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.

*Update*

Just today (February 17, 2019) I discovered that Dr Arnold Smith was arrested for trying to have his wife's divorce attorney murdered and he still has not gone to trial even though the attorney was tipped off about the plot and ended up shooting one of the hitmen and killing them.  Dr Smith was found not competent mentally to stand trial and ended up with OUTPATIENT mental treatment so he was able to go home and be with his wife while awaiting trial.  This guy is a nut and a fraud of the highest order. My sister and I plan to share our experience with this fraud and my mother and how it likely ended her life much earlier - with anyone associated with Dr Smith's murder trial.


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????

Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy Have Increased Cancer Stem Cells

I'm already against chemotherapy in general unless it is a last resort to wage a battle that one is losing by natural means. There is a HUGE cost to taking toxic chemicals to kill cancer cells and that cost is not communicated to patients when they are put onto chemo. In fact, I'd say WAY too many patients are put on chemo as if they are some kind of vitamins.

Now here comes a scientific article that shows yet another cost of chemotherapy - you may end up with cancer stem cells in your bone marrow AS A RESULT OF CHEMO, which of course means, you will probably be battling even MORE cancer even IF you win the present battle.

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2009) — Breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy prior to surgery had heightened levels of cancer-initiating stem cells in their bone marrow, and the level of such cells correlated to a tumor's lymph node involvement, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

...

It's estimated that 30-40 percent of locally advanced breast cancer patients who appear disease-free after neoadjuvant treatment actually harbor undetectable, distant micro-metastasis, explained Reuben.

Reuben describes cancer stem cells as tumor cells found in the bone marrow that are capable of self-renewal, thus a potential catalyst for recurrence and metastasis.

I recently lost my 10 year old golden retriever mix dog to a nasty type of cancer - hemangiosarcoma - and I was tempted to give him chemotherapy - the vet even convinced me that "dogs tolerate chemo better than humans" but then decided against it after a single day of treatment for him. He did die but he was not sick, throwing up and miserable at all during the last two months of his life, after the initial football-sized tumor and his spleen were removed.

At this point I would have felt horrible had I sickened him through his last days with some perverted effort to keep him alive for several more months. I think all of us have to consider this for ourselves and our loved ones before submitting to chemotherapy. It is not a "therapy" in any way at all and is like burning down your house to get rid of roaches. MAYBE you can rebuild the house but then again maybe not. Is it really worth it the risk?