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I am done with radiation therapy. Began 5 weeks ago. Twenty five treatments. Purpose to kill cancer cells that were left behind from surgery. My treatment has been external x-rays focused around my colon where surgery was done in November 2003. My radiation treatment plus chemo treatment should yield a 90% cure of no recurrence of colon cancer in the next 5 years.
My medical treatment has been excellent. I start my next round of chemo on April 20th. I have 14 days of pill form (Xeloda) and weekly IV of Oxaliplatin. I am not sure when my chemo will be done.
I have been able to work about 5 hours a day during my chemo and radiation. Only side effect has been diarrhea. Given the list of the possible side-effects I feel lucky that my body has been able to spring back to health thru the treatments. I am getting lots of sleep, exercise at the YMCA, eat well, and my recovery is going very well.
I know I am surrounded by angels thru all this and feel blessed for all the support of family and friends. Your prayers, emails, phone calls and support have been vital to my progress in fighting this disease.
Monday, December 31, 2007
April 27, 2004 Chemo diary notes
I have allergy runny nose, dry cough because bad air here (forced air furnace)
good appitite for lunch and dinner
xeloda works fine no real side effects, solid stools
weight 185
blood pressure 138/83 this is good
mind very clear
able to swim 4 laps in Ymca indoor pool
April 28
soaked in hot jacizi at YMCA today. still sore in colon area.
talked to Doctor today.
I have two more IV treatments of oxiplatin in May. Got one today.
I finish Xeloda NEXT Tuesday . then get some resting time.
One more round of Xeloda for 14 days then I think I am done with chemo.
good appitite for lunch and dinner
xeloda works fine no real side effects, solid stools
weight 185
blood pressure 138/83 this is good
mind very clear
able to swim 4 laps in Ymca indoor pool
April 28
soaked in hot jacizi at YMCA today. still sore in colon area.
talked to Doctor today.
I have two more IV treatments of oxiplatin in May. Got one today.
I finish Xeloda NEXT Tuesday . then get some resting time.
One more round of Xeloda for 14 days then I think I am done with chemo.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
My Diagnosis
My Diagnosis
Oct 2003.
I opened my eyes seeing the face of my doctor. He had a serious, concerned look in his eyes. The anesthesia was wearing off and I wasn’t quite sure where I was.
“You have colon cancer, Mr. Beckstein. You must get an abdominal resection as soon as possible.” My doctor stated.
“What? I have cancer?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Colon cancer. Your surgeon will have to remove half your colon to remove the cancer but I don’t think you will need a colostomy bag.” He repeated since I appeared to be in shock and panic. He handed me a tiny slip of paper as the nurses wheeled me out of the procedure room. Doors opened. I felt like I was leaving a carwash. I stared at the ceiling and looked at an upside down nurse.
“You will be expelling quite a lot of air out of your rectum, Mr. Beckstein.” The nurse commented as she pushed my gurney into recovery.
“What is an abdominal resection?” I asked the nurse squinting my eyes trying to read the piece of paper the doc had handed me. It still had not hit me yet that I had cancer. She said that I needed to talk to the doctor about my diagnosis.
“Can I get you a cup of water?” she asked.
“How about bourbon?”
It was a miracle I was able to drive home by myself without having an accident. I was coming out of a routine colonoscopy and into the world of being a colon cancer patient.
I felt like I was falling down a big well with nothing to hold for safety. Falling and spinning and lost. Solid ground was a thing of the past; out of control.
