Patient Stories

Marge and Ed’s Story

Marge’s life had meaning and passion serving as a friend, spouse, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and in her professional practice as a Registered Nurse (RN) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).

Her mission was to always provide care and helping to improve patients’ outcomes and giving back in a holistic way (1).

Marge served as an RN for 12 years and FNP for 22 years. After being a spouse, mother and grandmother, serving as a NP was her love in life.

Marge believed that with a positive mental attitude (PMA), focused intention, knowing and believing in good outcomes, and always remaining hopeful, anything is possible in our world where many times random events happen.

 Marge knew and truly believed that with God or our Higher Source any outcome intended is possible.

 By praying/meditating on a focused outcome with positive emotion, already envisioning the intended outcome, and asking in a grateful way, outcomes are always possible and frequently happen.

But Marge also knew that there is the “Will of God” which supersedes all.

Many times, in life, we cannot fully understand why “bad things happen to good people” (Dark Nights of the Soul).

We frequently do not understand fully, but can only hold Faith and Love for God in our heart and know that God had a reason that is in the best interest of ourselves or our loved ones.

At the end of 2018, Marge was diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition, Marge had been diagnosed with ALS in early 2018 (2). In early 2019, Marge underwent 18 treatments at The Ayre Clinic for breast cancer.

By August of 2019, Marge’s cancer had gone into remission and she was cured!

Ayre’s approach was completely in line with her philosophy of providing integrated care.  

Marge and I (Ed Hoff, her spouse), have gratitude for all that Ayre had done in such a kind and caring way. We hold The Ayre Clinic with the highest regard! 

In regards to Marge’s ALS diagnosis, she never gave up hope that a remission was possible. The medical community in the US clearly states that there is currently no cure for ALS. Although that may be true, there are 43 documented remissions in the world (not misdiagnosis). Marge was following and believed in the research of Dr. Richard S. Bedlack, Jr. MD, PhD of the Duke ALS Clinic in Durham, NC. Dr. Bedlack is focused on the remissions and reverse engineering to find the root cause. It is Dr. Bedlack’s passion in life to cure ALS. Marge had signed up to be a part of his trials.

We hope you will be inspired by Marge’s story, and give serious consideration to The Ayre Clinic in your decision on how to “best” address your cancer diagnosis.

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1. Holistic Medicine: Management and prevention of disease or a form of healing that considers the whole person- body, mind, spirit and emotions in the quest for optimal health and wellness

2. Marge Hoff (1952-2020) was a cured breast cancer patient of the Ayre Clinic in August of 2019. Marge passed away on April 21, 2020 of an unrelated condition called Lou Gehrig’s Disease – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In this condition, nerve cells breakdown, which reduces functionality in the muscles they supply. The cause is unknown. This eventually leads to total paralysis and then death.

 

LESLIE’S STORY
My name is Leslie Fluegel.  I am writing this testimonial to say thank you to GOD and all my family and friends that prayed with me and for me during my journey with breast cancer. I wanted to share GOD’S miracle of healing and encourage others to investigate alternative medicine.

In October 2006 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  November 2006 I had a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction and removal of all my lymph nodes under my right arm. I was told I had stage 4 breast cancer since it had moved into all my lymph nodes.  I was advised to have 16 traditional chemotherapy treatments and 36 rounds of radiation covering from under my chin, to the bottom of my rib cage, and under my right arm.  I had triple negative breast cancer the rarest and deadliest form. I was told I had 6 months to live.

