DIET post Apology from Joe

Joecham said:

Please accept my deepest apologies
Once again I would like to apologize the way I conducted my first posts, i know I must of upset some of you as how direct and arrogant I sounded and now when I look back at it, that's exactly what it sounded like. My intentions were truly to try and spread the word of my success through other methods,I did not want to upset people. Pete was very kind and explainded to me that people are very sensitive about what they are doing and when someone like me comes on the site and basically starts giving claims it can upset some people. I understand that preaching is not the way no matter how passionate I am about something because it defiantly came out like a sales pitch. So for the people I have offended please accept my sincere apology.

The claim I made about turning cancer on and off I was quoting Dr Colin Campbell from the china study and the new documentary forks over knives. It is the largest study conducted over 25 year work in the relation to nutrition cancer and disease.

Some of you have PM me to post my story again in a different manner as they were interested in alternative methods. From this point I will tell you what I have done and what I have been taught, I will not make any claims or promises and people can always pm me for questions you feel would be inappropriate for the board.

So firstly I would like to say hello my name is Joseph and in 2008 I was diagnosed with a satge 4 colon/ rectum cancer with a metastasis to my right lobe in my liver. The first oncologist I met with told me I had a 5% chance of cure and that I needed to start treatment right away if I was to have any chance. I was 32 years old. My father is a plastic surgeon and both my uncles are doctors and they all urged me to start treatment ASAP. I did what I was told, but first I went on a vacation to the keys with my wife and my 3 best friends because I knew I was going to have a tough road and I wanted to have a vacation before I got my butt whipped.

When I got back from the keys I went to the Cleveland clinic in Weston Florida as one of my uncles knew of a good colon surgeon there. I was told they were going to give me the most aggressive treatment because of my age and they thought I could handle the treatment. I did oral chemo with about 3 months of radiation with once a week chemo through my port. I then went tthrough a large operation about 2 months later and they removed about 2 feet of my colon and part of my liver. They also gave me a illiostem bag, I developed an very bad infection which put me in the er twice and they had to drain it for about 2 weeks. For about 9 months after the surgery I did five Fu, oxiplatin, zeloda and avastin. I smoked a lot of marijuana during this time as it really helped me get through the chemo. I had a reaction to one of my last chemo sessions and my intestine twisted, they could not operate on me because of the avastin which causes hemorrhaging, I spent 3 days with a tube in my throat I was in pretty bad shape the docs did not know if I would make it. My intestine finally opened by itself and after a week or so they let me out, I was skin and bones but I recovered. I got reconnected from my illiostemy at the end of 09 and spent the next month on the toilet literally( got some good reading done,lol). I went back to the doc after another pet scan and It still lit up in the pelvic region, my oncologist did not like this and wanted me to keep doing chemo and more treatment, he now gave me a 20-30% of cure. I decided not to do anymore treatment and take my chances else where, I dodged 2 bullets already and I truly felt I would not dodge the third, so i told my ontologist to take my port out. My mother ironically enough was a yogi and into alternative health her whole life and she wanted me to detox from all the chemo and poison in my system. If it wasn't for my family and my wife I probably would have not made it through those treatments, they made me want to live.
From this point on my life changed dramatically, I started to learn about health and nutrition, I watched the documentary healing cancer from the inside out, that really pissed me of but was an important transition for me, and then I went to a center where they teach you how to detox and strengthen your immune system so it can help fight illness in your body. Your immune system is so important in healing your body and that is what I do on a daily basis to make sure my canceridles not come back. I eat 100% raw foods I juice green vegetables with wheat grass anI cut out all sugar ,fruit and cooked grain and cut out all animal protien. This is just part of what I do to strengthen my immune system. I am following what other successful people have done for about 50 years, I have met many other people during my stay there that were in the same boat and are also doing great. this is not my protocol, I don't even know if I can explain every little detail, all I know is that my tests have been coming out negative. I took my last MRI ct scan in April and I'm still clean. I do confess I miss my steak and fries no question about it, but I feel with the knowledge I have learned and the experiences I have been through I made the right choice for me and my family. I try to help people in my area stay on this diet and I teach them how to sprout and make raw foods more interesting. It is more a mental challenge more than anything else. I have been on this lifestyle for almost 2 years now and I fall of the wagon once in a while and a eat a bag of kettle chips, I'm only human. For the most part it has been a great experience and I embrace and accepted the fact that I have got cancer because it has taught me a lot. It was a wake up call for me to change my life and possibly help others if I can. Or at the very least start p new conversations and have people explore new avenues.
I hope I was not too direct or too invasive. Please if you have any questions for me please feel free to ask me or pm me.
Sorry for the novel, I don't really like to discuss all the chemo bit because when I think about it I feel like vomiting, does that happen to anyone else?
God bless
Joseph

Way to go!
Hello Joseph,

Well, I missed the original bruhaha with your post, but I am fascinated with your story. It's always great to meet other folks on here who give green a chance. I'm so happy for you that you are having excellent success with your choices.

