First Tangible Results

We saw the oncologist yesterday. I was really dreading the visit, seeing as how it was so depressing last time. But she didn't have a bad word to say; in fact it was all good news! We had worried his pain was increasing, but she attributed the change to normal tolerance to the narcotics. The lymph node under his chin that was swollen last visit is no longer noticeable, and the spot in his back that has been causing him pain HAS NOT GROWN LARGER. Other good news came from recent labwork, the doctor said with some surprise that Ken's liver and kidneys are pretty healthy, and that his white blood count is elevated. People with cancer generally have very low white counts, it means his immune system is fighting back. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and I wanted to buy him balloons, I am so proud of him! We are energized now; it's working!

First Salad

Yesterday Ken ate his first salad after three weeks of liquid greens. I took a picture; it was a special occasion. The salad had sprouts, of course, and baby greens, spinach, a little juice from our cultured vegetables, lemon juice, red bell pepper, onion, avocado, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and sea salt. We'd love to get our hands on some raw olives. After that he drank chia seed lemonade sweetened with stevia and five brazil nuts. In the evening I put the same ingredients, except for the seeds, in the food processor and he ate his salad with a spoon. I'm so happy he could tolerate solids, no digestive problems at all. It didn't cause hiccups and it didn't make his pain worse. Last night I made raw bread with flax seeds, walnuts and celery in the dehydrator. He ate two of those with avocado today and pronounced them "good."

Consult

Dr. Brian Clement is the Director of Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida. We were privileged to be able to arrange a phone consultation with him. Our doctor faxed all Ken's records and I sent a couple of emails ahead of time. At the appointed time, we put on the speaker phone and I recorded the conversation. What was supposed to be half and hour turned into 45 minutes. Dr. Clements was kind and compassionate and asked what we've been doing. I told him that Ken takes 2 ounces of wheatgrass three times daily plus "implants" (retention enemas of 4-6 ounces of wheatgrass)twice a day. I also make him 3 glasses of green juice, half of which is made from sunflower sprouts, with celery and cucumber or parsley, romaine, spinach, lemon, or garlic for variety. He stressed it is important not to use carrots or apples or anything sweet when you are fighting cancer. Lemons are the only fruit allowed. Bowel cleansing is also important. We have been doing this for 3 weeks now. Dr. Clement said we are doing great, that even stage 4 cancer is not a death sentence if you have a will and a desire to live and are willing to eat only 100% raw vegan foods. He told us to add chlorella (the expensive one, with no additives), and E3Live, a blue-green algae, an herbal supplement called Life One and a Systemic Enzyme supplement. We ordered all those. We also just got an infared sauna, which they use at Hippocrates. Dr. Clement said to have Ken in it 20 minutes a day at 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill cancer cells, similar to treatments in Northern Europe that induce fevers. The sauna came from Costco, our daughter Naomi ordered it! Another suggestion was ginger juice for hiccups and laser treatment under a chiropractor's care for pain. We never got around to asking how much ginger to use, but online it suggests 6 grams twice a day for 5 days. We are looking into the laser treatments. Bottom line, Dr. Clement was encouraging that Ken can heal; all he has to do is drink wheatgrass, sprouts, algae and eat raw food! Tomorrow he's going to try eating, after 21 days on green liquid.

Family Therapy

Noticing how much Ken cheers up when the kids come to visit, I decided to implement our own version of "family therapy." Being as how we have seven adult children, some with families of their own, it is chaotic, though enjoyable, when we all get together. To respect Ken's very real need for rest, we decided to stagger the visits so that someone is coming nearly all the time. This arrangement also does not put too much pressure on one family member to be available constantly. The girls come during the week, and the boys alternate weekends. Our youngest daughter, and the furthest away, made flight arrangements for a short visit.

Spiritual Experience

Ken has been having spiritual experiences. He is drawn toward teachings that have been meaningful in his life, notably Paramahansa Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons that we were both taking when we met, 37 years ago. Master's hand has always been in our affairs, from falling in love, to raising our family and getting clean and sober, and in our adventures since then. Pain makes it hard to meditate, but Ken was getting insights into the nature of this crisis, and how it clarifies his purpose in life. He feels it is tied to a mission he has to help others. He realized that in order to stay on a 100% raw vegan diet necessary for healing, we would need passion for that endeavor and finding community and helping others is the way to keep passion alive. No different, really, than working a 12-step program.
Our oldest son, Aaron, has studied Reiki, a form of energy healing. He came one Saturday to do yardwork and offered Ken a Reiki session. Ken agreed, though he was somewhat skeptical. Skepticism turned into amazement, however. After the half-hour treatment, Ken told me that he felt Aaron's hands get really hot. He also felt that there were other beings in the room, intensifying the effort! This experience convinced him that Aaron has a true gift and can employ healing techniques to the benefit of those he works with. There was admiration in his voice.

How Would You Like to Die?

We met with the oncologist the following week. Ken had stayed on wheatgrass and other juices made with sprouts and green vegetables. I think the doctor will always remember him as the man with the green tongue. Amy Law, M.D., was kind and compassionate. She asked if we wanted to know how long Ken would likely live. I said "No," I did not want to hear that. Then she told us it was stage 4, only palliative care was available. Things like steroids, spot radiation and pain killers to make him more comfortable. Do you want to be doped up or would you like to be more alert, she asked Ken, and advised that he would not want to be resuscitated. The doc gave him a quick physical, she could feel a swollen lymph gland under his beard and told us that chest pain might occur because of the cancer growing in lymph glands there. We left feeling pretty depressed, even though we expected bad news and had made up our minds to fight the verdict with green superfoods and a positive attitude.

Big Changes

It started with a dream I had a few days before Christmas. I was at The Price is Right punchboard, playing the game. I punched a compartment in the upper left side of the board. It contained a stack of five burlap bags, each holding a billion gold dollar coins. One bag was leaking, spilling gold coins as it was lifted up to reveal what I won. I woke with a forbidding feeling--I knew the number five, as well as money, meant changes. The bigger the money, the bigger the changes. Something life-changing was about to happen. I knew it wasn't something I wanted. I started driving more slowly, looking both ways twice, taking my time and being extra cautious when I had to go somewhere. I looked up gold in Betty Bethard's The Dream Book, my favorite dream dictionary, and it said "a gift from The Universe." Okay, maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
The day after Christmas we were told Ken's CT scan showed a suspicious lesion on his rib. I went and bought wheatgrass and he immediately started a juice fast. A PET scan was the next step. I was told by a friend who saw it that there were several places in his body that looked like cancer. I couldn't sleep while we waited to meet with the surgeon. Finally, the official diagnosis, cancer that started in the pancreas and spread. No surgery or chemotherapy would fix it.