Hello Again!

Hello!  It’s been a while.  Big thanks to all of you who have reached out.  I didn’t realize I had so many followers!  As I’ve read your e-mails, I’ve been thrilled to learn that so many of you are interested in Dr. Gonzalez’s work.  I always thought that I would be happy if my little blog impacted even one person but it appears that there are quite a lot of you who are interested in taking control of your health.  People from all over the world are questioning the conventional model and thinking twice.  I love it.  It is my pleasure and honor to serve you, so please keep the questions coming.

A lot has happened since I last wrote.  If you’re wondering how I’m doing, then the short answer is “terrific”.  I’m still on the Gonzalez protocol, eating healthy foods (including fatty red meats like grass- fed burgers and organic bacon five times a week), declining all drugs, and watching my cancer melt away each month.  I’m still tired and I have some eczema on my hands that is extremely irritating, but my cancer is decreasing and I’m getting stronger every day, so I’m pretty happy.  It has been a long journey and I still have a long way to go but I can finally see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Here’s the long answer to what I’ve been up to…

The spring and summer brought a unique challenge with my oldest daughter.  She didn’t want to have much to do with me.  If I tried to touch or hug her, she pulled away.  If my husband was anywhere near, she would cling to him as if I didn’t exist. 

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that my life is not exactly balanced these days….my world pretty much revolves around my therapy and my family.  So, when my seven year old expressed such strong animosity towards me, I didn’t take it well.  Certainly, I expect this type of behavior to occur when she transitions to adolescence but I was really bothered to see this from my sweet, little seven year-old.  Once my husband realized that this was really upsetting me, he asked Madelyn about it and she explained that “she didn’t want to be too close to Mommy because she didn’t want to catch cancer”. 

Well, I breathed a big sigh of relief when I heard her explanation because I then knew that her hostility  was based on a misunderstanding.  Once we explained that she can’t catch Mommy’s cancer, my little girl returned.   She began sitting in my lap, holding my hand and was generally happy to be around me again.  Whew.

The last couple summers, I had babysitters to help with the girls, with juicing, etc.  Because I was on the Gerson Therapy, I was doing enemas all day long (four or five a day) and my time with my daughters was limited.  So, this first summer on the Gonzalez Therapy was really about re-connecting.  I didn’t hire any help and that made me really happy.  I’m a do-it-myself, hands-on kind of gal and I generally love spending time with my daughters.  We had a great summer together.  

As the season progressed, my energy rose and fell.  In July, I had a few weeks when I felt fantastic.  Then, in August, due to an event unrelated to my cancer, I lost a lot of blood and my energy plummeted.  Unfortunately, I didn’t rebound from that very quickly.

In September, Dr. Gonzalez called me and said that my disease was progressing and he suggested that I consider taking a small amount of conventional medicine to stabilize things.  He said it’s very rare that his patients ever need conventional drugs but he didn’t want my disease to continue progressing.  So, we agreed that I’d head into the local cancer hospital and see what the oncologist recommended for the least toxic way to stabilize the disease.  Dr. Gonzalez and his colleague had  analyzed my hair sample results and felt strongly that I was on the right protocol but that stress was the culprit behind the increase in my disease (Note to all: stress matters.  Make an effort to minimize it.).  He asked if I was following the program and if I had experienced any unusual challenges.  As a matter of fact, we had recently experienced some extremely stressful events….things I won’t divulge here.  So, once again, it appeared that stress was hijacking my health. 

The good and most important news is that Dr. Gonzalez said that he still felt very good about my long term prognosis.  We’d use a small amount of conventional drugs for a short time to get me over this hump but long term I’d still be okay. 

When Dr. Gonzalez tells me I’ll be okay long term, I don’t take it lightly.  I believe he is optimistic but I don’t think he’d offer false hope.  I’m sharing this because I’ve heard so many stories about conventional oncologists offering treatments that never have any chance of working.  Maybe the  conventional doctors want to be optimistic – I don’t know - but we patients need to know the truth. 

So, I headed into Boston to see the oncologist.  Within twenty minutes I felt myself being sucked into the cancer industry.  They wanted me to return the next week to see a hematologist and to have full body skeletal x-rays.  In addition, they agreed to only prescribe two drugs but encouraged me to take six.  They also encouraged me to participate in a clinical trial (I found this surprising since I’ve told them that I don’t want to be part of an experiment).  This appointment which included a blood draw and a 25 minute meeting with the oncologist cost $3,000 ($1,000 out of pocket).  A one month supply of the two drugs, which includes a total of 24 pills, costs $8,400. 

