Why I Chose Integrative Treatments For Cancer
I think I believed in the back of my mind that if I was ever diagnosed with cancer, I would do something totally alternative. However, I wasn’t aware of anyone personally who had done this. What would I do? Where would I start? I knew I could not take the old liquid chemo without researching what my options were. I went to a doctor who I thought would give me some ideas for alternative healing, but the leukemia was so far advanced when I saw her, she said I needed to get conventional treatment before I had a heart attack or stroke. She recommended Dr. Keith Block.
I was so sick when I first met with Dr. Block that I could not have researched this on my own. Fortunately, he had a plan in place, has done the research and knows exactly what your body needs to detoxify and heal. I firmly believe that this was where I needed to be.
We were amazed at Dr. Block and his team. We met with him and someone from his team from 9:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. He put a plan in place for diet, exercise, meditation, supplements, and IV infusions. He also, brought in Dr. Jeyesh Mehta, a hematologist at Northwestern who specializes in CML the kind of leukemia I have, to work with us. Dr. Block and his team instilled such faith in me, I knew I would be healed. I had finally found a doctor who believed in the whole person.
As I grew stronger and started researching alternative treatments, I realized that so many of the alternative treatments I was learning about I already had in place through Dr. Block. He has done the research, he knows the statistics and he knows what works. Dr. Block and his team design an individualized plan for each person.
For me integrative treatment included the following:
Diet – For me this was pretty much vegan with cold water fish 2-3 times a week and cutting out all refined sugar. I also would learn why it is important to eat only organic.
Exercise – I knew somewhere in my mind if I just kept exercising, I would get better. I remember Jan taking me for a walk every evening and I kept pushing the boundaries, not knowing if I could make it home. Again, Dr. Block and his team designed an individualized plan of exercise for me to follow.
Meditation – I learned to be still, to be okay with the silence and listen to the still small voice.
Visualization – This became my new journey as I visualized healing.
IV Infusions – This was something new to me. I would have infusions of high dose vitamin C, glutathione, vitamins and minerals and curcumin. I had never heard of this before and yet the more research I did I found the value in all of these.
Supplements – I could not have researched these on my own because of my declining health and I could have never found all the research to back up why the supplements and IV infusions were so critical at this point in my life. And yet Dr. Block again has researched this and understands which supplements and infusions will help detoxify your body and build it back up.
Targeted drug – Although this is not something I wanted to take, I believe it saved my life along with the other integrative treatments Dr. Block put in place.
The Block Center also offers a unique program designed to prevent cancer recurrence. You can read about it on their website or contact them for more information. I believe that I have been healed and by staying on this program, which is designed to build your body back up and prevent cancer recurrence, I have the confidence to live a healthy life. I think this is a huge part of treatment, because so often after conventional cancer treatments your body is so depleted that often cancer will reoccur. If you have any doubts when faced with cancer about who to see and what treatments to get, check out all the options.
I will be forever indebted to Dr. Block and his team and believe that they saved my life. I can’t begin to tell you everything about Dr. Block and his team or everything about integrative treatments for cancer, as I am continuing to learn more myself. You can research this and learn more on his website at www.blockmd.com. He has also authored a book called Life Over Cancer, which is a must read if you want to learn more.
I believe ultimately this was an answer to prayer as God showed up and lead the way as I searched for solutions. An answer to not only my prayers, but the prayers of so many as they walked along side me and prayed for me. I believe that I was given the answers as I needed them, and I believe to this day that as sick as I was, I would have died using only liquid chemo.
I am excited every time I hear that Integrative Medicine is being taught in some of our Medical Schools. My mission is to share my story with others, so they know they have options.
