Woman Beats Breast Cancer With Treatment In China

Tricia Spence has battled and beaten breast cancer but the path she took to do so is one untravelled by many.

She shared her story with Gisborne Herald health reporter Jessica Wauchop.

When Gisborne woman Tricia Spence was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 something inside told her that chemotherapy and surgery were not for her.

"The doctor's recommendation was to get a full mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and remove my lymph nodes... all the conventional treatments, but something about that just didn't feel right to me.

"Once the normal emotions of shock and fear subsided I started researching alternatives to conventional treatment," Ms Spence said.

"I had a strong inclination coming from within that there was another healing path that I should take."

Ms Spence went with her gut feeling. It was a brave call, one that not everyone would make.

"Thankfully, I had full support from my husband, family and close friends."

Over the next two years Ms Spence changed her diet, went on health supplements, did colour therapy and embarked on an inner healing journey which included meditation and mind-body work called Qigong.

"As I was going down that healing path I felt so healthy. I always felt really good doing what I was doing."

She said that once she felt it was the right time to address the tumour in her breast, her research uncovered a hospital in China where doctors specialised in advanced, low toxic, minimally-invasive, targeted cancer treatment.

"Their focus is a treatment called SPDT which stands for sonodynamic therapy and photodynamic therapy," she said.

"We made contact with the hospital and they said 'yes, we are very experienced in treating breast cancer so we welcome you to come to China for treatment'."

At the end of August last year Ms Spence, her husband Stuart and her brother, a doctor from the United States, arrived in China, where a PET scan - an advanced diagnostic tool for cancer and other conditions - showed for the first time exactly where cancer was in her body.

Cancer was shown in her breast and in the lymph system under her arms, down her side and in her groin. Two spots of cancer were found on her vertebrae and there was an indication of cancer in her uterine zone.

Ms Spence had four cycles of treatment. Each cycle was made up of two weeks of treatment and one week of recovery.

She would begin the SPDT treatment by ingesting a photosensitizer which was selectively absorbed by cancer cells.

"The photodynamic portion of the treatment is similar to lying on a tanning bed with high intensity infrared light. The light waves penetrate and destroy the cancer cells that are surrounded by the photosensitizer. It is a totally painless procedure," she said.