It was announced on the major news services this past August that researchers at the University of Rochester have discovered that Tamoxifen is an effective antifungal agent.
Tamoxifen is the pill that is given to breast cancer patients for 5 years after they have finished chemotherapy to prevent recurrence of their cancer.
The U of R researchers believe that Tamoxifen can be used to treat life-threatening infections of the blood by fungi like Candida.
Obviously, if you've read my blog, it is clear to me why Tamoxifen is effective against both breast cancer and fungal infection - breast cancer is CAUSED by fungal disease.
I emailed the lead researcher today. Here is what I wrote to him:
I've read with interest about your discovery that Tamoxifen is an effective anti-fungal agent. I am an OBGYN.
I also have Stage 4 breast cancer. I contracted an aggressive skin fungal infection that spread to my breast tissue and formed a mass in less than a week's time. Biopsy of the mass showed deeply invasive carcinoma. The cancer spread to my chest wall and sternum while I was waiting for my staging PET scan.
That was 2 years ago. I'm still alive and living an essentially normal life because my oncologist listened to my story - that the carcinoma started from an aggressive fungal infection - and treated me with Caspofungin. The disease had continued to spread painfully through me despite chemo. Caspofungin stopped its progress. I'm certain Stage 4 breast cancer patients die despite chemo because the underlying disease process is left untreated.
I ask that you consider the possibility that Tamoxifen is effective against both breast cancer and fungal disease because breast cancer is in fact caused by fungal disease.
It is my heartfelt wish that medical research be done that ties breast cancer to fungal infection so that other breast cancer patients can survive as I have.
Best regards,
Julia White, MD
I'll keep you posted whether I receive a response from him.
I will continue to contact medical researchers in the hope that the idea that the most common forms of cancer in the US are caused by infection, including fungal infection, will interest researchers in pursuing that line of research, lead to the discovery of the fungal etiology of these cancers and lead to a real cure in the very near future.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Ways to Improve Your Quality of Life During Cancer Treatment
Tomorrow I celebrate the 2nd anniversary of my being diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer, "celebrate" because I am still alive and thriving 2 years after receiving a death sentence. I am alive because the infection that caused my cancer has been and is being treated, but there are methods I've discovered to improve my survival chances and live an essentially normal life and I want to share those with you.
1. First and most importantly, Traditional Chinese Medicine is extremely effective, gentle and a perfect complement to standard Western medicine. My acupuncturist has saved my life just as my oncologist has, on multiple occasions. I'm taking Chinese herbs that keep my blood counts up so I am able to receive chemo every week without interruptions due to low blood cell counts. These same herbs are the most effective antidepressant I've ever encountered, with no side effects! I feel great and I roll like a tank over every setback. I would have curled up and died from despair without it.
I'm also taking an herb formula that combats the deeply invasive fungal infection that caused my breast cancer. I am slowly but steadily improving on it, with decreased pain in my cancerous sternum and breast, increased energy levels and weight gain. (The sicker I am, the more weight I lose. In my situation, fat is good!)
My acupuncturist has been extremely effective in treating the complications I've experienced from chemotherapy. I've broken 2 ribs just by shifting position. They didn't heal until my acupuncturist treated them, and it took only one treatment! He's cleared up the bad swelling in my legs and the lymphedema in my left arm. He cleared up the sciatica in my left leg with one treatment. I could go on! There are no side effects from acupuncture.
Cancer patients need Chinese medicine at the same time as standard Western treatment! Because the treatments are subtle and take time to work, it's best to start before your condition is desperate.
2. "Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life," is a brilliant book by David Servan-Schreiber, MD. He's a physician and medical researcher diagnosed with brain cancer 15 years ago who went out and found the research on diet and other non-medical treatments to help combat cancer and compiled them in this book. It is essential reading. I now take 6 Omega-6 capsules a day and drink green tea instead of coffee. He tells you what foods fight cancer most effectively and what the best combination of foods are to fight and prevent cancer. (I have no connection to Dr Servan-Schreiber or his publisher).
This book lays out for you what normal, everyday foods to eat, what kinds of exercise are most effective and why and why "alternative" medicine works, even something as simple as journaling.
