Like I’ve said before, I am not a doctor or a scientist. I am a self-educated chemo-free cancer survivor and I often have people contact me who want to know more. So I am going to explain in the simplest terms what I have come to understand and believe to be true about chemotherapy; and why I did not do it.
Tell me if this story sounds familiar:
Someone you know finds out they have cancer in a specific part of their body, like their lungs. They take multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Over time the cancer shrinks and disappears. The doctors tell them they can’t find any cancer in their body. Everyone is so relieved. The cancer is now in “remission”.
Some time goes by and they have more tests only to find out that the cancer has returned. But this time it’s not just in their lungs, it’s in their liver, or their thyroid, or their brain, or their blood, etc.
They go through more chemo and radiation but the doctors just can’t stop the cancer. Every time you see them they look worse and worse. Eventually after a difficult battle ranging from a few months to a few years they die.
So what happened?
This is what happened:
Chemotherapy is poison and it does not discriminate. It works by attacking rapidly dividing cells in your body which affects your hair, nails, skin, your digestive system, and your blood. This process makes you very sick and can cause permanent damage to various parts of your body including your brain, liver, hearing, and reproductive organs.
Chemotherapy attacks rapidly reproducing cells, which includes some types of cancer cells, but it also attacks your white blood cells, a major player in your immune system.
Note: Your immune system is what keeps you alive.
We all have pre-cancerous cells in our bodies that are eliminated by the natural processes of our immune system.
If you have cancer in your body, your immune system is fighting it, albeit not very well, but it is fighting it.
If the cancer is growing, that means your immune system could be overwhelmed or suppressed, and not functioning as well as it should. But having cancer doesn’t mean your immune system is doing nothing.
If you take chemotherapy and it doesn’t kill all the cancer cells; you will find yourself in a very vulnerable position with a decimated immune system. You will have little defenses left to prevent any remaining cancer cells from reproducing.
Here’s the scary part. If you still have cancerous cells in your body, they will proceed to take over like wild fire. I’ve seen it happen over and over with friends that went through chemo; and chances are, you have too.
Sometimes chemo will stop one kind of cancer, but then the patient will develop an entirely different form of cancer. Again, this happened because their immune system was destroyed and their internal defenses were down.
Their body became a place where cancerous cells could flourish. Oh and chemotherapy is carcinogenic, that means it causes cancer. In fact it’s so toxic that nurses have to protect their skin from exposure when administering it to patients. They don’t want to get it on their skin, but they have no problem putting it in your veins.
This may also sound familiar:
I ran into a friend of the family who had undergone chemotherapy recently. Let’s just call this person “Pat”. Please try not to picture Pat from SNL. Of course now that’s exactly who you’re picturing. Whatever, here’s the story. I saw Pat several months before the chemo started. I didn’t see Pat again until after nearly a year of chemo. When I did, I was shocked. Pat looked ten to fifteen years older. Pat went from “middle aged” to “elderly” in less than a year. It was heart breaking. The transformation in Pat’s face alone was unbelievable. Pat’s face was sunken in; Pat’s skin was leathery and wrinkled; and Pat’s hair had grown back thin and lifeless. Pat is still alive and as I write this I don’t know the condition of Pat’s health. But one thing I do know and witnessed firsthand: The ravaging aftereffects of chemotherapy are real.
(Addendum: Pat passed away a few months after I wrote this.)
When the doctors told me I would have to have chemotherapy I accepted it, but I didn’t feel good about it.
It just didn’t sit well with me and I didn’t have peace about it.
Then I began to study the effects that chemotherapy would have on my body and immune system, which explained my instinctive resistance. I remember thinking to myself, there’s got to be another way…
This was my thought process:
-My body is designed to heal itself.
-Something inside me is malfunctioning and affecting my immune system, allowing cancer to grow.
-Chemotherapy is poison that will hurt my body and destroy my immune system.
-I don’t want to hurt my body and destroy my immune system. I want to build it up.
-Cancer is not the Cause of a sick body, it is the Effect of a sick body.
-I’ve got to find therapies that strengthen my body and my immune system, so it can heal itself.
And that’s exactly what I did. I radically changed my dietand did every natural, alternative, and holistic therapy I could find.
If all else failed, chemo would be my last resort.
