Nature's medicine

"Let medicine be thy food, and food be thy medicine."

Hippocrates

I don't want my cancer to come back. It is a common fear among those of us who have dealt with the big "C."  After nearly a year of doctors appointments, lab appointments, surgeries, chemotherapy sessions, radiation sessions I was told that I was done.  I'm taking Tamoxifen for at least 2 years, but I can't help but fell like there is a shoe waiting to drop on my head. Yeah, Dr. P said I was considered "in remission."  But with a stage 3 cancer, I have more chances of it coming back than people with less advanced disease.  I'm slowly starting to think of myself as someone who has "had" cancer, rather than "has."  But still.....

Throughout my treatment, I've been learning about the effect of various foods on cancer. I read "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen" by Rebecca Katz and make recipes from it often.  I also read most of a book called "The China Study," by Dr. T. Colin Campbell which advocates a vegan diet to treat and avoid cancer.  It goes into some fascinating epidemiological studies on the connection between diet and disease and is worth the read. I got lost a bit towards the latter half when he goes into a lot of detail about how the scientific community and the government went to great lengths to suppress the results of a mountain of research in favor of the financial big pockets of big pharma and the food industry. I don't dispute it, but it got a little tedious. There just isn't money to be made by telling people to eat vegetables, no prescriptions to fill, and it threatens well entrenched interests that contribute to politicians in power. 

Now I'm reading a book now that is pulling it all together. I highly recommend this book for everyone, whether they have had cancer or not.  The information inside this book can help prevent cancer from taking over one's body.  It is called "Anticancer: A New Way of Life" by Dr. David Servan-Schrieber, MD, PhD.   I haven't finished the book yet, but am so excited that I can't help but blog about it. The only downside is that I have to put my Kindle down in order to write this post!

Dr. Servan-Schrieber was a scientist and doctor who was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 30. His own experience and desire of trying to find out what else he could do, in addition to the typical treatments of surgery and chemotherapy, to help prevent his cancer from coming back a third time. His oncologist and colleagues basically told him his diet didn't matter, but Dr. S-S intuitively knew better. He goes through his own experience with disease and diet, as well as the basic biology of cancer. By the way, I hate the word "diet." It has a connotation of being something temporary, whereas like the subtitle of the book rightly points out it should be a "new way of living."  That applies to weight loss and maintenance too.  There are no magic bullets, pills or potions. But I digress...

Many of the "anticancer" foods I already use: green tea; cruciferous vegetables; berries; olive oil; eating less meat and when I do, make it organic; etc. This book explains the science behind why these things (among others) are good in cancer prevention. It is thrilling, actually, to read about how compounds in foods and spices can actually cut off the blood vessels that feed tumors, or even make cancer cells commit "suicide."  I want to shout it from the rooftops!  What we put into our bodies each day can either help us or hurt us. 

One thing I really like about this book is that the lifestyle suggestions are intended to compliment traditional treatment. Other things I have read both in book and online have made me feel bad, even guilty, for having subjected my body to surgery, chemotherapy poison, and harmful radiation. Not so with this book. In fact, he points out how some foods can actually assist with the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation. I also like the fact that he does not categorically rule out meat. Its just that if you do eat meat, its better to eat less and make it organic. Why?  Cows fed the conventional feed of corn/soy rather than grass (as nature intended) have a higher proportion of omega 6 fatty acids. When we eat that meat, we in turn ingest the high proportion of omega 6's. Our bodies need a little bit, but not in the massive amounts in conventional meat and eggs. Too much omega 6 can encourage inflammation in the body, which fuels cancer.  There are better sources of protein that have a better ratio of omega 6 to omega 3.  It's all really fascinating, and its not an all or nothing approach. This is just one example of how it has helped me understand the why behind the what. 

