Learning Is Knowing

 

It's been a little over a year since my cancer diagnosis. I am still in the beginning of this journey compared to many. Summer of 2022 is when I got the original news and had my surgery. I have to go by "summers" because I remember how disappointed I was not being able to get in my pool after surgery. I had a total abdominal hysterectomy that summer. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/abdominal-hysterectomy/about/pac-20384559. They also had to do something called a debulking (https://www.healthline.com/health/ovarian-cancer/debulking-surgery-for-ovarian-cancer ). It is a procedure to remove as much of the cancer cells as possible in cases where a tumor has attached itself and spread in other places. The second "summer", I had to return to the operating room to have a partial nephrectomy.

          https://www.healthline.com/health/kidney-cancer/partial-nephrectomy.  There was a spot on my right kidney that both the oncology gynecological surgeon and the urologist had recommended watching. I had to spend one more summer not enjoying my pool! This is why I measure my condition and progress by "summers". 

I am currently on Lynparza. This medication has been shown to help keep patients in remission after first line defense of chemotherapy is completed. I was on Taxol and Carboplatin.

    CARBOPLATIN-TAXOL - NCI (cancer.gov)

I have been on Lynparza for about a year. My provider was able to set me up with a specialty pharmacy that did not charge me a copay. The medication cost is about $7000 a month depending on how often it is taken. I do have commercial insurance through my employer, and some companies are partnered with certain pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies to offer assistance to help patient afford their medications. Lynparza is a medication by AstraZeneca. I do not understand how it all works, but I am forever grateful for the assistance. 

I spent some time thinking about alternative treatments, nutrition, mind over matter philosophies, and so much more with an uncertain future. There is a wealth of information available with putting in time and effort. I just starting my journey as I mentioned and writing things down "somewhere" will be helpful for me to keep a running record of interesting information I find along the way. 

On a fun note, I was introduced to this fun app called "Yuka". I have a Google Pixel phone, so I found it in the Google Play Store. The app has a feature that scans barcodes on food, and it will rate it based on a score out of 100, with 100 being the best, of course. It lists the positives and negatives, like protein content, fiber content, among others, and whether or not it has harmful additives. 

I like the app because it has so much useful information about what we are consuming. Some of the reading I have done during my treatment mentioned plant-based diets and trying to avoid preservatives and additives. Other readings talked about a Mediterranean style diet. In most of my personal research, a common finding seems to be "anti-inflammatory" and "antioxidant" foods. Well, most of these foods are in a plant-based diet. I couldn't see myself chomping on carrots or celery all day, so I had to find out what all was considered "plant-based". It turns out that beans and legumes, pasta, certain tortilla wraps, and many other things are actually plant-based, which made me happy. I felt like I could make small changes that could have some impact on my ability to live a little longer and improve my quality of life. I don't believe I have found the answer entirely, but this is a work in progress. I am sure I will change and adjust accordingly as I find new information and do further research. Right now, it's more of an inquiring mind that motivates me.

 

I also read about supplements. I try to focus on supplements that boost immunity, and have antioxidant properties, as well as anti-inflammatory properties. I had written in an earlier post about a few things I was doing at the time when I was going through Chemotherapy to help keep my immune system strong and help with the bone and nerve pain I was having occasionally. Quercetin is one of the supplements I still take periodically to help my immune system. 

" It is considered to show effect due to its anti-inflammatory, pro-oxidative, apoptotic, cell cycle arrest induction, and antiproliferation effects and is known to be an ideal agent especially in combination with other anticancer drugs"(Salehi, B. et al. 2020). 

Quercetin is a supplement that supposedly is found in things like berries, other fruits and vegetables. It is available as a supplement from places like Amazon and Vitamin Shoppe. I have not seen it in drug stores or places like Walmart with the supplements, so it has to be ordered online or researched to find who might carry it. I still take Vitamin C, Zinc, and Vitamin B-complex, along with a multivitamin. I was taking Turmeric for a while, too. My philosophy is that it can't hurt to try. I am certainly not in any position to say what works and what doesn't, but I am doing my homework when I can, to be informed as to what has shown to be potentially affective. I also belong to a few social media support groups to share with others and read what has worked for others. I haven't put myself out there like I want to, but I feel like I had to take time to process everything and get myself mentally in a place to where I can become actively involved in gaining knowledge and interacting with others who are going through this too. This journey continues. 

Salehi, B., Machin, L., Monzote, L., Sharifi-Rad, J., Ezzat, S. M., Salem, M. A., Merghany, R. M., El Mahdy, N. M., Kılıç, C. S., Sytar, O., Sharifi-Rad, M., Sharopov, F., Martins, N., Martorell, M., & Cho, W. C. (2020). Therapeutic Potential of Quercetin: New Insights and Perspectives for Human Health. ACS omega, 5(20), 11849–11872. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.0c01818