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[kateharks-blog]

Complimentary Cancer Care Overview

Several people have asked me what I am doing to survive and thrive with stage IV cancer. I am going to provide just a brief overview of the complimentary care that I use in conjunction with my prescribed chemotherapy. I will go into more details on the specific components of my wellness plan at a later time for those who are interested.  

Deciding on Treatment:

Cancer patients must decide if they are going to go with conventional cancer treatments, alternative treatments, or a combination of both. As we all know, the first line of treatment for all cancer patients is chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery. I think it is pretty standard knowledge that chemotherapy kills cancer cells, but it also kills the healthy cells in your body. There are sources that believe the risks of conventional treatments are more dangerous than the cancer itself. They give some compelling ideas around the powerful pharmaceutical companies and exorbitant finances tied into the cancer industry.

There are two sides to every story. I personally believe that chemo was (and still is) a necessary treatment to get my cancer under control. But I truly believe that it is only one piece of a larger puzzle. If I was going to enable my body to thrive and let the chemo do its work to stop the cancer cells without sacrificing my overall health and well being, I needed to take control of everything that I could control. I needed my immune system and my body to be as strong as possible to allow the chemo to do its job. Therefore, I decided to completely change my lifestyle and take control of my health as much as possible. In order to do that, I incorporated the following complimentary care components into my wellness plan: 

Diet - Get the Proper Nutrition: 

I wholly believe that changing my diet helped me fight the cancer and is one of the main reasons why I am still here today. Don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect, and I slip up from time to time, but for the most part, my diet has been completely transformed. Following diagnosis, I began reading a number of cancer books that focused on nutrition (I’ll post another write-up on suggested resources). The most frustrating part of this learning curve is that different sources will contradict each other and tell you different things (not the first time this happened in my cancer journey!!). One source will say no meat…the next will say retain meat for protein especially while you are on chemo. Another source will say no fruit because it is high in sugar and the next will say fruit is essential for healing and natural sugars are okay (as long as you don’t go hog wild). The list goes on. I read a lot of books on nutrition and spoke to several nutritionists on the subject to find the best diet for me throughout my journey. I came to the conclusion that if several sources repeated the same thing, I took note. If one source was an outlier in comparison to the others (e.g., no fruit) I went with the majority.

My diet changes included: 

Going Organic  

Drinking A lot of home-pressed vegetable juice (Using a Twin Gear Juicer) 

Drinking Vegetable Protein Smoothies  

Eating a good variety of vegetables daily (all colors of the rainbow), mostly raw if your digestive system is capable of handling it 

Testing your PH levels to make sure you are getting enough alkaline foods into your body and adjusting your food intake accordingly

Eliminating or Greatly Reducing Processed Sugars

Eliminating or Greatly Reducing Dairy (Use almond, coconut, or other nut or plant-based products) 

Eliminating or Greatly Reducing Animal Meats (At minimum only eat organic, grass-fed meat)    

Eliminating or Greatly Reducing processed foods

Drinking about 3 cups of green tea each day. It is an excellent antioxidant

Drinking at least 10-12 glasses of filtered water per day (we purchased a whole house filtration system) 

Drink a large glass of lemon water first thing in the morning 

I can definitely feel the difference the changes I made to my diet have had to this point. I truly believe the reason my body stays strong during my chemo treatments is because I give it the needed nutrients. I have noticed clearer skin, much better digestion, regularity with bowel movements, and overall I feel much better (I can tell the difference when I slip up!) 

