One Year Later

Last year about this time I gave an update on what all has occurred as part of my ongoing recovery. I’ve since had two more surgeries that were quite grueling in terms of recovery and healing. Both were extremely invasive and involved a significant amount of scarring and relocation of healthy tissue, stem cells, and fat to make my body look somewhat “normal” again. I don’t think it will ever be normal but it’s better than having the toxic bags where my breasts used to be. Overall I am doing really well with my ca 27/29 markers ranging between 12-20. Anything above a 38 indicates that something else is going on and that the cancer is gaining momentum and growing. I’ve discovered that when it did take off years ago, I never had any noticeable symptoms so I really had no idea that I was getting sicker on the inside. I have these cancer markers checked every three months and monitor trends over time. The numbers vary month to month and even day by day depending on if you have an underlying infection, inflammation, or some other painful situation going on. Even having a cold can elevate your cancer markers so that is why you never solely look at the numbers but other tests as well if you see the markers steadily rising over time.

I’ve placed several articles and videos that I believe would be of interest to most of you on our facebook page to help you see that there are indeed many alternatives out there. Mainstream conventional medicine doesn’t provide this information largely because they are not taught about the benefits of nutrition and supplements, what to avoid and what to utilize to enhance your body’s performance, and what to focus on. However, I also have to say that just because your doctor doesn’t have any knowledge about this information doesn’t mean that it isn’t valid or that it might actually work. I respect many doctors out there but I’m finding that many are clueless and completely ignorant of the body’s healing mechanisms and knowing what to tell their patients about the provisions we uniquely need to supply that energy to heal and thrive. You have to implement and utilize organic or quality products so that they make an impact on your overall health. Healing the body from the inside out makes sense. You have to start at the cellular level first. Just because your doctor doesn’t have this information doesn’t make you wrong. Ask your doctor what they read and study. Ask them for literature that validates what they claim. I have lots of books and printed resources that back up what I’m sharing. The studies are there and they are printed in journals but when I share this info with doctors, they are oblivious. That’s not my fault and it’s not my problem, but I am not going to believe, listen to, or rely on a provider who fails to take the time to study what role vitamins, supplements, and other foods and minerals play in the body. This is critical. We give doctors so much credit, yet they are human like the rest of us. They have busy lives as we do. I cannot stress enough that you need to become your own researcher and learn for yourself. Do not put all your trust in a doctor who is only seeing you for a few minutes. Also healing from emotional baggage plays a key role in healing the entire body. I didn’t realize until later on that I was carrying an enormous load of worry, the pressure I’d place on myself, and the constant feeling like I could never relax. I finally had to turn that over to God and allow Him to teach me what to look for and what I needed to do to heal -emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I know most of us don’t think we have to “deal with it” because it’s part of life, but I can honestly say that we do carry these burdens and they tax the body in unseen and unsuspecting ways. We literally carry it all around with us each and every day. Who would have thought?

Let me go back to the two surgeries I had in April and August. The first involved taking healthy fat and stem cells from various incisions in the legs to essentially regraft and reconstruct new breast mounds. Just to remind you, after the implants were removed, my plastic surgeon had to fix all my pectoralis major and minor muscles as they were torn and shriveled to the collarbone. That was one of the causes of the shoulder and neck pain that I was often experiencing. Upon completing that procedure back 14 months ago, I had two large scares from each armpit across my chest and that met in the middle at my sternum. I felt much better and was relieved that the bags were gone but physically looking in the mirror was devastating. Although I knew it was a temporary fix, the sight of my body in a mirror was a horrific blow. I felt grossly disfigured, non-feminine, and I hardly recognized myself. It’s not as if I stood in front of a mirror every day looking at my naked body, yet after years of seeing some type of breast mound or shape, I was suddenly aware of how distorted it all appeared. I couldn’t really look at myself because the tears would start flowing-tears of anger that I even allowed myself to go through what I now wish I had been strong enough to say “no” to and tears for what I now know I could have done differently. The pain from the fat transfer was no joke. You can hardly sit down and when you did it had to be done while gingerly holding your sides and bottom so you didn’t cause a surge of pain that radiated throughout your body. This took about 6-8 weeks of recovery, yet I still exercised and stayed on course with the diet and supplements. I also used medical cannabis as my pain medicine because it won’t hurt the intestines or liver the way narcotics do. In August, after battling with my insurance for countless weeks, where they declared I didn’t even have breast cancer or any history of a bilateral mastectomy with nipple removals, we finally got the ok the day before the surgery to proceed. I have found that insurance company authorizations were the largest headache inducer and obstacle creator to getting things done. I have since requested my own insurance case manager and she has read this blog and has personally made it her mission to help me in these situations. I am thankful and didn’t realize I could have had one all along. Nobody told me that they exist and so I share this in case some of you have excessive or extreme medical cases that seem overwhelming and hard to shoulder with others.

