The issues surrounding cancer are multi-level, multi-dimensional and can be terrifying. We would like to share the challenges Paul encountered and the simple solutions we discovered. It is our prayer that you will find information that is helpful for you.

Soon after the first round of cancer treatment, Paul was so ill, an angel appeared before him and opened a portal to the other side. What he saw was very beautiful and inviting. Then he was given a very interesting choice. The angel told Paul that he could pass through the portal if he wanted; that he had fulfilled his mission for this life. OR, he could stay and do a great service. Paul chose to stay.

Still very ill and with no idea what service he would be doing, we began to look to the angels for guidance. We asked to be shown the right things to do to help Paul recover. All the information we were lead to be centered around correct diet and aligning the body, mind and spirit. Initially, Paul and I were both horrified by the diagnosis of cancer and he was adamant about following his doctors’ orders to the letter. After all, they had taken good care of him all his life. Immediately after the treatments ended, it seemed as though everything had gone extremely well. We even wondered why we had been so fearful. It took several weeks before Paul’s system fell to the point where he almost died. The chemo and radiation killed the cancer out of his body, but the treatments had left his body so toxic, he nearly died. When Paul asked his doctors what to do to help his body get healthy again after the treatments, they offered no solutions and informed him that he may only have another six months. Upon presenting this situation to the angels, it was made clear that he needed to get the poison out of his body as quickly as possible and to rebuild his immune system.

Having no idea where to look first, we went to a local health fair. It was the first time Paul had looked into anything outside conventional medicine. Once there, we were confronted with a very confusing melange of "solutions" everything from "special water" to vast arrays of network marketing products. Everyone was making the same miraculous claims regarding their product and all of them came at a hefty premium. Of course, none of these products would be covered by health insurance and every merchant there justified his price by asking "What do you think your health is worth?" Though that is a valid question, the issue of human worth was instantly reduced to dollars and cents - "spirituality" diminished in the face of commerce. What we wanted was something that would work quickly and efficiently that would not be out of range financially; something that would elevate human worth.

Answers to our prayers for guidance showed up in unusual ways. A word or comment in an unrelated conversation would lead us to investigate something we had not thought of. An article would appear when we were not looking for one. A free lecture by a local naturopath was brought to our attention. This brilliant man soon became our guiding light.

As if by special request, the doctor spoke of toxicity: how our body gets rid of it and the interrelationship of the organs involved. He explained what could cause organs to fail to perform their job, and how to heal them so they would function properly. Much of the solution had to do with proper diet. Most of us think we are eating real food. But as far as the body is concerned, a lot of our processed foods are little more than bulk that is difficult to assimilate and has little, if any, usable material for regeneration. We learned that live foods contain the enzymes necessary to digest them, thus saving the pancreas from the exhaustion of supplying the missing digestive enzymes in addition to its other functions. We began to learn how our metabolism works and what sorts of things would affect that. We learned about juicing and began to consume more fresh raw fruits and vegetables.

Over time, we learned that certain enzymes and amino acids normally manufactured by the body that are critical to the proper functioning of vital organs become deficient when the body is seriously ill. There are times when eating the right foods is not enough replace certain amino acids and enzymes. If your body is so beaten down that it can not produce what it needs to repair itself, it is important to identify those missing elements and supplement them in sufficient quantity until the body is recovered enough to take over their production again. When Paul began to implement this information, he began to feel better, to gain weight and to have more energy within a matter of weeks. It took some time to find out the right things to do and then do them. After Paul was feeling pretty good, we had an opportunity to get another aura photo of his energy. We were pleased to see that it was dramatically improved. Now his energy field was filled with vibrant life force. He had gained weight and was continuing to gain weight.

