Brett's Blog

The chemo question

2011-01-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

The last eleven cancer patients who have contacted me have all said the same thing. They don't want to do chemotherapy. I don't blame them. Then they ask me if I know any other alternative treatment.

Well, I'm not a doctor, and I've never even played one on TV. But I do know this: there are certain cancers and at certain stages that one needs to do chemo. I, for example, was one of those patients who needed to receive it. However, it all gets down to the approach and the system and country you're in. In the States, I had chemo every week for 9 straight weeks. In Germany I only had chemo 3 times in 8 weeks. So when I'm asked about alternative treatment I always tell them to do extensive research and find the treatment that you believe is the right one for you.

A cancer patient sent me this:

"An Italian oncologist, Dr. Tullio Simoncini, has had a very high success rate treating patients with bicarbonate of soda.

"He has a website at www.cancerfungus.com."

I'll say it again: Take charge of your medical path. Be proactive and you decide what is right for you.

I had "new" cancer test three years ago

2011-01-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

Blood test to spot cancer gets big boost from J&J
Associated Press/AP Online
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
BOSTON - A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor's office.
Boston scientists who invented the test and health care giant Johnson & Johnson will announce Monday that they are joining forces to bring it to market. Four big cancer centers also will start studies using the experimental test this year.
Stray cancer cells in the blood mean that a tumor has spread or is likely to, many doctors believe. A test that can capture such cells has the potential to transform care for many types of cancer, especially breast, prostate, colon and lung.
Initially, doctors want to use the test to try to predict what treatments would be best for each patient's tumor and find out quickly if they are working.

That's funny, I had that test done three years ago.

Hey, maybe next year we're going to invent a chemotherapy sensitivity test... Oh, wait a minute, I had that done three years ago too.

PS. I'm doing great. Scans are clear and I've gained 7 pounds... in a year.

Maintenance and Michael Douglas

2010-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog. I've been taking some new holistic medicine. It's called Agaricus Phalloides D4. It's extract from a poisonous mushroom. This homeopathic medicine has been real successful in treating all kinds of cancer including head and neck cancer. I take 15 drops three times a day. You should only take this for four weeks, then off. I have one week left. Even though I don't have cancer or a tumor, my doctor in Germany wants me to take this as maintenance to make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

Doctors here in the States don't think like that. As far as my doctor in Los Angeles is concerned, I'm in remission, I'm cured. I am-- but there's no preventative maintenance treatment at all.

A lot of people have contacted me about Michael Douglas. I don't know Mr. Douglas, but I got all of the information on the Klinik in Germany to a friend of his. I saw him on the David Letterman show. I wish I could talk to him. I know what his treatment is. I started the same treatment before I left for Germany. I have never been that sick in my life. Had I stayed here and continued with the full radiation, twice a day, 20 minutes a session, for seven weeks, I honestly believe I would not be typing.

Michael Douglas said he's only had one week of treatment, but after week three... forget about it.

He is in my prayers.

I've had a few emails from people who have heard that I'm sick again. I'm not. I'm actually very healthy.

I haven't been this healthy since birth!

CV247

2010-07-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

There’s a new cancer medicine called CV247. It stops the spread and growth of tumors. It was developed by Dr. John Carter, a veterinary surgeon, to stop the spread of cancer in dogs. It's now legal in Germany. It's holistic, which is always good. I mentioned this back in February, and I've been talking it for a month now just as maintenance. It’s something we don't do as a practice in this country, but should.

I must still be here for a reason

2010-06-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

I was scanned last Thursday and everything was clear. So now I have another scan in October and one in January. When those are clear then it's once every six months. I'll never get used to going in that tube. I can't breathe in those things.

I had a little talk with my doctor after he gave me news that my scans were clear. He mentioned that I'm the only one who's still here from a group of us who were sick together. I asked him why he thought that happened. He kind of shrugged his shoulders and really didn't say anything... I don't know either. I must still be here for a reason. I know it's not photography. I took that picture in my car today.

Health care bill for dummies

2010-03-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

Healthcare reform... Where?

I started to read the health care bill and found a lot of it is written in "Lawyer" (Shakespeare was right). I also went online to find both the Republicans’ and Democrats’ pros and cons of the bill and got to read their translations. It's all kind of The Health Care Bill For Dummies.

Some of this is really scary:

Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and no appeals process).

Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.

Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same

Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.

Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.

Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.

Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

Note to the Government: I'll die when I'm ready, not when you tell me.

But here's the good news:

Everybody can have health insurance if they want it.

Insurers will not be able to stop paying for people who are sick, even if they lose their jobs.

People who cannot afford health insurance won’t have to pay as much money.

People who are already sick will be eligible for health care.

Health insurers can no longer cap coverage. In other words, they’ll no longer be able to say that they’ve spent enough on you and you’re on your own for the next hundred thousand dollars. This should reduce medical bankruptcy.

I think cancer is scared to death of me

2010-02-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

I finally had the port removed from my chest.

The port was a small medical device beneath the skin, through which drugs and chemo could be injected and blood samples taken out without the hassle and pain of a typical “needle stick.” Saying goodbye to that port last Wednesday was last thing I had to do to really put all this behind me and move forward to tell others what I've learned in my two and a half years of battling and beating cancer... twice.

A friend of mine asked if I thought it was gone for good. I know it is. Honestly, I think cancer is scared to death of me.

Here's something I want to pass on: There’s a new cancer medicine in trials called CV247.

CV247 was developed by Dr. John Carter, a veterinary surgeon. CV247 stops the spread and growth of tumors rather than killing them. The trials were started with cancer patients at the oncology unit in Cambridge, England. Some of the patients are still alive because their cancer was in the early stages and are still on the medication.

CV247 is holistic. It includes sodium salicylate, copper, manganese and vitamin C.

This is really promising news.

Laugh, pray, hope

2010-02-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

I was scanned today. It's so good to hear your doctor say, "I'll go over the scan with you if you want, but there's nothing there. You're all clear, I'll see you in May." I did a conference call a couple of days ago with a cancer support group. Twenty-two cancer patients. They were great. I think I inspired them to fight and never give up. I made them laugh and I pray that I gave them hope.

Awesome news

2010-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

I met with my doctor from Germany yesterday. I never thought I would or could get excited about anything that has to do with medicine or treatments, but she told me about awesome news coming out of Europe about cancer and immune system treatments:

"Immunotherapy with the trifunctional antibody removal

leads to significant elimination of tumor cells

from malignant ascites in ovarian cancer"

That was the headline from the results of the first phase of a study in 2005. After phases 2 and 3 were completed, the results were so amazing that last April, the European Commission approved a drug called Removab for the treatment of malignant ascites. A few weeks later, Removab went on sale in Germany and was subsequently introduced to other European countries.

Removab is the first of a number of new drugs that use the body’s own immune system to help fight the tumor cells spread by “malignant ascites,” a condition in which fluid containing cancer cells collects in the abdomen. It’s common in ovarian, pancreatic, colon, lung, breasts and gastric cancers.

How do I know? I looked it up.

Here are a couple of site to read so you can see for yourself:

“Trifunctional Antibody Catumaxomab Kills Cancer Stem Cells”

“Removab Approval: Proof-of-Concept for Technology Transfer in Germany”

I'm 80% out of the woods

2010-01-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

It'll be two years Friday-- January 8, 2010-- since I was CyberKnifed in Germany. According to a number of cancer specialists, I'm 80% out of the woods. One more year, four more clear scans and I'm 100% clear. Then it's one scan a year. I have another scan at the end of this month. My doctor from Germany is coming out to visit next week. She’ll take a dozen vials of my blood and send them to Greece for what I hope is my last microtumor cell testing.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Gene therapy

2009-12-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine is on the list to go to Manchester, England for gene therapy. The results in the gene testing testing period were pretty amazing-- in fact incredible when it came to brain and lung cancers.

It's really cool how this works. They take your blood and remove t-cells. Then they alter the t-cells genetically so they can seek out and isolate the t cancer cells and kill them. They clone the cells or make thousands of them over a few weeks, then inject them back into the patient. The bad cells are replaced with functional cells.

I guess it could ultimately mean no more chemotherapy or radiation or operations. And that’s something to think about.

Cancer dream

2009-12-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a cancer dream. I've had a couple in the past, but this one was seemingly so real. I woke up at 3:30 this morning in a panic, feeling my throat and checking my saliva for blood. And of course it was the worst of cancer in this dream. I haven't really talked about the aftereffects-- psychologically, that is-- of having this disease. Even though I got lucky and beat cancer, I still find it hard to comprehend what I went through and that I'm still here. Honestly, I sometimes feel guilty that I survived while so many of my friends didn't.

Another fine mess

2009-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

It's one thing to listen to the news and watch all the Sunday morning political chat shows; it’s another to actually read and digest the healthcare bill. If you do, you'll find it's a mess. If you're a Democrat, I'm sorry. If you're a Republican, I'm sorry. I always thought your heads were buried in the sand. My bad. That's not where they're buried at all.

I have one question: How do you people sit down?

This was sent to me by my friend Monica:

Hi Brett,

After reading your latest blog, I decided to take the "Brett Hudson Challenge." Wow. “Where's the reform?” is an understatement! The two things that caught my eye on the first page:

* Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.

* To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employ-- politicalese --and for other purposes.

Brett, this bill is more of an overhaul of the federal statute defining the federal tax code. The health care system will become just another tax that we must pay.

This is my favorite tax so far:

SEC. 9017. EXCISE TAX ON ELECTIVE COSMETIC MEDICAL PROCEDURES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

‘‘CHAPTER 49—ELECTIVE COSMETIC MEDICAL PROCEDURES

‘‘Sec. 5000B. Imposition of tax on elective cosmetic medical procedures.

‘‘SEC. 5000B. IMPOSITION OF TAX ON ELECTIVE COSMETIC

MEDICAL PROCEDURES.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed on any cosmetic surgery and medical procedure a tax equal to 5 percent of the amount paid for such procedure (determined without regard to this section), whether paid by insurance or otherwise.

‘‘(b) COSMETIC SURGERY AND MEDICAL PROCEDURE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘cosmetic surgery and medical procedure’ means any cosmetic surgery (as defined in section 213(d)(9)(B)) or other similar procedure which—

‘‘(1) is performed by a licensed medical professional, and ‘‘(2) is not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease.

‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF TAX.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The tax imposed by this section shall be paid by the individual on whom the procedure is performed.

‘‘(2) COLLECTION.—Every person receiving a payment for procedures on which a tax is imposed under subsection (a) shall collect the amount of the tax from the individual on whom the procedure is performed and remit such tax quarterly to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as provided by the Secretary.

‘‘(3) SECONDARY LIABILITY.—Where any tax imposed by subsection (a) is not paid at the time payments for cosmetic surgery and medical procedures are made, then to the extent that such tax is not collected, such tax shall be paid by the person who performs the procedure.’’.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters for subtitle D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by this Act, is amended by inserting after the

item relating to chapter 48 the following new item:

‘‘CHAPTER 49—ELECTIVE COSMETIC MEDICAL PROCEDURES’’.

If this bill is signed by Christmas, it is a present that I am not looking forward to opening... EVER!

Love,

Monica

Another dear friend sent me an email. She said she doesn't agree with everything in the healthcare bill and that she knows the bill is political and partisan. But she thinks that if it doesn't pass this time, it will years before any healthcare reform is attempted again.

Where's the reform?

2009-12-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

I’ve started to read portions of the 2,100 page healthcare reform bill. A half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts, 400 billion dollars in new taxes and higher insurance premiums.

Reform?

I don't think so.

Pay attention, people. Remember, this is our country.

How to pay for healthcare

2009-12-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

I have an idea.

I've already sent several emails to elected officials. I suggested that "we the people" get the same insurance as “you the elected official.” That would be the top premium insurance, full dental, eye exams-- the works. And I gave them a great suggestion on how to start paying for it.

