November: Lung Cancer awareness month

     November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and I want to honor my hubby, Mike for thriving through this diagnosis and for doing everything he can to make his body a cancer fighting machine!  I’m not going to throw out a bunch of statistics but I do want people to know that lung cancer kills more people yearly than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined… let that sink in!!!

     Only 5-10 percent of cancers are genetic and the rest are due to the environmental and lifestyle factors!  I’m not trying to place blame on people/patients or make them feel bad, but instead trying to encourage everyone to get informed and makes changes both small an big to reduce the chances of getting cancer! President Nixon declared a war on cancer in 1971 but sadly no cure has been found and the statistics haven’t really changed. We need to keep looking for a cure, but also do everything we can to prevent it in the first place! We need to get mad enough at our chances of getting cancer that we do everything we can to prevent it!

     Like I’ve said before, I’m not a medical professional so am not giving medical advice I just want to share some things that we’ve done over the last 17+ years. Read and get informed! There are so many good books to read or listen to (I love audible books sped up 1.5X’s to get through faster)! My new favorite which I have already listened to 2 times through is called “The Cancer Whisperer”  and ironically it’s about a woman with stage 4 metastatic, incurable Lung Cancer. Some things she suggests and that we do include stress management, getting adequate sleep (7-9 hours), get your immune system working well, clean up our environment to decrease the chemicals in our  houses and that we put in and on our bodies, detoxing, exercising and eating healthy, organic, nourishing foods. There are so many diets (vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic, paleo, Keto) and conflicting dietary advice so you just need to research and do what you feel is best, but I think we can all agree that eating more vegetables and less processed foods is always better! Eat real food with few ingredients, not boxed/packaged/processed “foods”!

     Cancer has hit home again this week as we’ve learned of the deaths, new diagnosis’s and the return/spread of cancer in some people we know as well as people I feel like  I know through their blogs. I don’t know about you but I’m mad,  and I’m going to keep doing everything I can to prevent cancer so I’m not a statistic!

     To Mike and all the other cancer thrivers out there, God bless you and give you strength!

     Paula


 

Happy 57th Birthday Mike!

     On Mike’s 57th Birthday I thought I’d take the opportunity to update everyone on what the plan is for the lung nodules. Mike’s case has been discussed at length by the tumor board at Mayo and the consensus is to wait. Both Dr. Molina and Dr. Nichols called Mike and told him that there is some new targeted drugs that will be available for clinical trial in about 6 months so they want to do another CT scan in April and decide what to do then. Waiting may sound scary/crazy but we are happy about it because it gives us more time to do more “alternative/holistic” things. We will continue to live by faith and believe in health and healing! We will never give up HOPE and Mike continues to look and feel great and is doing amazingly well!

     I said in a blog once that I’d explain some of the alternative things we do so thought I’d start now. We are not medical professionals and are not giving medical advice. We have just had people ask what we do so………just a few things so this post isn’t too long……

    We intermittent fast most days of the week which means not eating for 12-16 hours and eating in about an 8 hour window which has lots of benefits if you look it up. It is supposed to slow down aging, boost energy, enhance mental focus, and can help prevent cancer and kill cancer cells! We also sit in an infrared sauna for 20-60 minutes most days of the week to detox. This world we live in is so full of pollutants, chemicals, and environmental toxins and sauna use is great for detoxing and it is relaxing as well.

     We take lots of vitamin and mineral supplements and we rotate the supplements sporadically because cancer is smart and it will find its way around things so rotation is key. We take things like Vitamin D3, omega 3’s/fish oil , probiotics, pancreatic enzymes, Poly MVA, Beta Glucans,  Curcumin, Restore,  etc...etc...

    I will go through some other things we do or have tried in the next blog. Things like diet, ozone, EWOT, coffee enemas😬😳  but for now I’ll leave you with some words from our new favorite song from our favorite band Need to Breathe (is that name ironic) “…I don’t know what’s around the bend All I know is that my love it knows no end…… I’m forever on your side, Take my hand when you can’t see the light, ‘cause I’m forever on your side, I will carry you every time, ‘cause I’m forever on your side…… We know that God is on our side even though we can’t see around the bend we trust Him!  💜 Paula
 

 

Mayo day/CT scan

     It’s been way too long since I’ve blogged. We have been living life and “pretending” that Mike is in perfect health because he looks and feels like he is, except for when he tries to run or exercise too fast and then his decreased lung capacity reminds him he isn’t.

     Yesterday was Mikes 9 month CT scan/check-up at Mayo and to get right to the point, as his radiation oncologist said the tumors in his right lung each showed about 1-3mm growth and have become more “dense” and not “opaque or ground glass” looking. So in the last 3&1/2 years since these new tumors appeared on scans, they have doubled in size. In the Lung Cancer World these tumors are “very well behaved” and slow growing but growing… so although Dr. Oliver thinks he could do SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy) he doesn’t want to do that at this point because it causes tissue damage and Mike already has decreased lung capacity. Instead he wants us to meet with Mike’s lung Oncologist Dr. Molina to discuss RET targeted immunotherapy. RET is a type of  gene mutation that is found in only 1-2% of non small cell lung cancers and is the mutation Mike has.

     We will meet with Dr. Molina soon to discuss our options.  We will also continue to live as healthfully as possible and do all  the natural protocols (supplements,diet,exercise, sauna,ozone, etc...etc...)we have been doing because Dr. Oliver thinks that is what is keeping Mike looking and feeling so good and keeping those lung tumors growing so slowly.

     Although we would have loved to hear that the tumors had not grown at all or shrunk, that is not our reality, but we still believe that healing is possible. Our children, and grandchildren have been amazing and are such a motivation! We thank God for this wonderful life full of peaks and valleys and trust in Him!

     I will update after we go to Mayo to discuss our options, but until then hug your family and friends and let them know what they mean to you, because you honestly have no idea what tomorrow brings! Here is a quote I have hanging in my kitchen: Prayer is bringing your wishes and worries to God; faith is leaving them there.


     In love and faith,

     Paula
   

Mayo day

     It's been 5 months since we were in Reno for treatment and 9 months since Mike had his last CT scan at Mayo so… it was time to see how Mike's lungs are doing. So after a late night last night due to an overtime win against Waverly in basketball (woohoo) we got up early this morning and drove up to Rochester for another CT and to meet with our team of doctors there. The scan was read by a scan reader-radiologist , Dr. Olivier (radiation oncologist), Dr. Nichols (thoracic surgeon), and Dr. Molina (medical oncologist), and they all agreed that there is minimal to no growth in the 5 "nodules" in the right lung and maybe even slight shrinkage in one!!! While we would have loved to hear that the spots all shrank or were gone, we are so thankful that there is really no change in the last 9 months! So we get to keep doing what we are doing and living life to it's fullest and go back in 9 months for another CT scan.

     We don't know if the treatments in Reno worked or if it's everything else we do on a daily basis that is making these nodules "behave so well" but we plan to keep working hard to keep them behaving!!! Dr. Olivier thinks it's our healthy living that is working, and told us to keep it up.

     I recently read this quote and it really applies to our life the last almost 17 years of this cancer journey: " You don't know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have". We have no choice but to pull up our big boy/girl panties and keep pressing on/being strong, and learning and growing each and every day! We love our life together and want to be here for each other and our family for as long as possible!

     We just learned of the sudden death of a former UNI football teammate and friend of Mike's and it really makes you realize that we don't know how much time we have here on this earth so we need to make the most of it! Live well and love well!

     Be blessed,

     Paula