It's not cancer! Its a fungus! wtf

Jaybob has had this lump under his arm since June. It started as a scratch...he thinks. He did see a doctor about it and was given anti-fungal cream. He has been the clinic a few times (about this and other things), but never to the same doctor. And only the good lord knows if Jaybob bothered to tell each doctor that he had been seen previously for the same thing.

GrammaY had finally had it and insisted on going to the doctors with Jaybob. She demanded that the doctor figure out what the heck was going on. She also made sure that the doctor knew of all Jaybob's health worries, not just one thing. If nothing else, GrammaY is very determined when it comes to having her way.

The result was a referral to a specialist within a day, followed by surgery booked for the following week. It was determined that a biopsy was necessary. This is the conversation between myself and GrammaY after the results were in. (some parts of this conversation may be from ensuing discussions with GrammaY, all of it, however, is truly what came out of her mouth)

Marcie: "Are Jaybob's biopsy results in yet?"

GrammaY "Yup, but I don't believe it".

Marcie: "Umm, you dont believe the biopsy results themselves?"

GrammaY "That is exactly it, dear. Damn doctor says Cancer. Apparently such a strange and unusual cancer that they cant even tell us what kind. "

Marcie: "CANCER?? oh no... So what happens now?"

Gramma Y "Well we both know that it isnt cancer. I can't explain how I know, Marcie, but i just KNOW that this is fungal. They never should have done the biopsy without clearing up that fungus first... Now they have forced that fungus inside poor Jaybob."

Marcie (not impressed, but trying for patience) "Mum, what else did the dr say?"

GrammaY "Well, that damn doctor let me tell you what. When he told us that the biopsy came back as malignant cancer I asked him if he knew anything about Hydrazine Sulfate. That man began to hop around all crazy, wouldnt make eye contact at all!"

Marcie (not out loud) Gee, good job mum, make sure the doctor knows you are a loon in the first appointment.....

GrammaY "I asked again if he knew anything at all and he stammered and hawwed. Told us he is just a tecnologist and knows nothing."

Marcie "Great mum, but what kind of cancer? What are the next steps? How aggressive is it? Is it operable? Treatable? what?"

GrammaY "You are not listening! It is a fungus. I am gonna call Blair and see what she thinks.."

Marcie (Mumbling) 'oh great, call the blairwitch'

GrammaY "What?"

Marcie, sighing, "Mum, call Blair, but first, what else did the doctor say?"

GrammaY "The doctor doesnt know anything. HE says that when you have a tumor it has to have a primary source. Jaybob's chest xray is clear. The biopsy tells them it aint lymph cancer. His blood tests clean. They dont know what the primary source is."

Marcie "ok, so what now?"

GrammaY "Well they want to run more tests. "

Marcie "What tests? When? Where?"

GrammaY "Well it dont matter! Jaybob doesnt want anymore tests when this last biopsy gave him cancer!"

Marcie "Huh?"

GrammaY "Well he sure as hell didnt have Cancer before!"

Marcie knows better than to touch this one, and is praying that GrammaY is merely reacting to the stress of finding out her youngest child has a dreaded disease. Marcie takes a large deeeeep breath.

Marcie "Mum... What are you going to do then?"

GrammaY "Well, I know you are thinking I am a nut, and that you think all herbs are a waste of time. But i am going to get him on vitamins, and a healthy diet so that his body is strong enough for all the toxins the doctors are going to want to fill him up with."

Marcie "Getting him healthier is a good plan, but"

GrammaY "Let me finish! Jaybob trusts me to fix this, and I will!"

Marcie "Fix it!! Mum......"

GrammaY "I know, crazy mum and her herbs, but if he had listened to me a year ago and took teh viatmins I told him to take, he wouldnt have this cancer now?"

Marcie (Forgetting to hold back) "Thought you said it wasnt cancer? that its a fungus?"

GrammaY "It is, it's a fungus that caused this cancer. Cancer is just toxins."

Marcie : "No mum, cancer is not toxins. Toxins are toxins. Cancer is the blanket term for -"

GrammaY : "Don't smart mouth me. This is serious!"