I prayed for an answer and GOD led me to one with the help of my wonderful children, Ashley Castillo and Chad Fluegel.  They begged me to go to Burr Ridge for a consultation with Dr. Steven Ayre at Contemporary Medicine.  My children knew of Dr. Steven Ayre because he had successfully treated a lady in their congregation fighting cancer.  I was so impressed with Dr. Ayer and his staff.  They took me in their arms and treated me like family.  They treat everyone this way.   Their number one goal is to help heal.  I did 12 IPT treatments (Insulin Potentiation Therapy) from January 2007 through March 9, 2007.  I learned about healthy nutrition, vitamins, and the balance of Mind-Body-Spirit during my treatments with Dr Ayre.
I was cancer free after my last IPT treatment on March 9, 2007 and stayed that way until January 2011.  During one of my 6 month check-ups at Contemporary Medicine with Dr. Ather Malik we found a swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck.  Dr. Ather Malik did blood work to check tumor markers with the six month prior blood work and ordered a biopsy of the lymph node of the right side of my neck.  In February 2011 I was told that my biopsy results were positive.  Breast cancer had metastasized in my lymph nodes on the right side of my neck.  A PET-SCAN revealed that the cancer tentacles had wrapped around my jugular vein and were going down my arm.  I was told I did not have long to live and that I needed surgery to remove all lymph nodes from my neck and also remove my jugular vein.  Once again faced with such sad news I knew that I must stay the same course of action that I had such success with before.  I called Contemporary Medicine and Dr. Ather Malik saw me the next day.
Dr Ather Malik sat and explained the course of action we would do.  He spent time and answered all my questions   I was to have 6 IPT treatments (Insulin Potentiation Therapy) and then take a two week break and run blood test and check tumor markers. My last IPT treatment was March 11, 2011.  On March 25, 2011 I got the results of my blood test.  My tumor markers were lower and in the low/normal range.  Dr Ather Malik was pleased but wanted another biopsy of the neck area.  I agreed to have a PET-SCAN and CT scan from my eyes to my thighs and extra scans of my neck.  If there were any signs of cancer I would do the biopsy.
On March 19, 2011 I went to visit herbalist, Rueben Schwartz in Hestand, Kentucky.  He suggested herbal treatments.  He wrote out a regimen of herbs for me to take three times a day.  I applied a wet cloth soaked in herbs to my neck area where the tumor started every day for 30 minutes.  I soaked in a bath tub of warm water with 1 ½ cups of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide daily for 20 minutes.  I was able to do this for four weeks before my PET-SCAN and CT-scan on April 21, 2011. My PET-SCAN and CT-scan results showed NO CANCER anywhere in my body.  This is nothing short of a miracle.  There was NO cancer and I did not have surgery to remove all lymph nodes and jugular vein.
My journey with breast cancer has taught me so many wonderful things about life, love, hope, faith, and alternative wellness care in the 21st century.  I have learned to heal Mind-Body-Spirit with the help of Dr. Steven Ayre, Dr. Ather Malik, and herbalist Rueben Schwartz.  I praise GOD for this miracle and hope my testimonial helps someone explore all options for cancer treatment.

ANNA’S TESTIMONIAL
January 9, 2001
Dear Dr. Ayre,
I do not know where to start this letter! I only know I want to say thank you so much for keeping IPT going. It takes courage to stand out and say I am going to try to do something better for my patients, something I believe in, something that will help them, something that will not ruin their bodies in the process, something that God willing will make them live a longer life! I came to do IPT it was September 11, 2001. How can any of us forget that day? I came in with Nodular Sclerosing Hodgkin’s disease in the final stage. I also had pain in my bones each night and night sweats. I had been taking morphine, codeine and vicodin, but it still did not stop the perpetual pain. I had faith in God that he wanted me to go do IPT.  I knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to do full dose chemotherapy. I wanted something that would kill the cancer and not my body in the whole process; that is why I chose IPT. I am only twenty years old and I wanted a life ahead of me.

I am so thankful that you had the faith to do IPT on me. IPT was so much easier that I expected. It stopped my severe pain and I got off all my medications. I learned to love you and you are my doctor! How many people can say that? I know that if it weren’t for God and prayers and IPT I wouldn’t have made if this far. Thank you so much!

Your miracle,
Anna DeSeno

The Cry That Conquered Cancer
In July of 2001, Anna Deseno began to experience excruciating pain in her hips. Doctors ran many tests, but were not able to diagnose the problem. By September, Anna’s pain was so bad that she could not walk. Finally, a correct diagnosis was given: lymphoma cancer in stage 4B, which is the final stage before death.

The traditional treatments of radiation and therapy seemed to offer little hope at such an advanced stage of the dreaded disease. She did, however, start a series of Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT) treatments with Dr. Stephen Ayre, at Contemporary Medicine in Burr Ridge, IL.

