natural girls
Comments
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Rosemary, serendipity is at work today. I came across my juice recipe from last August that I liked so much. I was going to post it sooner, but I couldn't remember what it was. I believe it's the slice of ginger that made the ache in my hip disappear due to the fact that I had been juicing for months prior and ginger was the new ingredient I use every time.
1 lemon, peeled
1 orange, peeled
1 apple
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
slice of gingerNowadays, I add more greens and I leave out the orange. A lot of food writers say green veggies are especially good in juice because of the chlorophyll and its oxygenating properties. As I gagged down a lot of green juices I didn't care for last year, I wondered if we really benefit from oxygenating properties of chlorophyll. We are people, after all, not plants.
I use a champion juicer. Some things require some finessing to get through the machine, like parsley or spinach. I had just started adding collard greens and kale to my juices when I learned that cruciferous veggies are .... what's that word.... .... goitrogenic (contraindicated for people with underactive thyroids). That curtailed my selection of green things for my juice, and lately I've been content with adding romaine lettuce to the mix. I think it's important to have variety.
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allieM22 - here are two very informative links about supplements and cancer treatment:
http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/supplements/known/index.jsp
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Hi girls! I had my first mri done on the ole "girls" today. The position they put me in was quit funny. It's funny to me because I'm older and I'm so over being humiliated. I can't imagine young girls having to go through all this stuff ! More than half way through the mri I started to panic because my arm started hurting. I worried about lymphedema starting so I squeezed the panic ball. The workers were so nice. I reposition my arm and got it all done
. Now I'm at home doing my exercises for my arm. I think I'm more afraid of lymphedema than getting bc again. Oh well all in a day with bc! 0 -
Allie,
He did elaborate on why not to take vitamins during treatments....cancer cells need vitamins to grow just as our healthy cells do. Actually, for the rate they grow, they probably need more. What I don't understand is, if they want the radicals to be ruling our bodies during rads and chemo treatments, why don't they say no antioxidant foods also? I'm talking about the anti's that are high on the list. Anyway, what do they know about these things?
Thanks Althea,
I'll add more ginger to my juices. I read the same thing about cruciferious veggies playing havoc with thyroids, but I had mine tested and it came in alright. I still stopped juicing there for too long of awhile and I feel the difference now that I started up again.
Were you going to get the Gerson Therapy book? I need someone to talk about it with over there. I'm at a very interesting part about salt and potassium. Any other takers want to read the book?
Congrats Sea, you can check one more item off your list of things to do.
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Lorraine, I'm so glad you overcame your addiction. And it sounds like you truly hit rock bottom. If only my husband could feel that he's hit that point.
I am married to an alcoholic who has put me through hell this year, with not 1, but 2 DWIs! I have so much anger at him about the money this has cost us and the stress that I had to endure, all while I was also going through this whole breast cancer ordeal.
I've told him that I will leave him if this ever happens again as I just refuse to ever go through this again. I wonder all the time if maybe I wasn't tough enough with him or enabled him in any way. I've hid my wine and beer for years, so I could have an occasional drink, because it disappears overnight if he has access to any of it.
Now he has no license, has impending jail time coming up, and is feeling sorry for himself. I just have no sympathy. I usually keep busy with other things, such as this website, which keeps my mind off it most of the time, otherwise it would eat me up, thinking about how that money could have gone towards college loans (2 daughters in college) and just the humiliation of the whole thing. And he still drinks and feels that his only problem is that he got caught driving drunk.!
I've been told by a few people that I should try AL-Anon, and now that my work schedule has just changed from night to day shifts, I think I will look into finding a group.
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Well, you have all had a very busy day and I have too. I went to the Health Freedom Expo and got TONS of information. I may post a little of it here, but there is so much I am not sure where to start. Mostly I am saving everything for my own website, which I am working on with other survivors. I am so excited about it. I have doctors and other experts who are going to blog for us, so we can actually get information from people who practice holistic medicine. I will let you all know when we get it up and running.
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RoseG-My heart goes out to you. As tough as it is to have an alcoholic friend, it must be hell to live with one. Hang in there girl. Remember, that you cannot let him drag you down. And remember that anger is more toxic to you than DDT. I had so much anger about getting BC and the people who had made my life miserable. It took me months and months of long long walks, for me to come to terms with it. One day, I felt the anger leave me. I was walking along the river. It was when spring was just coming back to life. I reflected on how long that winter had been and what a gift I had been given that I was well and able to celebrate the coming of another spring. I just took some really deep breaths and kept walking and I found an inner peace I had never felt in my life. It was a 2 ton weight lifted off of my soldiers. It was the moment that I finally realized I was healed and that I was going to be just fine.