Marcie: "Yes, it is. You can NOT be getting him to ignore the doctors and just take herbs, mum. This is not a mild fever. You can NOT mess with this.:"

GrammaY "I'm not stupid. I am merely going to do things that will work WITH the doctor. Eating healthy and taking vitamins wont kill him."

Sigh....




Later, when the news is in that Jaybob is going for a petscan

Marcie "Well thank goodness they are not stalling. So he goes in three days?"

GrammaY "yes, we are very excited."

Marcie "So what exactly will happen?"

GrammaY "The scan will show exactly where all the cancer is. Then if it is in the lymph nodes they can just radiate that area."

Marcie "Wonderful."



Later the next day

GrammaY "Now he is not going till next week"

Marcie "Why not?"

GrammaY "They are trying to arrange the funding.:"

Marcie : "Funding for what? the flight? I can help with that."

GrammaY "no, because he is on assistance they dont want him to have the scan"

Marcie " That doesnt sound right to me"

GrammaY "They decided that they want him to have bone biopsies done first"

Marcie "why?"

GrammaY "I was talking to Blair."

Marcie "Huh?" (Blair is a kinesiologist or w/e. She grinds her own herbs and does food allergy testing by getting you to hold things in your hand.)

GrammaY "Telling her about this petscan and all that. She says she can do the same thing, way less wait and money. She can tell where the cancer is. And she said it's from all that rough emotional times he had."

Marcie "Huh? Has she even met Jaybob?"

GrammaY "I know you don't believe."

Sigh....
Marcie "What does that have to do with the biopsies?"

GrammaY "dont get me started. Damn doctor telling me that he scheduled three bone biopsie to be done before the scan. He figures because Jaybob is so young that they will be able to milk this for all its worth. He also says that because Jaybob is so young that they will keep him in the hospital down there."

Marcie "Mum.... What reason for the biopsies?"

GrammaY "they dont have one."

Marcie "I don't understand teh reference to milking it, or to jaybob's young age"


(Insert random babbling that GrammaY did at this point. A few 'facts' that she decided answered my comment....
-90% of cancer patients die.
-only 60% of cancer patients that use both mainstream medicine and alternative medicine die
-of those less die that use only herbal thanm die that use only mainstream
-bone biopsies help the doctors make money
-doctors care that he is on assistance. They dont want to help him
-Jaybob is not scared to die.
-Jaybob refuses to have bone marrow biopsies done.
-Cancer is caused by toxins and mental stress
-if we can cure the fungus we wont have cancer
-it wont hurt for Jaybob to take a cpl weeks to think about things
-we will just continue to build up his system
-grammaY can cure this
-grammaY yelled at the doctors
-GrammaY is pissed at me, Marcie, because when I had my cancer scare I did not come running to her for quack treatment and instead listened to my doctor **note that this was 7 years ago and I am still showing no signs of cancer**
-end insert of random babbling)

I did try to point out that in Canada, doctors do not get rich by letting more tests be done, or less tests be done. I also pointed out that until these tests are done, and the doctors can determine what KIND of cancer Jaybob has, how aggressive it is, we can NOT know that two weeks before beginning treatment is not an issue. That Jaybob could indeed be DEAD in two weeks if this cancer is aggressive.

She doesnt hear me.

She insists that this is Jaybob's choice to make. (As if Jaybob has ever made a decision that wasnt hand fed him by his mum).

She refuses to listen that Bone Marrow Biops actually give the doctors all sorts of information.

She is determined that they just want to experiement on Jaybob.

She makes many comments that seem to indicate that this is more about her being able to play doctor than it is about worrying about Jaybob.

She went from the doctors doing unnessary tests, to teh doctors not bothering to tell Jaybob about the tests, to them refusing to do the tests because of money.

....

Today Jaybob informed me that the doctors are hiding something. That they wont tell him why they won't do the petscan, why they wanted the bone marrow biopsies, why they tried to book such tests without even bothering to discuss it.

We, Scott and I, tried to reason with him. We tried to reason with her.