The Truth About Cancer: A Review

I promised a review...

And I am finding it hard to wrap it all up in a neat little package!  A single blog post could not possibly do justice in reviewing The Truth About Cancer Docu-Series that we just watched...

There's just no organizing my thoughts!  Words tumble out in a rough overview...

Unbelievable.  Amazing.   Do I trust it?   Powerful.  But truly?   Overwhelming amount of information,  Scientific fundamentals.  Natural therapies and Whole nutrition.  Pharmaceutical histories and Horrifying realities.   Personal stories...  Conquering Cancer... Gentle Hope Rising!

To begin with, I am more optimistic than discouraged, am more hopeful than despairing.  The documentary covered a lot of ground in just 9 episodes, opening up the door to more questions and possibilities than ever before.

Over the next weeks, I would love to break it down and share some of the interviews and therapies discussed that seemed especially tailored for the pancreatic cancer journey...

I've already shared Pamela Kelsey's story of using the Hoxsey Formula in her pancreatic cancer treatment success...

And today, I'd like to start the review with another pancreatic cancer survivor and her story:

Her name is Felicity Corbin Wheeler and she shared her pancreatic cancer journey in Episode 7.   She was diagnosed in 2003 and chose natural therapies in treating her cancer.  Her story is compelling and I was very interested in her approach, as both her children had also suffered with cancer.

Her basic treatment plan involved eating a whole, raw food diet, accompanied with The Gerson Therapy as well as laetrile, or vitamin B-17.

If you are currently walking this cancer road, and you are reading this post, then I can only imagine you are seeking answers... searching for real treatments that offer hope, for life, full and whole and long, not just a few added months filled with wasting and pain...

I am too.  Seeking hope, searching for answers, fighting to find a cure for an incurable diagnosis...

After watching The Truth About Cancer, I am more convinced than ever that there are no silver bullets, nor perfect treatments for pancreatic cancer...

But, I am also more convinced than before that there's more out there than just chemo and radiation therapies for ourselves and our loved ones fighting this formidable cancer.  Perhaps a combination... Perhaps an integrative approach... Perhaps one of these therapies will speak truth...

More to this review in the weeks to come...

My Love and Prayers for Wisdom and Grace in Abundance as we Journey on...

Always,
          Jane

   

The Truth About Cancer and a QuackWatch Review

My thoughts have been tumbling since watching episdoe 1 of The Truth About Cancer...

Especially the interview with Pamela Kelsey... cured of pancreatic cancer decades ago with a natural remedy called the Hoxsey Formula.

Are you like me?  Believing that it's just too good to be true?

A part of my heart wants to believe so badly that this is a real, bonafide option for pancreatic cancer treatment... then again, part of my cynical self can't believe that it's possible... for if it were true than why have the doctors not been advocating it's use... why would so many suffering the nightmare of pancreatic cancer be allowed to waste away under conventional treatments??

Tumbing emotions... wild, crazy feelings...

And, let's be clear... conventional treatments for pancreatic cancer have a dismal track record.

Statistics show that someone diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic (exocrine) cancer has a 1% survival rate after 5 years... dismal results... heartbreaking suffering... and grievous loss...

So, this daughter can't let it rest.  And does what we've always done... gone into research mode...

The Hoxsey Formula.

Looking for reviews, I found this QuackWatch report... Here's the short(er) version, please click here to read the (long) review in its entirety:

"The Hoxsey treatment involves several herbal preparations, all of which are made from combinations of herbs and inorganic compounds. At present, this treatment is offered only at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, although from 1924 until the late 1950s it was offered at a number of clinics in the United States under the direction of the late Harry Hoxsey (1901-1974). Awareness of the treatment was recently renewed by the release of Hoxsey: Quacks Who Cure Cancer?, a documentary film on the history of the Hoxsey treatment and on Harry Hoxsey's personal role in its development and promotion.

