Okay, so I went to Philadelphia to the cancer treatment center of america
and as much as I wasn’t impressed I don’t want to say the place was horrible.
After two solid years of doing hardcore holistic and integrative approach, an
offering of being blasted with chemo with a side of a little acupuncture and
reiki is not my idea of holistic or integrative treatment. These cancer hospitals
are funny…they know how to work it and market themselves. We had up to a 6
night stay in a Radisson for a one time fee of 75 bucks and all three meals
were included for myself and my caregiver. A plus is that they offered good quality
food, such as green juices made to order, healthy grains, and coconut water.
But they also had there share of crappy foods such as chips, bacon, cookies,
pizza, etc. If you require a flight for transportation that is paid as well for
both you and your caretaker and you are picked up from the airport in a limo
with the CTCA logo on the side door (of course). Which is a little strange but
I guess for people who are scared out of their wits this could be an added
bonus and mask the stress for a quick minute. So all in all it was a traditional
cancer hospital with a whole bunch of fluff.
As for my personal experience, every doctor that came across me didn’t know
who the patient was…me or my mom. They were all shocked in how good I looked
and said that they were expecting a different “look” based on all the reports
they received and the fact that I had my
spleen removed 6 months ago. I was encouraged to get a pet scan to get an
idea of where my body is at. I reluctantly agreed, was injected with the
radioactive glucose, and underwent a stupid pet scan. The results were
completely energy sucking and frightening. Every other sentence in the report
had “likely metastasis, suspected metastasis, etc.” It took me a couple of
minutes to realize I was falling under their ‘lets scare these people into
chemo tactics’ and came to my
senses and remembered all that I learned about how false these pet scans
are. Basically the SUV (sugar uptake value) is what needs to be looked at and
if it is above 12 there is something going on that needs attention, however
even in this case it could be inflammation or infection rather than cancer. If
the SUV is a number as low as 2 it is nothing to even being concerned about.
The average Joe could have a pet scan and have several ‘light ups’ with a low
SUV. This is what I
learned from being in Switzerland and from Fred (Cellect) but of course the
cancer hospitals say an SUV above 2 is worrisome, which is plain old bullshit.
But the kicker about my pet scan was they actually noted that I had my ovaries,
my uterus, and my gallbladder taken out. Hello???? I have all three of these
and if they don’t know what is even inside my body how the hell would I trust
their reports of what is going on inside my body?? Anyway the areas that lit up
were by my
abdominal area (pancreas, liver) and when I spoke to Fred he explained that
this was because I just had my spleen removed and inflammation is to be
expected and will probably take up to 6 years to fully heal. It also noted that
the area under my arm (the black slave area) is necrotic (aka dead.) However
they still said it is dangerous and it could spread and yada yada. Hello once
again???? It’s dead!!!!! Do they ever focus on the positive and let people know
the good things without turning it into a gut wrenching scary moment? So once I
got the pet scan results I was a little frazzled but then I centered myself and
recalled all I learned and focused on how Im feeling, my energy, how I look,
and that I know for damn sure that this cancer in my body is dead. Once I
reviewed my scans with Fred I felt much better because he pointed out all the
bogus crap they write in these scan reports and gave me a different twist on
what’s really going on inside my body that made much more sense to what the
cancer center was telling me.
So as I mentioned last post, my main reason for the visit was to inquire
about getting surgery. When I met with the surgeon he initially said since the
cancer is systemic it is not suggested to get surgery. However, he then
examined the area, took one look at it and said he thinks this would be an
exception and should come out. Hmmm….interesting, maybe because he knows its
dead??!! He even said when showing me the images of my scan on the computer,
that the one under my arm is necrotic (dead) but stated that this is not necessarily
a good thing as it could get ugly and spread. He did not agree to go easy and
only take out the nodes that were affected and
said he has to take out lymph node strands 1 and 2. He said this is for my
own good. Oh okay Mr. Surgeon, removing most of my lymph nodes under my arm and
a bunch of tissue and leaving me with lymphedema and frozen shoulder is for my
own good? Thanks for looking out Mr.Surgeon…or not!!!!
It dawned on me that I should give Dr. Beg, my original surgeon, who I trust
and feel comfortable with, a ring to see if I could get an appointment. Sure
enough I got an appointment that same day, left Philly, and met with him.
Within seconds, he took a look of the area and agreed to take the tumor and
only what was affected out. We made an agreement that if he sees anything else
that look suspicious and has to come out once he is in there that I would allow
for him to take it out. I said by all means and that I just want whatever is
black out. So no regrets to going to Philly as whatever takes place along the
way is what makes this journey the educational journey this is. However, I
could have went right back to my original source, Dr Beg, and got what I wanted
without a trip to PA. So my surgery is scheduled for May 22nd at Northshore
Manhasset. It will be an in and out surgery and according to Dr. Beg nothing
compared to a lymph node dissection.
I’m super happy to get it removed because my lymph system is being blocked
right now because of all the deadness and we need to have that lymph pumping
and working to its best ability. However, going under the knife always has the
chance of new complications and I’m not looking forward to another beautiful
scar but it is what it is. This whole journey, I followed my heart and my gut
and I know its leading me in the right direction. And as far as this surgery, I
just know that it’s the right thing to do to get me that much closer to remission.
Also, I spoke to Dr Rau in Switzerland and he is on board that I get the
surgery, however feels I should come there for intense treatment for immune
system up building and to help the healing process soon after the surgery. So
not only will I be getting the surgery I will also be going back to Switzerland
in June sometime.
We had the Long Island run this weekend. Mike, my parents, and my amazing
friends and family were there to support!! It was invigorating and inspiring as
usual. May 20th we have the 5k melanoma walk/run in Eisenhower Park. You can
choose to run the 3 miles or walk it. For more information go to www.ccmac.org
. The more people there the more support I have….. so come join us if you
can!!!!!
Other than that things are going well and I’m just looking forward to all
that the remainder of the spring and summer have to offer.
Oh, and black slave pics to come soon.
Peace and strength,
LiSa
