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When I was sixty-five years old in 1998 a doctor prescribed HRT for me. Towards the end of 2000 during a visit by my sister from Germany, I had gone for a routine check-up and the doctor found a small lump in my right breast. A needle biopsy attempt was unsuccessful so I went to RNH to have a biopsy done. But I ended up having a lumpectomy instead, which found an 11mm oestrogen receptive cancer. This was followed by thirty-two sessions of radiation at the Mater Hospital. (X-rays done in 2003 show that my right lung has scar tissue from the radiation.) Shortly afterwards I joined CISS at the Central Coast branch.

In 2009 specialists again told me that I had oestrogen receptive stage III breast cancer that had now spread into my lymphatic system. Pathology reports revealed that both the first lymph node removed during a further lumpectomy and the second lymph node removed fourteen days later during the mastectomy were cancer free. Within the removed left breast was one small node showing metastasis. Both surgeon and oncologist recommended chemo followed probably by hormone treatment.

Did this one small node lead to their opinion and recommendation for six months chemo followed by five years hormone treatment? I was told that I needed the second operation because the specialist did not realize on 21st April, that the wire marking the breast cancer in the scan was not set in the middle of the cancer. Apparently the many hours spent in “Imaging” on the day (when the lumpectomy for a 15 mm cancer and removal of a lymph node were performed) were a waste of money and time. The ultra-sound pictures would have shown clearly that the wire was 2 mm above the cancer. Like everybody else, doctors make mistakes, hence the saying: doctors bury their mistakes, solicitors sue them. Luckily so far I have survived several mistakes made by specialists and now watch out for pitfalls.

Have you ever considered why you and other people get ill? I believe most of my illnesses are wake-up-calls; it goes cling, cling, here is your friendly body warning you that you are doing something wrong. After last year’s wake-up call from a 15mm lump in my left breast, I knew that I needed help. I realized that the wake-up call affected my whole being.

At CISS over the years, through reading the newsletters, attending some monthly meetings, and visits to Susie in the office, I found support and confirmation of my instincts concerning a wholistic approach to my health, and information on diet, psychological and spiritual factors. Now I had to look for professionals who know about us human beings and the causes for our illnesses; I wanted people who have studied the interaction of mind, body and soul; people who have chosen to treat and care for the whole human being by addressing the underlying causes for our illnesses.

With my well-known determination I made it my priority to find a naturopath with years of experience to help with my diet and supplements for a start. Fortunately, the universe provides when one asks. Antoinette, a naturopath and herbalist, saw me in Newcastle on the 28th April 2009.

My first consultation with the Antoinette lasted 2 hours. She used iridology as one of her diagnostic tools.
Her advice on that day was:
1. To look into what was happening in my life approximately two years ago. (This turned out to be a significant trigger of my health problems)
2. To take all the supplements she had listed.
3. Start a rigorous, gluten-free diet for blood type B, which eliminates pork, chicken, duck, lobster, prawns, smoked salmon, rye, wheat, avocado, potatoes, pumpkin, and tomatoes to name just a few.
She also said that I must have
• 2 cups of fruit
• 4 cups of salad and cooked vegetables and
• 2 slices of fresh pineapple daily.
Drink at least 2 litres of water per day
Walk for at least one hour three times a week.

Antoinette made a home visit on 25th May 2009, just eighteen days after I had left the hospital after a mastectomy. She brought with her another of her diagnostic tools, a machine that gives a Body Composition and Cellular Health Analysis, which is vital for the overall assessment of a patient’s health.
Later, while I was trying to get a grip on my new diet, drinking all that water, doing some exercises, trying to find a good psychologist and learning to attain a deeper level in meditation, she comes waltzing into my home in early July with another brief: You have to lose 7 kg fat and gain 4 kg muscles. I would like to have a picture of me standing there, looking up at Antoinette in sheer disbelief with my mouth wide open.
My body composition and cellular health is improving from month to month. A full medical blood test combined with Antoinette’s test had her say: With the results from the blood test and the other tests, I cannot see that you can have a cancer cell in your body.
Well folks, that is good enough for me.
Think about what you would do: Would you continue to eat and drink the type of food you know is not good for your body and will lead to further illness? Or would you have the strength and tenacity to say no, and keep to a rigorous diet and health regime that is vital for your wellbeing?

I have made my decisions and know that with a practical attitude and perseverance I will continue with my diet and health regime for the rest of my life because I really want to continue enjoying the compliments on my apparently radiant, healthy good looks.

Ken Hillman, professor of intensive care at the University of NSW wrote in his book “Vital Signs”:

“Up to 70 % of people now die in acute hospitals surrounded by well meaning strangers inflicting all that medicine has to offer, often resulting in a painful, distressing and degrading end of life…Once, death was treated as a relatively normal and inevitable experience. It is now a highly medicalised ritual.”

At nearly 77 years of age, I treat death as a normal and inevitable experience and have thoroughly enjoyed living every day over the last twelve months and will continue to refuse offers from “strangers inflicting all that medicine has to offer”.

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