Wow, 2009 has been a very dramatic year for me. About 14 weeks ago, after what the doctors told me about my tumor and the stage of the diease, I thought I would not survive 2009. I actually began making plans to transfer all my assets into my wife's name not that I have many but the legal formalities can be long and tedious if I died intestate. My ex-colleague Bee Tin has some experience here and suggested I use her lawyers if I did not have one. However my wife refused for fear that I might just give up the will to live.
I have not heard about the Gerson therapy prior to this. As I said earlier in my posting, I think I will be last person to get cancer, so I never bothered to read about such things. But of course that has proven not to be true. After search research, I found alternatives, the therapies that I am now on. Now, there is hope. My resolution for 2010 is just to get my health back.
The message I want to give is that sometimes, no matter how diffifult position you find yourself in, so long as you don't give up, there is hope. I have gone through two life threatening situations. The first, I was rescued in the nick of time, possibly with 1 minute to spare before the sea water would flood my lungs. Now, I face a similar life theratening situation and has found hope. No matter what your challenges are, don't give up!
May you and your family be free from danger, sickness and mental suffering. May the year 2010 be the year of your fulfilment of your plans. May you be well and happy always.
Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Early Morning Blues
This morning I felt very tired when I woke up. The pain of the muscles around the arms and shoulder was getting worst. I think it will need a few days before it will get better. I have not been exercising my muscles for sometime now and even the simple cutting of branches of the plants can cause such muscle pain. My right thigh is also a little painful because of the squatting. The sharp pain around the right kidney every now and then is gone. Overall, I just feel physically tired today but my spirits are high.
After 9 days of food holiday in India, getting back to the Gerson diet is not proving to be so difficult. I eat at the same table as my family members and I can resist the delicious food they eat. Before I left for India, many of my friends have been warning me about this and that. My journey takes me to some of the poorest states in India and other than the menancing beggers, we did not feel any security threat. So long as you keep to some simple safety rules, one should be OK. So for those of you who got (wrong?) secondary information about India, perhaps it's time you make a trip to find out yourself. It's a whole new experience. Airasia has made it affordable to travel to India and I understand they will be adding new cities to the North.
Food plays such an important role in one's physiology. There is an ancient Chinese saying that "sickness derives from what we put into our mouths". When I was at KL General Hospital waiting to see the oncologist, I observed that many of the patients are all in wheel chairs and from the faces you can tell many of them really sick. Perhaps they had listened to the oncologist who also told me that food has nothing to do with the disease. When I was in India, I ate normal vegetarian food and I was also to move around without problems. But when I came back I swithed back to Gerson diet my physical energy dropped immediately. But the good thing I observed is that my urine is clear, almost tasteless, no after taste. I feel good and my body is preserving itself, a far cry from what I saw at the hospital.
After 9 days of food holiday in India, getting back to the Gerson diet is not proving to be so difficult. I eat at the same table as my family members and I can resist the delicious food they eat. Before I left for India, many of my friends have been warning me about this and that. My journey takes me to some of the poorest states in India and other than the menancing beggers, we did not feel any security threat. So long as you keep to some simple safety rules, one should be OK. So for those of you who got (wrong?) secondary information about India, perhaps it's time you make a trip to find out yourself. It's a whole new experience. Airasia has made it affordable to travel to India and I understand they will be adding new cities to the North.
Food plays such an important role in one's physiology. There is an ancient Chinese saying that "sickness derives from what we put into our mouths". When I was at KL General Hospital waiting to see the oncologist, I observed that many of the patients are all in wheel chairs and from the faces you can tell many of them really sick. Perhaps they had listened to the oncologist who also told me that food has nothing to do with the disease. When I was in India, I ate normal vegetarian food and I was also to move around without problems. But when I came back I swithed back to Gerson diet my physical energy dropped immediately. But the good thing I observed is that my urine is clear, almost tasteless, no after taste. I feel good and my body is preserving itself, a far cry from what I saw at the hospital.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tiring Day
This morning I weight and gained back 2kgs. Although I was diligent eating from dawn to dust, I don't think I can gain so much back in just a day. I think the weighing machine might not be correct when I took my weight yesterday because my kids and wife also said their weight fluctutate too much in a day. Anyway I will monitor further over the next few days.
I did some simple repairs to the roof of the Green Room this morning, a room extension of the house. Of late, the constant heavy rain in early evening has cause the joints of the roof to leak. So I used a plastic sheet to cover the affected roof tiles while waiting for a more permanent solution. After that I trimed some plants and flowers. All in I took 30 minutes or so but the strain of the work was a bit too much for me. I had to have at least 2 hours to recover, meanwhile panting away. It reminded me of about 4 years ago when I did heavy work and I would experience similar strain. Some of my friends asked me what other symptoms I have before my tumor discovery, I would like to suggest that you take a medical check-up if you did some work but the heavy strain does not commensurate with the efforts. It is likely that you have something extra in the body.
Arising from the above work, my muscles around the shoulder and arm hurts. So I have to do some self message. Today I also noticed some additional sharp but a few seconds of pain every now and then around the right kidney area. It has not happen before. I am not sure if this has to do with the work or the constant coffee enema that I am doing where I lie on the right side. This pain is not the same as I experienced earlier just prior to my discharge of blood during urination that led to the discovery of the tumor. That was really unbearable, so much so I need to take a jab of pain killer. I hope the pain will go off by tomorrow.
The coffee enema for the last few days was difficult after the break. I could not hold for more than 10 minutes for the first enema of the day. I also noticed a smell on the dischange and also on my body. This must be the oil that I had taken while in India. I did not have this smell in the past. I met some locals while on the train in India and he said that most traders do not use quality oil. Perhaps this could be the reason.
Back to a bit of Sutent. My urologist was not too keen to recommend me any form of treatment because his existing two patients on the program are not responding. He said they spend a lot of money. Sutent does not cure but control the disease besides giving side effects. So this means and if the drug work for you, you must continue to use it. The costs is about RM22K per month. My financial ability (sell the house and car) will probably last me 2+ years of treatment. After that what happens? Obviously even if my whole family members do not eat and my brothers and sisters also chip in, I will still not be able to continue. This drug in my opinion only treat the symptoms and not the cause. That's why I have not chosen this path. Actually even if I wanted, I could not afford it. I know my life is involved but my family also need to live. It's not an easy decision but this is the Buddhist way.
I did some simple repairs to the roof of the Green Room this morning, a room extension of the house. Of late, the constant heavy rain in early evening has cause the joints of the roof to leak. So I used a plastic sheet to cover the affected roof tiles while waiting for a more permanent solution. After that I trimed some plants and flowers. All in I took 30 minutes or so but the strain of the work was a bit too much for me. I had to have at least 2 hours to recover, meanwhile panting away. It reminded me of about 4 years ago when I did heavy work and I would experience similar strain. Some of my friends asked me what other symptoms I have before my tumor discovery, I would like to suggest that you take a medical check-up if you did some work but the heavy strain does not commensurate with the efforts. It is likely that you have something extra in the body.
Arising from the above work, my muscles around the shoulder and arm hurts. So I have to do some self message. Today I also noticed some additional sharp but a few seconds of pain every now and then around the right kidney area. It has not happen before. I am not sure if this has to do with the work or the constant coffee enema that I am doing where I lie on the right side. This pain is not the same as I experienced earlier just prior to my discharge of blood during urination that led to the discovery of the tumor. That was really unbearable, so much so I need to take a jab of pain killer. I hope the pain will go off by tomorrow.
The coffee enema for the last few days was difficult after the break. I could not hold for more than 10 minutes for the first enema of the day. I also noticed a smell on the dischange and also on my body. This must be the oil that I had taken while in India. I did not have this smell in the past. I met some locals while on the train in India and he said that most traders do not use quality oil. Perhaps this could be the reason.
Back to a bit of Sutent. My urologist was not too keen to recommend me any form of treatment because his existing two patients on the program are not responding. He said they spend a lot of money. Sutent does not cure but control the disease besides giving side effects. So this means and if the drug work for you, you must continue to use it. The costs is about RM22K per month. My financial ability (sell the house and car) will probably last me 2+ years of treatment. After that what happens? Obviously even if my whole family members do not eat and my brothers and sisters also chip in, I will still not be able to continue. This drug in my opinion only treat the symptoms and not the cause. That's why I have not chosen this path. Actually even if I wanted, I could not afford it. I know my life is involved but my family also need to live. It's not an easy decision but this is the Buddhist way.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Post India Trip
As expected, I gain 0.5kg during my trip in India when on a normal vegetarian diet. Much of the food that I consumed gets lodged in the rectum. I have since resumed the Gerson therapy diet on 26 December 2009. I also intensified my coffee enema from 3 a day to 4 a day for a period of 2 weeks to detox as I was taking forbidden foods for 9 days. I had also expected that I will lose weight once I start back the Gerson therapy and this was confirmed when I took my weight this morning. Every coffee enema will slowly empty the feces in the rectum that was accumulated when I was on a normal vegetarian diet. I lost 2 kg. Of course losing weight is not a good sign. I have also intensified my juicing and consumption of solid foods to gain back my weight back and will monitor this week for the progress. Last night, I felt some pinching on my left ribs for a few seconds. Earlier, I reported some redness and hotness around my face, neck, hands and thighs. This reaction is not from my homeopathy treatment but rather from taking of the supplement naicin. According to Dr Max Gerson in his book, A Cancer Therapy, this reaction is harmless.
Saturday's (26 December) coffee enemas was quite difficult after a break of 9 days. The spasm was more frequent and severe. My first emena only lasted 10 minutes but subsequent ones was the recommended 15 minutes but it was a constant hallenge to hold. The place where I got my organic vegetables was closed for Boxing Day and I had to depend on other shops which was running low on vegetables. As a result, I only managed to juice 8 times for Saturday and 10 times for Sunday. I( did not keep any stock of vegetables as I was away in India. Today I expect to go back on full swing at 12 times.
I received a visit from Rose Woodward, a fellow kidney cancer (KC) patient on 26 December 2009 blog posting. From her remarks, I believe that she may be thinking that I may not have sufficient information to make informed decision and suggested that I visit some KC sites in UK, Canada or the US for more information. She has suggested that I take Sutent which has been quite successfuly in USA and Canada. I have done some research before embarking on my present treatment. I do not think that Sutent and/or surgery would offer any hopes of cure and most likely will severely weakened the body. Instead of giving myself a 3 months extention of life with such treatment, why don't I try some therapy that will offer 5 years or possibly more and at the same time lead a healthy quality of life? Of course, I cannot guarantee what I am doing will work or not. So far, I think my therapy is working as I have not developed further symptoms which according to my oncologist is a good sign. It's close to 4 months since I discovered my present condition. My first CT scan in September 09 showed 21 and 23 nodes in my left and right lungs respectively with two nodes of about 3cm in the left and right lungs. Another CT scan 6 weeks later showed the big nodes has shrunk to about 1.5cm and my oncologist counted (later confirmed with the radiologist) that there were no new nodes found. The tumor mass has also shrunk a little. I had just started the Gerson therapy for 3 weeks only then. Of course I would like to go for another CT scan now but due to the radiation, I have to differ it much later date.
Saturday's (26 December) coffee enemas was quite difficult after a break of 9 days. The spasm was more frequent and severe. My first emena only lasted 10 minutes but subsequent ones was the recommended 15 minutes but it was a constant hallenge to hold. The place where I got my organic vegetables was closed for Boxing Day and I had to depend on other shops which was running low on vegetables. As a result, I only managed to juice 8 times for Saturday and 10 times for Sunday. I( did not keep any stock of vegetables as I was away in India. Today I expect to go back on full swing at 12 times.
I received a visit from Rose Woodward, a fellow kidney cancer (KC) patient on 26 December 2009 blog posting. From her remarks, I believe that she may be thinking that I may not have sufficient information to make informed decision and suggested that I visit some KC sites in UK, Canada or the US for more information. She has suggested that I take Sutent which has been quite successfuly in USA and Canada. I have done some research before embarking on my present treatment. I do not think that Sutent and/or surgery would offer any hopes of cure and most likely will severely weakened the body. Instead of giving myself a 3 months extention of life with such treatment, why don't I try some therapy that will offer 5 years or possibly more and at the same time lead a healthy quality of life? Of course, I cannot guarantee what I am doing will work or not. So far, I think my therapy is working as I have not developed further symptoms which according to my oncologist is a good sign. It's close to 4 months since I discovered my present condition. My first CT scan in September 09 showed 21 and 23 nodes in my left and right lungs respectively with two nodes of about 3cm in the left and right lungs. Another CT scan 6 weeks later showed the big nodes has shrunk to about 1.5cm and my oncologist counted (later confirmed with the radiologist) that there were no new nodes found. The tumor mass has also shrunk a little. I had just started the Gerson therapy for 3 weeks only then. Of course I would like to go for another CT scan now but due to the radiation, I have to differ it much later date.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Facinating India
India
I find India really facinating, a land of contrast, the beauty and the beast all rolled into one. While it is easy to just focus on the negative aspects such as poverty, a more balance view is to look at the lifestyle of the locals to understand the vibrancy of their culture. It does not do justice to India to mention only in a few paragraphs of the few place that we went and saw. It makes you reflect on life itself. What if you were born here and not in Malaysia, exchanging places with that begger or homeless person? Why are you so lucky? Why are you born to a family of luxury and that person suffer a life of misery?
The highlight of the Indian culture is most reflected in Varanasi. We went there just to witness, just a kilometer apart where one would cleanse their body of sins in the cold Ganges River water and further downstream the final journey that one undertakes. It is believed that when the body is burned and the ashes strewn into the Ganges River, one would not have to suffer future rebirth. No pictures of burning of allowed to be taken.
There are numerous Gaths and buildings along the Ganges River, some belonging to the Maharajas of the past. The unfortunate thing is that some of these majestic buildings are left in bad state of repairs and it would be better preserved if the Archaeological Survery Department of India takes over and convert them into museums.
Between the buildings and Ganges River are walkways of between 20 to 30 meters in breath where the locals would ply their trade. Some preist would offer worshipping services while others are mianly traders selling souvenirs items and items for praying such as oil lamps and joss sticks. We also saw some long hair, most likely uncut for years preists all painted in white offering services to some locals and also some foreigners.
Gerson Therapy
Just before my trip to india, on 12 december 2009 I did a simulation run to see how my body would react to the intensive walking while on the Gerson Therapy. That simulation run was good as it confirmed that I cannot be on Gerson Therapy while performing my pilgrimage. I then decided to suspend the Gerson Therapy while in India and would switch to a normal vegetarian diet where possible consists of low oil, salt and sugar diet. I have been able to keep away from sugar and to some extent salt but could not get away from oil. It was a risk I had to take to ensure I complete my pilgrimage. I was carrying 10.5kg of luggage which mainly consist of clothing for winter and 1kg of oats. In between I also took non organic apples, mandarins and bananas to supplement my diet. This change in diet gave my the energy that I required. I also took large potions of the food resulting me in gaining 0.5kg at the end of the trip.
Except for the stomach upset when I had my first normal vegetarian meal, everything was fine. My appitite was very good and I would eat when the slightest opportunity arises. Most of the time I have avoided hawker food and ate only at decent looking restaurants for fear of stomach upset for the whole group. Water was mainly bottled drinking water while was readily available. Only the last day I took the risk of eating chowmein form one hawker stall along Lindsay Street in downtown Kolkata. In my pre-cancer days, I am one who dears to try hawker food (when in Thailand, China and Indonesia) as this is the only way you can taste local food as eaten by the masses.
