Getting the balance back

Its been a while since I last posted and I am happy to report, all is ok on the cancer front and I am adjusting to life without the ovaries. Hot flushes are still an unfortunate part of my life and I do hate them BUT winter is coming and the weather is cooler so life becomes less hot and bothered.

Last week I had a appointment with my new oncologist Dr G. is amazing I really get on with her and 

its been a long time since I actually spoke with a full fledged Onc. as my previous Onc. sadly died of liver cancer however, I always seemed to be dealt with by registrars. I've complained a lot of times about feeling out of balance, my size 32 chest has grown to a size 42 on the remaining breast and its a pain, not only is it massive and heavy its exasperated by the fact I can't wear a bra, I've tried every bra known to mankind and none of them are supportive and pain free. My problem is I had a lot of lymph nodes out and due to the fact that I was skinny (size 8 back then) the nodes were in with all the muscle which my surgeon had to dissect, it took him ages and he had to cut through muscle, my armpit area and my torso on the right hand side are badly scarred and so whenever I wear a bra no matter what type it digs into my scar tissue and ends up feeling very painful, so much so that I have to take the bra off after only half an hour! So this leaves me not wearing a bra most of the time and feeling very out of balance, Dr G. could see how out of balance I was carrying myself and suggested that she would refer me to a breast surgeon who could perform a mastectomy of the left hand side breast as a life enhancing operation. Fantastic! So I am now waiting for an appointment to see a breast surgeon and whilst they have a policy of not operating on a healthy breast they might when they realise how out of balance I carry myself and the ramifications of this on my body and life. Considering they perform breast enlargement on the NHS I think this isn't a big ask, considering what I've got and what I've been through. Dr G did explain that it wouldn't be this year as its not an emergency which is fine by me, I'd rather have it next year anyway. So fingers crossed this will happen and I will be rid of the massive boob that blights my life.

The importance of being honest......

We have all heard of phrases like 'keeping it real, living in the here and now, being truthful with yourself' today I have been reminded that to be honest with oneself is the only way to be, some get by with living in denial, shoving it under the carpet and just plain pretending, me I live with it up close and personal somedays its sitting somewhere on my shoulders other days its in my face. We all have to come to terms with whatever it is that is challenging us whether that's our health our finances or family life we all live our lives as best we can taking each day one at a time.

Two things have prompted this post one is the passing of an old school friend who at the age of 44 passed away in her sleep on Friday night, she had a heart condition (same as her mother) she'd been out with her sisters and daughter that night and had a great time, went to bed and didn't wake up, shocking isn't it! I am glad she was spared the suffering and pain albeit she was taken way too young. The second by a fellow cancer patient who was worried about sharing the latest news of her disease progression and her decision to have chemo, as she is a self confessed juice junkie and advocate of alternative treatments she had up until now been successfully treating herself with a raw/juice diet and was worried about telling all her followers/readers of her decision

My advice to everyone reading this blog and anyone affected by the issues it raises, be kind to yourself and those around you no one knows when our time is up our bodies are just vehicles for the soul, all of us pass at some point and remember its not about the dying its about what we do whilst we are alive.  Live for the moment.

Wishing you all a very merry xmas and a much much happier new year.
Love and light to all
xxxxxxxxx

The Magic of Mushroom power......

During all of my research I have come across plenty of interesting articles about the wonders of the mushroom, particular mushrooms of importance are Shitake, Reishi, Maitake, Turkey Tail, Dong Chong Xia Cao, and Chaga here are some links that you might find interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuL_faveAnw
http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-questions/mushrooms-in-cancer-treatment
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/11November/Pages/anti-cancer-mushroom-research.aspx
http://www.phellinus-research.com/weblink/phellinus-linteus-cancer-research.com/index.htm

Ganoderma Reishi Mushroom – “The mushroom of immortality”
The benefits listed are backed by clinical studies conducted by the Japanese. Here is a list of some of them: Migraine headaches, Blood pressure – can lower blood pressure, so be careful if you are already taking a BP medication, anti inflamatory, asthma, improves kidney function, regulates immune system. Many cancer related benefits – also used to help chemotherapy patients. Cardiovascular problems, allergies, insomnia, menstrual problems, constipation, haemorrhoids. Improves energy level – general feeling of well being.

