This morning, I woke to a comment on google/blogger that peaked my interest.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/toxic-biology
I don't want to say I'm endorsing the campaign. However, I watched it and realized something: Everyone who has cancer has a story. Each story is different.
My cancer kills 7-14 days after it begins. Kills. There is no time to think about second opinions. No time to think about going to work the next day. No time to research alternative medicines. People before the 1980s who had APL died. They died quickly thinking they had the flu or miserable, hooked up to tubes inserting chemo that doctors knew would not work, instead just buy a small window of time.
I am lucky. Somehow, somewhere, someone found that all trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a derivative of Vitamin A, in combination with Arsenic Trioxide (this is not some crazy chemical...arsenic is a naturally occurring element on the planet) put the cancer at bay and actually cures people of APL (my leukemia). I don't think it could get any more natural than Vitamin A and Arsenic. Yet, that's a synopsis and the most brief and simple way I can put it. The ATRA I take is super duper expensive and not just popping a vitamin you can buy over the counter at Walgreens or CVS. In fact, their pharmacies don't even stock my Vitamin A...at $5,000/ 30 day supply, you have to special order it or get it from the hospital pharmacy. And we all know arsenic can kill you. Its a poison. I still had to get an EKG every day before treatment.
However, I digress. I think everyone that has been touched (or slapped in the face) with cancer should tell their story. I had nothing but faith in my doctors when I was diagnosed. I never thought a second about getting a second opinion or thinking about other means of treatment.
Do they know why I got my cancer? No. That's okay with me. So doctors don't know everything. I'm okay with that. They know a lot more than me. Since that first week of being in the hospital with my diagnosis, I started doing my research. I realized its the only proven way to cure me was what my doctors were already doing. I had the best in the field helping me.
For those that didn't have faith in their medical staff...that's a shame and you should. But if you think every doctor should have the answers...sometimes they just don't. We don't know what causes autism. Should we? Yes, because that might make it easier to cure it and prevent it from happening in the future. Same goes for all cancers. Sometimes, it just doesn't work like that. Life happens.
It doesn't mean I don't want to hear your story, though. I do. I think its interesting how some people find their own diagnosis and cure(s). Lorrie, a gal that I sat with in outpatient chemo, was suffering from a woman cancer (I can't remember if it was ovarian, cervical, etc). She switched to an all organic, raw, vegan lifestyle. Lorrie started seeing specialists in naturopathic medicine who gave her IVs of vitamins. She also had traditional medical treatments, we did meet in chemo! She had surgery, had a port installed, and received chemo weekly for 8 or 10 sessions. She is on track for a full recovery. Lorrie would tell you it was her change in lifestyle and belief in God that saved her life and cured her. I think it was a combination of everything. I am still fascinated by her recovery and healing, though.
Please check out this Indiegogo campaign, but also check out other cancer and illness/disease specific campaigns and read their stories, too.
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