Re: Fw: God is still at work....Stella Maris

[Guest guest]

I found this in the archives. I just received my PET scan back and it's not

good. There are more mets (.5 cm lung, rib, pelvis, .7cm left axilla). Already

had mets in right axilla but that one spread too. 1 breast tumor shrunk and one

is stable. My last PET scan was Aug/08 and this one was Jan/10. I was thinking

of going to Stella Maris clinic but by the look of this message below, its

response rate post treatment is dismal. Anyone else here have experience with

this clinic? I called 2 of their " testimonials " but both women were just stage

1 and had conventional treatment first. I am wondering if I should just stay

home and try and treat this myself. Another option was to look into the clinics

in Germany but I have absolutely no clue how to evaluate them. Many of them

don't even speak English....Louise

>

> someone at this list is asking me off list about Stella Maris Clinic/Dr

> Gilberto Alvarez in Tijuana. Stella Maris came or comes highly recommended

> by the Cancer Control Society and Cancercured. I spoke with all 9 breast

> cancer testimonials that the Cancer Control Society provided for Stella

> Maris and was very impressed by them all. Was told by Cancer Control Society

> that they had the most breast cancer testimonials for Stella Maris, of all

> the Tijuana clinics they were recommending at that time. Based on the

> testimonials and strong CCS reco, I went to Stella Maris in Fall 2000, while

> still a Stage II breast cancer patient (am now dealing with late Stage

> III/early Stage IV). While there, I met fellow patients , Dana,, an

> elderly woman with pancreatic cancer and the woman from England mentioned

> below (names have been changed for privacy). We all spent $3800/week, almost

> all of us for the standard three weeks, plus outpatient costs, and monthly

> supplement costs thereafter. Actually, by average Tijuana clinic standards,

> the cost was fairly reasonable. (However, I am now getting much better

> results and service for the money with my current doctor) As far as I know,

> all us Stella Maris patients got worse afterwards:

>

> woman from England - dead within weeks (although maybe not a good example

> because Dr. Alvarez privately admitted he was about to send her back except

> that she responded to his treatment dramatically WHILE SHE WAS AT HIS

> CLINIC) What does it matter what happens to you at the clinic if it doesn't

> last after you leave? All that means is that you are out the money. Or worse

> (see below).

>

> elderly woman with pancreatic cancer - she was rushed across the border back

> to her California HMO because her catheter accidentally broke, and I never

> found out what happened to her.

>

> - see below. Last I heard from her husband last year, she is still

> hanging on, but not well, and obviously not due to Stella Maris. Her family

> has prepared for the possibility that she could die soon.

>

> Dana - lost touch. She was fairly early stage, as I was at the time. Her

> daughter was quite unhappy with Dr. Alvarez while at the clinic. I wanted to

> punch out the daughter at the time for being so negative, as it stressed me

> out being around her, but after seeing certain things happen/not happen with

> Dr. Alvarez during and post clinic, perhaps she was right...

>

> - was one of the testimonials I spoke with, but had two recurrences

> after leaving the clinic, despite repeat visits to the clinic. I *hope* she

> is no longer a testimonial!

>

> me - went from Stage II to Stage III within two months of leaving the

> clinic.

>

> so out of six patients (or five to be fair, as Dr. Alvarez confessed he

> would have sent the english woman home had she not responded as dramatically

> as she did in clinic), none of us appear to have gotten substantially better

> after leaving the clinic...but merely progressed. He told me that he had a

> 70% success rate. I guess he meant while at the clinic, not afterwards.

>

> We all got better and felt better while there, but again, it is not what

> happens at the clinic that matters. It is what happens afterwards. In fact,

> it can be argued that if one aggressively treats a cancer situation, and

> then goes home, one is in a more vulnerable situation than if one had not

> gone to the clinic at all, because an aggressive treatment starts the war

> with the cancer. Cancer is known to be a tough adversary, and will fight

> back more aggressively if attacked, so if one is not prepared to implement

> new protocols and change lifestyles and fight the good fight, one is in more

> danger than if one had not gone at all...

>

>

> Re: God is still at work.

>

> > We returned home and began the oral program that Dr. Alvarez prescribed

> > however deteriorated severely over the next three weeks. The tumors

> > in her liver grew at an astronomical rate until she almost died of liver

> > failure October 17, 2000. She was so sick that she could not keep any

> food

> > down and was severely dehydrated. She spent seven days in the hospital

> and

> > then began chemo therapy the first week of November. She is taking Taxil

> > and a new medicine called Herceptin. It is not a chemo agent instead it

> > suppresses the growth hormone produced by the cancer and as helped to

> > control the growth. Scans performed 10/28 showed that the liver was fully

> > involved as well as 6 tumors in the lungs and on T2 vertebrae and the

> right

> > hip. Quite a bit worse than the scans in Tiajuana showed. She is treated

> > once a week at a cancer center 70 miles from our house and so far we are

> > please with the results. In late January we had the scans repeated. The

> > results were astounding. The tumor under her arm was almost gone, the

> > tumors in the lungs were gone and the liver tumors had been reduced over

> > 50%. The doctors were incredulous. We gave the glory to God. Only He

> > could have done this. We repeated the scans again last week and the liver

> > had improved more, the tumor under the arm was gone and the lungs were

> still

> > clear. Praise the Lord. We found that the tumor on T2 has grown to where

> > it involved almost all of the body of the vertebrae so we will probably

> have

> > some radiation to kill the cancer in that area. We are having a bone scan

> > Wednesday to see if there are other areas that will require radiation so

> we

> > can get them all at one time. The dosage of the Taxil is so small that

> the

> > only side affect is a little bit of fatigue on Thursday after the

> treatment,

> > but we have found that if she stays in bed Thursday then the rest of the

> > week is good. That's about it for .....

> > -----Original Message-----

> > Date: Sunday, March 18, 2001 2:03 PM

> > >

> > >After leaving Dr. Alvarez's clinic, I stayed on in

> > >California.

>

> The oncologist said that it is now an

> > > " advanced " cancer, which I take to mean Stage III and

> > >not Stage II anymore.

> > >

> > >Dr. Alvarez wanted me to take tamoxifen, which I have

> > >taken on and off for some time, but I'm not crazy

> > >about taking it.

> > >

> > >The woman from England, who was doing so remarkably

> > >well at times at the clinic, deteriorated rapidly and

> > >died about a month after leaving the clinic. I think

> > >Dr. Alvarez wasn't sure that he could help her,

> > >although he tried...I spoke to her mother and her

> > >husband. They said she had a lovely funeral, and that

> > >they have been getting " signs " from her ever since.

> > >:>)

> > >

> > >Dana, as far as I know, is still doing quite well.

> > >She had a minor recurrence at the scar from her

> > >surgery, went back to the clinic, and is fine again.

> > [note: this woman subsequently had a second recurrence after leaving

> Stella Maris]

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