Believe Big Podcast

63-Edna Ness & Cait Wilson - Innovative Healing Modalities

• Ivelisse Page & Edna Ness and Cait Wilson • Season 2 • Episode 63

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 23:55

In this week’s episode, I am joined by Edna Ness and Cait Wilson, owners of In Light Hyperbaric, who share their mission to help people heal and thrive after cancer treatment.   They discuss various ways to promote healing without relying on medication, particularly for cancer patients.

Edna shares her husband's experience with stage four base of tongue cancer and their use of Gerson therapy, hyperbaric chamber, and tissue regenerative therapy (TRT) for his recovery. 

Tissue Regenerative Therapy (TRT) becomes the focus of this interview as we learn about its benefits, such as breaking up scar tissue and calcification, reducing inflammation, and improving blood flow promoting healing without harming healthy tissue.

Connect with Edna and Cait at In Light Hyperbaric:
https://inlighthyperbarics.com/

Suggested Resource Links:



Your donations power our podcast's mission to support cancer patients with hope, insights, and resources. Every contribution fuels our ability to uplift and empower. Join us in making a lasting impact. Donate now! 🌟

Ivelisse Page

Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening to the Believe Big Podcast, the show where we take a deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders, and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page and it's an honor to spend this time with you. We've all experienced pain and inflammation. In fact, inflammation is a common underlying factor in numerous health conditions from arthritis to cancer. While medications can provide relief, they often come with side effects and only address the symptoms rather than the root cause. Today, we are going to learn from Edna and Cait Wilson, who are the owners of In Light Hyperbaric on ways to help our bodies heal without medication. Edna and Cait are on a mission to help people reclaim their health and vitality, and they have seen firsthand the devastating effects of cancer treatment. They refuse to sit idly by while their clients are abandoned once the treatments are over. Instead, they're determined to help people reclaim their lives and thrive once again. Edna is also the author of Radical Recovery, Extraordinary Healing with Oxygen and Light After Chemo and Radiation. Welcome Edna and Cait to the show.

Edna Ness

Thank you.

Caitlin Wilson

We're excited to be here.

What is your favorite health tip?

Edna Ness

Definitely. It's an honor.

Ivelisse Page

Our listeners are always interested in discovering what our guest's favorite health tip is. And I'm sure you guys have many, but can you share, can each of you share one with us?

Edna Ness

I think my newest one, I have tons, but my newest one in the last maybe six months is fasting. So it's a game changer.

Ivelisse Page

Definitely is. It definitely is. That's a good one. How about you, Cait?

Caitlin Wilson

For me, it's also a recent one I've tapped into and it's going to be grounding. Getting outside, get your feet in the dirt, and just focus on that earthing because it's more powerful than we realize.

Edna shares her husband's cancer story.

Ivelisse Page

Yeah, both of those things that are so easy for anyone to do in the convenience of our own home. So those are great tips. Thank you for sharing. Before we get into some of the therapies that you'd use to help patients and clients heal, Edna, can you share with our listeners briefly about your husband's cancer journey?

Edna Ness

Oh, holy cow. Briefly, that's a good one. I'm going to just start in the beginning a little bit because just to preface his story I was working as a naturopathic physician's assistant for 14 years. So I learned so much from her and so I was never a fan of chemo and radiation. And so my husband, in March of 2014, started with a little cough in his throat and, to back that up, about the same time as that was happening, I took on a 220 volt shock. And I had already had chronic migraines, and so this made my migraines worse. I was having a lot of nerve damage. And Caitlin and I decided to buy a hyperbaric chamber for me to get my treatment at home. My husband was not very happy with me, by the way. I knew that if I didn't get my healing, I wouldn't be working anymore. And so I started my treatment and during that time, of course, he had this little cough that wouldn't go away and he just kept ignoring it. Finally went to the doctor, they said, oh, if it doesn't get better in a couple of weeks, come back. He never went back. Meantime, I'm getting in the chamber twice a day, getting my healing. I could tell that he was, he was partying too much, I felt he was on the boat drinking and when he'd come home he was slurring his words and it just, something wasn't right. So come October, then he got a sore throat that wasn't going away. And he had a upcoming trip planned to Key West for the boat races and he said if it doesn't get better by the time I get back I'll go to the doctor. He came back from that trip and I noticed that his voice had changed while he was gone. And I was very concerned that maybe he had a stroke while he was gone, but he didn't really remember anything. So I said, this time to really be checked. And so within a week, then he was diagnosed with stage four base of tongue cancer and it was urgent. So we started the path of going down what were we going to do? What could we do? And surgery was not an option. So we had gone to two, three different people for opinions and I didn't like what I was seeing or hearing. You can eat anything you want, don't worry about eating healthy foods. It's not going to help you. He was a number. They were taking their own sweet time.