3. Rogaine has allowed my hair to grow back. I started using Rogaine in my 3rd month of chemo when my hair was falling out like mad. My hair immediately stopped falling out (I never had to shave my head) and 6 weeks later I found a 2mm, pale crewcut coming in all over my head. I now have the thickest head of hair I've had in 20 years. No one believes I'm being treated for cancer because of my hair. I hate the sick role, I do not want to appear ill and I can go out in public completely normal in appearance. It's priceless to me. No wigs, turbans or do-rags! I've had no bad effects from it. There's no sign it has affected my cancer or treatment in any way.
4. I use Revita-Lash on my eyebrows and eyelashes. I don't use Rogaine near my eyes because I don't know whether it would injure my eyes. Revita-Lash hasn't been as effective as Rogaine for me but I do have some fine, pale eyebrow hairs and eyelashes. I need to use make-up to avoid looking like a space alien.
A new prescription eyelash treatment, Latisse, is now available. It costs $150 a tube, just like Revita-Lash. I haven't tried it and it isn't being marketed for cancer patients, but I've read that it was invented by a chemist or pharmacist for his wife with breast cancer.
5. I bought a lightbox that is the home version of a light treatment that has been used in Dermatology offices for years. It produces 2 wavelengths of light, one that fights infection and one that boosts collagen production. It's made by Verilux and I believe the product name is Clear Wave. It has been very effective in clearing the acne I've developed since chemo has drastically reduced my white blood cell count. My face and neck have toned up visibly with the increased collagen production. People keep telling me how great I look (thank heaven for make-up and my lightbox).
Please let me know if you've found other techniques to improve quality of life during chemo. Thanks!
1. First and most importantly, Traditional Chinese Medicine is extremely effective, gentle and a perfect complement to standard Western medicine. My acupuncturist has saved my life just as my oncologist has, on multiple occasions. I'm taking Chinese herbs that keep my blood counts up so I am able to receive chemo every week without interruptions due to low blood cell counts. These same herbs are the most effective antidepressant I've ever encountered, with no side effects! I feel great and I roll like a tank over every setback. I would have curled up and died from despair without it.
I'm also taking an herb formula that combats the deeply invasive fungal infection that caused my breast cancer. I am slowly but steadily improving on it, with decreased pain in my cancerous sternum and breast, increased energy levels and weight gain. (The sicker I am, the more weight I lose. In my situation, fat is good!)
My acupuncturist has been extremely effective in treating the complications I've experienced from chemotherapy. I've broken 2 ribs just by shifting position. They didn't heal until my acupuncturist treated them, and it took only one treatment! He's cleared up the bad swelling in my legs and the lymphedema in my left arm. He cleared up the sciatica in my left leg with one treatment. I could go on! There are no side effects from acupuncture.
Cancer patients need Chinese medicine at the same time as standard Western treatment! Because the treatments are subtle and take time to work, it's best to start before your condition is desperate.
2. "Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life," is a brilliant book by David Servan-Schreiber, MD. He's a physician and medical researcher diagnosed with brain cancer 15 years ago who went out and found the research on diet and other non-medical treatments to help combat cancer and compiled them in this book. It is essential reading. I now take 6 Omega-6 capsules a day and drink green tea instead of coffee. He tells you what foods fight cancer most effectively and what the best combination of foods are to fight and prevent cancer. (I have no connection to Dr Servan-Schreiber or his publisher).
This book lays out for you what normal, everyday foods to eat, what kinds of exercise are most effective and why and why "alternative" medicine works, even something as simple as journaling.
3. Rogaine has allowed my hair to grow back. I started using Rogaine in my 3rd month of chemo when my hair was falling out like mad. My hair immediately stopped falling out (I never had to shave my head) and 6 weeks later I found a 2mm, pale crewcut coming in all over my head. I now have the thickest head of hair I've had in 20 years. No one believes I'm being treated for cancer because of my hair. I hate the sick role, I do not want to appear ill and I can go out in public completely normal in appearance. It's priceless to me. No wigs, turbans or do-rags! I've had no bad effects from it. There's no sign it has affected my cancer or treatment in any way.
