Update

Hello family and friends,

Dhondi and I continue to place our hope in the eternal promises of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our strength, our wisdom, our healer and the place of our faith.

I personally have been encouraged by Matthew 11: 28-30 as we continue on this journey of faith. This past month has been so overwhelming and detailed and urgent and Jesus urges me to "Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." In the past week alone this passage has been spoken to me three times in different setting thru different people. I so need that "rest for your souls" as Jesus states.

Monday, August 22 was the scheduled start date for radiation. Radiation has been "postponed" by our choosing and Monday night my dear husband stated it was time I remove the water-resistant patches covering the three radiation target-marks spread across my abdomen. "No need to keep them if that's not the route we are choosing." We shall cancel radiation at some point.

Chemotherapy treatment was intended to start alongside radiation, however, the Lord willed the cancelling of our consultation last week due to doctor illness (we know nothing of his condition, but we pray for his healing). We were wavering as to cancel or not cancel that appointment... the Lord made known clearly His plan for that day. Rescheduling wouldn't be for two weeks out contingent on the doc's recovery, so we stated we would get back with them later about that. As of now we do not plan to consult in that direction.

To detail the journey with all the intricacies of God's guiding hand thru exploring cancer treatment options would take more time than I am available to give right now. In short, Dhondi and I have graciously been lead to choosing the Gerson Therapy as the cancer treatment option best for our family. Who knew!? It's a strange place to be in sitting here typing to a crowd of loved ones that my husband and I are peaceably residing in a decision of "natural" cancer treatment rather than orthodox oncology.

However strange it feels to go "against" traditional treatment we declare that our hope is secure in the power and purpose of Jesus to heal! We cannot in any way trump God's plan for healing by choosing "this or that" treatment plan. Psalm 139:16 "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to pass" reminds me always of that.

We have been reading and researching and praying our way thru this journey. Some of the encouraging aspects of the Gerson Therapy we have come to understand are that it addresses the entire organism (the body) to stimulate it to do the very thing God intended our bodies to do. This is from page 62 of Healing the Gerson Way, “Where Gerson most clearly diverged from orthodox oncology was his realization that, in cancer, the tumor is NOT the disease, only the symptom of the underlying breakdown of the body’s systems; in other words, cancer is not a thing (i.e., the tumor) but a process involving the entire organism.” We are humbled as we delve into a deeper understanding of our bodies, and cancer itself, and realize how deeply intricate and crafted we are by God our Creator. Our immune systems are created to detect these mutant cells that our own body makes, and are probably 99.9% just like all the other cells in our body, and destroy them. Sadly, the body of the cancer patient is not doing this life sustaining task. We are encouraged to work toward detoxifying my body and enabling my immune responses to be restored and foster healing to the point that the life threat (cancerous tumor) is broken down.

This is the war we are declaring on my cancer, and like any war, we have a lot of preparation to do in order to be effective in the fight. This cancer treatment is strategic and intense and will require the the help of many who are willing to become part of Lariate's cancer treatment team. Dhondi and I are scheduled to check into the clinic in Tijuana, Mexico on September 10th. We will stay for two weeks (minimum allowed) and begin the intense regime of healing that we must learn and carry out for two years. We will come home and take a week without the children to get accustomed to the new regiment in our home while simultaneously working out the quantities of organic produce needed to sustain this treatment, finalize schedule details with our volunteer "cancer treatment team members" and hopefully begin to train some of those who will be singing-up for once-a-month shifts to aid in our kitchen.

I invite any of you interested in understanding the road ahead of us to read, Healing the Gerson Way. Again we declare, this is not our hope! It is a part of the journey of healing God has laid before us, just as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery is for some as well. We are not, and never will, rely on Gerson's wisdom to manifest our healing, that is the work of Jehovah Rapha, The Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26). In reading this book, however, you will better understand the totality of this regime, how and why it works in the body. We need you all to be an advocate of encouragement to my family and I as we may weary but shall not discontinue...for this is war...and gosh darn it doing nothing about cancer is not an option.

I do want to take a moment and say thank you to all of you who have sent and forwarded your contacts, stories and connections regarding treatments and dear ones who have experienced the war on cancer. We have read all, considered and looked into and saved each name and phone number sent to us. Thank you also for the letters and cards of encouragement, your prayers, every loving text, every loving voice mail, each email and again your never ending prayers. Your love and kindness to me in this most darkest shadow of fear and turmoil have been life giving. Don't ever stop praying. I know it has made a difference in me...my circumstances have not changed, my trial is ever before me, but God's power is being perfected in my weakness and I am stronger now than I was just weeks ago. What a journey and all of you play a part and we appreciate the puzzle pieces you have sent our way that have pieced together the path up till now.

Thank you so dearly for partnering in this difficult journey with us.

In His grip,
Lariate

Where it all began...

