Thuy Doan

On the Way to Cancer Surviving(hopefully) and Podcast - Introducing the BioChem Health blog and podcast

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:00:25 -0800

I've returned from an incredibly inspirational trip to Wyoming to meet my biochemist and naturopathic healer, Kevin to discuss ways to improve my health. I was there for a couple days and used the time to check out the Teton Mountains and a bit of Yellowstone Park which are beautiful. During a lot of the traveling we were at high elevation which brought us close to the clouds. It's an interesting sight to see them hanging not far above you and to even drive down into them.

The most incredible part of the trip was meeting my biochemist who is one of, if not the most impressive person I've ever met. His approach to health is highly effective, science-based, revolutionary in the western world and often contrary to conventional medicine. During our first meeting I was so impressed by his knowledge about health that I asked him to sit down with me for a video interview the next day. I had to capture some of his knowledge and share it.

We found that we both have a passion for helping people by spreading the truth about health. Nothing is more important than health, especially not money. There is a lot of misinformation out there and during the past year and half of my attempt to learn how to treat cancer I've encountered a bombardment of information. At times they were contradictory and I found it difficult to know what to think.

After the first interview with him I asked him if he would do a health video podcast with me if I bought him a webcam. He instantly agreed and since then I've been brainstorming ideas for our podcast and blog. I'm very excited about being his satellite and bringing his scientific wisdom to you. Every week(or twice a week if demand is high) we will do a half hour podcast, each with a specific health topic. We will also do a segment called "Questions for Kevin" where I'll present him with questions from viewers.

The BioChem Health episodes are a part of my Life Smart Podcast which is about health and self improvement. The first installment will be out shortly. I'll bring in guests in the future to talk about various topics.

Some of you will find this mind blowing and others will be critical because the information presented will be at odds with a lot of what you've heard. If you have suggestions, want elaboration on things or if you are skeptical of Kevin's views then email me at Thuy@OneTwoThuy.com and we can use it for the show. If you find our podcasts credible then spread the word, duh.

At BioChemHealth.com I will post articles written by Kevin. I've posted our pilot episode and an article about wheat allergy and have gotten a lot of good feedback already.

~Thuy

I'm Not a Cancer Survivor Part 2

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:36:20 -0700

My stay at the hospital in Richmond Virginia lasted six days and was emotionally more difficult than my last stay for the amputation. Painkillers made the pain from the fracture bearable while I waited my turn for tests. The first was a full body CAT scan to see if the cancer had spread anywhere else. Fortunately it hadn't, but the doctor delivered this good news somberly. The tests could only detect tumors that were at least 3mm in size. It was possible there were smaller, undetectable ones somewhere.

The surgeon performed a total hip replacement, which consisted of replacing part of my femur with metal and my hip socket with plastic. There aren't nerve endings there anymore so recovery is less painful. The hip surgery went perfectly but it was the least of my concerns.

My doctor informed me that based on statistics there is a good chance the cancer will come back in 6 months to 2 years if left untreated. Sarcomas tend to spread to the lungs and the survival rate for lung cancer is dismal. A radiologist came in advising me to do radiation on my hip. It wouldn't help the rest of my body but at least there would be some regional treatment. He practically said "If you don't do any treatments the cancer will most likely grow back. If you do radiation, it will still most likely grow back but there's a slight chance it won't." This wasn't the most convincing sales pitch but I appreciated his honesty. If only my oncologist last year could have been this blunt of instead of quoting a misleading "70% response rate" I might have been able to avoid chemo. A different oncologist visited trying to convince me into more chemo. It isn't effective and I couldn't stand the thought of going through that hell again. Nothing else has ever brought me closer to death mentally and emotionally.

I felt like there was a ticking time bomb attached to my chest. My body was in suicide mode letting the cancer cells grow uncontrollably like weeds in a poorly manicured lawn. Based on the doctor's news there was a chance I wouldn't be alive in three years. In the coldness and loneliness of my hospital room I broke down a few times. There are so many things I want to do with my life. It's not death itself that breaks my heart but loss of potential to do great things. I thought to myself that I would give up everything I owned for just five healthy years in order to accomplish a few of them.

Emotionally things got a lot better after being discharged from the hospital. That night four of my college friends drove down from northern Virginia and Adam Pliska came from A.C. to welcome me home. We threw a giant block of organic beef tenderloin, salmon and vegetables on the grill. Dinner was great and the company was better. I was still exhausted but being around my friends and family lifted some of the stress.

Since then I have been researching non-toxic methods to treat cancer that unfortunately are not offered by most conventional doctors. Chemo and radiation do significant damage to the body whereas non-toxic treatments tend to build up the immune system and specifically target cancer cells. I have mentioned previously that playing live poker has built great contacts for me and the most fortunate so far has been meeting a guy that was in a position very similar to mine years ago. His doctors told him that his cancer was sure to grow back. He found a biochemist that specialized in alternative medicine that compared treating cancer to killing weeds on your lawn. You can poison it(chemo) or burn it(radiation) and it will destroy your entire lawn without killing the roots. Over time the weeds are likely to grow back. His method is to change the soil composition so that grass can grow but weeds can't, thus to treat illness change your body composition so that it's hostile to cancer. Fortunately the biochemist has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to see me. I'll be flying out to Wyoming shortly to have him evaluate my case and prescribe a unique protocol to help me change my body chemistry.

The next couple months will be devoted to restoring my health which will entail a lot of research and a bit of travel. I feel confident that with the right guidance from knowledgeable people I can get healthy again. It will take effort on my part to find those people.

