Diseases

Anti-cancer. Excellent Article. 

A MUST read & circulate as much as possible

 

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS

THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER,

JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU

THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY. 

 

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins: 

 

1.  Every person has cancer cells in the body. 

These cancer cells do not show up in the standard

tests until Doing Lot Multiplied to a few billion. 

When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more

cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means

the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because the

doing lot has not reached the detectable size. 

 

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in

a person's lifetime. 

 

3. When the person's immune system is strong

the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented  from multiplying and forming tumours. 

 

4.  When a person has cancer it indicates the person

has multiple nutritional deficiencies. 

These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and

lifestyle factors. 

 

5 ..  To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, 

changing diet and including supplements will

strengthen the immune system. 

 

6 ..  Chemotherapy involves  poisoning the rapidly-growing

cancer cells but also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells

in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc,

and can cause organ damage, like liver,

kidneys, heart, lungs etc.  

 

7.  Radiation also, while destroying cancer cells, burns,

scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs. 

 

8.  Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce your tumour size. However, prolonged

use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result

in more tumour destruction. 

 

9.  When the body has too much toxic burden from

chemotherapy and radiation, the immune system is

compromised or destroyed HENCE the person can

succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

 

10.  Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to

mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.

Also surgery can cause cancer cells to spread to other sites. 

 

11.  An effective way to battle cancer is to starve

the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods

it needs to multiply. 

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON: 

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. 

By  cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food

supply to the cancer cells. 

Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful etc. are

made with Aspartame and it is harmful. 
A naturally better

substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but

only in very small amounts.  Table salt has a chemical

added to make it white in colour; a better alternative is

Bragg's aminos or sea salt. 

b.  Milk causes the body to produce mucus,

Especially in the gastro-intestinal tract .. 

Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk  and 

substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells

are being starved .. 

c.  Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment .. 

A meat-based diet is acidic and it is  best to eat fish, and

a little chicken rather than beef or pork. 

Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones

and parasites, which are all harmful, Especially to

people with cancer. 

d.  A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice,

whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruit helps

put the body into an alkaline  environment. 

About 20% can be from cooked food including beans.  

Live enzymes, fresh vegetable juices, provided they are easily

absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within

15 minutes, nourish and enhance growth of 
healthy cells. 

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and 

drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including

bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3

times a day .. 

Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 
104 degrees F

(40 degrees C).

  e.  Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have

high caffeine.  Green tea is a better alternative and

has cancer-fighting properties. And water.
Best to 

drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. 

Distilled water is acidic:

avoid it. 

 

12.  Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a

lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat 

remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and 

leads to more toxic buildup.

 

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. 

By refraining from, 
or eating less, meat 
frees more enzymes

to attack the protein walls 
of cancer cells and

allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. 

 

14.  Some supplements build up the immune system

(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins,

minerals, Etas etc. ..)

to enable the  body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.

Other supplements like vitamin E  are

Known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death,

the body's usual method of disposing of damaged,

unwanted, or unneeded cells. 

 

15.  Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. 

A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer

warrior be a survivor.  Anger, unforgiveness and

bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving

spirit.  Learn to relax and enjoy life. 

 

16.  Cancer cells can not thrive in an oxygenated environment.

  Exercising daily and deep breathing

help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. 

Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells. 

 

(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT) 

 

This is an article that should be sent to anyone

important in your life. 

Tranzyme Still Optimistic About Gastroparesis Drug Despite Stumbling Blocks

Tranzyme Pharma is refocusing efforts on TZP-102, it’s diabetic gastroparesis drug treatment, after the failure of it’s flagship drug Ulimorelin.

Tranzyme Pharma & the FDA were not happy with the results of the Phase III trial results for Ulimorelin. Ulimorelin is similar to Tranzyme’s other drug TZP-102, in that it uses a ghrelin receptor agonist to stimulate motility in the gut. The drug was meant to treat people with delayed gastrointenstinal recovery / post operative ileus which is most often associated with gastrointestinal or gynecological surgery.

