The Forbidden

In which our Heroine solves a Great Mystery. 

I have a confession.  Sometimes I dream about green tea.  I have vivid dreams.  In my midnight delusions I can see its lovely green color.  The tea’s smell permeates every whiff of air I take into my lungs.  It’s delicious aroma tickles the inside of my nostrils and moves up into the sense area in curling puffs of tempting flavor.  I know, of all things to dream about, why this?  Well, a little background info first:

Mormons (ahem—members of the LDS church) don’t drink coffee or tea—at least, they shouldn’t if they plan on following all the Prophet’s advise, which is what we strive to do.  When my doctors heard that I didn’t drink either of these, they were relieved.  I took it to mean that daily doses of caffeine are bad for the health (especially the brain).  This is something I understood as true before, but it was interesting to see men and women who probably drink the stuff every morning agree with me. 

And then I started reading up on foods that are supposed to help against cancer.  One of the most potent sources of anti-cancer activity in the edible universe is green tea.  Of course, green tea is high in caffeine.  It is not one of your average, lightweight, herbal teas because it possesses powerful reactors against cancerous activity called catechins.  These little guys have “antifungal and antibacterial properties that allow the plant to successfully resist invasion by a large number of pathogens.” (Foods to Fight Cancer, Beliveau and Gingras, 112) And what enables plants to fight their pests, will also help humans to fight theirs.  Green tea prevents angiogenesis: the swelling in the body that allows cancer cells to reproduce.  Said wonderful tea may be one of the chief reasons why certain cancers that plague the West are nearly absent in the East. 

Once, while still living in Provo, Utah and attending the LDS University there (BYU) my husband and I ate at an excellent restaurant called Touch of Seoul.  Our young waitress clearly didn’t know English.  She had to demonstrate a few things with her hands for us and whenever we asked a question, she would answer in the affirmative with polite nods: “Yes, yes.”  After the meal was over, she brought us two cups of a mystery drink.  We guessed it was a tea and asked if it was herbal.  Guess what she said?  I know we should have known better, but we drank it down anyway. 

What followed was the best date night ever.  I remember feeling better than I had in a long time—maybe years.  (At this point, 5 or so years ago, I was already suffering from a loss of vitality.  There’s a good chance my tumor was already manifesting itself).  I felt so alive that night.  And I don’t think it was just the caffeine.  We ended up at Barnes and Noble later, and the books fairly danced before my eyes.  For once, it took so little effort to read.  And I felt really, really happy—like all the cares of the world had just dropped out of my life.  (Have I mentioned yet that my tumor was located in the personality inhabiting part of my mind?)

It may be that I will never taste anything so delicious ever again.  Once I’d begun read about it in my cancer books, I began to suspect that the mysterious substance was green tea.  And yes, I had a few dreams about it—dreams filled with longing and desire of the forbidden.  Then on Saturday I visited a local tea shop here in Anchorage with a friend to buy some herbal tea.  Picturesque canisters line one whole wall of the shop.  I was busy sniffing herbal teas and asking about specific ingredients when the woman who was helping us picked up a nearby green canister and held it out to me.  “Oh, yeees!”  I said in ecstasies, “This is what I want…”  A truly devastating thought bumped its way meanly into my head, “Wait—it’s not herbal, is it?”  Of course not.  But the great mystery is solved.  Yes, Mystery Drink No. 1 was definitely green tea.   

Ew.

In which our Lady eats the MOST DISGUSTING THING EVER. 

Cod liver oil is possibly the most revolting thing I have ever tasted in my life—even when mixed with fruit juice.  “Why,” you ask, “are you ingesting cod liver oil, Tara?”  Well, according to my health-conscious/ taste-deficient sources, increasing intake of Omega-3 fats is actually very good for you: it boosts immune system activity and provides DHA and EPA—both of which are very good for the brain.  In short, Omega 3 fats are ideal at giving the body what it needs to fight cancer.  I’m getting desperate, here.  I’ll swallow ANYTHING to avoid chemotherapy, and trust me, cod liver oil is almost the worst “anything” you can come up with. 

Fats like this used to be more common in food supplies.  For instance, there are tales of the nasty spoonful of cod liver oil from Mom or Grandma when a kid got sick back in the day.  Some of my reading gave me the terrible mental image of a barrel of fermented cod liver sitting just outside a Viking man’s doorway, a common occurrence?  (Thanks, Nina Planck).  Given Mr. Viking’s probable lack of hygiene—icky.

Meanwhile, there are other options for getting your Omega 3’s.  I feel great when I take the flax seed oil stuff.  There is actually an obvious difference in how I feel when I take it.  I feel like the Keppra isn’t bringing me down as much—less fatigue is a VERY good thing.  (Cod liver oil actually makes me feel better than flax seed oil, but it also makes my various body parts and functions smell like rotten fish, which is a definite downside).  If I had enough wild salmon in my freezer I could go that route too, but I don’t (even though I live in Alaska: the salmon capital of the world). 

These past few days I have felt more high-energy.  It almost seems like the Omega 3’s give me the capacity to fight through my Keppra-driven fatigue better—still without seizures, I might add.  My mind works better.  My thoughts are clearer.  Also, cod liver oil is high in vitamins A and D.  I’m pretty sure the D is good for my Alaskan-winter personality.  Not that I’m oh-so-depressed, but I’m certain that I’m happier even though I smell like a Viking. 

