The One, Two Punch

It’s official. I have not only one, but two new doctors and they are going to help me kick this cancer’s butt! (Sorry, Mom!) And here’s the really radical part of the equation, they work together! One supports the other. My head is still spinning.

Richie and I met last Wednesday with a naturopathic doctor who is working at the KU Integrative Medicine Clinic. I really liked her. I liked her manner, her directness, her depth of knowledge and her smile. I liked that she believes we can still kill the cancer! She is my kind of gal. We spoke for over an hour, she took a detailed history and ordered a huge amount of blood work done so that she can really look at my vitamin, mineral and nutritional level and devise not only a diet, but a supplement schedule that will support my immune system and help me survive not only the cancer but the chemo treatments, too!

I will also be getting IV Vitamin C therapy at this clinic – as soon as I have a couple of tests done that will tell them that not only can I take the therapy, but that it will work for me. The very basic idea behind this therapy – and this is not new stuff – is that after infusion to my blood system the Vit C or ascorbic acid will interact, twist and turn, drop a radical (or something like that) and meet my tumors with a load of oxygen that will cause the cancer cells to commit cell suicide. It makes me giddy just thinking about it!

On Thursday we met with the oncologist and I thought she was pretty tough, too. She was a nice blend of realistic and hopeful. I am a big fan of hope – it’s the best medicine, after laughter! – and she has surrounded herself with a great team. I felt a great sense of optimism after our visit. She has prescribed doxil with avastin and I begin this therapy on Friday morning. I am not exactly jumping for joy about this, but who would? I don’t want to take more chemo, but I know I must, so it’s time to put my head down and push forward. There are plenty of known side effects to both the doxil and avastin, but they are manageable. I just hope I am one of those people who doesn’t get very affected by the side effects.

So the next chapter begins and on we go.

Please know that we feel your presence in our lives. We feel your good intentions and your prayers sustain us. We really don’t need much – we have each other. This could have been a lonely, hard road. Instead it has been rough going with wonderful soft places to land when we stumble on the way. I know I have said it before, but I mean it, we are terribly lucky people in spite of the cancer.

Always hopeful,
Maggie