Return trip to the Bio-Medical Clinic in Mexico...
Beth and I flew down to the Bio-Medical Clinic in Mexico (aka The Hoxsey Clinic) on Monday and it sure left our arms tired! Ha ha. Seriously, we flew into the tiny airport known as San Diego International, rented a car, and drove down to the International Motor Inn in San Ysidro. On Tuesday, Valentine's Day, we took the van, driven by Raul, to the clinic. There was 5 patients on this trip and it was a very light day at the clinic.
Instead of seeing Dr. Trujillo this time, I met with Dr. Teresa Palacios. I had provided my updated records first thing that morning for the doctor to go over before the consultation. In the meantime, I donated a cup of urine and a couple of vials of blood for the lab to inspect. Long story short, Beth and I met with the doctor around 10:45 AM and she asked me several questions and did an exam. We talked about the first cycle of chemo treatments and the results of the PET/CT scan. Beth prepared a full list of the herbs and supplements that I was taking and Dr. Palacios was blown away with how much I do everyday. She said she would never expect one of her patients to do as much as I do. When we discussed how I was doing with the Hoxsey diet, I told her it was no problem since I go above and beyond with a mostly vegan diet. She said I was one of her easiest patients. So following her exam, she said I was doing incredibly well and basically said keep up the good work. This was the first of the two meetings for the day, I would meet her again when the blood work came in. Beth and I were delighted with her knowledge and professionalism. She is a very good doctor.
While waiting for the next consultation, the director of the clinic came into the lobby and let everyone know the Mexican inspectors were due to come in and conduct an investigation. She said it was due to political pressure from the United States government following the recent death of Correta Scott King at the Santa Monica Clinic south of Tijuana. She let us know we did not have to answer any questions and all doctor patient info was personal and protected by Mexican laws just as in the U.S. She said she was not worried since the clinic had all their ducks in a row, the clinic was liscensed and so were the doctors. She also said that the Santa Monica Clinic is currently shut down due to US pressure. She said the director of the clinic was not a doctor and did have some criminal history in the US. But, the Santa Monica had good, licensed doctors who actually treat the patients that come there, not the director. Like many top US hospitals, the directors or CEO's are mostly business orientated types and not doctors themselves. Most of the patients felt like challenging the inspectors, if they came. Basically, butt out and tell the US government to go stick it.
This gets me on a rant. Since Mrs. King's death, I have been following the fall out in the media. The media has been a bit sensational, I know, what do you expect? And as usual, they make it out as if these Mexican clinics are exploitive and filled with quacks. The reality is, some of them probably are, but the US has its fair share as well. They make it out that us cancer patients are so deluded with hope, that we foolishly allow ourselves to be taken on a ride. And, probably some of us are. But speaking for myself, there are a couple of reasons I came to the Bio-Medical clinic. For one, chemo has a 25-35% success rate with incredibly harsh side effects. I have lost most of my hair, on my head, on my body, around my genitals, and certainly none off my back! I get sick with nausea from the morning after chemo through the 3rd day following chemo, not to mention the extreme amount of fatigue I deal with on that 3rd day. I have pains in my abdomen, frequent numbness in my left hand, and countless sores in my mouth that make it painful to eat and drink. I have to numb my mouth, like at the dentist, to eat certain foods so that I can't taste it and when I brush my teeth; which always causes my gums to bleed so I am spitting red into the sink. My sinuses are causing me to have frequent headaches and frequent nose bleeds. My immune system is taking a beating and I am vulnerable to infection so I fear taking my sweetheart out to the movies or a good bar so that I won't get wasted on a common cold or that nasty flu thats been going around. All my doctors are telling me that I am handling chemo exceptionally well. To be quite frank, if I was over 70, I would say fuck this and head to Mexico and find something less harsh that might prolong my life and give me a much better quality of life for the last few years I have. Consequently, many of the patients both at the clinic and at Dr. Sodhi's office are senior citizens that do go on living a few extra months to a few extra years more than they were given by conventional doctors. It is said that approximately 50% of all the cancer deaths are a result of the conventional treatments (chemo, radiation, or both) and not directly the result of the cancer. Mrs. King, bless her soul, died at age 78 and to call her a fool is to say carrying out the work of Dr. Martin Luther King is a fool's endeavor. As it is, I can take this beating so that I have a chance to live several extra years and live out some of my dreams and goals. Yes, the chemo is harsh and I want to end it as soon as possible, but I also know that it gives me a good fighting chance so I will see it through.
