Grace arranged for me to go to Japan, initially for immunotherapy and hyperthermia treatment, under the guidance of a wonderful doctor, who, like Grace, is one of a special kind of person. Unfortunately my final scan showed two further small tumours in my lymph nodes and one outside my stomach. I went to Koriyama, north of Tokyo, for proton beam therapy, a radiation beam targeted directly at the tumours. This nine week treatment was done under direction from an extremely knowledgable Professor. I then returned to Tokyo for another two week round of immunotherapy.

I have been home in New Zealand for three weeks now and my tumours have significantly shrunk. I am still under the guidance of Grace who will continue to facilitate with all the experts in Japan in terms of scans and follow ups. I am also on a low dose oral chemotherapy drug that I brought back from Japan.

After each Skype call with Grace, I can feel the healing energy permeating through my body. It has been a long journey but, with my family’s support and love, we have a positive outlook for the future. We have a lot to be thankful for after finding the Grace Gawler Institute, and of course the tireless background work that Pip does. Together they make a beautiful team.

The NAV package enabled us to have numerous Skype meetings of all different lengths depending on the need at the time. We communicated many times via email and Grace provided us with a wealth of information including extensive research papers, websites and apps. Grace was able to provide options for treatment, but more importantly recommendations. It didn’t take long to place 100% trust in her.

We were well informed prior to beginning our first treatment recommended by Grace. This was in Japan. It was unbelievable service. We were in Japan for 5.5weeks.

Whilst in Japan I experienced a seizure and some swelling of the brain that was the result of radiation I had in Australia. During these times it was like Grace was sitting beside my wife. She advised her what to do and communicated with the treating doctors in Japan on our behalf.

The care and support demonstrated went above and beyond anything we have experienced. Our treatment in Japan has also positively altered my treatment plan in Australia. My last MRI showed shrinkage of the tumor, which remained after the tumor was removed.

I totally believe if it was not for the NAV package allowing us to have priority access to Grace and her wealth of knowledge, the MRI results would be very different. The NAV package is a must for anyone wanting priority access to life saving information.

Thank you. We look forward to working with you in the future! Ben & Laurenn

Grace and Pip were invaluable in giving us advice and helping us with the logistics of getting to Japan in such a small time frame.

The Japanese doctor and his nurses were wonderful; it was a bit nerve wracking at first but he has good English as do a couple of the nurses.

It didn’t take long to figure it all out. The Japanese people are lovely and very helpful.

We managed to do quite a bit of sight seeing in between treatments and even mastered the subway.

Before we left Greg’s CA19-9 was 365,000 which is incredibly high. On return it continues to drop; to 32,000, 16,000, 10,000 and as of October 2017 is 6,000 (generally unheard of)

His main tumour mass has decreased in volume by at least 50%, his liver mets’ have faded and he has regained the previous weight he lost.

He also had light chemo including TS1 (oral) in Japan along with the other therapies. It is much more gentle than the Aussie version so Greg tolerated it well.

We spent a total of 6 weeks in Japan and if need be, will return for the therapies again. We met other Aussies in Japan. It was nice to have a bit of camaraderie.

We also met a fellow Aussie in Kyoto who had been given 6 months to live 11 years ago. He had metastatic melanoma and had 2 rounds of therapy in Japan and was back celebrating his 50th birthday. He is in total remission. That was very heartening for us to run into him by chance.

No one can make this decision for you, but we are very glad we did it and it wasn’t as daunting as it first seemed.” (update 14/10/2017)

Jan 2016 -PETCT multiple metastatic deposits of the liver intrahepatic Metastatic Deposits (Segment 6 liver) and Peritoneal Metastases in the Pelvis.

January 2016 – Grace suggested that to prepare for chemotherapy- she would request an opinion from Japanese immune therapy specialist. Rachel decided to pursue this approach and underwent pre-treatment with NK and DC vaccines with hyperthermia in Japan (Not drug based immune therapy – but vaccines made from her own cells.)

1 February 2016 – In Australia Rachel entered into a chemotherapy regimen of neo-adjuvant dose dense carboplatin and paclitaxel

May 2016 – Grace consulted the Japanese doctors again and it was suggested more NK and DC vaccines (with hyperthermia) in Japan  would be a significant contribution to recovery chances.

July 2016: Grace suggested Rachel consult a Brisbane oncology-gynaecology surgeon to explore option of a hysterectomy to remove uterus, fallopian tube and remaining ovary as well scope for any other cancers

(Notably in December 2015 surgery, only the left ovary was removed)

Post-treatment completion saw Rachel’s third visit to Japan to receive more immune therapy….DC and NK cells (made from her own cells)  with hyperthermia. The outcome was exceptionally positive.

