Through this whole process, I've become more and more detached with the whole idea of giving a patient a prognosis. Jared's mom, Linda, was immediately given a prognosis of 13 months by her doctor. I've often wondered if the negative prognosis hexed her ability to fight her cancer. Now I'm not saying she would've been cured, but she may have lived longer.
I can't imagine that anybody would feel it's their place to give a time-limit on another's life. Yet it happens all the time. Is it possible for a doctor to deliver a serious diagnosis without being negative and doubtful? ABSOLUTELY! They can deliver the news in the form of a challenge, rather than a death sentence.
After the whole episode with the physical therapy doctor being doubtful, I was determined not to allow his oncologists to place limits. And luckily they didn't. If they had, we would've gone elsewhere. I had already witnessed first-hand what happens in the mind of somebody internalizing negative predictions. They take all of the negative, and they exaggerate it or hear words the doctor didn't actually say, because they're coming from a place of panic and fear. And that's exactly what Jared did after the physical therapy doctor left the room. I, on the other hand, could clearly see what this doctor was doing. He was trying to "cover himself" by giving a worst-case scenario, yet this worst-case scenario could've been detrimental on Jared's ability to recover by placing a mind barrier!!!
I've heard so many different stories - one person told me about his mother who had had a stroke 10 years earlier, a doctor told her she'd never move her one side again, so she gave up and never even tried rehab!!! She just accepted this one doctor's opinion as fact and gave up! Another was a person who, when his cancer came back several years after the first occurrence, the doctor told him at that point there was nothing they could do. He accepted it and passed away shortly after. After his passing, the family discovered all sorts of new treatment options they were unaware of that were proving to be much more effective! But because they had accepted his doctor's opinion as fact, they didn't do their research.
But I've also heard the flip-side. To share just a couple... One guy was told he had 3 months tops, and he wasn't willing to accept that answer, He is now three years out with no sign of cancer. He credits his diet change for saving his life. Another was told she had 2-3 months, but she, too, didn't accept it and was determined to find a treatment to save her. She's now 10 years out, cancer-free, from doing a clinical trial treatment. And my boss from 8 years ago was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. He was actually a medical examiner. He didn't accept his prognosis either. I think being in the medical profession he realized he had options. So he did a clinical treatment in Arkansas, and is doing great today! And his clinical treatment from 8 years ago is now the standard care for his type of cancer because it was proving to be so much more effective!
I read a book back in March about the power of the mind in battling serious illnesses. The author of the book had overcome more than one terminal illness himself, and spent 10 years at UCLA studying the power of hope. At the same time he would be asked by doctors there to "boost the spirits" of patients that had given up, and he'd personally watch the difference hope would bring. And he saw amazing things. One woman with breast cancer found that her tumor had shrunk in size! Another man was getting his will in order because he'd been found to be HIV-positive (this was many years ago when that was considered a death sentence). He had given up hope. But after meeting with this author and having a different outlook, he found out a few months later he was no longer HIV-positive! And nobody could explain it. I share only two of the many, many stories this author had witnessed over the ten years at UCLA.
Although it's hard to clinically prove that hope enhances the immune system, it is indisputable that feelings such as fear, depression, anxiety, and panic shut down the immune system.
So how would giving a patient a time-limit ever be beneficial? It creates an atmosphere where the immune system is compromised, making any treatment less effective!
I've heard many stories of people defying odds, and it seems like all of these people have a different "cure." For one, it was their diet change, for another, a clinical treatment, for another, a homeopathic remedy, and for another, injections of some sort. I've drawn my own personal conclusion. I believe it has less to do with the actual treatment, and more to do with the fact that it gives a person hope, allowing the immune system to kick in and do what it's there to do!
A couple weeks after Jared's diagnosis, I was once again awake in the middle of the night with all of these thoughts stirring in my mind - mostly about the impact a doctor can have on a patient by being negative and doubtful, and the words Bogus Prognosis came to me. I knew I had a new calling in life! It was catchy, and it was a phrase that described exactly the message I wanted to share - a message that empowers a person to decide their own fate rather than allowing somebody else to place limits!
Here's some stuff that I've created:
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| We don't deny the diagnosis, we try to defy the verdict! |
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| Some of my favorites |
Of all the current products, I think the "Little Motivator" kids shirt might be my favorite. I've looked around to see what kinds of cancer awareness shirts are out there for kids, and it was really disappointing - particularly the messages. The message of this shirt was inspired by both Jared and Linda. My kids are definitely Jared's "little motivators." I also think of Linda, and if one of my kids would've come to visit her wearing a "Little Motivator" shirt, I think it would've made her whole month!
