A little hope for Heather

Hello,

My name is Danielle, and I’m here in a sincere effort to raise money for my very dear friend, Heather. Heather and I are nurses and met in 2003 while working in Trauma ICU. We hit it off from the start having so much in common... we even share a birthday! Our friendship has grown tremendously over the last nearly 20 years, we are very much a huge part of each other’s lives, she’s like a sister to me.

Last summer, at only 41 years old and otherwise healthy, Heather was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer. The tumor was causing such issues as bleeding and a change in bowel habits. By September, she was under the care of Memorial Sloan Kettering in Middletown, NJ, meeting with an oncologist, surgeon and radiation oncologist, undergoing more tests and scans, having a port placed in her chest and starting an aggressive course of 3 different kinds of chemotherapy. It was a whirlwind and extremely overwhelming. For 16 weeks until early January 2022, she endured the 8 rounds of aggressive chemo as planned, with each one taking a more grueling toll on her body, mind and spirit.... It left her completely broken.

(Side note: Heather had been working for a physician, running a clinic solo, where she’d been for over a year at the time. Shortly after being told of Heather’s cancer diagnosis, this doctor let her go! Yup, Heather was fired for NO OTHER REASON but for having cancer. Super shitty! I guess the doctor was afraid of healthcare insurance premiums going up or perhaps worried that Heather, at some point, would not be well enough to work even though she was scheduling her chemo around her work schedule and had been effectively working her shifts thus far...who knows. Regardless, amid the worst time in her life and the middle of a 4 month course of chemo, Heather found herself unemployed from her main job, having to rely on a per diem job at the hospital and worried about losing her health benefits.)

The good news was that the tumor had shrunk almost 99%, as per a sigmoidoscopy done at Sloan in early February! Her doctors immediately signed her up to start MSK’s “one size fits all” plan of radiation with oral chemo next. But Heather was so beaten down in every way, she just couldn’t accept that course of treatment at that point in time and thought to herself.... There has got to be a better way.

That is when she found Hope4Cancer, a non-toxic cancer treatment center based out of California with 2 clinics in Mexico. So, she called there to get more information, set up a consultation with the doctor, read the book by the founding physician (a New Jersey native!), learned about their 7 key principles and the rationale behind the treatments, diet and lifestyle changes... and before I knew it, I was on a plane with her to Cancun! On the first day at H4C, her doctor did the most thorough head-to-toe physical examination she had ever experienced, both as a nurse and as a patient. She had bloodwork and an ultrasound of her entire neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis. In the following days she had more testing like a full body thermography, hair analysis, and started all the treatments. I stayed for the first week, her friend Andrea came for the last week, and Heather enjoyed some solitude and the company of fellow H4C patients in between... she was there for 3 weeks total.

(Another side note: Some of the non-toxic therapies at H4C included.... Mulitple different IV treatments (including high dose Vitamin C), ultraviolet blood irradiation, coffee enemas, rectal ozone, infrared light therapy, full body and localized hyperthermia, lymphatic massage, full body red light therapy, pulsed electro-magnetic field therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, sono-photo dynamic therapy, ultrasound, whole body vibration, and more! Also, consults with a nutritionist and an emotional therapist, and all organic juices and foods for breakfast and lunch. She left there with a custom-designed home regimen of diet, supplements, and treatments specific to her (UV light therapy, Ultrasound, coffee enemas, hyperthermia, immunotherapy injections, rectal ozone and more!) that she has faithfully continued since leaving H4C in early March. I’ve never seen anyone more committed to something than Heather following her assigned regimen!)

About a month after returning home from H4C in March, she underwent yet another sigmoidoscopy at Sloan, and the tumor was completely gone! We were so excited with the news, she was literally jumping up and down once everyone left the room! So far, so good! She continued to keep up with all of her home treatments, supplement regimen, strict diet, emotional and mental health work, and much more to ensure her cancer stayed away. In June, she flew back to Cancun for a week for her 3 month follow-up and had some treatments while there. All testing showed “NED”... no evidence of disease! It was working! At this point, she knew for sure that this was the right track for her, personally. Everyone has their own “cancer journey”....this was hers.

That brings us to the present time. In late August, Heather had another MRI and CT scan, both were suspicious of tumor regrowth. She followed up with another sigmoidoscopy in early September, and it was confirmed that the tumor was regrowing... about 10% at this time. Not good news. She was devastated, as you can imagine. She has since met with all 3 of her MSK doctors and had a zoom call with her H4C doctor. As expected, they have entirely conflicting treatment plans. MSK wants to move forward immediately with starting radiation to the rectal area tumor, which would entail 30 sessions every Monday through Friday for 6 weeks, along with oral chemo on radiation days. She’d have “off” on weekends. Aside from a brutal 6 weeks (plus many weeks following), the potential (many, probable or inevitable) side effects are truly overwhelming and life-altering. Then, on the other hand, her Hope4Cancer doctor’s plan would include returning to H4C as soon as possible for a 2 week (at least) stay. In addition to the treatments she’s been doing there, they would add a traditional Chinese medicine herbal protocol used to treat colorectal cancer specifically, mistletoe injections, curcumin infusions, IV laser treatments and more... and most importantly, a procedure (ablation) to remove the tumor. Side effects would be minimal and brief, if any.

Heather has devoted tens and tens of thousands of dollars to her cancer care. She’s at a crossroads here, trying to decide in which direction to go as far as dealing with this tumor. It's either the Sloan Kettering way or the Hope4Cancer way ...then hope for the best with either route. I am here as her friend and companion through this nightmare to raise money for her care moving forward. She also still has lots of cancer treatment bills that she’s not been able to pay yet, and is having trouble meeting her typical day-to-day bills now as well. In the wake of litigation, the doctor she used to work for had agreed to cover her health insurance until the end of the year. So, come January, she will be taking on the vast added expense of paying for the continuation of her healthcare benefits, which she obviously cannot go without. She’s considering “selling everything”, even her home, to give herself the best chance at beating this. Heather feels very much alone in the world. Her parents are deceased, and her only sister lives 5 hours away. Her unwavering, core and local support system is limited to myself and a few others who have been alongside her through everything thus far. She’s not sure yet if she will do the traditional radiation and oral chemo here with Sloan or non-toxic treatment in Mexico. She has follow-up phone calls set up with both MSK and H4C to discuss both options/treatment plans, which hopefully will help her make a decision soon. Even if she decides to go the MSK route with chemo-radiation, she can still go to Mexico afterward for supportive care and therapies to optimize her body, mind and immune system post radiation treatment, which will cost a lot of money. No matter what she chooses, she needs our help! Please consider donating to her cancer battle, whichever way it takes her. "A little hope for Heather" ...every little bit helps, it all adds up!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I will be back with updates.

Sincerely,

Danielle