15 May 2015
Greeting all,
Alert...if you don't want to read through another medical update (on my sister's journey with Cancer), then skip this entry!
About 6 months ago, my sister Patricia (Trish) was diagnosed with Anal cancer and as we are very close, I kept a private blog about her condition and my feelings at the time. It's very similar to the one I wrote during Rod's journey with Cancer, so it is quite personal. As I write this update she has completed a series of treatments at the Alternative Medical Clinic in Myrtle Beach, SC (same one that Rodney did) and also here in China (also same one Rod did) and is now back home in Florida. This entry is similar to the one I did for Rodney, where I will go back in time and take excerpts from my other private blog and share it with you. When I have them, I've added photos of her time here in China.
Does it run in the family?
29 Nov 2014
Rod’s been home for 2 weeks now, and cancer wise, feeling good. It seems I go from frying pan to the fire in that I just got the news that my oldest sister Patricia has now been diagnosed with some sort of
cancer…either lymphoma or colon cancer..not sure which one and what will
be the treatment protocol. I’ve talked to her about going to see Dr
Dong and also coming here to see Dr Yu. Not sure what she will do.
Of course all of this makes me think of my mother with pancreatic
cancer..now my sister with some sort of cancer. What about me? Today, I
try to keep eating healthy, taking nutritional supplements and
exercising…all to keep my body and systems to not be a place where
cancer thrives. It’s easier with Rod right here with me on the healthy
regime. God bless my sister and God bless my Rodney.
Quiet Christmas 2014
28 December 2014
We stayed here in Shenyang this Christmas…partly because I had no
vacation left, and partly because we didn’t want to travel from one
winter to another winter. It was quiet and we both missed family. I
worked every day which helped the time pass and I got several things
done at work that have been a long time on my to do list. Now, we’re
fast approaching a new Year 2015.
My sister Patricia has been
diagnosed with cancer of the anal tract. She has 3 tumors they know of…1 in her
rectum, 1 in her anal canal and 1 somewhere in her groin. She is going
to the Alternative medical clinic in Myrtle Beach, SC tomorrow and she says she has started
changing her diet. She plans then to go through a very intensive Chemo
and Radiation therapy. She told me yesterday that if they recommend
surgery, she wants to come see what Dr Yu could do before she has
surgery, assuming he could do something to help her. She will see the
oncologist after she completes her week at the AMC.
Obviously, this disturbs me…my mind can go crazy…my mother died of
pancreatic cancer, my oldest sister diagnosed with rectal cancer…both
with type A blood type, both with cancer in the digestive tract…both
with diets similar to mine before I changed…did I change in time? Who knows?
My sister's cancer
29 December 2014:
Below is an update on my sister’s cancer, taken from a private message she wrote to our family members today:
..." I am
writing this to update you on my health. I am writing to ask for your
prayers.
I have been diagnosed with cancer of the anal tract. There are two
masses, on in the anal tract and one in the rectum. (I really did not
know there was a difference between those two!). There is also I
inguinal lymph node involvement. So after much testing I have an
intense several weeks ahead of me.
Today I am at the Natural Healing Center in Myrtle Beach that Rodney
went to. I will be here for a week to look at nutritional and other
wellness issues. When I get home I will see a radiation oncologist. I
will then have a port placed Thursday and see the oncologist again on
Friday. I think treatment will begin on the 12th. The treatment is a
combo of both radiation and chemotherapy. The first week will be
continuous chemo 24/7. Along with daily radiation. The next three weeks
are radiation daily and the last week is both continuous chemo and
radiation. So the next 5-6 weeks will be intense. I will need your
prayers.
Thanks
Patricia"
Come on Trish, we’ll praying for you non stop and ask God to bless you and our family as you embark on this journey.