Dear Family and Friends,

We wanted to take some time to share with you what God has been doing in our lives through a present struggle. In sharing this, we want you to know that we are confident that God is good and that He will--in all things, both joy and sorrow--accomplish His perfect will and our eventual joy. Some of you will be hearing about our trial for the first time. We want you to know that we are confident in the Lord that this trial comes from Him and that He is in complete control. For others, this will be the first of many updates on how God is using this trial for His glory and our joy.

Lariate, my wife, has cancer. Specifically, she has Stage IIA Rectal Cancer.

On July 21^st, Lariate had her first colonoscopy—the result of a concern that our family doctor shared. During the colonoscopy, the doctor found a mass which was biopsied and later diagnosed as invasive Adenocarcinoma. We met with a G.I. Surgeon, Dr. Eugene Kim, on August 1^st. He is not an oncologist, rather he specializes in colorectal surgery. He was kind, knowledgeable, insightful, and provided us with the picture of what we are dealing with. Dr. Kim sent us off to obtain a PET Scan and a special type of ultra sound. The results from these procedures indicated that Lariate’s cancer had not metastasized (spread), had not invaded the lymph nodes, and had penetrated into the outer wall of her colon, but not thru. For those of you who are medically inclined, this means that Lariate’s cancer is Stage IIA (T3, N0, M0).

“Rectal cancer is treatable.” These are the confident words of the Radiation Oncologist we met with on August 10^th. There is a standard treatment for rectal cancer in America which involves Chemotherapy, Radiation therapy, and surgery. There is a good prognosis for a full recovery but equally a risk of severe and lasting side effects. Presently, we are scheduled to begin treatment on August 22^nd. The three-pronged attack will consist of 5 ½ weeks of Chemotherapy AND Radiation. This will be followed by 6 weeks of rest to recover from the side effects of these powerful treatments and then surgery will be scheduled to remove the tumor. During surgery, a six inch section of Lariate’s Colon will be removed and the remaining colon re-attached. Lariate’s small intestines will be re-routed to an opening in her abdomen and she will use a colostomy bag for approximately 10 weeks while she recovers from surgery. A second surgery will follow to re-attach her small intestine to the large intestine (colon). She will then follow surgery with ongoing chemotherapy—for up to 1 year.

We are reading and learning all that we can about our options, trusting in Jesus's peace to guide us to the path that will be most beneficial for us. We believe in God and we know He is the one who heals. We also believe that God is not limited to a specific treatment plan and that He can use any means we choose. It is from this conviction that we feel a sense of peace to pursue alternative treatment options. We envision a treatment plan that would work by boosting Lariate’s immune system to do the very thing God created it to do, rather than chemotherapy which depletes and weakens the immune system and can have permanent and damaging side effects. These types of treatments are referred to as Alternative Therapies.

Alternative Cancer Therapies refer to products and practices that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), more than one-third of adults (about 38 percent) have used some form of Alternative Therapy in the treatment of cancer. About 40 percent of cancer survivors reported using some form of Alternative Therapy and 18 percent reported using multiple Alternative therapies (taken from National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov) .

Below are some of the Alternative Therapies that we are currently researching. We invite you to share your stories, thoughts, and wisdom with us as we continue on this journey.

Alternative Cancer Therapies that we are investigating:

· GcMAF – Because cancer sends out an enzyme that neutralizes your immune fighting capabilities, GcMAF is used to trigger our immune response to cancer. Dr. Nobuto Yamamoto has shown that laboratory preparation and injections of GcMAF bypasses the cancer's deactivation process and allows your immune system to attack the cancer. This procedure has resulted in 100 percent cure rates for 4 to 7 years, the length of the studies to date. (See how GcMAF works)

· Gerson Therapy – A powerful, natural treatment that boosts your body's own immune system to heal cancer and many other diseases. The Gerson Therapy is a highly regimented diet that is high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients, extremely low in sodium and fats, and rich in fluids. Most of the vitamins and minerals needed come directly from juicing fresh fruits and vegetables. There are also frequent detoxifications of tissues and blood thru the use of enemas that stimulate the liver and bile ducts. Click here for a short video.

· Naturopathy – Just like it sounds: A combination of diet, herbal teas, and supplements. We have spoken to a few individuals here in Arizona who have had good success treating their cancer through a combination of natural herbs and supplements. One clinic we have been looking into is Arizona Integrative Medical Center. They have recently opened a new Cancer Treatment Center.

· Dichloroacetic Acid (DCA) – Normal cells have a mechanism in them that detects abnormality in cell reproduction and causes the cell to destroy itself if it’s DNA is corrupt. In Cancer cells, this mechanism is turned off allowing the cells to continue to replicate unchecked. DCA has been shown to turn on the mitochondria of cancer cells, allowing them to commit “cellular suicide.” Learn More.

We welcome any feedback or thoughts you have on these treatments or any other treatments (standard or alternative). Please respond via email. It seems like the more we read and learn, the more options we find available. This gives us hope. Along with your wisdom, and the Grace of Jesus Christ, we are ready to fight!

Sincerely,

Dhondi & Lariate Wiegel