March 2, 2009

The past couple months I’ve been working quite a bit which has been great. By work, I mean back to dance gigs, judging dance competitions, teaching, and of course still a nanny to my favorite little 9 year old, Gaby. All throughout however, I’ve been on a mission to learn all I can about alkaline diet and natural healing. At the end of November I decided to give up all my medications and go strictly holistic. I’ve always been kind of skeptical of the word holistic because I never knew what it truly meant. After my first couple of surgeries and chemo, I wanted to give my body (mind and soul) a break and so I refused the drug Tamoxifen which was an estrogen blocker and standard protocol for the next 5 years. I had heard about using flaxseed oil as a natural estrogen blocker and decided to give that a try instead. I didn’t know much about alternative therapies but I was constantly getting emails about “natural cures,” and they sounded like they’d be much easier for my body to handle. Unfortunately I didn’t do enough homework on the topic. But really…who WOULD know all the answers when being diagnosed with breast cancer at 31?! You just get tidbits of information here and there and experiment with everything. Anyways, when it didn’t work and the cancer came back with a vengeance after that period of time, I decided I was done with “natural” alternatives and would just listen to my doctor. I’ll just go through all the standard therapies and take my prescriptions like a good little girl. After all, doctors know best, right?!

Then I learned about Dr. Moon, (the Korean doc) and went to Korea for highly advanced stem cell treatment and gene therapy. This worked wonders on my immune system and kept me healthy and active for the next several months. No one would ever believe I had stage 4 breast cancer! The thing was, I was still on my daily Xeloda, (a high dose pill form of chemo)tamoxifen, aridea, ( 2-hour bone infusion drip once a month) goserilin injections once a month, (monster shot in the stomach to shut down my ovaries) and he still wanted to put me on 2 more drugs when I got back to the states. One of which was Herceptin (which had a variety of side effects, including heart failure) and Avastin, which I knew nothing about. We fought really hard to get my doctors in the states to agree to give me Herceptin because they didn’t believe I needed it. Their tests showed I was Her2-, while Dr. Moon’s tests showed I was Her2+ and would greatly benefit from Herceptin. Anyways, it was a WHOLE ordeal and when I was finally approved for it, I just went ahead and started it. I got through 3 weeks of this drug and finally decided I didn’t want to go through ANY of this anymore. It didn’t feel right to me. I felt a lot of pressure on my chest; I was extremely exhausted and felt like one more dose of anything was going to put me into cardiac arrest! The thing is, this is how I was expected to live the rest of my life! I know the stem cells and gene therapy did an amazing job on my immune system and enabled me to get as far as I did, but I was going to have to keep going back and forth to Korea for more of these treatments AND continuing with all these toxic drugs for a very long time. It just wasn’t the quality of life I was looking for.

Before Korea, when I had my recurrence, I decided to incorporate complementary medicine into my regiment again. I found a nutritionist who was willing to treat me throughout this process and help strengthen my immune system and other vital organs from all the toxicity I was ingesting. I also became his research assistant for awhile. This is when my real research began. I learned so much about nutrition and homeopathic therapies that year. However, at that time I was not willing to give up the drugs because they became my security. I still wasn’t sold on going au naturale. I just wanted to tackle this from all angles. I was comfortable with this for a long time.

The light bulb finally went off for me this past November. I had learned of Dr. Young and the PH Miracle. I had been studying his books, his CD’s on cancer, and his New Biology. It all made so much sense to me. I purchased his starter pack, switched over to alkaline water, and began weaning myself off of meat, dairy, gluten, yeast, alcohol, sugar, etc. Only eating organic vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and seeds, nut and seed milk, fresh green juices, and powdered greens. I switched around my supplements so that they were all alkaline. I added chlorophyll, glutathione, NAC, PHour Salts. I began doing colonics 2-3 times a week, lymphatic massage, far-infared sauna treatments and had given up ALL DRUGS completely!

It is now March 2009 I’m feeling pretty darn good. It took me awhile to fully transition into this lifestyle and I definitely had my share of ups and downs, but things are really starting to pay off! A couple weeks ago I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Young and his assistant Dr. Matea. I was really nervous because I haven’t been perfect on this diet and I was still lacking energy. Sugar has been my biggest problem but I was given some great tips on how to curb those cravings. The great news is that my red blood count went from 3.53 to 4.05! This is considered a medical miracle! This is only seen when someone in my situation has had a blood transfusion! I am building new blood on my own with the green foods I’m eating and by my increase in chlorophyll and green juices! This was the motivation and encouragement I had been waiting for. Even with the “cheating” I had been doing, things are drastically improving! Also, the dried blood analysis showed that the colonics are really helping things as well. The before and after pictures were quite remarkable! As far as my energy goes, they advised me to slow down a bit and be patient with my body. Since my body has been through so much, it could take up to 2 years for my normal energy to return. More fresh green juices and more bicarbonates (aka baking soda) will help. Dr. Matea also referred me to a colleague of hers who can give me bicarbonates through IV. She said that should help a lot also. Anyways, it’s ALL good! I’m so happy to have discovered this pathway and I highly encourage others in my situation to research and explore Dr. Young’s work for themselves! The website is www.phmiracleliving.com. On the site, you will find many articles on Dr Young’s New Biolology, as well as great recipes, videos, testimonials and an online store to purchase supplements, food, powdered greens and a variety of other things. He and his wife Shelly also have a facebook and myspace page. They are really doing all they can to get this information out to the masses.

I realize this may be a difficult change for people when they’ve been doing things a certain way their entire lives. It does take an incredible amount of willpower and TRUST ME, I have fallen off the wagon and had many an emotional breakdown along the way. But I’d much rather go through THIS than be in early menopause, worry about my heart function, bone fractures, tooth loss, infertility, blood clots, ovarian cancer, hair loss, vomiting, nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, no sex drive, depression, DEATH!...just to name a few. I mean SERIOUSLY! That is NO quality of life as far as I’m concerned!

I plan on visiting my regular oncologist in the next couple months. I haven’t seen her in around 5 months now, and I’m sure she thinks either I’m crazy…or dead...haha. She orders and receives all my blood work, so I know she is aware of the improvements. I’ve just needed to gain confidence and strength in my decision before following up and facing possible confrontation. I’m kind of a pain in her ass. From taking off to Korea, to begging for Herceptin, to quitting all the drugs and disappearing completely…I can only imagine what she thinks…haha! I’ll keep ya posted…
Besides all of this, married life has been great. Our one year anniversary is coming up in May, (I can’t believe it) and Mike and I are talking about a much needed vacation. We lost our beloved kitty, Puma last month in a tragic hit and run. Puma came into my life a month before Mike and I met. He was with me while Mike was in Iraq, throughout the 2 year cancer battle, and passed away exactly 1 year from the date I had my recurrence. He was truly our little angel. He brought us much needed joy and comfort throughout his 4 short years and we miss him terribly. We did get 2 kittens recently however, and although they can’t replace the Pumes, they are really fun and adorable. McKenzie and Baxter play together, bathe each other, sleep together, and make us laugh…sooo cute!

So that’s it for now. I need to write little blogs more often so I’m not sitting for hours in one setting. This is a long one. Hope all is well in your lives and your New Year is off to a good start. Ooo, taxes soon, yikes. Maybe I’ll do the extension thing again…I hate taxes! Oh, here is a quote to leave you with today. It’s a good one; I have it at the bottom of all my emails. Wishing joy and health to all….Trysh

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."
- Thomas A. Edison
US inventor (1847 - 1931)