I need some information

[franm]

Hi again good people:

I know so little about the figures that people talk about. Jim was told after having a BMB that he had MDS. That was in August 2005. Since then he has had no treatment. Last BT was WBC 3.5m /rbc 3.60/ MCV 102, MCH 36.0/ Platelets 105, Glucose 115. I have no idea what any of those figures mean. His last BMB was 10% blast. That was in august of 05. He hasn’t had anything else done since then.

Can anyone help me out with these figures. I really would appreciate any information.

Thank you

Franm (wife)

[franm]

I haven’t heard from anyone since my last request. Jim went to the Mayo clinic and saw the top Oncologist. He said the same thing that the Oncologist said that he is seeing here in Phoenix area where we live. The md said that he should take Folic Acid, Iron pills and Vitamin B-12. Other then that , he will take a blood test every month and then see her 1 week after the BT.

So, someone please let me know if doing nothing is a good idea now or not. Jim did have by-pass surgery 2 years ago and his heart isn’t in good shape now. Since he is 73, he can’t have a BMT. So where do we stand now.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Fran (wife)

[Suzanne]

Fran, Some of his counts are a little low but nothing looks like it puts him in danger. I can see why the doctors are saying wait and watch especially with his heart not in good shape. Some of the treatments can have some pretty tough side effects. Statisically doing nothing used to come out about the same as trying a treatment so there is no clear answer to what is best to do.
Did you ever find out what type of MDS he has and how high risk his case is? People probqably feel they can’t answer you about what they have experienced without knowing that.
Even tho I was in the most high risk category , They watched me and did not recommend doing much until the disease started progressing and put me in real danger.
Since the doctor At the Mayo agree that doing nothing right now is best, I hope you can relax a little, enjoy his company, and hope that the disease does not progress into something that causes more problems.

[franm]

Thanks Suzanne for your answer. I guess I should just wait and see. His next appointment is on the 20th after he takes his BT. I hope they come out good and then I can relax and do nothing.

We got a 2 free night stay at a Resort and Casino not far from us in Nevada. We hope to go on the 22-23 of Feb.

My daughter and 2 granddaughters will be here for a visit in April. We are looking forward to seeing them. Otherwise are life is the same and that is good.

Thanks again.

Fran

[seekay]

Fran,

Have you looked into the Gerson therapy? It is detoxification, super-nutrifying therapy designed to strengthen the organs (esp the liver), and thus get the body to start working again normally, including esp. the immune system.

The diet includes 13 glasses of organic carrot-apple and dark leafy green-apple juice a day, supplements (potassium, iodine, pancreatic enzymes, sometimes vitamin/mineral supplements depending on the person’s blood work), at least one daily coffee enema–which helps stimulate fast detox, by helping the liver (increasing bile flow–helping to clean the blood of any waste, toxins). There has been a lot of clinical research done showing that the all the elements of the diet (which is primarily vegetarian at first and involves avoiding meat, dairy, processed foods, partially hydrogenated fats), is anti-cancer, detoxifying–see, e.g., the website for orthomolecular medicine and orthomolecular oncology.

Dr. Gerson was a brilliant German Jewish physician who developed the therapy originally to treat his own migraine headaches. He discovered, after patients requested that he develop similar therapies for their ailments, that the therapy helped bodies to heal from all sorts of chronic degenerative diseases–tuberculosis, diabetes, cancer. This is because it is a whole body approach that aims to restore the immune system, etc. to its optimal condition–rather than focusing on just killing mature cancer cells with chemotherapeutic drugs, for example.

Albert Schweitzer, whom Gerson treated for diabetes (along with his wife for tuberculosis) called Dr. Gerson one of the genuises of modern day medicine.

To read an excellent description of the therapy and what it can do, please read Living Proof, by Michael Gearin-Tosh. He was a professor at Oxford University who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. After much research, he decided against chemo in favor of Gerson therapy and nutritional supplements. He lived for eleven years after diagnosis, only recently passing away from septicemia, when he developed an abcessed tooth and refused to take antibiotics.

