Melanoma

[Guest guest]

Hi Alley,

I am so sorry to hear about this - like you didn't have enough

going on in your life. Thankfully it was found!

I can't tell a whole lot, but a little. Melanoma is a rather

fast growing type of skin cancer. My Dad had a melanoma on his thigh

removed a couple of years ago, stage 3. He was admitted to the

hospital, had the rest of the mole removed and quite a hunk of

surrounding tissue. Immediately prior to the surgery they did a

procedure to locate the 'sentinel' lymph node. A radioactive

substance was injected (somewhere, near the melanoma I guess),

they 'traced' which lymph node it went to first. During his surgery,

this 'sentinel' lymph node was removed and biopsied also. If the

cancer has spread, it spreads first to this lymph node, and further

treatment (interferon!) would have been required. I'm not sure if

they would have then removed all the rest of the lymph nodes or not.

Prior to the use of this 'sentinel' technique it was common to just

remove all the lymph nodes, 'just in case'. That is what was done to

me when I had a stage 3 adenocarcinoma. This is NOT a great thing to

do unless it is really necessary. I had a mole like my Dad's, and had

it removed last year due to it's high rate of developing into

melanoma - the ins. co. was glad to pay for it's removal when they

heard the circumstances! The father of a good friend of mine had a

very large melanoma removed from his back earlier this year. He also

had lung cancer, although my friend says she thinks the two are

unrelated. I'm not sure if she is sure though. He had surgery to

remove the cancer in his lung first, then the melanoma on his back

was discovered. He is on very large doses of interferon - 15mu?? 3

times a week. He is doing ok, his side effects really don't seem that

much worse than the 3 mu 3 times a week! He is still going to work

daily, and still goes bowling every week. He has been on it for about

6 months now. When my Dad was diagnosed I was able to find quite a

bit of info on melanoma on the internet, although I didn't save it.

I know this is going to be a really stressful time for you.

Please let me know what happens, and how you are doing. I will be

praying for you. Good luck!

Claudine

>

> > Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed

from

> > the calf of my leg is melanoma,

]

[Guest guest]

Hi Alley,

I am so sorry to hear about this - like you didn't have enough

going on in your life. Thankfully it was found!

I can't tell a whole lot, but a little. Melanoma is a rather

fast growing type of skin cancer. My Dad had a melanoma on his thigh

removed a couple of years ago, stage 3. He was admitted to the

hospital, had the rest of the mole removed and quite a hunk of

surrounding tissue. Immediately prior to the surgery they did a

procedure to locate the 'sentinel' lymph node. A radioactive

substance was injected (somewhere, near the melanoma I guess),

they 'traced' which lymph node it went to first. During his surgery,

this 'sentinel' lymph node was removed and biopsied also. If the

cancer has spread, it spreads first to this lymph node, and further

treatment (interferon!) would have been required. I'm not sure if

they would have then removed all the rest of the lymph nodes or not.

Prior to the use of this 'sentinel' technique it was common to just

remove all the lymph nodes, 'just in case'. That is what was done to

me when I had a stage 3 adenocarcinoma. This is NOT a great thing to

do unless it is really necessary. I had a mole like my Dad's, and had

it removed last year due to it's high rate of developing into

melanoma - the ins. co. was glad to pay for it's removal when they

heard the circumstances! The father of a good friend of mine had a

very large melanoma removed from his back earlier this year. He also

had lung cancer, although my friend says she thinks the two are

unrelated. I'm not sure if she is sure though. He had surgery to

remove the cancer in his lung first, then the melanoma on his back

was discovered. He is on very large doses of interferon - 15mu?? 3

times a week. He is doing ok, his side effects really don't seem that

much worse than the 3 mu 3 times a week! He is still going to work

daily, and still goes bowling every week. He has been on it for about

6 months now. When my Dad was diagnosed I was able to find quite a

bit of info on melanoma on the internet, although I didn't save it.

I know this is going to be a really stressful time for you.

Please let me know what happens, and how you are doing. I will be

praying for you. Good luck!

