“Literally, it can be minutes between life and death,” he said.

Shank said 10 school systems in Maryland have policies on epinephrine and eight do not. Six did not respond to a survey.

Washington County Public Schools do not have a formal policy. School board member Jacqueline B. Fischer said the district is aware that Shank’s bill would require one.

In September, Sharpsburg mother Sarah Price urged Washington County’s school system to focus on how to deal with students who have food allergies.

She said that when her son, who has a potentially life-threatening peanut allergy, entered pre-kindergarten in 2009, he initially had access to an epi pen at school, but couldn’t have one on his school bus.

Shank said that about a quarter of the anaphylactic allergies previously were undiagnosed, according to a study in Massachusetts. Epi pens need to be available for students who didn’t expect to need one.

Last month in Virginia, a girl in first grade died after an allergic attack. CNN reported that the girl ate a peanut she received at school from another child who didn’t know about her allergy.

Ellen Flynn of Ellicott City, Md., testified Wednesday that she’s had to administer epinephrine four times to her daughter, who is now 4, after the girl was exposed to foods thought to be safe.

During the first reaction, at age 11 months, her daughter’s mouth was swollen and she couldn’t breathe, Flynn said.

“she was in a panic,” she said.

Tony Hopko, 11, of Jefferson, Md., told the committee he is allergic to peanut and tree nuts.

Someone could die if epinephrine isn’t administered quickly, Tony said, testifying along with his mother, Dawn Neelan-Hopko.

Lois Fischer of Wenham said that when she was diagnosed in March of 2009 with Stage 4 rectal cancer, she had a 50 percent chance of survival over five years.

almost two years later, Fischer is beating those odds, using alternative treatments to standard procedures of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

However, her road to recovery has not been free of obstacles – finding alternative treatments, paying for them, and then adhering to a rigorous protocol of diet, supplements and detoxification.

In the midst of her own journey to recovery, she wants other cancer patients to know that alternatives exist, should they want to use them.

by standard definitions, Fischer is “cancer-free,” meaning her tumors are gone and her lymph nodes are clear. Her local oncology team is impressed. by the numbers used by her practitioner in new York City, she has at least another year of treatment to finish flushing toxins from her system and building up a healthy immune system. In her interview with the Chronicle this week, she looked great: trim, with good color, clear skin, and great hair.

at the time of her diagnosis in 2009, Fischer was offered aggressive treatments involving surgery, including a colostomy, radiation and chemotherapy. none of these options pleased her because of their radical and negative impact on her body and her life, both short-term and long-term. for the first two months after her diagnosis, she researched her type of cancer and looked for less invasive options.

Her first focus was acupuncture, the art of Tong Ren, as offered by Tom Tam of Haverhill, who has written a book, “Tong Ren for Cancer.” the treatments reduced her pain but did not inhibit the growth of tumors. She admits, “I was scared. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on the internet, especially about diet and nutrition.”

Four months after her diagnosis, she found “Cancer-Free, Your Guide to Gentle Non-Toxic Healing,” by Bill Henderson. This book and Henderson’s website, beating-cancer-gently.com, detail his search for gentle treatments for his wife’s cancer, and what he found for non-invasive protocols.

Fischer started researching cancer treatments available in Mexico. by then, she was weak and had lost weight and energy from her cancer symptoms and couldn’t stand or sit for long periods. She spent a month as an outpatient at the Stella Maris Clinic in Tijuana, Mexico run by Dr. Alvarez, who she said is called “the Marcus Welby of Tijuana.” She selected this clinic out of the several in Mexico because of its focus and success rate with her type of cancer.

Treatments at the clinic included “daily IVs,” said Fischer, of Vitamin C and other minerals, Laetrile, and DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide), a chemical used in PET scans to target cancer cells and is less destructive to surrounding tissues than standard chemotherapy. She also had hyperthermia treatments, heating the whole body, and 15 treatments of low-level radiation, much lower than protocols in the United States. these and other protocols such as Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT, iptq.com) are not approved in the United States and some practitioners who offered similar treatments were shut down. according to Fischer, established USA medical groups are now attempting to eradicate the USA option for IV Vitamin C treatments as well.

