Liver Cancer: Cultivate Gratitude Not Greed — Two years on herbs, okay; 6 months on medical treatments, dead

Jab was a long-standing hepatitis B carrier. He was a rather conscientious person and went for regular medical check-up. Everything was okay. Then in May 2013, CT scan showed a 7 x 6 x 6 cm tumour in segment 7 of his liver, suspicious of HCC (primary liver cancer).  His blood test showed low platelet count (124) but his liver function values were normal. His CEA, CA 125, CA19.9 CA 15.3 and PSA were all within normal range.

Not satisfied, Jab went to Singapore and did MRI. The result confirmed a mass lesion in segment 7 and 6 measuring 6.2x 6.2 x 5.3 cm — consistent with the presence of a large hepatoma.

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Jab was still not satisfied and came to consult a doctor in Penang. He was prescribed BARACLUDE (entecavir), a drug commonly given to those with chronic hepatitis B. In addition, Jab was given medication for his heart.

According to the doctors Jab had an option to undergo surgery to remove the tumour. In this procedure 45% of his liver would be cut off. However, Jab was told that the cancer would recur within 2 years after the surgery. The procedure would cost SGD 45, 000 if done in Singapore. If done in Penang, it would cost RM 45,000 (three times cheaper!).

Jab refused surgery and came to seek our help and was started on liver herbs. He was doing fine. He looked fit and healthy. The only complaint he had was not being able to eat anything he liked!

On 18 October 2015  — about two years later, we got an e-mail from Jab’s son.

Dear Dr. Chris,

…. In April 2015, my father had decided to take up treatment in X Hospital in China. Some of the treatment are Interventional Therapy, Cryotherapy … in the last six months. His weight before treatment was 59 Kg, now 51 Kg.

Even though I was against this idea of going to China for treatment, I respected his decision. Currently ascites developed in his body. The doctor … helped to drain the fluid, around 3.5 Litres.

On 23 October 2015, Jab’s son came and told us this sad story.

 

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Feb 23, 2016   Dear Dr. Chris,    

As my father has a very heavy ascites, from October until now already 4 times and the last 3 times are 6.5L, 6.5L and 4.5L (9  days from the third one).

The last 3 times, the liquid has blood color.

At this moment my father cannot walk and very slim, looks like left the skin covering the bones.

His food only in the form of liquid, each time around 100 to 150 ml. Few times a day.

Dr Chris, we truly believe God has plan for all of us but I still believe you can give me advise on what to do. I still can fly to Penang.

My father still can sit with our support and very soft spoken but his brain is still in superb condition and he is a fighter as he keeps trying to live as long as he can.

What can I do Dr. Chris? Any herbs can he take with his conditions?

Thank you.

Reply:  I have given you Ascites and Abdominal Distention teas — these are the only 2 teas I have …but if they are not effective, I really don’t know what else to do.

2  Mar 2016   Dear Dr Chris,

As of today, the doctor installed silicone piping for my father for liquid consumption.
13 March 2016  Dear Dr Chris,

My father has passed on. We want to thank you for your guidance during this time.

Comments 

We often tell patients, To die or to live and get well is your choice. So choose wisely!

This is a sad story. Jab had to spend SGD 60,000 only to suffer and died. He never get what he wanted. But he made that choice himself, even against the advice of his three sons.

Home run strike out Jerome

This is a story with many lessons if we are willing to listen and learn! But,  are patients prepared to learn? We are aware that what we are going to say here is not nice to hear. But for the sake of knowledge and also for the sake of those who want to learn, we are going to say it anyway. And we are going to say it as clearly as we can! No apology.

  1. Jab was with us for about two years and he was well, but this did not mean he was cured of his liver cancer. He led a normal, happy pain-free life. The only thing that he could not do was to eat anything he wanted! He had to abstain from “bad” food. From our experience, we know that when patients are half-dead, they will abide by our advice, but the moment that they become well, more often than not, they will complain about their dietary restriction. They wanted to eat what they like. Jab was no exception. Like most cancer patients, when they became well food became their problem! To make things worse, patients probably are encouraged by relatives, friends and their doctors that they can eat anything they like — after all, they are already well or looked thin, etc. etc.

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  1. With a 7 x 6 cm tumour in his liver, Jab ought to know that no one of earth can cure him. The three doctors that he consulted offered to cut off 45% of his liver. But this procedure was not going to cure him — he was told than the cancer can recur within two years. Two years is already a blessing, if indeed what is said is true! We have seen patients suffered recurrence or even died only months after surgery.

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  1. We understand, Jab was a conscientious person. We wanted the best for himself. He wanted a find cure for his incurable cancer. Unfortunately cancer treatment is more dangerous than going to a casino. In the casino at worse, you lose everything in your pocket. In cancer treatment, you not only lose your entire life’s saving but also your life!