My sister is coming, my sister is coning
11 Jan 2015
My sister has finished up at the Alternative medicine clinic and she
is determined to stay on the nutrition and supplements and in fact she
made the decision to come to Dr Yu here in China first to get the cancer
treatment before taking the chemo and radiation in the US. She
cancelled her appointments at the cancer center in Florida and I will call her tomorrow to find out the
date she is coming to China. Should be either late Feb or early March. Rodney said he would stay with her for
3-4 days to get her set up and able to cook for herself and be self
sufficient. I will go for a few days too to spend some time with her
and keep her company. Trish said she found
the Alternative medical clinic to be a very caring and healing
atmosphere and that even if there was a place closer she is not sure she
would ever feel as comfortable anywhere else. We will take care of her
logistically here on this side and Dr Yu and his staff will take care
of her medically. I continue to pray that nutrition program shows it
down, the chemo will stop it everywhere she has a tumor and the
nutrition will keep it gone. She has already said she will go back to
the clinic in 3-4 months to continue to get a treatment like a
tuneup…and hopefully show good progress on her cancer, liver
functioning, blood, circulation and diabetis. She is not well, and
until the cancer diagnosis, she was in denial about the problems the
weight was giving her. I ask God to bless her.
Otherwise, Rod and I are doing well. We got the results from Rod’s
last PsA test and it was 0.04, so we were happy with that. All of his
other lab. Numbers came back good too. 😊😊
Let the healing begin
25 Feb 2015
Rod left this morning to go to Beijing to help her get settled and guide her to the hospital from the airport . There is no food service in Chinese hospitals and so one of the major things Rod will help her with is to get her able to find food and cook. He took several kitchen appliances and tools with him and has now got his "mobile kitchen" set up. Below are some pics of his set-up in the hospital room
 |
| Rod's Mobile kitchen..veggie steamer, borrowed juicer, egg cooker and misc other items! |
 |
| The fully stocked fridge in the hospital room |
So begins her healing journey in China. I ask that God will bless her and heal her. Rod will stay there for some period of time (duration to be determined, depending on her mobility) to make sure she can take care of herself for food and treatments. I will go to visit her on weekends as time allows.
 |
| Trish and Rod in the lobby of the Baofa hospital. The banner welcomes Trisha on the 26th of Feb 2015! |
 |
| Rod tending his mobile kitchen...doesn't he look great!? This is in Trish's room |
Happy Birthday Chinese style
28 Feb 2015
Trisha arrived safe and sound and 1 day later her luggage arrived. Rod is an absolute angel cooking for her and helping her adjust to her surroundings. Today is her birthday and she got flowers so that was just as it should be! They did the CT and drew fluid off of the tumor in her groin and I assume they will start treatment tomorrow once they get the results of these diagnostics. She is in good spirits and anxious to get it all started. God bless my sister Trisha and my dearest husband who has been a more than welcome host, helper, caregiver for her. Love you Rodney!
 |
| Happy 64th birthday Trisha! Let's pray this is the 1st day of your healthiest year ever! |
 |
| Dr Yu with Trisha in her 64th birthday in his hospital. |
A thousand mile journey starts with the first step
1March 2015
Yesterday was my sister’s 64th birthday. She spent it getting the
first diagnostics for the cancer and hopefully the healing. They did
the CT scan and also an ultrasound and also pulled some fluid off of
the tumor in her groin. I don’t have the full results but so far it
looks like the anal tract cancer has not spread, so that is at least
good news. The fluid from the tumor in her groin was positive for
cancer, so they will treat that too. No news yet about the place in her
aorta. She has started in the IV’s and drinking the anti tumor tea,
and we believe they will start with the direct inject Chemo today. The
first day of the most healthy year of her life! Rod is cooking her her
and also for another man (who is man from Switzerland, that is a
spiritual guru of a chinese woman friend of Rod’s…a very connected
world!)…so Rod's international food service support is up and running at Baofa
hospital! This guru’s name is Stephan and his "followers" here in China put up the money to
bring him here, but they didn’t know his dietary requirements, so
consequently, Rod Said this guy was going down hill fast…on top of the
cancer, they man was getting nothing to eat…so Rod started feeding him,
and showing the chinese followers what to feed him and how to prepare it
and so hopefully now, he will start to thrive. I’m amazed yet again at
how great my husband is!