Another reason to go to Mexico, each of my chemo treatments cost my insurance approximately $1,000 a piece, every week! I have very good insurance and I am deeply thankful to my employer, ERI, for providing me this safety blanket. However, the most I will pay in my life for the Hoxsey treatment is $3,500, that is the Bio-Medical policy. And, I pay what I can when I can and I do not get bills in the mail or sent to collection. The cost of health care in this country is quackery. Just today, Beth brought to my attention that the FDA approved of Avastin for use in treating Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, which is what I am inflicted with. But, to dash the hopes of many cancer patients, Genentech, the makers of Avastin, announced they would charge a $100,000 a year for it! If so, the copay for me would be approximately $20,000 a year, basically, I, a middle income professional with good quality insurance, wouldn't be able to afford it, not even remotely! That is a little more than a third of my annual income, before taxes. And considering it's low success rate and potential harsh side effects, why bother? We listened to a program on NPR, The Marketplace, who also reported on it. They reported that tax payers funded 44% of the research on cancer drugs last year and Genentech will privately reap the profits. I'm sorry, scientific evidence or not, Mexico is a god send for thousands of us cancer patients. We simply cannot afford health care in the US. To add insult to injury, Genentech said "the value of the drug is its first of its kind therapy and what is the true value of life." Well, Genentech, your greed will certainly push us to put a financial value on human life now, won't you?!?
Lastly, Americans are not the only one's who rely on the health services of these Mexican clinics. I have met Canadiens and seen Mexicans, read about Europeans, Asians, and South Americans also coming to these clinics. If the US pressures the closures of the clinics, where would these other nationals go? Does the US want to foster more terrorism? Don't we already have a bad PR standing in the world as it is? My opinion is that the US government has to butt out, issue warnings if need be to its citizens, and leave it at that. We have no right shutting down clinics in other countries. But I know that the lobby arms of the big pharma, the AMA, and the chemical industries have vested interest in shutting down these low cost health service providers. Don't believe me, then let me repeat, The Marketplace on NPR reported this evening that American tax payers funded 44% of the cancer drug research in 2005 while Genentech will reap the profits. The article I linked above said, "With Avastin's expanded use, analysts expect the drug's sales to soar to $7 billion in the United States alone by 2009, compared with $1.1 billion last year. Over the same period, Genentech's overall profits are forecast to triple, to $4 billion in 2009, as sales — $6.6 billion last year — climb to $18 billion." The new medicare program costing tax payer's children several hundred billion dollars will add $billions$ to big pharma's pockets. Thanks George Bush and the Republican controlled congress, you just gave us socialized medicine with privatized profits...yeah, the era of small government ended with Clinton, what a sham. Just don't let the FDA approve the morning after pill for over the counter use, we sure don't want to miss out on future children covering this bill! Ok, the rant will end here.
I went back in to see Dr. Palacios after the blood work came back. Everything checked out very well. She was amazed to see how well the blood cell counts looked after such an aggressive first cycle. She credited the numerous herbs and supplements I was taking as well as the diet. But, she wanted me to work more on more meditation and visualization. Her final words were that although I have many cancer cells in my body, I am not defined by them. I am still James, a human, with cancer. I am not cancer itself. Knowing this, the cancer will not beat me, I will beat it since I ultimately control it. I felt those words were wise words and they hit a home run with me. This didn't come from the mouth of a quack, this came from the mouth of a healer. Right before I left her office the final time, she then said to take it easy since my bones are fragile with the cancer on it. Then it hit me, I forgot to tell her about the zometa and the avastin. I ran both of those by her and she said great, the zometa is beneficial. She also first questioned why I was on avastin since it was for colon cancer. I told her I was using it off label while it was being studied for use with lung cancer. Again, she said great. I was actually a bit amazed she knew that. Obviously, she is very up to speed on current conventional technology.
