Dad's symptoms were controlled enough for him to remain at home. The blood thinners that are normally taken orally weren't working as well as the doctors had wanted so Dad received two injections into his belly every day. At first, Dad was rather weak. He had to use a cane to get around and when he'd walk from room to room in his home, he'd have to stop and use oxygen to restore his strength.
I began talking with friends and researching on the internet. One of the first things I found of any importance was an article written by Dr. Donald Kelley. A dentist that was diagnosed with the exact cancer as my father's. Dr. Kelley had a staff of researchers working on a cure for his cancer. I thought to myself, THIS IS THE ANSWER. I downloaded the book One Answer To Cancer off of the internet and read every word. My wonderful fiance' made copies of the book for me which I used for notes and also gave to my father. I always made sure that everything we attempted to improve Dad's health was approved by his general practicioner and his oncologist. While accompaning Dad to his doctor's appointment, I asked his doctor if he had ever heard of Dr. Kelley's program. He hadn't heard of the program but read the ingredients in the vitamins and diet and said he didn't see a problem with Dad trying it out. His nurse pulled me aside after the exam and informed me that her best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and was told she only had 6 months to live. She told me that the Dr. Kelley program cured her. This is the magic wand, I thought.
I read about the supplements needed to complete the program. Evidently, the only supplements approved by Dr. Kelley are created by one pharmaceutical company in Texas. I found the number for a nutrition center in Texas and called to price the supplements. I talked to a very nice man about my Dad's condition and he felt that I needed to talk to Dr. Kelley personally about Dad's condition. He gave me his home phone number. Excited and a little nervous, I called Dr. Kelley. A very sweet man that told me it would be possible to cure my father on his program. He told me that I should call the nutritional center and order the supplements as soon as possible. I called the nutritional center back and informed them of everyting I needed for my Dad's particular cancer. $1,500.00. A month. I almost dropped the phone. I went to my Dad and told him of the price for the supplements. Dad informed me that there wasn't any way we could afford the supplements. Dad had been out of work because of his illness and money had been tight. I even suggested selling my car to pay for it. Dad refused, of course.
We attempted as much as we could afford but we were unable to follow the diet word for word due to the cost of the supplements. We started juicing for Dad. Using alot of roots, herbs, vegtables and fruits. Anything we found that had cancer curing properties was used in Dad's juice. He gulped them down. I'm sure they must have tasted horrible. How wonderful he was to try anything and everything we found.
Dad's symptoms began improving. He was no longer using the cane or oxygen and even driving himself to chemotherapy. He's improving, I thought, without considering what Dr. Gibbs had told my sisters. Dad was eating well, laughing, taking trips to the local lake for an afternoon of gazing at the water birds. He even did a few repairs around the house.
Unfortunately, Dad was forced to sell his home. Although he believed he was going to kick the cancer, Dad had been falling behind on his house payments because he had been too ill to work. The home that my sisters and I grew up in was sold and Dad moved into a manufactured home park.
Now going into spring of 2002, Dad had his good days and bad days. He complained alot of back pain and being tired although he never gave up on the idea of being cured. He talked about kicking the cancer alot. Things he was going to do when he was cured. He wanted to much to get into flying model airplanes. He watched alot of programs on the subject and read his magazines. I'm so glad he always thought positive. I believe it took the fear, anger and stress away from him. Every week, my son and I went with him to his chemo appointments. My son cracked Dad up, I think it distracted him while receiving the chemo and I always made sure I had challenging questions for the oncologist. Questions I not only wanted answered but I think it made Dad feel like I was asking all of the questions that needed to be asked and that nothing was being overlooked. I think this made Dad's stress levels alot less than they could have been.
Dad's health was beginning to deteriorate. Dad started having problems with weakness and dizziness. He had a few bad falls. One night, while taking a bath. Dad couldn't get out of the bath tub. I guess he sat there for over an hour. He was asked if he wanted his son-in-laws to be telephoned to come and help him out of the tub, but he refused. It took all the strength he had in him but he managed to get himself out of the bathtub. That was the last bath he took with out the aid of a bathing chair.
Dad's stomach began to bloat. A sign that his liver was beginning to fail. The weight of his belly made it difficult for Dad to get around mainly because it threw off his balance. During one of Dad's chemo appointments, we talked to the doctor about what could be done to "drain" the fluid from Dad's abdomen. The doctor informed us that his liver was "weeping" from the cancer and draining off the fluid was a posibility but it was only a matter of time before the fluid returned. I thought it was a good idea but Dad was afraid of the procedure and felt that it was a waste of time if the fluid was to return. Within a few weeks, Dad's stomach became incredibly huge and Dad developed a rather high fever. They admitted him into the hospital, again. The doctors experimented with various medications to reduce the amount of fluid. During Dad's 4 day stay in the hospital, the amount of fluid reduced by about 50%.