Add in Key Supplements:  

Supplements will not replace the nutrients that you need from food but can give you the added nutrients needed to help your body in the fight against cancer. I do not believe there is one list of supplements that will work for everyone, rather I believe it is very individualized to your body terrain and what your body specifically needs. I turned to the Block Center in Skokie IL to determine my optimal supplement intake. They run extensive blood work to determine your bodies needs. It is important with each new chemo regime that you check with your doctor regarding the supplements you are taking to ensure there is no interactions with that specific chemo. The following are some of the supplements I have added to my diet: 

Barley Power, 

Cellular Forte IP-6, 

Chlorella Spirulina, 

Cod Liver Oil, 

Curcu-essentials, 

Enzyme Essentials, 

Green Tea Extract, 

Ipriflavone, 

L-Carnitine, 

Milk Thistle, 

N-acetyl Cysteine, 

Nutri-essential Plus, 

Probiotic Essentials, 

ProCal 3 (Calcium), 

Resveratrol, 

Scute, 

Transfer Factor, 

Turkey Tail, 

UBQH, 

Vitamin D3

Keep Your Body Moving and Exercise: 

For those of you on chemo, exercise is probably the last thing you want to do. I get it. I have been on chemo for over 3 years now and most days I am so exhausted I feel as though I can barely move! But I still try to do at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. For me that is:

Rebounding (mini trampoline, excellent for the lymphatic system)

Using my recumbent bike or elliptical rider

Dancing to my favorite jams 

Fitness classes at the local Cancer Wellness Center

Walking

Water Aerobics (best if you can find a salt water pool rather than a chlorinated pool)

Get into physical therapy if you need help getting started and strengthening your body. Just remember, a body in motion stays in motion! 

Go el Natural:

We put a lot of carcinogenic products on or in our bodies every day that contributes to the body’s toxin overload, many of which we don’t even think of. These products often contain carcinogens such as acetone, methylene chloride, parabens, and many others. I slowly started incorporating natural products into my everyday life and ditching the products that contain chemicals and toxins that are absorbed into our skin and body. The following is a list of natural beauty products I use: 

Deodorant (Avoid Antiperspirants!) 

Sunscreen

Toothpaste

Lotions/Shaving Cream

Make up and Make-up Remover

Hair dye

Nail polish 

Lip balm 

Feminine Pads and Tampons 

Perfume 

Hand Soap

Body Soap

Shampoo and Conditioner (all hair products) 

Pretty much anything you put onto your body should be natural! 

  Other Household products: 

Cleaning Products

Laundry Detergent

Dishwashing Detergent

Dish Sponges

Cookware (ditch the Non-Stick Teflon Coated, aluminum or copper cookware for Cast Iron, Stainless Steal, or Ceramic) 

Air Fresheners (diffuse essental oils instead)

Bed Linens 

Lawn care (we went with an organic lawn service) 

Remove Additional Toxins from Your Body:

We can reduce a lot of our toxin load by going natural with our body and household products, but there are still numerous environmental toxins that we cannot control. Additional methods I employ to reduce my toxin burden include:

Far Infrared Sauna

Hot Epsom Salt Baths

Clay Foot Soaks

Exercise (as mentioned above) 

Coffee Enemas (I have yet to do a coffee enema, or any colon cleansing procedure because I have been a bit too nervous to do it, but many people believe it is very beneficial) 

Get Healing Body Treatments: 

There are several treatments I do on a regular basis to maintain health and healing in my body. These treatments include:

Acupuncture 

Chiropractic Adjustment (I use the Activator technique since I have bone mets) 

Massage / CranioSacral Therapy

Reiki / Healing touch 

Aryvuda 

Reflexology

Use Essential Oils: 

There are several essential oils that are thought to have cancer fighting properties and can help with numerous other aliments or side effects. Plus they smell great! I tend to diffuse my essential oils in a diffuser. I will apply specific essential oils to my body using a carrier oil and I also put a few drops of essential oils in my bathtub at night. I have made many of my own beauty products also using essential oils. Some people ingest essential oils (I do not), I prefer topical application or diffusing. My go to essential oils are: 

Frankincense - believed to have cancer fighting properties. I apply this at my tumor locations with a carrier oil, use it in my bathtub, and diffuse it

Myrrh - believed to have cancer fighting properties. I often times mix this with Frankincense

