Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Hi Sylvia and all,
This thread is really active. So many posts to read and i gain a lot of info which i might need for my own case and queries to my MO. This surely helps me to plan ahead. Sorry i can't comment on the other posts coz of my limited knowledge and a relatively new dx and surgery. i am only beginning to do my own research now.
It amazes me by how much knowledge you have Sylvia and how you try to answer and comment on almost every posts on this thread. You must have super fast bionic eyes and a photographic memory! Are you human or is this the good side effect of chemo drugs?
I would like to think that you are guided by God, and your spirit energizes you to do this stuff. I cant even read more than 3 posts here. I think i already have a chemo brain minus the drugs. Whew!
Sylvia, ive already changed my er/pr to negative. Here are answers to some of your questions about me. I am a Filipina, Asian, 53 years old, 5'3", current weight is hovering between 103 to 106 lbs (depends on the weighing scale i'm using, my latest digital weight yesterday was 103 lbs, which puts me in the underweight bracket, norm should be at least 105 lbs), my current BMI is 18.2( norm should be 18.5).
With those questions answered, lets now go to the lab tests. i completed yesterday all the lab tests my mo required. ct scan and 2d echo results will be ready next week, My bone scan says i am clear, no mets so far! Alleluiah! My blood tests however is a bit confusing with my total cholesterol level being a little bit above normal. 205 mg/dL. norm should be <200.
Hdl choles was 70, norm is 40 -60 mg/dL
Ldl choles was 109, which is normal.
Having a high choles level puzzles me coz i used to have normal levels years before up to mastectomy ( these periods include meat and dairy eating galore!). Now, from the time of my cancer dx last febrary, 2016, i've eliminated most meat and sugar in my diet and yet i got high cholesterol results. why? is it because of the surgery? or is my recent menopause (a little over a year now) caused my blood to fluctuate? all i've been eating now are mostly fruits, veggies, oily fish like mackerels and yellow fin tuna ( we dont have wild salmon here, although i also eat them in restos, which i doubt are wild), and i added turmeric/curcumin, flaxseed oil for omega3, and lots of pure fresh coconut milk in my food, aside from my regular carrot, turmeric and lime juices. ive changed my soy sauce and honey to those which are organic. i eat brown rice. i dont eat much bread nor dairy, but i drink a lot of Nutren Optimum with whey protein, pro/prebiotics, vit E, etc and less sugar, as prescribed by my cancer surgeon to gain weight. All to no avail as far as weight gaining is concerned. still at 103-106 lbs. levels. this maybe the reason why my onco doc told me to eat healthy and try to reach 115 lbs. She must be cautious about further weight loss and cardiotoxic effects during chemo.
As for meat, my cancer surgeon's reason for recommending me to eat it is that protein has a lot to do with cell generation and meat has lots of it. He does not believe that meat contains toxic levels of carcinogens and adds that how can we know if the meat we are eating really contains carcinogens. he says the benefits of eating meat outweighs the fear of not eating it and carcinogenic toxins. i doubt this however.
You know, i am beginning to think raw turmeric/curcumin (of which my cancer surgeon and onco have no objection) is a very good natural food supplement. when i started taking it (abt 1-1 1/2 inch, divided in two daily doses, with a tsp of wild honey and some freshly ground whole peppercorns to enhance the curcumin) my knee swelling (due possibly to rheumatism, coz my bone scan is clean) was significantly reduced. It was actually my husband who discovered this concoction and tested it on himself which also proved to be helpful to his chronic back pain. We've been taking this 2 weeks before my mastectomy and continue until today which incidentally is my first monthly mastectomy anniversary. I think readers of this thread and everyone else should have a closer look at turmeric and share whatever info they might find out, whether positive or negative.
I am beginning to be a believer of natural holistic medicine but i still consider the conventional too. i will take your advice to choose which i think is right for me knowing you've been there ahead of me.
I remember Ty Bolinger's free online book on fighting cancer (forgot the title) about 7 years ago when my father died of kidney cancer. I used to make him a mix blend of brocolli, ginger, garlic, cucumber, & i think onion, which i got from Ty's book. unfortunately my father died, not due to the blend, but becoz he wasnt given chemo anymore due to his age 69 & stage 4 status. I think i would try to continue Ty's blend on me this time and i would also try to find his online book (which might still be in one of my USB flashdrives). I also remember him mentioning something about cesium chloride, although dangerous when not guided by professional consultants. Any knowledge on this?
