Respect the fact that your exclusive inside knowledge makes you, without a doubt, the best judge of what is best for you. Your practitioner’s knowledge is important, but not of this kind. It consists of facts that can be shared. Provided these are explained properly, there is no reason why you should not understand the facts that are important to your case, as I have already told you.

So—find out all the alternatives, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Don’t just let your practitioner tell you what to do. You make the best decision you can at the time. Always be prepared to revise it later in the light of new knowledge, experience or feelings. Summed up like that it sounds easy. You and I know it isn’t: it’s very, very difficult. Try anyway— remem-I he raft?

*16/40/1*

Apricot Spread

1 cup pure orange juice

1/2 cup apple juice concentrate

2 teaspoons agar powder

1/2 to 1 tablespoon lemon juice 400 grams fresh apricots

Place all ingredients, except for apricots in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add apricots and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour into clean jar. Cool and refrigerate.

Roasted Garlic Butter

Take a whole head of garlic and, without peeling it, wrap it in aluminum foil. Place the garlic in a moderate oven at 180° Celsius. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the soft flesh from the skin and place in blender. Now you have delicious garlic butter. Stored correctly it will keep for more than 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Delicious Breakfast Treats

Apple, Date, Apricot and Prune Compote

2 apples

10 prunes, pitted

3 dates

5 apricots

125 ml of water

Wash the apples. Cut each apple into wedges, leaving the skin on. Place the wedges in a saucepan with the water, prunes, dates and apricots. Cover with a lid and place over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and stir the fruits. Cook the fruits until just softened. This recipe can be served either hot or cold (excellent for constipation).

Flaxseed, Fruit and Cottage Cheese Breakfast

2 tablespoons LSA mix (linseed, sunflower, and almond)

2 tablespoons cottage cheese (mixed with 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil)

Your favourite fruit chopped – good choices include berries, papaya, apples, pears, banana, pineapple

3 tablespoons natural acidophilus yogurt

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup or stevia, or manuka honey

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Add brown rice syrup, manuka honey or stevia last, for flavouring. Eat fresh.

Fruit Muesli

55 grams oat flakes or 25 grams oats and 25 grams rye flakes

1 serving of fruit – apple, banana, berries, pear

140 grams natural acidophilus yogurt

1 dessert spoon ground flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds

150 ml of skim or soy milk

Soak the oats/rye overnight. Add skim or soy milk. Top with fruit, yogurt and seeds, and serve.

*220/34/5*

Magical thinking is believing that your thoughts can cause changes or events in the real world when it is impossible for them to do so. It is magical thinking when you believe that it rained on your outdoor wedding because the week before the big day you thought, “It is going to rain on my wedding day.” It is magical thinking if you believe that by thinking, “I am going to have a recurrence,” you will cause a recurrence.

Superstition, in contrast to magical thinking, is a custom or act believed to cause a desired event or to prevent an undesired one. Children utilize superstition often—for example, when they close the curtains to keep out the witches. Since ancient times, cultures have passed on superstitions, such as that of Italian and Jewish families that tie a red ribbon on a new baby’s crib to ward off the evil spirits. You are repeating one when you cross two fingers of one hand to bring someone good luck (crossing two fingers of each hand supposedly brings bad luck). People engage in personalized superstitious customs, such as when a wife utters the same words before every single departure of her husband, “Drive carefully; I’ll see you later,” fearing that misfortune will result if she does not.

Superstition is also the irrational belief that something or some circumstance portends something bad. That superstition persists today is obvious when you see hospitals and hotels without a thirteenth floor (the twelfth floor is followed by the fourteenth), people throwing salt over their left shoulder, or going out of their way not to walk under a ladder or step on a crack.

You may have developed a repertoire of personal superstitions to help you cope with the uncertainties of life. You may take a special route or wear a designated outfit to every one of your checkups, if it was the route you took or outfit you wore the day your remission was announced.

Are Magical Thinking and Superstitious Thinking Normal?

