Sybil Update 11/28/00

Sybil's visit to San Francisco resulted in mixed success. The Tibetan doctor she saw used to treat the Dalai Lama, but hasn't been his personal physician for many years now. He didn't look at her tongue but spent a lot of time listening to her pulse before prescribing an herbal treatment and warning her not to eat foods such as nuts or sweets. Sybil is reluctant to take the handmade, silk-covered pills he recommends.

On the other hand, she had a very good time visiting with our friends Drew and Mazhar. She also had a chance to see her friend Chris, who came up from Los Angeles to see her. Nothing bad happened, so I'm quite happy with her whirlwind visit.

We had a bit of a scare when she returned home as she experienced chest pains and ran a high (103 degree) fever. She quickly recovered though. We believe the causes to be a virus (which was noted by the Tibetan doctor in an incipient phase) and her adjustment to the lower dose of steroids.

Overall, she's doing amazingly well. She's sleeping better, walking better, and not in too much pain. We're very happy and hopeful for further improvement. She is still bothered by a few things. A nasty looking tumor just below the surface of her skin near her shoulder blade is hurting her. She still has some back pains and leg cramps. One of her legs is still terribly atrophied. As bad as these things are (and the various other smaller ailments I'm leaving out) we are incredibly thankful that the life-threatening tumors in her brain, liver, and lungs are currently held in check and her treatment seems to be working. We have something of a normal life now, for the first time in a long while, and we are relishing every minute of it.

Sybil spends almost all of her free time either talking to other cancer patients on the phone or communicating with them via the Internet. She's spreading the word about the details of her treatment and trying to help other people as best she can. As usual for her, she sometimes gets a bit carried away and spends too much time with this. Still, she enjoys helping other people and feels she has a new calling in life. Overall it is good for her and I try to be supportive while reminding her that she needs to stay balanced.

For a long time I've tried to get her to put up her own web site and I think she's finally getting close to doing this. Of course I'll put a link in to it once she does.

Matt Donath

Mdonath@yahoo.com