The August procedure was gruesome because the plastic surgeon took a large section of skin below my belly button and he used that skin to regraft nipples and areolas. He also took stem and fat cells from my flanks, inner thighs, and hips. The procedure was very painful, and altogether I had thirteen incisions with the one at my belly button being the longest at fifteen inches. I didn’t use any narcotics for this procedure. Again I used cannabis-not the devil’s lettuce it’s purported to be. No harm was done to my liver or intestines. I slept well and while I had some discomfort, I didn’t experience any of the harmful side effects that accompany many opioids. This was going to be my last procedure because I have now had 15 total and it’s time to be done regardless of how it all looks. He did a wonderful job and while most of the fat has disappeared I at least look like I have nipples and areolas now. I knew the fat would melt away and be reabsorbed by the body over time. I had to gains some weight before all of this was done. I’d like to lose the last bit over the next year if possible though,

I have lost many friends and acquaintances to cancer over the last few years. It really never gets any easier to deal with these losses because many of them have only considered the allopathic pathway and believed that there were no other options. As difficult as it is, I have also found that this is the place where God has me right now. I have come to embrace it because it’s useless fighting God’s will. I hate to see anyone suffer without knowing that there are many alternatives that they can try. I put two short videos up recently on Facebook that will hopefully enlighten you. The video with Dr. Hyman going to Sanoviv was very eye-opening. Even he, a well known NY Times best-selling author, decided to leave the USA to travel to Mexico to seek medical care for two weeks at the same clinic I visited. That is telling, isn’t it? Let’s talk about a humbling experience. He admits that the model he was witnessing in Mexico was what it should be like in America. Imagine your doctors and the team praying for you daily. Imagine having a chef prepare healthy organic food in the cafeteria of a hospital and then in turn teaching you how to make these items yourself. Imagine doctors sitting next to you to sort through every single supplement and show you how and when to take them and how to read labels so you know what supplements are of good quality and which ones aren’t. I have yet to see any doctor here do this for me or any cancer patient.

I plan to go off the last medicine I take. I was on six but now just one. I wanted to make sure everything looked good before making the leap. For someone with a stage four diagnosis that is almost unheard of but I sense God is showing me that I can trust Him for teaching me what I need to know. The medicine I am taking is Herceptin but I really hate the side effects. I have been taking supplements to counteract these side effects and now that I use the cannabis, iodine, enzymes and other supplements I feel really good. By the way, many of you ask what brands I use. I use several but my largest is USANA. I trust the USANA brand because it was founded by microbiologist and Sanoviv founder, Dr. Myron Wentz. You can look him up and read about him and what his work is focused on. I also like the fact that of all supplements out there, independent quality control companies always rank USANA supplements in the highest categories. You pay more, but you can be sure to get the best quality lab tested supplements. While I was at Sanoviv I did receive some USANA products but I also received others. Do not order them off Amazon as many sellers do switch out their contents.

God is still teaching me. I am still healing and have decided to take a year-long Healing Journeys class that is 29 weeks spaced throughout the year. I realized that I was still reeling from the trauma of all that I went through and I was beating myself up over listening to well-intentioned doctors when I should have spent more time researching all options. Ultimately I felt it was better to go through therapy with others so that we could all encourage and help one another. Going through difficult trials is often better when you have others praying for and with you. I didn’t like the idea of sitting with a counselor one on one and this method has been very helpful. I have read a TON of books on health and nutrition over the last few years.

Some of these verses among many have been very helpful to me and perhaps will be to you as well.
Jeremiah 30:17 says, “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” Declares the Lord.
3 John 1:2 says, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. ”
I hope this helps you see that even though I would not wish this experience on any of you, it has helped me draw near to the One who is in control and holds my life in His hands.

Love,
Allison