Date:   9/18/2013 1:22:20 PM ( 11 y ago)
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URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=2105705

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Raphaela Savino, 68, Brooklyn, Nurse

Then: A diagnosis of stage 2 ovarian cancer
Now: "I've been healthy for 15 years"

As a nurse, Raphaela Savino was always admired for her strength and independence. So it came as no surprise to her friends and family that after she was diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer in 1992, she chose an unconventional path toward recovery.

Savino did have surgery to remove her ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes but refused the recommended follow-up chemotherapy, which promised her a 70% chance of surviving for 5 years. "Having cared for cancer patients, I knew chemo would make me sick and destroy my immune system, which I needed to get strong," she says. If the time she had left was limited, she wanted to pack it with as much joy and energy as possible.

Still, she felt she should do something and became interested in alternative strategies for staving off a recurrence of the disease. Her research led to Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, a Manhattan immunologist who's had success treating cancer with pancreatic enzymes, which come from pigs. Gonzalez's approach is based on century-old research by Scottish embryologist John Beard, who first theorized that enzymes in the pancreas could have strong cancer-fighting properties.

Gonzalez prescribed the enzymes and a custom diet consisting of raw foods, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements designed to fight cancer and bolster her immunity, which appealed to her because it was the opposite of what she feared from chemo. The supplements totaled nearly 200 pills a day.

"This is really aggressive medicine," Gonzalez says. "We're as tough as any oncologist is with chemo. The idea that you just drink some green juice is not true. It's a tough road."

How tough? Savino rose every morning before dawn to prepare her meals, apportion her pills, and plan her detoxification routine, all the while coping with side effects typical of the early stages of the treatment, such as aches and extreme fatigue. "I was exhausted. But I could feel the effects right away, and that made me stick with it. I began to look better, more alive. I felt like my immune system was being challenged in a positive way, not destroyed, like with chemo."


As each month passed, she felt better and stronger. Blood tests revealed an increasingly vigorous immune system and declining cancer markers. Within 18 months, she began reducing the number of supplements she took and today, 15 years later, is down to about 70 pills a day. She hasn't seen an oncologist in that time but is confident she is healthy.

"I'm stronger than ever," says Savino, who now also works as a health care consultant. "I take adventure trips—white-water rafting, horseback riding—to Utah and Canada. The younger women are always amazed. They can't believe I had such a serious illness."

 

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