In the summer of 1999 I was diagnosed with CLL.
What exactly is CLL?
Definition: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). CLL is a blood and bone marrow disease that usually gets worse slowly. CLL is the second most common type of leukemia in adults. It often occurs during or after middle age
Stage IV Cancer – A Death Sentence
I was told that I was in stage 4 – the final stage of the disease. I was shocked and dismayed as I’d recently moved to California to begin a new life with my partner, and when we heard the diagnosis, she and I experienced a sense of disbelief. In the months that followed, I was hospitalized twice for massive infections because my immune system wasn’t working properly anymore. I had huge lumps on my neck, shoulders, and arms. There were many emergency room visits for related problems.
Investigating Alternatives
I told my doctors that I wanted to investigate alternatives, and they said I had adequate time in which to do that. So I began a journey of doing everything I could think of to get better. I entered into vitamin regimens, positive thinking, and going to healers. I investigated eating raw foods, grinding wheat grass several times a day, and eating raw liver. From there I went to intensive vitamin therapies, essential oils, and therapeutic enzyme therapy. I landed in the hospital after a bad reaction to some of the things I was taking. Nothing worked, and I was spending a small fortune on alternative modalities. In the meantime, my WBC (white blood cell) count kept rising.
Going Along with Big Medicine
I thought that I’d used up my alternative options, and after discussing it with my doctor, I agreed to two rounds of chemotherapy. First I tried the oral pill form called Chlorambusil. That made me sick so I quit after a few weeks. Later I tried liquid Floudaribine. I had a few infusions then stopped. Even though I didn’t experience the horrible reactions that some people talk about, after the second or third round, I felt it was time to stop. I reasoned that killing the healthy parts of my body to get to the bad guys didn’t seem right, and I didn’t like the side effects I did experience, or implication of what I was doing.
I Go to Stanford
My doctors (including one at Stanford) recommended a BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) as the “final solution” which they would perform after six months of repeated rounds of chemotherapy. By then I was on Medicaid so the cost was not an issue. However, the uncertainty of success made me pause. I felt this could not possibly be the only way, even though Big Medicine had no other alternative and all the other things I’d tried hadn’t worked either. It was time to put on my researcher’s hat and leave no stone unturned. It was time for me to take my health and well-being into my own hands. I’d come to a point where I wasn’t able to work because of the fatigue level, and knew I had to do something to rebuild my body.
I Investigate QiGong
I began an extensive research process. I’d heard about a Chinese Qigong master who was having good results with people who had cancer, so I went to her 24 hour intensive, and began a qigong regimen that included intensive fasting and taking disgusting herbs and doing qigong for hours on end. She said I would have to keep this up for at least nine months. I did feel better and I lost a lot of weight but the prospect of keeping up that pace was daunting. However, the WBC count was not going down.
I Go Back to Work
I am a practical sort and I figured that since I was feeling better, I would try to go to work again. I needed the income since I hadn’t worked for well over a year and run down my savings. I also sensed that I needed a physical type of job after my years of a sedentary job of editing video and doing computer work. I immediately got a part time job at a local Kinko’s just a few blocks away so that I’d be on the move more. At first I would come home dog tired, but as the weeks turned into months, and as I’d suspected the work slowly built up my stamina. I was able to sustain energy levels that I hadn’t experienced for a number of years. Yet I could also feel a pain deep within my bones if I sat around too long after I got home.
I Discover Coral Calcium
While at this new job, I had time to continue my research into the human body and into the interaction with nutrients, minerals, and chemical interchanges. I felt an answer was looming just out of reach. In April of 2001, while researching new types of water filters, I found a little book that talked about the role of calcium in cancer. What I read in the book made sense to me, and after a few inquiries, I found a company that sold a product that I felt intuitively was going to be good for me. I began taking coral calcium. After only 5 days on the product, I went for my regularly scheduled blood test. The results were pretty impressive!
For the first time in a year, my WBC count had dropped. It had been hovering around 30,000, and suddenly it registered 18,000! My doctor asked me what I’d been doing differently. I told him, and he dismissed it. As he walked out the door, he looked over his shoulder at me. “It can’t hurt anything, though….so why not keep it up.” I did. Each month when I went for my check up, the blood cell count either stayed stationary or decreased. However, other parts of the blood panel were also moving in positive directions, and I was noticing major differences in my body. The lumps were slowly going down. My skin was clearing. My hair was growing in darker. The horrible body cramps I’d had were alleviated. I could sleep through the night without pain, and a particular problem I’d had – waking up in a painful jack-knifed position was gone. My endurance level increased, and I was feeling more like myself than I had in years.
I continued on coral calcium through November of 2001. My doctor began to show signs of taking the calcium seriously. He asked a lot of questions, and determined that my improvement did not follow the normal progression of the disease. Since there was nothing else I was doing, he determined it was worth recommending this treatment to another of his patients who was about my age and had a similar case. What started out as a “death” sentence had been transmuted into a a major healing and a return to a normal life.
As of April 1, 2002 my WBC levels were down to 15.6 – I consider that to be a great demonstration after having a high of 159.0 just two years prior.
2008 Update
Within about a year of 2002 my WBC levels were just outside of the “normal” range according to occasional tests conducted at Kaiser Hospital. And shortly afterwards the levels were well within the range of normal. By then I had tapered off on taking the coral calcium and rarely use it these days.
I’m letting you know about my experience because I think we have to make sure we are not trapped in a mindset that believes only one way is possible. If I believed what Big Medicine believes I would probably be dead right now. Big Medicine does not yet have the magic bullet that will cure this disease, and many of the regimens used to help it are harmful to the body as a whole. I am not against using the benefits of medicine, but I do think we need to recognize that its’ limitations do not have to be our own.
PrayerWorks 