Juice it Up

After last week's controversial post on coffee enemas, I would like to woo you back to Healer in Your Heart with something a bit more benign. We bought a juicer back in January right after Adam returned home from the hospital, and we started out juicing every day. Then after the Burzynski treatment took over our lives, the juicer started collecting dust. I would try to bring it out from time to time, but just couldn't get into a routine with it. Now that Adam is on a new protocol, I am making the effort to juice twice a day, every day. I would love to get up to three times a day, but for now I'm just glad we are using it regularly. And I tell you, it really does make a difference. The few times that I was unable to juice, I felt so tired and yucky. I know that juicers don't come cheap, and you really need to be motivated to prepare the vegetables and clean the juicer after every use. But, it really really is worth it. And it's absolutely essential for Adam's cancer treatment.

It's common knowledge in the nutrition world that the nutrients in freshly-made vegetable juices are more easily absorbed by the body. Commercial juices from the store are mostly reconsituted concentrates devoid of vitamins and with additives and preservatives thrown in. With fresh home-juicing there is no additives and the active enzymes and vitamins are readily available. Fresh vegetable juices also have a cleansing and detoxifying effect on the body which is they key to a successful cancer protocol.

I have read a LOT about cancer, and there are varying theories about it. Why does it develop? How does it develop? There is a lot the medical community still doesn't know, but many researchers have a pretty good idea how cancer works in our bodies. One theory in particular stands out in my mind, and seems to be confirmed by recent research. In a very simplistic non-medical sort of way, here is cancer in a nutshell. Our liver is the primary detoxing agent in the body. All the crap (official scientific term) gets filtered through the liver, and the liver produces chemicals that capture toxins throughout the body and flush them out. In our modern society we are absolutely innundated with chemicals all day long. Over 80,000 new chemicals have been developed and added to our cleaning products, toiletries and foods in the last century. Our livers are maxed out! There is only so much they can handle before they start to give up. Here is where cancer comes in. Nothing happens by mistake in my opinion, especially cancer. When the liver starts to wave the red flag, the immune system calls a board meeting. The liver needs help, and the body knows exactly what to do. They begin to plan a toxin depository elsewhere in the body to take the burden off the liver. Sometimes the body is so overloaded, it needs lots of depositories. So the body starts stocking away all these toxins in these holding areas known as tumors. I can just imagine the immune system board meeting. “You know that lung we keep having to repair? I think that would be a GREAT place for that new rubbish facility we've been talking about!” I think the body intentionally chooses weakened places in our bodies to start storing the toxic overload. For someone with undiagnosed celiac's disease, that may be a damaged colon. For a smoker, a tar-filled lung. Some people are particularly suseptable to damage from radiation, so the skin might be a target or the brain from cordless phone use (both of which apply to Adam). The body knows exactly what it's doing, and this cancer project is carefully planned out and executed beautifully. Did you know that when cancer cells are threatened by chemotherapy, the healthy cells in that area actually rally together and protect the tumor? A recent study in the U.S. shocked researchers when they discovered that as healthy cells are being destroyed by chemotherapy, they excrete a protein that protects the cancer cells from damage. Can you believe that? They figuratively throw themselves over the cancer cells to protect them as they go down. Kinda like secret service agents. The body knows exactly what it's doing. It NEEDS those depositories, and by God they are going to make sure they stay open. Especially when the body is being attacked by chemotherapy agents. The body knows it's going to need a lot more tumors to handle the toxin overload after the chemo treatment is over. Maybe that's why cancer always comes back.

All is not lost, however. What if you could detox the body and take the load off the liver? What if you simply removed the toxic overload and gave the liver a tune-up? The body wouldn't need the extra depositories anymore, and the immune system would be directed to take them down. And that is exactly what happens. There is a term out there called “spontaneous remission” that is floating around the medical world. It's how they explain someone with aggressive progessing cancer that suddenly presents without active cancer in their bodies. There have been numerous cases in medical literature of cancer patients suddenly turning up healed and with no trace of cancer remaining. The doctors scratch their heads and can't figure out why this happens. Call it God or call it good luck, but the medical community believes that spontaneous remission just happens. Guess what. It doesn't “just happen”. Dr. Harold Foster of the University of Victoria in British Columbia wanted to study what factors may be at play in cases of spontaneous remission and chose 200 cases to analyze. Far from being miraculous, most of these healings were due to drastic lifestyle changes and complimentary therapies. Many of these patients followed the Gerson diet and employed parts of the Gerson protocol, namely the juicing and coffee enemas. Other dietary regimes represented in the study were very similar to the Gerson diet. I have studied the numerous cancer diets out there and they are all remarkably similar. The Halleluja Diet, A. P. John, The Crazy Sexy Cancer Diet, Gerson... they are all either vegetarian or vegan, and low-fat. That is why we are doing what we are doing with our family's diet, and it explains why different cancer patients following different protocols can have similar degrees of success. The conclusion that Dr. Foster was able to reach is that far from being spontaneous, these patients were only categorized as such by orthodox medicine because the impressive results were due to alternative and complimentary therapies.

