I am Worth It!

The day I heard “You have cancer,” my life completely changed. I knew I would not only beat the dreaded C-word, I would also do anything, to make sure it never came back.

When I was admitted to the hospital, I had to have four pints of blood immediately. The emergency room doctor told me, she was amazed I had not stroked out because I lost so much blood. She even had a nurse sit with me in the exam room while arrangements were made to admit me. I was in that bad of shape!

The next couple days was a whirlwind of tests before they found the cancer in my rectum. The news was bad, it had spread to my liver. Time was not on my side and I didn’t have time to look for options, as far as less invasive treatments. I decided to trust my doctors and go with conventional medicine until I was at least out-of-the-woods. I knew I would eventually look for holistic options to rebuild my immune system.

A month after my diagnosis, I was on the Internet looking for survivors of stage four rectal cancer. There weren’t any, so I looked for other stage four cancer survivors and it didn’t matter what kind they had. I found a few, even one who is living with cancer for over ten years now. I read how they changed their diets and lifestyle and decided I would do what they did. At the time, I was still in conventional treatment but was determined to beat the C-word, no matter how long it took.

Five months later, to the amazement of my doctors, I was cancer free and still am. My medical team was awesome and I am grateful they worked hard to save my life. I told them to give me the most aggressive treatments they had and they sure did. My job was to keep my mind straight and eat healthy. I think if I had just ate whatever I wanted, like my doctors suggested, I wouldn’t have made it. The radiation treatments would have destroyed my immune system.

My doctors knew what I was doing; eating vegan, organic foods, juicing and drinking green smoothies; drinking a shot of Noni juice daily, meditating and keeping a positive attitude — oh, and eating marijuana cookies for nausea. The majority of western medicine doctors don’t get much training about the importance of nutrition. If you saw what they eat, you would be shocked! They eat the same processed junk foods we do.

I no longer eat that crap and yes — it’s crap! The food being sold today isn’t food, it’s created in labs. Yes, packaged foods are convenient and preparing meals from scratch takes a bit more time, but you know what takes a lot of your time too? Going through cancer treatments! Once your diagnosed expect to devote 40 hours a week going to endless doctor appointments, getting blood work, hospital stays, tests and more tests, surgery/chemo/radiation treatments. Expect to feel like shit. I did, but I got well faster than most and it is because I was an active participant in my medical care. I was determined to do what ever it took to get well and it worked.

In a couple weeks I will celebrate four years living cancer free. I will eat some organic dark chocolate to celebrate. I still eat a vegan diet and I eat 80% raw organic foods. If there aren’t organic choices, the only conventional foods I will eat are those with a peel; cucumbers, bananas, oranges and mangoes. Berries, apples, spinach, kale, carrots, red peppers, cilantro, broccoli and lettuce are always organic. Yes, they cost more and I am worth every penny.

My number one job is to stay healthy and I can honestly say, I am healthier than I ever was, even before the cancer diagnosis. For years I was plagued with digestive issues. Several times a year I had boils in my groin area that had to be lanced. All those problems went away.

Lately, I have listened to cancer patients complain that making fresh juice is just to time consuming. They would rather drink Odwalla or other fake health drinks. It’s too much work to make fresh foods.

Make a salad? Who has the time? It’s easier to open a can or microwave dinner in a box. I listen and don’t say much. After all its their life. Its their choice. But my mind is thinking, What the fuck is wrong with you! It’s food for Christ sake! You have cancer! You are fighting for your life! Don’t you want to do whatever it takes to at least try to beat this?

I explain to the person I am talking to, that it takes me less than seven minutes to juice seven to ten carrots and that includes taking them out of the bag, rinsing them, juicing and clean up. I don’t cut or peel them. I don’t need to. My Breville juicer has a wide mouth and I just stick in the carrots and go. It couldn’t be any easier. making salads are just as easy. I can make a green smoothie in less than five minutes and I use a regular Black and Decker blender, not a Vitamix. Both my juicer and blender cost me less than $150.00 total. I am on my second blender. The original one died this year after working daily, sometimes twice a day for almost five years.

I am a thrifty person, and always have been. I look for sales. Thrift shops and estate sales are my best friends. Since I don’t buy expensive clothes from a mall, own a Smartphone, etc. I have money to buy healthy food, and even then I look for sales and stock up.

Every day I get up and say thank you for being alive. I say thank you to my body for putting up with my past abuses. In my defense, I didn’t know the food I was eating was making me sick, but now I know. I have no excuse. It’s up to me to make better choices. Just because it sits on a grocery store shelf, doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

I show my gratitude, by treating my body with the love it deserves, and feeding it healthy food.

Yes, preparing healthy meals takes time and I am grateful to have the time (as in being alive) to do it.

Be well and eat healthy!
ingebird

Author Ann Cameron Cured Stage 4 Cancer With Carrot Juice

One of the bloggers I follow is Chris Wark. He was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer when he was twenty-six and has been cancer free over ten years now. He had colorectal surgery but refused chemotherapy, choosing to change his diet instead. One of his recent posts is about Ann Cameron, a stage four cancer survivor and how she got well drinking carrot juice. You can read her amazing story on Chris’s website.

A couple of cancer patients who I mentor, are hesitant about doing anything else except traditional treatment and that is certainly ok. I believe that whatever choice we make as to how we want to get well, is the right choice. But I think we can all agree that eating healthy is a good idea for all of us, whether we are sick or well.

