ABOUT THE AUTHOR, CAROL E. PATTERSON

Carol Patterson was diagnosed with Cancer in 2007 and took two flights Chemotherapy and 70 Gray Radiation treatments five days a week for seven weeks.  The grueling treatment resulted in remission, or so they thought.    Three months later she got an eye infection and became blind in one eye for almost a year and survived and can see again.   Before she could catch her breath from that illness, she had a heart attack. 

Within two years of the first cancer diagnosis, she was again diagnosed with the same cancer.  With the second diagnosis of cancer, the team of doctors felt that Chemotherapy had not worked, and Radiation had not worked, therefore they would do “salvage surgery.”  They were going to remove a piece of her jaw, a piece of her tongue, a piece of her throat, replace her neck artery with the artery from her right hand, remove a patch of skin from her left shoulder to make a flap for her throat, insert a tracheotomy and a stomach tube for the rest of her life.  Her face would be deformed, her speech would be changed, and she would need help in daily living.

She turned down the “salvage surgery” and began her search for a cure through alternative medicine.

This book is the story of her journey to wellness and how much courage it takes to take the “Road less Travelled” and heal yourself.

Carol was born and raised in Pennsylvania.  She was an Art Major and received a Bachelor of Science degree at Drexel University in Philadelphia as a fashion design major.   She moved to New York City right after college to pursue her career in fashion.  She also attended NYU for Filmmaking and Cinematography, The New School in New York City and UCLA for Chinese Studies.
 
Her career developed over the years and she worked for many fine fashion houses in New York City, namely  Rafaella, Bill Blass Activewear, Oleg Cassini Jeans, and Hero Group.  She moved to California to start her own company doing business in China and television shopping.  That business developed and she got to have her own show on Home Shopping Network with CAROL PATTERSON KNITS and CAROL PATTERSON FASHIONS on The Shopping Channel in Canada; designing and presenting clothing, handbags, jewelry and accessories.
 
Carol began going to Asia in about 1978 for business.  She has been around the world over 300 times, and has lived in China for many years.  She developed many international businesses for companies that wanted offshore production.  She speaks basic Chinese.
 
In 1995 she attended The United Nations Conference on Women as a delegate and represented the National Association of Women Business Owners in Beijing for the conference. 
 
In 1996 she was a keynote speaker for DOING BUSINESS IN ASIA at USC, Los Angeles sponsored by the International Commerce Commission of the USA. 
 

Green Tea has many special properties, the best if which it helps the body’s immune system fight cancer.

Green tea is the most popular drink in Asia.  It’s naturally mild flavor comes from raw leaves that are not fermented, as opposed to most American teas.  The leaves are softly roasted in a huge metal wok.  There are over 3000 species of tea grown in China alone.  When you pour boiling water over green tea leaves, they double in size.  Japanese scientists recently discovered a chemical component in green tea that lowers cholesterol and stops the growth of some cancers.  It is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a substance that attacks cancer producing “free radicals” in the body.

Free radicals-high energy molecules-are present in every human body.  However, too many free radicals promote cancer growth.  They are naturally controlled and destroyed by a balance of oxygen, fats, and elements in the body’s own natural immune defense system.  Green tea “pumps up” the body’s immunity to free radicals, and thus helps prevent formation of cancerous tumors.

Dr. Fujiki, a researcher at the National cancer Center Research Institute in Tokyo, says the average green-tea drinker in Japan consumes a gram of EGCG per day.  This may be one reason that Japanese have very low levels of lung cancer, even though they are amongst the world’s heaviest smokers.

John’s Hopkins University has patented “Brassica” a Green Tea with SGS which gives you all of the health benefits of Green Tea plus SGS, the next generation anti-oxidant.  Scientists worldwide are examining the role specific natural plant compound (phytochemicals) may play in supporting the body’s natural immune system.  The scientists at John’s Hopkins University School of medicine have discovered a natural compound Sulforaphane Glucosinolate (SGS) in broccoli and concentrated in broccoli sprouts; believe that SGS boost the body’s own defense systems.  This includes Phase 2 detoxification enzymes, which promote long-lasting antioxidant and essential cellular processes that inactivate free radicals.  This tea is all natural.  It is a blend of premium Chinese Sencha green tea, and 15 mg of SGS made from selected broccoli seed.

This tea can be purchased from The Baltimore Tea Company, tel: 866-747-0001 or visit the website at www.brassicatea.com

One of my dearest friends from college, Dr. Robert Sataloff, Otolaryngologist; a famed ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor guided me through the first wave of throat cancer.  He sent me to University of Virginia, where I received the best cancer treatment in the world with their state-of-the art equipment and technology.   I followed what the doctors advised; I took two flights of Chemotherapy, plus I took 70 Gray of Radiation therapies, and gave the subject very little thought.

