Sunday, April 5, 2015
Mike and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Easter has a special meaning this year as Mike has come to know and accept the Lord as his Savior. We started going to a local church the week before Thanksgiving and became official members in January. Mike was also re-baptized in February. His faith and spirituality have added to his well being in fighting his cancer.
It has been awhile since I have written any updates on this blog. I have had other things that needed tended to, so my posting got pushed to the bottom of my to do list. I myself have been struggling with some "winter blues/depression" due to our long and cold winter as well as stress from my job, taking care of things here at home, and living with our life of Mike fighting his cancer. I have felt that Mike's cancer is defining our existence again with so much emphasis being placed on the things that Mike is doing in his fight. I will go into that in more detail further into this post.
Mike arrived for his first FOLFIRI chemo treatment on Monday, January 26th. This drug made him sick even before he finished receiving it and leaving the cancer treatment center that day. Mike went to his workplace and got things ready to go for his next day at work. He got up the next morning, January 27th, and went to work as usual. However, he only was able to tolerate working until around 10:00 that morning. He had to come home because he felt sick and tired. He did not experience being this sick and tired with the FOLFOX. As Mike progressed through the rest of the week, he slowly felt better. His anti-nausea medicine really did not do anything to help him. Mike then had his 2nd chemo treatment on Monday, February 9th. He again experienced the same sickness and tiredness as he did following the 1st treatment, He ended up coming home from work mid-morning the next day. It was very hard for me seeing Mike not feeling well and knowing that there was nothing I could do to make things any easier for him. His employer (and great friends) have been really good to both Mike and I. He said that he was not going to allow Mike to continue working the day of and the day following his treatments, especially due to Mike feeling so tired that he was having trouble staying awake while doing his job.
Mike had scheduled a follow up appointment for his 3rd chemo treatment for February 23rd. However, at this point, Mike decided that he was no longer going to do any further chemo treatments so he decided to cancel that appointment. I called the oncologist to see if we could come in and talk to the him because I wanted to keep an open relationship with him in case Mike needed him for further care. They also wanted to have this documented in Mike's records so that if anything further was needed down the line and needed to be approved by his insurance, they would have information. That appointment was scheduled for February 25th. When the oncologist came in, he asked what Mike wanted from him.. Mike told him that he did not want to do any more of the chemo treatments because he wanted to try some things on his own. The oncologist stated he wished Mike would have done a total of 4 treatments and then had testing to see if the cancer was responding to this drug. He was not happy that Mike was once again deciding to take matters into his own hands as far as his cancer was concerned.
We asked the oncologist about his surprise that Sloan Kettering had not wanted to do clinical trials on Mike because he was not symptomatic. He stated that Sloan would not want to accept Mike into their program if he would not follow through with that program in it's entirety. He stated that would throw off all of their results. Mike told the oncologist that he was hoping to go to Germany in April. Mike had some new things he wanted to try.
That leads me to the things Mike has changed in his fight. His day is consumed with taking supplements, getting things prepared for his meals for the day, shopping for those items and supplements, doing coffee enemas, and doing some sort of heat therapy. One such heat therapy is the infra red sauna he uses and the other is the BioMat which is something new he has started using.
Mike ordered the Amethyst Richway Biomat. The following is taken from their site: http://www.biomat.com
Mike has been using this mat since approximately the beginning of March. He uses it for an hour in the evening at 158 degrees. He also uses it at 109 degrees when during the night when he sleeps. Mike's local alternative doctor was so impressed with the information about this BioMat that he ordered it for use in his clinic.
Mike has also switched to eating only raw vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, green peppers, as well as ingredients used in making salads. He does not eat cooked vegetables because when they are cooked above 105 degrees, they lose all their beneficial nutrients. He is allowed to eat fresh caught salmon or organic chicken (the size of a deck of cards) once a week. He rarely eats any of these two items. He is also juicing using swiss chard, collard greens, a green apple, ginger, romaine lettuce, squash, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, cabbage, and a lemon. He has given up carbohydrates, and dairy products. He does do the Budwig procotol diet of Flaxseed oil and Quark/Cottage cheese.
Quark and cottage cheese are rich in sulphurated proteins. When these proteins are mixed with fat, the fat becomes water soluble and no longer needs the liver’s help to be absorbed into the body’s cells. Dr. Budwig’s method saturates the body with omega 3 anti-inflammatory fatty acids, a process which oxidizes the cells and restores health at a cellular level. (from Organic Lifestyle Magazine).
Mike had a new CEA blood test done on Monday, March 30th. His CEA level is down to 255.4 from 626.3. I was so excited and thrilled. When I relayed the results to Mike, his expression was nonemotional. His feeling on this is that we really do not know if the results are due to what Mike has been doing himself or if it is mainly from the two chemo sessions that he had done, but the last one chemo treatment was 7 weeks before this test. I am hoping that his results are due to all the effort and discipline that Mike is putting into fighting this disease. Mike had to reschedule his follow up doctor appointment with the oncologist, so he will not find out his response to this result until April 20th. Mike feels that the oncologist will say that it is all due to the two chemo treatments. We will have to wait and see how that turns out and what else he may have to say about Mike's decision to do no further chemo.
Mike has two other things he wants to add to his regiment of treatment. I will go into detail in future blogs as they become available to him and he starts using them. Everyone has to decide and do what is best for their personal fight against cancer. What works for some, may not work for others, Find out what the thing is for you can go with it. Mike just knows that chemo is not a right fit for him.
Mike and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Easter has a special meaning this year as Mike has come to know and accept the Lord as his Savior. We started going to a local church the week before Thanksgiving and became official members in January. Mike was also re-baptized in February. His faith and spirituality have added to his well being in fighting his cancer.
