Cancer

It was a case of Ca Esophagus at the O.G. junction with metastasis in the spine. The histopathology report showed Grade 2 adenocarcinoma of the stomach with lymph nodes almost replaced by metastatic deposit. The patient had undergone esophagectomy and gastric pull up surgery in July 2004 along with chemotherapy that was also administered.

He had complaints of difficulty in swallowing solid food and malaena (blood in stool) since 9 months along with pain in the upper part of the abdomen and retrosternal region. The patient was 70 years of age during the surgery.

After the treatment there was relief for 6 months after this he developed severe backache and difficulty in swallowing food. For this the patient underwent another surgery and esophageal stenting was done; this gave some relief in swallowing. There was a recurrence of the neoplasm at the lower end of the esophagus again with metastasis in the spine. Bone scan showed increased tracer intake at D10 and collapse of the D8 vertebrae with partial lytic sclerosis.

By this time the patient develop very severe backache which didn't respond to the normal course of treatment so the doctors advised that he should undergo radiation. Along with this another cycle of chemotherapy was started which the patient was unable to withstand. After this he became very weak and bed ridden and there was severe backache. So the treatment was stopped. At this point the family member's thought of trying out homeopathy.

They asked if we can relieve the pain and anything can be done for the patient. So I had to go for a visit as the patient was not in a position to come to the consulting room. When I went to the patient's house I saw a frail man lying on the bed with his legs flexed at the knees and drawn up. He was very cheerful and thanked me for coming to see him. He was well orientated and his memory was pretty sharp. He gave me the key note when he said doctor "I am physically weak but mentally strong".

Due to the surgery the voice had become very low pitched but he explained his symptoms he said he had severe burning pain in the back and also at the site of the surgery. The complaints were aggravated by sitting he was unable to sit even for 5 minutes, by walking the pain radiates to the left thigh. I asked him why was he sleeping like this with his legs drawn up he said this is the only position that gave him relief.

Pain was the main concern of the patient and he wanted to go out for his walks. There were also external growths on the scalp and one on the retrosternal region. These were painless and didn't cause any trouble to the patient.

He said till 70 years of his age he has lead a very healthy life he has not suffered from any major illness expect for the Typhoid and Small pox that he suffered as a child. He said he has no worries and is quite satisfied as he has had a good life. He worked for an overseas bank as a chief officer. It was a transferable job but he liked the job very much. He used to work very hard from morning 7am till 11 pm at night. He liked to complete whatever job he took and when he retired he had 700 medical leaves pending. Overall he enjoyed his work.

As a person he is mild by nature and very sensitive if somebody said something wrong he got hurt emotionally and was unable to forget the event. After his illness he weeps very often when something hurts him emotionally.

In childhood he used to mix very easily with people and they stayed in a joint family. He was very much afraid of his father as he was very strict. He had 11 brothers and 1 sister then also he used to feel he has nobody. This was all I could get about his childhood.

Treatment

Understanding of the case

The patient was given Colocynth as an acute remedy as the acute picture matched with colocynth. Lycopodium was his constitutional remedy but as we know when the susceptibility of the patient is low and advanced pathological changes taken place when the constitutional remedy is given the body sometimes cannot take in the initial aggravation. After the improvement in the pain the patient was given Lycopodium in the LM potency after reviewing the case once again. And the patient responded in a very good way and further improvement was seen.

It should be noted in treating terminally ill patient one has to be very careful in selected the potency and its correct application. We achieved palliation and we were able to relieve the pains of the patient which didn't subside even after taking painkillers. I remember one case where there were multiple pathological fractures, patient was on morphine and then also the pain was tremendous in this case also the acute picture matched with Colocynth .Colocynth 6 was given and the pain was much better.

So perceiving the case is very important if we have to deliver what we promise.

Please note the above case is for information only. Do not self medicate contact a qualified Homeopath before taking Homeopathic medicines.

This case came to me when the disease had progressed so much from where there was no chance of recovery. But I had to at least relieve the patient of his sufferings to whatever extent it was possible so I took up the case.

Ill tell what I saw when I went to see the patient. It was a picture of total calm the patient was laying on his bed. There was a vacant expression on the face and there was no expression of pain as I had anticipated .His pupils were not reacting to light he looked sleepy and drowsy. This expression left a deep impression on me and I made the necessary notes and went on with the case taking.

The patient had undergone a craniotomy and the tumor in the cerebrum in the left temporal lobe was partially removed. The patient was responding well after the surgery. Then the patient had to undergo the radiations as advised by the oncologist but the patient was strongly against undergoing the same. But he had no other option as family members and everyone convinced him about the same.