Remember we are not totally free of cancer, until we are free of the toxins that caused it. We all need to dig deep and figure out what those toxins are. Once we do, we can purge the poison and become whole again. We must heal our hearts as much as our bodies. It may take some time, but once we do, our lives are so much richer. Remember we cannot change the people around us, and we do not even have to accept them, but we can change how their behavoir effects us. So I hope you will keep seaching to find that inner peace. You deserve it!
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RoseG, my heart aches for you, I know my husband can totally relate to what you are going through. He too was done.........but even that didn't stop me and I adore him and my son more than anything in the world, see how awful alcoholism is? even knowing how much you hurt the ones you love can't stop it!! Al Anon would be amazing for you, many people say it has saved them and given them invaluable tools. I really believe with all of my heart that I had divine intervention, I prayed and my prayers were answered, I am not sure what would have happened otherwise. My sobriety is THE most important thing, I am very protective of it, because without it I would have nothing. I pray that your husband finds his way, but you must protect yourself and your sanity first and I think AL-Anon would be a great start. Please Please let me know how you are!
Apologies to all for hijacking the thread somewhat!!
Back on topic!
I get juice daily, I drink 32 ozs of a concoction called "Goddess of Greens"!! I go to the local health food store in the morning and they make it for me, its spinach, kale, broccoli, parsley, I can't remember what else?? yikes! anyhoo, when I first started drinking it I gagged, literally! but I have got used to it now and actually crave it, ha! I can really tell if I miss a day, it gives me such a boost in the morning! I try really hard to eat vegetables but with my schedule sometimes I just can't fit all the servings one is supposed to have in a day, its hard! So having the juice makes me feel a little less guilty.
Vivre, you are right, as usual! I think toxic feelings, thoughts and persons around you, are just as dangerous as what we may eat, drink etc. Inner peace is a joy to have, it takes years, if ever, to find it. I found it with sobriety and I found it 10 fold over again with BC, this may sound ridiculous, but I wouldn't change anything that has happened to me, its made me a better person, a more grateful person, a better friend, a better wife and mother, everyday is now a gift and I find joy in the smallest things, things that I would have missed or ignored before, for all of that I am truely thankful.
Peace out sisters,
Lorraine ox
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I just have to say--you ladies ROCK!
And I feel very lucky to have "met" you all here...! 0 -
Lorraine and Vivre, thanks for the kind words. And it's so true about the toxic thoughts and feelings being just as bad as anything physical. I was always a pretty healthy type of person before and was really shocked when I got BC, couldn't understand how it happened to me, but I think emotional stress probably had a lot to do with it in my case. I really am working on changing that now. I've noticed that now I'm no longer willing to take responsibility for someone else's bad moods, and trying to look more at the positive.
Vivre, your website sounds so exciting. I am also going to a conference next Sat. all about Alternative and complementary therapies for BC patients only. I heard about it through my BC support group, which I've been in for about a month now
By the way, I'm still on the tamoxifen, dealing with the aches and pains, and other annoying side effects, mainly because I find this whole natural route with all the supplements very overwhelming to figure out, and possibly expensive. Maybe, I'll get more reinforcement at the conference for some of the ideas I've seen floating around on this board . I really need help to narrow things down to what are the most essential supplemnts to start off with.
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Hi Everyone,
Deanna * Yes, I had the SNB. 2 nodes 0 pos. I am doing well. Thank you for asking. My Doc was willing to do the surgery without it but strongly advised me to have it done. According to her, some women choose not to have it. I decided to pray for a positive outcome and follow her recommendation as I had so many other decisions to contend with and time was not at a premium.
The day prior to my surgery I had another ultrasound and another core biopsy on a new 1 cm mass in a different quadrant of my breast. The path report would not be available until 8:30 am the following day so I showed up for surgery @ 6:30 am not knowing if I would have a Mast or Lump. Fortunately it was benign. While having the wire loc. the radiologist found yet another much smaller mass below the original tumor, and decided to remove that one so I had 2 wires instead of one. I am also scheduled for 2 more MRI guided biopsies because I seem to have quite a bit going on that looks benign, but my Doc wants to follow them closely.