An investigation by the Department of Radiation Oncology, Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Australia, into the contribution of chemotherapy to 5-year survival in 22 major adult malignancies, showed startling results: The overall contribution of curative and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adults was estimated to be 2.3% in Australia and 2.1% in the USA.” [Royal North Shore Hospital Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2005 Jun;17(4):294.]
The research covered data from the Cancer Registry in Australia and the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results in the USA for the year 1998. The current 5-year relative adult survival rate for cancer in Australia is over 60%, and no less than that in the USA. By comparison, a mere 2.3% contribution of chemotherapy to cancer survival does not justify the massive expense involved and the tremendous suffering patients experience because of severe, toxic side effects resulting from this treatment. With a meager success rate of 2.3%, selling chemotherapy as a medical treatment (instead of a scam), is one of the greatest fraudulent acts ever committed. The average chemotherapy earns the medical establishment a whopping $300,000 to $1,000,000 each year, and has so far earned those who promote this pseudo-medication (poison) over 1 trillion dollars. It’s no surprise that the medical establishment tries to keep this scam alive for as long as possible.
-Andreas Moritz, Natural News
Disclaimers Abound
I have shared my story and convictions with many people diagnosed with cancer. I’ve listened to them agree with me and say to me “You’re right. I know deep down you’re right.” And I’ve watched them choose to do chemotherapy anyway.
Some of them survived (miracle), most of them have not. The hardest part for me is wondering whether or not I could have said something else that would have made the difference. Those experiences added more fuel to my fire, which is why I’m doing this now.
I am not a doctor (pretty sure I said that already). Therefore, I cannot tell you “Don’t take chemotherapy” or I could be accused of “attempting to diagnose, treat, or cure disease” or practicing medicine without a license. Even arrested.
Sometimes when we’re in difficult situations we just want someone to tell us what to do. I sure did. More than anything.
But in this case, I can’t. And neither can anyone else. Whether or not you take chemotherapy is a decision only you can make.
And it’s a damn hard one.
If you have cancer or are undergoing chemotherapy now, what you just read might be terrifying. You may be feeling more confused than ever. I know. I was exactly where you are, back in 2004. This is the time where you need to Pray. Ask God to reveal himself to you. Ask Him lead you in the direction you should go. That’s exactly what I did. The God of the Universe who created you and loves you, has a plan for your life. He answered my prayers and He will answer yours.
I want to encourage you to do your own research outside of what the doctors are telling you, in order to make an informed decision. Take responsibility for your own health. This blog should not be the only thing you read.
This book was profoundly helpful in my decision-making process:
God’s Way To Ultimate Health by George Malkmus. Buy it.
Additional Recommended Reading:
Natural Strategies For Cancer Patients
There Are No Incurable Diseases
Remember:
Your body is designed to heal itself.
Your immune system keeps you well.
Chemo kills your immune system.
(((c)))
Related Post: The BUSINE$$ of CHEMO
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Hi Chris and other commenters!
Do any of you have a recommended cancer Naturopath that you would recommend? Or… ?? (In the Orange County, California area).
Any insight would be helpful. Thank you!
Told I had Esophageal cancer June 2011. At the time stated stage 4 and was in Esophagus, lymph nodes and liver.
I did do 6 rounds of chemo ending Nov 2011. Since then a couple of scans showed good results and I have been feeling fine. Now latest scan shows no issues except with the liver. The lesion there has increased in size. I do not have any symptoms and all other test (blood) show no issues at all.
I have been asked to start another round of chemo and am having a real problem with it. Spiritually I hear ‘have faith’ Body wise I feel great. Mind is a confused but in a pretty good place.
I think my immune system is improved since being off the chemo and with proper attention it may be powerful enough to deal with the liver lesion. I just cannot see doing more damage than I have already done and I really do feel God, me and loved ones and handle it. Just a bit scared. Anyone have chemo once and then stop when asked to do it again?
Thanks,
Ken
Kudos to you for healing yourself from cancer and not succumbing to Big Pharma’s agenda. I eat an organic diet but could improve on it greatly so I enjoy looking at what you eat and your recipes. Again, I am so happy for you and wish you great health for years to come!
