Mike's Cancer Recurrence: Your Help Matters

tues/jun/24/2025: Friends, we're almost done. Big thanks to our communities. We're not desperate but we could use a little more help. The most helpful thing you can do is to order RoseBodyButter and/or CinnamonBodyScrub at my website rivka.com, the pre order is open now. If you live in or near (or are visiting) Pensacola and you need someone to cut, color, style or condition your hair, I'm your guy. Make an appointment with me, at my place theCottage. No matter your gender, texture, length or style, I got you.

Mike is in hyperbaric oxygen treatment, HBOT as I write this update. If my count is correct, he's got nine more sessions. Energy levels are up and weight is gaining. Spending five hours, five days a week between the three hour commute and the two hour session, doesn't leave a lot of time for making a living. In a few weeks he'll be back to full time and in a matter of months we should be back to normal, fingers crossed. Also, if you need help with online marketing, a website, database, app, etc. Mike is your expert.

wed/may/16/2025: Mike is on the mend, today was the 5th of 40 hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT). The last few weeks have been so busy with his last treatment and the after effects, the kids end of the school year ShowTime performance with Pensacola Children's Chorus (if you're in Pensacola raising kids, we highly recommend), car trouble, orthodontics, homeschool, a steady stream of hair clients at TheCottage, and starting the new schedule of a three hour commute for Mike and two hours in HBOT five days a week for 8 weeks.

On April 25th Mike was scheduled for the third and final chemotherapy treatment but his white blood cell count was low. So, they waited a week and did the chemotherapy on the last day of thirty five sessions of radiation. The white blood cell count was still low so they gave Mike a three day series of injections stimulating bone marrow to generate white blood cells. The count was up a week after the last treatment. The after effect of the chemotherapy lasted intensely for a week as usual. When Mike started HBOT on Monday, outward symptoms went from an eight to a three in terms of energy and a sore on his collar the size of a half dollar, which each day of HBOT is visually smaller.

The HBOT is not covered by insurance. Mike has missed almost a month of work and through mid July will be losing five hours a day commuting to and going through the HBOT. Thank goodness I started promoting my skin care products and myself as a hairdresser just before this diagnosis.

tues/apr/8/2025 Update: The second of three chemo treatments happened four days ago. Mike seemed to react better to this one, possibly because the pain from the tumor seems to have eased up. But since then he's been on his back. No energy, barely able to make it to radiation and back, barely able to force some food down at the prescribed times. We're hoping he'll be more functional once this week passes. But it will be what it will be. And the fact that the pain is almost gone is a good sign.

We've finally got in touch with the hyperbaric people and he's in the schedule the week after radiation ends. the price has doubled, no real surprise there. insurance doesn't cover it unless there is radiation damage. The integrative oncologist recommends forty sessions to avoid radiation damage. The doctors will write a script and because it's his second go round, they are hoping the hyperbaric will be covered. fingers crossed.

mon/mar/17/2025 Update: Treatment started at the end of last week. The chemo is a lot rougher than the radiation. Mike's symptoms are nausea, sudden exhaustion, pain where the tumor is and what he describes as an overall feeling of having been poisoned. Still, we are feeling positive that the outcome will be a complete healing.

tues/feb/25/2025 Update: Mike saw the medical oncologist yesterday. Chemotherapy as well as radiation is recommended this time around. We'll spend the next couple of weeks ironing out the details to begin treatment.

wed/feb/19/2025: Early in the Fall of 2021, Mike was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the neck. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, we had insurance, and we still do. This week we confirmed that Mike's suspicion was correct. The cancer is back and seems to be repeating itself on the opposite side of his neck. In 2021 an HPV-positive tonsillar source was identified, making it stage one. We are still waiting to find out if that is the case this time. In 2021 we were told that negative meant radiation would be recommended and positive would mean radiation and chemo would be recommended. Mike will meet with the medical oncologist after the weekend. The allopathic modalities will be covered by our insurance except for our co-pay of two thousand dollars. There are, of course, significant modalities that it doesn't cover. And once again, we are taking our community up on your offer to help with these costs:

Hyperbaric Oxygen: $6000

Integrative Oncologist: $900

Integrative Practitioner: $400

Nutritionists: $600

Deductible/Share of Cost: $2000

Exercise with Oxygen: $500

Traditional Chinese Medicine: $600

Acupuncture: $600

Food/Herbal Medicine/Supplements: $3000

IV C and Ozone: $1700

We are doing and/or will do what of the above we can afford. The prognosis is good with statistics between 65% and 95% remission rate, depending on which oncologist you ask. We are proceeding with 100% expectation of success.

P.S. These are a few things we have from the last round and we want to thank you, again. Flouride Trays: $175, protected Mike's teeth from the radiation and will again. Exercise Equipment: $1700, a client of Mike's helped us find a lightly used elliptical machine. The integrative oncologist recommended he work out for one minute at a time, as intensely as possible. Finnish Sauna: $5000, We might still be paying this one off, gol. The integrative oncologist said that a Finnish sauna would help a body expel unhealthy cells caused by the radiation treatment. (and its really helpful in terms of my asthma.)