Thursday, September 6, 2012

I'M THE ONE IN CHARGE ---WHO KNEW?


I just learned a valuable lesson that everyone has been telling me, but I never "believed them" or truly understood until now. And that is, I'm the boss, I'm in charge when it comes to my cancer treatments. 

I went to see my oncologist last week, expecting to receive a death sentence. As you all know, I’m refusing to do more chemo. Which to most of us means “death sentence.” You’ve only got a few months, weeks, days to live, etc. So, I went there expecting that, thinking they’d give me a few months anyway. I felt strong though, so I didn’t need my husband by my side, and I simply brought a friend. Poor thing. I’m sure she was wondering if she’d need to offer a shoulder for me to cry on, or considering how “passionate” I can get at times, possibly a sounding board that gets pounded on. Who knows? All I know is my precious friend and sister in Christ (all her jitters completely contained) accompanied me that day, not knowing what to expect. Talk about someone I can depend on. It’s so easy to love those kinds of people, isn’t it?

Anyway, I went, and I was armed. You see, I made several copies about B17 from two pages of the book WORLD WITHOUT CANCER along with a note from me to other cancer patients, explaining to them what B17 did for me and could also do for them. I found that patients were very open to receiving this information. On the page, I pasted (literally pasted) a copy of the link to the VIDEO DOCUMENTARY I’ve been harping on everyone to watch as well. I told the secretary at the hospital what I was doing, and she was saying that they were all going to lose their jobs, and don’t tell the nurses because they surely won’t like it. I figured, what’s a lost job compared to a saved life? I know I was risking getting kicked out of the hospital, but I didn’t care. I was desperate to tell those that needed it most!

Back to my onc (oncologist). The NP (nurse practitioner, who I see before my onc) asked what I wanted to do from here on out, since they found more tumors, etc. I told her I wasn’t going to do the biopsy because I wasn’t going to do chemo, so there was no point in doing the biopsy. My onc later asked, “Don’t you want to know what it is?” I said, “I don’t care what it is.” I could tell he was simply curious (you know, it’s that scientific mind at work), but what he seems to forget is the fact that I have four children here at home NEEDING their mother. Why make it so they have to take care of me when it’s not necessary?

In answer to the NPs question, I handed her a copy of the paper I’d been passing out to all the cancer patients and said I was “doing B17.” She said (the onc was not yet present) that it was good, that it’d be good to do some natural treatments along with what they do. I said, “Really?!” completely dumfounded because I was so used to being made fun of for looking outside the box.

My biggest question, however, was how my liver counts were doing because I’d been off their tac (the immune suppressant drug) for over a month and a half. See . . . the “graft vs. host disease” (GVHD--when the new stem cells attack me) all started with my liver. Shortly after the stem cell transplant last year (over a YEAR AGO, can you believe it?) my liver counts went up (we’d asked my onc and nurses if my liver was acting up because of all the meds, and they said it was very possible, but they couldn’t take any chances) and because my onc feared it was the GVHD, he treated my symptoms as such (and in came the prednisone, overdose of the tac, etc). The tac is what kept GVHD under control. So my biggest concern going there was to find out how my liver counts were doing because I’d been off the tac for so long. If I got GVHD, then my case was hopeless, and a death sentence might have been in order.  But when I asked, the NP said, “Great! They’re doing really good!” Really? Really! WHOOO, HOOO! That meant, the new stem cells were NOT attacking me! YAY!

BTW, when she asked what meds I was still on, I told her I was on NOTHING. I got off the tac on my own (to my onc’s horror) and ALL the antibiotics two weeks before I came in (my naturopath doc here ran some tests and told me my immune system was working a lot better, so I got off those as well). 