You see, back in 2007, the salary for a U.S. Senator was $165,200. In 2008, everyone got a raise to $169,300. That’s right. We allowed them to vote themselves pay raises during one of the worst financial crisis our country has ever seen (Wow. Are we good to our elected officials or what?) We're still not out of the crisis and unemployment is at 10. That's scary. But they're our leaders. We need them to fix the mess they helped create. So what did we do?

We gave them another raise. The annual salary of each U.S. senator, as of 2009, is $174,000.

First order of business to help pay for healthcare insurance for "We the people"?

A pay cut for all elected officials.

I smell a revolution.

Click here to see a web link to all the email addresses of every Democrat, Republican and Independent elected to Congress. Send them a message. Tell them Brett Hudson sent you.

Politics as usual

2009-12-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

If you’re following “The Great Healthcare Debate," read between the lines and you’ll realize it has little to do with healthcare at all. It's all about raging. Partisan raging. Democrats and Republicans jockeying for political advantage. It's not about saving lives, it's about saving their seats and getting re-elected. Just listen to the politicians bark along their party lines and it’s clear that not one so far has experienced the truth of our system. An example? This item from the Associated Press:

“Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive, breast cancer survivor and a Republican candidate running for the Senate seat from California now held by Democrat Barbara Boxer, delivered the address. She said that the recommendation on mammograms was an early taste of what could happen under the Democrats' plan.

"’We wonder if we are heading down a path where the federal government will at first suggest and then mandate new standards for prevention and treatment,’ Fiorina said. ‘Do we really want government bureaucrats rather than doctors dictating how we prevent and treat something like breast cancer?’"

What she doesn't know or didn't experience herself is that insurance companies already do that. What's the difference if it's government bureaucrats or Blue Cross bureaucrats?

There is no difference.

Insurance companies dictate what they’ll pay for, therefore they dictate treatments. I can't believe I actually used the word “therefore.”

Attitude is the best medicine

2009-11-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

With all the talk about medicines and costs, pharmaceutical companies and health care reform, I realized this morning that I’d overlooked something that’s so very important-- and doesn't cost a penny. Pharmaceutical companies don't control it and insurance companies can't refuse this treatment.

I was reminded by one of the many cancer patients I correspond with. She brought up something I’d said to her over a year ago:

"Your positive attitude will help cure you. No matter what any doctor says, it’s of the utmost importance in beating this disease. It's the strongest medicine that God gave us: Our will to live."

Yes, I know that it’s easier said than done. Cancer and the effects of the medicines needed to fight it can, and for the most part, do kick your ass, and there are times you fear you're losing the fight.

However, to quote Napoleon Bonaparte:

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."

Greedy drug makers

2009-11-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

I read an article in The New York Times yesterday that is, as far as I’m concerned, the "writing on the wall."

The article said that in the last year the drug-making industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent. That will add more than $10 billion to the nation's drug bill, which will exceed $300 billion this year. The drug companies say they have valid business reasons for price increases. Critics say they’re only trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in coming years.

The Times article quotes a Harvard health economist saying he found a similar pattern of unusual price increases from the drug makers after Congress added drug benefits to Medicare, giving tens of millions of older Americans federally subsidized drug insurance. Just as the program was taking effect in 2006, the drug industry raised prices in a move to maximize their profits.

The drug companies say they have to raise their prices to invest in research and development of new drugs.

I say it’s greed.

Bottom line: drug companies can charge whatever they want.

from: The New York Times

By Duff Wilson

Published: November 15, 2009

“The drug industry has actively opposed some of the cost-cutting provisions in the House legislation, which passed Nov. 7 and aims to cut drug spending by about $14 billion a year over a decade.

“But the drug makers have been proudly citing the agreement they reached with the White House and the Senate Finance Committee chairman to trim $8 billion a year — $80 billion over 10 years — from the nation’s drug bill by giving rebates to older Americans and the government. That provision is likely to be part of the legislation that will reach the Senate floor in coming weeks.

“But this year’s price increases would effectively cancel out the savings from at least the first year of the Senate Finance agreement. And some critics say the surge in drug prices could change the dynamics of the entire 10-year deal.

“‘It makes it much easier for the drug companies to pony up the $80 billion because they’ll be making more money,’ said Steve D. Findlay, senior health care analyst with the advocacy group Consumers Union...”

If the drug companies can change the price of their products whenever they want to, then shouldn't we as consumers be able to shop for the best prices... anywhere in the world?

Example: Alpha Lipoic Acid. At the clinic here in the States it's $350 for five vials. In Germany, the same medicine costs $150 for five vials. I could have it shipped from Germany for $28.50. Total savings: $171.50.

This makes me crazy.

Death card

2009-11-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my brother Bill on the phone a couple of days ago about something that I think should be addressed in this great healthcare debate. I know this may sound crazy to some people, but I think you'd agree with me if you’ve been told to go home and get your affairs in order because you'll be dead within a year. I honestly think that once you are given that diagnosis, you should be able to seek out any treatment or medicine in the world, whether approved in this country or not, and have it sent to you.

My brother said, “It'll never happen. How would they monitor it?”

I said, “Issue a ‘death card.’ When your medicine arrives at customs, give them your death card to swipe, your medical information will upload, and clear you to receive the medicine.”

Bill laughed at the term “death card,” then said, “That's a great idea...

“It'll never happen.”

All clear!

2009-10-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

I got scanned on Tuesday. I was supposed to get the results on Thursday but didn't. My brother Bill was over the house today asking about the results and I told him I hadn’t found out yet. He said the normal brother stuff like, "Are you worried?" and "How do feel?"

Well, I can't say I'm worried... a little nervous, yeah. How do I feel? It's like waiting for a death row pardon--

That's my doctor calling... ALL CLEAR!

Finished with thalidomide

2009-10-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

I really didn't have much to blog about because I was taking the thalidomide to remove the micro tumor cells found in my blood and doing my weekly IVs and all the supplements. Now I'm finished with the thalidomide and have given another twelve vials of blood to be sent to Greece for the micro tumor cell blood test. So I wait for the results which take two to three weeks. When that comes back all clear, I'm done with hardcore meds.

I get scanned again at the end of this month which I know will be clear. Then I can really get to work on the Charlie Foundation and everything else in my life that I let slide while I was sick.

I have been following the healthcare issue. I think we really have to wait to see the final outcome before commenting. We definitely need some sort of national health plan, but what worries me is that anything that’s run by our government seems to get bogged down. Don't take my word for it. Just go to the DMV or the IRS. Examples? The state Franchise Tax Board has been sending me letters with a phone number to call. I've been calling the number and leaving a message for two and a half weeks. I have not had a return call. I did get two more letters from the board, asking me to call the same phone number.

My beautiful daughter Tess sent her registration off to the DMV to get the tags for her car. That was sixweeks ago. She's been pulled over by the police for expired tags and has to bring proof to the courthouse that she mailed in renewal or pay a fine. Her proof to the court is the cashed check she sent to the DMV four and a half weeks ago.

Now imagine you're part of the new government healthcare system and you're really sick...

Need I say more?

Feeling good

2009-09-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

Four more weeks of thalidomide and then I send off another twelve vials of blood to Greece to see if the low-level micro tumor cells that were in my blood are gone. I can tell you this, though: I feel really good and I’ve actually gained some weight. I weigh 160.

A lot of people have asked my opinion on the health care debate in Washington. Do I think there should be a national health care system? Yes, I do. Who's gonna pay for it? We are.

Private health care should available to all those who opt for it, but whether you have private care or not, everyone should be covered.

Why?

The leading cause of bankruptcy is medical bills. In this country, if you don't have money or insurance and you get sick: Good luck.

It was two years ago today

2009-08-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

It was two years ago today that I was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer. On that day, two doctors told me that if I didn't get a morbid operation, which would remove everything in my throat, I'd be dead within a year. I'll say it again: Take charge of your medical path. Be pro-active. I'm alive today, tumor- and cancer-free, because I took charge of my path. I can eat and swallow and talk because I took charge of my path.

“Uh-huh, oh... mmm, okay”

2009-07-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

It's never easy. After my scan, the doctor comes in and says that everything was fine, the lymph node is normal and my entire body is clean.

“However, there's a hot spot at the base of your tongue that seems a little larger than before.”

In case you don't know, when you look at a PT scan on a screen, any irritation shows up as a brighter color. The doctor said that “just to be safe,” I should go to my ENT and have him look down my throat.

So I leave the clinic, go to treatment to get UVB and Vitamin C drip, and then head off to the Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. He first sticks a mirror in my mouth and looks at the back of my tongue and says he doesn't see anything. So he shoots some numbing spray in my mouth.

He says, “It tastes horrible.”

Fooled him; I can't taste.

Then comes another part I hate. He takes some gauze, pinches my tongue and pulls it out. Then he sticks a scope down my throat and looks around, saying, "Uh-huh, oh... mmm, okay".

Then he gets up and leaves the room.

I'm thinking that's not good. I've heard, “Uh-huh, oh... mmm, okay” before.

He comes back in five minutes and says the hot spot is from the radiation and there's nothing to worry about.

So why did he make me sit for five minutes and panic?

Bottom line my scans were clear. Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts and prayers.

Year 2

2009-07-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

I get scanned again on Thursday. I always get anxious before a scan because I hate going in that tube. Being claustrophobic is no fun. I hope you've all been following the great health care debate in Washington. It's just what I expected: Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. I think President Obama will get his affordable health care for all and that's great. It won’t, however, stop the insurance companies from not paying your claims. The big question in Washington is who's going to pay for the health care overhaul. I can answer that: We are. It's called higher taxes. I don't mind paying if the system works, because take it from someone who’s been deep in the middle of it: right now, it's a joke.

I started this blog on July 28th, 2008. I can't believe I've been blogging for a year now. Thanks to everyone for your support. I'll let you know the results of my scan on Thursday.

Patrick Swayze

2009-07-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

I read an article in the Daily Mail newspaper from London about Patrick Swayze and his cancer battle. He looks much better than he did three months ago.

The article said that tubes hanging out the front of his shirt were thought to be catheters for his chemotherapy. That's probably true. He's on a twenty-four hour pump that puts a tablespoon of chemo into him every hour.

I did the same once a week with a drug called 5FU. It made me sicker than a dog. Now I know what the FU stands for...

Anyway, the good thing about the article is that it talks about the CyberKnife as an advanced form of radiotherapy. That helps to get the word out. It's an option for those who don't want traditional radiation. It is not widely available, although the number of centers offering the treatment around the world has grown to over 150.

The article also mentioned that Patrick was seen taking a couple of cigarette breaks.

Cigarette breaks? Are you kidding me?

Here's a news flash for you, Pat:

Cigarettes cause cancer.

QUIT SMOKING!!!

England gets the CyberKnife

2009-07-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

England has finally gotten is first CyberKnife.

It was reported yesterday in the UK Mirror:

CyberKnife gives cancer cure hope

13/07/2009

A hi-tech device has given ex-BT worker Robert Ferrant hope of beating his inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Dad Robert, 62, was given just months to live after being diagnosed with the same condition that has struck movie star Patrick Swayze.

But now he has become one the first people in the UK to go under the CyberKnife-- a machine for high-powered, laser-guided radiotherapy.

Reportedly also used by Swayze, the device blasts radiation at tumours too near major blood vessels for other treatment. Robert had three two-hour sessions last week.

He said: "Other treatment would extend my life by three months. With CyberKnife, I've hope of a cure."

Robert, from Jersey, was treated in London's Harley Street. The device and its leadlined bunker costs £6 million.

***

Well, now that they have the CyberKnife, I hope they take full advantage of it.