The past year and half has been a huge ordeal with life throwing one bad thing after another at me but I'm still sane and still fighting. If you have ever read Atlas Shrugged I feel very much like Dagny Taggart, a woman whose life is challenged by one thing after another. Yet she fights through it with unshakable passion and determination. Though a fictitious character, she is my idol of strength. If you haven't read it yet I guarantee it will be among your favorites.

A couple links to check out:

1. My Facebook fan page

2. Cris Belkewitch's flattering article on me

~Thuy

I'm Not a Cancer Survivor Part 1 (Changed Twitter profile from "survivor" to "fighter") - I'm Not a Cancer Survivor Part. 1 (Changed Twitter profile from

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:00:58 -0700

I miss those days when life used to be easy. After I had started walking on my prosthesis again and had resumed my normal life I thought I had earned those days back. I was adjusting to the changes well and thought the difficult days were behind me. It turns out they aren't.

I had planned an east coast trip for the second half of September. The first stop was Manhattan to do some poker lessons with the Royal Flush Girls(aka Prestigious Models). Then it was down to Atlantic City to play the WPT Borgata. Finally the month would conclude with a trip back to Virginia to see my family and do some health checkups. Something unexpected happened in the midst of all this that leaves me re-evaluating everything.

The couple days getting to know the Prestigious Models in their Manhattan headquarters was fun. I got to see a bit of the city for the first time, tagged along for a hot photo shoot and finally checked out my friend Phil Galfond's custom condo with the metal slide going into the living room. I tried to get into a 10/25 or 25/50 private game but apparently my reputation had made it to NY before me. On the last day I sat down with four of the Royal Flush Girls(Michelle, Katrina, Melyssa, Melanie) for a lesson on some of the basics of poker. We had a good time. My favorite parts where Melyssa calling UTG "Gun in the Holster" and everyone getting annoyed when Melanie became the chip leader. They got quite competitive with each other. They learned a bit about position, bet-sizing, drawy vs. rainbow board texture, how to make a good poker face and most importantly they got an idea of how complex and challenging the game is. I was looking forward to hanging out with them more in A.C.

That evening we drove down to Atlantic City in a rented soccer mom minivan for the WPT Borgata which was starting the next day. I checked in with my roommate Adam Jungleon who I had become friends with this summer after finding out that he too is an amputee. I joined Vanessa Selbst for dinner and a bit of cash games before heading to my room to crash. Back at the room, Adam was in his bed and groaning due to stomach pains. I went downstairs to buy him some Peptobismol.

On the way there was a smudge of water on the floor that went unnoticed and in an instant I had crashed to the floor in sitting position. The pain in my residual leg that followed was unlike any experienced before. It was deep, intense and unrelenting. Security wheeled to my room where after an hour of tossing in my bed I called them back to take me to the emergency room.

From 4am until the afternoon doctors moved at the speed of snails to figure out what was wrong with me. The X-ray looked normal so the doctor tried to prescribe me Motrin for a sprain. I insisted on more testing. A CAT scan showed that not only had I fractured my hip at the top of the femur, but that there was a tumor there eroding the bone. It was likely that my cancer had grown back. The heaviness of this news laid on my mind for hours as I waited for my stepdad to make the 6-hour trip to take me to my hospital in Virginia.

During this time, day 1A of the WPT Borgata main event had started. Adam Jungleon woke up to find my prosthesis and cell phone in the room but not me. My phone was charging far away from my bed and I had been in too much pain to make the journey across the room. I had considered waking him but he was already feeling sick earlier and had to play the tournament in the morning. Needless to say, he was concerned to find a girl's prosthetic leg and no girl. Where could she have possibly gone? He asked around but everyone was equally clueless.

During the afternoon I got a phone call from Barry Greenstein who was in Europe for the WSOPE. He was relieved to have finally found me and from that the world spread that I was still alive. Adam Pliska who is a good friend and the WPT president brought my phone to the hospital. He and Kim Loan, another good friend and the agent of the R.F.G. kept me company in the E.R. while until my stepdad arrived....

...to be continued.

-There is a lot to write and this post is long enough so I will have part 2 up shortly. It will be about my hospital stay in Virginia, hip surgery, diagnosis, emotional impact and my plans from here on out. It's intense. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and support.

~Thuy

OneTwoThuy.com and What's Going on in Life

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:53:55 -0700

My new website, OneTwoThuy.com [one-two-twee] has launched! We're still tweaking the format and content so what you see will get better. I would have chosen ThuyDoan.com but someone already squatted on it and linked it to FTP [insert angry face]. Please do me a favor and click on it so that the search engines will start picking it up. J

The summer in Vegas ended abruptly. Just as quickly as it erupted it vanished into thin air. I was happy to see it go. Being in Vegas for the WSOP is always fun but I can't stay there for much longer. I spend all my time in casinos or clubs which after a while feels artificial. The glamour fades and I long to go home.

It's difficult to eat healthy in Vegas. I relaxed my mostly raw, minimal animal protein diet and started eating regularly. Aside from the occasional trips to Go Raw Cafe (which has great smoothies, organic salads, etc.) I didn't like my Vegas routine and wanted to get back to a diet that was nutrient-rich. For motivation I made a semi-vegan food bet with a friend that is like this: for the rest of 2010 no animal products except for seafood, milk and yogurt. Anything made with eggs or butter is off limits, which includes most pastries, ice cream, pasta, etc. Each penalty costs $300 and the buy-out is $4k. The bet has gotten me cooking and eating really healthy again which feels great.