It has been awhile since I have written any updates on this blog. I have had other things that needed tended to, so my posting got pushed to the bottom of my to do list. I myself have been struggling with some "winter blues/depression" due to our long and cold winter as well as stress from my job, taking care of things here at home, and living with our life of Mike fighting his cancer. I have felt that Mike's cancer is defining our existence again with so much emphasis being placed on the things that Mike is doing in his fight. I will go into that in more detail further into this post.
Mike arrived for his first FOLFIRI chemo treatment on Monday, January 26th. This drug made him sick even before he finished receiving it and leaving the cancer treatment center that day. Mike went to his workplace and got things ready to go for his next day at work. He got up the next morning, January 27th, and went to work as usual. However, he only was able to tolerate working until around 10:00 that morning. He had to come home because he felt sick and tired. He did not experience being this sick and tired with the FOLFOX. As Mike progressed through the rest of the week, he slowly felt better. His anti-nausea medicine really did not do anything to help him. Mike then had his 2nd chemo treatment on Monday, February 9th. He again experienced the same sickness and tiredness as he did following the 1st treatment, He ended up coming home from work mid-morning the next day. It was very hard for me seeing Mike not feeling well and knowing that there was nothing I could do to make things any easier for him. His employer (and great friends) have been really good to both Mike and I. He said that he was not going to allow Mike to continue working the day of and the day following his treatments, especially due to Mike feeling so tired that he was having trouble staying awake while doing his job.
Mike had scheduled a follow up appointment for his 3rd chemo treatment for February 23rd. However, at this point, Mike decided that he was no longer going to do any further chemo treatments so he decided to cancel that appointment. I called the oncologist to see if we could come in and talk to the him because I wanted to keep an open relationship with him in case Mike needed him for further care. They also wanted to have this documented in Mike's records so that if anything further was needed down the line and needed to be approved by his insurance, they would have information. That appointment was scheduled for February 25th. When the oncologist came in, he asked what Mike wanted from him.. Mike told him that he did not want to do any more of the chemo treatments because he wanted to try some things on his own. The oncologist stated he wished Mike would have done a total of 4 treatments and then had testing to see if the cancer was responding to this drug. He was not happy that Mike was once again deciding to take matters into his own hands as far as his cancer was concerned.
We asked the oncologist about his surprise that Sloan Kettering had not wanted to do clinical trials on Mike because he was not symptomatic. He stated that Sloan would not want to accept Mike into their program if he would not follow through with that program in it's entirety. He stated that would throw off all of their results. Mike told the oncologist that he was hoping to go to Germany in April. Mike had some new things he wanted to try.
That leads me to the things Mike has changed in his fight. His day is consumed with taking supplements, getting things prepared for his meals for the day, shopping for those items and supplements, doing coffee enemas, and doing some sort of heat therapy. One such heat therapy is the infra red sauna he uses and the other is the BioMat which is something new he has started using.
Mike ordered the Amethyst Richway Biomat. The following is taken from their site: http://www.biomat.com
The core of the Richway BioMat technology is a combination of far infrared rays, negative ion effects and the conductive properties of amethyst channels. These three powerful health stimulators are combined in a single, easy-to-use product with remarkable healing properties. The amethyst BioMat delivers soothing, deep-penetrating heat while stimulating the regeneration of damaged cells in your body. It’s a safe and natural way to achieve optimal health now and maintain a stronger, more resilient body in the future. This highly effective therapy is now available to medical professionals and home consumers who want to improve health and well-being with products based on Nobel prize-winning scientific research pioneered by NASA and developed using pure, natural materials.
The following video will explain the purpose of the Bio-Mat.Mike has been using this mat since approximately the beginning of March. He uses it for an hour in the evening at 158 degrees. He also uses it at 109 degrees when during the night when he sleeps. Mike's local alternative doctor was so impressed with the information about this BioMat that he ordered it for use in his clinic.
Mike has also switched to eating only raw vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, green peppers, as well as ingredients used in making salads. He does not eat cooked vegetables because when they are cooked above 105 degrees, they lose all their beneficial nutrients. He is allowed to eat fresh caught salmon or organic chicken (the size of a deck of cards) once a week. He rarely eats any of these two items. He is also juicing using swiss chard, collard greens, a green apple, ginger, romaine lettuce, squash, cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, cabbage, and a lemon. He has given up carbohydrates, and dairy products. He does do the Budwig procotol diet of Flaxseed oil and Quark/Cottage cheese.
Quark and cottage cheese are rich in sulphurated proteins. When these proteins are mixed with fat, the fat becomes water soluble and no longer needs the liver’s help to be absorbed into the body’s cells. Dr. Budwig’s method saturates the body with omega 3 anti-inflammatory fatty acids, a process which oxidizes the cells and restores health at a cellular level. (from Organic Lifestyle Magazine).
Mike had a new CEA blood test done on Monday, March 30th. His CEA level is down to 255.4 from 626.3. I was so excited and thrilled. When I relayed the results to Mike, his expression was nonemotional. His feeling on this is that we really do not know if the results are due to what Mike has been doing himself or if it is mainly from the two chemo sessions that he had done, but the last one chemo treatment was 7 weeks before this test. I am hoping that his results are due to all the effort and discipline that Mike is putting into fighting this disease. Mike had to reschedule his follow up doctor appointment with the oncologist, so he will not find out his response to this result until April 20th. Mike feels that the oncologist will say that it is all due to the two chemo treatments. We will have to wait and see how that turns out and what else he may have to say about Mike's decision to do no further chemo.
Mike has two other things he wants to add to his regiment of treatment. I will go into detail in future blogs as they become available to him and he starts using them. Everyone has to decide and do what is best for their personal fight against cancer. What works for some, may not work for others, Find out what the thing is for you can go with it. Mike just knows that chemo is not a right fit for him.
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