When Anna was seventeen, she came to the Bill Gothard Institute Headquarters and served in various capacities. She came from a single-parent family with nine brothers and sisters. Last year, Anna spent nine months in Romania working with public school children and orphans. She loved working there and wanted to return.

When the Headquarters staff learned of Anna’s condition, they believed that this would be an ideal opportunity for God to demonstrate His power through the Biblical teaching of crying out to God in a time of trouble.

This is the message of the new book, The Power of Crying Out. It is based on the distinction that Scriptures makes between praying and crying out.

One day, the Headquarters staff joined together in an audible cry. It was short, to the point, and very fervent. “O God, Abba, Father, deliver Anna from cancer, and raise her up for your glory, in the name of Jesus.”

Some relief and hopeful signs followed, but on Christmas Day, Anna recalled the Biblical account of the widow and the unjust judge. Jesus used this story to urge to cry out to Him day and night for a need that we have. Anna cried out throughout the day for God to deliver her from the cancer that had already spread to her bones.

Two days later, Anna and her mother visited Dr. Ayre. Dr Ayre read her her resent test reports. FINDINGS: On “the current examination, there is a normal physiologic tracer distribution and no abnormal foci of activity are seen. All of the marked increased activity in the left sternoclavicular region and in the upper mediastinum has completely cleared”. After checking these result findings Dr. Ayre informed her that her cancer was no longer there! He had treated her with what he believed was the best medicine protocol, but affirms that her recovery was indeed a remarkable work of God.

Article taken from web site at www.billgothard.org.


LANI’S TESTIMONIAL
At the end of 2001, I consulted my internist about my constant coughing,which I thought was the lingering result of a virus I had in the fall. After a chest x-ray and CT scan, I faced the New Year with a shattering diagnosis – stage 4 lung cancer metastasized to the liver, bone, and spleen. As a nurse, I have always been religious about annual screenings, and I have never smoked. Three years earlier, I had been with my father, a lifelong smoker, when he died of lung cancer. In a state of complete shock at my diagnosis, I alternated between terror and utter disbelief.

Two “traditional” oncologist offer identical prognoses. I could expect to live nine months if I under went standard chemotherapy, half that time if I didn’t.

Case closed.

A friend in another state had recently lost her husband to cancer. While driving home from work one day, she heard something about IPT on her car radio. Thinking that it was something she would want to try if she ever had cancer, she scrambled for a pen to write some of the information down. When I contacted her two weeks later to tell her about my situation, she passed the information on the me. By that time, I was on oxygen 24 hours a day. With absolutely nothing to lose, I looked for IPT on the Internet and found that Dr. Ayre’s office was within driving distance on my home.

When I consulted Dr. Ayre, his explanation of IPT made sense to me. I also liked his mind-body approach and the very human atmosphere of this office. I decided to try the initial six IPT treatments to see if they might work for me. My first CT scan showed that the tumors in the liver had reduced in size. There was no apparent change in the lung tumors, but they would normally have increased in size if the treatment had no impact on them. Encouraged, I signed up for the next six treatments. My second CT scan showed dramatic results. Almost every tumor in my body showed a significant reduction in size. By that time, my blood work was also showing tremendous improvement. A high Alkaline Phosphatase reading indicates the presence of bone and /or liver cancer. The normal range is 36 – 126. In January, my reading was 238. I February, just as I started IPT, it was 278. By the time of my second CT scan, it had fallen to 76!

When I learned the results of the second CT scan, I felt myself make the transition from dying of cancer to living with cancer. I am continuing my treatment and looking forward to ever increasing health. I don’t need supplemental oxygen anymore, and I feel completely normal again – better than I have felt since several months before my diagnosis. I have returned to work, and I’ll be vacationing in New Mexico next month.

I credit my improvement to IPT and to the mind-body focus of Dr. Ayre and his caring staff. I have drastically changed my diet from “fast food” to nutritious organic, and I’m taking the recommended supplements. Vitamin C and Ozone treatments are also very beneficial. The constant support of the people close to me enables me to get back and forth to my treatments and to live as comfortably as possible during this turning point in my life.

I once read a story about a woman who was traveling in Italy during a difficult time in her life. While out walking one day, she noticed an elderly man at a distance. Looking directly at her, he inexplicably raised his right fist into the air and yelled, “Coraggio!” She realized that her own courage would indeed carry her through and marveled at the synchronicity of that event. Today I marvel at the synchronicity of my friend hearing about IPT on the radio just in time to tell me about it before I went the route of standard chemotherapy.
Coraggio!

