How to Survive 3 Cancers with Healthy Life Style

Carol was born in Boston and moved to Wellesley when she was 10 years old. She was a very active person when she attended Wellesley High School and played sports for her school team. She was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) when she was studying at Boston College and started taking birth control pills to induce her period for over 10 years. As an athlete, she ate healthy but she was fond of coffee and sweets.

Her doctor found multiple breast cysts when she had her annual check-up at the Boston Medical Center. She did not pay attention and continued with her busy study schedule at Boston College for 4 years. She also started teaching at the Westwood High School after she graduated from Boston College. With her hard work and perseverance, she bought a house in Newton, so her two children can go to Newton High School and take a good education. She has been a happy and healthy teacher until the age of 50 when menopause started. She could not sleep well afflicted with hot flushes and night sweats.

Carol was given hormone replacements by her OBGYN at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. After a year of hormone treatments, she developed breast cancer in 1994. She had chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the Boston Medical Center, and then she took Tamoxifen for 5 years. In 1995, her doctor discovered a mass growing on her left ovary. She had a hysterectomy at the Newton Wellesley Hospital. In 2011, she was diagnosed with tonsil cancer, for which she had radiation therapy and later the surgeon at the Boston Medical Center removed her whole tonsil. Her right side neck had a big scar after the surgery with numbness and tightness. She developed neck pain and hand numbness a few years after her surgery. She tried PT and chiropractic treatments. The neck pain and hand numbness continued unabated. She had to get up in the middle of the night and walk around to ease her neck pain and hand numbness. She then went back to sleep.

After medical treatment, carol finally decided to try acupuncture treatment at the Boston Chinese Acupuncture Clinic in Needham. She took 10 sessions in total and each session was attended twice a week. Her neck pain and hand numbness disappeared and she was able to sleep 5 to 6 hours at night. After chemo and radiation therapy, she was told that she had developed macular degeneration and her kidney was not functioning normally. Carol’s acupuncturist in Needham used acupuncture to slow down her macular degeneration and improve kidney function thereby making her fit. She survived three cancers in the space of 25 years. She is still active and lives with her daughter in Dedham very happily and with a healthy lifestyle.