21 Days in Santa Barbara

It is amazing here! Unbelievable positive aura! We got here late Sunday night & checked in at a Marriott in Ventura Beach about 30 miles away. Kinda strange no Marriotts in SB. Ordered pizza & coke. Guess this will be the last of eating this for a while.

Day 2 My first day at Issels was warm & welcoming. We met with Dr. Christian Issels, N.D. He is the medical director & son of Josef Issels who started the integrative medicine approach & immuno biological treatment. Next, we met with Dr. Walter Kim M.D., a staff physician, whose background is internal medicine & nuclear med. He looks at all the previous labs, current labs & determines what is going to work best for me. Very intelligent guy. They are getting my biopsy side & running a conglomeration of tests to see what the tumor is sensitive to. Will go from there & add medications one at a time to target my specific cancer. We want to know what makes it tick & shut those pathways down. My first treatment of the day was a massage w/ reflexology before my infusion started. There were 4 ladies & one man in the treatment room with me. Anthony hung out most of the time with all of us except to go out & grab a bite of lunch. I went from one therapy to another all day. The staff are so accommodating & treat you like family. There is so much to learn & there is no way one can do it by oneself. Anthony is excited about how our diet is changing. It is going to be necessary in order to help heal my body. It is a big lifestyle change. I go in each day at 9 & look at the board in the infusion room to see what I'm doing for the day. I left the clinic with a bag full of supplements to start tonight. We found this cute little cottage to rent for the remainder of my trip. It is close to the ocean & a mile or two from the clinic. We will move to there tomorrow afternoon. My hip is killing me so Anth went & got an IN/OUT burger & chocolate milkshake. The last of fast food... what a way to go out. Nothing better than IN/OUT for those of you that haven't experienced. My mouth waters as I type this.

Day 3 Each day my portacath is accessed for my infusion. I have an allergy to adhesives. Even paper tape or bandaids will cause skin tears. This first week my bags consist of immune boosting vitamins, minerals, enzymes, & gradual detoxing. I had my first acupuncture session. Was a bit nervous, but it was wonderful. Learned how to focus my breathing on specific areas when I'm stressed. Talked with Dr. Lewis, a retired internal med guy who has gone through miraculous healing himself. He specializes with mind, body, soul & has an mesmerizing voice. Closest to hypnosis I've ever had. Lastly, I met with Suzanne, the lifestyle coach/nutritionist. She is a chef to Kenny Loggins when he is in town. One of her sons is chef to Eddie Murphy & lives in his mansion. He had to learn to make fried chicken for the family. Suzanne never made or bought it for her boys. WOW...no fried chicken!!

Day 4 Lost it today. Being the middle of the week I am in information overload. I looked over at my sweet husband & realized he would be leaving me soon & I thought of the kids & how much I missed them. The tears started flowing & I couldn't make them stop. Dr. Issels came in & we went to his office & talked. He told me I was here to get better so I could be here with my family. Three weeks is a short time compared to so many other things I don't want to miss in our life. I keep calling to HIM for strength. I will make it through the next three weeks. My hip is still killing me when my ibuprofen wears off.

Day 5 Anthony made a veggie & organic egg scramble. Very tasty. Another nurse accessed my port today with difficulty. She will not touch it again. It hurt so bad it made me nauseous. My RN Eva wasn't there. She is wonderful! The lunches here are very good. Usually a soup, salad & entree w/ some sort of grain/rice veggies & meat. Anthony & I went to the movie & saw Couples Retreat--very funny.

Day 6 Started the day with a massage. Eva was back today, thank goodness. Sweet Lena from San Diego, originally from Macedonia, is leaving today. She ended up staying four weeks. She has colon cancer that metastasized to her liver. When she got here she was barely walking & required help, but now is up going by herself. A beautiful lady inside & out. Anthony & I went shopping tonight. It is fabulous here. State street has all the stores one would want. We ate at Spiritland Bistro, an organic restaurant recommended by the clinic. It was delicious. Now my other hip is hurting.

Day 7 We slept late & watched college football. We went walking at the wharf & marina. We got stuff for the kids for Anth to take back. Ate at Bay Cafe. Had to adjust the salad I ordered. Not eating bread was difficult.

Day 8 Took Anth to the airport. Luckily Tracey's flight came in before Anth left out. I hated to see him leave. Got Tracey settled in & I had to go do laundry & she went to the grocery. I was talking to Abby while I was at the laundromat & I told her what I was doing & she thought it was so cool to be at a laundromat. LOL???LOL Need I say more...a twelve year old. We went up to Cliff Dr. where the sunset is gorgeous. Went back to eat at Spiritland because they are closed on Mon/Tues.

