http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/03/24/dont-believe-the-hype-10-persistent-cancer-myths-debunked/
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Week 5 - Review
Some of these are carry over from week 4 as I specifically gave myself larger goals due to the infrequency each week:
Week 5 - specifically
New:
Weekends count! - no slips! - 2 weeks solid results (complete!!!)
2 Salad replacement meals during lunch at work. - 2 weeks solid results (complete)
Research protein meal replacements (had 3 of them for breakfasts with soy milk rather than almond milk)
Get Bottled Spring water for morning commute. (incomplete - still using tap. Almost back up to full 60 oz after going through the first week of recovery. )
(room for whatever goals liz sets for me)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day. (complete)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(complete)
Remove all soda from daily consumption. (complete)
Things that I've learned:
*Soy protein power actually binds better with soy milk rather than almond milk. Otherwise it clumps and is hard to swallow.
*Adding Flax seeds to things is easy - especially if there is a binder like peanut butter. I'm planning on using more of this moving forward in just about everything; because why not?
Week 5 - specifically
New:
Weekends count! - no slips! - 2 weeks solid results (complete!!!)
2 Salad replacement meals during lunch at work. - 2 weeks solid results (complete)
Research protein meal replacements (had 3 of them for breakfasts with soy milk rather than almond milk)
Get Bottled Spring water for morning commute. (incomplete - still using tap. Almost back up to full 60 oz after going through the first week of recovery. )
(room for whatever goals liz sets for me)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day. (complete)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(complete)
Remove all soda from daily consumption. (complete)
Things that I've learned:
*Soy protein power actually binds better with soy milk rather than almond milk. Otherwise it clumps and is hard to swallow.
*Adding Flax seeds to things is easy - especially if there is a binder like peanut butter. I'm planning on using more of this moving forward in just about everything; because why not?
Recovery - update
The scar is healing nicely.
Numbness that I had in the same area became more like aching now. So I've increased the amount of Ibuprofen I'm taking - nothing crazy.
Icing the area like it's my job; well, cause it is.
My appetite is coming back. Today I had wheat bread pizza - which I soon regreted because of the huge difference in substance it was from my rice cakes and rice which I'd been eating for almost a week now.
I can really feel the difference in my body when I have something heavy like cheese. I've come to appreciate how light and fluid everything feels when I eat light and simple. I think this is just another nail in the coffin of eating "whatever is easy".
Numbness that I had in the same area became more like aching now. So I've increased the amount of Ibuprofen I'm taking - nothing crazy.
Icing the area like it's my job; well, cause it is.
My appetite is coming back. Today I had wheat bread pizza - which I soon regreted because of the huge difference in substance it was from my rice cakes and rice which I'd been eating for almost a week now.
I can really feel the difference in my body when I have something heavy like cheese. I've come to appreciate how light and fluid everything feels when I eat light and simple. I think this is just another nail in the coffin of eating "whatever is easy".
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Passing the time - my first week in recovery from surgery.
The thing I was worried most about was "what the hell am I going to do with all this time?"
Simple - whatever my mother could also handle doing. this then easily worked out to the following things:
Reruns of Star Trek - DS9 to be specific
Sherlock - the new BBC version (hooked on this).
Reading
Sleeping
Walking exercises (down the hallway - now working on down stairs/up stairs).
Things that I'm planning on working my way into today:
*reading through magazines that have been sitting, waiting to be used
*reading first chapters of all the new books my mother brought me
*recycling paper and magazines that I do not want to hold onto.
I will then work my way back into DS9 reruns, the last of Season 2 of Sherlock, and an OnDemand replay of the last episode of Vikings :-)
Other things that I've begun to be able to handle doing:
Bending over
Squating (slowly)
Standing at the sink - doing smaller batches of dishes daily. (side goal: see how long I can keep the sink this clean and clear)
Showering - will take another one today.
Simple - whatever my mother could also handle doing. this then easily worked out to the following things:
Reruns of Star Trek - DS9 to be specific
Sherlock - the new BBC version (hooked on this).
Reading
Sleeping
Walking exercises (down the hallway - now working on down stairs/up stairs).
Things that I'm planning on working my way into today:
*reading through magazines that have been sitting, waiting to be used
*reading first chapters of all the new books my mother brought me
*recycling paper and magazines that I do not want to hold onto.
I will then work my way back into DS9 reruns, the last of Season 2 of Sherlock, and an OnDemand replay of the last episode of Vikings :-)
Other things that I've begun to be able to handle doing:
Bending over
Squating (slowly)
Standing at the sink - doing smaller batches of dishes daily. (side goal: see how long I can keep the sink this clean and clear)
Showering - will take another one today.
My eating during my first week of recovery
The surgery went well, everyone at the hospital was great. My mother took care of me from Thursday until yesterday (snow is coming and she didn't want to try to travel through it).