Caitlin Wilson

They were not urgent with him at all.

Edna Ness

Not at all. And I immediately noticed that I needed to get him focused on something because he was, your head's spinning. So I immediately got him on the Gerson therapy because I knew as I was doing research I knew what he was in for, a lot of radiation and a lot of chemotherapy. And because he had been drinking so much, I knew that he needed to be detoxed. So we dove into that a lot of juicing, coffee enemas, just getting his body ready. So I was looking for, I knew what kind of damage he was going to get from the radiation and I was really worried. So I looked into proton therapy and there was a place in Seattle, so I was just worried about the collateral damage. Before he got started with treatment down here in Portland, I was able to get an appointment up at Seattle Cancer Care. And we went up there the day after he had his scans done. And when we got up there, they were so good about not looking at him as a number, but as a person. And the people in Portland wouldn't give him any pain medication. His tumor was sitting on his tumor. He was literally choking on his tumor at that point. It was so large. And the doctor came in and noticed immediately that he was in so much pain. And I'm so sorry. He had compassion. And he said that proton therapy was not an option because he was so far advanced. And in fact, he said that he didn't think Doug was going to live through the weekend.

Ivelisse Page

Wow.

Edna Ness

So it was very critical at this point and up until that point, none of the other doctors had said anything to us about how urgent it was. So I know that if we wouldn't have made that trip, he would have died. And so this doctor was willing to work overtime to get him started and they got him started that day. And unfortunately he was that severe. He hadn't eaten for almost a week, he was gray, so we had to get him into the hospital to have some IV and unfortunately during that time he was getting full of anxiety because he couldn't breathe, he couldn't eat, he couldn't think, he couldn't speak and they ended up doubling his opiates that they had put him on. He was opiate naive to begin with, they doubled his fentanyl and doubled his Dilaudid and sent him home with me. They didn't keep him in the hospital and that put him in a sedative state and we still had two days before radiation was going to start. So during that time I just had to keep him alive for a couple of days which was a huge deal and that's a whole other story, but radiation started on Monday and it was amazing how the tumor imploded that week. And I really feel like the work that we had done with the Gerson therapy weakened the tumor so much that it just was willing to break down. So that really saved his life. And of course he went through all of his radiation treatments. He was only able to do two chemo treatments. But by the time he was done with treatment, he was so damaged. And on a feeding tube he was on a feeding tube immediately.

Ivelisse Page

So what were some of the things that you all did to get him back to health after those treatments that were just so hard on his body?

Edna Ness

Of course, even before his treatment was done, I had him on the supplements that I felt were important. I had him on a feed tube, feeding formula. It was whole foods called Liquid Hope, which was a game changer because I knew he needed good nutrition.

Ivelisse Page

Yes.

Edna Ness

To put him on the yucky stuff they give you in the hospital and I think that had a lot to do with it. I had him on good healthy water. And I was grateful that he was tube fed because I could push a lot of fluids in him. Which he was never a good water drinker. In hindsight, God had a plan for us. And he knew that I needed to take over. And I think that really when he was in that sedative state, I needed to keep him in the light, needed to keep him lifted as much as possible even though he was not really with me. Just giving him hope and I was able to feed him what I needed to feed him. I was able to give him as much water as I needed. I was able to do mud packs on his radiated skin. So that clay masks and use light therapy on his skin. So when he was done, he was internally blistered, but his external skin, there was not a mark on him. His skin was beautiful. That helped a lot. And then when we got home from treatment at the time, we were very new in hyperbarics. So I was still learning about hyperbarics and cancer recovery. But when we got home, we moved a chamber home and started him doing daily doubles in the chamber and when we went back for his three month checkup all of his blisters were healed. He was able to eat again. He healed so fast. And when we went in the doctor was was amazed at his recovery and that he was able to eat. He was able to move his neck. His scar tissue wasn't all twisted and they actually told him he was in remission at three months.

What is TRT (tissue regenerative therapy)?

Ivelisse Page

That's incredible. And yeah we've done a podcast in the past on hyperbarics and the incredible tool for healing that they are for so many different reasons. And we can put the link in our show notes for people who really want to learn more about that. Your husband's story, and I always feel like so many times the jobs that we have in the past, we never know how they're going to be used in the future and how amazing that for so many years being a naturopathic assistant that you were able to see the benefits of all these therapies and healing modalities, and literally help to save your husband's life. So that's just an incredible story. Thank you so much for sharing that. And whether someone who's listening today has gone through cancer or not we've all experienced pain and inflammation in our body. You have some incredible tools that you all use with your clients at your office from red light therapy to hyperbaric, but something that I haven't heard before that I would love for you all to to share with those listening is about Tissue Regenerative Therapy. Cait, can you share with us what TRT therapy is and how it works?

