Who Knew??

So as I have gone through all of this there are issues that have popped up that I wasn't aware of... Like nerve pain. If you have never had nerve pain at your joints it kinda feels like you always "just need to crack" that joint to make the pain go away. The problem is you can "crack" your joint all you want, it doesn't relieve the pain. Also the pain can be both intermittent and/or constant at any given time. The Taxol I was on caused it. No one said that after chemo I would still be dealing with all this on the level I am. I was SOOOOO really to be done!! BUT thankfully God and oils were there to help me through even this part of my journey. 

So my friends can tell you I am horrible with patience and not pushing myself. At first, that's what I thought I had done, pushed it. That's what it felt like, I had something out in my back effecting my hips. Then my knees and left arm started in. Honestly my left arm felt like someone was breaking it, not during the day... It just ached during the day. Night was when my body decided was the best time to go all out pain. I tried stuff for joint/arm issues without a lot of success. Then I tried the cellular complex topically and orally (just the recommended usage of it) and found I was having less pain. I then added a vitamin complex to the mix and yay! I found I was doing SOOO much better during the day and after a while I noticed sleep was once again MINE! Oh how I had missed sleeping through the night. :) 

Life still has its moments, with all honesty, but compared to how I felt before I am so thankful I have stuff to help me through this part. This can last a few months or be permanent. Being the arm pain has fully resolved with just a few applications I know I can beat this too. 

So hopefully knowing that things CAN be better helps someone out there. God is awesome and in his grand design we have things that we can use to help ourselves. Our natural curious nature has helped us develop things further. I mean HOW COOL IS THAT??? I am so glad to be able to use them to help me enjoy my life more. My kiddos are enjoying the fact that we once again have started visiting some of the MANY national/county parks around us. I have to admit I do too, I can deal with the fact I still have some building of muscle, endurance and flexibility again as long as I can enjoy being outdoors having fun while doing it! 

When Your Fight Just Isn't Enough

 

I have talked about my "bad week" before... Here now I sit literally getting ready to finish my second to the last cycle of chemo and I am already DREADING my last "first week" (aka my "bad week")... Five cycles and I just can't seem to beat that week!

 God completely has me, he knows I can only handle so much and still go out and share the incredible story he has given me. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for his grace and mercy that I have about 3 really bad days that I completely struggle. Yet these weeks seem to be getting tougher. I dread them more, I don't have the strength I did 2-3 cycles ago. It's hard not to wonder if somehow I am lacking in faith during these times. I have overcome and been able to walk strong so often.

I look at the fact that despite being told I would 100% lose my hair I have made it through 5 cycles without that (yes I am down to THE WORST comb over ever but yet I still have JUST enough to be able to wear my handkerchief type head gear and sport JUST enough in back to pull it off), my labs have been awesome and when they are just a little low I have been blessed to pull them back up to speed quickly. My cancer has been BEAT!! One week shouldn't beat me up this bad but yet, yup, here we are at the end of another really hard week that is even dragging into my good, easy week.

I have mentioned before I am a titch psycho about my labs. I am all over those making sure that after my tough week that I am good to go and set to have two strong weeks. I have stayed very healthy despite being exposed to a lot of different viruses over the course of this WHOLE ordeal. I am now considered cancer free (YAY), but with the numbers I have posed that's been something I have known for a while, and honestly God set that as happening from the get go for me. I just walked out with complete faith on that one... So my brain just screams "why" as I sit and look back on how last week went. It's hard to describe feeling an absolute exhaustion that rivals my early and late pregnancy fatigue. The constant waves of nausea, the dizziness and near fainting when I try to get up and move around at times. I even found myself so exhausted I had to have my teen make dinner because just the thought of moving off the couch made me so tired my whole body felt pounds heavier. My frustration with that week and my lack of ability to completely change that when I am the one that generally can take on anything just lends to all that frustration and wanting nothing more than to just have the old me back.

God is good and I have found so much to help me and I have NEVER been alone during that week. I have friends and my "oily" friends that completely support and try to work around anything I can't do. My husband looks at me with his oh so wonderful "you are my wife and I am so proud of you" look and continually encourages me by reminding me of all I have overcome and not dealt with. My medical team reminds me of how they are so impressed with how I have come through all this (ha, that IS by the grace and mercy of God)... Then I get off the phone after filling my favorite nurse Kathy in on all that I went through...  'Move' by Mercy Me comes on and I can't help but sit and dance to my "theme song" that reminds me I am so bigger than this because I have God and my faith. (Ok, so seriously if you click the link and don't dance and feel ready to just go concur everything in your way, we need to talk...)

One more bad week (after two weeks off)... ONE MORE... I look at the others when I go into the infusion center and trust me, this is so petty and whining compared to what I see others go through. I see them broken at times, frustrated as I come cheerily into their rooms. My only hope is always to bring and pass some of my faith and strength onto them. It's so hard to be this whiny and then go look into the face of someone that can't even finish the same treatment because their bodies can't tolerate it or labs are goofy so treatments get postponed... Maybe today treatment will include my theme song playing... Obviously time to pass some blessings on to others today, I get so much strength in watching God work through me to bless others.

Blessing come in many forms so I am sharing some of my favorite ways to help ease this week. God has definitely placed some great hacks that may not take it all away but do help to ease some of the cruddiness. Sometimes it's just so I can get a full night sleep or rest easier for a bit of time. I hope some of them can help others as they go through their bad weeks and fight all these frustrating thoughts. Know my prayers are always out there for anyone else going through all this.

Bad Week Hacks, just a little way to get through those tough weeks...

Digestive Blend (This unique blend contains Ginger, Fennel, and Coriander to help ease stomach discomfort, including indigestion, while Peppermint, Tarragon, Anise, and Caraway aid with digestion and help maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract.) good gosh I hate the smell and especially when nauseous, but as fast as it works it's helped me through some really rough nausea QUICKLY. Some days I put it on, quick put clothes over it and wash my hands so I don't smell it and just let it work.

Aroma "massage" Technique- my husband does these at night so I can sleep. The joint pain sucks and if I can just get enough relief to be able to rest I can heal. The aroma "massage" technique not only helps decrease that joint pain but I relax and find my nausea lessened also. I LOVE this technique.

Diffusing peppermint and a citrus oil really gives something bright and helps with a constant stream of peppermint to help ease the tummy, know though that I do need to sometimes even take a break from that because smells can get so overwhelming.

Epsom salt baths are wonderful again for helping calm and decrease some of that pain and nausea. If you add oils I use balancing blend to relax at night and when really nauseous I stick to the citrus to help lift my mood (because feeling that poorly wears on you) and actually helps some of the nausea.