4. I use Revita-Lash on my eyebrows and eyelashes. I don't use Rogaine near my eyes because I don't know whether it would injure my eyes. Revita-Lash hasn't been as effective as Rogaine for me but I do have some fine, pale eyebrow hairs and eyelashes. I need to use make-up to avoid looking like a space alien.
A new prescription eyelash treatment, Latisse, is now available. It costs $150 a tube, just like Revita-Lash. I haven't tried it and it isn't being marketed for cancer patients, but I've read that it was invented by a chemist or pharmacist for his wife with breast cancer.
5. I bought a lightbox that is the home version of a light treatment that has been used in Dermatology offices for years. It produces 2 wavelengths of light, one that fights infection and one that boosts collagen production. It's made by Verilux and I believe the product name is Clear Wave. It has been very effective in clearing the acne I've developed since chemo has drastically reduced my white blood cell count. My face and neck have toned up visibly with the increased collagen production. People keep telling me how great I look (thank heaven for make-up and my lightbox).
Please let me know if you've found other techniques to improve quality of life during chemo. Thanks!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
It's Great to Be Alive!
I just celebrated my 48th birthday, a birthday I did not believe I would live to see. Instead of dying of cancer, I've survived and thrived. I've been ecstatic all week. 50, here I come!
I understand now why we celebrate birthdays. There's no guarantee any of us will see the next one. Birthdays are an achievement! We should use them to reflect on the past year and count our blessings. Every day is precious.
The second anniversary of my diagnosis of aggressive, fast-moving Stage 4 Breast Cancer is in 2 weeks. Instead of quickly dying, I'm still here 2 years later and doing just fine! There's no end in sight for me now. I'm going to have a party on that anniversary.
I am so grateful for the help I've received that has been instrumental in my survival. I wouldn't be here without my wonderful oncologist, Fred Kass. He is amazingly smart, wise and kind. Anthony Kar, my outstanding acupuncturist, has saved my life as much as Dr Kass has. He has immeasurably improved my quality of life as well. He fixes every injury and chemo side effect. The combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine with standard Western medicine is what has saved my life. I strongly recommend acupuncture!
I thank all of my family and friends for caring about me and praying for me and being there for me.
I dedicate my life, however much time I have left, to spreading the word about the interventions that have saved me from quick, certain death from cancer, so that others can live.
I understand now why we celebrate birthdays. There's no guarantee any of us will see the next one. Birthdays are an achievement! We should use them to reflect on the past year and count our blessings. Every day is precious.
The second anniversary of my diagnosis of aggressive, fast-moving Stage 4 Breast Cancer is in 2 weeks. Instead of quickly dying, I'm still here 2 years later and doing just fine! There's no end in sight for me now. I'm going to have a party on that anniversary.
I am so grateful for the help I've received that has been instrumental in my survival. I wouldn't be here without my wonderful oncologist, Fred Kass. He is amazingly smart, wise and kind. Anthony Kar, my outstanding acupuncturist, has saved my life as much as Dr Kass has. He has immeasurably improved my quality of life as well. He fixes every injury and chemo side effect. The combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine with standard Western medicine is what has saved my life. I strongly recommend acupuncture!
I thank all of my family and friends for caring about me and praying for me and being there for me.
I dedicate my life, however much time I have left, to spreading the word about the interventions that have saved me from quick, certain death from cancer, so that others can live.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Medical Research Needs to Be Done
Research needs to be done to show that fungal infections are the start of the hormone-dependent cancers like breast cancer. My hope is that this blog will be read by women with breast cancer and their families and it will help them, and that it will be read by researchers or people in a position to get research done.
Even though I am a medical doctor, when I have tried to discuss with other doctors that my cancer began as a skin fungal infection, I have been immediately shot down, cut off and treated like I was spouting nonsense. The infectious disease specialist I tried to talk to said, "There is no proof that fungal infections cause cancer" and in her next breath said, " There are no good tests for detecting fungal infections."
I was too shocked by her abrupt, negative response to respond effectively. If I had responded, I would have said, "Don't those two things go together? The proof hasn't been found because we don't have the tests to diagnose the infection?"
