kristin
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Beating Cancer with Nutrition, by Patrick Quillen
Anticancer, by David Servan-SchreiberBoth are very clear and complete, and will give you tons of advice and suggestions.
Kristin
Darla–
Plymouth, good heavens! Our cottage is on Forest Lake, next to Mauthe Lake! You are sooooo lucky to live year round in such a beautiful area!
Kristin
If you make protein shakes in a blender, you can put in a blob (a couple tablespoons) of peanut butter. Tasty and adds lots of calories and “good” fat, also some protein. That’s what helped keep me from fading away. I weighed only 109 pounds to begin with.
A friend who’s an aromatherapist suggested mixing a LOT of peppermint essential oil into body lotion and coating myself in that several times a day. That did give me enough relief to get me through a couple of weeks until my first surgery (and I smelled really nice…)
Hope this helps! (And by the way, I’m a transplanted Wisconsinite myself– grew up in Milwaukee, went to college in Madison, and still spend part of every summer at our cottage near Fond du Lac!)
Wishing you all the best–
Kristin
Huh? Most people are against socialized medicine? A lot of surveys show just the opposite– that most people in the United States WANT universal health care. (One lucky category of people here already has it– it’s called Medicare!!)
Kristin
Ummm, is there a doctor on this board?? It would be really nice to get this question answered by someone with some knowledge, instead of us all pooling our ignorance.
(Sorry if this sounds rude… but I would like to know the “official” answer!)
Kristin
Dear Tom,
A doctor can tell you what USUALLY happens in a particular stage of a disease, but he or she can never tell you for certain what will happen to YOU. Please try to keep this in mind, and I agree with all the others that you need to keep seeking opinions from other experts, and you need someone to carry some of the burden of seeking information.
Wishing you all the best!
Kristin
Hi Rose,
I’m glad to “meet” you! Your situation sounds soooo similar to mine.
I was 46 when diagnosed, lived a super-healthy lifestyle (running, lifting weights, clean diet, lots of herbs and supplements) and was never sick a day in my life. After two surgeries, radiation, and chemo, I’m still alive and doing great, five years later. My friends and family thought it “wasn’t fair” that I should be the one to get cancer, after taking such good care of myself, but the way I see it, all that good self-care is what has helped me to survive this far, and I know it will make a big difference to you too.
We’re all here for you, from those who are newly diagnosed to those of us who have been dealing with this for a long time. Please let us know how you’re doing, and what we can do to help.
Wishing you all the best!
Kristin
I also had Xeloda with radiation (the usual kind for radiation, for 7 weeks) and it shrank the tumor and kept it stable for 18 months.
I think it was very, very beneficial.
Kristin
Read the book Anticancer, by David Servan-Schreiber. A comprehensive and up-to-date look at what promotes cancer and what stops it, with tons of medical references if you want to look at the research directly.
Hope this helps!
Kristin
Resection can sometimes be a cure, if it’s possible to remove all the tumors.
I was told after my resection that the part of the liver that was removed doesn’t actually “grow back” (like a starfish grows a new arm if one breaks off) but instead the remaining part expands to take over the functions of the part that is missing.
As for recovery– expect to do just about nothing for maybe two weeks after surgery, and then to take it very easy for at least a month after that. Try to start eating tiny amounts of food as soon as they’ll let you, and get up and move around as much as you can, even in the hospital. When I got home, my first walk was ten feet to the end of my porch, but I did a little more every day and it really helped me get back to normal.
And don’t think of recovering as a “slow walk through the fire.” You will feel better and better every day!
We’re all here cheering you on!
Krisitn
I am SO glad to hear you are out of the hospital! Now rest up and get your strength back. When I was losing too much weight, my holistic nurse recommended full-fat dairy products, so of course I went out and ate tons of… ice cream! (Hey, it’s full of fat, right??)
Seriously– I think you should push for surgery. Get other opinions. And absolutely push for radiation. I had the maximum dose and it has kept me stable for 2 1/2 years now, with only one brief spell of tumor growth.
Rock on!
Kristin
Dear Kris and Hans,
Never, ever give up hope! We can never know the future. Doctors and statistics can tell you what USUALLY happens, but they can never say what will happen to YOU.
After a successful resection 5 years ago, I had a recurrence 2 1/2 years ago and a failed surgery– the new tumor couldn’t be removed because it was attached to my IVC. Radiation and Xeloda shrank it and kept it from growing for 2 more years. It started progressing again, then just STOPPED, for no reason anyone can figure out, without treatment. It has been stable again for six months.
Please keep on eating and concentrate on getting your strength back. Things always look so bleak after surgery, when your whole body has been assaulted by anesthesia and drugs.
I promise you that you still have many beautiful days ahead of you!
Hugs to you both,
Kristin
When I was having radiation (for seven weeks!) I had a nasty, burnt taste in my mouth a lot of the time. Eating a pickle seemed to “re-boot” my mouth and let it taste different things. Not sure that would help with a bad salty taste.
Wishing you all the best!
Kristin