We were all done at the clinic by 1:30 and Raul picked us up for the return to the US. Before leaving Mexico, one of Raul's jobs is to run around to all the pharmacia's to pick up prescriptions for the patients. One of the prescriptions was hard to get and caused us to have to whiz across town. This ended up being a good thing, the border crossing at San Ysidro on I-5 had a 3-4 hour wait. So we zoomed up to the crossing at Otay with Raul complaining about all the crazy Mexican drivers. Fortunately for us, Raul's "American cousin" inspected the van occupants at the border and it took about 10 minutes to cross. We were asked if we were all Americans and everyone said yes. He then looked at he lady in front with a walker and me with my bald head as Raul said we were cancer patients coming back from the clinic. The border agent then waived us through without checking ID's. We got back to the hotel by late afternoon and Beth and I cleaned up to go have a Valentine dinner at a San Diego vegetarian cafe. Our trip to San Diego was soon coming to an end.
While we never did see those Mexican inspectors, I was certainly ready to confront them and give them a piece of my mind, as did most of the patients. As I learned the first time I came to the clinic, there may not be scientific evidence to back the claims of the hoxsey tonic, but there are sure a lot of returning patients who were not supposed to live. Seeing is believing. And like all the conventional cancer therapies in the US, the tonic is not a 100% cure all. The doctors at the clinic felt I needed chemo with my advanced disease and they also felt the tonic would help me through it and give my body much needed support. So far, that seems to be the case. Once I get this disease into remission, the tonic will be beneficial in keeping it that way. You read some of my frustrations in this posting and I assure you that I believe in what I am doing is the correct thing to do. My healing path has laid out a plan that combines conventional therapies with alternative ones and this is what I will continue to do, right or wrong. Avastin may not be a part of my healing path for much longer, but I am fine with that. I would much prefer that I continue using it since I don't really know what parts of my healing path may be giving me the greatest benefits. But I have to be able to afford my healing path, as we all do. While I do feel I live in the greatest, most technologically advance country in the world, I hold no illusions to many of the problems we face as citizens. Part of my love for my country is getting pissed off and criticizing what I see as corruption and moral failings by our so called leaders, typically made up of a bunch of self serving millionaires serving up our country to the highest bidders. Quite honestly, I can beat my disease before its too late, but can we beat the moral disease of our leaders before its too late? I am disgusted with the Iraq war and the farce of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal convictions, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the health care system, social security, erosion of the constitution, the failed war on drugs, and the way money operates politics and labeled as "free speech." But again, I hold no illusions that things would be different if the guy (or girl) in charge has a (D) or an (R) after their name. I live in a "blue" state but feel no different to my brothers and sisters in the "red" states. I see our leaders and the corporate media talking heads wedging divisions between the citizens with labels of "blue" or "red" and I think its a disgrace. Yes, we all have our opinions, but we also deal with the same common problems. We need more unifying national dialogue using common language to drown out the extreme talk coming from the far left and right who commonly control the floor with regards to the national topic de jour. Unfortunately, I feel overwhelmed and have no answers. Like anything in life, we have to take each issue one step at a time and strike compromises. We need real justice, not manufactured, bought and paid for justice. We need real leadership to guide us and help us solve these problems. Who these leaders are, I don't know, but I also don't blame them for not stepping forward so their dignity and integrity can be shredded by the politcal mudslingers. I simply don't see the state of the union being as rosy as our president recently pointed out, as all our recent presidents continue to blather about. I have yet to see a president or a candidate actually be in step with the voters and know what its like for us. I am sorry to vent on you like this but as the old saying goes in times like this, at least you got your health. Unfortunately, I don't. As I try to regain it, I see more and more of these problems we face as being barriers. However, I can and will over come these barriers and I will beat this disease. Sadly though, there are hundreds of thousands of other ill Americans out there who don't have the strength...the resources...to over come these barriers. Being I don't have the answers, not even a suggestion, I ask you to just acknowledge what you see as problems in America and to vote with your conscious. I acknowledge you as you my healers and therefore I know you can help this country heal.
Ok, I now really promise to end my rant and will get back to updating you on my progress, the next post will be about chemo treatment 2.3 and maybe a good book I want to share with you. Stay tuned and bless all of you....
