Update on Spring's Blog

Spring here typing for Darol at his request. He is in too much pain to sit still and type himself. So to get the news on how he is doing and lots of the details of his daily regime, check out my blog at:
www.springsspace.blogspot.com

Read on! I have photos too!-Spring

Time for a Change

I have finally done it. I put myself on medical leave and I am checking into an alternative cancer treatment center. It is called pH Miracle Living Center. More info here: http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-sanoviv.aspx

Their approach here: http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-approach.aspx

While this approach doesn't sound like my first choice, I have not found anything more promising. I have had numerous people tell me that this treatment does work and I am at a point where trying to do it myself has not worked.

I am not interested in hearing controversy about this. IF however, anyone has knowledge of another center that does aggressive treatments that do not include chemo or radiation, I am interested in hearing about it.

Spring and I will likely leave (drive) Mon. Nov. 30th, stay a night in Vegas and complete the journey to San Diego area Tuesday at which point I will check in for a week. I am not sure yet of all the therapies they do, but I will blog about it once I find out. I also know that they will teach us about food prep that works with the program. That is one reason why Spring is coming with me. They have a small fee that allows a spouse to participate in the training. What a great idea!

I have been examined by Dr. Robert Young who started the center and he told me that my case is promising and I should see results in a week. This is good news because all I have been seeing is more cancers, more pain, and more loss of energy and hope.

After the first week, I am going to drive to Mesa, AZ and spend a week with my family who I have not been to see in over a year. After a week in Mesa, I am headed back to the center for another week of intensive therapy. After that, I am playing it by ear.

I hope to blog more now that I will have more time. Thank you to everyone for all your support.

Looking for Stability

Since my last post, my condition fluctuates. Some days my tumors hurt so much it is hard to sit, stand or sleep. Some days my appetite is there and sometimes it is not. I usually have a hard time eating the raw foods that I know will assist me most.

Today was interesting. I woke up hungry. My pain level is usually pretty low in the mornings. Today was a little better than most. I took a shower even though I showered last night because occasionally I break out in a sweat in the middle of the night. This happened last night too. The conditions in my bedroom are that we keep the thermostat up to 72-74 because Kanyon nurses so much that Spring usually has her torso out of the sheets and covers. I just have the (flannel) sheet over me. I have no idea why it happens only sometimes, but I almost drip when I get out of bed. Yes, we do change the sheets often ;-).

Back to the day. After my shower, Spring made me about 2 oz of wheatgrass juice which I shot. about 10 minutes later, I started drinking my lemon/ginger tea. I was so hungry that I started eating some 9-grain hot cereal immediately after finishing the tea. About 5 minutes after finishing my cereal, I went to clean my bowl and smelled the wheatgrass tray. This is the first time that this sent me making an offering to the porcelain goddess. Not fun, but not as bad as other times.

I still felt hungry so I grabbed some whole wheat bread with a little sunflower butter and half a banana and about a half cup of Silk to wash it down. I ate it on my way to work and it stayed down fortunately. I never really know how my body will react to food. Sometimes I don't even know if I can eat it unless I just eat some. I usually eat small portions too so I can give my body time to react before I am full of it. I am also ingesting some digestive aids like keifer, kambucha, and chewable enzymes. These seem to help.

For lunch, my tummy was feeling a little "iffy". I decided to eat something I used to eat before being diagnosed. A deli nearby makes a veggie sandwich on marbled-rye. Again, I was not even sure if I could eat it. I ate the whole thing. I also had a V8. It all felt quite good in my tummy. I want to stay away from breads because of their pH, but these days, I am feeling like eating something is more important than barely eating the right thing. This does cause some fear in me of course.

So again, I feel into my fears, recognize my gratitude for all that I do have, and look to improve every day.

Renewal

I would like to start by saying thanks to all those followed my blog so far and who bring me words of encouragement. It lifts me up.

It has been a while since my last confession/BLOG! The confession is that I was slipping into depression. My appetite for the things I know I should be eating was very low and I was eating very little instead of the things that I wanted to eat. So my energy dropped, my weight slipped, my sedentary body hurt, and still new tumors came. I just wanted to sleep.

As of about 4 days ago, I decided to change. I began eating homemade soups and beans. These brought my energy back up. I felt like moving my body again. I strove to drink my veggie juices. I could eat salads with rice or beans on them. I am getting back on my feet. I am feeling confident of my future again. And then out of nowhere the almost constant pain in the tumors around my hips subsided. At the end of today still very little pain. I feel much more like my previous self and I am in gratitude.

Gratitude is my healer. It is my focus. I have become much more emotional in the past weeks. Minor things will choke me up and I relish them. Whether I live into my 90s or not, I am so grateful for what I have lived so far. I will try to keep it short, but I must list my highlights.

