Here is the latest set, a little late. It’s the first full set since I changed drugs. Light chains, made it to normal levels (barely). M-band dropped by 60%, which was awesome to see. I’m curious how far it will go, if it will hit zero.
My protein levels got punched and I’m not sure what happened to my Gamma Globlins. They pretty much have never moved much at all and all of a sudden they are low. My M spike is in the Gamma region, so I’m thinking maybe it has something to do with that? I’ll have to ask the Dr.
My platelets haven’t been this high in over three and a half years, so that was also nice to see. I’d say the rest of the numbers are more or less the same as usual.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I developed a sinus cold/infection after my last dose of chemo.
My sinuses and nose were so plugged. I was laying awake around midnight, trying to sleep.
Growing up, I always shared a bedroom with my younger brother. I remember a time or two when he was sick and his nose was plugged up. He would be crying in bed and my Mom would come in to comfort him. I would lay there trying to sleep, drowning out the noise as best as I could.
He was crying and crying and he blurted out, “I can’t breathe!” At this point I had enough and yelled out, “breathe through your mouth stupid!” As you can tell, I wasn’t a very sympathetic brother. Of course he could breathe, he had no trouble crying his head off at my Mom, I thought.
I used to be a back or stomach sleeper. When I had a tumor on my sacrum, I begrudgingly switched to a side sleeper.
Fast forward in time to last week. Laying there awake, I thought to myself, “I can’t breathe!” My nose is so plugged. Another voice in my head said “breathe through your mouth stupid!” and this old memory came flooding back. At this point, I burst out laughing. The irony of it. Of course, I knew I could breathe through my mouth, I would just start drooling on my pillow (which sucks too), now being a side only sleeper.
I very much earned this lack of breathing experience. Life has a funny way of making circles out of things and teaching you some wisdom where it can. Be nicer to your brother!
Here is my latest set of labs. The doctors decided numbers weren’t moving fast enough and took me off Dara sq and Pom and put me on the more toxic Carfilzomib and Cyclophosphamide (good ‘ol mustard gas).
I was a bit concerned about burning through Dara sq rather quickly, when it was potentially still working, although really slowly. I talked to the oncologist and he thinks it’s still viable in the future.
I read that Cyclophosphamide can be more effective with Vitamin A and Beta-carotene and less toxic with Reishi mushrooms. Carrot juice for the win!
Because I started on new drugs, they ran some labs weekly. It was quite amazing to see my lambda light chains shoot down in less than two weeks and are now in normal range! Looks like it also punches down my kappa light chains, which I didn’t need, but I’m still scrapping by. M-band didn’t run, I suppose that will be the best indicator for the myeloma.
CBC looks pretty darn good. Nutrition nutrition nutrition, that’s my motto.
Unfortunately, after each infusion (3 now), I’ve ended up sick for 3-4 days. First was a cold, second was a cold and fever (thankfully, I avoided the emergency room) and now a sinus cold with the third. Honestly, I can’t tell anymore if it’s a germ or a side effect. It seems like a germ each time, but it starts around infusion time. I’m finally on the mend again today and I get a week off from chemo, so that’s awesome.
I touched on my breakfast recipe in my post My Diet – Part Two. Here is the whole thing. I have additional information at the bottom. Please read the notes.
Ingredients – one serving
1/2 Cup of Rolled Oats
1 Tablespoon of Quinoa
1 Tablespoon of Amaranth
1 1/2 Half Cups of Frozen mixed berries
1 Tablespoon of Goji berries
1 Pinch of Clove Powder
1 Pinch of Cardamom Powder
1 Tsp of Cinnamon Powder
1 Tsp of Ginger Powder
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil
10 Soaked Overnight Almonds
1 Tablespoon of Chia Seeds
5 Tablespoons of Flax Seeds
3 1/3 Cups of Water
Boil 1 1/3 cups of water in a small pot. Once boiled, add the Quinoa and Amaranth. Turn the heat to low. When the Amaranth gets shiny or drops to the bottom of the pot (about 5 minutes), add the rolled oats. Remove the almond skins, add to pot and stir. Cooked when water is gone.