Caitlin Wilson

I want to be super honest with you. I always make Edna do that one. She's our TRT ninja.

Ivelisse Page

Absolutely. Okay. So Edna, can you share with us about TRT?

Edna Ness

Yeah, it's a magical tool, actually. So basically it is an acoustical shockwave and it is a low level lithotripsy. So if anyone knows what lithotripsy is, it is what they use to break down gallstones and kidney stones. So that's high level lithotripsy and they use a focused head and so it's got water in it. And when they're breaking up stones, they put it on the skin and it is a high intense acoustical shockwave that goes through the body, it doesn't harm any tissue except for it breaks up the stone because of the shockwave. So this is low level lithotripsy. Not as intense when they do it in the hospitals, they have to knock you out. So when I do the treatment it's a little probe that has water in it so it bubbles up at the end looks a lot like an ultrasound. I use an ultrasonic gel and as I'm putting the probe over the skin and sending out shockwaves into the tissue and in some areas, you're just going to feel a little tap and when I get to areas that need healing or needs tissue breaking up, the fascia needs to be broken up, you have scar tissue or calcification, you're going to feel pain. So it's a very short treatment, like a 60 90 second treatment. And we're breaking up tissue that needs to be broken up without harming any other tissue. So the premise of it is, it's breaking up fascia, scar tissue, calcification. It's reducing inflammation and bringing new blood flow in all very quickly. And usually when I am working on someone, they can come in and their pain can be a seven or an eight and they can leave with their pain sometimes gone and sometimes at least down to a three or four. So it's something that can get immediate relief. It's also a wonderful treatment for neuropathy. A lot of times we have neuropathy from chemotherapy, or even radiation, and we can help people with relieving their nerve pain and getting the feeling back into their limbs.

Ivelisse Page

Are there any risks or side effects from the tissue regenerative therapy?

Edna Ness

We don't work right over a cancer tumor. We don't work on people that are under 17 because of the growth plates. We don't want to do it over an area that has just had cortisone shots because we're just going to dissipate the cortisone. But that's about it. It is very safe. In 2020 I broke my back and it was an amazing device for me to be able to manage my pain and speed up the healing process alongside hyperbarics and light therapy. I would never want to be without it now. It's really a magical device to really help people like now.

Caitlin Wilson

Gives you instant gratification.

Does TRT heal neuropathy or does it just help with the pain?

Ivelisse Page

That's incredible. And that it takes such a short time and it relieves that pain. It's just incredible. I saw some of the videos of some of your patients that you had filmed that had come in with back issues. And I was just amazed. What a great way to be able to bring healing without having to load up on Advil or anti inflammatories that end up affecting our livers and so many other things. And you mentioned neuropathy. Does it heal the neuropathy or it just helps with the pain with neuropathy? What experience have you guys found with that?

Edna Ness

We can heal the neuropathy. It can help to rebuild blood vessels and nerve endings. So we use it also in combination with light therapy and sometimes also hyperbarics, but even just with the TRT and light therapy or just even with TRT, we've had, had great results with people. And just getting new blood flow there. And we need to rebuild it. And TRT can do that. Light therapy can help do that. And same with hyperbarics. So the combination therapies are what we are all about.

How often can a patient get TRT?

Ivelisse Page

That is so encouraging, especially for patients who are post care or even going into care and concerned about that, to know that there are solutions out there that are non invasive and can really help to relieve those symptoms. I hear the neuropathy a lot from patients that have overcome cancer and that's one of the big side effects that I hear all the time. So that's just incredible. So how often can a patient get TRT treatments or how often do you recommend for say neuropathy?

Edna Ness

Typically we do once a week. Sometimes if someone is just starting treatments, we'll do it twice a week for the first couple of weeks to really get them started. But typically it's a once a week thing. With neuropathy it's more like a 12 week process, depending on how bad they are. If I can get somebody that's pretty new like with my husband, with his neuropathy, we were able to get him treatment as it was coming on. And so he never, really got bad, but people that didn't know that there's a treatment because the doctors really will just put you on medication. They don't have anything to offer them. And so the sooner we can get them, the better. And I just want to say that, so this is called Softwave TRT. And someone can find some place in their area by going to softwavetrt.com. And there's a provider locator. And so there's not a lot of them in the U. S. There's still only like 500 machines in the U. S.

Ivelisse Page

Wow.

Edna Ness

They've been using this for pain and orthopedics in Germany for 30 years.