My mind raced as I sat in my backyard garden. I have cancer! I have cancer? What am I going to do? Maybe the doctor is wrong. Maybe I don’t have cancer? I should get a second opinion. DAMN this is not fair! I take good care of my body and I get CANCER? Why me? What am I going to do now? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER! Am I going to die? How can I pay for this treatment? Where can I find a good doctor? What am I going to do??? Do I have enough sick leave at work for treatment??? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
My cancer diagnosis hit me like a lighting bolt, unexpected. Out of the blue. BHAM!!! I looked around dazed, confused, scared and panic crept into my body. Adrenalin pumped into my blood stream and my heart pounded in my chest.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Perhaps being told you have cancer is like being inside a tornado. Memories flood your brain and emotions trigger you body as you spin round and round as you try to figure this cancer thing out. The experience is being out of control. Shocked. Spinning and spinning and spinning.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
For those of you who have experienced an earthquake, a cancer diagnosis is like that. The ground starts to shake and the bookcase starts to sway next to your head and you pray the cancer will not crush you. You pray to God to give you strength to fight this disease. You pray a lot when you have cancer.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
I love to swim in the ocean. I am a good swimmer. One time I was in Maui on a beautiful beach. The water was 80 degrees. I put on my mask, fins and snorkel and swam alone without a boogie board. A rip current began to pull me out to sea away from the safety of dry land. I swam with all of my might against the tide. I looked at the ocean bottom with my goggles and I was not moving because the rip current was pulling me out to sea. I was lucky. I remembered how to rescue myself and get back to the safety of the shore.
Oct 2003.
I opened my eyes seeing the face of my doctor. He had a serious, concerned look in his eyes. The anesthesia was wearing off and I wasn’t quite sure where I was.
“You have colon cancer, Mr. Beckstein. You must get an abdominal resection as soon as possible.” My doctor stated.
“What? I have cancer?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Colon cancer. Your surgeon will have to remove half your colon to remove the cancer but I don’t think you will need a colostomy bag.” He repeated since I appeared to be in shock and panic. He handed me a tiny slip of paper as the nurses wheeled me out of the procedure room. Doors opened. I felt like I was leaving a carwash. I stared at the ceiling and looked at an upside down nurse.
“You will be expelling quite a lot of air out of your rectum, Mr. Beckstein.” The nurse commented as she pushed my gurney into recovery.
“What is an abdominal resection?” I asked the nurse squinting my eyes trying to read the piece of paper the doc had handed me. It still had not hit me yet that I had cancer. She said that I needed to talk to the doctor about my diagnosis.
“Can I get you a cup of water?” she asked.
“How about bourbon?”
It was a miracle I was able to drive home by myself without having an accident. I was coming out of a routine colonoscopy and into the world of being a colon cancer patient.
I felt like I was falling down a big well with nothing to hold for safety. Falling and spinning and lost. Solid ground was a thing of the past; out of control.
My mind raced as I sat in my backyard garden. I have cancer! I have cancer? What am I going to do? Maybe the doctor is wrong. Maybe I don’t have cancer? I should get a second opinion. DAMN this is not fair! I take good care of my body and I get CANCER? Why me? What am I going to do now? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER! Am I going to die? How can I pay for this treatment? Where can I find a good doctor? What am I going to do??? Do I have enough sick leave at work for treatment??? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
My cancer diagnosis hit me like a lighting bolt, unexpected. Out of the blue. BHAM!!! I looked around dazed, confused, scared and panic crept into my body. Adrenalin pumped into my blood stream and my heart pounded in my chest.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Perhaps being told you have cancer is like being inside a tornado. Memories flood your brain and emotions trigger you body as you spin round and round as you try to figure this cancer thing out. The experience is being out of control. Shocked. Spinning and spinning and spinning.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
For those of you who have experienced an earthquake, a cancer diagnosis is like that. The ground starts to shake and the bookcase starts to sway next to your head and you pray the cancer will not crush you. You pray to God to give you strength to fight this disease. You pray a lot when you have cancer.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
I love to swim in the ocean. I am a good swimmer. One time I was in Maui on a beautiful beach. The water was 80 degrees. I put on my mask, fins and snorkel and swam alone without a boogie board. A rip current began to pull me out to sea away from the safety of dry land. I swam with all of my might against the tide. I looked at the ocean bottom with my goggles and I was not moving because the rip current was pulling me out to sea. I was lucky. I remembered how to rescue myself and get back to the safety of the shore.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The New Normal…Free at Last
Free of cancer. I am free of cancer. I just completed a colonoscopy and my doctor recommended I return in five years for my next checkup. FIVE YEARS! 2012? I count five years on the fingers of my right hand like a school child. Five years!
