Tag : cancer

For years, I’d spent considerable money on probiotic supplements, some of them $50 a small bottle (or more). After that, I made water kefir using grains and a kit I’d bought on eBay, which was an interesting experiment in learning how to make yummy freeze-dried strawberry soda. Much cheaper, but it was altogether way too high in sugar.

Flash forward to two months ago when I got a hint from a friend in the know that I could just use some fruit, honey and sea salt to make a fine probiotic drink with a better carb profile…without babysitting any grains or the like. He used some apples, berries and a little bit of honey sans the sea salt for his version, which was where I started. Experimenting some more, I decided to use a time-tested formula that many cancer survivors (and thrivers) I know use for juicing: apples, carrots and ginger root. Except I would ferment them instead of juicing them.

I ended up with a great recipe containing live probiotics that is not only healthful and quite tasty, but produces zero waste in the bargain. Big on taste, zero waste.

Onward. Please gather the following items…and use organic where possible:

You will also want to have on hand:

Rinse the apple and carrot with spring water, brushing lightly and briefly with a veggie brush or a clean scrubbie…don’t overdo it as you want to preserve the soil-based microorganisms that are so beneficial. Slice your carrot into thin slices with knife or kitchen shears into the Mason jar. Eat or compost the ends. Follow with slicing the apple, peel it if you wish and save the peel for either eating or composting…same with the core. The seeds are full of natural, cancer-fighting laetrile and should be eaten with the core while making this drink 🙂

Next, lightly peel and slice your ginger. As with the carrot and apple, the thinner you slice it means more surface area for the good critters to grow on. Follow by adding enough spring water to come up about an inch – 2.5 cm – below the jar’s top lid.

Now, add the honey and pinches of sea salt. Stir until all the honey is dissolved using the long teaspoon. This will take a few minutes, and will get all the ingredients mixing together nicely for the fermentation. The honey and salt may seem counter-intuitive, but these are essential for minimizing any bad critters that might try to grow into your mix.

You’ll notice the apples will float, so the next step is to place your ceramic carefully into the jar such that it keeps all the fruit and veggies down. Use the long teaspoon for this as well.

If the water level comes to about 1 – 1.5 cm – or about half an inch – below the jar’s top lid, you’re golden. Seal it up! If it’s not quite there, add a little water. If it’s too close to the lid, spoon off a couple spoonfuls into a shot glass and drink up.

Let the mixture sit for 2-3 days before tasting. You should see small bubbles start to form, and when the lid cannot be pressed down, it is a good sign that you’ve got a good fermentation going. Letting the mixture ferment for 3 days is good before taking the first drinks, and I keep my shot glass nearby for the purpose. Smell the mix, if it smells warm and mildly sweet, you’re doing great. The Day 3 mix tastes mostly mellow and sweet, maybe a little tang, and just a little bite-y or fizzy. The longer you ferment, the more the sourness of the flavor grows…and I’ll point out here that it is good to smell the mix to make sure it hasn’t gone “off” – truth be told, I’ve never had a bad mix, but use common sense, pretty please.

I find that Day 4 produces the flavor and the amount of fizz (quite a bit!) in the drink that I like most, so I take the most shots on this day…and yes, I’ve even had “die-off” or Herxheimers on occasion – this stuff does the job. After Day 4, I either let it sit out one more day and drink a more sour version, or I put in in the fridge on Day 4 to slow down the fermentation, though this reduces the fizz to almost nothing. I try and use up everything, liquid, solids and all, by Day 5. That seems to be the optimal time frame for taste, etc.

I often add a small amount of stevia to my shot glass with the probiotic drink – delicious! It tastes like a fizzy, slightly soured version of ginger ale, the stevia adding just the right amount of sweetness to make a sweet-tart and healthful drink.

As you drink and the liquid level lowers, the remaining apple-carrot-ginger solids and liquid can be refrigerated for a kvass-style probiotic digestive (click the “+” button at the top right of this page to see that image) that makes a great and very healthful side dish to any meal. Just a spoonful or two is wonderful, and soon you’ll have consumed all the liquid and the solids, meaning zero waste for this one.

