When I was first diagnosed with bladder cancer in May 2021, my doctors’ advice was for me to undergo 3 cycles of intensive chemotherapy to shrink my tumour and thereafter remove my bladder and uterus. I was shocked, lost and devastated and could not accept the treatment plan which was offered to me.

I had my first surgery – Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumour (TURBT) in May 2021 and my urologist removed only 30% of the tumour for investigations because the treatment plan she had for me was to remove my bladder and uterus after 3 cycles of intensive chemotherapy.

I consulted with 2 other urologists and their treatment plans were no different.

I was devastated by the diagnosis and the only treatment offered to me and could not accept what was offered and the idea of me losing my bladder terrified me.

I did not know what to do and started by completely changing my diet to try to stop the cancer from spreading and took different natural herbs, remedies and supplements to try to fight the cancer while I searched for alternative treatments. I also tried different types of therapies for a few months but the tumour did not change and it did not stop bleeding after my first TURBT in May 2021.

In October 2021, I was introduced to Verita Life by my functional medicine practitioner who had a client who was treated by Dr Hosammi at Verita Life Bangkok for another type of cancer. She offered to ask Dr Hossami if he could treat me and was happy to hear that he had, recently, successfully treated a patient who had bladder cancer who could not tolerate chemotherapy because of her other health condition.

Verita Life was also recommended to me by my Lifestyle Coach who is the founder of Levitise Coaching and Personal Training in Singapore.

I contacted Verita Life and had a few online consultations with Dr Hossami and because of the Covid-19 pandemic I could not travel to Bangkok to start my treatment. Dr Hossami started treating me by prescribing me with medications to try to manage the cancer and in the meantime, my tumour was bleeding after the first TURBT in May 2021. The bleeding got so bad and he advised me to get my urologist in Singapore to perform another surgery (TURBT) to stop the bleeding and to remove as much of the tumour as possible. This second TURBT was done in July 2022 and the urologist removed 60% of the tumour. The bleeding stopped after the surgery and post-surgery, I was scheduled for cycles of chemotherapy and 22 sessions of radiotherapy but I decided to travel to Bangkok in August 2022 for treatment at Verita Life since Thailand had reopened and I was allowed to travel out of Singapore.

After 5 weeks of therapies, my CT scan result showed that my tumour had reduced in size and Dr Hossami advised me to have another TURBT; this time to remove all the main tumour and a few small ones. Unfortunately, during the pre-surgery tests, it was discovered that I had Pulmonary Embolism and I had to be put on blood thinners for three weeks before it was safe for me to have surgery. Three weeks later, during my third TURBT, the urologist managed to remove the tumours and the tissue pathology result showed that my cancer is now non-invasive compared to the initial reports done in Singapore. I am cancer free! This is the best news ever and I am so relieved and happy that I made the decision to trust in Verita Life instead of giving in to the conventional treatments that was all I was offered in Singapore. Had I stayed back and accepted the only treatment offered to me, I would have lost my uterus and bladder and possibly my life.

Throughout my time at the clinic, I was very well looked after by all the different departments ie doctors, nursing care team and the client managers. They were always there for us when we need them. I watch how well they looked after all the patients and there is a very efficient system within the clinic to ensure that nothing is missed. The client relations managers are very helpful and they try their best to help us with our day to day needs whenever required. They will chaperone us whenever we have to go the hospitals for scans, consultations, admissions or other services. Our meals are cooked and presented beautifully and packed very carefully by the chefs and kitchen staff. The nursing team is experienced and very caring and supportive. They try their best make us comfortable and are always there to see to our needs; always asking about our wellbeing. Dr Hossami is a very approachable and dedicated doctor who knows what he is doing for each of his patients. It is very difficult to leave them at the end of my journey.

I witnessed more than 10 patients return home with good results and also met a few who were here for the second or third time in the duration of my treatment. It is very heartening and it only means the treatments worked for them and they trust and believe in Verita Life! Most if not all of us feel very happy to return home but very sad to leave.

If you are against conventional cancer treatments which is the Slash, Burn and Poison protocol which also come with a lot of pain and suffering, physically and emotionally – Verita Life is the way to go!

Yvonne Agatha

November 2022