‘They were pressuring me to do chemo’
My name is Jeffrey and I had Stage III testicular cancer. I was diagnosed Feb. 25, 2009. I had my first surgery to have the cancerous testicle removed on the next day. I went to the local cancer hospital on March 3 to confirm I was cancer-free. That day I was told I had a second tumor that was roughly 7 inches by 4 inches in my abdomen. I was given 2-6 months to live. My wife was pregnant with our triplets at this time and the doctors kept telling me that I was never going to see my babies be born.
I was officially cancer-free April 20, 2010.
Describe your experience with conventional doctors and treatments:
My experience with conventional doctors is very eye opening. I decided immediately to not do chemo and to fight this cancer naturally. This decision was hit immediately with strong opposition from the doctors. They were pressuring me to do chemo that day. They started to raise their voices and were almost yelling at me. They scheduled me to talk to another team of doctors that day. I met with an oncologist and they immediately started to lecture my wife and me about how stupid our decision was. They got really mad when I explained that I am going to die with chemo or without it and I wanted to refuse chemo.
This conversation started a chain reaction. My wife and I started to receive phone calls at all times of the day and night telling us that I was going to die and chemo was my only chance of living longer. They called my wife and told her that she will be raising our triplets alone because I was killing myself.
When I was first diagnosed with the second tumor, I asked the doctor, “How do you know this is cancer without a biopsy?” He said, “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck.” Is this how everyone gets diagnosed or is it just me?
I was going in once a month to get CT scans to check on my progress. The doctors started lying about my test results (they did not want me to know the tumor started to shrink). Once I called them out on the lying they decided to withhold my test results. (This took a phone call to the hospital administration to get resolved.)
On Oct. 31, 2009, I went in for a CT scan and an hour later I received a phone call from a new doctor who was covering for my doctor who was out sick. She told me that the previous doctors I talked to were wrong and I did not have cancer. Thirty minutes later she called again, said she made a mistake, and I am once again dying of cancer. About 45 min after the second call I received a third call saying they have no idea what the mass is.
In November I talked to a surgeon about removing rest of the tumor. He got angry when I asked him questions (he said something that contradicted himself). He then told me he did not care if I lived or died on his operating table. After I picked my jaw back up off the floor I left. A few weeks later I received a certified letter in the mail that said that I was going to die from cancer because I refused to do chemo.
In December 2009 I saw a naturopath doctor who said the plan I was using was fantastic. She had me incorporate fish in my diet so I could gain some weight back. (at that point I was 170 pounds; I started at 235 pounds). She also confirmed what I had been asking doctors from the beginning was if I can get my tumor biopsied. At this point, all of the doctors I saw refused to biopsy my tumor. I started to go through the phone book and try to find a doctor who would biopsy me. I only found one doctor.
The results were that my tumor was 100 percent dead cancer cells. I also found a surgeon who was willing to remove my tumor. On April 20, 2010, I had a 9 1/2-hour surgery to remove the tumor at Cleveland Clinic. I received 4 inches of incision from my first surgery in 2009 and 26 inches of incisions on my second surgery on April 20, 2010. I have had a CAT scan once a year since April 20 and I have had no problems.
What alternative therapies did you do and which ones helped you the most?
I started off doing the Hallelujah Acres Diet, with Angstrom ionic liquid cesium and potassium, Solaray Turmeric and Essiac Tea. I added everything that I could afford that fought cancer naturally. I started jogging and lifting weights. I made sure I ate large quantities of raw broccoli, spinach, garlic and carrots. I was losing so much weight. I added wild caught fish into my diet when I started to get too thin.