September 1, 2009. I meet with Dr. Gallagher, who treats my ulcerative colitis (UC). I report to him that I was able to taper off of the Asocol since I saw him in January, with no problems. He is pleased with this. My summarization of his explanation for my marked improvement: some patients have periods of time when their UC just spontaneously improves. I know why my UC has improved, & I’m extremely thankful for what I have learned about UC & the role that diet & nutritional supplements play in both controlling & improving this condition! I remind myself again of his lack of coursework in this area.
I ask Dr. Gallagher if he thinks I can decrease the other medication I take, from 2 pills a day to one each day.
He does a math calculation, using my weight & the number of milligrams I take per day, & says, “Yes, you can try it if you want to. If it is going to cause a flare-up, it will take 1-3 months.”
I am hopeful that this will not cause a flare-up. I trust it is God who has prompted me to make this request rather than just my eager desire to eliminate more prescription medicine that has caused me to charge ahead. Time will tell.
September 9, 2009. I have blood drawn for my tumor marker test. I assume it is much too early to know if the cottage cheese & flaxseed oil has made any difference yet. My life has been too crazy, in the past month, so that I have not had time to do the research to find out how long I can expect to wait until I see noticeable results in my diagnostic tests. I am just hopeful that the number will be lower than the 30.9 on July 8. That will make me happy.
Side note: Research done later states that it takes 3-6 months for diagnostic tests to show a noticeable difference. September 16, 2009. We meet with Dr. Patel for a routine check-up & to get my tumor marker results.
I jotted down a few questions before the appointment, so I wouldn’t forget to ask what I’d been thinking about between appointments.
Of course, my first question is, “What is my tumor marker number?” It is 29.2! It finally dropped below 30! This is a 5.5% decrease! As far as Dr. Patel is concerned, it is still in the normal range. This is a good thing! Period.
I ask if he has decided on November or December for the PET scan. He says it has already been set; the receptionist will give me the date when I leave today. (It happens to be October 30.)
He asks me the usual list of questions & does the usual exam. Then he asks what other questions I have. Yes, he knows me well enough to know I have more questions than the 2 above.
I say, “You once explained the tumor marker blood test as a microscopic test for the cancer as opposed to the gross look at the disease of the PET/CT scan. Can you give me more insight on this?”
Dr. Patel likes my question. He says it actually is an excellent lead-in to what he wants to discuss with us today.
I will try to keep this simple, but I am adding some background details & side notes as I relate portions of the discussion. I certainly don’t expect you to recall what I can recall from the past 2 years, about my journey with cancer, or to know what I have researched on the Internet.
Dr. Patel says, “First, why do we do all of these diagnostic tests? We want to know, when will the tumor become resistant to Femara?” .
Background info: I started taking Femara December 28, 2007. A short time after that, I learned that 12-14 months is the average span of time it takes before a patient’s cancer becomes resistant to the medication. I have been taking it for 21 & a half months, as of 9/16/09! I’m way past the average; I’m praising God!! When the cancer becomes resistant to the medication, in medical terms, it progresses. Likewise, in medical terms, I have been “progression-free” for 21 & a half months! A rising tumor marker number or a PET/CT scan that detects an area or areas of increased activity indicates disease progression &, in my case, these would be the indicators of resistance to the medication.
Dr. Patel’s point is: the constant testing is done to watch for the earliest sign of recurrence of my cancer, due to resistance to the Femara. I understand this point.
Side note: Although I know Dr. Patel is pleased that my tumor marker number has remained in the normal range since December of ’08, I get the sense that he is always hopeful that it will remain in that range, but expecting it, due to his experience with his other patients, to begin to increase at the next blood draw. I know that, initially, Dr. Patel told us to expect Femara to bring my tumor marker down from 580.8 to the 300 range & stabilize. In 2 months it dropped to 389.7. By 5 & a half months it dropped to 126.7! It declined into the normal range over the course of 12 months & continues to decline by small amounts.
I have had conversations with Dr. Powers on this topic, too. He has stated that Femara is not capable of bringing my tumor marker down this far, in this short period of time; so, he does not expect the tumor marker number to go back up. He believes it is the combination of things I am doing that is killing the cancer. Femara is only one part of my arsenal in this battle!! In fact, Dr. Powers thinks I could stop taking Femara, at this point, & the tumor marker number would not rise. I told him that I’m not ready to go that far! He says that it won’t hurt me to continue to take the drug. I feel at peace with the decision to continue taking it as part of my overall treatment plan. If it is making a difference, I don’t want to eliminate it. I am absolutely certain it has played a part in the results I have experienced to this point. Dr. Patel then reveals the exciting news he wants to tell us today about a new test called a CTC – circulating tumor cells test. I listen to his explanation once & take some notes, & then pause to read the notes before asking him to explain it again, as I ask some specific questions, to understand the CTC & to get my original question answered.
I will summarize this & try not to lose you in a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo.
Dr. Patel explains by comparing the diagnostic tests he uses to monitor my response to my current treatment with a new test he is adding – CTC – Circulating Tumor Cells test.
CA 27.29 tumor marker blood test – He explains that this test is not very sensitive or specific. It is actually a protein in the blood that is produced by the cancer cells; however, these proteins can be produced by other conditions. Some breast cancer patients do not experience an elevation in this tumor marker. Thus, a woman with breast cancer may or may not have an elevated CA 27.29 tumor marker.
Side note: If you check out my blog “What is a Tumor Marker,” which I posted July ’08, it describes the process through which it was determined that my tumor marker number is reliable.
PET scans are more sensitive. What does this mean? They can detect tumors .7 cm & larger. [This is just a little larger than a ¼ of an inch, which is] large enough to be seen by the human eye. Dr. Patel’s terminology is: “it can see gross disease in the body.” PET helps physicians effectively pinpoint the source of cancer. It can detect abnormalities in cellular activity, generally before there is any noticeable physical change. The abnormalities in cellular activity are detected on a gross level rather than a microscopic level.
Side notes: I posted a blog, “What is a PET scan,” in May that describes a PET/CT scan & its significance. Unlike ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, or CT, which merely confirm the presence of a mass, a PET scan can distinguish between benign and malignant disorders. Greater activity in a malignant tumor shows on the scan as brighter spots of color than low levels of activity in a malignant tumor. It is not capable of seeing individual cells.
In contrast, CTC is highly sensitive & highly specific in looking for cancer cells themselves floating in the blood. It is more reliable than the CA 27.29 tumor marker because it is counting actual cancer cells in the blood rather than measuring a protein that may or may not be produced by cancer cells. Results are numerical, which will rise in response to the progression of cancer before it is detectable or visually evident by other blood tests or by imaging technology. This means it can detect disease progression much sooner than any of the imaging technologies. (If it has been determined that a patient’s tumor marker is reliable, will the CTC still detect recurrence sooner than the CA 27.29? This is good question for my next appointment. It’s VERY difficult to think of every question I might want to have answered in the middle of a discussion of something so foreign to my everyday realm of knowledge.) If the number is less than 5 cancer is not progressing. If it is greater than 5, it is progressing. Because the blood test is done each month, it is easy to see how fast change is occurring. The most important purpose of this test is for detection of recurrence, & the rate of change is used to make prognosis, as well as treatment decisions.
It is my understanding, from our discussion, that the cut-off number of 5 is to allow for a margin of error in the test. I will go home & research CTC on the Internet & hope to gain a better understanding.
I ask if I will still have the CA 27.29 tumor marker blood test done, if we are going to do the CTC test.
Dr. Patel says that he sees no reason to stop it. It cannot hurt to have more data.
We feel comfortable with this choice, especially when we are familiar with watching this number, know its significance & know that mine has been proven to be reliable.
I have blood drawn to have my first CTC test today. Dr. Patel expects the number to be 0. I think this would be wonderful! That’s my expectation.
September 23, 2009. I call Dr. Patel’s office to see if my CTC test number is available. The receptionist puts the P.A. on the phone, & she excitedly tells me that the number is 3, which she says is really good! Well, it is, but I was expecting 0. I flatly tell her, “Yes, it is” & thank her. I was disappointed.
Ed tells me that I’d be upset if Dr. Patel wouldn’t commit to a prediction, & when he gives me one that’s wrong & disappointing, I’m upset. The poor man can’t win! I know; I just had my hopes too high.
I am happy with the decision to continue the tumor marker blood test, since I am used to watching this number & because Dr. Powers made the statement about 10 to 15 as the range where he will consider me to be cancer-free. I want to see how this corresponds with the CTC test number. Will it decrease to 0 over that same period of time? Only time will tell.
Side notes: I researched the CTC test online to learn more about it. I think I understand it a little better now.
The CTC is a relatively new test. It was approved for use in 2007, but only for breast, colorectal, & prostate cancer. http://www.easttnmedicalnews.com/news.php?viewStory=1183
Used in combination with imaging & all the other important parts of your therapy, the CTC test can help your doctor make more informed decisions regarding your care… CTCs are cancer cells that have detached from a solid tumor and entered into the bloodstream. These cells play an important role in the metastatic process, and their presence can provide valuable insight into disease progression. http://www.carolinabiooncology.org/cell_search.html
Interpretation of my CTC of 3: In the sample of blood drawn there was an average of 3 cancer cells found per 750 ml (about 1.5 tsp.) of blood. Because these circulating tumor cells are not taking up residence & beginning new tumors in other parts of my body, my cancer is not progressing. Instead, my immune system is strong enough that it is killing them & escorting them out of my body! Praise God!I also realize the fact I have circulating tumor cells is confirmation that, although my PET/CT scan shows there is only slight activity in one lymph node, I do still have living cancer cells in the tumors that do not show any detectable cancer, on the May 12th PET/CT scan. It also indicates the need for me to keep my immune system strong so that it will continue to function as God designed it to function.
In the blog about “The Growth Rate of Cancer Cells” I describe how a healthy immune system recognizes & destroys mutant cells, & I describe some of the major factors that cause our natural defense system to fail. Knowing that I have even a small number of live cancer cells circulating in my blood stream makes me mindful of the need to remain vigilant in the war against this disease & with my strategies to keep my immune system strong. (Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength & my shield; my heart trusts in him, & I am helped. My heart leaps for joy & I will give thanks to him in song.”)
After researching the CTC test online, I have several questions I want to ask Dr. Patel at my next appointment.
Detailed list of 2009 elliptical miles
January 2009 Miles
1/5 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/7 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/10 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/13 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/14 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/16 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/20 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/21 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/23 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/26 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/28 - 2 miles 18 min.
1/30 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for January -- 24!
February 2009 Miles
2/1 - 2 miles 25 min. power walk in FL
2/6 - 2 miles 25 min. power walk in FL
2/7 - 2 miles 25 min. power walk in FL
2/10 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/11 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/12 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/18 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/20 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/23 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/25 - 2 miles 18 min.
2/27 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for February 24!
March 2009 Miles (48 mi. in '09)
3/2 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/8 - 2 miles walking
3/11 - 1 hr. 15 min. workout on various machines
2 miles elliptical
2 miles airdyne
2 miles equivalent various weight-resistance machines
3/17 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/18 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
3/20 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/24 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/26 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/27 - 2 miles 18 min.
3/30 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for March 24!
April 2009 Miles (72 mi. in '09)
4/1 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/2 - 2 miles power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
4/6 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/8 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/13 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/15 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/16 - 2 miles equivalent .7 walking + 2 hrs. yard work
4/20 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/23 - 2 miles 18 min.
4/24 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk
4/27 - 2 miles walking Cassidy in the stroller
4/28 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
Total miles for April -- 24!
May 2009 Miles (96 mi. to date)
5/2 - 4+ miles - Silver Spring Twp 5k Run/Walk & walking downtown H-burg between stadium & Whitaker Ctr for Sci. & the Arts
5/5 - 2 miles 18 min.
5/7 - 2 miles 18 min.
5/7 - 2 miles equivalent 3.5 hrs. yard work
5/11 - 2 miles 18 min.
5/14 - 2 miles 18 min.
5/19 - 2 miles equivalent 2 hrs. yard work
5/20 - 2+ miles equivalent 3 hrs. yard work
5/22 - 2+ miles equivalent 3+ hrs. yard work
5/26 - 4+ miles equivalent walking on the boardwalk at VA Beach
5/28 - 2 miles walking on the beach
5/30 - 2 miles walking on the boardwalk
Total miles for May -- 28!
June 2009 Miles (124 mi. to date in '09)
6/2 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/4 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/5 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/9 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/9 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
6/12 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
6/17 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/22 - 2 miles 18 min.
6/23 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
6/24 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
6/25 - 4 miles equivalent 7 hrs. yard work
6/27 - 2+ miles walking at Hershey Park
6/30 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for June -- 28!
July 2009 Miles (152 mi. in '09)
7/1 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
7/7 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
7/8 - 6 miles equivalent 6+ hrs. yard work
7/15 - 2 miles equivalent 3 hrs. yard work
7/20 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
7/23 - 2 miles equivalent elliptical & trimming shrubs
7/25 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
7/27 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
7/29 - 6 miles equivalent 6+ hrs. yard work & 18 laps in the pool
Total miles for July -- 26!
August 2009 Miles (178 mi. in '09)
8/1 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. stripping & waxing floors
8/2 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs stripping & waxing floors
8/4 - 2 miles equivalent 45 min. swimming laps in the pool
8/5 - 2 miles equivalent 2 hrs. yard work
8/6 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
8/10 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. yard work
8/15 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. house work
8/17 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
8/18 - 2 miles equivalent 2 hrs. yard work
8/21 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. house & yard work
8/24 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
8/28 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
Total miles for August -- 30!
September 2009 Miles (208 mi. in '09)
9/3 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. yard work
9/7 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. yard work
9/11 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. cleaning
9/12 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
9/18 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
9/20 - 2 miles equivalent 2+ hrs. yard work
9/25 - 4 miles equivalent 4+ hrs. yard work
Total miles for September -- 20!
October 2009 Miles (228 mi. in '09)
10/6 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/8 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/13 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/15 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/17 - 3 miles hiking the gorge at Watkins Glen
10/21 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/22 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/26 - 2 miles 30 min. power walk pushing Cassidy in the stroller
10/27 - 2 miles 18 min.
10/29 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles of October -- 21!
November 2009 Miles (249 mi. in '09)
11/3 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/4 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/5 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/9 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/11 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/14 - 3+ miles walking in NYC
11/17 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/19 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/21 - 2 miles equivalent 2 hrs. yard work
11/23 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/25 - 2 miles 18 min.
11/26 - 2 miles equivalent2+ hrs. housework
11/29 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for November -- 27!
December 2009 Miles (276 mi. in '09)
12/1 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/2 - 2 mines 18 min.
12/3 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/8 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/19 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/10 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/14 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/16 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/26 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/30 - 2 miles 18 min.
12/31 - 2 miles 18 min.
Total miles for December 22!
298 Miles in 2009!!
551 Total miles to date!!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Unusual Alternative Treatment Option!
August 5, 2009. I meet with Dr. Powers to bring him up to date on my general health & test results.
