Any suggestions for a newly diagnosed?

Hi Joel,

The weird thing about this disease is that every individual case is so different. That said, here are some things that I think have helped me to survive for almost 5 years:

1) I take a LOT of supplements– 18 of them daily (I just counted!) Milk thistle and omega-3s are a good start, but you should also think about ginseng, turmeric, IP-6 and various others. I also drink huge amounts of green tea. The book Beating Cancer With Nutrition by Patrick Quillen has loads of information on supplements.

2) I have acupuncture treatments every week to strengthen my immune system. Are there doctors of traditional Chinese medicine in Brunei?

3) I exercise as much as I possibly can. After surgery, that meant just walking to the end of my porch and back, but I think anything that strengthens the body is important.

4) Meditation, prayer, or whatever fifts into your system of beliefs

5) Avoid gloomy people!!

In your other post, you said your mother won’t eat. Is there even one food that still appeals to her? If so, she should just eat as much as she can of that even if it’s something odd (there were days when I ate nothing but canned beans!)

If not, one thing that I could always eat even when I felt just awful was smoothie drinks made of yogurt, fruit, wheat germ, and a scoop of whey protein powder. (I don’t know if you can get Ensure or Carnation drinks in Brunei, and anyway I think a real smoothie is more appetizing than whatever chemicals they put in those commercial drinks. Besides I’m sure you must have wonderful local fruit there!)

The best of luck to you and your mother!

Kristin