August 14, 2018 - NAD Man to Remission Man

So what should I call myself now?  I was “No Active Disease (NAD) Man” in June.  At about the time that I wrote my last post, I received “PSA undetectable and no radiographic disease so we can say cancer is in remission!” from my doctor.  Am I “Remission Man”?  Perhaps for the time-being I’ll take that name!  It is certainly much better than “Chemo Man”, where I started.

In my last post I said that I was going to have a DEXA bone scan for osteoporosis, thanks to the possible side effect of taking Lupron, the hormone-blocker.  It took my persistent doctor at least twice to figure out how to code the DEXA scan so my insurance would cover it.  Apparently prostate cancer is not enough—the code must have had to point to signs of it or a strong propensity for those without testosterone to get osteoporosis.  The latter doesn’t seem to be a secret, as demonstrated by the technician who performed the scan.  As I went through the waiting room full of women (not one man) the tech asked me what brought me there.  I said the word “Lupron” and she said, “Ohhh, I heard about that…”.

Anyway, I had the scan on July 16th.  I haven’t received the official results but my doctor wrote “The scan looks at the bone density of the lumbar spine and left/right femur and compares against age-expected bone density. While the lumbar spine shows mild bone thinning, the femurs do meet criteria for osteoporosis.”  Great!  The good news is the “mild bone thinning in the spine” which means I am still 6’1” tall.  This also means slightly less risk of bone breakage since my femurs are generally strong.  However, it also means I need to commence on a more active attack on the osteoporosis.

The doctor went on to say, “It is good we are aware of this as there are several proactive things we can do to improve the bone density. Weight bearing exercise, calcium/vitamin D (I believe you are already doing this).”

I am taking vitamin D3 at a rate of 5000 IU per day but I have not been taking Calcium, other than the small amount in a multivitamin.  I recently learned that in order for the D to be absorbed, it is best that I also take vitamin K2.  So, now I am taking D3, K2, and Calcium in addition  to the other 20 or so supplement pills.  I am taking between 5000 IU and 10,000 IU of D3, 90-180 mcg of K3, and 1800 mcg of Calcium.  The reason for the range is that I am torn.  The amount of D drives the other amounts.  5000 IU is recommended, but I have had friends that reversed their osteoporosis with higher doses of D3. I may take the higher dose for a month and get my D level tested.  I also heard that oatmeal (my regular breakfast) negates the effect of vitamin D, so I have to take the D at night.

I am also taking a dose of CBD oil at night.  I am taking CBD because some people have experienced stronger bones after taking CBD.  I figure I would try it and see.  I am actually taking a 30:1 concentration of CBD to THC.  THC is the stuff that can make you high, but at this concentration it doesn’t.  I feel nothing when I take it.  I was talked into the low level THC by the argument that the small amount of THC can help in the treatment.  I do think there is suppression of good news about both CBD and THC, which is an added reason to take it.  It was $90 for a 30-day supply.  Subsequently I have found it for less.

For the exercise, I am also doing between 30 and 60 squats plus other upper body weight-bearing exercises per day.  I can and should do more, but I really dislike exercising.

I also am having my DNA analyzed.  I am eligible for insurance coverage because of my extensive family history of cancer (dad, mother, brother, sister, and cousins).  At first I had thought that this would lead to true personalized medicine, but for that I would need the DNA of the cancer itself to be analyzed.  Of course with my cancer “undetected” this is not possible.  I am getting my DNA analyzed for three reasons:

1. Do I have the proclivity toward any other cancers in addition to prostate cancer?
2. Should other family members get their DNA analyzed because I have particular markers?
3. Do I have particular markers that might make me more likely to respond to specialized future treatments?

I gave the blood to Ambry Genetics and just today heard that all of the 32 markers they checked came out negative.  I guess this is good.  It means I don’t have a genetic proclivity toward any other cancer.  It also decreases the odds that other family members could have other markers.  In fact the geneticist said that I should talk my sister and niece on brother’s side into having their  DNA analyzed.  This is apparently because ovarian cancer in families is very rare.  I don’t think I am going to talk either into this in any case.

I see my oncologist in early September.  That is when I am due for my next Lupron shot.  I am going to talk to him about the possibility of skipping one dose.  It may be risky but taking the Lupron is having these less-than-desirable side effects.  We’ll see what he says, although I do see him as wanting to stick with the prescribed program, which says to take Lupron for the rest of my life.  This is to prevent the possibility that any cancer I may have may mutate into the androgen deprivation resistant form (also with the cute name “Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer”).  We don’t want that because it is essentially untreatable in the long run.  The strategy is to delay until they find something that stops “CRPCa”.