Hi Chris,
I am so happy that I came across your blog. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in late October. I opted to have a double mastecomy. They only found a small amount in my left breast none in my right & both lymphnodes that were removed were negative for cancer but yet my doctor highly recommends me to have chemo once a week for 12 weeks. She claims because of my age it could come back.I denied treatment & I’ve been scared ever since. Not knowing if I’m making the right decision, you see I have 4 yound sons & want to do everything I can to be here for a long time. In my eyes hosptals are a business too & chemo treatments are a very expensive. After I told the doctor I didn’t want Chemo she told me that I would have a 30% chance it could come back but chemo would knock that percent down to 15%… I’ve been a risk taker since I was a teenager so I told her at 44 I will take that risk, then she offered me to go t a weaker chemo once every 3 weeks and my chances of it coming back would be 20%, again I refused now they prescibed me a pill called tamoxofin, and I’m not sure if I should take take either! It’s just so confusing but I must say after reading your page I feel relieved that I’m not alone in thinking that Chemo is Bad for me! Thanks Chris for making us all aware! ~Lynne
Lynne,
I would love to have the opportunity to email you. I’m 33 and was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer two weeks ago. I am strongly considering not doing chemo. mirrasmith@gmail.com
Hi Mirra
I have emailed you with some information that might help and Lynne I have information to help you too especially re things you can do to support yourself if not taking the Tamoxifen. I have chosen not to go down that route. Please drop me a line at claire@clairefearon.com and I can share what I know.
Way to go, Chris. Too bad that most of the country (and probably the world) is so brainwashed into believing they only have one choice, mainstream medicine, when they get cancer. I hope you live a long and healthful life, and thank you for your efforts to spread the word of sensibility. We need such information to continue to be available, more now than ever. Thanks again!
ii wanted to add cannabis is showing great results in beating cancer.Please watch Rick Simpsons”run from the cure” on youtube and check out all available about the science behind it..bless
I agree with this 100%. As soon as it is conveyed someone has cancer to the medical establishment they quickly give the person chemo or radiation to purposely destroy their ammune system! They have to convince the population that cancer is incureble and propagate the how deadly it is. Any doctor or researcher or rugular person that has found an alternative treatment with good results gets persecuted not congradulated! Especially if the method or cure is cheap and found everywhere look at apricot seeds or marijuana, There are testomonials of people that have successes with both the list goes on. Both Apricots and Marijuana were made illeagal (as treatments). 2 Doctors in toronto canada are using DCA, a compound cheap and inexpensive and it cures cancer those Doctors are now getting persecuted by health canada! Cancer is reversible but not if they can destroy your immune system first.
I re-read this now (and probably will many times again) to bolster myself in my decision to stop after one session of chemo — I’m nervous about telling my doctors that I will be stopping. I’m grateful to them for surgically removing my tumor, but as for any remaining microbes of cancer that may return or grow, I’m going to take responsibility for dispelling and destroying them going forward. In a word chemo felt like suicide and I will not allow that in my body ever again.
I began my juice fast (ala Dr. Richard Schulze) yesterday — happy Independence day all around! — and it feels so good to be actively cleaning up my own mess. I remind myself that ALL my past behaviors were not wrong, in fact, some were very right, it’s just that now I need to add new healthy behaviors and let go of anything that was detrimental to my well-being.
I would never ever do chemo again!!!!!!!!!!!!! It destroyed my beautiful hair! And destroyed my body!!!
Hi Chris!
Thanks for this blog. I’m a chiropractor and I always try to educate people about the fact that your body heals itself when properly nourished. I’m glad to have found your site. It’s nice to be able to share experiences of others with my patients. I will be sure to point people this way.
Thank you Hailey!
Hi Chris (and everyone),
I am in London, England and have been diagnosed with stage 2a of Hodgkins Lymphoma. I’m 35 and otherwise seemingly well. I’ve had one cycle (2 treatments) of chemo and I don’t want any more. Friends are concerned about my decision and medical professionals are trying to persuade me to continue. Thanks for the work you’ve put into your site. I think it’s one of few places I will find practical help.
Rita.
You’re welcome Rita!
(((c)))
Hello, my aunt (who is one of the great loves of my life) has just recently been diagnosed with stage 4 renal kidney cancer. I’m just starting my research and feel so overwhelmed and so scared. I want to save her. I talk to God everyday and ask for direction, and I belive that finding you is part of his answer. I am interested in nutritional info (my aunt is in her 60′s), meditation/prayer (I find myself just saying “please God save my aunt” and would like something more eloquent) and if you could just point me in the right direction to continue my research, I’m not finding to much on kidney cancer. Thank you for your courage to share your experience and God bless you and keep you strong. Sincerely Maria G., Pembroke Pines, FL
Hi Maria
So sorry to hear about your Aunt.
