?P_Id=76

2. We have a lot of medicine to treat you!

From: http://bookoncancer.com/productDetail.php?P_Id=75

One final note. IDR 4 billion — I could not imagine how “big a sum” this is. A patient who went to China for treatment of his lung cancer also spent a similar amount. And he came home just as disappointed. According to his wife, IDR 4 billion is worth 2 bungalow houses if you live somewhere around Medan.

Breast Cancer: Cut out your healthy ovaries and add 2 to 3 percent to your survival

Thirty-six-year-old Lisa and her husband flew from a distant country to tell us this pathetic story.

Sometime in 2013, Lisa felt a small lump in her left breast.

Bilateral mammography and ultrasound of both breasts on 12 April 2013 showed suspicious lesion in the left breast at 12 o’clock axis.
Ultrasound of whole body on 13 April 2013, showed no significant abnormality.
MRI on 16 April 2014 showed multi-focal malignancy in the left breast. The lesions noted in the right breast at 12 and 1 o’clock axis, have low suspicion of malignancy.

A FNAC biopsy indicated highly suspicious for malignancy.

Lisa underwent left breast conservation surgery with reconstruction on 22 April 2013.

Histopathology reports showed invasive ductal carcinoma, multi-focal Nottingham grade 1, left breast, regional lymph nodes showed reactive changes (0/17), pT1pNoMo.

ER / PR postive and Her-2-Nue Negative (1+) (Please take note of this statement).

Her case was discussed in tumour board and planned for External Beam Radiotherapy to left breast. Lisa received 32 radiation treatments starting from 17 October 2013. Lisa also received 6 cycles of chemotherapy using FEC — 5-FU + Epirubin + Cyclophosphamide.

Discharge medications after chemotherapy were:

Tab Crocin, Tab wysolone before Peg-grafeel injection
Peg-grafeel once — 24 hours post chemotherapy.
Cap Aprecap, once daily for 2 days.
Hafooz Cream – apply locally.
Ointment Thrombophobe – apply locally.
Tab Graniset, twice daily for 5 days.

For vomiting:

Tab Emeset
Tab Domstal

For Indigestion:

Tab Pantocid
Syp Digene

For Fever:

Capol / crocin

In case of loose motions:

Cap Imodium / Tab Lomotil one every 5 hours
Plenty of oral fluids
R.S. / electral powder

In case of constipation:

Syp Cremaffin

In case of pain:

Tab Crocin

In case of ulcers:

Tab Forcan for 5 days
Boroglycerine with Tab Dexona – crushed and mixed together to be applied in mouth, thrice a day.

After all these treatments, Lisa was started on Tamoxifen. She has to take this drug for 5 years (aya, outdated! The new guideline is 10 years!). So Lisa has been taking Tamoxifen for the past one and half years, when she came to see us.

Routine medical checkup showed Lisa was doing alright. Her CA 15.3 on 16 September 2015 was at 6.2. Ultrasound of her abdomen showed no evidence of any anomaly. Her uterus showed normal echotexture.

However, Lisa complained of tiredness. She felt irritated easily. She still has per periods but during menses she had pains and her stomach was bloated. The doctor suggested that Lisa undergo an ovarian ablation! This procedure would add 2 to 3 percent to her survival.

While her husband and family were agreeable to this surgery, Lisa was not happy and wanted to have a second opinion. So she and her husband flew to Penang to seek our advice!

Listen to her conversation that day.

Comments

In premenopausal women, most of the estrogen in the body is made by the ovaries. Because estrogen makes hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers grow, reducing the amount of estrogen in the body or blocking its action can help reduce the risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers coming back (recurring). Ovarian shutdown with medication or surgical removal is only for premenopausal women.

There many ways to shut down the ovarian function.

There are three different ways to stop the ovaries producing oestrogen:

surgery to remove the ovaries
hormonal therapy to ‘shut down’ the ovaries (ovarian suppression)
radiotherapy to stop the ovaries working.

Premenopausal women who had their ovaries removed and took Tamoxifen for 5 years after breast cancer surgery had a lower risk of the breast cancer coming back and better survival rates compared to premenopausal women who didn’t have their ovaries removed and took tamoxifen after surgery. While this is considered aggressive treatment because it puts you prematurely and permanently in menopause, it may be a good treatment option for women who don’t want to have any more biological children.

