UPDATE 24 May 2017
So much has happened. I will be posting a separate tribute to my mate Ash who died of cancer earlier this month.
I have felt well and keep getting better. My energy levels are higher. I HAVE GAINED WEIGHT. I hit a low of 57 kg, but now weigh 59.5 kg, and some days even 60 kg! That is a very good sign that things are on the mend.
Not for polite company, but then again this blog is in its entirety not for polite company. I am going to attempt to explain how I track things like smell of pee, bowel movements, what size they were, consistency (snakes or lumps, soft or hard), abdominal pain, weight, bloating, appetite, symptoms of fatigue etc. All of these things change from day to day and some things going the wrong way could indicate that the monster in my belly is back. Unless I had been through this experience, I would not have known what it takes to live from day to day – trying not to panic at more than a day of no bowel movement or 6 trips to the toilet overnight or cloudy pee (don’t ask how I know this, and don’t touch the glass jar sitting beside the toilet).
I am now eight months post surgery, and feeling well, not in the least due to a consistent improvement in some of the indicators above. Little did I know that a good sized bowel movement can improve my mood!
I have quit drinking, save for that glass of sparkling I had to toast Ash while giving the middle finger to cancer. I have discovered kefir and drink at least 2 cups a day. I elbow my husband outta the way to get the best stuff in the fridge. I am eating low carb, high fat with the occasional exception (duh, I went to Chocolate Moments and spied dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts and ate the whole bag while waiting for my phone to be fixed. Never again. Ya.). The other treatments I am on include:
Alkala N – for pH
Ribraxx – T Cells
ASEA – cell signalling
Gumbi Gumbi tea – tonic for good health
Potassium – Theratest
Enzymes – for cancer fighting
Cod Liver Oil – Omega 3 EFA
Renu 28 gel – cell signalling
Herbal mixture as prescribed by Naturopath
Water fast for three to four days every two months – for cleaning out the body
It has taken six months, but I am starting to turn the corner I think. I have tracked my symptoms from prior to surgery and must say that I have been showing slow but sure improvement. My symptoms included sharp pain on breathing deep (who the hell does that anyway), unexplained fatigue, bloating, recalcitrant bowel, low appetite (uh, that is coming right), dry mouth (felt like skin continually shedding from the back of the tongue – ugh, and abdominal pain.
I reckon if I get that crucial year under my belt, I may have pelted those bloody ovarian cancer cells that turned up in the pelvic wash after surgery. I may be shadow boxing for all I know, but time will tell.
This illness has given me an opportunity for a second chance. I won’t waste the years I have left.
I have been enormously lucky in this crazy life. I have two steppies I adore, an ex wife who is genuinely concerned (yes, I claim her as mine) and grandchildren who bring light and joy into my life.
Had I been remotely sensible in my youth, my life would have unfolded differently but that was not my path. Here I am.
UPDATE 27 Mar 2017
I attended hospital for scan of lymph nodes near groin. Some staff looked like four year old had dressed her that morning. Strewth.
Radiographer told me that my scan looked normal, and there was no need to aspirate any fluid from my lymph nodes. She actually called the doctor in and he took five minutes with me. Basically my lymph nodes are normal and if they need to be checked again, they can do another scan in 3 months.
Unpinning this post as I have more important things to do than ponder my lymph.
UPDATE 11 Mar 2017
Unsettling news from the surgical team. I went in to be poked, prodded and looked at, asked questions of and blood taken. Blood levels of CA-125 okay. Uh, cholesterol high. Quack discovered lumps in groin.
Doctor: Have you noticed these lumps in your groin here? *palpates something between hip joint and lady parts
Me: Uh, no I don’t feel there. Ever.
Doctor: We will need to send you for scans and a test of your lymph.
Me: Okay. *dresses quickly and heads for the door
UPDATE 21 Feb 2017
Great news from the Naturopath. Every session is one where she updates my symptoms (duh, aging is one big ‘symptom’ if you ask me). Then measurements of resistance are taken on the Theratest machine. My results are holding and there is only some decline in bladder function (ahem) and hip. I won’t go into the details, but I am feeling well, less tired than I was.
No bastard gets more energetic as they age, so staying as I am is better than getting worse.
Next stop, surgical team follow up in early March.
UPDATE 12 Jan 2017
We have good news from our Naturopath too. All signs are that my body is getting stronger, and that whatever I am doing is working. So I am going to continue the current protocols, and accept that I live in a grim truce with OC.
Richard got a clean bill of health straight away. Bastard.
UPDATE 6 Jan 2017
This morning I saw my oncologist to get the results of the unreliable and useless CA-125 test. The count was very low, so you may be excused for asking – uh, what does that mean? Well, I suppose it means that “no news is good news”.
It is better than a high count, I suppose. I reckon I have a 50-50 chance of not having metastasised cancer.
Red or Black?
I was also told that the CTC (Circulating Tumour Count) test was not very reliable for ovarian cancer. Gah. Another road block. Never mind, I found a nice dress today for upcoming wedding in February.
Next week we go to the Naturopath, and I will update once I know the story.
UPDATE 2 Jan 2017
Since finding out that the cancer has not metastasised yet, we have been to the Oncologist twice. We were told that this cancer is highly aggressive, and fast growing and if it comes back, it will return in months. Not years. Next appointment with Onco is this Friday. I have had some blood taken so that the useless CA-125 test can be done. Find out results this week. Duh. The test has been shown to be unreliable. I have asked about the Circulating Tumour Test and whether it is applicable to my age and stage.
I am feeling well. I have been to a Naturopath to seek alternate advice and am on herbs and supplements to strengthen the immune system. I have my next appointment with her in mid January.