 

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  1. It is indeed hard to convince patients to be contented and be happy with what they have or what they are. They always want more and more. All patients who come to us, expect us to cure them! They ask for the impossible. Listen to the advice of this professor.

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  1. In cancer healing, we have to learn to be grateful for what we are and what we have. This is probably the only way we can stay happy from day to day. Cultivate gratitude, not greed! It is hard to make patients understand this. To most of them, it has to be fight and fight all the way to the grave. No, at CA Care we never tell you to fight — we tell you to learn how to live with your cancer! We ask you to tell you cancer, If I die, you will die too. So let’s have a win-win situation. You live in there but don’t disturb me and we all live together happily. Of course, many people may think we are talking “rubbish”.  May be true, but what other option do you have?

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Being alive and healthy is not good enough, he wanted a “CURE”

Jack (not real name) is a 69-year-old Indonesian. Some 20 years ago, he was told he had hepatitis B. For all these years he did nothing about it. And he did not have any symptom.

In May 2013, he went to a private hospital in Melaka for a checkup.

  • Blood test — tumour markers and liver function enzymes — were all within normal range, except for a slightly low platelet count.
  • Ultrasound of upper abdomen showed a heterogenous solid lesion in segment 7 measuring 5.7 x 6.8 cm. There are multiple cysts in both lobes of liver measuring 7 to 12 mm in size. Multiple cysts in left kidney, largest 2.9 x 4.9 cm and a large right renal cyst, 8.4 x 10.1 cm.
  • CT scan of abdomen confirmed a 7 x 6 x 6 cm tumour in segment 7 of liver. This is suspicious of HCC (liver cancer).

Not satisfied, Jack went to Singapore for second opinion.

  • MRI on 4 June 2013 confirmed the presence of a large enhancing mass lesion in segment 7 and 6, measuring 6.2 x 6.2 x 5.3 cm. The right kidney cyst was 10.3 x 6.8 cm in size.
  • There was no MRI evidence of extrahepatic metastatic disease.

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 Jack came back to Penang again. Blood test done in a private hospital on 12 June 2013, showed everything was normal. Two days later, he and his family came to seek our help. Listen to our conversation that day.

 

 

Chris: You have consulted three doctors. What did they ask you to do?

Son: All the three doctors suggested surgery, remove 45 percent of the liver.

C: Did you ask if doing this can cure?

S: There is a high chance that the cancer would recur after 2 years.

C: How much is it going to cost you?

S: If done in Singapore it is SGD 45,000. If in Malaysia it is RM 45,000.

C: So, what do you want to do? Go for surgery?

Patient: If possible, I want to avoid that.

Jack was prescribed liver herbs. On 30 April 2014, almost a year later, Jack’s son wrote:

Dear Dr. Chris: My father shows no sign of pain and has good appetite. He lost a lot weight but has since maintained at around 59 kg. Apparently last month he went for USG on his own without us knowing. The result showed slight increase in the size of the tumor.

One month later, May 2014, Jack and his son came to our centre.

Chris: How are you doing?

P: Fine, except that the food is not delicious. Because I cannot eat meat.

C: Okay, you can go home and die!

Listen to this story: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2011/12/24/liver-cancer-better-to-become-a-full-stomach-ghost-than-a-hungry-ghost/  This patient who was medically given up told us that he would like to eat what he liked because he did not want to die with an empty stomach and turned into a hungry ghost! One year 8 months later, he died.

P: I am growing thinner.

C: Why do you want to grow fat? You are not a pig or a cow — to be sold by the kilos. Being alive and healthy, with no pain, can eat, can walk, can sleep — what else do you want?

Comments

Unfortunately, most patients are like Jack. When they feel well — the first problem they encounter is their diet. Cannot eat this, cannot eat that. This is the most common complaint!

Read this story and listen carefully to the video: https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2015/08/07/lymphoma-part-3-digging-my-own-grave-with-my-folk-and-spoon/

Not long ago, I received an email from the daughter of a patient with medically-given-up pancreatic-liver cancer. She wrote:  Doctor, my father getting fed up eating food without oil. Is it ok if we use small amount of oil or ghee to cook his food? 

To that, I replied:  Let him die if that is what he wants. Go eat what he likes and see what happens. I am not god to give patients permission to eat this or eat that. I am telling you, if you eat bad food you die. As simple as that.

Apart from the diet, another problem facing patients like Jack is the sheer ignorance or the lack of wanting to know the reality of their illness. Three doctors have told Jack that 45 percent of his liver had to be cut off. Does that not sound serious to you? Spend SGD 45,000 or RM 45,000 (take your choice) but within two years, the cancer is expected to come back! Giving you two years is rather generous indeed! You could be dead after the surgery!