I report that I have eliminated the drug, Asocol, completely; I was taking 12 pills a day for ulcerative colitis. The doctor treating me for this condition does not believe the improvement is attributable to the change in my diet; however, I believe it is directly linked to the change in my diet & the addition of digestive enzymes & nutritional supplements. Prior to these changes, I had 1 or 2 flare-ups per year, & my medication was increased yearly.
This same doctor has told me there are no clinical trials that show there is a link between diet & this condition, so that there are no dietary restrictions. Well, I read a book, written by a professor in the Department Physiology & Pharmacology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry. The book is based on 6 clinical trials he conducted that show the link between diet & conditions such as arthritis, asthma, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, eczema, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis is included in this category), etc.
This emphasizes the necessity of taking an active role in each of my health issues. I now understand how important it is to understand my condition & to learn what I can do for myself, in addition to what my doctor prescribes for me. I have to keep in mind that medical schools do not provide any coursework on diet, nutrition, & nutritional supplements, as they relate to prevention &/or treatment of most diseases/medical conditions.
I’ve done a lot of reading & research on this condition & now know that there is a very strong link between diet & this condition. I first found a list of foods to avoid in another reference book. When I eliminated them from my diet & added the suggested digestive enzymes & nutritional supplements it made a world of difference!! I could eat without feeling nauseous.
Dr. Powers is pleased with the fact that I am off of another prescription drug, as it decreases some of the toxic load on my body.
Dr. Powers is also happy with the continued decline in the tumor marker number. July 8 it was 30.9. He’s been expecting the number to decline into the 20s. It’s getting there, but slowly. He is also pleased with the PET/CT scan results.
I describe the conversation with Dr. Patel concerning the term remission. Dr. Powers shrugs his shoulders & says it’s just a game of semantics. He understands what Dr. Patel is saying about the misuse, misunderstanding & false hope, but it’s a word the public is used to using. I understand that he feels it is the oncologist’s responsibility to make clear the definition of the word remission if he or she uses it with a patient. Several months ago Dr. Powers said he would describe my cancer as in “clinical remission.” From that I understood him to mean that the cancer is stable, from a clinical point of view. It poses no present threat to my life; however, I still have cancer.
Next, I explain Dr. Patel’s proposal of surgery to remove the lymph node that still shows some slight activity. Dr. Powers wants to know why. I explain.
Dr. Patel told us, “The standard of care for advanced disease cancer is changing. If a patient has a very good response to therapy, [such as I have had,] surgery may be considered. Surgery at the origin of the cancer may delay the progression of the cancer if the current activity is confined to that single location.”
I pause & look at Dr. Powers to see how he is responding to this information. I can see tension in his face; it’s obvious that he does not agree.
Of course, Dr. Powers asks what I chose to do, & I told him I said, “No.” I told him what I gave as my reasons & that Dr. Patel agreed with my first reason – the activity is only slight; what I have been doing is working very well; if I continue, it will probably take care of the remainder of the activity in the next few months.
He seemed to shrug off my 2nd argument – having surgery & not removing all cancer is like pouring gasoline on a fire, with respect to the cancer that is not removed.
It is Dr. Powers’ opinion that surgery is still a poor option, for the same reason I gave Dr. Patel. His description of what happens is something to the effect that it causes the remaining cancer to spray, like an aerosol can [my mental picture of his description], cancer cells throughout the patient’s blood stream & is very likely to cause metastases to spring up in other places in the body.
This is more confirmation that convinces me that we made the right decision.
As a part of our conversation, I inform him that my next PET/CT scan will be in November or December, since the tumor marker results have remained stable since December ’08. According to Dr. Patel, my number is in the normal range, but Dr. Powers is waiting for it to drop into the lower 20s. At this appointment, he tells me that if it drops to a number between 10 & 15, he believes I will be cancer-free!! This is an exciting piece of information to know! To that end, he asks me to try a new form of treatment to help me reach that goal. I was anxious to reach the low 20s. Now, I’m psyched about going for the 10 to 15 range!
I’m thinking he’s going to suggest a nutritional supplement. I’m very surprised when he asks me to eat low fat cottage cheese mixed with organic flaxseed oil. Oh, doesn’t that sound yummy? I’m wondering how this concoction is going to kill cancer cells. Some alternative treatments, at least at first, seem rather bizarre!
I tell him, “I don’t consume any milk or milk products, except organic yogurt or yogurt with live cultures, due to my ulcerative colitis.” He explains that I should be able to tolerate the cottage cheese if I can tolerate yogurt. Then I ask him how bad this is going to taste. He tells me that he is a poor judge because his taste buds aren’t that great. I’m thinking ‘Oh, thanks!’
He relates several incredible testimonials of his cancer patients, with advanced stage disease, who are using this regimen & are making miraculous & rapid recoveries. I’m thinking that this sounds good, & I remember reading a book that mentions people using this mixture to beat cancer. The book discusses several alternative cancer treatments patients use to fight cancer. It was the very first book I read that discusses fighting cancer with alternative treatments, & I wasn’t so sure I could trust what I read. This treatment, in particular, seemed to be more than a little farfetched, even though the author states that there are “scientific evidence & documented facts” to back up all of the statements made in the book. Now my alternative treatment oncologist is suggesting that I eat it. He has my attention. I’ll listen, ask questions, & do more research.
To help the taste, he says I can add some agave nectar to sweeten it. A few drops of lemon juice may also help. I ask about adding fruit. He tells me to have fruit before consuming this not with it. He provides an explanation for this. Thanks! He gives me a sheet with the amount of each to mix together & tells me to mix it with a blender so that it is homogenized. I’m thinking this may help to disguise the taste of the flaxseed oil a little.
I ask if I can just take flaxseed oil capsules with cottage cheese. I’m thinking, ‘swallowing that brown oil in capsules would be much easier than eating it off of a spoon.’ The answer is, no. The processing to produce the capsules destroys the beneficial properties of the flaxseed oil. Oh, darn! You can’t blame me for trying though.
As you can tell, I don’t have a positive attitude about how this is going to taste, but I decide it is much better than having to submit to chemotherapy. I can do it. Besides, I only have to eat it as a meal replacement 3 days a week.
Dr. Powers explains a little of the chemistry/biology of what this mixture does to cancer cells & the amazing results! A German biochemist, Johanna Budwig, determined that cottage cheese & flaxseed oil have the correct naturally occurring properties & chemical combination to produce the results she discovered in her laboratory research as having the effect of either killing cancer cells or causing them to revert back to normal cells! This is what sets this treatment apart from all others, which are aimed at merely starving or killing cancer cells. There’s no other treatment known to cause cancer cells to revert back to normal cells. These beneficial properties, of the cottage cheese & the flaxseed oil, are destroyed if they are processed to put their chemical compounds into capsule or pill form. There is no substitute for eating the real deal.
Since he knows I am an avid reader, Dr. Powers asks if I have read about Dr. Budwig & her research. I tell him that I do not remember her name, but I do remember reading about people eating this combination & beating cancer. He writes her name on a sheet of note paper & hands it to me so I can look her up. Does he know me well? Yes!
Of course I will research this to hope to better understand how this happens. I will also pull out the book that presented the testimonials of the folks who used this mixture to beat cancer & re-read it to see if Dr. Johanna Budwig is cited as the individual who came up with this combination for conquering cancer. (As I expected, everything checks out in the book & on the Internet. Johanna Budwig died, at the age of 95, in 2003, but there is a cancer center, in Spain, that bears her name & uses her protocol.)
I bought cottage cheese & Barlean’s organic, highest lignin, pure & unfiltered, cold pressed, flax oil. I tried it first with a little Splenda & a few drops of lemon juice. It was bearable but not very good. I just ate it & repeated to myself, ‘cancer cells are reverting to normal cells.’ By the 2nd week I knew I had to come up with something I could add to it to make it palatable. I found 2 kinds of granola at a natural foods store that are compatible with my diet. I also purchased agave nectar to replace Splenda. Now I like my cottage cheese & flaxseed oil breakfast, with a drizzle of agave nectar homogenized in the blender. I top it off with a generous amount of granola. Yum, yum! I find that I eat it more than 3 times a week. Bye-bye cancer cells!! Hello healthy cells!!
For more information on this form of treatment visit this site: http://www.budwigcenter.com
A closer look at the protocol of the Budwig Center, which is based on Dr. Budwig’s 50 years of research & countless testimonials to back it up, reveals this is one element of a multi-faceted treatment plan. Other elements include many or all of the following: a diet that is high in alkaline foods, rich in enzymes, & totally sugar-free; herbal formulas & teas; exercise, stress reduction, detoxification, total body massage, reflexology, emotional healing, visualization, static electro therapy, FAR infrared sauna, medical magnetic therapy, nutrition education, dark field live blood analysis, bio-photonic light (soaking up healthy light from the sun), etc.
As time passes & I continue to research cancer, I am more & more aware of the fact that there is no “magic bullet” that wipes out cancer. In every case where I read about someone who has conquered cancer, I find that it is a matter of multiple factors working together that resulted in bringing the individual to victory.
I know God has the power to miraculously heal me & to make me cancer-free, without any medical intervention or any special efforts on my part, but I don’t believe that is His plan for my healing. It is my firm conviction that I am to be obedient in following the path He has set me on to learn about the ways cancer can be defeated through a process that is a combination of multiple factors. I view this new form of treatment as a new weapon added to my arsenal in my fight against cancer. A year ago I may have laughed or at least given a cynical reply to someone who would suggest that I would endorse this form of treatment for my cancer. It sounded ridiculous! Now I know there is scientific evidence to back it up & “over 90% success rate with [the Budwig] protocol with all kinds of cancer patients over a 50 year period.” I’m not laughing now. I’m eating – cottage cheese & flaxseed oil!
I report that I have eliminated the drug, Asocol, completely; I was taking 12 pills a day for ulcerative colitis. The doctor treating me for this condition does not believe the improvement is attributable to the change in my diet; however, I believe it is directly linked to the change in my diet & the addition of digestive enzymes & nutritional supplements. Prior to these changes, I had 1 or 2 flare-ups per year, & my medication was increased yearly.
This same doctor has told me there are no clinical trials that show there is a link between diet & this condition, so that there are no dietary restrictions. Well, I read a book, written by a professor in the Department Physiology & Pharmacology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry. The book is based on 6 clinical trials he conducted that show the link between diet & conditions such as arthritis, asthma, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, eczema, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis is included in this category), etc.
This emphasizes the necessity of taking an active role in each of my health issues. I now understand how important it is to understand my condition & to learn what I can do for myself, in addition to what my doctor prescribes for me. I have to keep in mind that medical schools do not provide any coursework on diet, nutrition, & nutritional supplements, as they relate to prevention &/or treatment of most diseases/medical conditions.
I’ve done a lot of reading & research on this condition & now know that there is a very strong link between diet & this condition. I first found a list of foods to avoid in another reference book. When I eliminated them from my diet & added the suggested digestive enzymes & nutritional supplements it made a world of difference!! I could eat without feeling nauseous.
Dr. Powers is pleased with the fact that I am off of another prescription drug, as it decreases some of the toxic load on my body.
Dr. Powers is also happy with the continued decline in the tumor marker number. July 8 it was 30.9. He’s been expecting the number to decline into the 20s. It’s getting there, but slowly. He is also pleased with the PET/CT scan results.
I describe the conversation with Dr. Patel concerning the term remission. Dr. Powers shrugs his shoulders & says it’s just a game of semantics. He understands what Dr. Patel is saying about the misuse, misunderstanding & false hope, but it’s a word the public is used to using. I understand that he feels it is the oncologist’s responsibility to make clear the definition of the word remission if he or she uses it with a patient. Several months ago Dr. Powers said he would describe my cancer as in “clinical remission.” From that I understood him to mean that the cancer is stable, from a clinical point of view. It poses no present threat to my life; however, I still have cancer.
Next, I explain Dr. Patel’s proposal of surgery to remove the lymph node that still shows some slight activity. Dr. Powers wants to know why. I explain.
Dr. Patel told us, “The standard of care for advanced disease cancer is changing. If a patient has a very good response to therapy, [such as I have had,] surgery may be considered. Surgery at the origin of the cancer may delay the progression of the cancer if the current activity is confined to that single location.”
I pause & look at Dr. Powers to see how he is responding to this information. I can see tension in his face; it’s obvious that he does not agree.
Of course, Dr. Powers asks what I chose to do, & I told him I said, “No.” I told him what I gave as my reasons & that Dr. Patel agreed with my first reason – the activity is only slight; what I have been doing is working very well; if I continue, it will probably take care of the remainder of the activity in the next few months.
He seemed to shrug off my 2nd argument – having surgery & not removing all cancer is like pouring gasoline on a fire, with respect to the cancer that is not removed.
It is Dr. Powers’ opinion that surgery is still a poor option, for the same reason I gave Dr. Patel. His description of what happens is something to the effect that it causes the remaining cancer to spray, like an aerosol can [my mental picture of his description], cancer cells throughout the patient’s blood stream & is very likely to cause metastases to spring up in other places in the body.
This is more confirmation that convinces me that we made the right decision.
As a part of our conversation, I inform him that my next PET/CT scan will be in November or December, since the tumor marker results have remained stable since December ’08. According to Dr. Patel, my number is in the normal range, but Dr. Powers is waiting for it to drop into the lower 20s. At this appointment, he tells me that if it drops to a number between 10 & 15, he believes I will be cancer-free!! This is an exciting piece of information to know! To that end, he asks me to try a new form of treatment to help me reach that goal. I was anxious to reach the low 20s. Now, I’m psyched about going for the 10 to 15 range!
I’m thinking he’s going to suggest a nutritional supplement. I’m very surprised when he asks me to eat low fat cottage cheese mixed with organic flaxseed oil. Oh, doesn’t that sound yummy? I’m wondering how this concoction is going to kill cancer cells. Some alternative treatments, at least at first, seem rather bizarre!
I tell him, “I don’t consume any milk or milk products, except organic yogurt or yogurt with live cultures, due to my ulcerative colitis.” He explains that I should be able to tolerate the cottage cheese if I can tolerate yogurt. Then I ask him how bad this is going to taste. He tells me that he is a poor judge because his taste buds aren’t that great. I’m thinking ‘Oh, thanks!’
He relates several incredible testimonials of his cancer patients, with advanced stage disease, who are using this regimen & are making miraculous & rapid recoveries. I’m thinking that this sounds good, & I remember reading a book that mentions people using this mixture to beat cancer. The book discusses several alternative cancer treatments patients use to fight cancer. It was the very first book I read that discusses fighting cancer with alternative treatments, & I wasn’t so sure I could trust what I read. This treatment, in particular, seemed to be more than a little farfetched, even though the author states that there are “scientific evidence & documented facts” to back up all of the statements made in the book. Now my alternative treatment oncologist is suggesting that I eat it. He has my attention. I’ll listen, ask questions, & do more research.
To help the taste, he says I can add some agave nectar to sweeten it. A few drops of lemon juice may also help. I ask about adding fruit. He tells me to have fruit before consuming this not with it. He provides an explanation for this. Thanks! He gives me a sheet with the amount of each to mix together & tells me to mix it with a blender so that it is homogenized. I’m thinking this may help to disguise the taste of the flaxseed oil a little.