Know those days can be really bad and the best thing to sometimes do is sleep and give your body time to work through the chemo. HYDRATE and keep her potassium up during that time also (V8 has high potassium) because dehydration makes things worse.

Like I said it's usually 3-4 days of cruddy then you turn around and can get up and function normal again depending on her course of chemo, which type of chemo and how frequent.

DEFINITELY talk any oil use through with her physician but all I listed are used topically and shouldn't be of issue (I use high quality, good sourced oils). Radiation is a concern because the antioxidant properties may interfere with how radiation works. Know that after radiation oils can be added again as long as there is time in between treatments .It's key that you can allow the treatment to work and then stop before the start of another...Again this needs to be an honest conversation with your oncologist prior to using high quality essential oils.

PRAYERS!!!

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

Research vs. Blog Posts

Ok, obviously I have to start this out with a giggle being that the irony in this... Well, I get it.

This is something that really is a tough one for people though. We have SO much information available now a days that it's sometimes really hard to find out what out there is truly credible. Even with research based information that I will be showing there will more than likely be conflicting research at some point. We tend to constantly be seeking, just to have someone else seek out to prove things wrong. It can be overwhelming and frustrating. I know as a person that tries hard to find credible sources I find even the most credible ones wrong at times... So what I am truly attempting to do is to give you some places to start. Especially when you are using this information to help towards what you are attempting to accomplish in your life, or with medical staff, or just to gain knowledge. 

I want to say that I do not think all blogs have wrong information or are not credible. To the contrary I use blogs a lot to get good information, link to resources, and I find a lot of valuable information regarding a variety of interests. I LOVE blogs and the bloggers that go through so much hard work to bring them. The problem for me is when I read headlines that, in an attempt to gain readership, sacrifice the true story behind the information they are bringing to me as a reader. Let's take this article for instance, Frankincense Effective in Killing Ovarian Cancer Cells Ovarian Cancer Cells, the first line in the post says that they have CURED ovarian cancer. Being that thousands of women are effected by this deadly cancer every year this is a prayer answered. So WHY are we not all being treated with Frankincense??? Later in the article is where you see "Al-Salmani said that medical professionals can take this finding to the next level, i.e., clinical trial, and develop into an alternative treatment for ovarian cancer.". Another published "cure" headline, Chemical compound in frankincense can cure ovarian cancer... So let's now look at the actual research they are quoting because they both refer to it within their posts. 

Here is the actual release by the college Christmas gift brings treatment hope for cancer patients. It's a short piece that some of the above articles were taken from. For me, in what I was looking for this at least offered a small amount of hope that if I were to use frankincense with the type of cancer I was diagnosed with there COULD be some benefit. I also kept in mind what was written in this article, Can frankincense really fight cancer?. The fact that the "cure" had not gone beyond the initial research testing was frustrating being there are quite a few articles out there using the word "cured" and "miracle" and yet no one had actually proved anything through this research other than potential in a Petri dish. Not that it makes what research that has been done null and void, but to claim to have "the magic bullet" and be able to bring this to a medical practitioner as "proof" was in no way something I could do and think I would be taken seriously. 

I don't know a person out there that doesn't want to see that "magic bullet" discovered. We all want the cure to quite a few things, not just Cancer. But until then I love the fact that we do have people searching and researching. My frustration only lies when we put out information that hasn't been proven and we put it out there as a sure thing. Below I am going to link to some research articles related to Cancer and essential oils. Know that these are for reference and obviously have shown some interesting outcomes. Most of my research I do is off Pubmed because I can link to so many different research topics in one place. Those that I can't find the full article on I google the title to the research article. Usually I can find someone that has posted the entire research. 

Here are a few interesting articles to get you started... All of these offer the hope of having plausibility in working and if you have followed my story at all even though the above doesn't officially offer a "cure" I can't deny the numbers and success I have had. This is by NO means an exhaustive list, hopefully it will give those interested a great place to start. 

Aromatherapy sticks used during chemotherapy...

Chamomile, a study showing potential for cancer inhibition

Bergamot, high in chemical constituents that have been shown to have potential cancer fighting properties

methanol extract on cytotoxicity and p53 gene expression in human breast cancer cell line.

Differential effects of selective frankincense (Ru Xiang) essential oil versus non-selective sandalwood (Tan Xiang) essential oil on cultured bladder cancer cells: a microarray and bioinformatics study.

Frankincense essential oil prepared from hydrodistillation of Boswellia sacra gum resins induces human pancreatic cancer cell death in cultures and in a xenograft murine model.

VERY Interesting study on numerous chemical constituents found in Essential Oils and how they relate to helping to treat cancer.

This one studies various Monoterpenes (a chemical within the essential oils) and cancer

 I hope that this can at least get people started reading and seeing some of the interesting information that is being studied.

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

Chemo Hack: Massage



Massage is an AWESOME way to help mitigate side effects from chemo. I use it daily during my bad week and then after my treatment the following week. This has been another life saver for me. This has also been one that I have had issues with sharing because the type of technique my husband and I use is very specific to my brand of oils. I will try to keep this broad though because I know massage in general can be so beneficial and using oils in conjunction with that adds more benefit.

As you can see by the picture I also have shown the technique I use with others because it's something that can be done at home by a family member, friend that wants to just help or whomever you know that is willing. The technique can easily be used in between professional massages, I would actually recommend that because a massage therapist is trained and able to hit areas that are problematic for those going through chemo and post surgical. I will get into that in a minute. The benefits from the technique I use is that it hits 4 problem areas most people have so while I use it for cancer right now, it has and is used with my hubby and kiddos also to help them.

The areas it helps to deal with are;

Stress Management - OK, so first off who DOESN'T have need for this in their life? Second, obviously dealing with all that you do having and treating cancer this one is key to keep under control. Stress leads to a "fight or flight" response with our bodies which is very hard on the body systems. Managing stress can help reduce illness, keep blood flow even instead of the shunting that happens during "fight or flight" taking away from organs not designed to help us in times of fear or danger. Living in an fight or flight mode also puts stress on the heart which doesn't help when you are using the meds they use during chemo that can effect heart rate and cause some "pump" issues. Hypertension from stress can also have negative effects on the body as a whole so making sure to take some time for yourself to let your body relax and return from that "fight or flight"/stress response is important.

Immune Support - This is a no brainer during chemo when your immunity is already compromised due to a lot of different factors. Most of us get exposed to so much just going out and about it's always good to be working on building that immune system. That's why probiotics are an important part of what I do daily. That coupled with the Cellular Complex, which also helps support immunity, exercise (ha, I bought a Fitbit to help motivate me to be more active), diet and using oils that help support immunity has REALLY helped me to stay healthy and strong though out the initial diagnosis, surgery and now chemo. Having this in the technique I use is just one part of a whole system to keep me fighting and ready to take on the next round.