So back to juicing. Now you understand why feeding vegetables through a juicer, and the hassle of cleaning up afterwords is so worth it when you are fighting the cancer battle. If you want to watch a fantastic testimony on the power of juicing, watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It's on Hulu, and it's fabulous. You will run out and buy a Breville juicemaker immediately! I can testify, the Breville is really good, and it's available on Amazon. If and when you decide to harness the awesome raw power of the home juicer, try our two favorite concoctions:

The Morning Green Juice

1 cucumber

2 leaves of kale

2 stalks of celery

1 Granny Smith apple

Feed these foods through the juicer. Kale and apples are supposed to be done on “low” but I find they clog up the juicer if you do that. I feed them all through on “high”, except the cucumber which is done last and on “low”. Squeeze half a lime into the finished juice and serve. Makes enough for two.

The Evening Detoxifyer

1 beet

3 carrots

1 Granny Smith apple

either 1cm piece of ginger or ¼ of fennel

Again, feed all these through the juicer on “high”. I squeeze half a lime into mine, because I find this a bit too sweet. Adam loves it straight up.

Got Coffee?

I'm so excited, I just had to share. Today, folks, I will be telling you about my new favorite detoxing method. I wasn't sure about it at first, and we put it off as long as we could. But, now that I've been doing this every day for over a week, I just can't hold back. I need to tell all of you about... the coffee enema. And, whoosh! I just lost half my readership in one moment. Hopefully I can keep the other three of you interested and convince you that coffee enemas are the wave of the future.

Let me start by telling you a bit about WHY they are so good for you. If you are battling cancer, the coffee enema is a very powerful weapon in your arsenal. That's arseNAL for those of you giggling right now. I don't blame you. Adam and I did a lot of giggling when we first got our enema kits in the mail. Anyway, we first read about coffee enemas when we were investigating the Gerson protocol for fighting cancer. We have implemented some aspects of the Gerson protocol along side Adam's current treatment to maximize his chances of success. The Gerson therapy is an intensive detoxing protocol involving a strict diet, juicing every hour on the hour, and several coffee enemas a day. Many many people have successfully survived cancer utilizing the Gerson therapy, and it would be foolish to ignore it without doing a bit of research first. Coffee enemas are the cornerstone of the Gerson treatment and are used to detox the liver and gallbladder. Let me tell you why. The introduction of diluted coffee into the colon triggers the bile ducts to dilate, which allows the liver to release toxins. A study from the University of Minnesota showed that rectal coffee administration stimulates an enzyme called glutathione S-transferase in the liver which removes free radicals from the bloodstream. The study found that the activity of this enzyme is increased by up to 700% after a coffee enema. A six-year clinical study at the District Hospital of Graz, Austria confirmed the advantages of implementing coffee enemas in oncological protocols. The researchers discovered that two active ingredients of coffee (cafestol and kahweol) increased the activity of glutathione S-transferase sevenfold. When one is using any treatment to attack and kill tumor tissue, conventional or alternative, toxins are accumulated in the body either from the medicine itself in the case of chemotherapy, or from the immune system breaking down the cancer. This process carries the risk of taxing out the liver, which in cancer patients is already debilitated. This is why it is important to consider a good detoxing method. Now for a bit of history. Water enemas have been used in medicine since Hippoctrates introduced them 2,600 years ago. Only in recent times has the routine use of enemas lost its popularity. The use of coffee as enema material began in Germany during World War I when morphine was in short supply. In desperation, nurses began pour leftover coffee into the enema buckets to ease the pain of wounded soldiers after surgery. They found that it was a very effective method of pain relief.  This accidental discovery came to the attention of two medical researchers in Germany who went on to test the effects of coffee enemas on rats, and found that when caffeine travels up the hemorrhoidal vein to the liver, it dilutes bile ducts and allows the liver to release accumulated toxins.