I have lost a bit more weight, most likely due to maintaining a ketogenic diet in a bid to get to therapeutic ketosis, which I am failing at. I started drinking kefir and kombucha. OMG are they good. I am also culturing fresh vegetables.
Yesterday we melted 90% dark chocolate and coated macadamia nuts. New Year Heaven!
To summarise (it is easy to lose track). I am doing the following to slay the bastards inside, and to build my immune system to do the killing for me.
- Amazon Tonic III
- Hydrogen Peroxide treatment
- Fasting – 3 – 4 day fasts every couple of months should be fine
- Liver/Bowel/Deworming cleanse – ugh
- Quit alcohol in April of this year (I just knew something was wrong)
- Natural soaps, cleaners, skin products
- Ketogenic diet – trying to maintain therapeutic ketosis
- Fermented foods added to diet: Milk Kefir, Kombucha and Cultured vegetables
- Bob Beck Device
- Herbal tonic OMG it tastes good
- Supplements Potassium, Enzymes, Ribraxx, Cod Liver Oil (uh, fermented)
- Eating Mullet, Mackerel and Sardines. Tried Anchovies. Spat them out.
- Enjoying grandkids.
- Learning new stuff like wtf is kombucha and why did I not know of this before now?
- Contemplating 60 years old and whether I will make this milestone
- Stuff I can’t post on a public forum like getting rid of people who simply don’t add any value to my life. No I am not snuffing them, just not engaging with them. You can choose your inputs. Don’t put up with bullshit.
Happy New Year, everyone! I have been slack bastard this year. And most years.
Success for me will be dying of something completely different, suddenly. I don’t want to see the bastard coming.
Love to my brothers and sisters who I can’t talk to every day. The Northern Hemisphere is uninhabitable this time of year.
UPDATE 24 Oct 2016
We are expecting a call from the Tumour Team at the Mater today, in hope that the Radiologist will confirm what has already been given to us by the doctor. Other than that, our fine friend’s daughter is in brain surgery today. She is only 30 years old. The quack reckons he can get the rest of the tumour in her head. I don’t have many worries, compared to them.
In the meantime, boys and girls, have a read of this One Minute Cancer Cure and ponder its contents.
I have been taking Hydrogen Peroxide baths (again – I don’t recommend, I can only say what I am doing), and am hacking and coughing and running rough like a old Chevy. Seems to work, then.
UPDATE 18 OCT 2016
I had a contrast CT scan for which I was to drink 3 lots of sweet iodine liquid and then turn up to get my innards scanned. Before the actual scan I was injected with another contrast dye to pick up liver, lungs, kidneys etc. I lay there, braless, nervous and holding my breath when instructed.
I walked home from the hospital and met my DH for a coffee. We walked home after, expecting that it would take a week or more to get the results.
My mobile phone rang about 4:40 pm, and it was the gyno surgeon; asking whether I had been given an appointment. I told him I had the CT scan done that day. He then was able to check the scan quickly for me and told me that he thought the scan was clear. He qualified that by saying the radiologist would give the final say. He then said that I would likely be referred for chemotherapy.
Bliss!!
Here is the final video in the “Quest for Cure” series: (removed from youtube)
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This is one time in my life where I am not that thrilled to be right, but as per my previous post, I was right. I do have Ovarian Cancer. At the moment, the Tumour Board at Mater Hospital cannot give the correct stage, but now I am diagnosed with “at least Stage II Ovarian Cancer”. I can tell you that I was devastated. I tried my best to prepare for the worst news, but there it was.
The surgeon told us that they are now recommending a CT Scan, which I am having done Monday. This is a contrast scan. If there are tumours I have been told that more surgery will be recommended. If there are no tumours, then ‘mop up’ chemotherapy will be recommended.
Having had a few days to ponder this new development in our lives, my husband has stayed back from work to look after me post surgery. And he kept my mind off the dark side. And we went out for breakfast most days, with him steadying me for my first sore post surgery steps. I am now three weeks post surgery and must say that I feel a lot better and that most of the swelling has gone down.
I have had a fair few days to get used to the idea, and seek alternate ways to treat this cancer. So this thread is meant to document and give resources to other women who may be faced with the same dilemma. My choices may be different than the choice of a young woman who wants children, or a woman with young children. Faced with almost certain death, one must make choices in line with what they want out of life.
I don’t suppose that any of the treatments I highlight in the following will meet TGA approval, so I don’t recommend them. I can’t. I have no idea whether they will work.
Rado Trenciansky was kind enough to send me some videos online which may help, and from those videos I discovered a young man called Chris Wark who survived advanced stage Colon Cancer.
You know where I am going with this, don’t you? I am not inclined to have further surgery, and certainly not inclined to take chemotherapy.
I have also been watching the following videos, “The Truth About Cancer” Series by Ty Bollinger for your consideration. There are lots more on the web, but this information may be of assistance to you.
I see that some videos have been removed by the user. I will leave it to readers to find if available.
At the moment, my plan is to finish the bottle of Amazon Tonic III that I received from Alpha Omega Labs in Ecuador (I have ordered two more bottles). I have been taking this tonic since 25th September every day. I have no idea of whether it is working or not, because I had no idea that any cancer was left, once the ovaries and tubes were removed, but taking the tonic gives me a sense of doing something for myself during the wait to see what the actual diagnosis is.
After finishing the first bottle of tonic, I intend to fast for 7 – 14 days, to give my body a chance to give up the cancerous cells and to take out the trash. It may be that there are numerous problems. I don’t know if that will work, but it seems to me that it is easy to do. I have fasted before, and the results were amazing. DH was not amused because I snored loud because of sinus filling up with mucous. Blech. I then intend to restart the Amazon Tonic III. Please leave comments if you think I can trying anything else.
We have been telling family the actual diagnosis. Neighbours are being told that the doctors want to do more tests.
Pass The Torch 