Just My Opinion

Tethys41

I attended the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance Summit yesterday in Denver. The morning was filled with presentations related to conventional medicine, molecular profiling, clinical trials, screening. They all focused on statistics and collecting data. Most were placing their faith in the future, close or distant, that their research would bring about something that would be of benefit to ovarian cancer patients. The survival statistics and the absence of improvement in treatment over the last decades was depressing to me. I'm not saying that the work they are doing is not important, because it is, but it all felt so futile. Hearing the stories of the women in attendance and their continued recurrances and various drug choices brought no more light to the situation.
In the afternoon, my naturopath presented. Her talk was entirely based on hard science; how the body works (or does not, in the case of cancer); the nature of cancer and what allows it go grow; and treating each patient acccording to her specific needs. There was no talk of statistics, but only of case studies, showing that each patient comes with her specific imbalances that compromise her body. Her focus was on treatment of the individual. And the results she reported were amazing. Some patients' oncologist are retesting the women's CA-125s because they aren't accustomed to having them drop so quickly.
It has been frustrating to me from the start that doctors don't look at the whole body and figure out what is going wrong. I realize this is not how they are trained, but it appears to me to be so misguided and counterintuitive. Unfortunately, the medical industry, in its current state, is huge, and it has no reason to change its way of thinking. It is up to us, as patients, to insist on receiving treatment that will not only get rid of the cancer temporarily, but will get us through treatment with as little damage as possible and keep us NED and healthy.
There are resources out there and I learned yesterday that my naturopath is teaching other naturopaths how she addresses cancer. I've learned so much through this journey. At the time I was in treatment, I just did what I felt I had to do, despite my doctors' warnings. But now I know that there are some doctors, who are willing to work with a practitioner who can make a patient healthy. If I found myself working with a doctor now, who would not give me his or her blessing in this regard, I would find someone else, who was willing to work hand-in-hand with my naturopath. We are consumers, even when it comes to finding someone to treat this disease. That means we should find a product with which we are satisfied.

paris11

An oncologist to work hand-in-hand with naturopath.
I agree 100%. I live in Chicago. Do you know of any oncologists in the Midwest? Thanks. Connie

2timothy1 7

I agree with you Tethys!
I agree with you Tethys! Problem with most insurance is that it will not cover naturopaths or their supplements. It is a frustrating dilemma for sure.
I'm so glad your doc is teaching other naturopaths. Maybe more oncologists will take notice of those patients that are treated by naturopaths and begin to think along the same lines.
I have told my doc I'm taking iscador shots. She said it wouldn't hurt me. Ofcourse I could tell she didn't think it would help me either:). But I will continue taking them with an 11 pt drop last ca 125 check. Of course I'm forever grateful to my oncologist for what she has done for me. Her expertise surely helped to save my life up to this point.
Thanks for reporting any research you find !!!!!!
Shawnna

Tethys41

paris11 said:

An oncologist to work hand-in-hand with naturopath.
I agree 100%. I live in Chicago. Do you know of any oncologists in the Midwest? Thanks. Connie

Block Center
Connie,
The Block Center seems to have a good grip on how to treat cancer effectively. They are located in your area. They also take insurance.

http://www.blockmd.com/

Tethys41

2timothy1 7 said:

I agree with you Tethys!
I agree with you Tethys! Problem with most insurance is that it will not cover naturopaths or their supplements. It is a frustrating dilemma for sure.
I'm so glad your doc is teaching other naturopaths. Maybe more oncologists will take notice of those patients that are treated by naturopaths and begin to think along the same lines.
I have told my doc I'm taking iscador shots. She said it wouldn't hurt me. Ofcourse I could tell she didn't think it would help me either:). But I will continue taking them with an 11 pt drop last ca 125 check. Of course I'm forever grateful to my oncologist for what she has done for me. Her expertise surely helped to save my life up to this point.
Thanks for reporting any research you find !!!!!!
Shawnna

Insurance
Shawnna,
I think we are on the cusp of a big change in Western medicine. If patients start insisting on healthy and preventative care, and if their doctors don't comply, if patients take their business elsewhere, then doctors will have no choice but to start using these methods, just to retain patients. If doctors start recommending these treatments, then insurance will have to start covering them. It is my understanding that the new Universal healthcare is aimed at covering any licensed practitioner, so licensed naturopaths would also be covered by insurance. This approach is absolutely what we, as ovarian cancer survivors, need to get us and keep us healthy. It gives us a much better chance than does the Western Medical model, at this time.