I ask if I can just take flaxseed oil capsules with cottage cheese. I’m thinking, ‘swallowing that brown oil in capsules would be much easier than eating it off of a spoon.’ The answer is, no. The processing to produce the capsules destroys the beneficial properties of the flaxseed oil. Oh, darn! You can’t blame me for trying though.
As you can tell, I don’t have a positive attitude about how this is going to taste, but I decide it is much better than having to submit to chemotherapy. I can do it. Besides, I only have to eat it as a meal replacement 3 days a week.
Dr. Powers explains a little of the chemistry/biology of what this mixture does to cancer cells & the amazing results! A German biochemist, Johanna Budwig, determined that cottage cheese & flaxseed oil have the correct naturally occurring properties & chemical combination to produce the results she discovered in her laboratory research as having the effect of either killing cancer cells or causing them to revert back to normal cells! This is what sets this treatment apart from all others, which are aimed at merely starving or killing cancer cells. There’s no other treatment known to cause cancer cells to revert back to normal cells. These beneficial properties, of the cottage cheese & the flaxseed oil, are destroyed if they are processed to put their chemical compounds into capsule or pill form. There is no substitute for eating the real deal.
Since he knows I am an avid reader, Dr. Powers asks if I have read about Dr. Budwig & her research. I tell him that I do not remember her name, but I do remember reading about people eating this combination & beating cancer. He writes her name on a sheet of note paper & hands it to me so I can look her up. Does he know me well? Yes!
Of course I will research this to hope to better understand how this happens. I will also pull out the book that presented the testimonials of the folks who used this mixture to beat cancer & re-read it to see if Dr. Johanna Budwig is cited as the individual who came up with this combination for conquering cancer. (As I expected, everything checks out in the book & on the Internet. Johanna Budwig died, at the age of 95, in 2003, but there is a cancer center, in Spain, that bears her name & uses her protocol.)
I bought cottage cheese & Barlean’s organic, highest lignin, pure & unfiltered, cold pressed, flax oil. I tried it first with a little Splenda & a few drops of lemon juice. It was bearable but not very good. I just ate it & repeated to myself, ‘cancer cells are reverting to normal cells.’ By the 2nd week I knew I had to come up with something I could add to it to make it palatable. I found 2 kinds of granola at a natural foods store that are compatible with my diet. I also purchased agave nectar to replace Splenda. Now I like my cottage cheese & flaxseed oil breakfast, with a drizzle of agave nectar homogenized in the blender. I top it off with a generous amount of granola. Yum, yum! I find that I eat it more than 3 times a week. Bye-bye cancer cells!! Hello healthy cells!!
For more information on this form of treatment visit this site: http://www.budwigcenter.com
A closer look at the protocol of the Budwig Center, which is based on Dr. Budwig’s 50 years of research & countless testimonials to back it up, reveals this is one element of a multi-faceted treatment plan. Other elements include many or all of the following: a diet that is high in alkaline foods, rich in enzymes, & totally sugar-free; herbal formulas & teas; exercise, stress reduction, detoxification, total body massage, reflexology, emotional healing, visualization, static electro therapy, FAR infrared sauna, medical magnetic therapy, nutrition education, dark field live blood analysis, bio-photonic light (soaking up healthy light from the sun), etc.
As time passes & I continue to research cancer, I am more & more aware of the fact that there is no “magic bullet” that wipes out cancer. In every case where I read about someone who has conquered cancer, I find that it is a matter of multiple factors working together that resulted in bringing the individual to victory.
I know God has the power to miraculously heal me & to make me cancer-free, without any medical intervention or any special efforts on my part, but I don’t believe that is His plan for my healing. It is my firm conviction that I am to be obedient in following the path He has set me on to learn about the ways cancer can be defeated through a process that is a combination of multiple factors. I view this new form of treatment as a new weapon added to my arsenal in my fight against cancer. A year ago I may have laughed or at least given a cynical reply to someone who would suggest that I would endorse this form of treatment for my cancer. It sounded ridiculous! Now I know there is scientific evidence to back it up & “over 90% success rate with [the Budwig] protocol with all kinds of cancer patients over a 50 year period.” I’m not laughing now. I’m eating – cottage cheese & flaxseed oil!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Defining Remission
July 15, 2009. We meet with Dr. Patel in July & I have questions prepared to ask him.
My first question is, “What is my tumor marker number?” It is 30.9. This is a 1.8 point, or 5.5%, decrease. Although I was hoping for a greater drop, I am very happy to see it continuing to drop!
I pose this question: August ’08 I have in my notes that I asked if my cancer could go into remission, & you said, “We don’t use the word remission for stage IV cancer.” Would you still say the same thing?
He smiles as if I’ve made him eat his own words. It was kind of funny. He then explains that the word remission is misused & misunderstood by doctors & patients. He says, “it also gives false hope.” In fact, he says, “the word is rarely used by oncologists today.” He explains that oncologists attempt to use descriptions that can be written in patients’ charts that any other oncologist can read & interpret exactly what is meant by the doctor who writes it. The description he gives to me to replace remission is “near complete resolution with identifiable disease.” This “doctor-speak” makes more sense after I tell you about the rest of the appointment.
Ed & I think we are at this appointment to hear his decision concerning surgery to remove the one lymph node under my left arm that shows some activity. We suspect this won’t be the case. Dr. Patel’s first question to me is, “What have you decided about surgery on the lymph node?” Ed & I look at one another. We are only somewhat surprised; I am prepared with an answer. I have made a decision. Even if Dr. Patel had come in & told me that he wanted to do the surgery, I would have told him I won’t do it. My mind was made up. When I say, “No,” Dr. Patel wants to know why, but he quickly adds that there is no right or wrong answer. He merely wants to hear my reason for saying no.
I had made notes before the appointment so I would not get flustered & sound like someone with flimsy arguments that I had not thought things through, if I had to defend my reason for refusing to have surgery, if I should need to do so. It is interesting that I am not defending my reasons but merely relating them. I have 2 major reasons. Dr. Patel is in 100% agreement with the first reason, but he sees my 2nd argument as a non-issue, which confuses me.
My first reason is simple. There is only slight activity showing in the one lymph node showing activity. What I have been doing, in terms of treatment, has been working very well. I think if I just keep doing what I am currently doing, this last little bit of activity will be history, in the next few months, without undergoing surgery. I get an enthusiastic nod of agreement on this one.
Next, I explain to Dr. Patel that I also decided not to have the surgery because I know there is still undetectable cancer in the areas that no longer show activity, in fact, lots of it. I have my paper with the previously mentioned illustration with me & explain that I am aware of the fact that the imaging technology can only detect tumors of a certain size. He confirms this by stating that the PET/CT can only detect tumors 7mm or larger, which is large enough to be seen by the human eye. (When converted from millimeters to inches, it is just slightly larger than ¼ of an inch.) He says this is why the word remission, as it has been used in the past, gives false hope. He explains that this is the reason for the replacement of the word remission with the description he gave me earlier, to replace the description of a cancer patient whose PET/CT scan no longer shows any evidence of disease – “near complete resolution with identifiable disease.” There is no evidence of disease, but we know there are malignant tumors smaller than the imaging technology is able to detect.
I tell him that I was disturbed by the story of a family member of an acquaintance, with advanced stage cancer, who was told she was in remission because a follow-up PET/CT scan showed no detectable cancer. The family understood this to mean she was cured. She had a follow-up scan a year later, & it showed the cancer reoccurred. The family’s hopes were dashed. They were disillusioned & devastated by the news because they did not understand that remission does not mean cure. (By understanding the growth rate of cancer, her cancer could not have been an entirely “new” occurrence between the 2 scans. The 2nd occurrence was merely undetectable cancer cells growing to a detectable size by the follow-up scan.) Dr. Patel says that is a case in point to illustrate the need to give a better description of the situation.
My question about having surgery, due to having remaining cancer is, “Won’t surgery cause the remaining cancer to grow more rapidly? After my final diagnosis, December 2007, I was told having surgery would be like pouring gasoline on a fire if you are not removing all of it. How has that changed? Is it because I have less cancer now than I did then?”
I don’t get a straight-forward answer, but he doesn’t seem to think it is an issue of great concern. Respectfully, I do. However, it is reassuring to know that Dr. Patel will not consider a scan that shows no activity a sign that I have NO living cancer cells remaining in my body. I learn what I need to know by posing my question & concern.
I ask if it will be another year before I will have another PET/CT scan. Dr. Patel tells me that I will have one in November or December. Because my tumor marker has remained so stable for such a long period of time, it is difficult to determine what is actually happening without a test that is more revealing than the tumor marker test.
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Ed & I have a conversation about the term remission on the way home. He says that he never had the impression that remission equated with cure. As I thought about it I realized that I thought it meant the disease was, for lack of a better word, dormant. If it is dormant, it has the potential to become active again. I guess that means it’s not cured, but I did have the impression that remission was kind of close to cure. I thought someone in remission always had a little fear that the disease could return.
To settle the matter I look it up in Webster’s dictionary to get a formal definition – a lessening or abating of symptoms of a disease. Once I read it I’m not sure that the definition actually settles the matter. This is a bit different from either of my perceptions & somewhat vague, but it surely cannot be construed to mean cure or disease-free.
I check the American Cancer Society definition. Remission: complete or partial disappearance of the signs & symptoms of cancer in response to treatment; the period during which a disease is under control. A remission may not be a cure.
According to these definitions, I think I can define myself as in remission. Praise God!!
My first question is, “What is my tumor marker number?” It is 30.9. This is a 1.8 point, or 5.5%, decrease. Although I was hoping for a greater drop, I am very happy to see it continuing to drop!
I pose this question: August ’08 I have in my notes that I asked if my cancer could go into remission, & you said, “We don’t use the word remission for stage IV cancer.” Would you still say the same thing?
He smiles as if I’ve made him eat his own words. It was kind of funny. He then explains that the word remission is misused & misunderstood by doctors & patients. He says, “it also gives false hope.” In fact, he says, “the word is rarely used by oncologists today.” He explains that oncologists attempt to use descriptions that can be written in patients’ charts that any other oncologist can read & interpret exactly what is meant by the doctor who writes it. The description he gives to me to replace remission is “near complete resolution with identifiable disease.” This “doctor-speak” makes more sense after I tell you about the rest of the appointment.
Ed & I think we are at this appointment to hear his decision concerning surgery to remove the one lymph node under my left arm that shows some activity. We suspect this won’t be the case. Dr. Patel’s first question to me is, “What have you decided about surgery on the lymph node?” Ed & I look at one another. We are only somewhat surprised; I am prepared with an answer. I have made a decision. Even if Dr. Patel had come in & told me that he wanted to do the surgery, I would have told him I won’t do it. My mind was made up. When I say, “No,” Dr. Patel wants to know why, but he quickly adds that there is no right or wrong answer. He merely wants to hear my reason for saying no.
I had made notes before the appointment so I would not get flustered & sound like someone with flimsy arguments that I had not thought things through, if I had to defend my reason for refusing to have surgery, if I should need to do so. It is interesting that I am not defending my reasons but merely relating them. I have 2 major reasons. Dr. Patel is in 100% agreement with the first reason, but he sees my 2nd argument as a non-issue, which confuses me.
My first reason is simple. There is only slight activity showing in the one lymph node showing activity. What I have been doing, in terms of treatment, has been working very well. I think if I just keep doing what I am currently doing, this last little bit of activity will be history, in the next few months, without undergoing surgery. I get an enthusiastic nod of agreement on this one.
Next, I explain to Dr. Patel that I also decided not to have the surgery because I know there is still undetectable cancer in the areas that no longer show activity, in fact, lots of it. I have my paper with the previously mentioned illustration with me & explain that I am aware of the fact that the imaging technology can only detect tumors of a certain size. He confirms this by stating that the PET/CT can only detect tumors 7mm or larger, which is large enough to be seen by the human eye. (When converted from millimeters to inches, it is just slightly larger than ¼ of an inch.) He says this is why the word remission, as it has been used in the past, gives false hope. He explains that this is the reason for the replacement of the word remission with the description he gave me earlier, to replace the description of a cancer patient whose PET/CT scan no longer shows any evidence of disease – “near complete resolution with identifiable disease.” There is no evidence of disease, but we know there are malignant tumors smaller than the imaging technology is able to detect.
I tell him that I was disturbed by the story of a family member of an acquaintance, with advanced stage cancer, who was told she was in remission because a follow-up PET/CT scan showed no detectable cancer. The family understood this to mean she was cured. She had a follow-up scan a year later, & it showed the cancer reoccurred. The family’s hopes were dashed. They were disillusioned & devastated by the news because they did not understand that remission does not mean cure. (By understanding the growth rate of cancer, her cancer could not have been an entirely “new” occurrence between the 2 scans. The 2nd occurrence was merely undetectable cancer cells growing to a detectable size by the follow-up scan.) Dr. Patel says that is a case in point to illustrate the need to give a better description of the situation.
My question about having surgery, due to having remaining cancer is, “Won’t surgery cause the remaining cancer to grow more rapidly? After my final diagnosis, December 2007, I was told having surgery would be like pouring gasoline on a fire if you are not removing all of it. How has that changed? Is it because I have less cancer now than I did then?”
I don’t get a straight-forward answer, but he doesn’t seem to think it is an issue of great concern. Respectfully, I do. However, it is reassuring to know that Dr. Patel will not consider a scan that shows no activity a sign that I have NO living cancer cells remaining in my body. I learn what I need to know by posing my question & concern.
I ask if it will be another year before I will have another PET/CT scan. Dr. Patel tells me that I will have one in November or December. Because my tumor marker has remained so stable for such a long period of time, it is difficult to determine what is actually happening without a test that is more revealing than the tumor marker test.
*******************************************************
Ed & I have a conversation about the term remission on the way home. He says that he never had the impression that remission equated with cure. As I thought about it I realized that I thought it meant the disease was, for lack of a better word, dormant. If it is dormant, it has the potential to become active again. I guess that means it’s not cured, but I did have the impression that remission was kind of close to cure. I thought someone in remission always had a little fear that the disease could return.
To settle the matter I look it up in Webster’s dictionary to get a formal definition – a lessening or abating of symptoms of a disease. Once I read it I’m not sure that the definition actually settles the matter. This is a bit different from either of my perceptions & somewhat vague, but it surely cannot be construed to mean cure or disease-free.
I check the American Cancer Society definition. Remission: complete or partial disappearance of the signs & symptoms of cancer in response to treatment; the period during which a disease is under control. A remission may not be a cure.
According to these definitions, I think I can define myself as in remission. Praise God!!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
New Option to Consider
May 20, 2009. This is my appointment to go over the results of my May 12th PET/CT scan. (If you are a new to my blogs, I posted a blog that describes what a PET/CT scan is & its significance in May. You may want to read it to understand the importance of this diagnostic test.) I also get my tumor marker number. It is 32.7. This up a tenth of a point from March 23rd, but this is not a significant change. It is more relevant that it remains in the normal range, which is 38.8 or lower. Praise God! (A blog explaining the tumor marker is posted July ’08.)
Dr. Patel explains that the standard of cancer treatment for advanced stage disease is changing. Up to this point the standard has been to not perform surgery on stage III or stage IV cancer patients because it is not possible to remove all of the cancer, due to the fact that it has spread beyond the site of origin.