It is very hard to lead someone else down the path of natural healing if they don’t want to go.
I would give her the book God’s Way to Ultimate Health, you can get it on amazon.com
That book opened my eyes to alternative therapy for cancer and may for her as well.
Another great book is Cancer Free by Bill Henderson
Chris
Hi Chris, I was led to this on you tube after praying about this. Too long of a story to post here but I think you’re prayers were the first and most important thing you did and secondly I think this confirms what you’re doing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqYK1J3kJY
God bless you in 2011
Ron
Wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing the link Ron.
I agree with you.
Her testimony so closely parallels mine, that I got a little choked up watching it.
:)
Hi Chris, Congrats! I have followed a similar immune path and am also NED. I had stage 4 Adrenal cancer with mets to the liver and lungs in addition to the primary tumor. Many of the philosophies you talk about I also believe and have utilized. You have a great site with good info for people with cancer that has not spread to distant sites (other organs) etc.
However, there are nuances I believe are very important to clarify.
1. The approach you speak of (immune enhancing diet and rest) is almost never enough when cancer has spread to distant site (e.g. liver, lungs, etc) or if surgery has not been performed to eliminate the original tumor (I’m guessing you had surgery to eliminate the primary tumor? I think it’s very important that those that visit your site understand this.
2. The natural immune approach declines in effectiveness as we age and diet can’t reverse this decline. the decline starts around 50. Clearly a great diet will make the most of what we have, but it’s still not going to be nearly as strong as a 25 year olds immune system given the same diet. However, the good news is that there are a number of therapies to enhance the natural immune system (e.g. cloning immune cells and sensitizing them the cancer then reintroducing them to the body — this is a system developed at the university of washington and has cured a 50 year old of stage 4 melanoma. It’s currently in trial at a number of cancer centers).
Also there are other new therapies that are being developed to enhance the immune system that can work alongside diet. (this is the approach that worked for me — and imagine the shock of my Mayo oncologist when I didn’t die within six months but actually slowly reduced all tumors tilll I was NED (he said that he had probably misdiagnosed the original mets and that they weren’t cancerous till I reminded him that they had been biopsied).
In any case, you have a great site, but if you could clarify and also add more therapy options for people with mets and or older people I think that would be very important.
If you’d like more info please call 612 581 2619.
Best, Amy
Hi Amy your story is great and thanks for your thoughtful insights!
1. I’m not claiming that what I did cures all cancers, however there are documented cases of all cancers being cured by natural and alternatives therapies. Also yes I had surgery to remove a stage 3 tumor which talk about often and is in the “About Chris” section.
2. You’re right about age effectiveness being an important consideration, but again there are cases of people over age 50 recovering through natural methods. Perhaps the most exciting thing are the discoveries of new immune boosting therapies. That’s what doctors need to be doing to cancer patients; supercharging their bodies natural defenses. Not destroying them with chemotherapy. I think this would be great post topic. I’ll be in touch.
Chris
Chris,
Your blog is what those of us who have cancer want to see, not promotion of products that “cure”, s string of faceless testimonials, and a link to an online store (e.g. cancerfightingstrategies.com). Instead-A real live person who can give us insight. Thank You!!! This year I had stage III colon cancer, an operation at UCSF, and 6 mos. of chemo. After 3 mos off chemo, a week ago, I found out I now have stage IV and I start another 6 mos. chemo regimen again next week.
I want to incorporate as much of your approach into my life during and after chemo. I fully understand the destructive impacts to the immune system of chemo. I will have access to a nutritionist and an integrative medicine doctor. However, I have a few questions:
1. What are your thoughts about supplements? I notice you used alkalizing green powder.
2. Nutritionists have told me that maintaining your weight was essential to ability to endure chemo and fight cancer. Were you able to maintain your weight pretty much while you were fighting off the cancer on your primarily vegan diet? (incidentally, I believe that eating too much meat contributed to my cancer)
3. During your period fighting the cancer what did you eat for breakfast. Did you just have veggie juice?
4. What did you do for exercise during that time? Do you meditate?
5. What is the most recent ctscan you’ve had and the results?
6. Did you use enemas during your “fight” like Gerson therapy promotes? Did you fast also during?
Congratulations on your success. I really appreciate what you’ve done with your web site. You have very creatively shown us how to apply much of the knowledge that can be found in various books and web sites. It also gives some hope.
