Help Kara Sorensen heal

As you may know, I was diagnosed with lung cancer in July. Symptoms of a sore left shoulder, unrelated to anything biomechanical, led to this eventual diagnosis. The news was a horrible shock and the months since have proven very challenging - with a dollop of Covid challenge on top.

From the beginning, I decided to approach this holistically with an integrative approach that includes alternative as well as conventional medicine and I have gathered a team of medical professionals to help guide me on this journey. I am doing all that I can to treat this from all angles - physical, emotional, spiritual - and learning a lot along the way. In September I began chemotherapy treatments, and after enduring all the horror that chemo entails, I found out last week through a CT scan that the immunotherapy/chemotherapy protocol I have been on is not working. Although my cancer has not metastasized to distal parts of my body & remains contained within my left lung, it has spread throughout the lining of the lung (the pleura) & has created effusion (fluid) in the pleural cavity. This is where it has been located since diagnosis and due to the pleural involvement it has always been considered advanced & inoperable.


As we (Ned, my beloved & I) navigate this terrain, we are confronted by the financial demand. It has been a very costly 6 months. Moving forward from here, we require more tests ( each range from $3000-$8000) to determine if we might find some targeted therapies for me and also to determine if I qualify for some clinical trials (each trial company requires a different test). Chemotherapy drugs bought privately can cost up to $20,000 for a single dose, immunotherapy is the same or more, and each drug may require several doses. From months of research, it appears most optimal for me to travel abroad to a residential cancer treatment centre for integrated care. These centres are costly, yet have high success rates in treating cancer. I know of somebody who was diagnosed at the same time as me with the same cancer, who has been at a clinic in Germany since July, and although $150,000 in, his cancer is almost gone. I am hoping for the same opportunity & outcome. Depending on what comes from the tests & trials, it may also be advisable for me to spend time in Vancouver.


For now, I am continuing treatments with naturopaths, private oncologists, a naturopathic oncologist, acupuncturist, massage therapists and an integrative health specialist. I receive a number of treatments each week and am taking a plethora of supplements, tinctures & teas. Doing all that I can. Cancer is very complex, intricate & tricky. Each individual’s lung cancer is different from another’s. We have spent hours researching to determine the particular gene expressions of my particular cancer, it’s mutations & resistance, all of which can change along the way. 


I am kindly asking for your support, to help in our quest to keep me alive & well. Please, what I wish & request more than anything, is that you see me well. Please see me as healthy, vibrant & alive (not as sick) as capable of healing, of finding if not a cure, a way of living & thriving with what I’m dealing with, of living a full & healthy life. I believe in the power of the collective, the power of the mind & the power of our intention and attention. I have a strong desire to live, to carry on living this life, on our exquisite earth, with my beloved spouse & children, my beautiful family and my cherished group of friends. I thank-you for supporting me, for seeing me well, and for being a part of my precious life.


Love, love, love,
Kara