(To perform surgery & leave known cancer cells is “like pouring gasoline on a fire.” I remember Dr. Patel making this statement to me shortly after my final diagnosis when I inquired about my impending surgery, which he told me was cancelled & I asked him why. He explained that the body’s immune system produces powerful chemicals to aid in the healing process. These chemicals that help the body to heal also stimulate the growth of any remaining cancer cells to a more rapid growth rate & for metastatic cancer, as stage III & stage IV cancer are, more rapid spread of the disease.)
Ed & I are curious; what is this change he’s talking about? If a patient has a very good response to therapy, such as I have had, surgery may be considered. I’m wondering, ‘how can this be?’ He goes on to say, “Surgery at the origin of the cancer may delay the progression of the cancer, if the current activity is confined to that single location,” as mine is at this time. This sounds just like a line from a medical textbook & makes some sense, but I’m still not 100% convinced it’s a good idea. In theory, it sounds like a great idea, but it’s not consistent with the previous information I was given.
I’m mentally trying to make sense of this. My cancer is breast cancer & the remaining location of activity is a lymph node under my left arm. That’s not the site of origin, but that is a single location of activity. I have to make sure I have this straight; so, I ask, “If I have this surgery, will it be a mastectomy & removal of the lymph node, in order to be surgery at the origin & the site of activity, or just removal of the lymph node?” Dr. Patel says it will only be the lymph node since it is a single location of activity.
As noted on the radiologist’s report, this activity is barely visible. Dr. Patel says he has not made up his mind about whether or not I should have surgery to remove this lymph node. He tells us of another patient, with advanced stage cancer, who also has had a positive response to therapy & now has a single location of activity on her PET/CT scan; however, it is a very active lymph node. Without hesitation, he recommended that she have the surgery. Since mine is not so clear-cut, he wants to discuss it again at our next appointment. He will give it additional consideration & asks us to do the same. He asks us to consider that this active lymph node can potentially “seed” other metastases (the spread of the cancer), but he reminds us that there is not a “right” or “wrong” answer.
After all of this focus on the one active lymph node, Dr. Patel asks if I have any other questions. I look over the radiologist’s PET/CT scan report. I see no mention of the malignant breast tissue, the other 3 malignant lymph nodes under my left arm, the numerous malignant lymph nodes behind my breast bone, or the nodules on my lungs; so, I ask why they are not mentioned. After I get my answer, it seems like a really silly question. Dr. Patel says, “That’s because the cancer there is dead!” Oh!!!! Dah!! Praise God!!
I am so thrilled that the PET/CT scan shows only slight activity in only one lymph node! Of course, the tumor marker number is once again confirmed by these results, too. All of my vigilance with taking my medication, following my diet, taking nutritional supplements, exercising regularly, & the prayers of hundreds of people are paying HUGE dividends!!!! Praise God!!!!
Thank you to those who remember me in your prayers! I pray God will bless you for your faithfulness & meet your needs.
As an interesting side note, I ask, “If my cancer diminishes can the stage of it be down-graded from stage IV?” His answer is, “It’s still stage IV; it’s a one way road.”
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We went home with happy hearts!!!! However, we have to give some serious & prayerful thought to the proposal Dr. Patel made. Although Dr. Patel said he would tell us his decision at our next appointment, we know his track record. We might be asked to make the decision. I am already thinking about what I have been told about having surgery if all of the cancer cannot be removed. I cannot divorce my mind from that thought. How can this have changed? I’ll take you through what I know so you can understand why I have reservations. Yes, you are learning more about cancer than you thought you would ever know just as I am learning it as I walk down this path. Perhaps the educational information I share in my blogs will help you or someone you love now or in the future.
The last blog I posted discusses the growth rate of cancer cells & includes a scanned illustration of a growing tumor. The written explanation states that cancer starts as one cell, doubles to 2 cells, then to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc. It continues to double in size every 23 to 209 days. The illustration shows a 1cm tumor, which is the smallest that can be detected by a mammogram (x-ray). In inches, this is slightly larger than 3/8 of an inch. It then shows it doubled in size to 2cm; this is the smallest tumor that can be felt. It is a little larger than 3/4 of an inch. The last doubling shown is 4 cm. This is the average size of a tumor that can be felt. It is a little bigger than an inch & a half. If the cancer is growing at the average rate of growth, doubling in size about every 100 days, it takes approximately 11 years for a tumor to reach 4cm. By the time a tumor is large enough for the patient to feel it he or she has undetected cancer for a long time! Realize there are cancers that grow more quickly & those that grow more slowly. Also, there are factors that can cause the rate of growth to speed up or to slow down, but a complete discussion is a subject for another blog. I considered these facts & realized that although my PET/CT scan shows only slight activity in one lymph node I also know that the multiple lymph nodes, breast tissue & nodules on my lungs still have living cancer cells. The tumors have merely been reduced to sizes that are now undetectable -- smaller than the imaging technology can detect! For this reason, I am uncomfortable with Dr. Patel’s description of the areas that no longer show activity on the PET/CT scan as “dead.” This is misleading, when I know there are undetectable, living cancer cells in these places. I will have to come up with a respectful question or comment to pose about the undetectable cancer cells in the areas that show no activity, for my next appointment, to find out if this was a slip-up or intentional.
I reason: if I have surgery to remove the lymph node that shows slight activity, I still have undetectable cancer in all of the above mentioned places which will be stimulated to a more rapid rate of growth by the surgery. Won’t I be worse off after the surgery than before it? I may seem better off at first, but the remaining cancer will double & become detectable on a future scan & in my future blood test as an elevated tumor marker number. Why would I take that chance when what I have been doing is working so well? Our minds are made up; we both agree. God has been working through the forms of treatment I’ve been doing, & things are going very, very well! We do not feel surgery is part of God’s plan, at this point. It is our sense that I am to keep going on the same path I have been walking on. We are at peace. Praise God!
Dr. Patel explains that the standard of cancer treatment for advanced stage disease is changing. Up to this point the standard has been to not perform surgery on stage III or stage IV cancer patients because it is not possible to remove all of the cancer, due to the fact that it has spread beyond the site of origin.
(To perform surgery & leave known cancer cells is “like pouring gasoline on a fire.” I remember Dr. Patel making this statement to me shortly after my final diagnosis when I inquired about my impending surgery, which he told me was cancelled & I asked him why. He explained that the body’s immune system produces powerful chemicals to aid in the healing process. These chemicals that help the body to heal also stimulate the growth of any remaining cancer cells to a more rapid growth rate & for metastatic cancer, as stage III & stage IV cancer are, more rapid spread of the disease.)
Ed & I are curious; what is this change he’s talking about? If a patient has a very good response to therapy, such as I have had, surgery may be considered. I’m wondering, ‘how can this be?’ He goes on to say, “Surgery at the origin of the cancer may delay the progression of the cancer, if the current activity is confined to that single location,” as mine is at this time. This sounds just like a line from a medical textbook & makes some sense, but I’m still not 100% convinced it’s a good idea. In theory, it sounds like a great idea, but it’s not consistent with the previous information I was given.
I’m mentally trying to make sense of this. My cancer is breast cancer & the remaining location of activity is a lymph node under my left arm. That’s not the site of origin, but that is a single location of activity. I have to make sure I have this straight; so, I ask, “If I have this surgery, will it be a mastectomy & removal of the lymph node, in order to be surgery at the origin & the site of activity, or just removal of the lymph node?” Dr. Patel says it will only be the lymph node since it is a single location of activity.
As noted on the radiologist’s report, this activity is barely visible. Dr. Patel says he has not made up his mind about whether or not I should have surgery to remove this lymph node. He tells us of another patient, with advanced stage cancer, who also has had a positive response to therapy & now has a single location of activity on her PET/CT scan; however, it is a very active lymph node. Without hesitation, he recommended that she have the surgery. Since mine is not so clear-cut, he wants to discuss it again at our next appointment. He will give it additional consideration & asks us to do the same. He asks us to consider that this active lymph node can potentially “seed” other metastases (the spread of the cancer), but he reminds us that there is not a “right” or “wrong” answer.
After all of this focus on the one active lymph node, Dr. Patel asks if I have any other questions. I look over the radiologist’s PET/CT scan report. I see no mention of the malignant breast tissue, the other 3 malignant lymph nodes under my left arm, the numerous malignant lymph nodes behind my breast bone, or the nodules on my lungs; so, I ask why they are not mentioned. After I get my answer, it seems like a really silly question. Dr. Patel says, “That’s because the cancer there is dead!” Oh!!!! Dah!! Praise God!!
I am so thrilled that the PET/CT scan shows only slight activity in only one lymph node! Of course, the tumor marker number is once again confirmed by these results, too. All of my vigilance with taking my medication, following my diet, taking nutritional supplements, exercising regularly, & the prayers of hundreds of people are paying HUGE dividends!!!! Praise God!!!!
Thank you to those who remember me in your prayers! I pray God will bless you for your faithfulness & meet your needs.
As an interesting side note, I ask, “If my cancer diminishes can the stage of it be down-graded from stage IV?” His answer is, “It’s still stage IV; it’s a one way road.”
*******************************************
We went home with happy hearts!!!! However, we have to give some serious & prayerful thought to the proposal Dr. Patel made. Although Dr. Patel said he would tell us his decision at our next appointment, we know his track record. We might be asked to make the decision. I am already thinking about what I have been told about having surgery if all of the cancer cannot be removed. I cannot divorce my mind from that thought. How can this have changed? I’ll take you through what I know so you can understand why I have reservations. Yes, you are learning more about cancer than you thought you would ever know just as I am learning it as I walk down this path. Perhaps the educational information I share in my blogs will help you or someone you love now or in the future.
The last blog I posted discusses the growth rate of cancer cells & includes a scanned illustration of a growing tumor. The written explanation states that cancer starts as one cell, doubles to 2 cells, then to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc. It continues to double in size every 23 to 209 days. The illustration shows a 1cm tumor, which is the smallest that can be detected by a mammogram (x-ray). In inches, this is slightly larger than 3/8 of an inch. It then shows it doubled in size to 2cm; this is the smallest tumor that can be felt. It is a little larger than 3/4 of an inch. The last doubling shown is 4 cm. This is the average size of a tumor that can be felt. It is a little bigger than an inch & a half. If the cancer is growing at the average rate of growth, doubling in size about every 100 days, it takes approximately 11 years for a tumor to reach 4cm. By the time a tumor is large enough for the patient to feel it he or she has undetected cancer for a long time! Realize there are cancers that grow more quickly & those that grow more slowly. Also, there are factors that can cause the rate of growth to speed up or to slow down, but a complete discussion is a subject for another blog. I considered these facts & realized that although my PET/CT scan shows only slight activity in one lymph node I also know that the multiple lymph nodes, breast tissue & nodules on my lungs still have living cancer cells. The tumors have merely been reduced to sizes that are now undetectable -- smaller than the imaging technology can detect! For this reason, I am uncomfortable with Dr. Patel’s description of the areas that no longer show activity on the PET/CT scan as “dead.” This is misleading, when I know there are undetectable, living cancer cells in these places. I will have to come up with a respectful question or comment to pose about the undetectable cancer cells in the areas that show no activity, for my next appointment, to find out if this was a slip-up or intentional.
I reason: if I have surgery to remove the lymph node that shows slight activity, I still have undetectable cancer in all of the above mentioned places which will be stimulated to a more rapid rate of growth by the surgery. Won’t I be worse off after the surgery than before it? I may seem better off at first, but the remaining cancer will double & become detectable on a future scan & in my future blood test as an elevated tumor marker number. Why would I take that chance when what I have been doing is working so well? Our minds are made up; we both agree. God has been working through the forms of treatment I’ve been doing, & things are going very, very well! We do not feel surgery is part of God’s plan, at this point. It is our sense that I am to keep going on the same path I have been walking on. We are at peace. Praise God!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Growth Rate of Cancer - How Long Has It Been There?
Breast Cancer: Growth RateThe first part of the following information was provided by the Evangelical Community Hospital Thyra M. Humphreys Center For Breast Health. It was written by Judy C. Keence, RN,OCN, for EduCare Inc, 2003.
I believe you will see why we were so concerned when there seemed to be so many delays in the determination of the stage of my cancer, in the fall of 2007, so that treatment could begin sooner. God was in control, and the oncologist was being very thorough, for which we are very thankful. The additional time afforded us the opportunity to seek a second opinion that was crucial in our final decision for the method of treatment chosen.
Although this first segment of information is specific to breast cancer cells, the same concepts apply to all cancer cells. In fact, I researched it & found that this growth rate is generally true of all types of cancer. There are, however, cancers that are very aggressive that grow at faster rates, as well as cancers that grow at slower rates.
How Long Has It Been There?
Cancer begins as one damaged (mutated) cell. That cell has the potential to grow into an invasive tumor that can leave the area in which it began, such as the breast duct, and travel to other parts of the body. Medical literature has reported that breast cancer cells vary in growth rate according to the cell type of cancer. It is also speculated that tumors may experience growth spurts, growing faster at one time than another.
The growth of breast cancer in the literature has been reported to range from 23 days to 209 days for a tumor to double in size. Doubling is when the one cell becomes two cells, two cells become four, four cells become eight, etc. The average rate of growth is approximately 100 days between doubling in size of the tumor. Therefore, when breast cancer is discovered it has usually been in the body for a while but was too small to be detected. If a breast cancer cell doubled in size every 100 days, it would take approximately nine years before the tumor would be large enough to be visible on a mammogram. It would take approximately ten years to be large enough to be felt. This is a one-centimeter tumor, about the size of the tip of your smallest finger. However, there are some cancers with very rapid growing rates. These are found more often in premenopausal women. One of the tests (S-phase, mitotic index) performed on your tumor may tell how rapidly the cells were dividing in your tumor when it was removed. Your physician will have this information in the pathology report if the test was performed.
Most breast cancers, when discovered, do not create a medical emergency that is immediately threatening to your life. Most women have time to carefully examine all their treatment options before they have treatment. Most physicians request that surgery be performed within several weeks to a month of diagnosis for tumors that do not exhibit rapid growth. However, because cancer growth rates are individual, you should talk to your physician about the time frame for your surgery. One cancer, inflammatory carcinoma, requires immediate treatment because of its aggressive and metastatic nature. Chemotherapy is given before surgery for inflammatory carcinoma, and treatment is recommended to start within days of detection.
Your treatment team is your only reliable source for information on aggressiveness and growth rates of your tumor and the most appropriate time for your surgery.
Below is an illustration of the growth rate of a cancer cell.