Here in Los Angeles, we have a CyberKnife at the USC medical center, but according to the USC medical administration, it's not used all that often. A patient’s oncologist has to prescribe it, and most do not. Get this: out of the three radiation oncologists I had here in the States, two of them were not familiar with the CyberKnife at all, and the third was completely misinformed about it!

I realize that the use of the CyberKnife depends on the shape of the tumor and where it’s located, but I also know that the CyberKnife kills the cancerous tumor with no side effects.

That’s right. Unlike traditional radiation, the single blast of the CyberKnife does its work with no residual problems.

The evening after I was cyberknifed in Munich, I went out and had Chinese food.

I could taste the food-- and I had all of my saliva glands.

After a single week of traditional radiation, it took me two hours to drink a cup of chicken broth.

Now I have one saliva gland and I can’t taste anything at all.

No, I don't have cancer

2009-07-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Since I posted that last entry about the micro tumor cells in my blood, I’ve gotten lots of e-mails and phone calls from other cancer survivors, patients, friends, and concerned strangers. So first off, let me answer the question I’ve gotten most:

No! I don’t have cancer again! I have no tumors or cancers anywhere in my body. What I do have are “micro tumor cells” in my blood still. It’s very low-level and doctors here in the States wouldn’t even find them with the tests they do here. I sent samples of my blood to Greece, and that’s how they were spotted. My doctor at The Klinik in Germany has started me on a new treatment to get rid of them (see my last post). I get scanned again in three weeks, and then I’ll send more blood to Greece for another blood test.

I will continue to do this until my blood is clear of everything... except Vodka.

The other big question is about that micro tumor cell blood test. Lots of people are asking me whether the test is legal in the States-- and where can they get tested?

I’ve sent everyone the information on The Klinik and my doctor in Germany.

I’ve also been e-mailing this article I found online:

Microchip Based Device can Analyze Cancer Cells in a Blood Sample

A team of investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Biomicroelectromechanical Systems (BioMEMS) Resource Center and the MGH Cancer Center has developed a microchip-based device that can isolate, enumerate and analyze circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from a blood sample. CTCs are viable cells from solid tumors carried in the bloodstream at a level of one in a billion cell. Because of their rarity and fragility, it has not been possible to get information from CTCs that could help clinical decision-making, but the new device – called the “CTC-chip,”– has the potential to be an invaluable tool for monitoring and guiding cancer treatment.

Read the whole article here: here.

And to answer the question of whether the test is done in the States, here’s how the article ends:

Considerable work needs to be done before the CTC-chip is ready to be put to clinical use, and the MGH investigators are establishing a Center of Excellence in CTC Technologies to further explore the potential of the device, which also has been licensed to a biotechnology company for commercial development.

They've been doing this blood test in Greece and other countries in Europe for years.

I had my blood drawn here in Los Angeles, sent it to Greece, and the results were then forwarded to my doctor at The Klinik.

Micro tumor cells

2009-07-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

I got the results of my blood test for micro tumor cells back from Greece. There are still some remaining tumor cells in my blood-- but a very low amount.

According to my doctor in Germany, we’ll start by trying to get rid of them with natural supplements and thalidomide:

Quercetin 500 mg - 2 pills in the morning and 2 in the afternoon
Shark cartilage 700 mg - 2 pills in the morning and 2 in the afternoon
Vitamin C drip 30 g in 250 ml NaCI once a week (I already do this)
Thalidomide 100mg before bed. (for a month or two)

By the way, this is a very normal procedure in Germany.

I don't know why we don't do this blood test here in the States. It will help prevent this disease from returning.

I had a blood test at the clinic here last week and they told me my blood was perfect.

I'll be talking to my doctor in Germany tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.

I forgot to eat last night

2009-07-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

I got on the scale this morning. I've gained five pounds in six months. And I’ve been fighting hard to keep those five pounds on. I need to gain twenty pounds. At this rate, it'll take me two years. I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can when I remember to eat. Yes, I have to remember to eat. (I forgot to eat last night - not good.) It's very strange not getting hungry and, because of radiation, not being able to taste anything when I do eat. I know I'm supposed to eat by the clock but that sucks. Just because my clock tells me to eat doesn't solve the problem that I'm not hungry. I would love to find out why some people who get head and neck cancer lose their appetites.

Farrah's legacy: "Keep fighting"

2009-07-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

I went to say goodbye to my friend Farrah yesterday. Her funeral service was beautiful. Her son Redmond read Lamentations 3:17-26, Ryan O'Neal read Wisdom 3:1-9. The eulogies were done by Alana Stewart and Dr Piro. Both were very moving. It was strange for me in a way. Farrah and I were both fighting for our lives at the same time and she's not here anymore. When we were in Germany at The Klinik, I was only three months in to my disease-- a rookie, so to speak. Farrah had been battling her cancer for over a year. In our six-hour drive to Frankfurt, her strength, determination and fearlessness were an inspiration to me in fighting this hideous disease.

Farrah said to me, "Never, ever give up. Keep fighting."

We spoke of the need for changes in our medical system and how to make treatments that are not available in the States made available to all.

I will continue to fight for those changes in the system and more options when it comes to treatments. I promise that I will never, ever give up, and I will keep fighting until our voice is heard.

I know Farrah will be watching.

Billions in profits, millions of lives

2009-06-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

Having lived in Canada for a year and a half and in England for almost two years, I can tell you firsthand that National Health Care or government-controlled health care really doesn't work very well.

In theory, it sounds great: You get sick, you go to the doctor, he or she takes care of you, and you go home. It's free!

Well, that might be the case if you have a minor ailment like a sore throat or the flu, but if you have a serious illness like cancer or heart disease-- that is, a major illness that needs special treatment-- you may have to wait in line for that treatment.

My mother-in-law, who lives in London, is one example. Many years ago, she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy and radiation. Ten years later, a tumor was discovered to be growing where her breast had been removed. The doctor decided to try more radiation before scheduling an operation.

So he scheduled her for radiation treatments-- in three months. Three months?! We all knew she could be dead in three months. It was cancer. It could metastasize to her lungs, brain or liver. It took a number of phone calls to the doctor in England and a little muscle from some high-profile friends to get my mother-in-law in for radiation two weeks later.

Seventeen years later, she's still alive and doing very well. (I could do a number of mother-in-law jokes right now but I won't.)

Of course, all of this relates to President Obama and health care reform. I’ve been doing some research in these health care and insurance issues and just finished reading a book written by Richard E. Ungar. “Understanding The Health Care Debate” is about health care and insurance companies. It’s fascinating-- and I’m not just saying that because Ric’s been a friend for more than 20 years.

Here’s a quote from the book (I hope Ric won't mind, and if he does, I just won't answer the phone. Caller ID the best invention in the 21th century):

                   In 2006, the health insurance industry made a collective profit of $15 billion--
                   a 1,084 percent increase in five years. Here are the profit numbers for the top
                   four in 2007 as listed by Fortune Magazine:

                           1. United Health Group -- $ 4.159 Billion.

                   United Health’s companies include Oxford, PacifiCare, IBA, AmeriChoice,
                   Evercare, Ovations, MAMSI and Ingenix, a healthcare data company.

                           2. WellPoint -- $ 3.095 Billion.

                   Wellpoint’s companies include all of the BLUES across the US, including
                   Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Blue
                   Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin, Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Healthy
                   Alliance, and others.

                           3. Aetna Inc. -- $ 1.702 Billion.

                           4. CIGNA Corp -- $ 1.155 Billion.

Need I say more?

What runs downhill

2009-06-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

I'm posting on my iPhone from my doctor’s office while getting maintenance treatments: one IV drip of Vitamin C and another of an anti-oxidant I can't pronounce, let alone spell. And of course, UVB. I spoke to my doctor in Germany today and she told me there’s a new anti-body that kills all cancer cells. That's amazing.

MeanwhiIe, I've been following the health care debate and through it all, it seems that nobody is talking about the real problem. Yeah, we all agree about the importance of affordable health care and the ability to choose your own doctor and blah, blah, blah-- but the big issue is that the insurance companies have too much power and control over which treatments and medicines we're given by our doctors. The doctors won’t stand up to the insurance companies. We all know what runs downhill and it lands right on the patient’s head.

In order to really fix this health care problem, we need laws that force insurance companies to pay for what the doctors order. I’ve said it before: How can Blue Cross tell me what I need when they’ve never examined me?

Treatment’s done. I'll continue tomorrow.

NOT alternative

2009-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I appeared on the syndicated television show Extra last week, talking about Farrah and my own experience being treated at The Klinik. The segment and the surrounding publicity really led to a big response. I have to say it’s been overwhelming!

I've received so many e-mails, messages and phone calls that I can't reply to them all. But I’ve been reading every one, and along the way noticed a word that’s common to almost every message. The word is "alternative.”

“Alternative.” The word’s been used a lot describing the treatment I received at The Klinik, because it’s an “alternative” to the limited options offered here in the States. But to be accurate, I was not treated with alternative medicine.

Just so we’re on the same page from now on, I’ll offer the definitions:

Conventional Medicine: A system in which doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery. Also called mainstream medicine and Western medicine.

Alternative Medicine: Practices used instead of standard treatments. They generally are not recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches. Examples of alternative medicine include dietary supplements, megadose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, acupuncture, massage therapy, spiritual healing and meditation.

Here's what I was treated with:

Complementary Medicine: Practices often used to enhance or complement conventional treatments. They generally are not recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches. Complementary medicine combines mainstream, western medicine with alternative medicine.

Alternative? Complementary? Remember this: Insurance companies won't cover either medicine.

We really need to get insurance companies to cover alternative care and complementary care.

That would give us all more options for being healed.

(You can see the Extra segment by clicking here.)

Real health care reform

2009-05-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama predicted travails ahead for

the struggle to pass health-care reform but offered a hopeful outlook

for passage of legislation providing access to insurance coverage for

all saying "the stars may be aligned" for a deal on a goal that eluded

the last Democratic president... Obama said he is "absolutely committed"

to moving forward with a health-care plan...

I watched President Obama on C-Span speaking about health-care reform and was frustrated because he was only addressing one part of the problem. All he talked about was affordable health-care for everyone. That’s great. I have affordable health-care. I pay $278 a month for it. But whether it's affordable or not, a big problem remains.

Okay, follow me here...

I have to go to a dentist that deals with people who've been through radiation for head and neck cancer. The dentist is $350 a visit. Even though my Delta Dental insurance covers the treatment, the dentist makes me pay him in full after every visit. He says the insurance companies often refuse to pay him, so he leaves it to the patient to deal with it. After every visit, I pay the dentist, and the dentist gives me a “super voucher” that I send into the insurance company in hopes I’ll be reimbursed.

Then my first ENT wouldn't take Blue Cross because they don't pay, so I had to pay after my visit. He was $600. Then there’s my other doctor for vitamin C drips and other "alternative" treatments that are very necessary but not covered by insurance at all: $550 a visit. If you haven’t been doing the math, that's $1,778 out of pocket. The $1,500 that I paid out and sent in super vouchers for reimbursement, so far I've gotten back $0 from my insurance company.

I also needed two procedures when I had cancer that my oncologist said were necessary for me to be cured. One cost $2,700 and the other was $800.00. My insurance company insisted that both the procedures were not necessary and would only cover one of them. They paid the $800 one and left me to pay the $2,700. After eight months of phone calls to my insurance company they finally paid for both.

My question: Who's treating me? My doctor told me I needed those two procedures and my insurance company told me I only needed one. Who do I listen to?

Why not eliminate the doctors and let the insurance executives treat us?

I hope you can see the inconsistencies within the system. Simply put: insurance companies won't pay the doctors, so the doctors don't take insurance and have "pay immediately after visit policies" and let the sick chase the insurance companies with super vouchers.

Follow-up

2009-05-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

After my scope and scans were clear, my American doctors told me I was all done, to go home and they would see me in three months for another scan. My doctor at The Klinik in Germany e-mailed today to let me know she’s sending me a kit for micro-tumor testing and to make sure my blood is clear.

