My time on the villetta came to a close last Saturday… it was a lovely few days with my Mom and then 2 nights with Olaf, Steph, and Freya there as well. We had some meals together and a bit of pool time so the hours passed quickly although perhaps not quickly enough for the dogs!
We got home before noon and within minutes Lupa had disappeared… into her little bed in our bathroom! She stayed there for much of the day and evening, only venturing out for food and to go outside… she was one tired little dog from being hypervigilant for so many days!
Meanwhile, Carm and I did laundry and other catchup things around the house - it seems to me that the weather wasn't that great but honestly I can't even remember! I do recall that Monday was a perfect summer day - hot without being stupidly hot, sunny and bright - perfect for a Canada Day pool party at Olaf's. We met some of his friends, didn't go swimming (but there were lots of kids who did!), ate a hamburger and then dashed home to the waiting pooches who hadn't destroyed the house.
There was a fair amount of traffic on the highway but not so much to cause slow-downs, even in the 20km stretch of single lane. We passed through some beautiful areas and some flatter than a Saskatchewn wheat field. Olaf lives further away from us than Kirsten, but with a speed limit of 110km for most of it, we only take 5 minutes longer!
We met one of Olaf's friends from highschool that is going through the same cancer journey as I am, or maybe not the same (she doesn't have her pathology results yet), but a journey just the same. Her surgery was 10 days after mine so we compared scars (hers is so much smaller and she only has one of them!), and talked about some of our strategies going forward. I felt that we made an instant connection :-)
Speaking of strategies, I've been doing some reading on fasting to help beat cancer. According to initial research, fasting slows down the production of IGF-1 which is instrumental in tumour growth. Our normal cells have a way of dealing with ‘starvation’ and shut down in a protective mode, which increases immunity, leaving the cancer cells starving for fuel. This can help when going through chemo and perhaps radiation as well.
Other ways of reducing IGF-1 is a plant based diet, low in sugar, which I have somewhat strayed from recently… I might try a combination of fasting along with sticking to my diet better with the hopes of keeping it at bay. It seems now that it won't be a temporary thing, but that cancer will be on my horizon for years to come… or at least hopefully on the horizon and not on my doorstep!
My first day of fasting started Monday night at 8pm and ended yesterday at supper time - 46 hours. There are a few methods including severe calorie restriction for a few days interspersed with ‘normal’ eating. My current plan is 48 (give or take) hours with just water & tea, followed by a few days of calorie restriction then back to my ‘normal’ plant-based meals at maintenance calories… I'll see how it goes as I am not fully committed at this point - I am trying to build muscle which needs protein… ha ha, I did start up planks Sunday and gosh, I've got some stiff muscles!
The fasting part was easy enough - the only time I felt hungry was when Carm made toast so I stepped outside for a few minutes. Otherwise, I was able to work hard on the treadmill (6km each day) and increase reps on the other exercises I'm doing. Honestly, this morning, after having eaten last night and drinking a protein drink coffee before getting on, was harder! I felt clear headed and strong - hopefully the fast did what it was supposed to do and clear out all my old white blood cells to make fresh, strong ones to go after any cancer that is left! I'll do it again in a week or two.
If only there was a way to see inside myself to see if it's working!
I screwed up this morning though… we dropped the dogs off to have their teeth done and had 45 minutes to kill… I shopped a bit in dollarama but then realized that I was starving and that we were right next door to the shwarma place that we'd been wanting to try - DOOH!
Awesome!
“making a new friend”
“my time at the trailer”
“perfect weather”
“beautiful day on the deck”
“little grey dog curled against my legs”
“bathing the dogs with the bath scrunchie - a much better way to bath than just a hose!”
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