Visible, Detectable Cancer Cells
Please note that the above illustration indicates that it takes many years before cancer cells are visible on a mammogram. A post last month describes a PET /CT scan, which can detect a tumor as small as 7mm. Because of the cost & the additional risk, due to the much higher amount of radiation, one will not be subjected to this type of scan unless it is known or reasonably certain that he or she has cancer. It is usually performed to determine whether or not the cancer has metastasized (spread) beyond its site of origin or as a means of monitoring a case of advanced cancer. Keep in mind that a diagnostic test that declares one “cancer-free” may not be entirely accurate, especially we consider the capability of the technology. If the cancer has been surgically removed, the chances of it all being removed are probably very high, so that a follow-up screening should give the patient comfort if it does not reveal any remaining cancer. The technology may indicate there is no “visible or detectable” cancer, but there could be cancer that is not large enough to be “visible or detectable” by the technology used. This is my word of caution to those who get the “all clear” from an oncologist. It is for this reason that I have stated, “If my oncologist tells me I am cancer-free, I will not change my diet or my lifestyle. I will continue to do exactly what I am doing. The changes I have made are permanent! I can’t take the chance that I would return to my previous lifestyle & eating habits that would feed any remaining cancer cells that are not visible or detectable.” In a later chapter, Quillin states, “When the doctor says, ‘We think we got it all,’ what he or she is really saying is, ‘We have destroyed all DETECTABLE cancer cells, & now it is up to your immune system to find & destroy the cancer cells that inevitably remain in your body.’ A billion cancer cells are about the size of the page number at the top of [the] page. We must rely on the capabilities of the 20 trillion cells that compose an intact immune system to destroy the undetectable cancer cells that remain after medical therapy.” I am saddened by the fact that oncologists do not explain these facts to patients. If a patient has a recurrence in, let’s say, less than 9 years would you agree that it is entirely likely that it was because there actually were cancer cells remaining at the time he or she was declared cancer-free? The technology could not detect the remaining cancer so that it continued to multiply so that either a follow-up visit revealed or symptoms later manifested in a manner that the patient visited the oncologist & learned the cancer reoccurred? Did it actually re-occur? Before you have a panic attack read the rest of the blog.
The Good News --> Your Natural Defense System
The discussion above describes how long cancer has been there once it is diagnosed, but how did it get started? To answer this question I am going to copy a portion of Chapter 1 of Patrick Quillin’s book Beating Cancer With Nutrition. The title of this chapter is “You Have Already Beaten Cancer . . . and you can do it again!” The sub-title reads “How your body stops cancer in its tracks.”
“. . . Shut down the immune system & the smoldering embers of cancer become a raging fire. Professor Bruce Ames at the University of California, Berkley has shown that the average human cell (and there are about 60 trillion cells in an adult body) is subjected to 1,000 to 10,000 potentially cancer-causing “hits” each & every day.
“Your body survives endless assaults on the integrity of the DNA & is able to repair most of this damage. If the defective cells still exist, then the telegraph system within the healthy cell colony tells the cancer cell to revert back to normal functioning, called cell-to-cell communication. If the defective cell with bad DNA continues to grow, then the body instructs the cancer cell to commit suicide, aka apoptosis. If this doesn’t work, then the body shuts down the making of blood vessels to the tumor, called anti-angiogenesis. If the tumor continues to grow, then the body begins to wall off the cancer cells with a tough envelope made of collagen & calcium, called tumor encapsulation. This is good news indeed. All of these anti-cancer mechanisms are fed by the nutrients in your diet. That’s why an aggressive nutrition program is essential, but may not be sufficient for all cancer patients. The fact is, your body has the internal means of beating cancer if given the right collection of precursors (nutrients) & the proper toxin-free & restful environment.
“The task of the immune system is to recognize ‘self from non-self,’ meaning whatever cells have your unique DNA can stay & everything else must be killed & escorted out of the body.
“Your immune system is the ‘cops & army’ that finds & destroys cells that are unfriendly to your body. Cancer certainly qualifies as ‘unfriendly.’ In 58% of Americans, these cancers will sprout up & immediately be squashed. . . In 42% of Americans, the cancer gets a foothold & must be treated. You have already beaten cancer. At least once. And you can do it again. If you bolster your own internal cancer fighting squad while finding medical therapies that are proven to help debunk your tumor with reasonable safety, then you are well en route to ‘beating cancer.’”
What Causes the Immune System to Fail?
Listed among the causes of cancer are environmental toxins, distress, nutrition, & exercise. Patrick Quillin, in chapter 2, states the following: “Of the 5 million registered chemicals in the world, mankind comes in contact with 70,000, of which at least 20,000 are known carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Each year American alone sprays 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides on our food crops, dumps 90 billion pounds of toxic waste in our 55,000 waste sites, feeds 9 million pounds of antibiotics to our farm animals to help them gain weight faster, & generally bombards the landscape with questionable amounts of electromagnetic radiation.” I think it’s fair to say we are on toxic overload.
Quillin says, “Since the 1920s, scientific evidence has been advancing the theory that emotional stress can depress the immune system & make that individual more vulnerable to infections & cancer.”
Interestingly, he cites the following research: “Bernie Siegel, MD, a Yale surgeon, found that certain mental characteristics helped his cancer patients to recover. Candace Pert, PhD, a celebrated researcher at the National Institutes of Health, discovered endorphins in human brains & led the charge toward unraveling the chemical mysteries of the mind. Dr. Pert says that the mind is a pharmacy & is continuously producing potent substances that either improve or worsen health. Since the mind can create cancer, it should seem a logical leap that the mind can help to prevent & even subdue cancer.”
In regard to nutrition Quillin states, “The human body is built from, repaired by, & fueled by substances found in the diet. . . Nutritional therapy merely tries to re-establish ‘metabolic balance’ in the cancer patients.” He reports, “After decades of living outside the accepted realm of cancer therapies, nutrition therapy has found a new level of scientific acceptance with the 1990 report from the Office of Technology Assessment, an advisory branch of Congress, whose expert scientific panel wrote in UNCONVENTIONAL CANCER TREATMENTS: ‘It is our collective professional judgment that nutritional interventions are going to follow psychosocial interventions up the ladder into clinical respectability as adjunctive & complementary approaches to the treatment of cancer.’”
Quillin addresses exercise with these comments: “While 40% of Americans will eventually develop cancer, only 14% of active Americans will get cancer. . . Exercise also helps to stabilize blood glucose levels, which can restrict the amount of fuel available for cancer cells to grow. Exercise improves immune function, lymph flow, & detoxification systems. Exercise helps us better tolerate stressful situations.”
This is not an exhaustive list, but it is enough to notice that in each case the ultimate assault is against the immune system. If you read other information, take note of the potential effect of that cause on the immune system. For example, you may read that physical trauma is a possible cause of cancer gaining a foothold. It stands to reason that physical trauma also is a severe assault on the immune system. Even if you have a genetic predisposition for a particular type of cancer, it requires a breakdown of the immune system for it to get a foothold & to manifest. Our best defense, to avoid an initial experience of cancer or a reoccurrence of it, is to keep our immune systems strong. (You can start by reading & implementing The Seven Pillars of Health, by Don Colbert, MD) If you have cancer & expect to conquer it or had it & want to prevent a reoccurrence, you must bolster your immune system so it can do the job it was designed to do & work in combination with your medical treatment. In April, I posted a blog titled “Ten Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer.” If you go back & read through it again, you will notice that 9 of the 10 are actions that will boost or safeguard your immune system. Of course, I recommend that you read & implement the strategies in the books used to write this blog, which are reviewed in Dec. 2008 & May 2009 blogs. Quillin states we bolster our immune army with “improved quantity by producing more natural killer cells . . . – quality by 1) reducing the ability of cancer cells to hide from the immune system. 2) providing antioxidants.” The end result is better overall health, & a stronger immune system that will increase the effectiveness of your treatment & cause any side effects to be more manageable.
If you or a loved one have cancer now, or if you should experience it in the future, it is my hope that all who do will capture the survivor spirit, as described below in beliefs & attitudes. The lists below give you some insight into the traits of & strategies used by survivors. As a part of your support system, please feel free to contact me by email (owens.pa@gmail.com). I will be happy to correspond with you regarding your health or that of a loved one & to offer encouragement. Also, as many of you have prayed for me, I count it a privilege to pray for you &/or your loved ones.
Ten Traits of Cancer Survivors
Clinical research, as well as anecdotal testimony, has repeatedly shown that the people who survive cancer have many of the following ten traits:
1. Life Purpose
2. Positive Attitude
3. Good Nourishment
4. Healthy Lifestyle
5. Manageable Stress
6. Sense of Humor
7. Love & Social Support
8. Emotional Expression
9. Physical Exercise
10. Strong Faith
These ten traits can have vital healing influence.
Source: Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods, by Verne Varona
Eight Strategies Survivors Have in Common
1. Medical treatment – Survivors literally take charge of the management of their entire medical program: They choose doctors in whom they have confidence; they consent only to treatment programs about which they have convictions; & survivors aggressively integrate complementary & alternative treatment approaches. . .
2. Beliefs & Attitudes – Cancer survivors choose beliefs & attitudes about their illness, as well as their potential for wellness, that empower. The most fundamental & empowering belief is that cancer does not equate with death . . . survivors recognize [the] truth – cancer may or may not mean death. This intellectual stance carries a vastly different outlook from either the super-positive or hopelessly negative beliefs & attitudes. Survivors believe, “Yes, I may die. But I also may live. And I am going to invest my time, whatever the length, in living the best way I know.”. . . [Survivors] challenge the conventional thinking about treatment & potential side effects. They choose to conceive of their treatment as highly effective, believing that they will have minimal & manageable side effects. . . They believe their active personal involvement is absolutely essential to the recovery process.
3. Exercise – Cancer survivors believe strongly in the importance of exercise, & they act on that belief.
4. Purpose/Play Balance – Purpose involves survivors perceiving that they are needed, that their life has special & unique meaning . . . a life mission . . . Survivors balance this profound idea of life purpose with a lighter, more playful attitude of fun for fun’s sake, an outlook that creates joy.
5. Social Support – Cancer survivors invest more time & emotional energy in relationships that nurture them & invest less in those that are toxic. . . Cancer tends to give patients permission to examine a wide variety of their life choices, including their social support system.
6. Diet & Nutrition – The majority of cancer survivors report making significant dietary changes. . . “Survivors eat with awareness.” They raise their nutritional IQ & develop a greater understanding of the nutrients contained in their food selections. Survivors also feed themselves less for emotional & psychological reasons, concentrating instead on delivering premium nutrients to the body. They embrace foods that are less processed. There is a documented shift to a more vegetarian approach. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, & whole grains are the new foods of choice. A marked decrease in all meat, particularly red meat, is widely held to be beneficial.
7. Creative Thinking – Survivors mobilize the mind to heal. Affirmations, meditation, & imagery are widely employed within the context of a comprehensive treatment program. Survivors use meditative techniques to reduce the symptoms of illness, manage the side effects of treatment, & improve emotional well-being.
8. Spirituality – Survivors embrace a more spiritual perspective. They view life differently than prior to their brush with death. . . To call spirituality a “strategy” is inadequate; “spiritual transformation” is a more accurate description. Thousands of survivors demonstrate entirely new spirit; they become new people.
Each survivor creates his or her own specific recovery plan within the structure of these eight strategies. One principle takes priority at the appropriate time. Seldom do survivors make simultaneous wholesale changes in all eight areas. Those who attempt to change too much too quickly often meet with temporary defeat & have to start again.
This information is a small portion of the information on this topic, from Greg Anderson’s book, Cancer – 50 Essential Things to Do.
Greg Anderson also uses the term Cancer Conqueror. I like that descriptive label better than survivor. My mental image of a conqueror is a more positive image than that of a survivor. He started a foundation called Cancer Recovery Foundation of America, in 1985, “to educate, empower, & encourage cancer patients & family members in the integration of body-mind-spirit into a whole-person health recovery strategy.” The Foundation has grown to a global organization with a “shared mission of helping all people prevent and survive cancer.” You can find their web site at the following address: http://www.cancerrecovery.org/site/PageServer
If you are a cancer patient, I recommend visiting the site & signing up for the daily devotionals. They are very short, but meaningful. You can also sign up for a conference call support group that is offered 2 times each week. There is a lot of great information on this site for the patient & for family members.
I believe you will see why we were so concerned when there seemed to be so many delays in the determination of the stage of my cancer, in the fall of 2007, so that treatment could begin sooner. God was in control, and the oncologist was being very thorough, for which we are very thankful. The additional time afforded us the opportunity to seek a second opinion that was crucial in our final decision for the method of treatment chosen.
Although this first segment of information is specific to breast cancer cells, the same concepts apply to all cancer cells. In fact, I researched it & found that this growth rate is generally true of all types of cancer. There are, however, cancers that are very aggressive that grow at faster rates, as well as cancers that grow at slower rates.
How Long Has It Been There?
Cancer begins as one damaged (mutated) cell. That cell has the potential to grow into an invasive tumor that can leave the area in which it began, such as the breast duct, and travel to other parts of the body. Medical literature has reported that breast cancer cells vary in growth rate according to the cell type of cancer. It is also speculated that tumors may experience growth spurts, growing faster at one time than another.
The growth of breast cancer in the literature has been reported to range from 23 days to 209 days for a tumor to double in size. Doubling is when the one cell becomes two cells, two cells become four, four cells become eight, etc. The average rate of growth is approximately 100 days between doubling in size of the tumor. Therefore, when breast cancer is discovered it has usually been in the body for a while but was too small to be detected. If a breast cancer cell doubled in size every 100 days, it would take approximately nine years before the tumor would be large enough to be visible on a mammogram. It would take approximately ten years to be large enough to be felt. This is a one-centimeter tumor, about the size of the tip of your smallest finger. However, there are some cancers with very rapid growing rates. These are found more often in premenopausal women. One of the tests (S-phase, mitotic index) performed on your tumor may tell how rapidly the cells were dividing in your tumor when it was removed. Your physician will have this information in the pathology report if the test was performed.
Most breast cancers, when discovered, do not create a medical emergency that is immediately threatening to your life. Most women have time to carefully examine all their treatment options before they have treatment. Most physicians request that surgery be performed within several weeks to a month of diagnosis for tumors that do not exhibit rapid growth. However, because cancer growth rates are individual, you should talk to your physician about the time frame for your surgery. One cancer, inflammatory carcinoma, requires immediate treatment because of its aggressive and metastatic nature. Chemotherapy is given before surgery for inflammatory carcinoma, and treatment is recommended to start within days of detection.
Your treatment team is your only reliable source for information on aggressiveness and growth rates of your tumor and the most appropriate time for your surgery.
Below is an illustration of the growth rate of a cancer cell.
