Baby is with me...

Well, Mommy Woo and Brother are moving south, but baby stays with me.

Hubby and I are shocked-we did not expect such a reasonable choice. But while sad for the whole situation, we are also relieved. At least baby will be stable, cared for, nutured and given steady attention.

Just hope, pray to gods I am not sure i even believe in, that they get him real treatment...fast.

Curing Cancer, magical thinking and grief.

Yesterday mom accused me of researching cancer with confirmation bias. (Of course, that is not exactly how she put it. Her words were "I don't care what you researched or found. If you did find anything that backs me up you wouldn't admit it-even IF your thickheaded skull let you actually take in the information!" Still, I had to stop and think about it.

I realize I, the skeptic of the family, am more likely to run my google searches like this:

But does that mean that I am only seeking to confirm my own bias?

Perhaps..

I have researched lymphoma. (Both NHL and Hodgkins as w do not know which form of lymphoma my brother has.)
These are the URLS I started with:
www.lymphoma.ca/default.htm
http://www.cancer.ca
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/adulthodgkins/Patient/page2
www.cancer.ca

(found by searching google.ca "Canada Cancer Resources" and "Lymphoma")


The moment they received the diagnosis, Mom insisted that the only test they were going to do was a PET Scan, as it uses no radiations or 'toxins'.

So I went here:
http://www.petscan.ca/

(found by searching google.ca "cancer petscan")

Now, interestingly enough, if one clicks on :How PET Works: one gets this:
"The patient is injected intravenously with a small amount of sugar labeled with radiotracer."

Now At this point I can only guess that the word 'sugar' was the last word my mother read when she looked up PET SCANS (or is that IF she bothered to look it up..?)

Then dear Mom proceeded to demand of the technician for answers concerning 'Dr. Joseph Gold and his Hydrazine Sulphate' and 'Vitamin Mega Therapy' and 'Holistic Healing'.

The poor tech could barely wait to escape-he bolted within moments of Princess Warrior of Woo (aka Mom) brandishing her sword of magical thinking.

Mom began to forward me the most amazing assortment of URLS. My favorites are:

www.heall.com/medicalfreedom/hydrazinesulphate.html
www.hydrazinesulfate.org/

Now I dug through these websites. The first is so obviously quacked. No citations, no verifiable information.
At least one prominent researcher has called it the "single most effective anticancer agent available
Note that the researcher is not named. Nor does this website say where or to whom did this anonymous researcher state this.

The website goes on and on, ranting about the conspiracy, the cover up, quotes the DR Gold himself yet provides no research, no data, no verifiable sources.

The second link I find interesting as the subject line in the email that my mother sent me is:
"Hard to find, as FDA makes him move his sight repeatedly"
Yet, top of the webpage shows a date of :
"July 14 , 2004
Last amended: May 28, 2009 "

Dr Gold states:
"First and foremost, it is important for you to know that, contrary to implications made on the Internet, clinical trials of hydrazine sulfate have been done and published in peer-reviewed medical journals which circulate worldwide"
I searched some of the cited studies on pubmed, but as I lack a degree in biology, chemistry or any science I was struggling hard.

I did note that in Brown et all 1966 "HS caused genetic mutations in normal cells"and "used in animals over the long term, HS should be considered potentially carcinogenic" (Brown et al. Biochem Biophys Res Comm. 1966; 24: 967. 14. 15)

I read some of the reviews on the studies quoted. Most reviews found that HS studies had not shown an effectiveness against cancer cachexia and in fact was linked to serious side effects.

Question:
I note that DR J Gold's websites, abstract etc do not in fact state that he 'cured cancer' but rather that HS is effective against cancer cachexia. Am I correct in believing that this refers to the 'wasting sickness' that is prevalent with cancer patients?

I shared my finding with my mother but I do not think she read them.

Then, when the doctors told them (Mother and Brother) that brother would also be doing bone
Biopsies while in the hospital getting the PET Scan done, they fled the dr's office.

Now they were going to do vitamin mega therapy and organic food.
At this point my inability to be supportive of refusing medical treatment for lymphoma put me in a position
of only getting tidbits of updates.

