for Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma, which followed a hectic air ambulance trip from Inuvik 2200 miles south to Edmonton on November 27 2015 to attend to a suspected heart attack! So here it is. And I apologize for the formatting errors. That's what happens when you copy and paste into blogspot from Word!
I began my cancer recovery journey at the time of the nephrectomy on the morning of November 29 2015, the drastic six-hour operation by Dr Adrian Fairey, one of Canada’s foremost urologic surgeons at the University of Alberta Hospital, that in part removed my left cancerous kidney as a first step in an operation for Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). The cancer had metastasized to my lungs and in my abdomen through the renal vein up near my heart. The operation removed the cancer in the vein and anywhere else in my abdomen, but did not attempt to remove the small cancerous nodules in my lungs. If a piece of tumour had travelled further up the renal vein to my heart, it would have been game over – the discussion for my demise in that case would have been that I simply suffered a heart attack! I replaced fear with excitement, wondering how this drastic operation would change the rest of my life. That positive excitement was to be the first step of healing.
And it was the first step in harnessing the power of belief to heal. Henry Ford is often quoted about the power of the mind: “If you believe you can or if you believe you can’t … you’re right.” If you have cancer and the oncologist tells you that you only have six months to live, you have a choice. You can believe this expert, in which case he will be right, you will very likely die within six months. However, if you say: “No, I’m not going to believe that – I’m going to beat this thing, I am going to heal,” there is a strong chance that you will join countless individuals who have beat cancer.
I have mentioned Stephen Hawking before. His life has become a great inspiration for me. In a recent New York Times article, author Dennis Overbye remarks: “Dr. Hawking was the manifestation of perseverance; stricken by Lou Gehrig’s disease, he managed to conquer the universe from a wheelchair.” I am convinced that Hawking lived so long with the deadly disease in large part because he refused to give up, he refused to surrender to the physical decimation of the disease. Similarly, I am convinced that I am alive today partially because I decided to believe in recovery through the mind-emotion-body-spirit continuum of healing.
Belief is extraordinarily powerful. Henry Ford couldn’t have said it better! The power of my own belief was confirmed a few months ago when I discovered an old published paper: “The role of belief in healing,” Ellen Warner, Can Med Assoc J Vol 128, 1107-1109 (1983). And just recently I have been inspired by many books on cancer recovery through the power of natural healing as a result of encouraging the immune system to do its thing. I especially value a book by Bruce H Lipton, The Biology of Belief, Hay House (2008) where it becomes obvious that our thoughts and beliefs actually influence changes in our DNA and the responses of our immune systems to the onslaught of many diseases, especially cancer.
I continue to encourage my immune system by the power of belief – I am committed to cancer recovery – and by employing several natural therapies, but especially by revising my nutrition – minimizing sugar intake and minimizing simple carbs in my diet, while reducing animal protein, including milk casein, and while increasing raw and steamed vegetables.
Immediately after my nephrectomy operation, I sought the advice of a trusted naturopathic doctor in Yellowknife, Dr Nicole Redvers, who had been instrumental in discovering the potentially deadly food allergies plaguing my spouse Sandra. She advised me on changes of diet, and advised me to continue injections of mistletoe extract which has known cancer-fighting properties.
The first CT Scan after my surgery took place about two months after my operation in February 2016. The results were surprising. The deadly RCC had not in any way become more aggressive, there were no new tumours, things seemed to be looking better ink my lungs, so no treatment was necessary. The months passed. The inevitable happened – I became complacent – I cheated (only a bit mind you) and started eating some sugar-based treats once in a while (the whiles became shorter). Then in November 2017 I had a scan that showed much to my horror that I had three new tumours, one at the base of my skull, one at the L1 lumbar vertebra and one at the base of my spine in the sacral region.
To combat this new cancer invasion I started chemotherapy in pill form in early January 2018, first spending a few days on Sutent and five weeks on Votrient (Pazopanib) which was all I could tolerate, at which point I was done – I was so ill I told my spouse that I would rather die than continue the treatment. My oncologist then switched me to an immunotherapy treatment, Opdivo (Nivolumab), administered intravenously for six sessions every two to three weeks at The Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. The Nivolumab had minimum side effects, whereas the chemo side effects of nausea, loss of appetite, 55 pounds of weight loss down to 150 lb at the lowest point, muscle weakness (requiring a walker to move around my own home at its worst), and extreme tiredness, and exhaustion for minimal exertion very gradually dissipated during the immunotherapy.
It is usually expected that chemotherapy is ineffective against RCC, yet the health system required me to take this deadly stuff before allowing my to take immunotherapy. There was proof of this in my case. In early April 2018 at the end of the chemotherapy the tumour at L1 on the spine had expanded by 1.0 cm and the one in the sacral region at the base of the spine had expanded by 0.7 cm. In contrast to this the Nivolumab immunotherapy arrested the growth of the three locations on my spine so that the most recent CT Scan in October 2018, taken 2 ½ months after the completion of the immunotherapy, shows complete stability of the spinal tumours, no new growth anywhere, and only one small possibly benign nodule in the lower left lobe of my lung. On Wednesday, October 24 2018 I received a call from my oncologist informing me that my Stage 4 kidney cancer was now in REMISSION, ahh, the “R” word, wonderful indeed.
Finally, I want to express my gratitude to Tasuku Honjo, one of the two Nobel laureates in Medicine
for 2018, for his research that led to the development of a class of drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors, of which Nivolumab is a shining example that works against RCC. So my life has been saved by the work of a 2018 Nobel Laureate – I find that fascinating. And I am even more excited today than that day on Saturday November 28 2015 when the surgeon informed me that the intensive six-hour nephrectomy and metastatic cancer operation was necessary immediately.