So now that I've given you a few points to ponder as to why we decided to do this, I will now go onto the specifics. I know the look of horror on your face. I've been there. But, I promise you it really really isn't all that bad. I had read testimonies online of people gushing about their daily coffee enemas. They all swore that they looked forward to them every day, and felt so amazing afterwords. I didn't think it could be true. But, I'm now a convert myself, and I actually do look forward to it every morning, and I do actually feel amazing afterwords. I start the process by boiling the coffee. I boil just over a liter of water, and add 3 heaping tablespoons of coffee to the pot. I'm working up to 4 scoops, but I'm not quite there yet. This boils for 3 minutes, then I put the lid on, turn down the heat to a simmer, and let it cook 15 more minutes. Once it has had a chance to cool a bit I strain it with muslin and pour equal amounts of the coffee into two jars. One for Adam and one for me. I usually end up with 16oz of coffee each. Then I dilute it. I add enough warm water to total 24oz of enema material for me, and Adam does the full 32oz. Then I'm off to the bathroom! I actually skip up the stairs.

I set up my little “enema den” with a towel lining the bathtub, and another towel rolled up as a pillow. The coffee gets poured into my enema bucket, and I unclamp the tube to let the liquid pour all the way to the end. Then I clamp it tight, and lubricate the tip a bit. The next part was the most horrifying the first day, and now is just so second-nature I can't believe I was ever anxious about it. I lie down in the tub on my right side and curl up into the fetal position. The tube goes in, which was a bit weird the first time but is a total non-issue now. I have the bucket hanging up on the little washcloth rail in the tub, so I just unclamp the tube and let the coffee run in. You don't feel a thing! You might hear a little gurgling from your intestines, but there is no sensation whatsoever of the coffee going in. Once the bucket is empty, I clamp the tube and gently remove it. Then I get to lie still for 12 minutes. Actually I haven't made it to 12 minutes yet, but I'm getting close. I've read, played Bejeweled on my iPod, and I have every intention of praying the Rosary... starting tomorrow. I promise. Anyway, when the time is up it's time to “evacuate”. I suppose that part is self-explanatory. Then I just wash out the bucket (remember there's only been coffee in there!) and rinse out the tubing. Voila! All in all, it takes less than 30 minutes of my morning, but boy is it worth it. I swear you feel about 5 pounds lighter afterwards. And you really do feel clear-headed and ready to start the day. Adam goes in after me, and he is loving his enemas. His short-term memory issues that plagued him after the surgery have totally cleared up, and he's convinced it's the enemas that are doing it.

So I hope you don't feel that this has been too much information, but I really strongly feel that more people should be using the coffee enemas in treating their medical problems. I have the hopes that it will help me with my migraines, and the occasional detox is definitely useful even for the healthiest among us. Watch some colonoscopies on YouTube and you'll see why. Next up, I'll be writing about my other favorite part of Adam's protocol... juicing!!

Thoughts on Protein

Wow. Two posts in two days! It must be a holiday weekend. Anyway, I wanted to address a comment I keep hearing everytime I mention to friends and family that we've gone vegetarian. “What about protein?” “Make sure you're getting enough protein!” “What are you doing for protein... lots of beans?” Because of these well-meaning questions, I wanted to do some research into protein and find out how much a body really does need. My findings surprised me, so I'd like to share.

It looks like the recommended daily intake of protein for a man is 56g. Now Adam is on the slim side, so he probably doesn't require that much. I need far less being a women, closer to 46g. So I decided to do a “protein audit” of our current diet, looking closely at what we are consuming and how it measures up to the demands of our bodies. We are getting far more than we need, and we aren't even trying. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of beans, and mental images of having to shovel forkfuls of rinsed kidney beans into my mouth to keep up with “protein demands” made me feel a little low. Thank goodness that is completely unneccessary. To look at an average day, here is how the protein grams add up:

oatmeal with walnuts, flax seed and a banana – 9g

leftover vegetable pot pie with cabbage salad – 14g

pumpkin soup and green salad with quesadillas – 26g

That comes to a total of 49g already, and I haven't even added up the snacks yet. Throw in a rice cake with peanut butter, a cheese stick, fruit, and a handful of mixed nuts and we have consumed a whopping 68g of protein in one day. Some days we'll be having fish (between 20-30 grams per 3 oz. serving) and occasionally I make eggs (6g per egg). On those days, we might even total 70 or 80 grams. And that's on a vegetarian diet! What would we be taking in if we were still on meat?!

