27 Sep
A Day in the Life: Beating Cancer My Way
PART 1: A TYPICAL DAY ON MY CANCER FIGHTING REGIMEN
I decided it would be helpful for anyone coming to my site seeking out information on holistic/alternative cancer treatment to know what a typical day would look like on my holistic cancer fighting regimen. It took me a while to get this comfortable and efficient with my daily schedule during that time, but eventually I was able to whiddle my daily routine down to what you see below. I’ve written about many of the elements of my cancer treatment before, so be sure to click on the links if you want to know more.
A Day in The Life:
5:15am- wake up, take 3-D Beta Glucan, fill tea pot with 2 cups alkaline water from my KWK Genesis water system and start chopping vegetables for smoothie. Once water boils I pour 3 oz into my Essiac tea elixir and 8 oz into a mug with a green tea bag and stevia. I cover the green tea and let the Essiac cool. Then I rebound on rebounder for 10 minutes. Shower for 5-10 minutes.
5:50- After showering and waiting 30 minutes from time of taking the Beta Glucan, I sip Essiac tea as I chop the rest of my veggies for my smoothie. (click on prior link for more efficient way of doing this that I figured out later!)
6:00- Blend Lunch: Cancer Fighting Smoothie- (1/2 bunch watercress, 1/2 bunch cilantro, 1/8 red cabbage, 5 florets caulifower, 2 carrots, 1- 4 finger pinch broccoli sprouts, 1 apple, 1/2 c sprouted lentils, 1/2 avocado, 24-28 oz alkaline water) I also pack 25 sprouted almonds for a snack with lunch. Mix veggies in 64oz container Vitamix. Pour into 2- 32 oz mason jars. Pack in lunch bag.
6:15- Breakast: “CCFO”: Make 2/3c organic Nancy’s 1% cottage cheese with 6 Tbsp Barlean’s organic flaxseed oil. Stir with spoon then blend with immersion blender. Let sit for 5 minutes.
6:25- Eat “CCFO”- (cottage cheese flaxseed oil) on couch with my nose pinched. Pray over it asking God to heal “every cell in my body and help me have the strength to eat the CCFO.” Visualized cancer cells blowing up. Read today’s daily devotional entry from “Healing in His Wings”. Pray for my specific healing and talk with God about my anxieties. Ask enthusiastically (beg!) for Him to heal me. Sip green tea in between bites.
6:55- Get dressed quickly, put makeup on if time. Take 26 caplets of various supplements- Dr.Williams Daily Advantage multi-vitamins, fish oil, Vitamin C and Green Tea Extract, Vitamin D, Selenium, Magnesium, 8 barley power tablets.
7:15- Leave for work. (I live close by- Thank God!)
7:30- Arrive in classroom, make 2nd cup of green tea, put smoothies in fridge.
8:00- School starts.
10:00- Have sprouted almonds for snack. Make a glass of filtered water with my portable Waterman filter.
11:45- Bring students to lunch, come back to room, make 3rd cup of green tea, shake smoothie to blend and dreadfully stare at it for 30 minutes (in case you were wondering- it doesn’t taste very good.)
12:10- Start first “chug” of lunch smoothie, finish first 32oz mason jar of smoothie (nose pinched if needed.)
12:15- Bring kids to recess, try to get us much sunshine/ Vitamin D as possible. A few of my girl students giggle at me as we chat around the recess field and walk briskly with my sleeves and pants rolled up to get as much sunshine and lymph moving as possible. They loved to do it with me and we felt goofy together! (That was healing also <smile>)
12:30- Drink my 3rd cup of green tea, actually get some planning done while the kids are out of the room for their French class.
2:30- School gets out! Chug the other 32 oz mason jar of lunch smoothie. Lots of planning, grading, and parent emailing to do.
4:00- Get home, make 4th cup of green tea, put 2 slices of Ezekiel bread in the toaster before I do ANYTHING else. Pour 3 Tbsp of organic olive oil, basil, oregano, sea salt, and pepper into a small container. ENJOY my favorite after school snack more than anything that day! Relax and read books about nutrition and cancer, etc.