Onward and upward to the next month!

Remission Man

June 19, 2019 - NAD Man

Chemo Man is now “No Active Disease Man”

I was going to write that my last PSA test showed a drop back to 0.03 after my March test was a 0.04.  Of course this was very good news, even though the difference may have only been an anomaly.  I should explain that even getting a an 0.03 takes a special ultra-sensitive PSA test.  The less sensitive test can only say that the patient has a PSA of less than 0.06.  In any case 0.03 says that if there is any prostate cancer activity, it is extremely small.

Then today I underwent an Axumin™ PET scan, a new (approved by FDA on May27th) type of scan that uses and amino acid analog called fluciclovine F-18 with radioactive fluorine-18 attached.  This stuff is injected into my blood vein and the drug is taken up by the prostate cancer cells.  The fluorine-18 emits radiation that is picked up by the PET/CT scanner, which in turn uses a computer to produce a detailed image.  A few minutes ago I received the preliminary results from my oncologist, Dr. Bhangoo.  He said, “PET scan shows no evidence of active disease.  Great result.”  Quite frankly I was expecting much worse since this is a more sensitive test than anything I have had before.  It does, however, make me wonder if my doctors are disappointed to see nothing while using their brand new toy.  J

I have stuck to my regimen that I have talked about in the past.  I did introduce a turmeric/curcumin pill in my daily pile of supplements, even though Kathe does add some turmeric to our shakes.

Last month I had my yearly Medicare wellness exam.  My blood work showed everything in the normal range except for one thing.  This was my Hemoglobin A1C which was 5.9 % (normal is less than 5.7%).  This is pre-diabetic!  My primary care doctor said I should cut back on my sugar intake.  WTF?  I am on a very low carb, almost no sugar diet! It makes me wonder what I was when I was gobbling all those cookies and sucking in that pure white sugar.  No one told me I needed to do anything then!?

I talked to several doctors about this finding.  One said it could be the Lupron.  Others said it could just my getting old.  Just Great!

Now I have to work on this problem in addition to keeping up with the cancer fight.  I do know exercise is one thing I can do and I know I don’t exercise enough.  Walking the dogs several times a day is not enough. 

I am reading a good book on nutrition entitled “Beating Cancer With Nutrition” by Patrick Quillin.  I recommend it to anyone who is going through this fight.  It isn’t teaching me a whole bunch of things I didn’t know, but it is reaffirming much of what I have been doing.  It talks about four main contributors to successfully fighting cancer: (1) positive mental attitude, (2) good doctors, (3) mindful nutrition and building the immune system, and (4) exercise.  It talks a lot about mental attitude and the contribution that friends and strong beliefs can make.  This cannot be underestimated.  I’m getting into nutrition details now, but I can say that I agree 120% that the four contributors are why I am here today calling myself “NAD Man”.

So what is next?

I am going to have a DEXA (bone density ) scan soon and am also going to have genetics testing.  Stay tuned…

NAD Man

March 9, 2018 - The Truckin' Man

Truckin’ Along

I just had my quarterly Lupron shot after my labs showed that my blood work is “totally normal” according to my oncologist.  Apparently the doctors are concerned about the liver numbers in particular.  I also finally had another ultrasensitive PSA test.  Scripps now send these out, so I got the results today—0.04.  This is one hundredth of a point higher than it was on 8/29/2017.  It is not something to worry about at this point, but I want to keep monitoring using this test instead of the less accurate test the lab used since 8/29.  That test cannot detect anything below 0.06.

I am continuing on my diet and the supplements.  I also continue to talk with my peers who have more ideas than there are supplements in the world about what we all should be taking.

My oncologist talked with my contact at CureMatch, the company that performs a complete analysis of a patient’s biopsy and history of prostate cancer and comes up with potentially preferred therapies, including clinical trials.  The problem is that I don’t have a biopsy and my cancer is sleeping right now.  Last year I had a test to see if there were cancer cells floating around in my blood (‘liquid biopsy”), but none were found.  All this says is that I have to see progression of my cancer before we can take this step with CureMatch.  I could go off of Lupron, but letting the cancer grow this way is problematic at best.  Some of my peers have chosen to do this, but I guess I am too conservative for this.  I’d love to get off of Lupron and its side effects, but I don’t want to run the risk of moving up my end date.  What I have to do is something else to deal with the lack of sex drive, the loss of muscle mass, and the neuropathy.  The obvious partial answer is exercise (yuck).

