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MICHELLE H.

My Attack on Stage Zero Cancer

 

You have cancer…. Now what?  I decided to do a liquid cancer biopsy a year after having an abnormal mammogram and subsequent breast biopsy.  The thinking was that it would be better to know if I had circulating cancer stem cells, rather than wait around for any circulating stem cells to grow into a cancer and then wait years for another mass to develop.  Why not find out early?  This was done with some trepidation, because what if it was positive?  Did I really want to know years in advance that I might have a cancer, and what would I do about it?  No medical system or individual would want to treat the potential for cancer- there would have to be an overt tumor or mass. But I decided to proceed, glibly hoping for a negative test.

 

Of course, that was not the case- I had two cancers: malignant melanoma and ovarian cancer.  The melanoma was not completely unexpected as I had one removed about 20 years earlier, although follow up “studies” had always been negative.  The ovarian was a surprise.  I discussed it with my physicians, and had my ovaries removed.  Not surprisingly, no tumor was found in the ovarian tissue.  After all, this was Stage Zero Cancer- found when there were only a few circulating cancer stem cells- we didn’t wait for the tumor to develop. For the melanoma, it was going to be difficult to find the abnormal pigmented lesion- I was covered with freckles! But after reading studies and case reports, my dermatologist and I decided to sequentially apply an immune modulator cream to stimulate my own cells to attack abnormal skin cells.  It finally produced a response on my chest area, which blistered and healed.

 

Follow up was done routinely with a Nagalase blood test. This test measures an enzyme that breaks down certain glycoproteins (sugars attached to proteins) and glycolipids (sugars attached to fats), and can be elevated in certain cancer types and viral infections, among other things.  Although it is not a specific diagnostic test for cancer, it can be used to follow the effect of therapy on those cancer types and viral infections.  In addition, liquid blood biopsies were also done periodically to assess and monitor the overall cancer stem cell number, as well as an epigenetic analysis of my cancer stem cells (I.e. was there a tendency for the cells to develop their own blood supply?) 

 

Based on the growth/ suppression of my cancer stem cells in 120 different anti-cancer drugs and targeted therapies, I began a series of supplements and the ketogenic diet (cancer loves sugar!).  Then I would see how the different supplements and diet affected my Nagalase value. 

The ketogenic diet was helpful, but I didn’t have the willpower to maintain it for more than a few months.  Some supplements decreased the Nagalase number to normal, but overtime it began to creep up again.  

 

Apparently cancer cells are adaptable, and appear to be able to mutate or change in some way to get around the treatment being administered.  We felt this indicated a need to try multiple modalities and supplements in a rotating fashion- there was no  “one size fits all” approach that was going to be effective, or even a “one and done” treatment.  I would have to learn to live with cancer- much like a diabetic lives with constant blood sugar monitoring or a hypertensive patient lives with blood pressure monitoring.

 

It is a continuing work in progress, trying different supplements and treatment modalities and assessing the effect with periodic Nagalase blood tests and liquid blood biopsies.  But I do so while living my life: family, work and Ironman training.

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