(Disclaimer: Many of you know that I just visited my oncology team last week- Just so you know, all tests came back normal. I continue to have no evidence of returning disease. I am feeling happy, humble and very grateful for being in this place in this moment.) I have thought of western treatments like…
Category: Traditional Chinese Medicine
Insomnia on Boxing Day
At one time my days regularly started at 2:50 a.m. That is when my alarm went off to set in motion my work as a baker. It was a rare day that the alarm actually woke me though, it was most usual for me to already be awake with my mind racing ahead or behind like…
Navigating the Medicine Show
“Step right up! Step right up! Hear about the amazing healing powers of Dr. SmartyPants’ patented formula!” If pharmaceutical drugs were distributed out of the back of a charlatan wagon at a medicine show would they have fewer takers? Wait a moment, what about commercials for prescription drugs? You know the ones, with the huge list of possible…
Burning Books and The End of Bad Expectations.
I have a confession. I have burned two books in my life. I am not a fan of censorship, I did read Fahrenheit 451, and to be fair I didn’t seek out every copy and destroy them, or start to steal them from public libraries to prevent others from reading them. Nonetheless I am a book burner. The…
The Teeny Tiny world within.
You are what you eat. Food is Culture. The way to a person’s heart is through the stomach. Let food be thy medicine. Food is Love. You eat first with the eyes… and on and on. Everyone eats, and we have countless adages about food that attest to this. The question is how can we eat to…
Any way you slice it, the fiscal realities of cancering
Let me start by saying I am immensely blessed. That even though the financial consequences of my cancering extend into the foreseeable future, I get just how lucky I am. I get that the good fortune is inclusive of my financial picture. Despite the fact that my healing sabbatical led to taking on debt to cover my lost wages,…
Tamoxifen 2.0
For months I have been researching and considering Tamoxifen, the one prescription drug I receive. Last week I decided to take a holiday from it. Wanting to figure out if the side effects I am experiencing are related to Tamoxifen, or some other issue, like turning into an old hag – this is my birthday month after…
Contributing Factors Part 2- Wellness
My last post focused on a top ten list of why I believe I started cancering. This here post is a roundup of things I count towards health. I’m curious about what others are trying- please comment below as to what feels healing to you. When ever I have gone into the Oncologist’s office, or…
The Ocean Within – Part One
This is part one of a three part post on the Lymphatic System. Part One – Yin Magic I pretty much think about my lymph system every day. That part of my brain is likely a super highway of neurons by now, while not so long ago it was a barren country two track. I think about my…
On the other hand . . .
When I look down at my right hand, I see the progression of my treatments visually etched into my nails. Stripes mark the 3-week intervals. The discolored areas that separated from the nail bed, due to the toxins in the yew-based chemo, are now nearly grown out, while the pale stripes marking the Herceptin continue. I…
Tree Baths
The last week has been so very beautiful. I hope that all of you have been soaking up sun or taking tree baths. (Tree baths are a Japanese idea of hanging out with trees as a healing modality – basically walking amongst trees breathing the air made by trees.) A year ago this week, the Family Daire loaded…
“Quick, Look at her elbows!”
Today we travel to PDX to go to the Hai Shan clinic for more TCM mojo and acupuncture. I love acupuncture. If you have never had it, know that it is not super painful- though there are definitely sensations. I can’t begin to explain what is happening. It is in the realm of energy medicine,…
Riding the Pooka 