In a separate pot, add the goji berries, mixed berries, spices and remaining 2 cups of water. Stir the mixture every couple of minutes to have the spices well mixed and cook (enhances flavor). Bring to a boil. Turn off when goji berries look fluffy and blueberries start to lose color.
Add the chia and flax seeds to a coffee grinder and grind for about 15 seconds until you have a smooth powder. Dump the powder into a large eating bowl. Add the coconut oil.
Add the berry mixture into the bowl with the flax mixture. Mix together and let it sit for 2 minutes to let the chia and flax absorb some of the berry mixture water.
Lastly, add the cooked oatmeal mixture. Breakfast is served!
A couple of notes.
I use frozen berries because they are less expensive than fresh ones. Either is good. Mixed berries sometimes have a lot of strawberries in them, which I try and keep to a minimum (trying to keep my body balanced, low on acid foods, it’s an Ayurvedic/Chinese medicine thing).
Sometimes, I add or just use mini wild blueberries (from Canada, usually). They are slightly different in nutrition. I’ve heard they also remove things like radiation. I especially like to have them after getting scanned.
As you saw, I add coconut oil to my breakfast. It is a healthy fat, antibacterial, antimicrobial. Everyone needs healthy fats to their diet. This is one place where I get part of mine, which is the reason it’s in there. If you don’t need it or want it, don’t add it. Don’t substitute poor quality other oils.
Flax! I have a lot of it here in my breakfast, as you can see. It’s really amazing stuff. It is so good for you on so many different levels. That being said, there are cases where this level of flax is too much. For instance, people who have breast cancer. One tablespoon max of freshly ground flax can stabilize and bind excess estrogen, beyond that, it can potentially cause undesirable consequences. Please get educated about your condition or ask your doctor. If in doubt, just use a tablespoon or two.
I don’t use sweetener of any kind. I do believe that added sugar fuels cancer growth, among other things. My taste buds have adapted to a very low sugar diet (which is quite amazing, but that’s a whole other story). If you need some sweetener, try add some raisins.
If you are having trouble with your appetite, try and add more water. I find that watery food is easier to intake than thicker food.
I hope you give it a try and like it. If you want, leave a comment about any tweaks in the recipe you enjoy 😊.
Here are my latest labs. Light Chains are down a bit, which was nice to see. The Dr. still wanted to changed drugs though. Seems like they are trying to rush me to a bone marrow transplant. I guess we will see how fast the new drugs punch things down. I also had a bone marrow biopsy. I posted the Fish test results from that, although nothing changed.
Name Standard range
9/15/22
10/13/22
11/10/22
KAPP/LAMB FR 0.26 – 1.65
0.07
0.06
0.06
KAPPA LIGHT CHAIN FREE 3.30 – 19.40 mg/L
7.66
6.73
6.18
LAMBDA LIGHT CHAIN FREE, SERPL 5.71 – 26.30 mg/L
110.37
118.37
102.87
Name Standard range
9/15/22
10/13/22
11/10/22
BASOS % AUTO %
1
1
1
BASOS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.1 K/uL
0.0
0.0
0.0
EOS % AUTO %
2
4
2
EOS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.4 K/uL
0.1
0.2
0.1
IMMAT GRANS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.1 K/uL
0.0
0.0
0.0
IMMAT GRANULO % AUTO %
0
0
0
LYMPHS % AUTO %
42
39
40
LYMPHS ABS AUTO 0.9 – 3.2 K/uL
1.7
2.1
2.1
MONOS % AUTO %
15
14
13
