My Brother-in-law is delaying treatment to pursue Alternative therapies. Help!

My brother-in-law has colon cancer. He has Kaiser Permanente insurance and has not been treated well so far by the doctors there.

His little sister, who is in Florida is into "alternative medicine." So Tom now is more disposed to seek “alternative treatment” than continue pursuing getting help at Kaiser, especially because they have treated him so badly and seem unwilling to help. He just met Turillo Simoncini who claims to cure cancer with baking soda.

I have read online that this “doctor” has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and stripped of his medical license in Italy. But little sister says that’s just a smear campaign because curing cancer would mean that the medical establishment wouldn’t make lots of money!

It doesn’t help that no one at Kaiser seems to care. No one has taken responsibility for his case. I have been with him in the surgeon's office at Kaiser Permanente and the surgeon acted like a jerk!

This is the second surgeon Tom has seen at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles. I wasn't at the first appointment, but apparantly that did not go well either.

According to Tom this was what happened: He arrived early for his appointment but was made to wait 40 minutes before a nurse brought him in to take his BP. At this time she asked him about his having the enemas as instructed. This was the first time Tom heard that he had been expected to use 2 fleet enemas 2 hours prior to his appointment. He told her that he had not gotten any instructions from the girl who made the appointment.

When the surgeon saw Tom he was angry at Tom for not being prepared to be scoped during this visit. When I talked to Tom the words he used to describe the doctor were rude and abusive. Maybe the doctor assumed that Tom was lying about not getting instructions when he made his appointment.

The doctor did not make any effort to be helpful or sympathetic. He said that depending on the location of the tumor, he would probably remove his colon and sphincter and Tom would have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. I'm not sure what else he said, but Tom was traumatized by what the doctor said. Stunned, Tom let them make an appointment for him to see the doctor again.

When Tom got home, he became angry about how he had been treated. He did not want to see this doctor again and did not want to allow him to perform surgery on him. So Tom called and cancelled his appointment.

Let me back up. Tom had a colonoscopy and a biopsy of the tumor tissue that determined it was cancer. He had a CT scan with contrast. He was told that the CT scan did not show any signs of cancer outside of his colon. That is all the information they gave him. At that point no one would answer any questions about the size and kind of cancer.

Tom agreed to let me help him try to navigate the Kaiser system, I got him an appointment with another surgeon, the supervisor of the first doctor. And from the moment he entered the room it was clear that he had conferred with the first doctor and had an attitude. I left while he scoped Tom and measured the location of the cancer.

Then we went into his office for a discussion. He said the tumor was 12cm from the end of the line. I had tried to ask questions, but since I am only the sister-in-law, the doctor shut me down saying only the patient could ask questions (Tom is not married.) When I asked Tom to ask the doctor how big the tumor was, the doctor first said it didn't matter! Then he said it was about so big and held up his finger and thumb about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. I didn’t get to measure.

We got no answer about the staging of the cancer. The surgeon said that would be determined after the surgery.

The doctor recommended radiation first to shrink the tumor and then surgery. I asked Tom to ask about the urgency of having the surgery. The doctor snapped that it had been there for a couple of years probably.

Tom said he needed to think about it and that he wanted to pursue “Alternative medicine.” The doctor if Tom wanted some time, that was okay. But he would make an appointment to discuss his decision the following week. He also said he would make an appointment with a radiologist and an oncologist for Tom and would call him with the appointment times.

Tom went home and decided he didn’t trust this doctor. He cancelled the follow-up appointment. So far he has appointments to see a radiologist and oncologist, but I am not sure he will go.

His sister says these are the worst kind of doctors who will poison him and irradiate him and destroy his body. Tom is now predisposed to not believe anything they may have to say.

He also has been telling people that his cancer is “slow-growing” though that not what the doctor said. He seems to be in denial that his condition is serious and that he needs real medical help soon.

He has stopped drinking and smoking dope and is eating a mostly vegan diet. He says he feels better than he has in years. He says his positive thoughts and newly adopted lifestyle changes are causing the tumor to shrink.

I joined this network to see if a survivor would be willing to reach out to Tom. He needs to hear another side of this story.

Can you help? Do you have any suggestions? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Maddy