“Are you a local or just visiting here?” the Uber driver asked. It was a conversation starter that I had become used to while using Uber in the final weeks of my stay in Arizona in August of 2021.
“Just visiting, but I’ve been here since February, so I feel like I’m getting to know the area better.” I replied.
“You planning to be here in Scottsdale awhile then?”
“No, I’m really excited to be going home to Oregon soon. I’ve been in cancer treatment here at Envita Medical Center and I’m almost done! The treatment has been quite successful!”
“Oh, that’s great! Congratulations! But, you came all the way from Oregon for cancer treatment here? Wow. What do they do differently at this place than regular cancer centers?” And with that question as a starting point, I would quickly nut-shell the uniqueness of Envita’s approach before we reached my destination.
Choosing a Place to Go
When it became painfully apparent that I needed immediate treatment for my fast-growing abdominal tumor (neuroendocrine carcinoma), David Stelzer mentioned that his father-in-law had been successfully treated at Envita for Stage 4 Prostate Cancer the previous year. That was encouraging! Everything worked out for me to go immediately. I could see God’s hand leading in this.
My first impressions were that Envita’s approach was to use the best holistic treatments and the best conventional treatments together to beat cancer. True enough, I suppose. But, that’s actually an oversimplification. With smart modifications to conventional treatments I would say now that their approach is not just a combo, but clearly unique.
At Envita, my treatment plan was individualized for me specifically. Tests (like the Datar Cancer Genetics Test) were done to determine exactly which treatments would work for me and my body chemistry. Treatments weren’t given solely based on the kind of cancer I had (which seems to be the typical approach).
Sharing Experiences
Due to my time in the healthy-food world of Azure and personal research, I had come to know that there are many things that can be done for cancer. So, when it first became apparent that I likely had cancer, I wasn’t particularly fearful. I was convinced it could be beat naturally. But, after the delay of a misdiagnosis (as you may have read in my article last month) and the aggressive nature of the tumor, I was in a spot where I needed quicker-acting help, and am so thankful Envita was there for me.
There are other clinics and great doctors who have effective programs for healing from cancer. There are also many highly effective treatments being done at clinics outside the US. But, Envita is where God worked it out for me to go. I can’t speak for other places, but feel that it's important to share with you the treatments I got there (and at other specialty clinics in the area) because sharing information about our experiences is so important. Nearly everyone knows someone who had or has cancer, and learning about what options are available and how successful they were (or were not) is going to help bring the best treatments to light.
While getting my almost-daily infusions in Envita’s “Room 5”, I became friends with other patients. We shared our stories, our symptoms, our struggles. I learned a lot about the conventional treatments some of them had received. We discussed our current treatments (which were unique to each of us). I believe this sharing of knowledge helped in many ways. So, I want to share with you, my Azure Family, a brief description and overview of the treatments I got. I hope it will start a bigger conversation in your own circles about alternative approaches to cancer treatment.
Stopping the Growth
With such an aggressive and fast-growing tumor, something had to be done quickly to stop its growth or else the tumor itself would cause a bowel obstruction that could kill me. Surgery was the first go-to solution. My doctors at Envita assured me that there were techniques to arrest any live cancer cells that might escape the knife. But, alas, the surgeon found that the tumor was much too “vascular” to remove -- it had way too much blood supply, and the risk of bleeding to death, if he tried to remove it, was just too great. He sewed me up, declaring it “unresectable” and inoperable.
For the next approach, we had the choice between targeted radiation and embolization (cutting off the blood supply to the tumor). Since there was a risk of becoming severely toxic to the point of overwhelming the body’s detoxification systems if the tumor was killed off suddenly, it was decided to try targeted radiation of the tumor first. This seemed to accomplish the goal. But, inadvertent damage to the nearby intestines would cause problems later, unfortunately.
After a time, I had the tumor embolized and its blood supply cut off. For me, this had only positive benefits and soon the cancer pain was completely gone. What a relief! Without a blood supply to the tumor, I could then (and later did!) have surgery to remove the dead tumor without as much risk of bleeding out.
