How awesome is my friend Sara? She's THAT awesome! Remember my self promoting t-shirt from my very first race? How embarrassing. You guys are so nice to put up with me! Thank you for cheering me back to normal; for sending me ass-kicking energy. Thank you!! I have such a killer team...no pun intended. I can not wait for the big wake for Hermie, a massive party when we can dance and get goofy. There WILL be a day when the cancer is gone. He just doesn't know who he is messing with, not just me, but my rallying troops. We are a force!
In a few minutes I'm headed for my 1.5 mile run to the bus stop, then a 40 minute bus ride to get my high dose vitamin C IV. I have a new system, it's important to hone my schedule of pills, making each dose work with the other supplements or IVs so that they're working synergistically, multiplying the effectiveness. On IV days, I take 10 bioavailable curcumin & 6 piperine, then thirty minutes later, I take 18 homemade sulforaphane pills. One hour after that I am hooked up to my IV. I'm out of my high dose sprout smoothie (gotta wait until my parents grow some more), but when I have more of that, I'll add that in to the mix. The isothiocyanates work with the IV's, especially the curcumin and resveratrol. This whole protocol is intricate and takes serious scheduling - but it's incredibly exciting!
I have to focus on increasing the efficacy of the IVs, that's why I'm working my supplements around the IV days. At this point, the IVs are $735 per week, and the chemo drink - which we're rolling into pills - cost $40 per drink. So, just with these two treatments, we're pushing $1015 per week. Fighting cancer the natural way is incredibly expensive, but it's effective. Every treatment that we're exhausting has been proven through scientific experiments. They all fight brain cancer or I wouldn't be doing it. The creme de la creme, though, in alternative treatments for brain cancer is dendritic cell therapy which costs, when completed (all three rounds), around $45,000 and lasts for about 14 months. We're meeting with my doctor on Wednesday after my last IV for the day, to get more information. They take some tissue from my tumor specimen (I called around to various departments at the UW last week and found my tumor, a complete miracle since my surgery was over two years ago), and they create a personal vaccine. Pretty impressive stuff which has about a 50% success rate, and can be combined with all of my current treatments and supplements.
The expense of all these supplements, IVs, and treatments are obviously mind-boggling, but if we're smart, we will only include the most effective choices and they should work together to get me healthy. I keep hearing from friends, and family, that money should not be a reason to avoid a treatment. Get the treatment and then money will come later. Danny and I figure that we will be paying off my medical bills, happily, well into our golden years. The expense of treatments used to completely freak me out, but lately I don't care as much. I need to get healthy, and once Hermie has left the building, I will write my monthly checks for payment with a big glossy smile. The money thing IS scary, let's face it. Money is important in order to afford life's necessities, and then above that, it's important in order to have luxuries like children. But, Danny and I realize that as long as we're healthy and alive, we will be happy under any circumstance, as long as we're together.
