Anyone who’s kept up with my “journey” knows that as soon as I found out that I had cancer, I immediately made some changes….

I was a photographer (I am a photographer)… but I was extremely busy… and one of the ways I enjoyed life was…  cocktails…. I enjoyed my indulgences… let’s just say! I immediately cut that out…. and this weekend I found some VERY interesting information regarding the statistics about how alcohol influences your risk of breast cancer…. Here is a VERY interesting link regarding those findings….. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/080112p48.shtml

Next, I cut out all table sugars but kept stevia, agave nectar, honey and 100% natural maple syrup in my diet at that time…. I ate gluten free… and I eliminated beef and pork… I drank alkaline water, etc…

I was so confident in my diet that it was helping my progress with chemo…. until I received my pathology report after my mastectomy…. I was not very happy with how much cancer was left.

So, I’ve implemented some more changes…. I’ve now eliminated almost all natural sugars as well… other than on very rare occasions… I will have stevia… and fortunately Lily’s makes chocolate that is sweetened with stevia and for anyone who knows me….. I need my chocolate and now I can still have it. So this is my little treat… and I’ll have a few bars each day! Additionally…. I’ve been juicing. I went garage saling with my Mom on Saturday morning. I needed 2 things… clothes for Greyson and a Juicer… and I scored both! A juicer never used for $10 and an entire wardrobe of guess, Ralph Lauren and Nike clothing for $50 and when I say an entire wardrobe… I mean…. his drawers are fulll!!!! It was a productive day…. Anyway, I’ve been juicing at least for breakfast each day….. I was not one to eat breakfast… but I’ve been losing quite a bit of weight lately… so I thought maybe those extra calories would help…. As of right now, from when I was diagnosed… I’ve lost about 27lbs… It did help some… I didn’t lose today and I was up .1 of a lb…. Also, I wouldn’t say I’m a vegetarian…. because I do love meat and I do miss steaks and burgers…. but I eat very small amounts of meat…. I mean… a few bites…. Usually if we go out to eat, I’ll eat a salad and maybe a side of veggies and a sweet potato… or some french fries (on occasion)…. I will not TOUCH McDonalds, not even if I’m starving….. I won’t even eat their salads…. In a pinch, I’ll go to Taco Bell and eat their Pinto’s and Cheese…

I wanted to implement Yoga… and messaged my Surgeon and she quickly told me… No Yoga… It uses the arms… and my arm is already developing lymphedema… It’s  a mild case at this point, but I do wear a compression sleeve… and unless you measure my arms from before til now… you wouldn’t know because my arms are pretty thin…. but, on the underneath… where you’d normally get the flab… my left arm has flab and swelling to the elbow and my right arm does not. So, my exercise will be walking…. I’m considering walking in the mornings with Greyson…. because it seems nights never allow enough time to walk….

Also, she said I should meditate… A friend recommended a site… Calm.com and it allows you to take 2, 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes to just relax…. it’s very therapeutic…. I recommend it!