Don't let the title turn you off. This is a very important book for everyone who eats. You don't have to be a health nut or a cancer patient. In the end, you may be able to eat refined grains, sugar and meat with every meal and not be diagnosed with cancer. But I've found that changing my approach to food, to think of it as medicine, has not only made me feel better physically, but has also given me more confidence that I am doing everything I can do to prevent that cancer from coming back. Using what God gave us in its most natural form is the best thing for us. 

Preparations, again

This Friday will be round #4 of chemotherapy. I find myself getting into "preparation" mode again on several levels.

It actually started last Friday with a visit to Kaiser. I got my blood drawn for a Vitamin D test and got my flu shot on the way out. (At Dr. P's recommendation). I was a little miffed to get my "results" of the blood draw online and see that they seemed to have made a mistake and drawn blood for a liver function panel and creatinine screen, but no Vitamin D results. That made me wonder if my lab appointment for this Thursday got switched and instead of the pre-chemo tests they would just do Vitamin D. That would potentially delay my chemo. That prompted a call to the lab this morning, which is no small feat. First, you have to leave a message and then wait for them to call you back. If you don't happen to be by the phone to catch the call, it's phone tag and you are IT. You get to start at the beginning and leave a message for them. I realized as I was taking Isabelle to school this morning that I had left my cell phone plugged in. Sure enough, by the time I got home, they had called. Fortunately, the second time was a charm and I did catch the call. As it turns out, they did draw for Vitamin D, the other tests were overkill and will be done as planned this Thursday before chemo.

Dr. P recommended the flu shot for everyone just to keep potential illness out of the house. The injection with the dead virus for me 2 weeks after chemo (which was last Friday). The kids got the nasal mist today. Yeah, I know some people don't agree with immunizations and particularly flu shots. If that works for you, cool. But I'm going to go with what the oncologist recommends. He's gotten me to this point pretty well, so I'm going to go with what he says. Please no comments second guessing this decision, okay? :-)

I'll go through my now-familiar Thursday pre-chemo routine in a few days. Blood draw at 9 a.m., pick up the refill of Cipro and a visit with Dr. P.

The insurance situation with Kaiser continues to be a mess. Kaiser re-coded policies and put me in a "new" plan as of September 1. A couple weeks ago, they had not carried over my out of pocket accumulations to the "new" plan, so I was being told by the providers that I had a huge co-pay. (I have a high deductible plan, but have more than met the family deductible this year). Last month, they told me to call back if I got a bill. Sure enough, I did. My concern is that the services I am being billed for since September 1 are not being adjusted correctly. Is Kaiser billing me as if I had not met the deductible? I can't figure it out from the statement. So I called that department today to check. It is so confusing that the woman I talked to had to have her manager look at the account to figure it out and will call me back tomorrow. What a pain!

There are other preparations I'm making this week as well. I want to get the dog groomed before Friday. She smells bad! I'm making a huge pot of "Chicken Magic Mineral Broth" from "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen." I've planned super nutritious meals for this week full of veggies, legumes and protein so I'm not nutritionally deficient on Friday. I'm doing my higher intensity workouts at the beginning of the week so I can take a day or two off later on. Working out also keeps me feeling strong, keeps my metabolism up, and keeps those happy endorphins flowing good and strong!

This round will be different because my mom and dad are going to be out of town. Mom has really picked up the slack for me at chemo time. It's good they are going--it means my brother Jared is coming home from his 3rd tour in Iraq!! But that means Eric will have to pick up my slack. He is going to take Thursday and Friday morning off so he can hang out with Jean-Marc while I'm at Kaiser getting treatment. I'm most concerned about Monday the 25th. Monday after chemo (day 4) has been my worst day each round. Last time, I rested Sunday afternoon. It helped, but I was still "blah" and foggy on Monday. This Sunday I have the Charger game, and I'm not planning on missing that!

Speaking of the Charger game, yesterday at the "Making Strides" walk, I was going into the area where the flagship sponsors had tents. We had to show a special wristband to get past some ropes. Anyway, the guy manning the rope said, "We'll see you next Sunday!" Turns out, he was from the American Cancer Society and is organizing the event at the Charger game. I was surprised he knew who I was when we hadn't been introduced.

