This is my last full week of radiation on my left breast. Usually, I complain of time going too fast, but these past few weeks have been the only time since I’ve been an adult that I can say, time is going at a more “normal” pace than usual. I guess that’s a good thing for me.
I want to document how I’m feeling through these past 3 weeks of radiation. Most people say they experience extreme lethargy, lack of energy, skin rash, and skin burn however, I have to admit my level of tiredness is only a 3 out of 10, 10 being the most tired you can feel. Some days yes, it’s a 5 or 6, but I really couldn’t complain. My skin is showing red rash-looking dots, and my nipple is darker and drier, with some pain at night under my left arm and on my left breast which is attributed to my “good cells” healing themselves as the bad cells are being killed off for good. I put on the steroid cream the nurse prescribed to me twice a day, once in the morning and once at night after I shower, and it seems to keep the irritation under control. I do light exercises daily for about 15-30 minutes each day and light stretches throughout the day to keep my blood circulating well. I also drink at least 5 big glasses of warm water every day to keep hydrated. I try to sleep by 11 pm and wake up usually around 7:30 – 8 am, which is a good amount of rest for me, though I still feel tired by the early afternoon. I would attribute this to the radiation because usually before the radiation, I feel pretty energetic all day.
Here’s the biggest change in my daily habits and lifestyle that I’m sharing here that I feel has a lot to do with the minimal adverse effects of radiation. Here’s when and what I eat every day:
Breakfast: 15 hours after my last meal, what I call the “anti-cancer smoothie.”
- 1/2 whole organic lemon (skin and seeds included)
- 2-3 cloves of raw garlic
- raw organic kale
- organic strawberries
- organic blueberries
- organic raspberries
- baruka nuts
- ground flax seed
- chia seeds
- organic amla powder (Indian goose berries)
- organic spirulina powder
- matcha and collagen powder
- organic wheatgrass powder
- 2 cups organic soy milk non-sweetened
- Peru sacha inchi oil
Lunch: big organic raw salad
- organic arugala or mixed greens
- organic strawberries
- tomatoes
- broccoli spouts
- extra virgin olive oil
- Peru sacha inchi oil
- 2 pan fried organic eggs or hard boiled eggs
For a few carbs without white or wheat flour, I would have 2 slices of sprouted grain bread Ezekiel with flax. For the topping, I would usually add fresh avocado spread (avocado, sea salt, and black pepper) or whole organic milk cottage cheese. A girl’s got to have some organic whole dairy! Honestly, I don’t know if I can totally go plant-based forever, because right before my period each month, I need more calories and more fatty foods, and this is how I add them in to make my body feel good. I’ve been reading “How to Fast Like a Girl” by Dr. Mindy Pelz and it’s really eye-opening to the fact that women have an ebb and flow each month with the hormones that we need to attend to. We have to be aware of the changes in our hormones in order to balance all of our organic functions. I can go more into this later on.
Dinner: usually by 6 pm at the latest, that way I can do daily intermittent fasting without starving myself in the mornings when I need to be up and running.
- organic chicken soup
- black rice
- lightly sauteed vegetables
- wild caught salmon
- or a similar big salad like lunch
- lental soup
I’ve been eating like this since the beginning of September 2022. I want to document how this big change in my eating and exercise routine would positively change my body to an efficient, self-healing machine without taking any drugs like tamoxifen to keep cancer out for good. One of the biggest things I quit cold turkey was SUGAR and CARBS. I think sugar was the hardest thing I ever had to quit from, even harder than alcohol and caffeine to be honest. If you knew me back in UCLA, my only diet was gummy bears and sour patch kids. On nights when I had to cram for midterms or finals, I would finish a whole big bag of candy to help get me through staying up all night. I don’t know how I got through that alive! How did I not want to die with all that simple sugar? That kind of bad eating went on for years until I got anorexic followed by bulimia and then drinking. I was unhealthy like that for at least a decade if not 15 years. Now come to think of it, a part of my severe depression in college was caused by all the simple sugars and bad foods I was eating. My hormones were all over the place, therefore my moods were all over the place, and then my life went out of control.
The 1cm cancer tumor Dr. Choi removed on Oct 10, 2022 was two decades of bad habits and treating myself terribly. Thank you God for waking me up, and telling me I need to love myself and take care of myself finally at age 45. It’s time.
I’m taking a stance to take control of my health in all ways. I’m not going to take tamoxifen, I want to go the all-natural route to have this thing not come back. Stay tuned to “Amy finally taking care of herself.”
Rajaverse 