So just had my MRI scan results reported back to me. The last scan was back at the end of June and showed the cancer in my liver and lungs had progressed quite a bit. Since that scan 4 months ago I have not stopped trying to find a way to treat, what was becoming untreatable.
My whole focus since has been on finding alternative medicine to complement the chemotherapy I'm currently on. The Chemo had all but stopped working, and when you have to go through the punishment of this not-so-apply-named therapy with nothing in return, it’s a big kick in the balls.
Thanks to the GiveAway Guys and family I have been able to afford to enrol myself with a clinic based in London called Care Oncology Clinic (COC). They focus on how to starve cancer of the nutrients it needs to survive. Like a parasite, cancer feeds on your body's own reserves and will adapt to feed on different things you fuel your body with. After researching, my type of cancer loves sugar and certain fats. So the first step was to try and cut sugar from my diet along with eating low-saturated fat foods.
The Dr at COC has me taking a drug called Metformin. Metformin is commonly prescribed for diabetes, it lowers your blood sugar levels by improving the way your body handles insulin. This is a big gun when it comes to starving the cancer of glucose (sugar) along with my change of diet, I hoped this would help.
I now have a cupboard full of different supplements that I have been taking daily for over 12 weeks now. Most of them are to keep my gut healthy and my immune system working. But some of them like Berberine and Cordyceps have been shown to directly affect the pathways cancer uses to feed itself and even sensitise cancer to chemotherapy. On top of that, I've been taking daily drops of CBD oil which also have been shown to help chemo to act more effectively. The question is has the combined Chemo and metabolic starvation done anything or am I just wasting time?
The computer says NO!!!
Or at least the MRI scan computer did….
I may be on to something. without jinxing anything. MY scan has shown the cancer is slightly backing off!
Now I've been through enough ups and downs with scans over the past 4 years not to get too excited but I have gone from four areas of concern on my liver to two areas of concern. WTF!!! I haven’t had such a response to chemotherapy treatment in well over a year. Putting my science hat on, it's hard to prove that my new regime is totally responsible for the progress but you can't help but think it must have helped.
However, the scan shows I still have a tumour ill located near the bile duct and main blood supply to my liver. This is still a serious situation and is still inoperable. I'm by no means skipping down the yellow brick road just yet. My Consultant at QA hospital has informed me that this has opened a new possibility of some cutting-edge treatment available from Kings college hospital in London and we are searching for clinical drug trials that might be available.
It now dawns on me that I will have to face more chemotherapy and my body is battered from the last 6 rounds. My oncologist has had to give me a two-week break as I'm harbouring another internal infection that I need antibiotics to sort out. I need to find a treatment that doesn't also kill me in the process of treating cancer.
I have found a possible lifeline in Japan. It’s a type of cell therapy that has very few side effects and uses your immune system to fight cancer. I am now trying to raise enough funds to get myself out there and get treated. The process and treatment won't be cheap but I have already had lots of wonderful people donate to my fundraiser and I hope I can raise enough money to be able to get the treatment I need.
This is the next step in this war on the big C. Research has led me to a treatment called dendritic cell therapy. I came across an article about a chap called Matthew Dons who turns out was diagnosed 6 years ago with the same type of cancer as myself and is now in total remission!?. He was only given months to live by his NHS consultant but is still here today thanks to therapy in Japan.
How did he do this?
The answer was using adoptive cell therapy. Dendritic and NK cell treatments. Japan seems to be slightly ahead of the curve with their cancer care and has a better outlook on complementary medicine than we Europeans. Lots of medical research is out there on the different types of adoptive cell therapy but I think the reason we don’t have these options available to us on the NHS is the big pharma companies can't make money from it.
Adoptive cell therapies like dendritic involve taking your own blood and reprograming those cells to recognise cancer as the enemy. These supped-up cells are then placed back into your body to go kill any respective cancer cells it finds. Pharmaceutical companies can't patent your blood so they don’t put many resources into researching this type of cancer treatment. There are a few clinical trials available in the UK for this but Japan has recognised it as an approved cancer treatment. I have already gone down route one the gold standard NHS treatment for cancer. Chemo, radiation, surgery and more Chemo. This has without a shadow of a doubt extended my life but has left me in bits and by no means cured. My body has been cut up, poisoned and I feel broken!
Chemotherapy is poison and originates from mustard gas that was used in world war II. Chemo destroys your body, bone marrow and your brain in the process of killing cancer. The side effects are horrendous, cell therapy has little or no side effects and helps boost your immune system so the hope is that I can run lower dose chemotherapy alongside this treatment and feel ok to run around the park with my kids or not feel completely smashed after walking the dogs. With the prospect of a cure and a better way of life, I can't ignore this potential lifeline. It may get rid of some or all of my cancer but hopefully won't try to get rid of me in the process.
I have a Zoom consultation with a Dr in Japan tomorrow to discuss my options. Fingers crossed I can get out there and get this mess sorted out.
I will keep you updated on my progress and treatment options as I go through this next stage of my journey. Thank you for your support if you want to help me get to Japan for treatment, please go to my fundraising page to donate anything you can.
Big love x