Hebbie...

[Lisa O]

I noticed in your post that you have followed the macrobiotic diet for 8 months and that you are getting all of your vitamins from your whole food sources. I hear so much about that diet, and if you are up to it, I would love to read some posts about your adventures in following that plan. I also want to wish you continued luck and success on your next hundred scans. Keep up the good work!

Lisa

[Hebbie]

Hi Lisa ~ I'd be happy to share some info on how I have been spending the past 8 months!!! For those who haven't seen my original macro post, I have attached it below:

Hi Everyone,

I'm back from my weeklong stay at The Kushi Institute!! (Ry -- I don't think Andrea would want these recipes )

I had an amazing experience and met 8 wonderful people with an array of illnesses ranging from benign brain tumors, Stage IV Ovarian Cancer, Chrone's Disease, Lupus, Kidney failure, Hodkins Disease, etc. All there for their own particular reasons, but all of us bonding together with one goal -- to regain our health!

The settings are very simple -- no television, no radio, no phone (except for one in the living room) and very simple bedroom furnishings. By the end of the week, I loved the simplicity of it all!

Our day started each morning with a 7 a.m. gentle exercise class (yoga, tai chi, etc.) followed by 8 a.m. breakfast (which consisted of a soft grain porriage, boiled greens and miso soup!) and then a day filled with informative classes on the reasons WHY to live Macrobiotically and hands on cooking classes that put that knowledge to practical use.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided for us and consisted solely of very basic macrobiotic foods -- whole grains, vegetables, beans and sea vegetables. Switching your body to eating this way causes some initial "detox" symptoms in your body as it rids itself of the processed foods/animal fats/sugars that are floating around in there. Each night we would share our personal detox symptoms and some of them were rather fascinating! I personally had a headache for the first two days, followed by a constantly itchy right arm, then by Thursday a big red welt showed up on my cheek -- I was estatic because we had learned that parts of your face correspond with various organs -- and the cheek relates to your lung -- that welt was an indication that my lungs were "cleaning house"

We each had a personal counseling session with a certified Macrobiotic instructor -- my session lasted over 2 hours and was quite fascinating!

In my PARTICULAR case (I am sure this doesn't apply to everyone, so don't beat me up here...) my lung problems may relate back to my love of CHEEEEEEESE and dairy products. They are very mucous forming -- when you get too much mucus accumulating in your intestines, the next place it goes is to the lungs. The mucus can get stuck in the lungs and cause various environmental toxins to get stuck in the mucus, which can eventually cause a tumor (or so the theory goes...) I was instructed to eliminate ALL dairy. I also learned that oatmeal and soymilk (my usual breakfast foods) are also mucus producing, so they are on my "no-no" list as well. I cannot have any animal protiens (i.e. no meat), except for white meat fish once a week. (Protiens come from beans and fish) No refined grains at all, including wheat flour -- my grains will all be WHOLE grains (brown rice, millet, barley, etc.) I will do what is called the "healing diet" for 3 to 4 months, at which time we will see how things are going and possibly branch out to a few more foods.

It's not just a "diet" -- it's so much more than that. We learned that our bodies always send of "signs" when something is going on (like the "cheese cough" I had for 10 years prior to diagnoses -- every time I ate cheese, I coughed up mucus....) We also learned that doing certain gentle exercises each morning can help stimulate our circulation and immune system and give us more energy to start the day. Walking outside in the fresh air and appreciating nature will not only expand our lungs, but give us the relaxation we all need daily (how can you be stressed when looking at a beautiful blue sky and listening to birds chirp?)

They also prescribe various natural "remedy drinks" for different conditions, and it seems that LOTUS ROOT is great for lung conditions -- I make a drink from fresh lotus root (grating the root, and squeezing out the juices, mixing w/ equal parts water and heating on stove, drinking warm) -- 8 oz glass every other day for two weeks. The first time I drank it I coughed up some mucus a little while later, so I guess it is doing SOMETHING in there!

(Fresh lotus root is hard to find this time of year because it is going out of season, but I managed to score some at an Asian market)

Well, I'll stop rambling here, but as you can tell, I had a life changing week, that not only changed my diet, but changed my way of looking at and living life!

To answer your question about soymilk, I can only pass along the info given to me by my macrobiotic counselor. She told me that soymilk is mucous-forming,and for "optimum healing" the goal was to eliminate all moucous-forming foods. Other mucous culprits are oatmeal and dairy. The reason behind this is to clear the lungs of excess mucous and give them a chance to detox and heal.

I figure this is a good time to pass along some of the SPECIFIC recommendations my counselor gave me about foods to avoid. Of course, I have been given a specific list of foods that I SHOULD eat, so don't think I am starving over here! (the list is quite extensive!)

Foods to avoid: ALL meat (beef, pork, poultry, eggs) Dairy (milk, butter, cheese, ice-cream) ALL refined sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, tropical fruits, nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, spinach), baked flour products (hard and soft: bread, cookies, bagels, pies, cakes, pretzels, chips, etc), stimulants (coffee, decaf, black tea, herbal teas, alcohol, strong herbs and spices )

WHEW!

