Yellow Stream - A Cancer Diary

Chapter 16: A New Episode

4/21/10: The Brain Revealed: From Chemistry to Mystery

The Institute for Health and Healing (IHH) sponsored the Roberta E. Neustadter Mini-Medical series on The Brain Revealed: From Chemistry to Mystery. I attended the two previous evenings, so this was my third. The second talk was given Allison Shapiro, who made a remarkable recovery from a nearly fatal double stem stroke. I had met her about a year ago at a Saybrook event and we spoke for a long time.

The main highlight of Allison’s talk was her paying attention to the slightest movement and making an effort to enhance the healing possibilities resulting from that attention. When our client heard this, she was very touched.

After the talks, I went to the rest room and noticed some dense fluid flowing more quickly than the rest. I knew it was time to call Dr. Neuwirth to schedule my annual cystoscopy. This actually also come coincidentally with my wife’s urinary tract infection, which was treated with antibiotics.

4/28/10: Cystscopy

As mentioned in the introduction, I had my annual checkup this day. It was actually six weeks past one year, but I was prepared to even wait longer to go in, due to twelve years of a clear bladder. For the first time, Dr. Neuwirth found two small polyps in my bladder. I was surprised when he removed the scope without taking samples for biopsy like he usually did. He told me to get dressed and he would come back and talk to me. When Mala came into the room, he told us that he found the polyps and that I would need a CT scan and a TURBT (transurethral resection of the bladder tumor). So we go busy making plans for a CT scan on Friday and out-patient surgery one week from Friday.

The combination of Mala’s infection and the dense material I saw in my urine had led me to prepare for something like this. I had resumed my imagery and mindfulness practices around a healthy bladder, so I didn’t take it too badly.

When we got home, I started down the road of research on bladder polyps and called Michael Broffman. Michael was encouraging and said that in his experience, the polyps are usually benign. We’ll see!

4/29/10: A Raven or a Hawk?

About a month ago, Mala and I attended a pep talk for the benefit of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies at a beautiful home in Tiburon. Dr. Michael Harner was the featured presenter. I had met him in conjunction with the Institute for Health and Healing event in 2009, where he was honored with the Pioneering Award in Integrative Medicine. He is a lovely man with a warm heart and a peaceful spirit. He is the father of shamanic studies in the whole Western world. Trained as an anthropologist, he spent time in the rain forests of South America studying indigenous cultures and was soon trained in the practices of shamanism. His many books and public talks have made shamanism an acceptable form of integrative medicine.

Susan Mokelke, the foundation director, then spoke about current activities and showed two video clips. One had to do with South American shamans and the other with shamans in Nepal of Tibetan extract. Then she offered to conduct an evening experience in the practices of shamanism sometime in April, and tonight was the night!

After a short introduction, we did a practice drumming followed by a traditional shamanistic journey. We were given the instructions to lie down and cover our eyes to make the room as dark as possible. We were then to descend to the “lower world” through some chosen mechanism and greet an animal. From there, we should just observe or experience.

Susan kept the drum beat for 15 minutes. I started at the top of the stairs leading down to China Cove in Point Lobos State Reserve near Carmel, California. There are 101 steps leading to the beach, but I seemed to float down them at a remarkable pace. Once at the bottom of the stairs, I crossed the beach and slid under the green seaweed that always accumulates there. Within an instant, I was transported to the so-called lower world, where I found myself on a deck of a cabin located about half way down into a forest valley. I lay on the deck and a large bird – either a raven or a hawk. Almost instantaneously after the bird arrived, it started pecking away at the polyps. Frequently, it would leave, possibly to feed little ones, but it continued to come back to peck away until the returning beats were sounded on the drum.

When I shared the experience with my partner in the journey I recognized the possibility that the bird, which also may have been a falcon, may have pecked away both polyps completely. This would not be the first time that I have seen masses disappear. When Micah was nine, he was rushed to the hospital with a stomach ache which turned out to appear to be a mass in his abdomen based on x-ray data. Mala and I rush back to the hospital to be with him and the next pictures revealed no such mass. We were there to provide love and support and a whole lot more.

4/30/10: CT Scan

Today, I had an uneventful CT scan as planned. I won't know the results until May 12.

5/2/10: Lunch at the Club

Dr. Martin Rossman met me at the Harbor Point Tennis and Swim Club for a long delayed birthday lunch (his). The club was crowded with swimmers, tennis players, and spectators, so it took a hour to get our food! But it was a beautiful, warm day and Harbor Point is not a bad place to be. I chose this spot because I had arranged to play in the late morning.