Let us backtrack a little, to when the cancer was first suspected. Paul spent several years going to his doctor complaining about a low-grade fever and hard swollen glands under his chin on the right side. Apparently, his doctor thought there was an infection in his saliva glands on that side and he kept prescribing various antibiotics, which seemed to work at first, but the condition quickly returned. No tests were done to find out what else was going on. Paul was also expectorating a lot during the day. One night, he woke me up screaming in panic. He was bleeding very profusely from the throat and it was not stopping. We went to emergency and by the time we were seen, the bleeding had stopped on its own.

The next appointment for Paul was with a Head and Neck Specialist. It was during that appointment Paul was told he had cancer. The announcement was pretty indelicate. Of course, there really is no good way to hear you have advanced cancer. It did not help that Paul thought he just had a stubborn infection. For your mind to go from infection to a deadly disease in an instant is quite a stretch! Paul was informed the cancer was very widespread involving the entire lower right side of his mouth, tongue, jaw and esophagus. The doctor went on to explain that he needed a very radical neck resection surgery to remove the bulk of the cancer. The surgery would remove a significant portion of his esophagus and an undetermined portion of his tongue and jawbone. Of course, we both went numb trying to comprehend all this. It sounded like they needed to remove half his head.

There was no mention of reconstructive surgery. It was not explained that Paul would not be left looking like it sounded. No explanation was offered as to how he would live with half a head or eat with no throat. This first encounter with cancer treatment left both of us stunned and reeling in horror as we were sent away to "think" about it and make a fast decision. There was no time to waste. A biopsy, fluoroscope exam and X-rays were done to verify what was suspected. However, we did not get to see them or to know how big the tumor was. At the next visit with the surgeon, Paul asked if there were any options to surgery and was told that he could look into radiation and consider joining a trial for a new kind of chemo that would not make his hair fall out or make him a sick. Then he was sternly warned that if those treatments failed and surgery was necessary, it would be exactly as had been described originally. Paul decided to look into the radiation "alternative."

The radiologist Paul was referred to was from a well-known cancer center in town. The oncologist assigned to him was one of the best - of course, it was a very reputable cancer center - they were all cancer specialists there. During the first meeting with the radiologist, Paul was assured that he would not need any surgery if he agreed to the radiation treatments and a trial for C225, a monoclonal antibody that mimics the activity of some immune system proteins that normally attack foreign substances in the body. It all sounded so much better than that dreadful surgery that Paul agreed to it readily. Treatment commenced and lasted 10 weeks. Paul did not loose hair on his head, but he did get a blistering rash all over his body and lost hair on his fingers, toes and parts of his legs. He has had a problem with recurrent skin out-breaks ever since. These symptoms were not addressed. His doctor completely rejected that it had anything to do with the C225. As soon as the huge legal controversy broke out around that treatment, the doctor who recommended it was very evasive. In short, there was no follow-up on Paul being part of a trial. Remedies suggested by a dermatologist did not work. Through prayer, we were eventually lead to several good remedies.

Both chemo and radiation have a destructive effect on the immune system. The risk getting a viral or a bacterial infection is very high. Upon asking his doctors how to rebuild his immune system, no suggestion was offered. So, we kept ourselves isolated several months after treatment—especially from the children in the family. When we presented the immunity question to the angels, we were lead to several solutions.

Paul was a gourmet chef and found nothing more enjoyable than a well prepared, nicely presented meal. Before the cancer interrupted life, one of our favorite activities was dining out. In an effort to keep life as "normal" as possible, we resumed this activity as soon as Paul felt strong enough. Gradually over the months following treatment, Paul's tongue and throat felt like they were on fire every time he tried to eat or drink. Even water became too painful to swallow. One evening, we left our favorite restaurant and headed for the hospital. Paul was in tears. He could not eat at all. No one had warned him anything about this.

Paul was sent to the gastroenterology department, where a doctor inserted a small tube down his nasal passage into his stomach. Then he was given a small syringe and instructed to eat liquids until his ability to eat returned. That was it. He was not told "what" liquid to eat and no follow-up appointments were scheduled. For Paul to get adequate nutrition from a liquid diet was a major concern. We prayed and intensified our research into nutrition to develop an eating program geared to individuals who had to eat through a tube down their nose. We ran all over the place reading labels on liquid and powdered meal replacements and protein supplement powders until we were satisfied that we had found the best possible meal replacing supplement available.