Claudine

>

> > Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed

from

> > the calf of my leg is melanoma,

]

[Guest guest]

Hi Alley,

I am so sorry to hear about this - like you didn't have enough

going on in your life. Thankfully it was found!

I can't tell a whole lot, but a little. Melanoma is a rather

fast growing type of skin cancer. My Dad had a melanoma on his thigh

removed a couple of years ago, stage 3. He was admitted to the

hospital, had the rest of the mole removed and quite a hunk of

surrounding tissue. Immediately prior to the surgery they did a

procedure to locate the 'sentinel' lymph node. A radioactive

substance was injected (somewhere, near the melanoma I guess),

they 'traced' which lymph node it went to first. During his surgery,

this 'sentinel' lymph node was removed and biopsied also. If the

cancer has spread, it spreads first to this lymph node, and further

treatment (interferon!) would have been required. I'm not sure if

they would have then removed all the rest of the lymph nodes or not.

Prior to the use of this 'sentinel' technique it was common to just

remove all the lymph nodes, 'just in case'. That is what was done to

me when I had a stage 3 adenocarcinoma. This is NOT a great thing to

do unless it is really necessary. I had a mole like my Dad's, and had

it removed last year due to it's high rate of developing into

melanoma - the ins. co. was glad to pay for it's removal when they

heard the circumstances! The father of a good friend of mine had a

very large melanoma removed from his back earlier this year. He also

had lung cancer, although my friend says she thinks the two are

unrelated. I'm not sure if she is sure though. He had surgery to

remove the cancer in his lung first, then the melanoma on his back

was discovered. He is on very large doses of interferon - 15mu?? 3

times a week. He is doing ok, his side effects really don't seem that

much worse than the 3 mu 3 times a week! He is still going to work

daily, and still goes bowling every week. He has been on it for about

6 months now. When my Dad was diagnosed I was able to find quite a

bit of info on melanoma on the internet, although I didn't save it.

I know this is going to be a really stressful time for you.

Please let me know what happens, and how you are doing. I will be

praying for you. Good luck!

Claudine

>

> > Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed

from

> > the calf of my leg is melanoma,

]

[Guest guest]

Hey Alley,

My thoughts are with you too! I had a skin cancer growth on the side of the

bridge of my nose (near my eye) removed a few months ago, and it wasn't fun,

but my doc seems to think he got it all and it's healing just beautifully.

My mom's had several little skin cancer moles, bumps, etc. removed from her

face and arms over the years, but that's not been a real problem for her.

She's got metastisized breast cancer throughout her body now (began having

her breast removed back 12 years ago), and has various treatments over the

years, but just started low-dose chemo for the first time last Friday. She's

a real trooper, and only had trouble eating yesterday! She's quite a model

for how I got through my combo treatment last year...bless her heart.

I know you'll get through this too...as if you, and all of us, haven't been

through enough already. Take care of yourself, and let us know how you're

doing and what they're going to do.

--Sara

>From: " AndromedaGurl " <andromedagurl@...>

>Subject: melanoma

>Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed from the

calf of >my leg is melanoma, stage 4. He is having a specialist call

tomorrow.

>Sheesh! Just what I need, another friggin problem!

>I'm researching just what stage 4 is etc. If yall have any info would

appreciate it.

>alley

[Guest guest]

Hey Alley,

My thoughts are with you too! I had a skin cancer growth on the side of the

bridge of my nose (near my eye) removed a few months ago, and it wasn't fun,

but my doc seems to think he got it all and it's healing just beautifully.

My mom's had several little skin cancer moles, bumps, etc. removed from her

face and arms over the years, but that's not been a real problem for her.

She's got metastisized breast cancer throughout her body now (began having

her breast removed back 12 years ago), and has various treatments over the

years, but just started low-dose chemo for the first time last Friday. She's

a real trooper, and only had trouble eating yesterday! She's quite a model

for how I got through my combo treatment last year...bless her heart.

I know you'll get through this too...as if you, and all of us, haven't been

through enough already. Take care of yourself, and let us know how you're

doing and what they're going to do.

--Sara

>From: " AndromedaGurl " <andromedagurl@...>

>Subject: melanoma

>Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed from the

calf of >my leg is melanoma, stage 4. He is having a specialist call

tomorrow.