I would try to research on Chis Woolnam.
im also gonna try to look for the organic food brands that you mentioned (however alien they may be to me, asian and western have very different diets) keeping the keyword "organic" in mind. they might be in the international food section of food shops.
im gonna research about mediteranean diet too.
i will also try to find out what exactly my officemate did to shrink her tumor, mostly local veggies and fruits combination. i'll post it here as soon as i find out.
Btw, here's tropical smoothie recipe suggestion which you may want to try:
Spicy Tropical Smoothie
The fat content in coconut milk and the black pepper help for better curcumin absorption. This spicy tropical smoothie also aids digestion due to the enzymes in pineapple (bromelain) and papaya (papain), so it's good to drink this smoothie after a meal.
Ingredients 1 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup pineapple or papaya chunks 1 banana 1/2 teaspoon each of ground turmeric, ginger and cinnamon (or 1/2-inch fresh turmeric/ginger, peeled and roughly chopped) ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper A little honey, maple syrup, or stevia to sweeten (optional)
Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Drink immediately to enjoy the most nutritional benefits.
Anti Inflammatory Smoothie
Chronic inflammation is linked to many diseases and is known to worsen their symptoms. The ingredients in this smoothie have anti inflammatory properties so you can use this smoothie as a natural alternative to anti inflammatory medications. In this smoothie, the green tea and the berries (with quercetin) as well as the coconut oil help for better curcumin absorption.
Ingredients 1 cup green tea 1 cup berries of your choice (such as blueberries, raspberries, cranberries) 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1/2 teaspoon each of ground turmeric and ginger 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed or chia seeds A little honey, maple syrup, or stevia to sweeten.
I hope you'll find these simple recipes delicious and beneficial.
Let's share whatever knowledge we might have for the good of all.
This is all for now dear Sylvia. Stay as wonderful as you are. Let's always remember to use the power of "group prayer" for our own complete healing.
See you later Sylvia and all!
Hugs!
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Hello Rhonda,
I have been looking back through the posts and I realised that I missed replying to one of yours. I shall try to catch up over the next few days. It was the post where you mentioned cheese etc. I have the latest one of yours to reply to as well.
Thank you, Mary, for your latest detailed post which I shall reply to over the next few days, if not before.
gmmiph, thank you for your most interesting post. I need to go through it again in more detail, but I shall respond as soon as I can. I was interested to know that you are from the Philippines. Are you posting from there? If so, tell us a bit about your country.
Thinking of everybody and wishing you all a good weekend.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi all
Sylvia. Mary. Val. Haneih and all others
Thank you for your support and kind words and positive messages. After the spots on my liver were found by scan, both radiologist and doctor wanted an MRI done to understand what they were. I have done an MRI yesterday and the radiologist categorised the spots as angioma, she told me definitely not cancer and she was definite about that. Today saw my MO and he was ever so pleased with the result but still doesn't understand why the spots were not seen in the previous scan, the one done prior to chimotherapy.. how did they appear so suddenly is quite peculiar to him.
So I am happy with the news. Will keep strong as ever.. and keep good and positive thoughts in my head to always lift myself up.. music is so important to me. . So had a lot of that during the doubting period and still listening to it for stimulating and/or relaxing.
I will keep you posted.
Merci encore pour votre support.
Courage à tous!
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Yay 4ever for that news. Teaches us all, that sometimes when it's gloom and doom, there is still hope. Thanks so much for sharing.
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Hello 4everStrong,
It was so lovely to read your post and to know the good news that the spots found on your liver by scan are not cancerous. We are all so happy for you and we know that you must be so relieved. I do not know much about angiomas. Can they be left where they are? It was so good to know that your oncologist said they were definitely not cancer. I do hope you will be able to have an excellent weekend, knowing this good news.
It is a bit of a mystery why they did not show up on the previous scan, but things like this do happen. Do you think they were caused by the chemotherapy/radiotherapy treatment? Will they disappear?
I can feel the strength of character that you have and I know that you will keep positive thoughts in your head.
I was interested to know that music is very important to you. What kind of music do you like? It can be very therapeutic. One of my favourite pieces of Classical music is Gustave Mahler's Fourth Symphony. It is so dreamy and moving. Do you know this music? I also like to listen to the Three Tenors and absolutely love Pavarotti. I like all different kinds of music.