There had been no mention of a schedule for when the nose tube should be replaced or that it needed replacement at all. Approximately every four months - at the most inconvenient times imaginable - it would suddenly be hopelessly clogged and we would have to call gastroenterology and beg to be "squeezed" into their schedule. Otherwise, Paul could not eat or drink. Finally, after a year or so, one of the doctors asked Paul why he did not have a gastric tube implanted. We had never heard of such a thing until that moment and wasted no time arranging for the procedure.

Having the gastric tube was infinitely better than the nose tube. It was larger; the syringe was larger, we did not have to make his food as thin so he could eat faster. Though he now looked like a pull-toy, he no longer had a tube hanging out of his face. It was a huge improvement. Since the meals were easier to prepare, we started going out to eat again. Paul was not the least bit shy and did not hesitate to ask the waiter or waitress to please have his lovely meal pureed so he could get it in his feeding syringe. Most of the restaurants we went to were very accommodating. We were careful not to go during peak business hours and we always left a generous tip. Soon our favorite places recognized us when we arrived and knew just what to do.

Of course, his condition always drew a lot of attention and curiosity. Instead of shrinking away from it, Paul used those opportunities to educate young waiters and waitresses not to smoke or allow themselves to be exposed to second hand smoke. Paul himself never smoked, but he had spent many years hanging out in sports bars watching games. He firmly believed that second hand smoke played a major role in his developing cancer.

Life seemed to plateau for a while. It had been over a year since treatments ended. We had found ways to detox Paul's body, restore his immune system and soothe the radiation burns. His weight was going back up and he was feeling pretty good. We had adjusted to a new lifestyle with his gastric tube. He was getting regular CT scans with good reports. It looked as though the danger was past and life could settle into a new "norm".

Then we received an unsettling report from radiology regarding an X-ray done at our regular hospital. The cancer had returned and was growing toward Paul’s brain. Of course, immediate surgery was recommended—yes, the dreaded surgery we had so hoped would not be necessary. At least Paul was in very good condition physically by then and the prognosis of him surviving was better than most. We were both afraid. There is no way to prepare for what to expect after such a radical surgery. Interestingly, it was explained to us by our regular hospital radiologist that there was too much scar tissue for anyone to see whether or not there was any cancer until it grew above the scar tissue. Paul began to develop scar tissue in his esophagus after the radiation treatments ended and it continued to develop for over two years. It was the scar tissue and internal burns that initially made it impossible for Paul to swallow. At some point, we realized that his tongue had shrunk to nearly one-third its original size and that he no longer had an earlobe on his right ear.

A surgery of the magnitude and duration they were going to do on Paul was an event. There had to be several surgical teams working in shifts. Specialists were flown in from all over to help and to observe. Paul came through the 14-hour surgery quite well. It was some time before he was able to speak and that frustrated him terribly. All his life, Paul had been such a communicator. His specialty was computer sales and network system design, writing, speaking, teaching and singing. I knew how hard it would be on him not to be able to talk. Before the surgery, I purchased a whiteboard, DragonSpeak, a computer program capable of voice synthesizing and a special interface for the computer and telephone by Plantronics so he would be able to continue to communicate.

To our complete delight, Paul’s appearance after surgery was surprisingly normal. The surgeons had done an exemplary job of reconstructing his face. He looked great! That was such a relief. We asked if there had been anything left of the original tumor. We were told that the original tumor had been reduced to a whitish mass of gritty material. Most of it was dead, but the radiation had not completely killed the top end of it. Therefore, not only could they not see it because of the scar tissue, but also that live part had been growing the entire time that we were being told Paul was cancer free. It turned out that it was necessary to remove a small portion of his tongue. After the surgery, Paul had to learn how to talk all over again. Articulation of certain sounds and letters was more difficult with a damaged tongue. However, he did not end up using the equipment I had purchased. I became his translator until he gained more clarity. He had always had a very robust voice. He eventually gained back much of his former articulation and volume.

