Dec 31, 2010

Sa·yo·na·ra 2010!

This tumor thing can get pretty crazy. Eat this, don't eat that. Do this, don't do that. It's hard to navigate this kind of life, trying to outsmart the tumor, there's no formula. Usually, I take it all in stride, and keep my knees bent for changes. Sometimes, however, it can be overwhelming, and I just want to give up. Luckily, those moments are few and far between, and I tend to feel better after a nap.

Lately, everything that my team (Danny, my mom & dad) reads show a calorie restricted diet to be the most effective natural treatment. That's not fun. Tonight, since it's NYE, I'm sure I'll indulge in one way or another. The tumor is always on my mind though. Even if I eat more than I should, I'll still be more careful than I would have been sans tumor. I'll never be able to go back to the days of ignorance and bliss.

Happy new year to everyone! Here's a mix of never been posted photos and some that you've probably seen before. What a wild year it was. Sorry for the lack of organization. The photos not in chronological order.


















 






 



 












Adios 2010, you've been a crazy 365 days! Thanks for the memories. You challenged my strength, and my character, and I thank you for it. I've grown immeasurably.

Dec 30, 2010

Broccoli Sprouts


 

Yesterday, the sunset was absolutely gorgeous and the quote at the gym was pretty inspirational too.

Also cool yesterday, I received an email from a couple. The wife has a stage 2 astrocytoma and they've been researching all kinds of alternative treatments. They're sharing all of their information with me which is incerdibly exciting! I love it that people contact me with all kinds of wonderful information, and stories. This blog has been such a wonderful gift in my life!

It's been long known that broccoli is a very healthy vegetable. It's pretty much a super star cancer fighter. According to John Hopkin's, the #1 brain tumor facility in the country, broccoli sprouts "pack 20 to 50 times the cancer-fighting punch of the mature broccoli plant."

Researchers are starting to use the compounds in broccoli to try and slow or even reverse the growth of brain tumors. It's still pretty early in the process to have any real definitive answers, but it's hopeful!

There's so much that we don't know about brain tumors and most medicine is based on treatment, not prevention. The truth is that we are what we eat. And no one is immune to disease. I sometimes wish that brain tumors were similar to HIV, in that you know how to prevent it. But if we can figure out how to slow or stop the growth of a brain tumor, that's as close as prevention as I think we're going to get for a while. It's a hard thing to study. I'm kind of a human rat, trying to learn what works for this tumor and what doesn't. I'm not sure if any that even makes sense. What does make sense, eating broccoli sprouts. Think about it...