my background

[Guest guest]

I don't know if anyone is interested anylonger, but this is my background why I

started my website (pure voluntair ) and my participation in this

cures for cancergroup. The update is from may 2001, but I can add I'm still

cancerfree, feel very well and my newest documentary was broadcasted last

november 11th.

Gr. Kees Braam

webmaster www.kanker-actueel.nl/index_e.html

Before the diagnosis

The diagnosis

The chemotherapy

My daily supplements

The first results

Radiotherapy

Ghana

Tumor looks disappeared

Recovering and the bang

Situation now (May 2001)

Before the diagnosis:

In the fall of 1995 I got ill and had a sore throath with a lot of aphthas in my

mouth and an ulcerated tongue. My familydoctor gave me three times a cure of

antibiotic, but without any positive result. One of the last days of december I

drove with my car in town and I felt something broke in my mouth. A lot of pus

and blood streamed out of my mouth. Like in a horrorfilm. Because I was at that

moment in the neighbourhood of my familydoctor I showed her what happened. She

was shocked and send me directly to a hospital for medical research en help. One

week later, the 3 th of january 1996, a surgeon in a regional hospital removed

surgically the ulcers at the surface of my tongue. Next day when my wife,

(she is a nurse so knows a lot about medicin etc.), asked the surgeon what was

the problem the surgeon told us that we shouldn't be frightened about it. He

didn't know exactly what was the problem but he assured us not to be frightened

that it might be something serious and severe. Literal he said: " Don't worry,

you're a healthy and energetic man who does a lot of sport, doesn't smoke and

looks fine, so the chance there's something severe is only 1%.

One week later my familydoctor came to tell me they had found cancercells in the

laboratory and I should immediately go to an Academic Hospital for further

research and diagnosis. So the surgeon lied to us, 'cause I cann't imagine that

such an experienced man who surgically removed the ulcers of my tongue that this

man hasn't seen during the surgery that the ulcers were at least suspicious. But

probably he was afraid of telling us the truth. For us this was not acceptable,

but we never complained officially because we had other problems now.

The diagnosis

At the 22 th. of january 1996 two oncologists and surgeons in the Academic

Hospital in Utrecht took a look in my mouth and throath while I was anaesthised.

They wanted to know if a surgery was possible, because they had seen that the

tumor was very big and the doctors wanted to know how far the tumor was growing

in my tongue and lympheglands. At the same time a dentist removed surgically my

four wisdom teeth. They did that because they told otherwise I should have

problems with infections during the radiation. Think that this was only a

situation where they tried to refined the diagnosis. Nothing else was known

about treatment etc. But as a layman we didn't know at all what was necessary

and we thought the doctors they will know. During removing the wisdom teeth the

dentist has damaged some nerves in my lip and jaw, so partly I don't have any

feeling in my underlip and jaw since then. Also about that we didn't complain

officially for the same reasons as with the situation with the first surgeon in

the first hospital where we were. Other things were more important.

The official conclusion after the 'watch-surgery': 'at 24-01-1996 we discussed

patient B. Conclusion: T4N2aMO tonguecarcinoma. Because the tumor is too big and

too far growing over the medianline, growing in the papillae circumvallatae and

growing in the deepest tonguemuscles a surgery is impossible. A palliative

chemotherapy might be possible but has to be discussed with the patient.

T4 means the stage of the tumor and means the most severe grade and in my case

incurable. N2 means I had two metastases in lympheglands, later they found

another four metastases. MO means that there weren't metastases at distance, for

example no metastases were seen in longue or in other lympheglands in my armpit.

Palliative means not curable but chemotherapy to soften the pain and maybe to

make your life a few months longer.

In a discussion with the oncologist about the prognosis and results of the

diagnosis he told me they couldn't help me and send me home with saying I should

prepare my funeral and say in a good way goodby to my wife and daughter (Liza

was 6 years old then). When we asked how much time was left, they first didn't

want to tell us but when I kept asking for how many months were left they told

me that they thought the maximum was three months. When we asked why they didn't

want to remove the tumor surgically. The oncologist told us that this surgery

might be too mutilating that afterwards I might not to be able to eat, drink and

talk. Also chemo and radiation the oncologist thought it should be meaningless.

A few days later and I made then the choice rather to die than to live

such a handicapped life. Quality of life was for me/us more important than to

stay alive with such handicaps.

