Thursday, July 31, 2008

East meets West meets insurance



As I’ve said, I’m tumor- and cancer-free now—knock on wood-- but my treatments aren’t over.

Today I headed into town for my weekly IV drips of Vitamin C and D, followed by my regular doses of

* cat’s claw and astragalus-- they’re pills they told me to take in Germany.
I order them from a place in New Mexico called Herb Stop;

* Kumin, which is an immune builder (it’s all-natural, by the way);

* something called ICG-Forte, which protects the stomach and esophagus;

* and for my liver, Hepa-Merz Granulat 3000, a packet I mix with water.

When I left the States for The Klinik, my liver was twice its size from the chemotherapy dousing. I started taking this Hepa-Merz stuff. and when I returned from Germany, my liver was back to its normal size. All of this is holistic, natural medicine. You see, the treatments I’ve received are a mix of treatments from the East and the West.

I also go to the doctor’s office once a week to get an IV bag of something called Erbitux. It works hand-in-hand with the chemotherapy, and now that I’m done with the chemo, it helps hold the effects.

The downside to Erbitux is that when I take it, I break out on my back and on my chest. The upside is that when I break out, I know it’s working. I think I’ll trade the teenage skin for my life.

The Erbitux costs $4,000 a bag. I take it once a week.

The last thing I take is called On the Rock nutrition. It’s a natural vitamin supplement. The doctors recommended it, and by coincidence, my wife’s close friend Pat Benatar endorses it, and her husband Neil Giraldo developed it! So I got it from Pat and Neil.

Insurance covers most of the treatments and medicine. It doesn’t cover any of the natural medicines. And that’s costing me a lot of money. The whole insurance situation is also going to be covered in The Klinik.

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