>Sheesh! Just what I need, another friggin problem!

>I'm researching just what stage 4 is etc. If yall have any info would

appreciate it.

>alley

[Guest guest]

Hey Alley,

My thoughts are with you too! I had a skin cancer growth on the side of the

bridge of my nose (near my eye) removed a few months ago, and it wasn't fun,

but my doc seems to think he got it all and it's healing just beautifully.

My mom's had several little skin cancer moles, bumps, etc. removed from her

face and arms over the years, but that's not been a real problem for her.

She's got metastisized breast cancer throughout her body now (began having

her breast removed back 12 years ago), and has various treatments over the

years, but just started low-dose chemo for the first time last Friday. She's

a real trooper, and only had trouble eating yesterday! She's quite a model

for how I got through my combo treatment last year...bless her heart.

I know you'll get through this too...as if you, and all of us, haven't been

through enough already. Take care of yourself, and let us know how you're

doing and what they're going to do.

--Sara

>From: " AndromedaGurl " <andromedagurl@...>

>Subject: melanoma

>Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed from the

calf of >my leg is melanoma, stage 4. He is having a specialist call

tomorrow.

>Sheesh! Just what I need, another friggin problem!

>I'm researching just what stage 4 is etc. If yall have any info would

appreciate it.

>alley

[Guest guest]

Hey Alley,

My thoughts are with you too! I had a skin cancer growth on the side of the

bridge of my nose (near my eye) removed a few months ago, and it wasn't fun,

but my doc seems to think he got it all and it's healing just beautifully.

My mom's had several little skin cancer moles, bumps, etc. removed from her

face and arms over the years, but that's not been a real problem for her.

She's got metastisized breast cancer throughout her body now (began having

her breast removed back 12 years ago), and has various treatments over the

years, but just started low-dose chemo for the first time last Friday. She's

a real trooper, and only had trouble eating yesterday! She's quite a model

for how I got through my combo treatment last year...bless her heart.

I know you'll get through this too...as if you, and all of us, haven't been

through enough already. Take care of yourself, and let us know how you're

doing and what they're going to do.

--Sara

>From: " AndromedaGurl " <andromedagurl@...>

>Subject: melanoma

>Well I got a call from my family doc today. The mole they removed from the

calf of >my leg is melanoma, stage 4. He is having a specialist call

tomorrow.

>Sheesh! Just what I need, another friggin problem!

>I'm researching just what stage 4 is etc. If yall have any info would

appreciate it.

>alley

[Guest guest]

Alley,

Sorry to hear about the melanoma, guess there is a lot of it going around,

my dad has had I don't know how many removed from his body, lots, hope it

doesn't run in families. Take care of yourself, ya hear

Suzy

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

[Guest guest]

Claudine said <<He was admitted to the

hospital, had the rest of the mole removed and quite a hunk of

surrounding tissue. Immediately prior to the surgery they did a

procedure to locate the 'sentinel' lymph node. A radioactive

substance was injected (somewhere, near the melanoma I guess),

they 'traced' which lymph node it went to first. During his surgery,

this 'sentinel' lymph node was removed and biopsied also. If the

cancer has spread, it spreads first to this lymph node, and further

treatment (interferon!) would have been required. >>

Yeah, that's what he said hahahaha. You describe what the specialist told

me. He said the sentinel lymph node will be examined and if possible, a

decision made while I'm still out of it from the test and then it'll either

be ok, or they'll have to take all the lymph nodes there out. He didn't see

that as very likely, but possible.

He said I might qualify for a study where they send the rest of the sentinel

lymph node to california lab for a PCR. I said " hey I know what that is! "

haha And it's a much more definitive way of determining whether the melanoma

has spread or not.

But he said he wasn't sure yet if I qualified for the study since I've

already done interferon. But he said my labs were so good he hoped it wasn't

a problem for the study.

I said cool and so I'll hear tomorrow.

sorry for the 2 posts, I just wanted to use your post on what I was told

alley

[Guest guest]

Google it. You will see more ucky images than you could possibly want to. I just

googled it on the web; I am sure if you use the images tab there are

multi-thousands.