But because a friend of us, Antoon (see his medical report and lecture, page

remarkable stories no. 3) had good experiences with an alternative

doctor/biologist we went to this doctor Valstar and discussed with him the

diagnosis and advices of the oncologist. And Valstar's reaction was different

and gave us some hope. He told us to start a special diet (see recommendations

from the Houtsmullerdiet) with nutritional antioxidants like vitamins and

minerals and very important he advised us to go back to the hospital and to ask

for chemotherapy. Valstar told us he couldn't give us guarantees, but he told us

that certain supplements increase the effect of chemo and decreases the effect

of toxicity. (see diagrams about the effect of antioxidant compounds used with

chemo, radiation and hormonal therapy) And probably we could win time with this

treatment so that later when the diet and the supplements might do their work I

could have a chance to survive or at least my quality of life and surviving

might increase. With this advise I went back to the academic hospital and after

a hard discussion with the oncologists they agreed with the treatment. But they

didn't want to take any responsibility about the supplements and they didn't

want any contact with doctor Valstar. and I agreed with that ( what else

could we do) and from that day we discussed every advice or diagnosis with two

doctors. A female oncologist from the Academic Hospital ( a very nice and

helpfull woman though she didn't believe in diets etc) and doctor Valstar.

The chemotherapy

I got chemotherapy in the period 08-02-1996 t/m 27-03-1996. A quote from a

report from the oncologists to my family doctor: patient felt quite acceptable

during the chemo. He had complaints of hyperemesis (a lot of vomittting) and at

the last check patient showed a big lost of his sense of hearing. Patient

suffers of lost and damage of the nerve ends ( polyneuropathy) .

The chemotherapy was a combination of Cisplatin and 5-FU. The advice was to cure

with the chemo three times a period of five days and nights in a row,

intravinous administered with an interval (stop) of three weeks each to recover

from the chemotherapy. After the second chemoperiod I stopped, because I felt

very ill during the chemo treatment and I felt instinctive this couldn't be good

for me. At one hand chemo and at the other hand I tried to strengthen my

immunesystem with a special diet and supplements. Doctor Valstar though told me

it was better to take also the third chemo, because he told us to try everything

possible. The oncologist in the Academic Hospital didn't mind whether I should

continue or should stop. They told me it was meaningless all and they didn't

believe I could cure with this treatment. That was quiete rare because the

alternative doctor gave the advice to continue with chemo and the regular doctor

to stop. But and I decided to stop. Though we continued with the diet and

supplements.

My daily nutritional supplements

Beside the chemo I took every day the following supplements prescribed by doctor

Valstar:

a.. 1 teaspoon Ortho-C (vitamin C in powder)

b.. 3 capsules Thymusconcentrattion 300 mg.

c.. 3 capsules grinded Shii-take

d.. 3 capsules Quercitin-C

e.. 3 dragee's (pills) Polyerga

f.. 2 tablets Mensviiril

g.. 1 tablet Bio-Quinon Q-10 30 mg.

h.. 2 tablets Bio-Biloba

i.. 2 tablets Natrium selenium

j.. 1 tablet Multi-Guard (a multivitamin)

k.. 1 capsule vitamin E-400

l.. 1 tablet Beta-Carotene

m.. 1 tablet Calcium

n.. 2x daily 15 drops Malofene in combination with juice or water

o.. 3 times a day a spoonfull of cod-liver-oil

Every morning I drunk a litre of carotte juice fermented with lactic acid. And I

followed with a great disciplin the recommandations of the Houtsmullerdieet.

(See page The Houtsmullerdiet) In the Academic Hospital they didn't want to help

us with the diet, but coocked every day a vegetarian meal, three times a

week with fat fish and brought it to me in the hospital. I felt very ill during

the chemo treatment and had to vomit a lot. That was also the reason I wanted to

stop after the second period. Though I kept taking the supplements and following

the diet.

The first results

So after two chemoperiods I stopped the chemo but the oncologists wanted to take

a scan anyhow. So I did and we went with our family for three weeks on holiday

to the Canarian Islands. We thought this is our last possibility for a holiday

together and we wanted to say goodby in a good way to each other. But when we

came back home our familydoctor called us and told us to go to the Academic

Hospital while they wanted to tell me something. There they told me the result

of the scan: " a clear reduction of the tumor in the tongue. also some

lympheglands seems free from cancer. No new metastases. Patient should undergo a

third chemoperiod but he has refused and stopped the therapy. "

Ofcourse I was surprised as well the oncologists were. They never had expected

such a big result after two chemoperiods. But still I didn't want a third

chemoperiod. And supported me. But came than with the idea, after

consulted doctor Valstar to start radiotherapy instead of chemo. So we discussed

that possibility and finally we decided together with both doctors to start a

radiation therapy of 35 times during 8 weeks.