I am grateful for:

My loving parents and siblings

My wife who is beside me every step

My son who is so amazing

My friends/family who have stepped in to assist so willingly

Nature which is my other healer

My boss/employer who support me 100%

So that you might understand my current world:

These days I get up on the weekdays between 7-8.

I drink a quart or more of water.

I have a cup of lemon/ginger tea.

I have a shot of wheatgrass juice.

I have some kind of breakfast of wheatmeal or something else.

I spend a little time with family.

I go to work.

I often come home for lunch of soup or salad.

I go back to work.

I leave for home around 6.

We have dinner of soup or salad or other.

We work or spend time as a family.

I get to bed between 8-11.

Repeat

I focus to drink vegetable juices. These days it is Beet-carrot-apple-lemon-ginger.

It changes from time to time.

I focus to drink a gallon or more of water.

I focus to take an epson salt bath several times a week to help with the tumor pain and toxin release.

I focus to give myself a treat occasionally that is not too far off track.

I am avoiding refined sugars and minimizing natural sugars.

I am avoiding all meat.

I am open to answer ANY questions my friends or family have.

Please ask if you have any.

getting back into the groove

I weighed myself this am at 132.

For breakfast I had some cracked oat meal. The bag called it Scottish Oats. Whatever. Not the greenest breakfast, but I had some wheat grass juice too, so I feel - did alright

Now that I have b een back for 3 days, I am up to speed on the projects I was working on when I left.
I made a nice juice blend called "CABALA".
It is Carrot-Apple(red)-Beet-Apple(green)-Lemon(entire)-Apple(yellow).
I took a quart to work and drank it all. I also went to House of Tibet with Spring, Kanyon, and a friend from work who has a child near Kanyon's age. The food wasn't raw, but it sure made me feel good to eat!

For dinner, we had a big green salad. I am happy with my food choice for the day.

Back to My Job

Well, I have been silent for a while. I just had little desire/time to get on the net. Now that I am back at work, I can take a moment after hours to post something. I will speak more about the time after the fast AND before work started in the near future.

Suffice it to say that I fell very good. There are a few aches in the muscles with cancer. Similar to a muscle that has been worked out hard. I want to eat constantly, and usually want something that is spicy, sweet, cooked, bread, dairy and other stuff that I would be best to avoid. This has been the biggest challenge for me. Sometimes I get weak and eat it anyway, but today I renewed my efforts and feel I have done well.

Off to the store now to get more veggies to juice and eat. I appreciate all the time and love sent by all. Thank you.

Day 20 - End of Fast

Last night after posting, I broke my fast. When I woke, I weighed in at 123.5 lbs even though I at some last night.

I broke my fast with juices. I started with a carrot-apple-ginger juice. I then had some of the beet-carrot-lemon-ginger juice that my brother made for himself last night. Hours after some juice, I then ate some tomatoes with sauerkraut and some tomato vinaigrette. This was quite satisfying. Last night my guts were churning a lot, but I expected it after a fast as my guts fill up again.

So the big question is, "Have the tumors gotten smaller?" In all honesty, I cannot say for sure. I THINK so, but not a lot. I would need to measure more precisely than just feeling with my fingers.

So I am now onto the next phase of my healing. I am drinking carrot-apple-ginger and eating tomatoes with sauerkraut. I will likely find another food soon, but I will likely stick with lots of juices from dark greens and roots. I now have the strength to keep warm and do more than sit around.

Day 19 of Fast

Today I weighed in at 123.5 lbs again. I am not surprised. Again, the water I have in me fluctuates.

Boy my body feels different when I shower and shave. I can feel how much smaller I am. My face is quite hollow too. If I have not lost some muscle, I have lost all the fat around my arms and legs. I am not concerned about losing muscle, I can grow that back. I want to get back to the gym and gain some strength and tone.

I am now the only person fasting. Last night was below freezing outside and cool inside. Fortunately we have a small heater that we use to keep it from getting to cold. But fasting makes it hard to generate my own heat. I use lots of blankets during the days.

Day 18 of Fast – YEA, Rash

Today I weighed in at 123.5 lbs. I am conserving energy quite a bit. I just sit around a lot though.

Today my brother Deon broke his fast. He fasted for 12.5 days. He came up because of his high blood pressure. When he first got here, he would wake with a BP of 160-170/100-110. Today he had a BP of 129/90. He feels SO MUCH better. He did have some rough days during the fast, but he made it through.

Dad left for home. It has been great to cook with him and we split up the bounty of canned good we lovingly made so family can share. It all looked so yummy.

Day 17 of Fast

Today I weighed in at 124 lbs again.

