According to Lymphoma Research Foundation, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer every four minutes. In the US, over a half a million either live with or are in remission from lymphoma, one of the blood cancers. As you know, I am one of the 500,000+. I have lived with lymphoma for 17 years. My doctors like to say I am in remission, but my most honest doctor ever, stated very clearly that this is incurable/indolent. The rare type of lymphoma that plays hide and seek or goes dormant, but never truly goes away. Honestly, I still hang on to the “remission” word like it is a lifeline and probably always will.

So back to educating you about lymphoma. We all have these cells called lymphocytes or white blood cells. With lymphoma they begin to turn into abnormal cells. These can multiply faster than a kid who just learned the times table in middle school!

Where  do lymphocytes live?

In our lymphatic system – which is our toxic waste removal system – and our lymph nodes,spleen, bone marrow,  and blood.

Is there more than one kind of lymphoma? 

Yes. There’s two main types: Hodgkins and Non-Hodgkins. Under each of these categories there are are several sub-types of lymphoma. For instance, I have Hodgkins Lympoma, Lymphocyte Predominant. A rare form of lymphoma. Only 5% of lymphoma cases are lymphocyte predominant and only 2% of those cases are females.

What causes lymphoma? 

There are no known causes for lymphoma, however several environmental risk factors have been identified. Solvents such as acetone, alcohol, toulene, xylene, turpentine, and benzene. Herbicides and Pesticides used for pest control and defoliation have been linked to lymphoma and are a significant risk factor. (NOW THAT WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO MAKE ME EAT 100% ORGANIC!) This makes total sense because pesticides are fat soluble and processed through your lymphatic system. Therefore all pesticides on fruits and veggies have to go through your lymphatic system – your immune system to be processed out. Agent Orange.  Hair Dye before 1980 is associated with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and follicular lymphoma.

Why did I decide to call your attention to blood cancer awareness month? 

Next month, the world will be covered in pink. Now, I am not dissing breast cancer awareness, however, I think we should all get equal awareness. The color for lymphoma awareness is lime green. (Side note: I have been attracted to lime green for as long as I can remember and I didn’t know until recently that it is the color for lymphoma awareness. Cool, eh?)

THE CHALLENGE

Wear something LIME GREEN for lymphoma awareness this month. Or where ORANGE for leukemia awareness. Both of these are blood cancers. It doesn’t matter to me, which you choose. Just choose and go for it! It may not be as big a statement as stores being painted with pink next month, but it will mean one more person (you) is aware of blood cancers. If you are interested in purchasing a lymphoma awareness t-shirt, check out www.thelymphomashop.com

Post your photo online or go to my FB page- 365 Days of Health and post it. Tell the world you support those who have and/or have survived blood cancers!

References: www.lymphoma.org

In the last couple of months, I have been receiving a lot of feedback about my Facebook posts either via private message or emails. Many believe that my transition to eating healthy, organic, whole foods has been an overnight success. This is far from the truth.

Like most overnight successes, it was years in the making.

In 1995, I was diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy, radiation and no diet changes. I did however I take supplements to support myself during treatmeant.

In 2001,  I was diagnosed the second time with cancer. I chose naturopathic medicine. My naturopathic doctor changed my diet drastically. No sugar, no beef, no dairy. Limited meat. I couldn’t remember when I felt so good. A year and a half later and I was back to eating the standard American diet (S.A.D. – telling right?!).

Two and a half years after I began eating my SAD diet again (2005), cancer recurrence. Rituxin – immunotherapy. I didn’t change my diet. I believed I couldn’t afford it.

Three years later. (April 2008) Cancer again. I began to change my diet. I was about 95 pounds heavier than I am now. Gerson therapy in September 2009 taught me about juicing and making healthier food choices. I lost 60 pounds from feeding my body correctly, detoxing my liver, which helped my lymph flow better.

By March 2010, I was back to eating the SAD. September 2010, the cancer became aggressive and spread to my bone marrow – stage 4. October 2010, I could barely walk. November 2010, I was thrown into chemotherapy. My friends were cooking for me and provided me with much healthier food options. Chemotherapy made me lose another 30 pounds.

By March 2011, chemotherapy was over. The move-to-Delaware stress began. My diet was better as it always is when I go through a kick in the can from cancer. If I went out, I chose healthier options. I didn’t go all fast food on my body. For the most part, I craved the good stuff. (Except the bag of PB cups I ate every week).  Then I went on a cruise and ate so much junk. One slice of pizza every single day. Dessert at dinner most days. Soda. Why don’t I just shut down my immune system right now and put a welcome mat out for Mr. Cancer to come back in?! I felt so yucky and low energy for weeks after the cruise, but I attributed it to jet lag. Jet lag does not last a month. My hip hurt as well, which was similar to the feeling I had when the cancer became aggressive.

This drove me to booking a PET scan to make sure the cancer hadn’t resurfaced. It came back clear.  Whew! I narrowly escaped that one. I had to ask myself some hard questions. Do I want to live? Do I want to give myself the best chances at remaining healthy? Do I want to play Russian roulette any longer? Yes, Yes, and No.

I can look back at my history and clearly see the connection to food as my activator. (I say “my” because this is about me. Not everyone has the same activators.) My NDs have been lecturing me for YEARS – 11 to be exact – on what I needed to take out of my diet so that cancer wouldn’t get the upperhand on me again. I listened for a while, but without understanding the reasons why I needed to eat this way, it never became a long-term lifestyle change.

After four times with cancer and the last one almost taking me down, I decided it was time. Time to become fully immersed in this thing called “holistic nutrition.” Time to take the next step into empowerment while living with cancer.

Picking up a book was like giving me a list of things I “SHOULD” do. I probably wouldn’t finish the first book without some sort of accountability. Instead, I enrolled in a Holistic Nutrition Specialist program at the Southwest Institute of the Healing Arts in late August 2011.

For the first time in 17 years with cancer, I took full control of my diet and lifestyle changes with a complete understanding of why I am making the choices I am making and how they will benefit my health. Tune in for my next post as I list out what exactly has been done to ensure a successful long-term lifestyle change.