Adrienne

melanoma

Does anyone know of good web sites that show what to look for when looking

for suspicious spots on your skin? I found one once, and it had various

pictures for medical students to help them distinguish good spots from

potential

melanomas, but I can't remember where it was.

I have freckles all over and always have; hopefully none of them are anything

to worry about.

Peggy

This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Why isn't every melanoma patient using the vaccine?

**************************************

See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

>

> Why isn't every melanoma patient using the vaccine?

>

>

>

> **************************************

> See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Greetings,

Depends on how it was diagnosed, what stage you are at, and what your

life is like now.

Obviously, as with any cancer, removing stress and eating a healthy,

real food diet is important. The big importance with food is how it is

grown and processed, not what type. Balanced diet, not just one food or

group of foods, is good for you. Vegan may suit some people, but it is

a death sentence to others, like me.

Due to stupidity as a teenager, I got melanoma and have to keep a real

good watch for it. Black salve is a gift from the gods for skin cancer.

I have never needed any kind of pain medicine to use it.

A good poloroid camera, a clear 6 inch ruler and someone you can trust

to be naked with are essential to your ongoing care, for life. You need

a picture of every mole and freckle on your body, with the ruler beside

it and a chart of where exactly each picture/mole is. Every three

months, you pull out the pictures and check the color and growth of

every mole against the pictures. Watch for any new ones that come up.

This way, problems are caught real early and no problems.

Black salve only eats the cancers cells. There is no need to cut huge

holes in your body to make sure you get all the cancer, by leaving a

margin. There is a black salve list on that will help with

further information as well as some really good information in the

archives of this list.

Black salve can be home made or bought. Someone to help apply it and

cover the place is probably needed.

Bright Blessings,

Kim

born2care2001 wrote:

> With all of ya'lls experience. What is the best way to tackle melanoma

> once diagnosed?

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have used black salve on small surface moles that were potentially

cancerous, but never diagnosed as such. I have given it to my father-in-law

who has fought melanoma for 20 years in small skin growths with no ill

effects whatsoever.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I know people who have used black salve for deep tumors

in the breast, stomach and along the rib cage who have suffered excruciating

pain far beyond anything they could have imagined happening.

I would offer a word of caution to those considering black salve that there

is a potential for pain. The deeper the tumor, the greater probability

there will be pain involved.

Escharotic Cancer Salves (commonly referred to as black, yellow, green,

cansema, bloodroot or any one of a dozen other names... salves) have a long

and jaded history going back more than 2000 years. Before you jump into

using it, I would recommend spending some time and doing some serious

research on them, what they are capable of and potential side effects.

There are several good books written on the subject and unfortunately my

office is sitting packed in about 20 boxes waiting for the painters next

week and I cannot lay my hands on them or I would gladly give you the names.

I have not looked at them in a couple of years, so I just don't remember

offhand what they are.

Again, do a little research on this first before just jumping in. Surface

moles, warts, etc... often come off with little or no pain, but a deep

rooted tumor can bring some real unforeseen negative experiences.

Regards,

Bruce Guilmette, Ph.D.

http://survivecancerfoundation.org

From: Garth & Kim

....I got melanoma...Black salve is a gift from the gods for skin cancer. I have

never needed any kind of pain medicine to use it.

....Black salve only eats the cancers cells.

Black salve can be home made or bought. Someone to help apply it and

cover the place is probably needed.

born2care2001 wrote:

> With all of ya'lls experience. What is the best way to tackle melanoma once

diagnosed?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/21/07 12:00:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,

sch200@... writes:

> . Any thoughts on this???

>

Why not build up your immune system and take suppliments that are know to

help with melanoma. There is also a vaccination available.

**************************************

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[Guest guest]

What are the supplements that are known to help with melanoma or where can I

find this

info...Thanks Randy

szukipoo wrote:

Why not build up your immune system and take suppliments that are know to help

with melanoma. There is also a vaccination available.

[Guest guest]

Your post is a little confusing to me. Do you have cancer, (Metastitic

Melanoma) but no tumors in the lymph system? If there are no tumors what would

one perform sugury on? If there is no known cancer, why would one do

chemotheraph and at what would one aim the radiation therapy?