On my own, I was meditating daily and visualizing in order for the dreaded disease to go away.  The recovery was miraculous.  Within a very few short weeks, the cancer was in remission, and I had the task of repairing my body and my life after the treatments. 

However, with my immune system being down, I got an amoeba in my right eye from the well water in my house, and was blinded by the amoeba eating my cornea and blood vessels for almost a year.  When I saw the “Big E” for the first time in a year, the next morning I was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack.  After eight months of that recovery, I was again diagnosed with the same cancer in the throat.  It had returned.  The doctors did a biopsy and their suggestion was to do a very radical surgery.

“Salvage Surgery” as they call it is what had to be done in my case, as Chemotherapy did not work, and Radiation did not work, and this was a last resort as the name might suggest.  They wanted to take out a piece of my tongue, a piece of my throat, remove the artery from my neck in the meantime, replace that artery with the one from my right hand, give me a tracheotomy and a patch from the skin from my left shoulder, and a stomach tube for the rest of my life.  Needless to say, I turned them down on the surgery.

To me, this is where the real story begins because my cancer journey took me to alternative medicine.

This is my personal journey to wellness.  Thoughts are things, and I had “thought myself into illness.”

Logical thinking would tell us that if I thought myself there, then I could think myself out of the situation.

Food and nutrition are the first place to begin.  That accounts for about 25% of your healing process.  The other 75% is more complicated because it deals with just “why” you got ill.  What lurks in your mind that got you to live a lifetime that depleted your body’s immune system to the point that you got Cancer?  This is a very important question.

Changing nutrition and your way of thinking will get you well.

I am writing a book to show the world that no one has to have cancer anymore.

The Story of How Joyce Montgomery and her years of healing cancer patients coupled with her Reiki Healing Arts changed my life and helped me to heal my body forever.

 Before I had cancer I was an international fashion designer with a television show on Home Shopping Network and the Shopping Channel in Canada. I had several businesses and life seemed to be thriving. I was engaged to be married to my business partner. While on a business trip to China, I tried to call home to my fiancé. Call it woman’s intuition, but I had a very bad feeling. My feeling turned out to be justified. I received a call from the Sheriff telling me that my fiancé had died of a heart attack. That news shook me to the core of my existence. I flew home to collect the body only to find out my fiancé had another life that did not include me. He was gay; actually bisexual. He died before he could hide the evidence of his other life. This was September 2005. I was an emotional mess filled with a combination of anger, rage and sadness. I hid the truth from family and friends because I wanted to bury him with honor. My prayers for a very happy marriage with family and friends were answered, but not the way I was expecting. I had been betrayed on what was to be the happiest time of my life; my wedding. In May of 2007 I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I was not the typical profile of a person who gets this disease. I went to UVA for Chemo and Radiation therapy. I nearly died from the treatment. I lost 60 pounds. but the cancer was in remission. With my immune system down, I got an amoeba in my eye that ate the cornea and blood vessels and I had a heart attack. I recovered. Within two years, the same cancer returned. This time the doctors wanted to do surgery. They felt that Chemo and Radiation did not work. This time they would do “salvage surgery” which involved removing a part of my jaw, a part of my throat, a part of tongue, replace my neck artery with an artery from my right hand, take a patch of skin from my left shoulder to make a flap in my throat, insert a tracheotomy, and a stomach tube for the rest of my life. I refused “salvage surgery”. I turned to alternative medicine. I read where the body has the power to heal itself. That is where I began. I went to a Naturopathic Doctor and began a regime of herbs and vitamins coupled with fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fish. I began reading everything I could find about healing, self healing, alternative medicine and meditation and visualization techniques and Reiki. I had no choice but to take the road less traveled. I had come to what Joyce calls the “Crossroads” of my healing. I had come to the end of what I would accept from standard medical procedures. I had the three top Throat Cancer specialists in the country basically tell me the same diagnosis. “Salvage Surgery” was not an option that I would allow for myself. Besides, my inner self was telling me to “go deeper.” Joyce helped me to find that the shock of my fiancé’s death and related childhood traumas had caused my illness. She helped me to release the fact that I had been betrayed. She showed me how our emotions influence our body, mind, and soul and that I needed to love myself and forget the past. I learned that Cancer is just the symptom of something much deeper. With her vast experience in dealing with cancer patients for over twenty years and her Reiki Training, her intuitive wisdom surrounds you when you are with her. She explains that “Life is like and Onion” peeling one layer at a time. I do not have cancer anymore.

