I am not normally the type of person to reply to blogs and comment sections and things, but I feel they have helped my mother to avoid a disaster at Lase Med, so I would like to add my 2 cents in the hopes that someone else will avoid it as well.
I will spare you all the background on my mom, but let me just say that she is VERY selective in what she has chosen to do as far as her cancer. I don't think anything she has done thus far has worsened her cancer in any way; there are things that she has done that I don't believe have helped, but they have not worsened it either. Her body has figured out to make cancer and noone can find the off-switch, THAT is the problem. If we could find the trigger or the off-switch, then that would be the real cure for cancer.
Finding the Lase Med website online, my mother contacted Carpenter. According to my mother, Carpenter had ACCEPTED my mother as a patient without ever seeing her in person and our mom was making plans to come to Lase Med.. My sisters and I continued to research this place and came across some very unsettling blogs and comments about Carpenter and Lase Med..
Finding out that Carpenter only held a degree in Physics, we were very worried. There are reasons why people attend medical school and get medical degrees - they need to know the inner workings of the human body, what complications may arise, how to combat those complications, and so much more. It terrified me to read over and over and over, that once the Lase Med.. treatment was done, Carpenter discouraged and forbade 2nd opinions and follow-up visits with anyone other than herself even when these people knew something horrible was going on.
We sisters took it upon ourselves to start making contacts. One sister contacted Michelle Wolven, another continued pouring through the internet, and I drew the unlucky straw of contacting Carpenter. From reading these blogs and comments, I had heard that Carpenter could be easily angered, which resorted to her belittling, name calling, and bullying anyone who questioned anything she was doing or planned to do. I later experienced that first hand.
I sent her an e-mail. I NEVER attacked her, never questioned the effectiveness of Lase Med, never even questioned her NOT having a medical degree. I simply asked a question as to HOW did she plan to help my mother. I cited refereneces to things on her own website that I needed answers for. Was I emotional? Sure. Was I skeptical? Yes, and I was very upfront and clear about both. After all, this is my mother's life we are talking about. I want to know details. I needed answers and I wanted to make sure my mom was not going to sink money down a hole that would offer no results or end up worsening her condition or even killing her in the end.
Sadly, her short, high school, bullying, unprofessional response offered no details and no answers to my questions. What it did offer was the reassurance that my sisters and I were searching for...this lady had no clue what she was doing and we would NEVER send our mother to someone like that.
I replied to her e-mail. There are many, many things I would have liked to have said, but my response was kind (I am a Christian. I know I am not perfect, but I must try to be a good witness in all things, even those that are only seen by me, her, and God). I did apologize if I had offended her in any way as this was not my intention. My intention was to seek answers for my questions. I was also very clear to her that she behaved very unprofessionally not only to me, but in her comments about my mother. Her only response to me was a link to one of her medical conspiracy shows, the time the show aired, and to forward my mother and someone named Wendy all the private e-mails she and I had exchanged.
I did not listen to her show right away. My husband had listened to a few segments previously and told me it would be a waste of my time. I did listen to that show later on. It was a waste of my time, but it also concreted in the fact that my mother had indeed made the right decision NOT to go to Carpenter and Lase Med.. The entire show was very Saturday Night Livish. It would have been funny except for the fact that my heart was saddened and broken for the people who had and would in the future seek out Carpenter's help not knowing what lay in store ahead for them. I remember thinking out loud to myself on several occasions "People actually go to this woman to treat them?!"
At the very end of that show, she had an awards segment of sorts and believe it or not, I was featured. Not only did she lie and say she did NOT accept my mother as a patient, she said I didn't like them, she said that I attacked her, the scientists, and what they were trying to do at Lase Med.. She also went on the blame my mother's worsening condition on the alternative treatments she had received in the past. I know for a FACT that the alternative treatments are the only things keeping her alive at this point. Traditional med doctors are amazed at how well she is doing given her advenced case. Many of them do not even question her anymore as to why she does alternative because they see the difference it is making in helping her deal with the pain, her energy levels, etc...
On her show, Carpenter also said she 'put me back in my place' and then said I won the 'shut up my face award'...just when I thought she couldn't get any more unprofessional...If offering her a kinder response than what was offered to me is 'putting me in my place' in her eyes, then so be it. I accept the 'shut up my face' award with honor in hopes that others will not be put through the horrible things I have been reading about on all these blogs and comment sites.
Who knows, perhaps I'll be featured in more of her talk shows. One thing is for sure, I won't be wasting my time by listening to them again.
Thank you to all the people who have posted their comments on these sites and blogs. Thank you Michelle Wolven for being so kind to speak to my sister about everything. You all have helped to save our mother the pain and heartache from going to Lase Med and Carpenter.
Sincerely,
Pauline (PROUD recipient of Ms. Carpenter's 'shut up my face award' Medical Conpiracy show, August 28th, 2010)
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