Well it has been 12 days since I finished radiation and I think the skin is finally getting better. I have had 3 natural baby deliveries and thought I had a high tolerance for pain, but burns are a new category for sure. The hardest part is when I change bandages, the skin can tear, so I finally realized soaking then in the tub is the only way to safely get them off.
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I found this great link that summarizes some of the research about cancer fighting foods and protocols. It is a good reminder to many of us and I personally need to have tunnel focus on this list. Asa mother of three, what the kids want to eat is totally different from what I should consume, and I have to use my will power not to snack on easy stuff that they like:)
I am so thankful to be done with the boosting (end or radiation)! It was a very painful 5 days of electron beam treatments, on severely burned and raw skin. I thank the many friends who drove me and dropped off meals because I was exhausted at the end of each day. Here's a picture of the kind and skilled technicians at Exeter Hospital. I will miss them, but not miss the machine! I told them nothing personal, but I hope to never see them again:) A few people have asked me what I am taking during radiation to support my body. Regarding the skin, for the first 27 days I used a calendula cream and body butter that I made (lanolin, coconut oil, jojoba oil, cold pressed olive oil, beeswax, lavender & chamomile essential oil and distilled water to whip it into a lotion) which worked great until the very end when the burns became open so I had to switch to silver sulfadiazine cream (for wet oozing areas) and Aquafor. A friend, Tracey found something called Miaderm-L with 4% Lidocaine HCI, a topical analgesic lotion which also helped to numb the pain. Thanks Tracey! The body butter recipe I tweaked from the book Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles page 224. The Exeter Hospital asked me for the recipe because they said it worked so well, so I photo copied the pages from the book for them to share with other patients.
I am taking a chemo drug 5FU (Capecitabine 1,500mg 2x day) only on radiation days because it was one of the drugs that showed to be effective with my chemo sensitivity test on the 2nd tumor. This drug does create extra sensitivity to radiation for abnormal cells. On the side of supplements and nutrition they said not to take antioxidants because it would interfere with radiation so I held off the vitamin C and Vitamin E until the end. However I take a cancer radiation support "CR Support" herbal blend from Evergreen Herbs out of CA, and Quercetin (750mg) which has been shown to protect against radiation-induced pulmonary injury in murine model studies and assist in preventing inflammation and also enhances tumor sensitivity during radiation. Vitamin K (90mcg) which is essential to be able to utilize/absorb Vitamin D which I also take 10,000iu/ day. In addition, I take 200mg of Selenium, and to protect my heart I take CoQ10 (400mg). Also another supplement Berberine has been shown to enhance the cytotoxicity of radiation to abnormal cells, so I take 1000 mg/day. Circuminin/Tumeric Extract (750mg/2x day) with DIM (dindolymethane 450mg/2x day) is an advance metabolite of Indole-3 Carbinol, the indole found in crucerferous vegetables. Since I am not good about getting enough veggies when my garden is over ice unless I am juicing, this hopefully covers that need. I also take Honeopathic pellets called Tramueel which seems to help with the trauma as well as Beladonna for inflammation and Arnica Montana for bruising and muscle soreness. I do occasionally juice organic carrots, a green apple and celery when my stomach can take the raw foods, but I need to take digestive enzymes with it because it can be tough on the stomach, especially when taking the chemo drug. One very interesting thing I learned while listening to a webinar group of health professionals discussing the power of foods during cancer treatment is relative to beets. I had been avoiding them because of the natural sugars, however during radiation I am taking one beet a day. The reason is beets have an ability to scavenge radioactive isotopes in the body and flush them out, so I figured it was a good idea to add them to my diet. And as always, I take Milk Thistle herb (1050mg) to help detoxify the liver and Gotu Kola Leaf (850mg) which I have read a lot about regarding cancer. Both of those herbs I get from Mountain Rose Herbs online. I also ordered some of my skin care oils from that site. I can't say that I always take the entire list every day, but I certainly try to! Finally, I try to get in a good smoothie each morning after my hot lemon water. My smoothie consists of the following: 1 Cup unsweetened coconut milk 1/4 Cup of unsweetened whey protein powder with no additives (BiPro USA brand) 1 Teaspoon of Barley Grass powder (Vitamin B17 Activz brand organic) 1 Teaspoon of Sun Warrior brand super greens 1 Teaspoon of Alma fruit powder 