Anyway, when my onc arrived on the scene, I found out he was leaving and would no longer be my onc. I had to thank him and hug him, because in all honesty, I wouldn’t be here today had it not been for him. It took going through all this to discover what we now know about cancer treatments, and because I didn’t know it in the beginning, I wouldn’t have lasted this long. Anyway, he was leaving to work in Chicago to develop a new drug for cancer. So, naturally I asked, “Have you ever heard of B17?” Immediately, he puffed up his chest and chuckled proudly, “Of course! Of course, I have!” all smiles. And that’s all he said. You see, normally if my onc thought something was quackery, he would come right out and say it. The weird and interesting thing about this was, he didn’t say anything more at all.  Also, had he said something positive about it, he could lose his job. So, there he stood in silence, and there I waited in silence. Don’t remember what broke the silence, but it was probably him jumping to another subject. Another interesting thing to note is that when I mentioned that I was “doing B17,” the NP was in complete support of “alternative treatments.” But when my hubby (who was on the phone btw) asked about some “proton” treatment in OK, she sounded all the warning bells about not spending our money and going bankrupt, etc, to some unknown doc doing some strange treatment. Hmm. All warnings and signals flared with that, but NOT when I said I was taking B17. But don’t we all know that B17 is illegal to prescribe here in the “land of the free” because it’s “so dangerous?” Crazy how we have to play this stupid game all because the government has illegalized a TRUE CANCER KILLER! Hmm. I wonder if we could sue the government for taking so many lives? Interesting thought. I’ll come back to that in another post (maybe). 

I finally asked my onc the most important question. “Since I’ve been off the tac for over a month, do you think the new stem cells will finally kill this cancer?” His immediate answer was, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

So, I walked away with a little more hope. I say “a little more” because in all honesty, I already had hope before I walked in that door. I just didn’t know how much I was going to have to defend my own “treatments” of B17, and what kind of battleground I’d entered. Turns out, they are happy to monitor me and see how I do while on this wonderful, God-made supplement called B17.

All I can say now is Thank You God. Thank You for Your wonderful gift of apricot seeds. xxx

17 comments:

  1. Oh, Sandi, I am so happy for you! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow! I pray you will continue to grow stronger every day! YAY for B17! Love you!

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  2. Wonderful Update Sandi!!! So encouraging. =)

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  3. That's wonderful! I am so happy for you and all that God is doing through you! I'll continue to keep you in my prayers.

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  4. I love reading how positive you are with all you have been through. My husband had lung cancer surgery at the end of May and we will go to see cancer dr later this month to make sure nothing more is happening and all defianately is gone. I think should we find out something is still there we would prefer to check into this B17 instead of chemo and radiation which I personally think is more harmful then good.
    thanks for sharing your comments-God Bless you...
    Paula O(kyflo130@yahoo.com)

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  5. I love your positive attitude. My Cindy has also refused chemo after being diagnosed with melanoma cancer of the lymph nodes and will do a melanoma vaccine trial. That's right. She'll eventually become a statistic since this new trail has only been under way since 2011. It's called NY-ESO-1. A vaccine that educates the immune system. With four children, 3-10, she wants to remain strong and positive and so here we go.
    God bless you and keep your updates coming. I will keep you posted on Cindy as she now starts a year of injections. Kay

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  6. GOD truly finds power in the powerless. HE has taken you from fear and trembling, to the mighty and steadfast assurance that only comes to those who have been blessed to bare the weight of the world upon their shoulders, and finally when the words" Your will be done" are offered up in pray from a broken and contrite heart, does the glory and power of GOD Almighty appear in all of its magnificence and wonder! And all of a sudden....the yoke is easy and the burden is lite! Praise HOLY GOD for revealing unto you the peace the surpasses all understanding! Cherish it! It's worth cannot be bought with the riches of this world, and it is a prize, a medal of honor, a purple heart if you will, that will strike fear into the heart of the adversary! May GOD bless you and hold you in HIS keeping dear sister!
    Love the Foster Family

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  7. Thanks for the update and God BLESS you and your family! I continue to pray for you. Who knows? Perhaps you're at the leading edge of the cure for cancer. God bless and keep you, my friend.

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  8. Sandi, you are a real courageous woman and an inspiration to all of us! I was hoping to see you this morning when I came and bought things at the garage sale for you, but will try to drop by tomorrow and buy your book(s).

