Stage IV lung cancer gone!

[Khalil2004]

I've never posted anything here before, but I have often come here to read posts and I would like to thank all of you for sharing your stories as they have helped me and my family alot. I hope that I can bring some hope to all of you.

My father has NSCLC that had spread all over his lung and to the adjacent lymph nodes. Numerous chemotherapies helped to shrink the tumors but eventually stopped working. In Decemberhe was put on Iressa as a step to merely prolong his life. It worked great and not only stopped the cancer from growing but considerably shrunk the tumours. Along side this he was also taking a number of chinese herbal combinations to boost his immune system. Eventually the iressa stopped shrinking the tumours and just prevented their growth. This was good enough for us.

Slowly my father started developing some tingling sensations in his legs and feet, and had back pain. He was checked out and they found a mass of inflammation in his spine. The doctors initially thought it to be cancer because they didn't know what else it could be. They decided to radiate the mass and this meant that for three weeks my father would have to go off of Iressa. I had done some internet research and found an herbal remedy for cancer called Essiac tea. I thought that we would get him drinking it (4oz. twice a day) while he was on radiation because it was known to be excellent for dealing with the side effects of cancer treatments. After 3 weeks the doctor decided to take an X ray of his lungs to see how badly the cancer had grown while he was off the Iressa. They said not to worry to much as any new growth would be handled by the Iressa. To everyone's surprise the X ray revealed that my father's lungs were completely clean!!!

The are planning still to do a CT scan to double check, but nobody can believe what they saw on the X ray. I don't know if it was the tea but I don't know what else it could have been (the radiation was pointed at his throat area not his lung).

Take home messages:
1) Don't believe everything your oncologists tell you, a year ago they told him that he had 2 months to live. Do your own research and try everything you can. The doctors now are saying they don't know what's in his spine and the radiation has made it worse. If anybody has ever heard of any spine disorders let me know we are still trying to understand what this is, so while we are happy the cancer is gone in his lung we have a new less scary problem to face.

2) Prayer is important. I don't have the space here to discuss all the particulars, but God will guide you to any answer if you ask him to. Don't concern yourself with which religion to follow they are just tools to uncover God, they are not God themselves. Is the cancer the choice of the God above you or the God within you? Everything has its purpose, when you figure out what that is, you will move on. Take time to expand your mind and enlighten yourself to infinite possibilities and understanding.

3) Herbal and natural remedies do work. Try to find an experienced herbalist to examine you and give you the proper herbs. Give essiac tea a shot it might work for you too.


I know how hard this can be but don't lose faith. My prayers are with you.

[ellispam]

My father has Stage IV NSCLC with brain and spine mets. He is considering Iressa, but we wanted info from users about side effects. Are the side effects as bad as regular chemotherapy? What experiences have any of you had using Iressa?

Dad is weak, and we want to balance the sickness and side effects with the potential for Iressa helping him.

Thanks for any and all information you can provide!


Pam

[haylee31]

That is great news on your father. I was never one to sure

on herbal cures. Last year I had a sinus infection that was

kicking my behind. I went to the doctors and was given

antibiotics and a decogestion plus told to use afrin. After

a few weeks I felt no better was unable to even get out of

bed somedays due to the sinus headaches. My hubby

called a health store and they said to use oil of oregeno.

Hubby went right away to get me some and YES it worked

within 3 days I felt great. I use it daily now and have not

had any sinus problems since. Good to know about the

tea. Haylee

[Khalil2004]

Side effects vary with Iressa depending on the user. My father got an acne like rash over his face and body, that we treated with regular skin care products. He had some bouts of diarhea that went away on their own. At times he had hiccups. As time went on the body got used to all the drug and they stopped occurring. The good thing about Iressa is you know if it works almost immediately. Days after he started taking it he felt his breathing improve. Here in Toronto there have been a couple of Iressa patients who have made the papers for beating cancer with this drug. It's worth a shot.

[DAA]

Thats the greatest news to hear. I hope all of you can pray for me also. My dads LC is back after 6 years and he is now in Iressa. He only has 1 lung so we are praying it will help him. So far after 1 week on the pill he is breadthing much better. He still has a bit of pnumonia but they are trying to clear that up. I hope that this pill really can help him and others with cancer.