Dear Family and Friends,
Tom's doctor has agreed to make a referral to gastroenterology for the endoscopic retrograde cholangeopancreatogram. Hopefully, this will shed further light on what is happening with the biliary duct and all of its adjacent organs.
Stay tuned...
The Canterberrys
Dear Friends and Family,
It is the eve of our wedding anniversary --- fourteen years!
I received an interesting call from UCSF today regarding Tom's electronic file. The nurse saw that there was a diagnosis of biliary duct cancer, but he wondered on what test the diagnosis was based. I told him that biopsies and blood tests had been done, but the nurse asked where were the results from the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP). HUH?!? I told the nurse that I had no idea about an ERCP, and had never heard of such a test. He said that this test pokes around in the biliary duct and checks out adjoining organs. These organs, of course, would be things like the gall bladder, pancreas, and liver. Given Tom's daily puking sessions, I wanted to find out if this test had been done. My mind reeled. What if there is a parasite, or a stuck gall stone? I needed answers.
Naturally, I contacted Tom's oncologist. He wrote back right away, saying that an ERCP test was very invasive, and they had already done an endoscopy. He also told me to work with hospice and switch up our meds! His response was all of three lines! Well, I wrote back right away, too. I wrote that Tom wasn't dead yet, and until he is yellow-white, pencil-thin, gasping for air, and had open but unseeing eyes, we were still going to fight for him. I don't know what kind of a response I'm going to get, but I'll keep you posted. I have to tell you, I'm more than a little disappointed and miffed!
Please pray for Tommy and call him up at the house; it'll cheer him up tremendously. No, he is not puking all day long, so don't get the wrong idea. It's just that at a certain time of day (not always the same time), he releases a ton of water, and we just can't figure it out. I'm hoping it's detox, but I think it's prudent to figure out whether it's something more.
If any of you have suggestions on how to handle this situation regarding the doctors, PLEASE contact me immediately.
Love,
The Canterberrys
Dear Family and Friends,
Today was wonderfully encouraging, in so many ways. The ladies from church, Peggy and the Marilyns, came over and completely cleaned the place up... including a rearranging and organization of my long-neglected kitchen cabinets. Unbelievable! They asked for references, which I will gladly give, if they're serious... Thank you, ladies! Your work was unbelievably morale-boosting!
We also had a lovely visit from Allie, and another from Pat, as well as a nice long phone call from Bali. These certainly cheered up Tom and perked up his spirits after a difficult morning of nausea and puking. Yes, Tom is going through some serious detoxification. The body is desperately trying to get rid of harmful materials and, unfortunatley, these symptoms are part of the process. Tom is staying strong throughout this ordeal, and it's really difficult for him, so PLEASE CALL! He needs the encouragement of friends. Lest you think I'm putting him through this alone, please note: I drink and eat the same thing that he does, as a pledge of good faith that these supplements and elixirs are not going to hurt him, and as a way of showing support and empathy. The result: I feel better --- physically --- than I have in quite awhile. Marla said to start Reliv products myself, so I did. I'm also drinking green shakes, eating my veggies, and I've stopped all refined sugar. I have to tell you, it makes quite a difference in the way I feel. However, for someone as sick as Tommy is, it'll take a bit of time for the body to flush out the toxins. In the meantime, he's going to feel somewhat ill. He's mending, though. He has very good coloring, and his face is filling out.
I don't know how many of you know Hal. He's a great guy, who gave us a special present --- the NutriBullet --- and it has been an amazing gift! The fiber in our drinks has been so beneficial, and it also comes with a great recipe book!
