Health Update

I realize that I have neglected to check back with this blog and provide health updates but that is because I have not been preoccupied with cancer and caner treatment for a while which is GOOD.

My health is pretty darn good I’d say. It’s not perfect, but I’m always adjusting things to work towards optimal health. I still have a small lump in my right breast – and the pucker on the outside to remind me. I don’t worry about it now like I used to – I truly believe it has turned to scar tissue.

With that being said I still am careful about what I eat – although not AS careful as I was during my initial all out assault on a breast cancer lump. I still take a good mix of whole food supplements – as many of them as I can which are whole food and not laboratory blends of isolated vitamins.

I recently got what is called a SpectraCell blood test which revealed that I needed more B vitamins, more Vitamin D and more Glutamine. So now I am taking 5000 IU of Vitamin D per day – unless of course I get a few days of sunshine exposure which gives me FREE Vitamin D. Of course I also added B vitamins but I’m not too consistent yet on the Glutamine.

My current health concerns, which are fairly minor compared to breast cancer diagnosis, are uterine fibroids (ugh) which have enlarged my uterus as if I am many weeks pregnant. They do not cause me pain or bleeding – just an enlarged abdomen which is simply annoying. I started taking daily DHEA and some natural supplements that will reduce my estrogen dominance situation which contributes to them. Some of those are Passionflower and Wild Yam. Also licorice. So far (fingers crossed) it seems these are shrinking them but I can only say that from how it feels (and from measuring my abdomen).. I will update in a few months on this as I know there are many women with this problem. I will NOT consider any kind of surgery or cutting, burning etc or even the treatment with the beads blocking up the blood supply. I simply want them gone naturally without any invasive methods period. End of story.

Another health concern is a return of my asthma. I had it growing up and was allergic to animals even though an animal lover which was extremely frustrating. In the 90’s I got 5 YEARS of allergy shots – three injections – one for pollens, one for molds and one for dog allergy. During that time I was living with two dogs, because it seemed the dog allergy had already resolved itself.

Well, now it’s been almost 15 years since those shots and I’m worried that they have worn off.. don’t know. I currently need to use one puff of Serevent before I go to bed at night or I am awakened with difficulty breathing in the night. I have covered my mattress and pillows with mattress covers and I have air cleaners running on high in my bedroom.. none of that seems to matter.

Now that I have lost my large 90 pound dog (Cody – my best bud) to hemangiosarcoma, there will be less dog hair in my house so I will see if his absence makes any difference. I still have a 60 pound shepherd/beagle dog so we shall see.

I don’t remember if I posted on the death of my mother last May (2008) to lung cancer also. I have to say it was extremely frustrating to watch her die and not be able to help her. She chose chemotherapy against my advice – but then again she had a large lung cancer tumor and it was difficult for her to breathe so I did not want to mess around with natural treatments that might not be good enough to fight it – and she was not one to change her eating habits – so unless I wanted to force feed her food that was good for her – it wasn’t going to work.

I do have to say this however. Because of the Abraham Cherrix story – I convinced my Mom to go to the Mississippi cancer clinic where Abraham Cherrix had gotten treatment after his court settlement. They were supposed to use Immunotherapy. The doctor there is Dr Arnold Smith. It was a big mistake. My parents were not looked after duing their stay and my mother was NOT given Immunotherapy but instead put on more chemo. I believe her stay in Mississippi hastened her death and at this point I would never recommend this clinic. Furthermore, I felt because my parents were so far away we could not help them – they were on their own – even though we were assured by the coordinator that they would take care of my parents – to them they were just another number in the end and their ball was dropped. My Mom developed pneumonia in both lungs and bed sores and of course we did not know of any of this until my sister flew to Mississippi. She was med-evaced to a hospital near our home where she died one week later.

Cancer has touched my life in the last four years more than I care to recount and I feel it is an EPIDEMIC and something needs to be done and there needs to be some investigation into why there is SO MUCH CANCER????