Currently the only drug available for delayed GI recovery/post operative ileus appears to be Enetereg(Alvimopan) by Cubist Pharmaceuticals. It is a mu-opioid receptor antagonists, which looks to be designed more to block the effects of opioid based painkillers, which often have a constipating effect & can cause bowel obstructions in patients who are recovering from such surgeries. Enetereg is for short term use and does appear to have risks & side effects associated with it, some of which could be serious such as increased risk for heart attack.

Ulimorelin was meant to accelerate motility in the gut allowing people to move to solid foods & leave the hospital quicker. Unfortunately the official Phase III trial results did not show improvement over placebo. One analyst thinks that there may have been issues with how the results were interpreted & that Ulimorelin may not have been useless after all.

Another set of Phase III results should be made available at the end of the Q2 2012, however Tranzyme is apparently sweeping Ulimorelin under the rug and moving their focus over to TZP-102. Tranzyme took a hammering on their stock when the Ulimorelin results became public, losing almost 50% of their value. They are on the rebound though & hopefully will have better results with TZP-102.

I’ve covered Tranzyme’s TZP-102 before but the basics are that it stimulate’s receptors that are in charge of releasing the hormone ghrelin into the gut. Ghrelin can stimulate the gut and helps us feel hungry.

Tags: Agonist, Alvimopan, Clinical trial, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, fda, Gastroparesis, Ghrelin, motility, TZP-102

Mad Cow Disease Spotted In California

A dairy cow has tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy on a California farm.

USDA testers found the infected cow while doing regular testing. The cow had died before the tests were done, but according to it’s owner it was not exhibiting symptoms of Mad Cow Disease beforehand. USDA testers have said that the cow was infected with an atypical form of Mad Cow Disease which was not obtained from eating infected cattle feed.

The infection was found while testing dead cows that were brought to the USDA’s Hanford, California testing facility. It is unclear if other cows from the dead cow’s herd were infected. The current theory is that this infection was a random mutation within the cow & did not infect others.

Currently the USDA is saying that the finding is nothing to be concerned about and are assuring people that dairy & meat are safe to eat. It does appear they are continuing to investigate the findings. The UK has not expressed concern over USA meat, while some South Korean stores have pulled USA beef temporarily.

Mad Cow Disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy(BSE) is known for the devastating effects it can have on both cow’s & human’s. Human’s that eat an infected animal can develop Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Both diseases cause deterioration in metal function & motor skills. The diseases are almost always fatal & do not have effective treatments. They can develop randomly from mutation or from eating an infected animal.

Most people know of Mad Cow Disease from the large outbreak that occurred in the UK during the 80s & 90s. While there was never a massive outbreak in the US, the outbreak did highlight the feeding practices of beef & dairy cattle in both countries. It was revealed that the cows were effectively cannibals due to feed manufacturers putting all sorts of cow parts into their products. Since then reforms have been made to avoid feeding cows to other cow, however some other animal proteins are still allowed such as milk & eggs along with gelatin & hydrolysed protein from non-ruminent animals.

• ·         USDA Statement
• ·         UK BSE Feed Ban Q&A
• ·         US GAO Feed Ban Critiques
• Tags: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Cattle, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, food, Infection, Mad Cow Disease, South Korea,United States, United States Department of Agriculture, USDA

 

Book “Sophie’s Story” To Give Honest Impression of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

 

 

The owner of IBS Tales, Sophie Lee, has written a new book called “Sophie’s Story” which chronicles her life dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

I want to tell the absolute truth about IBS, because the reality of this disorder is so often clouded by embarrassment and myths. Perhaps the most pervasive myth is that IBS means mild diarrhea and nothing more. Many people with no experience of IBS wonder why we have such difficulty in coping with our condition. This book shows why. - Sophie Lee, “Sophie’s Story”

It would appear that “Sophie’s Story” is aiming to be an accurate & detailed account of what life with Irritable Bowel Syndrome is like, even if the truth about IBS isn’t pretty. Her story will probably resonate with many who have had similar frustrating & painful experiences while dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Sophie has been kind enough to provide me with a review copy that I will read  & then review at a later date. You can purchase the book right now on Amazon, Amazon UK. For international orders it’s best to check the IBS Tales website for further details.

