Stage 4 Cancer Sucks: Treatment Update, New Novel Therapy, and Hope
Tiffany was diagnosed with Stage 3C breast cancer at 28 weeks pregnant. Her fight continues.
I’ve got some updates for those following my treatment journey.
1) We moved our family to Seattle, Washington, to go all-in with Dr. Ben Chue, the only oncologist in the country with the courage to get inventive with treating my crafty cancer. Unfortunately, chemotherapy results have been mixed. The lymph nodes under my left arm are stable, which hopefully means the chemotherapy is working anywhere else if rogue cells are drifting around my bloodstream. But we have progression, too.
2) I am awaiting CT scan results but don’t want to see scans anymore. They won’t change anything about my attitude or choices at this point.
3) The metastasis left behind by the surgeon has spread deeply into my breastbone and across my beautiful skin (along with my mastectomy scar). I have successfully dodged opioids throughout this entire experience until now. The pain is unlike anything I have ever endured, and I have had many miscarriages and delivered two babies. I am now on morphine.
4) Last week, I spent six days in the hospital with a crashed immune system, and yesterday, I had multiple blood transfusions (if you donate blood, thank you!) to recover from chemotherapy. I feel better today, but I am in that same trap of balancing which would like to kill me first, the chemo or the cancer.
5) I will fly to Dallas next week to meet with Dr. Heather McArthur, an oncologist willing to move mountains to help me. She has an ongoing trial, but she has also arranged for a biopsy on the skin metastasis to find out why it is not responding to chemotherapy.
6) Unfortunately, I returned from a round of second and third opinions just a few weeks ago, and the consensus is that the radiation on my chest, which was very intense, might have created a secondary cancer. We will find out soon enough.
I have two choices: keep doing what I am doing and start planning my end-of-life celebration for the summer. Or, get really aggressive. Though my fear of death has been mostly eradicated by spiritual rebirth and profound and transformative psychedelic-assisted therapy experiences, my husband and children need me. I have so much work to do in this world.
So… my integrative doctor, Dr. Christine Houser, is the principal investigator in a trial starting in three weeks. Targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) is a novel technology that involves concomitant stimulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the pharmacological blockade of Na+, K+-ATPase causing lysis of highly malignant cancer cells. The technology has been successfully used on 50+ cats and dogs with exceptional results.
This novel therapy is awaiting the FDA to prioritize its ability to conduct trials stateside. Since America is a corporate oligarchy, I will have to go to Honduras and pay for the treatments out of pocket, at $12k a piece. I need several, and so I will be crowdfunding more. Here is my crowdfunding to the 501(c)(3) foundation my sisters set up if you are called to help: https://givebutter.com/tiffanymadisonfogg
I already have the resources for two of the five treatments I need. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. I cannot express the depth of my gratitude enough. I am constantly pressing my head to the ground, thanking God for every bit of support I receive from you all, especially my family.
This technology has successfully resulted in animal trials and extended the life of one human patient before she died due to the FDA dragging its feet on her emergency use authorization. I will not let these unelected bureaucrats kill me, too. That courageous woman gave me the hope I needed to make this choice, and I hope to be that inspiration for someone else. If you know someone who is in my position and needs this treatment, put us in touch. There are 15 of us going, and I will help anyone who needs this help. That is my calling, too.
I am scared. I will not lie. But one thing is true: all of my heroes, all the humans I admire and have spent a lifetime trying to emulate, when the chips are down, THEY GET IN THE FUCKING ROCKET. So that’s what I will do.
Patient #3, that’s me. I have no time to waste, so it’s game time. Go big, or go home. That’s my motto.
Pray for me, please, and for my children. Pray like we already have the disease stable. Pray for my courage. Pray for my strength, and pray for my heart to heal. Pray for the miraculous and supernatural healing coming my way. I have been put on this path by divine inspiration and will keep following it wherever it leads.
I love you all.
Tiffany