If there is cancer present in the lymph system but no tumors perhaps it is Non

Hodskins Lymphoma. This is a type that is characterized by setteling in the

lymph nodes at and above the shoulders whereas Hodskins Disease effects the

lymph system lower in the body. Also Hodskins has an average age onset of

around 35 where NHL is 67. NHL often occurs some years after treatment to rid

the body of other forms of cancer which suggests the possibility of some

correalation between a weakened immune system and the onset of this particular

form of cancer.

Might I suggest that you take personal charge of your health and see several

different physicians to determine the best course of acton?

-ph

sch200 wrote:

I was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in Oct 07. Nov 07 I had a

Lymph node dissection of the left neck and the original tumor site (left

shoulder area). Additionally they went after the sentinel node under my left

arm. Results of the pathology report were negative. The surgeon thinks I should

do a follow-on chemo protocol (interferon). My question is why? There are no

tumors and no way to test if I have the cancer. Additionally, another Doc told

me to do the surgery and skip the chemo because it doesn't work. Any thoughts on

this???

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Whatever you decide, please consider taking Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). For more

information, visit

http://tinyurl.com/2p57xv

Best regards,

Dudley Delany

dudley_delany

[Guest guest]

Hi Leonard,

What are the best for fibrosarcoma of the soft tissue please?

Thanks, and have a wonderful holiday.

Best,

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

As a layperson, I am in a cloud about how what you wrote translates into

practical every day life. Can you be more hands on in your description of a

distortive diet? Can one tell without a PET scan which diet is best? And lastly,

what is SUV and FDG? Sorry to ask what might seem like silly questions of you

but I would like to educate myself. Thank you.

In a message dated 12/21/07 12:16:39 PM Eastern Standard Time,

vgammill@... writes:

> If you had a PET scan prior to the surgery then you have a pretty

> good indicator whether or not one of the distortive cancer diets is

> likely to be of benefit. These are the diets that attempt to take

> advantage of any biochemical pathway deviances manifest in

> transformed cells. The lower the SUV of FDG, the less the likelihood

> of benefit.

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[Guest guest]

These are the most effective supplements I know of for melanoma:

Hoxsey formula (best formulas I know are D-Tox (doctorrelation.com),

AT/BC QuantumHerbalProducts.com, Red Clover-Stillingia

(Herb-Pharm.com), & Red Clover-Burdock (Eclecticherb.com))

pancreatic enzymes (Pancreas Pork by Nutricology.com is best

economical brand)

FU ZHEN (www.luckycat.com/asianmedicine/tage3.htm or

www.Herbalist-Alchemist.com)

ASTRAGALUS

lavender essential oil

Gerson therapy (particularly juicing)

pectin (MCP)

melatonin

modified citrus pectin (MCP)— " 15 grams per day "

www.denvernaturopathic.com (Preventing Metastasis 10/5/03)

My 1st choices of brand would be

Fractionated Pectin Powder by [Thorne.com]

My 2nd choice of brand would be

Pectasol by www.econugenics.com

These items also quite effective for other cancers.

Email me if you'd like more info on these or on clinics that report

success w/melanoma.

[Guest guest]

If you had a PET scan prior to the surgery then you have a pretty

good indicator whether or not one of the distortive cancer diets is

likely to be of benefit. These are the diets that attempt to take

advantage of any biochemical pathway deviances manifest in

transformed cells. The lower the SUV of FDG, the less the likelihood

of benefit. On the other hand, differences in the cell membrane of

the cancer cells indicate very exploitable opportunities using immune

therapies and these usually have a dietary component. Sometimes it

is very useful to combine both distortive and corrective strategies

with melanoma. A good example of this is the use of IPT dacarbazine

with DNCB. If you have no blood tumor marker evidence of active

melanoma (TA-90, S-100, NSE) then I would steer clear of the

dacarbazine and most other IPT or metronomic regimens and look to

other strategies such as angiogenesis inhibition, MMP inhibition, and

differentiation induction.