You might be asking what the concern over protein is all about. Well, I have researched a ton of cancer diets, and the vast majority of them have one key thing in common. They are vegetarian. They are also sugar-free for the most part. Why? Cancer feeds on sugar and protein. I was under the mistaken impression that cancer requires only sugar to grow. That is why Adam was on a carb-free diet while on the Burzynski treatment. But, if cancer only grows on sugar, it should have starved to death. Unfortunately, it didn't and that's when I read the fine print.... cancer can also thrive on excess protein. Yes, we do need to make sure that Adam has adequate protein to fulfill the needs of his body, but too much protein floating around in his veins gets lapped up by cancer cells and makes them happy. We do not want happy cancer cells. We want them to be miserable, groaning and writhing with agony. So for that reason, Adam needs to watch his protein intake in addition to completely avoiding sugar. The easiest way to do that is to avoid meat. The great thing about vegetarianism is that by removing the meat from his plate, Adam can fill that empty space with more vegetables. The mistake many vegetarians make is they replace that missing meat with white starchy carbs, or horrible imitation foods like soy ice cream and vegan protein bars. Unfortunately those people are missing the point, and will not reap the benefits of “Going Veg”. I'm still a big fan of meat, as long as it's grass-fed and spends it's life frolicking in rolling pastures. Commercial meat will never find it's way into our home again. But, I do now fully believe that meat should be eaten in moderation, and vegetables need to take center stage in one's diet. And for the time being, Adam and I are really enjoying our new healthy lifestyle, and hope that we can inspire others to do the same. It feels really great over here!!

The First HIYH Recipe!

I had originally planned on writing about my forays into the depths of psychological despair. It's been a rough couple of days. But, it never ceases to amaze me how I always seem to spiral down into a puddle of woe immediately before starting a new menstrual cycle. I'm honestly surprised every month. You'd think that at my age, I should be used to this by now. Anywho, Adam suggested I take the blog in a different direction this week. We've been vegetarian for a couple of weeks now, and I must say, it's going really really well. I really don't miss meat at all, and I love how NOT bloated I feel after every meal. Satisfied, but not splitting my jeans at the waist. It's great! Tonight I attempted a vegetable pot pie, and it was a massive hit. Adam exclaimed (he really did... he actually “exclaimed”), “You have to put this recipe on the blog! Try taking the blog in a new direction!!” When he's that enthusiastic about something, I simply cannot ignore his advice. So here's the recipe for tonight's smashing success!

Vegetable Pot Pie:

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

5-6 small potatoes, cubed

½ butternut squash, cubed

½ turnip, cubed

1 Cup frozen peas

2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

1 Cup white sauce

Saute onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes until soft. Add potatoes, squash, turnip and peas and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Put into a casserole dish. Pour white sauce over vegetables and top with cheese. Top with your favorite crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Eat your heart out.

If you are looking for a gluten-free pie crust recipe, here is the one I use from The Gluten-free Gourmet:

1 ½ Cups white rice flour

½ Cups potato starch

¼ Cups tapioca flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

¾ Cups lard

1 egg

2 Tbsp. white vinegar

2 Tbsp. cold water

Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Cut in lard until crumbly. Mix egg, vinegar and water in small bowl, then add to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly, and knead until it forms a dough. You can't knead it too much! Makes enough dough for two pie crusts.

I hope you enjoy this new and improved version of the Healer in your Heart blog... perhaps more recipes will follow, I don't know. So far we've enjoyed Tofu and Cashew Stir-Fry, Falafel, Pumpkin Lasagne, Vegetarian Chili, Fettuccine Primavera, Salmon & Potato Scallop, and Tilapia with Cherry Tomatoes and Leeks. I also make quite a few good soups, and a mean quinoa tabbouleh. Maybe Adam is onto something! I could start sharing my recipes! This could be a vegetarian-health-cancer-nutrition blog peppered with personal tales of our cancer-fighting adventures. Occasionally I could go off on deep reflective and spiritual tangeants to showcase my deepening faith and wisdom. Or I could just complain a lot about how hard it is to be me. In any case, the gears are now turning, and I'm getting excited about future blog posts! Hurrah, I think my funk is officially over!!

