My purpose in writing this book is to aid anyone who may wish to be proactive in preventing or treating cancer in the event he or she, or a loved one, receives a cancer diagnosis. Most of us have some general knowledge about cancer and cancer treatments but there it ends. Knowing what your options are in the event you contract that life-threatening disease will not only provide some comfort in knowing you can be involved in your treatment, but also it should greatly enhance your chances of successfully coping with the disease.

In late December 2012, I made a trip to the local urgent care center to have a nagging pain in the area of the spleen checked out. Because there was no indication of the spleen being enlarged, the on-call doctor wasn’t sure what might be causing the discomfort. He noted that heart issues could sometimes manifest themselves with pain below the rib cage and suggested going to the hospital emergency room to confirm or eliminate that possibility. While the concept of a possible heart issue seemed like a stretch, following the doctor’s advice to seek medical review at the hospital resulted in my embarking on an adventure in health that still continues as of this writing, some years later.

Up until December 2012, I thought I was in reasonably good health but now looking back, there were a couple of things that seemed questionable. For about a year prior to this emergency room visit, walking was becoming somewhat of a challenge because of a feeling of heavy legs. Having always been physically active, this was more than mildly disconcerting. For many years preceding this, the use of a Gravely walk-behind mower was standard for me in mowing lawns at our various homes, and the lawns were of sizes generally requiring 2-3 hours minimum to mow. In addition to the walking issues during the year prior to diagnosis, a daily afternoon nap suddenly seemed required, something that would never have previously been contemplated.

A series of tests at the hospital turned up some unexplained deviations from the norm. One of the first questions asked as they went through testing was, “How long have you been anemic?” My response was, “Apparently since this morning to the best of my knowledge.” Nor was it a mild case of anemia. A hemoglobin level of 7.9 g/dl indicated the anemia was at the transfusion stage, so medical personnel proceeded with a transfusion. Blood analysis also showed some abnormal protein in the blood, which they referred to as (MGUS) Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance. In most cases MGUS is not a major concern but needs to be watched because it could develop into something more serious. About 15% of people diagnosed with MGUS have IgM MGUS, which can progress to a rare type of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma called Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, an incurable but treatable cancer according to the medical profession.

Referral to a hematologist/oncologist resulted in my having a bone marrow biopsy to further define what was going on in the blood. The result of the biopsy was a diagnosis of Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, a rare cancer that shows up in about 6 people in a million. Perhaps because the time between the testing and biopsy encompassed a three-week period, the news of the diagnosis was not particularly startling or devastating. Rather, it was more of a question of what to do about it. At the time, my knowledge of cancer issues would have been best described as a rudimentary understanding of conventional approaches to treating cancer but little understanding beyond that. While my limited understanding of cancer treatment left me with a feeling that conventional treatments would be best avoided, for me, there were no ready answers for alternatives.

After telling the oncologist the chemotherapy he was advising for me was not an option, I spent a couple of months trying to monitor my situation with lab work and blood transfusions, with no discernible progress. The lab results during this time clearly demonstrated the blood transfusions were simply a band-aid approach since improved blood numbers would last only about a week and then drop back to pre-transfusion levels.

Around this time, my wife Joyce, deeply concerned that we should be more proactive in dealing with this issue, became aware of an individual in the area with some type of lymphoma who had gone to the Hippocrates Health Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, and by following their dietary protocol, had been in remission for a number of years. At Joyce’s urging, we decided to schedule a two-week on-campus stay at Hippocrates Health Center. The two-week treatment/learning session at Hippocrates was fast-paced and unique. There was an established itinerary for each participant and a wealth of seminars for elective times in one’s schedule. The days were filled with sessions on food groups, supplements, growing and harvesting sprouts, nutrition from various foods, vegetable juicing, detoxifying techniques, benefit of enemas, infusion of high dose vitamin C, laser treatments, massage, colonics, comprehensive mind/body assessment, and other electives, some complimentary and some at additional expense. While Hippocrates had very limited breakfast menu options, center personnel did not promote eating breakfast because they contended your body was digesting the previous evening meal up until around 11:00 A.M the following morning. Suffice it to say, the two main meals of the day were anything but what anyone who is used to the standard American diet might desire. For those who could be content with a variety of raw vegetables and an equally wide variety of vegetable sprouts, there was plenty to eat. If you desired anything else, you were out of luck. Despite being blessed with a healthy appetite, I did not look forward to their meals, even though we were being advised how nutritious these meals were.

In addition to sessions on promoting nutritious foods, Hippocrates personnel also provided sessions on what foods should be avoided, and this information was equally as critical as knowing what to consume. Much of the dietary protocol at Hippocrates closely mirrors that promoted by many other alternative treatment protocols. However, one will find some variation in foods that may be acceptable depending on what alternative treatment protocol you may pursue. As a brief example, Hippocrates Health Center listed the following foods to avoid:

• All processed foods
• All meat
• All dairy products
• All processed sugar, although natural sugars—such as found in organic fruit or raw, unprocessed honey—were more acceptable.
• For those with cancer, they recommended eliminating fruit from the diet for a year or two, or at least until you were able to get the cancer under control. They saw fruit as generally unacceptable to cancer patients due to its sugar content. It was further noted that much of our fruit today is hybrid, which contains somewhere around 30% more sugar than organic fruit. In deciding whether to completely eliminate fruit, one needs to consider the risk versus reward of consuming fruits. (Personally, I decided the nutritional and anti-oxidant benefits of fruit outweighed the risks, so I included fruit in my diet on a limited basis.)
• Avoid all pastries, cakes, cookies, pies, etc., because cancer cells thrive on glucose.