During my last week in Vegas I had a funny experience in a live game. It was 10/25 until a few wealthy Saudi Arabians walked in wanting to start a 25/50. They were vacationing and just wanted to gamble. We were more than happy to oblige. We ended the original game to start a ten-handed 25/50. It was a juicy thanks to our new friends. In one hand at least four people saw the flop, including a Russian and two of the Saudis. The Russian moved all in and then the action was on the big jolly Saudi. He and his friend who was also in the hand began speaking in what I believe to be Arabic. The Russian became infuriated and declared their hands dead. He called for the floorwoman and rudely berated them for not using English at the table. To end the drama the Saudis folded their hands. They were offended and didn't want to play with him anymore so they packed up their chips and left to play pit games. Everyone was upset at the Russian who wouldn't stop complaining. We wanted him to leave so that the Saudis would come back. One player offered the Russian $500 to go, another added $300, another chimed in with $50. In total the table offered $1,100 and he accepted. The floorwoman brought the Saudis back, telling them they could return to the game. Once they were back the Russian declared "I'll leave and you can have your seats back if you MATCH their $1,100."

Before the table was annoyed, after that we were pissed! He broke the agreement in order to milk more money out of the situation. In boycott everyone stopped playing. We all sat out and even tried to convince the floorwoman to move us to another table while leaving him there. Our boycott got to him. He agreed to leave with the original offer. The table was so upset though that nobody wanted to give him any money. Finally one of the Saudis eager to get the game going tossed him $1,100 in chips. He left, the Saudis sat back down and gambled away until the morning. It was one of the best games I played in all summer. Too bad I was card dead and couldn't get any of the action.

Since being back home I've been able to focus on a few non-poker things such as meeting my continuation education requirements for my real estate license, figuring out things for my Realtor matchmaker service(more details to come on the website), finding a new roommate, and starting Spanish lessons again. I speak decently but not nearly to the level that I'd like. If you want to help me learn you can tweet me in Spanish and I'll respond J. Don't mind all the errors. Once time frees up I'll also restart my Rosetta Stone Vietnamese lessons. People message me in Vietnamese sometimes not knowing that I don't understand much of it anymore. Xin loi L. I'm trying to be productive which means fighting the urge to buy Starcraft 2. This would seriously counteract my efforts.

Edit Aug. 16th:

1. In-depth Interview with Poker Curious

2. ESPN WSOP episode 6 feature, starts at 5:25

Chau, chao, bye!

~Thuy

Sun Setting on the WSOP

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:07:56 -0700

On this hot, dry evening I'm sitting on the balcony looking into the Vegas landscape. A helicopter floats in the distance, an electric train smoothly pulls into its next stop, and a few blocks away the tall figure of the Stratosphere blinks its changing streaks of light: green, blue, yellow, red, white.... This is Vegas as usual, I've seen it many times before. The sun has almost set. In the horizon is still that dull orange glow that reminds you there isn't much time left. I'm brought to the realization that there really isn't much time left. The WSOP season is almost over.

This past month has gone by so quickly. Each day melted into another, their borders becoming smudged like a watercolor canvas. I could barely distinguish one from another. What day is this? Does it matter? I've hit the tables so hard that when I think back on it, the most glaring images are that of a green-felted table, cards hidden beneath my hands and ever-changing stacks of chips. I drowned myself in the games because I wanted to prove that despite everything that's happened in the past year, I could still build myself back up. I put in an exhausting number of hours and am overall happy with the results. In the cash games I've won the most ever during a WSOP summer. In the tournaments I've had the worst results of any WSOP season with over a dozen mostly small NLHE events played and only one cash. It's been disappointing but with such good results in the cash games I still feel quite accomplished.

It's the night before day 2 of the Main Event and there isn't much time left in my WSOP season. I only have 5K chips which is about 12 big blinds. Day 1 was a slaughter. I was card dead for the most of it and got into a few marginal spots where I could have gotten away cheaper and saved my chips. After that bad run of cards I played cash games for a couple days and crushed them. If only I could have run that good during day 1.... There's a decent chance I'll bust day 2 so I'm not sure if it will air, but I did a feature with ESPN talking about this past year, the head shaving, playing at Phil Laak's table when he broke the world record, etc. It would be really cool if any of it gets on tv. I also did a crash interview with Bluff which you can find here.

I'm going to get a good night sleep and play awesome short stack tournament poker for the remainder of my Main Event experience. Maybe I'll run it up. If not, I'll enjoy the rest of my time here spending time with friends or hitting the cash games as usual.

~Thuy

Women and Poker - Ladies event

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:35:53 -0700

The annual WSOP 1K Ladies event happened and each year I play it with high expectations only to sit with a miserable short stack for hours before busting. The small starting chip stack, extra long bathroom lines and occasional loud shriek of a pot won can be tilting, but overall I understand the importance of this tournament and am happy to play. Some people have expressed dissatisfaction with it, viewing the tournament as demeaning to womens' poker playing abilities. While the existence of a ladies event does recognize that the general field of female poker players isn't as skilled as male players, it isn't an unfair or necessarily bad thing. It says nothing about womens' potential to dominate at the tables. Obviously with enough experience a person of any gender can kick butt. Poker is a difficult game to learn and it takes an extraordinary amount of inspiration, drive and support to become a good player. Men have an advantage in the learning process. It's much easier for them to find inspiration from successful players that they can relate to. It's also easier for them to form a support group of close-knit friends that they can learn with. Your learning curve rises tremendously with friends who you can share strategy and adivice with. From my experience, learning poker as a woman can be an incredibly lonely experience. It's difficult to find females who share the same passion for the game and who can help you burn up the ranks. Poker is so saturated with men that it can be uncomfortable for novice players to enter a tournament where they feel out of their element. This is where ladies events become important. They create an environment that is gentler and more welcoming for those who are not experienced in large live tournaments. They are gateways into the bigger poker world. Novice players who have a good experience in the ladies event are inspired to invest more time into their poker journey. Thus a new crop of players is growing.

