In 1999, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

A few treatment options were discussed. My father opted for the "wait and see" approach, because this particular type of cancer was slow-acting and some men could live with it for years, given the fact that my father was in his mid-70's.

Four years later, a small spot was found on his lung.

During the course of this time, he had decisions to make because he was faced with a life threatening illness. The small spot grew to a large tumor which was biopsied and diagnosed as a cancerous tumor.

Now his PSA blood levels increased and he had a lung tumor the size of an apple which needed medical attention. He was presented with radiation treatment to reduce the size of the tumor which my father agreed to with hope that this would help him.

He became very weak, developed a cough (a side effect from the radiation treatments) and left his back scorched. Blistered, and darkened like brown shoe leather. Several weeks into the radiation treatment, he developed shingles causing him a great deal of pain, in addition to the side effects he was experiencing from his radiation treatments. He also developed an intense shooting pain up his arm which we thought was from the shingles, but later learned that he had a tear in his rotator cuff as well as a tumor in his neck in a place that could not be radiated due to it's location.

On January 9, 2002, he came into the house, sat in a chair and had no color in his face. He couldn't move and seemed disoriented. We rushed him to the hospital's emergency room and he revived a little through the IV's that were administered.

Tests were done, medications were given, and high doses of pain killers were administered. It seemed as though no matter what was done the odds of him coming out of all this would not happen.

He was drugged for pain control, not eating, and worst of all wasting away. At that time, hope was somehow not an option. He was placed on hospice which is another story in itself. To say the least, my family and I experienced a nightmare watching our father suffer: feeling helpless and in despair, as if it was beyond our control and out of our hands. He was released from the hospital and brought home on a stretcher still in agonizing pain with a morphine IV drop. He made his transition on Wednesday, February 6, 2002.

Throughout my father's illness, I kept buying books or other written works about cancer and treatments. He even tried one of the recommended cancer herbs, Essiac which we brewed together. At the time I didn't know or realize why all this information was coming to me, but two months after his death all these sources were put together and my inner guidance said to put it on a website. That was more than a year and a half ago.

Sharing my story is not an easy thing to do. It brings back the pain and suffering of that experience and grieving over the loss of a parent, as well as a part of myself.

But if it can in some way, at some level help another person facing the same or similar situation then so be it.

Most of my life has been devoted to teaching primary age children, but I was also interested in medicine and complimentary healing modalities, so in 1996 I went back to school, completed course work, and received my Master's Degree in Public Health in 1999, a very fulfilling endeavor

Words cannot describe or convey what it is like to watch someone you love suffer because there is so much emotional turmoil, pain and a feeling of being helpless.

The end of my father's earthly life and loosing him is the beginning of my Public Health work and service. A commitment was made to provide this information as a public outreach to cancer patients and all those who work with and/or care for them.

It is time to know the truth and erase this degenerative disease as well as incompetent treatments which may have claimed the lives of so many because of incorrect knowledge/decisions regarding the true care of a person's well being.

The resources of written materials can educate, enlighten and make one more aware of the nature of disease/illness.

Disclaimer

The information contained herein is intended as a reference directory for educational purposes only, not as medical prevention, advice, diagnosis, prescription, treatment, or cure. It is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health.

It is not intended as a substitute for any treatments your doctor may have prescribed. It offers choices for you to explore with your health care practitioner. It offers the health care industry choices to explore with their patients.