> Health and Disease > Cancer > alternative medicine for cancer

My mother, Flora Reynolds, was just turning 83 when her fear of cancer was confirmed. It was especially terrifying because the cancer was very advanced and extensive. The breast tumour, roughly four inches (10 cm) across, was so large that it was in danger of erupting through the skin. Tests revealed that the cancer had also spread to the lungs and the bone.

Mom was adamant that she would not subject herself to the usual regimen of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. This was just as well. The specialist to whom we were referred informed us that there was absolutely nothing that could be done. The cancer was completely inoperable and radiation would probably damage her heart and lungs.

Mom’s determination not to endure the conventional treatments, along with those grim words from the physician, ended up sending us in the right direction!

It was imperative that we find an alternative therapy clinic immediately, for in the three weeks since she had first been diagnosed, her condition had deteriorated alarmingly fast. She found it nearly impossible to swallow food without choking. She had no appetite and had become painfully thin. Walking was very difficult and breathing became increasingly arduous and exhausting.

We knew that mom was dying.

There’s an old saying that as one door closes another one opens. This proved true for us. We were guided at the end of April to take mom to the Insituto Médico Alternativo de Quelacion (IMAQ) clinic headed by a Dr Isai Castillo in Tijuana, Mexico. By this time she was so ill that we feared she would not even survive the trip.

Dr Castillo ran many tests, including blood work to look for tumour markers. The carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) test gives an indication of cancer activity within the body. The normal range is from zero to three, but mom’s reading was 7.9.

The carcino-antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) test specifically focuses on breast cancer activity. The normal range is zero to 31.3. Mom’s level was as high as 980! Her 21 days of treatments consisted of intravenous and live cell therapy. The clinic’s philosophy is that if you build up the body’s immune system and feed it what it needs, it will naturally fight off disease.

Several times mom was so ill that she did not think she could go on, but with desperate encouragement from her family, she managed. When she returned home from the clinic in May, mom was weaker and more frail than when she had left. Her weight had dropped to 78 pounds. She was unable to stand or to walk and her breathing was so laborious that she needed oxygen therapy. She spoke very little. Speaking consumed too much energy and oxygen.

Each day she took the prescribed natural substances she had brought back with her, including the herbal-based Hoxsey tonic, and she began a new diet. My brother Clayton cared for her and rigorously followed Dr Castillo’s instructions. Gradually the cumulative effects of the treatments began to show.

Within two months mom was walking a few steps by herself. Within eight months she resumed her housework. She returned to the clinic in August, 1999 and then again in April, 2000. During this last visit, test results indicated that the CA 15-3 level had dropped from 980 down to 39.3, and the CEA level from 7.9 down to 1.0! The breast lump was dramatically smaller and her lungs appeared completely clear. These dramatic results had occurred within one year of the cancer diagnosis!

Today, two years after the original diagnosis, she is back to 115 pounds and is glowing with health. She has been described as “a walking miracle” by her physician here in Canada.

Mom’s return to health is a tribute to many people. She herself must take much of the credit, for it was due to her bravery and open-mindedness that she attended an unknown clinic so far from home. She also taught us a lot through her incredible determination and faith. My brother Clayton is also undoubtedly an enormous factor in her success through his unwavering commitment to her care and his following of Dr Castillo’s schedule. And crucial, of course, to mom’s renewed health are Dr Castillo and his staff at the clinic. They provided a highly effective and healthy treatment in an atmosphere of compassion, optimism and friendship.

Our family will be forever grateful to the IMAQ Clinic for giving our mother back to us.

Marilyn Reynolds is an alive reader living in St Albert, AB. Her mother continues to enjoy a cancer-free life

Source: alive #223, May 2001