Calcitonin Count -October, 2009

Medulary carcinoma gives off a chemical called calcitonin. The calcitonin count is a rough approximation of the amount of cancer. More calcitonin means more cancer.    
                                                                                                                                                   Testing for the calcitonin count is a very expensive test, so I only get it done twice a year -once in April and again in October. A blood sample is all that is required. Because of the cost they freeze the blood samples until they have about fifty vials or so, then test them as a batch. It can take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks for the results to arrive. Invariably, I get the results in 4 to 5 weeks. 
                                                                                                                                                   Today I got a call from my surgeon´s secretary at the University of Alberta Hospital telling me my calcitonin count had arrived. (Normal is less than 100.) My count this past October was 18,606 down from 19,994 in April, 2009, a drop of approximately 7%.    
                                                                                                                                                    More important than the actual count is the trend. The drop from April is not huge, but it´s going in the right direction. My hope is that this raw food diet will give my body the resources it needs to boost my immune system and deal with the cancer the way the human body is designed to.    
                                                                                                                                                    In addition, I got the results of test that looks at the amount of inflammation in the body. Normal is < 120. Mine is 1,339. My high acidity levels are damaging to the cells and likely the cause of the inflammation. The raw food diet is an alkanizing one and should neutralize the acidity and move my body toward a healthier Ph balance. 
                                                                                                                                                    April, 2010 is the end of my raw food diet here in Montreal and the time of my next blood work. It will be interesting to see the results.

Grape Fast -Conclusion

Yesterday, was the low point of my journey so far. Amazingly, today, Monday, November the 23rd, it´s as if it never happened. I feel surprisingly well.

It´s also the end of my grape fast. Five days in all.

Thursday the 19th, the first day of my grape fast, I  woke up feeling pretty strong physically and emotionally. After a few weeks of being perpetually hungry, I was surprised at how my craving for food was pretty much gone. It seemed like a good time to go on a fast.

The naturopath said I could eat as many grapes as I wanted; Dr. Jensen, in his book, "Bowel Care," suggests 4 pounds a day. I started with a couple of pounds and found it to be sufficient.

Friday, Saturday and the first half of Sunday went well and I was able to eat 4 pounds each day. Today, however, I have reached my fill of grapes and was only able to eat about 2 pounds. It´s clear that this is the last day for me this time around. Although they are one of my favorite fruits, I don´t even want to see grapes for the next while.

Some people go for weeks even months on just grapes. I don´t know how they do it.

Sunday Blues

I work up this morning feeling not quite on the bubble emotionally. 

It has stayed with me during the day, and feels a bit heavier as my energy levels are dropping, as they usually do toward the end of the day. The grapes which have been just fine to this point, feel heavy as well. I"m missing the comfort of food, especially comfort foods like chocolate, ice cream, a latte, hot soup, toast with jam and so on....   

It doesn't happen very often, but tonight, I'm feeling lonely. I miss my family and friends, miss going out for coffee, miss going out to the movies and the popcorn they serve, miss my bed back home, miss my stuff. Montreal is OK but people here seem unhappy, tired and/or depressed, which is pretty much where I'm at right now. 

Being on this cleanse is helping me to see where I've eaten, not so much because I was hungry physically, but to satiate my emotional and spiritual hunger. A sobering thought.

 Tonight, I'm taking solace in the fact that my bedtime is not far away and that tomorrow is a new day....

Week Three Summary

 This, my third week, has been pretty good overall. I started a grapes fast on Thursday. Until this morning that's gone well. I've woken up feeling physically strong and mentally alert and in a good space emotionally. 

I haven't been hungry at all. In fact, it's been a challenge to get through all the grapes before the end of the day. I noticed I get tired earlier in the day, about 4 or 5pm, but other than that it has been a good experience.

My sister hasn't doing as well physically, but said that after doing an enema last night she's feeling better.

Here's the low down for the past week.


                            11/15/09                   11/22/09         Change

Weight            152.6 lbs.                        147.6        -5.0 lbs.

A full 5 pounds this week, but I've been on a grape fast since Thursday, so there's a good chance at least half of that weight loss is due to the fasting.

Body Fat          32.4 lbs.                          30.1        -2.3 lbs.

The body fat is slowly going down. I can see it (or not see it) in the mirror as well.

BMI                    21.2                                 20.4         -0.8

The weight loss is reflected in the Body Mass Index calculation.

