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Jun 2, 2012 03:07 PM suzieq60 wrote:
Himalaya - I looked for Chillipadi's post and have copied it here. This is what you are possibly facing if you refuse surgery. Apologies to Chilli for reposting this, but this lady needs to read it now.
"Dear Kat and Pat,
Don't mean to burst your bubble, but I turned alternative when I was first diagnosed as Stage 1 a decade ago, and now today I'm Stage 3 with a massive tumor which has broken through the skin and covers my breast, and has just extended to my upper torso and towards my right armpit. It is ulcerating, fungating, oozes fluid like a tap and stinks horribly. In the past 2 years. my oncologists have tried hormonals and chemo but the beast keeps surfacing and growing. Meanwhile, I continued living a very healthy lifestyle (something I've done for more than a decade, which included taking complementary supplements, foods,and trying alternative therapies like the Budwig Protocol (that one made the cancer grow even faster).
I had a lumpectomy at Stage 1, nothing else. My onco then said that chemo wasn't necesaary and I refused Tamoxifen because my DH and I didn't have any kids and wanted a family. Well, the cancer recurred about a year later but I stuck to a purely alternative route. The lump stayed no larger than walniut-sized until about 3 years ago, when it started bleeding. That's when I tried the Budwig Protocol for the following 14 months. During that time, the cancer grew so much that it covered more than half my breast, was lumpy all over, turned a maroon red and bled copiously.
After putting me on just oral chemo and Tamoxifen, tmy first onco managed to reduce the growth to nothing. Normal skin even began to grow back and I could see a breast appearing again. We worked on letting the damaged area shrink and heal further before attempting surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer recurred before that could happen. Sadly, a series of errors happened which delayed treatment for almost 2 months and caused the cancer to spread considerably during that time. The biopsy was delayed for almost 2 weeks. Then the lab got the results wrong, diagnosing me as ER-/ER- and HER2+ when I was still ER+/ER+ and HER2-. Unfortunately, my onco had just quit to join another hospital, so he had no access to my report, so nobody noticed the error until a new onco was assigned to me a few weeks later.
So the cancer re-established itself firmly in my breast, and has been growing ever since. All hormonals don't seem to work for me now, and chemo only causes the tumors to retreat for a while. Surgery would only be palliative and cause me a lot of pain and suffering as a great deal of my chest, upper torso and back would have to cut out. I have been told the cancer will recur anyway, and death was very likely.
I still try to keep up with my healthy lifestyle and diet, plus some supplements. I've done practically every alternative therapy you can think of over the years, and none stopped the cancer. I've just started on a Gemzar and Carboplatin chemo cocktail. It's been two infustions so far (yesterday was the second) and the tumors have shrunk by about 15%. I'm also taking Indian frankincense (Shallaki or Boswellia Serrata) capsules and Middle-Eastern frankincense (Boswellia Carteri) essential oil mixed into my wound dressing. Both are anti-infammatory and anti-tumoral.
Pat and Kat, if I were in your shoes today and had the knowledge and experience I have had, I would seriously consider some conventional treatment, while continuing with a healthy lifestyle and diet. Don't wait until it's too late. You don't want to look the way I look today, and suffer as much as I do everyday.
chillipadi "
2nd diagnosis October 2010 - IDC 5.8mm node negative - missed on mammogram in October 2009
Dx 10/13/2009, ILC, 1cm, Stage I, Grade 3, 0/5 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2+