In this episode, I speak with Millie Spasic, engineer, but, more importantly, a mother, who did everything in her power to fight for her then 5 year old daughter, Keira, after Millie was told in 2018 that Keira had glioblastoma, a mostly fatal brain cancer. Refusing to accept that her daughter wouldn't be around for her next birthday let alone become a grandma, Millie began a deep dive into the world of alternative cancer treatments which she credits with her daughter's anomalous survival eight years later.
* Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a high-grade glioma that arises from the brain’s supportive tissue, known as glial cells. It is an aggressive tumor that rapidly affects nearby healthy brain tissue. GBM is challenging to treat.
- Approximately 65 percent of GBM cases appear in the cerebral hemispheres, which control higher functions like speech, movement, thought, and sensation.
- They can also develop in other parts of the brain that identify sensations such as temperature or that control balance and motor function.
- Diagnosis typically happens in children between five and nine years old. GBM occurs in boys and girls equally.
Symptoms of Childhood Glioblastoma Multiforme
Most glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) symptoms result from increased pressure within the head. Other symptoms arise from the tumor's specific location, growth rate, and associated inflammation.
Symptoms can develop slowly over time or begin very suddenly. The most common symptoms include:
- Headache and lethargy (generally upon awakening in the morning).
- Seizures, depending on tumor type and location.
- Compression of surrounding brain structures. Depending on the location, this can cause weakness and other motor dysfunction, hormonal abnormalities, or changes in behavior or thought processes.
How We Treat Childhood Glioblastoma Multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) treatments may include:
- Surgery: The first treatment is usually surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. We use advanced techniques to maximize tumor removal, such as intraoperative MRI (in which surgeons can visualize the tumor as they operate). It is challenging to completely remove most high-grade gliomas because they tend to affect nearby healthy tissues.
- Radiation therapy: We use high-energy waves from a specialized machine to damage or shrink tumors. Your child also may receive precisely targeted and dosed radiation to eliminate any cancer cells left behind after surgery. Radiation therapy can help control the local growth, which can increase survival in high-grade gliomas.
- Chemotherapy: We may use chemotherapy, a drug treatment that aims to destroy or shrink cancer cells, before surgery to help shrink the tumor. However, chemotherapy hasn’t been shown to increase survival rates in children with GBM.
Unfortunately, the prognosis for children with GBM is poor. Our Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) offers supportive treatments that help children’s quality of life and promote comfort and healing.
What is the Gerson therapy?
The Gerson therapy has been used by some people to treat cancer and other diseases. It is based on the role of minerals, enzymes, and other dietary factors. There are 3 key parts to the therapy:
- Diet: Organic fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to give the body plenty of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other nutrients. The fruits and vegetables are low in sodium (salt) and high in potassium.
- Supplementation: The addition of certain substances to the diet to help correct cell metabolism (the chemical changes that take place in a cell to make energy and basic materials needed for the body's life processes).
- Detoxification: Treatments, including enemas, to remove toxic (harmful) substances from the body.
The medical-industrial complex is a term describing the vast, interconnected network of for-profit healthcare corporations, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, insurance providers, and healthcare facilities that supply medical products and services. The phrase draws a parallel to the military-industrial complex to highlight how healthcare and wellness are heavily influenced by profit motives.
https://kidskickingcancer.ca/ - a support group for kids dealing with cancer
Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) is made from the cannabis (marijuana) plant and gets attention online from people who claim it treats cancer
There are many doctors who believe that cancer is a metabolic, not a genetic disease. Much has been written about this subject.
PubMed is a free, publicly accessible database developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). It provides access to over 40 million citations and abstracts spanning biomedical literature, life sciences, behavioral sciences, and bioengineering.
https://www.howtostarvecancer.com/about-jane/ Find out more about Jane Mclelland and her remarkable cancer story
Metformin is a first-line prescription medication primarily used alongside diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. It works by decreasing sugar production in the liver, reducing intestinal sugar absorption, and improving the body's sensitivity to insulin (It has also been successfully repurposed to treat cancer)
Drug repurposing, or drug repositioning, is the process of finding new therapeutic uses for existing, FDA-approved medications. Because these drugs already have established safety profiles, this strategy bypasses the lengthy, high-risk traditional discovery stages, making it a faster and more cost-effective way to treat unmet medical needs.
The Care Oncology Clinic (COC) offers a personalized, metabolic adjunctive cancer treatment protocol meant to be used alongside conventional standard-of-care. They utilize a specific combination of repurposed, well-understood medications that target cancer cell metabolism to enhance treatment efficacy and improve patient quality of life
Fenbendazole is a broad-spectrum anthelmintic medication primarily used in veterinary medicine to treat gastrointestinal parasites like roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms in animals. While there are online discussions and limited, non-clinical research regarding its potential as a complementary cancer therapy, it is not licensed, regulated, or recommended for human consumption
https://mycancerstory.rocks/ Joe Tippens famously used alternative treatments to cure his aggressive cancer
https://childcan.com/ - Child-Can is an organization in London, Ontario designed to support families whose children are undergoing cancer treatment
Ivermectin is an FDA-approved prescription antiparasitic medication used to treat infections caused by parasitic worms and certain skin conditions. It works by paralyzing and killing the parasites. Human versions are formulated as oral tablets, topical creams, and lotions - it has also shown to be effective as a cancer treatment
