Dr. Wong Must Be Right: My Chinese Herbalist

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to do hard work at work worth doing. 

         -Theodore Roosevelte

Traditional Research Doctor
and renowned herbalist
Dr. George Wong.

"The cancer will never find me. I'll throw in a herb with no use so it won't discover who I am, just to change so the cancer can't catch me."

"He's stealth, like ninja," I thought with a silent over tired giggle. 

Glancing at my husband, i decided that sentence would be inappropriate to say to the Chinese Naturopath, Dr.Wong, I was consulting for the first time.

Dr Wong has been a practioner for 30 years. He graduated with his doctoral degree from Harvard in 1978. He began his career in research at Memorial Sloan and Kettering in 1982 and currently is a faculty member at Beth Isreal in NYC.

That is only a portion of his main stream resume. 

I'm seeing him for what he can offer outside of the box in alternatives or complementary medicine for my refractory, incurable, Hodgkin's.

He asked very little about my treatment history, but reviewed my current status. He assessed my energy by holding my hands with eery accuracy. 

I was impressed he considered how quickly my cancer mutated to defy treatments. No American medication puts in placebo ingredients to confuse the cancer and stop its mutation.

 "We're playing catch up now." He said, looking at me intently. "We have to build your immune system so it will grow strong."

 "YES!" I agreed. This is what american standard cancer medicine misses.

 We take away the immune system, but do little or nothing to ensure it grows back and matures in a healthy manner, leaving a gap for relapses. Our few medications, namely neupogen, force the growth of bone marrow but does nothing to ensure the health of the cells. 

This was why I was there. I'm searching for the missing treatment piece that will cure me. 

Dr.wong went on about the pharmacy he used, the process of creating his remedies, and how to take them. 

He didn't, however, tell me any of the herbs he was including. He even said some were not even named! 

College Friend, Sam, and I in Chinatown

"Then give me the damn pictures!" The controlling intellectual in me thought. 

He'd asked very little about my treatment history. He assessed my energy by holding my hands, and after this hour long process I found myself handing over a check for $350 for the consult and a credit card number for the unknown herbal extract with no estimate of cost.

It turns out the cost is about $150 every 2 weeks to strengthen my immune system.

This is what desperation does to a person.

Of course, he assumed I could blindly afford it. He met me in a conference room I overtook like I owned it at The Hyatt Grand in NYC. 

Little did he know I was mooching off mom at a conference for a free fun weekend that, at one point, I never thought I'd physically be able to have.

I left him feeling reassured. The $350 covered our consult and any follow up questions I may have. Any issues with the actual concoction are taken up with the pharmacy he uses.

 Now, if I can only find a way to stomach the dirt/olive tasting tincture without throwing up, it will all be worth it.