A few months ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. Even
with radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments the doctors offer me no
hope for a cure.
Knowing that many people with similar
diagnoses have used a variety of alternative therapies to defy their
doctors' expectations, it was an easy choice to seek them out. I found a
Doctor of Chinese Medicine specializing in cancer, and a local
naturopath who could administer intravenous vitamin C and hydrogen
peroxide treatments. My partner Tara treats me with acupuncture and
BodyTalk, and two osteopaths, Paul and Dianne, have also provided invaluable care. With all these caring and competent people around me I feel truly blessed and have hope for a full recovery.
In
the meantime, I have had to stop work. I had been unable to eat solid
foods for some time but the tumour has grown so large I was eventually
unable to swallow liquids and I lost an alarming 75 pounds. The surgical
installation of a PEG tube which allows me to inject liquid nourishment
directly into my stomach improved things, but recovering from the
surgery has taken a lot out of me.
I have received a
tremendous amount of support from family and friends, and my
practitioners have reduced or even waived their fees. I have applied for
sickness benefits from EI and CPP but the financial realities - both
regular bills and the cost of the alternative treatments - are starting
to get ahead of me.
I know many people have
launched internet campaigns to receive donations to help them out in
similar situations, but I don't really want to ask people to just give
me money. I would rather give people a fair exchange on something they
can use than ask for a handout. So I came up with another idea.
For
some time now I have made teaching meditation a personal mission. Daily
meditation has improved my life immeasurably and for the past
several years I have been offering classes locally. A few years ago I
set up a website offering free instructions and last year I launched an iPhone/iPad/iPod app to help people make meditation part of their daily routine.
In order to address the challenges I now face I decided to invite people to visit my meditation website
to purchase the app, or make use of the Instruction Pages (which are
the same as those on the app) and express their appreciation using the
PayPal 'Donate' button.
If you are interested in
supporting me on my journey please pass this along to anyone you know
who would like to be part of this.
Go to TamingtheMindMonkey.blogspot.ca or TransformingCancer.blogspot.ca to learn more and participate. A link to the app and to my PayPal account can be found on the right hand side of both webpages.
Thank you,
Andrew Epplett
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