B17: More than Just an Aircraft

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor do I pretend to be one. This is not a medical site and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice.

Also, I apologize for the ADD format of this post. I thought about trying to fix it, but well, I honestly just didn't feel like it. I'm tired and I'd rather just get the update done even if it is kind of scatter brained.

So here it is.

Okay, so a few weeks ago I decided to switch things up. I'm still eating vegan, although not as much raw as I should be (and I'm dreaming of burgers) and I'm still drinking that darn carrot juice, so much that the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet are orange. I swear I'm not using tanning lotion.

So what's changed? I'll tell you.

We all know of the apricot. We also all know that inside of an apricot is a pit. But who knew there was something inside the pit? I certainly didn't until all this started.  If you crack open the pit of an apricot there is a kernel inside. It actually looks a lot like an almond, though it doesn't taste like one. This kernel is said to have anti-c*****ous properties and something called B17. I've watched a couple of documentaries about it, in addition to reading a lot about it. I'm not going to get into specifics but if you want to watch or read about it you can try googling B17, amygdalin, or laetrile.

Apricot kernels aren't the only seeds to contain "B17". It's said to be in other fruit seeds as well but in lower concentrations. So my new rule is eat the fruit, eat the seeds. I must say, apple seeds are not as hard as I thought they would be.  

Taking these kernels was something I had been wanting to try for awhile, but I was on so many supplements I was afraid to add anything else for fear of an interaction with something I was already doing. That's all I need to do is die of some strange interaction between treatments. 

Let's back up a few weeks. I was getting an upset stomach from one of the supplements I was on. By upset, I mean vomiting. I don't know exactly which one was causing it since I was taking so many. I did have it narrowed down to three. It was at that point I stopped taking everything. I thought maybe I should just give my stomach a rest. That's when I decided to take these apricot kernels instead. 

I started with taking one an hour. After a few days I worked my way up to 24 a day. The plan is to add back in some of the supplements, not all, one at a time to make sure there isn't any reaction and if there is I'll know what caused it. As of right now the only other thing I am taking is vitamin C. I'm also drinking Essiac tea twice a day. 

So far, so good. I've been doing this for about two weeks and I haven't noticed any adverse side effects. 

The lump is status quo as far as I can tell.  It's almost time to have it checked again. And since he already knows I quit chemo, I am considering asking my primary care physician for a script to get an ultrasound rather than going where I had gone before. If I can get a script from the doctor my insurance with cover it. Why spend $160 if you don't have to. I think he'll work with me, although there is always the possibility that he won't. My thought is it won't hurt to ask.

Bob left this morning to take the kids camping. They were meeting up with some friends of ours. Under normal circumstances I would have gone. Not because I love to camp, but because I enjoy the family time. My kind of camping would be in a hotel with a pool, not in a tent in some mud (or rocks, as it happened the one year).  I did however turn down the invitation to go this time. Thinking about the food situation for me while camping just made it all seem not worth it. Besides, when is the last time I had a weekend all by myself? NEVER!! 

I've enjoyed the time I've had to myself. I got to take a nice, long, hot bath (with no one knocking on the door), I went shopping for new clothes since none of mine fit (I'm in a size 6 pants now. Woo-hoo!!) I made myself a gluten free pizza (no cheese of course) and I started watching a movie.(Then I stopped the movie to write this.) 

It's also my last weekend of my summer break. It's back to work for me on Wednesday. I complain about having to go back so much earlier than my kids but really it helps to have all the start dates staggered. It eases me back into the crazy, hectic schedule that follows; work for me, school for the kids, soccer x3.

 For months I had been having bone pain in my right forearm as a result of the shots of Neulasta I had for the low blood count that was caused by the chemo. Yep, imagine that, side effects of the drug to treat the side effects...ugh! Bone pain is listed as the "less serious" side effects. You should read the more serious side effects list.  Anyway, I was lying in bed last night when I realized that the pain was finally gone. God is good, restoring my body little by little.

Someone had mentioned to me once that by reading this they knew how to pray for me. So if you're a praying person please pray for my hormones to normalize. It's very evident to me that this wasn't an issue before the chemo and is more than likely a result of it. I'm sure my family would love to have a more even tempered, less agitated mommy. And Mommy would really like breasts that aren't sore 90% of the time. (I know, TMI...sorry)

So I think that's it. I'm good, getting better and healthier and hopefully shrinking tumors along the way.