MONOS ABS AUTO 0.3 – 0.9 K/uL
0.6
0.7
0.7
NEUTROPHILS % AUTO %
39
42
44
NEUTROPHILS ABS AUTO 1.8 – 7.9 K/uL
1.5
2.2
2.3
Name Standard range
9/15/22
10/13/22
11/10/22
HCT 39.0 – 51.0 %
38.6
38.5
37.2
HGB 13.0 – 17.0 g/dL
13.6
13.6
13.5
MCV 80 – 100 fL
92
91
87
NRBC <=0 /100WC
0
0
0
PLT 140 – 400 K/uL
132
123
121
RBC’S 4.10 – 5.70 M/uL
4.20
4.24
4.26
RDW, RBC 12.0 – 16.5 %
13.3
13.6
14.1
WBC 3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
3.9
5.3
5.3
Name Standard range
9/15/22
10/13/22
11/10/22
11/10/22
ALB 3.8 – 5.0 g/dL
4.1
4.1
4.3
ALPHA 1 GLOB EP 0.2 – 0.4 g/dL
0.3
0.3
0.3
ALPHA 2 GLOB EP 0.5 – 1.0 g/dL
0.4
0.5
0.5
BETA GLOB EP 0.6 – 1.2 g/dL
0.6
0.6
0.6
GAMMA GLOB EP 0.7 – 1.8 g/dL
1.0
1.1
1.2
TP 6.0 – 7.7 g/dL
6.8
6.8
Name Standard range
9/15/22
10/13/22
11/10/22
M-BAND-1 <=0.0 g/dL
0.9
1.0
1.0
Fish Test INTERPRETATION 11/7/22 (Nothing Changed) This analysis showed signal patterns consistent with:
1q21 (CKS1B) gain (3-4 copies total) in 37/100 (37.0 percent) cells scored.
IGH-MAF fusion due to translocation (14;16) (q32;q23) and loss of a derivative chromosome in 37/100 (37.0 percent) cells scored.
Have you ever seen the children’s movie: Chicken run? Made by Nick Park, the same guy who did Wallace and Gromit. I think the guy is pretty clever and witty, so I liked his shows a lot.
Anyhow the old guy, in Chicken run is being fooled by the chickens and he says “Gnomes”, thinking gnomes are causing the trouble. I still think of that when I hear “Gnomes!”.
Some gnome houses sprouted up overnight in the garden.
It’s amazing how fast mushrooms grow.
I feel if there ever was a universal cure for cancer, it would come from mushrooms!
I do eat mushrooms, almost daily. I wouldn’t eat these ones though, being mostly mushroom ignorant. I also take reishi daily for the potential anti myeloma effect.
If you ever wanted to watch an awesome show (I think so anyhow), watch Fantastic Fungi (Netflix has it). They have some amazing time lapse clips and interesting mushroom information.
I haven’t felt like posting for a little while. Mostly been uninspired. I guess I did start one post, that I’m actually really excited about: Death. (Excited about the post, not death 😜).
I’ve been really enjoying writing it and I really hope it is helpful and makes you go “hmm”. It’s been kicking around in my head for months and I’ve been itching to write it. It’s an really important one for me, so I don’t want to flub it.
It was infusion day for me today. They had me take 40mgs of Dex (steroid) on top of the chemo. Dex at this strength, makes my lower back ache like crazy. It’s going to be awesome, can’t sleep and a achy back 👍🏻😝. Really, “everything is awesome”, (woah, Lego movie, I guess I have shows pouring out of my head).
I had an eye check up the other day. My eyes are pretty good, but things have been getting a little fuzzy up close. I know vision changes can happen from myeloma, from chemotherapy to treat myeloma and because, I’m just getting older.
I told the chemo nurses my vision has changed since I started chemo four months ago now. They couldn’t tell me if it was related to the drugs or age, which is fair, because neither can I.
I went in to the Optometrists, had my eyeballs examined, read all the tiny letters and the result was that I still have 20/20 vision at a distance. About a foot away, I need some weak reading glasses. I’m not sure if I’ll bother yet, since I usually read around two feet away, which I don’t have a problem with (yet 🤞🏼). Guess I’m just getting a bit old, which is good in my situation.