Anyway, I'm feeling good and will be glad when I get to Friday. Then I will definitely be over the hump. 4 down, 2 to go.

My prayer requests:

• That I be strong spiritually. I've had a few instances in the past few days with fear. I ran across some stupid "tools" online for cancer survival. I should have just closed the page, but instead I put in my stats "just to see." I did not need to see survival statistics/mortality rates for people in my situation.  It freaks me out to think of myself as a statistic. I go along most of the time feeling like I'm going to beat this and then BAM! The possibility that I may have recurrence, metastatic stage IV, years of treatment pops into my head. I know that this is a form of spiritual warfare that the enemy is using on me. 
• That God would eradicate any cancer cells in my body. Just make them disappear. I was reading Psalm 29 this morning. In it, David is marveling at God's mighty power. He can certainly make cancer cells disappear if it is His will. 

In closing, I wanted to share one of the Psalms that I read this morining during my devotional time.  I found out later that part of it is set to music, "This is How We Overcome."

Psalm 30

 ¹ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
         And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
 ² O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
         And You healed me.
 ³ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
         You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
        
 ⁴ Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
         And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
 ⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
         His favor is for life;
         Weeping may endure for a night,
         But joy comes in the morning.
        
 ⁶ Now in my prosperity I said,
         “I shall never be moved.”
 ⁷ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
         You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
        
 ⁸ I cried out to You, O LORD;
         And to the LORD I made supplication:
 ⁹ “What profit is there in my blood,
         When I go down to the pit?
         Will the dust praise You?
         Will it declare Your truth?
 ¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
         LORD, be my helper!”
        
 ¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
         You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
 ¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
         O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30, New King James Version)

This one is me

The photo from yesterday's post caused some confusion. It was NOT me-it was from the beau beau website. Here is a picture of me in one of my beau beaus.

I also promised a better "buzz" picture, so here is one with the older kids and I. I wear it like this around the house. After awhile of wearing something on my super short hair, it gets uncomfortable and itchy. I still may itch with it bald, but at least I won't have that discomfort that goes along with the hair loss.

This morning, I had business at Kaiser. I was so efficient, almost a professional cancer patient. And hey! Today, I looked the part. I did notice I was much less self conscious than yesterday. I had the routine blood draw at 9:20 a.m. After that, I picked up my refill for the super-antibiotic Cipro that I'll take this round. Then I met with Dr. P at 10:00 a.m. Kaiser is great about getting labs processed quickly. My results were already in for the doctor to review. He looked at them and pronounced that everything was "normal." I asked him, "normal like anyone, or normal for someone who has had a round of chemo?" Normal like any healthy person, regardless of chemo. Yeah! I'm ready to take on Round #2!

I asked him about flu shots. They have the mist shots for the kids available now. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for them or me. He said the kids could get it anytime. If I want one (and he thought it was a good idea), I would need to wait until week #3 in this next round and get the injected version, which has dead virus instead of live. I'll try to get us all over there sometime soon to do that to lessen the chances of the house getting sick with the flu.

I've been using a lint roller to help get rid of the excess hair on my head. This is what it looks like after I do it for a few seconds. Better stuck on the tape than shedding all over the house, my pillow, in my hats, etc.

I did sleep well last night, although I did take one of the medicines that they gave me. I'm going to again tonight since today I started taking the steroid, which has a tendency to make you more awake. I want at good night of sleep tonight!

I've been incorporating recipes from my "Cancer Fighting Kitchen" book this week. I made a huge stockpot of "Magical Mineral Broth," which is a supercharged vegetable broth. I can use it to cook grains, as a base for other soups, or just sip that if I get queasy. I'm planning on making a potato broccoli soup for tomorrow night (or "chemo" night).

My prayer requests:

• That we all get a good night of rest tonight. I want my body to be in prime condition to take on these hard core drugs tomorrow. I did my Jillian DVD and am pumped right now!
• That I tolerate this round of chemo well, with minimal side effects. That the drugs do their job, get in like Delta Force, invade and disrupt the action of the enemy cancer cells. Bang, bang! You're dead, cancer!

