Cautiously Victorious

This morning’s breakfast — green go-go juice! Yummy! Photo by Amy Rauch Neilson.

The first thing that came to mind after I saw the fruits — and veggies — of my labor begin to drizzle into the bottom cup of my juicer was the color. Green. Grass green. First leaves of spring green.

Oh who cares what color green? The fact that it was green was plenty for starters.

And then, Dr. Suess’s beloved Green Eggs and Ham. Would I, could I drink this on a train? Or throw it down my kitchen drain?

Neither. In the end, I, like Dr. Suess’s character, tried it — and though my palate wasn’t quite as thrilled as his, I’m OK with it. I’ve become a daily juicer and, after a few adjustments, it’s getting a bit tastier (first batch mishap — Theo threw in three inches of raw ginger root when I wasn’t looking. I about burned my lips off on the first sip of that concoction!)

But most importantly, I believe it works. It is working. Just yesterday, my oncologist performed a manual exam of my left breast, and guess what she found? NOTHING! She could not feel the tumor, no matter how hard she pressed or from what angle! That is amazing progress! I feel cautiously hopeful — no, make that cautiously victorious, that remission may be within sight, the light at end of the tunnel not too far away.

It does not mean that my breast tumor is completely gone, but that is the most hopeful sign of that that we’ve noted since my Jan. 12, 2011 diagnosis. Back on Jan. 10, when I discovered the tumor, it was so large I felt it through my sweatshirt when my forearm grazed my left breast. I felt it through thick sweatshirt material. That’s quite a difference from what the manual exam concluded yesterday.

And there is still the matter of ridding my body of the small tumors in my lungs and possibly my liver (my lung tumors were biopsied; my liver was not). But little by little, I will whittle away at them with the chemo, green go-go juice, vitamins, and whatever else I come across through my own studies and the direction and advice of Dr. Waldo, the specialist I’m seeing in Indianapolis, that will cause my body to reject the breast cancer cells for their rightful healthy counterparts.

I believe that our best chance of success when we’re faced with such a devious and calculating foe is to attack it from all angles: Chemotherapy, diet, supplements. I’ve changed my diet tremendously since mid-July, when I first saw Dr. Ralph Waldo, an MD, biochemist and Ph.D. in Indianapolis who specializes in individualizing your treatment based on what he discovers about your body at the blood cellular and DNA level. I go for my recheck next week and I’m very excited.

Though I missed many sessions of chemo over the summer due to low blood counts and hospitalization, my very best scan so far came back Aug. 30 — six weeks after I started following Dr. Waldo’s basic food and supplement directions.

Juicing is the next step, something that’s come highly recommended to me by cancer survivors everywhere. And I’ve continued to read and read and read and study all the information that’s out there. One of the most fascinating facts I’ve come across from several different resources lately is this:

One fundamental quality of green juice recipes is chlorophyll, which is the product of plants turning light into energy for
insects and animals to eat. Without this, life as we know it, would not exist. Some of the many amazing benefits of chlorophyll include; powerful detoxifying properties including that of the liver, as well as removing unfriendly bacteria,
parasites and mold. Chlorophyll can also improve our blood quality due to its molecular make up, similar to hemoglobin.
It helps increase red blood cell count and increases the movement of oxygen throughout our blood. It also helps the repair and growth of all tissues in the body. (Source: www.juicerecipesnow.com.)

How fascinating is that? I’m hoping that I will be able to naturally keep my red blood cells at a healthy, normal level, perhaps avoiding the need for future blood transfusions — or at least, delaying my need for them.

And, of course, I believe God and all of your continued prayers have played a huge role in my slow and steady progress. Thank you for that. I will win the race.

Please keep it up and, while you are on your knees, please also include prayers for my niece Natalie, who will undergo a preventive double mastectomy tomorrow at the age of 27. What a courageous, beautiful young lady she is. I am so very proud of her and the very tough decision she’s made. She is at peace with it and I marvel at her rock-solid faith and confidence to just go in there and get ‘er done. I come from a family of very brave women of whom I am in awe of and so very proud.

I pray that makes the difference — that she will never have to face the road I’m currently on. That’s the goal. And in the meantime, I’m headed back to the kitchen for some more of that green go-go juice. I’ll find a recipe that I love yet!

Copyright 2011, Amy Rauch Neilson