Wake Up Call

It's been exactly one month since we got the news that the H-man has the dreaded cancer! Talk about wake up calls!

We thought we lived pretty healthy lives: reasonable diets, moderate exercise, take herbs and vitamins, get enough sleep, use environmentally friendly products, etc. We weren't radical or anything, but read and researched a lot of issues before making decisions. We're not really part of the "consumer" generation - we shop Goodwill (or Bon Volet as we call it) for pre-owned clothes, keep our cars (well-maintained) for 15 years or so, repair and maintain whenever we can (my washer is over 35 years old). We shop at the local farm markets for produce in season. We cook and eat at home most of the time. And because we both need to lose some extra pounds (and the H-man had a tiny gout episode in the spring) we had made even more changes several months ago to avoid / reduce / eliminate certain foods like red meat and sugar .

But I guess these cells - a slow growing neuroendocrine carcinoma - have been floating around in his body for who knows how many years. And because we are fairly well tuned into our bodies, he found it as soon as it presented the first external sign.

These past four weeks have been ones of extreme education. All the tests, doctors' visits, and lab work have consumed vast amounts of time (and to some extent resources). And while we have great confidence in the medical professionals who are treating him, and they all practice "disclosure", we need to digest the information they tell us, then read and understand more on our own. So that's what we've been doing.....

I won't deny that allopathic medicine can play a significant role in treating many diseases and medical problems. But it does not seem to go far enough. It often targets a specific symptom, rather than the whole organism, the whole body (physical, emotional and spiritual). Which is why for the most part we have relied on my training in herbalism to provide the "cures" for many of the small day to day ailments we incur (colds, flu, cuts, bruises, upset stomach, etc.) In reality, we have rarely been ill. But when we do, we listen to our bodies and pay attention to their need to purge (mucus from a cold) and rest (stay home in bed). None of this modern "I'm indispensible" crap (to be blunt) by taking a pill and going to work where it gets spread to every other person at work (thank you very much!)

Back to the point. Yes, we are doing as the doctors have recommended, and the H-man has started chemo. But as many times as we have been to the treatment center, no one has talked about any of the other factors that might play a part - like diet. This is a BIG center, yet they only have a part time dietitian with whom we can "request" an appointment. They have a pamphlet about diet - but it's all about making sure the person eats enough to keep strength up. Sure, they mention eating fruits and vegetables, but also stress meat for the protein. They never talk about any of the "bad" foods that might contribute to the cancer. This just seems so wrong!

O.K. I am not a dietitian, and of course, for every "fact" I can find about a specific topic, I usually find "facts" to refute it. That just makes wading through all the research more time consuming to determine the underlying truths. I really wish there was a place I could find all the information I need neatly laid out so I could just "do" it - follow the advice and be done with it. But of course, it can never be that simple. Maybe it's out there somewhere and I just haven't found it yet. I'll keep looking.

In the meantime, I'll track what I find here and the things we're doing to make a difference!