Enjoy!

Yours in Great Health,

Alison

[This is a blog on my experiences travelling to and at American BioDental, a Mexican dental clinic specializing in holistic dentistry and alternative treatments for cancer, such as IV Vitamin C.]

While researching on treatment tactics for the breast lesion I was dealing with in 2012 and 2013, I found dental revision being recommended over and over as a foundation-level plank in the overall platform for beating cancer. Many self-directed cancer treatment sites even go so far as to say it may be enough in itself to clean up the dental environment to see big improvements, so my search was on!

Who knew this would be my view when I got there?

When looking around for a dentist to clean up the remaining mercury mess in my mouth, I sought four things:

After much research and talking to various people, I chose American BioDental Clinic, located in Tijuana, Mexico. They hit favorable notes for all four of my requirements – whenever I called them, they happily explained everything and answered all my questions, including border-crossing options and then some. They specialize in holistic dentistry, including the removal of mercury, and I’d been in touch with several fellow survivors who’d gone there and reported success.

When I visited their website, I saw very reasonable pricing, and even more importantly, transparent and right out there for all to see. No having to call around and hear about payment plans that would have me in hock for years to come in the Great American Transfer of Wealth for what should be reasonably priced healthcare.

When I got to the Clinic, I saw that yes, their facilities were top-notch and yes, they used the best materials on the market for their patients – even encouraging them to get a biocompatibility test if they were dealing with cancer (my results).

After the initial intake and panoramic x-ray, I was told I had 23 teeth that needed work, including new fillings, replacement fillings, several inlays and a surgical mercury tattoo removal. Not being too much of a glutton for punishment, I arranged the work to be done in two parts – later that day, the right side of my mouth, top and bottom. Several weeks later, the left side. And then a third, very short visit for a quick follow-up on one problem tooth the dentists at the clinic saved with their excellent work, but told me to keep an eye on.

While under the drill, I also had Vitamin C IV drips – 50 grams each time – well-known to be extremely helpful for the immune system and a great treatment for cancer. Additionally, IV Vitamin C has the benefit of keeping re-exposure to heavy metals to a minimum while dental work is being done.

In my case, there were a lot of mercury tattoos left from half-assed amalgam removals not done safely or completely (but very expensively!) in the US back in 2008. After those, I’d thought – I’d hoped – that my problems were over. But they weren’t, as evidenced by ongoing cancerous lesions on my skin and left breast. Since there was still mercury residue in the form of grey-colored areas on my teeth and gums, along with loose fillings and cracks, the effects were still playing out in my system to my detriment.

Dental work and detoxes were in order, as soon as possible and within a reasonable budget, because it seems patients in the US are out of luck in getting mercury-related dental revisions paid for by the system that visited them upon us all. It would be akin to an admission that there was a problem, which I can only guess is a real no-no. It was only fitting that I took my business elsewhere.

So, on to the nitty gritty details about my trip(s) down under the USA’s southern border…

Crossing the Mexican border. I park and walk across, and for this, I take the 805 south to San Ysidro – the “LAST US EXIT” – the signs are very clear and say just that. At the end of the off-ramp, hang a right, go down the little hill, and what I usually do at the first intersection is make a right, then another quick right straight into a pay-as-you-go parking lot (cost, as of this writing: $7 per day). Park, and then you can either walk to the border crossing, or pay for one of the many rickshaws, etc., that come around looking to help out (plenty). I just walk it, it is not that far, and I don’t usually have more than a backpack.

