Rick and his wife Beth came to see me after battling stage IV colon cancer for over four years. Rick had been through all of the conventional treatments available and the cancer had metastasized to his liver. Rick was about to embark on a very serious round of chemotherapy combining three heavy duty chemo drugs in an effort to push back a tumor that had taken up residence in the bile duct of his liver. If they couldn't get this tumor under control, Rick was looking at liver failure. The goal was for Rick to stabilize stage IV colon cancer and avoid liver failure.
Rick's Main Complaint
This case was about stabilization to save Rick's life. If the tumor grew to a point where the bile duct was blocked, his liver would shut down and he would lose his battle. Beyond the tumor in the liver, Rick was also facing a very rough round of chemotherapy that would also threaten his already frail body. The urgency here was palpable and Rick and Beth were very concerned.
If this wasn't enough, we had one more emergency situation to content with in this case. Cachexia. Rick was cachexic from following a vegan template while his cancer was very active. Cachexia is a metabolic state where the cancer sends out signals hijacking an otherwise normal process called gluconeogenesis telling the body to break down muscle in order to create glucose (sugar) to feed the cancer. Cachexia is a very dangerous state of muscle wasting and by some estimates, nearly one-third of cancer deaths can be attributed to cachexia.
In order to get Rick through chemotherapy to address the tumor in the liver and avoid liver failure, we had to also pull him out of his cachexic state and build up his strength.
Our Approach
Since Rick was starting a new round of chemotherapy, we started by working him into a therapeutic state of ketosis to protect his healthy cells, mitigate side effects, undermine the cancerous cells, and amplify the effectiveness of the chemotherapy. Since he was in a cachexic state, we increased overall calories to allow for more protein and had him eat every hour to get enough fat and protein.
Then it was a matter of gathering the data. Test, assess, address, don't guess! We ran blood chemistry with his oncology team and ran his genes. We then used this data to personalize his diet. We removed foods that were problematic according to his labs and DNA at the time like dairy and red meat and added foods that were supportive like lots of phytonutrient-rich foods like greens and fresh herbs.
Rick's Review
Working with Heather and utilizing the metabolic approach alongside my treatments has been a game changer. I've done this kind of chemotherapy in the past and I was sick as a dog. This time was totally different, I actually felt pretty good and wasn't sick at all. The chemo also worked better. We were able to completely get rid of the tumor in my bile duct and avoid liver failure. I even managed to beat cachexia, gain weight and, regain my strength. I'm so grateful to have found Heather and change my nutrition to be anti-cancer.
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Rick stabilized stage IV colon cancer and avoided liver failure by optimizing his terrain. If you’d like to work with me, I’d love to chat and learn more about your health goals.
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