Bacterial infections are usually diagnosed by taking a tissue or fluid specimen from someone who is ill and culturing the specimen in the lab. The sample is added to petri dishes containing the appropriate nutrients and the bacteria grow into colonies in the dish and are identified by the appearance of their colonies.
Fungi are notoriously hard to culture in the lab. We just do not know what nutrients work, what temperature or humidity levels to use. Fungi are also very slow growing - they can take weeks to begin to grow in culture, if they ever do grow.
I think many illnesses are caused by fungal infections, especially any disease called "autoimmune." We assume the illness results from the body attacking itself, when what is really happening is the body is fighting an infection and surrounding tissues are damaged in the process.
I believe these fungal infections develop very slowly, over weeks or months, and they do not cause the severe, obvious symptoms that are the hallmark of bacterial infections like staph, strep, E. coli, salmonella. These cause sudden high fevers, pus, diarrhea, loss of life or limb and can cause epidemics. In contrast, systemic fungal infections don't cause obvious sypmtoms. They slowly grow and slowly cause vague aches and pains, bloating, lack of energy, general misery. Doctors tell you it's all in your head. Don't be such a complainer.
Fibromyalgia has long been said, outside of the medical community, to be caused by Candida albicans, a very common yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections and is found in the gut. This is a classic example of an infection that causes prolonged misery and a profound loss of enjoyment of life without the obvious signs of infection like fever or pus. One of the typical features of fibromyalgia is sudden pain caused by trigger points. Touching a trigger point instantly sets off muscle spasms and severe pain. My cancer-causing fungal infection spread from my left breast to my left armpit, then around my body to my left shoulder blade and spread to the left side of my spine.
At the painful spot where the infection reached the spine, I have developed a classic trigger point. The muscles on the left side of my chest frequently spasm. If I try to massage this area, especially the painful spot next to my spine, the touch triggers a severe spasm that is so painful it takes my breath away. I believe a nerve emerging from my spine has become inflamed by the infection. This may be the mechanism for the trigger points in fibromyalgia - nerves inflamed by a systemic fungal infection.
Simple, inexpensive tests can be done to show the presence of fungal disease in cancerous tumor biopsies. Since the fungal infections that cause inflammatory breast cancer are the most aggressive and fast-spreading in premenopausal women because of their high levels of sex hormones, the diagnostic biopsies showing cancer in this group of women would have the most obvious signs of fungal infection. Microscope slides of these biopsies could be treated with silver stains that reveal fungal organisms. The type of fungus visible on the slides could be identified by its appearance. Tumor cells could be tested for the presence of fungal DNA, including whether fungal DNA has incorporated into the genes of the cancerous cells.
Once initial studies proved the presence of fungal disesase in cancerous tumors, accurate diagnostic tests like effective lab culture could be developed.
The wonderful thing is, we already have effective anti-fungal medicines available. When research confirms the involvement of fungal infections in hormone-dependent cancers, doctors will have the evidence they need to treat the disease in cancer patients and we can begin saving the lives of cancer patients immediately, just as I have been saved.
Even though I am a medical doctor, when I have tried to discuss with other doctors that my cancer began as a skin fungal infection, I have been immediately shot down, cut off and treated like I was spouting nonsense. The infectious disease specialist I tried to talk to said, "There is no proof that fungal infections cause cancer" and in her next breath said, " There are no good tests for detecting fungal infections."
I was too shocked by her abrupt, negative response to respond effectively. If I had responded, I would have said, "Don't those two things go together? The proof hasn't been found because we don't have the tests to diagnose the infection?"
Bacterial infections are usually diagnosed by taking a tissue or fluid specimen from someone who is ill and culturing the specimen in the lab. The sample is added to petri dishes containing the appropriate nutrients and the bacteria grow into colonies in the dish and are identified by the appearance of their colonies.
Fungi are notoriously hard to culture in the lab. We just do not know what nutrients work, what temperature or humidity levels to use. Fungi are also very slow growing - they can take weeks to begin to grow in culture, if they ever do grow.
