One... Day... More!

Doesn't this just make you wanna cue the orchestra and belt out that song from "Les Mis?"

Tomorrow is the last day of this epic 3-week "crash course in cancer cures."

I will be receiving my last personal cancer vaccine; or... that is.... the last one via an IV bag (for details on this therapy, see older post about using dendritic cells to produce personal cancer vaccine, 9/9/15). I found out today, much to my great joy and surprise, that I will be returning home with MORE of my very own signature vaccine to be administered via injection once a week for several weeks (nurse Nick will have to help me with this one -- yikes!).

I was also very happy to learn that I will be going home with Laetrile, in an oral-dose form rather than the IV I have been receiving daily. When I found this out, I was ecstatic!

Today was my last go-'round with hyperthermia (see older post entitled "It's Cool in the Furnace" for details). We just can't seem to get my body temp to increase as it should; suspicions were aroused that it could be that I have hypothyroid issues. So a blood test will be done tomorrow to look into that. Details will follow about this as they reveal themselves.

Even though I am very homesick for my animals (dog, cat, son -- sorry, Nick, NOT in that order!), my house, my own bed, yard, etc., I am already viewing everything about Tijuana with great nostalgia. Why people are fearful of coming here I will never understand. It is a wonderful city filled with beautiful, friendly, happy people. When I leave, I will miss it as much as I have missed home.

Adios muchachos...

Coffee Break

Many have wondered why there have been no posts for a while. Well, Brother Bill is here and we have been exploring museums, shopping malls, and restaurants over the weekend. He has kept me hoppin'! Meanwhile, I started Week 3 of treatment, which was essentially the same as weeks 1 and 2, so THAT would have been boring to repeat. But I know many are wondering where I have been, so I will add a brief little side-note about COFFEE.

First of all, I love the stuff and until 2 months ago, I enjoyed a cup or two every day. However, with the advent of my latest cancer "glitch," I decided to go cold turkey and eliminate it from my diet. It's pretty well-known that drinking coffee/caffeine contributes to cyst-y breast issues. Plus, it makes the body very acidic -- not healthy at all. So until I get this latest crisis under control, I have cut out the consumption of my daily java. So sad.

However -- since being here in Tijuana, I have experienced coffee a whole new way: via daily ENEMAS.  (yup, that's what I said, enemas)

You may stop here if you find the whole idea behind coffee enemas disgusting and gross. I wouldn't blame you, because -- well -- it IS disgusting and gross. But OH so beneficial. Anyone familiar with the Gerson Therapy will know that the daily coffee enema is an important part of their therapy. Here is a link that gives the gory, but very important, details:
http://www.treating-cancer-alternatively.com/Coffee-enemas.html

So there. How's that for news? Betsy is now "into" coffee enemas. I intend to continue this as a home therapy. You will NOT see me demonstrating this on Youtube -- although you would perhaps be surprised at how many people actually do a "mock" demo on the internet.

Happy Anniversary, Bill and Sharon!

My dear sis-in-law Sharon has committed the ultimate sacrifice: she allowed her husband to come and be by my side today of all days -- the anniversary of Bill and Sharon's 22nd year of marriage.

Dear Sharon, to help celebrate the fact that you have been my sister-in-law for 22 years, your husband and I went out and had a lovely dinner. In tribute to you, I made Bill tell the story of your meeting, your many exciting dates, and how all that "magic" happened so many years ago. So dear sis, I say to you "Thank you for marrying my brother and thank you for letting him be with me this weekend in Tijuana. You are just the best!"

When I was at the clinic this a.m., Bill scouted the area and found some things for us to do this weekend. So stay tuned.... will report on those as they transpire.

A Sign of Progress

It is hard to determine, after only eight days of treatment, whether any progress is being made. The most definitive way to measure how things are going would be with blood tests and/or C-T scans or MRI's. However, in my particular case, there happen to be very physical, visual and palpable signs.

When I first arrived in Tijuana, I was experiencing some very troublesome symptoms: little bee-stinging sensations in and around the breast, extending to my back; redness, heat, and swelling of the breast, detectable both visually and palpably. (I know this may be more info than a lot of you may need to know.... but alas, it is significant to report)

After two days of treatment, I was surprised that the bee-stinging sensations had dissipated completely. I found this absolutely amazing, but didn't say anything to the doctor. After the first week of treatment, I could tell that the redness and swelling had also diminished -- not altogether, but enough to be noticeable. Today Dr. Alvarez confirmed this as well upon physical examination. There is still some inflammation of the breast but it is quite significantly reduced from when I first arrived.