Thanks,
Steve Nish
Hi Steve. Thank you. I’ve seen those other sites and I know exactly what you mean.
1. I took a ton of supplements, this is a new blog for me and I haven’t had time yet to post on all the ones I took.
Here are some I took the most from Garden of Life: Primal Defense, RM-10, and their Perfect Food greens powder. Read the book Patient Heal Thyself for recommended doses. I basically took any natural supplement claiming to boost the immune system that I could find.
Check it out Dr. Richard Schulze. He’s great. http://www.herbdoc.com
2. I definitely lost some weight on the raw vegan diet, but I wasn’t concerned about my weight.
3. For breakfast everyday I drank a green powder mixed with water then juiced. I also did a lot of juice fasting. There’s a post about that on here.
4. For exercise I used a mini trampoline called a Rebounder three times a day, it moves your lymphatic system like no other exercise. I ran some, but only 1 or two miles at a time. I also worked out once a week, but not hard. I went to the sauna often to sweat out toxins.
I prayed and meditated on healing scriptures constantly. I will email you some if you want.
5. My most recent CT scan shows no cancer. I’ve had 4 or 5. I won’t be having anymore. Too much cancer-causing radiation in that procedure.
6. Yes Definitely Gerson Therapy. Definitely Coffee Enemas.
Bottom line is I did everything I could afford and find time to do.
Strongly Recommended Reading:
Natural Strategies For Cancer Patients
God’s Way To Ultimate Health
Patient Heal Thyself
There Are No Incurable Diseases
Steve, my wife Micah and I will pray for your healing.
Please keep me posted on your progress.
-Chris
Hi Steve,
I wanted to send you a note about raw veggies and chemo. I agree with this site 100%, and perhaps you i already know this, but you must be careful while eating raw foods while on chemo. It really has more to do with your white count. If your white blood cell count is extremely low, you have to at least steam your veggies.
I wasn’t going to respond at fisrt, but the day you wrote is the day (not the year) I ended up in the hospital because I spiked a fever, and they couldn’t figure out why, but I ended up spending 3 or 4 days on iv antibiotics. Only then did i learn the bacteria from people touching the veggies and fruits with thin skins can be fought off by someone with a normal immune system, but not someone who is neutropenic(comprimised immune system). So no raw veggies or fruit with thin skin from the grocery store and no mayo, although if you are following the things on here, I would think you aren’t eating mayo anyway. I don’t know why the doctor or nurses never told me this immediately.
Hope your doing well,
Jessica
Thanks Jessica. Unfortunately chemo decimates your immune system to such an extent that you can be vulnerable to very simple bacteria in raw foods. Lightly steaming is the best way to cook veggies to preserve nutrients and kill bacteria.
Chris this is a great website/blog you have here. Congratulations on beating cancer! there are some great documentaries and books about changing diet and lifestyle to overcome and prevent illness but I like your upfront, frank and down to earth’ness. I too am not a doctor but do believe that whole foods, alternative therapies and looking after your mind and body is crital to wellbeing. I am working in Shanghai and if anyone here is in health & wellness let me know, its about time this industry gets started here. Unfortunately “Westernisation”, junk food and illness is taking its toll in China.
All the best!
Chris, I have a few questions for you. I may have missed it but what type of cancer do you have and at what stage? Funny you mentioned Lung cancer in your blog. that is exactly what I have, metastasized to the liver, spine, skull and ribs. Initially the doctors thought it was TB, then Breast Cancer until they finally settled on the left lung. Small Cell. Stage four.
Second, have you heard of the Budwig Protocol and if you have, what do you think of it?
Forgive me! I just read your About Chris section lol Oh also the kimchi and noodles I mentioned is prepared with white sugar, not a whole lot but I wanted to know if I can ask my mother to either eliminate the sugar or ask her to prepare it with stevia instead
Could you share sources (hopefully online resources, instead of books to buy) for some of your assertions? Some of your points seem contrary to my own understanding, and I’d like to reconcile that.
