When the cancer marker in my July blood test jumped up, my oncologist ordered a PET scan to see what was causing the increase. The PET scan in August showed progression of cancer in my lungs. She recommended getting a lung biopsy and sending it to Foundations One lab to determine if there was a targeted therapy to which my cancer would respond.

I asked my Naturopathic doctor if the results of a Foundations One test would be useful for her in knowing how to treat me. She said yes. So I was willing to have the biopsy and get the information, but I couldn’t promise that I would do the treatment that my oncologist would recommend.

I’ve had a lung biopsy before – in 2011 – prior to having a cryoablation of a tumor in my lung. It’s not a fun procedure. It’s done in a CT scan machine so they can locate the tumor through my back. They deaden the area and stick a long needle into my back to pull out some tissue from the tumor.

In 2011 they went deep into the lung and I coughed up blood afterwards. There is always a risk of puncturing the lung. This time it felt less traumatic. The doctor told me later that he found a tumor in the lining of the lung that was large enough to biopsy so he didn’t have to go into the lung. The good news there is that it saved the trauma of going into the lung. The bad news is that the tumor in the lining had grown large enough to biopsy.

I had the lung biopsy on September 14th and was told it would be up to 4 weeks to get results. After 4 weeks, I received an email message that they weren’t able to use the specimen sent to the lab and another one was in route from the hospital where the biopsy was done.

I was relieved that they had another specimen. I didn’t want to repeat the lung biopsy. But now it meant waiting another possible 4 weeks. I was actually relieved about that too. In fact, delighted. Once I get these results, I will have to make a decision. In my 32 years of living with cancer, I have never automatically gone along with what the doctor recommended. I need to do my own research, ask my intuitive self, and somehow know what is best for me. I was delighted to postpone that decision.

During this waiting time, another unrelated event happened that feels like it could impact my decision. My friend Richard had a skin cancer removed. There were clean margins. His doctor recommended he take an immunotherapy drug that works with your immune system to make sure there were no more cancer cells in his body. (Don’t we all always have some cancer cells in our bodies?) I know from watching TV commercials that this drug has a multitude of potential serious side effects, some of which can lead to death. Richard comes from a medically oriented family and he told me he would do whatever his doctor recommended. He died from a side effect of this drug.

I am sad about the loss of Richard, and I am also feeling even more cautious about taking recommended drugs. I believe in the long term strategy of strengthening my body’s self-healing mechanism and creating a terrain not conducive to the growth of cancer. I’m not saying I won’t ever take a cancer-killing drug. I’m saying that’s not my first choice when there are options.

When I find out what my options are, I will do my research, trust my intuition, and make a decision. In the meantime, I have started injecting Mistletoe again, have added high dose Melatonin, and am nebulizing Helleborus niger, an Anthroposophic remedy as described in the new book, Mistletoe and The Emerging Future of Integrative Oncology, by Dr. Nasha Winters (TheMistletoeBook.com).

I am also being more diligent about utilizing the strategies I know, but may have gotten lazy about implementing. The 9 factors identified in Dr. Kelly A. Turner’s book, Radical Remission, are a good start. They are: radically changing your diet; taking control of your health; following your intuition; using herbs and supplements; releasing suppressed emotions; increasing positive emotions; embracing social support; deepening your spiritual connection; and having strong reasons for living.