Lani Spencer-McCloskey
April 2002


WILLIAM’S TESTIMONIAL
January 14, 2002
Dear Dr. Stephen Ayre,

In regard to patient Mrs. Corliss, Insulin Potentiation Therapy has shown a high degree of effectiveness with minimal toxicity in managing the most difficult cancer patients. It is remarkable that the conventional world of chemotherapy has not embraced this as an augmenting modality.

William McDougall, D.O.


GERALDINE’S TESTIMONIAL
Letter written 1/31/2006 to Steven G. Ayre by Maria Briesch, daughter of Geraldine De France.

Dear Dr. Ayre,

I have been meaning to write a letter to you for a long time. I want to say THANK YOU for your courage to not only think out of the box but to practice what you believe in. You gave my family a gift, a priceless gift…. and I will be eternally grateful to you!

When my Mother was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in June of 2002, I was certain of one thing…. we would lose my Mother. I also felt certain that it would be quick and devastatingly painful. Of course, none of us were ready for that. After working with my Father to research all the treatment options, and attending many consults with my parents, I felt strongly that I did not want my Mother to pursue traditional chemo. We were told it was not likely to prolong her life and, at 125lbs. to start with, I feared it would ravage her. However, more than one oncologist told us that research showed pancreatic cancer patients actually reported a better quality of life with chemo than without. Knowing how devastating chemo is, I was even more fearful of the journey we were facing. I actually talked to my Mother about Hospice, and gave her a book entitled “Peaceful Dying.”

So, the alternative treatment options became our focus. I have to admit that I was skeptical about IPT and you in general. As a RN, I’ve only had experience working in traditional settings and have never met a Medical Doctor willing to practice outside of traditional medicine. I met you at the initial consult with my parents in the fall of 2002. I came very guarded, but left feeling hope and relief. I truly felt that you believed in the treatment, and how IPT works made sense to me. I was impressed with your honesty about it not necessarily being a cure, but even to keep the cancer inactive for as long as possible, would be a goal. And to later learn that you train other practitioners… like Dr. Sult, who could treat my Mother closer to home. What a testimony to your belief and commitment to this treatment.

Initially, my Mother wasn’t very willing to try IPT. We had a family meeting and all encouraged her to at least try it. Well, that leap of faith gave us three incredible years with our Mother and Grandmother. While doing IPT, she was able to lead a normal life, doing the same activities she always enjoyed. Knowing that it wasn’t necessarily a cure, we all saw and used this time as a gift. I spent so much quality time with my mother… and my daughter, who was 1 year old when Grandma was diagnosed, got to know and love Grandma so well. Haley, who was turning 4 when Grandma died, had told me more than once that she had two moms; myself, and Grandma. We took Haley to Grandma’s grave for the first time recently. Haley told me as we were leaving that she missed Grandma; that Grandma never said “‘no” to her, that Grandma always made her good things to eat, that Grandma always played with her and always let her sleep over. I can’t tell you what it means that my daughter has these memories.

During these three years, my Mother also had two new grand-daughters grace her life. Most likely, the grand children are complete in our family… what a blessing that my Mother was here to hold and love all of her grandchildren.
I’ve enclosed pictures for you; one with her three grand daughters, and one with all of her grandchildren… on Mother’s
Day, just two weeks before she died.

This quality time gave us so much opportunity. We were able to share our gratitude for the wonderful Mother and Grandmother she was to all of us. We were able to create many new memories to hold dear. We were able to make amends that were due. Somehow, we were able, in this time, to accept the fact that she was going to die and we would be okay.

And she, in this time, was also able to accept letting go. She shared her life stories with us, her wishes and hopes for our future. She enjoyed every possible minute with herGrandchildren. She visited with so many family and friends, laughing and sharing treasured memories. She had very little pain and discomfort, even to the very end. It amazed me that she did not have pain. She died with grace and dignity, in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by family.

