Why did my Reishi stop working?

I was on a Reishi high. I began taking it and within 2 weeks began noticing a number of things happening.

I walked around on a high for about 3 months.  Reishi was doing all I ever wanted and more.
a. my blood pressure numbers had dropped
b. my sciatic nerve tingling had decreased by 90%
c. an overall feeling of inner peace and strength - my endomorphines were singing and doing their job.
d. I was sleeping deeply
e. I once  had 5 low blood test numbers - I now had only one low number.

After 6 months,

a. my blood pressure numbers had elevated 140/77 heartbeat 74 When I began taking it, it was 125/75
b. my sciatic tingling remained reduced
c. my feeling of inner peace and serenity had vanished.  I now feel like I did before taking Reishi.
d. I am still sleeping deeply
e. my blood test numbers had returned to about what they had been before I began taking Reishi.... 5 low scores again. (with small improvements in numbers which may be attributed to dietary changes and taking vitamin B6 and adding more protein to my lifestyle.

But, to my disappointment, my lung tumours began to grow.

What is going on?

I was taking a cup of Gano Express Reishi coffee each day and 4 capsules of the inexpensive Reishi brands.
So, I knocked back on the 4 capsules to two and added 2 capsules of expensive Red Reishi.  That was 2 weeks ago, so I am waiting to see if I notice any change.

Does Reshi wear off?
Does cancer adapt to the presence of Reishi?
Does Reishi lose its potency as the body adjusts to its presence?

These are all pretty serious questions.  Every reishi site I can find online is overwhelming with good news overkill. They tout it is the best thing since sliced bread - an ancient miracle in a bottle. If all is true, then what is going on  here? Did my Reishi stop working?

When the cure kills - or does it?

Where do you turn when you believe in your heart of hearts that the medical system is killing you but yet, they've got some pretty solid tools to deal with cancer.

Let me give you an example. I got off my diet and was unable to get amount of fresh green vegetables that I needed to keep my anti cancer train on track.  When I got home from Barbados I learned that the small tumours in my lungs had grown - not a lot but enough for my thoraxic surgeon to suggest a new form of radiation for me.  The radiation would literally fire several beams at a single tumour, from different angles and blow it to kingdom come.

Sounds good to me. But it means that I would have to take CT scans - lots of them.

Everything I read, has told me of the imporance of the Thymus gland to store lymphocyte T cells and release them into the lymphatic system.  When I looked at my most recent CT scan.....my thymus gland is not there. Its literally been radiated to death.   

Now get this. Every single doctor I have spoken to has told me the standard textbook story...:"The Thymus isn't necessary or meaningful in an adult".  

I have also read  too much radiation impacts the body's blood marrow factories and reduces their ability to produces healthy blood cells.  This has been a problem for me.

Get this.  When I talk to doctors about these issues, they look at me like I am from outer space.  I am entering a domain of privileged information for the medical community. They say things like....."You can take lots of CT scans...more then you will live long enough to create problems".

At what time does excessive radiation become counter productive?

If  I take this new multi directional radiation technique - and it is successful, does the ongoing number of CT scans impact my ability to produce cancer fighting lymphocytes?

Where does a body turn?

Self Monitoring is Important

How well do you communicate with your body? Does it tell you things?  When I was really feeling rough with cancer, I had huge cravings for foods which would feed the internal yeast machine.  They included, sugar, and yeast products. I also craved acids - colas, pickles, cheese, coffee for instance.

When I came down with cancer, and began modifying my diet, the craving didn't go immediately away.  But I noticed something interesting, that I had frequent yeast reaction symptoms to foods. I would get congestion in my chest and throat.  I noticed that my body would react to almonds in the same way.

A friend who died of cancer a couple of years ago, slowly felt his lungs filling with congestion. He coughed more and more as he began losing his hold on life.  Towards the end, he looked at his wife and said, "I feel like I'm drowning." He semed to be swimming in mucous.

Speaking personally, from what I have read, acid, and sugar and yeast are the fearsome three that promote and growth of cancer cells and tumours. They are the enemy. When I crave, then I know that tumours and cancer cells and crying out to be fed. Think about it that way.  Scary isnt it?