That’s a procedure they don't do in the States.

The kit is made up of different sized vials to be filled with my blood. Last time there were fifteen vials. I’ll fill them and send them to The Klinik. Then I'll go to Germany and receive a vaccination of the blood's healthiest cells to keep me tumor free.

That’s another procedure they don't do in the States

My doctor at The Klinik also wants me to continue taking Neurium and Hepa Merz for my liver and to control and rebuild my immune system.

(That bump near my shoulder is the catheter port they inserted when I began chemotherapy. I have to keep it for another year.)

Farrah's real story

2009-05-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

It was really tough for me to watch Farrah's Story on NBC the other night. Farrah Fawcett is my friend. I pray that she's comfortable and not in any pain.

But here's the deal: The special didn’t get it right, and the review in The New York Times hit it right on the head:

"...Ms. Fawcett’s reliance on European alternative treatments is more poignant than persuasive. Her exuberant German doctors seem far too giddily invested in their visiting patient’s fame to give her realistic prognoses — or even dissuade her from flying home to Los Angeles before she was strong enough to travel..."

Most of the doctors on the special were and still are my doctors. Dr. Jacob and Dr. Vogl are NOT AT ALL like they were portrayed in that special. They are absolutely brilliant. Dr. Jacob is the most focused, passionate doctor--make that person-- I've met in my life. Google Dr. Vogl... enough said about that.

As far as their convincing Farrah to stay in Germany until she was strong enough to travel, Dr. Jacob told her exactly what could happen if she flew home too soon and strongly suggested that she stay at The Klinik for a couple of more days. Farrah’s friend Alana Stewart told her the same thing.

How do I know? I was there. I was in Farrah's room when Dr. Jacob called and said that Dr. Vogl had suggested that Farrah stay at least one more day. I also urged her not to leave. But Farrah had made up her mind and she was going to go home no matter what anyone said and that was that.

That's what really bothered me about the special. I'm guessing that NBC News had more than a hand in the final cut.

Here's another quote from The New York Times:

“...During one painful procedure, a German doctor asks Ms. Fawcett to name her best work. The actress mentions a few of the films she made that were critically acclaimed, including ‘Extremities’ and the television movie ‘The Burning Bed.’ The doctor reminds her about her 1970s television show ‘Charlie’s Angels.’ Ms. Fawcett replies weakly, ‘Well, I only did that for one year’...”

The first time Farrah had the tumors burned off her liver by Dr. Vogl, I was in the next operating room being prepped for my first embolism. For both procedures, the patients have to be awake. They only give you a local to numb the area for entrance. Dr. Vogl will talk about a number of things during the procedure, but make no mistake about it, the first thing he does is explain what he's about to do to you and what you should expect to feel during the procedures.

I know for a fact that Alana has that on tape. I was there.

One last quote from The New York Times and then I'll shut up... for now.

"Those trips evidently gave Ms. Fawcett hope and lots of encouragement and personal attention, but the film doesn’t shed much light on how much or whether the treatments actually helped..."

Point blank Ms. New York Times: “Hope... encouragement... personal attention... or whether those treatments actually helped?” Farrah went to Germany because doctors here in the States told her there was nothing else they could do for her. That was almost two years ago.

Let’s consider the choice: Go to Germany for what they call "alternative" treatment-- or stay here for what I call "primitive" treatment.

I've had both. I choose “alternative.”

One more thing: At the end of the special, Farrah said, "I have some questions. Like why isn’t there more research done on certain types of cancer? And why doesn’t our health care system embrace alternative treatments that have proven to be successful in other countries?”

How about these questions, among others:

Why do some medicines cost five to ten times more

in the United States than they do in Germany?

Why don't we do chemotherapy sensitivity tests here

like they do in Germany and other countries?

And why is the United States of America so far behind

in treatment for this horrendous disease?

Charlie revealed

2009-05-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

I've received quite a number of e-mails asking about The Charlie Foundation. Everyone wants to know who Charlie is. Charlie is my dog. He’s a Boston Terrier. We got him as a stray when he was about four months old. About six or eight months before I was diagnosed, this little dog would alway lick me on the right side of my neck, the same side where the tumor was. For the better part of a year, I was sick in bed and Charlie never left my side. He would get up and eat and go out when he had to and then he would come right back into the bedroom and lay next to me. Every morning when I would wake up, this little dog would lick my neck where the cancer was. So the logo for the foundation will be a photo of Charlie, with a cartoon bubble coming out of his mouth saying, "We can lick cancer."

Farrah... and Charlie

2009-05-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog. I want to let everyone know that Farrah's documentary about her ongoing battle with cancer airs tonight on NBC.

I'm sure you've all heard the news reports about her situation. I'll tell you point blank: Farrah is a fighter and an inspiration to all. She definitely inspired me during both of my cancer battles. Everyone can do me a favor and tonight while her documentary is on, let's all think positive, healing thoughts for her.

I told Alana Stewart to tell Farrah I haven't heard the fat lady sing; keep fighting. I decided that it's politically incorrect,what I should have said was I haven't heard the “plus-size lady” sing.

As far as my health goes, I'm doing so much better. I still get tired and I'm still a little sore at times from the radiation in my body but it’s nothing like it was. I'm sure that in the next couple of months this will pass. As much as I hate them, the daily epsom salt and baking soda baths help so much. So do the daily saunas.

The one problem I still have is eating and gaining weight. I got up to 156 pounds. I lost a few pounds because I forgot to eat. So I'm 151 today.

I know what you're thinking: How do you forget to eat? Well, it's simple. I'm not hungry. I have no messages from my stomach to my head telling me I'm hungry. My brother Mark sent me boxes of this stuff called Benecalorie that has 330 calories per serving. I try to have two of those a day. I just have to try to eat more, that's it.

I'm in the process of starting a foundation to get proper cancer treatment for people who can’t afford it, whether it’s here in the States or in another country.

I'm waiting to find out if the foundation name clears.

It's called The Charlie Foundation.

I'm done! No cancer and no tumor.

2009-04-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

I got my scan results today and they were negative. No cancer and no tumor. It's hard to believe, but I'm actually done with treatment. I will continue my vitamin C and UVB treatments because they will help me recover faster. The nurse who takes my blood said it's amazing that I beat it twice without surgery. I told her it was thanks to The Klinik in Germany.

I feel kind of strange. I've been living with this for almost two years and it's over. I want to seriously thank everyone for their prayers and positive thoughts. That is the best medicine there is. I will promise you this: I will not stop until we fix our medical system. Pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, hospitals and doctors, here we come!

Tonight, I shall celebrate with several martinis. Just don't tell my doctor.

Yippie-ki-yay, motherf#%@er!

2009-04-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how much I hate being scoped! As he's shoving the cable up my nose, we're watching on the monitor. And the guy is giving me a tour.

"There's the inside of your ear and that's the back of your skull..."

Okay, great. Now how about down my throat, look around and get that damn cable out of my nose!

That being said, my scope went well. The doctor said my throat looks really good. There is still some swelling on the left side. The doctor said he thinks that's from the radiation.

He suggested I do the PT/CT scan (which I’ll do tomorrow). He did say-- and I quote:

"I believe unequivocally that the swelling is not cancer."

Yippie-ki-yay, motherf#%@er!

Doctors' orders

2009-04-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

I try to take Sundays off. That's my cancer free day. What happened this morning, however, makes me crazy. I was contacted by a lady whose father has kidney cancer. She was asking me questions about Germany. I asked her some questions about her father, like when was he diagnosed, the stage of his cancer, and ultimately, “How's he doin' today?” She said her dad was in a lot of pain, and had been in a lot of pain for about the past three days.

When I asked what painkillers he was taking, she said he wasn’t taking any. Their doctor, she said, told her that according to the records, her father shouldn't be in that much pain.

According to the records? What the hell is that! Are you kiddin' me?

My outrage was immediate. But I said, very calmly, “Listen very carefully to me. I'm going to hang up, and when I do, I want you to call your doctor and be very nice, but say this to him: ‘My father is in a lot of pain I don't care what his records say. If you don't write him a prescription, then I'll find a doctor who will.’”

Guess what? Her father got the painkillers.

Take charge of your medical path. Again, be proactive. Get as much information as you can. It's out there. If your doctor says something that doesn't sound right or you decide you don't want to seek that option at this time, then don't. No matter what any doctor says.

Remember, I was told by my doctors that I’d die if I went to Germany.

They canceled my scope

2009-04-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

My doctor in Los Angeles had an emergency operation to perform, so they canceled my scope until the seventh. Damn, I was actually looking forward to him to sticking that long cable up my nose and down to the bottom of my throat and wiggling it around-- I was soooo happy! I hate getting scoped.

Now, I wasn't going to write about this but I think it's important that we are all on the same page about something: Over the weekend, I was at the NY Metro Fest For Beatles Fans. I was there with my company’s new documentary feature, The Seventh Python. We had a Q&A session after the film and I decided to talk about The Klinik-- and that led me to tell everyone about the foundation I will start to give other cancer patients the same opportunity that I’ve had-- the opportunity to save their lives.

Well, I’ve received so many messages and e-mails and calls that are very flattering and I thank everyone who’s reached out. This path, however, isn’t about me. It's about us and our children and our grandchildren. Somebody has got to do something to change the way our medical system runs, the way the pharmaceutical companies control, the restraints placed on doctors by the insurance companies, and force the AMA to allow medicine that has been tested and proven in other countries to be administered in the United States.

On a more upbeat note, I just sent two patients over to The Klinik. I'm so happy they are there, I don't even know what to say.

Eating by the clock

2009-04-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

I’m back from the Beatles Fest in New Jersey. It was quite a weekend (you can read about it here).

This is “doctor week.” I went to my doctor here in Los Angeles yesterday to have my blood checked before I get scoped tomorrow.

I hate getting scoped. They scope through the nose down to the bottom of my throat-- no fun. My doctor said I looked good, but skinny. I would say 141 pounds is not my fighting weight. He asked if I was eating and my reply was, “Yeah. When I think about it.”

I'll try to explain. As I’ve mentioned before, my doctor here told me that for some unknown reason, people who’ve had head or neck cancer lose their appetite. Radiation then takes away your ability to taste. In my case, my one remaining saliva gland can’t break down certain foods, so I can't swallow them. Imagine your stomach not sending a message to your brain telling you that you're hungry.

So my doctor said I have to eat “by the clock”: Breakfast at eight, lunch at one, and dinner at seven. He's right, I know, but I'll say it again:

It's hard to eat when you’re not hungry!

I later went to my other doctor here to have my intravenous drips of Vitamin C with minerals. I guess that since I can't have a drink, Vitamin C drips have replaced vodka martinis.

I'll blog again after my scope.

Shocking my doctor

2009-03-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

I went to see my radiation oncologist last Friday. He wanted to check me out before they scope me on April 2nd. He walked in with his nurse and when they saw my neck and the area where I’d been radiated, they both were shocked. They couldn't believe how good my skin looked. The nurse asked what I had done.

Well, here it goes: I was watching a documentary on TV about burn victims and how they are treated. They were showing this guy who’d burned his arms in a car fire when I noticed that some of his burned skin looked like the skin on my neck. (After radiation it turns a chocolate brown color and stays that way. I've met other neck cancer patients whose skin is still chocolate brown and very rough, two or three years after radiation.) In the documentary, nurses used a loofah-type sponge and warm water to rub off the burn victim’s dead skin off. The brown skin was gone.

I got out of bed, got into the shower, took a soft loofah cloth and began to remove the dead skin from where I was burnt by the radiation. I did it whenever I’d see a layer of that dark brown skin. It hurt a little, but I took my time and got rid of all the burnt skin. Then I rubbed in this medicated ointment called Aquaphor, twice a day.

