Heathers Health Campaign
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I would like to tell you about someone wonderful - she is a teacher and a single-mother named Heather Luce. Her life has taken an unexpected turn when, one ago, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Acinic Cell Carcinoma. Acinic Cell Carcinoma is a very rare cancer with very limited treatment options, which she has exhausted using conventional western medicine.
I have been attending each of her medical appointments since her 2017 surgery, and I have been heartbroken each time she's received bad news. Luckily, family and friends continue to research and share information with Heather on the use of alternative healing therapies. Since learning of these, she has made many lifestyle changes to boost her immune system and try to inhibit the growth rate of the cancer. None the less, we are at the point where she needs to incorporate more intensive treatments. We are presently exploring options both in and out of country. Due to the rare nature of her cancer, we are unsure if one or many would be needed. Costs for the different options are highly variable, ranging from almost manageable to pretty much impossible.
We have started working with a local Naturopathic Doctor who is helping us get a better understanding of Heather's cancer. The clinic is able to provide us with real time cancer characteristics from circulating tumor cells within the blood stream. This, along with other tests, will help establish a treatment plan or help narrow down suitable out-of-town alternatives should local naturopathic options also become exhausted. The testing and assessment costs for this option are around $4,000 CAD. Based on preliminary discussions, it is my impression that initial treatment costs will likely start around $2,000 to $2,500 CAD/month and will likely decrease after the first two months.
Two out-of-town options are presently under our review and are as follows:
1) Envita Natural Medical Center in either Scottsdale, Arizona or Herrmosillo, Mexico. Envita uses both natural and conventional medicine to treat using genetic traits and biomarkers measured in circulating tumor cells within the blood system to focus on the real time cancer characteristics. Envita also work to determine the contributing factors of the cancer, treat/remove the underlying causes, repair the DNA, and create the environment to limit cancer growth. The program is eight to twelve weeks for two to five hours a day, five days a week. The price of the program is expected to cost up to $100,000USD, and does not include the cost of travel or added living expenses.
2) The Clear Health Inn in Regina, Saskatchewan. This program provides intensive and non-invasive cancer therapies designed to boost the immune system. The full program is six weeks long and treatment is five hours a day, five days a week. This treatment program is approximately $25,000CAD and does not include the cost of travel or added living expenses.
As a part-time teacher and single-mother, the money required for each of the programs listed above are impossible for her to fund alone. Family, friends, and even members of her community have come together and are helping to raise the money and provide her with support so she can receive cancer treatment. My request to you is just one of the steps we are doing to help bring her hope. The kind of hope she needs to continue to raise her 6 year old son.
Please consider contributing and/or sharing this campaign to help us raise the money to enable Heather the option to choose from this or any other available healing programs.
Thank you for your generous support.
Kindest regards,
Kristin Potter
Also known as a member of "Heather's Entourage"
Please read more about Heather's full journey, in her words below.
Heather's Story
My cancer journey began late in 2011. While I was on maternity leave I began to have pain on the left side of my neck, however I dismissed the pain and focused on the joys of being a new mother. The pain continued throughout 2012 and even though I had been to the doctor several times to inquire about the matter, nothing was found. That is nothing was found until February 2013. I still remember seeing the words "possible cancer" on the ultra-sound requisition form. When I read these words my heart sank into my stomach.
After several ultra-sounds, a biopsy and surgery, I learned that the "possibility" had become reality. I had Acinic Cell Carcinoma of the parotid gland, a very rare cancer. I remember my first visit to the cancer clinic, my amazing and kind nurse reassured me that if I had to have cancer, this was the one to get because it is usually cured with surgery. So with relief in my heart, I viewed this issue just as a little bump on the road. None-the-less, 30 rounds of radiation were schedule for that summer, just to make sure. I had a young son and did not want there to be any possibility of the cancer returning.
The next few years were filled with the joy that comes from surviving a very scary illness. I enjoyed raising my son, watching him grow, and felt very blessed to have been saved.
Fast forward three years to the summer of 2016. I felt a small lump on the side of my neck, no larger than a pea. Fear tied my stomach in knots, but I tried to explain my symptoms. Maybe it was a large pimple or possibly a bug bite? At the end of the summer, I finally consulted my amazing surgeon who believed the tissue did not appear to be cancerous, so the test results shocked and surprised us both. Because this cancer was rare and not classified as aggressive, and because my test results did not show signs of further growth, this new lump was dismissed as nothing serious. That is until it came back again 6 months later.
Once again, I was headed for surgery and 20 more radiation treatments. During my radiation treatments more devastating news arrived. The cancer had spread to my lungs and this little bump in the road became a mountain. I remember sitting in the examination room at the cancer clinic waiting to meet my medical oncologist for the first time. I was in the same room that I was in a few years earlier when my Dad received the news that his cancer was incurable. This was serendipitous because just moments later, I learned that my cancer was now also described as incurable.
During the summer I prayed for a miracle that God would open a door for new treatment options. And in August 2017 I rejoiced in the news that I was accepted into a phase two clinical trial for an immune therapy chemotherapy drug. Filled with new hope I felt strong and invincible.
Sadly, after only 6 treatments, the tumors grew in size and new ones appeared and the cancer had spread. Devastation once again filled my heart. But God is faithful and has opened the door to new possibilities.
Since hearing this heartbreaking news, many people have begun to share information about alternative healing therapies. I was very excited to learn that some of these therapies were available in Saskatchewan! To me this ment that I could receive treatment while still being close to my 6 year old son!