I can understand how music helped you through the doubting and waiting time. I think we all know the nightmare of waiting for results.
Je vous souhaite un très bon weekend avec votre famille. Amusez-vous bien.
Amicalement, Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Rhonda,
Thank you for your post from October 20th. I was glad to know that you enjoyed my post about nutrition. I think it is very important to talk about healthy eating and good nutrition. It has been a favourite topic of conversation since this thread started. I think it is also an essential part of trying to keep cancer at bay and if we are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with it of trying to stop it coming back.
I was interested to know that you are eating organic and are not eating a lot of beef. We need to stay away from cow dairy and meat, because of the growth hormones in them to fatten them up and also the antibiotics that are put into them. Cows milk is for baby calves, not humans.
I am sure you will like the almond milk/drink. I drink it every day. Make sure you get the unsweetened one.
I am sure that you can easily lose fifteen pounds. Remember to do it slowly.
I am glad that you are not doing too badly with the treatment.
I am also glad to know you declined more anti nausea pills. The medical establishment has to learn that pills are not the answer to everything. Think "ginger". Lemon and ginger tea, Pukka three ginger tea, ginger capsules, grated fresh ginger in a tea, and even a couple of ginger cookies, or a ginger drink.
I shall look forward to hearing all about acupuncture and Ayurvedic massage.
I remember being told not to have injections during chemotherapy for fear of infection, so I would not do acupuncture during your treatment. I was also told to have flu and pneumonia injections before starting treatment, and not to have any dental treatment after I had started cancer treatment.
That is all for now. The thread is very busy and I am still trying to catch up.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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4everstrong,
So happy for you!
Rhond
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Hello Mary,
I realise, Mary, that I still have to answer your second detailed post about the first day of your conference. I shall do that tomorrow, Saturday.
Hello gmmiph,
I realise that I still have to answer your detailed post. I shall do that tomorrow, Saturday, as well.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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4everstrong,
Yay, happy time! That is the best, so happy for your news!
Mary
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Hi all,
Happy for you sis 4everstrong. Hope springs eternal.
Hi Sylvia, its ok, take your time. To answer your question, yes, i do post from the Philippines. My country is a small beautiful archipelago of more than 7,000 tropical islands with lots of white sand beaches and warm hospitable people. We have world class beaches in Boracay, Cebu, Caramoan islands in Bicol and Puerto Galera in Mindoro. Palawan which we consider as the last frontier of Philippine Nature has one of the 7 New Wonders of the World called the Puerto Princesa Underground River with a very long cave that features many mystical rock formations. Palawan also has some of the best beach resorts in the world especially on the side of the Coron island chain where the Unesco Heritage site of Tubbataha Reef is located. North of the country, we have the cool breezy Baguio City and in Ilocos region, we have Vigan City which was chosen as one of the 7 Best Cities of the World because of its old Spanish-themed ancestral homes and its cleanliness. Of course in the capital city of our country which is Metro Manila, we have the free refreshing view of the Manila Bay Sunset, one of the best in the world, which i think our former pesident Aquino showed to Pres. Obama and other world leaders when they stayed at Manila Hotel during the APEC summit. So many interesting places to see in the Philippines if only tourists are well-informed and guided. I just wish some negative news about our country will be erased especially kidnappings in the South. If tourists are well informed, they would only be shown the safest places here and avoid danger zones. Our economy is starting to pick up according to various world orgs like wb, adb & imf and credit-rating agencies like moodys and standard & poor. Try to surf some of the places i mentioned Sylvia and see for yourself.
Btw, i found a link which shows 12 cancer-fighting foods and mentions the Mediterranean diet, which i found out to be almost similar to our filipino diet except for olive oil and salmon. here we use canola, vegetable or coconut oil for cooking.Wild saltwater Fishes like mackerels, sardines and different tuna species are abundant here instead of salmon.
Here's the link: https://draxe.com/cancer-fighting-foods/
I know you are already familiar with this, but others might still find this link useful.
This is all for now. Have a nice day everyone!
gmmiph
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Great news 4evastrong so happy for u
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really down today! Taxol
Starts Friday and still very scared about shoulder pain on opposite breast. Have dislocated that shoulder previously. Logical me says I have had for years MRI of breast and abdo before treatment and lymph nodes clear but those demons keep haunting me. Physio says muscles tight and has been massaging weekly but still those thoughts come! Need to occupy my self
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Hello Mary,
I am reading through your post from October 20th and I was very interested in the title of a couple of the speeches, namely Cancer is Merely a Symptom and the Autonomic Nervous System's role in Cancer.