When I finished telling them what I'd done, there was silence. Then my doctor said, “Wow, it looks great,” and the nurse smiled and nodded.

On another topic, I've been talking to a number of cancer patients and their loved ones about the treatment I've received and the fight that must be put up to beat this horrible disease-- and notice I wrote "beat" this horrible disease, not "try to beat" this horrible disease. No matter how bad you feel, never give up and never stop fighting. A positive attitude is healing. Do whatever is necessary to make yourself feel as good as you can while you're going through treatment.

I'll say it again:

Take charge of your medical path. Be proactive.

Just because they're doctors and have diplomas on their walls and wear white coats doesn't mean their diagnoses are the way you want to go.

Get other opinions. Find your path to beating this horrible disease.

(The photo shows me getting drips of pure Vitamin C.)

The only baby picture of me

2009-03-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog. Let me bring everybody up to speed:

The trismus-- that tightening of my jaw as a result of the radiation-- is gone. I just did the painful exercises and got through it. It was an unexpected and painful ordeal, complicated by thrush. To give you an idea of just how painful it was, I had to cancel my appearance at the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, where my documentary was being screened, and wrote in an email to my production partner:

“...been up since about 3:30 am. My mouth is dry to begin with because of only one saliva gland, but the thrush dries it even more so it's hard to swallow and when I sleep, my mouth and throat get so dry they stick together and it's hard to breathe. And my knees, hips, elbows and shoulder blades all feel like I've been in a street fight... But one a good note: I don't have cancer anymore!”

After the thrush set in, I called my doctor here in Los Angeles, and he immediately prescribed some drug to take five times a day for 10 days. I don't think I can take any more chemicals in my body, so I spoke to a friend of mine named Monica. She sent me to a website called Earth Clinic, which had a home remedy for thrush. I thought I had nothing to lose and might as well try it. If it didn’t work, I’d just go for the prescribed chemicals and just eat it. Well, to my surprise, it worked! And worked fast. My thrush was completely gone in a day and a half.

The remedy?

Take two tablespoons of Milk Of Magnesia

and two tablespoons of water.

Mix together.

Gargle three times a day.

That's it. My doctor here had no comment after looking in my mouth and seeing it “so clean,” as he put it. My thanks to Monica. I've stopped taking all pharmaceutical and chemical medicines except the shot from Germany that stimulates my adrenal glands.

I’ve got only two more shots to go, and than I’ll be done with chemicals and only taking holistic natural supplements.

I get scoped the first week in April. Then I'm done with treatments in the States. I have to go to Germany for about a week in April. There I'll do heat therapy, get UVB blood work and receive the usual doses of vitamin C with minerals, Vitamin D with amino acids, Vitamin B12 drips, and the rest.

I still have my good days and my bad days, but that too will end.

PS: I've gained a little weight. I now weigh 158 pounds. I'm trying to get to my original weight: 10 pounds 13 ounces.

(Above: The only baby picture of me)

Trying to find fun in the pain

2009-03-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

My jaw is killing me. It hurts just to talk. If I don't move my mouth to much to talk it's palatable. I try to find the fun in the pain and I'm becoming a very good ventriloquist. My doctor at The Klinik emailed me to say that I’ll begin amino acids IV drip treatment next week. The drips will build up the proteins in my body which will help strengthen me while helping restore my immune system, which is totally trashed. It's funny: when I look in the mirror I have a hard time seeing the old Brett. This is what I looked like before cancer and this is what I looked like after:

I was 244 pounds before. Now I'm down to 151.

Remember: Try to find the fun in the pain.

Later today, I go to the doctor for my jaw.

A not-so-merry Trismus

2009-03-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of Trismus? Me neither... not until I found out about it this week.

It's funny, if I were a doctor and about to give a patient radiation, I'd tell the patient about ALL the side effects not just the line about, “We're going to give you something and you’ll wind up with the worst sore throat you've ever had and blah, blah, blah, blah...”

Well, on Thursday the left side of my jaw bone started to get a little sore when I opened my mouth. Now, it's getting a little worse and I'm having a hard time opening my mouth wide-- like when I try to take a bite of food that I try desperately-- and need desperately-- to eat.

I’ve got radiation-induced trismus.

I had to look it up online to find out what was going on. According to the medical books and what the doctor could have warned me about to begin with, was that radiation therapy leads to trauma that requires repair. Repair results in scarring, which generates collagen, which leads to fibrosis of the connective tissue and results in the tissue tightening and stiff. These cellular and extracellular changes result in the limited jaw motion that they call “trismus.”

On a positive note, I got an e-mail from my doctor at The Klinik in Germany, saying that when I arrive there, she’ll give me medicine that the AMA hasn't approved. One is an IV drip of a medicine called Hepa-Merz, which will help heal my liver that’s been swollen from chemotherapy.

(I told her that I consider the healing of the liver to be preparing the liver for vodka. She now knows me well enough to ignore such remarks).

I'll also get a shot of Synacthen once a week -- to stimulate the adrenal glans to stimulate my appetite and help me gain weight-- and an IV drip of something called Neurium 600 injekt. This will make me feel better overall and help repair any nerve damage from the radiation.

I know two of the products work because I've already used them the last time I was at The Klinik.

Did I mention they’re not approved by the American Medical Association?

One more thing: I hope everyone is keeping up with President Obama's health care plan. In his address to Congress, he spoke of getting insurance companies to actually cover preventative medicines. Here’s a list of preventative medicines I've received from my doctors here and the ones I've received and will receive from The Klinik in Germany to prevent this cancer from returning for a third time:

USA

(receiving now)

Blood tests

Nuprigen shots (if my white blood cell count dips too low)

Germany

(When I go to The Klinik)

Neurium 600 injekt

Synacthen

Hepa-Merz

MPA 500mg Hexal

Derma-Recov. Growth Factor (for taste buds)

Holistic Medicines

(I've been taking some of these all through this second bout;

my American doctors would say they’re a waste of time)

Vitamin C and D with minerals IV's

(for my immune system)

Kimun (liver)

Mulgatol (vitamin B) (appetite

ICG-forte (immune system)

Boswellia (immune system)

Anti-Oxidant (immune system)

Selenium (cancer preventative)

Milk Thistle (cancer preventative)

Cats Claw (cancer preventative)

Astragalus (cancer preventative)

Also:

On The Rock Nutrition

(Men's Mix, Daily Mix and Energy

Mix in place of a multi-vitamin)

No Sugar

Low acid

High alkaline diet

Remember, as far as The AMA is concerned, after my scope shows up negative, I'm done. Then I get scoped once a month by my throat specialist and get a PT scan every three months.

Preventing the cancer from returning and rebuilding my battered system, I guess, is up to me.

Good Luck, Mr. President. This should be fun to watch.

Vitamins

2009-02-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that the American Medical Association says that vitamins don’t do anything. Since I've started the intravenous drips of vitamins C and D with minerals, I’ve been feeling much better. I don't care if it's psychological. It works. The AMA also contends that vitamin C can have a negative effect if taken during chemotherapy treatments. My doctors at The Klinik have shown me that it ain’t necessarily so.

My American doctors were amazed at how well I was responding to the chemo treatments. They didn't know that all the while, on the advice of my doctors at The Klinik, I was also taking regular drips of vitamins C and D with minerals.

Yeah, it’s frustrating. I have my first PT scan in two weeks. I know it will be clear, showing that cancer cells are no longer in my lymph node. Then I’ll begin the heat therapy. In the meantime, I'lI try to gain weight. I weigh 150 pounds. I need to put on at least twenty. That's not so easy to do when you can't taste anything.

Hot therapy

2009-02-14T15:38:00.000-08:00

My doctor at The Klinik in German told me yesterday that she wants me to undergo something called “hot therapy” when I get to The Klinik for post-radiation treatment. In the meantime, she said I should continue doing what I’m doing, and start drips with Vitamin C and Vitamin D with minerals on Tuesday.

Hot therapy? Here’s what I found out about it:

It’s officially known as “regional hyperthermia,” and what it does is expose the body tissue in and around a tumor to high temperatures-- as high as 113º Fahrenheit. The therapy was developed after studies showed that such heat can kill cancer cells directly, as well as apparently make some tumors more susceptible to the effects of chemotherapy, with minimal injury to normal tissue.

Hot therapy isn’t common in the United States, but it has been tested in clinical trials, primarily in Europe. The main trial was led by Rolf Issels, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Munich in Germany, and supported by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology.

Patients with high-risk soft tissue sarcomas whose tumors were treated with a kind of localized heat therapy and other treatment lived longer without their disease worsening or returning than did those who did not receive hot therapy.

Checked out about 25 months later, patients who’d received hot therapy did significantly better by nearly all measures. Their disease-free survival was 16 months, compared to 13 months for those on chemotherapy alone-- a 35 percent reduction in risk. Partial and complete tumor responses were seen in 28.7 percent of hot therapy patients, compared to 12.6 percent for those receiving chemotherapy alone.

Patients treated with hot therapy also went an average of 38 months before local progression of disease, compared to 26 months for chemotherapy alone. That’s a 32 percent reduction in risk.

And in case it sounds a bit on the edge, I found a quote from Barry Anderson, M.D., a senior investigator in the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (NCI is the US government’s main cancer research agency):

“The addition of regional hyperthermia improves the response of these soft tissue sarcomas to the standard chemotherapy. Though we don’t know if these patients will live longer (than those not receiving hot therapy), disease recurrence and local progression are both significantly improved.”

Someone asked me why I’m doing hot therapy now that my chemotherapy treatment is finished. That’s because I still have enough chemo in my soft tissue that the heat will activate what’s left in my system.

These Germans have been doing this a long time.

I also started taking On The Rock Nutrition. I don't know where to buy it other than at OnTheRockNow.com. I take the The Men's Mix, The Daily Mix and Energy Mix every day. These vegetable, fruit and herb dietary supplements bring down the body’s acid level and raise the alkaline level. Cancer cells thrive in bodies with high acid levels. High alkaline in the body is a perfect environment to prevent cancer cells from living.

I'll let you know how I feel after my drips on Tuesday.

Feeling stronger every day

2009-02-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the emails, letters and phone calls. My doctor from The Klinik has given me some medicines and treatments that have really helped with the radiation aftereffects-- treatments that are not prescribed here in the States, of course. They’ve done little things like help me to taste things and work up saliva. Yeah, little things that I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. I’ll fill you in more as soon as I have the chance. Meanwhile, yes, I’m feeling a little better every day, and I’m working hard on The Klinik documentary. I’ve got a lot of work that needs to be done.

(And yes, that’s a photo of me yesterday. I look even better today.)

Until I feel like Brett again

2009-02-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

I saw my doctor from The Klinik in Germany yesterday. She's here in LA for a few days. She brought over some good stuff for me to take and it’s already started to work.

She’s got me taking a pill called MPA 500mg Hexal - Medroxyprogesteron Acetat once a day. It’s an antibody drug prescribed in the States for women’s gynaecological problems (medroxyprogesterone injections are used for contraception and treating endometrial or renal cancer), but in Germany, they’ve had great success using this for various cancers, including breast cancer and head and neck cancer.

She also have me a Vitamin B complex gel that comes in a tube called Mulgatol Junior. In Germany, they give it to babies to help them gain weight. It tastes like orange candy. and I can actually taste it... I think? At least I taste something. It's a 150 ml per spoonful.

The doctor also gave me a shot where my butt used to be before I lost the 35 pounds that boosts my adrenalin and helps with the fatigue and appetite. Tomorrow I will get a Alpha Lipoic vitamin shot-- also for fatigue and weight gain.

All of these drugs, natural supplements and vitamins are legal in the United States-- but not covered by insurance companies so therefore not used by doctors.

And who suffers?

The patient.

Because according to the United States medical system, I'm in remission again; I'm done.

