Pre-Trip - September 28, 2021

Tomorrow's the big day!  I'm sitting in my office at Otterbein getting loose ends tied up with interns and student academic advising.  Everything is clean and packed away from last week's Colorado trip (kimandjimsfourpassloop2021.blogspot.com) and the permit for the December backpack Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon has been faxed.  COVID or not, I'm moving around the country and world!

I leave on an American Airlines flight tomorrow at 12:15 p.m. to Dallas-Ft. Worth.  From there, I will fly directly into Frankfort Germany where a driver will be present (hopefully he speaks English and has a sign to indicate the clinic!) will transport me to Bad Emstal where the Arcadia Clinic is located.  Because I am coming from a high risk country, I will quarantine at the clinic (they provide lodging and food) and be retested for COVID prior to starting treatment on Monday.

The Arcadia Clinic appealed to me for many reasons.  Recently I learned that Germany is a leader in non toxic, alternative therapy for cancer although there are many places in Germany where a person can  receive the traditional chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.  Of course, the traditional method is paid by insurance just as in the US and the alternative treatment without chemo, etc. is not.  The "rule of thumb" for doctors in Germany is basically the Hippocratic oath when formulating an individual treatment plan for a patient..."do no harm"!  

When Dr. Henning Saupe, the director of Arcadia spoke to me in a Skype interview last month, I was attracted by the idea of "doing no harm" and the fact that my treatment plan would be based on multiple  tests performed the first day at the clinic to then develop an individualized treatment plan.  Most of the treatment that I will receive is not FDA approved and so you cannot receive such in the US.  Not surprisingly, there is a mountain of research outside of the US that does support the effectiveness of the various modalities that I will become acquainted with.  The one thing I know...none of these have the toxicity that all of the chemotherapy I have received since my original diagnosis in April 2017.

Interestingly enough, many of the proposed treatments will use botanicals or methods that have not been used in the US. They have been used extensively in European countries for some time.  Whole body and/or regional hyperthermia, the use of botanical infusions such as mistletoe, vitamin B17 (amygdalin), glutathione, turmeric, vitamin C plus oxygen therapies, massage, detox baths, group counseling sessions, and the practice of a low carbohydrate/"anti-cancer" diet are just a few of the many treatment options to be used in formulating the best plan for preventing the return (twice already) of my ovarian cancer.  Now I know from researching these past two years that ovarian cancer is one form that is difficult to get rid of once and for all because there is not solid treatment such as with other cancer forms.

I have also been attracted to this clinic by the personal "touch" that is so difficult to find when getting treatment in the US.  Rather than being just another person on the chemo train, I will have more individualized attention including follow up sessions with the doctor for three months after my time (3 weeks of treatment) in Germany.  

My sabbatical project that allows me this time to actually visit Germany will require the writing of some kind of document to support my cancer journey.  The goal is to tell a story of what I have learned over these 4 plus years since the original diagnosis so others might benefit from what I have discovered.  Frequently the patient is so exhausted and sick from the chemotherapy treatments that there isn't time or desire to seek alternatives.  Besides, the doctor is supposed to know how to manage this cancer diagnosis and it is easy to follow that "path" of treatment because that is the "known" course.  

To give a bit of background...The first two years I "bought into" the traditional Western approach to treat my cancer.  I did what many with a cancer diagnosis do, I listened and followed the doctor regarding my treatment.  I had a full hysterectomy followed by 6 rounds of chemotherapy (paclitaxol and carboplatin) that were supposed to be administered every three weeks (seldom was because my immune system was so compromised that they often waited for 4-5 weeks between chemotherapy treatments).  

When my cancer returned about a year after I had finished the first round of 6 infusions, the same doctor suggested I have another round of 6 chemotherapy infusions every 3 weeks.  Of course I had the same result...inconsistent number of weeks between infusions of chemotherapy.  The first of the 6 treatments was December 23, 2018 and the final one wasn't until June of 2019.  Do the math...this wasn't six weeks between treatments.  By May of 2019, I was tremendously frustrated with the lack of progress and I was beginning to believe less and less that chemotherapy would actually "work".  I began diving into the research around ovarian cancer.  It was at this time that I discovered Believe Big, an organization that supports people in their cancer journeys.  Upon talking several times with representatives, I came up with the idea to investigate the use of mistletoe (widely used in Europe for over 100 years) and located a clinic in Colorado with a naturopathic doctor that could prescribe mistletoe and other methods to support my immune system through the rigors of chemotherapy.  Once I started taking mistletoe in the middle of May 2019, I had my sixth chemo treatment three weeks after the fifth infusion.  I was convinced of the benefits of mistletoe in improving my immune system and helping me deal with the rigors of chemotherapy.

On one doctor visit prior to a chemotherapy infusion (during my second round of chemo), the nurse practitioner stated that I would have to have periodic rounds of chemotherapy the rest of my life to keep the cancer at bay.  Of course, that didn't "sit" well with me and I came to realize that no one was going to take care of me but me.  This started the "wheels" turning to research other ways to live a high quality life with a cancer diagnosis.  

With my research, I realized that I didn't have to follow the usual "path" for treatment.  But I was afraid, I admit!  Family and friends were counting on me to "do" what the doctors suggested.  It was difficult to go against the strong opinions of others although now I realize they were more supported by emotion than fact.  With cancer, especially stage III or IV (mine is IIIb implying it had metastasized to another place), the survival statistics aren't high.  So, if you decide not to have chemo, radiation, and/or surgery, the typical belief is that you are "nuts" and probably won't survive. 

I've come to understand, there are so many other factors to quality of life and survival from a cancer diagnosis than just ripping the cancer out or poisoning or burning it.  After the second round of 6 infusions between December 2018-June 2019, my cancer was back as I could palpate a tumor in my pelvic area by August 2019 (2 months after finishing chemotherapy!).  At that point, I was fed up with the whole cancer "thing" and ignored all the indicators that said I needed to take action.  By May 2020, I had masses in my pelvic area that were pressing on my rectum and other structures.  

Consulting my ND in CO and indicating to her that I couldn't go back to my original oncologist, she suggested I look into possible treatment in Seattle or in Germany.  From July 2020 through June 2021 (during the midst of COVID), I made 27 trips to Seattle Integrative Cancer Center to receive LOW dose chemotherapy (maximum dose is the usual for traditional treatment).  As a result, I have been NED (no evidence of disease) for about 10 months and my quality of life has progressively improved so that I was recently able to complete a 93 mile backpacking loop around Mt. Rainier (the Wonderland Trail) and a 28 mile loop, the Four Pass Loop in CO.  BUT, the Seattle doc wanted me to continue having periodic chemotherapy treatment including a daily oral chemo pill as well.  When my hair started falling out again in May 2021, I decided that something HAD to change.

That's why I'm going to the Arcadia Clinic in Germany.  They have helped those with a cancer diagnosis to thrive without destroying the immune system as conventional treatments do.  In fact, the goal is to support my mind, body and spirit to heal, not just my body.