I'm actually quite surprised at how well everything seems to be going. My pain in the surgical area is almost null, I'm eating quite well; my appetite is finally back, and I'm getting by with minimal pain meds; only because that's what's needed now (of course, I'd take more if something kicked in).
I was worried that I'd go back to old habits, feeling sorry for myself and going into a guilt spiral. My orders to my mom were clear "simple, and as few ingredients as possible." Using rice cakes instead of bread was fun and helped. They fill you and keep your portions small. More importantly for me; I wasn't filling my body with crap.
What I've been eating:
Rice Cakes
Peanut Butter (smart balance)
Water
Sprout and Clovers
Miso Soup - home made (only hot water, miso paste, carrots and celery)
Tea
Mixed Nuts
Fruit - Strawberries and Bananas.
Things I stayed away from :
Sugar
Everything I had included a small amount of salt in their preparations (meaning it was one of the ingredients) however I kept it small.
I'm actually quite surprised at how well everything seems to be going. My pain in the surgical area is almost null, I'm eating quite well; my appetite is finally back, and I'm getting by with minimal pain meds; only because that's what's needed now (of course, I'd take more if something kicked in).
I was worried that I'd go back to old habits, feeling sorry for myself and going into a guilt spiral. My orders to my mom were clear "simple, and as few ingredients as possible." Using rice cakes instead of bread was fun and helped. They fill you and keep your portions small. More importantly for me; I wasn't filling my body with crap.
What I've been eating:
Rice Cakes
Peanut Butter (smart balance)
Water
Sprout and Clovers
Miso Soup - home made (only hot water, miso paste, carrots and celery)
Tea
Mixed Nuts
Fruit - Strawberries and Bananas.
Things I stayed away from :
Sugar
Everything I had included a small amount of salt in their preparations (meaning it was one of the ingredients) however I kept it small.
Monday, March 17, 2014
and suddenly it all hits
My diagnosis of Testicular Cancer had not fully hit when I was told last Friday.
Tonight I had to call about 5 different family and friends to give them updates. My Doctor's appointment today was filled with dates, times, instructions and next steps; I've been a whirl of action.
The thing that made it real was hearing my grandmother almost not be able to keep it together on the phone. She's had both breasts taken from cancer, and my cousin has written books on this type of cancer in men, being a survivor himself.
Getting into bed I started crying; it was real.
Chemo-therapy is an option on the table. For now, however, we're simply going to remove the right one and see if the limyph nodes relax naturally.
On the bright side, I've been reading up and the survival rate for this is amazingly high: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicularcancer/detailedguide/testicular-cancer-key-statistics
Tonight I had to call about 5 different family and friends to give them updates. My Doctor's appointment today was filled with dates, times, instructions and next steps; I've been a whirl of action.
The thing that made it real was hearing my grandmother almost not be able to keep it together on the phone. She's had both breasts taken from cancer, and my cousin has written books on this type of cancer in men, being a survivor himself.
Getting into bed I started crying; it was real.
Chemo-therapy is an option on the table. For now, however, we're simply going to remove the right one and see if the limyph nodes relax naturally.
On the bright side, I've been reading up and the survival rate for this is amazingly high: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicularcancer/detailedguide/testicular-cancer-key-statistics
"Because testicular cancer usually can be treated successfully, a man’s lifetime risk of dying from this cancer is very low: about 1 in 5,000."
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Trying to get focused - Meals
Talking with Liz about the NEED to cut out fast food and crap in my diet - ESPECIALLY now that I've been diagnosed with Testicular Cancer.
Watching the Vira Living network yesterday and I wanted to get a better idea of my body type:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/kapha-body-type-meal-plan
found out I'm Kapha -
Working with Liz about meals and about prep over weekends.
Watching the Vira Living network yesterday and I wanted to get a better idea of my body type:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/kapha-body-type-meal-plan
found out I'm Kapha -
Working with Liz about meals and about prep over weekends.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
week 4 - goals / review
So this week is brought mixed results. Primarily because on Thursday I had a free Soda at work. Not that big of a deal, but as I said before, I'm taking small things seriously; devil is in the details.
That slip came about a phone call from my doctor - this week hasn't been great on that front. I had an appointment for last week, with follow ups and a specialist visit this week. Thursday brought the call of "i need you to go see 1 last specialist to rule out Testicular Cancer."
Friday - I went to that specialist - which required 2 more tests and a urine sample (my favorite when I JUST peed at work). it's highly (98%) likely that I do, in fact, have Testicular Cancer. I'm not flipping out yet, but I am trying to watch my emotional eating.
New:
Weekends count! - no slips! - 2 weeks solid results (partial week = week 1)
2 Salad replacement meals during lunch at work. - 2 weeks solid results (incomplete)
Research protein meal replacements (in progress)
Get Bottled Spring water for morning commute. (incomplete)
(room for whatever goals liz sets for me)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day. (complete)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(complete)
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work (4/5 - incomplete)
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Week 4 - Goals
This week I'm going to take on more because they're span goals.
