During my cancer journey since 2009, I have received emails and calls from many of you suggesting and forwarding many cancer fighting remedies from things to eat/not eat to grape juice enemas. It seems that just about anything has worked for somebody in the fight against cancer. The one thing that resonated with my medical background was the research showing that cancer cells need sugar to survive. I’ve known this for most of my adult years but I didn’t really focus on it too much until I received many emails regarding cancer and sugar. I began looking at the research and read a couple of books dealing with the subject. Considering that my cancer had unexpectedly come out of remission, and was staying active almost a year later, I felt the urgent need to do something. I decided to follow the recommendations of the research and thus eliminate sugar and flour from my diet.
So, for many months with an eye toward my August 6th MD Anderson Cancer Center visit and blood tests, I’ve essentially had no sugar or flour products. Yes, that means eliminating bread, pasta and such, and even ketchup. I’ve not even had birthday cake on our children’s birthdays either. I yearned to do what I could to help put this cancer back into remission. I would do my part and let God do His part.
It’s been ten days now since I had my genetic cancer tests in Houston. I was supposed to email the Physician’s Assistant two weeks after the tests to get the results. Genetic tests take a while. Anyway, on day ten, today (at 7:50am), I emailed the physician’s assistant. At 10:20am I checked my email and saw her 9:17am response. The result is that my cancer test is negative for the first time in a year!! That means I’m back in remission. Thank God!!
So, was it the diet or the prayers that put me back into remission? Well, as I mentioned, I think I did my part and the Lord did His part!! I wanted to make sure I posted this sugar connection to my blog for those searching for possible ways to fight their cancer battles. Will I stay with the dietary restrictions now that I’m in remission? Well, it seems that the combination that put my cancer into remission might be what keeps it in remission. So, I don’t think I’ll wander far from it.
I also want to be sure to say that I can’t thank you enough for the prayers that you have offered for me. So many people pray for my family and me. My 91 year old coffee drinking buddy told me just a day before I headed off to MD Anderson Cancer Center that he awoke around 2am feeling the need to pray for my “trip to Houston and a good report.” I’m also on the prayer chain (list) in churches of several denominations. I (we) are blessed!!
My general health is doing well. I still often push myself to do what I feel too fatigued to do and do what my arm tries to stop me from doing, but I think it is far better to keep going than let myself slow down too much and risk getting down. Life’s downward spiral is too rapid the way it is; there’s no since helping it along. Even so, I was in the hospital in May for pneumonia.
Due to my suppressed immunity, Dr. Tan insisted that I get the pneumonia vaccination last year. Well, fortunately as a result, I didn’t have the very nasty pneumococcal infection. I had a regular run of the mill pneumonia that almost killed me because my immunity is so low. Whereas we normally have white blood cells to fight infection, mine are suppressed by Gleevec. Therefore, whereas white blood cell counts usually rise to counter an infection, mine just stayed low as if nothing was happening. Anyway, I got the sickest I’ve ever been. By the time I went to see Dr. Tan, he immediately put me in the hospital for intravenous antibiotics, etc.
Other than that, we are doing well. Our grandson is being baptized tomorrow (Saturday) in Mississippi. We look forward to attending the baptism…I am especially thankful to attend without leukemia active in my body!!
