Dear Dr. Yoza,

My name is Randy Hiraki and my wife is Betty. In 2007, Betty was suddenly diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer only after exploratory surgery to remove a large mass in an ovary. There were no real signs that it was cancerous, but it had spread to her uterus, stomach lining and colon. She had not fully recovered from the surgery before she began chemotherapy. Every three weeks, the same cycle occurred. The first week was just devastating with headaches, nausea, pains in her arms and legs, plus extreme flushing on her head and upper body. Many hours of the day were spent massaging her limbs and stomach to give her a little bit of relief. She often woke at 2-3 am with intense pain and had to be massaged again to go back to sleep.

In the second week, it was up and down with recurrences of limb pain, nausea, and flushing. In the third week, the side effects would start to diminish and Betty would start to regain her strength in time for the next chemo session. It was her fighting spirit and determination that saw us through four and a half months of treatment. I teased her that her greatest hurdle was dealing with losing all her beautiful hair. I told her that we needed to be a matching pair and cut off all my hair. But, she fooled me by getting a couple of nice wigs. People wondered why I was going around looking so ugly.

This year, 2010, Betty was again suddenly diagnosed with a cancer recurrence. After the first chemo session, I had flashbacks to 2007. In fact, Betty’s white cell count couldn’t recover in time for the next session and it was postponed a week. It was then that we were blessed to have the opportunity to observe Dr. Yoza and speak to some of his cancer patients. He explained how he tries to help the physician by strengthening the patients body. Although we were a bit skeptical, we decided to give it a try.

Immediately after Betty’s second chemo session, we stopped by Dr. Yoza’s for treatment. In contrast to previous chemo sessions, Betty slept deeply and restfully for most of the next two days. The chemo side effects were minimized. By the fifth day after chemo, Betty was feeling almost like her normal self. That was something that usually took about two and a half weeks. She continued treatments 3X a week. By the second week, I’d have to remind her to slow down and not try to do all the household chores…that’s what daughters are for!

Was it a fluke? We wondered. Of course, we were curious when the third chemo was done. We again came to Dr. Yoza. And the results were the same, much to our joy! We look forward to similar future results. What’s the value of not having a loved one suffer? Priceless! My heart felt thanks, Dr. Yoza!