Sunday 24 February 2013

Shalini's medical bulletin - Update, February 22, 2013



The 4th dose of the first round of the changed chemotherapy was administered to Com. Shalini in the Dharmshila hospital on February 21. She is still on liquid diet due to the continued vomiting. Dr. Anish Maru who is supervising her treatment says that she would feel vomiting sensation for the next 2-3 days due to the side effect of chemotherapy. She has to again visit the hospital on 7th March for the next round of chemotherapy. Her homeopathy treatment is continuing and a part of the fruit therapy (the liquid part) has been restarted. Meanwhile we have sent Shalini's medical reports to all those doctors from Delhi, Mumbai and abroad with whom we have been taking consultation since the beginning. In the field of allopathic health-care, all the doctors have so far given us the opinion that the treatment going on in the Dharmshila hospital is accurate and in this condition the same treatment would be administered anywhere else as well. Yet, after the third chemotherapy we would go to the institutes of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to take consultation from the doctors. Several friends have given us suggestions regarding alternative treatments. If, with the consultation of the experienced friends, it is possible to carry on any of them along with the current treatment, we would start them as well.

Shalini's medical bulletin - Update, February 21, 2013

Com. Shalini was admitted to the Dharmshila hospital on 13th February for the second round of chemotherapy. She had a complaint of vomiting sensation. In the earlier reports there were indications that the primary site of cancer was in the ovary/EHB System. Serum 19.9 which was increased to 9089 earlier has shot up to 55801 which is an indication of the spread of the disease.  
The tumour board of the hospital discussed the issue again and decided to change the chemotherapy. She was administered with 3 doses of chemotherapy between 14 and 16th February. Also, medicines were given for the recurrent vomiting after which there was improvement in her condition. According to the doctors, Shalini tolerated the chemotherapy very well and she was discharged from the hospital in a stable condition on 17th February. The 4th dose is expected to be given on 21st February. Meanwhile her homeopathy treatment is also continuing. However, due to being admitted in the hospital and the vomiting sensation there was a gap of 6 days in taking the fruit therapy.

Shalini's Medical Bulletin – Update, 11 February 2013
Since the primary site of the cancer could not be confirmed in the report of biopsy conducted on 23rd January, Immunohistochemistry tests were conducted on the basis of the same biopsy. We received the report of these tests on 5th February seeing which the doctors said that the primary site could be somewhere in the Extra Hepatic Biliary System. But they are of the view that on its basis there is no need to change the medicine in the next round of chemotherapy or any other change in the treatment.
Owing to the tumour, the problem of stomach being filled with Acitic fluid remains intact and since the last chemotherapy Shalini had to be taken to the hospital twice for removing the fluid. Doctors hope that there would be reduction in it after the second round of chemo. Meanwhile there has been some improvement in Shalini's symptoms; as compared to earlier now she can take some food and can drink some amount of water, but the pain in the body has gone up. Also, the side effects of chemotherapy have begun to surface.
She has been continuously taking the homeopathic medicine and Dr. Jitendra Sharma has been giving the consultation from time to time. Fruit therapy is going on as well. Shalini has to be admitted to the hospital on the morning of 13th February where some tests would be performed before administering the chemotherapy.
So far, all the experts with whom we could take consultation have this to say that the ongoing treatment in the Dharmshila hospital is absolutely fine and the same treatment would be performed if she is taken to any other place. But as far as possible we are continuously trying to take consultation from other experts as well. At the same time we are also exploring other alternative health-care options. If some friends know about any effective and empirically proved treatment, kindly do let us know.

Shalini's medical bulletin - February 2, 2013

It was in the second week of January that we got to know that Shalini has cancer. On the basis of the tests conducted in Lucknow between 9th and 13th January, doctors told us that it was the third stage of ovarian cancer. After this she was re-examined in the Dharmshila hospital in Delhi. During this re-examination the doctors found that her cancer is overgrown and metastasis (the process of spreading of the cancerous cells to other parts of the body) has begun in the bones. Even after several tests being performed since 18th January, the doctors are yet not able to say with certainty as to what is the source of cancer. But they feel that it is not a simple case of ovarian cancer.
Even after the biopsy conducted on 23rd January, it could not ascertained. But the doctors started with chemotherapy on 23rd itself. The report of Immuno-histochemistry tests based on the same biopsy would be made available on 4th February which would hopefully confirm the source of cancer. On the basis of this report there could be a change in the medicine in the next round of chemotherapy.
According to the doctors, curative treatment of Shalini's cancer is not possible and they can only provide palliative treatment (for extending the life span and giving relief from symptoms). She was given the first dose of chemotherapy on 23-24 January. Doctors say that based on the response of the three rounds of chemotherapy with an interval of 21 days, they would take decision about the subsequent treatment. Owing to the pelvic tumour, Shalini's stomach gets filled with ascitic fluid which needs to be removed at the interval of 3-4 days. She has become weak and she suffers from body-ache.
All the reports of Shalini have been sent to several experts including Dr. Seema Medhi of Tata Memorial Cancer Institute Mumbai, Dr. Murad E. Lala of Hinduja hospital Mumbai, Dr. Hemant Malhotra of Leelavati Hospital Mumbai, Dr. Prontik Das who is doing research on clinical oncology in Ireland and Dr. Arup Manglik from US and all of them believe that the ongoing treatment is appropriate and fine. The new reports in future will also be sent to these experts for their opinion. At the same time we are also trying to take the opinion of the doctors of the Rotary Medical Centre of AIIMS and the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute.
Meanwhile we have also started homeopathic treatment for Shalini. Dr. Jitendra Sharma from Jagadhari (Haryana) is confident that Shalini will benefit from his treatment. He has successfully treated some serious cancer patients and from last few months he is also treating a patient suffering from metastatic cancer and this treatment is yielding beneficial result. Dr. Sharma is a Marxist and apart from being aware of the modern health-care techniques he also understands the limitations of homeopathy and he is also aware about the research and development in this field. He remains in touch with Shalini over phone and gives the necessary suggestions.

Besides, Shalini is also provided with fruit therapy in which the pulp of a food named Guyabano or soursop and the tea made of its leaves need to be taken on regular basis. In the decade of 1970s the National Cancer Institute of America had undertaken a research on the impact of this fruit, which is found in the rainforests of Latin America and South-East Asia, on cancer and it was found that as compare to chemotherapy it has manifold impact and contrary to chemotherapy it only kills the cancer cells. Later on it was confirmed in the researches conducted in Perdue University and the Catholic University of South Korea. It has been mentioned in the several articles available on many websites that these researches have been put on hold under the pressure of the multinational pharmaceutical companies which earn trillions of dollars through the cancer medicines. One of the multinational companies itself carried out a lengthy research on it, but having realised that it would not be possible to convert these natural elements into the patentable chemical components, it stopped the research and its outcome were suppressed. It is due to the pressure of the pharmaceutical companies only that it has not been able to make it popular. However, throughout the world. many people are using this independently. Alvi Herbs from Hyderabad which supplies this fruit by ordering from Brazil says that its impact would be discernible even in the medical tests within 4 weeks.

It is important to clarify at this point that the above alternative medical facilities are being used along with the allopathic treatment going on in the Dharmshila hospital under the supervision of Dr. Kamlesh Mishra and Dr. Anish Maru and they are aware of it. It will not impede the main treatment in any way. Even in future if we come to know about any better alternative medical facitlity, it would be adopted only if it does not impede the main treatment.

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