How I survived colon cancer

It was on my 36th birthday, the 31st of January 2005, that I discovered the tumor in my colon - five months after the birth of my first son, Hunter.

Since then, I have amassed an insane amount of knowledge about food and its affect on the body (digestion, gut health, antioxidants…you name it). I have changed my entire way of eating.

For 23 years, I had been a strict "no meat "vegetarian, eating fish sparingly. I ate so much processed soy (this alone, I now believe, can destroy a body.)

I was lying on my side, nursing my son, and massaging my abdomen. I found a lump the right side of my colon (ascending colon/cecum), and at the time just thought I was constipated (the reason I was massaging my stomach in the first place) and I wished I could have a colonic, but I didn’t want to since I was nursing, and therefore didn’t want to cleanse too vigorously.

My digestion had been off since Hunter's birth, so I knew something was seriously amiss. By April I thought it was perhaps a gluten or wheat sensitivity… maybe even Celiac's disease. Or even that I might have a parasite. My bowels were sporadic and then prolific, and I had the stinkiest gas ever!

Plus, I had been feeling really terrible for the previous eight or so months. I was constantly exhausted, and couldn’t even walk to the top of the stairs with a load of laundry without tiring myself out completely. I would say things to John, my husband, like, “I don't know why I have such dry skin, I am taking all my good oils, but I just don't feel like I am absorbing them.” Now I know it was because the tumor was in the ascending (beginning part of the) colon and received everything I consumed right away.

I would crave crazy things like sesame seeds. I virtually became addicted to raw cacao nibs, and high mineral content water. Notably, all these things are very high in minerals and tumors really crave minerals.

By May 2006, my family physician recommended I see an oncologist for a CAT scan. My blood work was alarming. I was severely anemic, my hemoglobin was a 7 (supposed to be 13-14), and the inflammation markers were all up. However, the CEA (Cancer Enzyme Antigen) was negative, and if cancer is present, the number is usually positive.

[This makes sense to me now, since the tumor was isolated. I like to think that I isolated the tumor, mainly by pounding the green drinks. More on Chlorella later.]

Colon cancer is known as the "silent killer" as it usually goes undetected until the point of 'intestinal blockage', by which time the tumor is large enough to notice, and the cancer cells have proliferated, metastasizing throughout the body.

As soon as the doctor referred me to an oncologist, my parents sent for me to return to the east coast for a colonoscopy, and a full body CAT scan. Within ten days the tumor had been surgically removed.

Dr. Joseph Bardenheier, who retired last year after a lifetime in surgery, removed my tumor. Afterwards, standard procedure is to biopsy 18-21 lymph nodes looking for more cancer. He biopsied 61 nodes, and all were clean and clear - working to keep my body alive and healthy, in the face of what it was battling.

So it was removed, and I immediately felt better. Even in the hospital, recuperating, I felt better - and no it wasn't the morphine, of which I actually took very little, since I was breastfeeding Hunter exclusively (no bottles, no plastic!). This was of the utmost importance to me, and more than once I was scolded for not self-administering more morphine.

The CAT scan had revealed a tumor over 7cm large that had grown into the bowel wall. The radiologist suggested that I move home to New York (from San Diego) for chemotherapy treatment at Sloane Kettering or perhaps Dana Farber. His diagnosis was that metastasis was surely present.

This I refused to believe, even though I only had from a Friday to the following Tuesday to digest all this information… I constantly reaffirmed to everyone that this cancer had not spread. Yes, I had a really yucky "piece of shit" stuck in my colon, but I did not believe that this cancer - simply mutated cells - had spread within my body.

Definition of Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).

Before I became pregnant, I had been living in Firenze, Italy, and despite eating like a good Italian...everyday :) … I was very thin. At the time, I attributed this to teaching Pilates rigorously, walking 45min to and from my metallurgy/jewelry school, wholesome food and fabulously simple wine. I never felt any tumor, and I had such a flat stomach that if the tumor had been that big, I’m sure I would have felt it.

As it turns out, pregnancy is known to accelerate tumor growth. The mother’s body is using so much energy that her defenses, normally firing with all guns, have to watch over the growing baby instead. Thus a tumor is able to grow and sometimes metastasize.

So, pregnancy accelerated the growth, but what pushed it out? To that, I attribute Chlorella, which I began consuming in very large quantities. I think Chlorella exacerbated the tumor and ultimately pushed it to prominence.

I will post more in another blog entry about Chlorella, since it is a huge subject to cover. If you are interested in learning more now, then follow this excellent link:

http://www.chlorellafactor.com/

I did not have chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Instead, I have used food, supplements and peace of mind to heal myself. This is why I want to share my story and my knowledge. So many people come to me now, asking me about what to eat, what supplements their children need, and how to keep their family healthy, that I have decided to create a blog of information, as a reference tool and guide.

I can’t wait to share it all with you.