Does this sound plausable?

Here is an article that explores the mind-body connection to cancer and cancer cure. Since I have a degree in psychology, I tend to agree with it.

THE MIND BODY CONNECTION - Hanne Bom

Chemo: First infusion - report

Hey...

Here is what is going on... I had my first chemo yesterday, Friday. It was basically pretty uneventful. Feeling fine. So far so good. I even ate lunch and had a coffee while getting it. Just a lot of sitting around while some juice dripped into my veins. No biggie. I brought my laptop, cruised the internet and listened to some music. A Regge Dub mix and some electronic music. The worst of it was that they gave me some benedryl in the beginning I hear to counteract some side effects of one of the drugs. That made me drowsey. Other than that - I just did stuff on the laptop and sat there for 4-5 hours.. Not much to it.

My Oncologist said I might feel sick in 2 days though. That is about it. I can drive myself to and from the appts also.

Next week I have a 1 hour appt. just to get Erbitux, an experimental drug I am taking thru a clinical trial. The week after that I am back on for a 4 hr appt where I get FOLFOX and Erbitux. That will repeat till mid January.

A side effect of one of the drugs in the chemo, Oxaliplatin, I felt tingling in my finger tips when I was trying to write with a pen before I left. It feels a little like you cracked your funny bone. Elbow seemed to get a little hot. Now it is gone. However, from my reading, it isnt a good sign that I felt it on the first day. Usually this doesnt come on for a while. That means it will probably get worse over time and there is a possibility of it becoming permanent. Although they are watching me this for this closely. We will see what results.... Being a musician, that is the one side-effect of one of the drugs that worries me. Neuropathy to the hands and feet.

Plus - tonight I had a mildly bad reaction when, without thinking, I poured a cold glass of juice and drank.. Instantly it felt like I drank some really fizzy pop. A little suprise pain, then it went away. I think it happens only on the first mouthful, then after that the nerves are used to it or something. Basically we will see what happens as this stuff accumulates inside my system...

Other than that - I am at home now with what looks like a big old walkman from the 1980s. It is a take home pump with a thin tube under my shirt, hooked up to the port on my chest. It delivers a continuous dose of chemo for 48 hours. To go out, I just strap it on my body and wear a shirt over it. And that is what I did later that afternoon. I went mountain biking for 12 miles with it on. It stays on until Sunday afternoon then I unplug it. Im going weight lifting with my cousin on Sunday morning too with it in.

Last night I went out to my favorite watering hole and had a blackened salmon sandwich with steamed vegetables, and a red wine. Ate the whole thing. Tomorrow I might go to a party in the city. I can drink moderately - 2 drinks, and do whatever I want as long as this "walkman" doesnt get disconnected. That's about it... Carpe Diem. When I biked, I wore the pump like a holster around my neck and tied to my side. When I went out at night, I wore the pump as basically a belt over my abs, and wore a shirt over it, not tucked in. It dissappeared into my lap as I sat on the bar stool and no one even knew I had it.

I work almost full-time all week except for half days on Fridays where I head out for chemo. That is about the jist of it.

Supplements and Nutriments - Part I

I would like to call your attention to what is called alternate or complementary therapy: supplements you can take in addition to chemo. It is not recommended to blow off chemo but there are more than a few things out there which you can do additionally. You can find all kinds of claims on the internet about modern-day "Snake Oils" which can cure cancer or at least help. I researched quite a few options. Essiac Tea, Flor-Essence, Mangosteen Juice are some I passed on. The only ones I considered were the ones that had actual clinical trials and research to back up their claims. Those turned out to be ACHH pills and a substance called Avemar.

Before I go any further, here is a link to the Memorial Sloan Kettering database of various herbs and alternative products. You can look up and read about almost everything out there and see what, if any, supportive scientific evidence exists too.

You can also find more research online, and of course, the more real research you find, the better.

