I used to have blood tests monthly, including a cancer-marker number. I would feel anxious every month waiting for the results and wondering what my cancer was doing. Once Covid changed our lives, my oncologist recommended I have my tests every three months. I noticed that I was more relaxed and not thinking about my cancer as much.
Then my oncologist took a little leave of absence, and it was 5 months between blood tests. From December, 2020 to May, 2021, I had no feedback on cancer progression. When I got my results the first part of May, my cancer marker had gone down by over 300. This is about a 10% drop, a bigger drop than I’ve had for years. This feels like more than stability. It feels like regression! Yay!
My inflammation number (CRP) was up to 3.7 and that may be because it’s allergy season. All the rest of my numbers look like they belong to a healthy person.
My oncologist suggested I have a PET scan since it’s been over a year since I had one, and she is concerned about a recent weight loss. I declined, not wanting to add more radiation to my body unless there is some indication that something has changed. If the weight loss had no explanation, that could be a reason for a PET scan. But I had just been on a week’s vacation in Sedona in which I did intense hiking almost every day. I think I was using more calories than I was eating. My weight will come back.
It’s interesting how much more relaxed I am since I’m worrying about test results less frequently. I wonder what would happen if I quit having any tests at all. I don’t have the guts to do that, but I am curious.
I was pleased that my oncologist asked what I was doing, since I’m not on any medication that could be affecting my cancer. Most of my oncologists in the past haven’t cared what I was doing unless it was in the Western medicine tool kit. I attribute my health mainly to nutrition, supplements, and stress reduction.
I’m currently reading “The Paleovedic Diet” by Akil Palanisamy, MD, and am seeing him as an integrative MD, who combines Ayurvedic medicine with integrative medicine. It’s giving me another basis on which to individualize and fine-tune my diet. I get upset when anyone recommends the same diet for everyone with cancer. We are such individuals, and the diet that increases your health could destroy mine. If a practitioner says you need to be on a vegan diet (or paleo or keto, etc.) because you have cancer, I’d recommend getting another practitioner, one that bases recommendations on testing your body.
