Entry September 11, 2004, Saturday

I feel pretty good today. Appetite is good. Energy is fair. Strength is improving. Of course all that will disappear next week. I can't wait to get the last cycle of chemo over with.

Starting to get the kitchen in line with the new eating plan. Last night we visited Trader Joe's in Media for the first time. We were surprised at how much of the food they sell there is already prepared. It's not a grocery store, but more of a specialty gourmet shop. The food there is good stuff, and mostly well priced. I'd go back, if only to buy more Orangina (that stuff is so hard to find).

We're cleaning out our pantry getting rid of anything that is overly processed and full of bad ingredients. Bad, evil ingredients include:

• Sugar (white sugar, high
  fructose corn syrup, sucrose, etc)


• MSG


• Partially Hydrogenated Oils


• Animal fats


• Artificial food dyes and
  colorings


• Cottonseed oil


• White rice


• White flour


• Raisins (more about raisins
  another day)


• And any other chemical additives
  that we can't pronounce.

Pasta, although a processed food, is still good because of simple, unadulterated ingredients. (Thank You!!!!!!!!)
Most jarred pasta sauces are not good because of all the crap they throw in there, including sugar and hydrogentated oils.

You'd be shocked at the variety of products in your home that contain sugar. Most of them honestly don't need sugar, and if you were making them from scratch you wouldn't even use sugar.
A big surprise was tortilla shells. Very simple bread, they can be made using good ingredients, however, most of the big-name brands contain sugar!

Oh well, I'll rant more about our pantry later.
Anyone want some free food? Come on over.

Supplemental Entry

We attended the nutrition class, but it wasn't very helpful. It seems that we've been reading so many books on diet, nutrition, whole foods and cancer that we already knew everything she had to say. Some of the recipes she suggested were pretty good.

Not to say it was a waste of time, because it's always good to hear info repeated to reaffirm its validity. Plus we got a free lunch. By the way, Trader Joe's humus is pretty good as far as store-bought humus goes. Lyn says she prefers my recipe for humus, as do I. My humus kicks butt.

Try this for a quick, easy sandwich: Pita bread, Humus, sliced tomato, feta cheese, cucumber slices and a dash of hot sauce.
If my stomach didn't fill up, I could eat this non-stop. It's that good.

Cheers,
Eric

Entry September 10, 2004, Friday

This morning we're off to a nutrition class at the Wellness Community. I forget the exact topic we're going to cover, but I've heard that these classes are pretty helpful. Everything at the WC is cancer-focused, so it may help us understand more about the kind of nutrition that is needed for cancer recovery.

Feeling pretty good today, better than yesterday. Maybe the improved weather has something to do with it. My appetite isn't back to normal, but I'm sure that'll improve along with everything else.

We should be back around mid-afternoon. I'll post another blog entry to report how the class was.

Entry September 9, 2004, Thursday

Everything went well at the doctor's office. They tested my blood and my platelets are good, white bloods count is low but at expected levels and my red blood count is lower than expected.

They're not sure why my red blood count hasn't come back up, especially since they've given me shots and put me on iron supplements. They are also surprised that I feel as good as I do with my blood levels the way they are. I guess my body is getting used to having lower levels and is adjusting.

My tumor markers were also checked and they are looking good. In July, when all this began, they were elevated pretty high, indicating that there was tumor activity in my body. Now they are described as being "normal". Normal meaning that they are at the level that everyone has all the time.

Yes, we all have things called "tumor markers" in our blood all the time, even when we're healthy. Nothing to worry about.

I got all my bug juice injected, so I'm good for another 28 days.

Feeling pretty good today, but this morning I'm tired. Maybe a side effect from all the shots I received. Not very hungry today either. OH, by the way, I gained 10 pounds this past week! All the butter-stuffed bacon paid off.

Entry September 8, 2004, Wednesday

We're off to the doctor's today for a follow-up appointment. I'm due to get my monthly shot of ... of... of some drug. I've had so many different drugs injected and ingested and inserted that I can't remember half their names anymore.

The drug I'm getting today is to help my bones heal and get stronger. Since the cancer had attacked my bones, it's important to give them bones a boost. The insurance company will only pay for this drug once every 28 days. Not 27 days, so don't try to get a healing drug into your system early.

Every time I think of it, I can't help but think of the movie 28 Days Later. I wonder if there's a connection. Maybe I don't want this shot after all.

Also, Lyn and I attended our 2nd cancer support groups at the Wellness Community (http://www.twcp.org/). So far they have been wonderful. Since I'm the only person we know that has cancer, it's good to speak with other people in similar situations.

By the way, I'm not only the only case of Sertoli that they've ever had there (no surprise) but I'm also the only case of testicular cancer that they've ever had there. Just goes to show you how rare I am.

Entry September 7, 2004, Tuesday

I've been reading so many books on alternative health and diets that they are all starting to turn to mush in my brain. It's funny how many of them contradict each other on profoundly fundamental principles.

Don't eat shellfish because they are bottom dwellers and scavengers.
Eat lots of shellfish because they contain essential nutrients and proteins.

Don't eat tuna and salmon because they are high in the food chain predators and can contain mercury and other toxins.
Eat tuna and salmon because they contain essential fatty acids and Omega-3 thingies.

Eat eggs, don't eat eggs.
No raw veggies, no cooked veggies.
Take lots of vitamins, herbs and other supplements; Stay away from vitamins, etc because they are dead elements. Get all your nutrients from food....

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
(me running down the street screaming.)

I was talking to another cancer survivor on the phone last night and she told me one of her theories: "It's better to eat a meatloaf that was made with love than to eat a weird salad that makes you unhappy." Although I'm not diving for the meatloaf, I do see the sense of the statement.

It's going to be a long road ahead trying to figure out what approach to a new diet we're going to take. But it is 100% worth the effort.

By the way, I'm feeling pretty good today.

Entry September 6, 2004, Monday

Such a beautiful day, I spent most of it outside on the porch.

Not too much to report today, pretty uneventful and feeling pretty good.

The young hummingbird is still hanging around. She probably hasn't figured out the whole migrating thing. She's probably wondering where everyone went.

The goldfinches are starting to come around to eat our Black-eyed Susans. So we're going to put the thistle feeder out front for them. Luckily squirrels have almost no interest in thistle seeds.
Now that I've said that, we're going to have a squirrel problem.

Entry September 5, 2004, Sunday

Penn State won, and that made me feel much better. Although I was up half the night with "intestinal discomfort". It lasted a few days last time I had this, so I'm not really concerned about it being a long-term problem.

I watched the Woody Allen movie "Radio Days", it was the late, late movie on channel 12. Playing the part of an 8-year-old Woody Allen was an 8 year-old Seth Green.

I may actually leave the house this evening for dinner at my sister-in-law's. It depends on how I feel. I get excited anytime I get to leave the house and NOT be going to the doctor.

I feel so stagnant sitting around the house all the time. I miss feeling useful, productive, able and strong. It drives me crazy when I can't perform even a simple chore around the house. I tried to change the bed sheets the other day and couldn't lift the corner of the mattress to finish the job. I can't clean the cat boxes because of my lowered immunity. I can't cut the grass because of the amount of effort it would take.

It's hard to garner the strength to fight this disease when I can hardly find the strength to water my pepper plants. It's frustrating to know that it's not the cancer that's beating me down, it's the freaking treatment. And to think, I'm tolerating the chemo poison much better than the average person does. I can't help but think about the effects this kind of chemo has on most other people.

All things considered, I'm very lucky, but it's hard to feel that way sometimes.