Magical thinking is left over from childhood, when normal individuals believe that their thoughts can cause some of the changes in their world that they do not understand, or can protect them from the things they fear. Children believe that thinking that there will be a snowstorm can bring about the snow holiday, or that their mom got cancer because, in a moment of anger before she got sick, they thought, “I wish she would die.”

As we grow older, we use less and less magical thinking, but we all engage in magical thinking to some degree, believing that our thoughts can help bring about good things, ward off bad, and explain events. Adults allay their fear of flying by telling themselves that the mission is too important for the jet to crash. Frightened patients promise to quit smoking, hoping or believing that eleventh-hour promises will help the biopsy turn out benign. Survivors of car crashes tell themselves that they should not have gone out just because of a sale on their favorite shoes and that this is why they were in an accident.

As we gain understanding of or control over such phenomena as the weather, old superstitions often die. However, many superstitions persist, even in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary. People adopt cultural and family superstitions as part of their identity, to reinforce their sense of belonging, just as they follow current hairstyles or dress codes. In addition, superstitions afford them an accepted way to gain a sense of control over their world.

*175/32/5*

Generalized swelling (swelling all over) or leg swelling can be due to

• medication effect

• hormonal effect

• poor circulation in veins and/or lymphatic vessels

• weak kidneys

• heart problems

• liver problems

• allergic lymphedema

Swelling in a small area or in one arm or leg can be due to

• damage or blockage to the lymph system of the area

• blockage of a vein

• other local problems

Your doctor can tell you whether

•your swelling indicates a significant problem in important organs, such as your heart or kidneys, or is basically a cosmetic issue

•your swelling is expected to be temporary or permanent

• there are medicines or other measures you can take to relieve the swelling safely

You need to notify your doctor if the swelling is new or if fever, pain, tenderness, redness, heat, or overlying skin changes in the swollen area develop.

What Does It Mean If I Often Faint?

Problems that can cause you to feel faint include

• anemia

• deconditioning (the loss of normal strength and tone in muscles and blood vessels because of reduced exercise and activity)

• damage to the nervous system

• heart rhythm problems

• hormonal imbalance

Am I at Increased Risk of Heart Problems?

Certain cancer treatments carry some risk of heart injury:

• high-dose Adriamycin – risk is directly related to the total dose of Adriamycin received over your lifetime

• high-dose radiation to the chest

How Do I Know Whether I Have Heart Problems?

Call your doctor if you develop

• shortness of breath

•chest heaviness, tightness, squeezing, or pain

• chest heaviness or shortness of breath with exertion, such as walking up stairs or lifting groceries

• swelling in your feet and legs

• fever

• light-headedness

• loss of consciousness, no matter how brief

• palpitations (abnormally rapid throbbing or fluttering of the heart)

*81/32/5*

No. Just as everyone’s experience with chemotherapy is different, everyone’s experience with late effects is different. No two bodies react in exactly the same way. Moreover, two people can have a similar late effect but experience it very differently. For example, most people would tolerate a subtle loss of sensation in their fingertips without much difficulty. However, the same change in a blind person or a violinist could be devastating.

What Factors Influence Whether Chemotherapy Causes Aftereffects?

Many factors influence what aftereffects you may experience following chemotherapy. They include

•the kinds of medicines administered

•the total dose of each medicine received

• the route of therapy, such as by mouth, into a vein, or into spinal fluid

• the duration of therapy

• the other therapies your body has been exposed to before, during, or after your chemotherapy (e.g., radiation)

• the condition of your kidneys, heart, lungs, or skin before уour treatment

•the presence of other medical problems before, during, or a your treatments, such as diabetes, asthma, or hypertension

• your nutritional status

• the administration of other medications

• the presence of infection

• your age at the time of chemotherapy

• your body’s ability to heal after exposure to the chemotherapy

• your level of physical fitness before, during, and after chemotherapy

*54/32/5*

You lost your sense of control over your well-being when you were diagnosed with cancer. Throughout your treatment the only real control you had over your health was choosing to follow your treatment team’s schedule and demands. Now that treatment is done, you are in the never-never land of “wait and see.” Just as you could not protect yourself from your cancer when you were diagnosed, you cannot guarantee that you will be free of medical problems in the future.

