What I've been doing...

 This post is written to answer the question, "what have you done to fight cancer?"

What I want to stress is that these things were MY answers.  I am willing to share them in case they can be helpful, but every person's answers will be unique.  I almost did chemotherapy, and I understand why people do it.  I am grateful that so far, I have been able to fight this with natural therapies.  Fighting cancer is a very personal journey.

So, with that disclaimer, here is a summary of what I've done so far.

Prayers & fasting - myself and so many friends and family.  Through those prayers, the spirit has guided me with what to do with diet & supplements, along with helping me feel peace. There was a plan from my oncologist in place to start chemotherapy if my weekly blood test ever shows a rising hcg level, but so far we have amazingly blessed that it has dropped every week since beginning the following natural treatments:

Raw diet.  At first I did a 4-day carrot juice fast with supplements, then added in raw salads.  After many weeks, a naturopath had me add in 1 egg, 2 oz. of fish, some beans, one apple, and some berries to my daily diet of juice & salad.  I top the salads with Bragg's vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, and curry powder.  I also include kale daily.

Absolutely no sugars.  Cancer feeds on sugar.

A salad that my oldest daughter made for me :)

In my daily salads, I include mostly cancer-fighting vegetables:  carrots, cabbage, broccoli, beet, ginger, sprouts (alfalfa, clover, broccoli), 1/2 an avocado, onion, garlic (important!).  Greens are okay, but they don't fight the cancer as much as the other veggies.  The avocado is my favorite part, I look forward to it every day!

I haven't eaten much fruit, but if I do include fruit, I make sure it is a fruit that fights cancer.  I only include berries and up to 1 apple a day.  Raspberries include both laetrile and ellagic acid, which fights cancer.  Sometimes I make a smoothie with kale, berries, 1/2 an apple, carrot juice  (it isn't sweet enough without the juice), and coconut oil.

I have lost a lot of weight, which was fine for me, but wouldn't be fine for someone who is already thin.  They would need to include lots of coconut milk or oil, avocadoes, etc. 

Carrot juice (1 quart per day), and carrot/beet/ginger juice (1 quart per day). Although carrot juice is high in glucose, the theory is that it contains so many cancer killing compounds that the cancer dies when it tries to use the glucose from the carrots.

Laetrile (in the form of apricot pits, I take about 30-40 a day.  http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Laetrile.html   They are extremely bitter, but I chew them up and swallow them with water). For more information about laetrile & cancer, read "World Without Cancer"

Dr. Christopher's Blood Stream formula (8 capsules daily).  I purchased the bulk powder and filled capsules myself - much less expensive.

I divide the capsules up into this container each morning to save time.

Red clover herbal tea - 1 quart/day

Turmeric powder (on food & in capsules) (8 capsules daily).  I recently bought a bag of turmeric powder from  The Bulk Herb Store, and fill them myself.  The Bulk Herb Store is one of my favorites.

Udo's Oil (3-6-9 blend) (8 capsules daily)

Essaic Tea (2-4 times daily).  This is an amazing supplement.  There are a few brands, but this one is the original formula.  You can read amazing reviews on Amazon. com about Essaic Tea. 

The following Standard Process supplements (The theory is that Standard Process supplements contain only  "whole food" nutrients, so you aren't getting any synthetic vitamins that could do more harm than good):
Catalyn (a multi-vitamin)
Pancreatic enzymes (so important!) I take Standard Processes Multi-Zyme (12 per day)
Vitamin D (Cataplex D)
Calcium Lactate (take the vitamin D along with this)
Cataplex C (8-12 daily)
Cruciferous Complete (4 daily)

Sleep - in a blessing I was told that I needed more sleep and rest.  It is hard to do, but I improve so much when I am diligent with it.

Vitamin D - At the beginning, I tried to lay out in the sun at least once a day.  Now that the weather is colder, I just try to go outside whenever possible.  Vitamin D is very important for the immune system.