4:45ish- Jump on rebounder for 15 minutes, sometimes go to the gym to sit in the dry sauna, sometimes take a class or just walk on the treadmill.
5:00- Start chopping veggies for my dinner. Get frustrated over what I’m going to feed my husband. Make him a delicious cooked dinner while I eat the world’s largest salad…AGAIN. (2-3 nights a week he would eat out or eat a salad WITH me so I didn’t have to torture myself with cooked food. I cooked to save money.) Read more about dealing with non-protocol following family membersHERE (scroll down to bottom.)
5:30- Dinner: BIG Salad- 2 large handfuls of spinach, 1/4 red onion, 1/2 avocado, sprouted almonds, 1 chopped Roma tomato, 10 broccoli florets, 1/2 pepper, 1 handful sunflower sprouts, 1- 4 finger pinch broccoli sprouts, sprouted lentils or mung beans. Season with olive oil and lemon or apple cider vinegar.
6:15- I’m still eating my salad, decide to throw the remaining stuff in the Vitamix with some water. Chug it down.
7:00- A friend or family member calls. Have to explain to them for the millionth time that the cancer won’t take over my body overnight, I have full confidence in my body’s ability to recover, and YES- I am still seeing my oncologist who is supportive.
7:30- Have a crying moment over my friend or family member’s comment about “What if it doesn’t work?” My husband tells me that I am stronger than that and they don’t know what they’re talking about anyways. I feel better and stronger.
8:00- Hungry again. Eat an entire avocado with a spoon! Some days I would have a shot of wheatgrass juice with my hubby. Swallow 20 more supplements (2nd dose of ones listed in the morning.)
9:00- 5 minutes of rebounding again. Drink cucumber, carrot, kale juice. Spend 1 minute chugging the juice, spend 10 minutes cleaning the juicer.
10:00- Bedtime on my fabulous, non-toxic organic mattress from SavvyRest. (Seriously- the best bed EVER.) Sleep to restore my body and strengthen my immune system.
**For the interest of the reader I left out all of the everyday, mundane stuff such as dishes, laundry, bill paying, checking email, and also any social things that would pop up. The treatment process also evolved some. There were some treatments I had flings with but discontinued after I found out they weren’t helpful or just were too overwhelming for me. Some of these are: daily fresh juicing of wheatgrass morning and night (time consuming,) melatonin at night (unhelpful for Lymphoma patients,) twice a day enemas on the bathroom floor (time consuming and torturous,) wheatgrass enemas (time consuming, torturous, and expensive!) and possibly a few others I can’t recall right now.
There just came a point where I forgave myself for giving up these protocols and used my favorite affirmation: “I’m doing the best I can with the time I have.”
Join me tomorrow for Part 2: 5 Tips for Cancer Confidence
Posted by Brittany @ The Pistachio Project
Thank you for sharing with us these snippets to your past. I have a feeling I’m going to LOVE reading this series!
Posted by shanna
Good lord you went pretty hardcore with those green smoothies! Most people make them a little more palatable at first then work their way up to the straight up veggie ones. Very brave. I hated the Budwig Diet (cottage cheese and flax oil) as well. I ended up deciding that if I was going to do a serious of disgusting things, I would pick what I felt was most helpful. It didn’t make the cut. Great share and I look forward to your other posts!
Posted by EMILY
Do you still do this today or are you less rigid?
Posted by Pam
Hi Cortney, did you drink any plain water during this time period?
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Yep- I accepted the reality that my food wouldn’t be eaten for enjoyment during that season of my life would be a better option that having to do chemo or radiation. I hated the Budwig and still don’t enjoy the Budwig. But I believe it ws the most EFFECTIVE and one of the only holistic cancer protocols that has SOLID research to back it up.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Hi Pam- as in tap water from the sink? No, becasue it’s loaded with chemicals. I haven’t drank tap water out of the sink unless I had no other water available since then either. I drank alkaline water during my cancer b/c my husband bought the machine. (I feel like we might have bought it out of fear and very hyped up claims.) I wrote about it a few months under the post “Water”.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Hey Emily- yes, I do a lot of it today but am definitely not as strict. I’ll give you what I ate today for example: Breakfast- green tea with CCFO (cottage cheese flaxseed oil) Snack- Pear and almonds. L- 64 oz green smoothie (carrots, tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, spinach, cilantro, avocado,beans,) S- Ezekiel Bread and olive oil/spices, D- 1/2 veggie salad from Chipotle. So, you can see- life has gotten a bit easier, but I still try to stay as meatless as possible and eat as much raw foods as I can. CCFO I do 4 times a week now instead of 6-7. I still take most of the supplements I took during the cancer time.