Does this mean that I am finally cured of cancer?
YES.
No doctor will tell me I am cured. They can’t. The medical establishment lawyers won’t let the doctor’s use the word “cured.” Instead the proper medical term is “no evidence of recurring disease.”
Fine. Write anything you want in my medical record, but I am cured! I am normal again.
The new normal is no more CT body scans at $8000 per test costing me $2500 co-pay. I have the best health insurance the state of California can offer me yet I still have a co-pay. Hello…. I can find many more things I can do with $2500 then pay for more cancer tests. How about a trip to the Barrier Reef in the Pacific to scuba dive? The new normal is my medical expenses are greatly reduced in 2008.
I am cancer free. I am done! I am normal again.
According to some online dictionary, normal means “Conforming with or constituting an accepted standard, model, or pattern; esp., corresponding to the median or average of a large group in type, appearance, achievement, function, development, etc.; natural; usual; standard; regular.”
I am a regular guy now. “Regular” means I can poop with some kind of predictable pattern. I can be very proud that I am regular and I can defecate solid stools and not have diarrhea. Ask me. I am a former colon cancer patient. I can tell you stories of bowel control issues. Cancer survivors can tell you stories.
I am healthy again. I am cancer free. I am done with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. No more drugs! No more side effects of chemo brain, falling down, nausea, exhaustion, pain, panic, fear of death, etc.
I am cancer free. This is waking up at 4 AM to wait for the sunrise. Cancer free is anticipation of a new day and a new life. No more cancer ghosts hiding under my bed. No more boogieman in the closet. No more cancer ghosts floating in the air that I breathe and in the food I eat! No more tiny cancer cells floating in my body to invade organs. A clean windshield to look forward to a bright future ahead. I am alive. I am well. I am happy to be alive. I can expect to live longer now.
The CEA blood tests and CT body scans and several colonoscopies prove to my doctors and me that I am a NERD. No evidence of recurring disease.
I am cancer free! I am normal. A regular guy. I shave and put on deodorant and go to work.
Free at last, free at last, God almighty I am cancer free at last!
Does this mean that I am finally cured of cancer?
YES.
No doctor will tell me I am cured. They can’t. The medical establishment lawyers won’t let the doctor’s use the word “cured.” Instead the proper medical term is “no evidence of recurring disease.”
Fine. Write anything you want in my medical record, but I am cured! I am normal again.
The new normal is no more CT body scans at $8000 per test costing me $2500 co-pay. I have the best health insurance the state of California can offer me yet I still have a co-pay. Hello…. I can find many more things I can do with $2500 then pay for more cancer tests. How about a trip to the Barrier Reef in the Pacific to scuba dive? The new normal is my medical expenses are greatly reduced in 2008.
I am cancer free. I am done! I am normal again.
According to some online dictionary, normal means “Conforming with or constituting an accepted standard, model, or pattern; esp., corresponding to the median or average of a large group in type, appearance, achievement, function, development, etc.; natural; usual; standard; regular.”
I am a regular guy now. “Regular” means I can poop with some kind of predictable pattern. I can be very proud that I am regular and I can defecate solid stools and not have diarrhea. Ask me. I am a former colon cancer patient. I can tell you stories of bowel control issues. Cancer survivors can tell you stories.
I am healthy again. I am cancer free. I am done with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. No more drugs! No more side effects of chemo brain, falling down, nausea, exhaustion, pain, panic, fear of death, etc.
I am cancer free. This is waking up at 4 AM to wait for the sunrise. Cancer free is anticipation of a new day and a new life. No more cancer ghosts hiding under my bed. No more boogieman in the closet. No more cancer ghosts floating in the air that I breathe and in the food I eat! No more tiny cancer cells floating in my body to invade organs. A clean windshield to look forward to a bright future ahead. I am alive. I am well. I am happy to be alive. I can expect to live longer now.
