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In 1996, I had a basal cell carcinoma on my forehead. At the time, I was told there was a 90% chance the skin cancer would be cured with the biopsy procedure. Well, I was part of the unlucky 10% and required further Mohs surgery to fully excise the tumor. I now have a 2 centimeter long scar on my forehead (and don't look forward to others). For the next several years, I did not have a recurrence. In early April 2001, I noticed an irritated, itchy, scaly patch on my forehead. It later developed into a pink or red lesion that would not heal. As time went on, it became apparent the lump was growing and I felt it was either squamous cell carcinoma or basal cell carcinoma. In late May 2001, I made an appointment with my dermatologist. His next appointment was late June 2001. Before the appointment, I tested some topical treatment ideas on my own because I wanted to avoid further surgery and scarring. I tried tretinoin (Retin-A). I tried applying an ice cube directly on the tumor for about twenty minutes a night. I tried an alpha hydroxy skin cream. I tried a copper peptide skin cream. None of these treatments were successful at healing the lesion. Three days before my dermatologist appointment, the growth was about 0.8 cm in diameter in the middle of my forehead above my eyebrows. I also felt a slight burning or stinging sensation associated with the lesion, which now seemed to be growing rapidly. At this point, I was very self-conscious of the tumor and quite anxious that my doctor appointment was still days away. I had become familiar with my wife's makeup kit to soften the appearance of the lesion. I suppose things could have been worse, but it still was not much fun. I wondered to God why he had made me prone to skin cancer, and why it had to be in such a conspicuous location. I was now resigned to another surgical removal, and was actually looking forward to it. I then happened to try applying a mosquito bite remedy we had in our medicine cabinet named Cymilium® to the skin growth just before going to bed. I did not get much sleep that night, awakening frequently to urinate. I kept reapplying the Cymilium. By morning, I noticed that the burning or stinging sensation associated with the lesion had lessened. I continued the frequent applications until my dermatologist appointment a couple of days later. By the time of the appointment, the appearance of the skin growth had changed slightly. It was more sharply defined and darker than before. Nevertheless, it remained about the same size. I did not say anything regarding my new treatment to the doctor, knowing it probably would not be well received and because I did not yet understand why it might be working (if it was indeed working). The doctor said it appeared to him to be a squamous cell carcinoma, possibly precancerous. He recommended a biopsy as the only way to ascertain the diagnosis. The biopsy would leave a scar. I asked if there were any topical treatments available instead of the surgery. He had none he would recommend because he felt they were ineffective. As an option, he offered a referral to another dermatologist that was perhaps more open to alternative treatments and could perform the biopsy (but in another 7 weeks). Now I was faced with a dilemma regarding the surgical removal of the lesion via the biopsy. I could have the biopsy done and be finished with the problem. Or wait another 7 weeks to see the referral doctor. How big would this skin growth be in 7 more weeks? Was I just in denial to think my new remedy was actually working? Did I mention God in this story so far? Before the doctor visit, I was trying to find something effective against the lesion. I asked God for a solution and offered to spread the news of the remedy. I also prayed that I would make the right decision in the doctor's office. I decided to make the referral appointment instead of getting the biopsy done immediately in order to see what would happen with the topical Cymilium. I signed up for the next available appointment in 7 weeks with the referral dermatologist. After about a week of the Cymilium applications, and with the tumor now definitely smaller than it was before, I switched to an alternate mixture based on a pancreatin contact lens cleaning solution (SupraClens). I switched because I had developed a theory based on the pancreatin connection I noticed through internet searches. I wanted to identify and verify the real active ingredients. However, I was more concerned with knocking out the cancer and my scientific method in this case was not even close to perfect. Other factors may have been involved such as applying sunscreen and continuing to apply Cymilium at times. A problem for me was deciding when and how to stop the applications. Stopping the therapy too soon poses the danger that the cancer is not completely eradicated so it can return or even spread elsewhere. By continuing the therapy for too long, healthy skin is exposed to relatively high levels of pancreatin enzymes and possibly damaged and/or digested by the enzymes. The resultant skin damage at the cancer site from using the pancreatin may then end up worse than the scarring that would result from standard surgical removal. I continued applying the pancreatin mixture for about a month after the apparent disappearance of the lump, but less frequently and with a more dilute mixture. It would have been easy for me to cancel the referral dermatologist visit, but I went anyway in late August 2001 to be "officially" certain I no longer had a problem and was healed. Both a nurse practitioner and a second dermatologist examined me. I was handed a mirror and asked to point to the location where the lesion was previously. While there was evidence the lesion was once there because the skin at the site was slightly darker than the surrounding skin, they both agreed "There is nothing to biopsy there." I told them about my home remedy therapy with the pancreatin. I am sure they were skeptical but they seemed mildly interested and respectful about it. I self-treated several other apparent skin cancers over the years with various topical home remedies. Bolstered by the success of the topical skin cancer treatments, I expanded to longer term skin cancer prevention measures and systemic cancer treatment protocols. I began investigating alternative cancer treatments in earnest when my brother in law David was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I saw firsthand how ineffective conventional cancer treatments were in his case and how his doctors kept fueling a false hope for a recovery. With about a 5% chance of recovery using their methods under the best of circumstances, his doctors even had the audacity to ridicule the effectiveness of alternative treatments they obviously knew nothing about. David died at age 43 after closely following his team of doctors' conservative protocol involving radiation and chemotherapy, as hundreds of thousands of people with cancer repeat every year with the same result. Although I am sure his doctors had the best intentions for David, none of his doctors showed up at his funeral. I guess they would not have much time for doctoring if they had to go to funerals. My consolation is that David died as a new follower of Jesus of Nazareth, the gatekeeper of heaven. And that I will see him again. |
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This information is intended to heighten awareness of potential health care alternatives and should not be considered as medical advice. See your qualified health-care professional for medical attention, advice, diagnosis, and treatments. © Copyright 2007 Topicalinfo All rights reserved. |