In about two weeks, the doctors want to run a whole host of tests on me to check up on the myeloma in further depth (including, the dreaded bone marrow biopsy).
One of the other tests is a 24-hour urine test to check protein and creatinine clearance. I was already at the doctors for my eyes, so I went over to the lab to do the paperwork and get my pee jugs. That took about 10 minutes and I hopped in the car and went home.
When I got home, I was reading over the instructions for the test before I put it all away, since I’m not doing the test yet. I happened to look at the labels they stuck on the jug and saw the printed doctor’s label. Rrrrrr…. Somehow the lab tech printed out a doctor’s label that had the Optometrist’s name and doctor’s code on it. How is it even an option to have an optometrist’s name print for a urine test?
I promise you, I try and not micromanage so much. But I swear, I find myself having to micromanage my medical everything so much. Just a gripe, but I shouldn’t have to double-check the labels on my pee jugs!
Although, I couldn’t help it, almost immediately after I saw the optometrists name on the label, the sinister thought of handing over my pee jugs to the optometrists, did make me laugh 😂. Here you go….
Appreciation is a beautiful, soulful quality available to everyone in every circumstance—being thankful for life’s little treasures, grateful for the opportunity to begin the day where you are, appreciating the perfect place your karma has brought you to.
Appreciation is life-giving. Depreciation without appreciation is heartlessly destructive. Yet, it is the all-too-common way of our times. When something is done that is good, helpful or loving, it is often overlooked, treated as something expected. No acknowledgment is shown, no gratitude expressed. But if a shortcoming is seen, everyone is swift to point it out!
The wise ones knew that all people possess freedom of choice and the willpower to use it. Today that freedom is usually used, unwisely, to downgrade others, as well as oneself. Ignorance seems to be almost as all-pervasive as God. We find it everywhere and within every situation. It does not have to be this way.
Gratitude is a quality of the soul. It does not depend on how much we possess. Its opposite, ingratitude, is a quality of the external ego. When we are selfless, we give thanks for whatever we have, no matter how little or how much. When we are egotistical, we are never grateful or satisfied, no matter how much we have.
The word SUPERFOOD. It is used way too much, thrown around by marketers. According to them, everything is a super food and we should all be super, but for some reason we are all fat, sick and dying.
I saw on a potato box recently, “Super food Potatoes!”. POTATOES are not a super food!!! They are super at filling up your stomach if you’re starving, and they taste good, but there isn’t a lot of nutritional value.
As a general rule I have about my food, is that it has to be Organic. There are too many chemicals out there in the food industry for me to trust. Countless chemicals are banned in Europe and other countries, that the US allows. Organic is always better than non organic, but I don’t know what’s available where you live. As long as you are keeping it real with yourself, do the best youcan and don’t stress about it (as you know, stress is horrible for you).
I generally eat everything cooked and not raw. I know there is some debate out there over that, when it comes to anti cancer diets. This is the logic that I subscribe to. Cooked food is broken down and more easily digestible. You do lose a bit of nutritional value in the cooking of the food, but if you are absorbing more of it, I feel you are better off. Plus, I can’t think of one person who is on chemo, whose gut bacteria and digestive system isn’t being nuked. Easier to digest equals big win for the digestive system and you.
Generally, the only thing that I eat raw, is vegetable juice, which has broken down already by the juicer and there is big loss in benefit in heating the juice.
Breakfast
I make a mix of oatmeal, amaranth and quinoa as my base. Oats help renew bones and connective tissues. They help with digestion and help remove unwanted things on their way out. Amaranth is an ancient Latin America and African seed. High in protein and vitamins. It has the highest protein content out of grains (although technically not a grain). Quinoa, generally strengthens the whole body. A good source of Iron, B vitamins and vitamin E.
