Grail's Mermaid Miracle Fund
Donation protected
For those of you who know Grail, you know her belief in the power of healing, the mind /body connection and the significance of the Mermaid... they are all about transformation! Always invested in the care of those around her and the first in line to assist in fundraising for others, right now she is the one in need. Asking for support has been humbling for both of my parents, but with the encouragemnt of countless family members and friends they have agreed to let us help.
In July 2014 my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer, Adenocarcinoma. For a healthy 55 year old, former personal trainer and nonsmoker for 32 years, being diagnosed at a well health check-up was a shock. By the time the doctors found the tumor the cancer had spread to the lymphatic system, taking any option of surgey or radiation off the table. Given only 2% survivability with the reccomended course of aggressive palliative chemotherapy, my mom turned to alternative medicine, giving her, in the alternative doctors' opinion, a fighting chance of 45-60% survivability. The only problem is, despite paying for quality health insurance, none of this is covered by any insurance policies on the market today. Nonetheless, she knew it was the right move for her.
At the end of October she finished her first round of treatments, a routine of daily IV infusions of high dose Vitamin C/POLY MVA (an immune boosting multivitamin compound) and Low Dose IPT Chemotherapy. For more information on this form of cancer treatment you can Google it or visit the website of Dr. John Forsythe . But in short, this form of chemo is delivered in small daily doses, using a glucose delivery system to target only cancerous cells. A recent 60 Minutes episode featured the benefits of low dose chemo. It spares her all the debilitating vomiting, exhaustion, and damage to healthy organs caused by the high dose umbrella drugs of traditional chemo that attack all cells, cancerous and healthy. For many, traditional chemo is a successful and viable option for treatment. Unfortunately often with lung cancer it is not, and given a 2% chance with little quality of life in the mean time it was not the right treatment for my mom.
Three days before Thanksgiving we got the results of her followup PET Scan - the cancer is on the run! There was a dramatic decrease in the amount and activity of cancerous cells from her first scan, giving us all the hope that this treatment will at the very least allow my mom to keep on fighting for years to come while maintaining quality of life. But the truth is we all know she has a Mermaid Miracle coming her way. If anyone can beat this, it's Grail.
Without any insurance availbable for this form of treatment, this has and will continue to entail a heavy financial burden over the months and possibly years to come. Each round of treatment rings in at $5,000 out of pocket per week, not to mention the additional cost of the various supplementary therapies Grail is practicing in her own time. Having started another round of treatments this week and most likely staring down more in the future, she needs your help.
Not one to miss the grander meaning in what life throws her, my mom has expressed her desire to be a successful example of alternative cancer therapies. She hopes to serve as a patient advocate in the future, fighting to ensure that all cancer patients have the option of choosing the treatment that is right for them, with the support of their health insurance. Typical Grail. We told her to get her own clean bill of health first but there's no reasoning with her "pay it forward" mentality. Making this a reality really would be the biggest miracle of all. Please spread the word and help Grail in her fight to be cancer free and thriving while trying.
In July 2014 my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer, Adenocarcinoma. For a healthy 55 year old, former personal trainer and nonsmoker for 32 years, being diagnosed at a well health check-up was a shock. By the time the doctors found the tumor the cancer had spread to the lymphatic system, taking any option of surgey or radiation off the table. Given only 2% survivability with the reccomended course of aggressive palliative chemotherapy, my mom turned to alternative medicine, giving her, in the alternative doctors' opinion, a fighting chance of 45-60% survivability. The only problem is, despite paying for quality health insurance, none of this is covered by any insurance policies on the market today. Nonetheless, she knew it was the right move for her.
At the end of October she finished her first round of treatments, a routine of daily IV infusions of high dose Vitamin C/POLY MVA (an immune boosting multivitamin compound) and Low Dose IPT Chemotherapy. For more information on this form of cancer treatment you can Google it or visit the website of Dr. John Forsythe . But in short, this form of chemo is delivered in small daily doses, using a glucose delivery system to target only cancerous cells. A recent 60 Minutes episode featured the benefits of low dose chemo. It spares her all the debilitating vomiting, exhaustion, and damage to healthy organs caused by the high dose umbrella drugs of traditional chemo that attack all cells, cancerous and healthy. For many, traditional chemo is a successful and viable option for treatment. Unfortunately often with lung cancer it is not, and given a 2% chance with little quality of life in the mean time it was not the right treatment for my mom.
Three days before Thanksgiving we got the results of her followup PET Scan - the cancer is on the run! There was a dramatic decrease in the amount and activity of cancerous cells from her first scan, giving us all the hope that this treatment will at the very least allow my mom to keep on fighting for years to come while maintaining quality of life. But the truth is we all know she has a Mermaid Miracle coming her way. If anyone can beat this, it's Grail.
Without any insurance availbable for this form of treatment, this has and will continue to entail a heavy financial burden over the months and possibly years to come. Each round of treatment rings in at $5,000 out of pocket per week, not to mention the additional cost of the various supplementary therapies Grail is practicing in her own time. Having started another round of treatments this week and most likely staring down more in the future, she needs your help.
Not one to miss the grander meaning in what life throws her, my mom has expressed her desire to be a successful example of alternative cancer therapies. She hopes to serve as a patient advocate in the future, fighting to ensure that all cancer patients have the option of choosing the treatment that is right for them, with the support of their health insurance. Typical Grail. We told her to get her own clean bill of health first but there's no reasoning with her "pay it forward" mentality. Making this a reality really would be the biggest miracle of all. Please spread the word and help Grail in her fight to be cancer free and thriving while trying.
Organiser
Mallaigh McGinley
Organiser
Amityville, NY