Pilgrimage Trip
I am really glad I undertook the pilgrimage trip. It open a new dimension of my life about myself, Buddhism and Buddha and also about the Indian people. Except for the menacing beggers, I have no complaints. Well maybe the streets were congested, roads in bad state of repairs, these are all part and parcel of a country's growing pains. I will write a separate blog titled "DIY Buddhist Pilgrimage In India" for those would would like to undertake their own backpackers pilgrimage trip. It consist of my travel logs (and contributions from my friend Vishuddi Lee) of some dos and dont's to make your trip a memorable one.
We slept three days in the train (picture on left is the Varanasi station), one day in hotel and four days in the monasteries. Accomodation were basic but clean, around two/three stars rating. As the Bhante Devrai Negi reminded us that we enjoyed worldly pleasures of life in our daily living and so for the pilgrimage, it presents an opportunity to sample a simple lifestyle and get an insight of how difficult it must be for Buddha in his days to travel around without modern transportation.
I was overwhelmed at the sights that I saw especially at Bodhgaya Mahabodhi Temple. Although the temple has been restored and showed some modern construction materials, the place just eminate a very different vibration as you enter the temple complex. There were possibly thousands of pilgrims from all over the world and I must say it is the Tibetians Lamas(most likely they are refugees who are now naturalised Indians) and the Thai monks that provide the vibrancy. They continuous chanting and posterations reflect their devotions to the Buddha and his teachings. This is the site that Buddha attained his enlightenment.
Our Day 2 stop was to Nalanda and Rajgir to see the ruins of Nalanda University. Tsuan Tsang also visited this place during its hey days and reported that there were 1,000 over teachers and over 10,000 monks as students. However, the University was burned down during the Muslim invasion in India. Many Buddhist sites were burned down. In the afternoon, we went to Rajgir to see the place where Buddha tame a drunkered elephant that consumed too much wild berries. It was also a place where Buddha would go for his mediation. The World Peace Pagoda is located on top of the mountain.
On the morning of day 3, we visited Sujata village. Sujata was a lay person who offered Sidhartha just before he became Buddha with rice milk. The site is about 30 minutes walk across the dried river across Mahabodi Temple. A stupa was erected in her memory. We left Bodhgaya at around 12pm to head to Varanasi by train at 2.10pm.
Arrived arived at Varanasi at late evening. Since it is winter in India, the sky becomes dark by about 5.30pm. We stayed at Ganpati Guest House, a little pricy but the facilities were adequate. This was the only hotel we stayed throughout our pilgrimage because there was no Buddhist monastries around we could stay. Buddha used to frequent this area to preach. As you know, in India even today the caste system is very much alive. So the lowest caste or untouchables as some called it found solace in Buddhism.
On the 5th day, we left Varanasi for Sarnath. This is the place where Buddha made his first sermon when he attained enlightenment. We visited the Chinese Temple but run by Thai monks and asked for the use of a room where we could put out luggage and also take bath and have rests. Bhante Devrai Negi was very accomodating despite having a bus load of visitors from Thailand that will be staying at the temple. Our train is 11.30pm in the evening. We visited the stupa which was massive to commerate the event. Later in the evening, we attended the 7pm service at the Temple where 8 monks recited the sermon. We also joined in the pujas and it was really moving.
The train ride from Sarnath was suppose to be only 6 hours but due to delays, we reached Gorakhpur only about 8am. We had booked first class but facilities was third class. There was no pillow and blanket offered and it was freezing, maybe about 10°C or so. Most of us did not sleep well. This morning, we had to rush to Sonauli, the border town where would we cross over to Nepal to go to Lumbini. We took a jeep (size of the Mahindra jeep)that sat 16 people one of which was a child. We sat at the back row which was supposed to accomodate 4 but packed 6 of us. The journey took almost 2.30hours. This part of the journey was most tortuous. Further shocked awaits us after we crossed in Nepal. Nepal was on strike for 3 days and lucky for us, the strike is ending 5pm. During the strike, shops are closed and no vehicles are allowed on the road. We managed to find a shop that was willing to serve us Maggie noodles. Our karma must have been good and by 2.30pm traffic started moving and we managed to get to Lumbini at 4pm, a hour left to explore Lumbini Garden. This is the place where Sidhartha (Buddha) was born. The picture shows the Mahadevi complex which was constructed to protect the ruins that show the exact spot where Buddha was born. We quickly assembled beside the Bodhi tree and offered pujas. Here we stayed at the Tibetian monastery and they have a guest house which we can stay for a fee of NRS1,400 (Nepali Rupees). All other temples that we stayed we offered donation. This rooms are very good and clean with attached bathrooms and I had a good rest that night. 
Next morning, we got up early to explore other temples around the vicinity, most of which are under construction. The Tibetian styled temple constructed by Germany was the best and most impressive for now.
As a result of the strike that ended the previous day, lorries that we trying to enter Nepal for the last three days which now stretched almost 2km long costs congestion on the streets.
We lost one over hour and by the time we reached Kushniaga, it was almost 4.45pm and the Temple closes 5.30pm. After paying respects to the Banthe at the Japan Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple, we quickly walked to the temple.Kushniaga is the place where Buddha passed into paranivara. Some monks were kind enough to offer some explanation inside the temple. We were glad we finally managed to complete the pilgrimage!
The 8th day was spent on the train back to Kolkata. The journey takes 16 hours but ended close to 18 hours instead. But we really had quality family time as for the first time we spent so many hours together talking, reviewing the journey and playing Uno together. My daughters quite like India and would like to come back again. As for me, if my health does not deteriorate, I will most likely be making another trip same time next year but this time as a guide to others. Hey where can you go for pilgrimage for less than RM1.8K per person full board?
I find India really facinating, a land of contrast, the beauty and the beast all rolled into one. While it is easy to just focus on the negative aspects such as poverty, a more balance view is to look at the lifestyle of the locals to understand the vibrancy of their culture. It does not do justice to India to mention only in a few paragraphs of the few place that we went and saw. It makes you reflect on life itself. What if you were born here and not in Malaysia, exchanging places with that begger or homeless person? Why are you so lucky? Why are you born to a family of luxury and that person suffer a life of misery?
The highlight of the Indian culture is most reflected in Varanasi. We went there just to witness, just a kilometer apart where one would cleanse their body of sins in the cold Ganges River water and further downstream the final journey that one undertakes. It is believed that when the body is burned and the ashes strewn into the Ganges River, one would not have to suffer future rebirth. No pictures of burning of allowed to be taken.
There are numerous Gaths and buildings along the Ganges River, some belonging to the Maharajas of the past. The unfortunate thing is that some of these majestic buildings are left in bad state of repairs and it would be better preserved if the Archaeological Survery Department of India takes over and convert them into museums.
Between the buildings and Ganges River are walkways of between 20 to 30 meters in breath where the locals would ply their trade. Some preist would offer worshipping services while others are mianly traders selling souvenirs items and items for praying such as oil lamps and joss sticks. We also saw some long hair, most likely uncut for years preists all painted in white offering services to some locals and also some foreigners.Gerson Therapy
Just before my trip to india, on 12 december 2009 I did a simulation run to see how my body would react to the intensive walking while on the Gerson Therapy. That simulation run was good as it confirmed that I cannot be on Gerson Therapy while performing my pilgrimage. I then decided to suspend the Gerson Therapy while in India and would switch to a normal vegetarian diet where possible consists of low oil, salt and sugar diet. I have been able to keep away from sugar and to some extent salt but could not get away from oil. It was a risk I had to take to ensure I complete my pilgrimage. I was carrying 10.5kg of luggage which mainly consist of clothing for winter and 1kg of oats. In between I also took non organic apples, mandarins and bananas to supplement my diet. This change in diet gave my the energy that I required. I also took large potions of the food resulting me in gaining 0.5kg at the end of the trip.
Except for the stomach upset when I had my first normal vegetarian meal, everything was fine. My appitite was very good and I would eat when the slightest opportunity arises. Most of the time I have avoided hawker food and ate only at decent looking restaurants for fear of stomach upset for the whole group. Water was mainly bottled drinking water while was readily available. Only the last day I took the risk of eating chowmein form one hawker stall along Lindsay Street in downtown Kolkata. In my pre-cancer days, I am one who dears to try hawker food (when in Thailand, China and Indonesia) as this is the only way you can taste local food as eaten by the masses.
Pilgrimage Trip
I am really glad I undertook the pilgrimage trip. It open a new dimension of my life about myself, Buddhism and Buddha and also about the Indian people. Except for the menacing beggers, I have no complaints. Well maybe the streets were congested, roads in bad state of repairs, these are all part and parcel of a country's growing pains. I will write a separate blog titled "DIY Buddhist Pilgrimage In India" for those would would like to undertake their own backpackers pilgrimage trip. It consist of my travel logs (and contributions from my friend Vishuddi Lee) of some dos and dont's to make your trip a memorable one.
We slept three days in the train (picture on left is the Varanasi station), one day in hotel and four days in the monasteries. Accomodation were basic but clean, around two/three stars rating. As the Bhante Devrai Negi reminded us that we enjoyed worldly pleasures of life in our daily living and so for the pilgrimage, it presents an opportunity to sample a simple lifestyle and get an insight of how difficult it must be for Buddha in his days to travel around without modern transportation. 
I was overwhelmed at the sights that I saw especially at Bodhgaya Mahabodhi Temple. Although the temple has been restored and showed some modern construction materials, the place just eminate a very different vibration as you enter the temple complex. There were possibly thousands of pilgrims from all over the world and I must say it is the Tibetians Lamas(most likely they are refugees who are now naturalised Indians) and the Thai monks that provide the vibrancy. They continuous chanting and posterations reflect their devotions to the Buddha and his teachings. This is the site that Buddha attained his enlightenment.
Our Day 2 stop was to Nalanda and Rajgir to see the ruins of Nalanda University. Tsuan Tsang also visited this place during its hey days and reported that there were 1,000 over teachers and over 10,000 monks as students. However, the University was burned down during the Muslim invasion in India. Many Buddhist sites were burned down. In the afternoon, we went to Rajgir to see the place where Buddha tame a drunkered elephant that consumed too much wild berries. It was also a place where Buddha would go for his mediation. The World Peace Pagoda is located on top of the mountain.
On the morning of day 3, we visited Sujata village. Sujata was a lay person who offered Sidhartha just before he became Buddha with rice milk. The site is about 30 minutes walk across the dried river across Mahabodi Temple. A stupa was erected in her memory. We left Bodhgaya at around 12pm to head to Varanasi by train at 2.10pm.
Arrived arived at Varanasi at late evening. Since it is winter in India, the sky becomes dark by about 5.30pm. We stayed at Ganpati Guest House, a little pricy but the facilities were adequate. This was the only hotel we stayed throughout our pilgrimage because there was no Buddhist monastries around we could stay. Buddha used to frequent this area to preach. As you know, in India even today the caste system is very much alive. So the lowest caste or untouchables as some called it found solace in Buddhism.
On the 5th day, we left Varanasi for Sarnath. This is the place where Buddha made his first sermon when he attained enlightenment. We visited the Chinese Temple but run by Thai monks and asked for the use of a room where we could put out luggage and also take bath and have rests. Bhante Devrai Negi was very accomodating despite having a bus load of visitors from Thailand that will be staying at the temple. Our train is 11.30pm in the evening. We visited the stupa which was massive to commerate the event. Later in the evening, we attended the 7pm service at the Temple where 8 monks recited the sermon. We also joined in the pujas and it was really moving. 
The train ride from Sarnath was suppose to be only 6 hours but due to delays, we reached Gorakhpur only about 8am. We had booked first class but facilities was third class. There was no pillow and blanket offered and it was freezing, maybe about 10°C or so. Most of us did not sleep well. This morning, we had to rush to Sonauli, the border town where would we cross over to Nepal to go to Lumbini. We took a jeep (size of the Mahindra jeep)that sat 16 people one of which was a child. We sat at the back row which was supposed to accomodate 4 but packed 6 of us. The journey took almost 2.30hours. This part of the journey was most tortuous. Further shocked awaits us after we crossed in Nepal. Nepal was on strike for 3 days and lucky for us, the strike is ending 5pm. During the strike, shops are closed and no vehicles are allowed on the road. We managed to find a shop that was willing to serve us Maggie noodles. Our karma must have been good and by 2.30pm traffic started moving and we managed to get to Lumbini at 4pm, a hour left to explore Lumbini Garden. This is the place where Sidhartha (Buddha) was born. The picture shows the Mahadevi complex which was constructed to protect the ruins that show the exact spot where Buddha was born. We quickly assembled beside the Bodhi tree and offered pujas. Here we stayed at the Tibetian monastery and they have a guest house which we can stay for a fee of NRS1,400 (Nepali Rupees). All other temples that we stayed we offered donation. This rooms are very good and clean with attached bathrooms and I had a good rest that night. 
Next morning, we got up early to explore other temples around the vicinity, most of which are under construction. The Tibetian styled temple constructed by Germany was the best and most impressive for now.As a result of the strike that ended the previous day, lorries that we trying to enter Nepal for the last three days which now stretched almost 2km long costs congestion on the streets.
We lost one over hour and by the time we reached Kushniaga, it was almost 4.45pm and the Temple closes 5.30pm. After paying respects to the Banthe at the Japan Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple, we quickly walked to the temple.Kushniaga is the place where Buddha passed into paranivara. Some monks were kind enough to offer some explanation inside the temple. We were glad we finally managed to complete the pilgrimage!
The 8th day was spent on the train back to Kolkata. The journey takes 16 hours but ended close to 18 hours instead. But we really had quality family time as for the first time we spent so many hours together talking, reviewing the journey and playing Uno together. My daughters quite like India and would like to come back again. As for me, if my health does not deteriorate, I will most likely be making another trip same time next year but this time as a guide to others. Hey where can you go for pilgrimage for less than RM1.8K per person full board?
Health Status @ 26 December 2009
This is my 5th health status report. New information are presented in italics.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
a2. Nutrition Diet
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
Went on a normal vegetarian diet while in India. Where possible, would consume chowmien and fired rice with no salt. Chapati and plain Thali set (consists of 4 pices of chapati, rice, potatoes, some veg salad and dahl) forms my main diet while in India. Where hot water is available, also consume organic oatmeal.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Non oranic apples, mandarins and bananas are consumed at regular intervals.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers disappeared.
c. Urine Therapy
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
Health Status
Had severe stomach cramps after I first had my vegetarian meal on the plane. The pain became strong when I landed in Kolkata. I believe it was caused by the oil in the food for which I had not taken for three months. After taking "poh chi" pills, the pain went way and did not recurr during the rest of the trip.
Verdict
Gain 0.5kg while in India. This is expected as I was on normal vegetarian diet while consist of oil and I took large portions of the food as I needed the strength to complete the pilgrimage.
Basically, I do not feel any deterioration in my health. I feel the same outside and hope nothing has deteriorated much on the inside.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
a2. Nutrition Diet
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
Went on a normal vegetarian diet while in India. Where possible, would consume chowmien and fired rice with no salt. Chapati and plain Thali set (consists of 4 pices of chapati, rice, potatoes, some veg salad and dahl) forms my main diet while in India. Where hot water is available, also consume organic oatmeal.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Non oranic apples, mandarins and bananas are consumed at regular intervals.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers disappeared.
c. Urine Therapy
Therapy suspended for 9 days while in India.
Health Status
Had severe stomach cramps after I first had my vegetarian meal on the plane. The pain became strong when I landed in Kolkata. I believe it was caused by the oil in the food for which I had not taken for three months. After taking "poh chi" pills, the pain went way and did not recurr during the rest of the trip.
Verdict
Gain 0.5kg while in India. This is expected as I was on normal vegetarian diet while consist of oil and I took large portions of the food as I needed the strength to complete the pilgrimage.