I am finding this sign of progress almost too incredible to be believed. Having Dr. Alvarez's confirmation of this reduction in inflammation has been a significant sign of hope that we are on the right track. There's still a long way to go, but just knowing that progress is being made, however little, has bolstered my spirits and given me confirmation that I have come to the right place.

Mi Hermano Guillermo

This day was a special one as my dear brother Bill arrived from Dallas to bolster my spirits and keep me company. We walked to the local shopping mall, a trip I had been a bit reticent about making on my own. The mall was lovely -- lots of very nice shops and a Sears as the main department store draw. It was much classier than any Sears I have seen in the states!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a cute little roadside taco stand; Bill had beef, and I had chicken. Yum!

Bill will be here until I leave on the 26th. We have booked a flight on the same plane to Phoenix, where he will connect to Dallas and I will connect to BWI. Even reserved seats next to each other; how lucky is that?!

There is some progress to report on the treatment. I will save it for tomorrow.
This day is in honor of "Da Bro!"

Repeat of Cooker and Chemo

Short update here. I will now be repeating the same therapies I started last week. Today spent another 2 hours in the hyperthermia "cooker." Also received second round of 20% chemo. So far, feeling pretty good.

New patient arrived at the clinic today: a woman from Indonesia. Javier, our favorite shuttle driver, spent the morning ride comparing Indonesian language with Spanish and English. I am looking forward to getting more acquainted with this new arrival. My other clinic buddy had surgery today at the hotel across the street. I am looking forward to having her up and around and joining us at the row of IV chairs receiving our Laetrile.

Tomorrow a big day: my very dear bro Bill will be arriving from Dallas to check up on his little sister. Won't THAT be fun? I wonder if he will get mad at me when I call him Guillermo? (heh heh)

The Greek Test

For those of you who know me well, you might at first think this will be a commentary on my previous marriage (which was, indeed, a "Greek test" of sorts).

But no... this is all about a state-of-the-art blood test, called by some the Greece Test. Why Greece/Greek? Because that is where the blood is sent -- to a special lab in Greece where analysis of a person's blood is done to determine the right type of chemo to use as well as other drugs / supplements to assist a doctor in setting up protocols for patients.
This link gives a brief and broad overview:
http://www.goodthingsforlife.com/cancer-test/http://www.goodthingsforlife.com/cancer-test/

I had blood drawn today for this Greece test to determine if we are using the correct type of chemo for my cancer. I have already received one dose of chemo because Dr. Alvarez did not want to wait to get results back from the lab to begin chemo. If the test comes back showing that I need a different brand of chemo than what he is administering, he can make adjustments. This test will also help my naturopath back home determine if my enzyme / mineral / vitamin supplementation is correct.

So here, once again, I am receiving an impressive protocol that I cannot get in the good ole USA. Sad for Americans, yes? But an exciting new diagnostic tool for those who can travel outside of the country for treatment. I consider myself very, very fortunate to be here.

More blood was drawn today to create another custom-made cancer vaccine for me. I asked the lab technician how many docs in Tijuana use this therapy; he was able to list at least four. There may be more, of course, but that is the number of physicians using this particular lab for dendritic cell therapy (cancer vaccine production). See my previous post (last week) on my giving a gift to myself.

Global Gratitude

Have you ever noticed that no matter where you may be or who you might be with, humanity and compassion abound? When I left Silver Spring six days ago, I was very uncertain of what I was about to experience. I won't say that I was fearful or full of doubts about what I was about to do; but I was a bit apprehensive about traveling alone to the other side of the continent and into a foreign land.

Luckily, in my suitcase I had a large envelope full of cards, notes, emails, and letters of love and support from my dear choir friends at Saint Luke church. I have opened and read a few each day and they have been a wonderful source of strength for me. At times when I might have felt lonely, instead I felt held and loved by these dear friends with the reading of each card and each email. Thank you, Saint Luke family. I sure will miss belting out that anthem tomorrow with all of you!!

And of course my own family -- my children, my brothers, sis-in-laws, cousins, nieces -- they are always there, just a phone call away. Boy, gotta love face-time! With an easy connection, I am transported right back to my backyard, where I can see my house, my son, my dog, my cat.

But perhaps the most gratifying experiences have been making new friends who only a week ago were just strangers: my first night in the hotel restaurant, the sweet little Mexican girl Cristina who helped me figure out the conversion of dollars to pesos on my bill, after which she insisted on taking a "selfie" with me on her cell phone. There was Patsy and Heavy, whom I met briefly on my shuttle ride from San Diego to my hotel; boy, didn't we cram a lot of conversation into about 15 minutes! And my "clinic buddy" Joan and her husband Sam, who have become fast friends in one short week.
We've shared many meals together and today enjoyed a very fun "day off" from the clinic traveling to the beach to dip our toes into the Pacific waves. One of my favorite new friends is our shuttle (pronounced "chuttle" by the locals) driver Javier. He was our driver today (in his own car) transporting us to the beach, to Costco (yes, Costco!) and to the local vendors' market.

