Chase is Taking his Treatment Plan up a Notch!

Well, after getting the MRI report last week that wasn’t exactly what we had hoped for and conferring with our team of various medical advisors, we’ve decided to make a number of changes to Chase’s treatment plan. We continue to believe that the key is to boost his immune system and trigger his body’s innate ability to heal itself. We need Chase’s systems to recognize that this “imbalance” exists and to fight it off with all the support that we’re giving him, including:

1) increasing the dose of antineoplastons again, per the recommendation of the Burzynski Clinic - trying to go as high as Chase can comfortably tolerate (probably around 360-370 over 35).

2) per Dr. Banerji (Homeopath from India): increasing the Ruta / Calc Phos (qty and frequency to 3 pills, 3X per day). He also recommended that we add another homeopathic remedy – Thuja once a day.

3) adjusting the frequencies that we use on the rife machine - running another tumor fighting program every other day / alternating and increasing the frequency of detox program to every other day. We'll also be meeting with a rife practitioner specialist who will scan Chase to determine if there are other specific frequencies that we should be using.

4) working with our nutritionist, Dr. Jeanne Wallace, to run another round of specialized tests (NK, copper, etc.) to see how we're doing with the supplements and determining if there's anything more we should add, in addition to being more vigilant with the organic fruits and veggies while cutting back further on dairy (substituting fresh goat milk for cow milk to avoid growth hormones).

Finally, we're firming up the plans for our trip to Madjegore where there have been many appearances of the Blessed Mother and many reported miracles. We're leaving the day after Easter for a week, with a local nun who made the trip last year and is accompanying our family on the pilgrimage. We're very excited about this one... Please join us in our prayerful intention for the miracle of Chase’s complete and rapid response to the treatments he is receiving.

All in all, stepping up the attack on all fronts but we're not too concerned. We are committed to natural treatments and we know this is just a matter of time before we succeed - the most important thing is that Chase is in great spirits with good energy. Actually, he's feeling better than he has since the beginning of the program. According to his doctors, this is a very good sign - he's not having any issues with the treatments so something must be working. Now we're just anxious to see it reflect in an MRI scan. We appreciate any / all suggestions that have been made and if there’s anything that we’re continuing to overlook that we should be doing, please remind us again. One way or another, we're fully expecting our miracle to continue to unfold... we’re remaining faithful believers that everything is on track and we are truly blessed. All of the prayers and support that we’ve received are lifting us through the difficult challenge of remaining positive despite the apparent limited progress to date. In the end, if it is His will, Chase will be healed….

Thanks for all the prayers and support! We truly appreciate it!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut

Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase's Condition Remains Stable

Chase's MRI was the smoothest one to date - he cooperated well and was in and out of the hospital fairly quickly. He was also in great spirits (probably because he got to stay home with Carol for the day). I got to the lab in the afternoon to review the scan with the Radiologist and compare it to our previous baseline – they continue to be extremely helpful at Beaumont.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the news we were hoping for yet. Chase's tumor actually appeared to be somewhat larger (around 10%); however, it isn't clear whether this is actually due to growth or just some swelling because of the treatments attacking the lesion. The MRI can't distinguish the difference and it's not uncommon for this type of swelling to occur before the tumor actually breaks down. It was also visible from the scan where / how the growth infiltrated the area of the nerves that control his facial muscles, which led to the recent drooping of his smile.

Nevertheless, we're not overly alarmed. The most important thing is that Chase seems to be doing well - his eye actually looks somewhat better and he isn't showing any further symptoms of progression. If the tumor did actually grow, it certainly wasn't very fast (particularly given the diagnosis) which is still good news while we continue to give him the treatments to attack it from many angles.

On a side note, Chase came home with candy from his classmates on Valentine's Day. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to eat it, he told Carol that he wanted to give it to kids that “weren't as lucky as he is” - that just demonstrates his outlook, despite the situation. We're proud of the little trooper...

We are now planning a trip to Medjugorje right after Easter to take Chase to the area where Our Lady has appeared and there have been many miracles reported. We continue to have strong faith that Chase is on his way to a full recovery and we're excited about the unfolding of this miracle. Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase is Staying on Track!

Chase seems to be doing quite well and staying on track with his treatments. However, this past week we noticed that he seems to have a reduction in nerve control with his facial muscles, which is reflecting in a bit of droopiness on one side of his smile. This isn’t drastic and according to the Clinic it’s probably related to the fact that he’s down to very low doses of steroids while the treatments are continuing to attack the tumor, which could in turn lead to cranial swelling and pressure on the nerves. Nevertheless, it was quite concerning to see the first indication of any type of progression. In addition, he complained of “fogginess” with his vision last week and we were concerned that this could be another indication of some developments.

By Monday evening, he was feeling great again and the issues with his vision seemed to subside along with our anxiety level. He hit another speedbump on Monday night when his catheter got pulled out during a pillow fight, which caused the antineoplaston medicine to seep under his skin. Carol quickly noticed this and removed the port access. By the following morning, the swelling had subsided and she kept Chase off the treatment for another day, just to be sure. These kinds of “scares” always seem to happen while I’m traveling – I was in Europe again this past week. Carol managed through the situation and everything seems to be ok. We were quite pleased with the results of his recent bloodtests once again, which showed that essentially all areas are in the “safe” zones.

Overall, Chase is doing great and we firmly believe he’s heading in the right direction on his way to a complete recovery. We’re very excited about the MRI next Thursday (2/16) and hoping to report great news. Please join us in visualizing the manifestation of this miracle as we see his tumor shrink significantly.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Thanks for Lifting Chase out of his Funk

Thanks to all the prayers and support, Chase seems to be back on track again. Although he continued to struggle through the weekend with occasional headaches and a bit of nausea, he pushed his way through it. I took him to basketball practice on Friday evening as well as the camp on Sat morning – he didn’t participate much, but did what he could and it was just good to get him out. On Sunday, he went to the swimming camp and participated in most of the exercises, including full length forward and backstroke laps. By the end of the weekend, he was really coming around.

On Monday, Chase tried to resist going back to school but we nudged him along and thanks to the great support of his teachers at Cranbrook, he stayed with it and he’s getting caught up on his lessons. Carol is doing more homework with him in the afternoons to make sure he stays on track with his peers and is prepared for first grade in the fall. This last rollercoaster ride really took its toll on her though. She’s been doing a tremendous job staying positive throughout this ordeal and lifting Chase’s spirits, but it’s definitely wearing on her and understandably so. This is just a lot to bear, witnessing a child having to go through all of these challenges. My recent travel schedule probably hasn’t helped either.

Nevertheless, we’re all on the rebound this week and I’m sure it’s due to all the support from this incredible prayer circle! We feel truly blessed and whenever we hit the speedbumps we try to stay focused on all the things that are going well – all in all, we have a lot to be grateful for and Chase is continuing to make us proud. He’s back on the treatments and close to the max dose so we’re expecting good things from the upcoming MRI on Feb 16th. The results of his recent bloodwork look great with essentially everything in the normal range. Thanks again to all for the prayers!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann