What is Your Face Telling You?

Saturday's seminar was about diagnosing developing conditions in the body by looking at the face and hands. Smart as technology is, apparently problems in the body show up on the face way before they show up on any medical test. For instance, let's pick apart mine.

But first, perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. Getting a decent picture while standing in front of the bathroom mirror (where the lighting is good) is harder than it would seem to be. First, the subject matter is . . . well, not that great. Second, watching yourself find the right button (that isn't really a button at all, but a very specific spot on a smooth screen) to push while holding the phone j-u-s-t so . . . well, it's harder than you'd think it should be. Third, I did it without glasses so as not to cover up any of the . . . Well, enough explanation. But no laughing, 'k?

Okay, so the first developing condition that might not show up right away on a medical test is that I have a shower head starting to sprout out of the top of my head. By catching it now, I should be able to do something about it before it becomes truly disgusting.

See the bags under the eyes? That's kidney issues. See how my right cheek is kind of puffy and my right eyelid covers more of my eye than the left one does? That's right breast issues (also known as Cancer because really, what else goes wrong with breasts after they're done feeding a litter of babies?) See how the outside part of both eyebrows is thinning? That's thyroid issues. 

Boy, I'm one sick mama! No wonder I'm not smiling!

On the bright side, there's lots of things I don't have issues with. The tip of my nose correlates with the heart or stomach. Other than being a tad on the large size, it's pretty unremarkable. You know the lines that some people have from the corner of each nostril down to the corner of the mouth? My stomach acid and pancreas are just fine, thank you. Lips correlate to digestion, and mine look pretty even. So I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in. Nothing a little healthy food won't fix.

At some point, I bet you'd like to know just what I'm eating these days. I'll post about that as soon as I figure it out. Walnuts, anyone?

Where to start . . . This week I:
- visited a second naturopath who did some very intriguing things and got some very interesting results;
- spent about five days feeling more tired than I've been in awhile;
- figured out I was probably detoxing (and immediately felt better);
- attended one day of a two-day seminar on diagnosing conditions by looking at the face and hands (thinking it would be useful in my acupressure practice);
- decided the second-day of the seminar would be useful for *me* in my cancer war since it was about nutrition (nutrition like nothing the FDA ever dreamed of); and
- got to stay for a private consultation with the seminar speaker for personalized advice on what else to do to get rid of my unwelcome guests. Very cool.

Remember how I said I'd found a starting point but that things would probably change as I go along? Well, the first change is here and I'm eager to get going on it. Alas, I have papers to correct for tomorrow's class. But here's a quick run-down of what I've learned (in no particular order):

1.  All disease has at least one emotional component to it, and breast cancer's is a propensity to nurture everyone else and not ones' self. A couple of my daughters laughed at that.
2. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment and sugar -- even from fruit -- provides that.
3. People with one problem usually have more. Yup, me too. But rather than going to a different doctor for each one, I can just feed my body well and it'll take care of all of it. Amazing machine, yes?
4. Carrot juice has everything a baby needs after the first 3-4 weeks of life. Forget formula -- go buy 50 lbs of carrots and a good juicer! It'll be way cheaper, too.
5. Green apples have a synergistic effect on some vegetables; when juiced together, the sum total of nutrients is more than either by themselves. Besides, they taste *great*!
6.  A castor oil pack and a heat pad on the abdomen is one of life's finer things.
7. Life really is okay without coffee.
8. Green tea mixed with mint and a very small pinch of stevia is very pleasant, either hot or iced.
9. Meditation is easier done while walking. (or driving, but that's outside the scope of this project)
10. Starting work at 10:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 or 9:00 is another of life's finer things.
11. Most people are really very decent, given the opportunity.
12. Intuition is a very good thing to develop. And it's not gender specific; men can hone it, too.
13. Teaching is an enjoyable occupation, but the time spent in class is only the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the iceberg is time spent preparing for class.
14. Friends who accept one's choices and decisions with understanding and support are some of life's gems.
15. So is family.
16. In Europe, snails are apparently prescribed to people fighting cancer.
17. If you ask your local grocer if he has any snails, he'll probably tell you "no." But then he'll order some in special for you. They come in cute little shells, already mixed with butter and garlic, and they take 12 minutes to heat up in the oven. Not bad. Just have some green-mint tea handy.
18. People with Type A blood don't make enough stomach acid to digest red meat so it sort of putrifies in the digestive tract. 
19. Because of the low stomach acid, food should be eaten without drink. Except in the case of snails, maybe.
20. All grains, nuts and seeds should be soaked before cooking. This means I will have to learn to think more than a few minutes ahead.
21. Fermented vegetables are extremely beneficial for the digestive system. More practice thinking ahead.
22. Apricot kernels are so effective at shredding cancer cells that eating more than a few has been outlawed in Australia. I wonder how they expect to enforce that.
23. Seaweed is very beneficial -- cancer or not.
24. Soup made primarily of barley and mushrooms is quite delish.
25. Monday morning always comes too soon. I'm not done with the weekend stuff yet!

Want to know about diagnosing the face? Probably next time. I still have to figure out how to get pictures from my phone to this blog in less than 47 steps.

The Starting Point

Ten days post-diagnosis, and I've settled on a starting point. Before I talk about that though, some have wanted to know how the cancer was discovered in the first place. So I'll digress for a bit. (There's a good chance this may get a little TMI for some of you. Oh, well. Man up. It's the human body.)

I've had fluid-filled cysts in my breasts for several years. Been keeping track of them with yearly mammograms and ultrasounds. They've fluctuated in size with hormones and caffeine, but haven't been much of a bother. Although lots of women have them, they aren't "normal", so I've half-heartedly been trying to figure out a way to deflate them -- mostly from a Chinese Medicine standpoint because Western Medicine has no idea what to do about them.

One of the cysts seemed to be growing and changing in texture, so I had a mammogram and follow-up ultrasound. Turned out that particular cyst was fine, but there was an "architectural abnormality" in the other breast requiring a biopsy to see what it was made of. I somehow knew it would be cancer before I went in, so it was no great shock when the poor lady had to deliver the news. (Hers would sure be a rotten job, especially when I wouldn't cooperate with her treatment plans. She's sure I'm committing suicide.)

(If you don't like technical stuff, skip to the next paragraph.) I got the rest of the pathology report back a few days ago and the tumor's made of "ER+; PR+; HER2-" cells which means it's feeding on both estrogen and progesterone but does not have the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 that makes cancer more scary. Very treatable from a Western Medicine standpoint. Good news from my standpoint, too.

Okay, back to the starting point.

I've decided to combine a couple theories that make sense to me, and use my intuition to fill in the gaps.
    - "Cancer: Fight it with the Blood Type Diet" by Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo; and
    - "Healing the Gerson Way: Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases" by Charlotte Gerson

Some of you are probably familiar with "Eat Right for Your Type" that's been around since last century some time. I remember reading it years ago -- and deciding it was a bunch of hooey because (as type A), it recommends I be vegetarian. Me??? Who was raised on meat and potatoes??? I think not!

Well, turns out it's right. I do feel better when I don't eat red meat. Apparently we A-types don't have enough stomach acid to digest meat. Sigh.

But the fish thing? Nope. Uh-uh. No way. Can't do it. Not without half a jar of tartar sauce and a whole lemon. Guess I'll be taking fish oil supplements because fish is like #2 in the cancer fighting arsenal. Big sigh.

Okay, that's enough for this time. I'm going to incorporate pictures from here on, but I figured this time . . . yeah, not so much. Considering the subject matter, aren't you glad?

Here's the Story

I was diagnosed with "grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma" (breast cancer) a week ago -- July 11, 2013.

Because I see the after-effects of chemotherapy and radiation -- and yes, of surgery, too -- on an almost daily basis, I have chosen not to go that route. I choose to use food as my medicine, building up my body's immune system so it can kill off these cancer cells just like it has the trillion or so before now.

I decided to start this blog for the benefit of my family members who are interested in watching this "experiment" unfold. It felt like an experiment at first because I was not finding information from others who have gone this path. There were quite a few books about *preventing* cancer, or helping with the issues of chemotherapy and radiation, but none about *fighting* the cancer directly. It was just me and my intuition. But then Shawna sent me the link for Gerson Therapy on youtube, and that led me to others. I can't tell you how awesome it was to hear that there is research -- and not just a little of it -- that backs up my intuitive knowledge:

Our bodies are made to heal themselves . . . if they have everything they need to work with. 

Kind of like an Erector set. You can make most anything you want to if you have the right pieces. But . . . how to figure out just what pieces the body needs and in what quantities . . .

So I spent the past week reading everything I could get my hands on until my head hurt and my mind wouldn't go in a straight line. All those bits of information are settling down now and I'm able to make a plan of sorts that will no doubt change as I go. But at least it's a starting point.

Stay tuned . . .