Inflammatory Response - Almost everyone deals with inflammation but then to add surgeries and chemotherapy that destroys cells and in my case is delivered directly into my abdomen (other chemotherapies are done somewhat the same in that they are delivered directly into the effected area). Helping to decrease all inflammation allows for the healing process to move quicker. While I believe that our body does what it's supposed to, even with inflammation, too much of a "good thing" generally leads to issues, so helping the body to heal by allowing my blood flow to increase and less inflammation can be beneficial.

Homeostasis - Your body is always constantly attempting to keep itself in a balanced level of being. God beautifully designed that. At the end of this technique the use of Peppermint and Wild Orange is used to help stimulate and ground your mind back to a good place as a perfect end. Citrus oils are generally the main "go to" for issues that deal with supporting mood. Peppermint supports not only the mind but blood flow so as a completion oil it continues on what the light touch has been doing as it keeps that blood flow going after the technique is done.

My husband is SO wonderful and does this technique on the evening of treatments and we really try hard to get them in daily on my bad week. I have to admit that being it's such a light touch I always am amazed at how good I feel afterward. 

While I have not been able to get to a massage therapist I do highly recommend doing so. Coupling it with a good chiropractor makes the benefits even greater. Massage therapy increases blood flow, and adding oils that support only enhance the experience. I generally, in the past, have chosen more balancing oils. My balancing oil of choice contains a blend of spruce needle//leaf, ho wood, frankincense resin, blue tansy flower, and blue chamomile flower essential oils in a fractionated coconut oil base. I love the calming, relaxing and balance I get from that blend. I dilute it down further in an Apricot oil base so that I can have it used on my entire body without getting too much essential oils all at once.

(Research article and abstract on aromatherapy and massage therapy use on women with breast cancer)

Massage therapy also can be used to target specific areas of pain, help break up adhesions from surgeries thus reducing stretching, tearing and pain from them. Obviously I have mentioned the blood flow increase but the touch itself is very therapeutic and stimulates the limbic system. A good massage therapist can help mitigate many issues that you have from chemo or the cancer itself. It definitely helps your body to heal itself using it's own natural methods. God has a wonderful and beautiful design to how we were created, our body has many methods to help itself achieve what it needs to stay in homeostasis.

There are many different types of massage therapy and asking which type may benefit you the most for whatever you may be dealing with may lead you to discover a different massage type that you may not have thought of.

I realize I mentioned the technique listed above, for those interested in learning more on that please feel free to contact me privately for more information. My e-mail is lifeontheurbanfarm(at)gmail(dot)com (I have to write it out to keep from "bots" or "spammers" just write out my email in the conventional form when emailing me).

Before trying ANY of the hacks I post PLEASE make sure that you discuss this with your healthcare provider to ensure they don't have concerns or objections due to a potential to interfere with your treatment. I have a very open and honest dialog with my whole team. Know that there are times that they have voiced concerns. I use research and common sense in what I do to help mitigate my treatment issues, they have all been approved and talked over with my team. I encourage others to do the same if they use these. Sometimes using tools such as Pub Med helps to bring researched based rationale into why I use the oils I do, and allows my team to make a researched based informed decision also.

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

 

 

Some Days It's The Lessons Learned



I am now officially half way through my chemo treatments.. YAY!! By now though I would think with the constant pushing and NAGGING (hee hee) from my favorite nurse Kathy that I would remember to HYDRATE WELL on my IP (intra peritoneal) days!! As nurse Nikki handed me my labs showing where I was blood work wise she told me I was dehydrated, I haven't been dehydrated during any of my labs this far.  It completely made it worse that I knew Sunday (I get labs every Monday) I had really been hydrating well. That meant that last week as I struggled through my bad days that I could have helped that out with drinking more water. Not a fun lesson but one that is now definitely well remembered for next cycle.

Because of my lack of pulling all the fluid off well last week it still was there a little this week which made my IP chemo even more ouchie yesterday. Honestly this was a tough lesson to learn. BUT, I met the coolest lady at the infusion center. We all have separate rooms so there isn't a lot of contact with other patients. She was waiting for me to come out of the restroom (I definitely was working the hydration this time) as we giggled about the fact that there is only one restroom amongst a bunch of women being pumped full of fluid, we made a little bond. Then she stopped at my room on her way back to hers. We happened to be at the end of a nice quiet hallway with just two of us down there which was good because for as chatty as I am she was too. She had a glow and warmth about her and ROCKED the no hair look far better than I ever will as it continues to come out. We plan to meet up and chat next cycle again. Totally made the whole cruddy session better to see such a great shining face that was so friendly!! I feel bad though because I owe it to her to tell her how beautiful she was and I didn't. She kept asking how I still had hair and I was thinking how do you make not having hair look so good??? Now I have to wait weeks to tell her... Another lesson learned, don't pass up a wonderful opportunity to tell someone how awesome they are and look.

There yah go, my lessons for this week =)

Some Days Just Stink....



Yup, despite all I do some days just suck plain and simple... I work hard to mitigate so many of my side effects and 85% of the time I do great but I have these 3-4 days that I can't seem to manage to fully get rid of. Trust me, no I am NOT complaining... I just can't have all this on here without sharing that yes I have days that I just can't get past the side effects. OK, yet, I still hold out hope that I can find SOME combination to even make those bad days just a bit better. My goal is always "more better days". For now though I make it through these days grateful when they are over.

I swear the reason I can't get past those days is a nice reminder to slow down and just heal a little... OK, so that's what I'm going with. Those days also remind me why I work hard to get my story out, to help others. For all those that are going through this it sucks, I GET IT, every cycle I am reminded as to how hard this is. This is a humbling week for me, every time I go through it I am reminded that I can only do so much.

I do get through it though, that's always my good news. I know by Sunday I will be ready to head to church with my crew. As I haul myself out of bed Thursday and feel the nausea, the pain from still having a lot of fluid in my abdomen and that overwhelming just sick feeling I KNOW that it's just a matter of days before this is over again. I have now been through it 3 times as I am writing this and yet every time somehow I forget how cruddy it was the week before. Nurse Kathy gets my whiny e-mail every first week of the cycle as to how I am cursing the team at how I feel. It takes everything I have just to get downstairs and sit for a bit before I get the kiddos up, dressed, cleaning their rooms (with constant reminders to do so), fed and out the door. My husband gets up and gets ready at that time also and leaves somewhere in the middle of all that. After everyone leaves I usually manage to get a bath drawn so I can just soak. I sit there for a half hour in my grapefruit smelling tub breathing in the citrus just working to get through so I can get out, shower and at the very least get the sheets in the wash so I can wash them of any chemo toxins so as not to "share" that with my husband. Then I crash on the couch to try to make it through until the kiddos get home from school and I have to start supper and get everyone off to their activities, bed or whatever comes up in between...