Posted by Pam
No, I’m not talking about tap water. When you wrote up what you ate (above), you seemed to be using water to make tea, etc., but I don’t recall where you said you just drank water without anything in it. I know that water is necessary to flush out toxins and provide oxygen to the cells, so I just wondered if you drank plain water (from your machine) outside of what you have outlined above. Thanks Cortney.
Posted by Rebecca Cody
Hi, I found my way to your blog via Bill Henderson’s site. Maybe it’s cheating a bit, but when I eat CCFO I sprinkle gomasio on top. That is sesame seeds that I toast a few minutes in a dry pan, then grind up in the Vitamix with a little added sea salt. It makes all the difference to me in whether I choke it down or actually enjoy it. If you don’t want the salt you could leave this out.
My hat is off to you for your self discipline and continuing to teach (a MOST demanding occupation!) during this time of healing.
Posted by Cadie Hall
Thank you so much for this blog site. I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, a more agressive form of breast cancer, in mid August and was totally freaked out. I am 41 and have a wonderful 5 and half year old, all I could think about was was, this is it, this is the end. My daughter would grow up not knowing her mother. The idea of chemo and radiation was not sitting well with me, the idea of poisoning my body didn’t make sense, but they said the only effective way we know of for your type of cancer was chemo…1.4% effective…hmm. With my daughter in mind I thought that was my only option…Fear based decision. I had started an alkaline diet omitting all of the NO NO’s, started juicing and taking supplements that I had read were deficient in most breast cancer patients. I wanted to find other juice recipes and started on the net…I came across Chris Beat Cancer which led me to you. I am so grateful to the both of you, along with The Wellness Warrior. It led me to research other modes of alternative treatments, treatments friends said were ignorant for me to consider. What is nice is that I am already a vegetarian…so lots of salads and veggies I love. Juice I can stomach…anyway, I decided on the Bill Henderson protocol…bringing me to CCFO..I don’t like cottage cheese, but what I have done is along with the CCFO I add 2-3 tbsp of homemade salsa. it is like a veggie dip, very pallitable. I have lost 20lbs with exercise and the “vegan/raw” diet.
Once again…thank you for taking the time to document your journey and put yourself out there, not knowing what you will get back. As far as I am concerned….YOU ROCK.
Do you know, can you mix half of the CCFO in the am and then mix another half later? I am over stuffed when I eat the whole mixture…just curious.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
No, YOU ROCK Cadie! I am so happy you took the time to let me know about your story! It is encouraging to others to not be alone in their quest for alternative healing. (: Stay tuned for my next post on alternative breast cancers survivors. I have found 29 so far and counting…I will add YOU to the list one day soon.
And as far as the Budwig goes, I always ate it at one sitting, mainly b/c my immersion blender wasn’t shallow enough to mix 1/2 of the amount.
Cortney
Posted by Mom of 4
This is awesome!! I am a mom of 4 and although I do not have cancer (that I know), cancer has changed my life. I was alongside of my mother in her 8 year battle with conventional medicine and will also be refusing modern conventional treatments. I try to keep it to myself, but for the few who know they called me a disgrace to my children! I take really good care of myself and my children and I try to eat for my health as a preventative. I am so sad that people that supposedly care for us will take time out of their lives to belittle us and try to rope us into their own fear. My thought is: “They don’t know what I do and if they did, they would think this way too.” That is what I think. They weren’t there with me on these trials, so they have NO CLUE as to what it means. They just blindly trust, and that is never a good thing when it comes to your health. We must all take responsibility for our own health and that of our children and refrain from “brain laziness” to make sure that we are up on our current science. (Unlike many doctors.)