My conservation seems to be working. I get lazier than I want to be and don’t move enough to keep my muscles tone. They get tight and then pull my back out of place. This then causes more discomfort and makes it difficult to sleep. I know that stretching will assist. Silly how sometimes I won’t do the most simple things that make me feel better. I think that relates to all of us in some way with the way we eat too.

Today My Dad broke his fast. This was his 20th day. He came up also to support me and to loose weight and just give his body a general cleanse. While here he noticed that it is easier to urinate. He says his prostrate is improving. He looks better too.

Day 16 of Fast

Today I weighed in at 124 lbs again. Yes, this is what I want, to loose slowly.
Again, I realize that water can make it vary a lot. I really don't like to have to get up in the middle of the night and pee, but that seems to be what my body wants to do.

I feel good, but still a little weak. My gut feels kind of hard and certainly empty. So I am just conserving motion/energy.

Yesterday my Mom broke her fast. She had been fasting for 6.5 days. She initially came to support me by joining in the process. She also wanted to clear up some pain in her shoulder and clear some spots in her vision. While here she met with my uncle who is a massage therapist and loosened a tight muscle then gave her an stretch to keep it loose. She says this has done wonders.

Day 15 of Fast - Dropped 2 lbs.

Today I weighed in at 124 lbs.

I was hoping to continue with the slowww burn of weight. This is a drop of 2 lbs. since yesterday. At this point, I am feeling that 3 weeks (21 days) will be my completion. Today I felt it a good idea just to plan on breaking the fast on Mon. Oct. 5th. There are several reasons for this including that it just felt right.

First, with no more discernible fat left, I expect that if my body WILL "eat" the tumors, that by then it should. Second, 21 days is the length I went on prior fasts. Third, it is about as much of a financial burden as I feel I can withstand. So now the concern is to be able to make it THAT far. To that end, I am going to be moving as little as possible to conserve the energy I expend. We shall see.

On a side note, I assisted Dad with canning squash soup and pickles. All of it very yummy!

Day 14 of Fast - YEA, 2 Weeks so Far

Today I weighed in at 126.5 lbs.

I wonder what my body is consuming. At just about .5 lbs. loss per day, it hardly seems enough even though I don't move a lot. I don't think I have any more body fat. There is just a slight bit on my tummy. Here is an article that I hope explains what is going on now.

The Autolytic Disintegration Of Tumors

Day 13 of Fast - Lazy Today

Today I weighed in at 127 lbs.

I just hung out at the house today. Didn't go outside until 5 to lay in the sun for a half hour. I sat/layed on the couch and watched a video by a lady named Barbara O'Neill http://www.barbhealth.com/. I like most of what she has to say. I will be incorporating her ideas into my new lifestyle.

I still have a medicinal taste in my mouth throughout the day that I have had for over a week. After I brush my teeth, it just comes back and hangs. I understand it to be the moving out of stuff I have put in. It reminds me of the taste in my mouth as the techs injected the contrast solution into my blood as a part of the CT and MRI tests I have done several times during my visits to the Huntsman for checkups. Icky.

Day 12 of Fast - Same ol, same ol

Today I weighed in at 127.5 lbs AGAIN. I know that my water intake makes it fluctuate.

Pretty much the same. Not much to report. I find myself getting a little depressed that nothing SEEMS to be happening. My weight loss is slowing, but I would really like to see these bumps shrink. I get to be patient and be positive as I give it more time.

Day 11 of Fast - Back to the Kitchen Area

Today I weighed in at 127.5 lbs. Sadly no dreams of eating :-(

Today we finished up with 19 pints of the red sauce. I DID taste it and I DID swallow. No guilt here. Maybe a slight heartburn though :-). It was of course yummy. I love the way chipotle doesn't burn where it touches, it waits for a moment then hits the back of the throat lightly. We will be sharing some with our host and splitting the rest amongst my family. I am so excited to have a nice winter stock in my food storage.

Tomorrow we will make a coconut squash soup for a potluck our host is having. We won't be eating of course, but we will contribute. Then we will can the remainder. I think we will take a day off after that - maybe... I want to figure out how to make raw crackers for me. And I am sure Dad will come up with more things he wants too.

I apologize to those that feel I have not responded to calls or emails. I really don't spend much time on the computer of phone. I do read all the blog comments though.

I realize that I have not spoken of any changes to my cancer either. That is because there has been nothing noteworthy yet. The ones I can feel may have gotten slightly larger since being diagnosed, but it could also be perception and less fat around them. They don't hurt so there is no increase/decrease in pain either. I am very happy to state though that my older bother Deon who came here to fast for relief of his (very) high blood pressure measured 3 times today to find it near normal. He has been having a very rough time so far with very low energy and numerous vomitting spells. We are all SO relieved at this news and hope the trend continues.

