Author Archives: Ren

About Ren

I have been diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic colorectal cancer in October 2012, 3 days after my 44th birthday. There is no cure, but I am determined to go down the road less travelled to find one. I have setup this blog to document my journey and hopefully help others in the process. My view is that if there is a cure, it does not lie with traditional chemo, but with the immune system. Time will tell.

Septic Shock

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Ren

On Monday I drove to Olomouc to meet with an oncologist. Olomouc is a city an hour drive from our temporary home in the Czech Republic. The oncologist there is great, the first one that I can say that I … Continue reading →

Posted in My Journey | 5 Comments

Week in Duderstadt

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Ren

Another week of intensive immuno therapies and intense local hyperthermia treatments is over. The weather in Duderstadt was great and I feel better than ever, even though Prof. Vogl’s latest radiology report makes for some grim reading. I may not … Continue reading →

Posted in Gamma-Delta T-Cells, My Journey, Newcastle Disease Virus, Treatments | 6 Comments

Out of the Box and into a Rat

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Ren

Yesterdays conversation with Dr. Nesselhut revolved a lot around the efficacy of the DC Vaccine treatment that he is administering, in particularly the priming of the DC cells. To explain, dendritic cells themselves do not fight cancer, or other infections. … Continue reading →

Posted in My Journey, Treatments | 4 Comments

Almost Perfect

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Ren

Had an interesting appointment with Dr. Nesselhut Junior yesterday. He is one of the doctors managing and administering my Dendritic Cell vaccine therapy in Duderstadt. We went over special immunological tests that were done by a Berlin lab during my … Continue reading →

Posted in My Journey | 1 Comment

Crossroads

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Ren

I have learnt a great deal about my cancer in the past two months. I know that it is extremely aggressive, growing at 15% per month on average. I know that a mutation affecting the PI3K pathway makes attempts to … Continue reading →

Posted in My Journey | 5 Comments

Dichloroacetate (DCA)

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Ren

DCA is a small synthetic molecule that can kill cancer cells. To understand how DCA works, it is important to also understand the metabolism of cancer cells. The primary energy source of both cancer and normal cells is glucose. In … Continue reading →

Posted in DCA, My Journey, Treatments | 4 Comments

Hallwang Tour of Duty

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Ren

After two interesting days spent at the Siebenhuner clinic in Frankfurt, I made my way to Hallwang. Hallwang is by far the most expensive of the German clinics, however they have very good doctors, its in the heart of the … Continue reading →

Posted in DCA, My Journey, Removab, Treatments | 2 Comments

Insulin Potentiated Therapy (IPT)

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Ren

There were several benefits in visiting a new clinic in Frankfurt. Firstly I was able to get a local hyperthermia just hours after the Vogl Chemoembolization, and I discovered several new potential treatments. One of these, Insulin Potentiated Therapy or … Continue reading →

Posted in IPT, My Journey, Treatments | Leave a comment

Chamoembolization Round 2

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Ren

I had an appointment Dr. Pain (aka Prof. Vogl) for another TACE treatment in Frankfurt. The man is a true master at inflicting severe pain. In comparison, my root canal dentist, whom I previously held in high esteem on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemoembolization, My Journey, Treatments | 1 Comment

MRI June 2013

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Ren

I knew that this MRI was going to be critical as the last scan showed a 15% growth across the board. This was without treatment. If the first round of German therapies worked, I should hopefully see a reduction in … Continue reading →

Posted in My Journey | 3 Comments