I am interested in Immunotherapy, but in order to have the doctors decide whether I may be a good candidate, they need to get the DNA of some active tumors, which I apparently don’t have.  Back to the Catch 22.  Besides, Immunotherapy has not been that successful due to the nature of prostate cancer in contrast to melanoma and other fast replicating cancers that make use of a particular mechanism that the body can be made to attack.

I don’t like being on hold, so-to-speak instead of truly attacking the cancer to kill it once and for all.  I’m trying (with some success) to starve it by taking away testosterone with a combination of supplements with some history of curtailing some cancers and hoping that cancer feeds on sugar—hence a low sugar diet.  It is just that statistics show that this approach will likely go the way of most diets—only temporary curtailing of the problem child.

In any case, I’m just reporting that all is good and I still have no significant symptoms that can be pointed directly at the cancer.

Again, thank you all for your incredible support.

Les, Truckin’ Man

January 14, 2018 – Happy New Year

Since my last post much has happened, but not too much on the health score.  I had my next checkup on December 6^th which was accompanied by another Lupron shot.  I actually had a scare with my PSA, which, when I looked at the results I saw 0.06, which is double that of my previous 0.03.  When my oncologist said that I was doing very well with an “unmeasurable” PSA I asked how that was, since it was 0.06??  He said, “Didn’t you see the < sign before the 0.06?”  So the result was <0.06 or less than 0.06, not 0.06.  Whew!

So why was this test termed unmeasurable at less than 0.06 when they were able to measure 0.03 before?  The obvious explanation is that the lab used a less sensitive assay.  This is annoying to an engineer.  Don’t mess with the tests!  I would hope to have the same test assay as I had before the next time so I have the best measure.

My testosterone was 58, which is higher than my oncologist would like it to be.  It may be because I was two weeks overdue for the Lupron shot, but now the he wants to see me in two weeks to check testosterone in the middle of the 3-month cycle.  Lord knows I don’t want my testosterone to be lower from a side effects standpoint, but I also want to starve the cancer!

My trip to Washington D.C.  On December 14^th I went to Reston, VA to be on a panel for one of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs under the auspices of the Department of Defense.  The program in which I was chosen to contribute was the Prostate Cancer Research Program. Through a very rigorous two-tier process, this program chooses which research facilities, from of a large number of proposals, will get funding toward finding a cure for prostate cancer. My panel was comprised of leading scientists, clinicians and fellow consumer reviewers (prostate cancer survivors).  The consumer reviewers were asked to assess proposals in the light of potential patient impact and also provide a sense of reality to the scientists, many of whom had never met a real prostate cancer survivor.  The experience was very tedious, with several weeks of proposal reading and review preparation, but it was also fascinating.  It is incredible what we do know about the stages of prostate cancer and equally incredible what we don’t know. 

I learned a few little tidbits that were eye-openers for me.  For example, I knew that prostate cancer tends to be a slow-growing disease (with exceptions of course).  Because of this, unlike other faster-growing diseases, prostate cancer mouse studies are difficult because the life span of lab mice is around 2 years and lab rats 3 or so years.  In other words, unlike studies of fast-growing viruses the “patients” most often die before advanced stages of prostate cancer can develop naturally.  This means that scientists have to resort to all kinds of unnatural methods to speed up or slow down processes.  This also means that with prostate cancer one of the last steps before human trials can be problematic.

I also learned that in practice the typical PET scans are less effective after androgen deprivation treatment (Lupron) because the uptake of glucose is less and can lead to missed tumors.

Most important to me personally was that some patients with certain genetic markers have responded well to specific genetic therapies.  Since I have a family history of prostate cancer that goes back several generations, it is time for me to get some genetic testing.  The possibility that I may have favorable genetic markers that could lead to successful treatment alone makes my trip to D.C. worthwhile.

As for my contribution to the panel, I hope I did help to ensure that our tax dollars go to very worthwhile research projects that will ultimately lead to a cure for prostate cancer.