But there is more.  Our body also tells us when all it is in harmony.  We feel good. Our endomorphines are released and we feel really healthy.  And when we take nice long walks each day, or jog, or intentionally fill our lungs with a lot of oxygen  - we become fully alive and we are fighting fit to overcome the beast within.
.

Got Cancer? Take a Minute to Smell the Roses

Go ahead, take three minutes  out of your day to absorb the beauty of art and colour.
Its good for the soul.  Take deep slow breaths.

When I take the time to appreciate the beauty of life, a deep sense of peace and relaxation sets in.

The name of the artist is Sergey Pivtorak.

When Home Care Nurses Fail

The title of this blog got your attention, didn't it?
I have a story to tell you.  Several years ago, after my major surgery I was in rough shape.  I ruptured.
Ruptured may be a bit of an understatement. It was so bad that I  heard that Madam Toussaud,  Ripley's Believe  it or Not, and the World Book of World Records were all interested in me.  Rumour has it that I was about to set a record as the world's only pregnant male.

This blog isn't a "How I have suffered" blog. There are far too many of those, "Hold my  hand as I tell my tear jerking story" blogs out there. So, you will have to take it as gospel, when I simply write that I suffered. So much so, that the Ontario Ministry of Health paid for home care nurses visit my home every few days.
These were not the VON nurses who were my first release caregivers who swept into my life when I came home from the hospital. These nurses appeared after the VON's determined that I didn't require daily visits.

As I saw it, my greatest needs were psychological, for I was struggling through this phase of my  journey alone at home. I was lonely and dispirited. I suffered from extreme exhaustion and pain which was kept in balance with medication.

It was a struggle to do simple tasks.I could do a lot, but everything was done slowly.  I would sweep the floor for 2 minutes, rest and return to the job.  I could bathe myself, make my bed, do my laundry - but I couldn't stand for long and I would have to punctuate it all with ongoing rest breaks.

When my first home care visitor came, and asked how she could help me, I asked her, if she would prepare my evening meal for me and put it in the refrigerator. Cooking was not easy for me at the best of times.

"Sorry. I don't cook."

Another home care nurse came into my home, and asked me how she could help me. I responded that the kindest  thing she could do to meet my needs would be to talk to me for a while.

"Would you prepare some nice hot bran muffins for me, and we could put butter on them and have them with tea".

"Sorry, I don't how to prepare bran muffins."

So, as she stood before me, I hobbled across the kitchen, and took a premixed bran muffin package from the cupboard, and a bowl and I said watch me. "Mix with water," "Heat in oven" "Remove".

I realized then that they wanted to see themselves as "Professional Nurses", not maids. The sad thing is that they were putting their personal fight for professional status ahead of my deepest needs.

I suppose, had I told them that I wanted my blood pressure taken from different places on my body....from a cuff on my arm, on my ankle and around my head, they would have eagerly complied.  For all I know, they likely wished they could wrap the blood pressure cuff around my neck.

The Doctor Who Ranted

I reread this posting and decided to rewrite it.  Doctors give so much to so many people.  I was in deep pain when I wrote this entry and couldn't see beyond my own distress.

The doctor who talked to me about my situation responded aversely to me exploring the possibility of taking DCA.  I suppose it was a testimony of his faith in the system, when he reacted as he did with me.

Regretfully I was also given at that time, some information which was very discouraging about further treatment.  Information which in addition to his intense reaction, sent me deep into despair.

The most distressing part was him breaking my wife down with fear and anxiety. Here  I was, his cancer patient, leaving his office, and putting my own needs on the back burner, to support my discouraged wife.

I was confused.  If I was a doctor sitting in an office with someone with a terminal illness - how would I react if I faced a man searching for hope? Something to keep his spirit going?

I am a senior citizen. Life has taught me many things - one being, that we all make mistakes and we all wish we could replay life's musical score to get it right - if we had a second time around.  Age has also blessed me with more patience then I once had.  And, it has taught me, lessons on love and forgiveness. And, that is why I am refraining from giving his name.

He has much to learn and I hope that he never finds himself sitting as I did, before  a reincarnation of himself.

