YES! YES YES YES!!! There is light at the end of the tunnel! I will cut to the chase. We have no firm updates as of yet, as to whether this treatment is working or not, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we know how we are getting there. To best explain an update as to where I am, I am going to break it into a few parts. I will update you on the doctors here in Alberta, what they are saying about where I am at and what they would like me to do. I will then talk about the doctors in the United States and some amazing updates from them. Lastly, I will update you on all the amazing people I am working with on the naturopathic side of things, from food, my environment, my emotions! We are attacking this beast from all angles! It gave me no choice!!
Alberta Doctors
Before I start, please know and understand that I appreciate my medical team that has worked with me in Alberta. I know each and everyone of them is probably tired of me questioning them, but they respect me and my decisions as much as I respect them. Due to all the health budget cuts and what is happening in the world, I no longer meet the criteria as what they would call “urgent”. With the policies in place for Alberta Health, I have far exceeded my life expectancy, and there are more urgent cases. In some messed up way, I get that. We ended up taking a bit of a longer path, but a PET scan soon is what my medical team desperately needs to see 100% what is happening in my body. You may remember the problems with my kidney’s and that is still a concern. What we did do was an ultrasound of my bladder, kidneys, and liver, and then on my chest. It showed even more bumps and lumps on my chest! Many of you asked why I would get a PET Scan, which is more radiation and very hard on my kidney’s, when there are issues with my kidney’s. Yes, I get that. In my mind though, how do I real know what to go to battle for, if I do not know exactly what I am battling. Yes, my blood tests confirm what is going on, but we don’t know where. Does this make sense? In addition, I truly feel with everything that I am and how I am healing my body right now, that I will be able to manage the PET Scan just fine. On a funny note, one of the most common questions I get is why have I not lost my hair? LOL! Hair is a big deal, I know. We have so much work to do in changing our thoughts on what cancer treatments look like. Lots and lots of treatments have few side effects now. The latest cancer facilities in the world look at chemo treatments that caused you to lose your hair aa a thing of the past. But yes, I still have all my hair!!
The treatment my doctors started me on has been worse than I imagined though! The nausea has been the worst I have ever experienced. As I shared with you at the beginning, I have really had to strengthen my mind to deal with this. We have two more increases we need to do, or at least that is the plan. We increase on Monday, August 10 and again on August 17. This is pretty much the maximum of this medication. By that time, we are hoping to have had the PET Scan, an updated blood analysis and recommendations from surgeons as to what they can do. We should be able to put together a plan by the end of August or early September as to what my next steps are or if there are next steps. I must prepare myself that there truly may be no next steps. But that we will deal with when the time comes.
Doctors in the United States
I feel so privileged and honored to have met so many people along my journey that have got me connected with some of the most amazing doctors and with the latest research. I am excited, as on Monday, August 10 @ 2:00 pm Darren and I have a conference call with the medical team in the US, for them to provide their feedback. I am not sure if I had shared how I had to get copies of every single medical record from 2011 to now, scan them in, and send them to these doctors. That was a major job! But once they had them, and within 24 hours, they had reviewed everything and have recommendations on the treatment I am currently on, that there are newer clinical trials that I possibly can get on, what they might want to do surgically to get me the best odds, but to also deal with residual pain from the intense radiation I had. WOW!! That is all I can say is WOW!! We are so excited to hear what they have to say! The great thing too is that my Alberta doctors and the US doctors have and will continue to discuss my case and work together. I think my years of stubbornness and them knowing I am not stopping till I get my way has finally paid off. That being said, from the beginning with myself and my BFF who was diagnosed 6 weeks after me, both of us given grim outcomes, and that we are both still living and living large, they are very interested in what I am doing and what I do to help so many fight the big fight!!
Naturopathic and Holistic Medicine
Now, this is the fun stuff I love talking about! This is what made me transition my career to a lifelong passion not only for me, but for my family! And wow, I cannot believe the new research in this area and what the studies are showing! It is incredible! The doctors, and even my husband, told me not to take to much on with all the changes already happening. But I just knew I needed to do more than just what my medical doctors wanted to do. Yes, I know a lot in this area already, but I also knew I needed a new team to teach me what the latest is for nutrition, natural treatments, etc. Diving into this has saved my mind from going down many dark roads. This gave me something to learn and focus on. I cannot wait to share it with my community when I get back! I cannot wait to help so many more fighting the big “C” and give them even more hope!!
I won’t bore you with all the details on exactly what I am doing but, in a nutshell, we are getting my body to function at a therapeutic level of healing. They are monitoring my glucose, my ketones and a few other things. With their magic calculations they can tell me if my body is in this therapeutic range or not. I am going to start by saying that achieving this therapeutic range is not easy. Not easy at all. It took me probably about two weeks to get my body there. I pretty much hold it there, except for days where I am throwing up more than I am consuming. When my body does not have nutrition, it can’t be healing. In addition to this they have me on a daily fasting routine. I pretty much have either a 4- or 6-hour window where I can eat. I am fasting for at least 18 hours each day. This is a big part of getting your body to a therapeutic range as well. I was craving blueberries for some reason, so I had some outside of my eating window, thinking a few blueberries won’t make a different. WELL, I WAS WRONG! And I got in shit! LOL!!
Once I am done with the treatments, they will be starting me on various IV Drip therapies, which I have done before but not to the extent or the type they want me to do. I am looking forward to this!
Most of you know how passionate I am about my essential oils. How I believe down to the core of my soul they have saved me and gave me a life I never could have imagined. I knew that in some areas I got a bit lazy. For example, I would buy organic scrubs for my body instead of making my natural ones. Someone bought me a very beautiful candle and I didn’t throw it out. Small things like this. Well, these doctors set me straight! I have now removed all toxins in my environment! And I mean ALL toxins. When you live in a society that has come to accept so much toxicity as normal, it can become easy to forget what you learned. Well, I am all tuned up in this area now! I have learned so much science behind why certain veggies or plants fight cancer differently and how essential oils can work even better than I originally believed.
We must create a healthcare system that truly is a healthcare system, not a sick care system. We must bring all modalities together to truly give us the best odds possible not only for the length of our life, but for the quality of it as well!
If your medical doctor does not want to work with a naturopathic doctor, find a new doctor. If your doctor does not understand how nutrition can heal the body, learn it yourself. We need to be our own advocates and practice informed self-care! When I work with people and do what I call a “Lifestyle Overview”, informed self-care is something I talk about in great lengths. When we teach the pyramid of health it is right at the top. You know what is at the bottom of the pyramid? Nutrition. If you don’t have proper nutrition your body can’t accept the medical treatments as good as it should be and can’t fight off the viruses and bacteria like it should!