Which way to I go?

Another week has gone by  and I have spent most of it researching and making contact with doctors and clinics offering alternative treatment.

I have narrowed it down to following,

Mistletoe treatment in Aberdeen. I spoke to a lovely doctor, Dr Stefan Geider, discussing the possibility of having Mistletoe treatment alongside the conventional chemotherapy scheduled here in Spain. The idea would be that I continue with the chemo here, then fly over to the Camphill Wellbeing Trust in Aberdeen and undergo Mistletoe treatment for a number of weeks. After that I would come back to Spain to continue 12 months of further Herceptin treatment.

I am also in contact with the St.Georg Klinik in Bad Aibling, Germany. They suggested that I drop chemo here in Spain, fly over  for 3 weeks and have a much lower dosage chemo, supported by Misteltoe and other alternative treatments. Unfortunately all communication has been by email, as Dr Douwes is too busy to call me back. This makes it slightly harder to obtain answers to my questions. My main concern is what happens after the three weeks in Germany.

Even though the Gerson Health Centre in Hungary have been really helpful. Their treatment sounds too grueling for me. I admit that I would not be strong enough to only drink and eat vegetable juices for 2 years. I feel pathetic saying this, but the reality of such a dedicated regime, would impact my daily life and restrict me to actually staying at home and just commit to this diet. I have for now disregarded it.

The Hufeland Klinik in Bad Mergentheim fills me with most confidence. I had a long telephone conversation with Dr. Demuth, who was horrified to hear the names of the chemo I have been prescribed. ( Ciclofosfamida, Docorubicina, Docetaxel, then followed one year by Trastuzumab also known as Herceptin)  He advised me to stop the chemo regardless of what alternative method I would decide on. He did support the 12 month Herceptin infusions. He confirmed that I could start next week,  and thought that a four week stay, also offering Mistletoe as well as a long list of supporting alternative treatment.

 I had decided that the Hufeland Klinik was my chosen way forward and I was not going to undergo a second chemo session tomorrow 3 August.

However, here is a very strange incident that has thrown everything up in the air.

Last Friday, 29 July, I went to a health food / Eco shop in Malaga where I had previously bought different products. As I entered the lady behind the counter ( I had seen her previously only to say 'hello' and 'good bye' to), who I later learned also owned the shop, beamed at me and told me how beautiful I looked.

That was rather bizarre, as this was only the second day of wearing a wig. ( I will come to that in a minute) and 'beautiful' was hardly the word that sprung to my mind. I felt stiff ( nervous at turning my head, in case the wig did not move with me), huge ( as if everyone in the street was starring at this 'hairy' monster) and very conscious that my sunglasses had pushed the wig up above my ear, exposing the bald head.
Apparently Racquel ( as she introduced herself) was oblivious to my insecurities and thought I looked great. She had not realised that a 'fake' was standing in front of her. I simply replied by saying, I most certainly did not feel beautiful and that what she thought was great, was in fact a wig. She did not believe me and to cut a long story short, I found out that she was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year, had undergone surgery and chem and was singing the praises of a doctor she had met in her shop shortly after being diagnosed. She gave me the details of Dr Jose Ignacio Acosta, based in Malaga, after I explained that I was looking for alternative treatment. I called him yesterday morning.

What a lovely man! We spoke for a long time and he explained the methods he used and that they could run alongside chemo. I have made an appointment for next Monday 8 August and will wait until then before I decide which way to go.

To conclude so far, I know that I will not continue with Chemotherapy without at least some supporting treatment at the same time, which builds up my immune system. My biggest fear in all of this, is to be left with too many good cells having been killed and a weak immune system unable to fight off anything that might attack my body next, all of this as a result of strong Chemotherapy.