CANCER GUIDE CONSULTATIONS
WHAT IS CANCER GUIDE CONSULTATIONS (CGC)?

I am the founder and director of Cancer Guide Consultations, which provides counseling to cancer patients about conventional and complementary therapy options. I am not a physician, and I do not prescribe or recommend treatments. I do offer detailed information and support to help cancer patients make informed decisions, so that they can develop an integrative program that takes into consideration the best medical advice, recent research findings, and their own personal needs and beliefs.

WHAT IS OUR EXPERIENCE?

I have been providing this service for people with cancer for over a decade, and I have accumulated a substantive knowledge base about both mainstream therapies, including cutting edge experimental approaches and complementary treatments, including nutrition, mind-body, and alternative therapies, which clients can utilize to their benefit. My experience suggests that patients often do best when they combine the best of conventional oncology with carefully chosen complementary treatments. I have been honored to assist many patients who have dramatically improved their quality of life, some of whom have fully recovered or survived long beyond conventional medical expectations. (You can read case histories of several patients, including a patient with a brain tumor, one with chronic myelogenous leukemia, one with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and one with ovarian cancer.) To expand CGC’s capacity to serve, I am now working collaboratively with my wife, Deborah Chiel, who is also a health writer, as well as with a cancer information and support program in Newark, Delaware, the Cancer Care Connection.

WHAT TREATMENTS DOES CGC RESEARCH?

The conventional oncology treatments we research include: chemotherapy, including new drugs, drug combinations, and routes of administration; radiation oncology including novel approaches such as stereotactic radiosurgery; advanced surgical techniques; biological and immune therapies, including cytokine therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and cancer vaccines. The experimental therapies we explore, often available only in clinical trials, are ?signal transduction inhibitors? (agents that block cancer cell growth signals); anti-angiogenic agents (which inhibit the growth of tumor’s blood vessels); apoptotic agents (which trigger programmed cell death); gene therapies; and novel vaccine therapies. The complementary treatments we discuss include: diet; nutritional supplements; herbal medicines; mind-body medicine, including meditation, guided imagery, hypnosis, individual and group psychotherapy; bodywork treatments; traditional medical systems including Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda; exercise; metabolic dietary programs, and a range of "alternative" therapies.

DOES CGC RECOMMEND TREATMENTS?

No. We neither recommend nor present these options as prescriptions. Our goal is to provide clients with the necessary information, enabling them to conduct informed discussions with their doctors and complementary care providers about treatments that can be wisely pursued and safely combined. Only qualified healthcare providers can help patients make final decisions about the efficacy and safety of an integrative treatment plan. The final decisions must be made by patients in tandem with their oncologists, physicians, and qualified complementary healthcare providers.

HOW DO I GET STARTED, AND WHAT DOES CGC PROVIDE?

I begin with my clients by conducting an initial "intake" interview. I speak with patients and/or family members (usually by telephone; in person when possible) and take a medical history that includes information about diagnosis, staging, medical test results, past medical treatments, and current medical treatments. The initial discussion(s) also represents an opportunity for me to get to know and understand my clients' specific needs and beliefs. I also further describe the service, explain my integrative approach, and discuss fees.

I then conduct any necessary research.  I complete the counseling process in a subsequent session (or sessions), when I provide extensive information about conventional, experimental, and integrative treatment options. I speak with clients over the phone (or in person) to fully report on these options. I am then available for follow-up questions, searches for new information, guidance and support.  When clients express a need for written summaries of these options, I will send a letter or e-mail with this information. Upon request, I also provide relevant research abstracts from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Some clients wish for a particularly comprehensive report, which I can provide, though more time is required.  The entire process may involve only two consultation sessions, while other more involved cases require more sessions.

WHAT ARE CGC'S FEES?

In most but not all cases, the fee for CGC services is $450.00, which covers 2 1/2 hours of consultation and research time. One-half - $225.00 – is due at the first session and can be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX), the preferred form of payment.  Personal checks are also accepted but should be received prior to the first formal session.  The second $225.00 is due after the 2 1/2 hours of consultation & research have been completed.  

 The 2 1/2 hours represents the typical time needed to accomplish the goals of the service.  Commonly, a first session of roughly 45 minutes is conducted for intake and a discussion of treatment options; one hour is spent on research; and a second 45-minute session is held to explain the research findings and discuss all recommendations. 

 Some clients require far more than 2 1/2 hours of consultation and research time.  Those who need more research, more detailed written summaries, and more consultation time can continue to work with me for however long is needed to provide optimal services.  The charge for this additional time (whether research, writing, consulting, or a combination of all three) is $150 per hour.  I also pro-rate the hour (e.g., a half hour discussion is $75).

 The amount of research time required often depends upon the client’s particular cancer or circumstances.  In some instances, little research is needed because I already have a great deal of experience with, and knowledge of, that cancer or circumstance.  In other cases, such as less common cancers or especially complex issues, more research time is necessary to provide reliable and meaningful answers.

 Some clients do not require 2 1/2 hours of my time.  Clients with a focused need, or whose needs can be met in less than 2 1/2 hours, will also be charged at my hourly rate, $150.  In these cases, $150 is due at the first session to cover one full hour.

 CGC does not charge when clients call for brief answers to specific questions, whether during our initial work together or anytime afterwards.  I only charge the hourly rate for planned sessions or phone consults that run over 15-20 minutes. I also do not charge for the first 20 minutes of our first phone contact, in which clients may simply wish to learn about the service, and share some basic details about their condition and their needs.

WHAT KINDS OF RESULTS HAS CGC HAD WITH ITS CLIENTS?

We have worked with clients with every major cancer, including cancers of the breast, lung, ovaries, uterus, cervix, prostate, testes, colon, stomach, kidney, and brain; head and neck cancers; melanomas, sarcomas, cancers of unknown primary site, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease, and most types of leukemia. Clients who have used the knowledge and support of CGC have often done exceptionally well, in terms of both medical and psychospiritual outcomes. As I explain below, I do not define "good results" by physical cure. Cancer specialists are learning that patients no longer have to be completely free of cancer in order to significantly extend their lives and maintain excellent quality of life. Cancer can often be managed as a "chronic disease" - a condition treated in an ongoing fashion rather than one that is extinguished once and for all. While a cure is a worthy goal, it may not always be the realistic or attainable, and people often manage their cancers and live long and healthy lives. Good results should also be defined by functional capacity, psychological well-being, the strengthening of family ties and relationships, and spiritual sustenance - best captured by the broader term of "healing"

Read Case Histories

You can read through case histories of several CGC patients who feel they have been greatly helped by my service. These patients, who have outlasted medical expectations or have fully recovered, include: Jeff, a patient with a glioblastoma brain tumor; Marcy, a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia; Linda, a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and Rosemary, a patient with ovarian cancer.

Read Testimonials

On the testimonial quotes page, you can read a collection of comments about Cancer Guide Consultations and Henry Dreher from patients, family members, and leading mind-body and cancer clinicians.  I also include the complete text of letters or comments from clients and their loved ones who felt that CGC was helpful: Linda, with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Mary, with lung cancer; Suzanne, the friend of several clients in the same community as Mary; Tony & Eileen, the brother-in-law and sister of a patient with uterine cancer; Sue, with a brain tumor, and her father-in-law, Herb; and Jody, with breast cancer.


HOW CAN I USE CGC TO INFORM MYSELF ABOUT MY CANCER AND TREATMENTS?

Our philosophy involves arming clients and their family members with information they can use to better understand their disease and its treatment, enabling them to communicate more effectively with their doctors and other healthcare professionals and to engage in healing partnerships. We provide this information, and we also help clients to find their own way through the thicket of information presented on the internet and in media sources and medical texts. On my Resource Links page, you will find an annotated list of helpful websites for cancer information and research findings, as well as our recommended bibliography. Use this as a starting point for your own investigations.

WHAT IS CGC'S PHILOSOPHY OF HEALING?

We do not view CGC as a healing treatment but rather as a catalyst to health and healing: the service helps clients identify treatments and healing modalities that often enable them to slow, stop, or reverse the disease process. CGC also embraces the philosophy of Commonweal founder Michael Lerner, Ph.D., who distinguishes between physical cure and healing. Every person with cancer can embrace healing, a psychological and spiritual process that allows for living life in its fullness, accepting what is now and what will be in the future, often with a sense of connection to something larger than themselves. In Lerner's view, and ours, healing often overlaps with recovery: the two can coexist and feed each other, since psychospiritual healing can revitalize the body, and physical cure can revitalize the spirit. But healing, in the broadest sense, does not depend upon cure. This is often a liberating distinction for patients struggling with a difficult diagnosis, and the brush with mortality it represents. Of course, my colleagues and I have a profound regard for a patient's wish for recovery: we view it as the lifeblood of a fighting spirit. We help every client, whether their explicit goal is cure, life extension, or psychospiritual healing. We also encourage clients to consider the many levels of their healing process, and to seek wholeness and peace as they follow their chosen path.