Shiitake – The black forest tree mushroom
Indigenous to China, Japan and other Asian countries. Shiitake mushrooms have also been cultivated for their medicinal properties since pre-historic times. These miracle mushrooms are known to have anti-fungal, anti-tumor and anti-viral properties. Lentinan, an active compound found in shiitake mushrooms, helps boost the immune system, enhancing your ability to fight infection and disease.

Maitake – The cloud mushroom
http://the-maitake-mushroom.blogspot.co.uk
Maitake mushroom extract is most widely known for its use as a cancer-fighting agent. Maitake mushroom contains polysaccharides and polysaccharide-protein complexes that the body uses to build the immune system. The extract's content of beta-glucan in particular serves as a healthy defense system to promote important immune system actions. The glucan effectively activates white blood cells that fight off the microorganisms that produce disease, including cancer. Maitake mushroom extract boosts the activity of these various cells to induce the production of interleukins and other lymphokines that have chemoprotective effects, slow tumor growth, and help to inhibit the spread of cancer.

Chaga – The black tree fungus. Helps stimulate the immune system to fight infection, cancer, and immune diseases. These miracle mushrooms grow on birch trees and look like a large slab of burnt charcoal. You can find it in China, Japan, Korea, Russia, East European countries, America and Canada. It's been found that Chaga contains anti-mutagenic compounds, that inhibit mutations, which are changes in DNA and RNA sequences. A compound found in both birch tree and Chaga called betulinic acid shows anti-cancer properties in laboratory studies. Chaga absorbs betulinic acid from the birch tree. Amongst the many claims of this mushroom is that it can inhibit tumour growth, kill's cancer cells, and stimulates the immune system to fight cancer. 

Chaga Mushroom growing on Birch Tree

If your serious about getting to know your fungi better then here's a link to a website that provides some gorgeous recipes all mushroom related. Enjoy.

http://www.moretomushrooms.com/mushroom-recipes/

Heart scan and coffee....

Yesterday I went for my 3 monthly heart scan with the cardiologist, to check that my heart is up to the Herceptin, it can unfortunately affect your heart muscle and if your numbers (don't ask me what or how they do this) are below 50bpm (beats per minute I presume!!) then they will stop the herceptin. This was quite a shock and sent me on a massive worry trip, the research I did informed me (from a couple of lady's on the forum) that before the scan if you drink a cup of coffee (no decaf) this will increase your heart beat, so yesterday I did (feel a bit naughty) but it worked I think my numbers have been going steadily down 1st one was 76bpm 2nd one was 72bpm 3rd one was 67bpm and the latest one was 64bpm all of these numbers are acceptable and the cardiologist told me everything looked fine, just don't want to chance them stopping this drug it could be saving my life. Left the hospital as high as a kite because I've given up caffeine no tea or coffee unless its decaf, so the strong real coffee nearly blew my head off lol. Feeling fine and looking forward to a fun filled week of hospital appointments and treatments! I am actually looking forward to the acupuncture session because believe it or not I think I've cracked the constipation problem and I believe its the acupuncture, so one down two more to go, here's hoping she can sort out the migraines and the hot flushes, you can only live in hope.

Also started doing the yoga exercises on the wii and its actually ok, was a bit worn out afterwards but feel its the way too go, also want to try Tai Chi and Qigong as I've heard this is good for breast cancer here's a link to a youtube vid on the subject http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk98bYswqhI&list=PL530E7008CDB43EBB&feature=plcp there are a few more in the series all worth a watch if your interested.


Stay healthy and happy love sarahx