Visible, Detectable Cancer Cells
Please note that the above illustration indicates that it takes many years before cancer cells are visible on a mammogram. A post last month describes a PET /CT scan, which can detect a tumor as small as 7mm. Because of the cost & the additional risk, due to the much higher amount of radiation, one will not be subjected to this type of scan unless it is known or reasonably certain that he or she has cancer. It is usually performed to determine whether or not the cancer has metastasized (spread) beyond its site of origin or as a means of monitoring a case of advanced cancer. Keep in mind that a diagnostic test that declares one “cancer-free” may not be entirely accurate, especially we consider the capability of the technology. If the cancer has been surgically removed, the chances of it all being removed are probably very high, so that a follow-up screening should give the patient comfort if it does not reveal any remaining cancer. The technology may indicate there is no “visible or detectable” cancer, but there could be cancer that is not large enough to be “visible or detectable” by the technology used. This is my word of caution to those who get the “all clear” from an oncologist. It is for this reason that I have stated, “If my oncologist tells me I am cancer-free, I will not change my diet or my lifestyle. I will continue to do exactly what I am doing. The changes I have made are permanent! I can’t take the chance that I would return to my previous lifestyle & eating habits that would feed any remaining cancer cells that are not visible or detectable.” In a later chapter, Quillin states, “When the doctor says, ‘We think we got it all,’ what he or she is really saying is, ‘We have destroyed all DETECTABLE cancer cells, & now it is up to your immune system to find & destroy the cancer cells that inevitably remain in your body.’ A billion cancer cells are about the size of the page number at the top of [the] page. We must rely on the capabilities of the 20 trillion cells that compose an intact immune system to destroy the undetectable cancer cells that remain after medical therapy.” I am saddened by the fact that oncologists do not explain these facts to patients. If a patient has a recurrence in, let’s say, less than 9 years would you agree that it is entirely likely that it was because there actually were cancer cells remaining at the time he or she was declared cancer-free? The technology could not detect the remaining cancer so that it continued to multiply so that either a follow-up visit revealed or symptoms later manifested in a manner that the patient visited the oncologist & learned the cancer reoccurred? Did it actually re-occur? Before you have a panic attack read the rest of the blog.
The Good News --> Your Natural Defense System
The discussion above describes how long cancer has been there once it is diagnosed, but how did it get started? To answer this question I am going to copy a portion of Chapter 1 of Patrick Quillin’s book Beating Cancer With Nutrition. The title of this chapter is “You Have Already Beaten Cancer . . . and you can do it again!” The sub-title reads “How your body stops cancer in its tracks.”
“. . . Shut down the immune system & the smoldering embers of cancer become a raging fire. Professor Bruce Ames at the University of California, Berkley has shown that the average human cell (and there are about 60 trillion cells in an adult body) is subjected to 1,000 to 10,000 potentially cancer-causing “hits” each & every day.
“Your body survives endless assaults on the integrity of the DNA & is able to repair most of this damage. If the defective cells still exist, then the telegraph system within the healthy cell colony tells the cancer cell to revert back to normal functioning, called cell-to-cell communication. If the defective cell with bad DNA continues to grow, then the body instructs the cancer cell to commit suicide, aka apoptosis. If this doesn’t work, then the body shuts down the making of blood vessels to the tumor, called anti-angiogenesis. If the tumor continues to grow, then the body begins to wall off the cancer cells with a tough envelope made of collagen & calcium, called tumor encapsulation. This is good news indeed. All of these anti-cancer mechanisms are fed by the nutrients in your diet. That’s why an aggressive nutrition program is essential, but may not be sufficient for all cancer patients. The fact is, your body has the internal means of beating cancer if given the right collection of precursors (nutrients) & the proper toxin-free & restful environment.
“The task of the immune system is to recognize ‘self from non-self,’ meaning whatever cells have your unique DNA can stay & everything else must be killed & escorted out of the body.
“Your immune system is the ‘cops & army’ that finds & destroys cells that are unfriendly to your body. Cancer certainly qualifies as ‘unfriendly.’ In 58% of Americans, these cancers will sprout up & immediately be squashed. . . In 42% of Americans, the cancer gets a foothold & must be treated. You have already beaten cancer. At least once. And you can do it again. If you bolster your own internal cancer fighting squad while finding medical therapies that are proven to help debunk your tumor with reasonable safety, then you are well en route to ‘beating cancer.’”
What Causes the Immune System to Fail?
Listed among the causes of cancer are environmental toxins, distress, nutrition, & exercise. Patrick Quillin, in chapter 2, states the following: “Of the 5 million registered chemicals in the world, mankind comes in contact with 70,000, of which at least 20,000 are known carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents. Each year American alone sprays 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides on our food crops, dumps 90 billion pounds of toxic waste in our 55,000 waste sites, feeds 9 million pounds of antibiotics to our farm animals to help them gain weight faster, & generally bombards the landscape with questionable amounts of electromagnetic radiation.” I think it’s fair to say we are on toxic overload.
Quillin says, “Since the 1920s, scientific evidence has been advancing the theory that emotional stress can depress the immune system & make that individual more vulnerable to infections & cancer.”
Interestingly, he cites the following research: “Bernie Siegel, MD, a Yale surgeon, found that certain mental characteristics helped his cancer patients to recover. Candace Pert, PhD, a celebrated researcher at the National Institutes of Health, discovered endorphins in human brains & led the charge toward unraveling the chemical mysteries of the mind. Dr. Pert says that the mind is a pharmacy & is continuously producing potent substances that either improve or worsen health. Since the mind can create cancer, it should seem a logical leap that the mind can help to prevent & even subdue cancer.”
In regard to nutrition Quillin states, “The human body is built from, repaired by, & fueled by substances found in the diet. . . Nutritional therapy merely tries to re-establish ‘metabolic balance’ in the cancer patients.” He reports, “After decades of living outside the accepted realm of cancer therapies, nutrition therapy has found a new level of scientific acceptance with the 1990 report from the Office of Technology Assessment, an advisory branch of Congress, whose expert scientific panel wrote in UNCONVENTIONAL CANCER TREATMENTS: ‘It is our collective professional judgment that nutritional interventions are going to follow psychosocial interventions up the ladder into clinical respectability as adjunctive & complementary approaches to the treatment of cancer.’”
Quillin addresses exercise with these comments: “While 40% of Americans will eventually develop cancer, only 14% of active Americans will get cancer. . . Exercise also helps to stabilize blood glucose levels, which can restrict the amount of fuel available for cancer cells to grow. Exercise improves immune function, lymph flow, & detoxification systems. Exercise helps us better tolerate stressful situations.”
This is not an exhaustive list, but it is enough to notice that in each case the ultimate assault is against the immune system. If you read other information, take note of the potential effect of that cause on the immune system. For example, you may read that physical trauma is a possible cause of cancer gaining a foothold. It stands to reason that physical trauma also is a severe assault on the immune system. Even if you have a genetic predisposition for a particular type of cancer, it requires a breakdown of the immune system for it to get a foothold & to manifest. Our best defense, to avoid an initial experience of cancer or a reoccurrence of it, is to keep our immune systems strong. (You can start by reading & implementing The Seven Pillars of Health, by Don Colbert, MD) If you have cancer & expect to conquer it or had it & want to prevent a reoccurrence, you must bolster your immune system so it can do the job it was designed to do & work in combination with your medical treatment. In April, I posted a blog titled “Ten Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer.” If you go back & read through it again, you will notice that 9 of the 10 are actions that will boost or safeguard your immune system. Of course, I recommend that you read & implement the strategies in the books used to write this blog, which are reviewed in Dec. 2008 & May 2009 blogs. Quillin states we bolster our immune army with “improved quantity by producing more natural killer cells . . . – quality by 1) reducing the ability of cancer cells to hide from the immune system. 2) providing antioxidants.” The end result is better overall health, & a stronger immune system that will increase the effectiveness of your treatment & cause any side effects to be more manageable.
If you or a loved one have cancer now, or if you should experience it in the future, it is my hope that all who do will capture the survivor spirit, as described below in beliefs & attitudes. The lists below give you some insight into the traits of & strategies used by survivors. As a part of your support system, please feel free to contact me by email (owens.pa@gmail.com). I will be happy to correspond with you regarding your health or that of a loved one & to offer encouragement. Also, as many of you have prayed for me, I count it a privilege to pray for you &/or your loved ones.
Ten Traits of Cancer Survivors
Clinical research, as well as anecdotal testimony, has repeatedly shown that the people who survive cancer have many of the following ten traits:
1. Life Purpose
2. Positive Attitude
3. Good Nourishment
4. Healthy Lifestyle
5. Manageable Stress
6. Sense of Humor
7. Love & Social Support
8. Emotional Expression
9. Physical Exercise
10. Strong Faith
These ten traits can have vital healing influence.
Source: Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods, by Verne Varona
Eight Strategies Survivors Have in Common
1. Medical treatment – Survivors literally take charge of the management of their entire medical program: They choose doctors in whom they have confidence; they consent only to treatment programs about which they have convictions; & survivors aggressively integrate complementary & alternative treatment approaches. . .
2. Beliefs & Attitudes – Cancer survivors choose beliefs & attitudes about their illness, as well as their potential for wellness, that empower. The most fundamental & empowering belief is that cancer does not equate with death . . . survivors recognize [the] truth – cancer may or may not mean death. This intellectual stance carries a vastly different outlook from either the super-positive or hopelessly negative beliefs & attitudes. Survivors believe, “Yes, I may die. But I also may live. And I am going to invest my time, whatever the length, in living the best way I know.”. . . [Survivors] challenge the conventional thinking about treatment & potential side effects. They choose to conceive of their treatment as highly effective, believing that they will have minimal & manageable side effects. . . They believe their active personal involvement is absolutely essential to the recovery process.
3. Exercise – Cancer survivors believe strongly in the importance of exercise, & they act on that belief.
4. Purpose/Play Balance – Purpose involves survivors perceiving that they are needed, that their life has special & unique meaning . . . a life mission . . . Survivors balance this profound idea of life purpose with a lighter, more playful attitude of fun for fun’s sake, an outlook that creates joy.
5. Social Support – Cancer survivors invest more time & emotional energy in relationships that nurture them & invest less in those that are toxic. . . Cancer tends to give patients permission to examine a wide variety of their life choices, including their social support system.
6. Diet & Nutrition – The majority of cancer survivors report making significant dietary changes. . . “Survivors eat with awareness.” They raise their nutritional IQ & develop a greater understanding of the nutrients contained in their food selections. Survivors also feed themselves less for emotional & psychological reasons, concentrating instead on delivering premium nutrients to the body. They embrace foods that are less processed. There is a documented shift to a more vegetarian approach. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, & whole grains are the new foods of choice. A marked decrease in all meat, particularly red meat, is widely held to be beneficial.
7. Creative Thinking – Survivors mobilize the mind to heal. Affirmations, meditation, & imagery are widely employed within the context of a comprehensive treatment program. Survivors use meditative techniques to reduce the symptoms of illness, manage the side effects of treatment, & improve emotional well-being.
8. Spirituality – Survivors embrace a more spiritual perspective. They view life differently than prior to their brush with death. . . To call spirituality a “strategy” is inadequate; “spiritual transformation” is a more accurate description. Thousands of survivors demonstrate entirely new spirit; they become new people.
Each survivor creates his or her own specific recovery plan within the structure of these eight strategies. One principle takes priority at the appropriate time. Seldom do survivors make simultaneous wholesale changes in all eight areas. Those who attempt to change too much too quickly often meet with temporary defeat & have to start again.
This information is a small portion of the information on this topic, from Greg Anderson’s book, Cancer – 50 Essential Things to Do.
Greg Anderson also uses the term Cancer Conqueror. I like that descriptive label better than survivor. My mental image of a conqueror is a more positive image than that of a survivor. He started a foundation called Cancer Recovery Foundation of America, in 1985, “to educate, empower, & encourage cancer patients & family members in the integration of body-mind-spirit into a whole-person health recovery strategy.” The Foundation has grown to a global organization with a “shared mission of helping all people prevent and survive cancer.” You can find their web site at the following address: http://www.cancerrecovery.org/site/PageServer
If you are a cancer patient, I recommend visiting the site & signing up for the daily devotionals. They are very short, but meaningful. You can also sign up for a conference call support group that is offered 2 times each week. There is a lot of great information on this site for the patient & for family members.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
What is a PET Scan?
I am describing the PET scan first to help you understand what it is &, second, to inform you of its significance.
What is it?
PET (or positron emission tomography) is a medical imaging tool. It is used to detect and to monitor cancer. The device used looks like a CT scanner, and, in fact, the scans I have simultaneously perform both a CT & a PET scan.
A PET scan is very different from an ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, or CT. Unlike these imaging technologies which merely confirm the presence of a mass; they cannot determine whether a tumor is still active once it is determined that it is malignant. A PET scan can distinguish between benign and malignant disorders.
PET can help physicians effectively pinpoint the source of cancer. It can detect abnormalities in cellular activity, generally before there is any physical change. It can visualize a tumor in size from 7mm to 1cm depending on the location. This is smaller than the other technologies, which typically detect tumors that are 1cm or larger.
Cancer cells have a much higher metabolic rate than other cells. One characteristic is that cancer cells need higher levels of glucose for energy. This is the biological process PET measures.
As part of the procedure, a form of slightly radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into the patient about 45 minutes prior to the scan. The cells of the body absorb this sugar, which releases atomic particles called positrons. These positrons combine with electrons in the body to produce gamma rays. As gamma rays leave the body, they are detected by a special camera. The recorded emissions provide a three-dimensional map of how glucose is used throughout the body. The images from the scanner contain varying colors or levels of brightness that help physicians identify abnormalities, such as the presence of cancer. For example, cancerous tissues use more energy and absorb more sugar than healthy tissues. For this reason, these malignant areas appear brighter than normal tissues on PET scan images.
You may wonder why radioactive glucose is used. Cancer cells demonstrate a 3 to 5 fold increase in glucose uptake compared to healthy cells. That is what it means when the sentence above says, “they have a much higher metabolic rate than other cells.” Another way to say it is to say, cancer is a sugar-feeder. Scientists call it an “obligate glucose metabolizer.” Cancer cells primarily use glucose for fuel.
You can slow cancer growth by lowering the amount of fuel available to the tumor cells. This is the reason my diet eliminates all sugar. It also eliminates or restricts foods with a high glycemic index. I eat fruits but not bananas because they are too quickly converted to glucose. I do not eat refined grains for the same reason. When I have whole or multi-grains I must have them with a source of protein to keep my blood sugar level from rising significantly. I do not eat vegetables that grow below the ground, except garlic & onions, for the same reason. Raw carrots are permissible, as they are not quickly converted to glucose.
As you can imagine, it makes my decisions easier when I know that to eat the right foods I am feeding my body, but to eat the wrong foods I am feeding the cancer. I certainly don’t want to feed the cancer cells!!
What is its significance?
My first PET scan was done December 18, 2007. At that time, I had a malignant lymph node that was just over 2 cm, in my left armpit, removed. I had a 2 cm biopsy of 2 calcifications in my left breast, which did not appear suspicious on the digital mammogram or ultrasound, that was malignant, & the surgeon did not get clean margins. A CT scan in September indicated that there were some nodules on each lung, but I was advised to have them rechecked in 6 months. Dr. Patel, my oncologist, decided to order a PET scan to make a final diagnosis with respect to the stage of my cancer. From the above description, you can see that a PET scan is the only technology that can pinpoint all sites where cancer is present. This PET scan revealed that my cancer has metastasized (spread) from my left breast to 4 lymph nodes under my left arm, multiple lymph nodes along the mediastinum (behind the breast bone), & several small nodules on both lungs. The fact that the cancer has spread to a major organ causes it to be classified as stage IV.
By May 2008, I had 3 PET scans & my tumor marker had dropped in response to the medication I started taking December 27, 2007. Here is the progression of my numbers:
12/10/07 --- 211
PET scan 12/18/07 (staged cancer)
12/27/07 --- 291.3
Started aromatese inhibitor (AI) 12/27/07 It takes 1 month to take full effect.
1/30/08 --- 580.8 same day, apt. with Dr. Powers & changed my diet drastically
PET scan 2/19/08 (scan showed slight improvement)
2/27/08 --- 389.7
PET scan 5/6/08 (additional improvement)
5/14/08 --- 126.7
Dr. Patel explained that the tumor marker number showed a definite correlation with the PET scan results – it increased until the medication was started & took full effect, then it dropped & the scan results showed improvement -- so that it was not necessary to undergo the additional radiation of the PET scan every 6 or 8 weeks, if the tumor marker results are valid. The tumor marker is determined from a blood sample. (A complete explanation of a tumor marker is in a July 2008 blog.)
Normal for the CA 27.29 tumor marker is 38.8 or below. Since my blood work indicates that it has been in this range since December 2008, Dr. Patel decided he really does not know what the cancer is doing. The only way to know is to do a PET scan. This PET scan will show us what is going on & also reveal whether or not the tumor marker is, as we have assumed for this past year, reporting a valid picture of the state of my cancer.
My PET scan 5/12/09 shows the tumor marker numbers are, indeed, valid! At this time, it shows activity in only ONE lymph node under my arm, and that activity is described as “barely visible & is probably not likely clinically significant at this time.” That’s as close as I can imagine to remission!! Praise God! Thank you for your prayers! There is NO activity in any of the other lymph nodes or nodules! Praise God!!!!
My ulcerative colitis (UC) previously showed up as a false positive. Guess what? It didn’t show up on this scan! In fact, I have been able to eliminate one of the medications I take for my UC. I was taking 2 pills a day of one medication & 12 a day of another. I have completely eliminated the medication that I was taking 12 pills a day. It’s incredible! I am healthier today than I was the day I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer! God is AWESOME!
What is it?
PET (or positron emission tomography) is a medical imaging tool. It is used to detect and to monitor cancer. The device used looks like a CT scanner, and, in fact, the scans I have simultaneously perform both a CT & a PET scan.
A PET scan is very different from an ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, or CT. Unlike these imaging technologies which merely confirm the presence of a mass; they cannot determine whether a tumor is still active once it is determined that it is malignant. A PET scan can distinguish between benign and malignant disorders.
PET can help physicians effectively pinpoint the source of cancer. It can detect abnormalities in cellular activity, generally before there is any physical change. It can visualize a tumor in size from 7mm to 1cm depending on the location. This is smaller than the other technologies, which typically detect tumors that are 1cm or larger.
Cancer cells have a much higher metabolic rate than other cells. One characteristic is that cancer cells need higher levels of glucose for energy. This is the biological process PET measures.
As part of the procedure, a form of slightly radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into the patient about 45 minutes prior to the scan. The cells of the body absorb this sugar, which releases atomic particles called positrons. These positrons combine with electrons in the body to produce gamma rays. As gamma rays leave the body, they are detected by a special camera. The recorded emissions provide a three-dimensional map of how glucose is used throughout the body. The images from the scanner contain varying colors or levels of brightness that help physicians identify abnormalities, such as the presence of cancer. For example, cancerous tissues use more energy and absorb more sugar than healthy tissues. For this reason, these malignant areas appear brighter than normal tissues on PET scan images.
You may wonder why radioactive glucose is used. Cancer cells demonstrate a 3 to 5 fold increase in glucose uptake compared to healthy cells. That is what it means when the sentence above says, “they have a much higher metabolic rate than other cells.” Another way to say it is to say, cancer is a sugar-feeder. Scientists call it an “obligate glucose metabolizer.” Cancer cells primarily use glucose for fuel.
You can slow cancer growth by lowering the amount of fuel available to the tumor cells. This is the reason my diet eliminates all sugar. It also eliminates or restricts foods with a high glycemic index. I eat fruits but not bananas because they are too quickly converted to glucose. I do not eat refined grains for the same reason. When I have whole or multi-grains I must have them with a source of protein to keep my blood sugar level from rising significantly. I do not eat vegetables that grow below the ground, except garlic & onions, for the same reason. Raw carrots are permissible, as they are not quickly converted to glucose.
As you can imagine, it makes my decisions easier when I know that to eat the right foods I am feeding my body, but to eat the wrong foods I am feeding the cancer. I certainly don’t want to feed the cancer cells!!
What is its significance?
My first PET scan was done December 18, 2007. At that time, I had a malignant lymph node that was just over 2 cm, in my left armpit, removed. I had a 2 cm biopsy of 2 calcifications in my left breast, which did not appear suspicious on the digital mammogram or ultrasound, that was malignant, & the surgeon did not get clean margins. A CT scan in September indicated that there were some nodules on each lung, but I was advised to have them rechecked in 6 months. Dr. Patel, my oncologist, decided to order a PET scan to make a final diagnosis with respect to the stage of my cancer. From the above description, you can see that a PET scan is the only technology that can pinpoint all sites where cancer is present. This PET scan revealed that my cancer has metastasized (spread) from my left breast to 4 lymph nodes under my left arm, multiple lymph nodes along the mediastinum (behind the breast bone), & several small nodules on both lungs. The fact that the cancer has spread to a major organ causes it to be classified as stage IV.
By May 2008, I had 3 PET scans & my tumor marker had dropped in response to the medication I started taking December 27, 2007. Here is the progression of my numbers:
12/10/07 --- 211
PET scan 12/18/07 (staged cancer)
12/27/07 --- 291.3
Started aromatese inhibitor (AI) 12/27/07 It takes 1 month to take full effect.
1/30/08 --- 580.8 same day, apt. with Dr. Powers & changed my diet drastically
PET scan 2/19/08 (scan showed slight improvement)
2/27/08 --- 389.7
PET scan 5/6/08 (additional improvement)
5/14/08 --- 126.7
Dr. Patel explained that the tumor marker number showed a definite correlation with the PET scan results – it increased until the medication was started & took full effect, then it dropped & the scan results showed improvement -- so that it was not necessary to undergo the additional radiation of the PET scan every 6 or 8 weeks, if the tumor marker results are valid. The tumor marker is determined from a blood sample. (A complete explanation of a tumor marker is in a July 2008 blog.)
Normal for the CA 27.29 tumor marker is 38.8 or below. Since my blood work indicates that it has been in this range since December 2008, Dr. Patel decided he really does not know what the cancer is doing. The only way to know is to do a PET scan. This PET scan will show us what is going on & also reveal whether or not the tumor marker is, as we have assumed for this past year, reporting a valid picture of the state of my cancer.
My PET scan 5/12/09 shows the tumor marker numbers are, indeed, valid! At this time, it shows activity in only ONE lymph node under my arm, and that activity is described as “barely visible & is probably not likely clinically significant at this time.” That’s as close as I can imagine to remission!! Praise God! Thank you for your prayers! There is NO activity in any of the other lymph nodes or nodules! Praise God!!!!
My ulcerative colitis (UC) previously showed up as a false positive. Guess what? It didn’t show up on this scan! In fact, I have been able to eliminate one of the medications I take for my UC. I was taking 2 pills a day of one medication & 12 a day of another. I have completely eliminated the medication that I was taking 12 pills a day. It’s incredible! I am healthier today than I was the day I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer! God is AWESOME!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Books to Read or to Give as Gifts Part 2
Since posting Part 1 in December, I have read many other books that I want to share with you. These are books I think you will find helpful in improving your health. They are all written for the general public. I also think they are books you will want to share with your friends and family after you read them. Happy reading!
The Seven Pillars of Health, by Don Colbert, MD
The Natural Way to Better Health For Life
Everyone should read this book! Dr. Colbert is a family practice physician. He states, “these are not the seven ‘fads’ of health or the seven ‘theories’ of health, but the pillars of health. Backed up by medical research and my actual experiences with real problems and real people . . ., these seven pillars have contributed to health and freedom of thousands of people.”
The seven pillars are 1) Water (miracle cure for many conditions; health conditions complicated by dehydration; fountain of youth; how much?) 2) Sleep and Rest (causes of insomnia; how much sleep? Bedroom – storage unit or sleep haven? Sleep aids; learn to rest), 3) Living Food (living vs. dead food; the living foods list; what to eat with caution; how to prepare & serve food), 4) Exercise (aerobic exercise; anaerobic exercise; fun, alternative exercises), 5) Detoxification (sources of toxins, what they do to the body, detoxifying), 6) Nutritional Supplements (most common nutrient deficiencies; need for antioxidants; vitamin confusion; mega-dosing; how to pick the right supplements), and 7) Coping With Stress (mindfulness; reframing; the power of laughter; forgive; margin; practice stress-reducing habits). The topics in parentheses are representative of what is in the book not a complete list.
Dr. Colbert uses a positive approach rather than the typical “don’t, can’t, shouldn’t” book. It is designed to help you make healthy decisions that bring freedom in every area of your life. If you’re like me, I struggle with denying myself favorite foods and beginning new disciplines in my life. It’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. The more I dwell on the negative, the less motivation I have to continue. It’s depressing! Who wants to live that way? I don’t! I don’t think you do either.
I’ve learned that we change our habits permanently when we change our thinking about what motivates us to do what we do habitually. It usually requires a process to change our thinking not a single event; so, give yourself time to digest the information, to understand it, to buy into the principles. I know that some people have a case of separation anxiety when they are challenged to depart from their former thinking, to adopt a new mind set. It’s OK. You can do it. Think about this: If you stay on your current path, where will it lead?
Dr. Colbert states, “research shows that we can reduce our risk of developing deadly diseases such as heart disease by 80 percent or more and cancer by 60 percent or more – simply by making healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.” I trust that when you read The Seven Pillars of Health your thinking about each of the areas encompassed by the seven pillars, about taking personal responsibility for your health, will change as you learn new information and begin to see that health issues and problems can be prevented or overcome in your life by making these healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.
An aspect that makes the book so very helpful and easy to follow is its structure. The book is designed as a 50-day journey, one entry per day. You read each 2 to 5½ page daily entry (6 days exceed this number) and incorporate the information into your life. Each day’s entry ends with a “Points to Ponder.” This is a summary that highlights principles for that day’s material, and it gives you something to reflect on until you read the next day’s entry. There is also an “Action Step.” This asks you to implement a small change based on that day’s reading. Making small changes every day makes applying the principles much easier. In many cases you will want to make the change because of the information you just learned.
As you can see, this is meant to be done on a gradual basis. If you try to rush through the book you may become frustrated or overwhelmed by the information. Dr Colbert’s main concern is “that these seven pillars of health become your foundation for a lifetime.”
A truly healthy lifestyle is possible, and it is very liberating! Armed with factual information you make informed choices, healthy choices. These are the desired changes in the way you think that result in natural and permanent healthy lifestyle changes. You know you want to become stronger, healthier, more energetic, disease-resistant, and younger-looking! Get a copy, & start your journey!
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Toxic Relief, by Don Colbert, M.D.
Restore health and energy through fasting and detoxification
Dr. Colbert mentions Toxic Relief several times in The Seven Pillars of Health. I was interested in reading what it has to say, as he does not quote his other books. He merely mentions that further discussion of a topic is available in a specific book, which he then names.
The book makes the reader aware of the many sources of toxins and their effects on our bodies. Once you are made aware of these sources, there are some practical ways, steps or solutions given to reduce or avoid the toxins taken into one’s body. He discusses everything from pollution to mold & bacteria. Dr. Colbert also explains free-radicals in a way that I understand, for the first time, what they are & the damage they do to our bodies. He explains how we can avoid some of them & how we can “quench the free-radical fire of activity” due to the overburden of free-radicals from air pollution, pesticides, cigarette smoke, fried foods and polyunsaturated fats in our diet.
In one chapter he discusses the American diet, which he says, causes our society to be “one of the most overfed and undernourished societies that ever lived.” He quotes the U.S. Department of Agriculture report, which states, “diet is a significant factor in the risk of coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, and stroke – the three leading causes of death in the United States, and responsible for over half of all deaths.” This chapter also discusses genetically engineered foods. This is the first book I found that discusses this topic. If you see GMO on a label, it is a genetically modified food. This discussion demystifies this term, so that you know why you don’t want to buy or eat it.
A large section of book, as you would expect, is given to “Dr. C’s Program for Detoxification.” After understanding the sources of toxins in your body & the need to eliminate them, this section details ways to detoxify. Dr. Colbert states, “Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, chronic fatigue and many other serious diseases are absolutely reversed as my patients cleanse their own bodies from toxins.” And he asserts that by undergoing detoxification, as outlined in this book, “you can cleanse your body from a lifetime of toxins & discover the health & vitality that come with toxic relief.”
He uses a 4 step program. 1) There is a 2-week diet to strengthen & support your liver & improve your elimination through the GI tract. 2) Then you go on a juice fast for 2 or 3 days (or longer if monitored by a doctor). 3) You go back on the special diet for 2 weeks. 4) You begin making lifestyle changes & plan to fast periodically to continue to cleanse & maintain your health.
I recommend that you read the entire book before you begin taking any action, because he speaks to various health issues throughout the book. There exceptions for certain health conditions, and he recommends monitoring by or a physician’s permission before proceeding for some of these conditions. Some persons should not fast. You don’t want to proceed & then find out that you are among the exceptions. There are also some health conditions for which he recommends modifications, which he details. This is exactly the reason I appreciate the fact that this book is written by a medical doctor.
The kind of fasting he describes is very different from what I have encountered in other books or articles. I have 2 conditions that disqualify me from fasting, but the fact that I cannot fast does not leave me defenseless. There steps I can take to detoxify. This makes this book a valuable resource for someone like me. I will say that the type of fasting I see in this book looks reasonable. I do not think I would feel as though I was being starved. It allows for juices that are made with both fruits & vegetables. There are also additives that can be purchased to put in them that will aid in the detoxification as well as aid in satisfying a feeling of fullness.
Dr. Colbert also helps you with a nutritional program that includes foods to include in your diet & a list of supplements that will improve your liver’s ability to eliminate toxins from your system.
The final section of the book is titled “Detoxifying Your Whole Person.” This section has 2 chapters about biblical fasting that are the best I’ve ever read on the topic. The first chapter details what biblical fasting is all about, & the second takes you through the Bible to show you examples of 8 different kinds of biblical fasts. If you are a Christian, you will appreciate this section. It helps you to see the correlation between the physical act of fasting & the spiritual application & broader meaning it has. If you are not a Christian, you can just skip this section.
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After reading these 2 books by Dr. Colbert I was hooked! I wanted to read other books mentioned in my reading; so, I ordered 2 more books & 5 booklets of his. I will not review these. What You Don’t Know May be Killing You has a checklist at the end of each chapter that summarizes the most important information. Living in Divine Health has 34 Living Healthy tips highlighted throughout the book. The booklets are from Dr. Colbert’s The Bible Cure Series. There are 30 titles to choose from in this series. Each booklet has 5-7 chapter & is 75-85 pages long. Dr. Colbert uses Scripture, as appropriate, to make his points about health issues, & he ends each chapter with a model prayer.
