What does growth rate mean when you're talking about tumors? Well, let me explain it to you the way it was explained to me by one of my doctors later in this process.
If you took 100 cells from the tumor, the percentage of those cells that divided is the growth rate. If 10 cells divided out of that 100 cells the growth rate would be 10%. Anything under a 10% growth rate is considered favorable. If 20 out of the 100 cells divided the growth rate would be 20%. Anything over a 20% growth rate is considered unfavorable.
What was my growth rate? The pathology report stated that the growth rate of my not so lovely c***** was 90%....90%...90%!!! That's pretty darn unfavorable.
I was sitting in the doctor's office during my first visit since being diagnosed when I was first told this number. He never mentioned the unfavorable part. I had no idea what that number meant, none at all. I had never heard of growth rate before. Sure, 90% seemed kind of high, but I had nothing to compare it to. Even when the doctor said it was the highest he had ever seen in his 26 years of practicing, it didn't mean much to me.
I was recently sorting through all of my papers from all of the doctors I've seen over the last few months. I came across a report and the word "unfavorable" jumped out at me. Unfavorable!? It, quite frankly, annoyed me. It was at that point all the pieces started connecting.
Most people have their c***** on average 2-5 years before being diagnosed, so I have read. I was told I only had mine for several months, 6-9 at most, and it was already a 2.5 centimeter mass. I can, looking back, remember physiological changes that occurred during this time that lead me to feel pretty certain I know when the c***** started.
In retrospect, I can understand why all the doctors seemed so panicky after examining me, why they all kept asking how I didn't notice this before, and wondering if I had recently lost weight, making the lump more noticeable. It all makes more sense now.
In a very short period of time, still before I had been diagnosed, I practically watched it grow. When I first found the lump it was only palpable and not visible. Soon I was able to see it bulging through the skin. I recall being in a near state of panic. At the rate it was growing, I felt as though it was going to take over my entire body before they even diagnosed me.
Fortunately, for years Bob and I didn't have any cable, only Netflix. We watched many documentaries during that time. Ones about food, food and c*****, medical industry, big pharmaceutical companies, alternative health practitioners, and many other subjects. When I put this together with what I knew about food's relationship to health from our experience using the Feingold program with our children to correct ADHD-like behavior, it made a lot of sense to me.
But when I was facing the possibility of having c*****, I wasn't thinking sensibly. I fully admit I wasn't thinking clearly during this time. I was too scared and too overwhelmed to formulate any plan.
Bob, on the other hand, was quick acting and on a mission to "fix" me. Being a jack of all trades, he can fix anything. In his mind he could fix me, too. Remembering what we had watched years before, he was very adamant that I not wait for a diagnosis to start on a vegan diet. From that point on I didn't see any more growth. I honestly believe that this is what kept the tumor from growing any bigger or spreading.
I have in past posts described my dilemma in making my decision of a holistic approach vs. a conventional medical approach. I did originally decide to go with chemotherapy. After the first round of chemo the mass did shrink a considerable amount. After the second round, which was a different, less powerful drug, there didn't seem to be any change in the size at all.
Once starting chemotherapy I didn't follow a vegan diet very strictly at all. I can even recall a time after getting the phone call when they told me I was BRCA1 positive binge eating chocolate, and just not caring at all that I was giving my c***** the other thing it loved to feed off of, sugar.
I find it very odd that doctors don't tell you to avoid certain foods that feed c*****. In fact, I got the complete opposite advice from the hospital. They sent me home with a pamphlet, "What to Eat While on Chemo?". It said eat comfort foods like ice cream, pizza, and chocolate. REALLY??? If that's what you chose to eat against medical advice that would be your decision to do so, but for that to be the advice from doctors is absolutely ludicrous to me.
Anyway, all this rambling to bring me to the point of my story. Here I am two months post chemo treatment and my lump is not growing. It went from a super charged, highly aggressive, rapidly growing mass to not growing. You can not attribute the lack of growth to anything other than what I am eating. The chemo drugs, at this point, are completely out of my system. That is amazing to me.
Not growing is good, but it isn't my goal. Obviously, I want this thing gone. But trying to do it while working has been a challenge. I've also tried not to let this interfere too much with my children's lives, making it a point to go to every soccer and baseball game just as I always have. With baseball and soccer coming to an end and only 3 weeks of work left until summer vacation, I'm putting my plan on paper because it's just so easy to forget all the things I want to be doing. I either forget to dosomething or don't have the energy at the end of a long day. I plan to make ridding my body of this c***** my work for the summer.
As far as an update, I did have a vitamin C IV last Monday and I am scheduled to have another one on Wednesday, May 29th. I am currently looking for a doctor closer to my house who can provide those for me. It would save both time and money since the one I am currently seeing is a 100 mile round trip. In a suburban that's not cheap.
My hair continues to be slow about growing back. As my sister pointed out to me, a baby's hair doesn't all grow in at the same time. It takes awhile before it's thick. All of my children were still practically bald on their first birthday. I hope it happens quicker than that. In the meantime, I will keep reminding myself, it's just hair.
The school that my children attend and the school where I work did a joint fundraiser on my behalf and raised $1,130. This will be incredibly helpful in my journey as the monthly cost of everything I am doing is about $2,000. Thank you to everyone who bought/sold/made hoagies. I really do appreciate all of your support. And thank you to everyone else who has sent cards, notes and donations. I am truly feeling blessed. I enter all offline donations onto my Go Fund Me page so that everyone can see the incredible way in which God is providing for us during this time. If you wish to see it there is a link both on my blog page and my facebook page.
Until next week....
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