After completion of the 20th radiation the patient started deteriorating. First the right hand right leg got paralyzed. And the paralysis was gradually developing. There was also complete loss of voice. This happened within a span of 5 month after the surgery. On repeat C.T scan there was a large hyper dense lesion in the left temporo-parietal region.

The other complaints were severe constipation and stools had to be mechanically removed and they were like small balls. The stools were black in color. There was great difficulty while passing them. Also there was complete loss of appetite. There was a delusion that people are talking loudly and fighting.

Earlier there was severe headache when the lesion was detected for the first time with projectile vomiting. But now the patient is calm, doesn't say anything, and there was a vacant feeling on the face.

The patient came from a small village in India .He was an agriculturist and had a big farm. By nature he was very industrious in his village he had brought the latest things in agriculture .He also advised the other small time farmers what they have to do to reap a good harvest. He used to help them and was very compassionate by nature.

During the famine in their village for 3 consecutive years he helped most of the people as he had 4 wells that had water even during the famine and was the main source of water to the people in the village and their animals. He incurred financial loses but felt it was his duty to help them as they had no other option.

Sometimes he used to be sad when he thought about the famine and used to sit alone and think about the situation. When his cow died he felt a big shock and also his son was also very ill. These things affected him a lot as per the family members.

He was quite by nature didn't talk much but was very intelligent he had learned most of the things right from repairing a stove to repairing the complex electrical motors. He provided his expertise without charging a penny. Financially they were very good.

He was the appointed head of his village and the government had given him special powers because of his honesty and helping nature towards the poor people.

The other thing that was told was that whenever he got angry he would just keep quite, stay alone and if someone consoled him he felt better. There was no revengefulness and he forgave the person easily.

During childhood he was a quite child very attached to his mother. Father was very strict but he was very attached to him. His father was an educationist and had started many schools at the district level. His childhood was good and he was very good in his studies he used to stand first in the class. He had a problem of stammering during the childhood.

His married life was also very good. Good relation with his wife and children. His mother passed away immediately after his marriage when he heard the news of her passing away in an accident he became unconscious and then for 1 month he developed headaches and giddiness. His father passed away due to old age. This also affected him a lot.

He was very particular about his work whatever task he took he completed it properly and in time. He didn't like to waste time and expected the same from others.

The above details were taken from the family members.

Personal history

• Diet: Vegetarian
• Appetite: very low
• Craving: Sweets +2, Spicy food +2 Thermals
• Fan: Aversion as it caused nose block
• Covering: takes covers
• Bath: warm water
• Sun: didn't cause any problems.
• Stools: Severe constipation, ball like hard black in color.
• Urine: involuntary passing of urine
• Perspiration: forehead
• Sleep: patient sleeps most of the time and is drowsy

Investigation

Computerized tomography scan (C.T.Scan) before surgery A large predominantly non enhancing lesion showing necrosis and measuring about 38x 36 mm with small foci of enhancement and ring enhancement seen in the left temporal lobe. The lesion is seen extending upwards to the fronto-parietal region and protruding through the bone defect associated with gross edema and displacing the structure to the left side. There appears to be no subfalcine extension except due to edema. No evidence of calcification or hemorrhage is noted.

Posterior fossa:

Cerebellum appears normal .4th ventricle appear normal

Supratentorial:

Cerebral parenchyma on the right side grossly appears normal. Basal cisterns are normal.

Cortical cisterns show obliteration on the left side and effacement on the right side.3rd ventricle and lateral ventricle shows pressure effects. Basal ganglion on the right side is normal and on the left side shows involvement with edema. Midline shift of 12mm towards right is seen.

Imp: 1st possibility: Anaplastic Astrocytoma, 2nd possibility Glioblastoma multiforme

6 months after Surgery and radiations

C.T.Scan A large hyper dense lesion is seen in the left temporo-parietal region showing minimal vasogenic white matter edema causing effacement of the ventricles on the same side and minimal shift of the midline structures to the opposite side showing peripheral contrast enhancement and central necrosis. ? Gliomas (possibly high grade Glioblastoma) Evidence of small hemorrhage in left temporo-parietal region

Histopathology report: Astrocytoma grade 4

On examination

The patient was not responding to anything there was a vacant look on the face. The pupils were dilated and non reactive to light. There was occasional movement of the body. Wasting of the lower limbs was noted. Swelling on the lower limbs B.P: 110/70 mm of Hg Respiratory system: Nad Cardiovascular system: Nad

Homeopathic treatment

The patient was improving steadily but then suddenly he developed lower respiratory tract infection along with high-grade fever. On x-ray there was pleural effusion.The patient was put on antibiotics but the patient failed to recover and his condition deteriorated and I got a call one morning that the patient passed away in the morning.I was informed about the above condition when it was too late.