Ivelisse Page

Of course they have. They've used mistletoe for over a hundred years and we're now just having it made available in the United States and we need to change that.

Edna Ness

Yeah.

How much does TRT cost per session?

Ivelisse Page

We need to change that. So how much does it cost? That's another factor that playing to the role. So much of integrative therapies and complimentary therapies are out of pocket for patients. And so that might be limiting to some, but on average, how much does it cost per session?

Edna Ness

On average, it's around$150 in our office, in our center, everybody does it a little bit differently, depending on the area and and how they practice. I personally, especially when it comes to cancer patients, I've got a little bit of a soft heart. We make it more affordable for them because It's really my why and my mission is to help people to recover faster and get back to their life and change whatever they need to change in order to not have a reoccurrence. But there are definitely places that charge a little bit more. I charge by the shockwave typically.

Is TRT similar to acupuncture in terms of maintenance vs. complete healing?

Ivelisse Page

For someone to get their life back like that someone who's experienced neuropathy and not being able to feel their fingers or their toes it's just such an issue for patients. So to have 12 treatments and be able to rid yourself of that is unbelievable to me. So I, think that is definitely a worthy investment for your health. And is it similar to acupuncture that needs maintenance or is it something that's permanent as you complete those sessions?

Edna Ness

So that's a really good question. The real goal with TRT is long term healing. So when we can do a treatment for at least four to six weeks with neuropathy, it's a little bit longer, but what's really happening is we're stimulating the release of your own stem cells to come in and do the healing. So it initiates a healing response in the body. And by treating the areas that have problems, it's telling your body, bring the stem cells there to get the healing. When you say maintenance, typically we want long term healing, and that's what I see happening with our patients.

Caitlin Wilson

Clients are getting permanent healing, permanent change. It's happening.

Ivelisse Page

That's great.

Caitlin Wilson

The goal is to not have to keep them coming in. We want to set them up for success.

Of the therapies you offer, which is best to heal migraines?

Ivelisse Page

That's excellent. In our last few minutes I can't believe the time's already gone by, but many people turn to medication to manage the inflammation. And I touched on that earlier. And I know I have had to when I was stricken with technology, I'm very sensitive to EMF exposure and wifi and if I am on the computer too long or if I am traveling and don't have the things to help mitigate that exposure, I sometimes get migraines where things like curcumin and anti inflammatory supplements don't help. And so of the therapies that you offer, which one is best to get rid of migraines and why?

Edna Ness

I'm going to say hyperbarics because we need more oxygen to the brain. So if we have any kind of inflammation in our brain tissue, we're not getting oxygen to the brain. And by getting oxygen to the brain, we are reducing inflammation and we can't heal without oxygen, period. I know it was a game changer for me. I had migraines for decades and sometimes they were four days a week. And that's no way to live. And if I would have known that hyperbarics could have gotten rid of them, I would have done it a way long time ago. That's my number one for migraines.

Closing comments

Ivelisse Page

And I think that's something that people don't realize is that with all of these amazing therapies that it's a tool in the toolbox. People will say, Ivelisse, I just need mistletoe or Ivelisse, I just need hyperbarics and it's never just one thing. It's all these things that are available to you that address different parts of healing that a person needs. And sometimes like a layer of an onion, you need to do one therapy first and then another and really work with your body and individualize the care and not just have a one size fits all. It really isn't. And so it's really fascinating to me about this, Tissue Regenerative Therapy and things that I haven't even heard about before that again are non invasive and that can help to reduce the inflammation and pain that Individuals are experiencing from a variety of different things. And in closing is there anything else that you would like to add that I didn't get a chance to ask you?

Edna Ness

Oh golly I guess I would just like to say to all of those caregivers out there, take care of yourself, because if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to help your loved one, and they need you.

Ivelisse Page

Yeah, that's so important. That's an important message, and you know that very well. And you, walk through that, and and I think that's such an important message. I think so many times the caregivers are constantly giving. And it's okay to take 10 minutes to yourself and just to rest and to go outside, go walk and restore yourself so that then you can continue to give back. So thank you both so much for joining us today, sharing your knowledge with us. And it really excited to try this one day. I'll have to come out and visit and see your center. But thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it

Edna Ness

Oh, we appreciate you having us on and I just really appreciate everything that you are doing for this community and I'm giving you kudos for going for that hospital.

Ivelisse Page

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. The Believe Big Institute of Health. It'll happen one day. I'm excited. I can see it. I can see it. Thank you so much. And you guys have a great rest of your day.

Caitlin Wilson

Thanks. You too.

Edna Ness

Thank you so much. Bye bye.

Ivelisse Page

If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again and keep Believing Big!