Alternative? or Traditional?

Let me start by saying hello to you all! I have not visited in a while. My husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 NSCLC in September of '08. He did the chemo from October '08-March '09 and has been on Avastin eversince for maintenance treatments. He is doing well and his PET scans every three months have shown nothing but improvement each time.

Is it the treatment? Maybe and maybe not alone.

He has been using a supplement since he started chemo that focuses on bringing the nutritional balance back to your autonomic nervous system (the system that sends the messages out to the rest of the body). I truly believe it is because of the supplement that his bloods remained perfectly normal throughout his chemo, his liver function perfect. He was on paclitaxel, carboplatin and bevacimub. Yes, he lost his hair but he never felt nausea, rarely lost appetite, had constant neuropathy but livable.

Now he receives Avastin (bevacimub) infusion every three weeks for maintenance. The neuropathy has not changed, but he does have constant pain in his right knee which is the arthritic knee and in one of his finger joints. Avastin is known to cause high blood pressure but he has not had any real problem with that either.

It is not just the treatment but it is faith and attitude. He believes the supplement is helping enormously but does not have the blind faith to stop the Avastin treatment and just use the supplement. This is very important to understand. ATTITUDE AND FAITH are integral parts of healing. Therefore my thinking when we started taking the supplement was simply... since we are going to do the chemo and it is going to tear down everything we must do something to build up the good stuff cancelling out that part of the chemo and therefore targeting only the bad stuff. By the grace of GOD that is exactly what happened.

Now don't get me wrong, between the knee joint pain and the neuropathy my husband feels like he lives with pain but it could be so much worse.

I don't think doctors have all the answers and it is important to find those doctors that can step outside their egos and into the real world and realize there is something other than pharmaceutical therapy. You simply must use alternative medicine either solely or in combination. You simply must.

For those of you whom have chosen chemo. I personally understand. While you are on chemo you must find a comparable alternative. You must deal with an open minded doctor that will check out what it is you want to do and help you do it by monitoring you. Not shutting you down as if he has some miracle cure. He does not.

Everyone has to operate within their level of faith and optimal attitude.

God Bless you all!

Steph

By cards7up
Posted October 13, 2009 at 2:36 pm
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Steph, this is true to a point. Folic acid and B12 shots are recommended for those receiving chemo as they help with side effects and building up the immune system. If your doctor does'nt recommend them, ask for them and they will give you a prescription. I don't know what supplement your husband is taking, as you didn't mention it in your post. Some supplements interact badly with some traditional tx's, so it's always good to ask your doctor if it will. Some do know and will tell you. If you're not happy with their answer, ask someone else. I wish your husband the best.
Take care, JC

By scared1
Posted October 13, 2009 at 4:40 pm
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Steph- I think both conventional and alternative are very important. I think we all would love to chase every supplement and vitamin we hear positive things about. It would be so much less painful and scary to be able to go that route than chemo/radiation and surgery...BUT...personally I don't think one will be successful without the other. If you have a doc who is up on all the newest treatments and studies, who is willing to tumor testing for DNA markers and mutations then a very specialized chemo can really work for quite a while. Unfortunately, many doctors use a cookie cutter chemo/radiation treatment for everyone. You have squamous cell you get this, you have adeno. you get this. The more we learn the more we realize that just isn't enough! Even the smartest chemos severly damage the immune system, not to mention every cell in your body...so proper nutrition becomes paramount in the healing process. Many doctors tell you not to use antioxidents during chemo, others will tell you thats crap. So what and who do you believe? Thats where it gets sticky, personal and individual. We all have to support our loved ones decisions no matter how hard and difficult that may be. One thing for sure with this disease is NOBODY KNOWS!!!! Follow your gut, support your loved ones and what will happen will happen. Unfortunately, it is as simple as that.

By tlm2005
Posted October 14, 2009 at 11:10 am
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Steph,
Thank you so much for sharing. I think the information you provided is very insightful. I am especially glad to hear that your husband is having continued shrinkage with the Avastin alone as maintenance therapy. My husband is also stage IV NSCLC and has mets. His last chemo treatment with Alimta, Carbo and Avastin is today and then he will be doing the Avastin alone every 3 weeks. We are also doing some alternative treatments with diet and energy healing/visualization. I will look into your supplement. Thanks for the info.
tlm

By Steph49
Posted October 21, 2009 at 11:37 am
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Only the powder. As stubborn as my husband is I have had a long road to go to get him to be consistent with that. It is really an amazing process.

Welcome to Inspire!

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