Fischer’s treatment in Mexico included a radical diet of juices and supplements and various flushing and cleansing procedures. “it was expensive,” said Fischer, “About $4,000 a week for outpatient care, plus hotel and travel costs. Insurance doesn’t cover any of it.”

Apparently, it was worth it, as she returned to the United States with the tumors gone.

Her next step was to find a maintenance program closer than Mexico for follow-up treatments and the purchase of nutritional supplements. After reading Suzanne Somers’ book “Knockout,” in which the author interviews doctors who are curing cancer, Fischer identified resources appropriate for her needs in Arizona, Texas and new York. She credits Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez and Dr. Linda Isaacs of new York (dr-gonzalez.com) as “the people who are keeping me cancer-free.”

Gonzalez’ book, “one Man Alone: an Investigation of Nutrition, Cancer, and William Donald Kelley,” chronicles hisjourney to debunk the nutritional theories of Dr. Kelley, a dentist who developed pancreatic cancer. instead, Gonzalez found himself intrigued by the possibilities of nutritional treatments for cancer.

Fischer said frankly, that after she started nutritional treatments, especially using pancreatic enzymes, she “had more energy, my eyesight improved, and my hair got thicker.” Fischer recommends Gonzalez’s web site as a great source of links to additional resources and reading material. Other patients have blogs on their treatment with Dr. Gonzalez and Fischer recommends one by Montye Gardner, allthisandmore.typepad.com/allthisandmore/2010/11/index.html, which demonstrates some similarities and differences from her own protocol.

Gonzalez’ current work uses the theory of metabolic typing. Fischer recommends a book by William Wolcott, “Metabolic Typing Diet,” for more information. Diets are structured to an individual based on the eating habits of their racial ancestors to determine a balance of meat, grains, vegetables, dairy, fruit, and other protein sources. Fischer eats a balanced diet; has given up sugar, refined flour, processed food, caffeine, and alcohol; and buys organic, grass-fed and free-range products when possible. “Dianne Rodgers at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton has been very helpful with grass-fed and free-range meats and organic produce, and diets for healing,” she said. She also uses “Nourishing Traditions,” a cookbook by Sally Fallon.

In addition, Fischer takes approximately 60 pills a day of supplements, including vitamins and enzymes, on a fairly rigid schedule interspersed with her meals. for example, she takes pancreatic enzyme pills every four hours throughout the day and night. Her regime includes regular detoxing with enemas and flushes. Her practitioners monitor her progress through analysis of her hair to determine chemical levels in her body. Fischer commented, “Treatments vary for each individual.”

Fischer’s family, her husband Stephen and three children ages 25, 20 and 16, were initially concerned by her decision to avoid aggressive treatments. With her positive results, they are now happy with her choices. Fischer has taken up meditation and finds that and prayer to be the final elements to balance her holistic approach to treating mind and body. “With cancer, you need to be stress free,” she said. She recommends Louise Hay’s “You can Heal Your Life,” Kris Carr’s “Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips” – “She has a wonderful sense of humor,” said Fischer – and Jon Kabat-Zinn’s “full Catastrophe Living,” in addition to whatever spiritual elements appeal to the individual.

Fischer has not stopped doing research yet. She is looking into German new Medicine, the work of Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer in Germany about the relationship between life-changing events and disease. She also recommends a book on dentistry and disease, “the Roots of Disease: Connecting Dentistry and Medicine” by Robert Kulacz and Thomas E. Levy, which explores the impact of oral bacteria in the blood stream and connections to other diseases, for example, bacterial endocarditis and non-Alzheimer’s dementia. Fischer found a dentist in Groton to remove her old mercury fillings.

She has found another pain-reducing product, an Earthing Mat, which she is willing to try. “A friend in Dr. Gonzalez’s protocol is using it to reduce pain and inflammation,” she said.

Overall, Fischer is pleased with her treatment. “It’s a huge commitment,” she said of her maintenance plan, “And costly – about $1,000 per month.” again, her insurance doesn’t cover any of the cost. “I have used up my retirement funds and 401K,” she said. She had a few recommendations for anyone seeking any kind of treatment: “Choose your doctors and specialists, believe that you can be cured, find the money for treatment. Cancer patients shouldn’t give up hope.”