Ladies events can help introduce women to others who are like-minded in their interest in the game. Through this they can create connections and form a support group that is so vital to becoming a good player. In general it's hard to find female friends because there are few who play and win consistently. With four years of experience I spent the first three years not having any female poker friends. When I started playing live I started meeting people at the table here and there, but to this day I only need one hand to count the number of female friends I have in the poker world. We are a rare breed, maybe a little crazy for thinking that we can kick it with the boys, maybe a little smart for proving that it really isn't just a boy's game. In time more and more women will come to understand this. In the meantime, if they would like a ladies event to help them transition into the poker world, then why not?

~Thuy

Super Grinding and Playing With Phil Laak - Me at the WSOP 2010

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:41:50 -0700

The first part of the WSOP has passed and I've been playing at least 10 hours every day. Things have been eventful in my cash games but not so much in my tournaments. I've played five of the small NLHE tournies and busted all of them without cashing. It's frustrating and expensive. There isn't much room to play and with such a short stack I feel like I'm just throwing money away. As upsetting as it can be, I have to keep playing them and land a big score if I want to get sponsored.

In the cash games things started off slow. I wasn't winning much due to a dull run of cards, failed bluffs, etc. I was beginning to get really stressed out. I feel like I've been laid off of work for the past year and was starting my re-entry stuck a lot of money due to medical expenses. Add tournament costs and it's even more of a burden. Fortunately things turned around the night that I pulled my 25-hour marathon session at Phil Laak's table. As most of you know, he broke the Guiness world record for longest poker session, playng 10/20 NL at the Bellagio for 115 hours. I started around 10pm, joined Phil's table a couple hours later and stayed until 11pm the next night. It was funny looking around at how bloodshot everyone's eyes were. A lot of the players had been there for a long time. It was a fun table with a lot of action, big pots and excitement. At first I was up 3K, then lost a couple of big pots including an 8K pot where I had a combo draw versus two pair to become stuck 5K. I reloaded with 3K and by the end of the session ran my stack up to 23K for a 15K profit. I would have stayed longer to share the excitement of Phil setting history but Tom Dwan made the final table of the 1.5K event. I couldn't miss out on cheering him on, which I did while nearly passing out on the floor of the Rio. I don't know how Phil had the stamina to do it. The guy was a beast and all the while very kind to the fans that stopped by to rail the game. He was also slightly loopy at times but if I had been awake for that long I would have been too.

I've pretty much been a super grinder for the past week and will try to keep it up so long as I don't wear myself out. I'm tweeting a lot at twitter.com/realthuydoan if you would like to follow my time here at the WSOP.

~Thuy

Got My Life Back - Back on the west coast

Mon, 24 May 2010 17:38:04 -0700

The sound of cars zooming past in the highway below is usually annoying, but now. Tonight it is almost therapeutic, a reminder that I'm in the city again and back to living my life. It's hard to believe that only two weeks ago I put on my leg for the first time and walked out of the office on crutches wondering how I would ever get the hang of it. Last week I ditched the crutches and walked into his office with a cane. He said that he'd never had a client progress so quickly. I told him that I had a life to get back to and that was plenty of motivation.

I've missed L.A. a lot and am glad to be home. Doing simple things like checking out the unique restaurants, exploring the city and spending time with friend is incredibly rewarding. Heck, even paying the bills isn't that bad. The other night some friends and I saw Sarah Silverman and Aziz Ansari doing standup and they were hilarious. Aziz rehearsed some material for the MTV Movie Awards which had everyone cracking up. He is going to do a great job hosting.

Recently I signed as an agent with a new realty firm. I've been involved in real estate since high school and am soon launching a new business venture. I'll be able to tell you more about it once my business card and website are made. It's a very unique concept and I'm excited to be offering this service to people. I've resisted getting a Blackberry but with the need for a business line I gave in. You crackberry owners were right...it is pretty cool.

I did a pretty long interview with Bret and EB at Poker Static talking about the usual things, poker and the past dark year. As I mentioned in the interview, if any of you played the tourney or donated to help with my medical expenses please remind me that I owe you a fat hug if you see me at the WSOP. I don't know most of the faces behind the screen names but whoever you are, I'm very grateful.

Besos.

~Thuy

Just Walk to Heaven - Learning how to walk again

Sat, 08 May 2010 19:04:22 -0700

A quote from a cancer survivor in a newspaper read:

"I lost my faith in God and the afterlife. Heaven is here and now."

After facing a life-threatening situation you notice life's beauties more and more. I asked myself what my heaven was and the answer is actually simple: a return to normalcy. When your world gets rocked and permanently altered the only thing you long for is to get your life back on track.

Today marked an important event to bring me closer to normalcy. I got a temporary hydraulic leg which will be used for the first several months. Then I will be fitted with a more advanced microprocessor leg. The temp. leg is lighter and easier to learn but without a computer chip it requires greater concentration to avoid falling.

