I was having a few moments of sadness around my situation and when I expressed this to my Tribe they kept telling me that it is okay to have moments of sadness.
I wanted to explore this idea and so found the podcast that I linked below. Dr. Laurie Santos is an expert on human cognition and is being interviewed by Glennon Doyle for her podcast ” We Can Do Hard Things.”( S1 E58)
Well, it will be on January 25/24. I still get confused about the date of everything!!!
X marks the spot. I think this was August 24th
Progress so far!
I thought that it would be interesting to record my progress so far as honestly it does not seem that I make much progress, so this was to see for myself that progress is slow but steady! I have a couple more weeks before the official 6 months. Maybe I can add to this list? Or how many can I add to this list?
Can fold laundry
I can stand on my left leg for 10 seconds
My arms lift up and down in sync
Can chaturanga almost equally on both arms
Can lie on my back and lift my feet over my head to touch the floor behind
Have paddled 3 times without falling in
Can squeeze my left and right glute muscle
Not bumping into things as much
Can put on my shoes without help.
Can put pants/ trousers on without sitting on the bed
Can sign I love You
Don’t need to wear an eye mask in a car.
Just taking 1 nap every few days.
Rarely hold onto things with my left hand or let taps run and leave doors open.
Get up from sitting on the floor, unless my legs get in a tangle. Then I don’t know which is which!
Can unscrew the childproof caps
Cooked some meals
Met someone I haven’t seen since diagnosis and didn’t cry- Good or bad?
Staying engaged on phone calls
Eye Twinkle says Daisy
My voice is not as monotone
Maintaining a positive attitude says Thomas
Not forgetting what I am doing all the time
Rattlesnake Saturday 15th JanuaryBoulder Garden Loop with Anne and Dave January 17th- Those eyebrows though!!!!!!
What the heck is that all about and what can I eat?
When my naturopathic oncologist suggested I switch to this diet. We all went into immediate research mode!
First it is important to understand how cancerous cells divide.
“Cancer cells can divide without receiving the ‘all clear’ signal. While normal cells will stop division in the presence of genetic (DNA) damage, cancer cells will continue to divide. The results of this are ‘daughter’ cells that contain abnormal DNA or even abnormal numbers of chromosomes.
So basically, the cancer cells have no filter and will keep reproducing even though they are abnormal.
The science is complicated! but they don’t reproduce like regular cells, think mitosis and the krebs cycle from high school biology. It is complex and way beyond my brain’s capabilities! The bottom line is that the cells use glucose as its energy source to multiply. The more glucose that is readily available the more the cells divide!!!!Thus- the goal of the keto diet is in cutting back the amount of dietary glucose available to the tumor cells so slowing or stopping their growth. The ketones produced in a keto diet, also disrupt the pathways associated with the progression of the disease. One important instance of this is the blood/brain barrier. Low carb diet allows the chemo drugs to target the tumor which is really important. Again, the science is beyond me!!!!!!!
SO, what do I eat?
Breakfast is a rotation of:
Smoothie
Eggs
Almond milk yogurt and Dave’s granola with berries.
Lunch
usually, a salad with kale or spinach and a protein on top
Dinner is veggies and a protein!
That is it!!!!
Starve the buggers!!!!
How am I doing?
Honestly this last couple of weeks have found me with low energy! I am almost back to 2 naps a day between PT, yoga and walks. It is fine though I have the luxury of time right now as I am not at work. I miss the buzz of school, the camaraderie with staff and the energy of the kids however I also can’t imagine being there and trying to keep up with everything. Just writing this took a few hours!
I was very anxious about the second dose of chemo that I take 5 days out of 28 but it seems not to make much difference to my body. I am just poisoning it double for 5 days in a month!!!!
I know I say this each blog post but I truly appreciate all the support I get from near and far. It means a lot.
Coming up….
Feb 10th is MRI #2 Here’s hoping for no new tumor growth!!
Two Lemons 