Healer in Two Hearts?

My goodness, so much has happened I don’t even know where to begin.  I have been completely sans-computer for over a week, and it’s been impossible to stay in touch with anyone online, let alone update the blog.  My apologies!  It looks like my PC needs a new hard drive, so hopefully we’ll be able to work that out soon.  For the moment, I’m stealing a few precious minutes on Adam’s work PC while he is at the grocery store with his parents.

We returned from New York last weekend, and Adam had his first appointment at the new clinic in Aldie on Tuesday.  We both really like the doctor we met with.  Correction… I absolutely LOVE the new doctor.  Her name is Dr. Stone and I can’t say enough good things about her.  The clinic is beautiful, and surrounded by countryside and breathtaking views.  It’s perfect.  And the best part is (delivered in hushed tones and furtive glances)…. they are going to do the B17 infusions!!  We have to order it ourselves because the clinic can’t get it.  We have a special secret phone number for a clinic in Mexico and a code word to use when ordering.  Very cloak and dagger.  I love it.  But, we are over the moon that Adam will be able to get the good stuff, and the Schachter Clinic was pretty excited, too.  Apparently it can be really difficult to find clinics that are willing to infuse the B17 because they just don’t want to get involved.  Thank God for small family-owned clinics in small-town horse country.

Other than that, Adam feels wonderful although his first time driving in 9 months on uneven winding back roads was horrific.  We were both thankful to arrive there and back in one piece.  And next week, Adam gets to do the drive by himself.  Maybe it’s better that way.  Surely his confidence will soar when he doesn’t have to see his wife clutching the door white-knuckled, feet braced against the glove compartment, sucking her breath in with overdramatic force around every turn.

I also had my own mini adventure this week.  I found a suspicious lump in my breast a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to get Adam’s trip to New York out of the way before seeing to it.  I booked a thermographic scan at a center in Ashburn for the 27^th, and I was a bit antsy the few days leading up to it.  Actually, I was downright bitchy.  My mother-in-law came with me for support, and was wonderful company while the GPS led us all over Sterling and Ashburn miles away from the actual imaging center.  We finally arrived 10 minutes late, and I was whisked into the examining room as soon as I finished filling out the new patient forms.  The thermographer was really awesome, and I highly recommend her if any of you locals are considering having one done.  Family Thermal Imaging in Ashburn.  Tell your friends.  Anyway, she scanned my torso from several different angles, which took maybe a minute, and then talked through the scanned images with me.  Thankfully, the lump is nothing to worry about.  There were no “hot spots” in that area of my breast.  However, the scan wasn’t totally clear either.  There were a couple of patches that showed irregular vascular activity.  She told me not to panic… there’s no need to run out and book an appointment with an oncologist.  But, there are definitely some early signs that I have a couple of spots that can potentially develop into cancer (8-10 years down the line) since there are detectable abnormalities already.  Not exactly the news I was expecting.  I had figured either the lump was a big scary fatal tumor, in which case I would immediately contact TLC and pitch a reality program starring our family, or it would be totally clear.  She told me there is a lot I can do to prevent cancer from forming, and suggested I look into a good detoxing protocol.  Well, HEY we’re doing that already!!  I can also start applying frankinsense to my breasts to help detox.  We’ve read a lot about frankinsense and how it can help with active cancer, so this sounded like really good advice.  As luck would have it, we happen to have a bottle of it that was recently passed onto us via my in-laws, so I can start with that immediately.  I’m also following Adam’s new crazy-healthy vegetarian diet, and I really really want to look into getting an infared sauna.  Ali should have one, Adam certainly needs one, and now it looks like I should be using one, too.  You can get little 4 foot single-seater saunas, and I have an idea of where we can put one.  In the meantime, I *really* need to order His and Hers enema kits so we can start doing coffee enemas.  I’ve read a lot about them, and the New York clinic highly recommended that Adam start partaking of daily “coffee breaks” in the bathroom.  I can just picture the kids pounding on the bathroom door… “But, Mummy I need your help NOW!”  Sorry, kids, but Mummy is completely indisposed at the moment.  Actually, it sounds quite appealing having 15 minutes all to myself to read, meditate, pray, whatever.  I just may have to sedate the children to make it work.

