Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist
March 13, 2022 [printfriendly]
Starting at the end of June 2021, life for me has been a roller coaster ride. My body has been challenged like at no other time – complications with my immunotherapy, fighting external viruses, dealing with body pain, and plummeting into depths of depression.
As a quick recap, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in September of 2018, following what I thought was an extremely healthy lifestyle the previous 6 years. My oncologist gave me 3-6 months to live if I did nothing. I rejected chemotherapy and used my medical background and research to develop what I now call my 10 Unconventional Cancer Protocols.
This approach was not without setbacks, as I found myself in Hospice for end-of-life care in 2019. However, as you know, that was NOT the end of my story. I adjusted my approach with my continued research, and I began thriving.
However, these last 9 months have been bordering on horrific. I always try to keep an upbeat tone when I share my findings with you, but I also believe it’s important to be transparent and real. I look forward to the day when I can say, “I’m thriving again!”.
Here’s what’s been going on behind the scenes:
My Strength
My first pillar of strength has been my astonishing wife. And once again, she has come through with flying colors. But I can tell you, “I don’t make it easy for her.” I’ve been known to be a pain in the ass.
In addition, my oncologist stands out as stellar in his own right.
He is the most empathetic and committed medical professional I know. He is a conventional, allopathic specialist who practices in a large oncology group where I live. I dare not tell you his name, because he must follow the standard of care for his cancer patients or else his practice and most likely the medical licensing board would end his career if he deviated. But he always is interested in my “out of the box” thinking and the research I have put into my 10 Unconventional Cancer Protocols.
After my diagnosis in 2018, I have been adhering to my protocols, which have served me well. But by the end of June 2021, my path became repeatedly choppy.
June – September 2021
A botched injection of my monthly immunotherapy on June 22, 2021, may have weakened my body’s defenses. I wrote all about it HERE.
At first, I thought I developed severe side effects from this monoclonal antibody called Darzalex. (Darzalex is a human-derived monoclonal antibody that attaches itself to a specific protein on the surface of malignant plasma cells. Then the body’s immune system can eat up these tagged malignant plasma cells.)
But what developed by the beginning of July was far worse and more complicated.
Early in July, I developed a sore throat and cough. I used my Bee Propolis Spray and Nebulized 0.1% Hydrogen Peroxide saline that took care of those symptoms. Then almost immediately after that I experienced extreme exhaustion, overall muscle and intense joint pain, and headaches which just got worse. And then there was diarrhea, which I don’t deal with very well.
I never had a fever, loss of taste, or loss of smell.
These “side effects” started deteriorating my body. My oncologist believed that the exaggerated symptoms were the compounding effects from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It made sense that my body was weakened from the recent immunotherapy injection, and I was more susceptible to contracting the virus.
But it is difficult to determine what is going on for some patients with multiple myeloma. Since multiple myeloma produces dysfunctional antibodies, my immunoglobulins are not functioning as those would be for someone without cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow.
Shortly after developing all my symptoms, I had my monthly blood work drawn. My CBC showed lower than normal hemoglobin. I had a significant rise in my neutrophil count and a significant drop in my lymphocyte count. My blood chemistries showed increased serum calcium and elevated alkaline phosphatase. My immunofluorescent blood work showed a spike in my serum dysfunctional IgA antibodies. It was bizarre, but all these biomarkers were moving in the wrong direction after July 2021. This had not happened before.
October – November 2021
Again, I returned to my specialist’s office on 10/19/21 for a round of new blood work. At that time, he also scheduled me for a new PET Scan on 10/26/21.
The most compelling biomarker that suggested I had COVID was my NLR, which was skyrocketing when I had another CBC drawn on 11/2/21.
NLR is the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio. It is a reliable blood marker for systemic inflammation and a most robust marker for COVID. A severely high NLR has been reported in various recent medical papers to be a hallmark of severe COVID-19.
A normal NLR is between 1:1 and 3:1. In this published study, the average NLR for hospitalized COVID patients was 6.15. When that ratio rose above 8.17 in the study, the risk of death increased. Strikingly, my NLR on 11/2/21 was 42.0 – a seriously disturbing level!
But I never had to be hospitalized. My efforts to support my immune system have played an important part in my body’s ability to heal – albeit slowly.
Another tool in the toolbox is the PET Scan. When I had my PET Scan on 10/26/21, it showed that my multiple myeloma had become slightly-to-moderately activated again and centralized in my colon area, lower spine, and pelvis.
Did all this start with a botched immunotherapy injection at the end of June? Was COVID causing havoc with my physical body, my bloodwork, as well as my multiple myeloma? The answers seem to be, “YES!”
I became very depressed.
I remember in September 2018 I was at the oncologist’s office for the very first time. My wife and adult children were at this appointment. The oncologist told me of my diagnosis and prognosis. After we discussed the options of chemo and other treatment, he said that eventually all meds eventually would prove ineffective. Then, I would succumb to the manifestations of multiple myeloma.
Was this the end? Was I going downhill for the last time? Good thoughts were replaced by dark, destructive, negative energies.
December 2021 – January 2022
Once again, my wife pulled me out of the abyss of depression by my bootstraps and set me straight. She has been my guiding light and pillar of strength since we married in 1969. And certainly, since my cancer diagnosis in 2018, she has been my partner in my cancer journey.
I continued with all my 10 Unconventional Cancer Protocols, but I added two new elements that I believe can assist in healing my body – colostrum and hydrogen-rich water.