The CEA blood tests and CT body scans and several colonoscopies prove to my doctors and me that I am a NERD. No evidence of recurring disease.
I am cancer free! I am normal. A regular guy. I shave and put on deodorant and go to work.
Free at last, free at last, God almighty I am cancer free at last!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Green tea may protect against colon cancer
NEW YORK -- An extract of green tea wards off colorectal cancer, animal experiments show.
According to research reported at the Sixth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation (Polyphenon E) limits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a substance that causes the cancer.
"Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer," Dr. Hang Xiao, from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, noted in a statement.
These results are consistent with previously published results, which showed that green tea consumption was associated with lower colon cancer rates in Shanghai, China, he also noted.
In the study, Xiao and colleagues injected rats with azoxymethane, a chemical known to produce colorectal tumors that share many characteristics with colorectal cancer in humans. Then they fed the animals a high-fat Western-style diet with or without Polyphenon E for 34 weeks. The amount of Polyphenon the animals took in was roughly equal to about four to six cups of green tea per day.
Polyphenon E decreased the total number of tumors per rat and decreased tumor size, compared with control rats that were not given Polyphenon E, Xiao told the conference.
"In the control group," he said, "67 percent of rats developed malignant tumors while in the treated group only 27 percent of rats had malignant tumors. Most important, tea polyphenols decreased the number of malignant tumors per rat by 80 percent compared to the control group."
When the researchers analyzed blood and colon tissue samples, they found a "considerable amount of tea polyphenols in those samples in treated animals, and those levels of tea polyphenols were comparable to the human situation after ingestion of tea leaves or tea beverage," Xiao noted.
The researchers believe these findings will pave the way for clinical trials with green tea polyphenols in humans.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-08 10:42
According to research reported at the Sixth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation (Polyphenon E) limits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a substance that causes the cancer.
"Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer," Dr. Hang Xiao, from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, noted in a statement.
These results are consistent with previously published results, which showed that green tea consumption was associated with lower colon cancer rates in Shanghai, China, he also noted.
In the study, Xiao and colleagues injected rats with azoxymethane, a chemical known to produce colorectal tumors that share many characteristics with colorectal cancer in humans. Then they fed the animals a high-fat Western-style diet with or without Polyphenon E for 34 weeks. The amount of Polyphenon the animals took in was roughly equal to about four to six cups of green tea per day.
Polyphenon E decreased the total number of tumors per rat and decreased tumor size, compared with control rats that were not given Polyphenon E, Xiao told the conference.
"In the control group," he said, "67 percent of rats developed malignant tumors while in the treated group only 27 percent of rats had malignant tumors. Most important, tea polyphenols decreased the number of malignant tumors per rat by 80 percent compared to the control group."
When the researchers analyzed blood and colon tissue samples, they found a "considerable amount of tea polyphenols in those samples in treated animals, and those levels of tea polyphenols were comparable to the human situation after ingestion of tea leaves or tea beverage," Xiao noted.
The researchers believe these findings will pave the way for clinical trials with green tea polyphenols in humans.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-08 10:42
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Riptide of Cancer
When the doctor gave me a piece of paper with “Cancer” written on it and handed it to me and told me to go get an abdominal resection but probably would not need a colostomy bag, I went into shock.
I felt like I was falling down a big well with nothing to hold for safety. Falling and spinning and lost. Solid ground was a thing of the past. Out of control. I like pretending to be in control. Only an illusion.
My hands were sweaty on the steering wheel as I recklessly drove home alone and mind racing. My body was numb. I just got my diagnosis of colon cancer. Oct 2003.