1 Tablespoon of Nutiva brand Hemp Protein 2 Tablespoons of liquid minerals called Liquid Light from Sun Warrior 1 Tablespoon Modified Citrus Pectin (coats abnormal cells so they are seen by "NK cells") 1 Tablespoon of ground medicinal mushrooms combo (Turkey Tail, Reishi, Coriolus, Cordyceps, Umbellatus, Maitake, Beta-1,3-Glucan) 1/2 Cup liquid Chaga cold tea mixed with Reishi cold tea (Chaga mushroon is harvested locally off birch trees and has an orac value of 80,000; Reishi is ordered by Mountain Rose Herbs and is the most researched anti-cancer mushroom with a lot of clinical data. *You must not boil these to make your tea, but just keep the mushrooms under simmer point and then turn off the heat. Then let sit for a couple hours, strain and save in the fridge. I use distilled water when making my teas. 1/2 Cup of Essiac tea which I get from a person who I will share the info with privately, because the person was given the formula from the original nurse from Canada and chooses not to have a web site. There are many places you can get knock-offs of Essiac on line, but they are not the same formula. It is very affordable an from this source and prices have not gone up in 25 years since I have known this person. If you would like contact info, send me a message with a private way to contact you directly. That sums it up for now....hope it helps those out there who are looking to support their body through conventional radiation treatments:) Be well, keep your strength up and stay positive! This is what my skin condition looks like after the 28 days of radiation! Quite painful, but "normal" based on what the doctor said...still I was delayed in the "boosting" because of it. Want this to be finished with already!
So the radiation effects are much worse after this past week. I have not done the "boosting" yet because my skin condition has significant burns. I had the week off and will go back tomorrow to see if they will begin the 5 days in a row of boosting...it will depend on how the skin looks. I have to say this is far worse than any of the chemo and the pain is significant. Now I know why it scared me so much and I refused it the first time around! Anyway, I wanted to share a nice link to some cancer fighting foods that I came across recently. I am planning on filling my fridge with many of these foods and doing my best to make time to take them as much as possible:) Thanks for reading everyone! http://wakeupgethealthy.com/stop-feeding-cancer/
Today is my last day of radiation of the field including the left breast and lymph nodes under my arm! I will have 5-7 days of "boosting" certain areas including the scar tissue and incision area of my last surgery, but that will be minor compared to what I've endured. They said I did very well and my skin looks better than most, so I will share the body butter recipe I used with both the hospital and here on my blog soon. Feeling grateful to be done with this stage and on to the last round of Cisplatin chemotherapy which will begin in a couple of weeks...
I start the New Year with the tail end of my radiation treatments and I'm definitely feeling it now. It's day 27 of 33 treatments! The 5FU chemo pills were having an adverse effect after 4 weeks so I took the week of Christmas off which was actually good because I felt well for the festivities. Last week I started up the pills again 3 in the AM & 3 in the PM and am still feeling well in that regard. The main issue now is the pain from burning and bruising that the radiation causes. Especially in my armpit area, it is very black and blue. I've started wearing the lympodema sleeve again to prevent any swelling. Today I went back to the gym and just focused on the treadmill, legs and abs giving my arms a break. For the first time in a while I started feeling depressed, maybe because I had not exercised over the holiday break with the kids home. Or maybe it's because my kids don't seem to understand, how could they? They expect the same things of me and because I've tried to hide the effects from them in an effort not to make them worry, they don't seem to worry as far as I can tell. It's better that they don't worry. As a matter a fact I really hate it when I sense pity from people. Yet I do need more nurturing and support, but I've realized I have to surround myself with positive people. Luckily I have quite a few friends who fit the bill. I sang a solo "O Holy Night" at the Christmas Eve candlelight service and I was not sure if the teary eyed people were reacting to my voice or because of what I've been dealing with. Either way, I feel like going to church has become bitter sweet because I don't want to be viewed as someone who should be prayed for while bowing heads look down. I don't want those prayers. I wish people would look up and smile as I try to every day with gratitude and the belief that I will be ok. I try to see the other side of this journey with the outcome that I want and can't wait for this to be a distant memory. Happy New Year...I wish my readers peace, health and love in 2016! |