I also began another round of my monthly immunotherapy (i.e., Darzalex FasPro) on 1/4/22 since I thought I was recovering well from the COVID symptoms.
Colostrum
I wrote about my experiment with eating Colostrum-6 every day. There is an abundance of research touting the health benefits of colostrum, especially with healing the gut. And you know how much emphasis I place on a healthy gut for overall health and immune support.
Hydrogen-Rich Water
I also wrote about another new pet research project of mine, molecular hydrogen. There are over 15 years of published medical articles about its ability to bring the body back into a state of balance or homeostasis. At high levels of concentration, molecular hydrogen dissolved in water may produce significant clinical benefits. This study describes the benefits for adults over the age of 70.
Two of the most interesting aspects of high-dose molecular hydrogen dissolved in drinking water (16PPM) is that it is a discriminating free-radical scavenger and an anti-inflammatory agent.
The emphasis is on discriminating. That means it does not destroy the good free radicals that the body creates for many biologically necessary functions. It only neutralizes the excessive free radicals and the most dangerous of them.
February – March 2022
Assuming that the immunotherapy would be OK, I had another injection on 2/1/22.
I was wrong!
I once again developed serious side effects. My joints and muscles became extremely painful, and I had difficulty raising my arms and walking. My shoulder joints became “frozen” (adhesive capsulitis).
I felt debilitated and incapacitated.
On 2/28/22, I had a new PET Scan. And on 3/1/22, I had new blood work and an appointment with my oncologist. He reviewed that day’s blood work and the results of the PET Scan from the previous day.
This was a crucial day in my Cancer Journey.
He told me that my Darzalex FasPro subcutaneous injections have exceeded the risk-benefit ratio. And my blood work and symptoms were reflecting this toxicity.
It now appeared that my symptoms beginning after my botched Darzalex injection on 6/22/21 and then reappearing after this last round of Darzalex on 2/1/22 were directly related to the severe and compounding side effects of Darzalex along with the underlying and lingering effects of COVID-19.
Both of which woke up my cancer, which was confirmed in my newest PET Scan taken on 2/28/22.
The Scan showed a continuation of the resurgence of multiple myeloma spreading to other areas. Through no fault of my own, but rather the fault of Darzalex’s side effects and the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, the bone marrow cancer was rearing up its ugly head.
I had to consider my next steps and options.
Next Steps & Options
- I could not be in denial.
- I could not get depressed.
- I had to maintain the proactive attitude that brought me to where I was before June 22, 2021, when all these problems started.
- I knew I would no longer put Darzalex into my body.
My oncologist suggested chemo, but I once again declined. Here’s why …
At my diagnosis in 2018, I rejected chemo because my quality of life could have been significantly decreased with the chemo. And quality of life meant more to me than longevity with increasingly debilitating symptoms.
Chemo cocktails are a potentially damaging combination of chemicals which can disturb all biological functions as well as everything I have been doing to support my immune system.
I am not in agreement with other conventional specialists who have said that chemo is the only answer. The side effects, which are numerous, are testaments to the fact that the recommended chemotherapy drugs have produced serious complications for some patients. The response to my concerns from many allopathic oncologists is that there are always other meds to offset the side effects from chemotherapy.
However, I can’t rationalize that statement. I can’t make any sense of it in my head because my goal is to allow my immune system to do what it can do to heal my body. The last thing I want to do is disturb and short circuit my body’s biochemical functions.
So, I know that following my 10 Unconventional Cancer Protocols will assist my body in healing as best as possible – just as it did in the past. I have no expectation that my Protocols will take me into remission or cure this bone marrow cancer.
A greater power than I am able to comprehend has created the human machine I call “me”. This omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, cosmic energy source made “me” perfectly balanced and functional. Why would I hamper “me” from doing what it was designed to do by God? I have a strong spiritual belief that I am here on this Earth in this body to learn important lessons, and my cancer journey is a significant part of those lessons.
Naysayers Have Nothing on my Support System
Although my wife is there to encourage me, I don’t always get love from everyone.
For example, when I publish my cancer journey updates on some social media sites, some individuals leave their comments in capital letters like they’re screaming at me. Recent comments have been …
- “GET THE HELL OFF THIS SITE”
- “YOU’RE KILLING PEOPLE BY TELLING THEM TO EAT RED MEAT”
- “YOU’RE A FAKE AND A SCAM ARTIST”
Generally, the most vitriolic comments are coming from those who shout,
- “BECOME A VEGAN IF YOU WANT TO CURE YOUR CANCER”
Where Am I Going?
I don’t know.
I do know where I want to go. And I have the motivation and attitude to get there.
By stopping the offending Darzalex and continuing with all my 10 Unconventional Cancer Protocols, I expect to get back to “my normal”.
I realize that multiple myeloma is real and spreading in my body. But I also realize that my body has the potential to assist the fight without any outside chemical side effects.
One of the excellent investigative journalists I regularly follow on an uncensored social media site says, “The virus is gonna virus”. I’ll take his insight one step further and say, “The cancer is gonna cancer”.
I continue to forge ahead and always am looking to tweak my Protocols with methods to enhance my existing immune system to become the best it can be under my current circumstances. I still am dealing with lingering bone pain. But I’m working on that.
And I am moving forward with great expectations and abundance of proof that what I have done in the past has worked and will produce excellent benefits for me as time moves on.
Again, I must emphasize that I do not have a cure for cancer, and what I am doing for myself is my own personal journey. My goal is to be transparent and candid about my experiences – both good and bad.
Of course, my awesome wife is always by my side, and my empathetic oncologist is rooting me on.
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