Just by the nature of the patients you treat, I imagine you must see a fair number that do not make it. Even though my Mother didn’t make it, I would say your care and treatment of her was a huge success. To live the years she did, with the quality of life she had, is more than I ever would have believed possible. A true gift, to all of us. Although they may be difficult to quantify, I hope you do consider these experiences successful.

You offer people who have a terminal illness a treatment which has minimal side effects as compared to the devastating effects of traditionally administered chemo. Because she did not have an oncologist, she was primarily followed here by her Internal Medicine Dr., who marveled and said something to the effect “keep doing what you’re doing.” Of course, there are very few who are brave enough to actually practice alternative medicine, or openly support it. My Mother wasn’t expected to live a year, yet she lived three. And they were quality years. Until the last few months of her life, you would have never known she had terminal cancer. The third picture I’ve included was of her and I on Christmas Day, 2004. It was a great Christmas.

We will all die someday, and most of us hope for a peaceful death. IPT helped my Mother live well with a terminal illness, and die peacefully from her terminal illness. You gave my Mother what traditional medicine could not. Oh, the value of which I could never truly express in words. But, again…. THANK YOU! One person can make a difference, and you do!!

Sincerely,
Maria Briesch (De France)


RAMNIK’S TESTIMONIAL

Excerpt from a letter written by Ajay Majithia at the request of his father, Ramnik Majithia.

Dear Dr. Ayre,

I was assigned a couple of tasks by my dad with respect to you. Understand, he was ultimately grateful to you for everything.

To quote, he said (about you)
“That man is an example of what a doctor should be. Even more importantly, he is an example of what a man should be.” He said that you were, “a true gentleman in every sense of the word.”

Thanks,

Ajay
Ramnik Majithia 5/7/36 – 12/16/04


JANE’S TESTIMONIAL
May 18, 2004 I was a stage 4 breast cancer patient with metastasis to the bone, liver, and lung. My original cancer, confined to the breast and sentinel node was diagnosed in 1994, followed by a lumpectomy, radiation, and chemotherapy. I was fine for 7 years, or so I thought. January of 2001, a re-occurance of cancer in a supraclavicular lymph node was confirmed. I tried hormonal therapy to block the estrogen. I also did extensive nutritional and alternative therapies with moderate success. Yet, by May of 2004 it was evident that I needed something different to help me. As my oncologist stated, he was afraid that the “cancer was now winning the battle.” I explored my options. Traditional high-dose chemotherapy was not an option. I had been down that route in 1994, and knew first hand the devastating affects on the body. After 11 years, I still have not forgotten the horrible nausea, hairloss, and metallic taste in my mouth, months after treatment, and fatigue. Respected medical professionals, one of whom had chosen to have his wife receive IPT treatment from Dr. Ayre, encouraged me to consider this low-dose chemotherapy. After preliminary research and consulting with Dr.Ayre, I began my IPT treatment May 18, 2004. Dr. Ayre and Martha, his nurse were educational and very caring in administering the IPT. After only 7 treatments all indications showed improvement. My elevated tumor marker had dropped more than 20% and scans noted stable disease. By the 13th IPT treatment my tumor markers had dropped from a high of 310 to 130, with CT scans reporting a decrease in the size of the tumors. I received a total of 15 treatments from Dr. Ayre, the last one occurring 9/9/04. My blood tumor marker was now reported to be 73.5, a drop of more than 75% from the start of my care. More importantly, I felt so much better as the treatment went on. How many times do you hear that said about traditional chemotherapy? My bone pain was significantly reduced, my energy was improved and I looked and felt healthier overall. That is not the end of my success story. I have been fortunate to continue to receive IPT treatment closer to home with Dr.Sult, who was trained by Dr. Ayre. After receiving 5 additional treatments from Dr.Sult, my tumor markers had dropped to 56.5 (0-38 normal range) and November 12, 2004 my PET scan reported “no evidence of active disease”!! I am currently doing very well and receiving IPT every 2 weeks with a planned reduction in treatment or potential break from IPT once my tumor markers are normal. My last reading was 52.4 on December 23, 2004. I also receive bi-monthly high-dose Vitamin C IV’s and continue to practice good nutrition and supplementation, along with exercise. IPT is a very reasonable cancer therapy based upon scientific evidence with promising clinical results. It is very powerful in killing cancer cells without the devastating side effects on healthy cells. I agree with Dr. Ayre that IPT is very good medicine. In 7 months of IPT treatment, I have maintained my normal weight, my blood work is good, and I have led a normal, active life. I am forever grateful to Dr. Ayre for his research of IPT and his courage and compassion to share this promising therapy with his patients, with practitioners through his education, and with the medical and lay community in general.

