Gerson Therapy for Carissa
Donation protected
I have gone back and forth about setting up an account like this. My friend offered to do it for me, but the truth is, I could just use some help, plain and simple.
Originally, based on the biopsy, the doctors thought the cancer was contained in one place, but during surgery, learned it had spread. I think that's about where my journey really started.
I didn't want to have a mastectomy by any stretch, but being advised to start chemotherapy as soon as I was well enough after the surgery, I took that very, very seriously. I had tons of questions about how it would work and what it would do to me, both short term and long term. It's easy to believe that the choice comes down to death or chemotherapy, and so there is no choice, but in the situation, it's not that simple. At least it hasn't been to me.
I have read several thick, difficult books to try and understand what I have, in terms of how it is working in my body and what the progression will look like if it isn't cured; and to understand chemotherapy and how it works on what I have, in addition to what it will do to my organs both short term and long term; and finally to understand if there are other viable options.
What I've learned along the way, is that in many cases, like mine, cancer is a statistics and percentages conundrum. I couldn't accept making such an important life decision based on that information, which is ironic since I have always been a gambler.
So, this is my reality: I am prepared to go through chemotherapy, but believe I have a better, more healthy shot if I can go through a treatment called the Gerson therapy. The Gerson therapy is extremely regimented and to a large degree difficult to follow. There is a Gerson Therapy institute that assesses an individual's state of health, and then adjusts and administers the therapy accordingly. The therapy is intensively nutritionally based, and after a person is taught what they need to do and how to do it, he or she can do it at home. I would really like the opportunity to do that.
Originally, based on the biopsy, the doctors thought the cancer was contained in one place, but during surgery, learned it had spread. I think that's about where my journey really started.
I didn't want to have a mastectomy by any stretch, but being advised to start chemotherapy as soon as I was well enough after the surgery, I took that very, very seriously. I had tons of questions about how it would work and what it would do to me, both short term and long term. It's easy to believe that the choice comes down to death or chemotherapy, and so there is no choice, but in the situation, it's not that simple. At least it hasn't been to me.
I have read several thick, difficult books to try and understand what I have, in terms of how it is working in my body and what the progression will look like if it isn't cured; and to understand chemotherapy and how it works on what I have, in addition to what it will do to my organs both short term and long term; and finally to understand if there are other viable options.
What I've learned along the way, is that in many cases, like mine, cancer is a statistics and percentages conundrum. I couldn't accept making such an important life decision based on that information, which is ironic since I have always been a gambler.
So, this is my reality: I am prepared to go through chemotherapy, but believe I have a better, more healthy shot if I can go through a treatment called the Gerson therapy. The Gerson therapy is extremely regimented and to a large degree difficult to follow. There is a Gerson Therapy institute that assesses an individual's state of health, and then adjusts and administers the therapy accordingly. The therapy is intensively nutritionally based, and after a person is taught what they need to do and how to do it, he or she can do it at home. I would really like the opportunity to do that.
Organizer
Carissa Biggs
Organizer
Portland, OR
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