How HBOT Shrunk Cancer Symptoms & December’s Client Focus: Brittany!

By Lydia M | In Light Hyperbarics News | December 2022 | Post #10

Brittany, a young, self-reliant mother of two beautiful littles, surrounded by a devoted husband, friends & family; full of life & love and busy as most Mom’s are these days, had suddenly lost all independence after some acute symptoms took away her ability to drive. Her vision was impaired and dizziness ensued from what she would soon discover was a tumor on the base of her skull - that was resting on a nerve near the right ear. A fully independent woman was having to completely rely on others for everything, is what it felt like to Brittany...her world had flipped upside down in a matter of days.

At the young age of 37, Brittany felt like her body belonged to that of a woman decades older, and as if she was spiraling out of control with feelings that she simply couldn’t do it anymore. The cancer she had fought and beat once before, a decade ago, had returned in April of 2020, and in the two years thereafter, cancer had won the latest round in the battle.  Symptoms had come to a point of knocking her to her knees…literally, but cancer didn’t know who it was dealing with…a warrior inside that could not be held down from LIFE & JOY for too long.

Brittany does however explain to me how dark this time was and it being the worst in her life, expressing how this version of herself was completely foreign to her ‘real self’.

...She elaborates, “I would come home, sit and stare at the wall. It took me so long to get up the stairs at night with no energy, and literally I just couldn’t wait to go to bed. I didn’t want to live anymore. I called my mom and told her and she had my dad come over and I sobbed to him I didn’t wanna be here and I wanted God to take me. I couldn’t be a mom, wife, sister, friend or daughter. I don’t want this life anymore. My dad cried with me and stayed all day cleaning the house and sat with me. I couldn’t even barely use the bathroom on my own. Kyle, my amazing, loyal and handsome husband, was scared to leave me home with the kids and I just kept saying I don’t want to live.” 

That’s when the family gathered with Brittainy’s husband when sister Aleasha found HBOT and how the therapy has helped cancer patients deal with the side effects of  medication and radiation, in addition to supporting greater healing & recovery.

After a week of doing HBOT, BrIttany stated with great excitement, “I have been eating everything in sight, drinking lots of water, taking care of myself, taking my pills appropriately, and pushing myself as much as I can! I started the hyperbaric chambers on Monday and I completed, I believe eight so far, and it has been the best week of my life! I am gaining muscle back slowly, weight, mental clarity, I LITERALLY CALL THIS MY DRUG, MY GOLD! My body craves it! I have another week booked up for next week and it is the best community for me right now!”

Let’s go back in history to April 2020… when Brittany got a clear picture of how deep the cancer spread throughout her body from Metastatic Melanoma…this woman is a hero and Super Trooper for continuing to fight the battle against cancer ravaging her body, and through COVID lockdowns at that! The punches kept coming to test her resolve with an unfortunate lay-off from her beloved career due to the heavy workload and difficulty keeping up from the side effects of radiation and cancer treatment. Life continued around her with the responsibilities of what goes on with holidays, school plays, homework, camping trips, etc…she battled while LIFE KEPT ON GOING.

The news that it was Metastatic Melanoma had come. Her Oncologist, called to give the important news, and said they were going over all biopsies again with the pathologist (a normal practice) and that all biopsies had melanoma markers in them. When the pathologist originally was studying them he didn’t realize Brittany had a history of melanoma. She said they were almost certain that was what Brittany had.

Brittany came out of the appointment thankful it was melanoma, and not, triple negative breast cancer as originally thought. The treatment plan was pending insurance approval with more tests to be completed that would make sure they found it all. Don’t underestimate this feeling, as it was all still so very scary, but Brittany described that at least it really wasn’t the quickly spreading breast cancer that only had a couple of options of treatment, as opposed to melanoma which has come so far with many more options.

Cancer spread rapidly to other parts of her body, from lungs to brain, but Brittany was assured the treatment plan wouldn’t change, that these were common spots for melanoma to spread and that they would get a handle on it quickly.

Treatment began July 2nd and there was a lot of gratitude that the treatment didn’t involve chemotherapy, but instead, a combination of immunotherapy which has less side effects and has come so far with certain cancers, thankfully melanoma being one of them. Five or ten years ago may have told a different story though.

Three months of immunotherapy treatment and all tumors throughout Brittany’s body began to shrink and organs began to stabilize, with minor to moderate side effects. This enabled life to continue, with all the responsibilities that a wife and mother of two has to handle. Life was finally turning around for the better!

…Fast forward a few months

On oct 12th Brittany woke up thinking it was a normal day but had a little headache and didn’t think much of it; got the kids ready for school and in the meantime noticed that the whole right side of her face had gone numb. Still thinking after about an hour it was maybe blood sugar issues which she had fought with often due to immunotherapy and the cancer. 