Learning to walk is like trying to learn a new language...frustrating. The movements are like this: I step forward with my right foot and put pressure on my left toe. This causes the left knee to bend. Then I swing the left leg forward until it snaps straight and the knee locks. If it doesn't lock then it will buckle when I take the next step. So far walking looks and feels awkward. I look like I'm constantly kicking something. Also, the leg is too tall. It needs to be taken in for adjustments. It's going to take a lot of practice to get the hang of this. If I want to get to my heaven I have to work for it.

The guy told me to practice a little each day, to go slow. I thought "Screw that! I don't want to go slow!" In my head popped the scene from Avatar when Jake Sully wakes up in his new body and runs outside like a maniac. If I tried to do that I'd end up eating pavement. Our technology is not that advanced on planet Earth...yet.

On a different topic, I'm really looking forward to the WSOP. It's always a blast. Cash games are my specialty but with demand for female pros so strong it's a no-brainer to play the tournaments and try to prove yourself. If I don't land any final tables then at least my friends will, and sharing in the excitement is a huge rush.

Edit: I just read about Mike Matusow's promise to streak The Strip if 3 women win bracelets. I'm assuming that the ladies event bracelet counts as one. So we really only need two more? New motivation to ship a tourney!

I miss my friends like crazy and would bet my last good leg that they're some of the most amazing people in the poker community. A few of them(Malia Bergman, Andrew Robl, Joe Sebok) have organized a charity tourney at Full Tilt for May 16th to help me get back onto my feet. I feel humbled and grateful for this. What did I ever do to deserve such good friends?

Besos!
~Thuy

Surgery Time

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:25:34 -0700

The surgery is tomorrow. In the past month my tumor started growing again and I realized that I didn' have any more time to try and find a way to heal my cancer. In the past couple weeks it has been growing with a vengeance. The pain kept me up at night and made my days equally excruciating. I met with my doctor and told him that I needed the amputation as soon as possible.

I've been thinking nonstop about how different my life will be from now on. Things that were once so basic such as jumping, running, and dipping your feet in the pool are no longer basic. What was normal no longer is.

I hope that is marks the beginning of the end of this very difficult chapter of my life. It has been a long struggle. I'm ready to move on and build my life back up.

~Thuy

2nd Round of DMSO Plus Other Stuff

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:51:18 -0800

Grinding the 10/20 side games at the LAPC was short-lived. I only got to play for a week before my P.E.T. scan results had me back on a plane to Oklahoma. I was stuck most of the time but had one big night that finally got me into the green for a small profit. I wasn't at my best and there are a few hands still running through my head that I misplayed.

After the first round of DMSO treatment my P.E.T. scan results showed slight shrinkage of the tumor from 10cm in November to 8cm at its longest point. It has an SUV value of 10.8 which is aggressive considering that a value of 5 is considered cancerous. There is also still no spread. I needed to hit this thing harder so I came back to Oklahoma and planned a more rigorous treatment schedule with my alternative clinic. I asked them to give me the works and boy are they!

Every day I'm still doing the DMSO IV drip. Every other day I'm doing spot hyperthermia with an infared laser, frequency therapy, and whole body hyperthermia. The last time I tried hyperthermia it didn't work partly due to my damaged liver. Since then I've finished a bottle of milk thistle and done two Myers Cocktails. Now my blood tests are showing a healthy liver and it is working smoothly. It stimulates the immune system and gave me flu-like symptoms(the most important being a cancer-killing fever) for a few hours. I have done 3 so far. The first brought my fever to 102, gave me a splitting headache, intense stomach pains, and vomiting. A friend sent me a bottle of glycerin tincture which I took for the next two treatments. It helped big time. The vomiting and stomach pains were gone and the crushing headache became manageable even with a fever both times of 105. It also got my appetite burning and last night I even stumbled into the kitchen for mashed potatoes while my fever was still at 101. So far all the treatments are going well and I'm having a good time staying with my nurse's big household which has pretty much become my Oklahoma family. There is still a long road ahead but I'm in good hands.

DMSO IV drip, Chia pet hair

Infared laser spot hyperthermia

~Thuy

A Different Take on the Cancer Business

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:52:02 -0800

In September I agreed to go on chemo based on the advice of conventional doctors. I wish I had known better. After three miserable months of ineffective poison I was left wondering why there aren't more effective and humane ways to treat cancer. With billions of dollars donated for and spent on research, why hasn't considerable progress been made?

It turns out that there ARE better ways ...actually there are many of them. From reading books on alternative medicine and based on my experiences here at Camelot Cancer Care, I no longer believe that cancer is anything to be scared of. There are well-rounded, gentle approaches to this illness that conventional medicine(chemo, radiation, surgery) is unable to offer.

The first question that comes to mind is "If these effective, gentle treatments exist then why don't we about them?" You have to follow the money trail. Chemo drugs cost tens of thousands of dollars and Big Pharma profits immensely from being the main source of treatment for patients. Any method of cure not provided by it is considered competition. All-natural treatments are a threat because they are usually inexpensive for consumers and unable to be patented, meaning Big Pharma can't sell them at ridiculous prices. The best way to protect their cartel is by limiting the public's knowledge of and access to alternative treatments. Big Pharma has considerable influence on the government, media, science institutions, medical education, and even charity organizations. One would hope that pharmaceutical companies exist to help sick people but the grim reality is that money is the main objective. When you keep this in mind it makes perfect sense why our healthcare system is so atrocious.