When I had cancer, I chose conventional treatments, but the organic foods in the form of juicing, green smoothies and plant based meals, played a huge part in my recovery. All my doctors told me I could eat anything I wanted, but my intuition disagreed. I became my own nutritionist and still eat that way. Several carrots were added to my daily juice, as well as cucumbers and broccoli. All were organic.

So how about making fresh organic carrot juice and drinking at least 16 to 32 ounces a day, just to see what happens? Its food and won’t interfere with treatments. I also found a medical news website that writes about the health benefits of carrots to satisfy any skeptics out there, who think Ann’s story is too good to be true.

Ann wrote a book about her experience and you can buy a kindle edition copy on Amazon.

Be well and eat healthy!
Ingebird

“Eating Healthy is Too Hard”

How many times have I heard, ” Eating healthy is too hard to do long-term.” I am working on being a more patient person and meditation helps, but when I hear some individuals with cancer whine that ANY lifestyle change is too much for them, I want to smack them upside their head. I want to say to them, “Do you know what’s hard? What you are going through right now. Jabbed with needles. Poked. Prodded. Poison dripping into your veins. Throwing up. Losing your hair. If you can do all that, you can make some healthy changes in your life.”

Since when did eating healthy become a punishment or some huge chore? Have the mega corporations who sell their poisoned crap turned the average American into a junk food addict? Does ANYONE believe a bacon cheeseburger is good for you? One woman actually told me she doesn’t cook, when I suggested she make herself a salad. Hello! Making a salad is not cooking! It requires no special skills.  All your doing is throwing some vegetables in a bowl. I am not a talented chef but I can make healthy simple recipes. Anyone can.  All it takes is will power.

Next month is my three-year anniversary volunteering at the infusion center. I am starting to see patients who were in remission in 2011, return for more treatment because their cancer came back. Some had the same cancer as me but not as severe… until now. I can’t help but wonder if they went back to their old habits. I have to be careful what I say to patients because most doctors at that hospital believe a patient can eat anything they want and do whatever they want. When I was a patient in the hospital, a nutritionist came to see me and she pushed the same junk food sold in most grocery stores. Ensure protein drink is usually what hospital staff recommend. It’s packed with sugar and God-knows-what else. It’s garbage and is definitely not good for you.

I do tell patients my story though and that includes my lifestyle changes, that’s when some of them give me the “it’s too hard” spiel. I don’t want to lecture them, ok, I really do but I can’t and they probably wouldn’t listen anyway. It boils down to free will. We all have it, but free will comes with responsibility. Every choice we make has a consequence.

When I was diagnosed, I was given a ten-percent chance of survival. When I heard that, I decided right then, I would beat those odds and I still am. I also recovered faster than my doctors thought. I was cancer free within five months of my stage IV cancer diagnosis. I went the slash/burn/poison route but I built up my immune system with healthy food and supplements and continue to do so.  Cancer is and should be a wake-up call to anyone who is diagnosed. In order to be a success story the patient has to be a willing participant in his/her wellness plan. Sometimes that means to look for other healthcare options and other survivors. Find out what they are doing. I’ll bet they changed their diets and lifestyle. Everyone I contacted did.

Treating cancer is like going on a diet. The person follows a diet plan and when the desired weight is off, the person goes back to his/her old eating habits. What happens? The person gains back all the weight he/she lost plus more! The cancer patient who goes through all the treatment and is told she is in remission returns to her old habits and guess what? The cancer returns and comes back with a vengeance.

Do you know what keeps me from going back to my old habits? Remembering how sick and miserable I was. I will do anything to prevent that from happening again. I’m the type of person who is “all in” or “all out” when deciding something. I don’t do anything important half-assed. Eating an occasional apple or piece of celery is not enough. In order to make a positive change and to (hopefully) undue the years of damage I did to myself, I have to eat right, exercise, meditate, get adequate rest and stay positive. Being vegan works for me. I don’t even miss meat or dairy. The smell of grease coming from a fast food place makes me nauseous.

You, on the other hand don’t have to be vegan, but choosing foods, like chicken or fish should be organic. There is too much use of antibiotics and growth hormones in live stock these days. Why? Because they make more money.

Buy local produce, in season when you can. If you can’t find organic, choose produce you can peel and wash well.

Everyone has time to walk twenty minutes a day. It’s free and you get outside in the fresh air and sunshine (which gives you vitamin D). If you want to do something else for exercise, do it. Do what turns you on! Get adequate sleep. There are natural sleep aides you can use, if you have trouble in that department, Melatonin is safe and non-addictive. Spending “quiet time” for ten minutes a day helps manage stress. I like meditation but just sitting quietly is just as good… wait! That IS meditation!

Find a buddy who wants to get healthy or your loved one. It’s easier when you have emotional support if you need it. My hubby changed his awful diet and that’s a miracle alone! You know what did it for him? Watching me go through cancer treatment.

Next time you find yourself saying “I can’t, say actually, I can!”

I guarantee after a few months of eating “real food” your taste buds will change, and you will notice the difference if you eat something processed. It will taste “fake.”

I can honestly say I feel 100% better than I ever felt in my life. Changing my life so I can live longer and healthier is not hard. Why? Because I am worth the effort and so are you.

Be Well and Be Happy!

Ingebird