Walking out of the parking lot toward the Mexican flag…which is right under the American flag in my pic…

Once out of the lot, cross the street and hang a left to the intersection (pictured below), where you’ll cross the street using the crosswalk (shown below). After crossing, go straight…

You’ll come to the pedestrian bridge that takes you back over the 805. You’ll see other people going where you want to go, so just follow them over the highway 🙂

You’ll come to a set of stairs, and at the bottom, go to the right and walk toward the train station area:

You’ll also see busses and lots of people, taxis and the like. The walkway to Mexico goes in between two buildings, then behind them and to the right. There’ll be plenty of others walking this route, and you’ll see this:

…and then you’ll see this…

…and you’ll realize that all the jokes are true: There really is a revolving door between Mexico and the US, lol! Two, in fact…

The revolving doors are the way to the “customs” area – and I put this in quotes, because it’s pretty basic – it is just a couple of revolving doors under the “MEXICO” sign (see the image above) that lead you into a small room where (sometimes) your bags are checked and (most of the time) you will see a member or two of the Mexican military standing guard as you exit.

After you exit customs, you’ll cross over the same highway in the other direction – and be warned, the path is just as circuitous as on the American side – to the taxi cab area. Per my previous advice, follow the crowd, they will lead you well. And note one of the first things you see on the Mexican side is a big pharmacy. Supply and demand. Go figure.

The taxi ride to the Grand Hotel Tijuana, where I usually stay when I have an appointment at American BioDental, is around $7 – 10, and takes around 10 minutes.

At the Grand Hotel Tijuana. This is a veeeerrrry niiiiiice hotel! You’ll pay the same for a shithole in LA, and with that, you’ll start to learn why over a million Americans call Mexico home, probably many of them “illegally.” The rooms are very nice and clean, have great bathrooms, and if you’re on one of the upper floors, you’ll have a fantastic view to boot. They have a very nutritious morning buffet, with complete proteins like eggs, chicken, beef, etc. You will not starve.

The water. Okay, had to get to this, and I’ll say this first: I drank the water freely on my first visit, and a few days later, had the most thorough and inexpensive full-body detox I’ve ever had. Otherwise known as Montezuma’s Revenge. Not very pleasant, but all-inclusive to a fault. The next few times I went, I was more careful, and I took a strong probiotic called Primal Defense with me. I think Saccharomyces Boullardi would also work well, just make sure to take enough of it. There is filtered water in the rooms, as pictured below:

But…you know how it goes: Somehow, something always goes awry. The tea water isn’t quite boiled long enough to kill everything. Or, you brush your teeth and forget to use the filtered water. So I’m careful, and at restaurants, I usually order a mineral water called Ciel – it is canned and entirely (…uhhh, at least as far as canned drinks go) safe:

Going back to the US (do we have to?). One of the Alessandros, aka either American BioDental’s head doctor or his son, usually drives me and a few others back across the border. They usually leave once or twice per day, and this is VERY preferable to walking back across, as they have frequent crosser permits and it’s usually pretty painless. Take my word for it: Crossing into Mexico is a piece of cake. Crossing back into the US is an overblown exercise in paranoia. Go, and you’ll see for yourself.

Yours in Good Health,

Alison

[This blog details heavy metal biocompatibility testing as regards dental materials placed in the body long term.]

In 2008, I had the last of my dental mercury fillings removed, which promptly put me back in intimate touch with my old standby, Big C. The connection between heavy metals and cancer is one I know very well, though it is also one that the mainstream medical system likes to say doesn’t exist, thus my recent excursion into finding and taking a blood serum test that told me whether or not I was mercury reactive based on scientific analysis.

The dental work itself was sloppy – leaving several mercury tattoos and a cracked tooth – and not following the recommended Huggins protocol for safe removal of heavy metals for me saw new melanomas cropping up over 2009, 10, 11 and 12, all capped off by the crowning event of late: a left breast cancer lesion.

As usual, I’m in it to win it. And along the way, gather as much proof along the way as I can, first for me and secondly for all those naysayers who think I’m off my nut for “believing” in heavy metals toxicity. It is not a question of belief, it is a question of testing to see if I’m reactive, how much toxicity is in my system, and then figuring out what to do about it.

