The Loneliness of a Long Distance Cancer Survivor
It is so easy to “fall off the wagon”, even if it’s only a little bit, after you receive your cancer “all clear” from the doctors and oncologists. The PETscan shows no signs of cancer, everybody rejoices and feels a sense of relief and life goes on. It’s a similar feeling to the one that I had 41 years ago when my first son Paul was born at home. We chose to have a home birth but never really thought about what it would be like when everyone else went home. We sort of scratched our heads and wondered what we were going to do with our new baby.
Back to cancer.
I am not one of those people who just blindly believes that it’s all over now, that the work is over. Having studied cancer cells to the best of my ability I discovered that these little bastards are immortal. In a healthy person cells go through a cycle and regenerate every few weeks. This is called apoptosis. Here’s a definition of apoptosis – the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development. The problem with cancer cells is that they don’t know how to die. They are pretty much immortal. They linger in your body until the conditions are perfect for them to start proliferating once again. From my understanding you have to send out “death squads” to track these cancer cells down and literally kill them by direct attack or starvation.
Continued Treatment
I decided that even after I was given the all clear (after my PETscan and first oncotrace test) that I would continue my treatments and remain loyal to my cancer protocol. This involved HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen) 90 minute sessions twice a week, IV (intravenous) Vitamin C and Curcumin as well as other substances that potentially kill the cancer cells. I even took a medicine called Naltrexone to get a few more cancer cells sent to their grave.
I opted for another 10 weeks of treatment. As I said, my PETscan showed no signs of cancer but I also did another CTC (circulating tumour cells) oncotrace test which showed that although the percentage of minute cancer stem cells in my body had decreased by a further 20% I still needed to get them down to what is considered a very safe level. Based on numbers, I started with 3.2, then after the first re-test it went down to 2.7 now I am waiting for the results of the 3rd test which will hopefully be below 2.
I have now finished my 10 weeks of follow up treatment and I’m in the process of waiting for the CTCC oncotrace results to come back from the lab.
What’s Next
While there is every reason to rejoice, this is an interesting place to be.
There is always the nagging thought that maybe the cancer that is lurking in your body is consolidating its position and preparing to make another attack on your healthy cells. It’s also a unique place because the sympathy button is now gone. As far as the rest of the world is concerned I am cured and should just shut up and stop complaining.
That’s a bit harsh because I didn’t really complain but as usual I enjoy making things sound dramatic.
The mainstream doctors believe that they have done their job and move on to new patients, although I do believe there are follow up tests over the coming years.
The ball is now pretty much 100% in your court and let’s face it, you would be pretty stupid to try to kid yourself. I suppose that is the real definition of responsibility in some ways. Being true to yourself and continually confronting the actual situation.
My Choices
As I’ve said in earlier posts I really went over the top on studying, diet, exercise and treatments. This paid off big time.
I have decided that to be true to myself I need to continue my endeavours. Continue my ketogenic (low carb, high fat) diet, continue testing my blood sugar and ketones daily, continue maintaining a healthy weight, put a big effort into being as fit as possible, doing up to 5 infrared saunas a week, sleeping soundly and for the right number of hours, taking supplements and studying the latest research papers …. the list goes on.
The prize is a long, active and healthy life.
I’m going to have to tweak my diet and eat more keto friendly vegetables and eat less protein. It’s quite possibly a good idea to start using the Cronometer app again although it does take a lot of commitment. When I was recording my food intake and breaking down the macros this afforded a far greater level of control. That’s another salient point. Keeping records, stats, recording food intake, sleep habits, exercise etc all mean that you can use this information to tweak what you are doing and improve the overall quality of your life and health.
What Can I Give Back?
I have always been a big believer in giving back to others as well as being grateful for my own good luck.
After a lifetime of having a huge desire to help others I have now realized that the only people you actually can help are those who want it. This limits who you can give advice or information to.
I’ve currently got 2 people who I’m able to help. One who has cancer and the other ispre-diabetic. I’m getting a great deal of pleasure out of this endeavour but in some ways the best part for me is that it re-assures me of my own knowledge and keeps me looking for more data and research materials. Both of these people are very grateful for the advice I am able to give which is also very gratifying.