 

 

5 Diet & Nutrition Mistakes

Learn about five diet & nutrition mistakes made by many

1. “Low Fat” or “Fat Free” foods are probably not good for you.

There are a ton of products on the market that advertise as being “low fat” or “fat free”. There are some products out there that naturally fall into these categories, such as rice cakes or fruit. Those foods are fine, what you want to look out for are things that would normally have fat, but have been engineered to have reduced fat or no fat. Things like cookies, breakfast bars, brownies, etc. These items have probably had a ton of processed & artificial ingredients added to them so as to replace the texture of the missing fat.

Also it’s very important to realize that “Low Fat” or “Fat Free” foods can still make you fat. Fat is more easily stored in the body and will probably hit your thighs quicker than other sources of calories, but protein & carbohydrates contain calories which will convert to fat as well. So if you’re eating something that is “fat free”, but has 300 calories per serving, you’re really not doing yourself many favors.

2. Not all yogurt is healthy.

Yogurt is often advertised as a healthy alternative to other more fattening products. You’ll often see yogurt commercials advertising flavors like key lime pie, cheesecake or chocolate mouse. The truth about these products is that they are loaded with sugar, artificial flavors & colors, preservatives, gums & stabilizers up the wazoo. While some may claim they have “live and active cultures” rarely will they ever tell you how much.

If you want a healthy yogurt, look on the ingredients list and make sure there is no fake stuff in it. Look for flavors that are easy to incorporate naturally like fruit flavors, vanilla or honey.

3. Juice is no better for you than soda.

So you’re in a rush & looking at the vending machine for something refreshing. You want something healthy so you go for the fruit juice instead of the soda. You’re making a healthy choice right? Wrong! The truth is juice has very little going for it in the health department. The problem only becomes greater when you realize that a lot of juice has been adulterated from it’s pure form. Read the label, you’ll be shocked to see added sugars, artificial colors & flavors & even weird sounding stabilizers. Then take a look at the calorie content and compare it per serving to soda. You’ll be surprised that in some cases certain juice drinks exceed the caloric content of popular soda drinks.

Also important to realize is that most juice drinks have been concentrated & pasteurized destroying a lot of the original nutrients. These nutrients are added back in later, but only certain vitamins like A, D & C are added & usually a paltry amount. You would probably get twenty times greater the vitamin level by taking a quality multivitamin everyday.

4. Sugar is really no better for you than high fructose corn syrup.

High fructose corn syrup has gotten a bad wrap over the last couple of years as it creeps into more & more products. While scientific studies have been split about the health impacts, many feel it’s a leading contributor to things like obesity & diabetes. I personally avoid HFCS products as much as I can, perhaps due to the possible health effects of HFCS, but I’d also avoid most of those same products if they had cane sugar instead.

Weather you get your calories from sugar or HFCS it doesn’t really matter a whole lot. If your sweetener intake is too high, it will be bad for your health. As of late many products have advertised that they are made with pure cane sugar or that they no longer have HFCS in them. Unfortunately due to the sweetness level of cane sugar compared to HFCS, usually those who had HFCS in their product previously use more cane sugar to match the original sweetness level. This can result in a product that actually has more calories & in the long run is probably less healthy for you.

Conclusion: Just because a product doesn’t have HFCS in it anymore, doesn’t mean it’s any healthier.

5. 100% daily recommended values are not enough

Maybe you’ve seen products advertise that they contain “100% of your daily Vitamin C” or your kids breakfast cereal is fortified with vitamins & minerals. Most of the time when something is “fortified” with vitamins & minerals it’s usually a fraction of the daily recommended values(DRVs) set up by the Food & Drug Administration.