Radiotherapy

The radiation therapy I got in the period 23-04-1996 t/m 11-06-1996. A quotation

from a report from the radiologist: The radiationtherapy contains a lineac

fotonenradiation where we gave by 2 big planparalell neckfields in 25 fractions

5000 cGy. (sorry if this isn't right translated in the correct medical english

words) After 4000 cGy the lyelum is both covered and we added 10 MeV elctronen.

Afterwards the field we've made smaller till the demonstrated tumor and we

brought the totally doses to 6600 cGy in 33 fractions. During the therapy

patient developped a candida infection, for that we gave him a medication of

Nystatine. Patient felt quite ill during the radiation period and patient

couldn't eat so we have to give him drip-feed. To soften the pain of his burned

skin we gave him an oinment, containing lanoline, vasolin with 1%

hydrocortison.

I suffered a lot from radiationtherapy. Already after 15 days of radiation my

skin was burned. As well inside as outside my skin was burned and damaged and I

got a lot of problems with eating and drinking. Beside that I lost completely my

voice.

Also I lost a lot of weight. One day my weight was only 58 kg. and that for a

man of 1.81 tall. My normal weight is around 75 kg. And after 5 weeks I went to

the hospital for five days, where they start drip-feed through my nose. But also

in the hospital I felt very uncomfortable and I went home where teached

me to eat with drip-feed myself. And I managed quite well and often

injected my supplements through the drip. And we asked for drip-feed on sojabase

so even during that period I could follow the diet. For example all the

carrotjuice went through the drip.

And instead of the oinment with cortison (I never used that becaue of the

cortisone) we used cod-liver-oil salve. And within a week my outside skin was

healed, though the radiation continued. The nurses and doctors were astonished:

a patient who recovers from a burning skin during radiationtherapy was in their

eyes impossible.

Ghana

The end of june the radiation was finished. I got 35 times a radiation. The

doctors didn't want to make a new scan and wanted to wait six weeks because they

told me the effect from radiation works a few weeks longer after the end of

radiation.

What happened further:

I'm the owner of an own company of mediaproductions. And just before I got the

message of cancer the Dutch Television gave me the production rights of a new

program. A program of a wellknown young Dutch soccerplayer who was born in Ghana

(Africa) and who came when he was eleven years old to the Netherlands to his

divorced father. My idea for the program was to go back with this man (

Boateng, he's now playing for Aston Villa in England) to his mother and sister

and to visit old places (school for eample) from his youth. But because I

suffered a lot of the radiationtherapy and I had lost my voice and a lot of my

energy everybody told me not to go. I had planned to go in the beginning of july

1996. But, and supported me very much in this, I decided to go. Because

I've never been in Africa and I thought maybe this is my last chance to see

something of that part of the world. Probably next year I'm not alive anymore. I

hardly could talk, but with help of some friends I went to Ghana (almost ten

hours by plane and it was very hot there), took myu carrotjuice and soja with me

and we did all the takes I wanted to do. I slept in the hours I hadn't to work

and after a week I returned back home. The doctors in the Academic Hospital

thought I got nut and predicted my death, but they did that already before and

still I was alive. (you can see images in the documentary The Will to Live when

I'm there in Africa)

Ofcourse is such a trip in such circumstances quite rare because it asks a lot

of energy. But it gave me also so much spiritual energy back and also hope and

spirit that I never regret to have made that decision. And when I came back the

end of august for a check with my oncologist she was surprised how well and

healthy I seemed to be. I think the supplements and the diet helped me very fast

to recover from all treatments and the whole summer I spend with my family at an

island in the Netherlands where I only rested, eat well and tried to enjoy life.

And I must say day after day I felt better. And when the oncologist was

surprised I told her: " but doctor I think I will conquer the cancer " . She looked

at me and softly she said: " I hope for you but I'm afraid you're too optimistic

now " . And I thought why, why couldn't she say at that moment: " maybe, you're

doing well and lets see what we can reach " . But none of such supporting words

but always, always were regular doctors pessimistic and full of doubts. I know a

doctor has to be honest but you can be honest in different ways I think.