According to Hoxsey's autobiographical book You Don't Have to Die, the herbal formula for the Hoxsey treatment was developed in 1840 by John Hoxsey, Harry Hoxsey's great- grandfather. It was derived from grasses and flowering wild plants growing in a pasture where one of John Hoxsey's horses, afflicted with a cancerous growth, grazed daily. The horse's cancer reportedly disappeared, and John Hoxsey surmised that the wild plants had caused the recovery. He gathered some of the plants from the pasture, and later added ingredients from old home remedies for cancer. He used the resulting herbal mixture to treat similarly afflicted horses near his farm in southern Illinois.

The herbal formula was bequeathed to John Hoxsey's son, then to Harry's father John, and finally to Harry Hoxsey in 1919, whose father charged him with using it to treat cancer patients "if need be, in defiance of the high priests of medicine". Although Harry's father, a veterinary surgeon, was the first to use the formula to treat people with cancer, it was Harry Hoxsey who made it famous. The first clinic offering the Hoxsey treatment opened in the early 1920s and by the 1950s, the Hoxsey Outpatient Clinic in Dallas was reportedly one of the largest privately-owned cancer centers in the world, with branches in 17 states. By Hoxsey's account, the clinic had at its peak of operation 10,000 patients "under constant treatment or observation".

Hoxsey was widely known for his flamboyant and confrontational style. His reluctance to disclose the treatment formulas and his bold claims reportedly led Morris Fishbein, then editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, to publish articles labeling Hoxsey and his late father as charlatans. Hoxsey sued for libel and won. In 1956, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner ordered that a "Public Beware!" warning against the Hoxsey treatment be posted in U.S. Post Offices and substations across the country. Repeated clashes with FDA over violations, and a number of arrests, eventually prompted Hoxsey to close his main Dallas clinic in the late 1950s.

Since 1963, the Hoxsey treatment has been offered at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, under the direction of Hoxsey's longtime chief nurse, Mildred Nelson. The herbal preparations Nelson uses to treat cancer patients are reportedly based on Hoxsey's herbal formulas and method of preparation .

Rationale for the Treatment

In 1956, Hoxsey described his belief that cancer was a systemic disease, however localized its manifestations might appear to be. Although he did not "pretend to know its fundamental cause," he believed that "without exception it occurs only in the presence of a profound physiological change in the constituents of body fluids" and that it leads to a "chemical imbalance in the organism" (418). Hoxsey summarized the theory behind his approach this way:

It follows that if the constitution of body fluids can be normalized and the original chemical balance in the body restored, the environment again will become unfavorable for the survival and reproduction of these cells, they will cease to multiply and eventually they will die.

He also did not claim to know how or why his herbal cancer treatment worked, but he maintained that it "corrects the abnormal blood chemistry and normalizes cell metabolism" by "stimulat[ing] the elimination of toxins which are poisoning the system".

Nelson believes that the Hoxsey tonic "normalizes and balances the chemistry within the body," a process she believes results in tumor regression. In a 1984 interview, Nelson said:
"When you get everything normalized, the abnormal cells —the tumor cells —cease to grow. And very slowly the tumor is absorbed and excreted, and it's gone".

Components of the Treatment

Hoxsey's 1956 book You Don't Have to Die lists the ingredients of his internal treatment given in "all cases of cancer, both internal and external" as potassium iodide combined with some or all of the following substances, on a case-by-case basis: licorice, red clover, burdock root (Arctium lappa), stillingia root (Stillingia sylvatica), berberis root (Berberis vulgaris), poke root (Phytolacca americana), cascara (Rhamnus purshiana), Aromatic USP 14 (artificial flavor), prickly ash bark (Zanthoxylum americanum), and buckthorn bark (Rhamnus frangula). The last two substances in this list are not specifically mentioned in Mildred Nelson's list of ingredients used in the Hoxsey treatment she currently offers.

