Magic Mushrooms?

When Mum shared the news about my Hemangiosarcoma, a few people mentioned names of vets in the U.S. and some sort of effective treatment with mushroom powder. So when Mum asked our vet if he knew about this “mushroom stuff” – he said, I am not aware of any ‘mushroom stuff’ but I am sure we have people in the UK who can prescribe the appropriate treatment. He was probably thinking Mum was hallucinating! LOL!!!

Well, lo and behold, guess what the oncologist suggested – Versikor aka mushroom extract!

Mum hurriedly went online to find that there is only one supplier in the UK and it was out of stock! But Google showed they had them in France. However, due to Brexit, it would take forever to get them to the UK (and vice versa). My godmother, Beate, in Frankfurt immediately stepped in and ordered them to be shipped to her (within the EU), and upon receipt, she will send them by personal post to us. Our urgency is time.

Miraculously, the very next day, Mum got a notification that it was back online – just ONE bottle came back in stock. The order was placed and the package is still to arrive, while the other is now being flown over from Germany.

This Versikor, otherwise known as turkey tail mushroom has demonstrated that they may have anti-tumour properties, thought to be related to its immune-boosting effects. (Healthline.com)

That’s one of the many remedies to give my body a chance to fight those nasty cells.

That was just one example of the little miracles of kindness and generosity we have seen in the past couple of weeks that made Mum believe in the goodness of hoomans again.

May’s comment: When the lab results came back, the prognosis wasn’t good. Because the cancer had already metatasised, chemo was not on the cards – nor would I have wanted to put Darcy through that.

Darcy had not been herself for a few days the week before and I really thought the end was near. Beate in Frankfurt did some research on forms of cancer treatments when she came across Pet Bio Cell. She urged me to call them.

And I did. What happened next was a series of heart-warming experiences of caring human beings.

Dr. Thomas Grammel at Pet Bio Cell was busy on a consultation when I called that late afternoon but he promised he would call me back in an hour. With Germanic precision, he returned my call and thus began our conversation about Dendritic Cell Therapy.

Dendritic Cell therapy is based on the body’s own so-called dendritic cells. It is our goal that through our gentle treatment a “revival” of the immune system of your pet is initiated. The treatment with dendritic cells can increase the life expectancy of your animal considerably.

In contrast to chemotherapy, the patient is not weakened. The immune system is strengthened and restored.

Dendritic cell therapy can be used in dogs, cats, and horses with tumours.

However, the process required the vet to collect blood sample and using a refrigerated express delivery service for the blood to be shipped to the lab near Hannover. They would begin cultivating the dendritic cells. After cultivation, the dendritic cells are placed in an injection solution and returned by a refrigerated express delivery service for the local vet to inject into the animal. The process required nine days and then five days for the dendritic cells to do it’s work.

Sadly, due to Brexit red tape, it was not guaranteed that the blood sample would cross over boundaries. Dr. Grammel regretfully told us Pet Bio Cell would not be able to help. However, he did not leave us high and dry. He suggested that we pursue two things asap. Due to the nature of Hemangiosarcoma, rupturing of this tumour will cause the patient to rapidly bleed to death. He recommended that we administer Yunnan Baiyao – an extremely versatile oriental medicine which was invented in 1902. During the Vietnam war, Vietcong soldiers carried the medicine to stop bleeding should they get injured. It is thought to reduce blood loss and promote healing among a plethora of other benefits. 

There is a UK supplier of Yunnan Baiyao, and Dr. Grammel had an order of it held at Laboklin, a German veterinary laboratory in Manchester. Again, due to Brexit, they couldn’t be shipped over to him. He suggested I get in touch with his contact, Mansour at Laboklin and ask him to send me two packs of his stash and he said – someday, you can repay me when you come to visit us in Germany. And feel free to ask Mansour to send you more if you need them.

As soon as Mansour had me on the phone, he asked for my address. I offered to pay for the express mail and he refused payment. The two packets arrived the next day.

The other thing Dr. Grammel asked me to do was to speak to a holistic vet, Dr. Birgit Ahlemeyer – and we caught her just before she left for her holiday. She took the time to speak to us before she left and she prescribed a course of homeopathy remedies and Mistletoe.

The remedies are made from plant materials that are used to treat disease and maintain good health. Mistletoe improves and normalises immune functions and has a tumour inhibiting effect.

There is a noticeably improved quality of life in almost all patients treated with this approach. Appetite, weight and vitality can all be improved.

We can only hope as Hemangiosarcoma is a fast spreading cancer and it travels through the blood stream.

We’ve had an appointment with one of Dr. Ahlemeyer’s colleagues yesterday – more about what we have learnt in the next post.

We now have a basketful of remedies to give Darcy every fighting chance to beat the cancer cells.

Due to the nature of the cells, it is not a matter of eliminating them but to slow them down and prolong the time we have together.

All the above mentioned individuals, except for Darcy’s godmother, Beate, we have never met them and they don’t know us. And yet, they have gone out of their way to help us and give us guidance and help in a time when we need it most. It is safe to say because they understand the preciousness of a pet and they want to help as much as they can. It made me believe in humanity again.