In the end, I am sure that this man overall, is an empathetic caregiver.  I have to look at it that way. I was hopefully, a blip in his personal radar screen.

I the end, I chose not to identify him, or the city or the hospital.  It could have been in the Sloan Kettering Hospital of Manhattan, or in any state of the union, or any province of Canada or for that matter he could have been one doctor or many.  The situation has universal implications for each of us to learn and grow from..

Time to Fight Back

		Are we beating cancer? The old joke among cancer researchers is that they’ve cured cancer thousands of times—in mice. But when it comes to ridding humans of the devastating illness, it’s a far different story.  Nearly thirty years after the groundbreaking discovery of the first cancer-causing gene (called an oncogene), researchers have learned only to manage, not cure this leading killer of both women and men. It’s not for lack of trying. Over the past 15 years in Alberta and across the world, there has been an explosion in research activity that has led to an increased understanding of the cellular, molecular, and genetic bases for many types of cancer. Thanks to the identification of oncogenes, which accelerate cancer’s growth, and the more recent discovery of tumour-suppressor genes, which slow it, scientists have gained better insight into how abnormal cells in the body grow uncontrollably and form cancerous tumours. Tumour-suppressor genes control the tendency of cells to die when they are damaged. If the cells survive, they might start to grow again—an abnormal characteristic for mature cells, but a common feature of cancer cells. Another function of tumour-suppressor genes is to repair damaged DNA. When that repair fails, cell mutations increase. This accounts for cancer’s astonishing ability to grow and resist almost anything scientists throw at it, says Dr. Randy Johnston, Director of the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Centre in Calgary. “Murphy’s Law seems to apply in the development of cancer,” he says. “Anything that could go wrong does go wrong.” Catching up with knowledge While the breadth and depth of knowledge about cancer is rapidly increasing, advances in cancer treatments have been fewer and slower, says Dr. Brent Zanke, Director of the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. “A lot of the therapies being offered essentially have not changed over the last two decades. There are some new drugs that have changed the way that we’re treating cancer,” he notes. “New radiation techniques are also being developed, but we haven’t seen a massive overhaul of cancer therapy.” A recently announced $21-million addition to the Cross Cancer Institute will help address this concern, Dr. Zanke says. The addition will house new world class technology that will improve cancer diagnosis and treatment allowing, for example, the delivery of higher doses of tumour-killing radiation than ever before, and with unprecedented accuracy. Surgery is the oldest form of cancer treatment. It ranges from biopsies confirming a cancer diagnosis to tumour removal aimed at preventing the disease from spreading. Other treatment options include radiation therapy, which destroys or damages cancer cells with X-rays or gamma rays; chemotherapy, which kills cancer with strong drugs; hormone therapy, which attacks the cancer with hormones; and immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. Treatment horizon positive As far as cancer drugs go, Dr. Johnston is encouraged that half of the clinical trials underway around the world represent new approaches to cancer therapy. Two of these innovative trials are based in Alberta. “We’re excited about the advances happening through Biomira Inc., an Edmonton biotechnology company. They’re conducting successful clinical trials on a vaccine for a virulent form of breast cancer,” he says. “In Calgary, we’re equally excited by Dr. Patrick Lee’s reovirus discovery.” Dr. Lee recently gained world attention when he injected live reovirus into cancer tumours, causing the virus to replicate and kill the cancerous cells. The process appears to be highly effective against 80% of cancers. Oncolytics Biotech Inc. of Calgary is currently testing reovirus in clinical trials. Innovation key to advancement University of Calgary cancer researcher Dr. Stephen Robbins says that serendipitous findings like the reovirus will be instrumental in the ultimate eradication of cancer. “It may be too bold to say, but I think classical approaches to cancer are not working that effectively,” he comments. “Surgeons can do as much as they can do. We’re improving our chemotherapy and radiation techniques, but I think we’re at the point now where we have to start with more innovative thinking. At the University of Calgary and other research institutions we’re starting to integrate ideas from other disciplines into a really comprehensive understanding of cancer.” Given the Heritage Foundation’s continued recruitment of top researchers, access to new technologies, and the comprehensive cancer data registries available through the Alberta Cancer Board, Dr. Robbins says the province’s scientists are poised to make enormous progress. His own research on signal transduction (how cells communicate with each other) looks at the intricate biochemical circuitry that connects the outside of the cell to the inside of the cell. “We work on many proteins that are involved in telling the cell to divide, move somewhere, or become a particular kind of cell,” Dr. Robbins explains. “We want to know how a particular cell decodes that signal.” By better understanding how cells communicate with each other, researchers could pinpoint potential targets