Hi Maddy,
I personally have not dealt with cancer but once read an email from a woman
who survived an aggressive form of cancer. Below is her email on what she
did. I hope it will be somewhat helpful and I hope you will find full
recovery without.
Everyone,
Friday was 5 years post-cancer for me. I wanted to share a few
understandings I've come to about nutrition and health from my
journey. There are about a million OTHER things I learned from these
past 5 years, but I will hold back on those lest this become
book-length! ;-) Please keep in mind, your mileage may vary.
I was diagnosed with a rare, very aggressive cancer. The diagnosis
came after surgery for what was assumed to be a benign condition --
it was a big surprise.
Funny thing was that a week after surgery I felt like $10 million
bucks! But I pretty much got the idea of how serious it could be
when the first oncologist I visited wept at our initial meeting.
There were no treatments to prevent recurrence, which was considered
inevitable and which would be immediate and soon fatal. I felt it
prudent to -- as they say -- "settle my affairs."
Fast-forward to 2004 -- If this cancer was going to recur, it would
have done so within the first year or so. It's 5 years in the past
now, and I am healthier than I've been most of my adult life. I am a
rare (and very pleased!) survivor.
Four things I want to pass on here:
1. STATISTICS CAN BE MISLEADING. Always doing my best to help myself
was so important to me -- I think this hopeful message is vital to
tell others as often as possible. I did not take on the idea that
"the numbers are a death sentence" and just give up. I kept active
at being well, including moving toward being at peace with a strong
possibility of dying. Statistics and survival rates are a good
description of what happens across a GROUP of people. But they are
lousy predictors of what will happen to ANY ONE PERSON...I am living
proof of that.
2. FRUITS & VEGGIES KICKED MY BUTT! While I am not saying intensive
use of fruits and veggies cured my cancer, they gave a HUGE boost to
my body to fight it off. Before we had any clue I had cancer, I felt
that I was dying -- and no one believed me or could tell me why. I
decided to start juicing, though I was hesitant to because I tolerate
sugar so very poorly. But fresh juice SIGNIFICANTLY started helping
my failing strength in LITERALLY A DAY when nothing else could! I
kept with it for several months after diagnosis.
3. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PREVENTING. The good care we give
ourselves goes to wherever we need it the most, regardless of what
our conscious wishes are. Committing LONG TERM to a healthy
lifestyle has benefits we may never fully understand. Before the
cancer diagnosis, I had taken REALLY good care of myself for many
years but was having a LOT of trouble recovering from an automobile
accident a few years prior. I think so much of my energy went into
fighting the cancer that it was difficult to otherwise heal.
Unbeknownst to me, my body had been doing an AMAZING job!
4. ACID-PRODUCING FOODS MAY FEED TUMORS. Can we ever eat enough
servings of fruits and veggies to offset high consumption of animal
foods? Six months before I started to feel that I was dying, I went
on a low-carb diet. While I was eating LOTS of raw and cooked
veggies, I was also eating more animal protein than I was used to.
Within a month, I was experiencing rapidly-increasing health
problems, including feeling generally and seriously unwell. Plant
foods reduce intra-cellular acidity -- tumors thrive on acidity.
While I am certain this diet didn't CAUSE the cancer (it was there
already), the timing of events tells me it was a last straw and my
body could no longer keep the cancer in check.
I look forward to the next 5 (and 50!) years!
best,
Deborah
-----Original Message-----
From: Paleolithic Eating Support List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 5:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: I have breast cancer
Hi All,
I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer which has already spread
to
the lymph nodes. I haven't yet been scanned to determine if it has
metastasized anywhere else.
I think there is at least one person on this list (Katherine?) who has
mentioned dealing with (and surviving!) breast cancer, and would dearly love
to
communicate with anyone familiar with this, especially if any
alternative-complementary therapies are being employed.
Feel free to share my name and email with anybody else who might help.
Thank you,
Maddy Mason
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