When we first found out about my cancer diagnosis, we did research on the best diet to be on. We saw a lot about anti-inflammatory…no dairy, no gluten, no sugar. So we felt that was the best way to go until we met with our nutritionist and dietician. Our nutritionist is a very interesting guy and had a lot of data to back up his thinking. You could just tell this is what he loved to do, help people eat better for their personal lifestyle, whatever that may be.
For me obviously we wanted me on a diet regimen that would help the chemotherapy work, maybe lessen the blow of all the side effects and help the cancer cells breakdown. Our nutritionist, Dr. LP helped break down the right diet for me. He basically cared more about when things when into my body and certain things to avoid. His biggest concern was bacteria, so he ruled out no raw veggies (specifically spinach) and I should only eat raw fruits if they are thoroughly washed. This made sense to me because every time I’ve seen a produce recall it was spinach, and who does it deathly affect? Those with a compromised immune system…me. He also wanted me to avoid door handles and to obviously wash my hands several times throughout the day. Dr. LP wanted me to eat every two hours to keep me full which would help the nauseas and help keep my body working where it needed to, on the cancer cells. He wanted me to eat a “toothless diet” where food is pre-digested, that way my system isn’t overworking where it shouldn’t. My body is under attack and all it’s warriors are needed in a different area, not trying hard to break down food.
He put me on Glutamine, IP-6 and Melatonin. Glutamine helps fight cancer cells by tricking the tumor to feed off the glutamine, but then the chemotherapy does it’s job and kills the tumor. (Don’t quote me on this, I’m still learning as I go…this new chapter I’m in is very scientific haha) IP-6 helps prohibit the growth of cancer, it repairs cells, it suppresses the tumor, and inhibits mastitis, inflammation, and free radical production. A very good supplement for my situation. Melatonin not only helps with sleep, which is very important for my body to heal during this stage, but also helps the treatment of cancer with estrogen fueled cancer (my cancer), melatonin can help regulate excess estrogen levels. It also helps side effects of chemotherapy- weight loss, nerve pain, weakness, and lowered number of clot-forming cells.
Dr. LP said I could incorporate some dairy and some grains into my diet, he said that if there was anything I really didn’t like, not to eat it and if there was something I was craving to allow myself just that. Now I don’t know about any of you ladies who going into pregnancy said, “I am going to eat so clean and only fill myself and my baby up with the best produce possible!” That was 100% me. And I think I did a pretty good job…but that first trimester was rough and soon enough I gave in to the pancakes with peanut butter and bagel sandwiches. It was like I was in survival mode. Same thing happened going into chemo, I wanted to be such a squeaky clean eater. But then BAM I was hit by the giant truck o’ nauseas and was desperate to feel good. Evan and I have a new running joke about him finding my GI spot, because that’s really what it is. What was going to make me feel good today? One day it was a grilled cheese, the next Luby’s mac n cheese, the next a blueberry bagel with peanut butter and honey. When you’re in that desperate phase and feeling so unwell, and you only feel good when eating or asleep, you give yourself a little grace and eat what makes the belly happy.
Now that I seem to be resurfacing out of my week of fog, I hope to incorporate some healthier foods into my diet. It seems I’ll be on this rollercoaster where I get broken down for a week, and then I build back up for a week and on and on the cycle goes until I am done with chemo. So during those rough weeks, you can betcha that I will not make myself feel guilty for indulging in what makes me feel temporarily good.
Next we met with the dietician, Dr. AW, she had some different opinions than Dr. LP, but she was very helpful. She gave me some meal ideas and we talked about what foods would be truly beneficial for me, like cruciferous vegetables, no red meat, no processed meat (bacteria), and recommended some protein shakes to go that would help when I wasn’t feeling up to eating.
I’ll revisit with both of these doctors when I am partially through this chemo battle.
The other alternative healers I have added into my regime are: Sacred Frankincense, I have the essential oil that I lather on my chest daily and I have the resin burner and resin which we burn every night…our room is starting to smell (what I can imagine a holy temple in Israel smells like haha). I use Thieves essential oil every day to help keep my immune system strong, I use DiGize essential oil every morning in between my thyroid medicine and eating (30 minutes) when I feel pretty nauseas, but can’t take anything yet. I used AromaEase during my first infusion to help calm down my anxiety. I also like the citrus oils in my water because for a few days there water tasted metallic, so lemon or grapefruit really helped that. I use Dr. Bronner’s peppermint body wash (while I wait for my YL to come in) because it is non-toxic, YoungLiving body lotion, YoungLiving deodorant, YoungLiving facewash… I was pretty serious about using non-toxic items before I was diagnosed with cancer, but now I am absolutely adamant. We use all things Thieves too...laundry soap, hand soap, fruit & veggie spray to clean our produce, dish soap, etc. Everything is a carcinogen and sure I suppose if you were diagnosed like me you could just say, “Well the hell with it.” But that is not my mentality, I have little girls to raise and teach… what kind of lesson would it be if I told them they were just going to get cancer no matter what they did? Um no. I will teach them, protect them and guide them down the right path. And we all know there are pretty obvious things in life that point toward cancer, and we all do them. It’s time to take the extra step and do what’s best for our bodies and our future generations. God gives us an intuition and common sense for a reason, and every time I don't listen I get so mad at myself, because your intuition is always right. Time to start listening and making better choices! Right?