"Dont worry, we are using mega vitamins to get brother healthy enough to withstand radiation."

A half hearted search turned up many warnings against mega dosing on vitamins. I also noted that organic food
will mean less money, but not really harm him.. I hope.

My greatest concern at this point is that they both were displaying a sense of magical thinking.

"We can do this alternative stuff, we have lots of time"

Yet no tests have been done. They do NOT know that they have 'lots of time' to mess around. They do not know IF brother has NHL, if the cancerous tumor is ALL that is going on. Likely there is another area that is cancerous. How far along is his cancer? Is he stage one?

Symptoms:'

Dramatic weight loss

Tumor large enough to measure with bare hands

night sweats

nausea.

headaches

A few weeks ago, when my mother returned from her out of town employment and saw her youngest son, she changed her tune. He looks absolutely awful. She immediately drug him to his doctor. They agreed to go for the scan and biopsies.

Then she left again.

When I queried as to the status of his appointments, my brother informed me that they were merely waiting for funding to fly him to the hospital.

So I arranged, with the doctors help, to fund his ticket and travel expenses.

My brother then informed me that he cant go, as the radiation will induce weight loss and that he fears further weight loss might kill him.

I informed him that lymphoma, when untreated, will kill him. Weight loss at this point is moot.

He then informed me he needs to move 14 hours south first, before going to the hospital.

I have had to accept the obvious. My brother is NOT going to get treatment until it is likely too late. He WILL always have an excuse as to why he cannot go to the hospital.

At 21 years of age (22 if he makes it through summer), my brother has given up on living.

Not even for his toddler son, whom he is the sole provider for, will he consider seeking treatment.

He and my mother are bound and determined that they will cure him with 'positive thinking' 'vitamin therapy' and 'applied kineisiology'.

It breaks my heart.

And how, I ask-how in the hell will I be able to even speak to my mother after my brother dies? How can I let go of the belief that she encouraged, bullied and brainwashed him into CAM, into believing that doctors are out to get him...

Update from Woo Hell

First Irony:

My home page quote of the day was:

"Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.

- Bertrand Russell"

I have now had my brother's baby for 6 weeks (less three and 1/2 days).

My brother has, thus far, refused any and all standard, mainstream medical treatment.

I spent a week bullying my brother for the baby's healthcare card. (Keep in mind he still wont let me take the crib.) The trouble is that the little one is screaming his head off with each and every bowel movement. I noticed what appears to be a small anal tear when I changed his diaper. He also has not seen a doctor since he was 6 weeks old.

Finally, last night, my brother relented. (I shamelessly bribed him with a ride). So this morning we headed off to the local clinic with the baby and his health care card.

Interestingly enough the doctor we saw at walk in also happens to be my brother's doctor.

He had many questions for me-he was very concerned with my brothers well being. The oncologist has been trying to set up appointments for my brother. I shared what my brother had told me (that he cant go until his social worker arranges for his plane ticket to get there).

I told the doctor I will pay. Just get him to agree to go. It sounds to me as if the doctor has been calling, and his calls are being ignored.

The kind doctor looked at David. He explained the tearing is from being constipated, and will take some time to heal. He prescribed a topical cream that will relax the anal muscles, numb the area and allow it to heal-as well as a medicine to soften the babies stool (not a laxative).

We reassured him that yes, we were feeding the baby properly at our home.

I get home and call my brother and let him know what the dr says. He says to go ahead and get the prescriptions. (Gee thanks bro, would have done that anyways). I tell him that his trip is all set, but that he needs to let his doctor know that he is going to GO.

He says he needs to know that the treatment wont make him loose anymore weight-he is pretty sure he wont survive if he looses any more weight. I point out that the cancer will kill him faster than weight loss. He ignores me and continues on about how much weight he has lost and blah blah.

At this point, I just gave up. There will always be an excuse. There will always be a reason why he wont get help.

He then asks me to keep the baby for a few more days. (still no crib)

I think I am going to have to go to court and keep the baby.