I have cancer! I have cancer? What am I going to do? Maybe the doctor is wrong. Maybe I don’t have cancer? Maybe I should get a second opinion. DAMN this is not fair! I take good care of my body and I get CANCER? Why me? What am I going to do now? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Am I going to die? How can I pay for this treatment? Where can I find a good doctor? What am I going to do??? Do I have enough sick leave at work for treatment??? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
My bet is that nobody is ever prepared for a cancer diagnosis. It hits like a lighting bolt, unexpected. Out of the blue. BHAM!!! Then you look around dazed and confused and scared and panic creeps into your body and adrenalin pumps in your system and your heart pounds in your chest. Maybe you hyperventilate.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Perhaps being told you have cancer is like being inside a tornado. Memories flood your brain and emotions trigger you body as you spin round and round as you try to figure this cancer thing out. The experience is being out of control. Shocked. Spinning and spinning and spinning.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
For those of you who have experienced an earthquake, a cancer diagnosis is like that. The ground starts to shake and the bookcase starts to sway next to your head and you pray the cancer will not crush you. You pray to God to give you strength to fight this disease.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
I swim in the ocean. I am a good swimmer. One time I was in Maui on a beautiful beach. The water was 80 degrees. I put on my mask, fins and snorkel and swam alone without a boogie board. THEN a riptide began to pull me out to sea away from the safety of dry land. I swam with all of my might against the tide. I looked at the ocean bottom with my goggles and I was not moving because the riptide is pulling me out to sea.
My cancer diagnosis felt like a riptide pulling me out to sea and perhaps death. YOU try to figure out what to do to save your life, NOW. There are no vacations from Cancer. The riptide was pulling me away from a normal life without cancer.
I felt like I was falling down a big well with nothing to hold for safety. Falling and spinning and lost. Solid ground was a thing of the past. Out of control. I like pretending to be in control. Only an illusion.
My hands were sweaty on the steering wheel as I recklessly drove home alone and mind racing. My body was numb. I just got my diagnosis of colon cancer. Oct 2003.
I have cancer! I have cancer? What am I going to do? Maybe the doctor is wrong. Maybe I don’t have cancer? Maybe I should get a second opinion. DAMN this is not fair! I take good care of my body and I get CANCER? Why me? What am I going to do now? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Am I going to die? How can I pay for this treatment? Where can I find a good doctor? What am I going to do??? Do I have enough sick leave at work for treatment??? MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
My bet is that nobody is ever prepared for a cancer diagnosis. It hits like a lighting bolt, unexpected. Out of the blue. BHAM!!! Then you look around dazed and confused and scared and panic creeps into your body and adrenalin pumps in your system and your heart pounds in your chest. Maybe you hyperventilate.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
Perhaps being told you have cancer is like being inside a tornado. Memories flood your brain and emotions trigger you body as you spin round and round as you try to figure this cancer thing out. The experience is being out of control. Shocked. Spinning and spinning and spinning.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
For those of you who have experienced an earthquake, a cancer diagnosis is like that. The ground starts to shake and the bookcase starts to sway next to your head and you pray the cancer will not crush you. You pray to God to give you strength to fight this disease.
MY GOD I HAVE CANCER!
I swim in the ocean. I am a good swimmer. One time I was in Maui on a beautiful beach. The water was 80 degrees. I put on my mask, fins and snorkel and swam alone without a boogie board. THEN a riptide began to pull me out to sea away from the safety of dry land. I swam with all of my might against the tide. I looked at the ocean bottom with my goggles and I was not moving because the riptide is pulling me out to sea.
My cancer diagnosis felt like a riptide pulling me out to sea and perhaps death. YOU try to figure out what to do to save your life, NOW. There are no vacations from Cancer. The riptide was pulling me away from a normal life without cancer.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Spices having anti-cancer properties
Here's a list of the spices Jeanne Wallace specified as having anti-cancer properties. "Chai, turmeric, thyme, saffron, sage, rosemary, ginger, garlic and cinnamon.
Jeanne M. Wallace, PhD, CNC
(435) 563-0053
1697 East, 3450 North
North Logan, Utah 84341 USA
Jeanne M. Wallace, PhD, CNC
(435) 563-0053
1697 East, 3450 North
North Logan, Utah 84341 USA
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