New:
Weekends count! - no slips! - 2 weeks solid results
2 Salad replacement meals during lunch at work. - 2 weeks solid results
Research protein meal replacements
Get Bottled Spring water for morning commute.
(room for whatever goals liz sets for me)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work
New:
Weekends count! - no slips! - 2 weeks solid results
2 Salad replacement meals during lunch at work. - 2 weeks solid results
Research protein meal replacements
Get Bottled Spring water for morning commute.
(room for whatever goals liz sets for me)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work
Week 3- Review
New:
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work(COMPLETE)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.(COMPLETE)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(COMPLETE)
Full disclosure: Last night I went out to celebrate with some friends of mine and consumed 5 vodka redbulls - I didn't "count" it because it wasn't my normal consumption.
Good news:
zero soda; zero energy drinks. Nailed it.
This week felt good. I felt vindicated. I felt like I was able to pull something off with nothing but walls of free soda dangling in my face.
A visit to the doctor yesterday showed that my blood pressure went down :-) fun! wasn't even trying.
Mixed news:
Had 2 MacDonald's breakfast barritos. I felt no shame. I'd secretly added fast food as a goal this week. Special K bars and small pastries for breakfast can only do so much.
I will have to have a plan for breakfast food replacement. I was thinking protien shakes. (note to do research)
Bad news:
My weekend consumptions; I need to hold myself accountable.
Last week I slipped hard on "eat all the crap." Dominos, Wendies, Taco Bell. I did a lot of driving around - but I had no excuse. I could have chose better; flat out.
20oz water
Breakfast pastry / special k bar
*there's tons of room for improvement here.
Lunch:
whatever they're serving in the cafe.
typically it's something that's not all that great for you, but it's filling.
*room for improvement: switch back to 2-3 salads a week
Dinner:
Normally my consumption goes down after i come home. It turns into more snack food than anything.
Recently I've been behaving with portion control, and my gf cooks really amazing things.
*there's room for improvement here too.
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work(COMPLETE)
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.(COMPLETE)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(COMPLETE)
Full disclosure: Last night I went out to celebrate with some friends of mine and consumed 5 vodka redbulls - I didn't "count" it because it wasn't my normal consumption.
Good news:
zero soda; zero energy drinks. Nailed it.
This week felt good. I felt vindicated. I felt like I was able to pull something off with nothing but walls of free soda dangling in my face.
A visit to the doctor yesterday showed that my blood pressure went down :-) fun! wasn't even trying.
Mixed news:
Had 2 MacDonald's breakfast barritos. I felt no shame. I'd secretly added fast food as a goal this week. Special K bars and small pastries for breakfast can only do so much.
I will have to have a plan for breakfast food replacement. I was thinking protien shakes. (note to do research)
Bad news:
My weekend consumptions; I need to hold myself accountable.
Last week I slipped hard on "eat all the crap." Dominos, Wendies, Taco Bell. I did a lot of driving around - but I had no excuse. I could have chose better; flat out.
Daily consumption:
Breakfast:20oz water
Breakfast pastry / special k bar
*there's tons of room for improvement here.
Lunch:
whatever they're serving in the cafe.
typically it's something that's not all that great for you, but it's filling.
*room for improvement: switch back to 2-3 salads a week
Dinner:
Normally my consumption goes down after i come home. It turns into more snack food than anything.
Recently I've been behaving with portion control, and my gf cooks really amazing things.
*there's room for improvement here too.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Week 3 - Goals
New:
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.
Remove all soda from daily consumption. 5/5 days at work
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day.
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.
Week 2 - Review
Goal review:
New:
Start to remove all soda from daily consumption. 2/5 days at work complete - unsuccessful
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day. (Success)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(Success)
I was disapointed, but I can feel the momentum now. My body is reacting to not having the sugar and simply having tea and water in the morning.
I think this next week I can at LEAST do 4/5 days without it.
To keep things in perspective, there are 3 kitchens at work, all with fully stocked coolers with 8 different types; all free.
It's a big wall to climb.
Realizing this makes it easier to not be hard on myself. Seriously; hundreds of cans of soda, with no cost, just sitting there. However, one of the choices is Snapple Ice Tea. The sugar in it isn't much better.
I've got this.
New:
Start to remove all soda from daily consumption. 2/5 days at work complete - unsuccessful
Continue:
Continue with the 60 oz water a day. (Success)
Continue to keep out energy drinks from daily consumption.(Success)
I was disapointed, but I can feel the momentum now. My body is reacting to not having the sugar and simply having tea and water in the morning.
I think this next week I can at LEAST do 4/5 days without it.
To keep things in perspective, there are 3 kitchens at work, all with fully stocked coolers with 8 different types; all free.
It's a big wall to climb.
Realizing this makes it easier to not be hard on myself. Seriously; hundreds of cans of soda, with no cost, just sitting there. However, one of the choices is Snapple Ice Tea. The sugar in it isn't much better.
I've got this.
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