27. Final Infusion and I'm not a Mutant. Yet.
It is way too soon to celebrate, but this coming Friday I am scheduled for the 6th and final chemo infusion. My fingertips and toes are certainly feeling the effects of neuropathy and my fingernails in particular may not survive this last one as they have turned from a glossy red glittery color - I mean a healthy masculine pink with dirt under the nails - to an ugly brown with blood splotches visible underneath.
I did get some very positive news recently as well regarding my DNA. You may recall that my sister Darlene was tested for genetic mutations after her cancer diagnosis last year. Her DNA contained a genetic mutation called Chek2 and the rest of our family was to be tested since it might indicate we were also prone to cancer. The results of my tests were revealed to me by the geneticist and my DNA is clean. That is excellent news because it indicates that I am not predisposed to cancer and the treatments have a better chance of being effective. It also provides some emotional relief to our kids since there is no mutation to be potentially passed on to them and to our grandkids. My sister didn't have a chance, losing her life in less than half a year of battle.
Tomorrow I will go in for a regular pre-infusion checkup where I am certain the results of my 5 day water-only fast will be a topic of discussion. As you may remember, Juli and I sort of crammed a ton of fasting education into about 3 days prior to the last checkup in preparation for infusion number 5. After tomorrow's appointment I will get my blood drawn again for the complete blood panel they do prior to each infusion. The last 2 panels showed 4 numbers flagged low. Not terribly low, but low nonetheless. Juli and I are both really anticipating the results of this one because of the fast. Maybe it won't make a difference on the numbers and maybe it will, but one thing we know for sure, I felt way better during nadir this time than any of the previous 4 infusions. And if you recall, we took quite a risk it seemed by dropping the anti-nausea steroids prior to the infusion.
Tomorrow I will also begin my next 5-day water-only fast, a brutal experience but worth it.
One of the aftereffects of the fast was a new desire to do "the whole program." Dr Longo and USC have done such an excellent job of discovering the health benefits of fasting correctly that it seems like the news couldn't get better, but it does. He studied fasting as part of a larger goal of understanding how to help people live longer, and not just to live longer but to die in old age without disease! So while his studies included fasting, they also included studying populations of centenarians around the world to discover why they live to be 100 or more.
Dr Longo happened to grow up in an area of Italy that had one of the world's highest concentrations of centenarians. He moved to Chicago at the age of 15 to live with direct relatives of those families in Italy and discovered an alarming trend. The American relatives were developing diseases that were absent in their relatives that still lived in Italy.
While Dr Longo came to the US to become a rock musician, his exposure to the contrast in health of the two groups of his relatives became an irresistible force drawing him into the study of longevity. And we get to benefit from that. His book, The Longevity Diet, details his journey and that of the science behind fasting, exercise, foods that promote longevity, as well as eating habits. One of the eating habits he discovered in all the long-life populations is a 12/12 pattern of eating. Besides eating the right kinds of food, all these groups stuck to a pattern of feeding during a 12 hour window and fasting for 12 hours, If they finished their dinner at 7, they ate breakfast at 7. And they NEVER skipped breakfast. That alone was interesting as they discovered that skipping breakfast to achieve a 12 hour fast actually created other problems like gallstones.
So Juli and I are both reading the book and trying to implement what we are learning. The fact that Dr Longo receives no financial support from book sales gives me even more confidence that this is not a fad-diet book to achieve a weight-loss goal but is rather a solid education in how one can enjoy growing old without disease.
Although losing weight was not my primary goal, I lost a net 10 pounds over the five days and with new eating habits have learned to maintain my weight consistently. The next cycle should get me down really close to my ideal weight.
As I read his materials and listen to Dr Longo's talks on YouTube and elsewhere, I am struck by the way God uses people for His purposes whether they acknowledge Him or not. Dr Longo often refers to "evolution" as an explanation for how our bodies developed these incredible mechanisms that rebuild immune systems and correct disease. Here was a man who wanted to be a Rock Star, is gifted, and was a music major in college. But God had placed within him another gift, a curiosity as to why some people died of disease and others lived long healthy lives. That gift caused him to switch majors and raised the eyebrows of the medical professors over the field he was switching to. They said he wouldn't last in that field and now he's a leader there. His words fail to give glory to God but his actions and discoveries certainly do as the incredible design of the human body does exactly what it is supposed to do when operated in the manner intended.
I am reminded of a beautiful Orthodox prayer, prayed in the morning that goes like this:
Whether he knows it or not, Dr Longo's hands have been "guided aright" by God and because of this mercy, I have benefitted from the knowledge gained by his work.