While dealing with my left breast nipple lesion in 2012, I read some very interesting things about how teeth are connected to specific organs and systems in the body via meridians, as in Chinese medicine. No real surprise to me that the left breast corresponded tooth-wise with the upper left first molar, where, interestingly enough, a very noticeable mercury tattoo still lived on the tooth and gumline (see the dead set sexy pic of the interior of my mouth above where you’ll notice the grey-tinged areas above and on the tooth of concern). When I was a kid, this tooth developed a full-on hole on its inner surface on the gumline, which was filled by…drum roll, please…silver-mercury amalgam. As the American Dental Association declares on its website:

Dental amalgam is considered a safe, affordable and durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100 million Americans. It contains a mixture of metals such as silver, copper and tin, in addition to mercury, which binds these components into a hard, stable and safe substance. Dental amalgam has been studied and reviewed extensively, and has established a record of safety and effectiveness. 

The FDI World Dental Federation and the World Health Organization concluded in a 1997 consensus statementⁱ: “No controlled studies have been published demonstrating systemic adverse effects from amalgam restorations.” Another conclusion of the report stated that, aside from rare instances of local side effects of allergic reactions, “the small amount of mercury released from amalgam restorations, especially during placement and removal, has not been shown to cause any … adverse health effects.” 

[Source: American Dental Association]

My response? My ASS. 

And I’ll give you even more than that: a material safety data sheet on mercury (and here’s one on dental amalgam alloy). It took about 30 seconds on a wireless internet connection to find all these, so please read them for yourself and do your own research as well to see where your opinion falls on the ADA’s statement.

I’ve heard plenty of “it’s all in yer head, Sweetie” – enough for me to get into the habit of questioning everything that’s ever been said to me by a mainstream medical practitioner. In my experience, suggesting to a mercury-sensitive individual that mercury or other toxins aren’t possible culprits in chronic diseases (such as cancer) is like telling a peanut-allergic individual to get over it and have a Reese’s.

As well, the ADA hasn’t studied yours truly, and as someone who is sensitive to mercury (tested, yes) and who seems to have no problem retaining too much of it in my tissues (tested again – and a genetic predisposition, from what I’ve read regarding certain genotypes not being able to excrete metals efficiently), I have to ask: Who the hell paid the ADA to state such things?

Given my experience with insurance companies that refused to cover mercury removal (otherwise they’d get found out and have to do a whole lotta freebie dental revisions, I suppose), my trust in the ADA regarding the mercury toxicity issue doesn’t even register. Their interests and my interests are divergent – ne’er shall their paths cross – and science corrupted by money isn’t really science, and all that.

I first discovered there was a blood serum biocompatibility test for heavy metals in the form of dental materials when I started talking with the American Bio Dental Clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. They encouraged all their patients dealing with cancer to have one, and for me, it was a no-brainer as I’m always after proof of what is actually going on…not what someone “thinks” just by looking at me, aka the Bill Frist “diagnosis.” Only when I see the real deal picture can the action I take be accurate and effective.

The test recommended to me was the Biocompatibility Test Kit from BioComp Labortories in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the US of A, which American Bio Dental forwarded directly to me previous to my initial scheduled dental revision in Tijuana. The picture behind this blog post (toggle the content away and back by clicking the round button with the + or – sign in it) shows what the test kit’s box looks like, including the test number (UN3373) along with the lab’s address and simple instructions.

Contents of the test kit include paper work (a Compatibility Report Order Form, Lab Instructions, Patient Instructions, FAQs and a Request for Client Serum Sample). In addition, there is a styrofoam container with a serum tube, outer tube and two small freezer packs that must be frozen for serum shipment to the lab for testing.

After fasting overnight per the instructions, I took the kit first to LabCorps, which had this test in their system under the instructions “Do NOT Use – Pending” and could not do the blood draw. Then it was on to Quest Diagnostics, who happily did the test per the instructions. After the blood draw and my payment, Quest sent my kit directly to BioComp Labs for the analysis.