Quick side note on iron. Iron can stimulate tumor growth. Iron based supplements should only be taken with a doctor’s guidance, to know if you are deficient (I’m personally not in favor of iron supplements). I think it’s been pretty well proven at this point that red meat based iron can easily feed cancer cells, because it’s very absorbable. Plant based iron is not well absorbed, so therefor a good source of it for people who have cancer.
We need iron for our red blood cells, hemoglobin and oxygen transfers. I have had my iron tested and I’ve had no negative consequences from my plant based iron intake. My hemoglobin has always looked good (knock on wood), despite it normally being a myeloma challenge.
Sorry, back to breakfast. One cup of cooked amaranth contains nine grams of protein with quinoa not far behind. Protein among other things, is essential building block for your immune system. I’ve had numerous chemo nurses and alternative doctors (both usually from Asia), grind me about getting enough protein. Both saying, “the ones who usually make it from cancer (and more recently from covid), are the ones getting sufficient amounts of protein”.
An adult male, according to our wondrous USDA, needs about 50 grams of protein a day. Breakfast is a good place to start.
I have my base of oatmeal, quinoa and amaranth. I soak about ten almonds overnight. I take off the skins in the morning and add that to the pot. Removing the skins makes them easier to digest (I bet you’re starting to notice a theme). Almonds are nutritional and body building. The skins taken off feel like rough paper, no wonder they don’t digest well.
Nuts on a whole are nutritional, but are hard to digest, so I’m cautious with them. Sometimes, I’ll add in some walnuts (anti cancer), but they are very acidic, and are one of those foods that can throw a person’s body out of balance (not that I’m in balance, aiming to be), from the perspective of Ayurveda (doshas) or Chinese medicine (yin/yang).
In a separate pot, I’ll make a stew of Goji berries (iron, blood building, antioxidant), blueberries, blackberry and raspberries (antioxidants). Sometimes, I add in some seasonal fruit for variety. I’ll add some spices, notably, ginger, a digestive aid, among just being awesome. Through all my treatments, I’ve only be nauseous a couple of times and that was when my intestines were getting blasted by radiation (I don’t know who wouldn’t be nauseous from that!). I owe it all to GINGER. It’s amazing stuff, anti nausea, appetite builder, digestion aid, fever reducer and phlegm remover among other things. I drank pots of freshly made ginger tea when I had Covid and I feel it’s a large reason why I skated through the Covid infection so easily.
Next, I will freshly grind a bit of chia seeds and a good amount of flax seeds. I could classify flax as one of the mother of all super foods. These little buggers are incredible. Loaded with vitamins and minerals. They are one of the richest sources of omega 3 fatty acids, which improve immunity and clean the arteries and are a must for this diet. I freshly grind them each day, because of the oil in the seeds can become rancid after a few days and it’s just so easy to do. Also, without grinding, they would just come out the other side whole and I wouldn’t receive any benefit.
Lastly, I scoop out one tablespoon of coconut oil as a healthy fat. A few years ago, my primary doctor wanted to check my cholesterol (probably to see if I could be put on cholesterol medication). I thought it was stupid, no way I have a cholesterol problem, with the way I eat. The test came back, and it turns out I did have a problem. It wasn’t with bad cholesterol, I didn’t have enough good cholesterol! (Although, I didn’t hear that from my doctor). Daily healthy fats are essential.
I mix it all together and breakfast is served! High nutrition and body building, two things I need. Please join me.
Cancer is vastly complicated and diet is I feel is a hotly debated topic in the cancer world. To me, it seems that everybody, from every angle adds to it, and muddles it. Unfortunately there is so much money involved by large scale farmers, food manufacturers, stores, marketers, and stock holders/investors, it’s not a pretty picture for your health. Most food companies (not all) are in the business to make money, PERIOD. Make it cheaper, make it taste better, make is last longer on the shelf. Your health is not a big concern.
If you are reading this, then I feel like your health is a big concern for you. Please please please take a interest in what you eat.
I love this quote by B. J. Palmer because it’s so true.