Was it a stroke? Was it Bell's Palsy? What was happening…

Both doctor and Mom had urged a trip to the ER as everyone thought it could be a stroke. An MRI was recommended immediately and Brittany expressed to me, “I have had my fair share of MRI’s over the years and if anyone knows what that is like they SUCK, 40 mins of your head stuck in a cage in a claustrophobic machine, but hey they give you great photos! Ok so yay I’m out of the MRI and go back to the room and try to remain positive while Kyle and my mom are Secret spies sneaking in and out of the hospital because I was only supposed to have one person with me, because of COVID, my people are magic I tell ya, I was nervous they were gonna get caught…lol!”

Brittany with Kyle & Mom…her beloved secret spies!

Unfortunately test results showed a tumor at the base of her skull and that it was resting on a nerve, causing facial paralysis that could last forever. This explained the loss of hearing in the right ear, equilibrium, blinking and smiling. It all began to make sense.

Where were her spies when she needed them the most? Brittany recalls that time all alone in the office for the diagnosis,  “I immediately started sobbing just wishing one of the spies was there to hold my hand. The doctor was amazing and held my leg and you could tell was heartbroken for me. I just kept wondering why - I'm 37, with two beautiful kids, a loving and handsome husband, with wonderful friends and family and an amazing life!”

So it was off to radiation, and she was really not looking forward to it because of experiencing 23 rounds of radiation years ago, and her body didn’t handle it well at all. This poor woman had to, at that point, endure radiation to her stomach and kidney area, her brain twice, and she even tells me she lost count as to how many times with all the places on her body. 

But here’s an interesting fact…did you know that you can’t radiate a spot twice?

Brittany elaborates on the experience, “So basically, they were chasing down the spots until realizing when finding the tumor at the base of my skull that my immunotherapy that I have been on the last 2.5 years of my life (that, let me add, had issues of their own in that they contributed to inflammation where I could barely bend down for two years, kneel at all on some days or walk up the stairs. I was incredibly itchy - I don’t know how many times I had to ask my family to scratch attack my back - and countless other symptoms I won’t bore you with), had STOPPED WORKING, and it was time to try another treatment…OH BOY!” 

ANDDDD….another miracle showed up. Brittany had tested for dozens of gene markers at the start of testing, and the ‘B-raff’ gene she tested positive for was compatible with a new drug that affected said gene markers…woooohooo, the oncologist called it the “magic treatment” for her markers, so the medication began with hopes of great success!

Then, a bolder hits… when a week later after the meds for her specific genes were taken, well, all of the sudden, all equilibrium was gone. Brittany was feeling worse and trying to function as a mom of littles while the room began to spin around her. The doctors tried to continue encouraging her with appointments for radiation beginning with much hope from the doctors that things would get better.

But she wasn’t doing well: losing weight, dizzy, with no energy to barely get up the stairs and take care of her children. It all became too much at once and Brittany lost hope to ever recover. She felt she was wilting away in every way…mentally, emotionally and physically. Brittany faced the truth that she didn’t want to be here anymore…couldn’t take it anymore. There was no energy to even feed herself, let alone take care of her kids in the way that she had always wanted. 

It was Halloween and Brittany forced herself to be able to try to attend a party with her children and family members, barely getting through the night, when I just couldn’t wait to get home and go to sleep and hopefully not wake up to continue life in the morning, I’m even pretty sure I prayed for God to take me home.  Well, instead what happened is Aleasha sent her sister a text message with an appointment time set up for a consultation with ILH to learn about HBOT. Brittany was worried about the cost and didn’t want to go.

The next day, a text from Mom said, “Brittany I don’t care what you say we are going to do the hyperbaric chamber for you and it will be so good with all the benefits.” Brittany could hear it in Mom’s voice that it was something she needed to accept…and the HBOT journey began the following Monday!

This week will mark 45 HBOT sessions on the books and ya girl is continuing to HEAL…I’ll let her tell you about it: “I am doing so great and feeling almost back to my normal self. It has been amazing getting to go in the chambers mostly 2 times daily and just feel all the benefits from it. In about 2 months I can do almost everything I was able to before I went downhill and am feeling pretty good, gaining weight, sleeping great and I honestly don’t know what I would have done had I not had the chambers and light therapy to thank for how I feel today! Not to mention getting to have a relationship with the staff has been wonderful they are so inviting and friendly and just amazing people that I will never forget and truly believe that God set me up with ILH through my sister. I had heard of Hyperbaric Chambers when my cancer had come back and had it in the back of my mind all along but it honestly scared me to have to go in a chamber and I thought I had to wear a oxygen mask however I couldn’t have been further from the truth. The chambers are so comfortable and feel like you are laying in bed.  I think I have napped in them each time from the get go!”

Brittany keeps sharing with me her desire to help others from what she’s learned through her healing journey and with excitement expressed to me, “I also would love this to reach anyone going through a similar situation and any other cancer diagnosis because I truly believe this is what will cure cancer one day or at least just truly help somebody out like one weeks worth has helped me!  I am a hyperbaric chamber lover of life and will advocate the rest of my life and honestly have a dream and goal to be a huge part of this business!”