Weekly hcg tests - I am blessed that the type of cancer I had was one that I could see the progress of it on a weekly basis through a simple blood test.  This made it easier to try natural therapies.  If I had to wait months between a biopsy or ct scans, then it would have made this decision much harder.  Also - the original ct scans and x-rays I had done came back clear - I was lucky that it hadn't spread outside my uterus.  I really believe that my cancer was caught the week it began to grow.  Most cancers aren't found until they've formed a tumor (months or years after they became cancerous).  I feel so thankful for this, and have so much empathy for those who have more serious cancers. 

*One key with a lot of the food & supplements is to remember that taste is not important - healing and nutrients are important.  If something tastes gross - just get it down as quickly as possible, and get your mind off of it. I'm inspired by a girl (link to her website below) who beat cancer by chugging a big green vegetable smoothie each day, when she hated salads, etc.
http://www.greendrinkdiaries.com/green-drink-psychology/

Exercise is also very important for cancer - but I haven't had a lot of energy for it.  My favorite exercise is going on a brisk walk outdoors with my family.  Recently I've also added in some cardio with interval training, and weight routines.  It feels great to be exercising again!

Three helpful websites:
http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/
www.cancertutor.com/
http://www.greendrinkdiaries.com/

Well, that is a quick summary that of course doesn't include all the emotions, thoughts, research, prayers, fears and hopes that are involved behind the decisions.  I know that I have been really blessed, and I honestly count this experience as one of the great blessings in my life. 

Waiting...

I was reminded that I forgot to post last week's hcg result on this blog.  It was at 167.1  It was an exact 1/3 drop from the previous week.  We're getting so close to zero!  It seems like I could relax a little, but I still worry.  Last night I dreamed that this week was the exact same number - and I had to decide whether or not to do chemotherapy.  I was glad to wake up. 

I more juice fasting this week, just all day Monday until Tuesday evening.  I did carrot/beet/ginger, plain carrot, and even some fresh apple juice.  We just got five boxes of Fuji apple "seconds" for a good deal, and they make excellent juice.   I like doing little juice fasts occasionally.  They help me feel better, reduce or eliminate any cravings I might have, and allow me to focus on other things than eating.  (Of course, I still make food for my family...)

I went in yesterday afternoon for my blood test... so, now I'm just waiting.  I better get doing some hard work to get my mind off of it. 

Ballroom

Zach and Andrew started Ballroom classes this year.  

 Here they are doing "warmups" with hula hoops

This is their teacher, Emily.  She does a great job, even though teaching little boys to dance is a big task.  Last week they had to call and apologize for goofing off and causing problems in class. 

It has been so fun to see them learning.  They've even taught Abby some of the dance steps. 

Jumping Bean

I laid Taycie down in her crib tonight, and she got up and started jumping, then climbed up on the side of her crib and jumped into it.

I said "Oh, Taycie, don't jump in your crib!"

She looked at me, and said "um...Mom.... go out of my room."

Bob got home from mutual and I told him this, and we both noticed that Taycie was looking at us and listening to me.

Bob said to her:  "why did you want Mom to go out of your room?"

She said:  "I don't know...to jump!  To jump out of my crib!"

Tuesday

Our day today...

Jace went to seminary (we were up when he got home today, yeay!)

Aliysa went to a young writer's conference at BYU-Idaho.  She got a parking ticket while there.

 I went to my blood test.

Breakfast - simple muesli (oats, raisins, and milk)

Morning Chores

School

 Bob working on his computer woes - it turned out his hard drive was completely ruined.  So, he has lost a lot of information.  Reminder - do your regular computer backups!  We did one on my computer yesterday.  It took forever, but I'm so glad it's done.  I feel so bad for Bob.  

Abby made a fort during school.  This is one of those times I love being together for school.  She proudly showed her fort to Spencer, and said "would you like to come inside?"  He was so sweet with her.  

Lunch - steamed potatoes, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, & onions with butter, salt & pepper.

Another break from school - the first snowfall!  Which started as rain, then turned to snow, then hail, then into a football game in the wet snow.

Taycie was so excited for the snow!  I think she looks a lot like Abby in this picture.