To me, Joyce Montgomery is the Angel that was sent to heal me when conventional medicine had all but given up on me.

 Her credentials: Carillion Medical Center, Roanoke, Virginia • Department: Expressions – Prosthesis and Bras for Cancer Patients – 14 years • Department: Expressions – Reiki Master Teacher Practitioner – 5 years Crossroads Meeting House, Roanoke, Virginia • Reiki Master Teacher Practitioner – Intuitive Healer

I was engaged to be married to my business partner.  While on a business trip to China, I tried to call home to my fiancé.  Call it woman’s intuition, but I had a very bad feeling.  My feeling turned out to be justified.  I received a call from the Sheriff telling me that my fiancé had died of a heart attack. 

That news shook me to the core of my existence.

I flew home to collect the body only to find out my fiancé had another life.  He was gay. This was September 2005.

I was an emotional mess filled with rage and sadness.  I hid the truth from family and friends because I wanted to bury him with honor.  My prayers for a very happy marriage with family and friends were answered, but not the way I was expecting. 

I had been betrayed on what was to be the happiest time of my life; my wedding.

In May of 2007 I was diagnosed with throat cancer.  I was not the typical profile of a person who gets this disease.

I went to UVA for Chemo and Radiation therapy.     I nearly died from the treatment.  I lost 60 pounds. but the cancer was in remission.

With my immune system down, I got an amoeba in my eye that ate the cornea and blood vessels and I had a heart attack.  I recovered. 

Within two years, the same cancer returned.

This time the doctors wanted to do surgery.  They felt that Chemo and Radiation did not work.  This time they would do “salvage surgery” which involved removing a part of my jaw, a part of my throat, a part of tongue, replace my neck artery with an artery from my right hand, take a patch of skin from my left shoulder to make a flap in my throat, insert a tracheotomy, and a stomach tube for the rest of my life.

I refused “salvage surgery”. 

I turned to alternative medicine.  I began a regime of herbs and vitamins coupled with fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and fish.

I read where the body has the power to heal itself.  That is where I began.

I used meditation and visualization techniques to find that the shock of my fiancé’s death had caused my illness.  I needed to forgive and forget.

With the help of loved ones, today I am very healthy.  I do not have cancer anymore. 

Cancer is just the symptom of something much deeper.  One needs to heal the inner self in order to have wellness.  I am not the same person as before cancer.  I take care of my body, and my emotions.  Loving one’s self and happiness is the key to good health.

What I found was to expect the unexpected if that is at all possible.  I pulled into a shell and tried to go it all alone with only a handful of friends knowing my dreaded secret.  However, leaks happen.  When your secret gets out it travels like wildfire!

People don’t know what to do.  The phone does not stop ringing and all you want to do is crawl in a hole and make it all go away.

I have a long, long story.   Blogging is my way of reaching out to others who need to hear my story in order to help themselves.

I am an avid reader.  I got books and never touched them.  I got lost in my own confusion.  I am told that this is normal.  I advise that anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, to take notes when visiting the doctor, just like you were in class studying a subject.  Also have your friend take separate notes, because you both hear two separate stories from the mass of doctors, nurses, residents, pharmacists, etc.

The first time round with cancer, I followed what the doctors said as best I could.  However, the chemotherapy is a killer.  I did not eat for six weeks.  I refused the stomach tube because I thought I could get through without it.  I could not.  I lost 80 pounds and became very frail and weak.  I was so dehydrated that my skin was flaking off me.  When I took off my shirt to take a bath, skin was flaking all over.  The heat from the bath water made me feel faint and I fell.  I broke my fingers, and mashed my back.  I blacked out and I could not stop the fall.

I almost got to the point of no return.  My friend rushed me to the hospital.  I was set up with intravenous liquids and the nurses tried to get me to eat.  I had no appetite.  Everything tasted like cardboard, so why eat???  I was in a bad way.

I agreed to a stomach tube and began to get nourishment to my body.  I came back from the brink of death.

I do not want anyone to go the route I took.  There are other ways to cure cancer.

When the cancer returned several years later, I took a new method of healing.  I have an incredible story to tell.  This story is one of faith, healing, love for one’s self; body, mind and soul.  Friends and loved ones are essential to the healing process, but you can do it alone, with the help of God.

Here is a phrase that someone gave me a long time ago that has become my mantra:

Faith:  When you have come to the end of all that you know, one of two things will happen; either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly!

Remember that I am here to write this story and to reach out to others who need to hear my story.  I have been given something solid to stand on, AND I have been taught to fly!