Living on with cancer to defy grim prognosis
IN RESPONSE to a most perceptive letter from Dr Carmen Wheatley, a spokesperson for HSC gave a detailed reassurance. Contained in the HSC statement was the claim that ‘physical appointments with clinicians travelling to the island have been replaced with remote support'. With reluctance and humility, I must acknowledge that, for me, this has not been the case.
Diagnosed with follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – at end-stage 4B in February 2019, the very pleasant, knowledgeable visiting consultant answered my leading question most kindly with, ‘Well, months rather than years'.
For this honesty I was most grateful. However, after living to defy this grim prognosis, without conventional treatment, I have had no consultant contact – by any means – since February of this year.
Dr Wheatley happens to be a friend of mine and, meeting me shortly after the critical late diagnosis in 2019, hearing of my extreme fatigue and night sweats, she invited me to undertake her registered cancer charity’s strict integrative protocol of liposomal high dose vitamin B12, C, D3/K2, and various other supplements, which, within a month of starting them appeared to trigger the beginning of a significant remission, as shown by both blood tests and scans, and the fact that I am still here nearly two years later now. We know that so-called spontaneous remissions can occur in NHL lymphomas, but this occurrence immediately upon starting a supportive protocol is unlikely to be a coincidence.
Such supposedly spontaneous remissions occur through the action of a strong immune system, and mine has been strengthened. I hope my well-charted response will prove to be a useful case study that may benefit others.
Dr Wheatley’s informal charity help aside, it would be most helpful, however, if, instead of the lack of proper medical support which has been my lot since the lockdown, I could have some official medical guidance and a consultant’s input concerning the current state and progress of my NHL – if only for practical purposes.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
Editor’s footnote: A spokesperson for Health and Social Care replies:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Feedback from service users is really important and helps us to continuously develop and improve our services.
HSC would never comment on an individual’s care or treatment in such an open forum. That being said, if your reader has not received remote support for their condition while services have been disrupted by Covid-19 then we sincerely apologise.
Guernsey has been out of lockdown since 20 June 2020 (with the only remaining restrictions being travel related) and HSC has had consultants visiting the island since that time. Without knowing the full details of your reader’s condition, it is not clear whether they were previously seen by an on-island or a visiting consultant.
We would encourage your reader to contact our Customer Care Team on tel. 01481 725241 as soon as they can. The team will be able to discuss your reader’s case fully and confidentially to establish why, in this instance, remote support was not provided during or after the lockdown period.
We would also encourage your reader to contact their GP or their MSG consultant to discuss the current state and progress of their NHL.
Your reader also refers to a ‘strict integrative protocol of liposomal high dose vitamin B12, C, D3/K2, and various other supplements’. This is not an HSC treatment and, therefore, we cannot comment on its value.