What Caused My Cancer?
After the therapies for treating the symptoms of pancreatic cancer were exhausted, namely the tumor is inoperable and unresponsive to chemo, the cause for my pancreatic cancer was explored. I found that I had no history in my family of any genetic reason for the disease. I found that I had no history of environmental risk factors. I also realized that I have never smoked or imbibed alcohol, so those couldn't have caused it. After eliminating the usual culprits and hearing my medical doctor say that all people have cancer many times throughout their lifetimes; this one just wasn't killed by the immune system, I began to think about my immune system deficiency. Seventeen years ago, after about with pneumonia, I explored ongoing treatment for asthma. The cause of my asthma was found to be an allergy to various things, which my immune system attacked with excess energy, leaving me with excess sinal fluid. One of the approaches to controlling my asthma was to suppress that overactive immune system with corticosteroids, like salmeterol and fluticasone. Since 1998, I have taken those daily and my asthma has been under control.

If those drugs suppressed my immune system, then when the cancer attacked my pancreas, my immune system wasn't able to kill off the rapidly growing tumor cells.

Using this theory, I have analyzed what common treatments are used to try to get rid of tumors and found that the one that kills the cancer cells also kills the immune system, which is the opposite of what I needed to attack the cancer cells...an active immune system. So, I have begun to boost my immune system and as the effects of the corticosteroids wear off over the next 3 months, I expect the increased immune system to attack at least the metastasis of this cancer and hopefully reduce the pancreatic tumor. However, I am expecting my asthma to worsen, but I will deal with that in a different way this time.

I am taking liquid vitamins and minerals, making sure I am getting 600-800 IU of vitamin D per day, 400 mcg of folate per day, and a multivitamin spread to improve overall health. I am exercising to increase oxygenation of my blood and getting sunlight as well. I am drinking grape juice and black cherry juice, and eating purple or dark red fruits, like grapes, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, purple plums, etc. to increase resveratrol in my system. Two years ago, it was found that two glasses per day of wine would help cardiac function because of the presence of resveratrol, and now it is also being shown to sensitize tumors to other treatments. The level of alcohol in wine, however, is detrimental, especially to the liver, so I am using fruit juices without alcohol.

Hopefully, this will give a summary of what I am currently doing to recover from this stage 3 cancer.