Alexandra

Iscador shots
Tethys,

Could you please ask if your doctor knows any naturopaths in Ontario, Canada?

In my attempt to find iscador shots in Canada, I received a disappointing run-around.
US distributor Weleda sent me to the exclusive Canadian distributor Purity Life, who in turn refused to sell to me directly and referred to the naturopath whose practice had closed years ago and did not offer any alternatives.

My oncologist was skeptical, even sarcastic when I asked about complimentary treatments.
She said "do whatever you want but not while you're on chemo".

Tethys41

Alexandra said:

Iscador shots
Tethys,

Could you please ask if your doctor knows any naturopaths in Ontario, Canada?

In my attempt to find iscador shots in Canada, I received a disappointing run-around.
US distributor Weleda sent me to the exclusive Canadian distributor Purity Life, who in turn refused to sell to me directly and referred to the naturopath whose practice had closed years ago and did not offer any alternatives.

My oncologist was skeptical, even sarcastic when I asked about complimentary treatments.
She said "do whatever you want but not while you're on chemo".

Alternatives
Unfortunately, many oncologists will give that response. They really don't know about these things and feel it is safer to advise againsth them while you are in treatment. A good naturopath knows what is safe with chemo, and what is not. Unfortunatley, I don't have a referral list for other naturopaths at this time. She is actually working on one, but I don't have it yet. You might want to try Weleeda again, even though it wasn't very helpful the first time. Also, is there a Canadian licesimg or association of some sort for naturopaths? You might find one there. Sorry I can't be of more help.

debrajo

2timothy1 7 said:

I agree with you Tethys!
I agree with you Tethys! Problem with most insurance is that it will not cover naturopaths or their supplements. It is a frustrating dilemma for sure.
I'm so glad your doc is teaching other naturopaths. Maybe more oncologists will take notice of those patients that are treated by naturopaths and begin to think along the same lines.
I have told my doc I'm taking iscador shots. She said it wouldn't hurt me. Ofcourse I could tell she didn't think it would help me either:). But I will continue taking them with an 11 pt drop last ca 125 check. Of course I'm forever grateful to my oncologist for what she has done for me. Her expertise surely helped to save my life up to this point.
Thanks for reporting any research you find !!!!!!
Shawnna

I know Iscador shots are
I know Iscador shots are made from mistletoe, but what is the principal behind them? Are they for all cancers or only certain ones? I would like to be proactive during NED, but get shot down at MD Anderson(even the Intergrative dr. said to stop wasting time and money. I was taking the freeze dryed black raspberries, tumeric, biopene, and olive oil).So I am looking for a way to help me stay NED. Thanks, debrajo

Tethys41

debrajo said:

I know Iscador shots are
I know Iscador shots are made from mistletoe, but what is the principal behind them? Are they for all cancers or only certain ones? I would like to be proactive during NED, but get shot down at MD Anderson(even the Intergrative dr. said to stop wasting time and money. I was taking the freeze dryed black raspberries, tumeric, biopene, and olive oil).So I am looking for a way to help me stay NED. Thanks, debrajo

From What I've Seen
A comprehensive plan is the most effective method in remaining NED. That involves diet, exercise, supplements, and stress management. I think the very best possible way to maintain your health is to work with a naturopath, integrative practitioner, or anthroposophic doctor, who knows the tests to run to identify critical imbalances in your body and who knows how to rectify them. That, as I see it, is the key to getting and staying healthy. Dare I say, I even believe that if the body is balanced, cancer can't grow.
Iscador appears to be an effective approach...for some women. It is aimed at strengthening the immune system, and there are various types of Iscador, each effecive on certain cancers. It will be of benefit to patients whose immune system is one of the big deficiencies with which they are dealing. If, however, the major issue(s) are angiogenesis (which promotes growth of new blood vessels, allowing a tumor to feed itself), inflammation (which promotes cancer and heart disease), sticky blood (which helps cancer cells clump together and promotes metastasis), or blood sugar or insulin issues (both promote cancer growth). The Iscador will be less effective. There are blood tests that can be used to identify, specifically, which treatments will be of most benefit to the patient.
It is ironic that your doctor at MD Anderson is denouncing the benefits of turmeric, when Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal, did research that showed curcumin (the active ingredient of turmeric) is very effective in reducing cancer, maybe even as effective as some chemotherapies in breast cancer, and he conducted his reasearch at MD Anderson.