Marvel at the Beauty of the Scars . . .

Today a classmate sent me these words of encouragement relative to an assignment about re-establishing one's direction / goals / passions in life. I love the concepts of a broken life being repaired with gold and marveling at the beauty of one's scars. The words resonated not only with the emotional healing that is the focus of our coursework, but also with the physical healing I've encountered these past 5 1/2 years in my dance with cancer. I thought of the surgical scars on my body -- the ones I never look at, the ones I never touch, the ones I make every effort to ignore.

I'm Back in the Water Again!

When I set my alarm last night for five o'clock in the morning, 2-3 hours before I normally wake up, there wasn't a moment of hesitation. I had something wonderful to look forward to! Deep Water Conditioning at 6AM. 

A Southern California native, I've been swimming since I was a toddler. My first swim lessons were at the community plunge in Sierra Madre, where the cold water of the swimming pool was often the only relief from the sweltering summer heat and smog-choked air of the late-1950's. I can still recall my eyes burning, my throat constricting from the deadly combination of pool chlorine and smog.

CT Scan vs. MRI: Which is safer for those with cancer?

When I learned in January 2017 that my colon cancer had metastasized to my liver, my oncologist, Dr. G, suggested (in addition to 4 rounds of chemo, surgery, and up to 8 more rounds of chemo) a series of scans to monitor the status of my cancer. CT scans of my abdomen and lungs were immediately taken to determine the location of any tumor(s). One tumor was detected on my liver; no other tumors were seen.

Dr. G then referred me for a PET Scan. I'd never had a PET scan and knew nothing about the procedure or possible risks. I was still in a state of shock over my Stage IV-A metastatic diagnosis (and end-of-year death sentence if I did not submit to the chemo / surgery regimen). So, I compliantly agreed to the PET scan. There was a caveat, through. Badger Care (my insurance) would have to approve the scan. A week later I was told that Badger Care refused to pay for the scan because of its cost.

That's when I decided to do some research. What I discovered shocked and upset me!

Fighting Cancer in the Philippines

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This morning I received an e-mail from Mark, a colon cancer patient in the Philippines. His colon cancer is not going away, despite aggressive chemotherapy, surgery, and other procedures.  Just look at what this poor man has endured! Heartbreaking! He's worried, and asked for my advice. 

First, Mark's e-mail:

I was diagnosed with cancer last December 2015, Stage III-B. My CEA at that time was 8.7. I had surgery January 9, 2016. I underwent a very aggressive chemotheraphy twice a month intervals of every two weeks. I was given 5FU, Irenotican, Loucoverin, Oxaliplatin and a booster Avastin. I finished my session July 2016.

My CEA went down to 4.2. The result of my PET scan is very good as well. 

Beautiful Berries Green Tea Smoothie

Beautiful Berries Green Tea Smoothie ingredients.

One of the most prevalent side-effects of chemotherapy is loss of appetite. If you're overweight like I am and enjoy watching the pounds effortlessly melt away, loss of appetite can seem like a good thing. At the same time, not being able to eat foods that help you detox from the chemo and build your cancer-fighting immune system is disconcerting. 

The Beautiful Berries Green Tea Smoothie can fill you up and satisfy any cravings for something sweet! It's so filling and rich, it sometimes take me a couple of hours to finish it! The recipe includes three kinds of berries, a banana, and Medjool dates (for added sweetness) -- all chock-full of cancer-fighting, immune-system building antioxidants. The green tea helps you detox from the chemo while simultaneously restoring your faltering immune system. The Beautiful Berries Green Tea Smoothie is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

An Attitude of Gratitude

An Attitude of Gratitude may seem dichotomous with a diagnosis of cancer. Your life has been forever changed, and, depending of the location and stage of your cancer, the diagnosis may have included a death sentence of weeks, months, or a few years. You are overcome with thoughts and emotions you have never experienced before.

You may feel angry and victimized. "Why me?" you may ask. Your anger may be fueled by feelings of fear, panic, frustration, anxiety, or helplessness.

You may feel overwhelmed, powerless, and isolated. Your life feels out of control -- your daily routine is disrupted by doctor visits, procedures and treatments.

If your treatment includes chemo and / or radiation, there are myriad debilitating side-effects. The quality of your life may become so compromised you lose hope, become depressed, and decide life on these terms is not worth living.

XELODA (oral chemo) vs. FULFOX -- you DO have options for treatment!!!

I met yesterday with oncologist Dr. Y (1) to get a second opinion about my cancer treatment and (2) to determine if he would support me on my self-healing journey by allowing me to refuse the chemo and surgery while providing ongoing CEA marker blood tests and MRIs to keep an eye on the cancer.

The new doctor still talked the chemo and surgery talk, but he also agreed that if the tumor has disappeared, there is no reason for surgery. He also agreed we can monitor the tumor with an MRI, as opposed to the radiation-based CT-Scan. Since I had two CT scans in January, I don't want another one anytime soon. Plus, differences between normal and abnormal tissue is often clearer on an MRI image than with a CT scan, especially in the liver.