If you are interested, this is a brochure on the program:   CDMRP DoD Brochure.pdf

Next steps.  I am hoping to get my genome sequenced to see if there is any other treatment that might be better than the Lupron.  The “problem” with this is that it does appear that my cancer is responding to the Lupron, so the doctors may not want to okay any other treatment.  This brings up the subject of Protocol.  Apparently every disease has a treatment protocol that doctors follow (often somewhat blindly) and insurance companies expect to pay for.  For prostate cancer at my stage the protocol is to treat with Lupron or similar androgen deprivation drug and if that shows a drop in the PSA, continue.  If the PSA drop is sluggish or there are painful side effects of the cancer in the bones, chemo is called for.  After chemo when the cancer stops responding to the androgen deprivation therapy Lupron or similar drug (Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer), then there are some drugs that are called for.  These deal mainly with the side effects since at this point there is no cure.  Fortunately in my case I am not there yet.  I believe this is (1) because we broke protocol and went with chemo and Lupron out of the gate, (2) my general health was pretty good going into it, (3) I made dietary and supplement changes, (3) I’ve maintained a positive attitude, thanks in large part to a wonderful support network of family, friends, doctors, fellow church members, and God’s help.

So, since I am doing well, there will be a desire on the part of the doctors to stick to protocol and not try anything new.  I don’t agree.  I think at the least I have to prepare for the next phase.  Hence I will be pushing to get my genome sequenced to see if I might be a candidate for other treatment.  That’s my next step.

In the meantime, I thank all who read this for your support.

Les, Supplement Eater Extraordinaire

October 23, 2017 – What’s Happening Inside Me?

I did see my oncologist on 8/31 as promised.  I also had my Lupron (androgen deprivation or hormone blocker) shot right after the appointment.  My oncologist said I looked good and my labs were also generally good.  My PSA is still at 0.03 but my testosterone was higher than he would have liked.  [That just shows that you can’t keep the old boy down, even with hormone-blockers.] 

My oncologist is operating under the theory that testosterone feeds prostate cancer.  Hence he would like to see it below 25.  On 8/29 mine was 53.  This could have been because I had chosen to get the Lupron shot two weeks after the 90 day mark.  It could also be that some of the supplements have had the effect of raising my testosterone level.  BTW 53 is pretty low, since men my age usually have around 278 ng/dl.  I used to have 450+.  Those were the good old days.

I have gotten back into my exercise program, doing push-ups at night and going to the gym to do strength exercises.  I think this is helping my stamina and posture.  I don’t go overboard because I am afraid to end up like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I have become more active in UsToo, an online organization of men fighting prostate cancer.  I have learned quite a bit just by hearing other stories.  I also learned about a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester who is going for the cure in patients with Advanced Stage IV Metastatic Prostate Cancer like me.  More on Dr. Kwon later.

Palliative vs. Curative.  Let me explain that my treatment and the treatment of practically all patients at my stage of the disease is palliative, which means that the doctors try to keep it at bay with the expectation that it can’t be beaten in the long run.  Curative is treatment designed to rid the body of the cancer once and for all.  The problem is that curative treatment still has relatively low win odds and the patients often go through more aggressive, invasive treatments while the doctors attempt to kill all of the cancer.

Do metastases replicate the same cancer throughout the body?  In the past it was thought that this was the case.  If so, if one is able to kill one cancer, it would be possible to kill them all.  Unfortunately perfect replication is not the case.  As cancers spread, they tend to mutate into different forms.  As a result, either draconian treatments have to be given to kill everything that grows (chemotherapy), or multiple different treatments are called for to get rid of all of the now different cancers.

Dr. Kwon.  Going with a curative approach Dr. Eugene Kwon at Mayo uses a different type of PET scan to find tumors.  It is a C11 Choline Pet scan.  My hospital doesn’t do C11 PET scans.  Dr. Kwon says C11 scans are more accurate in finding small tumors.  As I understand his process, once he sees that there aren’t too many tumors, he then tries to gather information about each tumor, either by biopsies or other means.  He then develops treatment plans for every tumor.  The treatment may be radiation, chemo, or anything else.  He has had some real successes with this multi-treatment approach, but he admits to having failures as well.

The question is whether I should subject myself to Mayo.  At one point I was ready to jump on a plane, but I’m a little reluctant now, in small part because of Kathe’s and our schedule and in greater part because I am doing pretty well now.  Of course catching this early as possible would be best.  At the same time I don’t particularly want to find out that I am not a candidate.  In any case I have ordered copies of my reports and scans to be ready to go.