Beth and I flew down to the Bio-Medical Clinic in Mexico (aka The Hoxsey Clinic) on Monday and it sure left our arms tired! Ha ha. Seriously, we flew into the tiny airport known as San Diego International, rented a car, and drove down to the International Motor Inn in San Ysidro. On Tuesday, Valentine's Day, we took the van, driven by Raul, to the clinic. There was 5 patients on this trip and it was a very light day at the clinic.
Instead of seeing Dr. Trujillo this time, I met with Dr. Teresa Palacios. I had provided my updated records first thing that morning for the doctor to go over before the consultation. In the meantime, I donated a cup of urine and a couple of vials of blood for the lab to inspect. Long story short, Beth and I met with the doctor around 10:45 AM and she asked me several questions and did an exam. We talked about the first cycle of chemo treatments and the results of the PET/CT scan. Beth prepared a full list of the herbs and supplements that I was taking and Dr. Palacios was blown away with how much I do everyday. She said she would never expect one of her patients to do as much as I do. When we discussed how I was doing with the Hoxsey diet, I told her it was no problem since I go above and beyond with a mostly vegan diet. She said I was one of her easiest patients. So following her exam, she said I was doing incredibly well and basically said keep up the good work. This was the first of the two meetings for the day, I would meet her again when the blood work came in. Beth and I were delighted with her knowledge and professionalism. She is a very good doctor.
While waiting for the next consultation, the director of the clinic came into the lobby and let everyone know the Mexican inspectors were due to come in and conduct an investigation. She said it was due to political pressure from the United States government following the recent death of Correta Scott King at the Santa Monica Clinic south of Tijuana. She let us know we did not have to answer any questions and all doctor patient info was personal and protected by Mexican laws just as in the U.S. She said she was not worried since the clinic had all their ducks in a row, the clinic was liscensed and so were the doctors. She also said that the Santa Monica Clinic is currently shut down due to US pressure. She said the director of the clinic was not a doctor and did have some criminal history in the US. But, the Santa Monica had good, licensed doctors who actually treat the patients that come there, not the director. Like many top US hospitals, the directors or CEO's are mostly business orientated types and not doctors themselves. Most of the patients felt like challenging the inspectors, if they came. Basically, butt out and tell the US government to go stick it.
This gets me on a rant. Since Mrs. King's death, I have been following the fall out in the media. The media has been a bit sensational, I know, what do you expect? And as usual, they make it out as if these Mexican clinics are exploitive and filled with quacks. The reality is, some of them probably are, but the US has its fair share as well. They make it out that us cancer patients are so deluded with hope, that we foolishly allow ourselves to be taken on a ride. And, probably some of us are. But speaking for myself, there are a couple of reasons I came to the Bio-Medical clinic. For one, chemo has a 25-35% success rate with incredibly harsh side effects. I have lost most of my hair, on my head, on my body, around my genitals, and certainly none off my back! I get sick with nausea from the morning after chemo through the 3rd day following chemo, not to mention the extreme amount of fatigue I deal with on that 3rd day. I have pains in my abdomen, frequent numbness in my left hand, and countless sores in my mouth that make it painful to eat and drink. I have to numb my mouth, like at the dentist, to eat certain foods so that I can't taste it and when I brush my teeth; which always causes my gums to bleed so I am spitting red into the sink. My sinuses are causing me to have frequent headaches and frequent nose bleeds. My immune system is taking a beating and I am vulnerable to infection so I fear taking my sweetheart out to the movies or a good bar so that I won't get wasted on a common cold or that nasty flu thats been going around. All my doctors are telling me that I am handling chemo exceptionally well. To be quite frank, if I was over 70, I would say fuck this and head to Mexico and find something less harsh that might prolong my life and give me a much better quality of life for the last few years I have. Consequently, many of the patients both at the clinic and at Dr. Sodhi's office are senior citizens that do go on living a few extra months to a few extra years more than they were given by conventional doctors. It is said that approximately 50% of all the cancer deaths are a result of the conventional treatments (chemo, radiation, or both) and not directly the result of the cancer. Mrs. King, bless her soul, died at age 78 and to call her a fool is to say carrying out the work of Dr. Martin Luther King is a fool's endeavor. As it is, I can take this beating so that I have a chance to live several extra years and live out some of my dreams and goals. Yes, the chemo is harsh and I want to end it as soon as possible, but I also know that it gives me a good fighting chance so I will see it through.