We all know that there are good people everywhere. But it's so nice to really be reminded of that now and then. This trip is my opportunity to appreciate that very comforting fact. Hope all of you good people are enjoying this weekend wherever you may be.

Doctors as Friends

Today was a red-letter day, a highlight in my Tijuana journey. My doctor from Baltimore, Ina Grundmann, came to the clinic to visit me. She brought with her Samantha, her colleague from the Ruscombe Mansion (a clinic in Baltimore that specializes in alternative therapies). Dr. G. is my naturopathic, anthroposophic (look that one up!) M.D. who provides me with mistletoe, supplements and general advice about boosting my immune system. She has been a professional ally and dear friend since I was first diagnosed in 2013. When she found out I was heading for Tijuana, she got all excited and shared that she would be visiting friends in California; wondered if she could come and visit me at the clinic and meet my Mexican doc? Well, hey, why not?

So today it happened. She showed up with flowers and a gift and lots of hugs and kisses. She had all kinds of questions for Dr. Alvarez about my protocol; she is wanting to find good resources for her many patients who have cancer. It can be a fearful thing for folks to step outside of the traditional box, head out of the country and go for therapies that American doctors will tell you are "quackery." So she was grateful to actually see the clinic, meet the doctor and get my perspective on how it all works so that she (and I) can help others get the help they need. I feel that this is a big part of my journey -- to help others, not just myself. With an ally like Ina Grundmann, I know this can happen.

In terms of my clinic visit today, I had the regular IV treatments (Laetrile, etc), PLUS my newly created vaccine (made out of my very own white blood cells!) was injected into me for lymph node treatment, and also administered with an IV for the liver to transport the immunity to all systems of the body.

Some may wonder how I tolerated the 20% chemo I received yesterday. I had a bit of tummy discomfort, but nothing too difficult to deal with; I ate a pretty light supper, not wanting to feel any twinges of nausea. But all went well. So, hey, give me more of that stuff! (Chemo-light, they call it)

Weekend coming up. A break from the clinic. More reports to follow... stay tuned.
And thanks for joining me on my journey. Fun, ay?

It's Cool in the Furnace

Any of you whose kids went through choristers at Saint Luke may well recognize this as the title of the musical about the three amigos of the Old Testament Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their not-so-fun adventures being thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchudnezzar. The story goes that God saved them from their torture and made it "cool in the furnace," the title song of the musical.

So as I was undergoing hyperthermia today (see link for details about this protocol: http://www.chimachine4u.com/hyperthermia.html ), I kept repeating the mantra, "it's cool in the furnace, it's cool in the furnace." It didn't help much because -- trust me -- it was far from cool. It was hot, baby, stinkin' hot! And I was in that tent of infra-red heat for three hours. The goal was to get my body temp up to around 103 or 104 degrees. Before I could get there, my face started to show signs of heat stroke (very flushed cheeks and white circle around the mouth), which is pretty typical for me, so we had to end the session. Boy, was it intense! Three hours of sweat pouring off of me, nurse putting fan on my face, wiping perspiration from my brow. Let's hope it weakened a few cancer cells (does it do that, you ask? see link above).

At the same time I was in the hot-box, I was receiving standard IV cocktail of Laetrile and Vitamin C, followed by my first bag of low-dose chemo. So far (3 hours later), feeling no ill-effects.

So.... it's been quite a productive day here at that "shack of miracles" in Tijuana.

Using Dendritic Cells to Create Cancer Vaccines

Today I gave an awesome gift to myself: my own blood.



Dendritic cell therapy is quite new and has shown amazing promise in treating cancer. The video below is a pretty good explanation of the whole process if you are interested in learning more. This presentation is rather old (2007), but the charts and explanations are, in my opinion, pretty easy to comprehend for the lay person.



This morning, after receiving my standard laetrile, oxygen, vitamin, and selenium IV breakfast, a bag of my blood was taken using the temporary IV port that was surgically placed yesterday. Within a couple of hours, the lab returned my hemoglobin (red blood cells) after white blood cells had been extracted (a very simplistic explanation; watch the video if you want more details). This separated blood then became, in essence, my very own personal "cancer vaccine." :-)   oh joy!