God and I have a lot of chats on these days because I feel cruddy, and when you feel cruddy you get bitter. I mean really, here I am trying to just make it through a few days and the kids don't seem to care and I want to be snuggled but my husband has to work and then comes home tired and late from work because that's just how it is... where is my time? Why really do I have to go through this? Can't we just work out that I can find that "hack" to make these days better?

Honestly I hate those days and those thoughts. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend... I am not alone in what I am dealing with and frankly I have been blessed with a very smooth course during this whole cancer deal. I shouldn't have those thoughts, but then again we are all broken and all have our moments. How do I rank that somehow I wouldn't have those? So I am working on it. I am still a little stubborn on giving EVERYTHING to God. Oh not that I don't ask and think I am, trust me I am good at asking. I have every intention and then when it doesn't go as I planned (like 3-4 days that I can't manage my side effects) somehow I find myself trying to change things myself instead of trusting the same God that has blessed me every turn throughout this process. REALLY? I sit here now giggling at myself. I can do that though because today is day 6 and I have yet again made it through another cruddy first week. Praise God, right?

Attitude has been a constant in my life. I know that if I stay positive, which I do through walking on my faith, that I can make it through ANYTHING. I count on that. Bigger picture has always been a thing for me, it was for my mom too and I thank her for that. Bigger picture says this is 5 months out of 42 years, and God has already stood RIGHT by my side. I have this and it's but a small bit of time. Granted right now and ESPECIALLY on my bad week, it seems to drag on sometimes feeling like it's at a standstill. Tomorrow marks half way through all this. If I can't see that light at the end of this tunnel, then I have failed myself. For me failure isn't an option. Death, that's not even failure if I have fought all I can, stayed true to my faith, walked on God's promises, and known in my heart of hearts that I have done all I can. EVERY day I look at all the blessings I have, every day I look at all I have been given... because cancer wasn't given by God. God gave me the ability to stand on his word, to show others that this CAN be beat, to encourage, strengthen, and find ways to make these bad days better. I am so humbled and thankful to be able to do that. I am thankful that cancer has been the learning experience it has because through this I have found a new way to show God's grace, his mercy, his strength, his LOVE for his children.



My friend Summer posted on her Facebook this verse that Paul wrote to the church. He was imprisoned and his humbleness and thankfulness in this chapter as he encourages and speaks is so admirable to me. Here he is very much in a cruddy situation and yet he has found that he is able to preach. He has found that the bad actually has opened doors... I hear his thankfulness in that. He talks in Philippians of shining as a light to the world, of being humble, not being in your own interests... He admits his past fault but yet reminds us of God's mercy throughout. I love Paul and his life. I am so broken and yet that doesn't have to be ME, I can get through this and see God's abundant grace and mercy.

Paul's humbleness and his strength through God is what I want to take with me next cycle. I want to make sure that I too am walking as he did, again, I am not alone nor am I going through more than anyone else. I am so thankful for those that can be an inspiration and that encouraging example of what I can be through Christ. As he goes on, stating in Phil 4:11 - 13, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance. I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me." I have to pause and see that God is so good and he has been down this road with others. I need to just hand this all over and trust that this will turn out as it should.

All I can end this with this is how I get through my cruddy days. THIS is how I find strength and keep going. I am not the first and CERTAINLY not the last. Great things await me in my life and I am thankful that I am able to get through what I have to. This is so that I can get to those days with a humbled, grateful heart. Those bad days are going to be there, yet bad days vs. ALL the good days it's worth the time to remember that God is there and he has this all covered. He's been here before and knows the way out and all I have to do is count on that.

Really?? The Hair Has To Go???



My rant...

So some days are tough and the day that I went to take a shower, 15 days after the start of chemo, and I realized my hair was coming out SUCKED... It was sickening. I had been told at about day 14 it would start to go, I had been DREADING that day. I tried hard to imagine it so I could prepare for it but on that 15th day I stood there with hair just constantly coming out as I washed it and realized there is NOTHING you can do to prepare for that feeling. I stood and cried, I was sad because it's me, it's part of me. I have always had extremely thick fine hair, people that did my hair commented on how thick it was. It was also a combination of hair from my mom and Grandpa with the reddish tint and curliness. I stood there just completely defeated and heavy hearted to watch that part of me go.

Beyond the fashion aspect I now, for the first time, looked into the mirror and saw someone with cancer. THAT made me just as sick as losing my hair. I actually LOOKED the part even if I didn't feel that way. I have managed to feel pretty good during this whole process and felt good about how strong I've been and how I didn't get too thin or gain too much weight as I watched my diet and kept fairly regimented. I have never really looked sick. NOW I look and I see me staring back with the flashing sign "I have cancer" because people know the look of no hair and some scarf on to cover that up. I HATE looking like that, I HATE that people would see me as a person with cancer because for me I have walked out on that I AM HEALED. I am SO not that person looking back at me in the mirror. I am healed, I am sick only one week during my cycle and at that I am not debilitated or unable to function....

That first day was hard, and when I had to go to the grocery and faced people (not that they could tell at that point) I wondered how "un-noticeable" I would be without hair like I was when I walked in with hair. No one was looking at me and wondering if I had cancer, they barely knew I was there. That wouldn't be the case when I came in bald and trying to hide the fact under a hat or scarf. How do I handle that? I am not a good person for handling those kinds of looks... I drove home and as I pulled into the garage about 2 minutes later a song came on that I love, I couldn't help it, I started to cry and just gave it to God that I am SO not able to handle this again alone. I felt as weak and depressed as the day I heard I had cancer, over hair, really? But yet I there I was and as I cried and sang the song that was on the radio station "The Message" (Contemporary Christian), I was able to just let some of that grief, sadness and frustration out.

This one is my "thing", I have more good and bad days with dealing with my hair loss than any other factor of the whole cancer experience. Some days I am happy that I don't have to shave my legs except about once or twice a month. Also honestly I do still have SOME hair going into the 3rd treatment cycle. They say it won't stay though so I am holding on as long as I can to AS MUCH as I can. I just can't shave it, I am stubborn that way. I have made it work with hats and some head things that look more like bandanas than scarves. I try to be nice when people try to help with the "just shave it, that's what my friend did" comments. It's tough though because this part of the whole process is SO out of my control and really, honestly gets to me. I actually can't stand the question "so how is the hair?" or "have you lost all your hair yet?". It literally makes me mad that someone would think so little of how I feel about it that they ask. Then the rational side says they just want to know. That starts a whole new conversation in my head as to why at all it's anyone's business and asking me just so THEY know is really something that makes me mad... That's one God and I have a ton of conversations about, Him giving me the strength not to be mad at someone that has little to no clue as to how personal, embarrassing, completely humiliating at times it can be... I definitely have to ask for strength, forgiveness, PATIENCE and just plain kindness in my heart so that I don't resent that question for longer than I already do.