for cancer drugs to make them more effective against the disease. Dr. Robbins started his career working as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Nobel Prize winner Dr. J. Michael Bishop. Dr. Bishop won the prestigious award for his discovery that oncogenes are actually a mutation of normal cell genes. Slicing through genes In collaboration with Heritage researcher Dr. Max Coppes, Dr. Robbins is also studying the molecular genetics of cancer in children. “Children with cancer are treated very differently than adults with the disease,” he explains. “Because these cancers present themselves so early we believe there must be a heavily genetic component to them.” The researchers are working on molecular profiling of pediatric cancers in order to better understand the genes involved in these types of tumours. The new gene chip technology will aid them in this research. Gene chip technology allows a scientist to look at a “snapshot” of DNA that is so precise it can show how active a gene is and any mutations it carries. It’s a revolutionary technique that will speed up the job of analyzing tumours immeasurably. Photonics Research Ontario, a provincial Centre of Excellence funded by the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology, predicts that within a decade doctors will be using gene chip scanners in their offices to accurately diagnose such common health problems as a cold or the flu. They will be able to identify which gene is causing the problem and whether or not it is resistant to specific antibiotics. The University of Calgary is establishing a state-of-the-art gene chip facility that will become operational this spring. Dr. Robbins predicts this shared provincial asset, in combination with other home-grown resources, will help Alberta researchers make improved cancer diagnoses and treatments. Beyond DNA Another new cancer fighting technology already in use at the Cross Cancer Institute is PDT (photodynamic therapy). PDT uses light to activate photosensitizer drugs that target cancer cells, to identify and then zap tumours. This minimally invasive therapy is proving highly effective against bladder cancer, but its clinical application is currently limited because of side effects. Dr. Ron Moore, a Heritage researcher and noted urological surgeon (oncology and transplantation) based at the University of Alberta, has been working on strategies to overcome these limitations. Dr. Moore is also taking part in a successful collaboration with Dr. Lee to treat bladder cancer with the Calgary researcher’s reovirus. Potentially, 50% to 70% of bladder cancers should respond to reovirus therapy. In animal testing, Dr. Moore’s lab has observed cure levels greater than 70%, with no complications. Clinical studies are now being planned. PDT is also being used clinically to treat lung, brain, and gastrointestinal cancers at other institutions. At present, Dr. Moore and colleague Dr. John Tulip are attempting to improve the accuracy of the treatment for prostate cancer. Discussing the prospect of an imminent cure for cancer, Dr. Moore suggests that researchers are making great strides in understanding what causes the disease. Whether they will ever be able to devise a simple treatment that is affordable and readily available to everyone is still an unanswered question, he says. “The ideal cancer therapy would be selective for the disease, be minimally invasive, and have few side effects.”  Future challenges While much progress is being made, researchers and doctors are facing the immense challenge of translating laboratory wonders into therapies and treatments for patients. “Our population is increasingly aging,” notes Dr. Zanke. “And the overall incidence of cancer is rising.” The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that by 2015, 15 million people will develop cancer annually. Closer to home, Health Canada predicts that by 2010, 105,000 Canadians will die of the disease every year. Estimates are that in 15 years, 70% more Albertans will be living with cancer than today—a staggering thought, although Dr. Zanke can see a positive aspect: “More people are living with cancer because the cancer therapies we’re using are working better.” Nonetheless, if these predictions come true, strong research will be more important than ever. “The strain on the healthcare system is going to be considerable,” says Dr. Zanke. “We have to focus our research efforts on trying to relieve that strain in a cost-effective way. It’s going to be through research that we’ll make true advances.”. Dr. Randall Johnston is the Director of the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Centre, the Associate Director (Research) of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and the Terry Fox Professor for Cancer Research. He is also the Associate Vice- President (Research) for the University of Calgary. Dr. Johnston receives support from the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Alberta Cancer Board. Dr. Ron Moore is a Heritage Scholar and an Associate Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta. He receives additional funding from the Alberta Cancer Board and the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Dr. Stephen Robbins is a Heritage Scholar and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Cancer Biology. Dr. Robbins receives additional support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Cancer Research Society Inc., and the Alberta Cancer Board. Dr. Brent Zanke is the new Director of Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute. He receives support for his research from the Leukemia Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Check here to read this article at source.