Another reason to go to Mexico, each of my chemo treatments cost my insurance approximately $1,000 a piece, every week! I have very good insurance and I am deeply thankful to my employer, ERI, for providing me this safety blanket. However, the most I will pay in my life for the Hoxsey treatment is $3,500, that is the Bio-Medical policy. And, I pay what I can when I can and I do not get bills in the mail or sent to collection. The cost of health care in this country is quackery. Just today, Beth brought to my attention that the FDA approved of Avastin for use in treating Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, which is what I am inflicted with. But, to dash the hopes of many cancer patients, Genentech, the makers of Avastin, announced they would charge a $100,000 a year for it! If so, the copay for me would be approximately $20,000 a year, basically, I, a middle income professional with good quality insurance, wouldn't be able to afford it, not even remotely! That is a little more than a third of my annual income, before taxes. And considering it's low success rate and potential harsh side effects, why bother? We listened to a program on NPR, The Marketplace, who also reported on it. They reported that tax payers funded 44% of the research on cancer drugs last year and Genentech will privately reap the profits. I'm sorry, scientific evidence or not, Mexico is a god send for thousands of us cancer patients. We simply cannot afford health care in the US. To add insult to injury, Genentech said "the value of the drug is its first of its kind therapy and what is the true value of life." Well, Genentech, your greed will certainly push us to put a financial value on human life now, won't you?!?
Lastly, Americans are not the only one's who rely on the health services of these Mexican clinics. I have met Canadiens and seen Mexicans, read about Europeans, Asians, and South Americans also coming to these clinics. If the US pressures the closures of the clinics, where would these other nationals go? Does the US want to foster more terrorism? Don't we already have a bad PR standing in the world as it is? My opinion is that the US government has to butt out, issue warnings if need be to its citizens, and leave it at that. We have no right shutting down clinics in other countries. But I know that the lobby arms of the big pharma, the AMA, and the chemical industries have vested interest in shutting down these low cost health service providers. Don't believe me, then let me repeat, The Marketplace on NPR reported this evening that American tax payers funded 44% of the cancer drug research in 2005 while Genentech will reap the profits. The article I linked above said, "With Avastin's expanded use, analysts expect the drug's sales to soar to $7 billion in the United States alone by 2009, compared with $1.1 billion last year. Over the same period, Genentech's overall profits are forecast to triple, to $4 billion in 2009, as sales — $6.6 billion last year — climb to $18 billion." The new medicare program costing tax payer's children several hundred billion dollars will add $billions$ to big pharma's pockets. Thanks George Bush and the Republican controlled congress, you just gave us socialized medicine with privatized profits...yeah, the era of small government ended with Clinton, what a sham. Just don't let the FDA approve the morning after pill for over the counter use, we sure don't want to miss out on future children covering this bill! Ok, the rant will end here.
I went back in to see Dr. Palacios after the blood work came back. Everything checked out very well. She was amazed to see how well the blood cell counts looked after such an aggressive first cycle. She credited the numerous herbs and supplements I was taking as well as the diet. But, she wanted me to work more on more meditation and visualization. Her final words were that although I have many cancer cells in my body, I am not defined by them. I am still James, a human, with cancer. I am not cancer itself. Knowing this, the cancer will not beat me, I will beat it since I ultimately control it. I felt those words were wise words and they hit a home run with me. This didn't come from the mouth of a quack, this came from the mouth of a healer. Right before I left her office the final time, she then said to take it easy since my bones are fragile with the cancer on it. Then it hit me, I forgot to tell her about the zometa and the avastin. I ran both of those by her and she said great, the zometa is beneficial. She also first questioned why I was on avastin since it was for colon cancer. I told her I was using it off label while it was being studied for use with lung cancer. Again, she said great. I was actually a bit amazed she knew that. Obviously, she is very up to speed on current conventional technology.
