Thu, 16 Jul 98, Reader writes:
I found your site while searching for alternative treatments for my mother-in-law. She has undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon/rectal cancer but is fading fast. Her cancer specialist at Sloan Kettering has said he can do nothing more for her. She can no longer walk unaided and has no desire for food.
I read with great interest your account of "Robert" who was treated for his colon cancer but I couldn't determine how to obtain help for my loved one. Any information you can provide me would be so greatly appreciated. My mother-in-law lives in New York, we live in San Francisco.
Fri, 17 Jul 98, Otherplane's reply:
Before your mother-in-law can be helped, we will need some personal information(age...etc) about her, because a record journal is kept. You will be informed of the start date and the end date of the treatment. Also, we need to know how we can find out her status after the treatment. This is very important because some of the people that were helped never replied back, even just to say thanks for the help that was provided.
Am currently tracking another person in Texas with a non-hodgkins cancer and he is doing fine right now.
Sun, 19 Jul 98, Reader writes:
Thank you so much for your prompt response. My mother-in-law, is 69 years old and was diagnosed with colon/rectal cancer in September of 1997. She has had two surgeries, the first appeared succesful at first but lab results showed that the cancer had already moved into the lymph nodes. She began a course of chemo, was set on another, stronger dose of chemotherapy and became so ill that the doctors stopped the chemo and hospitalized her. She was vomiting, dehydrated and could not keep any nourishment down. The second surgery removed obstruction in her G.I. system but she has never regained her ability to take food in and keep it down.
She is in constant pain and is using narcotics but they don't help much. She came home from the hospital for a week but has lost another 20 pounds and can't walk unaided. She is now at St. Luke's Hospital in Alantown, PA, where her son is an anastheiologist. She is receiving nourishment through an I.V.
Prior to her illness, she was an avid tennis player who never smoked or drank alcohol and has been a vegetarian for over ten years. She is also a very cheerful and positive person who is gravely concerned about losing her independance and being an invalid. She was born and raised in New York, they raised their family on Long Island, and now spend the winters in Florida.
I will be available to report on her progress, I'm still learning how to navigate the net. I'm very interested in your work and enjoyed reading about it on your web site. Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my post.
Wed, 22 Jul 98, Reader writes:
I want to keep you informed of the latest developments with my mother-in-law. Early this morning I learned she has been transferred to the I.C.U., at St. Lukes Hospital, in Alantown,PA. Instead of just feeding her through an I.V., the doctors decided to feed her directly through a tube leading into her stomach. The reasoning was that she has lost so much weight she needed more than they could administer through her veins. Unfortunately, some food got inhaled into her lungs (I don't know how, perhaps she vomited some food up and then inhaled it). They expect her to develop pneumonia and have transferred her to Intensive Care in anticipation of that. We're all very frightened by this development as it seems people often develop pneumonia at the end of their illness.
I'll let you know how things are progressing as I hear of any changes. I don't know what her "Oversoul" is planning but I don't think she (the personality) is ready to die yet. Last week when someone suggested she might be more comfortable in a hospice she replied, "Hospice? That's for people who are terminal. What would I want with a hospice?" Some felt she was "in denial" of her situation but I thought she was telling us she's not ready to give up the fight yet.
Fri, 24 Jul 98, Reader writes:
I thought you might want to know my mother-in-law's progress. She did not develop pneumonia as was expected and has been released from the I.C.U. and back to the ward. The hospital wants to send her home as they have no treatment planned. We have investigated two possibilites, one is the Max Gerson Institute in San Diego and Tijuana, the other is Dr. Burzynski in Houston, Texas. I felt very encouraged when she didn't fall prey to the pneumonia and I thought maybe the angels are guiding us because we only had the phonetic spelling for Dr. Burzynski but were able to locate him very easily on the Internet.
One concern we have is that the hospital has opted not to feed her the liquid food she had been on because with no treatment plan on the horizon, they said the nourishment is only going to make the cancer stronger and prolong her suffering. They are keeping her hydrated by I.V. and continuing the mood elevators but that's it. David, her son, who is a doctor, feels it's crucial to begin some therapy right away before she becomes too weak to respond. I expect there will be a decision by Monday.
Fri, 24 Jul 98, Otherplane's reply:
The treatment will begin this coming Tuesday until Friday. No x-rays, no pills and no shots. If you can provide us with her daily status throughout the 4 days of treatment, it would be appreciated. This informations is for our benefit and for future patients.
She will be given an extension on her life so she may fulfill whatever she must do prior to the inevitable. We will check further and see what else is in store for her and keep you informed.
Fri, 04 Sep 98, Reader writes:
Hi, it's been a while. I thought I'd bring you up to date on her condition. You were right, she was not ready to go even though the doctors thought it was only a matter of days when she left the hospital. Unfortunately, she has been pretty much in an agitated state of mind and in physical pain. More and more she sleeps all day and wakes up calling for her father (who died when she was a young woman). She has had no solid food in over a month and her digestive system has completely shut down, she's been existing on sugar water and morphine.
Yesterday the I.V. line that was delivering fluids came out of her arm and she would have to go back into the hospital to have it replaced. It would buy her another two weeks perhaps but the family sees no value in prolonging her suffering.
My husband and I are flying out to New York tommorow. Yesterday he got released from the treatment he had been receiving from an Oncologist here in the city for that cancerous growth on his lip. Thank God it has been successful and the doctor has given him a clean bill of health. I check your web site frequently, I'd like to know more about the work you guys do.
Tue, 08 Sep 98, Reader writes:
My husband and I just got home from New York late last night. Since last Wednesday, my mother-in-law is no longer able to speak to us altho' sometimes it seems she can follow what is said to her. The family has decided to keep her heavily sedated as she cries out pitifully, "Oh, mama, oh, mama", over and over. It seems to me that the person we knew is far off somewhere and a little child has been left behind to keep the body going. The goal is to keep her comfortable until she passes and to that end, they've taken her off i.v. fluids. Her son, the doctor, was sure she would go over the weekend but yesterday, her color was better that it had been in days and she seemed much more at peace. So I do believe that her spirit is attending to its work and I'm grateful for the assistance you've given her in that area. I'll keep you informed of any changes.
Thu, 10 Sep 98, Otherplane's reply:
Your mother-in-law is just waiting for a family member to arrive and she will move on. Let us know when it happens. Take care.
| Related Accounts - Alternative Healing Index | Alternative Healing Home Page | Otherplane Home Page |