I think many illnesses are caused by fungal infections, especially any disease called "autoimmune." We assume the illness results from the body attacking itself, when what is really happening is the body is fighting an infection and surrounding tissues are damaged in the process.
I believe these fungal infections develop very slowly, over weeks or months, and they do not cause the severe, obvious symptoms that are the hallmark of bacterial infections like staph, strep, E. coli, salmonella. These cause sudden high fevers, pus, diarrhea, loss of life or limb and can cause epidemics. In contrast, systemic fungal infections don't cause obvious sypmtoms. They slowly grow and slowly cause vague aches and pains, bloating, lack of energy, general misery. Doctors tell you it's all in your head. Don't be such a complainer.
Fibromyalgia has long been said, outside of the medical community, to be caused by Candida albicans, a very common yeast that causes vaginal yeast infections and is found in the gut. This is a classic example of an infection that causes prolonged misery and a profound loss of enjoyment of life without the obvious signs of infection like fever or pus. One of the typical features of fibromyalgia is sudden pain caused by trigger points. Touching a trigger point instantly sets off muscle spasms and severe pain. My cancer-causing fungal infection spread from my left breast to my left armpit, then around my body to my left shoulder blade and spread to the left side of my spine.
At the painful spot where the infection reached the spine, I have developed a classic trigger point. The muscles on the left side of my chest frequently spasm. If I try to massage this area, especially the painful spot next to my spine, the touch triggers a severe spasm that is so painful it takes my breath away. I believe a nerve emerging from my spine has become inflamed by the infection. This may be the mechanism for the trigger points in fibromyalgia - nerves inflamed by a systemic fungal infection.
Simple, inexpensive tests can be done to show the presence of fungal disease in cancerous tumor biopsies. Since the fungal infections that cause inflammatory breast cancer are the most aggressive and fast-spreading in premenopausal women because of their high levels of sex hormones, the diagnostic biopsies showing cancer in this group of women would have the most obvious signs of fungal infection. Microscope slides of these biopsies could be treated with silver stains that reveal fungal organisms. The type of fungus visible on the slides could be identified by its appearance. Tumor cells could be tested for the presence of fungal DNA, including whether fungal DNA has incorporated into the genes of the cancerous cells.
Once initial studies proved the presence of fungal disesase in cancerous tumors, accurate diagnostic tests like effective lab culture could be developed.
The wonderful thing is, we already have effective anti-fungal medicines available. When research confirms the involvement of fungal infections in hormone-dependent cancers, doctors will have the evidence they need to treat the disease in cancer patients and we can begin saving the lives of cancer patients immediately, just as I have been saved.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Cure for Breast Cancer is Within Reach
I am still alive 2 years after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer because the cause of my disease has been treated as well as the cancer that resulted from it.
I am an Obstetrician Gynecologist who has diagnosed premenopausal women with aggressive breast cancers. Then it happened to me! I developed a skin fungal infection that spread to my breast and invaded into the breast tissue through the gland openings in the nipple. Within a couple of days a 3 cm hard painful mass developed. I treated the infection with antifungals - the pain and size of the mass decreased, but I couldn't clear it up. I saw another physician and had a mammogram and biopsy that showed invasive cancer - all within several weeks of the infection developing. The infection and cancer were so aggressive, the cancer spread to my chest wall by the time I completed the staging tests and could start chemotherapy.
I had always been struck by how the malignant breast tumors in the premenopausal women I had diagnosed looked exactly like breast infections (mastitis) in nursing mothers - red, inflamed, painful masses. I experienced first-hand that these inflammatory breast cancers actually are infectious. The presence of estrogen in premenopausal women makes them aggressive and fast-spreading.
I started chemotherapy with weekly low-dose Taxol. The cancer responded slowly and steadily to the chemo, but the pain and inflammation of the breast mass continued to spread. The pain spread to my left arm with palpable nodes in the armpit, then around my ribcage to my shoulder blade. Enlarged lymph nodes became visible on my CT scans inside my ribcage and down my spine. These enlarged nodes were not interpreted as cancer.
I knew this spreading pain and inflammation was the infection spreading through me. The chemotherapy was not treating it. Women with Stage 4 breast cancer die during treatment because new metastases develop that are unresponsive to treatment. I knew that when this infection reached a susceptible organ like the liver or brain, it would transform into new cancers and I would quickly die.