Thank you ILH community for reading this amazing story and how HBOT can help! We LOVE Brittany and are blessed to see her multiple times a week to love on her and give her any support she needs while with us. We can attest to how wonderful her family is when we’ve had the pleasure to interact with her dad, as well, when he comes in for treatment or picks Brittany up with her adorable and fun kids. Let the HOPE spread and JOY boil over!! 

How & Why can HBOT Shrink Cancer Symptoms:

Although we have made great strides for early detection and radical advances in treatments, cancer is still one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Patients and healthcare professionals alike are constantly looking for innovating ways to treat this invasive disease. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has become an option that many are turning to in conjunction with other treatments, called combination therapy, as well as for pre-cancer therapy to help the cancer treatment work at its best. 

HBOT has been proven to be a powerful and effective modality of recovery for those with cancer. Cancer flourishes in hypoxic (the absence of enough oxygen in the tissues to support the body) environments. HBOT increases oxygen in cells, and is therefore, a modality that helps to increase the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Because HBOT increases oxygen in the body, it has been proven to actually weaken some tumors ability to grow.

HBOT can be used to promote anti-inflammation associated with a number of conditions, surrounding cancer & associated recovery measures.

The benefits of HBOT may even go beyond reducing the aggressiveness of tumors, as it has been shown to have additional benefits for those recovering from cancer!

HBOT stimulates and accelerates the body’s own healing process by delivering and efficiently moving oxygen through the body for cellular regeneration.

We offer two types of hyperbaric chambers for next level healing. First, the mild soft shell hyperbaric chamber which contains infrared light therapy. Second, hard-shell chambers, which dose medical grade oxygen. Read HBOT 101 here!

Cancer is a disease that impacts the lives of so many people. Treatments can be long and difficult for some. We firmly believe that everyone deserves to be given the chance to heal and recover. Our team is here to help answer your questions about HBOT, our chambers, and the benefits of this natural - yet HIGHLY ADVANCED & ancient option. 

Come to our HBOT 101 Event on Jan10th to learn so much more! Get ALL your questions answered! RSVP HERE

How does this therapy help people heal after radiation & chemo?

“High doses of radiation are used to destroy cancer cells, but they also kill healthy cells in their path. Chemotherapy does the same thing but in a different way. One or both of these harsh treatments may affect your organ function, create open wounds inside and out, induce muscle stiffness and weakness, as well as damage your blood vessels, glands and bones. Some of these side effects will heal within weeks of radiation or chemotherapy, but some can become devastating long-term problems.

When you went in for your cancer treatment, unquestionably you were focused on killing the cancer so you could live. You really didn’t think much about what your life might look like after treatment was over, or years down the road. You took for ranted that your body woulds heal like it always does. You never imagined your body would be so broken from treatment that it wouldn’t be able to function the way it used to. You knew that your immune system would be compromised, but it was hard to envision exactly what that meant. Before treatment began you were unable to comprehend the devastating effect these treatments would havre on your body. Now your body no longer has healthy oxygen delivery, which is critical to your healing process. You will heal over time, but you want to feel better sooner and now that you are finished with treatment, you want to get back to life. You are also worried about your cancer coming back in the future. To prevent this from happening you need to change the internal environment inside your body.

Breathing oxygen under pressure combined with light therapy are perfect to assist you in this process. As I learned at a conference form Dr. Zayd Ratansi, together they will help your damaged tissue, increase cellular energy and support your body in speeding up the healing process.”

Excerpt: Radical Recovery by Edna Ness, pg’s 59 -60.

Study: Tumor Regression Stimulated by HBOT. A non-randomized trial was conducted with 29 patients to evaluate the efficacy of radiotherapy combined with HBOT, in patients with a malignant giloma. Fifteen patients were irradiated daily after HBOT and fourteen other irradiated patients were treated without HBOT. In the HBOT group, 11 of 15 patients (73 percent) showed >50 percent tumor regression. In the non-HBOT group, only four of 14 patients (29 percent) underwent tumor regression. The median survival rate in patients with HBOT doubled that of the non-HBOT group (24 months vs. 12 months) respectively. No serious side-effects were observed in the HBOT patients. This provides additional support for HBOT to be beneficial treatment for malignant gilomas.

k kohshi, Y Kinoshita, H Imada, N Kunugita, H Abe, H Terashima, N Tokui and S Uemura (1999) Effects of radiotherapy after hyperbaric oxygenation on malignant gilomas. British Journal of Cancer (1999) 80(1/2), 236-241.
www.ihausa.org/cancer

If you know anyone who is going through cancer recovery, share this promotion we are running in the first quarter of 2023 with them!

We would love the opportunity to serve all of you in our community !

Keep coming back to this blog for more stories like this to inspire you, and to gain more knowledge about what ILH can do for YOU!

None of the statements above have been evaluated or approved by the FDA. All of the statements made in this document are not anecdotal and have been taken directly from clinical data. This does not claim to diagnose, treat or cure and is for information purposes only.