I’m done, even though I still weigh 150 pounds, sleep 14 hours a day, can't taste anything, have one saliva gland left and eat like a supermodel-- which is my point again and again .

And again.

In the States, I'm cured. In the States, it’s now down to taking my blood and trying to keep my white count up. And that's it. They just tell me to wait for the weight gain and as far as natural supplements and vitamins go, they don't believe in that at all!

As far as my doctor from The Klinik is concerned, I'm not cured until I feel like Brett again.

Suckers

2009-01-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

They told me that the radiation would make me tired, but this is ridiculous.

I'm off the morphine suckers and the OxyContin. I’m down to three Vicodone a day and will start weaning myself from those starting on Monday. My throat is still very sore but getting better. I'd rather have a sore throat than be loaded all day by still taking those drugs. Enough chemicals. Now I’ve just got to get my strength back.

I realize that I've lost 35 pounds and haven't really eaten very much in the last seven weeks, but I have never in my life been this fatigued. My whole being is tired. So I’ll have one little rant; then I'm going to sleep.

I wanted to order one more box of the morphine suckers because if I had them, I wouldn't have to take any more pills. The good thing about the suckers is that you can use one throughout the whole day for pain and not be a vegetable from the opiates in the pills. In the meantime though, my insurance policy changed, and my prescription co-pay went away. The last time I placed an order, I paid fifteen dollars for two boxes. This time without the prescription co-pay, I’d have to pay $691.00... for one box.

This has got to change. And don't look to President Obama or any other politician now or in the future to change it. If we want this to change, it's going to have to come from us.

We, the people. Think about it.

Goodnight... or good afternoon.

And good luck.

(Side note: As much as those suckers really helped me, I refused to pay that money to that pharmaceutical company. A sore throat I can deal with. Greed, I can't.)

Today was my last radiation session; today was a good day

2009-01-22T15:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my last chemo bag and today was my last radiation session. It was brutal, but they tell me it'll work. So for the next six weeks I do nothing but recuperate. Then they’ll do a PT scan and I'm sure it will be clear. I’ve sent an e-mail to my doctor at The Klinik in Germany to fill her in on my situation. She’ll let me know when to come over to The Klinik for treatment for the side effects of the radiation. I know one of the treatments is bathing in water mixed with half a cup to a cup of sea salt and a half a cup to a cup of baking soda. This helps draw the radiation out of your body.

Today was a good day. I saw Farrah and Alana Stewart at the doctors’. Farrah's going to go back to Germany for some treatment, too. And to top off my day, my niece Kate came over to see me. We spent about an hour together. I don't get to see her much, so this was wonderful for me. It's not even six o'clock and I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

Four more sessions

2009-01-18T15:28:00.000-08:00

Four more sessions and I'm done. I don't think it'll get any worse. I can barely swallow, my throat is beyond raw, I weigh 157 and I have never been this tired EVER. In six weeks I'll do a PT scan and all will be clear. Then I think I will be going back to The Klinik for a couple of weeks for treatments to rebuild my trashed immune system and counteract the effects of the radiation.

The picture of my neck speaks for itself

2009-01-13T15:26:00.000-08:00

I'm real tired. A tired I've never felt before. And feeling horribly sick at times along with the tremendous fatigue is no fun.

If you look at the picture of my neck, you’ll see it speaks for itself.

I'm down to 159 pounds. I have six more sessions of radiation and two more chemo sessions. Then, according to my U.S. doctors, I'm done with treatment. My doctor at The Klinik, however, wants me to go there for a couple of weeks so they can treat me for the radiation I've had.

I will blog again this weekend and tell more. Sorry. Too tired.

Like I inhaled fire

2008-12-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

I've lost about twenty pounds. My throat hurts, but it's a different kind of hurt. It's not like a sore throat or infection. It's like I inhaled fire and it's raw from the burn. I gargle a lot with the chamomile tea extract and the aloe vera recommended by The Klinik, which really helps. The "magic mouthwash" prescribed by the doctors in Los Angeles doesn't do anything except make me throw up.

I must admit: the morphine suckers work the best!

I know what you're thinking. But it’s not like I get up in the morning, pop a sucker and listen to Hendrix. I only use them as needed. Sorry, but I'd rather have a martini. No olives, though. I couldn't swallow them.

While I’ve been undergoing the treatments in Los Angeles, I've been in contact with my doctor at The Klinik in Germany. She wants me to come to The Klinik for treatments for side effects from the radiation.

Treatments to recover from the treatments...

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

Had radiation and chemo today. I don't feel all that great. The morphine suckers are working. I'm not in as much pain, which is good. However, it has taken me over two hours to write this blog.

Merry Christmas.

Double radiation day

2008-12-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today is a double radiation session day. 10:30 am and 4:20 pm. Two radiation treatments because it's a holiday week and they won’t be open on Christmas Day. When I told my business partner I was doubling up because of the day off, he said, “If that’s the case, then why don’t you get all the treatments at once, over 48 hours?”

I told him that if I did that, there wouldn’t be anything left. I’d be burnt to a crisp.

My throat is really, really sore. With that and the chemotherapy, I was in bed most of the weekend. I tried writing a blog entry, but I think it was too short to post:

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Ouch.

See what I mean?

I don't like that "magic mouthwash" stuff and I don't like taking OxyContin because that stuff screws you up.

So my doctors here in Los Angeles are getting me morphine suckers. They’re lollipops laced with morphine.

I hope they have raspberry flavor. That’s my favorite.

Today the radiation machine broke

2008-12-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Today the radiation machine broke. Then they fixed it. Then I got fried.

My throat is absolutely killing me

2008-12-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is a radiation and chemotherapy day. My throat is absolutely killing me and I feel sick. The best thing about today is that I ran into Farrah at the clinic here in L.A. It was great to see her and she looked fantastic.

Ten down, thirty to go

2008-12-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today was my tenth radiation session. Just thirty more to go.

One of the radiation doctors examined me today, looked in my mouth and down my throat. She was amazed how clean it looked, no sores or inflamed areas.

She asked if I was taking the prescribed meds they gave me and I told her the truth.

I said my doctor at The Klinik in Germany had told me to gargle with and drink chamomile tea extract and to do the same with aloe vera, and that’s what I’ve been doing.

She was actually amazed. But now that my throat is getting sore and my voice is getting raspy and I sound like a cross between Bill Clinton and Harvey Fierstein, I’m going to get what they call “Magic Mouthwash,” which is Maalox or Mylanta, Xylocaine viscous, Decadron or hydrocortisone, Benadryl, Nystatin and sometimes tetracycline or erythromycin, depending on what your doctor prescribes.

I get Mylanta, Xylocaine viscous and Benadryl with three olives and barely a drop of vermouth… shaken.

I’ll keep you posted.

Radiation

2008-12-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

I started radiation yesterday afternoon.

It was... interesting.

I just lay there with my mask, anchored to a table and this machine moved around me and stopped in eighteen different positions and radiated me.

At this point I don't feel anything. But they told me that sometime around the tenth session I'll start feeling the sore throat, and by the end of the third week I won't be eating solid foods anymore because it'll be too hard to swallow.

I'll lose my ability to taste for about six to eight months, but they tell me that will come back.

Radiation kills saliva glands. So Dr. Copps, my dental oncologist, gave me some medicine called Salagen. The medicine will help create more saliva from the glands that make it through the treatment.

With my luck, the radiation won't kill any saliva glands and I'll be drooling like a St. Bernard.

But that wasn't the end of it.

There's a prescription drug called OmniiGel. I need it for post-radiation. My prescription co-pays fifteen dollars for it. But today I was told by the pharmacist that my insurance company says OmniiGel is an over-the-counter purchase, not a prescription drug and refuses to pay its share.

So now it costs me sixty dollars.

When I got in the car, I called my insurance company and told them this was a prescription drug.

The person said I was wrong, that it's an over-the-counter drug.

So I asked herwhere I could go and buy this medicine over-the-counter, without a prescription.

Silence.

She put me on hold.

A supervisor came on. We had a similar conversation.

Then I asked her the same question: "Can you please tell me where I can get this medicine over the counter?"

No answer. She'll get back to me tomorrow.

What happened today is a perfect example of how the insurance companies make it up as they go.

As for me? Just twenty-nine more radiation sessions and I'm done.

Today, I start chemo at noon and radiation at four.

Really, the only fun I'm having is working on that live album with my brothers from 1978.

I'll let you know what the insurance company says.

If they ever call me back.

Aloe vera, milk thistle & OxyContin

2008-11-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

I got an email from my doctor at The Klinik today. She gave me a regimen to follow to prevent or lessen the side effects of the radiation and chemo:

Aloe vera every day for gargling and drinking

Make a high-concentrated chamomile tea extract

and gargle several times a day and clean the mouth

Take:

Boswelia 400 mg 3x2 tab

Alpha liponic acid 600 mg

Sodium selenite 300 microgramm

Vitamin B complex

Milk thistle 120 mg 3x a day

The radiation oncologist here in Los Angeles says he'll give me prescriptions for lidocaine to numb my burnt throat, and Vicodin and OxyContin for pain.

See?

That's my point.

My doctors here would never prescribe what my doctor at The Klinik did, even if they knew it worked.

Why? The suggested regimen from The Klinik contains natural, holistic supplements that are not controlled and sold by the pharmaceutical companies.

It basically comes down to this: If the pharmaceutical companies can't control it, they can't make huge profits, and therefore would never endorse such a regimen.

Six weeks

2008-11-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

On Monday I go get fitted for a mask. It's a mask that covers my face and protects my head from the radiation that will be burning into my neck in order to kill those cancer cells in my lymph node.

The doctors here and at The Klinik in Germany agreed that I need low-level radiation, ten minutes a day, five days a week, for six weeks. And six weeks of chemo. I can't say I'm looking forward to it. They tell me the first three weeks will be okay. But on the back half, my throat will be so sore that I won't be able to eat solid food. There goes the thirty pounds I'd worked so hard to put back on. They keep telling me that I have to keep swallowing-- no matter how painful-- and drink as many calories as I can, no matter how long it takes to get it down.

A lot of patients get a feeding tube, but I refused because sometimes people who use tubes actually forget how to swallow and have to go to therapy to learn to swallow again.

I don't have time for that.

It's funny-- no, it's not funny at all really. It's frustrating and infuriating that when they first found the cancer cells, the first thing out of the radiation oncologist's mouth was that I needed full-blown radiation and two nine-week sessions of chemotherapy.

Because that's what it says in their medical books.

They don't think out of the box. I immediately said, "No. I won't do full-blown radiation."

And then my doctor at The Klinik looked at everything and spoke with my doctors here, and suddenly they all agreed:

Low-level radiation.

Ten minutes a day.

Five days a week for six weeks.

Chemo for only six weeks.

See? That gets to the heart of the entire issue. What if I didn't have the second opinion? What if I didn't have a pioneering doctor who's not bound by tradition and a medical and pharmaceutical establishment?

Well, lots of people don't have that option. They have no choice but to follow the initial advice, which is “cut and burn and radiate and poison.”

Most people don't have that option, And it's out there!

I start the treatments on December first and finish on January ninth.

It will take a couple of months before everything is back to normal.

I'm waiting to hear from my doctor at The Klinik. She’'s going to give me a program to follow that the doctors here don't believe in. When I get it, I'll let you know what it is.

Do or die

2008-11-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

"If you don't do radiation, you're looking at death."

That's a quote from the radiation oncologist I met with yesterday.

Undergo radiation for the cancer cells in one of my lymph nodes or die.

He was very matter of fact. If you don't do it, you'll die.

That's the third doctor in the United States who told me that I would die if I didn't do what he suggested. The doctor did admit that he and the others don't know all that much about the cyberknife treatment they've been using at The Klinik in Germany for the last 10 years, and that they used on my throat cancer last December.

Then the doctor scoped me, for no other reason than to see what the cyberknifing looked like.