Essiac Tea is hailed by some as a bigtime cancer curing elixer. But the problem with is that the recipe is questionable- as it was held secret by it's maker. Flor-Essence is another brand which claims to have the original Essiac recipe, which is different, and so basically there is no way to tell which is correct. Furthermore there have never been any studies to show that it actually works or not. Simply "miracle cure" hearsay exists. A lot of it, but still not enough for me to be convinced. At best it might be a good liver detox.

Mangosteen juice is also currently being proported to be helpful. It is mainly because of its antioxidant content, and also because it contains certain polysaccharide compounds which may raise white blood cell production. However there has not been enough studies to confirm this.

Im not saying I wouldn't try drinking some, but I wouldn't bet my life on them just yet.

What did catch my attention, and what I have been taking daily since June, are Avemar and ACHH.

ACHH, developed in Japan, is basically a propriatory genetic blend of different mushrooms which have been shown to raise your immune system. Specifically, NK cells, which go out and kill cancer as well as other invaders. There is actual research supporting this and ACHH pills are currently prescribed in over 700 hospitals in Japan. It can actually raise your NK cell count as much as 300%. You can read the published research in reputable journals here.

As an aside, the mushrooms which have been shown to have medicinal value for this are: Maitake, Shitake, Coriolus Versicolor, and Reishi Mushroom

These mushrooms are also available in many different supplement pill products sold at health-food stores, but because there are so many brands and blends to choose from, I could not decide which to get. For a while, I was also trying to find the actual mushrooms at asian grocery stores, with no luck. Because of that, I decided to stick with the ACHH pills since ACHH is a consistent patented form.

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Avemar is a fermented wheat germ extract which has been shown in many studies to be very beneficial for fighting cancer. Not only does it help fight cancer but it also reduces the possibly damaging side effects of chemo itself. You can read boatloads of published research about Avemar here, and learn general information about it here.

Avemar was developed in Hungary, used throughout the world, but is marketed and sold in the United States as "Ave"

Taking ACHH and Avemar together is supposed to be great. The ACHH raises your white blood cell count and the Avemar appears to regulate them, basically gets them on guard, worked up, and off to battle.

A few things about Avemar: It is something that has to kept refridgerated and is mailed to you in a cooler with dry ice. It comes in 30-day supply boxes and isnt cheap. See here. However it is worth it.

It does taste aweful though. You have to mix it into a glass of water and drink it down. Drink it all...

Drink This - Green Tea

Ito En Green Tea was voted the best tasting tea recently and it deserves it. It is delicious and has no sugar. Full of Antioxidants. I could drink it all day. As a matter of fact I usually have it these days instead of my old standby, pop.

Check out this Ito En Green Tea

You can find it in many Asian grocery stores, and there is a Dr. Andrew Weil rebranded version that comes in a single-serving can at Whole Foods. Its popularity is growing.

If you need more proof of the power of Green Tea then read these:
Green Tea may stop colon cancer in its tracks- study

Findings Show How Tea Impacts Brain Waves Other Research Links Drinking Tea To Weight Management And Reduced Risk Of Heart Disease, Certain Cancers & Diabetes

A change in Diet - No more Red Meat

First of all, no more red meat. See here:

Eating Lots of Red Meat Linked to Colon Cancer

and

Diet Tied to Colon Cancer's Return

Although after surgery I could not eat raw vegetables and fruit for a few weeks, I went overboard with the cooked varieties. For sources of protein, I added more soy, and fish to my menu.

To help facilitate my new diet. I went to an Asian grocery store. It is generally known that people who follow a Western diet have a higher incidence of Colon Cancer, therefore, I wanted to see what was available to adapt an Eastern diet.

The first positive things I did..

When I first got diagnosed, it was such a total shock to me that I was walking around in a daze for about a week. I could feel the blood pressure surging in my neck and head. I thought I would have a stroke. I couldnt sleep or eat very well.

