Day 3 and 4 of Treatment - October 6 and 7, 2021

 Boy, they weren't kidding when the doctors said that the first week would be the toughest!  I didn't think any thing could be as bad as the whole body hyperthermia of Tuesday a.m. but then came Wednesday...

As mentioned in the hyperthermia description of Tuesday, I should have received some infusions of vitamin C and/or ECGC (green tea extract) and/or curcumin and/or artesunate and/or DCA and/or amygdalin, etc.  But none of the nurses nor the doctor were able to access a vein to start an infusion of these botanicals so they gave up and just let me "bake"!  

It had been suggested in my Tuesday meeting with Dr. Nour that I consider getting a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line because of the challenge of finding a vein for infusions.  I have had 40 chemotherapy infusions and probably more than 60 vitamin C infusions over these past 4 years.  Originally (in August 2017), I was asked if I wanted to have a PORT so that there was easier access for giving infusions.  Many people at the cancer centers that I have been have had ports to eliminate the need to find a viable vein for infusions.  Before Tuesday when the Doc suggested this, I hadn't heard of a PICC line.  Basically, the goal is the same as a PORT but a PICC line is only left in the body for several weeks because of an increased infection risk compared to a PORT (left in for months).  The idea is that repeated infusions of chemotherapy can damage the veins enough that they won't be viable for repeated drugs.  In my case, nurses in the States had always been able to find a viable vein.  

Well, after Tuesday's four failed attempts at inserting a needle in one of my veins, I thought it easier for everyone to get a PICC line inserted.  It was a simple procedure and the clinic set it up to get it done at a local hospital in Kassel, the larger nearby town.  The doctor and staff at the hospital were terrific.  The doctor assured me that the risk was low of complication and that it was a simple procedure.  That might have been so for most people but I don't have much fat to go along with the small diameter veins and he had a bit more difficulty than expected 😩.  

From the perspective of an anatomy lesson, it was pretty cool.  They made an incision at the inside of the front of my elbow and then started inserting this tube up through the brachial vein and into the subclavian, brachiocephalic veins and finally into the beginning of the superior vena cava (enters the right heart).  The doctor even showed me on the real time scan that he was using to help him locate the veins.  

I did get to use my new PICC line yesterday and today when getting my first and second sessions of local hyperthermia.  The clinic has a machine that they place on a body part (in my case the abdomen) that will heat the cells in that area to about 103 degrees.  Again the goal is to harm the cancer cell membranes and make them more receptive to a botanical infusion like vitamin C (had today) or ECGC (had yesterday; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7397003/).  

Yesterday we had another lecture/discussion with Dr. Saupe.  In his theory of a healthy vital field, there are 12 different factors.  These include a powerful infection defense, effective inflammation control, effective detoxification, nutritional abundance, an abundance of fresh water, sufficient oxygen saturation, proper gut flora/microbiome, effective stress management, low blood sugar/low insulin, a balanced immune system, powerful mitochondrial function, and a balance between alkalinity and acidity of the body.  All of these 12 factors impact the others such that there is a synergistic effect.  (https://www.arcadia-praxisklinik.de/de/videos/

The presentation yesterday focused on effective stress management by discussing the 7 essentials of mindfulness practice taken from Dr. Frank Lipman at https://www.bewell.com/blog/seven-essentials-of-mindfulness-practice/  Dr. Saupe also suggested reading Jon Kabut-Zinn's book, Full Catastrophe Living and a book by Arthur Freeman, The Ten Dumbest Mistakes That Smart People Make and How to Avoid Them, as part of his presentation.  We discussed and he guided us through examples of healthy vs unhealthy thoughts and how they lead to the same types of feelings. Ultimately these thoughts and feelings lead to what we consider to be stress.  And long periods of stress can lead to disease.

In a nutshell, Dr. Saupe asked us to identify our inner conflicts/worries, determine how these make us feel, label each thought/feeling as healthy or unhealthy and then make a conscious decision to change the thought/belief if it is unhealthy.  

For example, many of us think there is a possibility that we will not be able to heal from cancer.  This is an inner belief that might not be expressed but whether it is/isn't, it causes fear and that leads to stress.  A stressor stimulates our sympathetic nervous system which affects the quality of our immune system to fight invaders/disease, etc. and we get sick.  If we can realize the thought (oh no, I will die from this cancer) that then creates the feeling of fear, then we can make a conscious decision to catch ourselves when that thought/feeling comes up and turn it into a healthier outcome (I have had the support to live a high quality of life to this point and I know that I will be led if I let go of how it should look/occur, be patient, and trust that God will provide me with the next step in my healing journey.).  After all, God is never late! 

My goal is to start practicing and be consistent in this practice of not judging and not striving, of accepting what each moment offers, of letting go and not struggling or resisting things, of removing myself from attachment to the past and be fully present in the moment, to remind myself that cancer didn't come with snap of my fingers but was growing for years (and will take years of better living to heal), and to trust that God will always be present regardless of the circumstances.   Tall order BUT as much as I have practiced/trained my physical body over my lifetime, I think it is time to train my mind as consistently!