Many of us take better care of our automobiles than we do our own bodies… yet the auto has replaceable parts.
B. J. Palmer
To borrow another one, this time from Al Gore, “An Inconvenient Truth”. He was talking about the environment, but it holds true for the body environment. What we are eating is killing us, it’s not the only thing (looking at you anything plastic related), but it’s a big contributor.
I recently saw an article about people tightening their budgets because of the economy and inflation. A woman in it was talking about shopping for food at the dollar store and buying more canned food. I’m not judging, you have to do what you have to do. She said she was going to cut corners and buy the cheap stuff, despite knowing it was not the best for her. But, when it came to her dog, “nothing but the best, no corner cutting, he deserves it.” Humans are weird (Judging here).
I fully get it, it is so much easier to take something off the shelf, already prepared and eat it, than to make it, but it can be so much worse for you. What is a cancer cell? It’s a cell that can’t die. Or you could call it a preserved cell?? Preservatives? Food for thought.
Full disclosure as far as myeloma goes. I’ve poured through the books and internet. I’ve never come across anything or anybody that has cured their myeloma from a specific diet (or anything else). There has been some information about certain things like, curcumin, that have put people into remission. Certainly, I can find long term remissioners (20+ years), that point to diet.
What I feel like this diet does for me and my myeloma is, it seems to keep the myeloma moving very slowly. It’s gotten me healthier and helps keep my whole system healthier. It has kept my CBC numbers in normal range and my liver and kidneys functioning well. I feel it also has taken the odds of me getting a secondary cancer from treatment and made that smaller.
I do feel like this diet has the potential to get rid of many other cancers. It’s not anything new, nothing I invented. It’s just a whole food, plant based diet.
One additional benefit is, you will automatically lose weight and all you have to do is eat real food, no dieting. Speaking from my experience, I lost 20+ pounds of extra weight, my wife lost 15+ pounds and I know other heavier people who were on it that lost 30+ pounds. My wife and I weight evened out smack dab in the middle of the bmi chart (for whatever bmi is worth?). It seems like our bodies know what we are supposed to weigh and will hit that weight if we feed ourselves the right things.
A different reaction happened with my children. They put on healthy weight and tissue. Their skin and hair started to glow. They moved to the top of the growth chart at the Doctors. Cavities stopped happening.
My wife and children do eat on occasion “healthy” packaged foods. Diet is still a challenge in our household, due to my teenagers. Kids will be kids, but they eat what my wife and I want them to eat 90% of the time and they on their own avoid the really junky stuff.
Myeloma specialists are also now coming out and talking about the importance of diet for long term survival. Dr. Urvi Shah from Memorial Sloan Kettering is one myeloma specialist who studies diet and myeloma.
We know and there has been clinical studies done, that show that if you are obese, you will do worse with myeloma and treatment with myeloma, including stem cell transplant. If you’re obese, you will do worse across all cancers. This is very real and a very hard truth and there is no sugar coating it (bad pun for this topic).
You can go to pubmed.gov and search diet and cancer and it will pull up 50,000+ studies done by doctors on the importance of diet. Here is an article/study published by the International Journal of Cancer, showing decreased rates of cancer by eating a plant based diet versus a red meat/ processed meat diet.
I read a staggering stat the other day, in regards to prostate cancer. In the US, 140 men per 100,000 will develop prostate cancer. In Europe and South America, 20-50 per 100,000, will. In China, 3 per 100,000. Makes you sure go Hmmm….diet may be an important clue here.
I feel like diet is so important, which is why my website is named carrots over cancer.
Diet has to be a lifestyle choice. You are in control of what you put into your body and the consequences of that are yours. What do you want to become part of you?
My diet summed up is:
I seek out Organic Plant based foods, more vegetable variety, the better, high protein, nutrient dense carbs, fruits, healthy fats and healthy nuts and seeds.
I avoid meat, dairy, sugar, processed foods, junk food, junk carbs and inflammatory foods.
Carrots Over Cancer 