My Cancer Health Regimen
Photo by Lara Westrich on Unsplash
My breast cancer diagnosis was in February 5, 2014. I started chemotherapy in January 2015. It was a cocktail of Herceptin, Perjeta and Taxotere, which after 5 months was not working. I switched to Kadcyla/TDM1 and I have been responding very well; it had an immediate effect on me. After a few doses, all of the tumors shrunk to nothing. The little tumors in my left armpit that all added up in volume equivalent to a small lime are gone. The little ones on the left side of my neck are gone. The tumor in my left breast the size of an apple was gone. I have been on Kadcyla/TDM1 since the June 2015.
I look well and feel good, but there are side effects. One was slight lymphedema in my left arm, I was told it was something that doesn’t go away. One explanation is that the dead tumor mass was blocking circulation to my arm. The lymphedema went down and now it is hardly noticeable. I forget I had it.
The main side effect is low energy. I have to manage it everyday, taking care not to overexert myself.
SELF-CARE & ENEMAS
Enemas used to be part of the Merck manual. They used to be one of the first things administered because they were so effective. It is believed that enemas were removed from the manual because they worked so well and no money could be made off of them.
Since my diagnosis, I have been doing coffee enemas daily. My oncologist wasn't too supportive of them, but he didn't tell me not to do them. The nurse had some concerns but after I explained how it helps increase bile production to cleanse the body, she was interested in hearing more. I kept doing them consistently. It takes up to an hour of my day but during this time, I meditate, do EFT tapping, visualizations, chakra balancing and some limited calisthenics (all on my back). It is the most consistent part of my cancer regimen, it’s now been 2 1/2 years of it. I had lymphedema for maybe 4 to 5 months; it is gone. (As of 2/2/18 it's been 4 years of daily enemas and recently I have been backing off them here and there).
If you are concerned with enemas affecting the ability to empty your bowels on your own, I had no trouble. A couple of times I paused on them and after a day or two, I emptied out on my own, naturally. At one point, I went to see to a gastroenterologist because I thought I had parasites despite two negative stool tests. She suggested we do a colonoscopy to confirm the negative results and that no tumors had popped up. The report was perfect and she didn't remove a thing; I was clean as a whistle.
I also do detox baths 1 to 3 times a week. When the weather is cold, I lean closer to three per week.
DIET
My diet is a hybrid of things that I have tweaked over these couple of years: lots of salad, veggies (roasted, raw, sauteed, steamed) homemade vegan, raw dressings, bone broths, eggs, fish, chicken and beef here and there, almost everything is organic, mainly unprocessed foods, kombucha, one 24-hour fast every Monday, and I have really worked on not overeating. I cut out grains and only have it occasionally, minimized my sugar intake to occasional fruits, dark chocolate, stevia and sometimes maple sugar. I cut out coffee, got back on it and I'm off it again.
MENTALITY
I make sure to be mindful and grateful of what I have everyday. I surround myself with the friends and family who matter. I've weaned off the ones that stress me out or do not help even though they may have good intentions. I am better at not overextending myself. I am better at thinking twice about my needs and asking for help. I am better at learning to accept that sometimes people aren't capable of more and not to have expectations of them, no matter who they are and how close to me they once were. I am learning to give love to those same people despite the frustrations they may cause me. Everyone is dealing with their own problems.
Combining chemotherapy, self-care, a positive mentality and strong support circle is what is helping me. I will continue to peel the layers and keep my health up. The next step is to explore hypnosis and past-life regression.