Sally
Meridian

The moment she was diagnosed, I stopped working and dedicated myself full time to studying her cancer, conventional treatments as well as alternative treatments. I also consulted with naturopathic doctors (NDs), open minded MDs, nutritionists – anything and anyone to give my wife any possible advantage – because her cancer is known to be an aggressive one and her odds even after all the conventional treatments aren’t spectacular.

The alternative resources I’ve looked into include journalists like Ralph Moss, the standard alternative gurus (like Andrew Weil), along with some newer personalities like Dr. Mercola (who often have vested interest in selling supplements and products).

What I’ve found is that there tends to be general consensus on certain things like supplementing with Vitamin D3, Omega 3 oils, curcumin etc. However, each resource will have his or her own ideas on what might be helpful. The problem is when it comes to alternative cancer treatments, there is no such thing as absolute truth (otherwise, it would probably have gone on to be accepted as mainstream “conventional” knowledge).

After 16 months of full time research and 10s of thousands of dollars in out of pocket doctors fees, tests, supplements, I’ve learned that it pays to be very picky on who you work with. Some of the alternative doctors out there were simply not evidenced based enough for me and my wife (I am an experienced software engineer, my wife is a postdoctoral researcher in biology). Others had conflict of interests in that they stand to make a lot of money from supplements or procedures they tout. Still others were well meaning and knowledgeable, but didn’t have enough experience in the field of oncology.

During these 16 months, a lot of my time was spent scouring the internet, pubmed and discussion boards for information on supplements that may give my wife an advantage – however small. I would file away any lead I came across and then research it, collecting as much evidence for or against it. I would also research side effects and negative interactions with other supplements or drugs. I’m sure some of you have been doing this and have found that it’s very confusing. There’ll be MDs supporting taking this supplement during chemo for enhanced efficacy or protective effect – and then there’ll be MDs claiming it reduces efficacy of chemo. Ultimately, I compiled as much for/against data as possible and made the best decision as I could with my wife. If I had started working with Dr. Chang earlier, his evidenced based approach would have undoubtedly saved me a lot of time, trouble and stress trying to figure out everything myself.

We were introduced to Dr. Chang when I began looking into LDN (low dose naltrexone). We were all ready to go on it based on the anecdotal evidenced from the LDN website as well as the forums. Through that process, I was in touch with Moshe Rogosnitzsky of adjuvantmed.com. Moshe highly recommended Dr. Chang. After initiating our patient relationship with Dr. Chang we decided to go with other agents that have more evidence for sarcomas.

Our interaction with Dr. Chang has included phone conversations, skype and emails. Dr. Chang is very responsive and focused. Discussions with him are to the point and productive, despite the fact that we’re in California and have never stepped foot in his office. Dr. Chang is efficient and resourceful in making good use of communication technology. He knows his stuff, is intelligent, cares about his patients well being, and isn’t afraid to think out of the box to employ unconventional agents that may benefit his patients (like prescribing non-approved drugs for compassionate use for example). Coupled with his evidenced based approach and years of experience in the business, you’d be hard pressed to find another resource of such high quality.

Ultimately, beating cancer is a journey in which there are many open ended questions and few absolute solutions. If you listen to a single doctor or oncologist, you’re going to be restricted to the philosophy, experience and training of that person. When it comes to my wife’s survival, I sure am not going to settle for that. My belief is to find a few good people to work with. Each will have their own approach. You can take their ideas and perspectives and come to a decision that you feel comfortable with. If you believe in the same approach, I strongly recommend Dr. Chang as a must-have resource. Your money and time won’t be wasted. He’ll give you good leads to think about (along with the evidence) and maybe save you from wasting time and money on other options.

The diagnosis came as a shock to say the very least, although I had a suspicion that something wasn’t “right” for about a year previously. I had been feeling more tired than usual and had less energy on the treadmill. My husband and I just attributed it to the fact that I was a Real Estate Broker in a fast market. I had just opened a new office and launched my ad campaign after 2 years of development. A young 53 with no previous health issues, who would have ever thought that I was, at that time, only a few months away from death if left untreated?