Alternative treatments do a better job at addressing the causes of cancer. They are largely attributed to exposure to toxins and nutritional deficiencies which cause abnormalities in cells. In my experiences with my oncology office where I had chemo this was not talked about. But with alternative medicine addressing the causes is a key to being cured. At Camelot there is emphasis put on making lifestyle changes that reduce the body's toxicity and nourish it. By fixing your whole body you can heal and prevent a multitude of illnesses. This would be detrimental to the business of healthcare.

I'm having a good experience here so far at this clinic but don't have a progress report on the tumor yet. Soon I'll be done with the first round of daily DMSO(with Vitamin C and laetrile) infusion and getting a P.E.T. scan to see if it's working. I tried Coley Toxins as a side treatment but unfortunately my body didn't generate the high fever we were aiming for. My blood tests were showing considerable damage to my liver from chemo. I need to detoxify and repair it first to get my immune system back on track. The good news is that my blood tests since then have shown a lot of progress. There are other side treatments offered to attack the cancer from as many angles as possible and I will add those to my arsenal.

Below are resources I recommend and hope you look into. Even if you're perfectly healthy and fully trust conventional medicine it's worth it to learn about a different perspective. If you ever get diagnosed you don't need to pray for a miracle, just access to good treatment.

Bill Henderson's Cancer-Free: Your Guide to Gentle, Non-Toxic Healing

Suzanne Sommers' Knockout

www.cancertutor.com

~Thuy

Venturing into the Alternative

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:56:30 -0800

After talking to multiple conventional doctors the consensus is that if I want the best shot at life, I should have my leg amputated. Chemo was a failure and radiation wasn't expected to succeed. Both can actually cause more cancer and I've done enough damage to my body already. I like my life but damn it I also like my leg. It's not particularly special, doesn't have anything cool like a 6th toe. But still I'd be delighted to keep it. Conventional doctors couldn't help me with this. It was time to pursue a different route.

So here I am in Oklahoma being treated at an alternative clinic called Camelot Cancer Care. By alternative I mean all-natural, non-toxic, uncovered by insurance, and under the radar of mainstream medicine. It's competition to "Big Pharmacy" and that's part of why the FDA has been trying to shut it down. One time the FDA came close to it. By luck a person of high authority got involved and the case was dropped.

I will be here for a few weeks trying some different methods. One is vitamin C and laetrile(cancer fighters) bonded with DMSO. The DMSO is absorbed by the cancer so it acts like a Trojan horse, carrying the vitamin C and laetrile inside. Another is whole body hyperthermia which boosts the immune system and raises the body temperature to where cancer can't survive. I'm also taking supplements and antioxidants and following a strict diet of 70% raw, organic foods and cutting down on sugar, meat, and processed junk. It's a total lifestyle change.

The staff members are very kind and seem to really believe that I have a good shot. I don't want to get my hopes too high but I truly believe this is the place to be.

Things should wrap up in early February and I'm hoping to be back in L.A. to catch the Poker Classic. Maybe I'll see you there...and I will actually have a bit of hair!

Special thanks to the Poker Road members who put up pictures/video of their hair cutting. You guys rock!

~Thuy

The Head Shaving Event

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:18:12 -0800

Twas the night that caused tournament players in day 2 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic to wonder "Why the **** are there so many bald dudes?" It started a few weeks ago when Barry Greenstein called and asked me to come to Vegas. He was holding a head shaving as a show of support for my battle against cancer and resulting baldness. It sounded like a fun event, which it was, but I didn't know what to expect. Never did I imagine the incredible turnout, outpouring of love, and level of compassion displayed by everyone there. It was a truly memorable night. A huge thank you goes out to Barry for organizing the event, Phil for letting us use his palace, the barbers from Presidential Shave, everyone who showed up, and all the positive messages in the forums.

It was in Phil Ivey's huge villa and at first I thought it would be 3 people shaving their heads(Eli, Doyle, Barry). The number increased to 7. Then a group of largely internet players who I've been friends with for years arrived and, in poker-player style, decided to add some gamble to the night. They drew cards to see who would say goodbye to their hair. Each person drew a card and grouped himself into the color drawn: black(Keith, Ryan, Alan, Dan) or red(Peter, Craig, Tom, Elky). Then I drew a card to determine which team would do it. And the team was....black!

But the guys are so awesome that eventually everyone agreed to shave their heads. In total I believe the count was 17(?) people, the last one being Johnnie the barber who endured the terror of me trimming his hair. He made it out alive. Overall it was great night filled with delicious shrimp quesadillas, free-flowing drinks, screams of celebration for each person that left the barber's chair, and a spirit of true friendship and comradery.

Most traumatized goes to Elky.

Best half-shave goes to Barry.

Most amount of alcohol consumed while in the barber's chair goes to Tom.

It was filmed and will air on Poker2Nite. Also, there are more pictures to come so check back soon.

~Thuy

3 Cycles In and It Ain't Fun

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:45:34 -0800

It's difficult to gather words together. They need thoughts and emotions and right now it is an obstacle to think or feel anything positive. This will take a while on my part but I will try regardless.

Chemo is tougher than I had imagined. People warned that it would be, that there could be days when I would wish for death over this. Fortunately it has not come to that, but there are days hidden under the sheets hoping to drift into unconsciousness. Anything to avoid feeling.

There are good days too, about two weeks into each 3-week cycle as the effects of the drugs begin to fade there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I begin to feel like myself again, but it's only temporary. The cycle restarts and I become a fraction of my former self.

