Creeping Upward

My CA-125 tumor marker has been inching upward the past few months. It's still  quite low (36) but now out of the normal range. When I was initially diagnosed, it was almost 1,000, and I've heard of numbers in the thousands. This blood test can be notoriously inaccurate for many people - which is why it isn't used for diagnosis - but for me it works well as a flag to follow up with better tests.

As my oncologist recommended, I'm having the usual scans: a brain MRI and a CT of my torso. Unless the cancer's gone to my toenails, it should show up in these pictures. Dr K considers those much more reliable tests. I'll meet with him next Thursday to go over the results.

I considered titling this post "my number's up," but that has another connotation, and in that sense my number is far from up. Most likely if something shows up on a scan, my oncologist will recommend chemo if it's in my torso and radiation if it's in my brain. There are lots of different chemo drugs that could be effective.

Because it's been a while since I posted here, here's a quick summary of what I've been up to.
I've been enjoying my holiday from chemo and investigating different approaches to try to keep the cancer at bay. For example, at the suggestion of my naturopath and acupuncturist, I started Qigong classes; I appreciate that they have a beginner series because it feels a bit foreign to me, even though the idea of techniques to move energy through subtle channels of the body is very appealing.

My naturopath had me get a blood test that identifies food sensitivities, based on the idea that if you're ingesting food that's harder for your body to manage, the body responds with inflammation, which often leads to chronic conditions and diseases like cancer. The test said I'm sensitive to beans! Green beans, pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, and others like them - but not to lima beans, fava beans, lentils, peas, or soy. Any one have a favorite lima bean recipe? Is there such a thing? Results also came back positive for tuna, which I never eat. I'm somewhat sensitive to dairy, and Holder (my naturopath) recommended avoiding it because it's been linked to hormone-sensitive cancers.
As most health conscious people are aware, it's better not to eat refined sugar (alternatives like Agave are fine). When you start reading labels, you see sugar everywhere.
That one's a lot easier for me than dairy, though: I've switched to almond milk for my cereal but still have some whole milk in my tea or coffee.
For iodine he recommended a pinch of wakame seaweed straight from the bag; for selenium 1 Brazil nut a day. I'm amused by those recommendations, which doesn't mean I ignore them.
In general, the idea is to eat a rainbow of foods.
More importantly I take Turkey Tail mushrooms in pill form; a lot of alternative practitioners have research showing their effectiveness against cancer; Maitake mushrooms also.
Dr. Holder gave me a recipe for an herbal tea I can make myself from the raw herbs that combines astragalus, licorice, geranium maculatum and a local plant called "cleavers."
The dog helps me with my exercise routine with her enthusiasm for walking around the neighborhood. R & I just recently started going to the gym, which for me is partly to take advantage of their sauna, alternating it with a cold shower - brrr! It's supposed to be good for your immune system, but I'll admit I don't put my whole body under the cold water yet.

This Summer I was fortunate enough to go to the 2nd week of Festival in England, then to Wales to wander around the land of some of R's ancestors (or "Aunt-Sisters" as one of his nephews pronounced it, when asked in school about his family - he was thinking of his mom's sister, who's an aunt to him : ).
In October we were able to attend Fall Festival in NY to learn more and practice purification. Who knows where my tumor marker would be without it. I'll write more about that another time.

Take care,
M.