How it goes

This is just the hair that I lost in the shower this morning. I put a quarter next to it for a size reference. I don't dare touch it or style it much because it will just fall out.

I wore a hat when I went out to do some grocery shopping and when I took it off, there was a ton of hair left in the hat.

The physical sensation is strange. It reminds me of the feel that I would have after wearing a tight ponytail for a day. Or even more accurate is this: When I was a kid, I took dance classes and once a year, we had "THE SHOW." The final act was always ballet, and we had to wear our hair in these super-tight buns. I was usually too tired to take it out at night, so when I finally did the next morning it really hurt. That is how it feels on my head.

I do want to get the buzz cut soon. I was thinking maybe I could wait until after Tuesday night, because I have to take Olivier to his boy scout meeting. But then I realized-Isabelle has girl scouts the next day, and I don't really want to be buzzed for that either. I guess its never going to be a convenient time to lose my hair! I think it's better to be buzzed than to be sadly thin with scalp showing through.

Despite the tone of these recent posts, I am doing more than obsessing over my hair--honestly! I got two new cookbooks that are fantastic: "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen" and "One Bite at a Time." Both are by Rebecca Katz. It is fascinating learning about the "culinary pharmacy" that we have available to us. I've chosen some recipies to make this week in preparation for Round Two. I'm going to make a "Magical Mineral Broth" that serves as a soup stock, as well as a base for other recipes. If I get really sick, I could even sip this on its own. I went out to my favorite grocery store, Jimbos, and bought all the ingredients I needed. There were a few new items as well-like kombu, which is a Japanese sea vegetable. Anyway, I got it all home and chopped it all up. I figured I could make it today and store it for later. I realized about halfway into it that I do not have a large enough pot! I think I'll go out tomorrow morning and get a big stock pot for soups. I think planning and cooking really good and healthy food is going to be an anchor for me this fall.

I want the rest of the family to develop healthier tastes as well. My kids do eat vegetables, probably more than most. But not enough of them. I was tickled pink today at lunch. Isabelle asked me to make some pasta, knowing it would be whole wheat. I said okay, but only if I could make her a small salad to go with it. Deal! I made them each a salad with greens, tomatoes, carrots, and strawberries. Eating the rainbow! It was great.

Isabelle and I watched a movie with Miley Cyrus in it, "The Last Song." From the ads, it looked like a teenage romance movie. It was. But there was also a storyline in it about Miley's character's father ....DYING OF CANCER! Yikes. I was able to explain to Isabelle that his cancer was not like mine, and his had spread. Mine has not spread. It was an okay movie. Obviously a tearjerker, though.

My prayer requests:

• That the hair loss/buzz cut not be traumatic. It is a sign that the chemo drugs are doing what they are supposed to do. I need to keep that in mind and I clean up the hair all over the place. That I be able to find a "convenient" time to get it done and that it not be a sad experience.
• That the family be healthy. I realized last night that this is another form of spiritual warfare. Last night, everyone in the family had a physical complaint! Isabelle was so tired she threw up her dinner. Jean-Marc has hives that we are trying to diagnose the irritant. Olivier had a bad sunburn from his day out with scouts. Eric was fighting the cold Olivier had last week, and I have cancer. Is that ridiculous or what? Pray that we can overcome these physical complaints and keep our eyes on the Great Physician, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Lighbulb moment

It wasn't actually "a" moment, but rather one that has been slowly burning brighter and brighter. I'm going to climb onto my soap box for this one.

It all started about a year ago when I wanted to lose weight. I read Jillian Michael's book, "Master Your Metabolism" cover to cover. In it, she talks about how the processed, non-organic food we eat, as well as environmental toxins in our homes has disrupted our endocrine system and messed up our metabolisms. I started following Jillian's recipes and along with her killer workouts, lost most of the weight I wanted to. (Technically, I could lose another 10-15, but I'll put that on the back burner for now).