A couple weeks after starting I spent a morning in the bathroom pulling out hair. It was enough to make a man's wig. That night some of the people closest to me shaved it all off. It was hard to look in the mirror and realize that I had a pointy head. Just kidding. It was weird and stubbly but I'm rocking it.

There's good news and bad. The good is that the cancer hasn't spread beyond my leg. A recent MRI shows that it's also hasn't grown since starting chemo. The bad news is that it also hasn't shrunken, which is important for surgery. Saving my leg will have to involve other treatment options.

For now things are still unpredictable and the unease hangs like a wet coat on my shoulders. I want to know what to expect to better start dealing. But right now it's not about knowing the end point or even what the next month will bring. It's about just accepting things as they are and staying determined that one day things will get better.

It sucks to carry days with more darkness, weakness and fatigue. But it's comforting to know that there are people who are sticking by me. To have caring people who will see you through the low points and not merely ride with you through the highs, this must be a key to happiness.

~Thuy

The Health Insurance Nightmare. Here's What Happened.

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:38:15 -0700

Here is a horror story that will shake the boots of poker players. One of the disadvantages of playing cards is the lack of health insurance and we've accepted that reality as we hit the tables day after day. There are no group policies to join, no protections from the insurance companies as they hold the power to judge and discard us at will. If you're healthy you can buy a plan to protect yourself from financial ruin. But if you have a pre-existing condition, or make any minor mistake in your application, or receive a diagnosis that you'll have to deal with your entire life...good luck. When it comes to something as important as health care, why is profit-maximization allowed to be the driving factor?

_______________________________________________________________________

"They dropped you the day you graduated." These words sank into my chest. I graduated from college and two months later, an MRI report indicated that I had a large and aggressive tumor in my upper left calf/knee. My mom's insurance no longer covered me.

I paid $385 to consult with a private specialist who was very concerned but couldn't help me without a diagnosis. A biopsy was needed as soon as possible to find out if it was cancer. The procedure would involve many doctors and be costly.

"I don't have health insurance. What do I do?" They advised me to visit the Public Social Services office and apply for Medi-Cal. I waited for three hours to finally speak to someone who asked me a series of questions. Are you under the age of 21? Do you have minor children? Are you disabled or pregnant? No? You don't qualify for Medi-Cal. I could've tried to obtain disability first but that would've taken months. In my condition I didn't have time to wait.

That midnight I checked myself into the emergency room of the LAC-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. The public hospitals charged less and had payment programs to help with the financial cost. After waiting for eight hours among a full room of exhausted patients I was finally able to speak to a doctor. She scheduled a biopsy for a month down the line. The public hospitals were crowded and waiting was the norm.

I couldn't handle another month of not knowing. My condition was worsening. I could barely bend my knee and the pain around it was making walking more difficult every week. I agreed to pay a private hospital $1,400 cash for a CT needle-guided biopsy, scheduled for a week and a half later.

In the meantime my mom's employer finally offered me COBRA which is a legally required extension of the previous plan under conditions such as graduation or job loss. I sent in my enrollment form and a check for one-day delivery, hoping that my worries were over, that my battle for coverage ended here. It didn't.

As soon as I received my new insurance card another letter came from my mom's work. It hit us like a bomb. They were now refusing me COBRA, claiming that she hadn't informed them of my graduation date within the required 60-day time frame. My policy could be be revoked.

My mom met with her managers and human resources agents day after day, often in tears as she begged for my life. Our lawyer friend sent a letter to her employer arguing her side, that she had in fact given proper notification of my graduation date. There had been many conversations with managers about it. There was also the vacation request specifically made for the event. After a final meeting with her managers, she called me and spoke in a tone of voice that I hadn't heard in a while. It was filled with hope. She had fought desperately and succeeded.

Two and a half weeks after the biopsy the result came back a soft tissue sarcoma. It is a rare form of cancer that often affects the limbs. My insurance policy could only be used in Virginia so I packed my bags and left California. That life would have to be put on hold. I needed to step away and focus on getting healthy.

Since then I've started my first cycle of chemotherapy in a three-month attempt to shrink the tumor. It's been hard but I'm fighting, and am grateful to be able to wage this war against cancer without going a million dollars in debt.

For now my story ends on a good note. I'm one of the lucky ones. There are countless others who cannot say the same and for them I ask...why is it that in this great nation of ours does it have to be a luxury to simply fight for our lives?

Casualties of War

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:35:00 -0700

The family awakes to the destructive sounds that have become all too familiar. The bombs are dropping again. They hurry into the underground shelter, a dwelling dug under a large mound of dirt. These nights repeat themselves, and the terror is all too familiar. Finally they end. The bombs stop falling and the country is turned over. The war may have ended but the consequences linger.

The war tore up our community, leaving many in poverty and polluting our land with toxins. In 1993 we left for the United States. I thought I had escaped the fate of a typical Vietnamese village child. In a way I had, but in a way I hadn't. Even on the other side of the world, the war is still within me.

At the age of 23 with a fairly healthy lifestyle I can't help but wonder how this rare diagnosis came to be. I'm the youngest patient in my oncology office, a baby by the nuses's standards. What was it that made my body so much more vulnerable to developing a soft tissue sarcoma?

Two words led me to pull up webpage after webpage of painful information: Agent Orange. Millions of gallons of this herbicide were poured over my country. It killed our trees, sank into our dirt, and mixed with our waters. Countless people suffered physical problems and many children were born with rashes, deformities, and a strong likelihood of developing cancer.