Learning

The homeopathic medicines are deep acting remedies as we saw how even in this pathologically advanced case when the laxatives and other medicines where unable to give relief to the patient .The correct Homeopathic remedy helped the person to get relief.The other question that arises is that if we can start homeopathic treatment as soon as the disease is diagnosed or when the symptoms are first known and to note the effect of the correctly selected Homeopathic remedy is worth taking into consideration .We can achieve at least palliation in its right term and relieve the suffering of the terminally ill patients.

A 66 years old woman came to me after she was operated for a tumor on the tongue which was cancerous. As she had no desire to take radiation and chemotherapy. She came to us for prevention of reoccurrence of the cancer and alleviate the suffering.

The patient had increased salivation and she had to constantly swallow or spit it.She also had a feeling of dryness in the mouth which was bothering her a lot. The appetite of the patient is decreased and she was losing weight. she was only 48 kilograms when she came to us.

The patient is very sensitive by nature and obstinate by nature. She has marked fear of rats and gets scared if someone talks loudly. She is very strong willed and has worked very hard throughout her life. She is working since her childhood as her father passed away when she was very young. She had to stay with her aunt and uncle due to their financial crisis.She often felt forsaken when she was staying there. She has strong aversion to music and she feels better if someone consoles her.

She got married when she was in her twenties and things turned out even worse after marriage. She had lot of tensions with her in laws and her husband. Her in laws were very dominating as her husband was not doing well finanacially.She used to take tuitions to run the house,she is workaholic by nature. Her mother in law troubled her a lot and was very selfish.She has three children 2 daughters and one son and all of them are well settled.Her son is very caring and takes good care of the whole family.She has 3 brothers out of them 2 have passed away and the one who is surviving doesn't talk with her and she feels very bad about it.

Family history

Brother: Cancer of the throat passed away Brother: Passed away due to myocardial infarct. Brother: Healthy

Personal History

Craving: Sweets Aversion: spicy food as she never ate spicy food since her childhood. Thirst: is less She feels better in open air. Ambithermal Perspiration: not much Urine and Stool: normal Menses: Menopause Sleep & Dreams: disturbed due to pain. Dreams of god

On examination

Glossectomy done and posterior part of the tongue was preserved. Weight: 48 kgs B.P: Normal Lot of gray hair R.S: NAD C.V.S: NAD Salivation

Homeopathic prescription

Patient stopped the treatment on her own as she was feeling better and she was very irregular with the follow-up.

The patient again did not follow regularly .One fine day she reported with severe pain in the right ear and a small growth on the tongue. When we asked how she was doing all these months she reported she was perfectly fine.

The patient continued to be irregular with the treatment in spite of counseling to come regularly for the treatment or the disease may spread.

In the year 2012 she again reported with unbearable pain which did not get better even with strong pain killers.The pain was so much that the patient couldn't sleep also the size of the tumor was increasing day by day.

The patient was advised to take an opinion of the oncologist and to get a PET scan done. The oncologist suggested complete removal of the tongue followed by radiation and chemotherapy.Again the patient refused to undergo all these procedures as she said she cannot undergo the traumatic process again.She wanted to live her remaining life peacefully.

The PET scan showed lesion on the tongue and oropharynx,nodes on the left side of the neck and in the portocaval region rest of the body showed no metastasis.

We reevaluated the case and she was prescribed Kali.cyn 200 dissolved in water for 7 days .Patient was asked to report regularly.

As a surprise the patient reported exactly on the 7th day with marked improvement in the pain and all the other complaints even the size of the tumor is not increasing and she has minimized the intake of painkillers. Now it has been 6 months the patient is reporting regularly every week and she is stable with minimum pain and she is performing all her day to day activities.

With the right Homeopathic medicine we have helped the patient to lead a normal life with minimum pain. With Our Homeopathic treatment we have been able to improve the quality of life and also prevent the spread of cancer to other organs. It has been four years since the patient is under our treatment without any radiation or chemotherapy.

We strictly do not advice against chemotherapy as we believe in taking what is best in each system of medicine and in the interest of the patient.