Brain Cancer Survivor Amy’s Story

An interview with Amy who beat her GBM, using a tailored dendritic cell vaccine made by Dr Henry Friedman, and a combination of supplements, diet and exercise. Twelve years on, Amy is married and has two children.

Amy’s Return Flight to Health; Living Proof of the effect of Complementary Therapies

American Airlines flight attendant, Amy Pomykal, credits a cornucopia of supplements from the Life Extension Foundation for her quick recovery from an aggressive, malignant brain tumour. Diagnosed in April 2002, she was running a marathon in December, having had eight hours of surgery in May followed by simultaneous chemo and radiation.  Amy’s story is particularly poignant because she had escaped the fate of her 9/11 colleagues and was contemplating a career change or, at 32, starting a family with her husband two, when she was struck down by anaplastic glioblastoma:  "They basically told me my days were numbered. I felt like I was going to die, she recalls. I couldn’t speak because of the tumour and I remember being angry". Amy’s husband a cautious and conservative man became her treatment advocate, sharing the role with her sister Keri who took a more daring and enquiring approach. It was Keri who researched the Life Extension supplement programme on the net and acquired them in time to support Amy’s brain during radiotherapy and protect against potential memory loss. The pills and potions were so numerous they had to be stores in a fishing tackle box.  It seemed to conserve her stamina during post-operative treatment too- she could still play tennis twice a week and kept her hair.   Running that race was not, Amy reflects, the brightest things I’ve ever done, but I lived through it! She also used visualisation, imagining the tumour shrinking, herself growing older. ’I prayed a lot for strength and the ability to make good decisions.’

Knowing the prognosis was still very poor, Keri directed her sister to a cutting-edge clinical trial at the Brain Tumour Center at Duke University Medical Centre. The trial was officially closed, but Amy was given special dispensation by medical director Dr John Sampson. This trial involved culturing the patient’s dendritic cells with RNA from the tumour to produce a strong immune response against the cancer cells. Every fortnight for six weeks, Amy received her injections and three months later her scan showed marked improvement. Six months on, in January 2004 the tumour had disappeared. Dr Henry Friedman, co-director of Duke neuro-oncology programme takes a progressive attitude to complementary treatments like Amy’s. As long as she told her doctors what she was taking, and it wasn’t toxic, he was content. His belief is that empowering patients in their own care achieves the best outcome. ’We have no proof that what she was taking might hurt her, and it might help. We don’t know the answer’ says Friedman.  We could say the same things about what we’re doing. I think its enlightened medicine. It’s admitting where you don’t know what’s going to go on, but following the principle of ’Do no harm’. Since her illness Amy has become the mother of two children. She continues to take her supplements along with her anti-seizure medication.
I believe the supplements did a lot, and that I’ve done well because of them, and my mental attitude and my faith. I believe that I’m going to survive.

Postscript - in 2022 Amy is alive, well with two children.