Prior to travelling to Japan Rachel had considered a liver resection and major de-bulking surgery. However with the results of a recent PET CT scan and follow-up MRI since returning from Japan she had new options because all that remained was a solitary 5 mm residual tumour, which according to the Japanese doctors, may resolve as the others have done. 

In my wife’s case, we were also told that chemo was not the cure!

Grace’s recommendation to consider autologous* immune therapy as a value add, in combination with chemotherapy, gave us renewed energy to move forward.

Within a fortnight of her recommendation we were on a plane to consult with one of her Asian colleagues – a world leader in immune therapy.

I fully believe that the immune therapy Janet received has been the XFACTOR in her recovery. Although this can never be proven, her poor prognosis prior to immune therapy, cannot be questioned.

We are true believers in what Grace Gawler achieves in her role as Cancer Navigator!

*Autologous – refers to the fact that the immune cells (white blood cells) are derived from the patient’s own blood.

Grace explains Janet’s case: On the 17/05/16 Janet was diagnosed with a malignancy of the gallbladder which involved the fundus infiltrating into segment four of the liver. There were adhesions of omentum with peritoneal seeding, proven on biopsy. Palliative chemotherapy was given however this was to minimise or stabilise growth with little chance of eradication.

*Metastatic gallbladder cancer – has a poor survival outcome (medium survival time of 4.8 months) especially without surgery. Janet has been declared tumour free by scans and internal biopsies that are negative for a malignancy.(Updated – Oct 14 – 2017)

I have avoided the medical system most of my life, as I never received clear answers for my ailments.  Fear surrounded me when it came to allopathic medicine.  Fear of diagnosis and treatment was overwhelming.

The immense, unbearable pain over two months lead me to succumb to see a doctor. Fear and pain had a hold of me! I felt defeated! My worst fears had come to realisation.  Test after test revealed my worst nightmare.

I feel so blessed to have been guided to Grace.  She has been pinnacle in transforming my fears of doom and gloom to hope.

Poor Grace.  Working diligently to keep me on course through the many times I wanted to bail ship!  Through her loving and caring nature, Grace was able to put me back on track.

I wanted to take any opportunity to deviate from this course, believing that alternative ways were the only way to full recovery, and also within my comfort zone.

Other treatments showed up for me to go off track from the path Grace was desperately trying to keep me on! So many supposedly great treatments out there that swear they cure cancer, all very believable when in such a fragile emotional state.  From well meaning family and friends they are all legitimate in their belief that they work.

Unlike the path Grace leads you on, they are a one size fits all treatment for everyone. I definitely do not fit into the one-size fits all category, as revealed through the many tests Grace led me to have.

Grace steered me in the right direction each time with logical sound reasoning from her wealth of knowledge, understanding of other treatments out there and whether or not they will have any chance of being effective in my individual case.

Achieving great results requires a team effort which Grace co-ordinates so smoothly and professionally.

Every Skype call I have had with Grace so far has transformed my doubts, fears and anxiety to peace, hope and knowing that I am on the right track.

From the roller coaster three months since my diagnosis, I am now in a state of healing.  My health has already improved substantially and I am in a great emotional state, confident and at peace with the paths I am taking.

Since I met Grace (less than 3 months ago Oct 2016) I have gone from being debilitated with pain and suffering to living a normal pain-free healthy energized life on a healing path to optimal health that I have never experienced before.

My health issues began as a small child.  I have been managing them as best I can but until I met Grace I had no idea why I was having the unusual symptoms I experience.  Grace has not only worked out what triggered my health issues and cancer but also a path of healing them along with my cancer!

Grace explains: Invasive micro papillary carcinoma of the breast can be aggressive. It is rare and accounts for less than 1% of invasive breast cancers.

Marianne pursued alternative diagnostic procedures for some time which failed to diagnose her rare breast cancer type.

Before embarking on any treatment, Grace recommended a genomic test which was performed on her biopsy tissue. Fortunately, the test revealed, that chemotherapy was not appropriate and that hormone therapy alongside a new breast cancer treatment, Ibrance, would be more targeted to her cancer type.

Concurrently, Marianne was referred to Japan for blood-based immune therapy and hypothermia, both synergistic with Ibrance and hormone therapy.

Due to successful reduction of the main tumour mass in the breast and the disappearance of all but one bone metastases, Marianne is about to undertake her third trip to Japan for further treatment.

The goal is to reduce the tumour as much as possible before mastectomy. Her long-term outcome is looking favourable.

I consulted with Grace Gawler and decided to travel to Japan for blood-based immune therapy and hypothermia. While I was there, Grace organised for me to meet with a consultant professor from the proton therapy centre knowing his treatment might be applicable.

