The beginning

In August of 2013 I went for a mammogram, little did I know this would change my life forever. Within a week I was called back in for further assessment.  After another mammogram and an ultrasound I was told I needed a biopsy, that I had micro calcifications that may indicate cancer.  I was given rates of only 20% of those micro calcifications are cancer so there was nothing to worry about.  I had a steriotactic-guided core biopsy. As you can imagine waiting for the results was stressful.  I finally received the call and over the phone, while I was at work, I was told you have breast cancer, you will need either a lumpectomy, radiation and tamoxifen or a mastectomy.  At 49 this is not something I wanted to hear and despite the fear I was going to deal with this logically. I was told to go see a surgical oncologist.  I was stunned and scared, I was healthy, I ate mostly organic food, I had been a vegetarian for 32 years and I ran miles and miles a week.  How could this happen to me?  I had two children who needed a mother.

The next day I asked for a copy of the pathology report.  I had to do my own research as to what I was diagnosed with.  The report said Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, grade 1, ER and PR positive.  I turned to the Internet, I had never heard of DCIS and did not understand what this meant.  After much research I saw that this was a controversial diagnosis, that there were some doctors who did not agree with the current standard of care and that some advocated an approach of monitoring. That monitoring approach was for me.  I made an appointment with a surgical oncologist recommended by my primary care doctor.  The surgeon had the bedside manner of an ape.  My proposal of monitoring was scoffed at.  If I did not have surgery I would die, I had cancer after all. But I felt perfectly fine, except for the lump from the biopsy, I did not feel like I would die anytime soon.  I certainly was not taking this lightly either, I had two close friends who had died from breast cancer, both having gone through conventional treatment.  This surgeon was not for me.

I went to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa near where I live.   Given that this was also a research center it surely would be interested in following someone who wanted monitoring.  Well I was met with the same standard of care, my options were lumpectomy, radiation and tamoxifen or mastectomy or death.  I was told not to read what was on the Internet, that the doctor's knew better. Something did not seem right to me with all this, I felt perfectly fine, I had no lump.  I started my research on cancer.  I found many accounts of people who had cured their cancer through a multitude of methods, however, many had some type of conventional intervention before turning to alternative means.  I did not want surgery, in fact my gut intuition was telling me to run from these doctors.  I was determined to come up with a way around it.  Having the surgery made no sense to me, it did not address the underlying issue that caused this cancer to begin with.   I decided to find what was wrong with my body.  That was 17 months ago and I am still here, healthy as ever and have decided to start my blog with my story mainly so other women who wanted a non surgical path could follow. My story starts here, there will be many other posts with details of my discoveries and progress.