Basically, I do not feel any deterioration in my health. I feel the same outside and hope nothing has deteriorated much on the inside.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Merry Christmas
The timing is really impacting my health. Getting up at 6.30am and then sleeping at 11.30pm with one or two urine breaks in the middle of the night is really affecting me. I am getting more tired as the days passes. My shoulder aches and I know this is due to lack of sleep. Juicing requires a lot of strength as the vegetables needs to be pushed through. Sometimes I am so tired that I actually fall asleep during the coffee enemas, even for 15 minutes. So far, I take a nap around 1.30pm to 2.00pm just after my lunch and this helps a bit. But I think I need longer breaks. What I am thinking of is during the afternoon juicing cycle, which consists of 5 juices (alternating between carrot+apple and green vegetables), I will prepare the 4.30pm carrot+apple juice at 3.30pm, the same time as I prepare my vegetables juices and stored in in thermos. Then I take a nap from 3.40pm to 4.30pm and then wake up to take my carrot+apple juice. This way I will have about 50 mins of sleep. Otherwise, the juicing cycle take almost 30 mins including the washing. Not forgetting in between I had to do coffee enema. I will eat my guava during the day instead of at night. Guavas are very juicy and carries lots of water in it. If this does not work out, then I have to get up later at 7.30am but keep the juicing frequency to 50 minutes instead so that I can maintain 12 juices a day.
Well it's good that I am taking a break this few days. At least there is sometime for me to catch up some sleep and needed rests. My travel arrangement in India is almost fully arranged. My friend have also pre-arrange for us taxis for some of the routes and we will be using taxis throughout our journey. That way it would not strain us very much and walking will be confined to temple areas only. The cool weather will also help to conserve my energy. There will be very little shopping, possibly only on the last day of the trip. I have trained myself to sleep on buses, trains and airplane so hopefully I will not have any problems.
I will not have access to Internet but will try and blog if I can get hold of some Internet cafe to report briefly on my condition and status of my trip. My family members and many of my friends are really anxious about my safety on this trip. I will be back in Malaysia on Christmas Day but it will be almost midnight by then.
Wishing all my Christian friends and family members a Merry Christmas.
Well it's good that I am taking a break this few days. At least there is sometime for me to catch up some sleep and needed rests. My travel arrangement in India is almost fully arranged. My friend have also pre-arrange for us taxis for some of the routes and we will be using taxis throughout our journey. That way it would not strain us very much and walking will be confined to temple areas only. The cool weather will also help to conserve my energy. There will be very little shopping, possibly only on the last day of the trip. I have trained myself to sleep on buses, trains and airplane so hopefully I will not have any problems.
I will not have access to Internet but will try and blog if I can get hold of some Internet cafe to report briefly on my condition and status of my trip. My family members and many of my friends are really anxious about my safety on this trip. I will be back in Malaysia on Christmas Day but it will be almost midnight by then.
Wishing all my Christian friends and family members a Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
All Systems Go
My friend who just came back on Monday from his pilgrimage trip in India has prepared some guidance notes for me. It consists of what to bring, some do and don't and what could go wrong. I am very lucky as he has taken great pains to document all these up. The weather there is cool during daytime, much like in Genting Highlands but it can be a cold in the trains at night and recommended me to bring long johns and warm clothing. We are all ready to go.
Food may pose a little problem for me but I think the vegetarian diet couple with low sodium and oil diet although not recommended will do for me for a few days. My last trip to Hangzhou in mid September 2009, I ate normal food rich in animal protein and survived.
I think my treatment is going on well and the body is responding. I noticed the muscles in my hands are a little firmer. Sitting is now less painful but this could be due to either I got back some muscles in my buttocks or I got used to the sitting. Every morning when I take the morning tablet for my homeopathy treatment, my body reacts after about 30 minutes of consuming the tablet. I get a very hot burning sensation following by reactions on the face (very red) and neck, hands and thighs (pimple like appearance but disappear after about 30 minutes). My weight is stable, my appitite is very good.
My sleep is disturbed because I will get up at least twice for urination. This has probably to do with the kg of guava that I take everynight and followed by an oatmeal. As a result I feel very tired during early morning. I will have to find a way to overcome this problem. Of course, one quick way out is to take short naps between the juicing. The other problem I am facing is my mouth ulcers. It keeps coming back and has been haunting me for the past one month!
Food may pose a little problem for me but I think the vegetarian diet couple with low sodium and oil diet although not recommended will do for me for a few days. My last trip to Hangzhou in mid September 2009, I ate normal food rich in animal protein and survived.
I think my treatment is going on well and the body is responding. I noticed the muscles in my hands are a little firmer. Sitting is now less painful but this could be due to either I got back some muscles in my buttocks or I got used to the sitting. Every morning when I take the morning tablet for my homeopathy treatment, my body reacts after about 30 minutes of consuming the tablet. I get a very hot burning sensation following by reactions on the face (very red) and neck, hands and thighs (pimple like appearance but disappear after about 30 minutes). My weight is stable, my appitite is very good.
My sleep is disturbed because I will get up at least twice for urination. This has probably to do with the kg of guava that I take everynight and followed by an oatmeal. As a result I feel very tired during early morning. I will have to find a way to overcome this problem. Of course, one quick way out is to take short naps between the juicing. The other problem I am facing is my mouth ulcers. It keeps coming back and has been haunting me for the past one month!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Your Main Resolution For 2010
Today I receive some good and bad news. First, the good news. My friend who is now on the way back from his pilgrimage trip in India said everything went fine. Another friend said it is easy to obtain thick fresh juices there and also suggested the brand of bottled water to drink. So it looks like the trip will be as planned.
Now the bad news. I just receive word that the mother of one of my ex-colleague has breast cancer. She is in her 60s. She will receive mastectomy as her treatment. What is important to note is that even if the mastectomy is successful, it does not mean that the person is cancer free. What is sad is that most of the allopatic doctors do not know anything about nutrition and yet has the odessity to preach food has nothing to do with cancer. To ensure the cancer do not return, it is important to change the diet immediately after the mastectomy. One other interesting thing to note about this case is that another ex-colleague commented that two other sisters also have breast cancer and therefore it is hereditary. This is what the doctor wants you to believe since they don't believe diet has a major role to play. The reason why it runs in the family is that all the siblings are on the same diet. In a reference case disclosed in the video "Healing Cancer From The Inside Out", Brenda Cobb's family including mother and all aunties on the mother's side who have similar disease such as breast and cervical cancer. When it was her turn to get breast cancer and cervical tumor, she refuse conventional treatment because her mother and aunties died even after conventional treatment. They also did not change their diet. She refuse conventional treatment and went for Gerson like therapy and now she is living and free from cancer.
As I have said before in my earlier blog, statistically, your chance of getting cancer becomes higher every year, as you grow older. Don't be so happy because it becomes tougher next year. Prevention is so much easier than what I am going through now. Please re-examine your diet now and make the change. Make this your main resolution for 2010!
Now the bad news. I just receive word that the mother of one of my ex-colleague has breast cancer. She is in her 60s. She will receive mastectomy as her treatment. What is important to note is that even if the mastectomy is successful, it does not mean that the person is cancer free. What is sad is that most of the allopatic doctors do not know anything about nutrition and yet has the odessity to preach food has nothing to do with cancer. To ensure the cancer do not return, it is important to change the diet immediately after the mastectomy. One other interesting thing to note about this case is that another ex-colleague commented that two other sisters also have breast cancer and therefore it is hereditary. This is what the doctor wants you to believe since they don't believe diet has a major role to play. The reason why it runs in the family is that all the siblings are on the same diet. In a reference case disclosed in the video "Healing Cancer From The Inside Out", Brenda Cobb's family including mother and all aunties on the mother's side who have similar disease such as breast and cervical cancer. When it was her turn to get breast cancer and cervical tumor, she refuse conventional treatment because her mother and aunties died even after conventional treatment. They also did not change their diet. She refuse conventional treatment and went for Gerson like therapy and now she is living and free from cancer.
As I have said before in my earlier blog, statistically, your chance of getting cancer becomes higher every year, as you grow older. Don't be so happy because it becomes tougher next year. Prevention is so much easier than what I am going through now. Please re-examine your diet now and make the change. Make this your main resolution for 2010!
Gerson's Four Stages of Treatment
The following information is taken from Dr Max Gerson for Dietary considerations in malignant neoplastic diesease. After reading his other books and papers, I believe this diet is generally applcable to all degenerating dieases and cancer as well.
Essentials of the diet (Modified Gerson Diet)
- Saltless (no salt, no sodium bicarbonate, nor other minerals belonging to the Na-group).
- Fatless (all vegetables or foods containing fats, fatty acids or lecithin are excluded).
- Poor in animal proteins (the first six weeks without any protein, later milk products in limited quantities).
- Rich in mineral of the K-group (Dicalcium phophate and selected fruits and vegetables rich in the minerals of the K-group).
- Rich in carbohydrates from plants and fruit.
- Abundant fluid (vegetable soup and various juices).
- Rich in vitamins (by adding Brewer’s Yeast, fresh fruit and vegetables as well as fruit juice and vegetable juices).
- Rich in some liver substances and enzymes (including defatted liver powder from young anima.s, 3-5 capsules a day, and liver injections of Crude Liver Extract — 10 cc. Equal to 10 U.S. units. The first few weeks, 2 cc. Daily, then every other day, later twice weekly; injected intra-muscularly, best in the glutacus medius).
The treatment may be divided into four stages:
Forbidden:
Nicotine, salt, sodium bicarbonate and other sodium compounds, alcohol, coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, spices with certain exceptions, pickles, smoked fish, sausages; all canned, preserved and bottled foods; white flour, refined sugar, candies, cakes, ice-cream, butter, all animal and vegetable fats, nuts.
Temporarily forbidden:
Meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, bread.
Stage One: necessary daily
Fruits (all kinds permitted except alligator pears, pinapples, berries, pomegranates); pears and plums when stewed.
Especially required are: apples in every form, such as raw, grated, baked, stewed, and in the form of apple sauce; also spinach, lettuce, carrots, and potatoes.
Allowed are: some dried fruits, such as prunes, peaches, apricots, soaked and stewed unsulphured or carefully washed off.
A Special Soup: One to one and a half quarts a day. Half consists of: parsley root, leek, and celery knob; the other half, of tomatoes and potatoes. The vegetables are to be diced, covered with water and cooked for two hours.
The soup may be taken as ordinary soup or as a thick mash. It may be prepared in quantity for one or two days use and kept well covered in a refrigerator. To make it "tasty" add the following: onions, chives, horseradish, garlic, thyme, any fresh garden herbs, green pepper. Spread parsley leaves on it or powdered yeast, or add a few drops of lemon in the plate.
Potatoes: baked potatoes — as many as possible; potato and celery salad mixed, or mashed potatoes made from the baked potatoes, mixed with a little of the special soup.
Fruit salad, preferably consisting of some of the following: oranges, grapefruit, apples, grapes, tangerines, cherries, apricots, peaches, mangoes. Melon, banana or persimmons may be added.
Stewed fruit or compotes, such as apple sauce with raisins or prunes or certain other dried fruit; if they are to be sweetened, use brown sugar or molasses. Some patients are hypersensitive to dark honey, and prefer maple sugar, maple syrup, glucose, Karo, light honey or molasses.
Salad: lettuce, watercress, tomato (less important are; endive, chicory, escarole, romaine, radishes), mixed with finely grated raw vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower, red beets, kohlrabi, etc.
Dressings: lemon juice; also if desired, a few drops of wine-vinegar. No salad oil or other oil or fat.
Fluids: Since large amounts of other fluids are given, it is preferable not to give water but, instead, three to four glasses of orange juice and two to three glasses of grapefruit juice. Add the juice of half a lemon to each and, if possible, add one glass of tomato juice or grape juice; in further advanced cases a few glasses of apple and carrot juice, also a preparation consisting of mashed apples and carrots, mixed half and half — all freshly pressed. Do not use metal squeezer or one with a cap (the latter tends to press undesirable aromatic oils of the skin into the juice).
Oatmeal, at least twice daily, milled without bleaching and with no milk or cream, cooked in water, served with brown sugar or fresh or stewed fruit.
When using this diet the patient needs larger portions and more frequent meals. He may take food every hour starting early in the morning, and continuing until the hour of retiring. Feedings may continue during the night if for any reason the patient is awake.
Stage Two (after 2 weeks)
The same diet as above with additions:
Among these, all vegetables are allowed (except mushrooms); to be stewed very slowly in their own juices according to the following rules:
With no added water or steam.
The vegetables are not to be scraped but washed with a brush.
The pot must be tightly covered so that the steam cannot escapte. Adhesive tape may be used but not pressure cooker (Exception: it is not necessary to cover spinach tightly).
Do not use luminum pots or other aluminum utensils. Use: stainless steel, pyrex, enamel, earthenware, iron with enamel, or enamel pots with glass cover.
Let the vegetables cook slowly with a low flame about one to one and a half hours, without water and without salt. If the vegetables are too dry and have been stored too long, soak them before cooking in lukewarm water not more than fifteen minutes so that they can re-absorb the lost fluid. (It is important not to soak vegetables for a longer period since their minerals tend to dissolve in the water.
Stage Three (after 4 weeks)
Add to the preceding list: pumpernickel rye bread, salt-less, 1/3 of a pound a day. Sandwiches of pumpernickel with: tomatoes, radishes, chopped parsley, lettuce, raw finely grated vegetables, especially carrots (no butter). Tomatoes or green peppers filled with brown or wild rice. Apple pie made with rye flour, raisins, etc.
Stage Four (after 6 weeks)
In addition: one glass of buttermilk and, after one week, two glasses; pot-cheese or farmer’s cheese (without salt or cream), a quarter of a pound a day, later half a pound; yoghourt or acidophilus milk without cream, one to two glasses a day.
The description of the four successive diets given above, covers only the essentials. It is obvious that they must and can be adapted to different conditions, especially when the gastrointestinal tract is involved. Then raw foods (except juices) have to be excluded — the fruit must be stewed, the vegetables strained, the raw fruit and vegetable juices mixed with gruel, half and half, etc.
As the patient’s digestive tolerance increases, a larger proportion of the vegetable juice is mixed with the gruel.
Essentials of the diet (Modified Gerson Diet)
- Saltless (no salt, no sodium bicarbonate, nor other minerals belonging to the Na-group).
- Fatless (all vegetables or foods containing fats, fatty acids or lecithin are excluded).
- Poor in animal proteins (the first six weeks without any protein, later milk products in limited quantities).
- Rich in mineral of the K-group (Dicalcium phophate and selected fruits and vegetables rich in the minerals of the K-group).
- Rich in carbohydrates from plants and fruit.
- Abundant fluid (vegetable soup and various juices).
- Rich in vitamins (by adding Brewer’s Yeast, fresh fruit and vegetables as well as fruit juice and vegetable juices).
- Rich in some liver substances and enzymes (including defatted liver powder from young anima.s, 3-5 capsules a day, and liver injections of Crude Liver Extract — 10 cc. Equal to 10 U.S. units. The first few weeks, 2 cc. Daily, then every other day, later twice weekly; injected intra-muscularly, best in the glutacus medius).
The treatment may be divided into four stages:
Forbidden:
Nicotine, salt, sodium bicarbonate and other sodium compounds, alcohol, coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, spices with certain exceptions, pickles, smoked fish, sausages; all canned, preserved and bottled foods; white flour, refined sugar, candies, cakes, ice-cream, butter, all animal and vegetable fats, nuts.
Temporarily forbidden:
Meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, bread.
Stage One: necessary daily
Fruits (all kinds permitted except alligator pears, pinapples, berries, pomegranates); pears and plums when stewed.
Especially required are: apples in every form, such as raw, grated, baked, stewed, and in the form of apple sauce; also spinach, lettuce, carrots, and potatoes.
