Just a Bump in the Road

Well... It's been a little while since I've posted. Life got slightly hectic for a minute there, but things seem to be slowing down a little bit. We just had end of the year banquets the last couple of days and that means Fall activities are over with. You know, one of the comments that I get most frequently when people ask me how I'm doing is "Well you sure look good! What are you doing?". It's sad to me that we automatically assume that cancer patients are going to significantly deteriorate health-wise due to the treatment. Why is it that we are okay with the treatment destroying our bodies? We shouldn't be. Treatments are supposed to help and heal the body. Conventional cancer treatments don't do that... We utilize radiation (side-effects include permanent lung and heart damage), chemotherapy (which ravages your immune system, despite needing it because you're...uh...sick with cancer and usually it doesn't even kill the cancer, it just rem...

Ryan drinks a green drink for healing every night before bed that has Romaine lettuce, Spinach, Celery,  Mint leaves, and Ginger. UGHHHH!  NASTY!  I have been having so much fun with this juicing thing.....   2 bags of carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, kale, and a whole lot of apples!  The kids said it was pretty good.  I need to try to make carrot bread now with the carrot shavings.  I'm hoping they like that too!  It doesn't sound too appetizing.   I don't think Ryan was as impressed with me as I was, for climbing the apple tree in flip flops!  Talk about dedication!  ...LOL -Kim

So, I woke up yesterday morning and discovered a ping-pong sized lump on my upper back. It seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Three thoughts came to mind... 1. It's a knot. I oftentimes have several knots on my back, but this just doesn't feel like a knot. And unfortunately, I'm not allowed to massage it to find out. Apparently massaging tumors can cause the cancer to spread. So I'm going to assume it's not a knot based on how it feels. 2. It's a cancer tumor. While this is a possibility, I'm less inclined to think it's one. It literally appeared out of nowhere. I have a tumor on my chest that I can feel very clearly. If it has grown, it's been minimal. Almost to the point of being undetectable. I have a hard time believing that hasn't grown in 3 weeks, but a giant tumor appeared overnight. It also feels different from the other two tumors I've been able to feel. The tumor in my armpit and on my chest both feel almost hard. This feels lik...

So I've mentioned I was put on a "treatment" many times. I thought I'd share what my daily treatment entails. It's not a terribly difficult regimen, but it certainly keeps me busy every day. I'm constantly paying attention to the clock, taking pills, fixing food, and drinking the tonic. I have to drink the tonic 4 times a day and take my pills 3 times a day. The tonic is the dark liquid in the mason jar. It doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't taste good. It has a slight flavor to it, but nothing too strong. It was difficult at first until my mouth got used to it. Now it's not bad at all. I have to take the tonic with food, hence the meal every time I drink it. I'm also supposed to take the 3 yew capsules with food (or shortly after food) 3 times a day. The yew capsules act similarly to chemotherapy. At least that's how the doctor described it to me. It's natures chemo, I guess you could say. It has anti-tumor properties to it. The C...

For those of you who know Ryan well, you know that Ryan takes very, VERY good care of his teeth!  He has never had a cavity and would have a melt down if he did!  He faithfully flosses, mouthwashes, and brushes. Recently, he noticed a weird discoloration of his teeth and went into panic mode not knowing what was causing this.... He said "Kim, I can deal with cancer, no problem..... but I CANNOT lose my teeth! Hey, there are always implants, right?  Lol... We think we have figured out what was causing it, but only time of discontinued use of the liquid iron will tell. We are hoping and praying that is all it is, and not from his cancer treatment. This guy just can't lose his teeth!  :) -Kim