Jane


MILDRED’S TESTIMONIAL
Article featured Friday, September 22, 2000 in the Downers Grove Progress

Chitwood Finds Strength in Physician’s Alternatives
By Kendra L. Williams

For 15 years, the lump on Mildred Chitwood’s right breast swelled from the size of a matchstick head to the girth of a tennis ball.

She knew it was cancer. A doctor had told her so Dec. 13, 1985, before recommending surgery and chemotherapy.

But Chitwood bypassed treatment then because she felt healthy, despite her irate doctor’s claims she would die within 5 years if the cancer was left untreated.

Mildred Chitwood, 76, of Downers Grove, shied away from conventional treatment for her breast cancer and enlisted the treatment of Dr. Steven G. Ayre, who provides alternative treatments in his Burr Ridge office.

She had seen too many people – including a 34 year old daughter – go through chemotherapy, lose their hair and their appetite, and die anyway.

So for years, she kept the growing lesion covered in bandages, lathered it with a burning black salve touted as a tumor
Liberty photo by Ron Koopman reducer and went on living her life.

Last fall, though, the 76-year-old Downers Grove resident started feeling nauseated. Fearful for the first time, Chitwood wondered if the cancer had spread to her stomach. It had not, but the disease had spread to Stage 4, cancer’s most serious form.

Chitwood pulled out a clipping she had saved from The Suburban LIFE Newspaper months earlier about a Burr Ridge doctor offering alternative treatments for cancer. She decided to pay him a visit.

“It (the tumor) didn’t hurt. It wasn’t causing any problems. I was just tired of dealing with it,” said Chitwood, a thin, articulate woman with radiant ivory skin and sparkling blue eyes. I knew there was a better way to treat cancer than what was offered. And I wanted it.

Dr. Steven Ayre is a Canadian-born and educated self-proclaimed free thinker.

A voracious reader, Ayre is fond of using quotes, offering up the words of philosophers, scientists and medical textbook writers to help articulate his points.

The quotation on a simple calendar in the physician’s waiting room seems so sum up the doctor’s philosophy: The personality is those parts of the soul that require healing, along with those parts of the soul, such as compassion and love, that the soul has lent to the process of healing in that lifetime.

If nothing else, Ayre is keen on the mind’s ability to help heal.

He sees the difference in patients who have hope and those who do not. He sees how positive-thinking people grow stronger despite debilitating disease.

“Resentment has an impact on the immune system. Getting to “it” and resolving “it” in a natural and empowering way requires doing things we are not inclined to do. (But) there’s something they can do, and I can help them,” Ayre said, leaning back in his desk chair. “By the time I see patients they’ve already been through the mill. When you’re on traditional chemotherapy you’re sick and nauseous. You’re not doing a lot of tai chi and yoga and eating your sprouts.” Instead, Ayre advocates a low dose chemotherapy called Insulin Potentiation Therapy. At doses 75 to 90 percent less than traditional chemotherapy, IPT works by first injecting insulin into the body, which enhances cancer cells absorption of the chemotherapy. Less chemotherapy then is needed to kill the cancer cells, Ayre contends. Patients then receive glucose injection to counter insulin’s ability to lower blood sugar levels.

Though the process has been used in Mexico and abroad for years, only a handful of physicians in the United States use IPT. Few clinical trials have been done on the subject, but that may change.

Later this month, after 25 years, Ayre is scheduled to present several case studies showing clinical results of IPT before members of the cancer advisory panel for the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

If NIH officials see promise in Ayre’s work, they might fund future studies to officially document the treatment’s pros and cons.

That would be Ayre’s dream come true.

A Wheaton resident, he opened his Burr Ridge practice last November. Though he would love to have the opportunity to treat people in the earliest stages of cancer, all who have sought him out are in cancer’s final stages.

But that has been beneficial, too, Ayre said.