Allowed are: some dried fruits, such as prunes, peaches, apricots, soaked and stewed unsulphured or carefully washed off.
A Special Soup: One to one and a half quarts a day. Half consists of: parsley root, leek, and celery knob; the other half, of tomatoes and potatoes. The vegetables are to be diced, covered with water and cooked for two hours.
The soup may be taken as ordinary soup or as a thick mash. It may be prepared in quantity for one or two days use and kept well covered in a refrigerator. To make it "tasty" add the following: onions, chives, horseradish, garlic, thyme, any fresh garden herbs, green pepper. Spread parsley leaves on it or powdered yeast, or add a few drops of lemon in the plate.
Potatoes: baked potatoes — as many as possible; potato and celery salad mixed, or mashed potatoes made from the baked potatoes, mixed with a little of the special soup.
Fruit salad, preferably consisting of some of the following: oranges, grapefruit, apples, grapes, tangerines, cherries, apricots, peaches, mangoes. Melon, banana or persimmons may be added.
Stewed fruit or compotes, such as apple sauce with raisins or prunes or certain other dried fruit; if they are to be sweetened, use brown sugar or molasses. Some patients are hypersensitive to dark honey, and prefer maple sugar, maple syrup, glucose, Karo, light honey or molasses.
Salad: lettuce, watercress, tomato (less important are; endive, chicory, escarole, romaine, radishes), mixed with finely grated raw vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower, red beets, kohlrabi, etc.
Dressings: lemon juice; also if desired, a few drops of wine-vinegar. No salad oil or other oil or fat.
Fluids: Since large amounts of other fluids are given, it is preferable not to give water but, instead, three to four glasses of orange juice and two to three glasses of grapefruit juice. Add the juice of half a lemon to each and, if possible, add one glass of tomato juice or grape juice; in further advanced cases a few glasses of apple and carrot juice, also a preparation consisting of mashed apples and carrots, mixed half and half — all freshly pressed. Do not use metal squeezer or one with a cap (the latter tends to press undesirable aromatic oils of the skin into the juice).
Oatmeal, at least twice daily, milled without bleaching and with no milk or cream, cooked in water, served with brown sugar or fresh or stewed fruit.
When using this diet the patient needs larger portions and more frequent meals. He may take food every hour starting early in the morning, and continuing until the hour of retiring. Feedings may continue during the night if for any reason the patient is awake.
Stage Two (after 2 weeks)
The same diet as above with additions:
Among these, all vegetables are allowed (except mushrooms); to be stewed very slowly in their own juices according to the following rules:
With no added water or steam.
The vegetables are not to be scraped but washed with a brush.
The pot must be tightly covered so that the steam cannot escapte. Adhesive tape may be used but not pressure cooker (Exception: it is not necessary to cover spinach tightly).
Do not use luminum pots or other aluminum utensils. Use: stainless steel, pyrex, enamel, earthenware, iron with enamel, or enamel pots with glass cover.
Let the vegetables cook slowly with a low flame about one to one and a half hours, without water and without salt. If the vegetables are too dry and have been stored too long, soak them before cooking in lukewarm water not more than fifteen minutes so that they can re-absorb the lost fluid. (It is important not to soak vegetables for a longer period since their minerals tend to dissolve in the water.
Stage Three (after 4 weeks)
Add to the preceding list: pumpernickel rye bread, salt-less, 1/3 of a pound a day. Sandwiches of pumpernickel with: tomatoes, radishes, chopped parsley, lettuce, raw finely grated vegetables, especially carrots (no butter). Tomatoes or green peppers filled with brown or wild rice. Apple pie made with rye flour, raisins, etc.
Stage Four (after 6 weeks)
In addition: one glass of buttermilk and, after one week, two glasses; pot-cheese or farmer’s cheese (without salt or cream), a quarter of a pound a day, later half a pound; yoghourt or acidophilus milk without cream, one to two glasses a day.
The description of the four successive diets given above, covers only the essentials. It is obvious that they must and can be adapted to different conditions, especially when the gastrointestinal tract is involved. Then raw foods (except juices) have to be excluded — the fruit must be stewed, the vegetables strained, the raw fruit and vegetable juices mixed with gruel, half and half, etc.
As the patient’s digestive tolerance increases, a larger proportion of the vegetable juice is mixed with the gruel.
Pomegranates Juices
While searching for bottled water and fruit juices information in India, I stumbled upon some informantion on pomegranates. The abridged information is reproduced below.
Antioxidant activity
During processing, whole pomegranates are pressed for juice; not only because it is more economically feasible then separating the juicy pulpy seeds, but also because the red rind releases additional polyphenols. As a result, pomegranate juice may contain three times the total antioxidant value found in other widely-touted sources such as red wine or green tea. It contains hydrolyzable tannins (punicalagin and galloyl glucose), anthocyanins, and gallic/ellagic acid and their derivatives—all of which are potent scavengers that neutralize free radicals. Higher levels of the polyphenol punicalagin are found in the whole pomegranate (with rind) then in the seeds only. And it is this increased antioxidant level that may be correlated with the prevention of LDL or ‘bad cholesterol’ accumulation. (The fruit also delivers 40 percent of an adult’s daily vitamin-C requirement, as well as small amounts of vitamin-B complex and folic acid, and, calcium, phosphorus and iron.)
Cancer fighter
In July 2006, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, suggested that men diagnosed with prostate cancer and having already had preliminary treatment, may benefit from a daily dose of pomegranate juice to suppress further growth, and delay the need for further therapies. “Prostate cancer survivors in their late 60’s and 70’s are being told that pomegranate juice may allow them to outlive their risk of dying from their cancer,” wrote lead author Dr Allan Pantuck, in the journal of Clinical Cancer Research. One possible mechanism may be that pomegranate juice exerts an anti-inflammatory effect. This is not a cure, but perhaps a method to change the way prostate cancer grows.
Antioxidant activity
During processing, whole pomegranates are pressed for juice; not only because it is more economically feasible then separating the juicy pulpy seeds, but also because the red rind releases additional polyphenols. As a result, pomegranate juice may contain three times the total antioxidant value found in other widely-touted sources such as red wine or green tea. It contains hydrolyzable tannins (punicalagin and galloyl glucose), anthocyanins, and gallic/ellagic acid and their derivatives—all of which are potent scavengers that neutralize free radicals. Higher levels of the polyphenol punicalagin are found in the whole pomegranate (with rind) then in the seeds only. And it is this increased antioxidant level that may be correlated with the prevention of LDL or ‘bad cholesterol’ accumulation. (The fruit also delivers 40 percent of an adult’s daily vitamin-C requirement, as well as small amounts of vitamin-B complex and folic acid, and, calcium, phosphorus and iron.)
Cancer fighter
In July 2006, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, suggested that men diagnosed with prostate cancer and having already had preliminary treatment, may benefit from a daily dose of pomegranate juice to suppress further growth, and delay the need for further therapies. “Prostate cancer survivors in their late 60’s and 70’s are being told that pomegranate juice may allow them to outlive their risk of dying from their cancer,” wrote lead author Dr Allan Pantuck, in the journal of Clinical Cancer Research. One possible mechanism may be that pomegranate juice exerts an anti-inflammatory effect. This is not a cure, but perhaps a method to change the way prostate cancer grows.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Wish Fullfilled
As my pilgrimage draws near, many of my friends including my family member are anxious of my health while in India. I have experience with cold weather, been to places with -26°C and also worked in places with has winter. So in that sense, I know how to take care of myself of cold weather. Of course, besides the cold, the other aspects will be the food. I agree, food is a concern but I am going there only for a few days. I will still be on a controlled vegetarian diet.
This is a wish that I wanted to fulfill sometime ago. While it will certaintly be easier to stay put here because I can get most of the things for my treatment, but this is also a test for myself. With this over, part of the spiritual "burden" will be lifted and fulfilled. Of course, many will not understand and I don't expect them to. Everyone will have to find their own path. It's not that with the wish fulfilled, I will die. Far from it, it means that I can now focus on the main thing, to heal myself. As I said before, the journey is very painful from the emotional, physical, physiological and not forgetting the financial aspects as well.
So far my health condition has remained about the same. I looked the same and it is because of this that many still asked my how am I feeling. They don't see any changes, so they don't know if I am alright. It's not like you have surgery and when you recover you can walk. In my case everything is subtle and the only thing that can really confirm me health is another scan. I hope my external outlook is a reflection of what's inside the body. Basically, no deterioration is good news.
This is a wish that I wanted to fulfill sometime ago. While it will certaintly be easier to stay put here because I can get most of the things for my treatment, but this is also a test for myself. With this over, part of the spiritual "burden" will be lifted and fulfilled. Of course, many will not understand and I don't expect them to. Everyone will have to find their own path. It's not that with the wish fulfilled, I will die. Far from it, it means that I can now focus on the main thing, to heal myself. As I said before, the journey is very painful from the emotional, physical, physiological and not forgetting the financial aspects as well.
So far my health condition has remained about the same. I looked the same and it is because of this that many still asked my how am I feeling. They don't see any changes, so they don't know if I am alright. It's not like you have surgery and when you recover you can walk. In my case everything is subtle and the only thing that can really confirm me health is another scan. I hope my external outlook is a reflection of what's inside the body. Basically, no deterioration is good news.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Simulation Run
This morning (Saturday), I spend half a day taking my children to shop for back to school items and at the same time simulate what would happen while I am in India. I noted that my physical energy levels are not so high and I get hungry very fast. I brought along a 250gm guava but it was not sufficient. Because I am used to some solid food like rice, noodles or bread, the fruit did no offer much relief. Furthermore the current hot weather, it can get tiring very fast. I don't get so tired when I am in Cameron Highlands. Since it's winter in Northern India, the weather there will be cold. So although I may not get so tired, but I will still get hungry because of the cold weather. So I need to address the need for solid food. Basically, I would depend on 1) the flask of hot water that I will be carrying long to make oatsmeal and 2) rye, wholemeal bread or chapati that I buy and carry will carry along with me. I will try and order fresh food so that I can dictate what they put in. It will be low or no sodium, suger and oil diet. So for the juicing, I can carry apples and/or carrots along and eat as much as possible. I will also bring along my supplements like Q10, B12, naicin, kelp and k-salt.
Of course, some people still wonder why at my present condition I undertake the journey to India. As you can see from developments, anything can happen. Time waits for no man and if you need to go, then go because we really do not know what tomorrow brings. Although this may sound negative, this is living in the present. Old Chinese traditional thinking is to save the best for last but I would prefer to go with the flow. My "future" is still blurr and while I am able bodied, I should make use of it least I regret it later. It is said that the pilgrimage sites carries very high energy levels and I hope to benefit from it. My whole family's knowledge of Buddhism is very good and can also chant very well. We will invoke the blessings of the devas to protect us while we are at the holy sites.
I have managed to juice between 11 and 12 times a day. I have also been visiting some pharmacies for lecithin but found most of them to have about 2mg of sodium in every tablespoon. I am not sure if this is acceptable but the preference is to be sodium free. I will continue to search. Lecithin is the substitute for ox bile powder in castor oil enemas. I have managed to stay on potatoes diet for the last three days but is is not easy. I am trying to remove my dependencies from brown rice to once a week. The Hipocrates soup is helping to make me full and I have also been eating much more fruits, especially guava. I have not gotten used to my new shape. I need to adjust my belts to smaller size by punching new holes and my trousers from size 34 to size 33/32.
Of course, some people still wonder why at my present condition I undertake the journey to India. As you can see from developments, anything can happen. Time waits for no man and if you need to go, then go because we really do not know what tomorrow brings. Although this may sound negative, this is living in the present. Old Chinese traditional thinking is to save the best for last but I would prefer to go with the flow. My "future" is still blurr and while I am able bodied, I should make use of it least I regret it later. It is said that the pilgrimage sites carries very high energy levels and I hope to benefit from it. My whole family's knowledge of Buddhism is very good and can also chant very well. We will invoke the blessings of the devas to protect us while we are at the holy sites.
I have managed to juice between 11 and 12 times a day. I have also been visiting some pharmacies for lecithin but found most of them to have about 2mg of sodium in every tablespoon. I am not sure if this is acceptable but the preference is to be sodium free. I will continue to search. Lecithin is the substitute for ox bile powder in castor oil enemas. I have managed to stay on potatoes diet for the last three days but is is not easy. I am trying to remove my dependencies from brown rice to once a week. The Hipocrates soup is helping to make me full and I have also been eating much more fruits, especially guava. I have not gotten used to my new shape. I need to adjust my belts to smaller size by punching new holes and my trousers from size 34 to size 33/32.
Health Status @ 12 December 2009
This is my 4th health status report. New information are presented in italics.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Initially, four times a day for four weeks, every four hours apart. Subsequently three times a day in the morning, afternoon and evening for 15 minutes.
Started the enema on a sitting position but results stopped after about one month. Now is done by lying on the right of the body as recommended by the Gerson therapy.
a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 10 fruit and vegetables juices a day begining around 7am and ending 7pm. First juice is either 40% ripe papaya (with skin) or green apple, then alternating between carrot+apple and vegetables (mainly lettuce) and ending with carrot juice. Now increased to 12 cups a day.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, maily oats with some raisins, sometimes a little manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, califlower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavouring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Somali organic brown rice is consumed and sometime potatoes are also used. ABC or hipocrates soup are also prepared but not everyday. As of today, hipocrates soup is consumed twice a day. Do not feel so hungry after taking lunch.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya and banana are consumed at regular intervals.
Initial reaction to the Gerson therapy was severe loss of weight within three weeks. This was possibly due to my own fault for not juicing and eating enough during the first three weeks. I did not follow the therapy closely. Weight is now stabelised and have settled down to a routine.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers reappeared. These are transient reaction.
c. Urine Therapy
Drink the first urine of the day.
Health Status
Other that the initial weight loss, no visible side effects or symptoms detected to date. Not as strong as before, susceptible to cold. Easy get tied when lefting heavy stuffs but no problems climbing a few flight of stairs. Energy level is strong and spirits is high.
Verdict
Weight has stabilised to 70-71kg range. Started juicing 12 times a day so will watch for further development.
Occasional checking of lumps on the body (I follow the same method used by the oncologists) to see if there are developments of external symptoms. I am pleased to report none found.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Initially, four times a day for four weeks, every four hours apart. Subsequently three times a day in the morning, afternoon and evening for 15 minutes.
Started the enema on a sitting position but results stopped after about one month. Now is done by lying on the right of the body as recommended by the Gerson therapy.
a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 10 fruit and vegetables juices a day begining around 7am and ending 7pm. First juice is either 40% ripe papaya (with skin) or green apple, then alternating between carrot+apple and vegetables (mainly lettuce) and ending with carrot juice. Now increased to 12 cups a day.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, maily oats with some raisins, sometimes a little manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, califlower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavouring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Somali organic brown rice is consumed and sometime potatoes are also used. ABC or hipocrates soup are also prepared but not everyday. As of today, hipocrates soup is consumed twice a day. Do not feel so hungry after taking lunch.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya and banana are consumed at regular intervals.
Initial reaction to the Gerson therapy was severe loss of weight within three weeks. This was possibly due to my own fault for not juicing and eating enough during the first three weeks. I did not follow the therapy closely. Weight is now stabelised and have settled down to a routine.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers reappeared. These are transient reaction.
c. Urine Therapy
Drink the first urine of the day.
Health Status
Other that the initial weight loss, no visible side effects or symptoms detected to date. Not as strong as before, susceptible to cold. Easy get tied when lefting heavy stuffs but no problems climbing a few flight of stairs. Energy level is strong and spirits is high.
Verdict
Weight has stabilised to 70-71kg range. Started juicing 12 times a day so will watch for further development.
