WARNING :  IF YOU DONT HAVE ABOUT 30 MINUTES, YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE THIS READ FOR LATER. I APLOGIZE FOR THE LONG DISSERTATION THAT FOLLOWS

I have decided to quit telling you all that I am going to do a better job of posting more frequently, as it has become apparent at this point, that I am not ever going to get any better at it.  Instead, I am going to accept the reality of the situation and continue to do a deplorable job at best.  With that said, I do owe you all a thorough update, so here I go.  I would like to begin by celebrating the victories and triumphs that I have  been blessed with thus far.  July 25th marked the two year anniversary of my diagnosis and the subsequent beginning of my journey to fight this disease. It is very easy for me to be filled with gratitude for the extra time that I have been given, and all the beauty that I have been exposed to as a result of this entire situation. I can honestly say that I have had some of the most fulfilling moments of my life over the past couple of years, which makes it difficult to untangle the challenges from the gifts.  In terms of my current physical condition and ongoing treatment, I remain grateful, blessed and optimistic. As you may recall from my last post, I experienced a recurrence at the site of original tumor, which was discovered back in April of last year.  Following that, I underwent another long round of chemo treatment which ended in Early August.  A week after the completion of that treatment, I was back to Houston for new scans and tests, which is a dance that Hilary and I have become far to familiar with. The results of those subsequent tests were less than ideal, but not all that surprising.  Specifically, the scans showed that my disease had continued to progress in my lymphatic system, but had not resurfaced in my liver or any other major organs.  What this demonstrated is that the chemo had begun to loose its efficacy, as my cancer mutates to evade its impact.  So what to do next right?  Well, more chemo of course, but with a slightly different cocktail.  Fast forward to early November, and Hillary and I found ourselves right back in Houston for more scans and tests.  The results of which, showed more disease progression in spite of the revised chemo cocktail that I had been receiving.  As a result of these findings and the status of my disease progression, the Oncology team again prescribed yet more chemo for me, to be administered back in San Antonio.  After thoughtful deliberation and a lot of prayer, I decided to go a different direction with my treatment at that time.  As opposed to continuing to poison my body with chemicals whos impact is obviously waning, I decided to take a break to fortify my immune system and recover from the past couple of years of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and the associated physical stress.  So,  upon my return from Houston, I began a daily regiment of 1 hour Hyperbaric chamber time, twice a week high heat hyperthermia treatments, daily cryo therapy, high dose vitamin C infusions, the ingestion of copious amounts of amounts of strategically staggered supplements coupled with a Ketogenic diet, and even some injections of mistletoe designed to help kickstart my immune system.  I continued this protocol five days a week for a six week period.  Thankfully, I came out of all of this feeling physically stronger than I have since beginning this battle back in July of 2021. It also allowed me to enjoy the Holliday Season with Hillary and our girls,  free from the side effects of treatments, which has not been the case over the past couple of years.  Which brings us to the wildest part of this update, and the real purpose of the recuperative work that I was involved in from mid November to early January.  As many of you are aware, I have been studying alternative and novel treatment options for my condition, since my diagnosis. I can tell you that it is quite the worm hole to say the least.  The result of that research, is that I have taken my treatment on the road. I am currently typing this update from my apartment in Ole Constantinople, also referred to as Istanbul.  I arrived in Turkey on Saturday, January 27th and began my treatment on the following Monday.  The plan is for me to remain here for at least four months, as we attack this disease with some new weapons and from several fronts simultaneously.  I am grateful to be in a good place both mentally and physically,  and I am excited to be back into an aggressive treatment program.  I have renewed hope as a result of the new tools and tactics being deployed and I am fully committed to focusing all of my energy on making the most of this time. My job here is actually fairly simple.  I just get up everyday and do the work, eat super clean, walk around Istanbul, and get plenty of sleep.  The rest is in the Lords hands.  Please keep the prayers coming and God Bless all of you. 

If any of you would like to learn more about what I am doing clinically, please google "ChemoThermia Istanbul Dr. Slocum" .  The website is blocked in Turkey, so I cant attach a link here.  This country is a trip.  

Also, I am available via text on my US mobile number and can be reached by voice via WhatsApp.  Please keep in mind that there is a 9 hour time difference. 

Your Friend,

CHC