Hi Marjorie - everyone - thanks again for your lovely upbuilding messages which are keeping me positive!!
Are you still scheduled to start chemo on Thursday?
Yes, provisionally! The problem is that the haematologist wants to be absolutely certain that I have NHL and not some other form of cancer before he administers the chemo. In his own mind he is pretty sure that I have NHL but he needs confirmation from my lymph node biopsy, the results of which I haven't heard. He said he'd telephone when he has them.
I am feeling VERY upbeat about this. Never feel your encouraging words don't help because they DO!! I've been reading about success stories with cancer and in all cases keeping a positive mind has been a key factor. I am naturally positive. I occasionally get lows, but no more than usual in life.
I still haven't heard from my girls, but they don't know how ill I am. They learnt I was going into hospital for an operation (a friend told Stephanie) but neither of them has been in touch to find out how things went. No 'phone calls, no enquiries to neighbours, nothing! It doesn't matter. I've stated earlier how I feel about their contacting me. My door is always open to them. What a shame their minds are closed through JW dogma.
I am now an organic vegan Sounds like a new religion, doesn't it! Seriously, I DO feel much better for eating and drinking only organic produce and I don't miss meat and dairy products at all. Chocolate was my passion, but now I eat organic carob bars instead. The good thing about my illness is that I am producing good karma. So is Claire, as neither of us eats fish, chicken or red meat now, so I like to think some animals somewhere have been saved. The important thing is for me to detoxify my system. I also read that s oya (not GM soya) is one of the most useful dietary sources of plant chemicals including phyto-oestrogens (isoflavones) that appear to play a protective role in relation to cancer by inhibiting the ability of cancer cells to replicate their DNA and blocking the action of growth factors that can encourage cancer cells to grow - providing one consumes a minimum of 50 mgs per day. Therefore, I eat and drink as much soya as I can. It is just unbelievable what is available made out of soya but tasting quite delicious. TVP, however, is not recommended as it is too highly processed.
One of the things I have to be particularly careful of is any additives, colouring or unnatural preservatives in food. We purchased some vegan products only to find they had such additives in them, which is why I'm an organic vegan. The additives would entail my body trying to fight both the cancer and the additives. What I have to do is get my body to concentrate solely on attacking the cancer.
I also listen to New Age music, consisting of relaxation melodies. These and meditation really help. Keeping stress-free is vital.
Well, that's the latest and I hope I haven't bored the socks off you.
With heartfelt love to all,
Ian