During the surgery, it was necessary for Paul to have a tracheostomy. It was hoped that would be a temporary measure. However, the scar tissue was so extensive that his throat never opened beyond the size of a small pencil. The mucus that accumulates at night would have suffocated him. The trach became permanent.

Paul had received a blast of radiation on the surgical area immediately after surgery - before he even came out from the anesthesia. They were not sure they got all the cancer cells out because the area it had grown to was difficult to reach. Because of this, his doctors wanted him to do more chemo and radiation treatments. The chemo recommended was Taxol. It would be administered weekly for an undetermined length of time at our regular hospital. It would make him violently ill and he would loose his hair. The radiation treatments would be just slightly less intense than they were originally. They would be administered twice a day, morning and evening every day at the cancer center across town for eight weeks. Though neither doctor could produce any evidence that there indeed was any cancer left, both the oncologist and radiologist strongly encouraged Paul to do the treatments. They did not seem to understand that Paul was too weak and exhausted to withstand the rigorous schedule of running all over town every day, let alone physically withstand the treatments. However, we did attend an orientation for chemotherapy. Afterward, Paul decided to decline. He knew he would not live through it and felt confident that rebuilding his immune system would take care of any cancer left on the cellular level. Paul did consider doing more radiation. Initially, the radiologist assured him that he could only have treatments where he had not been treated before. Therefore, the area involved would be a small area high on the cheekbone between his eye and sideburns. However, when Paul came out of simulation, he had an area tattooed that encompassed the entire newly grafted region, which did not seem right at all. There was no cancer in the new and still unhealed grafted tissue. I was afraid radiation would damage the new graft. I expressed this concern to the radiologist. Rather than explain anything so I would understand, he became enraged. Paul’s care at that point returned to the doctors at our regular hospital, where his new oncologist was also not happy with the decision to forego chemo and radiation. At that point, I wheeled Paul home. We were on our own.

Once Paul was home, after surgery, we set about rebuilding his body again. The surgery had taken a lot out of him physically. While he was in the hospital, they fed him some sort of liquid meal replacement we had never seen before. Before leaving the hospital, we had a consultation with a nutritionist for the first time. We were informed that Paul should have been living on this liquid since he received the gastric tube - cases were sent to our home. When I told a nurse that Paul had been eating regular food that was pureed, she said, "Oh we used to do that, but this is better because it is so much more convenient and it doesn't spoil." Hmmm. Food that doesn't spoil? I was skeptical. Being a good patient, Paul switched over to the canned supplement. One of the first things he noticed was no "taste". Interestingly, when he first began eating via tube, whether gastric or nasal, he mentioned still having a sense of flavor because part of our ability to taste comes from the fumes coming back up from the stomach. With the canned supplement, even that small pleasure vanished. That was not all, though; Paul was not recovering from the surgery. In the weeks after coming home, he lost more weight and grew weaker. He was too weak to walk or stand any length of time. When I took him to appointments at the hospital, I had to put him in a wheelchair. After continuing to deteriorate for a couple weeks, Paul decided to go back to the eating plan we had developed. Fortified with real nourishment, he finally began to recover.

The post surgical pain was another pressing issue. No one had bothered to mention there would be pain from permanent nerve damage. The pain was a tougher problem. He was taking Vicodin, which only took the edge off. There came a point when Paul's body rejected it all together. He would throw up before he could even get it in his body. When we reported this, Paul was given the anti-nausea Compazine. This is the typical protocol. Paul did not end up doing well with this combination. He developed Parkinson-like symptoms - uncontrolled hand tremors, drooling, drooping his head to one side. When we complained to his oncologist about it, we were told that Paul was very sick and that he should put his affairs in order. Nothing else was done.