Fighting Cancer with Essiac Tea

I made up a couple of litres of Essiac tea yesterday.  It took a few hours, but it wasn't hard work, or anything like that. I used a commercial mixture of herbs and tea. Most of the time was spent, boiling water and the herbal mixture and making the tea and letting it sit.  No big deal.  If a fumble fisted male in the kitchen can do it, anyone can?

I took some Essiac a few months ago for a few weeks before having my natural computer assessment from Jeff. My results were noticeable.  Most of my organs were working at maximum efficiency, and my readings showed improvements over my previous reading.

Essiac - A Traditional Ojibway Cancer Cure

I have made it from the dried commercial mixes before, I got onto this since the mixes are less expensive.

I am sitting here, and writing this posting, and sipping it from a small cup.  It tastes ok. If you are one of those people who are driven by taste, (some people it seems to me are addicted to taste) I don't think you will find it offensive.

Anyway, here is a good website to consult. It answers a lot of questions and and has a lot of information.


Click here for Health Freedom Info.

The one question on everyone who has cancer's mind, is "Does it Work?"  I can't answer that for you, but I will say this.  When mamma bear discovered it in the refrigerator she was not impressed. She let me have it "Why are you taking this stuff, when its proven not to work?"  Three weeks later we were visiting with some friends, and Anne Louise (I changed her name ok?)  and Anne told us the story of her husband's battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma and how he won the battle..............taking Essiac.  He didn't take chemo. Mamma listened and heard.

Ginger and Curcumin - Miracle Plants

COMPARISON OF CANCER INCIDENCE IN USA AND INDIA:

Plants of the ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) family, one of the most heavily consumed dietary substances in the world, have been shown to inhibit tumor promotion in mouse skin. The substance called [6]-gingerol is the main active compound in ginger root and the one that gives ginger its distinctive flavor. A review of recently published studies indicate that among a host of other activities, gingerol induces apoptosis (cell death) in leukemia cells, can prevent the development of colon cancer cells, protects against radiation induced lethality and acts as a blood thinner via platelet activation inhibition (similar to an aspirin-like effect).

Curcuma longa or turmeric, responsible for the yellow color of curry powder, is a herb belonging to the ginger family and curcumin is its most active component. Turmeric has been widely used in India for centuries as a panacea for a variety of ailments. In summary, curcumin has been found to interfere with key cellular signaling pathways to arrest the unchecked proliferation of cancer cells, induce apoptosis, sensitize them to radiation therapy, and stop the formation of new blood vessels, a mechanism by which cancer cells are known to spread. These are the very effects desired to achieve growth arrest and eventual regression in a malignant process.

At least 9 clinical studies with curcumin have now been reported in humans in diseases ranging from cancer to rheumatism, uveitis, inflammatory diseases, leukoplakia, metaplasia of the stomach, and as cholesterol-lowering agents. All studies show that curcumin is extremely well tolerated in doses ranging from 4-8 grams/day, although up to 12 Gm/day have also been administered. Clinical responses of varying degrees have been reported in almost all of these clinical trials. Similarly, gingerol has been widely used for its biologic and chemopreventive effects for centuries, with more controlled clinical trials in recent years.