As you can see, if one chooses to rigidly follow the above protocol, it is far removed from the standard American diet, commonly referred to as the SAD diet. To even come close to eliminating the above list of foods from your diet requires a high degree of discipline, and one has to be fully committed to make the transition from what may be standard fare for most people. Anyway, the upshot of the Hippocrates Health Center experience resulted in a major change in dietary habits for us. Admittedly, I came to this new dietary lifestyle somewhat kicking and screaming. Initially, the transition to foods not normally in my diet was challenging, but thanks to my wife who followed the same diet and became a loving, in-house “Sergeant at Arms,” adaptation to a healthier lifestyle occurred. There are some health care practitioners who believe it takes about 3 weeks for one to adjust to a new dietary lifestyle. My personal assessment is that the folks making these claims are either unusual people or they have not personally gone through such a transformation. My experience is that it may take months to make the transition from the standard American diet to that suggested for patients pursuing an alternative protocol. While one might make the change in a three-week period, reaching the point where you can feel satisfied and content with your new dietary fare may take considerably longer, thus, the necessity for you to firmly commit to the change.

Lessons learned? One should understand that adopting what may be a drastic new lifestyle change is not a cakewalk. It takes commitment (and renewed commitment) to stick with it while adjustments are being made. The new lifestyle will require increases in the time commitments you spend to keep the focus on your new health protocols. These alternative approaches will be varied and expand as your research discovers new treatment possibilities to explore. Because of the challenges involved in making this major lifestyle transition, it is of great importance to have support for your mission from those close to you. My review of stories from patients using alternative approaches to cancer treatment has led me to conclude it is not at all uncommon to find patients who may experience considerable disagreement from their physician, or even from family members, when they choose to forgo conventional forms of cancer treatment. However, the literature suggests more people are becoming aware of the dismal lack of success with the conventional cancer treatments of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy and are seeking alternatives.

So where am I in this healing journey? To answer that question requires an explanation of what some of the challenges have been along this journey. Alluded to earlier, difficulty walking became an issue shortly before the cancer diagnosis. These issues continued after the diagnosis and progressed to significant gait issues as well. Also, along with the cancer came significant balance and neuropathy issues. Testing by a neurologist resulted in a diagnosis of “polyneuropathy, manifested by severe axonal sensory-motor issues.” The good news is that the neuropathy was confined primarily to the lower extremities. The only thing the neurologist had to offer was some drug that might help mitigate the pain and that option was declined.

Since no one has been able to definitively explain where these issues of balance, gait, and neuropathy came from, I have concluded they are likely side effects of the Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia. As research shows, there is a much higher incidence of neuropathy in Waldenstrom’s patients than in the general population; my assumption appears to have some validity. Writing in the April 2010 issue of the TORCH (International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation) Todd Levine, MD, notes that in a survey of 119 WM patients, 48% developed a peripheral neuropathy and this was in contrast to neuropathy being found in 19% of age-matched controls. Research on gait issues is limited and does not help explain how, if at all, these issues might be connected to Waldenstrom’s. The nerve damage in the lower extremities from the neuropathy helps to understand the balance issues since one of the major components of balance relies on the information being transmitted from the nerves in the feet to the brain center. Regardless of the genesis of these physical issues, they have increased the challenges to the immune system as the healing process continues. Anything that presents as foreign or unhealthy in the body will necessarily result in an immune system response and thus increase the load on that system.

At the current time (Spring 2019), my balance and gait issues are still my greatest concerns. Miraculously, the upper and lower leg pains that were a daily part of my neuropathy for years have disappeared. I believe the direction the Lord has taken me in this healing journey is the reason neuropathy pain has gone and also why the cancer has stabilized. The literature on Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia suggests that researchers differ on which markers, if any, enable one to determine the degree of disease burden for a Waldenstrom’s patient. Some suggest that the level of IgM protein is an indicator and assuming this correlation is correct, my disease burden has both lessened and then come back over time. Medical practitioners, generally, see hemoglobin levels as one indicator of health. My current lab work shows low normal hemoglobin levels, and these are accompanied by good energy levels. They serve as testimony to the effectiveness of my alternative treatment protocol.

What alternative approaches do I follow on a regular basis?

• The Budwig protocol, which is explained in chapter 10 on “Alternative Approaches to Cancer Treatment.”
• The elimination of harmful and non-nutritious foods recommended by the Budwig Center, Hippocrates Health Center, and other health centers, which list these as foods to be avoided. Refer to the Hippocrates Health Center recommendations earlier in this chapter.
• Utilization of a far infrared sauna, where body temperatures can be reached that will kill cancer cells.
• Supplementing diet with high-quality vitamins, minerals, herbs and spices and many of these are described in subsequent chapters.

A search for a solution to my balance and gait issues continues to be elusive but one learns to compensate until a better answer is found. Life is full of challenges. This is just another one. Join me and become empowered in the coming chapters as you learn the variety of issues you may encounter when embarking on the challenging journey to make prudent choices for your cancer treatment and supercharge your immune system to cope with, stabilize, reduce, or even eradicate your cancer.

As you begin your search for the most appropriate treatment options, consider making some lifestyle changes right now to improve your health and enable your body to better cope with the stresses it is currently undergoing. To assist you in deciding on some meaningful modifications to begin with, go to chapter 12 and select some simple changes you feel you could easily incorporate into your daily routine. Knowing you are implementing changes to positively impact your health should give you a sense of being in control. Don’t initially make too many lifestyle modifications and become overwhelmed or discouraged. You can later add others as you progress in your understanding of what might best work for you. This will occur as you return to these earlier chapters, which detail the history, research, science, and rationale for making positive lifestyle changes and eliminating those things detrimental to your health.