I was told to avoid all of these foods for 3-4 months to detox my system. So far so good!!!

What I AM eating is lots of whole grains (short grain brown rice, barley, millet, rye), lots of beans (azuki, black soybean, lentil, chickpea), a daily cup of fresh miso soup, tons of vegetables, daily "sea vegetables" (a/k/a seaweeds) and occasional whitemeat fish (like cod, flounder or sole).

I did mention to the counselor that studies have recently indicated a link between soy and lung cancer (much like the relationship between soy and breast cancer) and I was concerned about eating too much soy on this program (like tofu, soybeans, miso, etc.) and she assured me that macros don't use a lot of regular soy and for lung/breast conditions they limit soy useage, which was good. That was my biggest concern, but I really don't eat much at all and get my protien instead from other beans, occasional fish, and fresh roasted almonds/peanuts.

I must say that I have more energy than I have had in YEARS (even before my diagnoses)!

I've read lots of books on Macrobiotics since my visit to Massachusetts, and I think the most user friendly ones I have found for the "novice" would be "The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics" and "The Macrobiotic Way".

I learned all of the above info during my initial "Way to Health" seminar at the Macro institute. Since that time, I had been following my recommendations, but definitely hit some stumbling blocks along the way. I must admit, this is not the easiest protocol to follow at times but when you remember WHY you are on the journey, it makes it a lot easier! (Of course, I also learned the hard way that when you eat something like 10 cookies on Christmas morning, after denying your body refined sugar of any kind for 6 months, your body REBELS, in the form of dizzy spells, stomach pains, and diarria....)

I found a Macrobiotic Potluck Dinner group that meets for monthly dinners (about an hour from my house) and that has been a godsend. For quite a long time, I felt like the only macro person on the planet; just me, cooking in my kitchen all day long, not really having anyone to relate to. Suddenly, I have been blessed with 20+ like-minded people that share their stories of encouragement and struggles. The best, though, is meeting people that have overcome health issues, including cancer, due to the diet. The stories are amazing.

During one of these dinners, I realized that I was sort of floundering in my practice -- still making the initial meals I learned during my first classes, and not sure how to go forward. My scans were still showing slight growth each time and I was getting pretty discouraged....

That prompted me to recently go back to The Kushi Institute and spend two weeks in a program they call "Level 1", which is designed to continue your macro education -- my goal is to complete Level 3 and become a "Healing Chef" -- that is, cooking for people who do not have the time, or are too sick to cook for themselves, in their own homes.

At that time, I had a follow up session with my counselor. She modified my recommendations, gave me a pep talk (she herself is an advanced lymphoma survivor) and several "remedies" to continue clearning out my lungs. It was the first time I felt empowered to take control of my situation!

It has been 14 months since my first "Questionable" CT Scan (Nov. 2004) that first indicated some unknown nodules floating around in my lungs -- between 20 and 30 of them, to be exact. Since that time, each scan (every 3 months) has shown minor growth of some of the nodules, but all too small to biopsy for a conclusive determination. In the meantime, I began practicing macrobiotics and have faithfully been following my diet and lifestyle protocol for the past 8 months.

The scan I had 3 months ago again indicated some minor growth of some nodules, and a few new nodules popped up -- quit frankly, I was pretty discouraged and downright scared.

I approached this week's scan with a heavy heart and tried to prepare myself for the possibility that this would be the scan that would lead to a biopsy and possible treatment. What I got instead left me speechless.

My oncologist appt. was today, but he called me at home yesterday to tell me that I didn't need to come in today for my appt....because my scan showed absolutely NO GROWTH.....and all nodules were STABLE.

After doing the happy dance around my kitchen, I asked him what could cause every single one of those 20-30 nodules to ALL have absolutely no change in 3 1/2 months. He said (and I quote) "I have absolutely no idea -- it certainly wasn't anything I have done for you -- maybe it's your diet -- just keep doing what you are doing and I'll see you in 4 months!"

I do not know what the future will hold for me, but I have to believe in my heart that maybe what I am doing is having an impact.

I had some blood test done for my hypothyroidism (standard, routine blood check) and my doctor called me yesterday with the results. He said all of my blood test look amazing; my calcium levels are great, no signs of anemia, all my blood counts are good, my cholesterol is "about 100 points below the average american" and I am the "picture of health". He concured with my oncologist -- keep doing what I am doing -- in checking my blood test from 6 months ago, he said they show that I am healthier now than I was at that time.

Powerful stuff...

[Lisa O]

Hebbie,

Thank you so much!! This is absolutely inspirational! I was so thrilled to see the results of your last scan. I honestly believe that you must truly be helping your situation with your approach to health.

[Maryanne]

Just stopping in here for a sec... to say I am so delighted for you Heather. You certainly are doing something right.

Way to Go!!

Maryanne