While spices may prevent cancer initiation and expansion, could they also be of therapeutic benefit in already established tumors, especially if given in very high doses? The intuitive answer is that the earlier the treatment is instituted in the course of the disease, the higher the probability. Two obvious possibilities are the pre-malignant conditions marked by abnormal morphology called dysplasias, or established malignancies such as low grade lymphomas and chronic leukemias where the course is so slow that a watch-and-wait policy is usually practiced. Over the ensuing years, the diseases change character, becoming progressively more lethal, at which time intervention is undertaken with aggressive and toxic approaches like radiation and chemotherapies. A good place to start may be the use of these natural substances in such conditions, especially in the earliest stages of disease evolution. The benefit from natural substances is likely to take time, a luxury which cannot be afforded in the case of rapidly growing malignant diseases, therefore the sooner this intervention occurs, the better.

Source 3 quarks daily.com. Please click here.

The Cancer Fighting Properties of Ginger

When you were young, ginger ale may have been a popular choice for quelling your upset stomach on a day home from school. For years, ginger has been used to combat nausea -- but did you know it's now also being looked at to combat cancer?

In research on tumor-bearing mice, scientists discovered that ginger can kill cancerous cells in two different ways. In the first way,apoptosis, the ginger causes the cancer cells to "commit suicide" by destroying themselves while leaving the surrounding healthy cells untouched. The anti-inflammatory properties of ginger prevent precancerous tumors from creating the perfect breeding ground and climate for growth [source: Rossiter]. In the second way, autophagy, ginger tricks the cancerous cells into eating themselves [source: Heubeck].

Research is now looking into one of the toughest cancers to fight -- ovarian cancer. Repeated chemotherapy can actually lose its effectiveness over time as the cancer builds a resistance to the repetitive treatment. Because ginger can work two ways, researchers are hoping that it would help deter resistance from the cancer [source: Heubeck].

In another study of mice, those that were given ginger had distinctly impeded human cancer growth [source:DeNoon]. The bad news is that such promising research has only been conducted on mice. The good news, however, is that it would seem that humans might be able to get the same benefit just by eating products with ginger and ginger root in them, and it doesn't take much to get to the equivalent levels used in previous studies.

Cancer prevention and fighting abilities aren't the only potential benefits you may get from adding a bit more ginger to your diet. Read on to discover a few other unexpected benefits you might gain from that extra glass of ginger ale.

Source: TLC. Please click here

Notice from Blog Editor:  Speaking personally, I would skip the ginger ale. It pretty acidic and its loaded with sugar.........two real no, no's for people with cancer.

My B6 Adventure continued

My B6 adventure continued with me doing more research, and it didn't take me long to find this listing of foods that contain B6.

Chickpeas, canned, 1 cup	1.1	55
Beef liver, pan fried, 3 ounces	0.9	45
Tuna, yellowfin, fresh, cooked, 3 ounces	0.9	45
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces	0.6	30
Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces	0.5	25
Breakfast cereals, fortified with 25% of the DV for vitamin B6	0.5	25
Potatoes, boiled, 1 cup	0.4	20
Turkey, meat only, roasted, 3 ounces	0.4	20
Banana, 1 medium	0.4	20
Marinara (spaghetti) sauce, ready to serve, 1 cup	0.4	20

Its pretty apparent that chickpeas will become part of my diet, if I am to strengthen my lymphocyte count.

And for those who haven't been following my blog, lymphocytes contain T cells, which are programmed cancer fighters. Its a risky business when your t cell production has dropped like mine has.

Here's the recommended daily requirement chart for B6

Vitamin B6 [1]

Age	Male	Female	Pregnancy	Lactation
Birth to 6 months	0.1 mg*	0.1 mg*
7–12 months	0.3 mg*	0.3 mg*
1–3 years	0.5 mg	0.5 mg
4–8 years	0.6 mg	0.6 mg
9–13 years	1.0 mg	1.0 mg
14–18 years	1.3 mg	1.2 mg	1.9 mg	2.0 mg
19–50 years	1.3 mg	1.3 mg	1.9 mg	2.0 mg
51+ years	1.7 mg	1.5 mg

Vitamin B6 is also available in natural or health food stores.

Source: National Institute of Health

             Office of Dietary Supplements

Please click here

Nutritional Value of Chickpeas. (Its looking better all the time). Please click here.