Lavender - Good for sleep and relaxation - Diffuse at night time in the bedroom

Peppermint - Relieve sore muscles when used topically, supports digestion and 􏰖􏰃􏰉􏰒􏰗􏰃􏰌􏰄􏰏􏰈􏰒􏰌􏰃􏰈􏰍􏰄􏰈􏰗􏰁􏰉􏰄􏰎􏰃􏰓􏰀􏰒􏰝􏰄reduces nausea, bloating and acid reflux

Lemon - best known for it’s ability to cleanse toxins from the body, stimulate lymph drainage, to rejuvenate energy, purify skin and act as a bug repellant􏰈􏰏􏰉

Tea Tree Oil -  ability to treat wounds and is known to have powerful antiseptic properties - Diffuse in the air to purify air of mold and allergens

Purify the Air: 

Get some live plants into your house to provide oxygen and help purify the air. According to a NASA study, the following are good options: 

Spider Plant (Mother in laws tongue)

Peace Lilly

Pothos

Parler Palm

We also use air purifiers in our house. We have one on every floor in the house. 

Get Proper Sleep: 

It is recommended that you get 8-10 hours a sleep per night. For me, since I have been on chemo and I know that my body needs extra time to recuperate and heal, I get about 10 hours of sleep per night. To aid in sleeping, I do the following: 

Diffuse Lavender essential oil

Keep the bedroom in complete darkness

Take melatonin prior to going to sleep

If my body is in pain I will take a marijuana indica edible which helps with pain and sleep

Relax, Relieve Stress, and Meditate: 

We all know that high levels of stress are not good for us but yet most of us are stressed all the time. Especially when you have gotten a cancer diagnosis. The stress and anxiety that comes with this diagnosis often feels overwhelming and at times insurmountable, especially when it is time for scans, MRIs, tests, etc. The “scanxiety” is real and extremely difficult to manage. But yet we often times don’t do anything to help prevent or reduce our stress. I have always carried a lot of stress and I knew I needed to find a way to calm myself down, relax, and de-stress if I wanted to survive. 

Meditation was likely one of the most critical things that I implemented to help me survive my cancer diagnosis. Meditating helped me to calm my body and mind so I was not in high gear anxiety mode all the time. It is pretty miraculous what meditating can do for your mind and body if you only give it a chance. The following are a few tips that helped me successfully mediate:

Take a meditation class 

Designate a Meditation room or space in your house that is your “happy place” 

Use guided meditations to help you (can find through phone Apps, YouTube, etc. 

Can incorporate Mantras that you repeat (e.g. Inhale: Health, Healing, Happiness and Love; Exhale: Remove all cancer from my body)

Can incorporate a body scan where you visualize and feel each part of your body and relax it starting at your toes up to your head. 

Can incorporate Visualization of your body healing itself and attacking and removing all cancer cells (e.g., Silva Method Meditation) 

Additional things I incorporated into my wellness routine that helped calm my stress and anxiety include: 

Deep Breathing - I concentrate on breathing deeply throughout the day to keep myself calm

Hypnosis 

Acupuncture

Medical Marijuana - can be used to reduce anxiety instead of synthetic anxiety medications 

Surround my self with loved ones including my family friends and pets 

Do something you love

Travel if you can 

Journal or Blog

Repeat Positive Affirmations 

Alternative Cancer Treatments 

Although I have opted for traditional chemotherapy, I also incorporate additional “alternative”, natural treatments that are believed to be cancer fighting. Some individuals choose these types of treatment over conventional treatment, but for myself, I felt as though a combination of traditional and alternative treatments would give me the best chance for survival. I have included the following elements into my wellness routine: 

Essiac Tea - Believed to be cancer fighting. It can be purchased at http://www.essiac-tea.org. Can be taken 1-3 times a day (I drink it nightly before bedtime)

Aloe Absorbsens - Believed to be cancer fighting. It can be purchased at https://www.aloeproductscenter.com/products/purchase. Take one dose, three times a day (i.e. three tablespoons a day), 10-20 minutes before a meal

Fucoidan - Believed to be cancer fighting. I use Zradical which can be purchased on Amazon. 