Body Fat           23.9%                            23.2         - 0.7%

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                57.5%                             58.1       + 0.6%

 Up again, ever so slightly, which is great. I've increased my water intake a bit, but still very much a struggle to get myself to even remember to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Bone Mass         6.6%                                6.5      -0.1%

A very slight loss. I've been walking pretty much every day or second day, doing more exercise than ever and eating healthier, so I wasn't expecting my bone mass to drop.

It may be that the scale was on the very edge of 6.5% anyway, or a slight variation in the reading either because my feet were a bit more moist or dry than previously could account for the difference. I will keep an eye on it and if it continues to drop then I will certainly look into it further.

Next weeks stats should be present a better picture as the fast will be finished by then.

Grape Fast -Start

We decided that Thursday would be the start of our grape juice fast. (Grapes speed up the cleansing process.) Tonight, we stopped in at the wholesalers where a Susie has a contact who provides her with organic food at wholesale prices. The catch is we have to buy it bulk quantities. Nott a problem today, however, because we're going to need a bunch of them.

The good news is that this is the last day for grapes until March sometime; the bad news is that the grapes are not in the greatest shape. I stay in the back and pick out the best four cases (12 bags/case) I can find while Susie goes out front to pay. She's gets them for a rock bottom $20 for about 80 pounds of organic grapes. We feel delighted with the great deal. At least until we get home.

It turns out there's a bit of mold in every bag. Not a lot and if you were eating a handful here and there not a problem. Just wash and dry. Thing is we're going to be eating  about 4  pounds a day. With that kind of quantity there's no way we can be eating the grapes without a thorough cleaning.

Out comes the fruit and vegetable soap. Rinse. Wipe down each grape and inspect for bits of mold, etc. Cut off the offending bits. Bag and refrigerate.

Take my word for it.  Cleaning 80 pounds of grapes one at a time is a monumental job! I love grapes, but I must say I was sick and tired of looking at them, and hadn't even started eating them yet!

Donut Daze

I went to my office, Tim Hortons, again today. I set up shop at my usual table, reading glasses, a couple of books and a cup of mint tea. Actually, it was green tea. It seems there's been a run on mint tea lately, so there was none available.

There I am minding my own business, reading Eckhart Tolle's latest, and highly recommended book, A New Earth. In walks a middle aged lady. She sits down next to me purse in one hand and a tray in the other. She settles down. She starts in on her coffee and first pastry  -a scrumptious looking, chocolate smothered, piece with a silky-smooth, cream-filled center.

In a Tim Hortons restaurant that's an every day occurence, but this wasn't just any day. This was the 17th day of my raw food diet! I was hungry, irritable, suffering withdrawls from sugar and caffeine and God knows what else. Didn't she know better than to sit right next to me.

Her enthusiam knew no bounds. She wrapped her lips around that pastry like she was kissing some long, lost lover. Ahhhhh!!! Get me out of here.

I wanted to tell her that all the sugar was wreaking havoc with her insulin levels, the food coloring was overloading her liver, the white flour was being transformed into a sticky paste that would end up lining the walls of her intestines, interfering with food absorption. All of this being washed down with a cup of caffeine which was increasing her blood pressure. This was a serious situation. What to do?

I decided that I would save her from this nutritional disaster by offering to eat the remaining pastry. Unfortunately, my French is still pretty rusty and I couldn't get the words out in time.

I continue to be amazed at the power that food has over me. I'm sure I'm not alone. I'd love to hear your favourite food story. Just hit the comment link below.....

Fa So La

Last week I accompanied my sister to her music lessons. It was interesting to just sit and watch. She's very good and learns fast.

As I was sitting there watching and listening, there was this slight shift in perception -I was still in the room, but the sunlight shining in the room seemed to take on a mystical quality, the room became more cozy, the notes more melodious. It was as if the beauty of the music was opening up a space in my heart.

The following week....

I just got back from my first lesson with my sister's instructor, Michel. Very interesting. He spent about 10 minutes showing me the notes and how to move my fingers to hit the various keys. (I didn't realize there was a proper way.) Then we went right into playing major chords: C, D sharp, E sharp, F and G, all in the space of 45 minutes.

His approach is to get the student playing as soon as possible and get them hooked. The theory will come later. Next week we start on a tune of some kind. This could be a lot of fun....