After her 1st treatment, she said she didn’t feel too bad. She was
hungry but couldn’t eat yet. She said they went through her back to get
to the tumors in her anal tract and went at the one in her groin from
the front. She said when they went after the one on the front, it did
hurt some. Afterwards, she said that she felt a little achy, but not
too bad. I’m so glad Rod is there to cook for her and also provide
moral support. He’s helping her in so many ways and for that I’m
grateful.
 |
| Trisha shopping at one of the markets by the hospital in Beijing |
 |
| Rod and Trisha walking in Beijing |
 |
| Trish with Dr Ma at Beijing |
The hopes and fears of all the years...
6 March 2015
I talked to my sister Trish this morning and she didn’t have a good
night. Lots of rectal bleeding and didn’t feel well. Emotionally she is
full of fear and thank God that Rod is there for her. He is talking
over a lot of emotional and real feelings with her and he told me
tonight that he thinks she has accepted that this lifestyle is what she
is going to be on for the rest of her life. I hope that is true. She
really needs Rod to cook for her right now and since being here she has
lost 4.7kg…and that is 1 week. She says she’s not hungry..and is eating
the right foods. Rod fixes her a cottage cheese/flax seed oil and
fruit blend and a green drink for breakfast, a salad for lunch (if she
wants) and brown beans for dinner or some variant. The doctor told her
he could stop the cancer but the weight was going to kill her. He also
told her that if she would have stayed on the U.S. Treatment protocol
she would have died. Both of those news are very sobering. Rod told her
that he was going to stay with her until she leaves to go back to the
U.S. That was a relief to her. I will go down there next Friday 13th
and stay the weekend to at least give Rod a break.
I write this small prayer:
God, I thank you for helping both Rod and me to lose the weight we
did when we did and I ask that You help my sister Trisha stay on this
lifestyle no matter what. I ask that you give her the strength she will
need around her family to stay the course and know that her life
depends on it. She is such a good woman and serves you and I ask that
you bless her and heal this cancer and lose the weight so that she can
live the rest of days serving you and helping others. Father I ask this
in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Come on Trish, you can do it! Hang in there Rod, so grateful for guy! Love you!
Palliative care...not what we are shooting for!
9 March 2015
Talked to my sister again yesterday and she seems to be doing better.
She has had 2 treatments on the tumor on her groin and 1 on the tumors
in her anal tract. Rodney and I put two and two together and have
determine that she has stage 4 anal cancer that has metastasized into
the lymph system and that is where the tumor on her groin is coming
from. They are treating the tumor on her groin much more aggressively. When she read the medical report
herself and saw it say ” palliative chemo” she knew that it meant no
cure. Of course we know there is no guarantee that this treatment will
work, but we all believe it will. Who knows.. I just pray this Treatment
works and that she has the courage and strength to be committed to the
clean eating lifestyle when she gets back to the U.S.
Rod had told her that he will stay the entire time with her, helping
her prepare meals and being a companion. I will go down this weekend to
be with her and take some re-supplies for his mobile kitchen! He
really is an amazing man and has helped me and my sister to no end.
Thank you Father once again for putting and keeping us together. We
really do share real love.
Keep that positive energy going Rod and Trish! Father, I ask that
you continue to open my sister’s mind and give her strength to stay the
course and lose the weight by eating the menu prescribed to her. We ask
that you energize her body to heal itself once the doctors have the
cancer stopped. We ask that you guide the hands and hearts of the
doctors here to stabilize the cancer and give her many more years to be a
messenger of Your word, power and salvation. Thank you Father for
Rodney being willing to help her and stay with her. Amen
The storm before the calm...or so we hope
15 March 2015
It’s Sunday morning and I have seen my sister face to face during her
cancer treatments here in the Baofa cancer hospital here in Beijing.
It is clear, she is sick. She is alert, she is ambulatory, but she had
no energy. She is over weight, and since I have been here she has
no appetite. They are loading her up with the treatments… Once per
week with the direct injection chemo on the anal rumors and once per
week on the groin tumor, and every day with IV’s. She is getting a
special IV at some frequency to treat the cancer around her aorta as
they cannot treat that with the direct injection method. She feels good
in the morning, and gets her treatments in the morning, then after some
rest, we went for a walk on Friday and Saturday afternoon (1 mile) and
she had to take breaks in the middle both times, and by the time she was
back here at the hospital, she was really pooped. Last night she went
to bed at 7:00pm. She gets nauseous with the direct injection
anesthetic in the evening. She is losing weight quickly here, as she
is not eating much…is that the cancer?