May God guide my hands aright in all that I do as well.
 |
| Maybe I should consider a glossy red glitter finish? |
I did get some very positive news recently as well regarding my DNA. You may recall that my sister Darlene was tested for genetic mutations after her cancer diagnosis last year. Her DNA contained a genetic mutation called Chek2 and the rest of our family was to be tested since it might indicate we were also prone to cancer. The results of my tests were revealed to me by the geneticist and my DNA is clean. That is excellent news because it indicates that I am not predisposed to cancer and the treatments have a better chance of being effective. It also provides some emotional relief to our kids since there is no mutation to be potentially passed on to them and to our grandkids. My sister didn't have a chance, losing her life in less than half a year of battle.
Tomorrow I will go in for a regular pre-infusion checkup where I am certain the results of my 5 day water-only fast will be a topic of discussion. As you may remember, Juli and I sort of crammed a ton of fasting education into about 3 days prior to the last checkup in preparation for infusion number 5. After tomorrow's appointment I will get my blood drawn again for the complete blood panel they do prior to each infusion. The last 2 panels showed 4 numbers flagged low. Not terribly low, but low nonetheless. Juli and I are both really anticipating the results of this one because of the fast. Maybe it won't make a difference on the numbers and maybe it will, but one thing we know for sure, I felt way better during nadir this time than any of the previous 4 infusions. And if you recall, we took quite a risk it seemed by dropping the anti-nausea steroids prior to the infusion.
Tomorrow I will also begin my next 5-day water-only fast, a brutal experience but worth it.
One of the aftereffects of the fast was a new desire to do "the whole program." Dr Longo and USC have done such an excellent job of discovering the health benefits of fasting correctly that it seems like the news couldn't get better, but it does. He studied fasting as part of a larger goal of understanding how to help people live longer, and not just to live longer but to die in old age without disease! So while his studies included fasting, they also included studying populations of centenarians around the world to discover why they live to be 100 or more.
Dr Longo happened to grow up in an area of Italy that had one of the world's highest concentrations of centenarians. He moved to Chicago at the age of 15 to live with direct relatives of those families in Italy and discovered an alarming trend. The American relatives were developing diseases that were absent in their relatives that still lived in Italy.
While Dr Longo came to the US to become a rock musician, his exposure to the contrast in health of the two groups of his relatives became an irresistible force drawing him into the study of longevity. And we get to benefit from that. His book, The Longevity Diet, details his journey and that of the science behind fasting, exercise, foods that promote longevity, as well as eating habits. One of the eating habits he discovered in all the long-life populations is a 12/12 pattern of eating. Besides eating the right kinds of food, all these groups stuck to a pattern of feeding during a 12 hour window and fasting for 12 hours, If they finished their dinner at 7, they ate breakfast at 7. And they NEVER skipped breakfast. That alone was interesting as they discovered that skipping breakfast to achieve a 12 hour fast actually created other problems like gallstones.
So Juli and I are both reading the book and trying to implement what we are learning. The fact that Dr Longo receives no financial support from book sales gives me even more confidence that this is not a fad-diet book to achieve a weight-loss goal but is rather a solid education in how one can enjoy growing old without disease.
Although losing weight was not my primary goal, I lost a net 10 pounds over the five days and with new eating habits have learned to maintain my weight consistently. The next cycle should get me down really close to my ideal weight.
 |
| The peak was measured after dinner, so not fully representative. The low point is also somewhat artificial as replenishment naturally has to weigh something! |
As I read his materials and listen to Dr Longo's talks on YouTube and elsewhere, I am struck by the way God uses people for His purposes whether they acknowledge Him or not. Dr Longo often refers to "evolution" as an explanation for how our bodies developed these incredible mechanisms that rebuild immune systems and correct disease. Here was a man who wanted to be a Rock Star, is gifted, and was a music major in college. But God had placed within him another gift, a curiosity as to why some people died of disease and others lived long healthy lives. That gift caused him to switch majors and raised the eyebrows of the medical professors over the field he was switching to. They said he wouldn't last in that field and now he's a leader there. His words fail to give glory to God but his actions and discoveries certainly do as the incredible design of the human body does exactly what it is supposed to do when operated in the manner intended.
I am reminded of a beautiful Orthodox prayer, prayed in the morning that goes like this:
In the morning are we filled with Your mercy, O Lord, and we rejoice and delight in all of our days. Let us delight therefore even in the days that you make us lowly and for the years that we have seen evils. And look upon Your servants and upon Your works and lead their sons aright. And let the light of the Lord our God be upon us, and the works of our hands may You guide aright. Yea, the works of our hands may You guide aright.Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Whether he knows it or not, Dr Longo's hands have been "guided aright" by God and because of this mercy, I have benefitted from the knowledge gained by his work.
May God guide my hands aright in all that I do as well.
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