Best... Day... Ever!

We have had the most amazing weekend, and well, you know me.  I just had to share!  Yesterday we decided to go out exploring, and went out to Nyack to try to find Mountainview State Park.  It was on Google Maps.  It was supposed to be right there off the motorway on Mountainview Road.  Well, we drove up and down Mountainview Road and never found Mountainview State Park.  Shame, really.  It looked beautiful from the satellite view.  Anyway, we stopped at a Shell station to ask the locals were this darn park was.  No one had heard of it.  However, they did direct us to Rockland Lake Park, which was wonderful.  It’s a big lake with a walking trail around it, measuring 3 miles.  We walked the trail in such beautiful weather it nearly made me cry.  The sky was so blue, and the breeze was perfect.  For a few moments I lost my sense of reality and thought I was in Finland.  I can’t remember the last time I felt so blissful.  Then we returned to our hotel for a quick lunch before heading off to the home of my Aunt Jan and Uncle Cary.  What I like best about being up here for Adam’s treatment is I KNOW this place.  I could’ve driven to my aunt’s with a blindfold on.  We are less than 15 minutes away.  After all the welcoming kisses and cuddles we got great news:  my Aunt Marie and Uncle George were coming, too!  I hadn’t seen them in years, and I was so excited.  They are actually my dad’s aunt and uncle, but they’ve always been “aunt” and “uncle” to me.  They also brought their son Mark along, and I can’t remember the last time I saw him.  It was a great big family reunion!  We had so much fun catching up with everybody and gorging on ridiculous amounts of food.

Later that night, my cousin’s husband Tom had his adoration hour at the chapel and we were invited to go along.  He had asked friends of theirs from church to meet him there to pray over Adam.  After a few silent moments of reflection in the chapel, Tom started waving and motioning for Adam to come up to the front.  Adam and I kneeled at the front of the chapel and suddenly we were surrounded by people, all laying their hands on Adam and me.  Tom began to read and led everyone in prayer.  It was amazing.  The energy kept building as everyone took turns praying aloud and begging Jesus to heal Adam.  Adam and I were holding hands, but for a few moments I couldn’t tell whose hand was whose.  They seemed to just melt into one.  It was beautiful, and Adam and I were both shedding tears.  When it was over, one of the men told us to “take as long as we needed”.  Unfortunately, I had tears and snot running down my face, and I didn’t want to distract everyone from the beauty of what just happened with my loud snorting.  So I quietly left the chapel and Adam followed.  We were both a mess, and I hadn’t any tissues with me, so we cleaned up best we could with bare hands and my cardigan.  I felt a little bad when one of the men came out and introduced himself, and held out his hand to shake.  I prayed I wasn’t spreading some horrible communicable disease to one of the lovely people that may have been instrumental in saving my husband’s life.  After a few minutes spent meeting everyone and having a brief chat, we went home buzzing and looking forward to Sunday Mass.

This morning we relaxed a bit since I had a vicious migraine.  An Imitrex tablet helped clear it so we could meet my aunt and my cousin’s family at their church.  It was lovely, and mainly for the reason that Mass without Finlay is quite a treat.  We sang, we participated in prayers, we listened to the homily.  And boy were we surprised when Adam’s name was mentioned during the prayers for the sick!  My cousin Andrea arranged that one, and both of us were really touched.  After Mass we bid everyone goodbye and went to the Marian shrine less than a mile up the road.  It was awesome.  We spent a few quiet minutes in front of the 50-foot statue of Mary, then went for a walk on the trails around the property known as Rosary Walk.  I got out my grandmother’s rosary, and we prayed together while walking through the trees.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Then to top the already wonderful day off, we went out for Mexican!!  We ordered shrimp fajitas for both of us, and man were they good.  Adam and I go out to eat MAYBE twice a year, and this was such a treat.  I’m still bloated beyond comfort, and I will definitely be skipping dinner.  The past few hours have been spent linking up with the folks back home and seeing our beautiful boys, who I miss so much I can’t stand it.  We will be staying until Friday, and driving home Saturday.  This week I’ll be on the phone trying to coordinate Adam’s treatment when we get back to Virginia.  I’m hoping we will find a clinic (one in Aldie looks promising) who will continue Adam’s intravenous treatments when we return.  Unfortunately, one of the supplements has to be ordered from Mexico, and some doctors don’t seem crazy about the fact that it’s kinda illegal.  It isn’t ACTUALLY illegal, but the FDA has made it impossible to get and has convinced most medical professionals that it is in their best interest not to prescribe it.  Thank you, once again, to the feds for making keeping my husband alive a challenge.  Appreciate it.  Hey, wait a minute… my Aunt Marie is Italian!  Maybe she’s got a couple of burly cousins who can go over to the FDA headquarters and break a few thumbs.  Well, you gotta do watcha gotta do, hey?  Wow, one week in New York and I’ve turned all Brooklyn.  I better get back to Virginia before I find myself with two-inch long acrylic nails and crazy big hair.

