Help Lisa Brisse's Healing Journey

Lisa's Story...

So as many of you know, Lisa Brisse, my dear friend and colleague of many years, has been dealing with a recurrence of cancer for the past few months (since June). You might remember that Lisa was originally diagnosed in August of 2019, had surgery (a complete hysterectomy), and amazingly enough—in the spirit of Lisa that we all know—within a couple of months, she healed from her cancer naturally through various holistic treatments (acupuncture, meditation, bioenergy healing, oxygen therapy, vitamin C IV’s, a specific anti-cancer diet along with lots of supplementation, as well as deep emotional and spiritual work). By mid-October of 2019, all of Lisa’s blood work and tumor marker numbers were normal. This was all in addition to her having to deal with a major staph infection in her incision due to some errant inner sutures.

Lisa had continued all of her treatments and good health through March, when Covid struck and changed the entire world. In an effort to keep herself in isolation, Lisa stopped the majority of her treatments, other than things she could do on her own­... meditation, supplements, and emotional work, etc.

Unfortunately, after months of feeling well, in June her cancer was back. You can imagine how incredibly devastating this was for her and all of us who know and love her; it was a serious blow.

Throughout the months of July and August, she was doing major research and consultations with various doctors and schools of thought, including her naturopathic oncologist, and at the end of August decided that doing low-dose chemo treatments at the Cancer Center for Healing in Irvine made the most sense to her, based on her own vast knowledge of the body and its physiology. Plus, the Center is in alignment with her profound belief in treating the whole person and all aspects of health, not just the symptom (cancer), as conventional western medicine has a tendency to do...not even recognizing the profound effect that diet, stress, and emotions have on one’s health.

After weekly low dose chemo treatments in September (which were helping), on October 6th, Lisa was struck with an unexpected and sudden surgery to take care of an unobstructed bowel! She was in the hospital for 7 days on IV fluids. Fortunately they fixed the bowel, fixed her hernia that was causing problems since last January, and removed 80% of the cancer. However, as of a CT scan on November 6th, it revealed that regular chemo would be needed to help treat the remaining cancer. Lisa had her first treatment on November 12th while she continues all of her other supportive and supplemental therapies to help her immune system through this process. See the latest update (November 16th).

Those of us who are in her close supportive circle see all the tireless work and commitment from her in her desire to get to the root cause of this dis-ease and to give her body the best support in healing. Unfortunately, at this point, many of these supportive treatments (acupuncture, hyperthermia therapy, curcumin and vitamin c therapy, emotional therapy, supplements, etc) are not covered by insurance. Hence, the huge financial strain on Lisa and her family who are doing their best to give her the treatment she needs. Here are some of the costs:

1. Acupuncture 2x/week: $180 ($720/month)

2. Energy medicine sessions 1x/week: $185 ($740/month)

3. Curcumin IV therapy: 2x/week: $1600/month

4. Monthly supplements: ~$500/month

5. Mistletoe injections: $450/month

6. Monthly consultations with Dr. Heidi Lucas (Naturopathic Oncologist): $400

7. Periodic consultations with Dr. Erin Connealy at the Cancer Center for Healing: $600/month

8. Other periodic therapies as needed such as emotional/spiritual counseling: ~$400/month

9. Medical expenses not covered by insurance 

Estimated expenses/month: $7000

These costs don’t include Lisa’s rent, food, and other living expenses which come to another

$4000/month.

As you all know, Lisa is one of the most positive, uplifting, and determined people we know. She loves life and even in this, the darkest chapter of her life, she has tremendous faith in the higher purpose of all this not only for her personal growth but also for the experience and wisdom she can share with others on this journey. Her path has been nothing short of courageous and brave, and despite her dark moments—yes, she is human and we have all seen the huge up and down emotional toll this has taken on her—she continues to step into each moment with an open heart and mind so that she can learn all she can...and heal.

For those of you who have already offered your financial support in the past year—the Brisse family wants to thank you from the bottom of their hearts. Please know, they also greatly appreciate all of your love and prayers, too! All is felt and received with grace! Thank you.

If any of you would like to participate in Lisa's pre-recorded exercise classes on YouTube, you can find them here: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcsEhxXBflNvx9Q_jnDxCBA?view_as=subscriber

Once again, on behalf of Lisa, her family and all of us, her support team, we greatly appreciate any help you feel called to offer. Thank you. 

xoxo

Gigi