I shared my experience of the shamanistic journey with him in as much detail as possible. I knew that from his vast knowledge and experience with guided imagery that he would not offer an opinion of the journey, but he did think that it represents a “good omen.”

I joined TeamInspire tonight. I'd like to invite other members to check out this site and Mindfulness in Healing. Please check out my profile.

5/3/2010: Pre-op Exam

I had an appointment today with Dr. Nagar in Sausalito. She is a young woman (compared to me!) with a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm who speaks very rapidly which is typical of Indians. I like her a lot. She had a hard time believing that I was 70! My exam was mostly uneventful and included an EKG, but I have to give more blood tests tomorrow for determination of liver function, thyroid, and other conditions not measured by Dr. Neuwirth’s tests. No big deal! I’ll go tomorrow at 8:00 and it will be done with.

5/5/2010: News of the Day

I received three new pieces of information today that are worthy of reporting:

1. The blood tests from yesterday revealed that my TSH was slightly high.
2. I shouldn't play tennis for a week after the surgery - boo!
3. The CT scan revealed no spread of disease - this is good news!

In addition, my boss was very forgiving of my situation.

Check out this link on Extra about a cancer cure in Los Angeles by Dr. Paul Song. I believe that El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA has the same device as Dr. Song.

5/6/2010

This evening was the final lecture in the IHH mini-medical series on The Brain Revealed – From Chemistry to Mystery. I knew that Dr. Molly Roberts was speaking, so in spite of surgery scheduled for tomorrow, Mala and I went to hear her talk and Carolyn met us there. It was phenomenal! She spoke on the connection between the brain, five senses, and integrative medicine. You can probably get her slides early next week from the IHH web site. I was extremely moved by her talk, as I actually am involved in many of the activities she recommended.

Another wonderful thing happened: Sandra Harner brought me a CD on Shamanic Drumming from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, which was founded by her husband, Dr. Michael Harner. I felt really blessed that she would make such a genuine offer of generosity to me.

All of this had the effect of increasing my state of calm for the surgery tomorrow.

5/7/10: TURBT

The surgery went well, at least as far as the reports I’ve received so far have shown. I lingered in the recovery room until about 10:15. I wanted to be sure that I would have minimal problems with the after effects of the anesthesia, so I stayed a little longer than expected. I was fed some juice and crackers and that seemed to satisfy me for a while.

At home, Mala has made chicken soup and a baked potato for lunch. I spend most of the day going in and out of sleep and watching the blood flow out of my bladder. I spent much time meditating and watching Stephen Hawking’s series on Into the Universe from the Discovery Channel. Night came quickly, but sleep was a little difficult until I took my regular doses of melatonin, Bone Up and D3. I had to use the bathroom about five times during the night, but managed to get a good night’s sleep.

5/8/2010: At Home

Today, the bleeding was less and by the early evening, it stopped.

My girls came by for lunch and Carolyn came over as they were leaving. Having company helped me keep my mind off of my bladder. My main concern is still how to prevent further polyps.

5/9/2010: Mother's Day

I spent the morning doing research on new developments in bladder cancer. I visited the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network and watched some videos from the November, 2009 Patient Forum. The information was kind of distressing. At the same time KGO TV had a special on new developments in cancer and one of the segments was on bladder cancer. Obviously, this was the most interesting segment for me and you can watch it too.

Mother's day was really nice. The girls made smoke salmon pizza and chocolate covered strawberries which was yummy!. The Rossmans shared the meal and the day with us until late in the afternoon.

5/12/2010: Less Good News

I had my meeting with Dr. Neuwirth this afternoon. The news was not that good. The two polyps were actual T1 tumors, which he removed during the TURBT last week. The good news is that BCG treatments should be quite effective against further tumors. The bad news is that it is my bladder that has to undergo these treatments. Dr. Neuwirth seemed hopeful, however. I start the BCG treatments in two weeks and I have to go once a week for six weeks.

BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) is a bacterial preparation of a strain of tuberculosis vaccine.  It is instilled in the bladder with a catheter and needs to remain there at least two hours. The last instillation in 1998 lasted 12 years. So if this works as well as the list time, I’ll be 82!

