The following timeline outlines Charysse’s treatment path.

Craniotomy – April, 2004

  • Where:  Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon
  • Surgeon:  Dr. Christopher Miller
  • Outcome:  Partial resection.  Surgeon thought that part of the tumor was too close to the hippocampus and would therefore do too much damage.
  • Pathology report:  Grade 2 Astrocytoma
  • Follow up treatment plan:  Watch and wait because it is low grade.

Craniotomy – November, 2005

  • Where:  UCLA Medical Center
  • Surgeon:  Dr. Linda Liau
  • Outcome:  Full resection
  • Pathology report:  Grade 2 Oligo/Astrocytoma
  • Follow-up treatment plan:  Watch and wait because it is low grade and there was a full resection.  Statistically, I had an 87% chance that this tumor would not recur based upon tumor type, full resection and the tumor cell proliferation rate was very low (3%).  (FYI:  When a tumor is cultured in the pathology labs, they watch how quickly the cells multiply and assign it a proliferation rate.)

Craniotomy – February, 2008

  • Where:  UCLA Medical Center
  • Surgeon:  Dr. Linda Liau
  • Outcome:  Partial resection
  • Pathology report:  Grade 3 Oligo/Astrocytoma
  • Follow-up treatment plan:  Because the tumor had upgraded to a grade 3 from a grade 2, based upon the proliferation rate, UCLA recommended that I do radiation ASAP.  I got a second opinion from Neurosurgeon Dr. Edward Neuwalt at  Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU), who said I should do Temodar (chemo) and save radiation for later, as it will do significant cognitive damage.  I got a third opinion from Duke University who said to do radiation and chemo concurrently.

Camelot Cancer Care – June, 2008

  • I chose to go an alternative route in trying to treat this tumor.  The main reason was because the most likely effects that radiation would have upon me would be that I would have severe damage to my vision, as well as short term memory loss. On top of this, I was told that I probably would lose a lot of mathematical skills.  I heard about this place, and that they have had a lot of success with brain tumors, so I gave it a shot.
  • Treatment:  High dose Vitamin C/DMSO and Sodium Bi-Carbonate, administered through IV.
  • Result:  Still continuing treatment through a local naturopath.  All scans have been stable since beginning this treatment.

Nature Cures Clinic – August, 2008 – 2012

  • Treatment:  Vitamin C/DMSO, Garlic/DMSO and Sodium Bi-Carbonate, administered through IV.
  • Result:  This is the only treatment I have done since surgery, and it has continued to keep a high grade tumor mostly stable.  There was some very mild growth on the scan in February 2008, as compared to a year prior.

Craniotomy – February, 2011

Radiation – June, 2011

  • Treatment: Radiation
  • Result:  Slowed the growth of the tumor. Doctors had prepared us for major deficits in vision and cognitive processes (math, etc). Fortunately, Charysse experienced some, but not as much as predicted.

Chemotherapy – December, 2013

Craniotomy – July, 2014

Complete Healing – October 13, 2014 @ 8:13pm PST

After ten years, five surgeries and countless strategies to beat the cancer, Charysse took her last breath and passed away on October, 13, 2014.

You might wonder why we call it her “complete healing.” If you’ve read her blog, you’d know that Charysse’s Christian faith was central to her story. She knew that God had a plan for her life, and for her, it involved being a daughter, wife, mom and cancer fighter. We don’t know why, and we will never know, but we what do know is that God used her and her story to touch countless lives; young and old, near and far.

In our faith, we also believe that there is no pain, suffering and sickness in heaven. As Charysse took her last breath here on earth, she stepped into her complete healing in heaven. In this, we take great comfort that pain and suffering is no more.

The following song explains it perfectly.