For those that don't have cancer that are reading this, I hope that you can take away a little piece of understanding for those women that are in this boat. I hope that you just listen because unless asked, input usually isn't necessary other than asking what they need and just hearing that this part sucks on SO many levels. No other words need to be said other than this part is one that stinks beyond words. For those going through it, yeah, THIS SUCKS!! I hear yah and KNOW that after this is through I will be working on finding oils to make that hair grow in faster. Trust me on that one!!! Until then I give every woman that has had to deal with this aspect and those going through it a big huge hug. Also an understanding that there are no words to describe fully how much this part is one of the hard parts of this whole cancer deal.

Chemo Hack - Keeping Bathrooms Clean While "Chemo Toxic"

 

 

Ok, so this one may seem weird but to those going through chemo they know there is a 24-48 hour window after chemo treatments that they are supposed to make sure to use their own bathroom, clean after use and flush twice. They are essentially a walking "chemo toxic biohazard"... It sucks. It stinks even more because not everyone can make it so that they have their own bathroom dedicated to their use only. So in our house (since I have 5 kiddos and it's hard to tell a 5 year old they can't use the one that mommy uses". I also am not going to run up and down the stairs as much as I go after treatment when my body is ridding itself of the liter of fluid they have put into me PLUS all I drink to flush that out.

 

In my house we have on the back of the toilet in multiple bathrooms (since I was doing these anyway for the ones I use) a little container with reusable wipes so I can keep the toilet area always clean after each use. We then throw them in the basket shown to the left of the toilet and I wash them in the washing machine and air dry them when I need to refill it.

 

I just use a simple mix of;

 

1 c. distilled water

 

1c. Hydrogenperoxide 

  

 

10 drops of  essential oil for cleaning and freshening the bathroom (what person doesn't like a clean smelling bathroom?)

 

That's it, easy to mix and then I throw in the reusable rags. So simple and I can make sure that I don't expose my family to any chemo toxicity.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

Before trying ANY of the hacks I post PLEASE make sure that you discuss this with your healthcare provider to ensure they don't have concerns or objections due to a potential to interfere with your treatment. I have a very open and honest dialog with my whole team. Know that there are times that they have voiced concerns. I use research and common sense in what I do to help mitigate my treatment issues, they have all been approved and talked over with my team. I encourage others to do the same if they use these. Sometimes using tools such as Pub Med helps to bring researched based rationale into why I use the oils I do, and allows my team to make a researched based informed decision also.
 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

 

 





Chemo Hack - "Detox" Epsom Salt Baths

 

 

Oh how I LOVE my Epsom salt baths.... THESE have been a real life saver for me during treatment weeks. I get SO sore from the IP (Intraperitoneal) Infusions. Plus the first one I get makes me SICK for a whole week. I haven't been vomiting sick but the best way to describe it is feeling like I am coming down with a really bad flu. YUCK, so what I have found is that after treatments (and getting kids fed and I bed) I sit and soak for a half hour in my "detox" bath at night. In the morning then I get the kiddos off to school and put some good citrus oils in with my favorite being grapefruit. Usually the first 3 days after my 2 days of chemo are my worst. Smells bug me anyway and some of my oils can be too much for me but the citrus ones work great and that and my bath help to calm my stomach until I can take the meds I need to PLUS they are a great uplifting way to start my day. That week one of my cycle generally ends up being a "work week" of me doing catch up on my business emails and such because I don't generally want to do much more than sit. I allow myself that, BUT don't think I am not working to change it. I have plans for this next cycle to see if I can get week one even more productive and give me more "better days" so I can feel a little more normal... I do these baths daily during the first week of my cycle in the mornings. It really does help. On my second week where my IP chemo doesn't have the extreme side effects I do it on the night of my treatment and the next morning to help my body to pull off the fluid and calm any residual pain I may have... These are my number one recommendation to friends that ask for any ideas to help people going through chemo. It's so versatile and I can use the oils that I need to help the symptoms giving me the most grief.

 

My favorites are;

 

On chemo night I use a balancing/grounding blend to help me calm down after all that chemo and the meds bring. It's a great way also to get ready to sleep at night being that can be a problem for me. My balancing/grounding blend contains spruce, rosewood, blue tansy, frankincense and fractionated coconut oil.

 

Grapefruit mixed with frankincense or wild orange work great on post chemo days for me

 

Grapefruit, lime, wild orange, or lemon just one of them is a simple, refreshing start to my day.

 

Grapefruit (do you see a pattern? Yup I LOVE grapefruit) and bergamot also is a nice way to start and lift my mood for the day.

 

The reason I use the quotes around the "detox" bath is because there is very little research out there to say that it actually detoxifies the body. I mean there are plenty of blog sites that say it does but it's REALLY hard to find anything to support that theory. NOW does that mean it doesn't somehow work that way? Nope, but if I am putting it out there as such I do like to have proof, something to back up that claim. I don't, I do know that it's recommended regularly to patients by physicians for sore muscles but that again doesn't have a ton of research to back it up. One article I read from painscience.com was really interesting in their take on the whole matter. Another good article I read was from How Stuff Works and while, again, there wasn't a lot of research to back things up there is a plausible explination as to why Epsom salt can potentially detox your body. What I do know is that for me, it works to help calm my muscles along with the warm water, I have found that I generally urinate more which helps pull some of that fluid off. I also tend to sweat during the warmth of a 1/2 hour bath which is a good "chimney" for expelling toxins from the body (as anyone that has drank a little too much alcohol can attest to as it "comes out" the pores.

 

I ALWAYS follow up my baths with a shower, that way I know I am washing all the stuff I have sweated and sat in for a half hour off my body. That way I feel good about getting dressed afterward also. For those going through Chemo you know that for 24-48 hours afterward you are considered "chemo toxic" and because it can be POTENTIALLY excreted from pores it's important to get that washed off. Also after my bath I do a full cleaning of our tub. I wash all areas with a mix of 1/3 water, 1/3 90% rubbing alcohol and 1/3 vinegar. I usually add a good essential oil to that mix to ensure I am getting my tub clean. That is important so that you don't expose yourself or others in your house to the chemo that gets excreted.