The total cost for this was as follows:

$350 Serum Biocompatibility Test (including shipping & compatibility report)

$41.80 Blood draw at Quest Diagnostics:

$391.80 – Grand Total (and note that this test was not covered by insurance – nor was I – at the time it was done in mid-November, 2013)

When I got the results back from BioComp’s Blood Serum Compatibility Test, I was not at all surprised. This is further validation for what several top-notch holistic medical pros claimed was a major factor in the health problems I’ve had.

Page 1 from BioComp Labs’ report (see above image) contained a listing of dozens of metals used in various dental materials, separated by reactivity level in me as the subject tested via blood serum analysis.

As you can see for yourself above, in the Highly Reactive category was my old pal mercury and a few other heavy metallic malcontents, including nickel (petro fumes, cigarette smoke, cookware, etc.), aluminum (cans, foil, cookware, etc.), lithium, cadmium, copper…and even zinc and zinc acetate.

Of interest was bismuth, that ingredient in Pepto-Bismol (or Pink Bismuth if you’re going generic) that also showed up in the Highly Reactive category. I’m not sure what the full interpretation of this is, because Pepto-Bismol seems to work just fine for me (though I rarely use it, so that may be telling).

Silver and gold turned up in the Least Reactive category (of course, I’ve always had an affinity for those :-)). So did Titanium and Zinc oxides (used in sunscreens and other products), Stannous Flouride (toothpastes) and plenty of other metals.

This testing report also contains dozens more pages of thousands of dental materials, categorized as Highly, Moderately or Least Reactive. The American Bio Dental Clinic in Tijuana informed me they use a product called Diamond Crown for composites, fillings and inlays (most of the work I’ve had done by them), and this showed up in my report as being among the Least Reactive. That is good news! Anything that is permanently fixed in my mouth had better fall into that category, otherwise it’s yet another possible cause for the cancer cup to runeth over.

This brings me to some commentary on the dental industry as a whole, speaking from the experience of years spent down the hole on mercury toxicity and other issues that could have easily been prevented had my childhood dentist simply tested me for compatibility with dental mercury amalgam. The fact that at least a dozen amalgams were placed in my mouth without my knowing the possible effects – or even being given a choice in the matter – illustrates everything that is wrong with the mainstream medical system and its largely one size fits all mentality.

Considering that Romney-Obamacare doesn’t yet include this type of biocompatibility test as part of a larger preventative scheme, it needs revision – and soon. Having read that we are now exposed to more toxins in 15 minutes than our grandparents were over their whole lives makes lowering the body’s burden even more critical than ever.

Yours in good health,

Alison

PS – BioComp Laboratories can be found via www.biocomplaboratories.com and the American Bio Dental Clinic by pointing to www.americanbiodental.com. Ain’t research fun? Cheers…

[Contents of this post are for educational purposes only and all that jazz.]

[This is the Second Part of my Series on black salve. WARNING: Some may consider the images on this post to be graphic, but please note that cancer does NOT attack clothing, but rather the naked body.]

I could have also titled this post My Left Boob Tried to Kill Me (Small as It Is). In any case, here ’tis…and don’t tell me I never do nothin’ fer ye.

In December of 2011, I noticed a lesion on my left breast nipple. It itched, I scratched, and it bled. Having a long history of extensive melanoma that appears where the sun shines (and where it doesn’t), this was not a good sign. There were other symptoms as well, including a draining sensation in the lymph nodes in my left armpit. Yep, there was definitely something going on there.

In the early days of 2012, I started looking around for a way to address this newfound thing on my body and did a lot of research to boot. Was this breast cancer? Or melanoma gone wild? Given that my attitude toward cancer is that it’s all systemic to me, did it matter?

In some ways, yes, because melanoma is a hormonal-driven cancer, that is, it can get a lot worse very quickly via fluctuations in estrogen (birth control pills, monthly cycles, some say soy and some say not, etc.). But in most ways, no. Because it boiled down to the fact that I was still dealing with the Big C, long after my initial melanoma diagnosis in 2001. Meaning there was – is – something in me which produces this condition, with help from toxicity, stress and/or whatever other co-factors are floating around at any given time that might cause the cup to runeth over.