Tumor looks disappeared

Beginning september 1996 a new scan was made and also bloodtests and some

punctions in my necklympheglands. And there came a magnificant result. The

primary tumor seemed disappeared and only two lympheglands showed some cancer.

The doctors were astonished and first thought they had made a fault. But it was

true: no administered tumor any longer in my tongue and throath.

But unfortunately the doctors couldn't be happy for me and in the same

discussion where we was told that the cancer seemed to be disappeared an

assistant-oncologist who gave us this result (my friendly female oncologist was

pregnant and stopped working) told me that I had to undergo a new surgery to cut

the lympheglands in my neck. And this surgery might be so big that they had to

cut my nerves in my neck to my shoulder. So probably my head could become

instable, my mouth migth be croocked and my rightshoulder might be partly

disfunctional.When we asked why this all was needed the assistant-doctor told

us: " but mister Braam I think you want to stay alive or not? " I was shocked.

Later we understood that the medical reason was that the oncologist thought that

the risk the cancer might spread to my longues was too big.

We had to make that decision immediately, we got no time to think about it and

what shocked me the most that these doctors treated me as I was a machine or

something like that. I got very angry. Shaked hands and left the hospital. At

home I cried for the first time for hours.

About this all we complaint official and later we heard that in the hospital the

doctors was told that maybe they could have behaved a little bit different, but

there wasn't any reason to punish the doctors. The regular standard treatment

was what they suggest. For me it's incredible how a human being, a human being

who is very ill is treated as a number. And not as an individual person with

particular positive or negative elements in his treatment.

Anyhow and I discussed the whole situation with doctor Valstar and decide

to ask a second opinion in an other hospital, The den Hoed Hospital in

Rotterdam. A wellknown medical centre specialised in cancertreatments. And there

we found a doctor/surgeon who told us that he saw possibilities to do the

surgery with saving all the functions of shoulder and mouth and neck. But he

gave the advise to do that surgery in the hospital where we came from, because

there were also good surgeons and he wanted to help me to get a good one there.

But the Academic Hospital in Utrecht refused the second opinion and told me they

stopped all treatment. I was send home and left alone in finding another doctor.

We went back to The den Hoed Hospital and there the oncologist/surgeon

removed all the lympheglands without any lost of functions. Three months later I

played again tennis as there hasn't happened nothing before.

The recovery and the bang

After the surgery in the Daniël den Hoed Hospital I recovered quite fast and

well. Within a month I played a 15 minutes tennisgame with my best friend.

Ofcourse my energylevel wasn't too high but I felt better and healthier than we

had expected. During the year (1997) I felt every day better. Every afternoon I

took a nap for about one hour. I still followed the diet and took my

supplements. In spring 1997 I followed a course for meditation to learn how to

relax mysefl and how to meditate. And I must say the experiences with this

course completed my feeling of health and happiness. I felt stable and peacefull

inside.

September 1997 I went back to the hospital for a check. The oncologist was very

satisfied and everything seemed under controle. No signs of a recurrence or

other complications. One month later, october 1997, I got a sore throath.

Actually not too bad, but ofcourse you get frightened. And everyday then I took

several times a day a look in the mirror to examine my tongue and throath. And

one day I saw in my throath a big lump at my tongue. I got panic. The cancer is

back I screamed to .

Within two hours we were in the hospital ( den Hoed) and there showed a

punction that under the lump, which was a big inflammation, were cancercells.

That moment I thought it's over, I 've lost. Despite all I did, like diet,

meditation, supplements, I should die of cancer. We had to decide within a few

hours what we wanted. A surgery where the surgeon should cut part of my tongue

or doing nothing and just hope the diet and supplements should do their work. We

called doctor Valstar and he as well my surgeon advised to do the surgery. The

risk that the cancercells should spread through my body through the inflammation

was too big. And probably the cancer wasn't too big yet so I had a chance to

survive they told me.

The surgery should cut part of my tongue around the tumor. Pictures showed that

the tumor was just 2 cm. width, but for be sure the surgeon would remove

surgically a part of 5 cm. squarecm. The hole in my tongue he would fill with a

breastmuscle . He would cut at one side the breast muscel and would bring this

muscle under my skin to my tongue and there he would attach the muscel to my

tongue. In the Netherlands this surgery is called 'Commandosurgery'. Though we

knew it would be a hard time for me we decide to do this surgery.

