Saturday, November 29, 2014

Thankfulness





   Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I have many good memories from childhood on the farm; harvest season is over, great cooking from Mom and Aunts and Cousins. The annual Harvest Festival Dinner at our little Baptist church in Eagle, Idaho.  Pumpkin pie eating competition with my cousin, Dick Olson. A time to give thanks for all our blessings.
   I am thankful for Jesus and the eternal and present hope that He gives me. I am thankful for a loving family, for the most dedicated and loving wife imaginable; for children and grandchildren who love Jesus and have such good hearts. Wonderful kids!

   We saw the doctor on Monday. The CT showed no tumors and no growth in the lung nodules That's good. However, my abdomen is swollen with fluid again and the Ca 19-9 marker is elevated all the way back up to 30,000. Not good. He laid out 3 options:#1 - there is 1 more drug they could give me, but he said it is "nasty".  #2 - a clinical trial at Sarah Cannon, or #3 -  do nothing (in which case he estimated 6 more months of life). We added option #4 - a natural solution called the Budwig diet. It is flax seed oil emulsified (with an immersion blender) with cottage cheese. That makes the oil more easily absorbed and the Omega 3 oil strengthens healthy cells to fight off the cancer cells.
   We have a first hand account from the best friend of our friend who's marker fell from very high to normal in just a few weeks, and it has remained low. I have been on it 1 week now. You combine it with healthy eating.....avoid sugar, animal fats, processed food, etc. We are praying that the Lord will bless this and make it effective.
   I will give another blood sample on Dec. 4 and see the doctor on Dec. 10. Please pray that the marker test is reduced, not elevated.
  I will call the doctor Monday to schedule an out patient procedure to drain fluid again.  Please pray that it will not return rapidly as it did this time.
   Thank you so much for your prayers.

In All Things, Give Thanks.

9 comments:

  1. Prayers and positive thoughts from friends in Greenvale and Morrison!

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  2. Keep at it Ray! Our hopes for the best.

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  3. I LOVE the picture of your family. Seeing Wendy and David with their families is amazing. It doesn't matter how many years go by, we are all a part of God's family....and I miss your family. Please tell Wendy I said HI! Praying for God's healing and strength as you endure the race before you.

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  4. Hi Linda, So good to hear from you! Thank you for your prayers. Tell your folks and all our friends "hi" from us.
    Ray

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  5. Ray, If it is of interest to you, I ran across a few basic alternative/natural cancer treatments/studies:

    Combination Treatment with Resveratrol and Sulforaphane Induces Apoptosis in Human U251 Glioma Cells. Neurochem Res. 2009. Jiang H, Shang X, Wu H, Huang G, Wang Y, Al-Holou S. Department of Neurology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, USA

    Oral supplementation with sulforaphane (broccoli extract) and resveratrol apparently was significant in inducing cancer cells to shut themselves off rather than reproduce. I think there were a few other benefits as well, my impression was that the combination was pretty powerful.

    If you decide in favor of such an approach, here is a source for these--I'd say a person would need 500g of each to go at it...

    http://www.powdercity.com/products/broccoli-extract-powder-sulforaphane

    http://www.powdercity.com/products/resveratrol

    Here is another study on the use of CoQ10 and a few complementary anti-oxidants with cancer. This study was strictly about median survival time, which was increased by 40%, so it was a therapy that could be quite useful while pursuing successful treatments:

    http://www.docguide.com//%252Fnode/1183598

    Here is where I sometimes get CoQ10, you could round up the other stuff there as well, if desired:

    http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-coq10-200-mg-240-capsules-6

    I continue praying, Ray!



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  6. Waiting to hear what alternatives you opted for and how you are feeling now....l
    Hope the pain from fluid pressure has eased and that you are feeling more comfortable. Prayers for you and yours, Ray.... you are such an inspiration and
    model of Faith and integrity.
    A most blessed Christmastide and a joyous and healthier New Year be yours.
    Mary

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  7. Waiting to hear how you are doing on the new diets and anxious to hear your new numbers. We pray for you always love the pictures. Love, Don and Marjie

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