The current Hoxsey treatment offered by Mildred Nelson at the Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana includes a liquid tonic, a salve, and a powder, all of which are reportedly based on Hoxsey's formulas. In addition, Nelson's treatment regimen specifically includes nutritional supplements and dietary restrictions. Nelson advises before-meal "tri-tabs," after-meal tablets, yeast tablets, vitamin C, calcium capsules, laxative tablets, antiseptic douches, and antiseptic washes. She also recommends that patients exclude certain foods that "nullify the tonic", such as pork, tomatoes, pickles or other products with vinegar, salt, sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, carbonated beverages, and bleached flour. All patients tested for systemic infection with the fungus Candida albicans before treatment is initiated, although the reasons for such testing are not given in the patient literature. Treatment lasts up to three days at the clinic, with followup visits within three to six months after the initial visit.

Adverse Effects

Hoxsey's medical director stated in a 1952 publication that no toxic reactions had been seen in patients treated with the Hoxsey tonic, but he added that "the growth of a cancer can be stimulated if the treatment is used improperly".

Claims

Hoxsey presented numerous case histories of patients treated at his clinic in his 1956 book. Additional case histories supporting his claims are described in a 1954 publication by Defender Magazine. In his book, Hoxsey noted that cancer patients sought his treatment "as a last resort." He wrote:
We don't pretend to cure all of them. The vast majority are advanced and even terminal cases by the time we get them. Many come to us after the disease already has spread through the body; after surgery or irradiation has so impaired circulation of the blood to the affected areas that our treatment cannot reach them...Nevertheless we believe we cure a far greater percentage of cases treated than is cured by any other method at present known to science.

Attempts at Evaluating the Hoxsey Treatment

No clinical trials of the Hoxsey treatment have been reported. Several record reviews, initiated in the 1950s, have been discussed in the literature, however. The first was based on a site visit in 1954 by a group of physicians, who, by Hoxsey's account, spent two days inspecting the clinic, reviewing patient records, and talking to patients. Although the data on which they made their conclusions are not given in Hoxsey's book where an excerpt of their statement appears, the group concluded that the Hoxsey Clinic was "successfully treating pathologically proven cases of cancer, both internal and external, without the use of surgery, radium or x-ray".

Hoxsey made attempts (in 1945 and 1950) to have NCI review his patients' records. On both occasions, NCI determined that the records Hoxsey submitted did not meet NCI's previously established criteria at that time for documenting treatment effects.

According to several sources, NCI concluded on the basis of Hoxsey's data that no assessment of his treatment could be made.  Hoxsey believed, however, that it was NCI's responsibility to verify his case records; their failure to do so was deliberate, he believed, resulting from a widespread conspiracy organized against him by the AMA. In 1947, Senator Elmer Thomas of Oklahoma asked the U.S. Public Health Service to investigate Hoxsey's treatment, and the Surgeon General refused the request.

Hoxsey's point of view was echoed by a 1953 report to the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee by Benedict Fitzgerald, an attorney who examined records of Hoxsey's litigation with the AMA and the Federal Government. After reading about the circumstances of these attempted case reviews, Fitzgerald wrote that NCI "took sides and sought in every way to hinder, suppress, and restrict [the Hoxsey Cancer Clinic] in their treatment of cancer". To date, no independent, comprehensive assessment has been made to resolve the many allegations and issues raised by Hoxsey's tumultuous career."

Well... that was an involved review (for being the shorter version!)... and I'm no closer to determining the veracity of the Hoxsey Formula...

I am troubled however, by the refusal of the established medical community to investigate the Hoxsey treatment, as evidenced by the litigation charges near the end of the review, and also the fact that no independent clinical trial has been done on this treatment.

Is it possible that the Hoxsey Formula could be an option for pancreatic cancer patients?  If Pamela Kelsey is to be believed then, yes, it needs to be considered...

Not long ago, we did a series called Mapping the Journey: Pancreatic Cancer 101 and we talked about the hard decisions that must be made when first diagnosed with this dreaded disease.  These hard decisions are the hardest grace.  And no one should make them for you...

Each pancreatic cancer patient must make decisions that are right for their situation.  And I believe with all my heart that knowledge is truly a powerful thing... knowing your options when facing the foe is the first immeasurably important step

And so... when considering the options, perhaps the Hoxsey Formula needs to be on the table.

Ask the questions, do the research, leave no potential treatment unexplored.

Continuing on in the search together, walking this journey with determination and hope... So graced to be in your company...