So, I pray for her constantly, I ask God to heal her, to help her
lose the weight, to give her peace of mind and courage to continue her
lifestyle changes in the US.
Rodney is absolutely an incredible care giver. He fixes breakfast
for her, the Guru and has been a gem to help her confront the issues
with her weight and is encouraging here all along the way. Thank you
father for helping her and helping my Rodney help her. He was tested
here too, and so far he is doing well…good results and he is on no
treatment here at all…a miracle man compared to this time last year!
Thank you Father!
So, I hope and pray this is her low period and that the tumors can be
stopped and that now new ones can’t form. I hope and pray that this is
the storm before the calm.
First signs of "the calm"
16 Mar 2015
I went with Trish yesterday for her treatment. This was with ultrasound
so it was one of the ones on her lymph system (they are treating 2 on
her lymph system and one in her anus). I saw the one in her groin
yesterday and it is quite large..looks like a sweet potato. The
treatment was quick and she said not painful. She had an appetite
yesterday, so that was really good news for me. When I left Beijing,
she was taking more IV’s…not the “special brown bag” stuff, but IV’s.
After I got back from Beijing, my sister sent me a text to tell me
that the Doc’s had said that one of the tumors (the one they zapped
yesterday?) was shrinking and dissolving on the inside! This is really
good news! Thank you Lord!
If one is dissolving, then maybe it’s happening for all 3 they are
treating? Who knows, but we take the good news when we get it!
Calm comes in many forms
22 March 2015
After a particularly tough week at work, I came to Beijing to see my
sister (and then take Chinese lessons!) and see how she was. Rod had
told me during the week that he had had some tough treatments this past
week. I was relieved to see that she was up and about and in good
spirits. Trish and I spent the
time just talking, and it was delightful. We talked about all kinds of
things from her cancer treatments to diet and nutrition to memories
growing up, Mom and Dad and grandparents, the importance of her friends
and church group and students etc.
The doctors made their rounds and stopped in the room and discussed
with us （ I was trying to translate, but I just didn’t know the words!).
We found out that she will finish her treatment on the 26th of March
(all 3 tumors would have been zapped 4 times each) and after that she
should stay here in the hospital until she flies out in the 2nd of April
and rest and let them monitor her. Rod said he will stay with her and
take her to the airport, which made her very happy. The doctors think
the treatment is going OK, but they won’t really know a lot until the do
the blood test the day after their last treatment. To be determined if
she needs to come back or not. After she goes back to the U.S., she
will get a followup PET scan to see what the results are, then send the
results to Dr Yu for him to determine if she needs to come back.
 |
| Sister time in Beijing |
 |
| More Sister time in Beijing |
 |
| Walking in the sunshine and plum blossoms in Beijing |
 |
| selfies in Beijing |
Supercharged calm!
22 March 2015
I got some good news today from my sister Trish! I have copied her exact note below:
"What a great day!! I felt so good even with doing the external lump.
Rod and I did the same walk we did and we stopped at the end to wash my
hair. Then Rod took me to dinner. It was very good and I ate like a
pig!! All good stuff. We had steamed lettuce with sauce, lichens with
egg, seaweed soup, and mushrooms with Chinese cabbage. It was all very
good. It was so great to have an appetite and things tasted great today
all day. I had two Budwigs and a bowl of watermelon and an apple
earlier. Something happened on the night. I slept 9 hours. Longest since
I have been here without waking up. I woke up and I knew something had
changed. No nausea hungry and full of energy (relatively). God must have
done something. Anyway a great day for me!"
How do you top that?? Thank you father for the healing you are
making manifest in my sister. Thank you for her weight loss and giving
her energy and an good appetite. Thank you for continuing to give
Rodney a good attitude of service and helping her. You have blessed me
beyond measure in letting me share my life with him.