Day 9 I had a big bag that took 3 hours to infuse, plus oral cesium followed by potassium. It made me feel weird... face & lips tingling. Tasted horrible. Had to pray alot through this experience. I drink a ton of water while I'm there. It is alkaline water (8.5). It helps the body detox as well. Cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment. Most of what we eat & drink is acidic. I have learned so much the past few days with more to come I'm sure. I wasn't feeling very good so we ate at Sojourner Cafe.

Day 10 Acupuncture, hyperbaric chamber (have 3 x a wk), infrared sauna (everyday), short infusion, got out by 2. I asked the nurses about which beach to go to this afternoon. They all said Butterfly beach toward Montecito. It is across from Four Seasons Biltmore. A place to spot celebrities. The beach, shells, rocks are so different than the Gulf or Atlantic. The view was phenomenal. We did see something we've never seen before...a shipwrecked boat. A local said it had washed up a few days ago & no one had come to get it yet. Wonder what happened there...hmmm.

Day 11 Another 3 hour infusion bag followed by the cesium & potassium. My sweet angel of a nurse Eva had gifts of emla cream (a numbing agent) & press n seal (instead of tape) for my port. I just love her!! Little things like that thrill a cancer patient if it means less pain. Didn't feel too good after the day was over. I felt as if I had chemo. Tracey made dinner & I went to bed early. My hips aren't requiring ibuprofen now.

Day 12 Got up early & took a walk on the wharf. The sun was rising, the fog was lifting into the SB hills, seals barked on nearby buoys & sea gulls made that annoying chirp. What a way to start the day. HIS majestic beauty & power are amazing!! Tracey leaves today & Barbara arrives later this afternoon. Started my morning with acupuncture. I've been running a low grade fever for a few days now. When the body is detoxing (getting rid of the nasty junk), it is common to have flu like symptoms. I finished around 2:45, so I jumped in my little Hyundai Accent & zoomed to the airport to pick up Barbie. We have cooking class on Thursday evening, so we went straight back there. No cooking for us tonight. Sit, watch, & eat Suzanne's great food. Had potato leek soup, roasted veggies, barley confetti salad & turkey burger (no bun). I would really like some bread.

Day 13 TGIF...We made veggie egg scramble. Yum! Today is Barbara from Colorado's last day. Another darling lady who has leukemia. She told us that her doctors told her she only had a couple weeks left without doing a stem cell transplant. At her age of 66 she felt the risks outweighed the benefits, so she declined. She now looks great, & feels better. We sat in the sauna together talking, laughing & reading junk magazines. We left the clinic by 3 & went back to the cottage & checked movie times. We saw Men Who Stare At Goats. Let me tell you... save your money! Clooney should be ashamed of this one. We went shopping & reminisced about our college days & how much fun we had together. We were each other's last roommate before getting married. Annoying palpitations started when I went to bed.

Day 14 We slept late, watched a couple cheesy movies then went walking on the beach. We saw dolphins, a seal & the beached boat was still hangin out. It has been a most beautiful day, with chilly nights. We went to Spiritland for dinner. They are getting to know me there. Palpitations when I try to go to sleep.

Day 15 We got up at 5 to take Barb to the airport. I got to see the sunrise as I drove back to the cottage. Went back to sleep for a while. Kelly landed in LA at 10 then drove to SB, which took a couple hours. We went to the beach. It is another beautiful day. I'm feeling great & have so much energy. It was laundry day so I sent Kelly across the street to Lazy Acres to get what she wanted to eat. I neglected to tell her it was mostly organic, so the Triskets(sp) she did not find. LOL!! We ate at Spiritland again.

Day 16 I got the best wake up call at 5:30 this morning. Austin voiced on the other end brought tears to my eyes. He called to see what I was doing. I could hear Anthony on the other end say...son, what are you doing, you just woke mom up. Its 5:30 out there. He is missing me so much & wondering when I am coming home. Today is big bag day. Told Dr. Kim about the palpitations, so they are holding the cesium & potassium & drawing labs to check my electrolytes. The least bit of shift in potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium can mess with your heart rhythm. I believe I'm having PACs, which are common & everyone has them every now & then, but mine have become quite noticeable to the point of annoying. I have a temp today of 102.3. I am freezing & I stare at the thermostat across the room that is setting on 75 degrees. A blanket is wrapped around me & I'm still cold to the bone. Dr. Issels seemed pleased I had that high of a fever. It means my immune system is working & hopefully the cancer cells are dying/starving. Cancer does not like high fever. Kelly went & got us salads & got lost on the way back. Needless to say she was a little stressed. Plus I wasn't feeling good.