I think it’s great we at least have minimums, but most people should be getting many many times greater dosage than the daily minimums. You should probably be receiving nutrients about five-fold the minimum dosage. Especially important are Vitamin D (mood, skin, digestion), Vitamin C (energy, immunity) & Vitamin B12 (energy, nervous system).

Just because a product has 100% of something doesn’t mean it’s healthy for you. Getting your vitamins from a high quality supplement or fresh fruits/vegetables is the best way to go rather than those that have been added into processed food.

 

Review: Best Magnesium Supplement? Nature’s Bounty Versus Nature’s Way

Today we’re investigating one the body’s most vital minerals, magnesium. We’ll be taking a look at two different magnesium supplements: Nature’s Bounty 500mg Magnesium tablets & Nature’s Way 500mg Magnesium Complex capsules.

Magnesium plays an important role in many functions of the human body. It has been linked to helping prevent osteoporosis, diabetes, anxiety, migraines, indigestion, constipation and other ailments. Magnesium is also important for activation of cellular energy(ATP,Adenosine triphosphate). While magnesium is one of the most common elements in the human body most people do not intake enough magnesium on a daily basis.

Those with digestive problems will be looking towards using magnesium for it’s laxative properties. Magnesium is a mineral that attracts water to itself, this is mainly where it’s abilities as a laxative come from. It should not be considered a stimulant laxative. This means that it’s milder, better tolerated & the body is less likely to build an immunity to it.

Which magnesium supplement is more potent?

There are two main types of magnesium used for supplements: magnesium oxide & magnesium citrate. Usually magnesium citrate is considered to be more potent.

Nature’s Bounty Magnesium tablets use only magnesium oxide, while Nature’s Way Magnesium Complex uses a blend of both magnesium oxide & magnesium citrate.In this battle Nature’s Way Magnesium Complex comes out slightly ahead due to the inclusion of magnesium citrate, but they do not specify how much of it is included in the 500mg.

Which magnesium supplement is easier to take?

Nature’s Bounty 500mg Magnesium tablets are smaller & have a coating on them to make them easier to swallow. Keep in mind this is only for their 500mg version. Nature’s Bounty also offers a 250mg version that does not have this coating which gives those tablets a rough texture & makes them start dissolving almost immediately when they come in contact with water.

Nature’s Way is in capsule form. The capsules are rather sizable & may be hard to swallow for some. If you find it hard to swallow you can open the capsule & pour the powdered magnesium into food. This is something that is harder to do with the Nature’s Bounty 500mg Magnesium tablets as you’d have to crush those & crushing coated tablets can be a bit of a pain.

Keep in mind that magnesium has a slightly sour taste & very chalky texture. I would not recommend mixing it into most foods.

Which magnesium supplement is vegetarian safe?

This is where Nature’s Way fails as they use a gelatin capsule which is derived from animal products. Nature’s Bounty on the other hand does not have any animal products & is vegetarian safe.

Which magnesium supplement is a better value?

As far as pricing goes on Amazon.com, Nature’s Way Magnesium Complex barely eeks out a win over Nature’s Bounty 500mg Magnesium tablets. Magnesium is pretty cheap regardless of who you get it from.

How much magnesium should I take?

This really depends on what kind of benefit you get from magnesium. I am currently taking two Nature’s Way Magnesium Complex capsules along with six Nature’s Way Psyllium Huskcapsules & two Custom Probiotic CP-1 Adult Formula capsules. It would probably be best to start off with one 500mg tablet or capsule & then maybe go up to two or three later on. I would recommend taking the magnesium with fiber & probiotics to aid in their traversal through the digestive system.

Are there any other brands of magnesium you’d recommend?

Though I haven’t tried it personally, Solgar’s Magnesium Citrate tablets may be better than Nature’s Way Magnesium Complex or Nature’s Bounty 500mg Magnesium tablets. It’s 400mg of pure magnesium citrate in tablet form & vegetarian friendly. If I do try it I’ll post a review about it later.

If you’ve tried magnesium supplements for yourself, feel free to leave a comment & let others know if they’ve helped at all.

