My selected treatment

the treatment method i have selected to rid myself of my cancer is based on dr william d kelley's metabolic cure for cancer. dr kelley wrote two books about his cancer cure, “one answer to cancer” and “cancer: curing the incurable without surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation”. 

dr kelley was a cancer survivor for 43 years, after treating himself for pancreatic cancer. he died in 2005, of a heart attack. he, and his metabolic cure, were never accepted in the medical profession, probably because he never toed the official medical line for cancer, and also because he wasn't a medical doctor. he was a dentist. but during his career as an alternative medicine practitioner treating cancer patients, he had 33,000 well-documented cases, with a 97% cure rate, 93% after a patient had been treated through surgery, radiology, or chemotherapy. 

the sloan-kettering center in new york spent 5 years reviewing his cases, though the report of their conclusions was never published. one doctor involved in the investigations, dr nicholas gonzalez, resigned from sloan-kettering after the report was suppressed, and opened up his own alternative med clinic in new york, basing his treatments on the metabolic cure of dr kelley.
if you're interested in obtaining more information about dr kelley and his metabolic cure (which incidentally, he applied to both cancer and diabetes patients), you can visit the following sites.

http://educate-yourself.org/cancer/kellymetabolicdiet13dec02.shtml

http://www.drkelley.com/what_is_cancer.htm 

http://cancertutor.com/Cancer/Metabolic.html

my guide in following the metabolic protocol is jaime dy-liacco. jimmy, a vigorous man in his 80's, is also a cancer survivor of 15 years. he cured himself of pancreatic cancer using dr kelley's metabolic cure. you can read about his 'adam and eve' diet in the site below.

http://www.myhomespa.ph/articles/jdyliacco_adam&evediet.html

for the sake of balanced reporting, i have to add the following link about quacks in the medical profession. drs kelley and gonzalez are mentioned.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html

the most informative site i have found about dr kelley's metabolic cure, is at the url included below. it is written by a traditional western doctor in a critique for doctors, using medical terms and medical data. if there is one site i recommend to understand dr kelley's metabolic protocol, it is this site.

http://www.townsendletter.com/June2003/kelleycritique0603.htm

i've researched my condition in orthodox medicine sites on the web and came up with this site, among many others.

http://cancer.about.com/od/kidneycancerrenalcell/a/rcc.htm

ernie e, my former high-school classmate and now a doctor in texas, sent me a few items too, one of which was very informative.

http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab006017.html

i have learned that renal cancer does not respond well to radiation or chemotherapy. the first line of treatment is medication, more specifically immunotherapy (i think it's called). it is supposed to strengthen the patient's immune system and to arrest the growth of cancer cells, thus the medicines are also known as 'inhibitors'. i read that the medications, on the average, statistically speaking, prolong a patient's life from 7.3 months to 10.9 months.

the reactions of family and friends to my decision to go with alt med have been varied.

a few have expressed their disagreement and even disappointment, with my choice of alt med. they find it difficult to believe that a seemingly intelligent person (that's me) could cast aside science and strictly-controlled clinical studies in the field of medicine.

and in exchange, i place my health and my very life in the hands of untrained laymen, using untested procedures, with uneven results.

many people with cancer have been cured with orthodox medicine. but it has also failed to help others. similarly, alternative medicine works with some people; but others do not respond to it.
in the majority of reactions i have received, i sense incredulity, but the people are too nice to say so. generally, they take into account my faith in my Maker. they hardly know what to say, but instead offer me their prayers. for which i am thankful beyond words. i suspect that a lot of them secretly pray that my eyes be opened, my mind be enlightened, and my decision be reversed. their prayers are still welcome.

however, there are an adventurous few, who some may call foolish, who openly express their support for my decision. some of them really believe in alt med and its effectiveness; some have no thoughts about it one way or another, but defer to my right to make my own decisions; some truly believe that God is at work in and with me.

of all of these reactions, the one i value most is the last, that of those who believe in God's love, wisdom, and benevolence. for though i call it 'my' decision, it wouldn't be the decision i make if i did not believe that God supports that decision. in my acceptance blog post (may 8), i said that God is the Healer, alternative medicine or orthodox medicine are simply His instruments. i have to say that my faith in the instruments, is less than in Him who wields the instruments.

i am deeply grateful to all who have shared their thoughts, experiences, and knowledge with me, and continue to do so. for my part, i will continue to listen and weigh all that you say, for you too may be instruments of the Lord. i could have misunderstood the message God spoke to me. if so, i believe that my God, who is loving and wise and just, would correct me. i must remain open to His messages which may come from anyone.

i thank you for your prayers. to those rare few who claim not to know how to pray or who do not believe in my God, send me your good vibrations instead. that will suffice. my God is wise and loving. He will know what you mean and accept your prayers which you make in your own manner.

last thursday, we paid our second visit to the oncologist. after looking at my bone scan pictures, which i've posted in my picasa web album (for those who have been invited to it, the very long, but extremely thin thingee in the region of my pelvis ISN'T my penis. it's the catheter!), the doctor said that he's now more concerned with the dark traces showing in my right upper arm and elbow joint, rather than the traces in my left lung. apparently, the traces in the lung are too faint to base any firm decisions on, but those in my bones are so prominent as to merit further investigation,

i explained that i used to play a lot of tennis. in fact, there was a time i wanted to be a tennis bum. not in the sense of playing in the professional tennis circuit, but at least in local open tournaments. this was in the early 80's, after i returned from my 5-year bumming sabbatical in europe. i was living with my mom in vigan, and didn't want to do anything but play tennis and lie in the beach.

the only reason i went back to work as a contractual programmer was because i needed to buy tennis rackets, tennis balls, tennis shoes, and pay for tennis bets. unfortunately, once i started working, i had to give up tennis. isn't that grandly LOGICAL!?

back to my illness. that was a long time ago, but the past year or so, i've been complaining about pain in my shoulder joints and my right elbow when i drive, esp our manual transmission vehicle. so, now apparently, cancer may have been the cause of the pain? maybe not.

the onco has scheduled me for another ct scan, this time concentrating on my bone structure. but first, i have to have my creatinine level tested.

cris' new boss, who has been very supportive throughout my latest health trials, has arranged for us to have a 2nd-opinion consultation with dr ang peng tiam, medical director and senior consultant of the parkway cancer centre of singapore. cris sent him my medical test results, which he has perused. i now have the chance to consult with a world-class oncologist. i hope that will assuage the apprehension of those who worry about my choice of alt med. (gawrsh! i'm on a roll here. first, 'peruse'; now 'assuage'.)

another hs friend, dr liz, tells me that ct scans are not good indicators of cancer. she strongly recommends a pet scan. my cousin, laida, suggested the same thing because the pet scan will sniff out and pinpoint the cancer cells in my body, wherever they hide themselves. but my pockets aren't deep enough, so i'll still keep it under serious advicement for now. meanwhile, i'll just have to stick to my pet koi fish, the cheap kind.

on the other hand, my alternative medicine physician told me my cancer was in my left lung, and no traces of it in my bones. so there.

for those who ask cris, or themselves, (but seldom ask me directly) how i am? the answer, my good friend bitan, is 'i'm fine.' that means i'm alive; i am enjoying my life, my family, and my friends; and i am serving God. how can i be any 'finer'?

my wife recently told me i'm a good patient, very conscientious with my diet and my medications. she also considers me a true believer and follower of the Lord. she said that she expects me to be there at our 6-year old daughter's debut. if there's one thing i've learned in this life, it's that it's very dangerous to disappoint one's wife. and so i will do everything to dance the first waltz with my daughter at her debut.

and that's life as benjie, in this year of living dangerously.