Let’s go Trish, keep that great attitude and knowing of healing and
stay in your new lifestyle of healthy eating. Let’s get the cancer gone
and keep it gone!
 |
| Trisha eating out with Rod at one of the Chinese restaurants by the hospital |
The last treatment (in this series) for Trisha
29 March 2015
Today Trish got her last direct injection treatment today. The
doctors said the tumors are shrinking so that is good news! We really
won’t know if these tumors are stopped until she gets a PET scan in the
US. She has an appointment to see Dr Dong at the alternative medical
clinic on the 9th of April. She is really looking forward
to going home, and I can’t say I blame her…those hospital beds are
really hard! I hope she gets her appetite back and can continue the
healthy lifestyle eating and menu! We are all convinced that is her
best chance for survival long term and so far she seems willing to do
it.
Rodney has been her rock and counselor through all of this. He has
counseled her on her eating habits and tries to give her tips on things
he has done to to change his lifestyle.
Thank you Father for a good job so that we could offer her this
opportunity for healing. Thank you Father for giving her the strength
and courage to take this big step. I ask you to bless her Father and
heal her and if it be Your will, give her many more days in this earth
sot hat she can bear witness unto others of Your power. Thank you
Father for giving Rodney the right words to say and giving him patience
to comfort her. Bless them both Father and thank you for Healing that
we have experienced so far.
 |
| Parting shots at Bejing before Trish goes home |
Now the real choices begin
4 April 2015
My sister is back on the ground in the US having made her flight
yesterday from China. The last 5 weeks have been a very controlled
environment with Drill Sgt.Rod doing all of the cooking, cleaning,
exercise coaching and counseling! Now, she has had all her treatments
and has been on a very regimented nutrition plan (when she had an
appetite) and no opportunities to ‘cheat’. We hope and pray now she has
the resolve to continue her healthy lifestyle and continue to lose the
weight by making good choices with her food. Only time will tell.
Time will also tell just how effective her treatments have been here in
China. She has either 3 or 4 tumors …still not sure how many..I know
they treated 3 main ones in China with the direct injection method. The
small ‘micro tumors’ could be anywhere along her lymph system. So, we
wait and pray for good decisions on her part!
Thank you Father for healing so far and we ask that you grant her the
resolve and ability to continue eating well and we ask that you send
your spirit to her and heal her body.
A tune up for the road
11 April 2015
Just heard from my sister Trisha and over the weekend while she was
at the Alternative health clinic in Myrtle Beach, SC for a visit and 3 day session of
treatments. Dr Dong said Trisha has made good progress and she is treating her exterior tumor that is now open
and draining. Patricia said she has a little
better appetite but still not back to normal. I pray there are no other
tumors in other places that are causing this. Time will tell. She has
decided not to return to her Doctoral studies until the Fall. I think
that is wise so that she can focus on her own health.
Appetite restored and PET scan scheduled
29 April 2015
Talked to Trisha this morning and she happily reported that her appetite is back to normal and she is doing well with her eating plan. She went to her family physician in FL and they were all pleased with her progress on weightloss. She now has a PET scan schedule in May, so of course everyone is hoping that shows good progress. Now we wait. In any case, I was pleased to hear that her appetite is back and things taste right and that she is eating well.
The results are in
15 May 2015
Talked to Trisha yesterday and she got the results of the PET scan. The good news is, 2 out of the 3 tumors have shrunk and the 3rd one is stable (did not grow, did not shrink) and the micro tumors are not mentioned at all. She sent those results to Dr Yu here in China and he wants her to come back for another 6 weeks of treatment in Beijing. She is a little disappointed with this results and so am I. But when we look at where she has come from, either stage 3b or stage4 rapidly growing and 'palliative care' being the treatment after heavy duty chemo and radiation and the prospective of feeling horrible to where she is feeling great and the belief and conviction of the Dr who says he can stop the cancer and still keep her feeling good...it's a big difference in her longterm outlook.
Father I ask that you keep my sister in your healing hands and bless the Doctors as she goes on the next leg of this journey.
So that's where we are now...preparing for the next leg of the journey and figuring out how we can help. Thanks to keep my sister Patricia in your prayers.
Sarah & Rod