Black Salve Pasty, aka Initial Application

After several months of being told to have mammograms and other things I wasn’t too keen on (I’d prefer thermography), I jumped right in with the black salve and slathered my left nipple with it (see pic to the left).

Hours After Black Salve Application

A few hours later, I snapped a shot of the salve’s effects, which were immediate and intense. Note on the pic to the right there is lots of swelling and white areas with some darker areas just starting to appear. I then re-applied more salve and decided to leave it on until the pain started to subside.

This was three days I’ll never forget. Zero sleep for a full 72 hours. And, breast tissue being as sensitive as it is, pain like you would not believe. Yes, I made a mental note to go a bit slower in the future.

The next image shows how it looked many days after applying the salve, when it had had a chance to dry out with some of the smaller satellite areas flaking off, and after the swelling had gone down quite a bit:

Just Before the Biopsy: Black Salve Treated Left Nipple Lesion with Scab

I’m not a fan of the insurance-racketed system here in the US, nor am I thrilled with the pricing of some procedures, so I contacted the Komen Foundation for this one. I wanted some answers in the form of labwork, especially since I had an active lesion treated with the black salve.

The doctor handling my case told me she “didn’t buy it” regarding the black salve killing off the cancer and told me “the whole nipple’s gonna have to come out.”

Surgery sure does pay!

Ahhh, US Sick’n’Pay. Anything not sanctioned by Big Pharma was in the doghouse, and quackery, and all of it. But, thanks to a biopsy that included the black salve-treated lesion (it fell off during the operation, so the doctor included it for analysis), I was about to see a different picture, namely the one below:

Left Breast Nipple Lesion Pathology Report

After this pathology report showed up, the doctor was silent on all my comments about the salve killing off the cancer. She did say “the pathologist thought he saw something, but it was dried out,” and ordered another biopsy (thankfully negative), but never said she was “not buying it” or anything like that again. That is because “negative for viable epidermis” means DEAD TISSUE. ‘Nuff said.

Yes, black salve does work. It will debulk a tumor. No, I don’t know exactly how. Yes, treating with the black salve can be painful. And if you don’t go slow, you may wind up with big chunks of necrotic tissue falling off your bod. That is how effective it is.

And yes, I have photos of the post-biopsy lesion area featuring stitches, but have chosen not to include those here (and sorry, no images of pliers on the nipple or anything like that, so please don’t hound me for those).

At this point, I am left with one nipple and something that looks along the lines of a pale pink pasty – such is the nature of cancer. Perhaps I could get away with some nude protests and not get prosecuted (oh, when will this country ditch the puritanical shite?).

My research and experiences continue. My next trick may involve multiple shave biopsies and black salve applications to validate that it only attacks cancerous tissue.

Any doctors out there game?

As always, I’ll post more information as I have it.

Yours in Good Health,

Alison

Back to Part 1

[Contents of this post are for educational purposes only and all that jazz.]

[This is the First Part of my Series on black salve. All I can say is, there will be others.]

Black salve has been one of my cancer treatments of choice for the past 12 years since my melanoma diagnosis in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 2001.

I found it first at herbhealers.com, thanks to some generous souls online whose healthcare nightmares mirrored my own. Days after my diagnosis, I visited their website and saw this: 100% Money Back Guarantee.

I was certainly in brand new territory, so I bought a small container of the stuff, which, upon arrival, looked and smelled like electronic licorice and was about the same color. It was thick, pungent and deep – and I got the feeling that when I was looking at it, it was looking straight back at me (cue theme from The Twilight Zone).

Following the instructions opened up my eyes to a brand new world: one where cancer treatments were both highly effective and inexpensive (in the case of my little tub of black salve, just under $25). This was my first step to freedom from the ineffectual circle jerk of pills, surgeries and doctors who never bothered getting to the root of the issue and solving it, but collected nonetheless.

