44 years old (until 12-21), I've been predominantly vegetarian for the past 10 years, off and on for a couple of decades before that. Have an 18 year old daughter who has been vegetarian from birth. Not vegan, we've been pretty attached to our dairy products. Home is the Gulf coast of Florida. I was traveling in the Maritimes in September when I received a call from my ex-husband that he had been diagnosed with Melanoma. I made it back to Ohio just in time for his surgery and subsequent prognosis, which was not good. Post-surgery, the allopaths offered nada except fear and less than optimistic survival rates. And to try and tie into some of the recent threads, when questioned about the connection between Melanoma and nutrition, the oncologists all said the same thing: there is none. As a matter of fact, at one of the hospitals - very renowned for their cancer research and treatment - the snacks they offer patients who are waiting for their appointments consist of soda pop and cookies. I wanted to gag. And there's a Wendy's franchise in another one. Anyway, therein began the search for alternative protocols, which brought me to you guys. (Via Gerson and Wigmore and every other source of a nutritional program that I could find.) We're doing about 95% raw and juicing our little hearts out; in the meantime, trying to decipher which, if any one, course of treatment to stick with, in terms of supplements, no supplements, soy or no soy, grains or no grains, nuts and seeds or no nuts and seeds, sprouts or no sprouts, how much carrot, how much apple, how much everything. I was premed and have 4 years of Latin under my belt, in addition to a couple of years of anatomy, physiology, pathology, organic chem. I'm also an LMT and Reiki Master. The volume of information to process is overwhelming. My ex is 48, hasn't had any major health crises over the years, but he was a bigtime meat and sugar eater and he owns some businesses and has lived high stress. He has had absolutely no problem switching over to raw, thinks it all tastes positively delicious, and has said that he has probably been starving himself for the past 5 years since we divorced. He's amenable to just about anything that we find that offers promise and makes sense. Raw does, we just don't have the rest of the plan figured out. Actually, it's not just raw that makes sense, it's the whole concept of detoxing and rebuilding the immune system that makes sense. We're trying to stay open to everything nutritionally, including fish, if he feels a need for it, but we both are feeling really really good so far. Lots of energy. I'm a faster, have done 33 day water fasts in the past and loved them. He feels nothing but terror re water fasting. Coffee enemas. Castor oil packs. Reflexology. Homeopathy. Yoga. Meditation. Whatever. He's also begun a series of vaccines, which we agonized over. We're taking the multi-approach approach. May be more than y'all wanted to know. Mostly, I just want to thank you all for this list. There have been so many times over the past two months that I have felt like crawling into bed and pulling the covers up over my head and invariably I have logged on to see my digest appear, reminding me just why we're doing this. I have been all over the map emotionally on the medicos, from rage to complacency and everywhere in between. Our hearts want magic bullets (as in excuse me, don't y'all have a pill that will make it all better so that everyone can get back to real life), but our brains understand that this IS real life and is a logical consequence of years of bodily abuse. Hearts are empty, so the sensual needs are fed via the mouth. I have come to believe that even though there IS a darker side to organized allopathic medicine, mostly it's about people doing jobs that they were trained for. Most don't have time to step out of the box and look around. And the ego drop that is involved in turning their backs on all that they have believed and espoused is no less nor more a challenge than it is for any of the rest of us. They have kids in school and mortgages to pay and their spouse is running around and their dog is sick and their mother has cancer and they can't afford to take the time to challenge anything, especially something that could possibly wipe out the business that they have invested their entire lives in. Safer not to peek under the rug. Unconscious perhaps, but certainly not atypical. One of the first things that the ex said after the diagnosis was "This is all so absurd. I don't drink, I haven't smoked in years, I don't use any drugs, and I walk 4 miles a day. So why me? Why not that guy staggering out of the bar with that cigarette hanging out of his mouth?" Fundamental questions. The body-mind connection is undeniable and yet the majority of North Americans, especially, ignore it. Neil, Peter, everyone, I absolutely agree with everything that you wrote, but either he gets it or not. One of the challenges for me in this thing is allowing him the space to do this as he needs to, without me turning into a nazi about it all. I offer suggestions, information, support, some maybe not-so-gentle nudging at times, but this is his to do, not mine. And what I am doing with it is further refining my life as I get more and more information. One of the things that I have read recently about cancer, and particularly Melanoma, is that it is a disease of boundaries. And every person with Melanoma with whom I have spoken has trilled about the same thing: Ah! Now I can say no to everyone and have some time to do what I want to do. (Yes, there are easier ways to get one's needs met.) I have quite a few Shelton books, zillions of books, actually. I am a book freak. All of the information is available if and when he wants it. This particular vaccine is a cocktail, not brewed from his own personal tumor. No chemo, no radiation. They weren't options, as even the oncologists said that they are ineffective on Melanoma. That was a good thing, as it absolved us of endlessly justifying the choice to not go with the doctor's orders. Surgery happened quickly at the very beginning before anyone had a chance to think. No microwaving. All that we're cooking is a few veggies in the evening, and it's really more emotion-based than anything. No constipation. We're in Ohio at the moment, so sunshine is not a problem. He loves seeds and nuts, are they okay if sprouted? Minimal fats, maybe 2 tablespoons of flax seed a day. We're doing Essiac, have been from the beginning. And, yes, I use Reiki regularly. Now I have a question. What are all of your standbys food-wise? What do you reach for when you want a no-brainer that is relatively quick and easy? How simply are you all eating? Are you stretching the menu boundaries, with dehydrators and sprouting and grasses and all of the inherent planning involved, or just eating what's there? And, one more question (for now :-) ) I've been thinking that he might get a little more jazzed about it all if we were to go somewhere for immersion. Anyone have any recommendations about where? I'm thinking someplace like Optimum Health in Austin.
If you would like to write to Joan, you may send e-mail to soreal@home.com
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