He was blown away. The look on his face was almost funny.

He said, "Wow, I see where they blasted your tumour away. There's nothing there. No sign of the tumour.

“That's... amazing!"

Then he asked me about the side effects from the cyberknife.

I told him that there have been no side effects at all.

That was when he told me about the side effects I could expect from the low-level radiation.

Ha!

Big difference.

If I do the low-level radiation, it will be one ten-minute session a day, five days a week, for six weeks. There should be no side effects for the first two to three weeks. Then he said I'll get the worst sore throat known to man-- so sore that I won't be able to eat solid foods and will even have a difficult time with liquids. He said I can expect to lose thirty or forty pounds.

The key, the doctor said, is to keep swallowing and eating and drinking, no matter how painful.

(My business partner bet me a hundred dollars that it won't stop me from talking.)

I've been in touch with the doctors at The Klinik, and this morning I got an email from The Klinik's cyberknife doctor He's waiting for the PT scans and report to arrive, and then he'll give me his opinion on whether I should be cyberknifed or go through the "low-level, non-invasive and very focused" radiation treatment.

I'll know more Monday or Tuesday.

Sessions

2008-11-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

Hey.

I've been in constant contact with my doctor at The Klinik in Germany, and my doctor here in LA has also been talking to my doctor at The Klinik. The reason for all this communication is to get all the information that's available about the various treatments that are available.

And then I'll decide which one I want to do.

To bring you up to date, a year after my first cancer treatments, cancer cells were found in one of my lymph nodes. There's no tumour or mass, just cancer cells that are probably a "drain-off" from the original tumour that was removed at The Klinik last December.

It's not unexpected, but it means another slog through the same treatments.

Tomorrow I meet with a radiation oncologist.

Because of where the lymph node is located, I might be able to undergo a low-level, non-invasive and very focused radiation treatment that would kill the cancer cells in that one lymph node and any undetectable micro-cancer cells that might be in the surrounding lymph nodes.

In any case, I start my first of two chemotherapy "sessions" next week. Each session lasts nine weeks.

After the first session, I'll either get the cyberknife or the low, non-invasive and very focused radiation treatment. Then, another nine weeks of chemotherapy.

I will not have to be operated on, which is good because that would have left my neck indented-- or as they call it, "collapsed."

Anyway, while I wait for all the info, I've gone back on my cancer diet, which is basically eating like a gerbil. All organic veggies, wild caught fish, and organic chicken.

No red meat, no sugar, no coffee.

And no vodka.

I'll let you know the outcome of my appointment with the radiation oncologist as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, that picture up top is from a computer printout I just got back from The Klinik.

That's me at the moment I was getting zapped by the cyberknife.

Cool, huh?

Yes, there were cancer cells in the lymph node

2008-11-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to thank everyone for your good thoughts and prayers. I truly do appreciate all the support. So here's the deal so far:

The biopsy came back and yes, there were cancer cells in the lymph node.

Remember, we always knew that there were cancer cells still in my body. That's why the Erbitux and Thalidomide. I've sent my latest scan and biopsy results to my doctor at The Klinik in Germany. At this point, all I know is that I will have to do some type of chemotherapy and I'll lose all my hair again-- which is fine; it was getting too long, anyway.

My doctor here in Los Angeles mentioned cutting it out, then chemo and radiation, which is the traditional American procedure. Today my doctor in Germany called and said nothing of cutting anything out, or traditional radiation. She hasn't seen the scan or biopsy results yet, but she has talked to my doctor here and I also e-mailed her and told her everything I knew, so she has enough information. She suggested the cyberknife, which is a very focused, pinpoint laser radiation beam that only radiates the necessary area and kills the cancer cells.

I’ll talk to her on Sunday and she’ll tell me what to do.

It's been really hard to concentrate with all this happening, but I've been working on scripts and putting together a live album that my brothers and I recorded in 1978.

That's all I know for now. Sorry I didn't get to this on Wednesday. That's when I found out the biopsy results.

It could be nothing...

2008-10-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

I got the results of my scan and all is clear.

However, on the PT scan a lymph node on the left side of my throat was measured at 10 mm. On my scan on July 24th this lymph node was at 7mm. The 3mm increase could mean a number of things. It could be nothing. It could be inflamed because of the erbitux.

Or the lymph node could have cancer cells in it.

So today I went in for a biopsy. That was fun. Five needles stuck deep in my neck to get tissue out of the lymph node.

I’m supposed to get the results from the biopsy on Monday. My doctor here said that if there are cancer cells in the lymph node, they’ll operate to remove it.

I’ll tell you right now:

If there are cancer cells in that lymph node, before anyone cuts me open I’m calling my doctor in Germany.

I’ll let you know the results on Monday. Right now, it’s time to take my Thalomid and stare at the floor.

Scans

2008-10-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to mention that I haven't blogged in a while. You should have gotten the picture about my blogging habits by now. But the fact is I'm still feeling pretty rotten. The shingles are gone, thank God, and the erbitux and the pimples I can deal with, but it’s the Thalomid I hate. It flattens you out and turns you into a zombie. I have to take the stuff until the second week of January.

On the bright side, I haven’t stopped working and we’re producing some of our best material ever. Our movie, The Seventh Python, is headed to film festivals around the world-- so I’ll get to meet a lot more of you-- we’re producing a one-man comedy show that has its second preview on the Sunset Strip on Tuesday (no, I’m not the star), and Burt and I are finishing a pilot script for a hilarious new television series-- and starting to write the other episodes.

So life does go on. And upward.

Today I go in for my third PT and CT scans to make sure all is still clear.

I have to do this every three months for the next two years, then every six months for the next five years.

The scans combine X-rays with sophisticated computer equipment to produce images of the inside of my body. A scanner is a large box with a tunnel in the center. They stick me on a narrow table and slide me inside. I’ve only got one problem with them: I'm claustrophobic.

So they give me drugs to relax and I've convinced them to put me in the tube head first instead of feet first, so when I get to the other end of the tunnel I can tilt my head back and see the ceiling.

What a pain in ass I am.

One more thing: I was supposed to get the results of the scans later today, but I won’t get them until Monday because my doctor is guesting on a television show.

Only in Hollywood.

Shingles

2008-10-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

I know. It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged. By the way, I hate that word “blogged.” Maybe that’s got something to do with it. I’m not a “blogger.” I mean, I don’t want to be a “blogger.” But here I go. My apologies if you’ve been waiting or wondering. It’s been quite month. And I haven’t felt much like blogging.

I’ve started new maintenance treatments.

Along with my weekly dose of Erbitux that gives me pimples like a teenager, I now take 150 mg of Thalomid (thalidomide) every day that make me feel like shit.

On top of that I’ve got shingles.

For those of you who don’t know what shingles are, I’ll tell you.

Shingles is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. After an individual has chicken pox, the virus lives in the nervous system and is never fully cleared from the body. Under certain circumstances, such as emotional stress, immune deficiency from chemotherapy for cancer, or AIDS, the virus reactivates, causing shingles.

They are incredibly painful!

So, other than the pimples, feeling like shit and the shingles, all is well.

I know some of you are saying, Isn’t Thalidomide the drug that caused birth defects back in the fifties and sixties? It is. But they’ve found a number of other good uses for the drug. In the States, we don’t take advantage of it, but in Germany it’s part of the maintenance-- or preventive-- treatments. This is what the doctors at The Klinik told me and why it’s important that I take it.

Cancer cells that are active in the blood have an inflammation that surrounds the cell. Thalidomide removes the inflammation from around the cell then the cell dies. I do this until the second week of January.

Then they’ll take my blood and check it for micro cancer cells.

If it’s clear, I’m done with treatments.

Stand Up To Pharmaceutical Companies, Insurance Companies and Doctors

2008-09-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Stand Up To Cancer telethon is getting underway on the networks right now.

I think it’s great to bring awareness to this disease and I think it’s great to give this money to the top research doctors across the country to try to find a cure for cancer.

But here’s my problem with the whole thing.

What about the treatments that are already available in other parts of the world?

I’m talking about the treatments that work.

Why aren’t they available here in the United States?

Is it because some of the medicine I was given in Germany is natural and homeopathic and not controlled by the pharmaceutical companies, so insurance companies won’t cover it?

Or is it because when I went to The Klinik, I was given one radiation session instead of the seventy I was to undergo in the States.

Every time I ask myself this question, I keep coming up with the same answer:

Money.

Example:

When you get chemo, the inside of your mouth gets sore and raw.

Here in the States, they gave me a prescription that I finally gave up on and stopped using.

In Germany, my doctor told me to make ice cubes out of chamomile tea and suck on them.

The ice cubes worked!

So, bottom line, I think we should “Stand Up To Cancer” and “Stand Up To Pharmaceutical Companies, Insurance Companies and Doctors.”

Important anniversaries

2008-08-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

It was one year ago today that I had an MRI that determined the cancer I had was far more serious and extensive than doctors had first thought.

The anniversary of my biopsy results was August 25th. That’s when I was told I had Stage 4 throat cancer, the worst possible.

It’s funny. I forgot the date. The anniversary passed. But anyway, the doctor said it appeared to be limited to my tonsil—they could see the tumour— and they said they could get at it and literally remove my tonsil and that would be it.

But two days later--a year ago today-- I had the MRI, which is like a PET scan of my head and neck, and they discovered that the cancer went from the base of my neck to the top of my tongue.

And they said it was growing up and down, which was not good. The good news was they they didn’t find cancer anywhere else in my body.

In the short time from a year ago today to October 1st when I started chemotherapy, the cancer kept growing. It had grown sideways-- which it normally doesn’t do, and it dug what they call “fingers” in the cartilage of my throat. All in less than five weeks!

And that was not good. That’s why I was doused with chemotherapy.

It didn’t work and they didn’t get the “fingers” out until I went to The Klinik and had what’s called embolism treatment, which allowed me to get the Cyberknife to get the “fingers” out.

We’ll be getting to all that in The Klinik.

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting a lot of emails, as you know, but lately I’ve been hearing from a lot of people in the medical profession: nurses, people who work in MRI, catscan and X-ray departments, all kinds of technicians.

One is a friend named Julie who teaches at a small nursing college on Ottawa, Canada. She asked if she could show The Klinik website to her colleagues and students. (Of course!)

And they’re all fascinated and asked, Why isn’t this treatment available everywhere? Why do you have to go to Germany?

The answer is simple:

The pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and doctors.

Ha! I’m sounding like Michael Moore and I don’t want to sound like Michael Moore.

I’ve told you about the people I met at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago. One of them runs a Paul McCartney website and she put together a page. Check it out by clicking here.

Thanks to “Sweet Banana” and all of you who’ve put together pages and photos like the one above.

And there’s one more thing about this week’s anniversaries: From the very first time the doctor told me I had cancer, I was determined to not waste any time-- and to get this thing out of my body!

I’ll get into that as I keep up with the story of my year. And I’ll try to remember the important anniversaries!

Christina Applegate

2008-08-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

I read about Christina Applegate this morning and I felt terrible.

She found out that she had breast cancer and opted immediately for a double mastectomy. This beautiful, vivacious young woman went for the last resort first! I wonder if she knew that there were other options she could have taken, not only here but obviously in other countries. Like Germany.

It was one year ago today, August 19th, 2007, that I went to the doctor because I couldn’t swallow. He took one look at my throat and said, “It looks like throat cancer. Go get a biopsy.”

In fact, it was Stage 4 throat cancer. And I was told by that second doctor to have the “morbid operation”—doesn’t that sound nice?— an operation that would remove my ability to speak and swallow. The doctor recommended the full-blown operation, radiation, and chemotherapy, and then plastic surgery later to rebuild my neck, the lower right part of my jaw and the top of my right shoulder.

That was the first option I was given.

The next doctor told me to get my life in order.

