From the Battlefields of Vietnam to Fighting Brain Cancer Glioblastoma: My Journey
By Ray Croft | March 2025
Two Wars, One Life
At 80 years old, I’ve fought two wars. One was in the jungles of Vietnam decades ago. The other – far more personal – began in 2022 within my own body.
That year, I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. The diagnosis was swift and devastating: Stage 4 Glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Doctors told me I had a bit over a year to live, but the prognosis is worse in people over 70, with a median survival of just 5.3 months. That means, at my age, the odds were against me.
But I’m a fighter. I didn’t take that prognosis lying down.
“If it’s going to give me a hard time, then I’m going to give the bastard a hard time back.”
Conventional Treatment – And a Desire for More
I did what most people do. I followed the conventional treatment path:
- Brain surgery
- 12 rounds of chemotherapy
- 21 sessions of radiation
- Blood thinners and anti-seizure meds
It was rough. There’s no sugar-coating it. But strangely, it wasn’t as unbearable for me as it was for many others around me—and there’s a reason for that, which I’ll share.
Still, no matter how closely I followed the protocol, the prognosis never changed. I was scared. Desperate, even. But I wasn’t ready to give up.
Exploring the Road Less Travelled
I'm not a tech guy. I’ve never been one for social media. I don’t even use a smartphone. But the unexpected hope that emerged from this cancer journey has moved me to share my story—if only to reach one person out there who’s in the same place I was… scared, tired, and unsure where to turn next.
What if there’s more than just toxic treatments? What if your body could be supported, not just scorched by the fire of chemo?
My family sprang into action. My stepdaughter – with experience in public health and pharmaceutical oncology – began researching every possible avenue. She didn’t stop at the mainstream options. We dug deep into independent academic research, alternative approaches, and, most importantly, non-toxic adjunct therapies.
Together, we discovered two promising areas to add to my treatment:
1. The Ketogenic Diet (Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction)
Already familiar with low-carb eating through my family’s healthful journeys on TCR, we looked at emerging research on ketogenic (carnivore) diets in cancer therapy – especially Glioblastoma.
We followed Professor Thomas Seyfried's work and received direct guidance from Dr Alex Petrushevski at Sydney Low Carb Specialists. The idea is simple but profound: eliminate carbohydrates to starve cancer cells of their preferred fuel, glucose. Here's the latest (April 2025) paper by Professor Thomas Seyfried, Purna Mukherjee et al.
That meant:
No sugar. No bread. No grains. No pasta.
Instead, I ate beef, lamb, butter, bacon, eggs, and occasional seafood. I also practised intermittent fasting to increase ketones, which cancer cells can't use for energy.
2. Traditional Tibetan Medicine
While living in Asia, my stepdaughter observed patients with metastatic cancer—given only weeks or months to live—survive for years after receiving treatment through Traditional Tibetan Medicine (TTM). These were cases where conventional cancer specialists had run out of all available options.
That led us to Dr. Barry Clark in Melbourne—a Tibetan Medicine practitioner who spent 20 years in the Himalayas, training directly under two of the Dalai Lama’s personal physicians. His knowledge wasn’t theoretical—it was lived, studied, and practised in the heart of Tibetan tradition.
TTM, or Sowa Rigpa (“the science of healing”), is one of the oldest medical systems in the world, and it's still practised today all over Tibet and in Tibetan communities in India, Nepal, Bhutan and various other places—and now, thankfully, in Melbourne, Australia. It uses herbal and mineral-based medicines that work to restore balance in the body, treating the whole person rather than just the disease. Most importantly, for someone like me who is already enduring radiation and chemo, these treatments come without the harsh, toxic side effects of modern pharmaceuticals.
For me, it became a daily part of life—a gentle, non-toxic, yet profoundly supportive system that gave my body exactly what it needed at a time when it needed every bit of help it could get.
Life After the Diagnosis
To my amazement, these two paths helped me tolerate chemo and radiation far better than others I saw around me. I didn’t lose my hair or nails. I was even able to reduce my seizure medication by half – a known benefit of the ketogenic diet.
And then something unexpected happened…
My Scans Started to Stabilise
Every quarterly MRI showed no progression. My liver markers remained normal despite chemo. And I eventually came off blood thinners completely.
The cancer wasn’t gone – but it wasn’t growing either. And that’s when I started to believe: Maybe this road less travelled was leading somewhere.
Beating the Odds
I passed 12 months.
Then, 2 years.
Then, 3 years.
And now, in April 2025, in my 4th year on this journey, I have something I never thought I’d see:
“No evidence of residual or recurrent disease.”
(February 2025 MRI Report)
I cried when I read it. Against every prediction, I’m still here. Still living. Still loving. Still fighting.
Looking Ahead
I’m not saying these treatments are a guaranteed cure, but they’ve been a lifeline for me. I’m deeply grateful to the researchers who dared to challenge the status quo, especially Prof. Seyfried and the pioneers of TTM or SOWA RIGPA (the science of healing).
I am on my fourth-year journey, but it isn't over. It’s no longer just a story of survival. It’s one of hope, healing, thriving and holistic approaches.
“The human body is capable of extraordinary feats. I saw this in Vietnam. And I see it now; every day, I wake up and still have life.”
To anyone out there facing a diagnosis and prognosis like mine: There is a path out of the jungle. I hope my story helps you find it.
With my best regards for your health,
Ray Croft
March 2025
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