Cryo Ablation for Pain Relief

Last Thursday, Ken went to Hoag Hospital in Costa Mesa (I think, It's right next to Huntington Beach on Pacific Coast Highway) for thermal ablation of the tumor that's been causing the majority of pain. Science is wonderful, he was immediately more comfortable after the procedure. Doctor Velling called me the night before to say that after studying the scan, he thought freezing the mass was a better option than destroying it with heat. Both techniques effectively kill cancer cells. In cryo ablation, freezing gas is pumped through the probe instead of heat. He was able to get around 95% of the cancer in that area. We are now struggling to reduce the pain medication without triggering nasty withdrawal symptoms. He is already taking one-third less narcotics than before.

Another Journey

With Ken's illness the focus of this blog changed abruptly. Originally, I wanted to document the unique experience of schizophrenia from an alternative health perspective. And finally the day came, with our daughter kindly consenting to stay with Ken, Isaac and I drove to a Southern California Outreach Clinic held by the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, at a Garden Grove hotel. I had filled out forms and done a phone intake prior to our appointment. The nurse in Chicago who is assigned to our case seems kind and compassionate. But at the hotel we saw a different nurse practitioner and I was not impressed with her. Perhaps because she was sick with a bad cold, her attitude was confrontational and challenging toward Isaac, over little details--about hearing voices (he says they stopped years ago, although who is he continually talking to and sometimes yelling at?) and about making a commitment to the program. I expected her to have a more skilled approach with a psychotic and possibly paranoid person. I intervened and told her if Pfeiffer can help him deal with being grilled like that, we will have met our goals. I told her he was only there because I wanted him to come, and that since he has given other treatments a good try I trusted he would do the same with this one. Next came the labwork, which included a comprehensive metabolic panel, chemistry, and minerals. They sent us home with a primer formula, added a much higher doses of omega 3 fatty acids than he was taking, and a borage oil supplement for GLA. For anxiety, they recommended 1,000 mg of GABA twice a day. For delusions and hallucinations I was told to order a formula containing equal parts niacinamide and vitamin C. This has not yet arrived, but Isaac is taking the other supplements just as I hoped he would.

Rough Patch

Ken's pain intensified, which made it difficult to follow our program of healing. Even one ounce of wheatgrass upset his stomach, his appetite is gone and his skin started breaking out. I don't know how much to blame on the larger doses of narcotics he has to take and how much to blame on his body eliminating toxins created by cancer die-off. I refuse to believe the cancer is worse. Fortunately, he can still take plenty of Sun Chlorella, which is high in protein. Unable to find low level cold laser treatment, we sought another solution to the pain. Well, our dear internet-savy daughter, Naomi, sought one. She found sources for radio frequency ablation, or RFA. Under CT or ultrasound imaging, an interventional radiologist (a medical specialty) can apply heat generated by electricity to kill cancer cells, in Ken's case in the soft tissue mass involving his rib. RFA can even be used for liver cancer. Last week we drove to Hoag Hospital in Irvine for a consult. After looking at last month's scan, the staff at Hoag gave us good news; Ken is a good candidate for RFA. The procedure is scheduled for Feb. 24th. Of course we checked with Hippocrates Health Institute before pursuing this treatment. Dr. Clement does not advise against it and states it "can be helpful." I remember reading 40 years ago, in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, that in the future, disease would be treated with electricity. RFA has none of the side effects of standard radiation treatment, and it can be done in a single outpatient visit. In the meantime, with another increase in pain medication, Ken got some relief and is able to take more nourishment, including milk made from hemp seeds, avocado, and his favorite, chia seed lemonade. It helps to take his pills with food, and we are building up to small doses of wheatgrass while continuing implants.

First Tangible Results

We saw the oncologist yesterday. I was really dreading the visit, seeing as how it was so depressing last time. But she didn't have a bad word to say; in fact it was all good news! We had worried his pain was increasing, but she attributed the change to normal tolerance to the narcotics. The lymph node under his chin that was swollen last visit is no longer noticeable, and the spot in his back that has been causing him pain HAS NOT GROWN LARGER. Other good news came from recent labwork, the doctor said with some surprise that Ken's liver and kidneys are pretty healthy, and that his white blood count is elevated. People with cancer generally have very low white counts, it means his immune system is fighting back. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and I wanted to buy him balloons, I am so proud of him! We are energized now; it's working!

First Salad

Yesterday Ken ate his first salad after three weeks of liquid greens. I took a picture; it was a special occasion. The salad had sprouts, of course, and baby greens, spinach, a little juice from our cultured vegetables, lemon juice, red bell pepper, onion, avocado, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sea salt. We'd love to get our hands on some raw olives. After that he drank chia seed lemonade sweetened with stevia and five brazil nuts. In the evening I put the same ingredients, except for the seeds, in the food processor and he ate his salad with a spoon. I'm so happy he could tolerate solids, no digestive problems at all. It didn't cause hiccups and it didn't make his pain worse. Last night I made raw bread with flax seeds, walnuts and celery in the dehydrator. He ate two of those with avocado today and pronounced them "good."

Consult

Dr. Brian Clement is the Director of Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida. We were privileged to be able to arrange a phone consultation with him. Our doctor faxed all Ken's records and I sent a couple of emails ahead of time. At the appointed time, we put on the speaker phone and I recorded the conversation. What was supposed to be half and hour turned into 45 minutes. Dr. Clements was kind and compassionate and asked what we've been doing. I told him that Ken takes 2 ounces of wheatgrass three times daily plus "implants" (retention enemas of 4-6 ounces of wheatgrass)twice a day. I also make him 3 glasses of green juice, half of which is made from sunflower sprouts, with celery and cucumber or parsley, romaine, spinach, lemon, or garlic for variety. He stressed it is important not to use carrots or apples or anything sweet when you are fighting cancer. Lemons are the only fruit allowed. Bowel cleansing is also important. We have been doing this for 3 weeks now. Dr. Clement said we are doing great, that even stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence if you have a will and a desire to live and are willing to eat only 100% raw vegan foods. He told us to add chlorella (the expensive one, with no additives), and E3Live, a blue-green algae, an herbal supplement called Life One and a Systemic Enzyme supplement. We ordered all those. We also just got an infared sauna, which they use at Hippocrates. Dr. Clement said to have Ken in it 20 minutes a day at 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill cancer cells, similar to treatments in Northern Europe that induce fevers. The sauna came from Costco, our daughter Naomi ordered it! Another suggestion was ginger juice for hiccups and laser treatment under a chiropractor's care for pain. We never got around to asking how much ginger to use, but online it suggests 6 grams twice a day for 5 days. We are looking into the laser treatments. Bottom line, Dr. Clement was encouraging that Ken can heal; all he has to do is drink wheatgrass, sprouts, algae and eat raw food! Tomorrow he's going to try eating, after 21 days on green liquid.

Family Therapy

Noticing how much Ken cheers up when the kids come to visit, I decided to implement our own version of "family therapy." Being as how we have seven adult children, some with families of their own, it is chaotic, though enjoyable, when we all get together. To respect Ken's very real need for rest, we decided to stagger the visits so that someone is coming nearly all the time. This arrangement also does not put too much pressure on one family member to be available constantly. The girls come during the week, and the boys alternate weekends. Our youngest daughter, and the furthest away, made flight arrangements for a short visit.