I am back down in Mexico trying out a new, innovative treatment (which can be done in conjunction with Chemo) called Targeted Osmotic Lysis (TOL).
Targeted Osmotic Lysis, or TOL, is a non-invasive treatment that targets sodium channels in late stage Cancer cells — which have hundreds more sodium channels than regular cells — by forcing a bunch of extra sodium into the cells until they swell up and explode, creating tumor die-off.
The technology was developed at a U.S. Research university partnered with a U.S. based company called Oleander Technologies, a woman-owned LLC (BONUS, GO WOMEN). It was originally developed in the U.S., then they took it overseas when they didn’t yet have the funds for U.S.-based clinical trials. Now, they’re gathering both evidence and funding to support their FDA clinical trials application. One of the downsides to NOT being a major pharmaceutical company is that you don’t have the bajillions of dollars built-in to fund U.S. clinical trials, creating a huge barrier for smaller organizations (or anyone who makes a discovery and wants to bring it to patients) to find ways to bring new innovation directly to patients.
The TOL treatment is benign and safe. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it does sometimes work really well, and we have high hopes. If you decide to do some Googling, be sure to spell out the treatment. There happens to be another type of Cancer treatment with the abbreviation “TOL” that has a sketchy reputation. Don’t mix that with the evidence-backed treatment that I am doing!
The medical facility I’m getting treated at is brand new and has an excellent reputation and tons of positive reviews. So far, I’ve been treated wonderfully.
I’m down here from Dec 3 – 20. My friend Caitlin, who is a P.A., thankfully traveled down with me and joined me for my first round of treatments. Once we saw that the treatment was benign and harmless, we were comfortable with me completing the next 2 cycles on my own.
Right now, the Targeted Osmotic Lysis treatment is spread out over the course of approximately 3 weeks. Each week, there are 2 days of treatment back-to-back. Each treatment day, I lay in a futuristic-looking TOL machine for 2 hours. I usually read a book or snooze, or a little of both.
After the end of treatment, we wait 3 weeks before doing a scan to avoid any false positive results from potential inflammation.
We will find out how well this treatment worked in January!
I look forward to being part of the future of Cancer treatment. I’m on a mission. A mission to prove that Stage IV Breast Cancer is NOT a death sentence. Calling all young women. All Moms. All Grandmothers. Watch me show you.
To learn more about Targeted Osmotic Lysis, visit the Oleander Technologies website.