Always,
           Jane

The Truth About Cancer: Episode 1

Ok... I said I would give a review at the end of the 9-part series...

But, The Truth About Cancer?  It needs sharing... and so, here is a review of the first episode... because everyone touched by cancer should have all the cards laid out on the table.  If this is the hand we're dealt, then we need to know how to make our best play.

This documentary is rich in research and is adamant in the goal to eradicate cancer in our lifetime...

It is the Drumbeat of this daughter's heart...

And one of the first cancer conquerors they interviewed was Pamela Kelsey, a pancreatic cancer patient.  Ya'll, she was diagnosed in 1975 and is likely one of the longest living survivors of this horrendous cancer... you need to hear her story...

So, here, is a review of the first episode from The Cancer Tutor because he just lays it all out so much better than I could ever...

EPISODE 1 SYNOPSIS: TheTruth About Cancer–A Global Quest

“The true history of chemo and the pharmaceutical monopoly”

Airs: Tuesday, April 12th, 2016
The last 100 years of Medicine and how it has impacted our view on Health and Cancer. There is a conspiracy, but it’s not what you might think.

There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.-Soren Kierkegaard

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CANCER CONQUEROR: Pamela Kelsey

Pamela Kelsey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1975 and was told by doctors she had about a year and a half to live. She was 35 and thought her life was over.

But she took the essential first step of any cancer conqueror—she determined that she would beat cancer. And she would do it without poisoning her body with chemotherapy.

She went to the Biomedical Center in Tijuana, Mexico, where she was evaluated, given the Hoxsey Formula,  a strict diet and a large dose of hope. As they had predicted, she began to turn around in less than 3 months.

Forty years later Pamela is now free of the pancreatic and the liver cancer that had been a death sentence decades before.

IN THIS EPISODE

The surprising history of the medical industry including its direct ties to robber barons Andrew Carnegie and John D.Rockefeller. Pay special attention to The Flexner Report.

How the medical industry defines quackery often depends on the tastes of the age. Ignaz Semmelweis was rejected as offensive when he suggested doctors wash their hands.

• The eerie ties of “Big Pharma” to the Jewish holocaust.
• Stories of government-mandated chemotherapy on minors, who are taken from their parents for the toxic treatment.

The cancer-conquering agent vitamin B17.

The toxin-cleansing protocols that initiate natural healing from the inside out.

The persecution and truth suppression of natural healing practitioners by government agencies, the American Medical Association and Big Pharma.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Ty Bollinger, who lost parents and other relatives to cancer, traveled the globe in 2015 to meet with more than 100 experts in 20 countries. This global Quest for the Cure is a personal mission sparked by tragic loss.

• Almost 50 percent of people alive today will face cancer.

• 1 in 4 men will die from cancer.

• 1 in 5 women will die from cancer.

• Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller are responsible for the seismic shift from natural medicine to synthetic pharmaceuticals.

• The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) cites that 100,000 people die every year from properly prescribed prescription drugs.

In 1987 Judge Susan Getsendanner found the American Medical Association guilty of conspiracy against chiropractors.

• Chemotherapy originated from observing the effects of mustard gas on lymphocytes and some of the stuff used to make mustard gas is being used in chemo agents today. This is perhaps one reason 90 percent of oncologists will not prescribe chemo to their family.

• The alarming truth that pharmaceutical companies routinely commission ghost-written articles for publication in leading medical journals touting the performance of their drugs. These are the journals doctors read before prescribing treatments.

• Killing a tumor isn’t killing cancer.

QUOTABLES

When they talk about blockbuster drugs they aren’t talking about the effectiveness. They’re talking about how many bucks you can make. A lot of the goal of healthcare is to make a lot of money and if we happen to do some good with it that’s fine.

Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Medical Director and Founder—Tahoma Clinic, Washington

There are many physicians who are truly authentically motivated to help people but there is but there is a fear that they are going to be discredited and ostracized in their own community. When you’ve got tens of billions of dollars of revenue there is no end to the types of sophisticated ways you can acquire to manipulate the masses.