CBD Oil - Believed to be cancer fighting.  I am able to purchase my CBD oil at a dispensary since medical marijuana is legal in Illinois. Prior to getting my medical card I purchased CBD oil at https://www.solcbd.com.

Apricot Seeds - Believed to be cancer fighting. Some argue against apricot seeds indicating they contain a chemical called amygdalin, which your body chemically converts into cyanide. Alternative cancer practitioners believe this only penetrates cancer cells and not healthy cells. I am conservative with my apricot seed intake and only take about 9 seeds per day whereas others may take much higher doses. I use the Apricot Power brand. 

Rife Machine - I purchased a Rife Machine which is a frequency generator created specifically to kill microbes inside the cancer cells. This machine is believed to work on sarcomas and carcinomas. I purchased mine at: http://www.FrequencyStore.com

There are several other alternative treatments that I have yet to incorporate into my routine but I have considered, including:

High dose Vitamin C infusions

Ozone therapy

Cellect-Budwig Protocol 

I may look into these at a future time and will update accordingly. Thank you for reading this blog entry and I truly wish you the best of luck in your cancer journey. Stay strong and fight on! 

[kateharks-blog]

Diagnosis

“You have cancer” – the three dreadful words no one is ready or willing to hear. It was May 13, 2014 when I received this staggering diagnosis. I was informed that I had Stage IV Leiomyosarcoma, an aggressive, rare soft tissue sarcoma derived from smooth muscle cells. Soft tissue sarcomas account for less than one percent of malignancies, meaning this is not a well-researched or studied type of cancer. What made the diagnosis all the more difficult to swallow was the prognosis – which was given to me in months rather than years. I was told by my doctor that the average life expectancy of this type of cancer is 18 months. I remember sitting in the chair with my finance in utter disbelief. I was 35 years old, healthy, happy, active, and was feeling good. There is no way this could be happening. my initial reaction was a mix of denial, shock, fear, and anger. 

I felt completely out of control. I immediately started chemotherapy to begin combatting the disease. I was told that I would be on chemotherapy for the rest of my life. I was terrified. At the time of my diagnosis, the cancer has already spread throughout my body. I had a very large primary tumor in my pelvis that measured 12x9 cm,  Innumerable lesions in my liver ranging from 2.6x2.3 cm to 3.4x3.4 cm, six nodules in both my lungs, all of which measured approximately 4mm, and seven lesions impacting my bones; three along my spine, three along my pelvic bone and at least one lesion in my neck.

At this point I chose to take control of my diagnosis and embark on a wellness journey to strengthen my body and provide the best opportunity for survival. I personally knew that the chemotherapy was necessary for me to win this battle, but I also knew I needed to drastically change my lifestyle if I wanted to survive. And I wanted to survive! I became an avid reader and researcher, learning everything I could about how to fight this disease and heal my body, mind and spirit. This included supplemental and holistic treatments in combination with the necessary traditional cancer treatments. This blog is to share my story and help any others looking for ideas and support for surviving and thriving with stage IV cancer. 

I will offer several ideas and suggestions based on my personal experience and what has helped me successfully beat the odds and thrive with cancer. I am not a doctor and I do not practice medicine. My recommendations are just that, recommendations based on my own personal experience and research. I have spent the last 3.5 years researching cancer and wellness. For any recommendations that resonate with you, please further discuss them with your qualified and licensed medical professionals and healthcare specialists. I strongly suggest that you consult your physician prior to beginning any protocols or supplements mentioned in this blog.

Everybody’s cancer journey is different. Even if you have the same disease as someone else, and are taking the same medications, your experience will differ from theirs. I’m telling you my story here so you can relate to the challenges I went through (even though they may be different than yours) and to understand that although the journey may be different, we all have the same goal in the end…to thrive with a cancer diagnosis.