Daring Greatly

I was diagnosed with non-invasive ductal carcinoma in Feb 2014. A curative mastectomy was recommended by multiple doctors and health professionals. Unfortunately, 6 months later I was re-diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic HER2+ breast cancer - bizarrely known as the "healthy woman's cancer".

Not hereditary, not hormonal, nor/but metabolic. I did 6 months of old school chemo with immunotherapy as I went straight on a privately paid trial (that drug is now available on the PBS -thanks to us trial bunnies). I continued on with that immunotherapy every 3 weeks until March 2018. At the same time, I did water fasting 6 days-a-week every 3 weeks, a hyperthermia trial, Vit C IV, a ketogenic diet, juice fasting, energy and psychotherapeutic work, mistletoe injections - all privately funded. I had a full remission by Jan 2015 and I remained in remission until May 2017 when I had a node “pop up” on a PET scan. More Vit C IV and more fasting, but by September 2017 a Stage 3 recurrence.

Enter experimental Surgery and Radiation Package (private $) - 25 rounds of radiation and aggressive lymph node full removal surgery. Also kept myself super healthy, as always, with 2 days week juice fasting, sleep etc…

In Feb 2018, one node appeared on a PET scan: a skin nodule. Entered 120 hours Hyperbaric 02 (private). Had a wide skin excision to see if we could get clear margins. Disaster!!

I now have 2 x HER 2+ skin metastases 80cm x 20cm on left and spread to right breast and lymph nodes. The only options left in Australia are “palliative chemo”.

I am now in Mexico (July 2018) having left Australia for more aggressive, alternative and low dose insulin enhanced chemo treatments that are available over here. I am at Hope4Cancer, a very reputable and famous cancer clinic in Tijuana. I came for 3 weeks which has cleaned us out financially and it became apparent immediately that, as the tumours were growing daily I needed to stay longer. I am now here for 7 weeks - with 3 weeks to go.

I am on all their protocols and have seen a major differences in the open wounds and in the size of the skin tumours. This difference far exceeds the "best case scenario status quo" prognosis I was offered at home - in only 4 weeks! Even if we remain at status quo (as at now) I am already significantly better off than I would have been if I had not come. One of the highlights is the potential of NOT living with a large permanent ulceration of my chest and side and the complications of living with that. I know there are no guarantees but at the moment it has been more than worth all the effort to be here!

My hope is to return home, continue with these therapies and continue to improve. The protocol here involves coming back for 3 days every 3 months. My dream is that my oncologist will see my improvement and his vision of what is possible for people like me will shift (he is a top trial doctor in Australia so this is likely) and maybe they will start insulin trials in Australia so that other patients will be able to have significantly better results and endure less chemo.

This is hard to write, however my request is sparked by two things:

1.       A neighbour turning up with $5000.00 and us not knowing what to say or do. I then realised that I would want to help them in the same situation.

2.       Another mum, here in Mexico, with 3 kids being sponsored through Go Fund Me and her story of how amazing the experience of being the recipient and the “gift of giving” has been.

It is super important to me that anyone who reads this realises that what you are doing is enough and that you don't need to stretch or fund me financially: The lifts for the kids, the kind messages, the cute cat videos, the visits, the financial gifts to the kids, the meals and the prayers are all enough...you are enough.

This is for those who feel that they would like to do more and that this is a way they would like to help us.

My husband Dean travels for work and is self-employed. It has become apparent that, at the moment, I will not be able to return to work. The cost of all these choices is prohibitive.

I ask for your help in daring greatly. To take a different road and challenge the normal treatments, to take a chance before making or having to make another sort of decision. That may be ahead of me, but it is not right now. This is my time!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person (sic) who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows at the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who never know victory or defeat."  Teddy Roosevelt (with apologies for gender change.)

Depending on funds we wish to spend the money as follows:

·       7 weeks at Hope4Cancer $120,000.00

·       Near-InfraRed Sauna at home $8,500.00

·       RIFE Machine for home frequency treatment $3,500

·       Genetic Testing of individual cancer type $3,500

·       CTC testing of blood $850/time

·       Help at home $300/wk - as needed

·       120 hours Hyperbaric O2 $12,000

·       Flights back to Mexico $2,500/time (we have cleaned out Dean's frequent flyers!!)

We have already spent this and more and wish to continue with these treatments.  At this time we have a lot of hope and faith in what we are doing and I am super happy to talk to anyone who wants to know how all this works.  https://hope4cancer.com