I am still pinching myself as a reminder that I am really here at this amazing place receiving these state-of-the-art, life-giving therapies. It makes me giggle to recall one of the last words my surgeon back in 2013 said to me before I "fired him." As I was leaving his office, he said to me, "And I don't wanna hear that you've gone off to one of those shacks in Tijuana for a miracle cure."



T'ain't no miracle. This is SCIENCE, baby!

Quick update, Day Two in Tijuana

Today was pretty much the same drill as yesterday: IV cocktail of Laetrile, Oxygen and DMSO, plus Selenium. Followed by coffee enema. Food was different: breakfast was oatmeal, with a side of fruit/cottage cheese/granola, plus the standard green juices. Lunch was steamed zucchini with salsa and a side of beans. Too healthy to be believed!

Received a permanent IV port in preparation for IPT. Also on the agenda for tomorrow: Hyperthermia and blood draw in preparation for cancer vaccine.

I am adjusting well to being here. Enjoying evenings by the pool. It's almost (!) like being on vacation. Stay tuned. There will be much more to report after tomorrow's clinic visit.

Side note re Tijuana traffic.... the natives here drive like Parisians. Traversing the circles is a nightmare. Can't believe I haven't seen any accidents. Oh.... and trying to cross the street? My "chuttle" (shuttle, in Spanish) driver Javier says you just have to make them respect you when in the yellow crosswalk. He spotted me crossing six lanes on my way back to the hotel from the bank; stuck his head out the window of his van and yelled, "Very good! Very good!" I yelled back, "All I need to do is make them respect me!"

Day One at Stella Maris Clinic

I have been in Tijuana barely 24 hours and already my level of comfort and ease has increased 10-fold! Last night as I was settling in to sleep after a long day of travel, Dr. Alvarez called my hotel room; he had just returned to Mexico from a conference that he had been attending on the west coast. He wanted to make sure I had arrived safely and was feeling ready for our first day of therapy; he reminded me to arrive having eaten no breakfast.

Before boarding the shuttle to the clinic this morning, I met a lovely couple from Canada who were also attending the clinic (the lady of the duo is the patient). It was so very reassuring to meet up with very like-minded folks who were seeking the same protocols that are on my agenda. Together we went through the drill: uptake interviews and exam by Dr. Alvarez, then blood was drawn, followed by IV feedings of Laetrile/Oxygen/DMSO, multi-vitamin supplementation, and selenium. A delightful breakfast was served while we were being fed the IV's (two poached eggs with salsa, toast, oatmeal with slivered almonds and raisins, and freshly squeezed "green" juice). Later, we received two more juices and a bowl of fresh pineapple. The visit was capped off by something I have always wanted to try: a coffee enema! (Perhaps some of you have heard of the Gerson therapy for cancer; it relies heavily on juicing and regular coffee enemas. Try googling for the documentary called The Beautiful Truth. Here's a link that might do it for ya: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beautiful-truth/http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beautiful-truth/ Anyway, the coffee enema wasn't nearly as trepidating as I had anticipated; I actually think I could manage this on my own once at home. 

In our initial interview, Dr. Alvarez reiterated that I would be given a chemo sensitivity test so that IPT therapy could be administered, probably twice a week, while I am here. Also on the list of coming attractions: a cancer vaccine derived from my own blood serum and possibly hyperthermia -- not sure about that one, actually. 

As we left the clinic in the early afternoon, we were given take-out lunches: a huge salad and a container of home-cooked lentils. I opted to enjoy mine while sitting pool-side back at the hotel. After lunch, I made a trip to El Banco to convert $$ to Mexican currency. I am already tired of trying to figure out the conversion every time I buy something!

So I am settling in nicely and feeling so very confident about the decision I have made.
Thassall for now. Looking forward to Day Two!

The Journey

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice,

though the whole house began to tremble

and you felt the old tug at your ankles.

"Mend my life!" each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried with its stiff fingers

the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible.

It was already late enough, and a wild night, 

and the road full of fallen branches and stones.

But little by little, as you left their voices behind

the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds,

there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own,

kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world,

determined to do the only thing you could do, determined to save

the only life you could save.

                                                                                                        Mary Oliver

I thank my dear daughter for introducing me to these words of poet Mary Oliver. How perfectly they capture the journey I began today. After much frantic prep work and planning, I have at long last arrived in Tijuana! Flights from BWI to Denver and then to San Diego went without a hitch. Miguel, my driver from the Stella Maris Clinic, met me at the SD baggage claim and transported me across the border and to my hotel. I have a lovely room with a balcony pool-side. I plan to eat a substantial late dinner, since I must show up at the clinic in the a.m. in a fasted state, ready for blood work.

The journey continues.....