Occasional checking of lumps on the body (I follow the same method used by the oncologists) to see if there are developments of external symptoms. I am pleased to report none found.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thank You For Your Support
Today marks the begining of the 4th month since I discovered the tumor in my kidney. These past three months was one of the most difficult times of my life. I have to change overnight to survive and the change is not easy. During this difficult times, both my family and friends were around me to support me.
So I will be short and do a little dedication to all my friends and supporters. With your encouragement and support, this mission impossible has now become more bearable but the journey is still long. I have run a number of marathons before but those are short and this one will take 18 to 24 months to complete. A very long marathon indeed. Thanks for all your support and encouragement.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
So I will be short and do a little dedication to all my friends and supporters. With your encouragement and support, this mission impossible has now become more bearable but the journey is still long. I have run a number of marathons before but those are short and this one will take 18 to 24 months to complete. A very long marathon indeed. Thanks for all your support and encouragement.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Drinking More Juice
Today I will start of with something on IT. I have been testing on Windows 7 to see if I would upgrade it to this version and I must say this is the best Windows version to date. Yes I would recommend update to this version especially if you are using Vista. But wait. Windows 7 has a serious flaw, so serious that will render your computer not usable. This problem is called "Black Screen of Death". Microsoft periodically update Windows automatically for security patches and it seems one of its patches resulted in the computer screen turning black just after startup. It happened to me twice already and is there a fix? Microsoft is said to be working on it but a British security firm has posted a fix. If you or your friends have this problem, then you need to download this fix. Start your Windows 7 in Safe Mode (to do that press F8 when you start your computer) and select the "Safe Mode with Networking" option. Once Windows has started, start IE and point your browser to http://info.prevx.com/download.asp?GRAB=BLACKSCREENFIX. A file will be downloaded and click "Run" to apply the fix. Restart Windows and you are back to normal.
Of late you would have detected some frustrations in my blog. Yes, you are right. Part of it was due to the Black Screen problem as described above as I search for the solution. But the main thing is that this cancer thingy can be frustrating and you can get into highs and lows. This morning, I woke up to my normal high spirited self. My jucing schedule has gone quite well albeit 10 minutes late and by 12.40pm, I have completed 7 juices and counting. I started my coffee enema at 8am and completed 3 enemas by 4pm so that I don't have to do in the evening because after coffee enema, I get rather hungry and look for something to eat. This schedule seems to work fine since I am also doing my homeopathy treatment in the evening, I cannot eat anything after that.
Charlotte Gerson in her co-authorded book, The Gerson Therapy described in one of the case study that one cancer patient juiced more than 13 times a day whenever possible and self healed himself. She also noted the more is the better. I believe that's the key. The 10 times that I am doing is not sufficient (wonder why these clinics in Hawaii advertised 10 to 11 juices a day only) which is why I am neither here or there. I will endevour to juice as many as times possible, perhaps increasing the frequency by shortining to 50-55 minutes interval. This is done due to the time available. I am buying more vegetables and apples because of this. I hope to see some improvements in the next few days.
I also received a very encouragement email from Ms Anderson of Gerson Institute. She saw my blog and offered encouragement and support including supply of one year's newsletter and also emailed me the Little Coffee Enema booklet. She also disclosed that for castrol oil enemas, I can use Lecithin instead of ox bile powder. I believe Lecithin is available locally.
Of late you would have detected some frustrations in my blog. Yes, you are right. Part of it was due to the Black Screen problem as described above as I search for the solution. But the main thing is that this cancer thingy can be frustrating and you can get into highs and lows. This morning, I woke up to my normal high spirited self. My jucing schedule has gone quite well albeit 10 minutes late and by 12.40pm, I have completed 7 juices and counting. I started my coffee enema at 8am and completed 3 enemas by 4pm so that I don't have to do in the evening because after coffee enema, I get rather hungry and look for something to eat. This schedule seems to work fine since I am also doing my homeopathy treatment in the evening, I cannot eat anything after that.
Charlotte Gerson in her co-authorded book, The Gerson Therapy described in one of the case study that one cancer patient juiced more than 13 times a day whenever possible and self healed himself. She also noted the more is the better. I believe that's the key. The 10 times that I am doing is not sufficient (wonder why these clinics in Hawaii advertised 10 to 11 juices a day only) which is why I am neither here or there. I will endevour to juice as many as times possible, perhaps increasing the frequency by shortining to 50-55 minutes interval. This is done due to the time available. I am buying more vegetables and apples because of this. I hope to see some improvements in the next few days.
I also received a very encouragement email from Ms Anderson of Gerson Institute. She saw my blog and offered encouragement and support including supply of one year's newsletter and also emailed me the Little Coffee Enema booklet. She also disclosed that for castrol oil enemas, I can use Lecithin instead of ox bile powder. I believe Lecithin is available locally.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Renal Cell Cancer
Renal cell cancers (RCC) rank as the approximately sixth most common site of origin of metastatic deposits in the skeleton, this tumor has several unique features that increase its significance. Metastatitc means spreading and when this happens, its normally termed as Stage IV cancer. The cancer is named after the primary site it discovered. When a patient has a metastasis and no site of origin can be found (a metastasis of unknown origin) the most likely site is the lung or kidney.
First, the metastatic deposits may occur many years after the primary tumor has been treated. This means a patient who seems to be cured after a RCC is removed from the kidney needs to be monitored for up to ten years for possible bone metastasis.
Second, RCC metastases may occur as a localised disease, from which an en bloc surgical resection of a solitary metastasis may render the patient free of cancer and offer hope for a cure. Non treatment could lead to the spreading of the disease.
Although the number of cases of this cancer is proportionally small, the tumor has a high avidity for bone and thus creates relatively large number of bone lesions. Patients are usually over 40, and the average age is around 55. Patients may have no other manifestation of cancer other than their painful bone lesion. Because the primary tumor can grow fairly large without creating local symptoms such as flank pain or a mass in the abdomen, kidney cancer often detected only when a metastasis develops. Hematuria or blood in urine is also a common sign, but small amounts of blood in the urine cannot be detected without a urinalysis.
Pain is the most common presenting symptom. Broken bone or fracture caused by the disease rarely occurs without a history of a few weeks or months of increasingly severe pain. In some cases the patient has tried to ignore or deny the symptoms. Sometimes a painful bone lesion is thought to be a "muscle pull" or a "sprain" and strong pain medicines are prescribed, allowing the patient to continue to tolerate very severe pain before the true nature of the problem is discovered. Systemic symptoms may also occur, such as hypercalcemia (the presence of abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood).
Kidney cancer metastasis most commonly affects the spine, ribs, pelvis, and proximal long bones. Kidney cancer may metastasize extremely late after the treatment of the primary lesion, up to ten years or more. Why the tumor seems to lay dormant for so long and then suddenly pop up in the bone is not known. Another unusual feature of this lesion is its extremely aggressive appearance and behavior in some cases. Lesions may be large and appear as a "blowout" of the particular bone involved. Kidney cancers are more likely to become "hideously large" than other lesions, due to their propensity to extend massively in the soft tissues surrounding the bone. Since the kidney is comprised of mostly blood vessels, kidney cancer metastases may also have a rich blood supply, and may bleed extensively (even audibly) after a simple biopsy. When you see a patient over age 40 with hematuria and a large blow-out bone lesion, think kidney cancer.
Kidney cancer with metastasis to bone can be a very aggressive tumor and patients with multiple bone lesions means an unfavorable prognosis. No conventional treatment is available for now. The average survival after the diagnosis of metastasis to bone is about 12 - 18 months.
In my case, there is no visible bone lesions symptoms and I hope it stays that way. Of course one way is to do a bone scan to confirm. I have enough to deal for now, so I will leave this out for the time being. So far I only get slight pain around the thigh bones once in a while. As I lost some muscles, even resting on my elbow on the thigh can be painful. This is most evident in my buttocks.
First, the metastatic deposits may occur many years after the primary tumor has been treated. This means a patient who seems to be cured after a RCC is removed from the kidney needs to be monitored for up to ten years for possible bone metastasis.
Second, RCC metastases may occur as a localised disease, from which an en bloc surgical resection of a solitary metastasis may render the patient free of cancer and offer hope for a cure. Non treatment could lead to the spreading of the disease.
Although the number of cases of this cancer is proportionally small, the tumor has a high avidity for bone and thus creates relatively large number of bone lesions. Patients are usually over 40, and the average age is around 55. Patients may have no other manifestation of cancer other than their painful bone lesion. Because the primary tumor can grow fairly large without creating local symptoms such as flank pain or a mass in the abdomen, kidney cancer often detected only when a metastasis develops. Hematuria or blood in urine is also a common sign, but small amounts of blood in the urine cannot be detected without a urinalysis.
Pain is the most common presenting symptom. Broken bone or fracture caused by the disease rarely occurs without a history of a few weeks or months of increasingly severe pain. In some cases the patient has tried to ignore or deny the symptoms. Sometimes a painful bone lesion is thought to be a "muscle pull" or a "sprain" and strong pain medicines are prescribed, allowing the patient to continue to tolerate very severe pain before the true nature of the problem is discovered. Systemic symptoms may also occur, such as hypercalcemia (the presence of abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood).
Kidney cancer metastasis most commonly affects the spine, ribs, pelvis, and proximal long bones. Kidney cancer may metastasize extremely late after the treatment of the primary lesion, up to ten years or more. Why the tumor seems to lay dormant for so long and then suddenly pop up in the bone is not known. Another unusual feature of this lesion is its extremely aggressive appearance and behavior in some cases. Lesions may be large and appear as a "blowout" of the particular bone involved. Kidney cancers are more likely to become "hideously large" than other lesions, due to their propensity to extend massively in the soft tissues surrounding the bone. Since the kidney is comprised of mostly blood vessels, kidney cancer metastases may also have a rich blood supply, and may bleed extensively (even audibly) after a simple biopsy. When you see a patient over age 40 with hematuria and a large blow-out bone lesion, think kidney cancer.
Kidney cancer with metastasis to bone can be a very aggressive tumor and patients with multiple bone lesions means an unfavorable prognosis. No conventional treatment is available for now. The average survival after the diagnosis of metastasis to bone is about 12 - 18 months.
In my case, there is no visible bone lesions symptoms and I hope it stays that way. Of course one way is to do a bone scan to confirm. I have enough to deal for now, so I will leave this out for the time being. So far I only get slight pain around the thigh bones once in a while. As I lost some muscles, even resting on my elbow on the thigh can be painful. This is most evident in my buttocks.
Revised Therapy Timetable
I said this before and will say it again. It's really difficult to follow the Gerson Therapy alone. I am still adjusting everyday as I get along. My mom helps me to stew the vegetables that I eat for lunch and dinner. Everything else I have to do myself. It's frustrating most of the time.
After some thinking, I have revised my schedule to as follows:
- Juicing at 6.30am and thereafter every hour stopping at 12.30pm. That's seven cups of juices. Resume juicing at 2.30pm to 6.30pm for another 5 cups. Total 12 cups.
- Oatmeal breakfast at 7.45am.
- Lunch at 1.15pm starting with Hipocrates soup and then backed potatoes with stewed vegetables. Dinner at 7.15pm menu same as lunch.
- Marketing for vegetables/fruits at 10.50am.
- Oatmeal time at 10.45am and 3.45pm
- Coffee enema at 9.45am, 2.45pm and 8.45pm.
- 8.15pm start homeopathy treatment and ends at 10.30pm.
- Oatmeal supper at 10.45pm.
- Bedtime at 11.00pm
As you can see, the schedule is rather cramped. It really tough surviving a cancer. So all of you, please do prevention. Once you missed, it difficult to catch up. I will need to come up with some schedule to allow me to catch some nap as this schedule can really be tiresome. I may also have to decline meeting some friends now and then.
Today I started eating the potatoes in place of brown rice. Potatoes is not part my normal diet and it is really difficult to eat just after consuming one potato. I tried really hard but I think I may not survive another potato meal tomorrow. I am already on the 11 week of the Gerson nutrition diet and in worst case scenario, I will revert back to brown rice and take my chances. Actually I started with the potato meal when I first started but vould not maintain it and then substituted with brown rice. Now I have come full circle with the same problem. Today, my preparation of the Hipocrates soup was a partial failure. Firstly I omitted to put in the leeks and secondly I did not watch over the boiling that resulting in spilling when the soup came to boil. Sigh...
As I said previously, although I look OK, I am not sure if internally nothing new has developed. Once in a while, I get jabbing around the ribs but of late I noticed some pain on the bone of my right thigh. This development could be bad. I have been doing further reading on renal cell cancers. Please see separate blog on this.
After some thinking, I have revised my schedule to as follows:
- Juicing at 6.30am and thereafter every hour stopping at 12.30pm. That's seven cups of juices. Resume juicing at 2.30pm to 6.30pm for another 5 cups. Total 12 cups.
- Oatmeal breakfast at 7.45am.
- Lunch at 1.15pm starting with Hipocrates soup and then backed potatoes with stewed vegetables. Dinner at 7.15pm menu same as lunch.
- Marketing for vegetables/fruits at 10.50am.
- Oatmeal time at 10.45am and 3.45pm
- Coffee enema at 9.45am, 2.45pm and 8.45pm.
- 8.15pm start homeopathy treatment and ends at 10.30pm.
- Oatmeal supper at 10.45pm.
- Bedtime at 11.00pm
As you can see, the schedule is rather cramped. It really tough surviving a cancer. So all of you, please do prevention. Once you missed, it difficult to catch up. I will need to come up with some schedule to allow me to catch some nap as this schedule can really be tiresome. I may also have to decline meeting some friends now and then.
Today I started eating the potatoes in place of brown rice. Potatoes is not part my normal diet and it is really difficult to eat just after consuming one potato. I tried really hard but I think I may not survive another potato meal tomorrow. I am already on the 11 week of the Gerson nutrition diet and in worst case scenario, I will revert back to brown rice and take my chances. Actually I started with the potato meal when I first started but vould not maintain it and then substituted with brown rice. Now I have come full circle with the same problem. Today, my preparation of the Hipocrates soup was a partial failure. Firstly I omitted to put in the leeks and secondly I did not watch over the boiling that resulting in spilling when the soup came to boil. Sigh...
As I said previously, although I look OK, I am not sure if internally nothing new has developed. Once in a while, I get jabbing around the ribs but of late I noticed some pain on the bone of my right thigh. This development could be bad. I have been doing further reading on renal cell cancers. Please see separate blog on this.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
No Right Answers
I have been re-reading the Gerson Therapy which warns followers of stict compliance to the standard therapy is the key to recovery. Although my condition has not deteriorated (at least from the outside), I think the fact that I can so easily lose weight (by eating or juicing less) and so difficult to gain back would mean I need to review my application of the therapy. Granted some of the supplements (like Lugol solution, pepsin, thyroid extract, laetrile, pancreatin, etc) are not obtainable in Malaysia, it is quite impossible to follow the full supplementation. Even to do the castor oil enema is not possible for the lack of ox bile powder. I have searched many pharmacies without success. I have also asked by brother who is now in Amsterdam (and also in Hamburg earlier) and he too could not find them. Still I make do what ever I can. Earlier I posted in my blog that a lady who followed the Gerson Therapy exclusively did not make it although it did lenghten her life. This is also why I am taking homeopathy treatment as I know I cannot follow the Gerson Therapy fully in Malaysia.