As a single mother, working part-time, many of the treatment options we are learning about are financially out of my reach. It is with a humble heart that I am seeking support. It is my greatest wish to see my amazing son graduate high school. Thank you so much for your generous support.
I have been attending each of her medical appointments since her 2017 surgery, and I have been heartbroken each time she's received bad news. Luckily, family and friends continue to research and share information with Heather on the use of alternative healing therapies. Since learning of these, she has made many lifestyle changes to boost her immune system and try to inhibit the growth rate of the cancer. None the less, we are at the point where she needs to incorporate more intensive treatments. We are presently exploring options both in and out of country. Due to the rare nature of her cancer, we are unsure if one or many would be needed. Costs for the different options are highly variable, ranging from almost manageable to pretty much impossible.
We have started working with a local Naturopathic Doctor who is helping us get a better understanding of Heather's cancer. The clinic is able to provide us with real time cancer characteristics from circulating tumor cells within the blood stream. This, along with other tests, will help establish a treatment plan or help narrow down suitable out-of-town alternatives should local naturopathic options also become exhausted. The testing and assessment costs for this option are around $4,000 CAD. Based on preliminary discussions, it is my impression that initial treatment costs will likely start around $2,000 to $2,500 CAD/month and will likely decrease after the first two months.
Two out-of-town options are presently under our review and are as follows:
1) Envita Natural Medical Center in either Scottsdale, Arizona or Herrmosillo, Mexico. Envita uses both natural and conventional medicine to treat using genetic traits and biomarkers measured in circulating tumor cells within the blood system to focus on the real time cancer characteristics. Envita also work to determine the contributing factors of the cancer, treat/remove the underlying causes, repair the DNA, and create the environment to limit cancer growth. The program is eight to twelve weeks for two to five hours a day, five days a week. The price of the program is expected to cost up to $100,000USD, and does not include the cost of travel or added living expenses.
2) The Clear Health Inn in Regina, Saskatchewan. This program provides intensive and non-invasive cancer therapies designed to boost the immune system. The full program is six weeks long and treatment is five hours a day, five days a week. This treatment program is approximately $25,000CAD and does not include the cost of travel or added living expenses.
As a part-time teacher and single-mother, the money required for each of the programs listed above are impossible for her to fund alone. Family, friends, and even members of her community have come together and are helping to raise the money and provide her with support so she can receive cancer treatment. My request to you is just one of the steps we are doing to help bring her hope. The kind of hope she needs to continue to raise her 6 year old son.
Please consider contributing and/or sharing this campaign to help us raise the money to enable Heather the option to choose from this or any other available healing programs.
Thank you for your generous support.
Kindest regards,
Kristin Potter
Also known as a member of "Heather's Entourage"
Please read more about Heather's full journey, in her words below.
Heather's Story
My cancer journey began late in 2011. While I was on maternity leave I began to have pain on the left side of my neck, however I dismissed the pain and focused on the joys of being a new mother. The pain continued throughout 2012 and even though I had been to the doctor several times to inquire about the matter, nothing was found. That is nothing was found until February 2013. I still remember seeing the words "possible cancer" on the ultra-sound requisition form. When I read these words my heart sank into my stomach.
After several ultra-sounds, a biopsy and surgery, I learned that the "possibility" had become reality. I had Acinic Cell Carcinoma of the parotid gland, a very rare cancer. I remember my first visit to the cancer clinic, my amazing and kind nurse reassured me that if I had to have cancer, this was the one to get because it is usually cured with surgery. So with relief in my heart, I viewed this issue just as a little bump on the road. None-the-less, 30 rounds of radiation were schedule for that summer, just to make sure. I had a young son and did not want there to be any possibility of the cancer returning.
The next few years were filled with the joy that comes from surviving a very scary illness. I enjoyed raising my son, watching him grow, and felt very blessed to have been saved.
Fast forward three years to the summer of 2016. I felt a small lump on the side of my neck, no larger than a pea. Fear tied my stomach in knots, but I tried to explain my symptoms. Maybe it was a large pimple or possibly a bug bite? At the end of the summer, I finally consulted my amazing surgeon who believed the tissue did not appear to be cancerous, so the test results shocked and surprised us both. Because this cancer was rare and not classified as aggressive, and because my test results did not show signs of further growth, this new lump was dismissed as nothing serious. That is until it came back again 6 months later.
Once again, I was headed for surgery and 20 more radiation treatments. During my radiation treatments more devastating news arrived. The cancer had spread to my lungs and this little bump in the road became a mountain. I remember sitting in the examination room at the cancer clinic waiting to meet my medical oncologist for the first time. I was in the same room that I was in a few years earlier when my Dad received the news that his cancer was incurable. This was serendipitous because just moments later, I learned that my cancer was now also described as incurable.
During the summer I prayed for a miracle that God would open a door for new treatment options. And in August 2017 I rejoiced in the news that I was accepted into a phase two clinical trial for an immune therapy chemotherapy drug. Filled with new hope I felt strong and invincible.
Sadly, after only 6 treatments, the tumors grew in size and new ones appeared and the cancer had spread. Devastation once again filled my heart. But God is faithful and has opened the door to new possibilities.
Since hearing this heartbreaking news, many people have begun to share information about alternative healing therapies. I was very excited to learn that some of these therapies were available in Saskatchewan! To me this ment that I could receive treatment while still being close to my 6 year old son!
As a single mother, working part-time, many of the treatment options we are learning about are financially out of my reach. It is with a humble heart that I am seeking support. It is my greatest wish to see my amazing son graduate high school. Thank you so much for your generous support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristin Potter
Organizer
Saskatoon, SK
Heather Luce
Beneficiary