I felt like I had just lost an important tennis match – kind of down and low energy. Fortunately, Lady Catherine (my daughter’s best friend) came for dinner and took a lot of the sting out of the news. After she left, I spoke with Mala and the girls and could feel their love and concern. Their reaction was surprisingly calm, as they have a lot of love for me and know that my mindfulness practices and integrative medicine with get me through.

5/14/2010: Appointment with Michael Broffman

My appointment with Michael Broffman at the Pine Street Clinic took place this afternoon for about two-and-one-half hours.

It’s all about ageing. Bladder cancer is a disease in older men (and women). More about this later.

Michael said that I needed about 50 grams protein/day with about 2 quarts of water, a minimum of 1000 calories, and a low carbohydrate intake. Some of the protein can be gotten from rice or whey powders. This amounts to about .78 grams/kilo of protein. In connection with protein, he mentioned the research of Otto Warburg and Brian Peskin. Warburg got a Nobel Prize for demonstrating that oxygen deprived cells develop cancer. I asked about hyperbaric oxygen therapy and he said that it would be good for this reason.

I asked about what other treatments he would recommend and he gave me three ideas. The first is a substance called Gc-MAF. There is a Google video, which explains, “GcMAF triggers our immune response to cancer. Cancer cells deactivate Gc-MAF. Dr. Nobuto Yamamoto has shown that laboratory preparation and injections of GcMAF bypasses the cancer's deactivation process and allows the macrophages to attack. This procedure has resulted in 100 percent cure rates for 4 to 7 years, the length of the studies to date. There are no side effects.” Michael said that you had to inject the Gc-MAF to be effective.

The second product in Michael’s bag of tricks is DCA or dichloroacetate. According to the DCA site, DCA “worked to reactivate the apoptosis mechanism of cancer cells, causing rapid shrinkage of tumors in rats. Mitochondrial reactivation represents an entirely new approach to treating cancer.” He recommended taking this during BCG treatments plus about 6 months. The dosage of 500mg corresponds to about 1/8 teaspoon and 100g should last me through the whole treatment. Sodium dichloroacetate can be purchased in Canada, but not in the US.

The third product is resveratrol. According to Life Extension, “Findings from published scientific literature indicate that resveratrol may be the most effective plant extract for maintaining optimal health and promoting longevity.” I’ve know about this for a while and almost ordered it several months ago, but I failed to do so.

Michael recommended several products to try post BCG treatments. These include pomegranate, curcumin and green tea extracts.

The anti-ageing plan begins after BCG with a 24 hour urine test for hormones and their metabolites. The goal is to bring testosterone up to the level of a 35 year old man. There will be herb supplements to support hormone replenishment. Another hormone of interest is aldosterone. A constitutional homeopathic remedy may also be used in this project.

New cancer treatments include HIFU in China. This stands for high intensity focused ultrasound and may now be available in the US.

I spoke about two other conditions that concern me. The first was acid reflux when I have too much food or lots of garlic and onions. Michael told me that the active ingredient in Tagamet, cimetidine is not only good to relive acid indigestion, but it has some immune and cancer fighting qualities. So I guess it is not too bad to rely on this when conditions dictate it.

My sleep problem could be helped by time-release melatonin. He said the blue or red lights don’t upset melatonin metabolism.

Both Mala and I felt really encouraged by this session. It seems like the BCG treatment is just a bump in the road and I should be cancer free when it is complete.

05/18/2010: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Thirteen years ago, Michael Broffman told me about hyperbaric oxygen therapy. At that time, it was avaliable in Europe, but now it is available locally. I had previously experienced a session with Dr. Geoffry Saft of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Larkspur, CA. Now I am getting treatments in preparation for BCG.

Today's experience was quite wonderful. I was relaxed and probably slept a bit. The rest of the time I listened to Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at the University of Massachusetts. I'll probably have a treatment every day until the BCG treatments start, and maybe until they end!

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works by sending oxygen under pressure into the blood stream. The research of Dr. Otto Warburg had proved that oxygen starved cells are more likely to develop cancer than those which have plenty of oxygen. So the theory is that oxygen at higher than atmospheric pressures can facilitate blood flow to the cells.

5/20/2010: Tennis!

I had my second hyperbaric oxygen therapy today, and it was similar to the first. I was hoping that it would propel me through an hour and a half of tennis without any problems, but I was exhausted after about one hour. I started missing badly after that and had to take a nap before Mindfulness in Healing. By the way, the Mindfulness in Healing Well-being Support group is moving to Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 at the Pine Street Clinic.