Cancer feeds on sugar,
God is good, and other things I’ve learned this year …
It’s been an interesting year.
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. I’ve learned a lot — about myself, about God, about people and, of course, about cancer.
In no particular order:
About people.
People just want everything to be OK, so they say things like, “Oh, you’ll be fine.” They might be trying to sound encouraging but words like that sometimes feel dismissive to the one who might not exactly be feeling “fine.”
People like to tell horror stories. Your cancer diagnosis reminds them to tell you about their neighbor’s cousin’s wife who actually died a slow miserable death from the very same thing you have.
People are wonderful. They pray for you. They send cards. They ask how you are doing. (And some husbands do the dishes, make you drink your water, remind you to take your vitamins, ask you to go for walks and get out and see people.) Others bring asparagus.
About myself.
I’m a wimp. I’m lazy. I’m a whiner. I want it “like it used to be.” I’m sick and tired of cancer. Cancer, cancer cancer, blah blah blah. I want to eat Christmas cookies for breakfast, cheesy fries for lunch and pie for supper.
But alas, my chosen path of addressing cancer with diet, nutritional supplements, exercise, sunshine and a positive attitude does not allow pie for supper — or ever. (Did I mention I’m a whiner?)
I’ve also learned I’m brave. I’m really not afraid of cancer. It’s just a blob of cells trying to kill me. Which brings me to the next point.
About God
I’ve learned God is good. All the time.
As a Christian I don’t fear death. (OK, I’ll admit the whole “dying” part does not appeal to me, but the “being dead” part is no big deal.) The fact that every human life will one day end should not come as a surprise to anyone. This cancer thing has shown me that my purpose in life is to reflect the glory of God in all that I do. (Usually I fail miserably.) With cancer, without cancer, cured or dead — God is good. All the time. And, until I die of old age in 50 years, God has stuff for me to do.
About cancer
Oh, where to begin ... I’ve spent thousands of hours researching cancer. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is “sugar feeds cancer.” CT scans use radioactive sugar (glucose) to locate tumors. Tumors suck up the sugar along with the radiation to “light up” the tumor on the scan.
Sugar feeds cancer. Cancer loves sugar. Cookies, pie, cake, ice cream, candy, pop, bars, brownies, fudge, chocolate chips — feed cancer.
So do tobacco and alcohol abuse, excess body weight, inactivity and stress.
The year ahead
The tumor is still there. It’s not smaller. My California-based alternative cancer treatment doctor and I are ramping up the supplements, lowering the carbs and adding new and bizarre treatments. We haven’t yet gotten to “eye of newt” but I plan to keep all the options on the table.
I’m looking forward to another interesting year.