Normal, everyday events that represent lack of control can be blown up out of proportion because of an underlying sensitivity to things you cannot control. Everyone deals with car breakdowns, leaky faucets, missed appointments, delayed flights, or sprained ankles. During recovery from cancer treatment, these ordinary setbacks can take on greater emotional meaning, because they tap into sensitivity about not having control. Your frustration at your lack of control over a delayed flight can unleash your frustration at your inability to have complete control over your cancer. In addition, you may have fewer reserves for dealing with problems and inconveniences. When you are well rested, you can clean up an overflowed sink and still have energy left over. When you are fatigued, the job may deplete your remaining energy.

When little setbacks occur because of treatment-related handicaps, your reaction may be exaggerated. Overflowing your bathtub or being late picking up your child from school is upsetting enough. You may feel worse when these things happen because you fell asleep from exhaustion.

If I Feel That Everything Is Out of Control, How Can I Regain a Sense of Control?

You have a certain need to control things in your life. Some people want and need the sense of a lot of control; others do not have as strong a need. You can regain a healthy sense of control by

• recognizing when you are associating lack of control over something minor with lack of control

over your health

• limiting your commitments until you have the reserves to handle them all

• reminding yourself that minor problems are minor (you know what major problems are; draw

attention to the insignificance of minor hassles)

The serenity prayer provides comfort and guidance when dealing with issues of control.

*141/32/5*

Most people with terminal cancer who follow a macrobiotic (grain and vegetable) or other unconventional diet are not cured of their cancer by the diet. There are well-documented stories of people with “terminal” cancers being cured after following a special diet. These people failed conventional cancer therapy or declined conventional therapy, so their cure was attributed to their diet. Testimonials are inspiring but are not scientific evidence.

For these exceptional individuals, diets may have been a factor, if not the main reason, for the remarkable recovery. However, most people with the same medical condition who follow the same diet as the exceptional survivors do not respond as well. Macrobiotic and other special diets have not been shown to treat or prevent cancer dependably. The effect of these diets has never been studied in double-blind research protocols that would allow you to draw reliable conclusions about the value of these diets in treating cancer. Further research is needed to determine the safety and role of unconventional diets in the prevention of cancer.

What Are the Risks of a Macrobiotic or Other Unusual Diet?

You may have special nutritional needs while you are recovering that would not be met by a macrobiotic or other restrictive diet.

It takes a good understanding of nutrition to get a well-balanced diet when eating macrobiotically. You risk protein inadequacy if you do not eat protein-containing foods in proper combinations. You also risk vitamin deficiencies.

If you wish to pursue a special diet, be sure to let your doctor know. Review the specifics of your diet with the doctor.

Why Should I Tell My Oncologist If I Want to Follow an Unconventional Diet?

If you are embarrassed, tell your doctors you are embarrassed, but still inform them of your dietary habits. The more your doctors know about you, the better the care you will receive. Omitting information about your diet deprives your doctors of a piece of information that may affect your evaluation and treatment.

What If I Am Embarrassed to Tell My Doctors That I Follow an Unconventional Diet?

Many people fear scorn or rejection by their doctors if they choose to follow unconventional diets or treatments. Discussing your diet with your doctors will allow them to

• reassure you that your diet is sound and acceptable, or

• give you solid reasons why your diet is a problem for you now, but probably acceptable after you are completely recovered from your treatments, or

•give you solid reasons why your diet is not the best diet for you under any circumstances, and / or

•adjust your other medications, if necessary

Doctors know that patients consider and try unconventional methods. Sharing this information with your doctors will maximize the safety of your diet. If your doctors disapprove of your dietary habits, they will still be able to take better care of you if they are aware of those habits. It is very unlikely that you would have to leave the care of your oncologist because of disagreement over your diet.

*114/32/5*