In that state of shock, I immediately rushed out to do what 99% of people do…go to the local medical community for “help”. After all, isn’t that what people do when they get sick? Go to their local doctor who writes a prescription and makes it all better? It was at that point I got my second shock as well as a fast and sad education: at Stage IV, the regular medical community had nothing to offer me to save my life. They hoped to extend it by a matter of a few months IF I was lucky, and IF I stayed strong enough to physically withstand the assault on my body.

I did choose to have a very low dose of chemotherapy in conjunction with proton radiation to my lung as well as a one-shot stereotactic treatment of radiation to my brain met. This treatment was administered at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. The Lord was with me in that those treatments worked…but had it not been for Dr. Chang prescribing various alternative supplements to me that helped me with lessening the effects of the treatments (i.e., nauseau) I may not have been able to stay as strong as I did throughout the 7 week treatment period.

But that is just a small part of how Dr. Chang has helped me over the last year.

My “regular” doctors never once suggested I take any nutrients or supplements that would play a part in preventing the spread of cancer, help with digestion, my immune system, mood, sleeping, etc. on a natural level. They were not amiss – they just are not informed because they do not learn this in their medical training. All they know are synthetic toxins and drugs. Dr. Chang knows and understands both western and eastern medicine. He offers both to his patients so they get the very best of both worlds!

Anyone who has had cancer treatment for any length of time will usually tell you that they feel like a “number” rather than a person. Dr. Chang never does. He respects you as a person and he listens to your requests. We communicate mainly through email as I live in a different state than New York where his practice is. But he is MORE familiar with my medical condition than any other doctor I have known. He answers my emails usually within mere hours offering suggestions and treatment advice tailored to my medical desires and needs.

I am 16 months post diagnosis and there is still no evidence of lingering cancer in my body. Other than Dr. Chang’s prescribed supplements, I am on absolutely no medicine of any sort. Not even a Tylenol. I exercise every day and eat a very healthy diet and look forward to many more years on this earth, thanks to my new friend, Dr. Chang.

If you are considering cancer care, you should seriously consider Dr. Chang. He will work with you singularly or with another doctor. He never gets offended as other doctors usually do if you suggest bringing in a second practitioner. After all, this is your body, your life. You deserve the best.

In closing, the last bit of advice I might give is :beware of online “self-medicating”. The waters abound with predators waiting to take advantage of scared people and you will find tons of “cancer cures”…many of which are downright dangerous, or in the very least not the right treatment for you. Dr. Chang will only prescribe supplements and offer medical care that he feels “will do no harm” first and foremost. Your Dr. Chang prescribed regime will be tailored to you and your medical condition backed by science. With cancer, you can’t ask for more than that -

God bless!

After an initial diagnosis of Stage 1C endometrial carcinoma and subsequent hysterectomy/radiation in January 2005, the cancer returned in March 2007 as Stage 4 with lung metastases. I don’t have the disease any place else but my lungs and mainly the right side. I did chemo until September 2008 when a drug called Doxil gave me pneumonia! Needless to day, I decided to look at options other than chemo.

I had been researching dendritic cell vaccine at the suggestion of a doctor of integrative medicine I see here on the West Coast. He mentioned a well-known doctor from Argentina who has an excellent reputation but extremely high costs. My husband did some Internet research and found out about Dr. Chang’s association with the German Institute of Tumor Therapy.

We went to Duderstadt in December where I had my white cells harvested and my first vaccine injection. Since then I have had two more injections in New York City. Since I live in California, I have to fly to NYC where I stay with my husband’s mother–the only way I could afford this treatment.

So far the treatment has produced good results. There is a tumor marker test for gynecological cancers called CA-125. Before Germany it had climbed to an all-time high of 188. A week after the first injection it dropped to 143. A little more than a month later it was 79. I had a CT scan the first week in January that was ambiguous. It showed slight progression in both left and right lungs. But it also covered a period that included two weeks before our trip to Germany. So in early February I had another scan. It showed a slight reduction of the left lung nodules and a halt to progression of the larger right lung nodules. Dr. Chang and Dr. Nesselhut said sometimes the scans lag behind the CA-125 tumor marker numbers. I’ll have another scan after the fourth injection in March. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I am so grateful to Dr. Chang and Meridian Medical for arranging this wonderful collaboration with the German doctors. It is the only way to get dendritic treatment on US soil!