So far so good. Will keep you posted.
As always,
Grace"Patience is also a form of action"
Auguste Rodin
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"I get juice daily, I drink 32 ozs of a concoction called "Goddess of Greens"!! I go to the local health food store in the morning and they make it for me...."
Ok, I'm impressed. Lorraine you can drink 32 ounces in one sitting?
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Grace,
Even though I didn't like the idea of having a SNB, the peace of mind that came with it after they said it showed nothing, was worth it. As I keep telling myself. I'm glad this part of the journey is over for you. Sounds like you have a good Dr. working with you.
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Rosemary and Lorraine, I am impressed by both of you. I am not sure I could get down any of it. I have a really hard time drinking flavored anything. I always have. It makes me gag. I know I need to get over it, I just cannot seem to. I wish I had a local store that made me the Goddess of Greens. I hate all the juicer clean up too! So I just crunch my veggies, but it sure would be nice to be able to down them!
Grace, good to see you are on your way and things are going well so far. Keep those little dancing flowers going! Wish I knew how to add the little flourishes.
Rose, keep researching the tamox. Once you adopt more natural girls methods you may feel you do not need it. The more I read about it, the more I think it is best not to stay on it for too long. It seems to have more long term negatives. Hang in there.
Fairy-Do not ever think that you have "hijacked" this thread. You are one of us in every way, and sharing our experiences is what we are all about. It is just so nice that we are finally able to have a peaceful forum where the trolls seem to be leaving us along. You did it Amber! Now where the heck are you???
I just found out my brother has lymphoma. Early stage fortunately, just like me. I do not think our cancer is as much genetic as it is from angst. I hope he can come to terms with it as I had to. Fortunately, the people who destroyed our childhood are no longer here for us to deal with and we have both made wonderful families of our own. Our mother died of lung cancer during my treatments. Part of my anger was the fact that I had been exposed to all the damn smoke she puffed in my face for 18 years, and then people wanted me to go and take care of HER while I was going through this whole thing myself because she had it "worse than I did". Well, you can imagine how infuriating that was. She had never taken care of me, and I was still being told I had to be the dutiful daughter. But I did have some relatives in my corner, who understood and they told me, I needed to put myself first, something I had never done before, and probably contributed to my cancer. I know this sounds strange, but it was a blessing that I got cancer the same time she was dying. It gave me a reason not to have go down there to be with her. This may seem horrible to those of you who are close to your Mom's but we never were more than strangers, and I will not go into details but suffice to say, being with her would have made it a lot tougher on me. I actually did even know how bad she was until I was halfway through my treatments, so when I say I was relieved it was because I felt God spared me from going down there and having to pretend to have feelings for her I did not have. It was one of the many issues I had to deal with on my many walks with God. During one of my walks, I totally forgave her and let go of my anger, and just said a prayer for her tortured existence. She really reaped what she sowed, and I felt really sorry for her because she never had the kind of friends or family I have had. Forgiving her lifted a huge cloud over my head, and two days later, was when I got the call she was dying. Since I had already come to terms with our situation, I was at peace with not going to be with her even though my relatives down there were very nasty with me when I told them I was not coming (I was in the middle of rads at the time). As I said, it was a blessing that I had this "excuse". All I could do was pray for her soul which I did. So now my brother has to walk that same path. As I said, if we do not exorcise the sadness that causes cancer, we cannot ever be cured. That is why I say over and over that I do not worry about a recurrance. I am in such a better place now and happier than I ever was before. Having cancer forced me to confront and exorcise all my demons and brought a new appreciation for all the joys of life. I will keep saying "Don't look back, except to learn."
Now I hijacked this thread. LOL! I can't believe I just wrote all that. It may sound so profound but it amazes me at how easy it is for me to write it now. It is no big deal anymore! I am healed! I so hope that you will find this place of peace too.
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i think this Q&A about nutrition and supplements on the dana-farber cancer institute's website is very informative:
http://www.dana-farber.org/pat/support/nutrition/ask-the-nutritionist.html#number67
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ddlat, thank you for all those pointers! Some good stuff there.
Vivre, exciting about your web site! I am a web designer/usability professional by trade, so if you ever want a free evaluation/advice, let me know!
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Thanks ddlatt--good info.