Now I know how they funded that brand new building, complete with floor to ceiling windows, rocking chairs, and a pianist.   While I waited, I had the opportunity to use an Ipad and I could take a library book or magazine home with me, free of charge.  I guess that once you’re in the myeloma ward, they know you’re a patient for life. 

At any rate, when I walked into the waiting room and saw the sea of surgical masks and wheel chairs, I felt a little better than I had during past visits.  I knew that this would not be my future - I was only there for a temporary fix. 

During my appointment, I learned that the myeloma drugs are so damaging that it is normal for patients’ red and white blood cell counts to be out of range.  As a result, myeloma patients on conventional therapy are chronically anemic.  I guess I find it surprising that these drugs are so widely accepted and celebrated.  I’ve been anemic for a long time now and I don’t feel it’s a good way to live.  My brain doesn’t get enough oxygen and it affects my mood and ability to think clearly, not to mention it makes me tired.  I’m hopeful that my anemia is temporary. 

I had a conversation with a nurse practitioner about cancer and the great progress that is being made.  This particular NP worked in breast cancer and was excited about the fact that some of her patients were using conventional therapies that were killing off the breast cancer.  She explained that these patients were typically dying a few years later of other causes, often heart disease.  

I feel I should point out that I really like this NP.   I sense that she cares about her patients and that she genuinely believes the industry is doing good things.  But I had to scratch my head at her enthusiasm.    If a patient takes chemo and radiation to reduce the risk of recurrence of breast cancer, and that treatment damages the heart and lungs so that the patient dies of heart disease a few years later, is this “great progress”?  It kind of reminds me of that pass the hot potato game we played when we were kids.    

During this time, I was grateful to have Dr. Gonzalez as a resource.  I was pretty sure I didn’t need the full six drug chemo cocktail that the oncologist recommended but I didn’t know how to discern exactly what was and wasn’t critical.  In the end, Dr. Gonzalez said that I didn’t need the appointment with the hematologist or the full body skeletal survey.    

The drug that I was going to take is called Revlimid.  Years ago, its’ cousin drug, Thalidomide, had been administered to pregnant women without being tested.  As a result, the pregnant women taking the drug bore children without limbs and the maker of Thalidomide lost millions in law suits. (This is eerily similar to what’s happening with vaccinations.  Our children are the guinea pigs for much of what is being administered).  Because Revlimid has a biochemical make-up that is similar to Thalidomide, I was required to have two pregnancy tests prior to taking the drug.  In addition, I would be required to have weekly pregnancy tests once I started.  Under no circumstances will Revlimid be administered to pregnant women.

So, I headed off to the lab to have my pregnancy test.  Though I wasn’t due to have my blood drawn for another week, I asked the nurse to draw it anyway.  I was hopeful that my myeloma numbers would hold steady and show signs that things were leveling off.  Then, maybe Dr. Gonzalez would tell me that I didn’t have to take the drugs.  I figured it was a long shot but worth a try. 

So, the next evening I received a call from Dr. Gonzalez with my results.  The first question he asked is if I had begun taking the drug.  I explained that I had not begun taking it because I didn’t have it yet and then he told me that I had “crested”.  Um, okay – what’s that?  He explained that when patients heal on his protocol, it is normal for them to get worse before they get better.  In his blood cancer patients (like yours truly), he typically sees a patient worsen and then have a dramatic improvement in blood work.  This is all part of the normal, natural healing process.  He shared the story of a leukemia patient whose white blood cells dropped 100,000 points in a month and a myeloma patient whose IGA dropped several thousand.  He said that all of my numbers improved and that my IGA dropped 2,000 points.  My IGA is now the lowest it has been in about three years (this is very, very good news and indicates that my disease is dying off).    He said that, given these improvements, there’s no need for me to take any drugs.   

Dr. Gonzalez explained that when he saw my blood work trending in the wrong direction, he suspected that I was cresting and would be fine, but he had no way to know for sure and he thought I should take the drugs and play it safe.  He’s conservative and I like that.    

I’m glad to be able to share this experience.  Many of you are reading this blog because you’re interested in Dr. Gonzalez’s work and, although it’s rare that his patients need to use conventional medication, it’s good to know that he will use drugs when necessary.     He’s not hung up on dogma or ego – he’s focused and committed to getting his patients well and he’ll recommend whatever it takes to make that happen.  At least that’s my impression and experience. 