I corresponded with him in an attempt to help a friend of mine who has MDS. He’s the real deal. I also spoke to one woman who had chronic myelogenous leukemia and did the therapy (and still does it in some fashion), and has normal blood work today.

Whenever you are being presented with a treatment option, you should ask to speak to longterm survivors of the treatment. This means people who have lived five years after they did the stem cell transplant, chemo, etc. If the hospital/doctors can’t provide you with any names, that tells you something.

Best of luck,

CK

[JaniceR]

Hi Fran: I’m new, my dad was just dx two weeks ago, but this is what I know: WBC=white blood cell count normal is 3.3-10.5; RBC=red blood cell count normal is 4.35-5.9; HGB=hemoglobin-carries oxygen to other organs normal is 13.7-16.7; MCV=red blood cell size normal is 79.7-97 too high=B12-folate deficiency; HCT=hematocrit normal is 40.5-49.7 low=anemic(iron, B12,folate deficient); PLT=platelets normal is 144-400 thousand – makes blood clot. My dad’s numbers don’t fall within the norm, but he feels fine, looks, fine and acts fine.

[franm]

Dear Seekay:

Thank you so much for the information. I am still looking for some one that Jim can talk to that has lived at least for 5 years. The first 3 Oncologist that he saw said that his life span was 1 1/2 years. But so far it has been over a year and he has been feeling pretty good. We both just got over a bad cold and now since the weather is so nice we can go outside and sit on our patio. We live in Phoenix and it is suppose to be in the 80 this weekend.

Enjoy the game and thanks again for in info.

Fran

[Suzanne]

Glad you have things to look forward to and enjoy!

[patti]

Fran,

I have to agree with seekay. My MIL is 75 (almost 76) and has the severest form of MDS. She’s been doing something similar to what seekay is talking about. She was told she had 4-6 months to live. It’s been 17 months. She still feels good and still takes care of her own house, daughter, etc. I think it says something for her. She has refused all chemo offers made to her.

Enjoy your husband feeling well and don’t fret too much about the watch and wait attitude of the doctors. It really is the right thing to do most of the time.

Patti

[seekay]

I also spoke to a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 80s, who did the Gerson therapy, and is now a traveling Gerson therapist (they call them “licensed caregivers”), who makes a living going from home to home throughout the country to help people who want to try the therapy at home.

One more point: I don’t know how water quality is in Phoenix, but it would be a good idea to make sure your husband is drinking and bathing in chemical contaminant-, chlorine- and fluoride-free water. You can purchase reverse osmosis systems that add calcium to the water to give it a neutral pH, through a company called Pure Water LLC, I believe. I just spoke to Gene in their office today–very knowledgeable. Also, check out http://www.drinkingwatersolutions.com and flowmatics.com. Not consumer friendly websites, but that is where Pure Water gets a lot of their equipment from.

Nature’s Sunshine makes a freestanding reverse osmosis system called Nature’s Spring that my neighbor has. It makes great tasting, chlorine and fluoride free water. I don’t know if they add the calcium to the water; it seems like they don’t from reading the website–since the water is not completely de-mineralized from the reverse osmosis. If you start juicing and eating lots of vegetables, esp green ones, you will be getting minerals that way.

If he is serious about this kind of therapy, you might do well to go spend two weeks at the Baja Nutricare Clinic (fully licensed Gerson therapy site). They have doctors there, and will administer the therapy to you and your husband firsthand, teaching you how to care for your husband. This is very labor intensive, but the therapy has proven results. The cost is something like $5,000 a week for both of you. A steal compared to chemo and stemcell transplants.

Or, you could find a licensed caregiver willing to come to your home for a few weeks. The one I spoke to sounds great. Can’t remember her name offhand but it’s on the website. There’s only a few of them in the country.

