What Is This All About?

Wow - a LOT ha occurred since my last trip on my journey... On January 29, 2018, I experienced brain surgery on what turned out to be a TUMOR IN MY BRAIN!

While the long-time-ago-diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis has not been ruled out, what was diagnosed as a MS lesion in my brain was changed to a LOW GRADE GLIOMA tumor! It's kind of amazing what a relatively-new-to-me neurologist will discover after 10 years - and rather upsetting that three other neurologists will just stay with the original diagnosis AND try to prescribe a different MS drug. Although I am still trying to find a local primary care physician, all of my other doctors are located at the Yale-New Haven Hospital - not too far from home, but not too local, either.

So, why am I actually writing this - or, as the title says, what is this all about? Mainly, my focus that I want to share is what I have been trying to do that would only help the matters of my health.

A not-so-long time ago in a galaxy - well, this one... I have found something that is supposedly beneficially to healing cancer. Pau d'arco tea is that thing! Check out this link for the information that is already spelled out - no need for me to copy it here. I've started using the tea daily - 2-3 servings each day. It's how I start my day every day. Recently - well, today before writing this post - I made a 64 oz. bottle of tea to refrigerate. This was actuality a mix of 3 different teas... I used the pau d'arco, added Bigelow's Lemon Ginger tea that gives me the benefit of probiotics, and some green tea that is just all-around beneficial in so many ways.

Another step on my journey is to stick to a low/no carb diet. Sugar is a cancer fertilizer! There are so many recommendations out there that say low/no carb is the way to go. This isn't new to me, but certainly a diet that I haven't done in a while. I had great success with it in the past and actually like where it can take me again - in addition to what it can/might do for me in the tumor situation. Both the positive and negative of the low/no carb diet is the tie to the Atkin's diet. Almost all Atikn's products are poisoned by sucralose - something that I WILL NOT CONSUME IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. It's not like I can't eat what I want to, though. There are plenty of better options than Atkin's products.

What's coming up for me is my journey through chemotherapy. In this case, I'm looking forward (sarcasm, intended) to the course of PCV chemotherapy. From what I've read, it could be a lot worse. This particular series involves 29 days of my life with a 'time-off' of 6-8 weeks between each session. During 2 weeks of that 29 days, my diet will be restricted due to the drug that is used during that time. I won't be able to eat most cheeses, anything fermented, and a number of other things that contain tyramine.
On the positive side is the fact that the doctors do not recommend any radiation treatment!

So, that's where my journey is currently. We'll see how things progress...

A-Z Challenge - 'H'

I can't think of a better H-word for today's topic than honey - specifically raw honey. Raw honey is an amazing, natural food. It has to be truly raw, however. Honey that has been heated at more than 117 degrees Fahrenheit is no longer considered to be raw - above that temperature, the beneficial enzymes are destroyed.
On my journey to wellness, I have sworn off all artificial sweeteners and avoid using regular sugar. Instead, I opt for raw honey or pure maple syrup when needing a touch of sweetness. I have a firm conviction that multiple sclerosis in not to blame for my condition but rather it comes from excessive use of aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and sucralose (Splenda). While I never used the little blue, pink, and yellow packets of sweetener, I did go through a phase of drinking way too much diet soda. It wasn't long into this phase that my symptoms began. Though my suspicions had not been confirmed, I immediately swore off diet soda. My symptoms worsened even after discontinuing all aspartame and sucralose usage but, given the way that toxins are stored in the body, my hypothesis still makes sense. Today, in fact, I read an article published by Dr. Mercola regarding the topic of the negative effects of aspartame. Please, take some time and educate yourself about the dangers by visiting his site at: Victoria Inness-Brown's Aspartame Experiment.