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Nov 23, 2009 10:00 pm US/Central
Fort Worth Woman Takes 'No Chemo' Cancer Approach
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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A cancer patients holds the tubes that funnel chemotherapy drugs into his body.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
A Fort Worth woman says the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer was the scariest day of her life. Jolanta Bublewicz chose a controversial form of treatment that doesn't involve chemotherapy.
She knew the risks, but Bublewicz believes she's alive today because of the choices she made.
About eight years ago Bublewicz felt a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. "It terrified me, it terrified me," Bublewicz recalled. "I'm not going to see my kids graduate from college. I'll never dance at their wedding. This is a death sentence for me, the end," she thought.
Bublewicz had surgery to remove the lump in her breast and even though five different oncologists recommended chemotherapy to reduce the risk of recurrence, she decided against it. "I like to do my research. I need to know a lot of facts before I decide on something," she said.
She sought the advice of Dr. Joseph McWherter of Colleyville. McWherter is a gynecologist who doesn't treat cancer, but has developed an all natural approach to fighting it.
"It turns out that our own body makes a chemotherapeutic agent already," the doctor explained. "It has already been patented. If you eat enough broccoli and cruciferous vegetables you can make that same chemotherapeutic agent. So, why not make it yourself?"
McWherter says vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale and cabbage fight cancer cells. He also recommends eliminating sugar and adding high doses of Vitamin C to the body intravenously. "High dose Vitamin C has been shown, even by the National Institute of Health, to be capable of killing breast cancer cells in their early stages," McWherter claims.
Bublewicz took Vitamin C three times a week and dumped her meat, potatoes and pasta diet for healthier, sugar free fare. "A typical breakfast probably [included] a sprouted piece of bread with goat cheese, or I will have an egg, a soft boiled egg, or some slow cooked oatmeal."
Bublewicz also began taking yoga, which helps balance insulin levels. "It was a huge, huge change for me." And it was a change that yielded results. She has been completely cancer free for more than seven years without a single drop of chemotherapy.
"I feel very empowered. I feel very proud of myself for not being bullied into a treatment that I did not feel comfortable with."
Her decision may not be right for every woman. Dr. Gavin Melmed, with Texas Oncology, says chemotherapy has been shown to reduce the risk of recurrence and although he didn't treat Bublewicz, he hesitates to remove chemo completely from any treatment plan. "It would obviously be frustrating to me if I have a situation where I think there's a possibility of a disease coming back and I have a therapy that would cut down on that risk."
Dr. Melmed says there's no research to show high dose Vitamin C provides any benefit, but if patients insist, he will defer to their wishes. "I think we as doctors shouldn't be arrogant enough to pretend that what we are offering, what we're experienced with, as the only way to do things."
Bublewicz and McWherter are quick to point out; her plan was supervised by an oncologist. She had the full support of her family and now they're looking forward to celebrating life for many years to come. "My older son got married three years ago, so I danced at his wedding. Which I did not think I was going to do and my younger son will be getting married this coming March and I will be dancing at his wedding too, on the beach."
Dr. Melmed says there's no way to know if the surgery itself was enough to kill the cancer or if Jolanta Bublewicz's all natural approach after surgery prevented a recurrence.
Click here to read more about Dr. McWherter's approach.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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