As for Dr. Connealy's opinion about the body being ill if one gets cancer, I think that makes common sense. I certainly agree that prevention is everything and that it is also common sense that you have to keep your immune system strong through nutrition.
We also know that cancer is developing for a long time in your body, before it manifests itself as a tumour in a certain part of the body, and that the medical establishment diagnoses your cancer by the part of the body where the tumour manifests itself. It is all a bit misleading really because cancer is a systemic illness of the body. Cancer cells are also a part of the body and they are circulating all the time throughout the body, but most of the time the immune system kills them off. Cancer, to me, is a failure of the immune system to kill off the cancer cells and they start multiplying.
In my own case, when I was diagnosed in 2005, at nearly 63, the first words that the breast cancer consultant said to me was that I should not have breast cancer, given my healthy state throughout my life. She said that I should not feel guilty about having it and that I should not blame myself. She further said that in healthy people like me, where the immune system is not challenged to fight, it gets lazy and fails to see off cancer cells. What do you think of that explanation? It seems to make sense and it could be an explanation of why healthy people who get cancer sometimes go into what is termed instantaneous remission.
I am not quite sure what Dr Connealy means by "light" chemotherapy.
I am not sure what the various tests mean and I hope we might have a further explanation about these when you get your videos and written notes. I must admit I have never heard of the OncoBlot test nor a BioImmune Survey. I wonder what she does for a Cancer Profile test?
As you know, I have reservations about mammograms and we know that Chris Woollams of Cancer Active does not agree with them. The exposure to radiation through regular mammograms, from whatever age is stipulated at which you begin them, cannot be good for a person. I was not having mammograms, discovered a lump myself, in my right breast, which seemed to come from nowhere. I had always done breast self examination. Coincidently, the lump appeared not that long after I had badly strained my right arm doing some gardening.
I also worry about CT scans and bone nuclide scans. I had never had any of them until after I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. I then had one of each before and at the end of all my treatment. The bone nuclide scan leaves you radioactive for 24 hours and you are told to keep away from children.
As for thermography, I read about that back in 2005, probably through the Cancer Active magazine, icon. I asked my oncologist about it and she just said that it was not effective. The truth was probably more like that mammograms were used because so much money had been invested in the machines.
I think a lot of what is now being said more openly and in a more widespread way, Chris Woollams said it all years ago and was criticised for his ideas.
Dr Connealy's book The Cancer Revolution: A Groundbreaking Programme to Reverse and Prevent Cancer sounds interesting.
I also found what Dr Charles Majors had to say was very interesting. I think we know yet again from Chris Woollams all about the ketogenic diet, which as you say, is a very low-carb diet. What he says makes sense. I think we have all got the message that the high-carb diet that was pushed and favoured for years was all wrong. This was the diet that diabetics were put on and I could never understand why! Speaking to some people over the years, they do not seem to understand that foods high in starch, are much the same as foods high in sugar. Starch is converted into sugar in the body. I leaned that at age 13 in school cookery lessons.
It seems that a sugar-free, starch-free (especially white rice, white bread and white pasta) is perhaps one of the first steps for bringing down the number of people being diagnosed with cancer and diabetes.
I agree that testing about what is going on in the body is something that is badly needed, but it depends what you are testing for. Full blood tests in England seem to emphasise certain things and neglect others. For example, they do thyroid testing, but not parathyroid testing and the four tiny parathyroid glands sitting on the thyroid regulate the blood calcium level and if any of them are not working properly, calcium is leached from the bones and goes into the blood, resulting in high calcium levels, which can be fatal. The parathyroid hormone level should measured to see if you have an overactive parathyroid. As I have said before, my oncologist was concerned about high levels of calcium in my blood as it can be a sign of spread to the bones. That is why I was given a bone nuclide scan which showed the bones were clear. She decided to do the parathyroid hormone test and discovered it was way too high. I eventually had a scan (sestimibi) to ascertain what was going on with my four parathyroid glands. Interestingly, the one above where my breast cancer was, was malfunctioning. I had surgery to have it removed and all was fine. The blood calcium level became normal in minutes. There is research which shows a connection between parathyroid disease and the development of breast cancer. In England full blood tests do not include looking at the parathyroid hormone level, so parathyroid disease is classed as very rare, but I think it is under-diagnosed because it is not tested for. My consultants told me the parathyroid problem preceded the breast cancer. The tests that Dr Majors believes in should be part of basic testing.