Those that I favor include betulonic acid (an oxidized form of

betulinic acid), low dose Lonidamine, PARP inhibitors, dipyridamole

and disulfiram. Of course you have to pay careful attention to

mechanisms of action so that you avoid conflicts. This is one of the

more common pitfalls in an otherwise easily treatable cancer. I have

seen enzymes encourage metastasis, for example.

There are perhaps another 20 very useful melanoma-specific strategies

that you could consider, but you have enough information to get

started. Leonard made a good suggestion re the use of pectins.

At 07:25 PM 12/20/2007, you wrote:

>I was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in Oct 07. Nov 07 I had a

>Lymph node dissection

>of the left neck and the original tumor site (left shoulder area).

>Additionally they went after

>the sentinel node under my left arm. Results of the pathology report

>were negative. The

>surgeon thinks I should do a follow-on chemo protocol (interferon).

>My question is why?

>There are no tumors and no way to test if I have the cancer.

>Additionally, another Doc told

>me to do the surgery and skip the chemo because it doesn't work. Any

>thoughts on this???

[Guest guest]

SUV= " standard uptake value

FDG= Fluorodeoxyglucose, a radiopharmaceutical, the most commonly

used injectable agent used in PET scans

What is FDG?

FDG (Fluoro Deoxyglucose is a type of glucose (sugar) and is the most

commonly radiopharmaceutical used in PET. To begin the PET procedure

a small amount of glucose is injected into a patient's bloodstream.

There is no danger to you from this injection. Glucose is a common

substance that every cell in your body needs in order to function.

Diabetic patients need not worry; it would take 1,000,000 doses of

FDG to equal the glucose in 1 teaspoon of sugar.

FDG has a half-life of approximately 110 minutes and is excreted by

way of the kidneys, so it is quickly expelled from your body. FDG

must pass multiple quality control measures before it is used for any

patient injection.

http://www.mcg.edu/radscape/CaseStudies/Lung/DiscussionLungMass.

htm

Discussion

The standard uptake value (SUV) is a way of quantifying FDG uptake on

a PET scan. The SUV is calculated with a mathematical equation that

divides the mean activity within a region of interest (in mCi/mL) by

the injected dose (in mCi/kg).

Any value calculated at greater than 2.5 is considered to be very

sensitive and specific for malignancy. Therefore SUVs of 4 all the

way up to 10 are very unfortunate for this patient's diagnosis.

This quantification method gives confidence to the radiologist when

reading by assigning a number to compare to normal, much the same as

with a CCK HIDA of left ventricular ejection fraction.

Even with the use of SUVs there can still be false positives when it

comes to lung cancer. Some pathologies that may cause false

positives include: infectious and inflammatory lesions and aggressive

neurofibromas. One very important false negative is bronchioalveolar

carcinoma. This carcinoma is on the low end of metabolic activity.

http://www.google.com/search?

hl=en & defl=en & q=define:FDG & sa=X & oi=glossary_definition & ct=title

Definitions of FDG on the Web:

Fluorodeoxyglucose is a glucose analog. Its full chemical name is 2-

fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose, commonly abbreviated to FDG.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDG

FDG is a radiopharmaceutical:

[Guest guest]

In general therapies and diets can be classified to those which are

distortive and those that are corrective (restorative). I discuss

this in depth in my seminars. Many of the supplements I mention are

meds that I sometimes make or make available, but I don't advertise

or sell over the internet as I am compelled to do what I do

lawfully. Resourceful people can always find a way to make necessary

meds available. SUV is Standardized Uptake Value and this is

measured by the uptake of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). This shows

affinity to sugar.

Many people are very discouraged at the high cost of pharmaceuticals

and embittered at the way the FDA bans the use of any cancer medicine

that is potentially effective and non-toxic. This is quite

shortsighted as it forces people to go on their own and find simple

treatments that can be grown or purchased anywhere -- thus eventually

making the unholy megapharma-FDA cryptoalliance a non issue.

At 09:43 AM 12/21/2007, you wrote:

>Hi ,

>

>As a layperson, I am in a cloud about how what you wrote translates into

>practical every day life. Can you be more hands on in your description of a

>distortive diet? Can one tell without a PET scan which diet is best?

