Treatment Plan

The following outlines our battle plan for beating cancer. 
It's going to be epic.

“Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

Multiple Myeloma (MM): What is it?
As a rare blood plasma disease, Multiple Myeloma (MM) has a bleak outlook for survival... which will make victory all that much sweeter. In multiple myeloma, a group of plasma cells (myeloma cells) becomes cancerous and multiplies, raising the number of plasma cells to a higher than normal level. Since these cells normally make proteins (antibodies), the level of abnormal proteins in your blood goes up (which is how the disease was identified by our naturopath) causing health problems that affect bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count. Chelsa has experienced all of these symptoms to some degree, though the MM is still in a "Smoldering" state and has not yet caused any major irreversible damage.

Incurable? -- Don't be a False Prophet.
According to the Mayo Clinic and most cancer centers, multiple myeloma can be treated, but not cured. We must be cautious not to be false prophets however (Isaiah 44:25). Predicting the future leads to fear and distrust in God's sovereign and miraculous ability to heal (Proverbs 3:7-8). There are already many cases (CNN Story, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, New York Times Story) that deny this claim of incurability. We look forward to being one of many cases that changes the belief currently held that Multiple Myeloma cannot be cured. Our God can do anything and is working through our doctors right now.

Current Standard Treatment Practice: Play Defense.
Currently the standard practice for treating multiple myeloma is reactive -- if the cancer is not causing symptoms or progressing, it is monitored and no treatment given. The treatments practiced once symptoms appear include steroids, chemotherapy, proteasome inhibitors (like the drug Bortezomib), immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs, like thalidomide or lenalidomide), and stem cell transplants. Radiation is also sometimes used to reduce pain from bone lesions.

Our Oncologist at Swedish Medical suggested that we continue to closely monitor Chelsa's symptoms and blood counts, consider getting on a list for potential stem cell transplant donors, but that we do not begin any pharmaceutical drug treatments until more severe symptoms begin to appear as starting any of these drugs before necessary would not have any benefit.

Immunotherapy: Training your own body to attack cancer -- taking the Offensive!
Sitting and waiting for trouble just isn't our style, and thankfully, God had other plans for us. Matt had been seeing a Naturopath doctor just to stay in good health after several friends recommended him. As it turned out, this Naturopath -- Dr Catanzaro and Dr Angove at the Health & Wellness Center -- also specialize in Cancer treatment, seeing many Multiple Myeloma patients, several of whom travel 3+ hours multiple times a week to seek treatment there.

The treatment plan at Health & Wellness Center is more holistic and pro-active:

Here is a link to a short video about Cancer Immunotherapy treatment at the Health & Wellness Center: http://www.hwicancerresearch.org/index.cfm?id=research

Here's what Chelsa is currently doing --

1) Food & Vitamin Supplements: Optimizing Chelsa's overall health through vitamins and a healthy diet that includes lots of foods, herbs, and supplements that have been shown to have cancer-fighting properties. Our meals have been healthier than ever! LOTS of Kale, Spinach, and other greens... even in smoothies, Steak (for the iron of course), Green Tea, Indian Food (the curcumin/turmeric has been shown to be good for fighting cancer)... and Chelsa takes two fist-fulls of supplements 3x a day (Iron, Resveratrol, BrocoMax, Fish Oil, CoQ10, etc.). What she takes consistently changes depending on how her body is reacting and what she may need. 

*Here's a couple online articles if you're interested: Guide to Nutrition in Multiple Myeloma, Six Foods that Fight Cancer.

2) High-Dose Vitamin IVs: Several studies have shown that Vitamin C and Curcumin in doses higher than you could ever take orally given through IV have cancer-fighting properties. Chelsa receives an IV  every week alternating between the two. Matt also gives her a shot in the butt once a week of Vitamin B-12.

3) Cell-based Vaccine: The most promising practice for pro-actively treating Multiple Myeloma by training the body's immune system is currently a cell-based vaccine therapy that uses dendritic cells - collected from Chelsa's own blood - combined with a cancer-specific protein in an effort to stimulate an immune response in the body. 

Chelsa's dendritic cells are drawn out with her blood, loaded with cancer-specific proteins, and then injected back in to her via IV. They activate her immune system to recognize and destroy cancerous cells, while allowing her body to still create healthy cells. Use of these cell-based vaccines is still new and unfortunately has not (yet) received much support for research... and of course are VERY expensive to develop and not covered by health insurance.

A single vaccine treatment costs about $15k to develop... thankfully, Chelsa has been sponsored by the Health & Wellness Institute for her first vaccine. We will begin needing to pay for further vaccines soon however and the thought of how we will continue to pay for these vaccines, in addition to the IVs and supplements -- all of which are not covered by insurance, as well as her regular medical visit expenses... all begins to feel overwhelming. We estimate that it will be a $100k endeavor to receive this treatment. Of course, we do not have this kind of money... but it's Chelsa's health and survival... so we pray... Lord, what should we do?

4) Prayer: We believe that Jesus is alive, that God is sovereign over ALL things, and that the Holy Spirit guides our way. We believe that God answers ALL prayers... not always the way that we would like, or expect, or in the timing that we would prefer, but we know he hears and answers them all -- so first, we ask for your prayer. Thankfully, the doctors and staff at the Health & Wellness Center were we are seeking treatment are all Christians and pray regularly for guidance in their service and pray for Chelsa regularly when she comes for treatment. This has been a huge encouragement.

5) Trust: We have trusted that the Lord will provide for us through all this... and he has been! There are so many examples that we cannot name them all, but here are a few related to timing... 1) That the discovery of this disease came after Chelsa and Matt were married, after she was covered by his health insurance, after she made the decision to take a break from school, and after being surrounded by such an incredible community of support... all preparing us for what was to come without our knowledge. 2) Chelsa's pregnancy made participation in a clinical trial for treatment with a new pharmaceutical impossible, leading us to seek natural treatment. 3) When faced with the decision of whether to pursue the Cell-based Vaccine treatment, the Health & Wellness Center decided to cover the cost of the first Vaccine... making the decision an easy one. We believe that God has clearly lead us to where we are now and trust that he will clearly lead us through to victory.


John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”