I was assessed and fortunately was found to be eligible. However, this meant I would need to stay in Japan for an extra three months to complete the treatment. I decided to go ahead.

After further  scans and consultations, I was told by the Japanese professor he believed my pancreatic cancer was curable with Proton Therapy.

Months later, the tumour had responded beautifully to the therapy and I returned home to Australia where I consulted my local radiation oncology professor.

He was delighted to see my results and wished me a long window of excellent quality of life.

NB: Elizabeth will publish a book about her experience at Christmas 2017.

The US was just to expensive and it was quite scary as they started soliciting me when I made enquiries. Fortunately after combing the internet I came across a cancer navigator. Never heard of one of those but it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.

The Grace Gawler Institute is a wonderful organization that only have the patients needs in mind. Grace and Pip have searched the world to help people like me. Which is how I ended up in Japan.

They are leaders in the world in curing cancer. They are not scared of trying new treatments.Though TACE and RFA were promised to people in NZ,Aussie and Canada 17 years ago.It never eventuated due to budget constraints.

While receiving immunotherapy at Tokyo Grace organised forr me to be put in touch with an expert on HCC carcinoma at a Japanese hospital. We can deal with that was their answer. Which is exactly what happened.

Japanese hospitals are a thing to behold their commitment to patient care is incredible. All through this process I had an angel on my shoulder in the form of Grace whose advice and care makes you realize you have somebody with you all the way. She makes sure you are getting the best treatment possible – she collaborates and orchestrates it all.

Grace insists on following up when treatment is finished  – as after care is almost as important as treatment to maintain a good result. Grace and Pip have been an absolute godsend even taking the extra step of supporting my wife through this traumatic experience.

This is the reason I feel I have an angel on my shoulder as I know I have them watching out for me. Even my cousin said when he found out what happened,”you found an angel didn’t you”. I totally agreed.

I would recommend The Grace Gawler Institute to anyone that asks. Because of them am looking at staying on this world for a lot more years to come.

Thank you Grace and Pip – Gary Howes 

Forward to November 2017 – Still well. I went to the oncologist who called me the ‘miracle man’. That sort of thing makes me nervous!  I don’t believe in miracles.

But I do believe that Grace Gawler put me in touch with the best cancer immune therapist and that his work is brilliant. Grace has continued to advise me after my return.

For that and all your support; my wife and son thank Grace most sincerely.  I think, too, that I have made and am making an effort with my lifestyle change.

The oncology registrar I spoke to said she has seen about 7 or 8 long term survivors with what I’ve got, which she described as nasty and aggressive.  I asked her what common threads had she seen among these survivors.

If anything, it was that they all pursued sustained physical endurance exercise.  This was interesting for me, because, unwittingly in regard to my case, I do a lot of endurance training.

However; the oncology registrar had no experience with the immune therapies I received so he could not credit them.

2017 – I had genomic testing on my original cancer tissue and it proved the oncologist right; how serious and aggressive the cancer had been! Again, thanks so much.

Robert

She has been able to advise on everything from the latest treatments available world wide, to diet, supplements and so much more.

Grace has ensured that when we attend various appointments with consultants we are  well armed with the necessary questions to ask.

She works tirelessly on behalf of her clients to research and explore possibilities and avenues which are outside the ‘ box’.

Her  vast experience in dealing with cancer patients and their families, her depth of knowledge and her contacts with doctors from around the world means that we have confidence that no stone has been left unturned in trying to find and access the most appropriate treatments wherever they may be.

She is able to do this because of the time, effort and energy she puts into her research which is thorough and painstaking and ultimately benefits all of her clients.

We are extremely grateful and appreciative of all that she does. Ged is still fighting on 17/10/17

If you do not learn / acquire an in depth knowledge of this complex medical condition you are in real trouble.

My life’s mission was to find a solution. I contacted Grace Gawler and was pleasantly surprised by a truly tenacious drive to find the solution to a condition that was continually met with closed doors.

Grace opened the doors to some treatment options that have increased my depth of knowledge to make smarter decisions.

She truly provides what the medical profession should provide. Thank you Grace for providing a direction in what can easily be a directionless situation.

With her medical contacts around the globe, there are many options which you may not have thought possible.

Grace’s possess such a vast knowledge, whenever we have a query or I am feeling a certain way, physically or emotionally, she hits on the cause and has a solution.

My care under the health system in the UK has been limited.  It would be very easy to become despondent but Grace NEVER allows me or Robert to feel that way.

She speaks of my “recovery”, a word which we never thought would apply to me three years ago.  She is a true lifeline. UPDATE: Camilla is still fighting on Oct 2017

She is one of the few cancer practitioners that is able to integrate the many disciplines and protocols to come up with an individualised approach to a patients care that considers all their needs, medical, emotional, spiritual and nutritional. She does all this with a no nonsense pragmatism that engenders her patients with a sense of empowerment that is difficult to feel at a time like this.