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FOOD SOURCES OF SELECTED NUTRIENTS
http://www.health.gov/DIETARYGUIDELINES/dga2005/document/html/AppendixB.htm
Food Sources of Potassium
Food Sources of Vitamin E
Food Sources of Iron
Non-Dairy Food Sources of Calcium
Food Sources of Calcium
Food Sources of Vitamin A
Food Sources of Magnesium
Food Sources of Dietary Fiber
Food Sources of Vitamin C
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I found an article that explains DIM, IC3 and 2:16 ratio and the impact on BC. It's from 2006 so not real new, but it really clarified a lot of questions I had about all of it. I know a lot of you are so well versed in all of this, but I think there's a lot of newbies like me too that might benefit from the article.
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Vivre,
Just think of eating veggies as a timed release kind of thing. Your getting those nutrients at all hours, however long it takes your body to get working on them. We juicers get all our nutrients within 15 mins of drinking. We can't wait on drinking it either, juice and drink or we lose a lot of nutrients. That's why I like munching on the pulp, so I'll get the timed release also. They both have their merits and cons.
If anyone is contemplating juicing, make a cored apple part of the juice. It covers up a lot of green bitterness. Carrots help with that too.
I'm happy to read your at peace with yourself.
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Vivre, unfortunately we can't choose our parents, I am so very sad you had to suffer but equally happy that you are mentally healthy enough to move on, that is HUGE! So many people carry their childhoods with them through adulthood and ruin marriages and friendships because of it. Its a beautiful thing to regain power in your life and in the choices you make and I applaud you for doing what felt right, and you are continuing to do so. Blessings my sister.
L
ox
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Well said fairy, I agree.
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Hi ladies!
With regards to the juice, I do drink it immediately, it takes about 15 mins for me to get it all down LOL!!
Question! I know we all take a bunch of supplements etc, do all of you pee a lot? (sorry to get even more personal!) but I just flippin pee all day!! and was wondering if that is normal??
L
ox
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Lorainne, I pee a lot but I think it's because I try to drink 100+ ounces of filtered water or green tea a day!!! Apparently, all the water can flush out toxins, or at least, that's how I think of it!!!
Spring.
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thanks Spring! I drink soooo much liquid, but worry that I pee constantly!
L
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Firni,
I just read that article you posted above on DIM, I3C and the estrogen 2:16 test/ratio.It talks about both Flax and soy as ways to improve the estrogen ratio, in addition to DIM and I3C. How interesting. (And complicated!!!!).
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Lorraine,
Ya see, California just does it right. A green juice bar. Ahhhh. And I'm besides myself with envy. My juicer is so bad, it took 5 big carrots to get 3/4 of a cup of juice. When you go in to the juicer store, would you ask them what type of juicer they use. I know it must be industrial strength, but I'm looking for a name. They might sell smaller ones for home use.
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Rosemary! I do feel very lucky to have the option to get the juice made for me, its pricey but well worth it, as I consider it my "medicine"!! I have a home juicer but have only tried it once, I bought containers of wheat grass at $4 a pop and "tried" to juice it, what a flippin mess!! I got MAYBE 1/2 oz of wheat grass from 4 containers and I made such mess! The juice bar charges $2.50 for a 2oz shot of wheatgrass. The Goddess of Greens is a little pricey, but again, I find its worth it. I will find out the name of their juicer!
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Okay girls, have I got the juicer for you! I saw this amazing juicer at the health expo. All stainless, easy to use, quiet, the whole shebang! It even juices with very little residue. The carrot juice samples tasted great, but it still made me gag. I have to get over it! I didn't pick up a brochure because the price gagged me even more! $2,500! Yikes! I guess you could buy one and sell the stuff until it is paid for! I will have to go look up the vendors if anyone is really interested.
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A friend of mine swears by the Vita-Mix juicer (has bought them for all her kids), which I thought was pricey at $300 (compared to my Omega, which was half that)!
The Vita-Mix website says it grind avocado pits, so I can't imagine what a $2500 one could do! I'd never spend that much on a juicer, but I'm curious to know who makes it and I'd check their website out of curiosity. Sounds like it might be more for commercial use???
Speaking of kitchen things, I found some "Green Collection" pots & pans yesterday at Home Goods that are made in Italy and have a ceramic non-stick coating that is PTE and PFOE free. I bought an omelet pan and will let you know how it performs. Deanna0
