August presents a host of anniversaries related to my health. August 13th was the 6th anniversary of my partial nephrectomy to remove a portion of my right kidney and a small tumor. Renal cell carcinoma. My first cancer.
August 24th, as I mentioned, was the second anniversary of my blog. And today is my 2 year anniversary being free of breast cancer. At this time on August 31, 2012, my double mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy were complete and I was resting comfortably. The surgery was the easy part of my treatment, and, while I know this isn’t everyone’s experience, I was pain free. I remained in the hospital only 3 days and had my drain tubes out before I left.
I got a whopping two weeks off from work, but I spent it all doing my research. I watched Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. I read Crazy, Sexy Cancer. I made hummus for the first time, tried a sugar fast, built my repertoire for juicing, measured my pH balance daily, started my vegetarian quest, and Googled everything I could think of related to healthy eating for cancer prevention. It was two short weeks but I made the most of it. And I felt fantastic! Chemo and radiation would follow, so the euphoria and high energy levels would be short-lived, but I took advantage of the time to educate myself.
So I mark this anniversary by thinking about how very much I have learned about cancer prevention and healing. To quote one of my favorite doctors, Dr. John McDougall, I truly believe “it’s the food”. And, quite frankly, this isn’t just about cancer. It holds true for any chronic disease. What we eat is the biggest factor to health. Certainly stress, inactivity, and environmental factors contribute to poor health, but it’s important that we nourish our bodies to fight what may come our way. Everything I have read and watched… every testimonial I have heard… and even my own experiences… all point to the food. Nourish your body; nourish your soul!
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IMDb: Soul Food (1997)
lights cancer action! 