Read these stories:

  1. Liver Cancer: 3 cm Tumour OUT, 8 cm Tumour IN After 9 Months and S$28,000-Surgery
  2. Cancer Recurred Three Months After Surgery
  3. And this story — the mother of all disasters, A Great Failure and Let Down. Sam was operated on in October 2008 and by April 2009 he was dead. That was just six months after his liver surgery.

Apart from the sad experiences above, here are what the experts said about liver cancer, like the one that Jack has.

  • Hepatocellular carcinoma is an aggressive cancer that frequently occurs in the setting of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. It is typically diagnosed late in the disease course, often precluding curative surgical therapies. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3421475/
  1. A total of 850 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were seen during the last 8 years.
  2. The median survival of 229 patients who received no specific treatment was 1.6 months — 0.7 month for Stage 3 patients, 2.0 months for Stage 2, and 8.3 months for Stage I.
  • From January 1999 to December 2010; 320 out of 825 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of HCC and not appropriate for curative or palliative treatments were followed and managed with supportive therapy. The median overall survival was 6.8 months, corresponding to 33% of the patients being alive at one year. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3468702/

For the above data, it is clear that patients with HCC or liver cancer would not be able to survive long — average 6.

When Jack came back to see us ONE year later, he was well — only on herbs and change of diet, without any medical drugs. What was not well with him was his dissatisfaction of not being able to eat what he likes — our suggested diet was not delicious enough!

We have many liver cancer patients who are like Jack. They were on our therapy and lived much longer than 6 months. That is if they take care of their diet.

Read these stories:

  1. 8 cm Liver Tumour Shrunk After 8 Months On Herbs. Still Alive and Well After 2 Years
  2. Liver Cancer: Two months to live yet still fine after one and a half years!
  3. Only On Herbs And She Lives More Than Five Years!

So, to patients like Jack we ask: Being alive and healthy, with no pain, can eat, can walk, can sleep — what else do you want?

Unfortunately, we know that some patients, even if they are getting better, they do not have a sense of gratitude — to appreciate and be grateful for what they are blessed with. They demanded more — they wanted a total cure! They wanted to eat what they like. They want to go back to their old way of life.

Jack’s story did not end yet. After two years of being alive and healthy, he courted disaster!

Disastrous Ending?

In October 2015, we received an e-mail from Jack’s son.

Dear Dr. Chris,

In April 2015, my father had decided to take up treatment in X Hospital, China. Some of the treatments are interventional embolism therapy, cryoablation therapy — in the last six months. His weight before treatment was 59 kg, now 51 kg.

Even though I was against this idea of going to China for treatment, I respected his decision. Currently, he developed ascites in his body. The doctor helped to drain the fluid, around 3.5 litres. From your website, I understand that you have herbs for ascites. Could you prescribe for my father?

Jack and his family made 3 trips to China and spent about SGD 60,000 for treatment there. According to his medical report these were what the doctors did for him:

  • Interventional embolization with LOHP + 5FU + Lip.
  • Immunotherapy.
  • Cryoablation.
  • He was given Genoderma lucidum (Linzhi) capsules to take on discharge.

Jack’s son came to Penang and sought our help again. Listen to what Jack’s son had got to say that day.

 

 

Chris: Your father. Already two years. How is he now?

Son: As I mentioned in my e-mail. Six months ago he decided to go to China.

C: What did they do to him there?

S:  Interventional embolization, immunotherapy and cryo-therapy!

C: Wah, how many times did you go there and how much did it cost you?

S: Three times, costing about SDG 60,000.

C: Why did he want to go to China?

S: Before going there, we had a family discussion. I told my family. Dr. Chris is not a saint but what he said is very logical. It is about quality of life. I told my father, perhaps after you got to China may end up worse off. It turned out to be true. There are four of us, and three of my brothers were against him going to China.

C: There is this man from Medan. He too went to China (same hospital). He spent almost IDR 3 billion! And he did not find any cure — became worse. I asked him: Why do you come and see me? He replied: I have no more money! This man also told me that he know about CA Care even before he went to China but he did not want to come here because he did not want to follow our recommended diet. So I asked: Now you are here, do you want to follow our diet?  He said yes. I told him if you want to eat what you like, you better leave. I cannot help you.

S: My father said Dr. Chris’ herbs cannot block the growth of the tumour. But I told him you only follow 90 percent of his recommended diet. Cannot.

C: Yesterday, one patient with liver cancer was here. He was told he had only 9 months. Now with the herbs and proper diet, he is still alive and healthy after one year! He can play golf and walk long distance. Then he told me a friend sent him a video which said he must not eat rice but eat a lot of meat and eggs instead. I told him, Okay, go home and eat these. Be prepared to die after one month!

