NOTE: In my podcast this week, CANCER: What I've Done Right and What I've Done Wrong, I said I would post the non-traditional things I've done to combat my cancer. Here you go:
Eighteen months ago, my doctor said, “Brad, you have stage 4 metastatic cancer. We can’t cure you.” That got my attention!
When I started this journey with prostate cancer three years ago, I was highly skeptical of alternative medicine. However, I’ve been doing a lot of reading since then.
In recent years, many licensed medical doctors have been conducting their own research. They are exploring alternatives that the pharmaceutical companies will never study because there is no money in it.
If pharmaceuticals must invest a half-billion dollars to bring a drug to market, they are not going to study how to repurpose an existing drug that is already widely available. Like with any publicly held company, they have to make a profit for their shareholders—or go broke. So, instead of complaining about “greedy” pharmaceutical companies, simply recognize their strengths & weaknesses. They do a lot of good, but they are not designed to do everything.
So, now I have embraced some forms of alternative medicine along with traditional Western medicine. I try to balance an open mind with a healthy dose of skepticism.
There are a lot of natural substances out there, in addition to standard chemo and radiation, that attack cancer from a number of different angles. Some are cancer inhibitors. Some are cancer killers called cytotoxins. Some are found in traditional medicine; some are found in non-traditional medicine.
Here is one of the first non-traditional options I took a chance on.
I was told about the Research Genetic Cancer Centre (RGCC) in Greece. You send them a blood sample. They isolate, extract and replicate the cancerous T-cells into the billions. Then they begin to test various substances on the T-cells. They test both traditional forms of chemo, as well as non-traditional substances. They evaluate and categorize based on two criteria: 1) substances that INHIBIT the growth of the cancer; 2) substances that KILL the cancer. And they assign a percentage rating to each substance based on how effectively it either inhibits or kills your specific cancer T-cells.
The huge downside is it is expensive, and insurance does not cover it.
Here is what they discovered for my specific cancer. High dose, intravenous Vitamin C and Curcumin are just as effective against my cancer as any traditional form of chemotherapy for prostate cancer. I promise you, I never saw that coming. It has opened up numerous additional options.
The lab also listed some other substances I had never heard of like Artimisinin, Vascustatin and Apigenen. Vascustatin and Apigenin are pretty safe. Artimisinin rated as highly effective against my prostate cancer, however if can also cause significant hearing loss, so I will only add it if the other options aren’t getting the job done.
I also added one other very novel substance into the mix. It is not one the lab in Greece evaluated, but I heard about it from friends around the country who have successfully overcome cancer: Fenbendazole, commonly known as FenBen. It’s a cattle dewormer. It works much like chemo without all the horrible side effects. In my case, it seems to be causing minor hair loss. The only thing you have to watch very carefully are the levels in the liver. So, I make sure my doctors order a full liver panel every time I have blood work done. So far, so good. At the very least I know I don’t have worms. A year’s supply costs me about $200. Now you know why pharmaceuticals will NEVER study it.
However, keep in mind that one size does not fit all. Everyone is different, so do your research, but don’t let fear keep you from coloring outside the lines. Seek to understand the strengths and weaknesses of traditional Western medicine and alternative medicine. And keep your doctors in the loop! If they laugh at you, laugh with them. One of my doctors now calls me his guinea pig. I listen closely to his advice, but I call the shots.
By the way, when the doctor told me I was terminal 18 months ago, the cancer had spread throughout the lymph nodes in my abdomen. By last June they were almost entirely gone. The standard medical protocols I was taking only stop the cancer from spreading, but they don’t kill it. Hmm.
So, what made the difference? During those eight months I was also taking high doses of Vitamin C, Curcumin, Vascustatin and Apigenen. Does that prove these substances are effective? No. But is it likely they made a significant difference? I think so. There must be some explanation for why the cancer in my lymph nodes virtually evaporated.
I also cut sugar to near zero since sugar causes inflammation and cancer loves inflammation.
I still have cancer in my hip bone. We zapped it with high dose radiation. The cancer has shrunk by two-thirds. So far, so good, but I’m not out of the woods yet.
My point is, I am throwing the best of traditional medicine and alternative medicine at my cancer. It all seems to be working.
I am not a doctor. What I have done has worked for me. That doesn’t mean it will work for you. That’s why you need to read, read, and read some more. There are effective non-traditional options out there. But you need to read until you can weed out the fads and money-making schemes from the stuff that has a reasonable chance of helping.
Whatever happens, I know God walks with me through the dark valleys, so I fear no evil. He loves me deeply, so I trust him. But as my coach, he also gives me hard stuff like prostate cancer to help me to trust him even more. As I learn to see the curve balls of life through God’s eyes, each day becomes an exciting adventure.
If you want to hear more about the lessons I have learned from cancer, go to YouTube, type in Brad Bright Podcast and look for Season 3, episode 6: CANCER- What I’ve Done Right & What I’ve Done Wrong.
God is the issue in every issue—especially finding peace during the journey of cancer.
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