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.