My schedule.  I have been fortunate enough to have been nominated and then chosen to be on a team that will be evaluating research proposals applying for grants from the Department of Defense in the area of prostate cancer.  It is called the DoD Prostate Cancer Research Panel - Cell Biology.  I am the lay consumer on the panel.  I will be going to Reston, VA in the end of December.  It will be interesting being a lay panel member surrounded by renowned medical scientists.  I have been included because the DoD wants to make sure that the grant choices take into account the patients who might be recipients of the research.  I’ll have to write my critique of each of the applications.

Sugar feed cancer?  While I was corresponding with several others with the same cancer as I have, I mentioned my avoidance of sugar and carbs as part of my dealing with my disease.  I was pointed to an article on the Memorial Sloan Kettering website that said that it is not true that sugar feeds cancer.  The article said that people have falsely concluded that because cancer attracts the glucose in the radioactive cocktail taken for PET scans, glucose must be what cancer thrives on.  Well, needless to say, I would like to believe this and eat some cookies that I have craved for a solid year, but based on all of my other reading I can’t accept this anywhere near 100%.  What MSK does say is that sugar and carbs lead to obesity and obesity in turn does seem to increase cancer growth.  I’m not gaining weight but I do think a low sugar, low carb diet is good for me, no matter what.

So, what is happening inside me?  This I truly want to know.  The doctors say that the only indicator of growth is PSA.  This makes me want to get a PSA test every few weeks, but my doctor and my insurance provider have something to say about this.  The other possible indicators are secondary effects of cancer in my bones.  As a result I am concerned with every ache and pain that it is the result of growing cancer.  My aches and pains don’t seem to be getting worse in general.  I do feel dull pain in my chest when I first lay down on my side, but this goes away.  This could be due to my exercise to some extent.  I also feel sharp pains different places in my legs from time to time, but this may be Lupron side effects.  Recently I was feeling a little dizzy and had a slight headache.  The headache could possibly be the cancer in my cranium, but the pain seems to have subsided.  The dizziness is likely due to the Lupron.  I’d like to get more PET scans, but I heard that the doctors are reluctant to do this because of that glucose attraction mentioned above.  Of course the cost might be the real reason.  It may just be true that there isn’t much of a change, but I want feedback to help me know if the diet, supplements, and exercise is helping stem the disease.  This lack of data is quite frustrating!

Les, Chemo Man

August 17, 2017 - What Am I Taking After Chemo to Fight This Cancer?

I am taking a step back and rethinking all of what I am putting into my body to continue this fight against my cancer.  Whatever I am doing seems to be working.  I won't know for sure for another two weeks when I get my next PSA test, but I can't complain about my current health.

I'm using a three-prong strategy:

SUPPLEMENTS

1.      Vitamin D – There is a school of thought that says that deficiency of vitamin D is a major contributor to the spread of cancer.  Another says that many holistic therapies require the combination of vitamin D and the therapies to be effective.  Several sources say that the ideal preventative is to be sure that you have 4000 IU/day of D.  A very well balanced meal will provide 1,250 IU so I am sure to take 4000 IU in a D3 capsule every day.  It is possible to overdose in D but the amount would be much higher than this.

2.      Modified Citrus Pectin – This has been shown to improve outcomes of chemotherapy.  Its active mechanism is blocking cancer cell aggregation, adhesion, and metastasis because of its effect on galectin-3.  It can also have an effect in chelating toxic heavy metals.  I am taking 1/3 the dosage I was taking during chemo.

3.      AHCC – One study showed that AHCC could enhance the activity of natural killer cells in test tubes and animal studies suggest that AHCC has antioxidant effects and can improve the response of the immune system in chemotherapy-weakened immune systems.  This has not been proven in human studies but is used with chemotherapy in Japan.  It was shown to lessen the effects of chemo on the immune system.  I took it mainly for this reason. 

4.      Turkey Tail - When I was researching this article I ran across Turkey Tail (AKA Cordyceps or CS) mushrooms, taken in liquid, liquid capsule, or powdered form.  The ongoing studies have shown Turkey Tail to have many anticancer effects, such as attacking cancer stem cells, inhibiting metastasis, and it has even shown to protect against bone loss.  I am going to switch from AHCC to Turkey Tail.  .

