Mike Rosenthal's Strategy to Beat melanoma

I am not a doctor. I am the husband of a stage 4 melanoma survivor and my belief is that while melanoma is scary, especially at later stages, it is also something you can beat. While my wife was fighting strong and hard, I did hours and hours of research, day after day, figuring out things that might help her. I have shared a lot of those things in the melanoma treatments section of FoundHealth. Here, I lay out my step by step protocol for what I believe is a very effective “attack plan” to fighting and beating melanoma.

This plan is based on a simple philosophy: when you’re at war with cancer, you throw at it every credible thing you can find that might be effective. Most doctors will tell you that the majority of possible “integrative” treatments for melanoma (herbs, mind body techniques, supplements, foods, etc. ) have not been fully studied in multiple stage human trials and so they are not “proven” to work. This is 100% true and it is also 100% an unfortunate effect of the fact that pharma companies cannot profit from most of these treatments because they are not patentable. Since multiple stage human trials can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete (with no guaranteed outcome), these companies simply won’t pursue funding these treatment studies, and hence, they never get done.

However, just because treatments haven’t been proven to work in humans (though many have proven to work in animals and test tubes), it doesn’t mean they don’t work. It just means they may work and they may not. But if they don’t hurt you, then why not try them?

My philosophy is this: When you’re in a war to save your life, you send in the army, the navy, the air force, and the marines all at the same time. When its over and you’re cancer free, it won’t matter that you knew which of the 30 or 40 things you tried are the ones that worked. Trust me. The only thing that will matter is that you won!

Here is my protocol

1. Believe in yourself: You can beat melanoma, even if it is a bad case of stage 4. Believing in yourself and your ability to do this is very important. Read more.
2. Make sure you have an advocate: It’s incredibly difficult to fight a serious form of melanoma, let alone navigate the morass of the health system. Finding a friend(s) or family member(s) who can be your advocate and “ear” to bounce things off of really helps. Read more.
3. Train your friends and family: Friends and family who love you want to help, but often they don’t know what to do or how to do it, and sometimes can even be detrimental. Training them at the start, and laying out the “ground rules” can really help. Read more.
4. Find the right doctors, both “western” and “integrative”: No one doctor or person has all of the answers. Finding the right oncologist, integrative medicine doctor, surgeon, etc. can be a daunting task, but you can pick the ones that are right for you. Read more.
5. Examine many different treatments: There are many different medical treatments for melanoma. Some work better than others. And some work better for one person vs. another. Picking the right one is a challenge, but you can do it. Read More.
6. Take an integrative approach: I believe the integration of medical treatments along side herbs, supplements, diet, mental exercises, spirit and more, all working together, is your “secret weapon” to beating melanoma. Read more.
7. Manage the side effects of treatment: The treatments you are given by your doctor will almost always have side effects. Some of them your doctor will know how to deal with. Some they will not. I discovered many other ways to manage the negative side effects of my wife’s chemo and bio treatments that the doctor did not know about.
8. Change your diet: Food has an enormous impact on your ability to stay healthy, boost your immune system, lower internal inflammation, and more. Several foods have even specifically been shown to help fight melanoma. Some people actually claim they beat melanoma with diet alone. Read more about diet and melanoma.
9. Take care of your body: Your body is your temple, it is your weapon against melanoma and staying strong while you fight can significantly help. Read more about using your body to beat melanoma.
10. Protect your mind: Beyond believing in yourself, there are many things you can do with your mind to help you beat melanoma. Read more about using your mind to beat melanoma.
11. Take herbs, supplements and vitamins: Many herbs, supplements, and vitamins have been shown to have an affect on fighting melanoma. A good protocol of these things can be really help. Read more about herbs and supplements to beat melanoma.
12. Don’t be afraid of the unusual: Sometimes it’s hard to step “out of your box” and try things you’ve never done before. Often times, however, what is unusual today, is the norm in the future.
13. Create a post-treatment protocol: To this day, over four years later, my wife still takes 40+ melanoma fighting supplements and vitamins a day, and our diet has permanently changed for the better. She’s smart because she continues to do everything she can to ensure that she stays cancer-free.