Transformation

I have believed for a long time our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions have a huge impact on our health and ability to heal. It is up to us to create the best environment possible for that healing to take place. This belief was clarified and reaffirmed when I watched a powerful documentary "HEAL" (available on Netflix). The story presents credible evidence that "we are not victims of unchangeable genes, nor should we buy into a scary prognosis. The fact is we have more control over our health and life than we have been taught to believe".

 After studying thousands of cases of radical remissions, Dr. Kelly Turner discovered these nine common things that people did to heal themselves:

We all know - change is hard. All I can do is give it my best effort, and accept that sometimes I'm just a work in progress.

Looking at this road map for healing, here are some of the many small decisions I make every day to promote my healing and decrease my chance of metastasis:

CHANGE YOUR DIET: I dropped the "radically" part. I considered some of the extreme diets popularized on social media and realize those are a setup for failure, and could be potentially harmful. Everything in moderation works for me.

I am following many of the recommendations in the book Anticancer: A New Way of Life, by  David Servan-Schreiber. This book was very helpful in naming the specific foods that would bolster my immune system and improve my overall health. Here is a summary of the changes I'm working on:

20 Anticancer Rules

I'm consciously choosing organic foods more often, adding more fish meals, reducing animal protein and increasing plant protein, adding spices and herbs to my cooking, especially turmeric with black pepper, choosing omega-3 eggs. I'm reading food labels closely. If it has a long list of unrecognizable chemicals, it's not going in my body.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH: To me, this means "vigilant surveillance". I met with a medical oncologist that I trust, Dr. Nadine McKhaeel. We set up a scanning protocol for the next 10 years for my liver and lungs, with blood work, every 6 months. Early detection of metastatic tumors could help my prognosis.

It also means keeping up with the myriad of important checkups and health maintenance actions we need at any age: dental exams and maintenance, eye exams, vaccinations. Small problems can turn into much bigger ones if you neglect basic health care. Make time and prioritize it.

Early this morning, I had the first abdominal ultrasound. The results are exactly what I hope to maintain: "no evidence of cancer in your liver".

Today would have been my friend Sheri's 70th birthday. She passed away on February 21 after a three-year ordeal with cancer. Her courage inspired me and I miss her.

I plan to explore more on the emotional/spiritual aspect of healing in another post.

Moving ahead :) - First check-up

There is a big grin on my face today. The first follow-up exam after the radiation with the ocular oncologist was this morning.
He says:  the tumor has shrunk by one-third!

The radioactive plaque therapy was successful, and the tumor may continue to shrink even more over the next year.

My vision is great - 20/30 (with glasses) in the melanoma eye. If any problems come up later, they can be addressed with surgery. It looks like I will keep the vision I have now!

I will have scans of liver and lungs in a few months, and for the rest of my life. I'm not worried. Newer immunotherapy treatments are being approved all the time.

These results are surely evidence that all your prayers are being answered. Thank you with all my heart.