Prayer, Positivity and Pomegranate Juice
I didn’t write from chemo yesterday because I was too tired. For some reason, chemo and the day after chemo really wear me out now. I sleep at chemo, and I come home and sleep till dinner. I also didn’t write because I was still on a high from finding out I am in remission! Yesterday, I was kind of in denial. I kept thinking — Did I prepare for the tests wrong, were the machines wrong, did my doctor read someone else’s results, is the cancer really just super tiny now or totally gone? Before, I worried about what I might be doing wrong — not exercising enough, drinking alcohol sometimes, not giving up meat, not following the Budwig Diet and all the other “cures” out there. But now, I find myself wondering what I’ve done right so that I can keep doing it, so that I can stay in remission for as long as possible. A friend of mine sent me a book by Kelly Turner, Ph.D., called Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds. It’s interesting, and I find that I have done most of the nine things she has found that cancer survivors do:
Radically change your diet
Take control of your health
Follow your intuiton
Use herbs and supplements
Release suppressed emotions
Increase positive emotions
Embrace social support
Deepen your spiritual connection
Have strong reasons for living
I have come up with my own list of what I think is contributing to my good cancer experience, if not my good scans and healing:
A positive attitude — I think this is essential. I’m not saying you have to be every day; feel the feels and work through all the emotions, but get back to positivity
Live life as normally as possible
Be thankful, grateful and blessed
Find the silver lining and the blessings in cancer
Use nontoxic skin and hair care products
Exercise
Have faith and hope
Have as big of a support group as possible
If you’re on immunotherapy, drink pomegranate juice!
I don’t know if any or all of these things help with cancer, but they’ve worked for me, and I’m going to keep on doing them.
I like number 8 on my list the best. It’s something I couldn’t do on my own, and it’s something I have been overwhelmed by. I know that I could not have gone into remission without your prayers and support. I am so lucky to have all of you and all of your prayers — from friends and family to strangers. THANK YOU. And while I think all the things I listed are important in my cancer battle, I know that God and all of your support are what have gotten me through and gotten me into remission!
I think this truly is a miracle. When I first started this metastatic breast cancer journey, one of my aunts sent me a couple of books on God and healing. They were so interesting, and they have influenced me so much. I know that I am in remission because of God and His miracle. And I feel so thankful, grateful and blessed.
I also feel thankful, grateful and blessed I was able to tell my kids that I no longer have cancer in my body. Aleks asked very intelligent questions. She knows/understands the reality of this situation. Peter smiled widely and gave me a bear hug. And Tomasz was happy and a little in disbelief. I know that they are relieved. And I am so glad I am able to give them a little break from cancer and ease their minds from the burden of cancer, even if just for a little while.
My symptoms from chemo have been good this past week. I am having joint pain in my knees when I go up and downstairs. My knees crack all the way up and are painful. And my feet are always sore, tired, and suffer from some neuropathy. I got a massaging, bubbling foot bath machine this week, and it has been wonderful and really helped revive my feet. It has been great for self care, too!! Those are about my only symptoms right now. My hair is now curly again. And the humidity is not helping!! It’s almost time to break out the straightening iron. It’s growing like crazy each week, and I’m really happy I’ll be able to grow it out while I am in remission!! I was starting to tone up and lose some weight, and it felt sooooo great. I was treading water for an hour a day and have been walking on the treadmill. Unfortunately, Isaias hit, (a tornado touched down a mile from our house) and our pool now looks like the Mississippi River. And it is brown. Very brown. So, I’m really disappointed I can’t tread right now. Hopefully, we can make good headway on the cleanup this weekend.
The only other thing is that I have forgotten my numbing cream for my port the past two weeks, so I’ve had to use a bag of ice to numb it before accessing it. I’ve learned that ice works even better than numbing cream. The things I’ve learned from having cancer … I could write a book.
So far, I am feeling really good after chemo on Thursday. I think it is helping to take the premeds before getting chemo. But Saturday is usually my worst day, so we’ll see. I’ll try not to push it too hard today. Enjoy your day, everyone, and THANK YOU, again, for all your support and prayers.
Stay safe and healthy! Will write again from chemo next Thursday! Until then, I’ll be focusing on prayer, positivity and drinking pomegranate juice!