His theory about cancer being secondary I can well understand. It makes sense that it is caused by other problems in the body, and the overall primary is probably inflammation.
We all know from Chris Woollams how important a healthy gut is.
The book entitled The Human Immune System from Infancy to Old Age sounds fascinating. I do not know how we can find the time to read all the books, so any pictures or charts that help are most welcome.
That is about it for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello gmmiph,
Thank you for your post from yesterday and for answering those questions.
I am not a doctor but if I were you I would not be worried about your weight or your cholesterol level. Doctors get too stuck on statistics. Cholesterol level is governed more by our bodies than what we eat. I have no idea why your cholesterol level has gone up. It might be the stress of what you are going through. It could be having gone through menopause. I have read that women can have cholesterol problems when they have diminished oestrogen when they are menopausal. You seem to be on a very healthy diet. Keep it up.
I have just had a thought. Could it be something in the Nutren Optimum that you are taking? I have just had a look and found the ingredients:
Ingredients and Allergens Information
Maltodextrin, milk proteins (from cow's milk), vegetable oils (sunflower,rapeseed), fibres (fructo-oligosaccharide, inulin), sucrose, minerals (calcium carbonate, magnesium chloride, potassium hydroxide, potassium phosphate, sodium hydroxide, ferrous sulphate, zinc sulphate, manganese sulphate, copper sulphate, potassium iodide, chromium chloride, sodium selenate, sodium molybdate), acidity regulator (citric acid, phosphoric acid), emulsifier (soy lecithin), choline, vitamins (E,C, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, B1, B2, A, folic acid, D, K, B12, biotin), probiotic (Lactobacillus paracasei), flavouring, L-Carnitine, taurine, sweetener (acesulfame-K).
As you can see, it is based on cow's milk proteins and the first ingredient is maltodextrin, which is just as bad as sugar. It also has sucrose high on the list. This is another form of sugar. It also has sweetener. This is quite a cocktail. It is basically sugary milk.
I was glad to know that you have had good results from your scans.
I have to finish now, as I have to go out. I shall write more later.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everybody,
I am just posting a map of the Philippines to show you where gmmiph comes from.
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HI, gmmiph,
I wanted to tell you that Dr. Axe was at conference also, he had an appearance we attended on Day 3, and he took part in a round table discussion with questions from the audience. Also all of the doctors would be in the corridors between speeches and made themselves available to be questioned, chatted with, and even hugged! (I did not get to hug Dr. Axe, darn it!)
Your country sounds lovely, I hope to visit there one day.
Mary
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going up to look at menindee lakes today which are some man made lakes which supply Broken Hill water. We have been in terrible drought and on water restrictions and the cotton farmers in Queensland having been damming the water off . We have just had an amazing amount of rain so the water is flowing now. I will post some pics
Cheers Kat
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Water pouring down the Darling River from Queensland giving the desert lifer! The river has been dry for two yrars
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Hello gmmiph,
I am responding to a recent post from you which I did not quite finish yesterday.
I think people on the thread are probably taking turmeric in some form or another. There has been a lot of talk about it for quite a few years. It has certainly been mentioned in Chris Woollams newsletters and information sheets (Cancer Active). I tink we all have to decide ourselves how best to take it. It is easily available in the spice section of our shops here and it has been printed many times that we need to mix it with black pepper, piperine. I use it from time to time mixed in some organic hummous. The problem with taking turmeric orally like this is apparently that it gets destroyed in the stomach and is not absorbed. This is what I have read but I do not know if this is true. I have read we should, instead, take supplements. Again I do not know whether this is true. On the whole I prefer to get nutrients from food. I have found fresh turmeric in a local shop and have just washed it, sliced it and cooked it with some vegetables. Of course we can put the fresh or the powder in soups. In England people are very fond of curries and that is a good source.
I was glad to know that your turmeric doses reduced the swelling in your knee and helped your husband's chronic back pain. It looks as though turmeric is good for reducing inflammation.
I think you will find Chris Woollams' free newsletter most informative. He is now dealing with general diseases in addition to cancer. I have been following him for a long time. I took a brief rest from the emails but have now gone back to them.