GTF Chemo & CIPI
Yes, just the word “chemo” seems so unnatural and against everything I had envisioned as part of a healthy treatment plan. But, I soon learned that Envita’s approach to chemo was way different than conventional. They used a Genetically Targeted Fractionated (GTF) chemo approach along with the Datar test results to craft a plan for me that was unique. GTF could be called “low-dose chemo” because it only uses about 10% of what conventional treatments usually use. How can that low dose still be effective? It’s “targeted” to just be absorbed by the cancerous and aberrant cells in the body by exploiting the cancer’s love of sugar.
When one eats sugar, cancer cells love it! They’ll soak it right up and grow. So, with GTF/low-dose chemo, my blood sugar was carefully and purposefully lowered with insulin. I was then given (by IV) a small amount of chemo drug along with some sugar. The sugar acts as a kind of “Trojan horse”, being gobbled up by the cancer cells -- thereby getting a significant dose of the drug along with it. Sneaky, huh? This way, much less chemo is used. What is used goes directly to the cancer cells and does not overwhelm the rest of the body.
The Datar test results also helped determine exactly the best chemo drug to be used in minute amounts in a CIPI™ (Chemo Immuno Precision Injections) procedure that was done to one lobe of my liver when it appeared that some aberrant cells had migrated there. Subsequent imaging showed that the CIPI was successful.
Antioxidants and Oxidants in Balance
Cancer hates oxygen (an oxidant). It tends to thrive in a low-oxygen environment. So, increasing oxygen in the body is helpful. Ozone Therapy was one of my treatments, and it involved removing some of my blood, ozonating it, and putting it back into me. The other oxygen-enhancing therapy was high-dose intravenous Vitamin C.
On opposite days from the oxidative therapies, I had infusions that were antioxidant. For me, that meant Glutathione, multi-vitamin Myers Cocktail, and a special intravenous solution of curcumin.
I was also prescribed several natural supplements and herbal tinctures, and encouraged to do castor oil packs, and clay baths.
(Details about my treatment can be found in this Envita Case Study.)
Amazing Adjuncts
When my hemoglobin was low, I was referred to AcuHealth, an acupuncture clinic next door to Envita. With certain acupuncture techniques, the bone marrow can actually be inspired to produce more red blood cells, thus raising hemoglobin. But, I also found the acupuncture treatments helped with pain and helped my stomach feel better.
Early on, I was having severe issues with lymphedema. At Touch of Healing (which shares office space with AcuHealth), I received Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) therapy. It not only resolved my lymphedema, but I believe contributed to the good outcome of my cancer treatment. I continued the treatments after the edema went down because I could tell a noticeable difference in how I felt.
The Three Key Principles
In “Room 5” at Envita, I remember one of the other patients telling me his concept of what is required to get well from serious illness. He said it takes three fundamental principles: 1) A body healthy enough to heal itself if given the right stuff; 2) The correct treatments for the disease; and, 3) The right attitude, emotional outlook, and spiritual stability to have the fortitude to keep pressing on to recovery. He suggested that if any one of these is missing, success is unlikely.
- Principle #1, Healthy Body: Here at Azure, we do everything we can to help you create that healthy body by offering highly nutritious foods that don’t contain the dangerous chemicals and ingredients found in conventionally grown and processed foodstuffs. I believe a good, clean diet was a major factor in my ability to handle the treatments with minimal discomfort, and to experience good success. My body seemed quite healthy before this cancer assault. Isn’t it amazing how our bodies were created to be so resilient?!
- Principle #2, Correct Treatment: In the spirit of Azure’s Core Value #5 (Pursue Learning and Innovation), I found a treatment that worked for me -- an individualized program tailored just for me -- at Envita. I could have a resilient body and the right attitude, but without a proper treatment for the disease, a good outcome was not likely.
- Principle #3, Good Attitude and Positive Outlook: For this side of my healing I have many others to thank. First, I thank my Heavenly Father for leading and guiding me through this experience. Being in His service is the driving force behind my positive outlook for the future. My family inspires me to keep going no matter the odds. And all of you in my Azure Family (co-workers, customers, vendors, truck drivers -- yes, all of you!) have helped me cherish life and relationships even more. Thank you for being such great people to know and to serve! You make it all worth it!