Day 17 I have officially lost 10 lbs. Between drinking the alkalized water &a eating right, it has just fallen off. My sweet Eva had a mask on when I arrived. She wasn't feeling well, but came in to work to access me. What an angel! It is a smaller bag today, so infusion didn't take long. As soon as I was done she flushed me & told me she was leaving. By lunch my fever was back up to 101. My sedimentation rate is 100. Normal is <20. They are putting me on a steroid taper for the next 21 days. The sed rate indicates that there is inflammation. This could be a good indicator that the cancer cells are fighting and losing. All this good stuff going into me has got to be irritating the cancer. Kelly & I went to the movies & I saw Couples Retreat again. Sometimes we just need to laugh. Went to the airport & picked up Christy & took her to her hotel just a few blocks away from us.

Day 18 Kelly went & got Christy & Kelly got on the road to LA. Not knowing how bad traffic might be she wanted to get to the airport early. I will start a new medicine when I get home. It has to be compounded but unfortunately our home town pharmacy cannot make it. It is called TM or tetrathiomythyldate. My copper level is moderately elevated as well as a growth factor called VEGF (a type of hormone indicator). Copper has shown to cause angiogenesis or help form blood vessels. With an elevated copper VEGF it is more than likely helping supply cancer cells, so I will try this TM drug because it chelates the copper or binds it will get it down to a normal level. I will have a big bag today (62 1/2 gm of Vit C). It is a full room of people today. All but one of the nine chairs has a patient. Lena is back today for an infusion. She looks great is walking a mile a day now. Barbara from Colorado described it best that one comes in like a wilted flower leaves a beautiful flower in bloom. On the days I have a long infusion I get so sleepy. I was told it is L-glycene which is like a natural valium. I took Christy up to Cliff Dr. to see the sunset & we went to Lazy Acres. I wasn't feeling great so we went & ate at Spiritland again. It is a good pick me up. I believe this makes the fifth time.

Day 19 Only two days left. I have met many wonderful people. Anita, who is from Luverne, CA a couple hours away, started the same day as I did. She has been in so much pain. She had just finished up chemo & radiation before coming to the clinic. She got stuck in NY in Aug & had to have treatment there. She has metastatic breast cancer & had a tumor removed from her brain. Her Italian husband Tony cracks me up. I am so blessed. Whenever I get down, all I have to do is look around & I can always find someone who is suffering so much more than me. I know that may sound bad, but God has done this for a reason, & I try not to ask why anymore. The palpitations have become very annoying. I found out my magnesium is out of whack. Almonds are very high in magnesium & I have been eating the fool out of them.

Day 20 My last day at the clinic. I sprung out of bed & was ready to get this day over so I could start packing my bags. Christy spent most of the day tracking down my mail since I had a change of address from the first one I gave out. It is a short bag today. Acupuncture, sauna, lunch time lecture. I was so excited that there were a few products that I wouldn't have to change & that was my skin care & make-up. There were many hugs, pictures taken, & addresses swapped. Everyone wants to stay in touch. It was so neat how each & every one wanted to hear the other's story & how they found Issels Medical Clinic. This is truly a special place, & I feel blessed to have been able to come here. I'm starting a new drug tonight called Rapamune which targets the IGF pathway which is strongly positive in my biopsy slide. This is a clinical trial drug for metastatic breast cancer. Although Issels takes a more holistic approach, western medicine is still part of the treatment. They just go out on a limb more & find drugs that possibly target the tumor specifically. Chemo so much of the time kills the good & breaks down ones immune system. Oncologists treat the diagnosis while Issels treats the sensitivities.

Day 21 I know my suitcase is over the limit. I know it, I know it. I should have sent some stuff home with Anthony. Oh well, pay the penalty & get home. That is all I can think about is just hugging my sweet babies. We left out around 7:45 a.m. Got to the SB airport & boarded by 8:45. Got to LAX by 9:30. Layover for a couple hours then on to Minneapolis. Another layover for an hour & a half then on to Nashville. Got to BNA at 9:20 p.m. My lovies were waiting on us. What an emotional homecoming. I have never been so glad to hit TN soil. My man, my kiddos, my dogs, my BED, ahhhh!! HOME SWEET HOME!! Thank you Lord for getting me there & back. I pray you allow healing to take place as only you can do. I have been given the knowledge to improve my life & I pray that you extend my time here to do your work. May this blog bring someone closer to you by what I am experiencing. May my faith remain strong & my eyes stay fixed on you.