October 24, 2007

I started a curcumin regimen on June 27, which didn’t seem to help a lot. On September 15, I made these changes:

• Added Low-dose Naltrexone (LDN) as another complementary treatment;

• Nearly doubled the effective dose of curcumin by replacing some standard curcumin with a more-potent variety from Life Extension;

• Switched to a mostly-vegetarian diet with almost no gluten, to manage c-reactive protein.

Today’s test results were the most encouraging in two years:

• IgG is DOWN 13%;

• Serum calcium is down significantly, now well within the normal range;

• Creatinine (kidney marker) is the lowest I’ve seen it in four years; and

• Free lambda light chains and “spike” (SPEP) are essentially unchanged, certainly not up.

Actual values from key tests are displayed graphically in the charts and numerically in the test result table. At bottom, it appears that the cancer has retreated slightly in the five weeks of the latest treatment.

Doc and I had quite a different discussion today. He was really quite surprised, and naturally pleased, that the new alternative treatments seemed to make a difference. Where before he had reluctantly given me a five-week prescription of LDN, this time he readily agreed to a three-month prescription. He used the term “stable” (I love that word) and sent me on my way.

Next appointment is the first week of January - I’m continuing the same treatment and hoping for the best. Meantime, I figure on living life to the fullest. Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece!