Wednesday, November 17, 2010

What the Body Needs

One of the first things I learned about "how cancer works" is what the body is deficient in when someone is first diagnosed. Due to the lack of a sufficient amount of vitamins in the body (mainly because our food is largely "synthetic" and often has no nutritional value whatsoever, in many cases), we are creating an environment that is ripe for disease and illness to take root and wreak havoc.

There are several things that one must do in order for our bodies to work at optimal levels to fight off disease and the damage caused by "free radicals" and other things that exist to cause disease and illness.

1. Sufficient levels of Vitamin D

So what are sufficient levels of Vitamin D, you say? That's a great question and a TOUGH question to answer. The truth is, most doctors have no idea how much vitamin D a person needs to maintain optimal health. One thing we can point to is society's aversion to the natural vitamin D which you can receive from the sun. Remember (for those of us who are a little older) when your mother used to tell you to go outside and "get some sun"? That's something we don't hear as often. There have been many studies done that show most kids are opting to stay inside online or playing random video games, rather than playing outside and getting the necessary exposure to the sun's natural vitamin D. In the summertime if they do get outside we often slather them with tons of sunscreen to "protect" them from the sun's rays. It may be that we are overprotecting ourselves from the sun and as a result, we are all largely deficient in this necessary natural nutrient. So, it's a good idea to get at least 30 minutes of sun in the early afternoon. Here is a link to a great article by Dr. Mercola that explains how "Daily Sunlight Can Keep Cancer Away"

2.
Antioxidants and "Free Radicals"
What are "Antioxidants"? They are molecules that prevent free radicals from harming healthy tissue in our bodies. What are "free radicals" you say? In a nutshell, they are molecules in the body that are responsible for aging, tissue damage and possibly some diseases. Think of antioxidants as the opposite of free radicals. Antioxidants are found in fresh vegetables and fruits, particularly foods high in vitamins A, E and betacarotene the molecules of which act like a giant boulder in the path of free radicals stopping them from causing tons of damage in our bodies. It's much better to get our antioxidants from a balanced diet, rather than from vitamin supplements, because our bodies absorb them more easily. Veggies and fruits that are rich in antioxidants are things like blueberries, kiwi, pineapples, grapefruit, strawberries, kale, red cabbage, peppers, artichoke, Brussels sprouts, spinach, ginger, reed beets, apricots, prunes, kidney beans, pinto beans, soybeans, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, barley, oats, corn, cinnamon and oregano, just to name a few. And it's best to try and eat many of these foods raw, since it's been said that cooking removes a lot of the enzymes, vitamins and minerals. See this article for more info on "The Health Benefits of a Raw Food Diet"

Free radicals can cause premature aging, tissue damage and, conceivably, disease and illnesses. If your body is getting enough antioxidants, they can really go to work minimizing the damage caused by free radicals. So, "Antioxidants - good, Free Radicals - bad!"

3. Immune System Support

One of the most important things to remember in fighting cancer (or trying to stay healthy so as not to suffer from this disease) is to sufficiently arm the body's immune system. If your diet routinely consists of a log of the above foods, then relax, you're on the right track! With the addition of high-quality protein and as much filtered water (more about the best type of water in another article) as you can drink, you're well on your way to flooding your body with everything it needs to function at an optimal level.

However, if you're like most of us, you probably don't eat a diet high in all these foods. So, what can you do? Well, there are several vitamins that can help support the immune system. Some of the ones that have some cancer-fighting properties are:

* IP6+Inositol - This vitaminis a naturally-occurring carbohydrate that exists in most mammals already. Based on studies done, it was determined that IP6+ Inositol has definitive anti-cancer properties. You can read about one such study here

When I read about this particular vitamin, I was amazed at the fact that it is a
potent antioxidant, that supports healthy renal function, promotes heart health, and helps maintain normal glucose metabolism. It's also a rich source of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium that supports and maintains strong, healthy bones. BUT what I found particularly impressive was the bountiful information that exists demonstrating that IP6+Inositol is effective in inhibiting cancer cell growth. It helps increase "natural killer cell" activity which basically means it helps the body to heal itself. Read more about the studies done on IP6+Inositol at the website of the physician who created it, Dr. Shamsuddin, here

There are several website that we purchase IP6 from and they can be found here: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/search.aspx?search=1&UrlSearchTerm=IP6

** CoQ10 - This is a naturally-occurring nutrient found in our bodies and also found in fish and some meats. It's proven beneficial for the cardiovascular ailments, including congestive heart failure and hypertension and has even shown some benefit for controlling cholesterol and diabetes. Studies have been done that suggest Coenzyme Q10, which is an enzyme that speeds up the rate at which natural chemical reactions take place in cells of the body. The body’s cells use Coenzyme Q10 to make energy needed for the cells to grow and stay healthy. The body also uses CoQ10 as an antioxidant. An antioxidant, you will remember, is a substance that protects cells from chemicals called free radicals. Free radicals can damage DNA. Genes, which are pieces of DNA, tell the cells how to work in the body and when to grow and divide. Damage to DNA has been linked to some kinds of cancer. By protecting cells against free radicals, antioxidants help protect the body against cancer. CoQ10 is found in most body tissues. The highest amounts are found in the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The lowest amounts are found in the lungs. The amount of coenzyme Q10 in tissues decreases as people get older. Low blood levels of CoQ10 have been found in people with with myeloma, lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, pancreas, colon, kidney, and head and neck. So it stands to reason that CoQ10 could be helpful in stopping cancer cells from growing, in addition to boosting the immune system and helping the body fight infection when undergoing traditional cancer treatment.

*** Alpha Lipoic Acid - this is another antioxidant that is found in many types of vegetables and some red meat. It is also another naturally-occurring nutrient that the body actually produces less of as we age. Since this is another antioxidant it may help prevent the development of progression of cancer. In some cases, it's been known to cause cancer cells to self-destruct, called cell apoptosis. Alpha lipoic acid can also help with the harmful side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is known to damage nerve cells in the body which is called peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy results in pain, tingling or other abnormal sensations in the hands in feet. Alpha lipoic acid helps protest the nerves in the body, leading to reduced incidences of peripheral neuropathy.

**** YES Ultimate Minerals and Ultimate Essential Fatty Acids - these vitamins and minerals are considered "super foods". They contain organic herbs that help fight fatigue, boost your immune system, improve circumation and even reduce allergy symptoms. Basically, they contain organic safflower and sunflower oil and Evening Primrose oil which are excellent sources of "parent" Omega 6 as well as organic flax oil for "parent" omega 3. Remember when people raved about omega 3 fish oil tablets? Well, if you can believe it these nutritional supplements are even better. They are known to have an anti-inflammatory effect as well. You can learn more about these vitamins here http://www.yes-supplements.com/testimonials.html

4. Something else we learned about is something called wheatgrass. Wheatgrass has been around for several years but it still seems to be a pretty well-kept secret. It is known to help build up the red blood cell count as well as delivering necessary oxygen and other nutrients to the body's cells. It also helps detox the body by removing thousands of toxins from the cells. It helps boost the body's immune system and contains many vitamins such as B, C, E, H and K as well as 90 different minerals that are very alkalising for the body which is really important when you're fighting cancer (more about alkalizing the body in another article). It's also not a bad to add lemongrass and barleygrass to the mix in order to get an even wider range of health benefits. Remember, wheatgrass may not be very tasty, but mixing a spoonful into a glass of juice three times a day ensure you're receiving the health benefits of three large salads every day!

These are just some of the health benefits of nutritional supplements. Stay tuned for more information on what it means to alkalize the body (as opposed to acidifying) and what we can do on a regular basis to help maintain a healthy balance of alkaline and acid in our bodies!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

No "traditional medicine" for me, thanks...

This experience is what opened my eyes to the dangers of “traditional medicine”. I can’t help but realize where we would be if I had taken the advice of Dr. G and had my son put on antipsychotic drugs at the age of 7. From this point on, I made a point of doing my own research and educating myself about any health condition that I’m not familiar with. Before this experience, I have always been a questioning person, never one to believe any and everything that I’m told. That’s why I enjoyed my work as a paralegal so much. The idea of being able to answer my own questions and educate myself without being at the mercy of someone else who probably doesn’t do anything but follow instructions is BIG for me!

The purpose of this blog to bring information to people who may not have my gift for research into the inner workings of this disease and want to learn more about “how cancer works”. When my husband and then my mother were diagnosed, I did countless hours of research on what we could do to help boost their immune systems and even what vitamins we could take to make the process of chemotherapy less damaging for them. I learned all about various alternative therapies – some that hold more water than others. The point is, all the information can be found here, in either a link or an article that I’ve posted on this site. I've included information about specific vitamins that I recommend and even where you can buy them at a discount (sorry, I don't pay full-price for anything!) I will be including links to research that has been done on vitamins and how these can be helpful. I'll even include information on whether we tried them and what our results were.

There are several people whom I have “met” (in the virtual sense, mostly via email and sometimes via telephone) whose generous sharing of information may have made a difference in the eventual outcome of my husband’s and my mother’s diseases. They’re not quite out of the woods yet. Their diagnoses are only 6 and 5 months out at this point. They’re both doing well, I believe, because of the many things I learned that we’re doing. My husband is the only cancer patient that looks better AFTER his diagnosis than he did BEFORE he was diagnosed. He actually GAINED weight on chemotherapy, something that even his oncologist marveled at.

I hope my research and the links to these alternative or complementary therapies will be beneficial to you or someone you love. I have even included some information on HOW and WHY cancer may be so prevalent in our society in 2010. Since they were both diagnosed a few months ago, 5 more people (family and friends) have been diagnosed. This is nothing short of an epidemic and I don’t believe our government has our best interests in mind. Please take this information and PLEASE feel free to share your experiences. It’s great for us to learn from each other and try to help each other.

Peace and blessings!

D

A little background, please?

This story chronicles our family's experience in dealing with a cancer diagnosis. We learned a lot about how to deal with the diagnosis in a way that doesn’t leave the patient and their loved ones feeling hopeless and helpless. We learned about the importance of taking control of your health and not just following doctor's orders. Many people find it easier to follow the doctor’s orders when diagnosed with cancer. If you are like my husband and I, you may have difficulty with that. I have always been the kind of person who takes comfort in educating myself when I am confronted with something for which I have no experience or frame of reference. My husband was still caught up in the devastation and depression of the diagnosis. It was my responsibility to learn as much as I could about his condition so that I could find a way to take back our lives and rid ourselves of this disease called cancer.

I know it may sound like I am trying to “cure cancer”, something that has supposedly been perplexing doctors and researchers for many, many years. Who do I think I am that I, someone with absolutely no medical background, could possibly find some way to cure or at least slow the progression of this disease?

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis ("Peri What?")

Dr. Z removed a 7.8 mm mass from my husband’s colon, along with 2 feet of his colon. After the surgery, he came to me, my mother and Ron’s sister, who by this time had come to join me while waiting for him to come out of surgery. Dr. Z explained that he removed the mass and the 2 feet of his colon and said that Ron should be just fine. I don’t remember much about the morning after Ron went to surgery. But I do remember hugging the doctor when he gave us the news. I remember getting the sense that yes, Ron did have cancer. But the doctor had just told us that he removed it all. I was so thankful and felt like we had definitely dodged a bullet.

Imagine my surprise the next day when Dr. Z came to Ron’s hospital room and told us that he didn’t actually get all the cancer during his surgery. Dr. Z said that he did remove the blockage in his colon and it was about the size of a peach. He said he had also removed about 25 cancerous lymph nodes. But that wasn’t all. The part that Dr. Z had neglected to tell us the day before was that he had also seen a “sprinkling of seedlings”, cancer cells, in Ron’s abdomen, an area that is called the peritoneal cavity.

This manifestation of cancer is called peritoneal carcinomatosis and is considered extremely resistant to chemotherapy treatment. Because of the location of the cancer cells, it was expected that chemotherapy would not reach them. These cells typically hide behind organs and often tend to spread beyond the reach of chemotherapy. And because these were cancer cells that have not yet combined to form a cancerous tumor, radiation is not an appropriate treatment. This type of cancer was automatically considered stage IV and very resistant to treatment. So, in essence, Dr. Z had just handed us a death sentence.

He then told us about one treatment that he was aware of. He explained that he knew of two doctors – one in Pittsburgh and another in Maryland who performed a type of surgery that consisted of heating chemotherapy and bathing the abdominal organs with the chemotherapy solution. Dr. Z explained that he thought Ron had a good chance to qualify for this surgery because at 47 he was considered young and healthy enough to withstand such a difficult procedure. And if the procedure was considered successful, it could keep the cancer at bay. It was considered successful if he had lived 5 years past the date of diagnosis.

Being that we were parents of a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old, the 5-year prognosis was devastating. Our family was at the center of our lives. Ron completed that family and this diagnosis was nothing short of devastating to me as his best friend and his wife.

The next few days were very much a blur as I tried to encourage Ron to focus on recuperating from his surgery and try not to worry about the diagnosis and especially not to consider it a death sentence. Our family came to the hospital to pray with us and as I stated previously, there had been several family members who had had similar diagnoses and lived many, many years cancer-free. We had hope that, based on his age and relative good health, he would make a full recovery as well.

The Day That Changed Our Lives

Dr. Z walked into my husband’s room in the ER and said the words that would forever change our lives. “The CAT scan showed a blockage in your colon, Mr. Jones. Considering the size of the blockage, we’re pretty certain it’s cancer.”

Ron and I looked at each other in what could only be described as absolute shock. I had taken him to the ER at midnight that night because he had been constipated for four days, resulting in a severely bloated stomach. Just a few hours earlier, I had given him a laxative, two bottles of citrate and two enemas. All this did nothing for his constipation, which by now was accompanied by intense pain that Ron described as “something trying to force its way out”. Once I heard that description, I thought the doctors would tell us he had some sort of parasite growing in his intestinal tract. Not once did we consider that the prognosis could be cancer.

My husband does have a family history of cancer. His grandmother was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer in her fifties. After much chemotherapy, she made a full recovery and lived 19 more years cancer-free before it returned and claimed her within 5 months of a second diagnosis. Ron’s sister was also diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer at 41. She opted for aggressive chemotherapy and radiation and made a full recovery. That was 12 years ago and she’s been cancer-free ever since.

As I sat in the ER with my husband, I tried to think of these people and these situations. I looked into my wonderful husband’s eyes and for the first time in our 21 years together, fear showed in his face.

Dr. Z explained that Ron would be going into surgery in about an hour, told Ron to make himself comfortable as he was prepped for surgery and then he left the room.

That was May 25, 2010, a day that we would remember as the day our lives changed forever.