Great to hear from you Mensana,
I was getting worried.
You're a toughy with herculean determination.
Congratulations on finishing the therapy.
I want to recommend you see a Naturopath or a certified Nutritionist (from reading your blogs, I think you would only need a big intake consultation and then maybe one or likely two sessions thereafter for any queries/monitoring) since first-hand guidance is essential as every one has individual needs.
Now the following is a quick draft but it has the most important points : )). Apologies for typos etc.
You have a second chance now. Another bite of the cherry that even the poor Afghans aren't getting.
Cancer is NOT A BLOODY DEATH SENTENCE.
You've had a rough trot but it is in the past now. It was a process gone haywire for any of the following reasons: genetic (not necessarily, our genes are there but they are Not the triggers!); environmental toxins cumulative effect or one time effect such as Chernobyl, pesticides...; personal environmental ie socio-emotional stress - yesss stress is a killer big time; obesity, poor nutrition; metabolic syndrome; inflammation (the kind caused by lack of exercise, bad diet, alcohol, sugar addiction etc etc); infections from parasites, bacteria or fungus; which it are rarely pinpointed, and these trigger cancer. Interestingly, my oncology registrar only asked about genetics not a whisper of a question about diet or stress or infections etc. Hmmm. I have my life in my hands : )
Why a plant-based diet? An alkaline diet ie a focus on vegetables (half salads of edible raw veg and herbs such as basil, parsley, coriander etc) and cooked veg (not chargrilled) once per day; and preferably steam-microwaved (only need a tablespoon or two of water and a lid on the veg) at dinner say; [If you can, have a veg and a fruit at breakfast e.g. tomato/mushroom an egg, some wholegrain artisan bread or sultana bran/weet bix for brekky]; and fresh fruits as mentioned before (citrus, kiwi and dark berries, cherries and prunes); Nuts [wash before you eat - I just found out that they are treated with chemicals : (( ] ; no added sugar (just fruit and you can use washed dried fruit) and that includes alcohol except maybe (I would not recommend it) 100ml red wine; fish every other day and organic chicken or pork loin/fillet (Coles) and organic eggs (Safeway) and lots of boiled and filtered water and wholegrains, and seaweed (nori sheets, low salt - the brand I recommend is HoSan - some brands are loaded with salt).
In my research: (1) the reason for the high increase in cancers, is the low amount of iodine in our diets (certain fish, and seafood; milk and cheese; fortified bread) and the low amount of iodine in our soils. Iodine prevents breast, prostate and skin cancers and treats these; and is important in the prevention of a myriad of other cancers and diseases besides the obvious thyroid diseases. The Japanese eat a lot of seaweed and have very very very low breast and prostate cancer incidence (until the drop their trad diet when they emigrate and bingo they acquire the same rate of cancer as their new country). Iodine is also involved in the metabolism and transportation of calcium and other things.
A plant based diet as above, and sufficient protein (in recovery from cancer therapy, you need a bit more protein to build muscle and tissues and bones; and you also get it from plants, beans, grains, nuts) - this plant based diet creates a nice alkaline environment in the body and such extraordinary benefits of a healthy immune system and life. Tumours and cancerous cells (which are baby tumours) have an acidic shell and when they find themselves in an acidic environment they are right at home and proliferate; they grow fat, burst and release their virus and you have metastatic cancer. A plant based diet, water (which not only hydrates, delivers nutrients and oxygen, but also flushes toxins and cancers out of the system) creates an oxygenated environment that viruses and bacteria and fungi cannot survive in : ).
2) Iodine is a natural and very very very essential mineral for metabolism and immunity. We ALL have cancerous cells in our bodies, but if our nutrition is poor, our iodine intake low or non-existant, we are over-exposed to fungas, bacteria and parasites and toxins from the environment and our immune system cannot clean the cancerous cells out. Refer to previous para. First check with the Naturopath or GP because I cannot advise you on this point since I don't know whether your thyroid is affected. If your GP ignores you or puts you down, that indicates the GP is out of his depth - they don't all keep up with research literature and they do not get taught Nutrition at university at all (!!!).
3) Furthermore, any trauma from mental stress, emotional stress, financial stress, violence, war, for a lengthy period raises our cortisol levels and we create a perfect environment for cancer. Meditation is required. Meditation can be anything that makes you feel calm. For some people its sitting in a zen position and swatting out thoughts while concentrating on their nostrils. For others its knitting, or sitting in a garden or looking at a beautiful view etc. Whatever calms you right down. Do it at least once a day, preferably x3, including before bed.
4) Sleep. Your body is now recovering from a massive battle and resting is essential - even if you cannot sleep, you must (I don't beat around the bush Mensana) go to bed at the same time eg 9pm and focus on your breathing and something peaceful (a scene of beauty, a kitten or puppy etc). You have a 9 hour appointment each night for resting the body. You can read, do a crossword, but no phones or tv in bedroom. And be confident that your hydrated body, and nourished with good proteins and veg and fruit throughout the day, will be doing its automatic cleansing and detoxification during the night, as well as rebuilding and healing your body. If you can visualise this while you are meditating or lying in bed as you are falling asleep, you will do your body a world of good. It works.
5) Exercise. When you have regained your strength through eating and resting, you must take up exercise e.g. an exercise bike while you watch the news or a favourite show; brisk walking; a team sport - whatever gets you into a sweat. Build up each day to a half hour eventually. At first you might only be able to walk from bedroom to kitchen or do only 1 minute on eg a bike. That's fine - you have the rest of your wonderful life to come to build up : ))
You are on your healing journey now YAY!!! Each day is a wonderful brand new day!
Talk soon
Janine