My story is Stage III colon cancer, 2/19 lymph pos, zero mets, dx'ed 8/2001. My 33 year old sister died of intestinal cancer in 1992. I watched what she went through during her chemo and radiation and so when I was dx'ed with colon cancer 9 years later, I said NO WAY to the adjuvant chemo of 5FU and leucovorin that was advised by the Mayo CLinic. Thankfully my oncologist agreed to work with me regardless of which protocol I chose to follow. I chose Eastern healing modalities but Western diagnostics (and surgery which saved my life).

Juicing became my foundation on which I built my protocol of vegan/macrobiotic diet, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, massage, yoga, exercise, prayer, detoxing, coffee enemas, Essiac Tea....you name it, I may have tried it. I consulted with a Naturopathic doctor who tweaked my diet and provided supplements and direction. My TCM practitioner did all the hands on stuff along with counseling. Going to her weekly was like going to a spa. How many folks can say that about their cancer treatments, eh? ;-)

I know what you mean about cancer being a wake up call. Cancer is a symptom of a deeper root problem, and if we don't address the root cause, we may end up dealing with the disease over and over and over. It's a journey and a process, and even 10 years later I am still learning new things and tweaking my diet. Two years ago I removed all grains from my diet. What a huge improvement that proved to be!!

When I came to these boards I was just starting out on my journey and didn't find one compadre who was using alternatives. As the years went on and I kept staying NED, my tone of voice, due to my passion for sharing a different path, grated many people on here. A dear friend on these boards gently pointed this out in love, much like Pete must have done for you. I have survived a maelstrom of attacks for my position but have also received umpteen posts and PMs looking for hope and information. These boards have come a long way tho', I have to say, in being more open to alternatives with just a few getting their undies in a bundle.

So YAY! I, for one, am glad you're here and had the courage to 1) post your original thread (that I didn't read) and 2) make an apology.

Welcome to the Semi-colons!

peace, emily

Pete
I've been kind of looking into a "part time" vegan lifestyle, and believe it or not, the WEB is full of ideas and help, you really don't have to rely on one person to provide ideas for you.
If you need some ideas, just type in "vegan lifestyle" and you will be rewarded with many, many options.
Also, I know that "supplements" like to be touted, but if you try to do an overall good diet, the supplements would not be as needed.
Living in a land surrounded by sea water, I'm sure there are plenty of fish to be had. I'm from Alaska originally and was raised on shrimp, crab, halibut and salmon, I'm pretty sure if I hadn't of eventually resided in the outside and discovered bread and antibiotic supplemented cows that I might not have colon cancer now. So, I ask you to consider not a complete vegan diet, but consider perhaps and research your fish world as well.
Hope this helps you out.
Winter Marie

BettyJoM said:

Hope you feel better Pete. your having a tough time
Betty Jo

Joseph u don't need to apologize , hope you continue with us!
Hugs!

pete43lost_at_sea said:

dear betty,
i appreciate the kind thoughts, its not fun reconnection struggles, but my challenges are of just poo, not life and death so
i am grateful.

they say "this to will pass"

i say but why so bloody often!
ha ha ha.

hugs,
pete

Hey pete
Don't worry
It will pass, I remember those days. I had to be pretty close to the bathroom and after a while you get so sore and irritated. I used aloe fresh aloe from the garden for the sore areas and I also had to wear diaper for a while just incase, not my proudest moment but it is all a faint memory now, and it is a blessing not to have that bag anymore. Did they stitch you up wear the bag used to be, because they left mine open to drain, that was a little freaky but it healed ok. How is the food situation is it helping with the stool? And did your doc give you any pepto I remember that helped until my bathroom trips were 3 -4 times aday rather than every hour.
Good luck Pete

Joecham said:

Your very brave Emily
Emily
I want to say that I respect what you did so much as you made a decision against so much pressure and took the path less travelled that took real courage. I was fortunate enough to be given a second chance at life to be able to take another path that has worked for me. I hope one day soon that the best treatments from Convential medicine and alternative medicine will be combined and be one standard treatment that works. There's are only a few pioneers doing this right now, I hope it will be mainstream one day soon. My original post was definitely not written with compassion for the other people on this board and Pete help me see that but I will make up for that by being as helpful as I can for people that want some advise on what I have done. Your post and story is very touching and I am glad to see that there are some people here that get it. Your health is so important it is everything.
Nice to meet you Emily
Joseph

Integrative Medicine
Joseph,
As a newbie, I missed the fine points of contention. I am trying to cover all bases 1. used breathing techniques instead of anti naseau medication while doing Folfox and 2. being encouraged by the Integrative Medicine Nurse to step it up a notch and do Tai Chi as part of my Survivorship Plan. I too am returning to the Mayo for scans and blood tests every 3 months. But I am trying to put together a more naturalistic approach to changing my life with diet, exercise, prayer from family, friends from all faiths, meditation and trying to keep a positive attitude towards life.

I blew it at my first Cancer support Group. They introduced new members first and I was currently half way through my Folfox treatment with issues so I said I would be so happy to be done with chemo. Later the group members introduced themselves and many shared they were on chemo for life. I felt they were an inspiration for me but I felt I "hurt others" sharing I was going to be so happy to be done with chemo.

Welcome back. Please share your journey.
NB