Let’s talk about it.
I just had one.
After a few weeks of dark thoughts, fears, hope, appointments with medical people, waiting, diagnostics, waiting, more diagnostics, more waiting, I finally got relief from the anxiety. A bit sore, but the news was good for me.
Speechless
For the first couple of months, I didn’t tell anyone, except to pray. It’s easy to tell God. I tried to tell family and friends, but every time I attempted it, something else came out of my mouth. Sometimes that something else was weird and not relevant to the context of the moment. Can you spell “embarrassing?!!” Add sleep deprivation to that, stir, steam with fear, and the result is a bowl of mental confusion resulting in a babbling idiot of sorts.
What on earth was wrong with me? If I had been able to speak of my fears, I might have had some encouraging information come my way. Encouraging like when the doctor who examined me (finally) said “The good news is cancer doesn’t hurt.” I was a bit incredulous, but apparently, breast cancer tumors usually don’t cause pain. Usually is the key word here because she did not guarantee that the pain meant I was in the clear. So, if this is you, it isn’t more real if you say it out loud.
(Note to family and friends – see below.*)
Getting a Diagnosis
Some of the things that prevented me from getting diagnosed earlier included the fact that I wanted a female doctor to do the breast exam — and when I first started asking people, and calling, there were none in the area that were accepting new patients. Google found some doctors that didn’t seem to exist. I would call Marietta Memorial and each time I was told the names weren’t even familiar. These doctors had profiles online that stated they were here in the area. Then after a month of searching I called and said, ok, I give in, I’ll take whoever will take me. Right then I guess, one of the female docs changed her mind.
So here’s what happened. I woke one morning to a visible lump. It is like it grew overnight. So I immediately started making carrot-apple juice and cleaned up my somewhat compromised diet overnight. I’ve been a bit of a health freak most of my adult life. After 5 days, I could still feel it, but it was actually no longer visible. I decided I was going to do Gerson for an alternative to traditional cancer treatment. See how I decided it was cancer before I even had a diagnosis?
What I learned from my cancer scare —
Well, this is not a complete list…more to come
I suppose it’s strange that I jumped the gun on this, but as a result, I made some interesting discoveries. Here is a list:
- Eating and drinking the Gerson way made my carpal tunnel symptoms disappear. They’re back now after 3 weeks of a more “normal” diet, so I just went back to juicing this morning. Maybe surgery isn’t the only solution. (Physical therapy didn’t work.)
- I lost the 55 pounds gained through and after menopause — without trying. Not only that, but I have a surge of energy I haven’t felt in years, and that hasn’t let up. I’m making good use of that energy too!
- I thought up the juicing in the office challenge idea. I still haven’t created the post to kick it off yet, but I really think that this is a good idea that may help a lot of people. See, most offices and teacher’s lounges have way too many birthdays and cake and pastries for free. Do we poison each other?
- I learned more about the Gerson therapy and how it works. I also learned that it is nearly impossible to do on your own. It is fascinating and I will be writing more about it. I joined a facebook support group when this all began for me. I have heard so many healing stories, not just of cancer but of chronic illnesses like lupus and hashimotos. So, I am thinking a lot about how our communities can make labor intensive alternative therapies more do-able, and how they might help to prevent chronic diseases and cancer. If we incorporate the principles for a week or a month now and then, we learn about them, experience some benefits and may end up with the skills and resources needed to keep our diets clean and our lifestyles active and healthy.
I will be sharing some of the healing stories from the support group, so stay tuned. Subscribe to our newsletter so you’ll be notified of new articles and events. I will be starting the newsletter up within the next month, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t receive a newsletter for 3 or 4 weeks.
I will also be writing more about Gerson, with links to resources for anyone interested.
And most importantly, I want to start a conversation about making healthy eating more accessible. That will include recipes, strategies and ideas for maintaining this at work.
Thoughts?
~To your health! The healing chef
PS – If you have diabetes, thyroid issues, want to know more about how diet contributes to inflammation or need a chiropractor, consider Dr. Norris. He’s affordable, is flexible with appointments (think evenings, weekends), and good at what he does. His office is across the hall from Marietta and Beyond. (For an adjustment, it costs less than most co-pays.) Follow the link to get contact information.
(*Note to family and friends who did not hear of this till now. Please don’t feel rejected. I did not want to worry you with this until I had a diagnosis. Now that I’m in the clear, I am speaking about it.)