Dr. Joseph Mercola, D.O., Founder of Mercola.com, New York Times Bestselling Author

Articles ghost-written by medical writers engaged by pharmaceutical companies who have a vested interest in the content have caused concern after scandals revealed misleading content in some articles.

Source: The National Center for Biotechnology Information

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190555/

Featured in this Episode (in order of appearance):

Dr. Ivars Kalvins, Ph.D
Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.
Dr. Irvin Sahni, M.D.
Dr. Garry F. Gordon, M.D., D.O., M.D.(H)
Dr. Jospeh Mercola, D.O.
G. Edward Griffin, Author, Lecturer, Filmmaker
Dr. Robert Scott Bell, D.A. Hom.
Dr. Darrell Wolfe, Ac., Ph.D
Dr. Aleksandra Niedzwiecki, Ph.D
Dr. Matthias Rath, M.D.
Dr. Sunil Pai, M.D.
Dr. Veronique Desaulniers, D.C.
Dr. Ben Johnson, M.D., N.M.D, D.O.
Dr. Rashid Buttar, D.O.
Dr. James Forsythe, M.D.
Bob Wright, American Anti-Cancer Institute Founder
Dr. Boris Grinblat, M.D.
Dr. Bita Badakhshan, M.D.
Laura Bond Investigative Health Journalist & Author
Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D.
Sayer Ji, Author, Lecturer, National Health Federation Advisory Board
Chris Wark, Cancer Conquerer, Author, Lecturer
AJ Lanigan, Immunologist & Inventor
Mike Adams, Scientist, Author, Lecturer, “The Health Ranger”
Burton Goldberg, Author, Lecturer
Jon Rappoport, Investigative Journalist
Dr. Robert Gorter, M.D., Ph.D
Dr. Nalini Chilkov, L.Ac.O.M.D.
Dr. Patrick Quillin, Ph.D, R.D., C.N.S
Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, M.D., Ph.D
Dr. Tullio Simoncini, M.D., Ph.D
Dr. Rob Verkerk, Ph.D
Dr. Patrick Vickers, D.C.
Jason Vale, Cancer Survivor
Webster Kehr, “The Cancer Tutor”
Liz Jonas, Director – Biomedical Center (Tijuana)
Dr. Elias Gutierrez, M.D.
David Olson, Cancer Conqueror
Dr. Subrata Chakravarty, Ph.D
Tara Mann, Founder of Cancer Crackdown, Fomer Big Pharma Rep
Dr. Gaston Cornu-Labat, M.D.
Jay Matthews, Pharmacist, Father of Selena
Todd Jones, Father of Jenay, Cancer Conqueror
Cassandra Callender
Pamela Kelsey
Tina Baird, Cancer Conqueror
Charlene Bollinger, Researcher and Health Freedom Advocate, Co-Founder of CancerTruth

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Memorable Quotes from the First Episode

“It seems to me that the #1 goal of a lot of healthcare is to make money, and if we happen to do some good with it, that’s  fine . but the #1 goal is to make money”

–Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.

“Modern Medicine is a business, and its goals are to grow the business and eliminate competition and to maintain the monopoly “

– Ty Bollinger, Host

“It is estimate that by 2020 more than half of all cancer in America will be medically induced from drugs or radiation, making our Medical establishment the leading cause of cancer. ”

– Dr. Ben Johnson, M.D., N.M.D, D.O.

“Oncologists here (Russia) and in many other countries are very restricted in protocols, they are not free to offer the good treatments”

–Dr.Boris Grinblat, M.D.

“When you treat the patient with chemotherapy and radiation and you don’t cure them, then you make the cancer infinitely more aggressive and the patients usually die“

–Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D.

“Everyone exposed to radiation and chemo will have secondary adverse effects which are worse than the original condition they were being treated for“

–Sayer Ji

“Anyone that has been close to someone undergoing through chemotherapy and radiation would admit that it is a suffering rather than a treatment“

–AJ Lanigan, Immunologist & Inventor

“It is completely unacceptable that oncologists profit from the treatments that are justified by their own diagnosis“

–Mike Adams, The Health Ranger.

