75 Pills a Day!

Four days since chemo and I decided to preserve energy and not go to church.  Lonni and Cy are in Northern Wisconsin with all those obnoxious Packer fans.  Looks like a winter storm will hold them another day.  It is hard to imagine a better wife and son than those two.

I’m often asked about side effects so here is the current update: cold reaction up quite a bit.  This means when I touch something cold or even room temp water or metal, my fingers and toes (cold floor) go numb and all tinglely.  However, this is a temporary condition that is manageable.  Weakness is clearly a side effect and we have timed the chemo to give me the weekend to recover.  On Monday I’ll work from home and hope to be in the swing of things by Tuesday.  Then the following week should be fine.  I have had zero nausea – is that not terrific?!  Another reason not to go to church is that chemo knocks down the white blood cells and hence my immune system is compromised.  Catching a cold that could get worse could be quite serious, so an ounce of prevention…  I am so happy to have been resistant so far.  My blood counts were very good prior to the last round.  My prayer is that this kind of cycle could be typical.  My only significant issue at this point is my appetite.  I simply do not have one.  I am never hungry and must force myself to eat.  When 50 lbs overweight this is the kind of thing I wished for.  As they say, be careful what you wish for.

When first looking into a course of treatment, I was glad to hear that the Block Center ‘s  methods were designed to reduce side effects; it was good news, but I wasn’t sure how much to believe.  I am becoming a believer and if things continue like this I’ll be so grateful.   Thanks for all your prayers, some friends have told me that they are praying specially against the side effects.  Thanks.

People marvel when they hear that I now take about 75 pills and capsules a day.  Ten are medications but the remainder are supplements.   What are they for?, is the next question.   My goal is to starve the cancer of nutrition while at the same time hitting it with the chemo to knock down (out) all the cancer cells.  Third,  feeding the body what it needs to prevent the cancer’s resurgence.  So the food I don’t eat, plus the food I do eat, plus the nutrient supplements is the formula.  Simple to say, harder to do.  Funny isn’t it that the thing that used to be the hardest – stay away from food, is now the easiest (could go from rise to rest without eating).  So eating right is a challenge – particularly not wasting away from lack of protein.  I continue to lose weight slowly.  Another funny reversal: in 62 years of living I’ve never before stepped on a scale wishing the weight to be up!    Never!!  This has been an effective weight loss plan.  Though, I would recommend eating right and exercising -- just as effective, a lot less bother.  Given my previous state of denial I wouldn’t have been reading this blog if a friend was writing it.  So, therefore, I am writing it, and in my ear I hear the voice of my dearly departed mother, “Well let that be a lesson to you.”  Yes Mom, it certainly is!  The lesson of a life-time, one could say.

So what are all those supplements, anyway?

Some replace what my diet limits.  I don’t eat dairy and meat because those fats feed cancer.  But the body needs fat but cancer loves bad fat (Omega 6).  So eight (the biggest 8) are omega 3 fish oil capsules. Inflammation aids cancer; some of my supplements are anti-inflammatory and also are antioxidants that fight damage to our cells caused by free radicals, others strength the body against fatigue and exhaustion, vitamin C & D are critical, (I was very low in both), others provide the essential daily nutrients needed for optimal health and aid immune support, others (probiotics) aid the digestive system – a big issue for me since surgery.

Anyway, it goes on and on and this is the simplest, most basic explanation – doesn’t rate high enough to call it a primer.  If you have reasons to do serious research I recommend Dr, Block's book, "Life over Cancer".  There are many others that address this topic in depth.

Well, I’m going to close cuz I have not taken my morning supplements – yum, yum.  Got to get crackin.

(I posted yesterday as well, including an upbeat story.)