S: When we were in China, the doctor there also said it is not right NOT to eat meat and eggs. I didn’t want to argue with the doctor because I was not able to speak Chinese. Two weeks ago, my father’s stomach was bloated with fluid inside. We had to go to the doctor (in our hometown) to tap it out. But the doctor said the fluid can come back again.

C: Before going to China, did you ask if the treatments they are going to give, is going to cure your father’s liver cancer?

S: They cannot! I already told my father. In the website they never ever mentioned cure. They only say they may be able to extend his life. I said told my father, Dr. Chris already extended your life for 2 years, what else do you want!

C; That is what I mean by people not being thankful. They do not acknowledge and thank God for what is good. They only want what they want. This is the problem with many cancer patients. Okay, you went to China many times. Did your father get better and better — after spending all that money?

S: Weaker …. one time my father asked the doctor why after coming here (China) he became weaker. The doctor did not answer!

C: Does he know that he is not getting better?

S: Now he knows he is not good!

In summary, for patients who come to seek our help, we would like to tell you these once again — frankly and bluntly.

  1. Read and Learn. Know what your cancer is all about. Know what you are up against. Don’t depend entirely on others to tell you what t do. Learn and heal yourself. Know that there is no cure for cancer but you can find healing. If you don’t want to read or know, you may end up being a “dead duck”!
  2. Be grateful for what you are each day. To be able to live — free of pain, being able to eat, sleep and move around, etc. Thank God for each day that you have. But if you are always asking for the impossible, you will never be able to be happy and satisfied. You will never find healing with such an “ungrateful” attitude.
  3. To heal, you need to accept the hard reality that you MUST change — change your attitude about life, change your lifestyle and change your diet.
  4. Know that your health is your responsibility. Others around you may be able to help but they cannot cure you. You need to help yourself and heal yourself. And make no mistake, you cannot find healing on your own terms.

 

 

 

Sarcoma: Son died after leg amputation and chemotherapy

Pak X, an Indonesian from Medan came to seek our help. His wife had a big,cancerous lump in her breast. She refused surgery. I told them: “If you don’t go for surgery, I would not be able to help you.” Reluctantly the patient agreed to a mastectomy. However, she refused chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

One day, I asked Bapa X why he was so adamant about not wanting to go for chemotherapy. Listen to what he said:

 

 

Gist of what Pak X  said:

  • I don’t want chemo. This is based on my son’s bad experience. I now know chemo is not effective. My son was 16 years old when  he had a painful, reddish rash on his shin. This was later diagnosed as soft tissue sarcoma.
  • I brought my son to Guangzhou, China for treatment. They amputated his leg up to the thigh. Then they gave him chemo – 5 or 6 times (I am not sure now). We stayed in Guangzhou for about 6 months. The treatments were not effective.
  • I then brought my son to Beijing for further treatment using herbs. This was done in a hospital. We stayed in Beijing for about one and a half years. The treatment failed, the doctors surrendered.
  • I brought my son home to Medan. He died after 4 months. The cancer had spread to his lungs.
  • At least I was grateful that my son survived for one a half years with the herbs.

Chris: When you were in Guangzhou – they cut off his leg and gave him chemo – did you ever ask if the treatments were going to cure him?

Bapa: Yes, the doctor said the treatments can cure him.

C: When the treatments failed, did you ever ask the doctor again why he was not able to cure your son?

B: I did not ask that question. I just packed off and went to Beijing instead. We did not return to Guangzhou again.

C: In Beijing, did you ask the doctor if the herbal treatment was going to cure your son?

B: “Diusaha” (we’ll try our best).

C: How much did it cost you to undergo all those treatments?

B: I cannot remember now, but I have to sell a house to pay for the medical expenses.

(Bapa broke down in tears after this. This was not the first time Pak cried. Earlier, while taking a ride in our car to his apartment, he broke down  and cried when relating his son’s story. Now, it is his wife who has breast cancer and they refused chemotherapy or radiotherapy).

C: I am very sorry to bring this matter up. It stressed you a lot. Please don’t regret for what you have done. Don’t blame yourself. You have done your best. Also know that things like this happen to many people – having to sell their house or land to pay for medical expenses.

B: You asked me earlier why I did not want my wife to go for chemo. No, she is not going to do that. No chemo – anywhere! Property gone, life also gone after chemo, besides having to suffer. No. No to chemo. If we take herbs, life may go but at least there is no suffering!

Related stories:

Regretted for not giving mom chemo for her sarcoma

Chemotherapy for sarcoma: He died after 8 months