I am 72 years old. I live alone, and work full time in a medical laboratory as a cytotechnologist. I use a microscope to screen slides of cells to look for cancer. My work is very rewarding because by finding that someone has cancer early, they can be treated more effectively, and hopefully be able to cure their disease. I have been working at this for the past 27 years. I decided to commit to the treatment, which offered much more hope, and has a much higher success rate for treating my type of cancer. Because it is considered an alternative type of treatment, my insurance will not pay for my medical expenses. I took out a loan at my credit union that got me through the first month. I have also emptied out my 401k account (retirement), and am trying to get a second mortgage on my home. The cost of my cancer treatments is about $7,000/week. I have had to miss two IPT treatments to date due to being out of money to be able to pay for it. I try very sincerely to be able to pay my own way in life. Though I would prefer to not have to ask for help, the reality of my situation is that the cost of this treatment is beyond my means. I really need assistance in order to be able to overcome this deadly disease. I would very much like to continue to live, contribute as a productive member of society, and to help and encourage other people who are up against circumstances similar to those that I am going through. Thank you in advance for caring.
Later in life, I began a journey of struggling with various health issues of my own. At age 53, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. At 67, I had a heart attack, that required open heart double bypass surgery. More recently , at 71, I was diagnosed with two new cancers simultaneously. Both prostate, and lung cancer. The tumor in my lung had gotten large enough to block an airway, which made the right upper lobe of my lung collapse. Surgery was able to successfully remove both the cancer and the right upper lobe of my lung (a thoracotomy). The prostate cancer was treated by implanting radiation “seeds” (brachytherapy). Up to this point, I had been able to take care of my medical expenses using my medical insurance, and my own finances from working. I remained cancer free for about a year. Then multiple small nodules began to show up on my CT scans in the lower lobe of my other lung. A biopsy showed it to be the same cancer, it had spread (metastasized). I met with the oncologist at a highly reputable cancer center. I learned that due to the presentation (multiple nodules), neither surgery nor radiation would work. He recommended that I begin a full course of chemotherapy. When I asked him what his prognosis was, he told me that “we consider it to be incurable. The best we can hope for is to slow it down, and try to manage it.” This was unacceptable to me. I thought, there has to be something else that I can do to overcome this cancer. I began to seek alternative treatment options. Through a mutual friend, I learned of a clinic right here in Phoenix that uses an alternative treatment called IPT (insulin potentiated therapy). After researching the clinic (Euromed foundation integrated oncology) I scheduled a visit, and met with the staff and toured the facility. I was very impressed and positively encouraged. .