We were all done at the clinic by 1:30 and Raul picked us up for the return to the US. Before leaving Mexico, one of Raul's jobs is to run around to all the pharmacia's to pick up prescriptions for the patients. One of the prescriptions was hard to get and caused us to have to whiz across town. This ended up being a good thing, the border crossing at San Ysidro on I-5 had a 3-4 hour wait. So we zoomed up to the crossing at Otay with Raul complaining about all the crazy Mexican drivers. Fortunately for us, Raul's "American cousin" inspected the van occupants at the border and it took about 10 minutes to cross. We were asked if we were all Americans and everyone said yes. He then looked at he lady in front with a walker and me with my bald head as Raul said we were cancer patients coming back from the clinic. The border agent then waived us through without checking ID's. We got back to the hotel by late afternoon and Beth and I cleaned up to go have a Valentine dinner at a San Diego vegetarian cafe. Our trip to San Diego was soon coming to an end.
While we never did see those Mexican inspectors, I was certainly ready to confront them and give them a piece of my mind, as did most of the patients. As I learned the first time I came to the clinic, there may not be scientific evidence to back the claims of the hoxsey tonic, but there are sure a lot of returning patients who were not supposed to live. Seeing is believing. And like all the conventional cancer therapies in the US, the tonic is not a 100% cure all. The doctors at the clinic felt I needed chemo with my advanced disease and they also felt the tonic would help me through it and give my body much needed support. So far, that seems to be the case. Once I get this disease into remission, the tonic will be beneficial in keeping it that way. You read some of my frustrations in this posting and I assure you that I believe in what I am doing is the correct thing to do. My healing path has laid out a plan that combines conventional therapies with alternative ones and this is what I will continue to do, right or wrong. Avastin may not be a part of my healing path for much longer, but I am fine with that. I would much prefer that I continue using it since I don't really know what parts of my healing path may be giving me the greatest benefits. But I have to be able to afford my healing path, as we all do. While I do feel I live in the greatest, most technologically advance country in the world, I hold no illusions to many of the problems we face as citizens. Part of my love for my country is getting pissed off and criticizing what I see as corruption and moral failings by our so called leaders, typically made up of a bunch of self serving millionaires serving up our country to the highest bidders. Quite honestly, I can beat my disease before its too late, but can we beat the moral disease of our leaders before its too late? I am disgusted with the Iraq war and the farce of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal convictions, the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the health care system, social security, erosion of the constitution, the failed war on drugs, and the way money operates politics and labeled as "free speech." But again, I hold no illusions that things would be different if the guy (or girl) in charge has a (D) or an (R) after their name. I live in a "blue" state but feel no different to my brothers and sisters in the "red" states. I see our leaders and the corporate media talking heads wedging divisions between the citizens with labels of "blue" or "red" and I think its a disgrace. Yes, we all have our opinions, but we also deal with the same common problems. We need more unifying national dialogue using common language to drown out the extreme talk coming from the far left and right who commonly control the floor with regards to the national topic de jour. Unfortunately, I feel overwhelmed and have no answers. Like anything in life, we have to take each issue one step at a time and strike compromises. We need real justice, not manufactured, bought and paid for justice. We need real leadership to guide us and help us solve these problems. Who these leaders are, I don't know, but I also don't blame them for not stepping forward so their dignity and integrity can be shredded by the politcal mudslingers. I simply don't see the state of the union being as rosy as our president recently pointed out, as all our recent presidents continue to blather about. I have yet to see a president or a candidate actually be in step with the voters and know what its like for us. I am sorry to vent on you like this but as the old saying goes in times like this, at least you got your health. Unfortunately, I don't. As I try to regain it, I see more and more of these problems we face as being barriers. However, I can and will over come these barriers and I will beat this disease. Sadly though, there are hundreds of thousands of other ill Americans out there who don't have the strength...the resources...to over come these barriers. Being I don't have the answers, not even a suggestion, I ask you to just acknowledge what you see as problems in America and to vote with your conscious. I acknowledge you as you my healers and therefore I know you can help this country heal.
Ok, I now really promise to end my rant and will get back to updating you on my progress, the next post will be about chemo treatment 2.3 and maybe a good book I want to share with you. Stay tuned and bless all of you....
posted by Beth @ 2/16/2006 09:29:00 PM
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