The ones that stand out the most:
1) the dependence upon the immune system to detect and destroy cells that have mutated into cancers
2) the parts of the immune system that are most damaged by chemotherapy (thus inhibiting the action of #1)
They make good premises for a syllogism, but they seem too oversimplified for me to buy. This is coming from someone recently through a bunch of different chemotherapy treatments, so our perspectives are already quite differing. So too have been our cancers.
I don’t argue that a fundamental change in how one lives one’s life can affect huge positive health benefits, and perhaps even create a less inviting environment for cancer. No argument there. I think it’s the vehemence of your hatred of chemotherapy. For someone with an extensively spread blood cancer, surgery isn’t an option. In the emergent case of massively enlarged organs that cannot be removed or resectioned, a fundamental change in lifestyle may be too late.
I’m glad to hear that the surgery and living well have kept you, well, living well!
Hi Tom
I understand where you’re coming from and expect to be challenged.
This article is intentionally oversimplified. I’m sharing the basics in a blog post than can be digested in a couple minutes.
I’m not the world’s foremost expert on health and wellness and have no desire to be.
I’m just a dude who beat cancer without chemo.
The point of everything I say is to encourage you to do your own research.
You should definitely read the books I recommend and more. The more you read, the more supporting evidence you’ll find.
I suggest you ask your doctor those same two questions. If your doctor is like most, he didn’t tell you much, but he will if you ask; to some extent. Which, incidentally, is a story I hear far too often from cancer patients about the lack of information supplied to them about success rates and the effects chemotherapy would have on their body, like “chemo brain” for example.
For anyone reading this who doesn’t know, “chemo brain” is short to long-term brain damage that makes it very hard to think clearly, organize information, remember things, and function in normal life after chemo. A dear friend of mine likened it to Alzheimer’s.
I don’t hate chemotherapy at all, but people need to know what it is and what it does.
Just google “chemotherapy”, “immune system”, etc. You’ll find enough reading for days.
Here’s one I just found http://www.naturalnews.com/023689.html
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
I had the good fortune of working with doctors who were willing to have long discussion with me about their understanding of how my specific cancer (lymphoma) operated, how the different types of treatments effected major cell groups in my body, and what I could expect long-term. Not everyone has this kind of experience.
Reading the article that you linked to, and researching some of it’s warrants, brought me to a few responses:
1 – The quote from “Alan Levin, MD” is used just about everywhere online where people want to slam conventional approaches to cancer treatment. I haven’t been able to find much in the way of the original source of the quote, and he seems to be credited as being both from Harvard and from UCSF.
2 – The study from Australia showing a real small up-tick in survival benefit from chemotherapy was very selective in which cancers they included. Blood cancers and other cancers with really significant chemotherapy benefit rates were excluded. Still, dismal results for other cancers are dismal results! Here is an interesting response, written by someone that I assume is a pharmacy-related source.
3 – Abel’s research, from 1990, is tied in as a stunning conclusion at the bottom. “If they tell you that chemotherapy is your best chance of surviving, you will know they are lying or are simply misinformed.” This research is from 1990. 1990! So much changed about the types and amounts of drugs. But the real kicker: the paper may not actually ever have existed!
Many of these articles use the same quotes and studies, copied and pasted from each other, to talk about how chemotherapy continues to be discussed as viable because the drug companies want to keep making money. Your oncologist is lying to you to keep them making money! Oh, and buy my book about homeopathic medicine at Amazon!
My realization: For my cancer, chemotherapy was very effective. I ended up having a complex case and I’m in good shape now. For other cancers, chemotherapy may be completely useless and a waste of quality of life. I think I might be taking your feelings about chemotherapy as something approaching a personal attack; that’s a silly thing for me to do, and I need to stop it.
Hi Tom! Thanks again for writing. This is a very timely discussion as I have a new post up today with more information I think you’d appreciate. It’s called “Freakonomics and Cancer Treatment”. Very conclusive research that actually validates both of our points.
:)
Chris
For anyone reading this who doesn’t know, “chemo brain” is short to long-term brain damage that makes it very hard to think clearly, organize information, remember things, and function in normal life after chemo.
My jaw just dropped after reading this! I thought this was just a myth! I have this! Before chemo, I was well organized, remembered alot and all that….
NOW!? I can’t remember my next appointment, to make my childrens appts. school functions…. I’m so glad this isn’t a myth. I swear I thought I was going crazy!