    I fought and beat 2 different kinds of cancer and am cancer free, using conventional and nutritional therapies. No one who has ever been through what you've been through understands how hard the battle is.

    Sounds like you've done TONS of research. Fabulous about the B17. You probably also know about Jordan Rubin's "The Maker's Diet." (YES, OUR Maker!) I am currently in the middle of this 40-day diet (my 3rd time in about 10 years). It is a bit brutal, but follows completely the pattern of Biblical eating, and I feel unbelievably good on it. It can be found in the NY Times Bestseller by the same title. One of my very best investments! You can read Jordan's story here: http://www.crohns.net/Miva/education/jordanstory.shtml. His grandma Rose was in her late 70s when they found multiple malignancies and stage IV ovarian cancer. She was in a lot of pain and chemo and radiation were out of the question. Doctors told her she had 6 months to live. In the book it spells out how he got her strengthened and in 2001 she told an audience, "Four years after the discovery of the cancer, my CAT scan shows no evidence of cancer. My energy levels are that of a 20-year-old..."

    Keep up your hope. We are PRAYING FOR YOUR YOU and your family, dear sister! May God richly touch and bless you spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally.

    love and blessings,
    marla lindstrom benroth

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  9. Wow! Great news. I decided to look you up from the bookmark I have from the Natural Dr.in AZ. Unfortunately, my news is sad. Dean passed on Aug. 1st. He is now in a better place. I am so glad you are here for your hubby and kids! Sheila

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    1. Sheila, will you please email me so we can talk in a private forum? My email address is sandirog at gmail dot com. I write it out to avoid spammers. Please, please email me. I'm so sorry to hear about Dean. So sorry. xxx

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  10. Sandi,
    Thank you for sharing your powerful story. I haven't officially met you,but I'm on the Joyce Hart's author's loop periodically. (I'm hoping she finds a publisher for my book, Tooshie: Defeating the Body Image Bandit, before my 100th birthday! LOL I just turned fifty, so we've got fifty more years. :)

    Your bravery puts fire in my bones.I have SLE lupus and ankylosing spondylitis, but that's nothing compared to your situation.

    Keep hanging in there. I have a friend who was healed of stage 4 breast cancer. I also have another friend who had it several years ago and is still doing pretty well. I'm not sure about the type of cancer, but good for you for keeping on.

    Take care of yourself, and I'll see you on the author's loop.

    Hugs,
    Cherrie Herrin-Michehl

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    1. Cherrie, I read of a woman who had RA and LUPUS who took B17 and it got rid of BOTH these things! I wonder if B17 would help you? Here's a link to her story: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3NFU0V0O3B6Q9/ref=cm_pdp_rev_title_1?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R3BT2W3CVQWTJC. It's a review of the book World Without Cancer, which talks about B17. Folks have used it for allergies, etc, with success. So . . . whoooo knows!

      I hope Joyce will sell your book FAST! That's be great! It's just great that you landed an agent! lol That in and of itself is a very difficult task! So, congratulations on that one. :-)

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  11. Sandi, I am amazed. Day 3 on B17 and I'm feeling wonderful! More energy than I've had in years, yes years! I know it's too early to tell much difference, but the pain is much better. Thanks for telling me. Love you.xxx

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  12. Sandi, we've traveled this journey with you--in hope,tears and lots of prayers that He guides you into health, peace and the joy you so richly deserve!! Mega hugs and prayers from us 3!

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  13. Oh wow!!! I am so happy to hear this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  14. Sandi, I know how it is to realize you, and not the doctors, are in control of your health. I am the mother of an young man with autism, and we have found some benefit from biomedical treatment, but doctors always look at us like we're nuts for "wasting our time."

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  15. All I can say is... WOW! My son has been saying this for years... that the American diet and lack of certain vitamins is killing people and giving them cancer. Sounds like God brought you to the answer. :)

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WHEN THE WORLD SAYS YOU CAN'T, FAITH SAYS YOU CAN!