“I’m very cerebral. I’m very emotional at the same time. It’s a very nice combination,” Ayre, 55 said, “I’m not afraid of my own feelings, of connecting with patients. I’m really good at that. It’s a dramatic thing, this whole cancer experience, because people die.”

As she sits in the burgundy recliner in Ayre’s office, Chitwood tugs at her blouse.

The IPT treatments often make her hot. A nurse fills a rubber glove with cool water and ties it off like a balloon; Chitwood occasionally presses it to her neck to cool off. Getting cured of the cancer at this stage would be a miracle. But for the first time in months, Chitwood is able to walk down her driveway, sit on her porch swing and order compact discs by phone at 11 p.m.

The lesion on Chitwood’s breast has, in fact, shrunk.

Ayre says little about Chitwood’s prognosis. He sees progress, but also said he does not believe in continuing treatments in vain.

Both he and his patient are in a wait and see mode.

After years of dealing with doctors for rheumatoid arthritis and other aches and pains, Chitwood appreciates this doctor’s approach.

“This man- he hears a different drummer. I have never met a doctor like Dr. Ayre,” Chitwood said. “Dr. Ayre gives chemo, but not like other doctors do. I haven’t been sick. I haven’t lost my hair. The fact that I was out at the end of my driveway waiting for my daughter this morning, that’s something. I’m getting better.

J. CARRELL’S TESTIMONIAL

Excerpts from a letter written by Bob Heller to Steven G. Ayre, December 22, 2003.

Dear Dr. Ayre,

We were both very fortunate to have “found” you and we both benefited greatly from the time we spent with you. I consider you a man of great strength of character; a man of grace and beauty; a “healer” in a world overcrowded with technicians and practitioners. We were both blessed the day we met you and we both thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

There is an old Seneca greeting that seems appropriate. It says simply “thank you for being.”

God bless you and Merry Christmas.

Bob Heller
J. Carrell Heller 7/29/54 – 12/8/03

The following verse was read at her memorial service by her husband, Bob Heller.

Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint in the snow.
I am the sunlight in the ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush.


ARTHUR’S TESTIMONIAL

Excerpts from email written by Arthur Jaros Jr., January 7, 2004 to Steven G. Ayre regarding his father, Arthur Jaros, Sr.

This has been a busy week for our father. We spent the mid to late afternoon with the pulmonologist Dr. A followed by the cardiologist,
Dr. B.

Both physicians were genuinely surprised and pleased with father’s condition and his improvement. (Dr. A thought that we had had the recommended radiation performed and I explained that we had not – relying only upon your IPT). Indeed, the cardiologist who admitted father to the hospital and examined him on the first day of hospitalization (November 24, 2004) expressed virtual amazement. Indeed, Father looked the best today since before his admission to the hospital.

The pathology results from the thoracentesis were negative for malignancy and negative for infection. Also, there was no evidence that the tumor had invaded the pleural lining.

To date, we have been able to reduce the oxygen flow while father was staying at home. More importantly, the unpredictable periods of extremely labored breathing that put us in near panic (we almost called 911 several times) in mid to late December have completely ceased.

Father is so significantly improved that we are, for the first time, hopeful that he might return to his workplace albeit on a limited basis within the next two or three weeks which would be another huge morale boost for him.

Thank you again for playing such a huge role in not only keeping our father alive, but also in his dramatic improvement – improvement of which Father himself is keenly aware.

Sincerely,
Art Jaros, Jr.

Excerpts from a later email written by Arthur Jaros Jr., March 10, 2004 to Steven G. Ayre regarding his father, Arthur Jaros, Sr.

To my amazement, Father showed tremendous improvement last night upon my arrival at home from work. Father ate a large supper at the table, was pedaling his own wheelchair (Fred Flintstone style) rapidly across the kitchen, giving me instructions/directions in mentally vigorous fashion!! Upon waking this morning, his improved condition was again noted: he had slept through the night (very uncommon) and did not require very much double oxygen. His spirits were better as well.

MY THANKS TO DR. AYRE FOR HIS CONTINUING EXPERT JUDGEMENT AND THERAPY DECISIONS.

Sincerely,
Art

Arthur Jaros Sr. passed away April 22, 2004 after celebrating his 82 birthday on April 13.