FIVE YEARS CANCER FREE, PROBIOTICS, AND ECZEMA

June 6, 2019

Today is a Thursday and my day off work and I decided I should do an update here since it’s been a couple of years.  I wonder if anyone has read this blog.  I wonder if I've helped anyone.  

Come September this year it’ll be my 5-year mark since diagnosis.  What that guideline means is that from the time of diagnosis until now (or three months from now) my initial cancer is gone and cancer has not spread or returned.  They use this guideline to consider you cancer free, so basically from here moving forward I’m just like anyone else walking around who hasn’t been diagnosed with cancer. 

In April I had my last CAT scan, and Dr. Witta, my oncologist, called with the results and said, “Absolutely clear, no sign of anything.  You are cured!”  Of course no one knows if I will ever get cancer again, or whether there is one cancer cell lingering somewhere in wait to rear its ugly little head again, but for all that we do know and can do and can tell, I am cancer free.  And I will gladly accept and take that with all the glory and goodness it makes me feel and shout from the rooftops, “Yes! Thank you!  I made it, and I’m still here!” 

When you are diagnosed with cancer that’s all you want, not only to continue living but to continue living without that mark put upon you.  So yes, it’s a pretty big deal to be labeled cured and cancer free.  And I am just like anyone else walking around out there.  The thing we have in common is that we don’t know IF we have cancer.  Before my diagnosis in September 2014 I had cancer for about a year to 18 months prior without knowing it.  And when I look back and think about that fact, it’s sad to think that’s possible for any of us.

So this year marks a pretty big milestone for me.  I’ve been trying so many new things.  I’m saying yes to so many things.  I’m living in the moment.  I’m proactive about my health and taking charge of it.  I’m living a richer and fuller life because of all that I’ve experienced, learned, felt, worried about, and imagined both good and bad. 

I WANT TO MENTION A FEW THINGS

Since I like being thorough, and because I have no idea who is reading this entire blog, it’s worth mentioning a few things.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned in this blog about a mysterious watery discharge that began after my radiation treatment.  It was literally like water running down my legs one morning.  My radiation oncologist had no idea what I was talking about.  Neither did my medical oncologist.  Neither did my family doctor.  We all agreed it was an effect from the radiation treatment to my colon but no one could definitively tell me why or what to do about it. 

Long story short, I started seeing a gynecologist recently.  She said I had atrophic vaginitis, which is a thinning and drying of the vaginal lining due to menopause and lack of estrogen.  She started me on estradiol inserts but the watery discharge continued.  I was so unhappy about it.  This discharge and wetness would just suddenly appear, and I’d be as wet as if I had just stepped out of the shower and didn’t dry off, well, vaginally speaking anyway.  This was no way to live.  I had to wear a maxi pad every single day, all day, all night.   

I believe the universe sends us in the right direction at the right time which is why even when things seem to “go wrong” I just go with the flow, accept it, and move on because I know everything works out for a reason. 

So I saw her again a month later, just after the new year this year, 2019, and found out she didn’t renew her contract with the company I work for so that meant she fell into my insurance’s secondary tier which meant my copay was now doubled.  Despite my efforts to rectify this, which is usually just a matter of the doctor signing a form and submitting it to insurance, the doctor’s office refused, so I immediately sought out another gynecologist who was in my first tier. 

Please note:  Everyone’s insurance works differently, but please always be aware of how your insurance works.  Be well-informed so that you can always make informed decisions about your care and to know you you are getting billed properly.  You need to be proactive.  No one else will care if you are overcharged!

Ok, back to my story.  So I found a new gynecologist right up the street from my house, and at my first visit I asked him what in the hell this watery discharge was and what can be done about it.  He knew immediately what it was without a doubt and he knew the cure! 

The radiation to my colon caused damage to the surrounding tissues, obviously, throwing my vaginal pH balance off.  That combined with the atrophy combined with the lack of estrogen, and everything’s just out of whack.  If this imbalance gets too bad then it results in a BV infection (which I did have once back in 2015 I think…had to take those nasty Metronidazole pills which they might as well call “vomit pills” because that’s what they make you do.  Literally, you have to swallow one, and then between bouts of vomiting try to swallow the other and then look through your vomit to make sure the pills didn’t come back up.  Yeah I know, gross). 

Ok, so the solution for this pH imbalance is simple.  Take “Garden of Life Raw Probiotics Vaginal Care”.  The one I’m on is no refrigeration required, 50 billion CFU, and 38 probiotic strains.  No doubt about it, this works!  My vagina is happy and in balance and I don’t have to feel like I just got out of the pool and someone stole my towel (ha ha). 

So the thing about taking probiotics is that they basically get rid of the bad bacteria and replace it with good bacteria.  There is a slight transitional period where you are going to think probiotics are actually bad for you.  Don’t give up on it.  Persist through the transition.  If what you are eating is making you bloated, gassy, and crampy, then it means you are eating the wrong stuff.  Change your diet, clean it up, stop eating sugar, meats, fats, gluten, wheat, carbs, and any other crap that you know isn’t good for you, and you will feel much better.  Eating all that bad stuff is only going to make your body have to work that much harder to clear out the bad bacteria. 

I had the bloating, gas, and cramps for a good 2-3 weeks, plus my bowel movements changed from its normal brown to a light grey nearly white color.  I knew something wasn’t right!  But I made it through and now I’m back to normal, and I actually feel bad if I eat crappy foods.  You actually begin to lose all your cravings for those bad foods too!  You actually crave the good stuff, vegetables and nutrients. 

Everyone is different.  I take one pill every other day ON AN EMPTY STOMACH and I no longer have any side effects.  Some people may need it every day, but I can get by every other day and that saves me money, so I suggest you try it and see what works best for you.  Even if you don’t have a vagina, I recommend taking these probiotics or something similar. 

So then, the first gynecologist I was seeing ended up sending me a refund.  I guess they finally figured out they were billing me wrong or maybe she finally submitted the paperwork to be in my Tier 1.  I don’t know, but it’s too late.  I’m staying with this new gynecologist.  

Also of note, I started taking Biote hormone replacement pellets and I love it!!  I decided I was too young for menopause and I want to feel the way I used to before the cancer.  I highly recommend it.  No side effects, and the results are amazing.  

CURING ECZEMA

The last really neat thing I can tell you about taking probiotics, is that in all the research I did on it I learned that it can cure eczema.  Yes I said that right, CURE IT. 

I told my son about it, he decided to try it, and within a few days his chronic full-body eczema started to clear up.  After a couple weeks it was completely gone! 

He had been paying $40 a pop to see the dermatologist who admitted he had never seen a full-body outbreak case before and had no clue what causes it or what to do about it.  He was paying for bloodwork which proved nothing.  He went through two to three tubes worth of colloidal oatmeal cream (at $6 per tube) per week.  He’s tried prescription creams.  Gels.  Salves.  Changed all his soaps and cleansers.  None of that worked and he suffered for months.  Nothing worked until the probiotics, which cured it completely within two weeks!    

To aid you in your own research, there are three main probiotics that work against eczema:  Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus acidophilus.  So look for those three.  Also, the more probiotic strains working together, the better, so that’s why I like that mine has 38 strains.  The only thing you may need to experiment with is the number of CFU, the per billion. 

Ok, I hoped I’ve helped someone out there by sharing all my experiences.  I don't know if I'll periodically update this blog.  Maybe.  

Have a lovely day :)