e mail from a reader

Today's entry is an e-mail from a reader. I have taken the liberty of just minor editing and trying to keep as much of the original flavour and useful message. It is hoped that other's with breast cancer or other type of cancer benefit from the e-mail. Though you or your body know best, it is best to let your body work with the best kind of knowledge and not necessarily the best kind of treatment. Participate in your therapy and try to remove as much blind spots as possible. Help your body to heal, with knowledge so that resistance and barriers are removed.

Asssalamualaikum wbt,

Hope you are in the best of health and in good spirits.

I am now back at home and hoping I can write something useful.

I am indeed grateful that I had the chance to read your blog which I came across when I was already stricken with cancer. I knew I had to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible because I wanted to make informed decisions on treatments and care.

When I was first diagnosed with left breast BC in feb 2010, I was totally at a loss, just going along with what the doctor's recommended. I was supposed to have mastectomy then and I chose to have it at Private medical centre in Kelantan,  as the government hospital could'nt give me an earlier date for the operation. At the private hospital, macam mana pula, the doctor decided that he could do a lumpectomy instead of mastectomy. Masa tu suka le sbb tak hilang breast!.

Anyway, lepas tu jump onco di HUSM and supposed to do 6 rounds of chemo and 26x radiotherapy. After 3rd chemo , went for CT scan and the doctor at the onco unit told me I had lung and bone mets. Told me that I was already in stage 4. She suggested herceptin because I was Her2 positive.

I looked up Herceptin on the net and read good and bad stuff about it and decided against having herceptin.

I continued with the chemo, but after 5th chemo, felt so terrible and hopeless that I decided no more chemo for me. Went to Darul Syifa al Hidayah at Gombak and amal ayat ayat Quran. Surfed the net and found good sites on BC, including your blog....and followed advice on juicing and healthy diet.

Dec 2010, pindah balik ke Shah Alam to be near my siblings sbb KB bukan kampung saya tapi kampung suami. We managed to spend 6 years in KB, tapi I tak brp seronok sbb jauh dari adik beradik and friends. Tapi ikut suami sbb suami dpt kerja di kb. Bila suami boring kerja dan letak jwtn, mmmg teringin pindah balik ke kl. Bila sakit, suami decided elok pindah so that I can my family support.

Di KL, I followed up treatment di Putrajaya hospital. Di putrajaya, ada visiting onco aje. Dtg once a month. I buat mammo and ultrasound. Lepas tu sbb ada suspicious mass, buat ultra sound guided biopsy which confirmed the mass was malignant. Then they did CT scan and when reviewed with onco, she said there are mets in the lung and liver. Bone mets ruled out as the bone scan in SJMC earlier showed that I had no bone mets. She also said that mammo nampak macam ada suspicious mass kat right breast and suggested another biopsy. Kalu confirmed ada, then double mastec, instead of single mastec. Because of the mets, she also suggested that I take hormone Arimedex because I refused chemo.


I tanya onco about doing. Pet scan, tapi dia kata tak perlu sbb ianya 'will not change the treatment mgt'. I pun pelik juga sbb onco kata gitu sbb dia mestilah dah experienced gila dgn kanser ni.

So who else to turn to except prof lah. Sbb tu cepat cepat tanya pendapat prof ttg Arimedex and you advised that I go for a PET scan.


After getting the pet scan results, I was relieved beyond words. Yes, memang ada local recurrence at the left breast but the rest all clear of mets. Can you imagine after being told you have lung and liver mets based on the CT scan and being prescribed something based on the CT scan... And having the PET scan clearing you of mets, suddenly the treatment or management is different! The private onco I went to see to review my Pet scan results told me to put on hold the Arimidex, go straight for surgery.

So I went for mastectomy and am now recovering.

Moral of the story is, don't be afraid to ask for second or even third opinion. Have as much knowledge as possible. You are the one who is sick, so you have to take charge and not let others rule your life.


Not all doctors know best. Next most important- go for a PET scan. It is invaluable. No guessing game. It can change the treatment management as it did for me. It is so important because the PET scan gives the status of the cancer, ke mana dia dah merebak dgn lebih tepat dari ct scan. In prof words 'at least u will know where to direct the healing energy'.


So kalu tak de duit nak buat pet scan, jual lah gelang emas tu, sbb bila dah sakit, tak kuasa nak pakai gelang emas pun. Bila kita dah kojol, gelang emas tu jadi milik orang lain ke,, jadi hantaran ke... Ha ha ... Baik guna utk diri sendiri and penyembuhan dari sakit sakit kita.

Just my two cents worth.

Allah knows best.


Salam n take care.