Day 10 of Fast - Masochism

Today I weighed in at 129.5 lbs.

I recognize now that I am masochistic. Not is the sexual sense mind you. Just in the sense of submitting myself to the smells of food. It is not just enough for me to smell the food that others perpare here, my family actually goes to the store and buys food to prepare. I have the opportunity to avoid the whole process, but I WANT to participate. I originally imagined that I would spend much alone time wn be very interspective. There are many that said this would be a necessary part of my healing. That does make sense, but I also see that making food with family feeds my soul too.

Today we went into Colorado City and bought a lug of tomatoes that likely weighed 50 lbs. for $10. Some were green, smashed, buggy, etc, but we peeled them, stewed them and made 11 quarts of a really nice tomato basil soup with pureed cashews for a faux-creaminess. We took the rest and did 2 quarts of tomato juice for use in a tomato vinaigrette dressing, and used the meatier part for chipotle chili sauce we will complete tomorrow.

My Dad is the chef. He makes it all up. He couldn't follow a recipe if he tried. He always just makes it up as he goes. Most of the time it is awesome. This is one of the reasons I want to participate. I want to learn to do these things myself. Besides, I don't get to cook often with family even though Dad lives near me, we are always busy with our own shit.

Before coming up, I didn't know I would feel this way. I asked Spring to make and eat all her meals away from me. Now I tell her to let me smell her dish before it is gone. As if that weren't enough, last night someone brought a video for the group to watch called "Eat Drink Man Woman". It was a show about a Chinese father of three adult daughters who live with him. He is an excelled head chef of a large banquet hall who seems to cook all day. I was drooling to see all the great things he prepared. I am so hoping to have lots of dreams about eating!

Day 9 of Fast - New Faster

Today I weighed in at 130 lbs.

My Mom came up here today. She will be fasting with us also for a while. It will be nice to see her again. I am also glad to see so many family members reconsider the way they are living their lives and look to make more harmonious changes. My younger sister who left Saturday night after 7.5 days of fasting is feeling better about herself and remains free from the habit of smoking.

Today we are taking an excess of cucumbers from the garden and making both sweet and dill pickles. It is really not bad being around food during the fast. I enjoy smelling the smells.

It was a nice day of visiting an I look forward to more reconnecting with Mom.

Day 8 of Fast - Lost Item

If anyone finds my ass, please let me know. I have now lost it completely! Not that I feel and vanity at having a cute one, especially at my age, I just like it because it helps keep my pants up and makes it softer to sit. I find myself adjusting my position while sitting to stop the pain in my pelvic. I guess I am going to have to get one of those blow-up donuts old farts use :-).

After the fast is over, I hope to gain weight rapidly. I am committed to working out and eating as much as I can. I don't want the fat that I lost to return, but I do hope my body sees butt-fat as beneficial. I do.

Today I weighed in at 130.5. It may be partially because my water intake has dropped to about 3-4 quarts per day because of the slight nausea that I have been feeling. So today I moved less and read more. I mostly read "The Art and Science of Fasting". I am not going from cover to cover, I am picking chapters that are of interest to me at the time. There are many interesting ideas in it, but I am unsure if I should quote much as to avoid turning my blog into a preaching pedistal. But then, maybe I already have...

Day 7 of Fast

This morning I weighed in at 131. It might have something to do with the limited water intake yesterday.

Last night I wanted to be done with this stomach pain so I did a colon flush (enema). Like everyone I know, I don’t like them. In this case, I disliked the pain more. A little later that night, I felt some congestion in my sinus and started to snort it out. Suddenly, it felt choking and my reflex was to throw up. I did so shortly after.
I won’t describe it much but to say it was a small amount of yellow.

This morning, I feel better and can drink more water without nausea. I have no raw throat either. While there was discomfort yesterday, I am glad to have some additional cleansing event. Prior to that, the fast has gone quite uneventful.

Because my weight is getting quite low, I am getting concerned about how to know WHEN to break my fast. The last fast I did over 20 years ago, I got down to 123 lbs.
I don’t expect that I can go much lower. I read in a book I have on fasting that is considered THE book. It states the when hunger returns the fast should be broken. This causes me to wonder what hunger feels like. If I can fast for weeks without feeling hunger, then maybe I don’t feel hunger at lunch time after a 4 hour gap from breakfast. Do any of us REALLY know what hunger is? I guess it remains to be seen.

I am certainly hopeful to feel the cancers diminish prior to hunger. But even if they don’t, I will move to fresh juices, then raw foods until I see significant changes. I am anxious to add some of my favorite cooked foods too in small proportions. I LOVE whole grain breads and cooked beans!