Elizabeth’s Part 1:
Hey guys! We’ve been home for just over two weeks and it has been a BLUR! I thought we would have written more while in Mexico and upon returning home, but it just didn’t happen. We had a great reunion with our kids and were so happy to be together after almost 4 weeks apart. We’ve jumped back into some normal routines like homeschool and work, and are adjusting to our “new normal” with various treatments and lots of supplements. (I’ll share more about that below) As I’m getting more questions, I thought now would be a good time to do some updating. To make sure this blog isn’t super long, I’m going to divide it into three parts: my experience at Hope 4 cancer and what’s next, stories and testimonies from other patients, and overall reflections on my experience. These should answer some of the most common questions I get. (How was it? What did you do? Did it work? How are you feeling? Was it what you hoped? etc.)
To start I thought I would share what a typical day at the clinic was like. I started treatments at 7am every morning and continued until dinner time, sometimes even after that. They kept us busy but I found it was still relaxing since it was a lot of sitting and laying, sitting and laying. I don’t get to sit or lay down much at home with my 4 little boys, so that part was very different. 🙂
I was in the oxygen chamber every day. A good time to read, listen to podcasts, or take a nap!
A typical schedule looked like this:
7am: Near Infrared Lamp (helps with detoxification, reducing inflammation and promotes deep tissue healing) and Hydrogen-Oxygen Inhalation (helps with reducing impact of oxidative stress, counteracts effects of free radicals, improves sleep, etc.), TCM spray, They would bring me lemon water, a shot of wheatgrass, and a shot of golden turmeric milk
8 am: Breakfast (usually plant based, occasionally some eggs. I thought it was all delicious!)
9 am: Coffee Enema (I know this sounds super weird but it’s another form of detoxification. It stimulates the liver and gallbladder to release toxins and enhances liver function.) and ozone therapy (stimulates immune system, kills cancer cells and microbes, oxides toxins, reduces inflammation, regulates hormone and enzyme production)
10 am: Photodynamic Therapy Plus (you can learn more about it on their website https://hope4cancer.com/alternative-cancer-treatments/pdt-plus/) They would also bring green juice (spinach, romaine, celery, etc.) and a protein shake to my room
11 am: IV’s - Either High Dose Vitamin C or B17 and Hydrogen-Oxygen again
12:30: Indiba - (you can read about this one here https://hope4cancer.com/alternative-cancer-treatments/indiba-hyperthermia/)
1 pm Lunch (always fish, salad, and some sort of cooked veggie–always the biggest meal)
2 pm: Near Infrared Sauna or Whole Body Hyperthermia (this is jokingly called the pizza oven because it looks like one and feels like one! Your body gets to fever temperature…it’s a tough one!!)
3 pm: sometimes we squeezed a walk on the beach at this time–that’s a healing treatment too! They would bring me red juice (beets, carrots, etc) and a protein shake.
4 pm: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
5:30: Dinner (Always plant based; typically some type of bean soup, cooked veggies, some type of grain)
6:30: After dinner beach walk if we had time
7 pm: Usually hang out with other patients or we would watch a movie in our room; I usually did Hydrogen therapy again or any IV’s that I missed
Other therapies I did: PEMF, VIBE machine, Sunivera, Salvus, Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation, colonics, and probably some others that I’m missing!
UVBI—they take my blood, add ozone to it and sent it through ultraviolet light, then back into me
I started and ended my stay with different tests such as blood work, ultrasound, and thermometry. I met with a nutritionist, a therapist, a doctor of course, a biological dentist, and we were very fortunate to have a one-on-one with the founder, Dr. Tony. The nutritionist was very helpful and we learned a lot from him. I’ve been doing really well on a plant based diet but he did change it slightly based on my test results. The therapist sessions were tough but also helpful and thought-provoking. The biological dentist recommended taking out my mercury fillings. We actually found out my tooth with a mercury filling was directly connected to my breast via the meridian pathways, so that was super interesting. I got two of my fillings removed and plan to get the last one out when I return this summer. I also had tons of cavities after doing chemo- ugh!
My nurses and doctors were all amazing. My doctor gave me a hug everytime she came in the room!
Me with Dr. Rosa—she was the sweetest.
I was sent home with a few treatments to do and lots and LOTS of supplements. They want me to continue doing coffee enemas (maybe Fortress will start adding this to our coffee selection????) and my light therapy via a laser watch, and a shot that I take 5 days a week. When we met with Dr. Tony (the founder) and asked his top 3 device recommendations for my specific situation once home, he highly recommended the whole body hyperthermia, ozone therapy, and hydrogen therapy. Because we’ve had an outpouring of financial help, we were able to buy a couple of these and a near infrared lamp and vibe machine. We hope to buy the others in the near future.
The plan is to continue doing these at home and then return to Mexico in 3 months for a two day checkup for more testing and see where I’m at. Dr. Tony also recommended doing a test that measures circulating tumor cells, which will reveal a lot. I also plan to do a Dutch Test (hormone test) to see where I’m at with hormones.
This was one of my main nurses, Lydia. She was great!
Last week I met with my oncologist here and started my first herceptin infusion. I felt amazing when I returned home from Mexico, but after that infusion I just feel kind of “blah.” My plan is to stay on the hormone blockers for now. I will say I’m praying some pretty bold prayers about that situation, though.
Thanks for your prayers, friends. Thank you for helping us get to Mexico and joining us in this journey. We believe the Lord led us there and we continue to ask for His guidance as we move forward. Ultimately, our hope is in Christ. All of these treatments are just tools that can be used by Him and we trust that He has used them for my good.
Part 2 will be coming soon!
-Elizabeth
Lots of rain in Tijuana and some colder weather, but we still made it out to the beach almost every day!