We are now on UCSF's "new patient" list. I'm going to try and get an appointment within the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, per Tom's request, the Eldridge School annual musical is on May 14th and May 15th on Thursday and Friday nights, 7 p.m. Tom really wanted "The Music Man Jr." to be put on this year, despite the illness, and I know he'd love it if you could come out and support the kids. Tickets are only $5 and go on sale this coming week. You are free to call Eldridge at (510) 723-3825 and ask for your ticket to be on "will call." I did not want to continue with the musical and wanted to focus on taking care of Tom, but he insists that this program has changed too many lives to just stop the project and disappoint the kids. He's a pretty great guy, huh? Yeah, I think so too. :-) I want to thank Rebecca and Linda for being with him on the rehearsal days so that Tom can be safe for a few hours. If anyone local would like to help with the show's labor detail (stage decorating and so forth), PLEASE call me at (510) 909-2774.
All of you have been amazing during this time, and you are profoundly changing our hearts and lives with your generosity, kindness, and love. On behalf of Tommy and TJ, I want to thank all of you for giving of yourselves.
Love,
The Canterberrys
Dear Friends and Family,
Well, radiation is done. Again, it will not cure, but it is supposed to help with pain. This remains to be seen, but we remain hopeful.
In the meantime, the fight continues. Tom's records were emailed to UCSF, and they will be determining whether his case is appropriate for them to pursue. They will be getting back to me no later than tomorrow.
Both the Issels Integrative Immuno-Oncology Clinic in Santa Barbara and the Budwig Center in Spain have stated that he qualifies for their help (i.e., he is not without hope). For those who are interested in researching these, please click on the following links:
http://www.issels.com/newissels/
and http://www.budwigcenter.com/
Both of these clinics have received his records. If there is anyone who knows something about these places, please let us know.
As you can see, we are NOT giving up. Tom is still pink, smiling, talking, and moving around, and where there is life, there is still hope. In the meantime, veggies, a bit of fruit, and Reliv Lunasin products are the staples of Tom's diet... that, and LOTS of pH 9.5 water.
Tom has "on" and "off" days. He's very much in need of your prayers, love, and support! Please call him and leave a message!
Love,
The Canterberrys
Dear Family and Friends,
Sorry for the week-long hiatus. After being home from work for the first week since Spring Break ended, time has slowed down significantly, even though it seems that there is more to do than ever before.
The week in recap:
On Monday, Tom went to a radiation oncologist to see if there was any way that they can lessen his spinal/bone pain for palliative (NOT CURATIVE) purposes. The doctor recommended three sites where radiation could prove helpful in stopping the pain. She also stated that one of these sites was critical for preventing paralysis. I wasn't sure how true this was, so I wrote her a message. Essentially, I told her that if there was ANY possible way that radiation could hasten the possibility of paralysis --- even accidentally --- that she was to contact me immediately before the appointment the next day. I also wrote to her that we were not to take any chances with clinical mistakes, just because she considered Tom terminal! The next morning, the nurse told Tom that they were working on a more refined radiation plan for that particular vertebrae that "your wife was worried about"! This made me quite angry; she needed to come up with the best possible plan whether I wrote her a message or not. This final vertebrae was thus postponed into the following week. Uh huh.
Anyway, on Tuesday, I continued with Drama Club, which meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays --- Tom is adamant that I continue with this, so I'm doing this for him. The kids are doing a great job, but I felt very sad leaving Tom alone. Luckily, Linda stepped in and kept him company. He had a great day!
Wednesday was the first radiation treatment. Tom did not eat much that morning. Dave and Skip drove him to the appointment, due to Drama Club and TJ's choir. When Tom returned from radiation, he came back vomiting. He called me up, writhing and desperate. I was NOT happy. He was better by the time I got back, largely because Rebecca had come in while I was driving kids to choir practice. She gave him a nut bar and he regained his strength. All of the zest that he had on Tuesday was gone, and I could tell he was disappointed by this downturn, but we told ourselves that the next day would be better.
On Thursday, Rebecca drove him to radiation. The doctor told Tom that his CT scan did not look good because there were more bone tumors. She also told him that he only had a few weeks to a few months left.
No, folks. Don't panic.