So, in the end, I didn’t need to take any medicine after all.  I’ve spent three years detoxifying, so the thought of gunking up my body with poisons is not exactly appealing.

A couple weeks ago, I had my appointment for my annual (13 month) check-up with Dr. Gonzalez.  Overall, my results were terrific.  Here are the highlights from my hair sample analysis:

1.       CT Mass – cancer tumor mass - measures the amount of cancer in my body.  Normal is 10 or below.  A year ago I was at 27 and now I’m at 17.  I have a much less serious amount of disease.  The average patient improves about 6 points in a year so, although my results have jumped around a lot, I did improve 10 points in 13 months.  Dr. Gonzalez says that 15 is a “safe” amount of cancer and I am really close to that goal. 

2.       TBF – total body function – measures how well my body is functioning overall.  Normal is 90 or above.  A year ago, I was at 74 and now I’m at 84.  I am thrilled about this.

3.       DNA –measures the health of my DNA.  Normal is 10 or below.  A year ago I was at 18 and now I’m at 15.  Dr. Gonzalez says that as long as I have DNA damage I’m at risk for cancer, so I’m happy to see my DNA repairing and re-building.  The good news here is that DNA damage is reversible.  Note to all: your DNA is not your destiny. 

4.       Toxicity – measures the amount of environmental toxins trapped in my cells.  Normal is 10 or below.  A year ago I was at 13 and now I’m at 10 for the second month in a row.  Dr. Gonzalez says that a score of 10 is difficult to maintain and that the number is based on the environment.   What I find most interesting is that after doing the Gerson Therapy for two years, which involved 12 glasses of vegetable juice a day and 4 or 5 coffee enemas a day, I was at a toxicity level of 13.  After two years of so many juices and enemas and an all organic fruit and vegetable diet, I really didn’t think I could get any cleaner.  On my current therapy, I do fewer enemas and drink much less juice.  I also do some other things to detoxify that are much easier than what I did on my first therapy.  Yet, my toxicity level has decreased significantly.  I’m glad I was wrong. 

5.       For the first time, all of my digestive organs and glands, including my parotid, liver, stomach, gall bladder, small intestine and colon are all in the normal range.  Yay!  Many alternative doctors believe that cancer and all diseases begin in the gut and Dr. Gonzalez is no exception.  If you’re body can’t break down food, absorb the nutrients, and filter out the waste, then you’re setting the stage for disease.  Finally, my digestive system is working the way it should.  It’s nice to know that my body is able to process all the healthy food I am consuming.

6.       I had about a dozen improvements overall.   Three numbers moved in the wrong direction and they were the ones affected by stress: systemic  arteries, adrenal cortex and hypothalamus.  Nothing to worry about. 

 Throughout these challenges, I’ve continued to pray for the patience, perseverance and discernment necessary to heal.  So far, it’s been tough but I feel I’m getting what I need.  Thanks and big hugs to all of you who have kept me in your prayers.  It’s working and I couldn’t do it without you!

Last, for any of you who are reading this and thinking that this all sounds interesting but you  want some studies….some proof.  I understand where you’re coming from because there was a time when I felt the same way.  Actually, I’d still like to see it happen.  However, I’ve come to realize that clinical studies are funded by pharmaceutical companies and there’s simply no incentive for one of these companies to spend millions on a study for an alternative therapy, particularly one that is more effective than the conventional treatments they are selling.  If this topic interests you, you may want to read Dr. Gonzalez’s recently published book “What Went Wrong”.  It’s a detailed account of his experience working with the NIH and NCI in a clinical trial.  After reading it, you just might think twice the next time your doctor or a scientist tells you something was “proven” in a clinical trial. 

http://www.amazon.com/What-Went-Wrong-Clinical-Treatment/dp/0982196539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351956582&sr=8-1&keywords=what+went+wrong+gonzalez

I’ll leave you with this: I recently met with a dermatologist who was quick to point out that alternatives don’t work in his field and that he prefers to use things that are PROVEN.  Initially, I was annoyed with him but then I just felt kind of bad for him.  He seemed so threatened that I was successfully using an alternative cancer therapy.  I’m thinking “why can’t we all just work together?”.  I promptly left his office and went to Whole Foods to purchase a topical gel that dried up my impetigo in about four days.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a beautiful day.