Survivor Story: Pam Waters
My story begins like most; with my parents and the beliefs they instilled in me as a child. My mother is a chiropractor and with a PhD. in biophysics, my father was an aeronautical engineer. With a PhD. in international business, my father taught me to always question authority because conventional wisdom can be wrong. I became a chiropractor in 1984 and for the next 20 plus years I ran multiple successful clinics as well as trained 100’s of chiropractors at the nearby chiropractic college.
During a dinner in the fall of 2002 I began to notice after meals that my stomach would become “bloated” which in turn gave me severe abdominal gas pains lasting for hours. In the early part of summer of 2003, I began to have early morning urgency and was urinating every 5 minutes. I made an appointment with an acupuncturist. I went to her for weekly treatments that helped for a while.
In the fall of 2003 I went to my OBGYN who did a UTI test which came back negative. Due to the way I presented myself to the office, walking slowly, stomach extended and constant urination, I was given an ultrasound exam which came back with the finding of possible adenocarcinoma. That exam revealed a mass in my pelvis and surgery would be needed in the next two weeks. I protested that “I want another opinion” which the doctor came back with “You can get all the opinions you want but you still have a mass”. That woke me up.
The next week and a half were spent getting “second” opinions. If I had cancer, then I was going to be true to who I was and find a doctor willing to work with me. I was going to treat this both traditionally and naturally.
After all that, my OBGYN told me about a doctor that she felt would be the perfect OBGYN oncologist for me. When I went to see the doctor, my husband came with me for support. The three of us went over my findings and we discussed my desire for my treatment in detail.
My surgery was scheduled for November 6th at noon. If the tumors were benign, I would be out of surgery by 2. If the tumor was malignant, then it would be a full hysterectomy and surgery would be longer. During surgery my greater omentum was removed in order to replace my intestines and nine lymph nodes were removed on the right side, as well as 36 lesions that she thought may be cancerous. I was given a blood transfusion during surgery which years later I learned changed my blood serum. I woke up in recovery and it was 5 pm. It hit me; I HAD CANCER. I had to catch my breath, realizing every time I re-awoke from the surgery, “I had cancer”. These were words I never thought I would hear myself say. I started my treatment plan mentally, as a way to calm myself down and try to take hold of the situation as if it wasn’t me I was dealing with.
The treatment plan for me was chemotherapy. My doctor wanted me to go through twice the number of chemo sessions of 5FU due to one tumor leaking during removal. The doctor doubted my body could handle that much chemo, but I went all in. My first chemo treatment was scheduled November 19th, 2003.
With the help of my husband, we determined which vitamins and minerals (not over the counter supplements) and nutritional program my body would need to get through this as best it could while consulting with the surgeon so as not to interfere with the 5FU. Blood work was performed every three weeks, pre-chemo. This allowed me to see where my body was nutritionally, and where I was depleted. I avoided my supplements 2 days before chemo and 2 days post chemotherapy. This allowed the 5FU to do its job.
My routine was 85+ therapeutic supplements daily as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. My routine changed slightly depending on my bloodwork. I experienced very little nausea. I never experienced the sores in my mouth but I did experience the neuropathy that some chemo patients experience. Even with supplements and good food, I still had to reschedule 2 chemo treatments, due to low white blood cell count. My strength, my blood work, and my hair growth were amazing. My hair would actually start growing back before the next chemo treatment.
My doctor was continuously surprised by the way I was responding physically and emotionally (Laughing – I cannot tell how important laughing is. It truly sends positive signals throughout your body).
From the age of 5 I have exercised every morning. During chemo I continued to do what I could. Sometimes that meant just walking to another room or checking my core muscle strength and doing daily yoga work. It was motivating.
I would get regular chiropractic adjustments to deal with the headaches from chemo or for when my body would get out of alignment from sleeping in different positions due to the pain from surgery.
I geared myself up every three weeks for another round of chemo. The night before I would start my mental preparations for the next day. I called chemo day my spa day. I looked at it as 6 hours of life-infusing juice, drip by drip.
It is now 15 years later. I am 60 years old and I am cancer free and not on any medications for anything. I still work with the same team, eat natural whole foods, vitamins, yoga, chiropractic, meditation, and exercise. I believe that this integrated health plan was the thing that helped me keep my strength and my positive attitude. I went back to university, again, and became certified as a veterinary chiropractor. I wrote a book on canine massage, received my master’s degree in Science, and I am now certified as a yoga instructor for cancer patients (Y4C) in the DFW area.
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