Survival Files: What I Am Learning

In the last month-and-a-half many have sent me tips and given me a heads up about what helped for them or a loved one who was or had gone through cancer. I am taking today to let you all know that I have been researching for some time and although things are overwhelming still, I was very overwhelmed the first time around and I am a little sad I didn't take more time then to read more and find out what was going on inside of me.

Since then I have learned a few things:

• most cancer (especially DCIS) is slow growing and can take 8-10 years to form a lump of any kind. If your diagnosis is DCIS, you have plenty of time to make informed decisions about what to do and how to go about treatment and you certainly don't have to have a double mastectomy!
• trauma to the breast can cause cancer cells to go from a dormant state to actively growing (trauma could definitely include six surgeries) What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer - John R. Lee
• DCIS will clear up if hormone levels of estrogen/progesterone can be balanced and the environment in our bodies is no longer cancer friendly. Some DCIS has been known to remain in a body and never grow into a lump at all. 
• our body needs iodine - most of us have very low iodine levels that affect much more than I ever knew. Iodine and Your Thyroid - Thompson
• based on the average diet, most people can be diagnosed with some form of leaky gut, and this affects every part of our overall health.
• many women are suffering from symptoms of estrogen dominance and it is wreaking havoc on their bodies, they commonly hear from their doctor "you are getting older..." What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause - John R. Lee 

This is very general of course and there are a lot more details. I started my real serious reading earlier this spring when I didn't like the fact that the doctor who was taking care of my thyroid told me that in six months he would ultrasound again and if my thyroid nodules had grown any he would take out my thyroid.

I didn't like not knowing what was going on so I started researching the thyroid to see if there was anything that we can do to reduce the size of the nodules. Through that research I was able to find out more about what I would have done different three years ago. In the coarse of this reading, I have now been diagnosed again with breast cancer and I know that the environment in my body is obviously a great place to grow cancer.

There can be very passionate people when it comes to cancer treatment. Some know that cancer cells are present in our bodies all the time and if our bodies are strong and working properly, our immune system can take care of them before they are detectable or can cause harm. I know some see the cancer treatment world as a money making pharmaceutical driven empire that herds people through the given treatments based on statistics that haven't improved much in the last twenty years.

As you can see above, looking at my reading material of late, I am following my doctor's protocol. But, as I do, I will be continuing to work on strengthening my body. I have learned in the book Eat Dirt the importance of getting my leaky gut under control and feeding my immune system foods that will keep it working.

Today Mom and I stopped in to the health food store down the street from us. I have read about a lot of things that I want to start incorporating in my diet especially as I look ahead to chemo. Without a specific list I wasn't sure what I was looking for but we browsed and I checked prices on a few things that I know I would like to get soon. After she dropped me off I got busy around here on a few things that I was planning to do. She came by bearing gifts about an hour later.

She had two bottles of an organic kombucha tea that she had found at the grocery store. We had asked the owner of the health food store what it was and we did find out it was a type of fermented mushroom. Not thinking that sounded too yummy, we were curious about it. She had found some at the store so we tried it. It was surprisingly good. Definitely something I could drink regularly.

I am also going to start drinking Trim Healthy Mama Good Girl Moonshine which I was able to get the ingredients for earlier at the store. All in the process of getting my gut back in line and working properly. I would highly recommend Eat Dirt if you haven't read it.

So, you could say I am combining my treatment. My number one question for my oncologist was "what is going on in my body that is making it a breeding ground for cancer?" In the documentaries I have watched and the books I am reading, I am finding out a lot. It is very overwhelming, but once I break it down and focus on one area at a time, there are definitely changes that can be made.

There is a lot of passion on both the medical side and the homeopathic side of cancer treatment. I am using essential oils, changing key things in my diet and adding a few things that before would have been strange to daily routine. I am also healing from surgery and looking ahead to chemo treatment and possibly radiation. I am praying to a big God who knows how I was knit together in my mother's womb and I trust that He will continue to show me the best way to take care of me. I am already thankful for the changes He has made.