After trying black salve out on a couple melanomas, I was sold. I said “shove it” to the gettajob-to-pay-for-pharma-based-healthcare half-life. I’d been on that downward spiral long enough, and there was nothing like a Big C diagnosis as a lead-in to going entrepreneurial and constructing my own path to healing. It really opened my eyes to the way much of society is actually run – and I discovered along the way that The Giant Sucking Sound wasn’t coming from me.

The first melanoma on which I used the salve was one I’d nicknamed Half’n’Half: a half-pink, half-brown, all-weird creature living on my skin with a black spot right in the middle where the two halves met in a perfectly straight line. It looked like something I’d encounter in Stephen King’s short, The Mist – or perhaps in a museum of modern art.

That just wasn’t right. Biopsies told me as much.

I put a fingertipful of the salve on Half’n’Half, and almost immediately, the sensation described in the lit that came with the Salve became reality: that of a rubber band snapping against my skin.

This continued for almost a day as the salve had its way with the mole, which later became like a solar eclipse, featuring a large black spot with a white halo around it, surrounded by another slightly pink halo of inflammation as this cancerous mole-monster was successfully treated. Eventually, the lesion became a dried-out scab as the skin below pushed the whole mess out of my body. Good riddance!

A couple weeks in, it fell off, leaving a slight indentation that filled back in over time and left a slightly scarred area that was a hair lighter than my normal skin tone. Looking at the fallen scab, I saw two black helical tendrils floating down from the pitch-dark mass in its middle. This got me thinking that I was staring at something that very possibly could have killed me if I hadn’t intervened.

In the years following, I’ve treated dozens of skin lesions, including several on my face as well as a breast nipple lesion that first appeared in late 2011 and became a real problem in 2012 (do check that one out – it’s a real doozy!). All using the same small container of black salve I’d bought in 2001, the same one I’d shared with friends, skeptics and willing-to-try-it-types. All were amazed at the results and often came back to me with questions on where to get it.

What works…works.

This was also the same container I’ve brought with me to various doctor’s offices, attempting to inform my white-coated compatriots about how well the salve worked. On many such occasions, I got the denial routine, after which I got up and left, telling the front office staff not to bother sending me a bill. I guess if your livelihood depends on a system that must outlaw or deny its far less expensive, but highly effective competition within what is heavily marketed to us as a “free market” system, that speaks for itself. Suffice it to say: science corrupted by money is not science at all.

Over time, black salve has proven itself a very effective tumor debulking agent that costs a tiny fraction of all the surgeries I’d have needed, if I’d chosen the surgical route.

A few black salve resources:

• The Black Salve Page on Facebook
• Search on the term “Black Salve” on YouTube

Yours in Good Health,

Alison

On to Part 2 in this Series: My Big Black Salve Boob Job

[Contents of this post are for educational purposes only and all that jazz.]

It was very fitting how I learned of Breaking Bad. A friend and fellow cancer fighter, whose own battle started with melanoma – and later, stage 4 prostate cancer and then some – told me about this cool new show he’d been watching. It featured a very smart, but very broke school teacher working two jobs…and he had lung cancer on top of it all. In other words, someone who’d had enough.

Ding.

He’d had it to the point where he’d started making and selling meth to pay medical bills and provide for his family…and to make up for the deficits he saw in his own existence.

Ding.

The main character of the show, one Walter Hartwell White, played to perfection by Bryan Cranston, had also felt the sting of the Big Fuck You Over Money via two former business partners, who’d become billionaires on the back of Walter’s chemistry genius after he left the company. He went near-broke, barely eking out a living as a schoolteacher moonlighting at the local car wash. And now, he wanted his cut of the Big Pie. However he could get it.

Ding! Ding, ding, ding-ding-ding-ding-diiiing!

As the description came out of my friend’s mouth, I was immediately hooked. One cancer survivor who’d been screwed over telling another about a show featuring yet another. There was a love triangle in there somewhere.