 

 

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

Before trying ANY of the hacks I post PLEASE make sure that you discuss this with your healthcare provider to ensure they don't have concerns or objections due to a potential to interfere with your treatment. I have a very open and honest dialog with my whole team. Know that there are times that they have voiced concerns. I use research and common sense in what I do to help mitigate my treatment issues, they have all been approved and talked over with my team. I encourage others to do the same if they use these. Sometimes using tools such as Pub Med helps to bring researched based rationale into why I use the oils I do, and allows my team to make a researched based informed decision also.
 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

 

 





Starting A Conversation With Healthcare Providers

 

 

One thing I set out to do as I went through all of this was to make sure my healthcare team knew what I was doing beyond the treatment I was receiving from them. It's important that they are aware that when I am not with them I am still doing things and using oils that may effect how my treatment went. Obviously I have shared on here some of what I have been doing but there is more and I wanted them to know. While I will be sharing some of my "chemo hacks" later in this blog I wanted to touch on how I communicated all I am doing with my team.

 

First off I do have to take one minute to brag up the women in that picture. Obviously that's me sitting on the table but those other two beautiful ladies are my primary contact when I go in. Nurse Nikki (I am just guessing on how she spells that) is the one in purple. She was in on the surgery that literally helped change the prognosis of my cancer. Nurse Nikki was with my GYN Oncologist when he got 99%, all visible cancer removed from my abdomen. She is also the one that was there the day I first went in, she was that smiling nurse that was who I focused on when I realized my oncologist was a little strange for me. She keeps me laughing, she encourages, she is THAT nurse you want when you need someone to help lift you up when you don't feel strong enough. THEN there is Nurse Kathy, the short hair woman standing to my right. Nurse Kathy is my rock, she takes so much razzing from me and she completely matches my stubborness with hers. If I have a question she has an answer or will find me one. She questions me, especially about my oils, and makes me research and account for EVERYTHING I do, oh how I love that!! Without those two women my story wouldn't be as incredible as it is. I actually look forward to treatment days when I can go in and razz these two and my favorite chemo Kathy (different nurse in the infusion center). I have been able to stay strong, stay encouraged and go through every treatment better because of those women shown. I am SOOO blessed to have them a part of my whole story. My team extends beyond these two and includes my favorite "Chemo Kathy" who is my infusion nurse that willingly takes me and my silliness every treatment she is there (she only missed one so far), Judy who has put up with my crazy hair issues that I am having and Deb that comes in to check on my every treatment cycle. All of these women have endured my essential oil "craziness" and have listened and been very supportive. I thank God for this team and pray for each and every one of them because what they mean to my life and how this cancer story has gone is immeasurable. I can not say in words the true thankfulness I have for them.

 

So back to communicating with the team... This was really important for me being that I wanted to be open about what I was doing. Honestly I hoped to be able to make all of my treatment time easier with the oils. I wanted to be an example of how responsible use of homeopathic options through diet and oils could actually compliment what they were doing. This comes back to being a woman with a prayer and a plan. I knew God had given me an awesome medical team and the last thing I wanted to do was to make them frustrated with me. So a plan was needed to be respectful yet educate them as to why my plan wouldn't interfere with what they were doing. I also promised if anything showed in labs to be interfering I would stop doing them. 

 

My plan was simple, remember that the team I was dealing with REALLY truly care for their patients and wanted the best outcome possible. They know that their protocols work if followed the way they have it set up. Oils and homeopathic "remedies" can and have interfered with that process. So education was definitely key. That meant that not only did I need to ensure the oils I picked didn't interfere with their plan, but that I educated and showed them WHY they wouldn't. For that I needed those CA-125 cancer markers back so that I could show that they a) weren't interfering and b) were  potentially supporting in a way they hadn't seen before. Obviously seeing there were still changes in my numbers showed that if nothing else prayer and oils were not at all a problem before the chemo. I showed them studies such as the one done by the University of Leicester (Article written by the university about the study). I did explain that most of the research out there is very early and hasn't been tested on human subjects. 

 

My nurse kept bringing up that certain oils that shouldn't be used but couldn't tell me which ones those oils were. So I went out to answer that for her. What I found was a very good point brought up by renown oils expert Robert Tisserand in an answer to a question he was asked. This post on his web page was about a specific question but in the comments Robert Tisserand brought up a great point regarding using oils that have antioxidant properties. Again there is very little research on whether antioxidants would cause issues with protecting good and cancer cells during chemo (more concern is with radiation being part of the treatment counts on free radicals and oils could inhibit that action). I am not having radiation and being my numbers have continued to go down, so as long as we have positive changes (know that those numbers can go back up naturally) as long as it's not a big jump there isn't a reason to change anything.

 

Nurse Kathy, Nurse Practitioner Nikki and I then sat down (as captured by my hubby in the above picture) and discussed what I was using and I made them a whole calendar (Nurse Kathy loves calendars) of what and when I was using my oils, baths and vitamins. For them it gave a visual reference as to when I was doing what so they could bring it then to my doctor. I included the ingredients of any of the blends so they could see what oils were in those. For all of us it was a great way to openly talk about any concerns and the benefits I was seeing. One thing I found was that prune juice was COMPLETELY not me, and I didn't want to use their recommendations. I chatted with a nutritionist that reminded me of the fact that probiotics (enteric coated and containing prebiotics) could help regulate things being chemo causes constipation and I needed to ensure that didn't happen. Also due to the chemo higher doses were needed and didn't cause issues when doing chemo vs. some of the candida issues you can get normally. I was trying prune juice to mitigate that but UGH I am not a prune juice fan... SO I have been using a  pre/probiotic and that has supported my gut health during this process. 

 

For me, making this a whole team approach has been SO helpful and FUN! I know that sounds odd but I look forward to seeing the team and sharing how things went and working to come up with new ways to help and keep me from needing MORE meds or procedures. I have gained not only a medical team but friends that I enjoying dealing with and can talk things over with. I have learned A LOT about dealing with cancer and it's treatment and they have been SO willing to teach me. As you can see I am very blessed and can honestly say this is an important aspect for me. If I can't work with, learn from and ask questions from my team then I need to find a new team...

 

 

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

 





 





CA-125 Cancer Markers...

 



I have to admit I have a HUGE love/hate relationship with science... The data, research and knowledge you can gain through it's processes and ability to prove theories is fascinating. Then there is the realm of taking God out of the equation even when I can look at what they have shown and see the BEAUTY in God's design, that always tends to bug me. Then there is this weird need from a lot of science to just take the natural, God made materials and make them man made... Why?