This is how Buddy feels about the wet, cold weather.  

He's not one of those dogs who has learned to dance in the rain, he is just waiting for the storm to pass.

Courtney, Spencer, and Mallory had Violin & Cello lessons

Taycie took her nap in the car today - 

We took dinner to our friends who we forgot yesterday - Italian scrambled eggs, garlic toast, berry milkshake & pumpkin raisin cookies. 

I waited ALL day to hear the results of the blood test...I called twice, the second time just as they were closing.  The nurse said she wasn't allowed to tell me the result, but she kindly went and tracked down a P.A. who could sign it off, then she told me...

====250.8====

(Last week was 504.1, so we cut it by half this week.  And, this was actually only 6 days because I went on Wednesday last week.  I'm so happy.)

I've been juice fasting from Saturday night until this afternoon, because I was feeling so many food cravings, etc.  Just doing fresh juices for a couple of days was a good thing. 

Now Bob, Aliysa, Jace, and Courtney are gone to a combined YM/YW -  Gathering donations for Primary Children's Hospital.  

I stayed home because my little ones needed me.  We're getting ready for bed...

Monday

Our day...
Jace is up first, he gets up before 6, gets ready for the day, has personal gospel study, and leaves for seminary with his friend, Emily. 

He always says bye to Bob and I before he leaves, but we were so tired that we woke up only enough to say "bye, love you!", and then went back to sleep.  So, we got going on morning chores when he got home at 8:30.  We had family scripture study & prayer and then went through the morning routine.  It went well. 

Then we had breakfast.  I hadn't planned or made breakfast, so everyone made their own, and for their buddy.  Someone decided to make a grilled cheese sandwich, and that became the popular breakfast (yuck).  It wasn't the usual breakfast, but fun for a change I guess.  Usually we have hot cereal, muesli, smoothies, or eggs and toast. 

This day was one of those days that seems to go smoothly. I started on school lessons with the little ones because it seemed to be taking forever to get everyone together.  Soon everyone was in the family room together, studying, reading, working on projects.  Spencer had asked me earlier if he could earn some money, and I told him I'd pay him to clean out our pantry.  Well, Spencer doesn't do anything halfway, so he cleaned off and washed every shelf and found a few spoiled food items (we'd been having lots of fruit flies, and I'm so relieved that he wanted to do this job!)   So, he was cleaning that out while we all did school, with a few breaks (recess?) to play football in the family room.  Bob was home too, working on his computer that crashed Sunday evening.  It was just a nice, peaceful day.  I felt like it was a gift. 

I was enjoying our day so much that I completely forgot to take dinner to a friend that was counting on it.  Ooops. 

We decided to go bowling for FHE.

These tiny little bowling shoes were so cute.  Even though bowling shoes kind of gross me out. 

I only took these three pictures, and the camera battery died.  Bob has more on his phone, so I'll add them to this post later. 

The Lake

We've been taking weekly field trips the last couple of weeks.  Our family needs some fun time together, and now that I am feeling a little bit better, I'm trying to take them out to explore nature a little before it gets too cold. 

Last week, we went to the lake.  We had it all to ourselves, except for a few people walking along the trail around the lake.  It was sunny and beautiful, and I just breathed a few long happy sighs while we were there. 

Mallory with her nature notebook sketchpad

Taycie loved exploring.  Throwing rocks in the lake was so fun!

Skipping rocks

Brothers - best friends (this picture was taken shortly before a sand-throwing, dunk each other in the lake episode occurred). 

Update and rambling about our day

Today's adventures:

On Monday, I told Zach that we would go on a Mommy-son date today when I went to get my blood drawn.  He decided a few weeks ago that if he stayed off sugar for three weeks, then he should be able to buy a pocketknife.  I agreed to the deal, and he made his own chart which he marked off each day that he didn't eat any sugar.  Surprisingly, he didn't eat any for three weeks, but each time he got a treat anywhere, he'd bring it home and put it in a container in the freezer.  I think it took him two days to polish the month's worth of treats he had saved as soon as the three weeks were over.  :)  (In fairness, he did turn it into a money-making venture and sold some of his stash to his siblings)

So, we were planning to go buy a pocketknife this morning.  I told Jace the other day "I bet Zach will wake up all night long the night before we go"  And we laughed about times where Zach has awakened at 3am.  He has always been the worst sleeper, especially if he is looking forward to something.

