I am a new caregiver

BeCuz
BeCuz Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I am new here, but have been lurking for awhile. My heart goes out to all of you. You are so brave and such an inspiration.

My husband was dx in Nov. with early stage prostate cancer. On Dec. 11, he was dx with rectal cancer Stage III. He had an ultrasound that showed that 2 or 3 lymph nodes involved. Scans didn’t show any mets.
He has had 24 of 28 radiation/Xeloda treatments so far. Only sides effects so far are fatigue and some neuropathy. He will have surgery after a month or so and then 9 rounds of Folfox.

I have been studying diet info and have really been impressed with “The Enzyme Factor” by Dr. Hiromi Shinya. He developed the colonoscopy technique and endoscopic treatment of polyps. He has documented the history and diet on about 300,000 patients. He obviously has been in practice for over 40 years.
Here is his website, http://www.shinyamedicalclinic.com/en/index.html

At this point, I would never suggest that my husband stop chemo and go with the diet instead, but I think there is a lot of merit in Eastern medicine and we should incorporate it into our diet as much as possible. The problem is teaching us old dogs new tricks and changing to a different type diet. My husband was not impressed with the juicing I tried.

Comments

  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    Hi BeCuz
    Hi BeCuz and welcome. I know many of us have looked at diet and exercise for ourselves and those we care for. We are looking at following "Anticancer" when my husband finishes chemo. We try to to eat healthy now and **** has continued to exercise throughout chemo
    I hope we can offer you support and friendship as you support your husband.

    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • Crow71
    Crow71 Member Posts: 679 Member
    Hi There BeCuz.
    Hi There BeCuz. Welcome.
    Thanks for sharing the web site. I'm with you. The East has much to offer. Diet and nutrition are important factors in beating cancer, and living fully. Hang in there with you "old dog." I couldn't stand the "swamp water" at first either; but my dad kept making it and I kept drinking it. Now I love it!! I savour it. I drink it like I used to drink whiskey. I smell it - appreciate it - try to identify the different flavors. I find myself saying things like, "Wow. That's a really good batch of kale." or "I'm getting a hint of fennel here." or "This is very earthy. Are you sure you washed these veggies?" I know it sounds corny, but it's become an important part of my healing, and an important part of how my dad and I deal with this crappy mess.
    Take Care,
    Roger
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    Hi and Welcome!
    Hi BeCuz and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about hubby's problems. I'm glad to hear the prostate cancer was discovered so early.

    I switched to the Mediterranean Diet as soon as I was dx'd with Stage III. Studies have shown that eating properly will reduce the chances of recurrence by a huge amount.

    I'm glad to see you are not suggesting hubby stop chemo. The CT scan can show enlarged lymph nodes but only a biopsy during surgery will show how many lymphs have microscopic cancer cells. My lymph nodes looked fine on the CT and yet 5 out of 17 had a few microscopic cancer cells.

    Hubby should be taking Calcium, Vit D3, getting any exercise he can even if it's a walk around his favorite hobby store and NO RED MEATS!
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    Hi
    Hi, Welcome to the board. Glad you decided to start posting!

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • sfmarie
    sfmarie Member Posts: 602
    Welcome
    I am sorry your husband is battling two different cancers. You are wise to research alternative supplements. I often wonder with the high incidence rates if there is something in our food or water that is causing this. Anyways, this is a GREAT forum with so much inspiration, advice and support.
  • lmchils57
    lmchils57 Member Posts: 59
    New Too
    I too am new to this forum, my son who is 31 was just diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer that has moved into a large portion of his liver. I was glad to see your post as we too were wondering about diet and what to think about changing. Thanks to all of you who have also posted your advice on the subject. I took note of the calcium and vitamin D3, and have read many times NO RED MEAT.
    My son starts chemo on Wednesday, he was just diagnosed last Tuesday so they are getting on this quickly now that it has been discovered. I am glad to have foudn this discussion board as I have a feeling it may help me keep my sanity in the next weeks, months and hopefully years ahead.