Alternative Treatments - Summary

KK's alternative treatments began with Chiropractic care 2 months before her diagnosis. Dr. Brooke is amazing!

KK began receiving oncology massage shortly after her diagnosis from Mieka (who is also amazing).

We also began using essential oils to treat things like nausea and headaches so as not to add even more chemicals to KK's system.

After the recurrence was diagnosed on January 20, 2016, KK began receiving high doses of Vitamin C intravenously. She also began coffee colonics to help her body detox. In addition, KK ate a raw vegan diet for the first 6 months and continues to eat a vegan diet with no processed foods.

Here are some things I have learned along the way:

• When looking for a clinic that administers IV Vitamin C, make sure that they follow the protocols set forth by Jeanne Drisko and the Riordan Clinic.
• Do not allow them to convince you that IV Glutathione (GSH) and IVC can be administered on the same day when treating cancer.
• Be sure they do a G6PD blood test before receiving a full dose (25+ grams) of vitamin C.
• When using IVC to treat brain cancer (or any cancer where swelling is cause for concern), start slowly and don't rush to increase the dosage. IVC creates a pro-oxidant environment in cancer cells which causes them to swell until they "pop" or die off. In the case of brain cancer, too much swelling too quickly can cause adverse effects like seizures. 
• Eat before/during a treatment to reduce blood sugar fluctuations. If you have diabetes, be aware that there will be a false positive (high) glucose reading.
• Eliminate all sugar and processed foods. Cancer cells have more glucose receptors than normal cells, which means they "feed" on sugar. Vitamin C is read by these receptors as glucose, therefore you don't want sugar and processed foods to get in the way of the vitamin C.
• Drink lots of water. Even though you are receiving fluids through the IV, the treatment itself is dehydrating.
• If you live in the Boston area, I highly recommend The Rothfeld Center for Integrative Medicine.

KK is now receiving Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to treat the late effects of radiation therapy. This therapy is often used for diving injuries (decompression illness), diabetic wound care, carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, and even for radiation necrosis that can be seen externally. Though there are studies that have shown HBOT helps heal radiation necrosis of the brain, I had to fight for it.

I am convinced that HBOT has helped KK's short-term memory loss, but I am also convinced that it has promoted tumor growth...so we have put it on hold until KK is tumor-free.