Well, this morning, he walked in my room around 4:30, and said:  "Mom, I set my alarm for 3:33 am, but it didn't go off, so I didn't wake up until 3:52!   I've finished all my morning chores, and I did a 1/4 mile jog on the treadmill.  When are we leaving?"  Sure enough, he had read his scriptures, prayed, dressed, done his hair, etc.  He had even sorted all the clean laundry, which we usually do all together each morning.  Oh, that boy makes me laugh.  He is so focused and intense!  I had told him for days that we weren't leaving until 7:45, but he can't sleep when he is looking forward to something.  The one thing he hadn't done was his farm chore, because he didn't want to go outside when the moose has been around.

I made him lay down next to Bob and I on the bed for a while, and after a couple of hours, we were off on our outing.  We went to get my blood test...

-------This week's titer shows the hcg is down to 504.1!!!!!------

then we went grocery shopping, and then to Wal-Mart to look at pocketknives.  We decided to come home and research knives and try to find a better price.  As we were driving home, I told Zach he could look at my pocketknife.  He pulled it out, opened it, and cut his finger open.  Luckily I had tissues, ointment and a bandaid in my purse also.  Geesh.  What was I thinking, agreeing to this pocketknife thing?   I tried talking him into something else besides a knife, but he is determined to have one, even after the tears from his cut finger. 

After we got home, the kids left for iFamily, and I went outside to take the trash out. The dogs were barking, and there, in our front yard was the Moose.  I told Bob and he came out.  He took the trash out to the street, and the Moose started walking right towards him.  He didn't seem menacing, just kind of curious about Bob.   Bob quickly got to where a tree was right between them, and took a few pictures with his phone.  The kids came out on the front porch.  Andrew is still so scared of the moose.  He kept running inside, then cracking the door open and begging us all to come back inside.  We stood on the driveway and watched the moose wander around our front yard, eating trees and bushes.  He is so tall!!  Amazing.  I love where we live. 

I got to take a nap today while the kids and Bob watched a movie.  I haven't been getting the best sleep this last week, so the nap felt so nice!  I fell asleep in front of the fireplace in our family room.

Now we're doing schoolwork, Cub Scout requirements, and cleaning the house.  Better get Zach to scouts.  I usually let him walk or ride his bike since his leader is just up the street from us, but I'd better take him so he can avoid the moose today. 

River adventures

 I've started feeling good enough to exercise, so we've started going on daily walks again.  It is one of my very favorite things to go walking with my family.

 We usually stop at a bridge near our home and let the kids explore for a while.

 Taycie loves to throw rocks and leaves in the "wivow"

This day, when we walked down the bank, Taycie walked right to the edge.  I was walking down the bank right behind her, and she slipped into the river. She was floating like a little jellyfish, face down, right in front of Zach.  He looked at her in a surprised way, then looked up at me, just as Abby started yelling "Taycie fell in!" and I shouted "grab her!" to Zach as I quickly got to the edge and snatched her out.   She was not a happy camper at first, but she quickly calmed down.  She still loves to walk down this bank to throw rocks in, but she doesn't get quite as close to the edge now. 

:Yeah!

Tonight we had a family home evening lesson on prayer.  When Mallory was going to say our family prayer, Bob reminded her that I didn't want our family to say "Mom's cancer" when praying for me to be healed (it isn't mine, and I don't want it).  I told her just to pray that I can be healed. (I especially didn't think that it sounded right when they would say "please bless Mom's cancer to get better".) 

Tonight when Abby was saying her personal nightly prayers, you could tell she was trying to remember all the things that we had talked about in our lesson about prayer.  Then she started praying for me "please bless Mom's cancer to....(pause)...please bless the stupid cancer to get out of Mom's body."

I'll take it.