An Overview of Healing

This post is in response to a comment left by Amanda who requested that I give a summary of my healing journey, including the ups and downs, over the past two years. It's been quite a trip and it's not over yet, even though I've been cancer-free since January 2008. As I've achieved a greater state of health I've become more in-tune with the needs of my body and I have a better understanding of the connection between my physical and spiritual well-being. This journey is not a temporary phase of my life, as I once thought it would be, but rather a lifetime committment to reach my greatest potential on all levels of body, mind and spirit. This opportunity wouldn't have presented itself had I not been diagnosed with cancer and chosen an alternative natural path to healing.

I've remained faithful to a plant-based diet since early 2006 which I believe is the most important contributor to my healing. It wasn't always easy to stay the course but my desire to reverse the cancer kept me motivated. My exams at three-month intervals showed that the cancer had stabilized and the tumor markers were slowly declining. Despite all my good efforts there were a few times when the markers were unpredictable - up a little, then down a little on the next visit, then up again. That sometimes felt defeating, but I understood that this type of bloodwork isn't always reliable. It's more cause for concern when the tumor marker continuously rises by many points at a time. That didn't happen for me but I still sometimes had doubts, and that's when it was tough to remain patient and faithful to my protocol. Keeping a possitive outlook was at times tricky but it became much easier when my tumor markers started to plumet.

I didn't start to see an uninterrupted downward trend in my tumor markers until I started fasting one day each week and then switched to a high-raw diet. (80-100% raw). I believe this helped my body to detoxify on deeper levels than were possible with mostly cooked food. Fasting once a week wasn't easy but I felt it was important to periodically divert my body's energy from digestive tasks to deeper healing. With habitual practice fasting became easier. I've since gotten out of the habit of regular fasting but I keep trying.

It took a period of several months for me to switch to 100% raw. My first attempt at 30 days raw was a huge struggle. I felt deprived mainly because I missed the grains. I continued to research, learning more about how to prepare raw foods, what to have on hand, etc. and in early 2008, after several months of being high-raw, I transitioned to 100%. It's now my preferred way of eating.

Here's a picture of the residual nodules on my neck that was taken about a year ago.







...and this was just a few weeks ago.


It's hard to tell if there's much change since the lighting is different.
These nodules may be scar tissue, I'm not sure. They were noticeably larger and brighter pink when the cancer was still active and spreading. This is about all that's left and they're stubborn. I've tried therapeutic doses of enzymes, daily infrared sauna sessions, and countless other attempts to dissolve them, but they're not yet ready to budge. They are a reminder to me that my body has other important rebuilding work to do and will get to these later. Stay tuned for my next post when I'll write more about raw foods, my dry eyes and supplements.

Raw Food Wonders

It’s been ten days since I broke my fast and I’ve been sticking with a low-fat raw vegan diet. For the first few post-fast days I incrementally reintroduced food, starting with fruit only the first and second day, followed by fruits and vegetables the third and forth day, and from the fifth day forward I added nuts, seeds and avocados. I haven’t had any oil yet, nor have I desired it.

The first thing I noticed as soon as I broke the fast was that my elimination started almost immediately. I was completely surprised since it normally takes a few days for me to get back on track after fasting. I was doubly amazed, considering the fact that this was the longest fast I’ve ever done and I thought it would take longer than usual to “wake-up” my system.

There was absolutely no fat in my diet for the first four days following the fast and I attribute my rapid and efficient elimination to this fact. That trend has continued – even now ten days after the fast has ended. I find the low fat raw vegan diet to be an absolutely wondrous experience for many reasons and I will remain on it for as long as it feels natural and correct for my body.

This was not always so. I tried for weeks before the fast to reduce my fat intake – not for purposes of weight reduction since that’s normal – but for healing. Since the fast ended it’s become easy to significantly reduce my fat intake. (Watch for the link to my soon-to-be-published report on plant-based diets in the next week or two for more insight into dietary fat reduction for health).

I’ve been on a high-raw diet for more than a year, with the past nearly five months at 100% raw. During this time my weakness has been fats – especially cashews – but that’s changed post-fast. Since increasing my fruit consumption I don’t crave the fatty foods and instead of my usual servings of fat with almost each meal - in the form of oil, avocados, seeds or nuts sprinkled on salads, or in dressings, seed cheeses, pates, dips and the like – I’ve upped my fruit servings to compensate for the eliminated fat calories.

That means I eat mountains of fruit, as well as greens, vegetables and some fats. It seems to be working for me as I remain extremely energized, productive, and euphoric. I’m certain that my body is using this fine-tuned nourishment to continue the healing process.

I experienced an interesting, yet disturbing occurrence at the end of my fast indicating that I had become mineral-deficient while fasting. My toes and leg muscles cramped up while sleeping. (That happened to me in the past after drinking distilled water exclusively for several years. Muscle cramps usually indicate a mineral deficiency so I switched to filtered water and the cramps went away. Then I went back to distilled water with minerals added and the cramps stayed away).

Anyway, after the fast the cramps continued for several days and developed painfully in my hands as well. As I incrementally increased my daily food intake (especially fruit) the cramps lessened. It’s been two days now since I’ve experienced any cramping – a sure sign that my mineral stores are being rebuilt with this low-fat vegan diet. My body wasn’t (and isn’t) craving fat and I believe I’ll continue to do well as long as I consume enough calories to maintain my weight - primarily from fruit, not fat.

Before I started the fast I had some extensive testing done to see if I’m still toxic in heavy metals, (including mercury). The tests may also give clues as to what’s going on in my body that might be preventing the elimination of these neck nodules (a vestige of the cancer I had until recently). I’m still waiting on the results of blood work, hair and urine analysis and thyroid ultrasound. I’ll post again when I have the results to share.

Meanwhile I’ll continue with this pleasurable low-fat raw vegan diet. For anyone interested in more information about this diet I suggest getting the book by Dr. Douglas Graham, called “The 80-10-10 Diet”. It’s a must-read if you’re into health at any level.