Anyway, it bugs me to no end and I fight that frustration a lot. ON THE OTHER HAND I enjoy the fact that I can take a cruddy situation, use some science and see results that I can put numbers and truth to. My CA-125 cancer markers have offered me some insight as to how things that my medical team and I have been doing along with what seems to be showing promise. Cancer at this point has become somewhat of a "challenge" for me. It's not going to define me, so this is where I find it's usefulness to go out and help others.

First off, I just want to explain, as simply as possible, what a "CA-125" cancer marker is. To determine treatment success certain "markers" have been found that show up when cancers are present. Using these markers at the beginning of a diagnosis gives a starting point to see whether there is change in the markers during courses of treatment. That allows medical staff to change or relook at what is or may not be working and adjust. For me the specific markers for ovarian cancer are the CA-125 markers. I want to point out that unfortunately these CA-125 markers can not currently be used to diagnose ovarian cancer BUT when taken at the time of diagnosis it's very useful to be able to see a change as treatments work. Other cancers have "markers" that have been identified also, this just happens to be the numbers that I deal with.

For those that want to read more about the science behind the CA-125 I suggest starting at the wiki link. It was very helpful for me to start the process of learning about it. Basically it is a protein that is specifically released by ovarian cancer in higher amounts than normal when that specific cancer is present. They use those numbers to determine things such as initial prognosis (>65 generally carries a poor prognosis) and then as the numbers change it can help predict prognosis after treatment (lower numbers, especially <30 carry a better overall prognosis after treatment.). These numbers can be present in those that don't have ovarian cancer due to other factors making them present naturally in the body. A healthy person can have a CA-125 of 5 and not have any chance of having or getting ovarian cancer. So knowing this can help as I talk about how I have used these numbers to see some awesome things God has done for me.

I specifically STILL (I am waiting until the end of all treatments) am waiting to see the initial results of my CT scan, for me I don't need that visual at this point so I can keep full healing in my brain. I just don't need that visual. My CA-125 on the other hand has been a useful tool as I blindly was using oils before any treatment started. I REALLY wanted to see if I could set out to help increase my chances for complete success from the chemo. The more resources I use I figure the better chance of a positive outcome plus decrease my chance to have any reoccurrence.

As I mentioned in a previous post I set out just to use a couple essential oils to see if there would be a difference in my course with cancer. Those methods were a) primarily topically and b) limiting how many oils I used. I knew there would be other factors involved seeing that I have had a VERY successful debulking surgery with 99% (all visible cancer) removed and LOTS of prayer. I honestly can't discount either of those two factors. But what I have seen so far definitely has made me step back and get excited. I have seen some VERY good CA-125 numbers with just using Frankincense and the Cellular Repair Blend (frankincense resin, wild orange peel, lemongrass leaf, thyme leaf, clove bud, summer savory plant, and naiouli leaf essential oils). Obviously I know every person is different but after doing the research and seeing what early studies in a lab showed it made me intested to see things for myself.

I found out quite a while after they were taken that my initial CA-125 results came back there were at 282, well above the "poor prognosis" numbers. THANKFULLY I hadn't asked and found that out before because that would have definitely messed with me on some level. I found that out after they drew a new set (per my request) the Friday before I started chemo to see if the frankincense and cellular repair blend had made any impact along with the surgery. My results?? 14.1. Yup, BLOWN AWAY, not to mention my nurse had rarely, if ever, seen numbers change that drastically. Talk about putting a grin on my face and some excitement in my heart. THANK GOD I had just given those oils a chance. I went INTO chemo with numbers they were hoping I would be at the END. Since then I have gone through one round of chemo and kept with the oils and I am now at 7, yes, normal numbers that any average person could be walking around with. God has blessed me with the tools to make everything I have chosen to do successful in a way I NEVER thought possible. My team and friends that are familiar with and work in oncology are all very excited with my progress and change in prognosis. Attitude plays a huge role in my success also, and having numbers like this REALLY helps to make keeping that positive attitude easier than ever.

UPDATE!! Here we are now and I have completed four cycles now, I am down to 2 left and only one month left of treatment. As of the first day of my forth cycle (they only do the Ca-125 on that day) I am at SIX!!! I was stagnant at seven for 2 cycles and now instead of going up like people had been preparing me might happen I went down one. I did change one aspect before that happened. I started taking my vitamins a few days earlier because I don't need my MEDS after the last treatment. SO I have 2 cycles to see if doing that is what made my numbers go down again. I will see in a week if that's the case and then the last week I will go back to the old time that I took then and see if I level off again. I will post my results after the next two cycles so check back!!


Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

Walking On Faith

My life completely has changed, and you know what? THANK GOD

 I have cancer, I can't change that on my own. I would LOVE to, but alas I can't. SO I stepped out. I did what I have the hardest time doing, I gave EVERYTHING over to God and let it be known I am weak and broken, I can not do this on my own. I am SO thankful I did that. It's been a very humbling time for me. I tend to be someone that likes to control and make all the plans and see them through myself. For this I would have to trust and know that God's promises are true. I am so thankful for this opportunity because he definitely hasn't failed me.

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he will abide with you for ever." John 14:13-16

Telling friends and family that I had cancer has to be one time in my life that I truly saw the impact that God has made in giving me the strength he has. I was so humbled as friends cried, for me. I can not explain how that felt to hear the sadness and fear as they asked more questions and listened to my response. I am so thankful that I am able to walk out and say that God truly has this, that I WILL be healed and this will not be my end. Not one person I told doubted my resolve and they have supported, loved me, and PRAYED for me. To have a life that has surrounded me with blessings like this has made being strong so much easier.


Thanksgiving was a time to go see family and keep doing my essential oils to help support the journey I was about to take. I was able to enjoy time before heading into the whole treatment phase of things. I loved being able to see everyone and let them know that the biggest need I had was prayers and support as I walked out on my faith. Having those prayers and love with the support and strength from all of them really got me set to come back and get through the start of treatment...

Dec. 5th brought about my surgery and if you don't think that God had a plan and his hand in things... My surgery went better than planned even!! I had an incredible team that was able to get 99% (ALL VISIBLE cancer, the 1% accounts for any margins left) of the cancer!! I got that news right around my birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me. While the surgery was some of the worst pain I have ever experienced I was able to make it out of the hospital days before they thought I would and on very little pain meds, which I ditched for Tylenol and oils once I got home. I was incredibly blessed by my mother in law and her sister who came for 2 weeks to help with my kiddos while my husband sat daily by my side at the hospital. Then when I came home they allowed me a good week to just heal and get my strength back. Again, I was humbled by how wonderfully things worked out. I was able to do what I needed to and not overdo things yet heal MUCH quicker than in the hospital. Having my family there with me instead of hospital staff was much better! Not that the hospital staff wasn't great, we had a lot of laughs, razzing and made some friends in the short time I was in there. Life sucks sometimes, it's what you do with it and those who know me will tell you something is horribly wrong if I don't find a way to laugh or have a bit of fun. Attitude is HUGE, if you can find ways to stay positive and drive yourself towards ways to keep your attitude positive, you CAN overcome just about anything. No matter if my story were to end with my death I never wanted to look back and see wasted time not enjoying all the blessings I have been given.

