Linda Sloan
Call it a woman’s intuition — Linda Sloan knew the fibroids giving her a great deal of pain and trouble had to go. Sure, she could have done what her doctor recommended and waited them out. In many women, they disappear after menopause. Linda not only wanted them out, but also insisted on a complete hysterectomy.
Uterine fibroids are benign tumors composed of smooth muscle and fibrous connective tissue. They’re also known by the more medical sounding terminology of leiomyomas, fibromyomas, fibromas, fibroleiomyomas or, simply, myomas. They may occur singly but often are multiple, with variations in size. Linda’s situation was complicated by endometriosis; a hysterectomy held the promise of relieving her not only of the fibroids but of endometriosis as well.
An otherwise strong, healthy 44-year-old cattle rancher living near Santa Paula, Calif., Linda was shocked to learn last spring that one of the fibroids held a stage 1 Leiomyosarcoma, a rare malignant neoplasm. A pathologist discovered it during a routine pathology review. Vascular activity also was indicated, although the tumor margins were clear. The odds that the cancer has or will spread are considerably lower than if the cancerous fibroid had never been removed. But it is still a numbers game and life is on the line when statistical survival rates are so dismal for women with uterine cancers.
Her story is frightening even as her diagnosis is exceedingly rare. Fibroids, after all, become cancerous in less than 1 percent of affected women. Most doctors have never seen it. It’s not only fortunate that Linda had a hysterectomy, but shows how powerful a gut feeling can be. It’s not that she expected doctors to find cancer when she had the surgery, she was just trying to do what she felt was right for her.
Experts say genetic predisposition can play a role in tumor development, but estrogens, progesterone (a natural antagonist of estrogen that inhibits growth) and HGH (human growth hormone) likely play an equally important role in regulating tumor growth. There also is an association with other estrogen-dependent processes like endometriosis (50 percent), which she suffered. Otherwise very little is known about the etiology of this cancer.
Linda is less concerned with why than how — how to beat this cancer. She knew there was little she could do to improve her health and her odds beyond submitting to chemotherapy and boosting her diet.
“At this point,” explains Linda, “I encapsulated the chemo experience and just went on with my life.” By adopting a positive mindset and making some changes to her diet she was able to continue her work on the ranch despite the often-wretched process of chemotherapy. Meanwhile, her husband, Dr. Bud Sloan, learned about Platinum Performance granular formula and its history of use in veterinary and human health, and brought home the nutritional piece that would give her extra help getting through the chemo.
Linda started taking four tablespoons of Platinum each morning and supplementing extra busy times with Platinum Bars. She began to notice a steady increase in energy. Her first indication that Platinum supplements were helping her beyond just how she felt was that the hair loss that typically accompanies chemotherapy, especially people like her on higher than normal doses, never materialized. Though far from definitive proof the Platinum was making a difference, her blood work-ups were another story. Each time she has been tested, her blood levels (white fighter cells) remained exactly pre-treatment — an ideal scenario for anyone on chemo. In time, other medical measurements lined up — PET and CT scans repeated every three months showed no signs or tumor development or metastasis. This is a potential outcome of leiomyomas. Tumor cells have no enclosing capsule, so their cells can be transported by lymph circulation or the bloodstream, hooking on to lymph nodes and other organs far from the original tumor.
September 2002 marked the end of chemo treatments for Linda. Next March, it’ll be a year since Linda began this difficult journey. She has every intention of marking that date by living a long and happy and especially healthy life, and considers Platinum an essential part of her wellness formula.
“It’s been the worst and the best year of my life,” she says. “I have learned and grown so much and I believe Platinum is one of the things that has made a difference. I am just as committed today to eating either [the granular formula or the bars] as I was when I discovered they were making a difference for me in treatment.” client profiles home
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