Will I continue to imbibe fermented cod liver oil?  Yes, but probably in smaller amounts than suggested.  Maybe there will be less gagging if I take a half dose.  The health benefits have to be worth it.  Besides, I got the best of the best, and I’m going to use all 53 dollars of it, dang it.  By the way, Jon almost choked when I told him how much it cost, but then I reminded him that our insurance doesn’t cover chemo drugs, which I’m told will cost about $150 a month because there is no generic brand for those kinds of drug cocktails.  He stopped choking about the cod liver oil.  Now I’m the one doing it (GAG).  Is the gagging worth a try?  I think so.  Now all I have to deal with is his triumphant smirk every time I try to swallow the most disgusting thing ever created.

My line-up: Flax seed oil, Fermented Cod Liver Oil (the highest quality out there),
and fruit juice to chase them both quickly down.

Risk Factor

In which our Heroine reads, eats, and writes about it. 

Not all books about cancer are the same, especially when it comes to food.  The biggest difference I am finding is that some books assume chemotherapy happened or is currently happening.  Although this may be true for many, and maybe even for the majority, I find this assumption generally problematic.  Not all cancers demand such chemical measures.  A few of us cancerous victims choose alternate routes to recovery because of the location of said dastardly cancer, or because of age, etc.  Any book that assumes chemo or radiation must focus primarily on the current big problems at hand: nausea, decrease in appetite or “waking up the taste-buds,” and increasing protein consumption because the body must rebuild its cells.  (Ever wonder why most people with cancer get so emaciated?) Most of the recipes in these books tend to be normal or only slightly altered from your everyday Betty Crocker.  And frankly, if these people were really trying to staunch my nausea, they already fail.  I can’t imagine eating tuna with horseradish when fending off an incumbent vomit, “waking up my taste-buds” or not. 

No, nausea and protein consumption are thankfully not my problems.  In my research, I am finding that books on food for fighting cancer are the best, though they are difficult to find.  Apparently this is a relatively new idea.  Far from assuming a difficult healing process, these books actually presuppose the landmark idea that cancer can be fought, or even prevented with something ordinary—food consumption—a thing we must do anyway.  It’s a matter of a healthy and sustaining diet.  Most people seem to believe cancer to be a matter of bad luck, or genetically inevitable.  In truth, only 15% of cancers can be blamed on genetic predisposition. 

I like cancer-fighting literature because it will often offer explanation as to why or how cancer happens in the body, and then a direct way to fight it.  It’s like finding the rusty chinks in an ugly enemy’s armor and then being wise enough to plunge my newly whetted sword in right where the weakness exists to exterminate the foe, hopefully leaving nothing viable or even recognizable behind.  If this were a movie, I’d be talking about a mess of severed appendages in a bloody heap on the ground.  I know my words are brutal.  But my enemy hasn’t been kind with me.  Cancer found my weaknesses and used them against me, and I see no reason why I should prolong his useless existence any longer and not do exactly the same thing.  It makes me feel so powerful to think that I can.

The best book I’ve found to date is entitled Foods to Fight Cancer: Essential foods to help prevent cancer, by Richard Beliveau, Ph.D and Denis Gingras, Ph.D.  The authors are top researchers who used to work for pharmaceutical companies to find new drugs to fight cancer.  After much research, these men have found promising results from the food nature has already provided.  I can only assume that they pay for their research with the books they sell, because there’s no way pharmaceutical companies love this result. 

According to this book, 1 in 3 people are at risk of encountering cancer (and subsequent death) in their life time.  Contrast that with the 1 in 7,000 who will die from a motor vehicle accident.  Which brings up the best part about this book: it’s a good read for any who have loved ones suffering from cancer, or are just generally interested in their own health and in understanding the role of healthy foods in the body. 

Some of you may be asking “Why if something as ordinary as a strawberry can fight cancer, then Tara how did you get it?  You are young and you eat strawberries frequently.”  Yeah, I’ve also come up against this question.  And here’s the truth.  My eating habits are awful.  Several times a day I find myself craving processed freezer food and mounds of fluffy white bread.  If you give me a choice between a frozen pizza and a pear, most of the time I’ll want to choose the pizza.  It takes real effort for me to eat the pear instead.  But what I’m learning is that poor dietary habits can lead to a 30% risk for cancer whereas hereditary factors only indicate a 15% risk.  Obesity and lack of exercise add another 5% on.  3 of my 4 grandparents had cancer, so I’m going to say that along with my bad dietary habits and a few extra pounds, I am looking at a 50% risk total.  Great.  Good thing I am drug-, alcohol-, and smoking-free, otherwise I’d be dead for sure (total 84% risk). 

All right, I’m starting to remind myself of Ben Stiller in that movie Along Came Polly, where he plays an insurance agent who constantly types numbers into his risk-adding computer program. So, in what I trust will be a helpful nutshell (and hopefully not too much of a copyright infringement) here is a quick list of the top 10 foods that help fight cancer as listed in the previously-mentioned book:

1.       Cabbage

2.       Garlic and Onions

3.       Soy (but you have to be careful about the source of the soy)

4.       Turmeric (especially as combined with pepper: food combinations matter. This is something that eastern doctors have known for—ever.

5.       Green Tea (I am LDS, so I don’t drink this—but sometimes I wish I could!)

6.       Berries

7.       Salmon and other fish with omega 3’s, or flaxseed

8.       Citrus fruit

9.       Red Wine (yep, still LDS…)

10.   Chocolate (dark, and good quality—don’t fall for the fructose-filled kind commonly sold in grocery stores.  Eating that stuff is just asking for cancer—trust me, I know).