Paul began to have blackouts and episodes of falling. He even broke his foot without knowing it. I dreaded going to work everyday fearing what I would come home to. One day when I came home from work, I found Paul sitting quasi-conscious on the sofa. His eyes were dull and fixed and he was making nonsensical repetitive movements in very slow motion. I tried to get his attention, but he was really out of it. I became very alarmed, frightened and then angry. Later that evening, Paul was coherent again. I explained to him what I had witnessed and how much it scared me. He had no memory of it and that scared him so much he decided to drop all the drugs and pray that the pain would not be too much to handle. We knew it was not a good idea to just stop taking them all at once, but he was adamant. We prayed for and were supplied with information to help Paul quickly flush the drugs out of his system. He only had a few days of discomfort.

After Paul got off the Vicodin and Compazine, his health began to improve. He is allergic to both morphine and codeine. We had no luck when we sought out other pain medications from his doctors. According to them, there were no other options. The pain is still there, but it ended up that the fear of getting off the pain medication was worse than what he actually experienced. He learned to manage his pain with his mind during the day. He was already adept at meditation. At bedtime, though, he enlisted the help of a few drinks.

As part of the reconstructive surgery, the doctors had flipped one of his pectoral muscles up under his clavicle and used it to replace the cancerous portion of his neck and esophagus that had to be removed. That ended up being a more permanent reason he could not swallow. With nerve damage from the incisions and no way to reconnect all the little nerves involved, Paul could not have a normally functioning esophagus. We were told it was possible, over time, that he might regain the ability to swallow, but there were no guarantees. As far as his brain was concerned, his new neck was still in his chest. Any future swallowing would depend on whether or not his brain could successfully 're-wire' itself. Removing one of the pectoral muscles to rebuild Paul's throat, left his right arm practically useless. He could not raise it more than a few inches from his side. Nothing was offered in the way of physical therapy. Of course, immediately after surgery, that was not the most pressing concern. Paul was very weak and it was not known whether he would actually survive. Several years later, when that was no longer a concern, we met two Network Spinal Analysis professionals. "Gentle precise touch to the spine cues the brain to create new wellness promoting strategies. Two unique healing waves develop with this work. They are associated with spontaneous release of spinal and life tensions, and the use of existing tension as fuel for spinal re-organization and enhanced wellness. Practitioners combine their clinical assessments of spinal refinements with patient’s self assessments of wellness and life changes. Greater self-awareness and conscious awakening of the relationships between the body, mind, emotion, and expression of the human spirit are realized through this popular healing work." (Dr. Donald Epstein, Founder) It was the only thing that helped Paul regain full use and mobility of the arm that had been affected by surgery.

As Paul’s primary support person, I found this technique especially valuable to me, as well. I was so physically and emotionally exhausted by then; I had literally thrown myself on the ground in prayer for some help. This was the answer to my prayer. It helped both of us in too many ways to name. Another source of pain was that the grafted tissue was very tight and pulled his head to one side putting a great deal of tension on his spine. After the surgical area healed enough, I began to massage the tight tissue. Though it loosened considerably, it never really relaxed. One afternoon, while dining out, a man approached our table and introduced himself. It was the first time either of them had met anyone who had been through the same thing. They had quite an exchange. The other man was still suffering a lot due to the stiffness of his neck. His doctor suggested having the neck bones fused to keep them from pulling. We told him how much had helped Paul. He was scheduled for surgery the next day. It is unlikely he cancelled and we lost touch with him. He was lucky in that he had been able to get rid of the trach and gastral tube and could eat normally again. He had been allowed to keep his teeth. Radiation causes permanent changes in your bones making them very brittle. His doctors were concerned about future dental work turning lethal. Before radiation treatment even began, Paul had to have all of his teeth removed. From 2002 to 2004, life was pretty normal. Paul's weight stabilized at 175. He looked really good and was healthy enough to be socially active. We thought we had beaten the cancer and started to make some plans for the future. Paul had quarterly physical exams and X-rays, which were coming back with good report. In October of 2005, when Paul reported for his usual exam, his surgeon said, "Didn't anyone tell you? The last X-ray showed cancer in your lungs." Paul was devastated! We had asked radiology always to mail us a copy of the reports. We had not received one for the last X-ray and no one had called to tell Paul the cancer was back. I was angry—the cancer had been growing unchecked for three months! We made an appointment with his oncologist, but he could not get Paul in for another month!