The third told me that there was a treatment, and if I lived through the treatment— if the treatment didn’t kill me-- I’d have a cure,

The most important thing in a situation like this is to take charge of your life. I went ton nine different doctors before I found out about The Klinik.

Christina found out that she had cancer in one breast and she had a double mastectomy! That should have been the last resort. And that’s why it’s so important to get the word—and the options—out there.

As for me, my preventative treatment continues.

I started taking thalidomide on Friday. I know, most of us remember it as that drug that caused birth defects when it was taken by pregnant women back in the Sixties. But low doses of thalidomide stop growth of micro cancer cells. I have to sign all kinds of papers to get it. If I lose a prescription I have to report it, in case it gets in the wrong hands.

I have to take the pills for three months. And I’m off right now to get another bag of Erbitux.

So take charge! I feel for Christina and send her all my best. I only wish she hadn’t taken the last resort first, and isn’t sending the wrong message.

At the Beatles fan convention

2008-08-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

I was at a Beatles fan convention in Chicago over the weekend.

The Fest for Beatles Fans has been in operation for 34 years, attracting fans from all over the world. I was there for a couple of reasons. My partner in Frozen Pictures, Burt Kearns, and I were screening The Seventh Python, our film about Neil Innes. Neil was there, too. He’s been a huge attraction at the fan fests because of his work with the Beatles and the Rutles.

And I was there with my brother Mark, as a Hudson Brother. Mark’s also been a Beatles Fest star because he produced and wrote with Ringo (we both were friends with John). And now that our Razzle Dazzle Show TV series from the Seventies is coming out on DVD, and we’re going to do a Hudson brothers reunion concert and film with our brother Bill, it was a weekend of signing autographs, jamming onstage, and telling stories.

Word had definitely spread among the fans about my year and The Klinik. I can’t tell you the amount of people who came up to me on that autograph line, and in the lobby, in the elevator, in the restaurant— even in the middle of the night in the parking lot when someone pulled a fire alarm at three in the morning-- to talk about my recovery. Well, I can tell you, and I will. It was a lot! So many people told me my story was inspirational. And everybody— everybody— had their own story. “My aunt had cancer... my brother had cancer... my daughter... my mother— I have cancer.”

One gentleman had the same type of cancer I had. He unfortunately had a big scar across his neck because he had the radiation treatments and the whole works. He, like me, beat it, but it made me feel bad because he should have at least had the option to try what I did. Even if it didn’t work, he could have had the operation, but he didn’t have the option.

He didn’t have the option.

That’s what I don’t understand about our medical system. And by “our,” I mean the American medical system.

My brother Mark was at my side the entire weekend. And he stayed close the entire time I was in Germany. He must have texted me twice a day, asking if there was anything he could do, making sure I was all right, praying for me, encouraging me. And it’s important to have that support system. My family, Mark and my brother Bill, my friends-- all that is so important to the healing process.

All this, from the time I learned I had cancer in August a year ago, led me to that Beatles fans convention over the weekend, sitting there signing autographs and standing up to pose for photos.

They say your life flashes before your eyes. Well it doesn’t flash. It passes before your eyes incredibly slowly. I don’t want to say I did a Bucket List, but my cancer did make me think of what was at the top of that list of what I’d like to do. And the first thing that flashed was playing one more time with my brothers Bill and Mark.

So here we are. And I have to thank all the people in Chicago who told me that they want to get involved and join this crusade.

I'm going to Capitol Hill like Michael J. Fox

2008-08-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Things have got to change in this country. And they're going to change. We're going to make them change.

I told you about Erbitux. Erbitux (generic name cetuximab) is a cancer medication that slows the growth of cancer cells. For me, it's part of the maintenance program I'm on to make sure that I remain cancer-free. I use a bag of it every week. I go into the doctor's office in Santa Monica and get an IV drip. It takes about an hour.

As I mentioned last week, each bag of Erbitux costs $4,000. The same bag of Erbitux costs four hundred and twenty five dollars in Germany, by the way. But I have insurance, so it doesn’t matter, right?

Well, this week I found out that my insurance company won't pay for the Erbitux because they consider me to be "cured." I called up and I told them this is part of my treatment. This treatment is keeping me alive and making sure I stay cancer-free. The guy said there's nothing they can do. I said, “There is something they can do.” And I told him, "You will pay for this. One of these days, you'll pay for this for everyone.”

There are people dying out there every day, and they can’t afford the medicines they need because insurance won’t cover them-- if they can afford insurance in the first place. As it is, when I go to a doctor, I have to pay for the visit out of my own pocket and then I have to submit the bill to the insurance company and try to beat it out of them.

Today, I get another letter: the insurance company says they won’t pay for a medicine because they say they don’t know what it has to do with treating my cancer!

Why am I paying for insurance?

I'm telling you, it got me going. I decided I want to go to Washington. I want to go to Washington, D.C. and speak before Congress. I want to look them in the eye and say, "Shame. On. You. Shame on you for not doing something about this. People are dying."

It’s a coincidence. I saw Michael J. Fox on TV. They showed him speaking before Congress. And he was making some really important points about Parkinson's and cell research. But I noticed he was reading from a sheet of paper.

I'm not going to read from a sheet of paper! I'm going to say it in my own words. I'm going to speak like I normally do-- I won't swear, though-- and I'm going to talk for all the people who are looking for help and help isn't available to them. Like many of the people who send me e-mails. I decided. I want to go to Capitol Hill.

McCain? Obama? All of them. They're going to hear from me. They're going to hear from us. All of us.

A wing and a prayer

2008-08-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

I just got an appearance release in the mail. An appearance release is a contract that I’d sign to give my permission to appear in a TV show or movie. In this case, it’s an NBC TV special about Farrah Fawcett’s cancer journey.

Farrah was my “cancer buddy” in Germany.

We traveled together from The Klinik to other private medical facilities in places like Frankfurt and Munich, and her friend Alana Stewart was there with a small video camera, shooting video along the way. Combine that with the stuff my wife Vinnie and I were shooting, and it was a little surreal. As they say, “You can take the kids out of Hollywood…” But it wasn’t a movie, it was a real life-and-death situation. And even when we were going through it, we all knew we had to use the experience to help others.

Farrah is a sweetheart. She really is. She had it much worse than I did. Doctors here had given up. But she found new life in Germany.

Of course I’m giving permission to appear in her TV special, which right now is called A Wing and A Prayer. They also want to do a follow-up interview with me and I’ll do that, too. Farrah and I both broke into Hollywood in the Seventies. We ran in some of the same circles. But now, she’ll always be my “buddy.”

Farrah’s TV special will focus on Farrah, and her ordeal. She’s an American icon and it should be about her.

But The Klinik isn’t about me. I’ll be in it— and so will Farrah and Alana, among many others-- and I’ll tell my story, but my experience is merely the jumping off point to something much, much bigger.

Hey, I’m just glad my hair grew back in time to be on TV!

Not alone

2008-08-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

I’ve probably mentioned more than once that I’m no blogger, but if things continue the way they have in the five days since we went public with this site and The Klinik project, I can probably fill all my posts with emails and letters people are sending.

I won’t, but I will say I’m touched by the words of support and humbled by the responsibility now that people are coming to me, looking for answers.

There’s a lot to write about. For now, I’ll share some more emails, if only to show that you’re not alone:

Include my email to one of many who just saw the Klinik website. Bravo you! As a person who worked volunteer in hospice and has seen friends go through the ravages of treatment, I applaud and am so proud of you for showing there are alternative therapies that work outside our pharma-controlled medical industry. People die and they don't have to. I am glad you took that extra step of taking your wellness into your own hands. Perhaps if big Pharma would let our doctor's practice medicine correctly, they might eventually get it right.

Again, I applaud you and owe you a big hug for doing this! I already have two friends going through treatment I am going to tell about the Klinik!

***

I checked out the site this morning. You are a brave & wonderful soul and bless you for sharing your story. I watched my Daddy die from cancer and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Blessings, baby doll. Take care of yourself.

***

I couldn't sleep last night so I woke up and saw your bulletin on myspace. I had no idea how ill you were. And I am so happy to hear that you found an alternative to your miraculous recovery. God is truly good all the time.

My Mom is a cancer survivor from years ago when uterine cancer was pretty much a death sentence, but I remember the chemo just knocking the very wind out of her every weekend. As you know, it not only effects the person going through the cancer, it effects the entire family. But she is still here at almost 78 years of age.

I don't knock American medicine either, but alternative medicine seems the way to go now. I will keep you and your family in prayer Brett. I hope we get the opportunity to meet someday.

God Bless you keep you...

***

I just ran across your website about The Klinik. I am fighting back the tears as I read about your journey and view the photos. You've been through so much and I think it's wonderful that you're sharing this information with others. We are all so thankful that you made it through!

The cat's claw reminded me of a clinical trial we had for sharks cartilage. So much has changed since my Protocol Research days at MD Anderson Cancer Ctr. I left in 99 and the advances that have been made are incredible. There's never a 'good time' to have cancer. But this may have happened to you at this time for a reason. Maybe you were meant to survive this so you could tell others.

I can't wait to see the movie!

Peace & Love...

East meets West meets insurance

2008-07-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

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.

The answers are out there

2008-07-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how people are finding out about this site so quickly. We only put it up yesterday and already my cellphone voicemail and email box are filling up with messages from people I don’t even know, asking me for information or just talking about their own experiences with cancer.

One woman wrote:

“I found your site TheKlinikMovie and read your blog. I gave a long family history of cancer. It’s something I deal with every day. Take care and God bless you.”

I hope The Klinik will reveal a lot but I can you tell you now that the answers are out there if you just look beyond what’s placed in front of you.

It’s funny. Chastity Bono called me this morning. I used to babysit Chaz when she was four! She called to say that a friend’s mother has ovarian cancer. She said, “I called my mom and got your number to ask if it’s okay if my friend’s mom calls you.” She wants me to tell her about the klinik and what it’s like and what to look forward to. I said, of course it’s all right!

That’s how it works. Just like Chastity’s mom led me to The Klinik, now I get calls. I get a lot of calls from people I don’t even know. And if what I went through can help them, I’m glad to help. I don’t know if it’s my mission, but it’s definitely my obligation now, to give something back and try to help people the way I was helped. So I’ll help the best I can and answer any emails you send.

That’s all I can do and that’s what we hope this movie will do.

My first blog entry

2008-07-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

No, I don’t blog. I can’t believe I actually have a blog. But, yep, I had cancer. So here we go.

I know this will come as a surprise to a lot of you. I got the word on August 25th 2007 that I had throat cancer. Stage Four. There’s not a Stage Five. I saw a number of doctors. I was told to get my affairs in order. You know the drill. I headed into the usual treatments even though the prognosis wasn’t good. I was about to head into seventy sessions of radiation. they’d already fitted me with a lead mask and yanked out some teeth.

And then Cher told me about The Klinik. The Saturday after Thanksgiving-- the Monday before my first radiation blasts-- I stopped the treatments here in L.A. and headed off to Europe.

That’s where I spent Christmas. And New Year’s. Lying in bed with IVs in my body and feeling like, well, you know the drill. Bottom line is I’m still here. The cancer isn’t.

And that’s how this movie got started. Again, we’re not out to make the American medical system look bad. You already know that drill, too.

But we do want to show that if you’re not satisfied with your prognosis or your treatments, there are alternatives. And it’s a lot different than than 30 years ago when my uncle Keenan Wynn’s motorcycle buddy Steve McQueen went down to Mexico for laetrile and other “cures.”

Uncle Keenan died of pancreatic cancer. He also went to Mexico looking for a cure.

That’s all part of the story we’re telling in this movie.

It’s not all about me. But I am around to answer questions. i’ll also keep you up to date on my maintenance treatments and look back on what I went through in the past year. I’ll be keeping you up to date on the progress of this project. So keep in touch.

Brett