Later pictures and pathologic research showed the tumor wasn't new or a

recurrence but was an old part of the old cancer. Nowadays sometimes I think

what would had happened if I hadn't had this surgery but just had continued with

my diet and supplements, because the oncologist told me that it was very

remarkable that the tumorcells were dying as well at the insideborder as well at

the outside border. He told me normally a cancercell dies from inside but grows

from outside. In my case the cancercells were dying at both sides and probably

my immunesystem had reacted with the inflammation to destroy and clear my body

from the dead cancercells. But this isn't to prove scientific and I have to

accept how it all went and I feel happy and healthy now so that is not too

difficult. All by all I'm very satisfied with the great help I got from my

oncologist and surgeon and doctor Valstar ofcourse.

Pictures were afterwards (after the surgery) made and this was written about in

the offical report:

The pathologic report of 15-10-1997 after the surgery: Central in the cell lines

we see a quite sharp limited tumor, built up of fields like a kind of form like

a basket and wide strings of atypical pavementepitheel. There is a clear

differentation of pavementcells, though no epidermis. Regular figures of mitose.

No perineurale- or angio-invasive growth is seen. The resectionfields/borders

are all free of cancer.

After the surgery, where I got the first three days a severe pneunomia, I tried

to start eating and drinking as quick as possible. And injected my

carrotjuice and supplements through my nose-drip. See images of it in the

documentairy The Will to Live. I think I was also lucky that I could eat and

drink again. From my oncologist I heard that most of the people who undergo a

'commandosurgery' never be able to eat and drink and they have to take their

food always through a stomach-drip. Exactly two weeks after the surgery I went

home. One week earlier than an average patient who got a 'commandosurgery'. I

guess the diet and supplements have helped to fasten the healingprocess.

It tooks months before I could talk acceptable. And still I have some problems

with talking. Especial some words are very difficult for me but I learned to

accept it. Sometimes I was depressed of having lost my normal voice, also

because I'm from profession a journalist and teacher drama and most of the work

I did before I cann't do any longer. What feels sometimes hard is I cann't teach

drama any longer, but instead of that I produce time by time documentaries for

television and films for companies with an educational character and I also love

that kind of work.

Situation now (May 2001)

Monday, the 11 th. of september 2000, was my last check at the den Hoed

Hospital. All looks fine, no signs of recurrence and my oncologist was very

satisfied with my health condition. He told me to come back next year september

2001. So I'm now cancerfree since the surgery of october 1997.

With our family we picked up normal life again. works one day shorter a

week to get more time for herself. For Liza we bought a little horse so

hopefully she comes through her period of adolescence with not too many

problems. Maybe she can share her loneliness and questions about her fears and

experiences from the last five years with her animalfriend. Ofcourse we tried as

much as possible to talk with her, to help her to express her emotions, but we

think we will never know how deep the emotions of the last years has touched

her. She was a child of six when the whole process started and now she is almost

twelve. And we are happy she is doing well and looks happy but we hope we will

encourage her with this little horse to overcome those black pages of life. And

mother and daughter make nowadays regular nice trips through the woods and

fields on their horses. I'm not a horselover.

And I'm doing well too. I still use the diet and supplements (a little fewer as

in the period I had cancer) I play tennis a lot, and I picked up partly my work

again. My company is doing well and just last week I sold again a nice

documentary to the Dutch Television. Last fall I went to Australia for following

a wheelchair tennisplayer from The Netherlands. This man got handicapped and

came in a wheelchair in 1996 and now he won gold at the Para-Olympics in the

double of wheelchairtennis. This man also fought for his life, for quality in

his life, for a meaning of staying alive. And he succeeded and lives now a happy

and very exciting life. Sharing his time with working and playing sports as a

semi-professional. And how nice: the day before he left for the Para-Olympics he

became for the first time father of a healthy son.

For me this trip and this documentary means a lot. For the first time after my

illnessperiod I did such a big trip. And when I came back I told : " I

think this is the end of a difficult period. Though I had hard times during last

years I also learned a lot about life and myself. The cancer is gone and with

this project I start my second part of life. " And last year I turned 50 so also

in that case a good point of return to the best what life can offer.

I hope by publishing my story to help and support other people. That's why I

started this website. Any questions you can ask by mail, in English please and I

will try to answer in English.