Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Carol...it is so nice to hear from you and to hear that your surgery went well!!!  We've been very concerned...hope you're feeling better soon and enjoying life again!!!

I'm also very interested in how you felt about the Foley bag.  How big is it, can you hide it?  I've been doing a little research on bladder cancer. Abnormal cells don't necessarily mean you have cancer, but they are usually indicative of high risk.  I'm also at high risk because of my history of UTIs and chemotherapy (espec. cytoxan).  So I am hopeful it hasn't progressed, but I am thinking I'd just like to have that bladder removed, rather than deal with this constant fear.  What would it be like having to use a Foley bag forever?    ???? I'll know more on Thursday.

Onto more pleasant subjects...I am thrilled because I am getting two little girls for Easter...one five and one two...they are coming from down South to spend Easter with Dad (a friend) and am putting together Easter outfits for them.  I never had girls though I wanted to...in fact, neither one of us have anything but little boys on either side of the family, so this is a unexpected surprise.  I been putting together dresses and flowers & ribbons & hats & little fancy ruffled socks...  What could be more delightful!!!

Where the heck is all this snow falling?  We're up here in one of the northernmost states and we don't have any..except what hasn't melted yet from a few weeks ago.  Anybody else getting outside... Mary, you're probably basking in lovely spring temps already.  Any flowers yet?

Miz 

Carol,

I am so glad to read you are on your way to recovery!

Tina,

I am glad the jump roping is going well.  I am thinking of adding it to my program just for variety.

Mizsissy,

Carol is no doubt our resident expert but I can tell you from my experience with nursing home residents with full time foleys, that it is no way to live if you have other options.

They complain of rawness and pain and infection.  None are very nice in my opinion.

I wore one for around 12 hours post surgery and found that if I moved a little incorrectly there was an unpleasant tug. I was very glad to have the thing removed.

Your pic is beautiful.

We have more spring signs; my pussy willow is starting to open and Barry and I have picked out our seeds from Seeds of Change.  The order is going out today.

It's too muddy for trail running but if we go a week without precipitation it will be time to play outdoors.

Have a good day.   

CAROL!  So glad to hear from you!  Hope your nightmare is over.

MizS- I am wishing you the best.  Let us know what the path report shows.  Your paved rail path sounds wonderful.  What a great way to meet the neighbors.

Casey- We garden year-round here.  We have all kinds of greens growing, but our yard is very shady.  And we still haven't figured out how to keep the squirrels from stealing every tomato we grow!

Raye, Cathy and Dotty- nice to hear from you.  Dottie- why are you working so hard?  Life's too short!

Tina- Your jump rope sounds great.  It counts calories for you?  Wow!

We had a very sunny, warm weekend.  Played some baseball with the kids.

Mary

Casey and Mary - glad to hear we have some other gardeners here.  I'm in the process of planting my own organic vegetables.  It's a challenge here because of the insects but I'm taking it on my lanai also with some containers.  I'm having lots of fun digging around in the dirt.

Carol - so nice to hear from you.  I'm wishing you a speedy recovery and hope you're on your feet soon.

Mizsissy again - hope all goes well with your tests.  Waiting is agonizing......hang in there and keep us posted.

Tina - what type of surface are you jumping rope on?  I could use some calorie burning exercise.

I'm striving to get back into the swing of things with walking.  Walked this a.m. with my friend - was going to do yoga but class got cancelled today.  It's warming up here so I'll probably be back in the pool swimming and doing water aerobics soon.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Cathy

Hey Tina, my dear, what is up with you?  Surgery?  Tell us the details.  I've got to do my taxes too.  Was going to spend the whole day on it and slept til 12:30 PM (Geez, haven't done this since I was a teenager)...talking about procrastinating!!! 

Carol, Casey, Mary, Cathy...so nice to hear from all of you!!!  It is so much fun planning for spring.  We had a lot of snow this year and a slow melt so that bodes well for the plants and flowers.  For once, we're going to stay home instead of going on vacation in June so we can see the lilacs, roses, and other beautiful shrubs in our yard.  

We live in a sub where nobody has a vegetable garden...it might be against the rules, I don't know, but we have herbs tucked in in secret places...oregano, parsley, sage, mint, lavender, thyme, tarragon, chives.  It is so nice to be able to go out in the yard and cut fresh herbs when you need.  One of my very, very favorite herbs in watercress...I would love to be able to grow some.  Anybody ever tried?