Despite the seriousness of this illness, please note: ALL vital signs and elimination functions are normal as of the date of this writing. Tom is not jaundiced, emaciated, and unable to move. Yes, he tires easily, and he's in pain because of the bone tumors. But, he is not quitting... and neither am I.
The medical profession has written him off because this is all they can do. However, WE need to take responsibility for the emotional and physiological environment within the body in order to promote healing. Once cancer is in your blood, the doctors are absolutely right: conventional medicine cannot and will not "cure" you. Hence, the label "Stage IV." But even though conventional medicine can supposedly do nothing else, the magnificent human body can do quite a lot... IF it is given the opportunity to do so. Our friend Hal sent us some amazing materials, including a book and DVD entitled "Healing Cancer from the Inside Out," a raw foods cookbook, AND a NutriBullet! I have been devouring the information in these materials, along with Ty Bollinger's "The Truth About Cancer" website.
Bottom line: certain foods heal the body, while others promote acidity, fungus, and fermentation. The doctors have only offered pills to mask the pain. And, while pills have their place, they can only scotch tape you toward your doom --- with as little discomfort as possible --- in a situation like this. Case in point: after Tom vomited post radiation on the first day, the hospice nurse said, "I can give you an anti-nausea pill for that." No, she didn't ask him what he ate that morning. Rather, she offered a pill known as Zofran, created specifically for chemotherapy and radiation clients undergoing cancer treatment. She further instructed that this pill was now to be part of the daily regimen --- even though only five treatments were offered! So, this morning, Tom says, "I need to take my anti-nausea medication before I eat anything, and I'm really hungry." So, I tell him, "Let's try eating and see if that solves the problem." I then made him a kale drink (recipe below!), and he promptly went on to have three bowel movements in one day. One of the main side effects of Zofran is constipation, which I can only imagine makes one feel rather bloated, sick, and well, nauseous.
While I read this information to Tom, he said: "It seems like I need medication to fix what some other medication is doing to me." Yep.
So now what?
Well, I've been using this time to zoom around the kitchen, as well as the aisles of Whole Foods Market, and make great use of this NutriBullet machine. For now, I offer you the following recipe:
"Martie's Not-Very-Tasty But Incredibly-Good-For-You Cruciferous Puree"
2 organic kale leaves, 2 organic rainbow chard leaves, a handful of baby spinach, 1 six-inch carrot, a wedge of apple, 3 organic celery stalks, a hunk of fresh ginger, 3/4 of a large cucumber (skinned), 5 strawberries --- BLEND in a NutriBullet!
Variations on a theme occur (sometimes we have a little melon or raspberries instead), but the fruit is only to add a very slight flavor. This keeps the sugar level as low as possible. Most of the puree consists of cancer-fighting veggies. And, Tom is drinking them!!! One nice side effect is regularity, which is critical when taking medication for pain.
We are also having Tom do the Lunasin program from Reliv, absolutely NO REFINED SUGAR, drinking plenty of 9.5 pH water, and taking a daily dosage of the Budwig Protocol.
Is all of this going to work? Folks, we have NO IDEA! We have about as much assurance of all of this working as we do in not getting into a car wreck tomorrow. However, we feel we owe it to ourselves to create an internal environment that will allow the body to try healing itself. In the meantime, Tom is walking, talking (bellowing, in fact!), eating (albeit far healthier), and doing his best to heal.
This week, Tom's health record was ordered so that we can send it to UCSF and a couple of integrative cancer clinics that we have been seriously considering. We will keep all of you posted.
In the meantime, please keep the faith! Call Tom, visit with Tom, and pray for Tom! This week, Tom told TJ that his illness was terminal, but that we will fight it and that we are not giving up hope. In response, TJ prayed. He prayed: "Thank you, God, for all of your many blessings upon us... especially our father. And please help the most intelligent people on this planet find a cure for his illness." Amen!
Thank you for checking in, and thank you SO MUCH for all of your support, love, and practical help. You are helping all of us to stay strong!
Love,
The Canterberrys
Martie, Tom, and TJ