If it were my husband, this is what I would do–start reading up on toxins, nutrition, and how the body works, and then I would do all I could to design and to implement an optimal nutrition program (maybe starting with some detoxing herbs instead of coffee enemas, if you want to see what detoxing will do for his blood work–look into Essiac capsules/tea, dandelion leaf, burdock root, red clover–get Nature’s Sunshine product line, the highest quality I have found).

A good, inexpensive juicer is the Omega 8003, purchased at Living Right (Open Chute, Inc.) for $205 delivered. I think they’re in AZ. Google Omega 8003 and living right and you’ll be directed to the website.

The info I gave you is a good headstart.

Best

CK

[seekay]

I have names and phone numbers of people who have lived five years beyond cancer diagnosis on Gerson therapy. One woman who had chronic myelogenous leukemia (diagnosed in 1988, I believe) and now has normal bloodwork. If you want, email me, and I will give you her number.

She still does modified Gerson, plus recently started taking a little Revlimid. She is VERY knowledgeable. Lives in Illinois.

[bhanson]

Fran, I empathize with your feeling about MDS. My husband was diagnosed 15 months ago. It was frightening because it seemed like his counts were all dropping off a cliff. We went to Fred Hutch in Seattle and have a good Hemo doc here, but we couldn’t believe the best thing was to do nothing for awhile. But we have been so glad we did. Instead of going right for the chemo, etc. we waited and his counts leveled off and he feels really quite well most of the time. It was hard to wait and and be patient, but that has proved the wisest thing we have done so far. The things that have helped was to keep reading this forum and drinking pineapple juice, taking sesame seeds, drinking peanut tea and going to a cancer naturopath. We keep very close track of his blood counts so that when he needs the more serious treatments, we will be ready and so much more knowledgable due to this forum. Thanks to you all, and best wishes for your husband. Bernard and Bonnie

[seekay]

Recommended books to read:

Living Proof by Michael Gearin-Tosh
A Cancer Therapy by Max Gerson, MD
The Gerson Therapy by Charlotte Gerson
The China Study by T Colin Campbell
Beating Cancer Naturally by Patrick Qullin (has a PhD in something nutrition related and has developed an excellent immunopower supplement that Michael Gearin-Tosh took)
Also, there is a book about wheatgrass juicing by Ann Wigmore. I don’t have that one–one has to be a little careful with wheatgrass according to Charlotte Gerson, I believe.

CK

[seekay]

There is a ongoing vitamin B-12 trial going on, talked about on the website for orthomolecular oncology. It sounds like your husband might be a candidate for it. You might look into that as well. It’s for people who have MGUS (which I think includes early stage MDS folk).

Sounds like your doctor knows something about nutrition, if he’s prescribing b-12. Whatever you do, don’t rush into chemo, please. It is poison for the body and while it may kill the mutant blasts, it does so at great, great cost to the body. The key is to change the biochemical environment in the body so that the root conditions that led to the disease no longer exist. Poisoning the body with chemo, or other conventional medicine (all of which leave residues in the body–it is not all excreted), strikes me as a rather barbaric and counter-intuitive way to address a disease we all know is probably caused in part by toxicitiy of the body (and perhaps certain predisposed weak organs) in the first place.

One more book: Death Be Not Proud, written in the early 60s, I believe, by John Gunther. His son had an aggressive brain tumor that Dr. Gerson treated and successfully eradicated. It came back, though, because prior to the treatment, Johnny Gunther had undergone mustard gas treatment (that is, chemotherapy). Thus, the toxicity in his body kept his liver/immune system compromised, and the tumor came back. Also, he went on some hormones to treat a skin conditions. Dr. Gerson believed that the hormones stimulated tumor regrowth. Charlotte, his daughter, now believes the mustard gas was the pivotal factor.

This book and Michael Gearin-Tosh’s book, really convinced me that Gerson was on the right path in terms of treating virtually all forms of cancer.

[seekay]

Whoops. That’s Patrick Quillin.

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