My mom who recounts the story of bombs falling during her adolescence tells me that she feared for my fate. Would I too become a casualty of a war fought decades ago? I thought I had escaped that destiny. Maybe I hadn't, and maybe all these years something within had been waiting to rise.

There is no certainty that exposure to Agent Orange toxins led me to where I am today but there are clues. The Institute of Medicine has found that there is sufficient evidence linking this herbicide to four types of cancers: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and...soft tissue sarcoma.

You can take a person out of the war-torn countryside of Vietnam...but you can't take the remnants of that war out of her.

I'm back in Virginia started chemo today. More details to come. Thank you to everyone for your messages of support and encouraging me to be strong. To my friends that found out through NVG of all places...lol

~Thuy

Yup, I'm Gonna Go Bald

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:10:04 -0700

2009 was a year for me to become many things: college graduate, full-time poker player, California resident....Never did I expect to become a cancer fighter.

The biopsy results came back ... I have an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma in my upper calf. The next step is to get a chest scan to see if the cancer has spread. After that is chemo to shrink the tumor, then surgery. If chemo doesn't work then amputation is a disturbing possibility. Since my health insurance policy is based in Virginia, I will be going back there soon for treatment.

This means a break from live poker. There's a part of me that's looking forward to disappearing for a while. Right now I'm getting too much attention from people asking me how I hurt my ankle, or if I have a sports injury, or telling me that I'm too young to be sick. They mean well but I don't want to explain the situation to each person that asks. I come to the casino to be a predator, not to be pitied. There I can be tough and controlled instead of scared and weak. It's my escape from the stress of realizing my own mortality. My days are spent talking to doctors, bickering with the insurance company, and doing what it takes to survive. However, my nights are spent at the tables on the offense, watching, analyzing, stealing pots and forgetting about the difficult months that lay ahead.

I was hoping to dedicate this year to building up my bankroll, traveling and playing more live tournaments, even landing some tv time. Those plans will have to take a rain check. At least I can use the time away to learn other poker games and dip back into the online world.

Going through this has got me thinking more about the hot topic issue of health care reform. Based on my experiences, change is badly needed. I was fortunate enough to secure health insurance through COBRA which is an extension of your parent's plan. There was a period of time though when I thought I'd be uncovered and stuck with a half million dollar hospital bill. That was terrifying. When my current plan expires, I'll be lucky to find insurance for a reasonable premium with my pre-existing condition. Hopefully when that time comes there will be more options.

This is a tough spot but don't feel bad for me. My life is still great. I have amazing people in it, a profession that I'm passionate about, and the potential for an incredible future. It's a life worth fighting for and this cancer is just a hurdle. I won't let it destroy me. I will beat it. Just watch.

~Thuy

Waiting and Playing the Legends of Poker 10K

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:32:23 -0700

I still don't know yet if it's cancer. The biopsy was on Friday and it's going to be a couple more days before the results are out. The one shred of good news that came through this storm is that I got my health insurance reinstated. A lot of tears have continued to fall and I'm still scared but it's good to not have to worry about coverage anymore. It's crazy how poker continues to mix with my personal life. This past week I ended up playing a cash game with the head pathologist(cancer dude) of the place where I had my first MRI done in Vegas a while back. He remembered my case and pulled me away from the table to talk. It ended in me crying, once again. I do that a lot these days. At least now I'm more emotionally prepared for whatever comes...

On a better note, the WPT Legends of Poker 10K started yesterday. Starting stack was 30K. I ended day one with 59K and day two with 254K which is 3rd with 73 people left. On the tables assignment list it had me as "Thug Doan." The biggest pot was against David Oppenheim's 10 10 on a board of 10 8 5 with two clubs. My Q 10 of clubs binked a flush on the river. Luckbox foshizzle.

Since my chip count is higher than Daniel Negraneau's I offered him poker lessons. For some reason he thought I was kidding... =)

~Thuy

Tough Couple of Weeks

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:31:01 -0700

It is a slow night at the poker table and I'm a tad frustrated that I'm still even. My phone rings and it's my aunt who lives in Northern California. The sound of her compassionate voice always makes me miss her. "I just wanted to tell you to not be sad. You will be ok. We are praying for you," she says in Vietnamese. My eyes flood up and tears are at the brink of falling. I put my dark sunglasses on and rush from the table before anyone can see the tears reach my cheeks.

After talking to her I don't have the heart to go back to the table. Instead I walk outside, sit in the parking lot with my hands in my face and cry. After the fear and self-pity subside I put my sunglasses back on and return to the felt. I can't allow this to emotionally affect me so much that it prevents me from playing. I can't let it paralyze me.

After moving to L.A. a couple weeks ago I found out through an MRI report that I have a large tumor behind my left knee. I will be getting a biopsy soon to find out whether it's benign or cancer. Either one requires surgery and I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst news so that it'll be easier to handle. To magnify the stress my mom's health insurance claims that I'm no longer covered. It's something that will be challenged but the thought of going through this without insurance has me terrified.

The emotional stress has cut my stamina. During the WSOP I was at the tables 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I woke up each day eager to play. Recently my hours and level of eagerness are a fraction of what they used to be.

I push myself to keep playing and am grateful to be able to turn to this game. It allows me to maintain some normalcy and control over my life during this time of helplessness. I'm also grateful for the people it puts me into contact with. The other night I met a local doctor at the tables. He volunteered to guide me through this ordeal. I'm still scared but the stress has eased significantly. I can't wait to get a diagnosis, get surgery and finally start healing. Soon it will be time to move past this and refocus on poker.

~Thuy