I have also modified the Gerson nutrition diet slightly in two areas namely on the number of juices from 13 to 10 (based on a Gerson type clinic in Hawaii) and now I am trying to increase it to 12. I stopped juicing after 7.30pm to start the homeopathy treatment for the next 3 hours (no food and drinks allowed during this period). Juicing after 11pm is not recommended as I would not be be able to get enough sleep for frequent urination in the middle of the night. Starting at 6am will be a problem as I would not have sufficient sleep from 11.30pm to 5.30am. In between, it is almost impossible to take naps as I am cooking and juicing myself without any help. The other changes that I made was to substitute potatoes with organic brown rice. The Chipsa.com website (http://chipsa.com/gerson_protocol.html) mentions that carbohydrates when oxidized they do not leave an acidic waste in the body as do protein and fats. I have checked from the website of the Gerson Institute that for protein supplement, to use brown rice milk. That was why I use brown rice instead of potatoes. The Gerson Therapy only recommend brown rice once a week. So I will comply and use potatoes instead from now for the next few weeks.
I will monitor my situtation for the next few weeks and see if I can gain back some weight. I am keeping fruits like bananas and guava beside my bed so that I can eat even in the middle of the night. Based on my BMI, I am overweight at present. There is even a small spare tyre around my waist but elsewhere if you touch me, you can feel the bones!
I have wanted to take up Qigong and a friend also recommended cosmic energy therapy. All these activities takes a fixed amount of time and disturb my juicing schedule. Perhaps a personal tutor would be the answer. I have also been considering oxygen therapy and after extensive searching the Internet, found a supplier in Kuala Lumpur that will not cost a arm and a leg. Alternatively I could order online from a supplier overseas but it would not come with warranty or repair services.
So many questions and uncertainties but no right answers!
I have also modified the Gerson nutrition diet slightly in two areas namely on the number of juices from 13 to 10 (based on a Gerson type clinic in Hawaii) and now I am trying to increase it to 12. I stopped juicing after 7.30pm to start the homeopathy treatment for the next 3 hours (no food and drinks allowed during this period). Juicing after 11pm is not recommended as I would not be be able to get enough sleep for frequent urination in the middle of the night. Starting at 6am will be a problem as I would not have sufficient sleep from 11.30pm to 5.30am. In between, it is almost impossible to take naps as I am cooking and juicing myself without any help. The other changes that I made was to substitute potatoes with organic brown rice. The Chipsa.com website (http://chipsa.com/gerson_protocol.html) mentions that carbohydrates when oxidized they do not leave an acidic waste in the body as do protein and fats. I have checked from the website of the Gerson Institute that for protein supplement, to use brown rice milk. That was why I use brown rice instead of potatoes. The Gerson Therapy only recommend brown rice once a week. So I will comply and use potatoes instead from now for the next few weeks.
I will monitor my situtation for the next few weeks and see if I can gain back some weight. I am keeping fruits like bananas and guava beside my bed so that I can eat even in the middle of the night. Based on my BMI, I am overweight at present. There is even a small spare tyre around my waist but elsewhere if you touch me, you can feel the bones!
I have wanted to take up Qigong and a friend also recommended cosmic energy therapy. All these activities takes a fixed amount of time and disturb my juicing schedule. Perhaps a personal tutor would be the answer. I have also been considering oxygen therapy and after extensive searching the Internet, found a supplier in Kuala Lumpur that will not cost a arm and a leg. Alternatively I could order online from a supplier overseas but it would not come with warranty or repair services.
So many questions and uncertainties but no right answers!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Changing Destiny
It's funny. Everytime during the festive holidays I would hear the radio and television advising motorist to exercise caution when travelling. In my mind, I have always though "yeah, the one dying in the accident would be someone else and not me." I also received lots of emails about cancer (before my present problem) and most of the time, I just brush it aside after reading it. It my mind, someone else will get cancer, definitely not me. Of couse, this is now proven wrong.
I have never been very lucky in my life (work or fortune wise). Although I do easily get work, most of them are really hard work and my fortune is even worst. I have never strike even the second price before. The best was a third price for RM1 (pays RM1,000) and that was in 1988. I have been investing in 4D about 30 years ago - a total loss you might say. But still I get to deal with two life and death situations in the last 4 years. That's my luck. Although Buddhist believe in karma, karma is not fixed and can be changed. This was quite well documented in the true life story of Liao Fan's Four Lessons: Changing Destiny which was written during the Ming Dynasty. I read this book sometime back (also seen the VCD version which was dubbed into English by Patrick Teoh and Desmond Goh) and have used it to help me navigate out of bad situations.
The are two lessons to learn. The first is cancer can happen to anyone. Do not be like me and only dig the well only when in thirst. Please spend sometime attending to cancer talks and also do some basic reading to arm yourself with the knowledge. One such person who believe in healthy living is Mr Liew (http://bodyoverhauldetox.blogspot.com) who actively engages in cancer talks from the Ayurvedic prespective. What we normally receive from emails which are not verified and not very useful. Spend sometime to learn as much alternatives and prevention as possible. The second lesson is that nothing is fixed. Even in hopeless situation, there is a way out. You can change destiny. That's how I position myself.
I have been feeling a warm all over my body. I believe it's from the homeopathy treatment that I am receiving. Of late the coffee enema has made my stomach react very much with gas and also some growling sounds. The tongue and mouth ulcers was much better than I expected but eating has been a bit difficult. Otherwise all systems go.
I have never been very lucky in my life (work or fortune wise). Although I do easily get work, most of them are really hard work and my fortune is even worst. I have never strike even the second price before. The best was a third price for RM1 (pays RM1,000) and that was in 1988. I have been investing in 4D about 30 years ago - a total loss you might say. But still I get to deal with two life and death situations in the last 4 years. That's my luck. Although Buddhist believe in karma, karma is not fixed and can be changed. This was quite well documented in the true life story of Liao Fan's Four Lessons: Changing Destiny which was written during the Ming Dynasty. I read this book sometime back (also seen the VCD version which was dubbed into English by Patrick Teoh and Desmond Goh) and have used it to help me navigate out of bad situations.
The are two lessons to learn. The first is cancer can happen to anyone. Do not be like me and only dig the well only when in thirst. Please spend sometime attending to cancer talks and also do some basic reading to arm yourself with the knowledge. One such person who believe in healthy living is Mr Liew (http://bodyoverhauldetox.blogspot.com) who actively engages in cancer talks from the Ayurvedic prespective. What we normally receive from emails which are not verified and not very useful. Spend sometime to learn as much alternatives and prevention as possible. The second lesson is that nothing is fixed. Even in hopeless situation, there is a way out. You can change destiny. That's how I position myself.
I have been feeling a warm all over my body. I believe it's from the homeopathy treatment that I am receiving. Of late the coffee enema has made my stomach react very much with gas and also some growling sounds. The tongue and mouth ulcers was much better than I expected but eating has been a bit difficult. Otherwise all systems go.
The Gerson Nutrition Diet
Some of my friends are interested to know more about the Gerson Therapy but could not get hold of the books. This post is to give a summary of the Gerson Nutrition Diet. Please note that the Gerson Therapy consists of three pillars namely 1) Detoxification, 2) Nutrition Diet and 3) Supplements.
I wrote about the coffee enema detoxification in earlier posts. For this post, I will list down the gist of the nutrition diet advocated by Dr Max Gerson and some of the explicit nos. It is best to avoid eating if unsure. It is also not recommended to mix the Gerson Therapy with some other nutrition diet program unless they are compatible. For exampe, some nutrition diet recommend seeds and nuts which are forbidden in the Gerson Therapy. The Gerson Nutrition diet are recommended for people who are suffering from cancer and also for people who wants to prevent cancer. For prevention purposes, although Dr Max Gerson has recommended that 25% of your food intake be your own personal choice (rest of 75% is vegetarian), but due to the commercial farming methods being employed now, you are advised to use 10% only which may be meat (avoid red meat), fish and other foods of your liking. For cancer patients, the recommendation is (100% organic vegetarian, no salt, no sugar and no oil) to follow the rule in the strictest sense as much as possible. Cancer patients are required to follow the program for 2 years or more until recovered. When that happens, the cancer patient who is now in remission can go on the cancer prevention nutrition diet.
Permitted Foods
- All kinds of fresh fruits prepared in different ways, like into juices, salads, into soup, mashed or mixed with other fruits and vegetables. Recommended are apples, grapes, cherries, mangoes, peaches, oranges, apricots, grapefruit, bananas, tangerines, pears, plums, melongs, papayas, persimmons, etc. Should not be frozen or canned food.
- All vegetables freshly prepared, some stewed in their own juices such as carrots, califlower, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, leeks, potatoes, etc prepared in different ways. Potatoes are best baked with skin on.
- Unsalted bread may contain organic rye (with say 20% of whole wheat flour).
- Organic oatmeal may be freely used.
- Organic brow rice.
- Buckwheat cakes, potatoes pancakes, brown sugar (organic dried cane juice i.e. Sucanat), Manuka honey, maple sugar and 100% pure maple syrup are optional.
- Milk products such as churn milk, nonfat unflavoured yogurt, and nonfat unsalted pot (cottage) cheese.
- Peppermint, charmomile, linden flower and orange flower tea
- Onions, garlic, parsley leaves, chives, horseradish and celery.
- Organic Flaxseed Oil
Foods To Be Avoided
- All berries, seeds, nuts, pineapple, avocadoes and cucumber
- Icecream
- No salt, sugar and oil (for cancer patients)
- Low salt, sugar and oil (cancer prevention)
- Alcohol (liquor and wine), cigrattes, coffee and tea
- Bicarbonate of soda, smoked fish and sausages
- Sharp codiments such as peper and ginger
- All cooking utensils in aluminium
- Eggs, fish, meat, butter, cheese and milk (not allowed for the first one and half years of starting the program)
Juicing
For cancer patients, vegetables and fruit juices are prepared freshly and to drink recommended 13 8oz (250ml) juices hourly and also hipocrates soup during lunch and dinner.
Hipocrates Soup
Equipment
- Use 4-liters stainless steel pot
- Assemble the following vegetables
- Cover with distilled quality water
Ingredients
1 medium celery knob or 3-4 stalks of celery
1 medium parsley root – if available
Garlic as desired
2 small leeks (if not available, replace with 2 medium onions)
1 ½ pounds tomatoes or more
2 medium onions
1 pound of potatoes
A little parsley.
Directions
- Do not peel any of these special soup vegetables
- Wash and scrub them well
- Cut them coarsely
- Simmer them slowly for 2 hours
- Then put them through a food mill in small portions
- Only fibers should be left
- Vary the amount of water used for cooking according to taste and desired consistency.
- Keep well covered in refrigerator no longer that 2 days
- Warm up as much as needed each time
Note
Where possible, all vegetables are fruits to be used are organically grown. If not available, ensure that the vegetables and fruits are washed and soaked Use 3% hydorgen peroxide to wash away the pesticides.
If you are keen to read more, Dr Max Gerson's The Cancer Therapy can be obtained from Newlife International in SS2.
I wrote about the coffee enema detoxification in earlier posts. For this post, I will list down the gist of the nutrition diet advocated by Dr Max Gerson and some of the explicit nos. It is best to avoid eating if unsure. It is also not recommended to mix the Gerson Therapy with some other nutrition diet program unless they are compatible. For exampe, some nutrition diet recommend seeds and nuts which are forbidden in the Gerson Therapy. The Gerson Nutrition diet are recommended for people who are suffering from cancer and also for people who wants to prevent cancer. For prevention purposes, although Dr Max Gerson has recommended that 25% of your food intake be your own personal choice (rest of 75% is vegetarian), but due to the commercial farming methods being employed now, you are advised to use 10% only which may be meat (avoid red meat), fish and other foods of your liking. For cancer patients, the recommendation is (100% organic vegetarian, no salt, no sugar and no oil) to follow the rule in the strictest sense as much as possible. Cancer patients are required to follow the program for 2 years or more until recovered. When that happens, the cancer patient who is now in remission can go on the cancer prevention nutrition diet.
Permitted Foods
- All kinds of fresh fruits prepared in different ways, like into juices, salads, into soup, mashed or mixed with other fruits and vegetables. Recommended are apples, grapes, cherries, mangoes, peaches, oranges, apricots, grapefruit, bananas, tangerines, pears, plums, melongs, papayas, persimmons, etc. Should not be frozen or canned food.
- All vegetables freshly prepared, some stewed in their own juices such as carrots, califlower, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, leeks, potatoes, etc prepared in different ways. Potatoes are best baked with skin on.
- Unsalted bread may contain organic rye (with say 20% of whole wheat flour).
- Organic oatmeal may be freely used.
- Organic brow rice.
- Buckwheat cakes, potatoes pancakes, brown sugar (organic dried cane juice i.e. Sucanat), Manuka honey, maple sugar and 100% pure maple syrup are optional.
- Milk products such as churn milk, nonfat unflavoured yogurt, and nonfat unsalted pot (cottage) cheese.
- Peppermint, charmomile, linden flower and orange flower tea
- Onions, garlic, parsley leaves, chives, horseradish and celery.
- Organic Flaxseed Oil
Foods To Be Avoided
- All berries, seeds, nuts, pineapple, avocadoes and cucumber
- Icecream
- No salt, sugar and oil (for cancer patients)
- Low salt, sugar and oil (cancer prevention)
- Alcohol (liquor and wine), cigrattes, coffee and tea
- Bicarbonate of soda, smoked fish and sausages
- Sharp codiments such as peper and ginger
- All cooking utensils in aluminium
- Eggs, fish, meat, butter, cheese and milk (not allowed for the first one and half years of starting the program)
Juicing
For cancer patients, vegetables and fruit juices are prepared freshly and to drink recommended 13 8oz (250ml) juices hourly and also hipocrates soup during lunch and dinner.
Hipocrates Soup
Equipment
- Use 4-liters stainless steel pot
- Assemble the following vegetables
- Cover with distilled quality water
Ingredients
1 medium celery knob or 3-4 stalks of celery
1 medium parsley root – if available
Garlic as desired
2 small leeks (if not available, replace with 2 medium onions)
1 ½ pounds tomatoes or more
2 medium onions
1 pound of potatoes
A little parsley.
Directions
- Do not peel any of these special soup vegetables
- Wash and scrub them well
- Cut them coarsely
- Simmer them slowly for 2 hours
- Then put them through a food mill in small portions
- Only fibers should be left
- Vary the amount of water used for cooking according to taste and desired consistency.
- Keep well covered in refrigerator no longer that 2 days
- Warm up as much as needed each time
Note
Where possible, all vegetables are fruits to be used are organically grown. If not available, ensure that the vegetables and fruits are washed and soaked Use 3% hydorgen peroxide to wash away the pesticides.
If you are keen to read more, Dr Max Gerson's The Cancer Therapy can be obtained from Newlife International in SS2.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Painful Weekend
The massage that I took two days ago is certaintly more than I bargain for. There are still some aching here and there. I believe at my present state, it is more harmful then beneficial. If there was a slight pain around the spine/back area, it would have been a better option to request my wife to give a local massage at the affected area. Yesterday I also experience some pain around the ribs area and not sure if this was caused by the massage or not.
I got up a little late yesterday, almost one hour late compared to my usual time. As a result, my jucing and coffee enema timing was out. I also prepared two days supply of the hipocrates soup. Previously I prepared in Chinese style, that is clear soup but this time, I put them through a food mill to mashed up the vegetable fibre into creamy soup much like the Campbell soup. It certaintly taste better this way.
Ever since I did my coffee enema by lying on the right side I noticed that the discharge is much more smelly than done on a sitting position. The burning sensation on the anus due to speed of coffee intake has been significantly reduced as I lower the height of the coffee enema bucket. The down side is that the coffee enema takes at least 15 to 20 minutes longer to complete. So I drink my juice before I start my coffee enema. By the time I complete the enema (including cleaning), it would have been time for the next juicing. I feel hungry immediately after the coffee enema. Of late, I am getting some flare ups from the coffee enema such as stomach discomfort and too much gas release i.e. I farth. I will have to brew camomile tea to help ease the stomach discomfort.