If you want to contact me, please do it through Dr. Chang.

In August 2008, I found a lump in my neck and went for treatment. They diagnosed me in Nov. with adenocarcinoma of the submadibular salivary gland. I have had a neck dissection and now am in chemo and radiation.

I learned (working with my son and Dr. Chang) that one must start on a “parallel” program while working with the oncologists at a cancer center. I also learned that the program must be started almost as soon as the diagnosis is received. With cancer, time is of the essence; therefore, I have started to work with Dr. Chang on two treatments: 1) to help me with the chemo and radiation and 2) to try to prevent the cancer from reappearing( this cancer has a high tendency to reappear).

We have discussed a number of possibilities which we could implement after radiation is complete. Dr. Chang always does a thorough job of researching the science behind the various possibilities and in my son’s case I believe that he came up with excellent and appropriate therapies.

I highly recommend him and would be happy to talk with anyone re my experience or my son’s experience.

During the first year, I had lost about 30 pounds or so by exercising more and cutting out my typical fatty breakfast of bacon and eggs and cheese and a roll and a muffin and coffee with whole milk. No kidding. Every day! I also saw during that first year an acupuncturist friend who himself had had cancer 20 years prior (and I continue with him regularly) and I met a co-worker who was bravely working on breast cancer in non-traditional ways.

I was referred to Dr. Chang almost a year after my diagnosis by a rolfing therapist named Beth Francese. Dr. Chang added some vitamins and supplements, ordered regular blood tests, explained how sugar creates insulin which is (simplistically) bad for a cancer patient, and how low cholesterol helps keep testosterone low, which is (again, simplistically) good for a prostate cancer patient, and how a low fat diet helps fight cancer. Perhaps most importantly, he gave me the confidence to live with prostate cancer and not submit, because of fear, to either the operation or the radiation. Dr. Chang also made sure I knew that the safest way to go (using the metaphor, to get the best insurance policy) was to have the cancer surgically removed. It was almost the same speech I got from my traditional urologist! I was not interested in that way. I feared its side effects (impotence, incontinence) and perhaps more, I feared losing the prostate’s contribution to my body’s health, specifically to my human creativity. And for many years, I was convinced that the human body could do much more for itself than traditional American medicine believed.

Dr. Chang always went to the internet to instantaneously prove a point, or to show the details of some specific research, and because of that I followed up by reading some of the low-fat diet studies. I was very impressed. I probably also read them because giving up fat is what I find most difficult. Giving up sugar was relatively easy. Giving up high-cholesterol-causing foods, like the bacon and cheese, was relatively easy. Keeping strictly on the diet for a few months or even a year after the diagnosis was possible, but the energy to persevere in what I perceived as an austere lifestyle waned, and the flavor of cream cheese is still hard to give up. So I struggle.

For the almost three years that I have seen Dr. Chang, my PSA number has risen and fallen between 7 and 10. Just recently it was uncomfortably approaching 10, so we tried a drug that is used for candida for a few months, which caused a small lowering to the low 9’s, followed by a rise to the high 9’s. So we tried a drug that is used to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate (a condition that I don’t have), and that lowered my number to 5! I was very happy with that, but now after two months on that drug, I am more conscious of the side effects, which are reduced sex drive and reduced amount of sperm. Perhaps one could consider it a small price to pay for relief from a high PSA number, but I am looking forward to beginning anew a drug-free, strict diet approach, to see if I can manage it.

Dr. Chang’s information helped me understand the risks (of high fat diet, sugar, etc.), but (and I’m feeling a loss of words) he seemed to understand what I required to stay knowledgeable and confident as I dealt with my own fear, my own lack of knowledge, and several well meaning friends who were guided by their own “take the safe route” fears.