I was not going to sit around another month while the cancer ate Paul, so I went immediately to the angels and asked, "How do we kill the cancer?" Until that moment, I had never asked that question. All this time, I thought the nutritional support would keep the cancer from returning. I was lead straight away to information on an herb that would target and kill only the cancer cells, which I ordered immediately.

After surgery, it was necessary for Paul to use a suction machine to draw the mucus out of his mouth because he could no longer spit. The suction machine has a clear one-quart receptacle to catch the fluid. To our complete surprise and delight, only the second day Paul took the new herb, he spit a whole bunch of little cancer tumors out of his lungs. When I got home from work, he showed me the receptacle. "Look at the weird stuff that has been coming out all day," he said. I stared and stared at it before I realized what I was looking at. "Oh, my God, these are tumors!" When we were finally able to see the oncologist, what he had to say was really discouraging. The cancer was too widespread throughout his lungs to do radiation. The only option was chemo and it may only buy him a few months. His words were very disheartening. Then we told the oncologist what we had seen in Paul’s suction receptacle. It was his opinion that Paul had spit out dead cancer tumors. A new X-ray was ordered. This time the doctor called us himself when the X-ray results were in. No new tumors had formed, some were shrinking and some had disappeared. This was a good turn of events! At the next appointment with the oncologist, Paul told him what he had been taking and that he wanted to continue taking the herb instead of doing chemo. The oncologist agreed to monitor Paul with X-rays. A few days later, Paul told me the herb was making him nauseous enough to throw up and he was afraid to take it. Vomiting poses a serious danger and is a nightmare for him. Paul's throat is paralyzed. When he throws up, there is a real danger of fluid running down into his lungs. In addition, he cannot even rinse his mouth. I threw my hands in the air and pleaded, "Now what do we do?"

Almost as soon as the question was posed, I became aware of another herb. It had been shown to keep tumors from forming their own blood supply. Paul had no trouble taking it. Follow-up X-rays showed no new tumor growth and a reduction in size of existing tumors and that some had disappeared all together. All this was very encouraging and Paul felt better again. At the end of March 2005, we received another crushing blow. The company manufacturing the herb Paul could take had run out of it. They had to wait for a new crop to mature. It was seasonal! "My God, we are so out of step with the cycles of nature, we don't even think about them!"

I felt completely defeated; but Paul kept searching for another source. He ended up being out of it for three months. I was afraid to think what might have happened to his condition during those three months. It was not surprising that the new X-ray did show several new tumors. However, there was no change in the ones that had been there. The new crop came in.

Paul seemed to be hanging in there until May. At that point, he began to have a variety of strange symptoms that sent us flying to the emergency room. He was again having unexplained incidences of falling. His blood pressure was fluctuating wildly. At one point, it was so low; he was almost in a coma. The ER doctor set an appointment with a nutritionist, claiming that Paul was not getting sufficient nutrition. I cancelled that appointment, knowing it was not true at all. When the nutritionist's nurse called to see why we cancelled, I told her Paul had cancer and that it had likely metastasized and was just hitting his different systems randomly. She asked if he was on hospice. I told her he was not. She set the wheels in motion for him to get on. I had no idea what that meant.

The beginning of June 2005, Paul went on Hospice care at home. Not knowing for three months that the cancer had returned and being out of the anti-tumor herb that most helped him for another three months proved to be too much. Paul passed away at the end of February 2006. We found the best solutions just a bit too late for Paul. However, it is not too late for many others. The great service Paul stayed to serve was to show you how YOU CAN SURVIVE.