I think the basis of all diets should be fruit and vegetables and to have a mixture of them. They make up the bulk of my diet, along with nuts, seeds, beans and pulses. I try to avoid processed foods. The problem with the western diet is that there is too much junk and processed foods. In a supermarket I bypass most of the aisles.
I am sure we shall all be interested in knowing how your friend managed to shrink her tumour.
Your spicy tropical smoothie sounds interesting. I might try it sometime, minus the honey, maple syrup or stevia. I think the fruit will sweeten it enough. Do you make your coconut milk from scratch?
Coconut is very much in vogue in England at the moment. It is everywhere in various forms. There are fresh coconuts, tubs of fresh small coconut chunks ready to eat, cartons of coconut milk, with various combinations, such as coconut and almond milk. You need to be careful about reading the labels, because manufacturers are very fond of putting sugar everywhere and in the west we have an epidemic of diabetes 2. We can also find cartons of coconut water, which is quite expensive but very refreshing and hydrating. There is also solid coconut fat for cooking. I have tried it, but find it quite difficult to use. After opening the jar you have to keep it refrigerated, so it is quite hard and like chipping off ice flakes! It is supposed to be better than olive oil, but who knows? I have used extra virgin olive oil for years and it is especially good as a salad dressing. Canola oil is apparently just as good as olive oil, or so we are told.
Your anti-inflammatory smoothie sounds good as well. I do know that chronic inflammation is said to be the forerunner of chronic diseases and I think any food that helps to reduce this is better than anti-inflammatory pills.
I drink loads of green tea every day and really love it. I have a mixture of berries every morning and know they are all a good source of anti-oxidants. I have a mixture of organic seeds ground up every day and use them as a bed on which to put organic soy yoghurt.
Ty Bolinger was in the news recently and some of us followed his courses around the world on the internet. You will see from Mary's posts that she has recently been to a symposium that he was introducing.
I do not know what caesium chloride is.
Thank you for the recipes.
By the way, I use Dr Organics virgin coconut products for shampoo, conditioner, skin creams etc.
That is all for now. Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Kath,
Thank you for your post and for those amazing photographs of the dam and the water. The desert must have wondered what had hit it after two years without water.
Please let us know how you get on when you start Taxol on October 27th. You are getting there.
Sending you best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello gmmiph,
Thank you for your post about the Philippines where you live. It sounds absolutely beautiful.
I was interested to know you had found a link for twelve cancer fighting foods and a mention of the Mediterranean diet.
You seem to have an abundance of oily fish in your country, so I would not worry if salmon is not that readily available. It needs to be wild salmon and most of the salmon here is farmed. I also eat fresh mackerel, sardines and tuna.
I shall certainly have a look at the link.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I think I have finally caught up with all the posts. If I have missed anyone out, please let me know.
I do hope next week will be a good and positive one for everybody and that you will come to the thread to support those going through chemotherapy.
Hello Claudia, we have not heard from you in a while and I was wondering how the chemotherapy is going and where you are with it. I know that you are on AC+Taxol. Let us know how everything is going.
Hello Hanieh, we have not heard from you, either, in a while. I hope all is fine.
Hello Michael, where are you? I hope life is treating you well.
Best wishes to all.
Sylvia
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Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for your reply and thanks for putting a map of my country for others to see. As you can see from the map, many of the places I've mentioned are there. I forgot to mention some scenic spots in the North like Sagada, where hundreds of mummified aborigines are kept in small caves and Banaue Rice Terraces which was built by ancient people. We also have Batanes, also in the North (not in your map), where the mountains resemble those from some of the scenes in the Sound of Music (minus the snow, of course). Then in the middle part of the country, there's Bohol province with lots of nature spots and pristine beaches plus the beautiful Chocolate Hills. Then near the capital Metro Manila and about only an hour's drive (if you go early morning), we have the cool weather of Tagaytay where many organic vegetables and flowers are grown plus the Taal volcano which is in the middle of a lake. The nearby Laguna province also has some nice spots to offer like the Pagsanjan rapids and waterfalls, handicrafts, furnitures and paintings. In the Bicol region, aside from the Caramoan group of islands I mentioned before, we have lots of centuries-old churches and miraculous images of the Virgin Mary like those in Naga City and the near-perfect cone shaped Mayon Volcano in Albay province. In the South, although a little bit notorious for kidnappings, you can still go to safe places like Davao where our new and colorful president hails from. I assure you, you wont get bored here in the Philippines if you only plan your trips very well.