As I started to watch back episodes to catch myself up, I saw in Walter White shades of yours truly.

Firstly, cancer. The day of my diagnosis was a game changer. I was never the same. Never looked at things the same way again. Did some things I’m not proud of.

Most of the past years since my diagnosis, I’ve not had access to “the system.” Sometimes I had health insurance, sometimes not. Seeing as I prefer holistic healthcare and treatments other than those offered by Big Pharma-racketed US Sick’n’Pay, I think that was in many ways for the best. For me, it was a good thing not to have access to too many pharma drugs. All they ever did was crash my immune system, making me sicker with each pass. But not so good when I needed a decent and timely diagnostic. Or necessary surgery and dental care.

Secondly, career frustration. Majorly. Won VH1’s Song of the Year, twice. Sold over 100,000 units of my tunes, largely soundtrack and overseas indies. Still no big, life-changing deal, and way too many questions…but I sure found out what “several layers of record label accounting” really means.

Thirdly, financial devastation. Even working through the Big C for the Big Dream. Flashback to 2004. Three jobs. Made Bush proud! Lesson: ‘work hard and you’ll make it in America’ is a great soundbite, but don’t ask me to believe it after all I’ve seen and experienced. Proof in the form of a million-dollar music publishing deal would be far more convincing and practical.

LOL! Don’t laugh – that was my original goal in entering The Biz. That, and access to decent medical. Such was life in these United States.

But now, like Walter White’s ever-increasing monetary goals, mine, too, have grown. Because as anyone who’s experienced the Big Fuck You Over Money can tell you, it puts a fire under your ass. Because life should be more than chasing illnesses, mere survival and the constant mind-chatter of rotating what ifs.

The reason for Breaking Bad’s success is that it touched those same raw nerves in so many millions of others. We all want to Break Big. And some are willing to Break Bad to do it. I can certainly relate.

Which brings me to this point: Breaking Bad was damn close to perfect. So damn close to perfect. Vince Gilligan of X-Files fame made it perfect in every way, except for one little, BIG thing.

I think back to the episode where Walt’s doctor is discussing alternative treatments for cancer – and the off-the-main-drag-but-still-Pharma-biased doctor’s canned response came in like a rainstorm on a parade when he mentioned his uncertainty about the efficacy of such treatments.

So, yes, Hollywood manages to mention alternative treatments. But then there’s the suited Dr. Deus ex Machina, telling us all about a lack of efficacy associated with them.

Hmmmmm.

Anyone else smell the Big Pharma bucks behind that?

Because honestly, that hasn’t been my experience. In fact, just the opposite. Pharma drugs were what created my Big Mess in the first place. Treatments outside of those pushed on us by Big Pharma have largely gotten me back to some semblance of health. But I certainly am still chasing things down, given that FDA-approved drugs almost deep-sixed my skinny ass.

Thus my request to Hollywood: Why not come up with a show that follows a cancer-fighting character, preferably someone who, in “real life,” has or had the disease – WE need the money. And please, make the protagonist someone using alternative, holistic medicine – if alternative even applies to treatments existing thousands of years B.C., aka Before Chemo. Make it a story about someone for whom the system has failed, who realizes the only way out is to Break Brave and follow his or her gut instincts. Kinda like I – and a lot of others – had to.

When – IF – Hollywood Breaks Brave (and decides to go truly free market where cancer treatments are concerned), I’ll be all-in. A 100% FAN! Behind-the-scenes experience tells me that many celebs use alternative, holistic healthcare, but still do and say whatever their corporate paymasters order them to do and say for a paycheck.

Tragic. And certainly not role model material.

When both Hollywood and doctors serve as guides, not gods – and no longer serve Big Pharma to the exclusion of all else over money – that will be the day. And if the day comes when I see universal, single-payer, sliding-scale healthcare featuring a full set of choices for cancer treatments in America, I’ll be first in line.

Yours in Great Health,

Alison