Here is one example: Dear Lord, I thank you that You are the Lord of healing – of the body, soul & spirit. Help me to be faithful to sound wisdom about my diet. I place all of my bad dietary habits on Your altar, & I give my will to You in matters having to do with what I choose to eat. Empower me to eat in a way that is consistent with my own good health. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics include: Allergies, Arthritis, Autoimmune Diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, & ulcerative colitis), Back Pain, Cancer, Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia, Depression & Anxiety, Diabetes, Headaches, Heart Disease, Heartburn & Indigestion, High Blood Pressure, Memory Loss, Menopause, Osteoporosis, Prostate Disorders, Skin Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Stress, etc. . . .
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Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods, by Verne Varona
Prevent and Reverse the Most Common Forms of Cancer Using the Proven Power of Great Food and Easy Recipes
The author lost his mother to cancer when he was only 13, his father to cancer a few years later, and other family member to a variety of degenerative diseases. He states that he repeatedly asked himself the same questions: “What factors caused them to become sick? What, if anything could prevent me from becoming sick? Are we all just victims of some mysterious master plan, or do we really have some choice in creating healthy, vital lives for ourselves?”
He promised himself to “find a natural way to be well, a promise to learn from the mistakes of [his] family members in what not to do, or how not to live.” Although he realized he could not save his mother, he could save himself, and “as a tribute to her memory, give [himself] the permission to experience the life she could not.”
This book is the result of 30 years of trials, education, observation and experience. Varona has dedicated himself to sharing this information through counseling and lecturing, which is now in written form.
The book is very positive and practical, with scientific or medical research to back up claims that are made.
He is kind to physicians & explains why you should not to expect to receive nutritional counseling from your doctor. “While many medical schools are now beginning to wake up to the critical importance of nutrition and starting to expand their curricula, nutrition emphasis has been anemic; the average U.S. physician, in four years of medical school, typically gets only two hours of course work in nutrition. Only 25 percent of the accredited medical schools in the country have a single course in nutrition.”
This is reason enough to buy a book to learn how you can take care of your nutritional needs, so that you can live a healthier life & avoid degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
If you have difficulties with cravings, the book is worth buying for the wisdom found in Chapter 6. Varona’s content is so much broader and more insightful than any I’ve ever read on cravings. We all know it is emotional, but it is also physical and biological. He lists and discusses, in detail, 8 factors. He helps you understand the basis behind them and gives you strategies to help you know how to determine the most satisfying and safe way to handle them. For instance, there are: Ten strategies to eliminate sugar cravings (By the way, did you know your blood can only maintain approximately 2 teaspoons of sugar at one time? What happens to the excess?); Six ways to defeat your fat tooth; Six keys for handing monster appetites.
Chapter 10 is titled “Nature’s Cancer-Fighting Food Plan.” It has a section that helps you learn how to assess a dietary plan. There are 7 key questions to ask, & it discusses other important factors you need to consider. This chapter then introduces the reader to the cancer-fighting food plan. It begins with a Transition Plan that “offers a gradual change for increasing cancer-fighting agents by adding new, healthy, whole foods and decreasing foods that are not health supportive. This introductory plan is best suited to someone who is not familiar with many of the foods recommended since it permits greater flexibility. ” It moves to a Prevention/Therapeutic Plan and then to the Therapeutic Plan, which offers the highest level of anti-cancer protection. I like this approach, which eases one into the Plan. You can take it as far as you are comfortable.
There is a lot of eye-opening information in this book. I found it to be very enjoyable & informative reading.
I love finding valuable nuggets of information like this:
“Clinical research, as well as anecdotal testimony, has repeatedly shown that people who survive cancer often have many of the following ten traits: 1) Life Purpose 2) Positive Attitude 3) Good Nourishment 4) Healthy Lifestyle 5) Manageable Stress 6) Sense of Humor 7) Love and Social Support 8) Emotional Expression 9) Physical Exercise 10) Strong Faith. These ten trains can have vital healing influence.”As you can see, there are many good reasons to read and share this book with those you love.
The Seven Pillars of Health, by Don Colbert, MD
The Natural Way to Better Health For Life
Everyone should read this book! Dr. Colbert is a family practice physician. He states, “these are not the seven ‘fads’ of health or the seven ‘theories’ of health, but the pillars of health. Backed up by medical research and my actual experiences with real problems and real people . . ., these seven pillars have contributed to health and freedom of thousands of people.”
The seven pillars are 1) Water (miracle cure for many conditions; health conditions complicated by dehydration; fountain of youth; how much?) 2) Sleep and Rest (causes of insomnia; how much sleep? Bedroom – storage unit or sleep haven? Sleep aids; learn to rest), 3) Living Food (living vs. dead food; the living foods list; what to eat with caution; how to prepare & serve food), 4) Exercise (aerobic exercise; anaerobic exercise; fun, alternative exercises), 5) Detoxification (sources of toxins, what they do to the body, detoxifying), 6) Nutritional Supplements (most common nutrient deficiencies; need for antioxidants; vitamin confusion; mega-dosing; how to pick the right supplements), and 7) Coping With Stress (mindfulness; reframing; the power of laughter; forgive; margin; practice stress-reducing habits). The topics in parentheses are representative of what is in the book not a complete list.
Dr. Colbert uses a positive approach rather than the typical “don’t, can’t, shouldn’t” book. It is designed to help you make healthy decisions that bring freedom in every area of your life. If you’re like me, I struggle with denying myself favorite foods and beginning new disciplines in my life. It’s easy to get caught up in the negatives. The more I dwell on the negative, the less motivation I have to continue. It’s depressing! Who wants to live that way? I don’t! I don’t think you do either.
I’ve learned that we change our habits permanently when we change our thinking about what motivates us to do what we do habitually. It usually requires a process to change our thinking not a single event; so, give yourself time to digest the information, to understand it, to buy into the principles. I know that some people have a case of separation anxiety when they are challenged to depart from their former thinking, to adopt a new mind set. It’s OK. You can do it. Think about this: If you stay on your current path, where will it lead?
Dr. Colbert states, “research shows that we can reduce our risk of developing deadly diseases such as heart disease by 80 percent or more and cancer by 60 percent or more – simply by making healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.” I trust that when you read The Seven Pillars of Health your thinking about each of the areas encompassed by the seven pillars, about taking personal responsibility for your health, will change as you learn new information and begin to see that health issues and problems can be prevented or overcome in your life by making these healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.
An aspect that makes the book so very helpful and easy to follow is its structure. The book is designed as a 50-day journey, one entry per day. You read each 2 to 5½ page daily entry (6 days exceed this number) and incorporate the information into your life. Each day’s entry ends with a “Points to Ponder.” This is a summary that highlights principles for that day’s material, and it gives you something to reflect on until you read the next day’s entry. There is also an “Action Step.” This asks you to implement a small change based on that day’s reading. Making small changes every day makes applying the principles much easier. In many cases you will want to make the change because of the information you just learned.
As you can see, this is meant to be done on a gradual basis. If you try to rush through the book you may become frustrated or overwhelmed by the information. Dr Colbert’s main concern is “that these seven pillars of health become your foundation for a lifetime.”
A truly healthy lifestyle is possible, and it is very liberating! Armed with factual information you make informed choices, healthy choices. These are the desired changes in the way you think that result in natural and permanent healthy lifestyle changes. You know you want to become stronger, healthier, more energetic, disease-resistant, and younger-looking! Get a copy, & start your journey!
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Toxic Relief, by Don Colbert, M.D.
Restore health and energy through fasting and detoxification
Dr. Colbert mentions Toxic Relief several times in The Seven Pillars of Health. I was interested in reading what it has to say, as he does not quote his other books. He merely mentions that further discussion of a topic is available in a specific book, which he then names.
The book makes the reader aware of the many sources of toxins and their effects on our bodies. Once you are made aware of these sources, there are some practical ways, steps or solutions given to reduce or avoid the toxins taken into one’s body. He discusses everything from pollution to mold & bacteria. Dr. Colbert also explains free-radicals in a way that I understand, for the first time, what they are & the damage they do to our bodies. He explains how we can avoid some of them & how we can “quench the free-radical fire of activity” due to the overburden of free-radicals from air pollution, pesticides, cigarette smoke, fried foods and polyunsaturated fats in our diet.
In one chapter he discusses the American diet, which he says, causes our society to be “one of the most overfed and undernourished societies that ever lived.” He quotes the U.S. Department of Agriculture report, which states, “diet is a significant factor in the risk of coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, and stroke – the three leading causes of death in the United States, and responsible for over half of all deaths.” This chapter also discusses genetically engineered foods. This is the first book I found that discusses this topic. If you see GMO on a label, it is a genetically modified food. This discussion demystifies this term, so that you know why you don’t want to buy or eat it.
A large section of book, as you would expect, is given to “Dr. C’s Program for Detoxification.” After understanding the sources of toxins in your body & the need to eliminate them, this section details ways to detoxify. Dr. Colbert states, “Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, chronic fatigue and many other serious diseases are absolutely reversed as my patients cleanse their own bodies from toxins.” And he asserts that by undergoing detoxification, as outlined in this book, “you can cleanse your body from a lifetime of toxins & discover the health & vitality that come with toxic relief.”
He uses a 4 step program. 1) There is a 2-week diet to strengthen & support your liver & improve your elimination through the GI tract. 2) Then you go on a juice fast for 2 or 3 days (or longer if monitored by a doctor). 3) You go back on the special diet for 2 weeks. 4) You begin making lifestyle changes & plan to fast periodically to continue to cleanse & maintain your health.
I recommend that you read the entire book before you begin taking any action, because he speaks to various health issues throughout the book. There exceptions for certain health conditions, and he recommends monitoring by or a physician’s permission before proceeding for some of these conditions. Some persons should not fast. You don’t want to proceed & then find out that you are among the exceptions. There are also some health conditions for which he recommends modifications, which he details. This is exactly the reason I appreciate the fact that this book is written by a medical doctor.
The kind of fasting he describes is very different from what I have encountered in other books or articles. I have 2 conditions that disqualify me from fasting, but the fact that I cannot fast does not leave me defenseless. There steps I can take to detoxify. This makes this book a valuable resource for someone like me. I will say that the type of fasting I see in this book looks reasonable. I do not think I would feel as though I was being starved. It allows for juices that are made with both fruits & vegetables. There are also additives that can be purchased to put in them that will aid in the detoxification as well as aid in satisfying a feeling of fullness.
Dr. Colbert also helps you with a nutritional program that includes foods to include in your diet & a list of supplements that will improve your liver’s ability to eliminate toxins from your system.
The final section of the book is titled “Detoxifying Your Whole Person.” This section has 2 chapters about biblical fasting that are the best I’ve ever read on the topic. The first chapter details what biblical fasting is all about, & the second takes you through the Bible to show you examples of 8 different kinds of biblical fasts. If you are a Christian, you will appreciate this section. It helps you to see the correlation between the physical act of fasting & the spiritual application & broader meaning it has. If you are not a Christian, you can just skip this section.
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After reading these 2 books by Dr. Colbert I was hooked! I wanted to read other books mentioned in my reading; so, I ordered 2 more books & 5 booklets of his. I will not review these. What You Don’t Know May be Killing You has a checklist at the end of each chapter that summarizes the most important information. Living in Divine Health has 34 Living Healthy tips highlighted throughout the book. The booklets are from Dr. Colbert’s The Bible Cure Series. There are 30 titles to choose from in this series. Each booklet has 5-7 chapter & is 75-85 pages long. Dr. Colbert uses Scripture, as appropriate, to make his points about health issues, & he ends each chapter with a model prayer.
Here is one example: Dear Lord, I thank you that You are the Lord of healing – of the body, soul & spirit. Help me to be faithful to sound wisdom about my diet. I place all of my bad dietary habits on Your altar, & I give my will to You in matters having to do with what I choose to eat. Empower me to eat in a way that is consistent with my own good health. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics include: Allergies, Arthritis, Autoimmune Diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, & ulcerative colitis), Back Pain, Cancer, Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia, Depression & Anxiety, Diabetes, Headaches, Heart Disease, Heartburn & Indigestion, High Blood Pressure, Memory Loss, Menopause, Osteoporosis, Prostate Disorders, Skin Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Stress, etc. . . .
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Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods, by Verne Varona
Prevent and Reverse the Most Common Forms of Cancer Using the Proven Power of Great Food and Easy Recipes
The author lost his mother to cancer when he was only 13, his father to cancer a few years later, and other family member to a variety of degenerative diseases. He states that he repeatedly asked himself the same questions: “What factors caused them to become sick? What, if anything could prevent me from becoming sick? Are we all just victims of some mysterious master plan, or do we really have some choice in creating healthy, vital lives for ourselves?”
He promised himself to “find a natural way to be well, a promise to learn from the mistakes of [his] family members in what not to do, or how not to live.” Although he realized he could not save his mother, he could save himself, and “as a tribute to her memory, give [himself] the permission to experience the life she could not.”
This book is the result of 30 years of trials, education, observation and experience. Varona has dedicated himself to sharing this information through counseling and lecturing, which is now in written form.
The book is very positive and practical, with scientific or medical research to back up claims that are made.
He is kind to physicians & explains why you should not to expect to receive nutritional counseling from your doctor. “While many medical schools are now beginning to wake up to the critical importance of nutrition and starting to expand their curricula, nutrition emphasis has been anemic; the average U.S. physician, in four years of medical school, typically gets only two hours of course work in nutrition. Only 25 percent of the accredited medical schools in the country have a single course in nutrition.”
This is reason enough to buy a book to learn how you can take care of your nutritional needs, so that you can live a healthier life & avoid degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
If you have difficulties with cravings, the book is worth buying for the wisdom found in Chapter 6. Varona’s content is so much broader and more insightful than any I’ve ever read on cravings. We all know it is emotional, but it is also physical and biological. He lists and discusses, in detail, 8 factors. He helps you understand the basis behind them and gives you strategies to help you know how to determine the most satisfying and safe way to handle them. For instance, there are: Ten strategies to eliminate sugar cravings (By the way, did you know your blood can only maintain approximately 2 teaspoons of sugar at one time? What happens to the excess?); Six ways to defeat your fat tooth; Six keys for handing monster appetites.
Chapter 10 is titled “Nature’s Cancer-Fighting Food Plan.” It has a section that helps you learn how to assess a dietary plan. There are 7 key questions to ask, & it discusses other important factors you need to consider. This chapter then introduces the reader to the cancer-fighting food plan. It begins with a Transition Plan that “offers a gradual change for increasing cancer-fighting agents by adding new, healthy, whole foods and decreasing foods that are not health supportive. This introductory plan is best suited to someone who is not familiar with many of the foods recommended since it permits greater flexibility. ” It moves to a Prevention/Therapeutic Plan and then to the Therapeutic Plan, which offers the highest level of anti-cancer protection. I like this approach, which eases one into the Plan. You can take it as far as you are comfortable.
There is a lot of eye-opening information in this book. I found it to be very enjoyable & informative reading.
I love finding valuable nuggets of information like this:
“Clinical research, as well as anecdotal testimony, has repeatedly shown that people who survive cancer often have many of the following ten traits: 1) Life Purpose 2) Positive Attitude 3) Good Nourishment 4) Healthy Lifestyle 5) Manageable Stress 6) Sense of Humor 7) Love and Social Support 8) Emotional Expression 9) Physical Exercise 10) Strong Faith. These ten trains can have vital healing influence.”As you can see, there are many good reasons to read and share this book with those you love.
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