Side effects

Women whose ovaries are removed will have an early menopause straight away. The symptoms of this can start suddenly and may be more intense than the symptoms of a natural menopause.

Ovarian ablation using hormonal therapy or radiotherapy happens over a period of weeks or months and is a more gradual change.

The menopause can cause symptoms such as:

hot flushes
dry skin
vaginal dryness
lowered sex drive
psychological effects.

These symptoms can vary from being mild to severe. This can be difficult for women to cope with, especially when they’re already dealing with breast cancer and its treatments.

Deciding to have your ovaries shut down with medicine or surgically removed requires a lot of careful thought and discussion.

Source: http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal/ovary_removal

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertypes/Breast/Treatingbreastcancer/Hormonaltherapies/Ovarianablation.aspx

Our advice to Lisa is simple: Follow what your heart says! Others around you — may have all the best of intentions — but they may NOT understand the trauma that you have gone through and would need to go through gain. At the end of it all, the consequences of such treatment will only be borne by you, and one else.

Think carefully, by undergoing ovarian ablation Lisa stands to benefit only 2 to 3 percent in terms of added survival time! Note, survival does not mean cure. Is the added survival worth it or is it just an added misery?

Professor Gershom Zajicek, of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, wrote about a seemingly healthy lady, once diagnosed with cancer, would be given a CANCER mask to wear. And with that mask on you are expect to take on your new role – act and behave like a cancer victim. Never mind even if you are healthier than you grandmother!

Professor Zajicek said:

Yesterday, a woman felt healthy. Today, she discovers a small lump in her breast. Suddenly she becomes ill, realizing that she carries an evil disease. The lump is her death sentence. In reality, she is healthy. The lump does not pose an immediate threat to her. Nevertheless she panicked. It is not cancer that causes her misery, but society and doctors that promote this fatalistic perception.
Now this woman is alarmed and rushes to her doctor the next day. She undergoes a mammography and biopsy and is told she has cancer. The doctor tells her that she is very ill. Her world turns upside down.
Before detecting the swelling, this woman is otherwise a healthy person not until she is given the cancer mask to wear. Her doctor is now preoccupied with her cancer mask. Fear is generated. Everything needs to be done quickly and urgently to fight and save her life from this evil disease – the tumour! So this woman has to act, to conform to the roles of the mask that she wears. She now acquires a new disease called the mind-cancer. From then on she sinks into the abyss of misery, believing that she will die rather soon.
Ask these questions: Before the discovery of the lump, and before consulting her doctor – what was her life like? She was as fit as a fiddle, wasn’t she? The sudden change of fortune befalls her just because she had discovered a lump in her breast. What is the real cause of her misery? The lump in her breast or the perception of evilbeing spun by society and the medical establishment?

When Lisa felt a lump in her breast, she went through a series of traumatic experiences. She rushed to the doctors and underwent:

Ultrasound
Mammogram
MRI
Biopsy
Surgery to remove the breast lump
Reconstructive surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiotherapy
Tamoxifen
After all these, the game was not over yet. She was asked to remove her healthy ovaries.

From the above, it looks like the SOP for cancer was strictly adhered to. Do you think all these are necessary? Can’t we skip a step or two?

All the imaging machines in the hospital were put to use — ultrasound, mammogram and MRI before a biopsy was ordered.

Then came the treatments — everything was thrown in. And many kinds of medications were prescribed to take care of the side effects — vomiting, indigestion, fever, loose stools, constipation , pain and ulcers! Indeed, Lisa was really sick!

But after all these treatments. was Lisa guaranteed of a cure? No one can be sure!

Again, read what Professor Gershom Zajicek wrote:

Modern medicine fails to cure cancer. Medicine is in a conceptual deadlock … the basic tenets of cancer treatment are false.
After being diagnosed with cancer your mission is to train yourself to live with cancer in peace and harmony. The message your body is giving you is that your life needs to take a new course, with a new mission. It does not matter whether you were cured by surgery or not.
Start a new life which is devoted to tilt the balance between cancer and your body in your favor.
You may turn to your doctor for advice on alternative approaches. He may just look at you, laugh and say: Who tell you all this nonsense? Don’t believe in such unscientific and unproven baloney! For medicine it is inconceivable that other ways are better than their cut, burn and poison approaches.
You will have to trot this difficult path on your own. Medicine ignores its limitations and views what are being said by alternative healers as nonsensical.