5.      Saw Palmetto and Stinging Nettle Root – Taken together, the chemical theory is that this attacks free cancer cells.  All I know is that it reduced my PSA by 20% in only two weeks.  It is said to have similar effects to Finasteride without side effects.

6.      Broccoli sprouts – Although broccoli itself is definitely good in an anti-cancer diet, the benefits of broccoli sprouts have been shown to be much greater than mature broccoli.  This is because sprouts contain an abundance of myrosinase, which is an enzyme needed for the formation of sulforaphane, the cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory component in broccoli. Broccoli has myrosinase, but cooking can destroy it.  Anecdotally, a friend who has had recurring bladder polyps is taking broccoli sprouts and after taking the sprouts for a month, experienced his first polyp-free exam.

7.      Multivitamin – I take one Costco senior multivitamin tablet every day.  I am hoping that this will make up for some of the vitamins and minerals I don’t get in my diet.  This is my main source of vitamin C.  I could probably stand to take more vitamin C.

8.      Omega 3 – I take one fish oil capsule per day with the intent to deal with cholesterol.

9.      Magnesium – I take this to deal with swelling in my feet, thanks to the hormone-blockers that my doctor has me taking.

10.  Potassium – I take this to deal with neuropathy and tremors.  At first I had these symptoms by now I have practically none of these symptoms.

11.  Rhodiola Rosea – This is a Russian herb that is an adaptogen that helps the body heal from physical and emotional stress.  The Russians have used this with Olympic athletes because it improves their performance in strenuous exercise.  It has also been shown to increase mental performance and last, it has killed bladder cancer cells and leukemia cells  lab experiments.  Last, it does increase the lifespan of fruit flies by 25% in repeated experiments.  I have noticed that in taking it I feel more energy, regaining some of the energy I have lost due to the hormone-blockers.  Note:  There are some possible drug interactions, so no caffeine, no anti-depressants, no P-glycoproteins and no substrates of Cytochrome P450 3A4 (Biaxin, Cardizem, Sporanox, Nizoral, Ketek, grapefruit juice erythromycin, etc.).

DIET

The main premise that I operate on is that sugar feeds cancer.  Carbohydrates are converted to sugars in the body.  Hence carbs are bad.  Secondarily, it is said that processed foods with all of their chemicals also has a causal relationship with cancer.  Also, consuming an overabundance of certain foods can indirectly or directly cause cancer to grow.

On the plus side, we all have been indoctrinated to think that leafy dark green vegetables are good for fighting cancer.

Other than these “truths” there is a lot of noise around the best diet for people fighting cancer. 

1.      The Budwig Protocol – This is built around flaxseed or linseed oil and cottage cheese as well as vegetables, fruits and juices.  Processed foods, sugar, and most other dairy are no- nos.

2.      The Ketogenic Diet – This is a high-fat, adequate protein, low carbohydrate diet.  The idea is that the fat replaces the carbs, putting the body into a metabolic state called ketosis.  The body is then living on ketones instead of glucose, that has many health benefits, not the least of which is a treatment for epilepsy.  This diet has lots of chicken, fish, beef, pork, cream, butter, mayonnaise, low-carb fruits and vegetables.

3.      The Atkins Diet – This is close to the Ketogenic diet.  The modified version of this diet places no limit on calories or protein.

4.      The Paleo Diet – This is a diet based on what cave men and women ate, so there is no dairy, grains, or processed foods.  It includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, meat, seafood, and coconut oil.  It doesn’t include the farm-grown vegetables like corn 

All of these diets have one thing in common:  limit sugar/carb intake.  But which one?  Many doctors prescribe the Ketogenic diet to patients that have cancer—especially brain cancer.  This may be a good choice, but it does have its side effects and is not all that appetizing.

The real problem is that the medical profession has not collected the data and therefore doesn’t have the evidence to correlate particular food intake and particular forms of cancer.  The only thing that is known is that certain foods provide certain benefits.

