My Story: Diagnosis, Treatment & What Came Next

In September 2025, at nearly 75, I was diagnosed with esophageal adenocarcinoma — a 7.2cm tumor confined to the esophageal wall, which had not extended beyond it. That containment mattered clinically. I began five weeks of chemotherapy and 24 proton radiation treatments at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona shortly after diagnosis.

The results came back better than I had dared to hope. A post-treatment PET/CT showed the Max SUV had dropped from 21.72 at diagnosis to 5.2 — a 76% reduction. The oncology team noted the residual signal was most likely treatment-related inflammation, not active tumor cells. A CA 19-9 tumor marker test returned at less than 0.6 U/mL — essentially undetectable, well below the normal threshold of 35.0. Two months later, an endoscopy performed while I was on the full integrative protocol showed no tumor on direct visualization. Complete response confirmed.

During active treatment I used only three protocol components. The 630nm wrist laser was the one thing I used every single day — one hour nightly without exception. I experienced minimal pain throughout treatment, notably less than expected for this combination, and I attribute this in part to the laser’s anti-inflammatory and microcirculatory effects. The harder side effects were nausea and severe appetite suppression. Both fenbendazole and bu zhong yi qi tang were used sporadically — I simply could not make myself take them consistently given how I felt. I share this gap honestly because compliance matters when evaluating outcomes.

But I knew enough, as a researcher and a former clinician, to understand what “no tumor on endoscopy” does and does not mean. Conventional treatment is extraordinarily effective at eliminating the bulk of a tumor. It is not necessarily effective at eliminating cancer stem cells — the small, treatment-resistant subpopulation believed to drive recurrence. That is why the protocol continues.

I am now six months post-treatment. The integrative protocol is running consistently. The focus has shifted from surviving treatment to targeting what conventional medicine may have left behind. A follow-up CT scan is scheduled for June 2026. I will report those results here.