No news yet.  Was scheduled for the catscan yesterday.  Nurse came along and stuck a needle in my arm right inside the elbow so I couldn't bend it...this was about 2:15 and she left me sitting in the  phlebotomy chair for the next 1 1/2 hours.  After a while I got up to take a more comfortable chair and realized there was a TV screen above my head with the volume turned off...at least I could have been entertaining myself with that!!  There was an emergency..they finally took me in around 4 pm and wow, the dye injection was not what I expected.  It was  a very strange sensation to feel this chemical spreading through your veins and heart and I thought I was going to faint...but I got through it...

I just got a very interesting email from a friend that says that Johns Hopkins now offering patients alternatives to chemo, and there seems to be some good scientific evidence that other treatments work...eating fresh fruits & veggies, avoid contaminants, and exercising...so I'm off for a run!!!

XXOOO Miz 

Tina..you have such a wonderful no-nonsense attitude about everything...great to have you here!!!  

Miz 

Tina,

I can my acidic veggies; never tried a pressure cooker but I understand that the new ones are safer than the old variety.  I like to blanch and freeze my non-acidic veggies.

I hope the pre-op stuff went smoothly.

You're almost there now.

Mizsissy,

I hear you.  I remember the dye going through my veins.  Doesn't seem like you ought to be aware of that but go figure...

I can't imagine not living in a place where veggie gardens aren't allowed.  Even if your place allows it (and people's lifestyle doesn't leave time for it), I am sure there are some HO associations that don't. I remember when I moved to WV and called my landlord to ask if I might put in a garden. There was a strange pause on the other end of the phone before he said yes.  I realized later that he thought it was a stupid question; all the older folks have gardens here.  It is just a way of life for most of them. 

Well, I better finish getting ready for work.

Yesterday it was 63 degrees, this morning there is snow on the ground.

Received this in an email a couple days ago: 

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ("TRY, BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY. (Note: Following all of these steps is no guarantee of anything! Good diet alone will not eliminate cancer, as this "headline" seems to indicate. Chemotherapy and radiation aren't pleasant, but they may be necessary to gain some control over cancer cells.)

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.


5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.


6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.


7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.



1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

***********************

Feel free to forward or quote this to whomever you'd like...I think it's important to get the word out!!!

Miz 

Hmmm, Jasmine, a lot of it seems to make sense and seems to be corroborated from other sources (like what my urologist told me yesterday)...can't be all wrong! Interesting that it is attributed falsely to Johns Hopkins though.

Miz, So glad to hear you are in the "all clear." That is wonderful news.

While I do agree with some of the items in the email you posted, merely "starving" the cancer does not work. A friend of mine used this method for treatment along with some other alternative methods - no traditional chemotherapy at all, no surgery and, sadly, she is no longer with us.

Raye

What a timely discussion.

Last week, although I found out only today, a woman I greatly admired died of breast cancer.

She found out she had metastatic disease the same day I celebrated my first NED anniversary.  She was only 48.

She wanted to live.  She leaves behind two college aged children (one in medical school) a 12 year old son and a husband. I will meet them for the first time tomorrow at her funeral.

There weren't enough treatment options for her.

The world is definitely less bright without her in it.

Having quality of life is important but sometimes you don't even get a choice of chemo or no chemo.  Sometimes it all just stops working and you just can't stop what happens.

Her name was Linda and if you all wouldn't mind sending positive energy, love, a prayer or just taking a moment to ask for peace in the heart of her family, I know it would be recieved with thanks.

Have a good evening ladies.   

Casey - I am so very sorry to hear about Linda. She will be in my prayers.

Happy Easter everyone.

Raye

Casey, am thinking some positive thoughts and making special prayers for Linda.  Death never comes when we expect it, but it is especially sad when someone leaves us who has still has so much give.

We also need lots of special prayers for {{{{Puppy}}}}.  She has a lot to deal with right now.  Brain surgery coming up, and possible goiter surgery as well. 

Miz 

Thanks for sending your good, loving vibes.

What can I say, it was a sad day.

Puppy,

A million hugs to you.