Ju -- A Breast Cancer Survivor of Twelve Years And Still Going Strong

By Chris Teo, Ph.D.
Ju, a thirty-six year old lady, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. She had a lumpectomy. Ju’s cancer was at an early stage but to be sure, the doctor suggested that Ju underwent a mastectomy -- a total removal of her right breast. Ju declined and did not see her doctor ever again. She did not receive any chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormonal therapy either. She decided to seek alternative healing methods. To many people in the West, what Ju did was sheer “madness” and for anyone to suggest forsaking conventional medical treatment as in her case might even be regarded as an irresponsible “criminal act”.
Ju’s father is a herbalist and naturally she turned to him for help. Ju took herbs prescribed by her father for about a year. When she felt well and healthy she stopped taking the herbs, without even telling her father about it. Besides herbs, Ju learned to meditate, changed to a healthy diet of vegetables, nuts, juices, unpolished rice, etc., besides taking many kinds of supplements.
For seven years, Ju remained healthy. Taking a cue from the medical doctrine, after you live five years with cancer without problem, you are considered “cured.” After five years, complacency started to set in. Ju went back to her previous lifestyle and started on her “bad” diet again. To her, at that point in time, “anything goes” -- cancer was no more a threat. She found a job and went back to work.
Barely two years into her “misbehavior,” Ju’s health took a beating. She felt tired easily. Yet, she did not even bother to monitor her health in anyway -- not even examining her own breasts. One night in 2002, seven years after she first discovered a lump in her breast, Ju noticed a 2 cm lump protruding out at the scar of her operation site. The cancer recurred. She started to take juices and went on an extensive detoxification program again. It was not to be -- within six months, the lump grew into a 8 cm-hamburger-like-open-wound. One day it bled, oozing out a glass of fresh blood. Ju went to see a surgeon who immediately did a mastectomy on her. After three months, Ju regained her health. Ju was asked to undergo radiotherapy. After seven radiation treatments she developed bronchitis and decided to give up radiation. Since she was not getting better, in 2005, Ju decided to go for chemotherapy, as suggested by an oncologist. The third cycle of chemotherapy caused her to vomit the whole night. She decided to stop chemotherapy and went back to her healthy diet, juices and supplements again. As of this writing, Ju is doing well and leading a normal life. I interviewed Ju on 9 May 2007, and present the transcript of our conversation in nine parts following this article. I believe there are many lessons we can learn from Ju’s experience.
Comments
Ju is fortunate to be alive today, twelve years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the years, I know of many breast cancer cases that resulted in death, three to seven years after diagnosis, even after receiving the state-of-the-art medical treatments in the best hospitals. Chantal Bernard-Marty, et al. (in: The Oncologist, Nov. 2004) wrote: “20% - 85% of patients with early stage breast cancer will develop recurrent and/or metastatic disease. Despite more than 3 decades of research, metastatic breast cancer remains essentially incurable.”
Two examples came to mind when I think of breast cancer and medical treatments. The wife of my friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She was bald and suffered severe side effects. After the treatments were completed, the oncologist said everything was fine. She and her husband went for a short holiday. She vomited on the plane while coming home. I was told by her husband that a CT scan showed that liver was “full” of tumors. Her stomach bloated and within days she died. It was most tragic because it was only nine months from the day of her diagnosis to her death. This episode made me wonder if it was the cancer or the treatment that caused her death.
The young wife of one of my distant relative was also diagnosed with breast cancer. She came to seek my help and was started on herbs. After three months, she decided to forgo herbs and went for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The cancer metastasised to her bones. She died while in the hospital, three years after her diagnosis. It was a painful death.
In comparison, Ju ought to be grateful for being alive up to this day. More importantly, she did not suffer to stay alive. A lesson to be learnt from Ju’s experience -- the way of modern medicine using chemotherapy and radiotherapy is not the only proven option to manage breast cancer.