So eventually here are the first positive things I did when I got diagnosed with colon cancer:

- Deep Breathing exercises control stress. Something they teach in Yoga classes, and a Relaxation Techniques class I took to satisfy a PE requirement in college, so I could graduate... Just breath deeply thru your nose into your belly slowly. Fill up the belly before letting air into your chest. Fill the chest next.. Hold it for three or more full seconds, then breath out forcefully thru your mouth. Repeat and dont stop, keep a steady slow pace. This will make your body relax and calm you. Slow deliberate breathing. Real slow. Do it whenever you feel overwhelmed.

You know what, my Dr. gave me some anti-anxiety pills to take, and the pills had a backlash effect when they would wear off. My body felt the effects of stress even more. The deliberately slow breathing exercises worked the best for me.

-I read up on Colon Cancer as much as possible. The more information I read, the more I felt empowered. I read up on all of the procedures that I had to go thru to see what they do, and how they work. Mostly I used the internet, but on the advice of a friend, I also got a copy of Lance Armstrong's book, "It's Not About the Bike." It is a very inspirational story about how he overcame cancer.

-I told all of my relatives and good friends and didnt keep it a secret. I soon learned that everyone knows someone who has dealt with cancer. I also got a ton of advice. And I also got perhaps the most important thing to me, friends gathered around to give their support. Optimism, connectedness, and the realization of strength of friendship. When I told friends that I guess I'll be fine, the response was "No.. you WILL be fine."


-I kept exercising and increased my routine once I fould out. One of the things the Drs told me is that this tumor was growing in me for probably two or three years. It grew slowly and quietly. Exercise and diet helped.

Now here is the one bad thing that I did:

I ignored a telltale symptom of Colon Cancer for a long time. Actually I didn't ignore it, I just had no idea. I never felt sick, never felt ill, so what if there was a little blood in my poop from time to time? It would come and go. Sometimes weeks would pass and then it would come back for a few days.. Not enough to get all excited about. I mentioned it to my doctor once or twice, but it was assumed that because of my young age, it was probably due to a more likely reason, and it would probably go away on its own. Well I mention this because if you do have this symptom , you should insist on a colonoscopy right away. Dont wait because if it is cancer, then the longer you wait, the more involved your treatment will be.

First a little backgrounder-- You have cancer...

That's right, you! And you have had it all your life.

On a routine basis, cancer cells get created in the body. They are mutations when things dont go right for one reason or another. The good news is that your immune system finds and destroys them before things get out of hand.

There are lots of different kinds of cancer cells, but they all have one thing in common. They are like fucking runaway obnoxious clowns. Imagine being at a nice bar with cool mature people. Then along comes evil Brad Wesley from the movie Roadhouse. He thinks he and his friends are gunna come in and do 20 shots a piece. Next thing you know, you got clowns messing things up for everyone. Getting all revved up, starting fights, vomiting, stealing money, hitting on your wife... Now that's a cancer thats got to go. Thats when Patrick Swazie, as Dalton, comes in and kicks their ass. In the body, those are your white blood cells, and specifically NK cells, that blast the cancer cells, and other goony ass invaders, into the next century. That is exactly what happens when your immune system is working as it should..

(Hey, if you need to take your mind off things for an hour and a half, you cant go wrong watching, or watching again, the movie Roadhouse. Its one of those films that is unintentionally good for a laugh. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_House_(1989_film)

How this all got started...

Meet me...

Im my 30's and lead a very active lifestyle. I exercise regularly, In the warm weather I bike 12 miles a day, 3 to 4 days a week, plus swim a mile or two a week year round. I eat healthy, I drink socially, stay out of trouble, and never had a serious problem with my health before. The way things are going, Im looking at a nice long healthy life, right?

Well, aside from this bump in the road called Colon Cancer that I am dealing with right now, I still agree.

Here I will tell you all about this, and what I am doing to kick Cancer's ass.