Now about that dang Nutren Optimum. It says "Food for Special Medical Purposes" and my doc says it's "pre-digested" and for dietary management of malnutrition in the elderly (that word, "elderly" does not apply to me yet, Haha). I mentioned in my last post that it was recommended by my cancer surgeon, maybe because he wants me to gain weight as I recover from my mastectomy. I am aware of the sugar content, but what can I do? I am really desperate to gain weight. But since it is not doing any good, I might as well stop drinking it.
Tomorrow I'll be getting my 2decho and ct scan results and the next day, i'll see my MO. I am a bit worried about my blood results coz my eosinophil level (14 %) is double the normal high level of 7. I researched a little bit about it and found out it has something to do with oversupply of white blood cells. I am not sure what the relationship of eosinophil is with my other blood results and i'll find out from my MO in two days. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Hi Maryna8, thanks for your post. I did a little research on Dr. Axe, and I could understand now why you were disappointed not to get a hug from him. His humps, lumps and bumps all seem to be in the right places and I sure don't think they're malignant. Haha... I got so many nice tips and free diet recipes from his website, thanks to him, and you. I also read something about the tilapia fish being more dangerous than bacon and to think that before, for so many years, I've been eating live cultured tilapia fish almost every week. I also learned that shrimp is a no-no. Gosh, those were family favorites. I'll be staying away from them from now on. Btw, if you really wanna go to the Philippines, just tell me. I'll give you some tips on how to fully enjoy your trips and maybe save a few bucks along the way. Maybe I can even join you if you plan to stay in Manila and nearby areas. Christmas season until February is a good time to visit, coz the weather is nice and cool. From March up to mid-May, the summer season sets in and it becomes fairly hot although more fun if you plan to stay in beach resorts. Surf the internet for the places I've mentioned in my previous posts including this one.
This is all for now friends. Have a nice day (evening)!
gmmiph
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Hey Sylvia,
Funny thing, I didn't know you were already posting your messages as I was writing mine to you.
Yes, turmeric seem to be doing good forme. Raw, that is. I surfed the net and found one capsulized brand called Meriva but we don't have it here in our country. They say it's really potent. I have one made in U.S.A called Solgar Turmeric root extract, but it's only about 93% curcuminoids. Anyway I prefer to eat the raw turmeric and am already starting to use it on the smoothie recipes I gave you. I also use it (raw or powder form and curry too) for cooking local veggies with fresh mature coconut milk. Yes, we do make coconut milk from the scratch. We buy it fresh from the market, have it grated and then put some hot water on it before squeezing it. I only use the first squeeze. As for young coconuts, we have lots of it here and I drink its water and eat the flesh almost every other day. They say it's better to drink the coconut water in the morning before breakfast. I also eat a lot of guyabano (I think it's soursop in English) which many here think is anti-cancer. The guyabano leaves are made as tea and my officemate who got cured from her tumor drink lots of it. I ask my officemate what her diet was before she got cured and she said it is basically, carrot juice with apple, sugar beet, cucumber and celery. Then all she ate was tons of steamed local veggies, especially malunggay leaves (moringa), saluyot (jute), dwarf chili leaves, and alugbati (Malabar spinach, not a spinach though!). These veggies all have dark green leaves. For a year and a half and presto, No more tumor! I really wish I have that amount of time before I got that mastectomy, but who knows, I may have a different case that needs immediate surgery.
Ok, I have to go now, I got an errand to do.
See you later Sylvia.
Prayers for us!
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Hello Sylvia, gmmph and all,
Well, I was posting about Day 2 of the conference and was getting quite long-winded and hit a wrong key and presto, erased everything! Quite disheartening, I will have to start all over again later.
Wanted to say that I got on Google Earth yesterday for some reason, and as always, find it just amazing to have a birds'-eye or "God's-eye" view of things. From any angle you desire, as near or far as you wish. I looked at England, and Australia, and the Philippines.
Will talk more later,
Mary
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Struggling with the hair loss thing.I cut my hair but it's
Really starting to fall out.Should I shave it?Everything else is going so well as far as side effects.
Rhond
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hi Rhonda
It was pretty horrific for me too and not nice when i got my husband to shave it . Made it seem very r al but it was much better in the long run. The cancer. Council have great wigs
Cheers
Kath
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Thanks Kath,
I have a wig and scarves just have to shave it!Tomorrow!
Rhonda
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