Posted by Patricia
Hi Cortney,
I don’t have health insurance so always have to figure out how to be healthy on my own. I am having some symptoms which I am interpreting as precancerous (has to do with lymph nodes).
I have seen the Budwig protocol before but did not feel it necessary. Now I think it would be a good thing for me to add to my lifestyle.
Thank you for your sharing. For some reason, it touches my heart and makes it easier for me to take the next step in self-care.
Love, Joy and Peace,
Patricia
Posted by amy
This was really helpful to me. When I look into raw foodists like Davide Wolfe and Ani Phyo, I always wish I had a little insight into what a daily meal plan and general vitamin regimen looked like for these people. This was pretty cool. Thanks for taking the time to do all this.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Patricia- I know how it is with insurance being so expensive. We never use our insurance because of our holistic views but yet we pay close to $300 each month in premiums. YUCK! I’m glad I could help. (:
Amy- I’m not sure if their daily eating habits looked like mine since they are more raw-foodists and weren’t fighting cancer, but I’m glad I could offer some insight. It’s not easy! (:
Check out http://www.greendrinkdiaries.com/14-day-cleanse-and-detox/ for a more realistic “raw foodist” type daily meal plan.
Posted by guest
Thank you for this important post, and for all the important information you are sharing on your website.
Is goat’s milk cottage cheese also ok to use for the Budweig recipe, or does it have to be cow’s milk cottage cheese ?
Which brands of cottage cheese did you use ?
Thanks.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Hi there!
YES- from what I have read from different Budwig resources, goat milk CC would be almost better! The fat/protein ratio is almost exactly the same, but goat milk digests better in humans.
I started out using 1% “Nancy’s” cottage cheese, but at $4.50 a container I forfeited my loyalty when Whole Foods came out with 1.5% fat organic cottage cheese in their “365″ brand. And at $2.39 a container, the price won me over!
Posted by guest
Thanks for your response.
I just read the post again and it seems like you didn’t eat much each day.
Just cottage cheese, 2 smoothies, 2 slices of bread, some tea, some nuts, a salad, some juice.
Is that all you ate all day ?
How much carrot juice did you drink each day ? Where did that fit in your daily menu ?
Posted by guest
Hi,
Following my previous post about the amount of food you ate each day, could you estimate how may lbs of vegetables you used per week, since juicing takes a lot of vegetables, and organic vegetables are very expensive.
Was the food you ate enough to not feel hungry ?
Did you eat any fruits ?
Lots of health to you and your family
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
I didn’t drink much carrot juice at all during my treatment. I found that that amount of food was fine for me. I am only 5’1″ (61.5 inches) and at the time was about 115 pounds.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
Hmmm- pounds would be difficult to estimate. I have no idea!!! I know I spent about $1,000 a month on groceries for JUST ME. Nowadays my family of 3 spends that in a month. Organic produce, supplements, and organic cottage cheese was majorly expensive….and still is. Quality food is supposed to be expensive. It’s a basic human need. Gov’t subsidies are the only reason that conventional and processed food is so cheap. Wish they would put their money into organic farming instead! (:
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
I ate one to two pieces of fruit per day. Usually an apple in my smoothie and another one to eat (and savor!)
Posted by guest
Thank you for replying
Posted by lisa
Hi, i always enjoy the information you share. You mentioned you drank green tea. Any particular brand? Also you mentioned you ate beans on your salad. I have never really ate many beans, but curious what type of bean you put on your salad. Thank you so much.
Posted by GreenDrinkDiaries
The green tea I drank during treatment is no longer for sale. (It was Bancha Japanese green tea from Traditional Medicinals)
Now, I drink Whole Foods organic green tea, but mainly for the flavor more so than for therapy. I wrote about this in a post a while back HERE: http://www.greendrinkdiaries.com/foods-you-need-japanese-green-tea/
Posted by Lisa
Thank you for your reply about the green tea. What type of beans did you eat on your salad? I am not a big fan of beans, but they would add fiber.
Thank you