I discussed my concerns with my wonderful oncologist, including the fact that a fungal infection had caused my cancer, and requested treatment for the infection along with the cancer treatment. God bless him, he listened! I was astounded, because he practices evidence-based medicine and there is nothing in the medical books linking infection with breast cancer! He felt there was enough evidence of infection from my symptoms and my exam to prescribe treatment.
He started me on oral antifungal agents, metronidazole then fluconazole. These slowed the spread of the infection and decreased the pain, but the infection continued to spread and I developed numbness of my fingers and feet (nerve damage is a side effect of oral antifungal agents). So my oncologist had me talk to an infectious disease specialist and we agreed on starting Caspofungin (Cancidas). It is an intravenous antifungal agent with an excellent side effect profile typically used in ICUs for patients rapidly dying from fungal infections in the bloodstream.
I want to be absolutely clear that I am not writing this blog to sell any product. I am writing because I have survived 2 years with aggressive Stage 4 cancer and am doing so well there is no end in sight for me. I cannot bear that there are many women out there with my same disease who are dying. I have to do what I can to help EVERYONE with hormone-dependent cancers survive and thrive as I have.
Caspofungin is manufactured by Merck Labs and I have no connection to them except having been treated with their drug.
Having said that, Caspofungin saved my life. My oncologist cautiously prescribed it for me twice a week instead of daily doses as it administered to ICU patients. For 2 weeks the pain in the left side of my ribcage flared up terribly and the most painful spot alongside my spine ruptured! The pain was excruciating. Then the pain began to die down. Then it disappeared, for the first time in 9 months of treatment. I put on weight for the first time since developing cancer and my energy levels dramatically improved. The improvement in my health and quality of life was amazing.
I continued on the Caspofungin until my insurance (BC Anthem) refused to continue covering it. Since it is an intravenous drug, it is expensive to administer. My symptoms began to recur. At this point my wonderful oncologist recommended I see a Chinese physician who had helped a number of his patients.
This Chinese physician explained to me that the herbal teas that are prescribed in Traditional Chinese Medicine are another delivery system for pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceuticals are administered in their raw form. He carefully created a formula with potent antifungal agents that also treated the side effects of my chemotherapy, including the high blood sugars resulting from the steroid I received with my chemo doses.
I brew the teas (very bitter!) and drink a dose 3 times a day. Once again, I have steadily improved with total resolution of my pain symptoms, increased energy and stamina and weight gain with normal blood sugar levels. The Chinese teas have been even more effective than the Caspofungin with no side effects.
I am an Obstetrician Gynecologist who has diagnosed premenopausal women with aggressive breast cancers. Then it happened to me! I developed a skin fungal infection that spread to my breast and invaded into the breast tissue through the gland openings in the nipple. Within a couple of days a 3 cm hard painful mass developed. I treated the infection with antifungals - the pain and size of the mass decreased, but I couldn't clear it up. I saw another physician and had a mammogram and biopsy that showed invasive cancer - all within several weeks of the infection developing. The infection and cancer were so aggressive, the cancer spread to my chest wall by the time I completed the staging tests and could start chemotherapy.
I had always been struck by how the malignant breast tumors in the premenopausal women I had diagnosed looked exactly like breast infections (mastitis) in nursing mothers - red, inflamed, painful masses. I experienced first-hand that these inflammatory breast cancers actually are infectious. The presence of estrogen in premenopausal women makes them aggressive and fast-spreading.
I started chemotherapy with weekly low-dose Taxol. The cancer responded slowly and steadily to the chemo, but the pain and inflammation of the breast mass continued to spread. The pain spread to my left arm with palpable nodes in the armpit, then around my ribcage to my shoulder blade. Enlarged lymph nodes became visible on my CT scans inside my ribcage and down my spine. These enlarged nodes were not interpreted as cancer.
I knew this spreading pain and inflammation was the infection spreading through me. The chemotherapy was not treating it. Women with Stage 4 breast cancer die during treatment because new metastases develop that are unresponsive to treatment. I knew that when this infection reached a susceptible organ like the liver or brain, it would transform into new cancers and I would quickly die.
