Colon Cancer Survivors
Dr. Keith Block
Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment

The stories of  colon cancer survivors on this page are excerpted from patients with advanced colon cancer that received customized cancer treatment from Dr. Keith Block at the Block Center for Integrated Cancer Therapy in Skokie, IL. The Block Center is one of our recommended Cancer Centers and Dr. Block is one of our recommended Cancer Doctors.  A more detailed discussion of standard of care chemotherapy and of the customized and personalized care provided to cancer patients by Dr. Block can be found on our Cancer Centers, Cancer Doctors and Cancer Therapy Options pages.

And now for the stories of Colon Cancer Survivors.

Colon Cancer Survivors-Randy
Colon Cancer-Stage IV

I was 35 when I was first diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer. A year after they did a resection, the cancer returned and had spread to my liver. My diagnosis was then Stage IV Colon Cancer, and I was given 5 months to live.

My wife Beatrice and I weren’t prepared to just give up and wait for the inevitable. We quickly began researching options to put together a game plan since I had only recently finished treatments on my initial colon cancer.

We believed that cancer had to be treated on all sides and felt that we needed the best in traditional and non-traditional options as a course of treatment. Beatrice got busy researching everything she could find on the Internet about the role of nutrition in the treatment of cancer.

Though a practicing attorney, my wife always had a genuine interest in cooking and nutrition, and the more she researched, the more she believed that I had to change my diet immediately. However, when she brought her concerns to my doctors, they told her she was wasting her time worrying about my diet. In fact, one went so far as to tell her that she would be “killing” me if she continued to insist I stop eating red meat, refined carbohydrates and sugary desserts. Their advice was for me to eat whatever I wanted to, the more the better, regardless of what it was.

Fortunately, my wife knew she was onto something important for my recovery, and didn’t back down. And then we found the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment. We were living in California at the time, and made the decision to fly out to the Chicago area for a consult with the team at the Block Center. I really liked the environment at the Block Center, and immediately felt comfortable with their supportive, optimistic people. They are real advocates for their patients. And most importantly, they saw me as a person and not just another patient.

They gave me chemotherapy using a portable pump, and timed it to my body’s system. Because it was portable, I could go home and rest while I was getting the treatments. And, they confirmed what my wife had been saying, that diet would play an important role in my recovery. They customized a supplement plan for me to help me rebuild my strength and counteract some of the side effects of the chemo.

It’s been almost 10 years that I’ve been cancer free. I will be forever grateful to the Block Center for helping me beat cancer. If I had listened to the other doctors, I don’t think I’d be here today.

This changed Beatrice’s life, too. My cancer was a wake-up call to all of us that life is short, and unpredictable, and she quit practicing law and began pursuing her passions: teaching and acting. I will never be able to thank the Block Center for what they’ve done. They gave us more than treatment and options. They gave us hope.
 NOTE:  The above account was excerpted and summarized from blockmd.com

Additional Stories of Colon Cancer Survivors

For additional colon cancer survivor stories see Colon Cancer Survival Stories-Patients of Dr. Robert Nagourney

For cancer survivor stores of people with other types of cancer see our Cancer Survivor Stories page