I have been working hard to eat as much as possible the last two days. The hipocrates soup has lots of vegetables fibre in it and as a result, I am quite full after a meal. Just check my weight and I gain back a kg to 71kg. I think at the rate I am going, I should be able to maintain at 72kg. Despite being overweight according to my BMI, I looked thin. This is because I have large frame or bones. The only place I want some meat back is in my buttocks!
I got up a little late yesterday, almost one hour late compared to my usual time. As a result, my jucing and coffee enema timing was out. I also prepared two days supply of the hipocrates soup. Previously I prepared in Chinese style, that is clear soup but this time, I put them through a food mill to mashed up the vegetable fibre into creamy soup much like the Campbell soup. It certaintly taste better this way.
Ever since I did my coffee enema by lying on the right side I noticed that the discharge is much more smelly than done on a sitting position. The burning sensation on the anus due to speed of coffee intake has been significantly reduced as I lower the height of the coffee enema bucket. The down side is that the coffee enema takes at least 15 to 20 minutes longer to complete. So I drink my juice before I start my coffee enema. By the time I complete the enema (including cleaning), it would have been time for the next juicing. I feel hungry immediately after the coffee enema. Of late, I am getting some flare ups from the coffee enema such as stomach discomfort and too much gas release i.e. I farth. I will have to brew camomile tea to help ease the stomach discomfort.
I have been working hard to eat as much as possible the last two days. The hipocrates soup has lots of vegetables fibre in it and as a result, I am quite full after a meal. Just check my weight and I gain back a kg to 71kg. I think at the rate I am going, I should be able to maintain at 72kg. Despite being overweight according to my BMI, I looked thin. This is because I have large frame or bones. The only place I want some meat back is in my buttocks!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Health Status @ 5 December 2009
This is my 3rd health status report. New information are presented in italics.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Initially, four times a day for four weeks, every four hours apart. Subsequently three times a day in the morning, afternoon and evening for 15 minutes.
Started the enema on a sitting position but results stopped after about one month. Now is done by lying on the right of the body as recommended by the Gerson therapy. Also lowered the height of the enema bucket when administring the coffee intake to reduce burning sensation in and around the anus.
a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 10 fruit and vegetables juices a day begining around 7am and ending 7pm. First juice is either 40% ripe papaya (with skin) or green apple, then alternating between carrot+apple and vegetables (mainly lettuce) and ending with carrot juice. Now increased to 12 cups a day.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, maily oats with some raisins, sometimes a little manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, califlower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavouring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Somali organic brown rice is consumed and sometime potatoes are also used. ABC or hipocrates soup are also prepared but not everyday. As of today, hipocrates soup is consumed twice a day. Do not feel so hungry after taking lunch.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya and banana are consumed at regular intervals.
Initial reaction to the Gerson therapy was severe loss of weight within three weeks. This was possibly due to my own fault for not juicing and eating enough during the first three weeks. I did not follow the therapy closely. Weight is now stabalised and have settled down to a routine. This week, perhaps due to a hectic week, lost one kg. Making changes to the diet to gain back the weight.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers reappeared. These are transient reaction.
c. Urine Therapy
Drink the first urine of the day.
Health Status
Other that the initial weight loss, no visible side effects or symptoms detected to date. Not as strong as before, susceptible to cold. Easy get tied when lefting heavy stuffs but no problems climbing a few flight of stairs. Energy level is strong and spirits is high.
Not exhibiting any major symptoms like pain or nodes around the neck and body are good signs. The ability to walk, talk, eat and sleep without any assistance most probably means the disease is under control.
Verdict
Major concern is a loss of one kg. Making changes to my diet and juicing schedule with a view to improve.
Problem
Tumor mass of size of about 13cm on the right kidney and 21 over nodes all over my left and right lungs with one up to 3cm in size. Possibly also spread to the liver.
First detected on 11 September 2009 through CT Scan. Subsequent CT scan on 24 October 2009 showed a slight improvement and possibly no growth.
Prognosis
Consulted four urologist (one in Singapore and three in Malaysia) and two oncologist (one in Malaysia and one in Singapore). Both oncologist suggested removal of right kidney. Singapore urologist also suggested removal of kidney. The three uronogist do not recommend surgery or chemotherapy. The last urologist consulted said most of his patients died within six months of surgery while two on the experimental drug Sutent is not responding. All agree that is no cure for the moment.
Schedule for next scan is in March 2010.
Treatment Undertaking
a. Modified Gerson Therapy
a1. Coffee Enema
Initially, four times a day for four weeks, every four hours apart. Subsequently three times a day in the morning, afternoon and evening for 15 minutes.
Started the enema on a sitting position but results stopped after about one month. Now is done by lying on the right of the body as recommended by the Gerson therapy. Also lowered the height of the enema bucket when administring the coffee intake to reduce burning sensation in and around the anus.
a2. Nutrition Diet
All fruits and vegetables mentioned are organic.
i. Juicing - 10 fruit and vegetables juices a day begining around 7am and ending 7pm. First juice is either 40% ripe papaya (with skin) or green apple, then alternating between carrot+apple and vegetables (mainly lettuce) and ending with carrot juice. Now increased to 12 cups a day.
2. Diet - No oil, no sugar and no salt on all cooking. For breakfast and supper, maily oats with some raisins, sometimes a little manuka honey is added. For lunch and dinner, vegetables such as Siew Pak Choy, Lettuce, lady's fingers, califlower, broccoli and spinach are mainly steamed or boiled. K-salt is added for flavouring. A teaspoon of flaxseed oil is added when serving (but not during cooking). Somali organic brown rice is consumed and sometime potatoes are also used. ABC or hipocrates soup are also prepared but not everyday. As of today, hipocrates soup is consumed twice a day. Do not feel so hungry after taking lunch.
3. Supplements - K-salt, naicin, kelp (for iodine) and Q10.
4. Others - Rye bread, papaya and banana are consumed at regular intervals.
Initial reaction to the Gerson therapy was severe loss of weight within three weeks. This was possibly due to my own fault for not juicing and eating enough during the first three weeks. I did not follow the therapy closely. Weight is now stabalised and have settled down to a routine. This week, perhaps due to a hectic week, lost one kg. Making changes to the diet to gain back the weight.
b. Homeopathy Medicine
Consulting Doctor: DR AU Ramakrishnan MBBS,PhD, Chenni, India (http://www.drramakrishnan.com/)
Local Consultant: Vishuddi Lee
Treatment Started: 6 November 2009. Next appointment is on 7 January 2010.
Consulting: Once every two months in Singapore. Next appointment 7 January 2010.
Medication Given : Phosphorus and Carsinosin (alternating between weekly), morning and evening tablet.
Reaction: Mouth and tongue ulcers reappeared. These are transient reaction.
c. Urine Therapy
Drink the first urine of the day.
Health Status
Other that the initial weight loss, no visible side effects or symptoms detected to date. Not as strong as before, susceptible to cold. Easy get tied when lefting heavy stuffs but no problems climbing a few flight of stairs. Energy level is strong and spirits is high.
Not exhibiting any major symptoms like pain or nodes around the neck and body are good signs. The ability to walk, talk, eat and sleep without any assistance most probably means the disease is under control.
Verdict
Major concern is a loss of one kg. Making changes to my diet and juicing schedule with a view to improve.
Review of Therapies
It's been slightly over two months since I started the Gerson therapy and about one month since I started the homeopathy treatment. The review here is to see if there is any area that I am not doing enough or correctly. Although my condition has remainded stable, this week, I lost another kg.
I believe there is one main reason, (other than hopefully not due to cachexia). When I am out running some errands or having meetings, I missed out one or two glasses of juices. I do pack in the thermos one glass of fruit juice but such errands normally take an average of 3 hours, including travelling time. I have been drinking 10 glasses of juices a day (the Gerson recommendation is 13 glasses) which was based on some websites particularly in Hawaii that offered Gerson type of treatment and it was mentioned in their homepage that they offered 10 glasses of juices a day. In my case, I stopped drinking juices after 7.30pm because I need to start my homeopathy medication during which time for the next 3 hours I cannot eat or drink. So from today I will increase the number of glasses to 12 a day. I will start drinking earlier and should be able to complete 12 glasses a day before I start my homeopathy treatment. To maintain my weight, I will also eat much more in between including preparing the Hippocrates soup for lunch and dinner.
Weight is one of the barometer for measuring the progress. Loss is a bad sign. Not only that, it can cause some other problems like difficult in sitting because much of my weight loss is at the buttocks. So sitting for long is painful. I hope to gain back my kg this week.
Last night I did my coffee enema late and by the time I completed it, it has passed 12.30am. As reported earlier, I slowed down the coffee intake by lowering the height of the enema bucket to 18 inches. Although the time took to complete increased to 15 or 20 minutes, the burning sensation in the anus is slowly disappearing. The shortcut I am doing is boiling three coffee enema's requirements in advance. Earlier I boil on need basis as I prefer the coffee to be a little warm.
I believe there is one main reason, (other than hopefully not due to cachexia). When I am out running some errands or having meetings, I missed out one or two glasses of juices. I do pack in the thermos one glass of fruit juice but such errands normally take an average of 3 hours, including travelling time. I have been drinking 10 glasses of juices a day (the Gerson recommendation is 13 glasses) which was based on some websites particularly in Hawaii that offered Gerson type of treatment and it was mentioned in their homepage that they offered 10 glasses of juices a day. In my case, I stopped drinking juices after 7.30pm because I need to start my homeopathy medication during which time for the next 3 hours I cannot eat or drink. So from today I will increase the number of glasses to 12 a day. I will start drinking earlier and should be able to complete 12 glasses a day before I start my homeopathy treatment. To maintain my weight, I will also eat much more in between including preparing the Hippocrates soup for lunch and dinner.
Weight is one of the barometer for measuring the progress. Loss is a bad sign. Not only that, it can cause some other problems like difficult in sitting because much of my weight loss is at the buttocks. So sitting for long is painful. I hope to gain back my kg this week.
Last night I did my coffee enema late and by the time I completed it, it has passed 12.30am. As reported earlier, I slowed down the coffee intake by lowering the height of the enema bucket to 18 inches. Although the time took to complete increased to 15 or 20 minutes, the burning sensation in the anus is slowly disappearing. The shortcut I am doing is boiling three coffee enema's requirements in advance. Earlier I boil on need basis as I prefer the coffee to be a little warm.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Shortcut Blues
My ulcers on at the tip of the tongue and on the basement of the gums and below the lips has started to developed. It's a little painful but I can still eat well for the moment. I think I may have a slight infection on my anus and it's a little painful during the insertion of the tube despite applying KY gel. It's a burning sensation and I think it has to do with having the coffee inserted too quickly. Of late, I had deviated a little by placing the bucket at 30 inches high instead of the usual recommended 18 inches high. Of course I will have to correct this. The lesson learned is that somethings cannot be shortcutted! I had planned to skip tonight's coffee enema to rest but I have a little stomach upset. So I decided to proceed as it would help to clear the stomach upset quickly.
I met my old friend together with his wife. She was complaining to me about her neck, shoulder and arms pains that would not go away. Doctors gave her some pills and muscle relaxant pills but it did not work. She started taking some expensive supplements that seems to have improved a little. I suggested to her to try coffee enema and told her I had a similar problem but now it's OK. I told her where to get the supplies and will help her start off by advising her what to do. I hope to report on her progress to encourage more people to do coffee enema. By the way, she is in the late 50s.
Yesterday, I decided to go for a massage. As you know, my back hurts a little and thought the massage would help. Normally I take a two hour massage but this time, I only took a one hour massage as I believe it will be more than enough. I normally request for very strong hands to enjoy some strong pressure point massage but not this time. The whole hour was actually a torture. It was very painful from neck to toe. Since I lost some muscles and perhaps less toxic in the body after detoxing, there is no need for strong hands anymore. Every pressure point was painful and as if not enough, my whole body was aching the very next day.
Now that my India trip is all planned, the next step is the food planning. I will have to research a little and also get a little help from my homeopathy friend who will be also going for his pilgrimage trip 10 days earlier. We had planned to travel together but due to my eldest daughter's semester break, it was delayed by 10 days. As the temple site are all on the outskirts of town, it is important to ensure we eat at hygenic places. I will also need to stock up some dry foods such as organic oats and raisins and bring along some distilled water. I bought a mobile heating element that would allow me to boil water from any steel container. Getting the proper nutrition is important for me. The plan is to eat at vegetarian restaurants, if possible. I will order my food and give special instructions not to use oil, salt, sugar and spices (including MSG). I will ask an Indian friend to write out in Tamil and Hindi and also the Romanised versions for me to speak. One of my friend who had been to India tells me that in New Delhi vegetarain food taste better than normal food!
I met my old friend together with his wife. She was complaining to me about her neck, shoulder and arms pains that would not go away. Doctors gave her some pills and muscle relaxant pills but it did not work. She started taking some expensive supplements that seems to have improved a little. I suggested to her to try coffee enema and told her I had a similar problem but now it's OK. I told her where to get the supplies and will help her start off by advising her what to do. I hope to report on her progress to encourage more people to do coffee enema. By the way, she is in the late 50s.
Yesterday, I decided to go for a massage. As you know, my back hurts a little and thought the massage would help. Normally I take a two hour massage but this time, I only took a one hour massage as I believe it will be more than enough. I normally request for very strong hands to enjoy some strong pressure point massage but not this time. The whole hour was actually a torture. It was very painful from neck to toe. Since I lost some muscles and perhaps less toxic in the body after detoxing, there is no need for strong hands anymore. Every pressure point was painful and as if not enough, my whole body was aching the very next day.
Now that my India trip is all planned, the next step is the food planning. I will have to research a little and also get a little help from my homeopathy friend who will be also going for his pilgrimage trip 10 days earlier. We had planned to travel together but due to my eldest daughter's semester break, it was delayed by 10 days. As the temple site are all on the outskirts of town, it is important to ensure we eat at hygenic places. I will also need to stock up some dry foods such as organic oats and raisins and bring along some distilled water. I bought a mobile heating element that would allow me to boil water from any steel container. Getting the proper nutrition is important for me. The plan is to eat at vegetarian restaurants, if possible. I will order my food and give special instructions not to use oil, salt, sugar and spices (including MSG). I will ask an Indian friend to write out in Tamil and Hindi and also the Romanised versions for me to speak. One of my friend who had been to India tells me that in New Delhi vegetarain food taste better than normal food!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
India Travel Itinerary
The two images were taken from the Lonely Planet India guide book. This is to give you an idea where the various places are without having to refer to another map of India.
Overall India
The Buddhist circuit traces the footsteps of Buddha. Only the important sites are described.
Day 1
17 December 2009, 2.30pm flight from KLIA LCCT To Kolkata. Flight takes about 4 hours and arrive at 3.50pm local time. From airport, take taxi to Howrah Railway Station. Leave luggage at left baggage center. Take tour of surrounding areas. Board 11.30pm train for Bodhgaya.
Day 2
Arrive at Bodhgaya at 6.15am. After breakfast take taxi to visit temple sites namely Mahabodi Temple, the place where Buddha attained enlightenment. Visit surrounding temples build by the Governments of China, Burma, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Tibet. For the first night, may consider spending a night meditating in front of the Bohdi tree of the Mahabodi Temple.
Day 3
Still at Bodhgaya, will visit surrounding areas such as Nalanda (ruins of the Buddhist University) and Rajgir (Vulture's peak where Buddha goes for his mediation). Overnight at the Burmese Temple or local hotel (2 or 3 stars grade).
Day 4
Depart for Varanasi by train at 2.55pm and arrive at Varanasi Railway Station at 6.36pm. Arranged for hotel pick-up and stay overnight at Ganpati Guest House. Will take a night tour around the temples along the Ganges river.
