Q&A Time!

 

It's Question & Answer time, kids! You might have questions for me, and I invite you to ask them. I'll get you started.

 

• Is it weird to have something inside you?

For some reason, no. It was much more weird being pregnant! Having a human inside of you? Ack!

 

• Have you gone through the phases of grief?

Not really, only wondering HOW it happened. And I get scared sometimes.

 

• Did you bring this on yourself with all that bacon?

Haha! I knew someone would be wondering this. I actually only eat bacon about twice a year. Mostly I just talk about it. Actually, you, my facebook peeps talk about it for me.

 

• Is hubby doing juicing and salads with you?

Yes, he's right in the thick of it with me. I told him to not do it for me, live your life! He wants to do it, too.

 

• Why did you get this if you were eating Whole Foods Plant Based?

I've wondered that myself. I thought I was making choices to bulletproof myself. I do know that there are generally four causes of cancer: diet, environment, stress, and genetics (genetics cause a tiny percentage of cancer, I've done the blood draw for genetic testing but haven't gotten the results yet)

 

• What are you doing besides juicing and cancer-fighting salads?

Supplements, exercise, hanging upside down, intermittent fasting, alkaline water, lowering stress. More on this soon.

 

• Will your doctor work with you on this plan?

I think so, but she's only doing what I'm requesting, not thinking ahead about my case to try to help symptoms proactively. For example, since the cancer is in my spine (T4 and T12) and the doctor said it would eventually cause fractures (yikes), I thought she might offer a bone density scan as a baseline. Maybe the cancer doesn't work in a way that a density scan would help monitor it, but I requested a scan and she ordered it for me. I would also expect her to give me advice on keeping my liver as healthy as possible before I start noticing the effects of the spread going there. Looks like I have to do my own research, then ask for what I want. Not happy with her about that. FYI, I'm getting a second opinion in a few days, and will talk to a complementary healthy physician soon. I think that type of doctor includes other therapies besides the surgery/radiation/chemo.

 

• What were your chances of getting triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)?

Here are the risk factors:

1) Race: Black and Latinx people are more likely to receive a TNBC diagnosis than white people. (I'm Caucasian)

2) Age: TNBC is more likely to present in people below the age of 40 years. (I'm 61)

3) Genetic mutations: The BRCA1 gene mutation puts someone at higher risk of TNBC. (Checking on this. I've done the blood draw, waiting on the results but the chances are extremely low.) 

 

 

Now it's your turn. Got questions?