Round Two

We made it!  We are here in New York, and have come to the end of our first day at the Schachter Clinic.  What a long day.  I don’t understand something about these cancer clinics.  I don’t understand why they don’t allow patients to have a lunch break.  Our first day at the Burzynski Clinic back in February was so unbelievably long.  You get there when the doors open in the morning, then have appointment after appointment until the administrative staff follow you out at the end of the day to lock up.  We were exhausted and starving by the time we got back to our condo.  It was the exact same routine this time around.  We were at the clinic at 8:30am.  We had back to back appointments until 1:30pm, then Adam was hooked up for IV treatments for three hours.  We finally got back into the car to head back to the hotel after 5:00pm.  I was so hungry I could have eaten the steering wheel.  But, who cares about me… what about the patients?!  These poor sick people need to eat, for crying out loud!  Adam survived, naturally, but I just don’t understand why they do this to their new patients.

Anyway, the first day went swimmingly.  We first went over Adam’s medical history with the physician assistant, then Adam had some blood drawn for labwork.  We met with Dr. Kopelson after that, and we both really liked him.  I spent a moment perusing the titles lined up on his bookshelf, and I was really impressed.  I’ve read most of them, so we were literally on the same page!  He has prescribed IV Vitamin C, amygdalin/laetrile, and something I can’t pronounce or remember at the moment.  Adam will also be taking a boatload of vitamin supplements, but that’s no surprise.  A couple of them where ridiculously expensive, though.  I can’t wait to see how God works out the finances on this one!  Then again, He came through when we were paying the Burzynski Clinic for 6 months, and if He can do that, He can do anything!!  Adam will start adding one supplement every other day until he is following the full protocol, which I think included about 10 supplements.  Our diet is already spot on, and the nutritionist was very pleased.  We just need to tweak a couple of details, and it’s now essential that we get grass-fed pastured meat, and highest quality fish for our protein sources.  Adam has been told to completely avoid commercial meat, poultry, fish and eggs.  Thankfully we live in the country and have a lot of choices as far as pastured meat goes.  I just wish it wasn’t so horribly expensive.  And the vegetables really need to be organic from here on out.  Especially with juicing, which we’ve been advised to do 2-3 times per day.  Dairy needs to be raw, and grains need to be whole and organic.  I’m glad I know all this already, but it also helps to be reminded.  I’ve been sliding on the quality of food we’ve been eating over the past year, mainly due to financial pressures.  However, it really would be better for Adam to miss a few meals, then for him to consume dangerous pesticides or hormones.  In fact, with two children in our family having neurological conditions, and with my various minor health issues, we ALL need to be eating like this.  We’ll find the money somehow, even if I have to turn tricks to make ends meet.

It looks like we’ll be staying up here until the end of next week to ensure that Adam gets plenty of IV treatments in before we head back to Virginia.  There are a few clinics within an hour from Berryville that do IV treatments, so we now need to figure out which treatments they offer and how much they charge.  Adam will need to have two infusions per week of the three supplements.  This treatment will be his new part-time job and will unfortunately involve some commuting.  But, it will certainly be less grueling than the Burzynski treatment, and will make Adam feel BETTER not worse while he’s on it.  He was literally bouncing after he got his Vitamin C today!  So we are both feeling excited and positive about this new phase of treatment.  And we’re praying that this approach actually works.