“If you do the standard of care and give chemo and people die, its OK. If you don’t do the standard of care and people live, its not OK (it is considered politically incorrect)“

–Dr. Rashid Buttar, D.O.

“If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls who live under tyranny.”

– Thomas Jefferson

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*Bonus Footage:
Pamela Kelsey, a Pancreatic Cancer Survivor, shares her amazing story of overcoming her cancer that was supposed to be a death sentence. Watch this episode to hear Pamela’s inspiring story of hope through working with the Hoxsey Biomedical Clinic in Mexico

Powerful New Way to FIGHT Cancer...

The end of cancer... wouldn’t that be something?

There are hundreds of pioneers out there, far out of the spotlight, working tirelessly to find new treatments and new healing methods for the many different diseases that we collectively call “cancer”. It’s an incredible, eye-opening look at what’s really possible and happening now.

Thank you to The Cancer Tutor for this review... If it has you interested in seeing more of the series, check out this link at The Truth About Cancer...

Episode 2 begins in less than 2 hours.

Perhaps, a review tomorrow?  Time permitting, I will see you then!

In Grace, Always,
                       Jane

The Truth About Cancer

I don't know that I've ever done this...

Suggest you do something I have never done...

I've waffled for several days...

And because I want so badly to eradicate pancreatic cancer from the face of this earth, I am taking a chance on sharing with you a documentary, that I have never seen...

A documentary that is perhaps fantasy, perhaps true... definitely controversial...

Maybe we could do it together? Watch this documentary?  And decide if there is merit?  If there is truth?

It starts tomorrow.  It's called The Truth About Cancer: A Global Quest.

It is free.  It is online.  It is a 9 part series.  You can register here for the link.

From reading reviews, I can honestly say that it peaks my curiousity, as well as feelings of caution.  In this cancer journey I know there are no magic pills, no secret formulas.  I've shared before the struggle many face in choosing between conventional treatments and alternative therapies.

This documentary takes an in-depth look at much of what our conventional/traditional medicine would call alternative.  Perhaps there is truth... perhaps there are more treatment options available to us than the 3 mainstays of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery... Perhaps??

And so, I will be watching the documentary with an open mind... and a cautious heart...

Here is a short you-tube video intro of the series:

Join in the documentary watching with me tomorrow, perhaps?  Or choose to disregard, perhaps?

I am so understanding of either choice.  I would never want to mislead, or give false hope.  The pancreatic cancer journey is difficult enough... I believe that it is crucial to be very present and passionate about our own cancer treatment and research is an integral part of this process.  We each must find the path to trust that works for us as we journey on.

The Truth About Cancer??  Perhaps in 9 days I will be able to give an honest review?

Yes... that I can do!

My Love,
            Jane

Spring has Sprung in Texas!

It may not feel like Spring in many places... winter is holding on like a 2 year old tantrum in the NorthEast, but here in Texas the roses have spoken... and they are whispering joy.

As we drove to yet another appointment yesterday with dad, we took a little detour and ambled thru the gorgeous Gussie Field Watterworth Park in Farmer's Branch...

... well, I ambled, Dad watched from under the shade of an old oak tree... and we were smitten just a little bit...and smiling a lot...

A soft spring breeze carried a sweet fragrance and we felt our spirits lift.  Spring does that, I think. Gives Hope.  Especially after a long, cold winter... 

And for a small, little while, our worries disappeared.

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,

Or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

                                             ~ Abraham Lincoln

Today, we rejoice...

Wherever you wander this weekend,

may you find the sweetest of detours

and a forever Hope to lift your heart.

My Love,

  Jane

Going Home...

Again...

A Big Thumb's Up for good news... We're headed home from the hospital!

However, it comes with a Big Dose of reality and lots of meds...

... and breathing treatments and monitoring and therapy...

But there is nothing like being home, eating breakfast in your favorite recliner!

The weekend is looking up  :-)

Gratitude for Blessings, both big and small,

Might you find joy, today, in simple pleasures with the ones you love,

In Grace, Always,

                 Jane