So, Kathe and I have formed the Les & Kathe Cancer-Fighting Diet, consisting of the following:

1.      Trying to eat only organic foods and avoiding all processed foods.

2.      Drastic reduction of sugar and carb intake.

a.       As a treat, the limited use of natural sweeteners such as coconut sugar, monk fruit sugar and some stevia

b.      Avoidance of manufactured sugar substitutes such as saccharin and aspartame

3.      No cow milk and reduction of all milk products

a.       Use of coconut oil and almond milk

b.      Limited intake of hard cheese and plain yogurt

4.      Increase of leafy dark green vegetables

5.      Limited intake of low sugar, antioxidant fruits such as blueberries and strawberries

6.      No high sugar fruits like mangos, oranges, cherries

7.      Smoothie every breakfast - The smoothie consists of one solid cup of spinach and kale (little frozen pieces), pea protein powder, turmeric powder, unsweetened almond milk, potassium/magnesium supplement, chia seeds, blueberries or strawberries, broccoli sprouts, and walnuts.

8.      We eat chicken, tuna, other fish, some beef, and (I eat) some ham  

9.      Snacks consist mainly of walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds, almond butter, and occasional fruits such as apples or white peaches

10.  Kathe has picked up a Paleo Sweets recipe book, so we have had some cookies with a little maple syrup or honey as sweetener.

11.  Lots and lots of water. 

We will both admit that the diet gets boring.

POSITIVE ATTITUDE and LOW STRESS

This is the woo woo part.  We both feel it is essential for the immune system and for healing that we maintain a positive attitude.  This is not always easy if the patient is in pain or suffering in other ways, but maintaining a positive attitude is much easier with the support of my loving wife, friends, relatives, and a strong faith that God will help in helping maintain a positive attitude and in giving us wisdom to make the right choices.

It is really important to minimize stress.  This is not easy in today’s environment.  Avoiding the news is nearly impossible.  We try our best, realizing that there is so little we can do anyway.  There is political, social, business and, last but not least, financial stress.  This last one is not easy when we know how much these drugs and treatments cost and may cost in the future.  To our benefit, Kathe is a Medicare guru, so I have the best supplement insurance available.  So far we have had to pay very little out of pocket (I won't mention the supplements and organic foods).  I therefore thank Kathe and MedicareQuick.com for this major stress-reliever.

Next appointment:  August 31^st with the oncologist and labs 

June 22, 2017 Maintaining Diet and Supplements

Not much has changed since my last post.  The only major thing is that the PSA results came back at .03, which is half of what it was at the end of chemo.  For this I give credit the Lupron and my regimen, plus lots of positive thinking and continuing great support.

I am still having some swelling in my ankles and legs that I am able to control with compression socks.  I am avoiding diuretics, largely because they really don't help.  I suspect that the swelling is a side effect of the Lupron, but I can't test this since the Lupron lasts for three months.  I'm starting to eliminate a supplements one by one to see if I find one that is contributing to the swelling.

On the diet front I am constantly fighting the desire to eat sweets and am constantly exploring the world of "no sugar added" and "sugar free" foods.  Practically all have just as many carbohydrate grams as the sugar items and as we know, our bodies convert carbs to sugar.  So these sugar free and no sugar added foods are not the answer, but a few bites here and there help.

I also started first taking a carb blocker and now a sugar blocker.  I don't know if this is having the right effect, but I do notice if I take these I am more regular, which is a desirable side effect.

I have been having minor stomach aches.  I suspect that it is because I am not religious in taking broccoli sprouts pills right after meals.  I'm trying to control this better.

As for my general comfort level, I am still feeling pretty good.  In spite of the doctor's predictions that I would be fatigued as a result of the Lupron, I am feeling pretty close to normal, able to operate for full days with a minimum of fatigue.  The only thing that I notice most is the stiffness when I get up from sitting.  Much of this is in my legs and I attribute it to the water retention and also to the lack of exercise.  Exercise is one area that I really need to work on.  I walk 45 minutes per day, but I need to do more.

I'm taking the following:  (1) Magnesium, (2) Potassium, (3) baby aspirin, (4) Saw Palmetto, (5) Stinging Nettle Root, (6) Broccoli Sprouts, (7) Sugar Blocker, (8) AHCC+ for immune building, (9) Modified Citrus Pectin (1/3 dose per day), (10) Multivitamin, (11) Omega 3.  I also have a loaded smoothie with protein powder, lots of frozen kale and spinach, frozen fruit, and almond milk every morning for breakfast.  I am consuming prodigious amount of walnuts, pecans, almonds, and macadamia nuts as snacks.  Then there is the low carb/low sugar diet, although I do have some fruit and a small piece of hard cheddar and some yogert from time to time.

So far, so good...

Until next time,

Ex-Chemo Man, Les

P.S. The hair is slowly returning to my head and face!