I discussed my concerns with my wonderful oncologist, including the fact that a fungal infection had caused my cancer, and requested treatment for the infection along with the cancer treatment. God bless him, he listened! I was astounded, because he practices evidence-based medicine and there is nothing in the medical books linking infection with breast cancer! He felt there was enough evidence of infection from my symptoms and my exam to prescribe treatment.
He started me on oral antifungal agents, metronidazole then fluconazole. These slowed the spread of the infection and decreased the pain, but the infection continued to spread and I developed numbness of my fingers and feet (nerve damage is a side effect of oral antifungal agents). So my oncologist had me talk to an infectious disease specialist and we agreed on starting Caspofungin (Cancidas). It is an intravenous antifungal agent with an excellent side effect profile typically used in ICUs for patients rapidly dying from fungal infections in the bloodstream.
I want to be absolutely clear that I am not writing this blog to sell any product. I am writing because I have survived 2 years with aggressive Stage 4 cancer and am doing so well there is no end in sight for me. I cannot bear that there are many women out there with my same disease who are dying. I have to do what I can to help EVERYONE with hormone-dependent cancers survive and thrive as I have.
Caspofungin is manufactured by Merck Labs and I have no connection to them except having been treated with their drug.
Having said that, Caspofungin saved my life. My oncologist cautiously prescribed it for me twice a week instead of daily doses as it administered to ICU patients. For 2 weeks the pain in the left side of my ribcage flared up terribly and the most painful spot alongside my spine ruptured! The pain was excruciating. Then the pain began to die down. Then it disappeared, for the first time in 9 months of treatment. I put on weight for the first time since developing cancer and my energy levels dramatically improved. The improvement in my health and quality of life was amazing.
I continued on the Caspofungin until my insurance (BC Anthem) refused to continue covering it. Since it is an intravenous drug, it is expensive to administer. My symptoms began to recur. At this point my wonderful oncologist recommended I see a Chinese physician who had helped a number of his patients.
This Chinese physician explained to me that the herbal teas that are prescribed in Traditional Chinese Medicine are another delivery system for pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceuticals are administered in their raw form. He carefully created a formula with potent antifungal agents that also treated the side effects of my chemotherapy, including the high blood sugars resulting from the steroid I received with my chemo doses.
I brew the teas (very bitter!) and drink a dose 3 times a day. Once again, I have steadily improved with total resolution of my pain symptoms, increased energy and stamina and weight gain with normal blood sugar levels. The Chinese teas have been even more effective than the Caspofungin with no side effects.
I have laid awake many nights anticipating my imminent death from cancer. While I've laid there, reliving my life, my education and training and my care for my patients, it has become clear to me that all cancers start as an infection. If you make the assumption that cancer starts as an infection, all the mysteries concerning cancer and its causes become crystal clear.
Why is it that a woman's lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is cut 50% if she has her Fallopian tubes tied? Because the tubal ligation blocks the Fallopian tubes, blocking the access route for infectious organisms to reach the abdomen and pelvis from the vagina. If the cause of ovarian cancer were genetic, tubal ligation would have no effect.
Why are babies born with cancer? Because they were infected in the womb.
Women in Japan have much lower rates of breast cancer than American women. When Japanese women relocate to the US, their risk of breast cancer quickly rises to the same risk as American-born women. Their genetic inheritance is unchanged, but their diet and environment become the same.
It is well-known that viruses cause cancer. Human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. Ebstein-Barr virus causes Burkitt's lymphoma. From my personal experience, I know that fungal infections cause cancer as well. I believe the hormone-dependent cancers - breast, prostate, colon, ovarian, testicular and melanoma - are all caused by fungal infections. I will describe my reasoning further in future posts.
The great news is that effective treatments, such as Caspofungin, already exist. Medical research needs to be done to prove the connection between fungal disease and cancer. With this proof, effective treatment can be administered to cancer patients immediately.
To cure cancer, we must treat its etiology, not just the endpoint of the disease process. The cause and the potential for cure have been right under our noses all along.
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