I've learned a lot in the past year about clean eating. Organic produce. Avoiding processed foods. If it is processed, I try to get it organic and with as few ingredients as possible. (Think cereal here). Whole grains, limiting sugar, etc. But it all was to lose weight. I knew to keep it off, it wasn't going to be a "diet" but a new way of eating for me.

I'm starting to see how it is SO MUCH BIGGER than simple weight control. In fact, keeping weight down is simply a by-product. Here's the thing. GOD KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING! When He created the plants (fruits & veggies) for us to eat as food, He gave us much of what we need to be healthy and prevent, and maybe even treat, disease.

Check out this video. It's 20 minutes long, but worth it:

Okay. So I'm not a doctor, and won't pretend to understand all of the niceties of the medical research. But food is medicine. Foods have chemicals in them that effect the body-natural chemotherapy that I can do at each meal. For instance, I've learned through Jennifer Griffin's blog that "cancer hates cabbage." I've ordered a book called "The Cancer Fighting Kitchen" by Rebecca Katz and can't wait to learn more.

This is going to be a lifestyle change for my family. They don't know it yet. They saw a glimpse of it over the past year with my Jillian menus. I prepared good organic meals. But I tolerated the refined grains and sugars. Now how much bigger it is. I want to feed my kids food that will not only fill their bellies, but help prevent cancers in their bodies. Not being hungry is almost a side effect. Its not going to be easy, especially for the older two. They are hooked on their white bread and pasta. I can only imagine how they will receive a heaping platter of kale! But as Grandma Osgood used to say, "If you're hungry, you'll eat it." Wish me luck!

I'm very convinced that the rise in disease in this country has a lot to do with our food supply. The hormone laced meats, the chemicals sprayed on the produce. The chemicals put into processed foods. The refined grains and sugars. Our fast food mentality. I knew it was bad from a diet/weight control point of view. But its bigger than that. Little girls are starting their periods in elementary school. Why is that? That exposes them to more estrogen and increases their chances of breast cancer. If they are obese (which many kids are), then their risk increases even more. I'm also starting to learn about the toxins that are in our shampoos, soaps and cosmetics. Oy! That is a whole other subject to wrap one's head around.

True confession time now. There is another aspect to this that I need to change, and that is wine. Being married to a French person, wine is a natural part of a meal. But wine and breast cancer don't mix well. Alcohol increases estrogen in the body, which feeds the cancer. There may be some health benefits to a little red wine on occasion. But not a glass with every meal. It's a bummer, because it can taste good. In our house, its almost a ritual. However, it is a ritual that I need to eliminate for my own health. Make no provision for the flesh, Tonya! (Romans 13:14)

I spent nearly 40 years not really paying attention to what went into my body. I allowed myself to spend my adult life overweight. (Fat cells also release estrogen into the system). I enjoyed alcohol. Did I contribute to my cancer unknowingly? I'm not going to dwell on that question. But I am going to change it for my kids, as well as to treat my own cancer with this weapon that was right in front of me the whole time. Duh!

As this lighbulb grows brighter, I'm seeing how this all comes together. I don't know everything there is to know, but I am learning. I'm hungry to learn all I can about this subject. I marvel at how simple it can be, though. I also marvel at how God gave us what we need to be healthy. Good, wholesome food. I'm not saying that is all there is to it. There is disease and definitely a place for doctors and medicine. God gave us those too.

If you are interested in learning more about the food supply in this country, I'd highly recommend the movie, "Food, Inc." If you have Netflix, it is one of the instant watch movies available.

My prayer requests:

• That my kids accept the changes that are coming their way on the dinner table. That they be open to try new things.
• That I be able to give up wine. I've done it before when I was pregnant. I know I can do it, and its not really that big of a deal. It's just a habit for me that I need to break.
• That I continue to feel good as my body processes the first round of chemo. That the chemo drugs do their job and kill any marauding cancer cells that escaped through my lymphatic system.