I can tell you this… I had to do my own research. I was never told to change my diet. Just to continue eating. I was never told to alkaline, eat right, sleep well take supplements… I never knew chemo would kill my still healthy immune systems. I never would have chosen chemo. I was sent home after given a death sentence of less than a year. I don’t have anything to loose by trying these alternative techniques and neither do you.
I was supposed to start on Zometa, a drug that was supposed to strengthen my bones. The doctor, who is Indian, was talking so fast, I didn’t hear her clearly when she said that the drug would also MAKE MY CANCER WORSE! No way! And when I told her to cancel it, she tried to give me this guilt trip about brittle bones and stuff like that. I hung up on HER told MY ONCOLOGIST that if she was NOT taken off my team I was leaving that clinic, I don’t care WHO was paying for my treatments! this was crazy! Chris I commend you for sticking this out despite all the odds… To Tom, I will give you the same advice I was given, NOTHING beats a failure but a try. What else do you have to loose?
Awesome comment Miss Angee. Very powerful. Thank you so much for sharing!
-chris
Hi Chris,
Congrats on your success! I am curious as to what holistic therapies you did? Colonics, Reflexology, etc and how often? Keep up the great work!
Hey Michelle
Thank you!
I did everything I could find and afford, which is why I started this blog, to document it all for anyone who wants to know.
Yes to reflexology, enemas, acupuncture, structural integration, reiki, reconnection, tons of herbal supplements…it’s really too much to go into in a comment reply.
But stay tuned I’ll eventually get it all on here!
:)
(((c)))
Thanks for your reply Chris! What is “structural integration” and “reconnection”? Is that similar to “repatterning”? This blog is great and so informative! Thank you!
Did you use the coffee enema? I read about that, sound good, but weird too. Can you blog about how to actually do this right?
Hey Miss Angee I did and yes it is weird. I plan to post on it eventually. In the meantime, you can find some info and supplies at http://www.enemabag.com
:)
chris
What do you know about this guy: http://www.burzynskimovie.com? Is he legit?
Yes Burzynski is definitely legit! I found out about him early on. He was on my list of doctors to see if I couldn’t beat it on my own. Thanks for the link. I had not idea they made a movie about him. Learning new stuff everyday!
Love you brother!
Chris
Your blog is inspiring and so is your straight-up sentiments about your journey. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to put yourself out there but sharing your story certainly gives hope. I can’t imagine how difficult the road was for you but can relate to the frustration of having an illness without a “silver-bullet” cure. It’s great to connect with others and know that there are other alternatives out there when the traditional ways come up empty. That and a good sense of humor with a “kick some butt” attitude goes a long way ;) Best wishes to you Chris and keep writing and rockin’.
Great article! These are many of the reasons I too chose not to do chemo. Unfortunately, doctors lead people to believe they don’t need to make any life changes, and they do the chemo, and cancer comes back. Change your life, change your health.
chris,
first off–I had no idea you had gone through this. I’m so sorry! but, good for you on being your own advocate.
I have had 2 of my aunts, my grandfather, my father-in-law and a close family friend’s 12 yr old daughter die from cancer in as many years. all of them tried varying forms of chemo/radiation, unsuccessfully. :(
I have not done the research you have done, but have come to have many of the same thoughts/beliefs. thank you for spreading the word!
I have been feeding my family in a similar manner for years, and we thoroughly enjoy it. Some argue it is expensive and time consuming, but I think your health is worth it!! another great book on the subject is “fit for life”about food combining.
all the best!
Joelle–your old carpool buddy and first friend-girl :)
Hi Joelle! Thanks so much. Cancer is crazy and it’s everywhere! What’s scary is how many people are getting it
at a young age like I did. I think a lot of people our age are much more health conscious than our parents were, which is
great! Makes me seem less weird. Thanks for the reminder, Fit for Life is a great book!
Chris
Chis, this is beautifully written. My mom went through the same thing you did when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago, and after much prayer, she was led to raw foods and a holistic approach as well. It has completely changed our lives. I can relate to what you are saying about people having to make the choice for themselves, but when I see people who don’t get well, I often think too, could I have said it a little differently or pushed them in this direction more? That is why I started my blog too. I felt as if I needed to do something and share the information I knew, and am continuing to learn. Thank you for being so honest, and sharing your experience with the world. I know many people will benefit from it!
Hi Marisa thanks for sharing your mom’s amazing testimony!