Her ability to bring together and collaborate with experts and practitioners from so many fields and geographical regions is a gift and I have no doubt her work will go a long way to improving the fractured nature of cancer treatment in the future.

The only problem as I see it is…..we need more like her, the demand for her services is far outstripped by her ability to meet the enormous and growing need for holistic, evidence based cancer treatment and care.

In that consultation with Grace and Dr Whelan, I soon was made aware of the dangerous nature of some of these “alternative” treatments that are not based on any scientific evidence.

It is difficult to put into words the immediate difference in the way I viewed not only the journey in front of me, but the reassurance that I felt that there was now a ‘buffer zone’ between myself and the doctors and hospital system.

Someone to talk to about treatment decisions and options (very important). Someone who remembers your name without looking at a piece of paper or a computer screen and someone as knowledgeable about cancer treatment as anyone else in the hospital system.

The absolute professionalism and intelligence that both Dr Whelan and Grace possess gives you the confidence and piece of mind that you need to place your trust, your life, in their care.

I was transformed from someone dealing with a diagnosis, stumbling through ‘Dr Google’s’ tangled web, into someone who was relieved and confident that I had found the help I needed to assist me along my treatment journey.

Grace makes herself always available for advice along the way, in a very personal way that makes you feel comfortable to email her about even the smallest things. She very soon feels more like a friend which I feel can be lacking in conventional care.

There is no other person I think that could come close to Grace in her manner, knowledge, enthusiasm and experience. The ‘grace’ that she has in the way that she presents herself in her dealings with people is truly unique.

The gift that she gives to cancer patients and their families during the most difficult times of their lives is one wrapped by her helping hands. I look forward to a long relationship with Grace Gawler her partner Pip and Doctor Whelan long into survivorship and beyond. ‘ Marnie Rose. QLD, Australia”

The subsequent months were spent diagnosing and discovering that I had the rare, Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma that originated from the left adrenal gland, and spread to the left kidney, the liver and into various points in my bone. The long term prognosis was very poor with life expectancy, less than a year.

Under the direction of a Melbourne oncologist I undertook a very aggressive combination of oral and systemic chemotherapy for a period of 5 months. The aim was for a 6 month chemo cycle, however, my body was desecrated by the fifth month. I had gone from 93kg to 68kg. I was then diagnosed as ‘terminal’ and told ‘to go home and get my affairs in place’. The ultimate words no one ever wants to hear.

When all seemed at its bleakest, when there seemed little hope; my wife discovered our light, our hope, our possibility, our chance, through the Grace Gawler Institute.

There are not enough words to describe this amazingly intelligent and positive woman. She saw possibilities when the Australian oncology system saw none.

My wife and I organized through Grace’s assistance, the forwarding of all current oncology, blood tests, CT and PET scans to be reviewed by a European clinic. A plan was made for my cancer treatment. This included a blood test to determine my genetic chemo-sensitivity to my particular cancer. My wife and I travelled to Europe and left behind our two teenagers in Australia to fend for themselves.

The main cancer treatment was conducted in Frankfurt, with Professor Thomas Vogl, or as some referred to him, God. This man has perfected the art of T.A.C.E. This targeted chemotherapy treatment was aimed at the tumors in my adrenal gland and liver. I undertook three such T.A.C.E. treatments during my stay in Germany. Grace has a close relationship with Prof Vogl, regarded by many as the more experienced in the world for TACE and other Methods.

On return to Australia we then had the difficulty of establishing a new oncology team to take on my difficult rare cancer.

Summary: So, in Australia in April I was diagnosed as ‘inoperable A.C.C.’, I spent the month of May-June in Europe at the Clinic, and in September, an Australian surgeon in Sydney believed that I was a good possibility of having my tumors resected. All the medical team in Sydney could not believe my good level of health and wellbeing. In short, they could not believe that I was still alive. I believe this was largely due to my treatment in Europe.

On September 16, 2013 I underwent successful surgery that removed all adrenal, kidney and liver tumors from my body. The surgical team were extremely satisfied with my surgery and quick recovery, having only spent two weeks in hospital post- surgery.

The Grace Gawler Institute and their partnership with oveseas clinics of excellence have provided me with the medical treatment that enabled me to survive and thrive.”

UPDATE: Aug 10 – 2015. Although his illness has brought challenges, Stuart continues to survive and thrive.

I wanted to let you know how charming, sincere and genuinely kind we both found you.
It is a rare and lovely surprise to find someone such as yourself who tirelessly serves those who find themselves on this journey, and I wanted to express our deepest thanks to you.
Blessings, Carolyn Collins and Janni Hay.