I have a number of contacts to start with there.
The first contact appeared a couple of weekends ago. Lorraine, the owner of Rockin B, sent me this - ... Last week this guy bought a book...long story short... [Bruce Love is a chef at CTCA]. I just asked him if we had someone very dear to us that needed an "in" there would he help..Without a word he wrote his number, said to call and he would direct you to the best Dr for the situation. I know, funny how things work. Kathy and I just looked at each other and teared up. We knew he was supposed to come buy that Cajun cook book... People come from very far away because they are so talented there. I couldn't find his name on the site, but I liked what I read about their Culinary Services!
Shirley, my wonderful friend who is the Team Rudy organizer, shoulder to cry on and much more, has met David Kent, the Chief Operating Officer at CTCA. She has emailed him the most wonderful note asking for assistance.
I also got plenty of calls, emails, messages, and comments from people who had friends with CTCA success stories or people they knew who work there. Here are excerpts from a few I could put my hands on quickly -
- A friend's husband went to one in another state before they built the one in Newnan with stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to his ribs and they did several combined traditional and alternative treatments and he survived for 11 years before getting sick with an unrelated illness.
- I do know that our favorite doc ever works there. John Schuler was our fam doc for years. - This message was from my wonderful friend Kathy H. She introduced me to our favorite doc ever Barry Hull. That man was a saint. He changed fields, otherwise we would have stayed with him for life. If John S was her favorite, even over Dr. Hull, then this guy must truly have wings.
- I had a friend who went thru numerous rounds of chemo, experimental chemo and went in remission for awhile. then cancer returned. Oncologist said nothing else to do. She went to cc of America and she has found new hope. She is currently ok. Just one story but a good one. She had colon cancer that spread to her lungs and I don't know where else.
When I first researched them several weeks ago, I didn't go there at that time because they don't take you until you have an actual diagnosis and completed tests. We were still involved in the endless testing and trying to get the confirmed diagnosis. I was so frantic and wanted to get Rudy's treatment started fast. The process of getting a confirmed diagnosis and getting started with treatment always seems to take sooo long.
Even though I chose a different path to get started, I always kept CTCA in mind. I knew that if we ever felt the need to change, this place was a definite possibility.
Most any good oncologist can prescribe a chemo/radiation/surgery protocol that best suits a patient's particular cancer. What I want for Rudy are the additional services. I want MORE than just traditional treatment. I want the pain management. I want the nutrition therapy and the acupuncture and the naturopath services. I want cheerleaders and professional people who will boost his HOPE. We need the extras than can make all the difference in the world. The people who surpassed all expectations after being told they wouldn't survive always did MORE.
By the way, if someone you know is going the traditional route and their doctor feels confident in the expected success, that's a different story altogether. Still, I think every cancer patient should at least study the impact nutrition has on cancer. It's been a real eye opener for me and I thought I knew a good bit about nutrition.