Day 5
In the morning, take a boat ride along the Ganges river and take a "bath" if possible. Late morning, leave for Saranath by bus or taxi which is 12KM away. Saranath is the place Buddha gave his first sermon. At 11.30pm leave Saranath for Gorakhpur by train.
Day 6
Arrive at Gorakhpur at 6.45am. Proceed to take bus or taxi to Sunauli, the border town to travel to Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini is the place where Buddha was born. There are also many temples build by Governments of China, Japan, Thailand and Myamar. Overnight at Lumbini.
Day 7
From Lumbini depart back to Sonali at 7am and then to Gorakhpur by bus or taxi. From Gorakhpur head for Kusinara which is 56KM away, the place where Buddha passed into Nirvana. Overnight at the Japan Sri Lankan Temple.
Day 8
Depart Kusinara at 7am for Gorakhpur to catch the 10.10am train from Gorakhpur to Kolkata. Spend the rest of the day on the train.
Day 9
Arrive at Kolkata at 4.15am. Wait for daybreak and have breakfast at restaurants near the station. Take half day tour of Kolkata (including visit the Hare Khrishna Temple). Depart for Airport at 1pm, after lunch to catch the 4.35pm flight back to KLIA LCCT. Arrive at KLIA LCCT 22.55pm local time. Arrive on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to my Christian friends.
Overall India
The Buddhist circuit traces the footsteps of Buddha. Only the important sites are described.
Day 1
17 December 2009, 2.30pm flight from KLIA LCCT To Kolkata. Flight takes about 4 hours and arrive at 3.50pm local time. From airport, take taxi to Howrah Railway Station. Leave luggage at left baggage center. Take tour of surrounding areas. Board 11.30pm train for Bodhgaya.
Day 2
Arrive at Bodhgaya at 6.15am. After breakfast take taxi to visit temple sites namely Mahabodi Temple, the place where Buddha attained enlightenment. Visit surrounding temples build by the Governments of China, Burma, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Tibet. For the first night, may consider spending a night meditating in front of the Bohdi tree of the Mahabodi Temple.
Day 3
Still at Bodhgaya, will visit surrounding areas such as Nalanda (ruins of the Buddhist University) and Rajgir (Vulture's peak where Buddha goes for his mediation). Overnight at the Burmese Temple or local hotel (2 or 3 stars grade).
Day 4
Depart for Varanasi by train at 2.55pm and arrive at Varanasi Railway Station at 6.36pm. Arranged for hotel pick-up and stay overnight at Ganpati Guest House. Will take a night tour around the temples along the Ganges river.
Day 5
In the morning, take a boat ride along the Ganges river and take a "bath" if possible. Late morning, leave for Saranath by bus or taxi which is 12KM away. Saranath is the place Buddha gave his first sermon. At 11.30pm leave Saranath for Gorakhpur by train.
Day 6
Arrive at Gorakhpur at 6.45am. Proceed to take bus or taxi to Sunauli, the border town to travel to Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini is the place where Buddha was born. There are also many temples build by Governments of China, Japan, Thailand and Myamar. Overnight at Lumbini.
Day 7
From Lumbini depart back to Sonali at 7am and then to Gorakhpur by bus or taxi. From Gorakhpur head for Kusinara which is 56KM away, the place where Buddha passed into Nirvana. Overnight at the Japan Sri Lankan Temple.
Day 8
Depart Kusinara at 7am for Gorakhpur to catch the 10.10am train from Gorakhpur to Kolkata. Spend the rest of the day on the train.
Day 9
Arrive at Kolkata at 4.15am. Wait for daybreak and have breakfast at restaurants near the station. Take half day tour of Kolkata (including visit the Hare Khrishna Temple). Depart for Airport at 1pm, after lunch to catch the 4.35pm flight back to KLIA LCCT. Arrive at KLIA LCCT 22.55pm local time. Arrive on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to my Christian friends.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Freelance Work
Since last week, I received two calls from my friends on some freelance work. My friends wanted to know if I can do some work on a part time basis. Well so long as it does not require my physical presence for more than say two hours at the place of work once or twice a week, I should be able to consider. The first job is more traditional and most likely require physical presence because the work requires constant reconciliation and checking whih physical records in an insurance company. The second work is more flexible and is to restructure a privatly owned construction company with sales of RM300 million. Resturcturing here involves not just the loans with the banks, but also on the operations. It should not be too much of a problem for the group of us to handle. I will be working from home (other than attending meetings), so I guess this suits me better. I am the sort of person that must keep busy but I do remember my present handicap in any work that I will undertake. This type of work is short but pays rather well.
I applied for my Indian visa this morning at the Indian Visa Center (www.indiavisa.com.my) at Straits Trading Building. There was a crowd of about 15 at 9am but only 10 or so of us were applying for visa. By 9.40am my family's application has been processed. It was smooth sailing. Originally I wanted to have a travel agency at Subang Jaya to handle the visa application for me but they don't provide visa application services only. My regular travel agent is based in Kuala Lumpur. So instead of going to my travel agent in KL, I may as well go directly to the Visa Center. I will collect on Friday morning although the visa is ready for collection from 4.30pm the next working day. The visa fee is a little pricey at RM152(single or multiple entry for 6 months) plus RM16 other fees. With the Internet, it is so easy to book train tickets now. All my train tickets are booked online (www.ircrc.co.in). You can book up to three months in advance and for India, the earlier you book the better because it can quickly run out of seats rather quickly. The 2nd class ticket prices for sleeper beds are quite cheap, cheaper than staying in a hotel for the night. Yes, we do all our travelling at night. I will give details of my travel plan in another post.
I believe I am more energetic as the day passes. My only weak point now is I am hungry sometimes. Brute strength is not as good as before, which make jucing really hard work. I am making rye bread so I can eat anytime in between. Sometimes I also take fruits but I also have to control my fructose intake. Because of my frequent enema and of the two tier toilet floor, I am unable to lie straight. I am getting some pain around the spine area as I have to adjust my body during the coffee intake. I am thinking of getting a plywood board which I can lay on top of the toilet floor to overcome this problem.
I applied for my Indian visa this morning at the Indian Visa Center (www.indiavisa.com.my) at Straits Trading Building. There was a crowd of about 15 at 9am but only 10 or so of us were applying for visa. By 9.40am my family's application has been processed. It was smooth sailing. Originally I wanted to have a travel agency at Subang Jaya to handle the visa application for me but they don't provide visa application services only. My regular travel agent is based in Kuala Lumpur. So instead of going to my travel agent in KL, I may as well go directly to the Visa Center. I will collect on Friday morning although the visa is ready for collection from 4.30pm the next working day. The visa fee is a little pricey at RM152(single or multiple entry for 6 months) plus RM16 other fees. With the Internet, it is so easy to book train tickets now. All my train tickets are booked online (www.ircrc.co.in). You can book up to three months in advance and for India, the earlier you book the better because it can quickly run out of seats rather quickly. The 2nd class ticket prices for sleeper beds are quite cheap, cheaper than staying in a hotel for the night. Yes, we do all our travelling at night. I will give details of my travel plan in another post.
I believe I am more energetic as the day passes. My only weak point now is I am hungry sometimes. Brute strength is not as good as before, which make jucing really hard work. I am making rye bread so I can eat anytime in between. Sometimes I also take fruits but I also have to control my fructose intake. Because of my frequent enema and of the two tier toilet floor, I am unable to lie straight. I am getting some pain around the spine area as I have to adjust my body during the coffee intake. I am thinking of getting a plywood board which I can lay on top of the toilet floor to overcome this problem.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
High and Lows
Just a day of celebrating life, I had hit a low! This morning as I was preparing to boil coffee enema, I had run out of organic coffee. While using the scissors to open the coffee packing, I accidentally hurt part my thumb. Later after juicing, I was washing the juicer and had another minor accident where my left palm was hurt. Small problem but it did cause some minor discomfort for the rest of the day and possibly the next few days when it made it slightly difficult for washing and squeeqing.
Despite on the Gerson therapy for almost three months, the strict regiment is really difficult to follow especially if you are on your own like me. The warnings were given in the Gerson therapy book and I know what I am getting into. Getting help of course would be good but in my case I had to be independent. So somteimes, I get into this low emotional states but only for a while I will bounce back when my body is full of energy.
I noticed my tongue and mouth ulcers at the same place may be making a come back. I have just started the Carsinosin medication given by my homeopathy doctor from India. Anyway, I will have to watch carefully. I think the problem may not be due to the medication but more of lack of sleeping the last few days. I was assisting my daughter to prepare her assignment. Her group of students are making a costume can can dress and thereafter a model will wear it for a photography session. The outcome will affect her year end semester's results. Sometime I wonder why my daughter enrolled for the Digital Animation course? It would have been so much cheaper and easier if she studied Accountancy for example. I am assisting my daughter to stitch the netting on the wire frame. She gave it to me last minute and Wednesday is due date for completion and photography session. As a result I had to sleep late to complete the work for her.
Despite on the Gerson therapy for almost three months, the strict regiment is really difficult to follow especially if you are on your own like me. The warnings were given in the Gerson therapy book and I know what I am getting into. Getting help of course would be good but in my case I had to be independent. So somteimes, I get into this low emotional states but only for a while I will bounce back when my body is full of energy.
I noticed my tongue and mouth ulcers at the same place may be making a come back. I have just started the Carsinosin medication given by my homeopathy doctor from India. Anyway, I will have to watch carefully. I think the problem may not be due to the medication but more of lack of sleeping the last few days. I was assisting my daughter to prepare her assignment. Her group of students are making a costume can can dress and thereafter a model will wear it for a photography session. The outcome will affect her year end semester's results. Sometime I wonder why my daughter enrolled for the Digital Animation course? It would have been so much cheaper and easier if she studied Accountancy for example. I am assisting my daughter to stitch the netting on the wire frame. She gave it to me last minute and Wednesday is due date for completion and photography session. As a result I had to sleep late to complete the work for her.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Celebrating Life
The Christmas and year end is just around the corner. During this time of the year, many will be making their new year resolutions for the coming year. As for me, there will be no resolutions. It will be basically celebrating life! Taking a break from 30 years of working, see some other parts of the world every now and then.
I had a reunion with my childhood friends, friends that I met in school on my very first first day in class. We have lost contact for more than 10 years and some of them even longer than 25 years. This is our third gathering for this year, but the first after my problem in September. It's good to have friend around to give support, share some of my problems and then do some catch up. So How Beng, Popo, Chee Peng, Eng Kow thank you. They were very happy to see me and said me I looked good.
I am glad that the therapies is working so far for me. However, many of them has expressed concern about my coming India trip in the middle of December 2009. I assure them water is least of the problems if I adhere to buy good quality bottled water/filtered water. Food wise should not be a problem as well because there are many vegetarian restaurants around. My main problem is whether I can get hold of organic food or not. According to Cherrie Calbom in The Complete Cancer Cleanse book, if no organic food is available, then eating normal vegetables and fruits would be better than not eating at all. Just wash and soak the vegetables/fruits in 3% hydrogen peroxide to remove some of the pesticides and chemicals. Apparently leafy green vegetables are difficult to obtain in India. Anyway I am bringing along a simple fruit juicer and will juice whenever possible.
I had a reunion with my childhood friends, friends that I met in school on my very first first day in class. We have lost contact for more than 10 years and some of them even longer than 25 years. This is our third gathering for this year, but the first after my problem in September. It's good to have friend around to give support, share some of my problems and then do some catch up. So How Beng, Popo, Chee Peng, Eng Kow thank you. They were very happy to see me and said me I looked good.
I am glad that the therapies is working so far for me. However, many of them has expressed concern about my coming India trip in the middle of December 2009. I assure them water is least of the problems if I adhere to buy good quality bottled water/filtered water. Food wise should not be a problem as well because there are many vegetarian restaurants around. My main problem is whether I can get hold of organic food or not. According to Cherrie Calbom in The Complete Cancer Cleanse book, if no organic food is available, then eating normal vegetables and fruits would be better than not eating at all. Just wash and soak the vegetables/fruits in 3% hydrogen peroxide to remove some of the pesticides and chemicals. Apparently leafy green vegetables are difficult to obtain in India. Anyway I am bringing along a simple fruit juicer and will juice whenever possible.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Coping With Cancer
Many people including my family members often ask me how am I doing. Actually I do not know how to answer. My experience with cancer only started three months ago. It started from a hopeless situation because my doctors told me they have no cure for me and no medication as well.
They looked at me and cannot tell if I am OK or not mainly because I looked thin. They thought that since I have not gained back my weight, something may not be right. I feel OK but really do not know what's happening inside of me, particularly in my lungs. The only indication that I get from my body is the symptoms, if any. There are no symptoms to date and the conclusion I draw is good. My face looks a little rounder now when compared to when I first started the Gerson therapy. Most of my weight loss has been at the buttock, thighs, arms and around the waist.
Following the Gerson therapy is a constant challenge because I am doing the Gerson therapy entirely on my own without any help. In between I have to do marketing and coffee enema. I am also a father, a husband and son to my parents. There are still work to be done and errands to run. It's a strict regime and although I have settled on a routine, it's still not easy. Sometimes I wish I could just lie down and when the time comes, someone will pass the juice to me to drink. I did not get my wife to help out during the weekends because I believe this will make me very dependable. As the day passes, I am still learning to cope as new emotions and mental states develops. The only think I know is not to fret and be forward looking. So far, I managed quite well with occasional highs and lows. Well, I have almost passed three months and there is still 15 months to go before I can review if I am out of danger zone. Something I learned while working in Saudi Arabia is that when your journey is long, live a day at a time. As Carnegie use to say "Live in a day-tight compartment".
So to make myself happier, I am experimenting on foods that I can eat. Made rye bread yesterday based on the recipe from http://gersoncooking.blogspot.com/2009/05/rye-bread.html but was not successful again. This time it could be due to slightly larger amount of yeast or the yeast did not mixed very well with the rye and wheat flour. I will try again in the coming week. Since my oven is not working, I am using the Kenwood Breadmaker to do the job. I am hungry all the time so the faster I come out with some new foods, the better for me.
They looked at me and cannot tell if I am OK or not mainly because I looked thin. They thought that since I have not gained back my weight, something may not be right. I feel OK but really do not know what's happening inside of me, particularly in my lungs. The only indication that I get from my body is the symptoms, if any. There are no symptoms to date and the conclusion I draw is good. My face looks a little rounder now when compared to when I first started the Gerson therapy. Most of my weight loss has been at the buttock, thighs, arms and around the waist.
Following the Gerson therapy is a constant challenge because I am doing the Gerson therapy entirely on my own without any help. In between I have to do marketing and coffee enema. I am also a father, a husband and son to my parents. There are still work to be done and errands to run. It's a strict regime and although I have settled on a routine, it's still not easy. Sometimes I wish I could just lie down and when the time comes, someone will pass the juice to me to drink. I did not get my wife to help out during the weekends because I believe this will make me very dependable. As the day passes, I am still learning to cope as new emotions and mental states develops. The only think I know is not to fret and be forward looking. So far, I managed quite well with occasional highs and lows. Well, I have almost passed three months and there is still 15 months to go before I can review if I am out of danger zone. Something I learned while working in Saudi Arabia is that when your journey is long, live a day at a time. As Carnegie use to say "Live in a day-tight compartment".
So to make myself happier, I am experimenting on foods that I can eat. Made rye bread yesterday based on the recipe from http://gersoncooking.blogspot.com/2009/05/rye-bread.html but was not successful again. This time it could be due to slightly larger amount of yeast or the yeast did not mixed very well with the rye and wheat flour. I will try again in the coming week. Since my oven is not working, I am using the Kenwood Breadmaker to do the job. I am hungry all the time so the faster I come out with some new foods, the better for me.
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