On April 16, 1997, I received scary news–I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

My family doctor told me that I would live for five years, but the oncologist he sent me to said that was optimistic. He said that I would likely live between six months and three years.

He also told me that I was not a candidate for surgery and my only option for treatment was radiation therapy. I didn’t want to accept this treatment.

After my diagnosis, I had done a lot of reading on the subject and learned about the harmful side effects of radiation therapy. I found out that in some cases after treatment the bladder and other organs did not function properly anymore. In most cases, after a couple of years of treatment, the cancer comes back more aggressively. I sure didn’t need this, especially since my cancer had a very high aggression rate already. I was told that the aggressive growth rate of my cancer was a nine out of 10. The outlook was gloomy. There had to be a better way.

A friend of mine in the medical community asked me if I had considered alternative medicine as a treatment option. He winters down in Mexico and had visited the Instituto Medico Alternativo de Quelacion (IMAQ) Clinic in Tijuana. He was impressed with Dr Castillo and his treatment at the clinic. I said that I had never thought of alternative medicine before. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to get well! He gave me a brochure on the clinic. When I got home I telephoned Dr Castillo who said that he could help me. In May 1997, I boarded a plane and flew down to Mexico for a three week stay at the clinic.

I immediately had a consultation with Dr Castillo and was amazed by the one-on-one care I was given. This is lacking in the Canadian medical system. His examination was thorough. I was given many physical tests, X-rays and ultrasounds. He really knows what he’s looking for. After the tests, he went into great detail discussing what he had found and spent a long time discussing my entire medical history.

He recommended an extensive course of treatment. For 21 days I received chelation therapy, Hoxsey tonic (a special herbal combination not available in Canada), vitamins, minerals and herbs.

The clinic was a change from the way I was treated in Canada. At home I was told that the outcome was bleak. The doctors showed no empathy towards the battle I was facing. It was like they didn’t care. The support given at the clinic was fantastic. Never was the cancer referred to as a “disease.”

Dr Castillo said that cancer is not a death sentence. His attitude was that it can be treated and possibly cured. He constantly built up my spirits and those of the other cancer patients. This made me confident about the treatment I was receiving and made me believe that I could beat the cancer. The staff at the clinic also helped educate me about my condition. They never had negative comments and answered any questions I had about my treatment.

The IMAQ clinic also has a good after-care system. I was sent home with B17 tablets, Hoxsey tonic and injectable doses of multi-vitamins. I was also given herbs to take including licorice, red clover, burdock root and buckthorn bark.

I was put on a very strict diet. No pork, artificial sweeteners, sugar, carbonated beverages, white flour, refined sugar and alcohol. Basically everything that I liked I couldn’t have! I was also told to avoid tomatoes and vinegar because they would counteract the Hoxsey tonic.

Dr Castillio and his staff continually keep in touch with me to monitor my treatment and want to be kept up-to-date on my test results.

As of January 2001, I am cancer-free and my prostate-specific antigen tests have come back at a consistent reading of 0.4–pretty much off the scale. I thank Dr Castillo for his caring and positive attitude and for giving me hope.

Edward Anderson is a reader of alive magazine living in Calgary, AB.

Source: alive #221, March 2001