After surgery we went out to be with family again for Christmas and that's when I really hit the ground running with planning and getting ready to tackle and win this "battle" with cancer. It was this point that I made the decision that I would work hard to see what I could do to take all that God had given me with my strength, promises, oils, incredible medical team and knowledge to help others. I figure I am in this mess, might as well take it and turn it into a positive, right? So I started on my way to hatching some plans to make this process easier, less overwhelming and help people that decided that natural AND modern medicine were the way they were going to choose to go. I knew that the two could work together but I wanted a good plan to pass forward to let others use and build upon to help them be as empowered and blessed as I was.


Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons

The Day After The Bomb Dropped...



 

I am not a person who gets depressed easily, I rarely am in such a funk I can't function, but OH GOOD GOSH Thursday was THAT kind of day....



I got up that morning just exhausted, my kiddos came down to get ready for school and by this time only my eldest knew what was going on. The night before I had pulled just him aside, at 17 he understood what all was happening and was scared, sad and really worried. So I joked with him to get him in a better place before school. Inside I was just literally going though motions that I did every day. I kissed each one goodbye before they headed off, again, a normal ritual, but today after they all left I broke into sobs. It was still all overwhelming. Then, it would all just stop. So I sat  on my couch just strolling though Facebook or playing games on my iPad. Trying hard not to think about things. Then my phone would ring and this awesome picture of my oldest and youngest at home would greet me and the overwhelming sadness of the situation would again arise. I tried HARD to keep it all together, I didn't want to worry anyone more than the words "I have cancer" put there. I had to call and tell my dad the news yet. I dreaded that call, but yet it had to be done. I don't wish on ANYONE to have to tell their parents that they have advanced stage cancer. My dad's voice said it all and he tried had to be strong but I knew how scared he was, I hated that call... It killed me to do that to him. I hated making all the calls and really didn't want to talk with anyone as people called to see if I was ok. I felt bad but it was just too much all at once and I didn't even know for myself how I was actually doing. My overwhelming response to everyone was "God has this" and to remember I was incredibly stubborn and strong, that in all my years, the trials and successes, God had been there and carried me through and yet again that WAS going to happen. I have to admit although deep in my heart I knew this, on this day I didn't have complete confidence backing that statement.

I looked up stats regarding stage 3c ovarian cancer, 40% 5 year survival rate really didn't help things. I have 6 kiddos, a husband, an awesome family and tremendous friends. I couldn't believe those were my odds of being around to see all my kiddos grow up. 4 are adopted, how was me not being there going to effect them? My one biological baby, I couldn't believe there was a possibility that I wouldn't see how he turned out, he looks so much like me. It just made me so overwhelmingly sad and frustrated. Stats are dynamic and not static so first off I knew those could be changed. So I started looking up what oil protocols were out there. I mean I had 2 weeks until I had just the surgery to get started on oils that could potentially help me right? So I just searched as many places as I could to find what oils were beneficial. I already was aware of Frankincense because there had just had a very new study published online that was showing promise against late stage ovarian cancer. The problem for me was that most protocols called for quite a bit of oils to be ingested and that just wasn't what I wanted to do. I was OK with a little yet I knew I was going to be doing chemo and the nausea factor was there so I kept searching.

Then I got a private message from my step mother in law. There was a lot more to it but one part stuck out. She had been praying in her car after hearing from us heard, yes heard, "She will not die from this"... I believed that statement. I honestly had no reason to question it. God brought us back closer to home just months before I found out. God had this nagging feeling going that I needed to get in to get the pain checked. God had this, he just did.

I kept searching for how I could go about helping my body to deal with this crappy diagnosis and found that Frankincense, along with the cellular repair blend (Frankincense, wild orange peel, lemongrass leaf, thyme leaf, summer savory plant and niaouli leaf essential oils) had shown the most promise when put in a petri dish against cancer cells. I wanted to keep it simple. I kept seeing such complex "protocols" and that was too much for me right at this time so keeping it simple was do-able. I mixed up some Frankincense 1:1 with avocado oil for it's thicker coverrage properties and then put it in a big roller bottle. I rubbed that on and then added the cellular repair blend oil on top of the avocado oil and frank because I knew it sometimes irritated my skin. I rubbed that in and took two of the cellular repair softgels (which is a normal recommendation for that supplement) and decided that was going to be my trial. I was going to see if doing just that and my vitamin supplements could make a difference. Morning I did the oils, softgels and my vitamins then at noon, at night I would just do the oils. It wasn't going to hurt anything and if I got some positive results, all the better right? Chemo was already going to happen so what if I could get a jump start helping my body to mend itself? I am one who likes a plan so having one helped.

I had an oils class that night that I chose not to cancel, so I got everyone in the house fed and off to reading and then put everything together for the class. It got me up and active since I really hadn't left the couch all day. I figured this would be a good way to do so. The girls that came were SO fun and we did the class. I told them what I had just found out and asked that they didn't make a big deal about it. Those girls turned around and went back to class stuff like nothing had just been said. I couldn't help but smile, it was a turning point for me that I will never forget. They even helped set the next class date (because they didn't want to miss the next month's class making DIY Christmas gifts) for 2 days before my surgery. I was completely up for it, why not have fun before all that mess?

It was this day that taught me that God had me in his arms and all my sadness could be taken, I could give it to him and trust him fully to get me through this and that stats CAN be changed and I was going to be one of those that did it for the positive.

- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

Disclaimer: Please understand that this information is for educational purposes only. I am a mom, I am not a doctor, I enjoy passing on the knowledge I have learned in doing these types of projects and through my research. The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. Don’t take my word for it…you should always engage conventional wisdom and consult with your medical professional to determine potential drug interactions and safety of use. Always when using essential oils for a medical condition or if on prescribed or over the counter drugs, seek advice from a medical professional (DR./PA/NP/Naturopath/pharmacist) on whether the oils will cause potential adverse reactions. 

These practices are what work for me and my family, if you chose to take and use them I encourage you take my research and do some of your own prior to using the tips I give. While I do a lot of research when putting these posts out it generally fits into what I would do with and for my family. If you have specific issues, allergies or conditions these practices may not work or may be detrimental to what you are intending to do for yourself. Again, I encourage wisdom and discussions with your healthcare provider to determine safe use of all posts that I provide that can be used for health reasons.