>And lastly,

>what is SUV and FDG? Sorry to ask what might seem like silly questions of you

>but I would like to educate myself. Thank you.

>

>

>

>In a message dated 12/21/07 12:16:39 PM Eastern Standard Time,

><mailto:vgammill%40adelphia.net>vgammill@... writes:

>

> > If you had a PET scan prior to the surgery then you have a pretty

> > good indicator whether or not one of the distortive cancer diets is

> > likely to be of benefit. These are the diets that attempt to take

> > advantage of any biochemical pathway deviances manifest in

> > transformed cells. The lower the SUV of FDG, the less the likelihood

> > of benefit.

[Guest guest]

Hi there, I, too, was diagnosed with Metastasized Melanoma in 1996.

I had 2 lymph nodes (cancer ) along with 17 other lymph nodes

removed from my right arm pit. My Doctor highly recommended l do the

interferon treatments, in fact he insisted; stating l would have a

better chance of recovery if l were to partake in the treatment.

According to him we all have interferon within us, but with this

treatment it was a catalyst of the immune system. As you may

already know our type of cancer is not a cancer that Chemo will

work well on. Although l have never taken Chemo therapy, l would have

to say other than the devastating effects of having your hair fall

out, which doesn't happen with interferon, this treatment made me as

sick and weak as any chemo treatment could do. I was only able to

last 12 days on the interferon, because my body strongly rejected

it. I was suppose to be on the interferon treatments for a month by

interintravenous daily dosages, administered by Sunnybrook Hospital,

and then on my own,with injectable interferon for a period of one

year after that.

Unfortunatley for me l have had three other bouts

with this type of cancer, twice in 2004 which metastasized itself to

my left thigh (inner)leg. I had small tumor remeoved in April by a

Doctor who did a local, but he didn't get it all and it came back

in Oct. 2004 and was the size of a large apple and has left

a long and terrible scar on my inner leg. The last time was in 2006

and it was a smaller tumor that metastasized back on my right arm

not far away away from where my lymph nodes were removed from my

armpit.

My cancer surgeon found my alterative beliefs far fetched

when I told him l believed I could shrink the tumor by alkalining

my body with things like apple cider vinagar and staying away from ,

white sugar, white flour and red meats and food items that were

highly acidic to my body. I did, and even he couldn't deny something had

happened because the tumor was half the size in the 3 weeks after he had seen me

and before my scheduled surgery. So, I would have to say this to you, depending

of what reaction you have to drugs, remember that all drugs carry a residual

that is toxic to an already distressed weaken body, l would highly recommend if

you do decided to go through with the treatment that you protect your self with

pure whole foods, cutting out those items l have mentioned , eating

lots of fresh fruits and veggies and watching your intake of fat.

Also learning about natural alternative medicines such as high

strains of acidophilus like a product called BIO-K. I would also

look into different measures of rebuilding and supporting the immune

system function, health food stores are very well versed on this.

I have to admit after all is said and done l was glad that

l had a reaction to the interferon... why, because it made me search

a different avenue and that brought me into really understanding

what the word *cancer* really meant.I admit l was a slow learner but

now can understand how l got to this place, and l am not afraid

anymore. I am certainly not saying l am a know it all, but l do know

a lot more about what makes my body sick and what makes it well. On

a hole we, patients put far to much importance into a Doctors words

and their beliefs.I now believe we are responsible for our own well

being, put you faith in what you believe is best for you. It's your

journey, and your body,and take what any conventional Doctor says

with a understanding he isn't the one with your disease. Personally

l believe you must educate yourself, and this is a wonderful site to

learn from, as well as other methods, books, seminars, Alterative

Doctors; l have learnt so much, just listening and educating myself.

Also l think it's important to remember " Cancer is a word ... not

a sentance " . Good luck to you in your choices, and while advice is so easy to

give,hopfully you will be able to learn faster because of the wealth of

information available out there today for you to tap into. l have walked in your

shoes, a few times so l can honestly relate to your dilemma, but l am a

survivor,and you can be too.

Take Care.

HK

--- " sch200 " <sch200@...> wrote:

> I was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in Oct 07.