Beware of Health “Spell” Scams

I recently received a comment on my blog that at first seemed legit but later revealed itself as nothing more than scammy spam. The poster was explaining their life with Crohn’s Disease & how debilitating it was. There was actually a great deal of content to this comment & what the person talked about sounded rather convincing. The only problem was that near the end of the comment they started talking about how while nothing else worked, they found someone who would cast a spell for them & miraculously they started to heal from their Crohn’s Disease. What modern medicine & alternative therapies couldn’t treat, wiring a random stranger money so they could write a spell for you did.

Yeah right! Needless to say once I saw that part of the comment I sent it to the spam filter. Before doing so I did capture the e-mail & researched where else this spammer was posting. I found similar comments on other blogs proclaiming similar positive outcomes due to this person’s spellcasting. Anything from illnesses to casting “love spells”, this person can do it all. Some comments or websites proclaimed that other spellcasters were scams, but that they were actually the real deal, just pay by credit card *wink wink*. The sad part is that some of the sites had users commenting about how they were scammed out of hundreds or thousands of dollars pursuing these things. In some cases the saying “a fool and his money are soon parted” is probably a worthy description of people who fall for these scams, however, using sickness or illness to prey on people is the lowest of lows in my book.

I think I’ve made my point of view on spells pretty clear already, but I’ll just clarify my feelings a little more here. I do not believe spells have any physiological healing power, that being said, it is possible that there could be a psychological component at play. The placebo effect itself could almost be looked at as being spell like. “I am giving you something to make you feel better”, but in reality you are not receiving anything special at all, it is just the bodies reaction to the concept. So perhaps you could get a placebo effect from a spell, but that certainly isn’t a vote of confidence for spells.

If you really want to investigate something like this then it would be best to try and focus your search locally. Try to find a local Wicca or witchcraft group and see if they can write a spell for you. Do not spend much money on this, seriously. Take this as though someone is giving you a prayer or wishing you good health. Personally I’d avoid it unless someone you knew offered it for free out of compassion or concern. I had a few spells written for me from a practicing Wiccan, mainly for fun, but basically I took it as a nice gesture from this person but wasn’t anything that changed my mind as far as the supernatural. As I expected the spells themselves didn’t do anything.

So in short, don’t let someone play you because of your illness. Like most things in life there usually isn’t a quick fix, yet there are many scammers who will promise you one.

 

 

Chicago School Bans Kids From Bringing Their Own Lunches

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the a school(Little Village Academy) in Chicago has banned kids from bring in their own lunches unless they have a medical reason to do so. While the school & the district is spinning this as being about protecting kids from bad food choices many think that the school & it’s food service provider are putting profit over pupils. The principal, Elsa Carmona, says that other schools have a similar policy, though she was unable to name which other schools have such a policy. More worrying is that the school district has no official written policy on bagged lunches, nor do they keep track of which principals have decided to do away with allowing them. Parents don’t have much choice in the matter as the school their child goes to usually depends on where they live. They may not have any recourse to send their child to another school & perhaps many aren’t going to be inclined to do so over something “petty” like the school lunch program.School cafeteria food hasn’t been good for decades & it’s nutritional content is very questionable. When I was going to elementary school in the early 90s you did not see a cornucopia of nutrition. What you did see were things like salads full of iceberg lettuce with slivers of carrot & red cabbage smothered in ranch dressing; formed breaded & fried chicken nuggets; sandwiches made with white bread full of corn syrup & dough conditioners that had processed ham & cheese in the middle; hot dogs or ‘pig in a blankets’ made with meat that was probably sourced from questionable locations; sometimes even fast food would make an appearance, a few times the school teamed with Taco Bell and the students all got bean & cheese burritos; and even peanut butter & jelly wasn’t safe as the peanut butter was probably full of hydrogenated oils & the jelly full of corn syrup. I often found the PB&J option to be made with stale & dried out bread as well. Back then food allergies weren’t taken into consideration much either. Your beverage options were 2% milk, skim milk or chocolate milk. I couldn’t drink milk for awhile while growing up & it was very hard to get some water to go with my lunch. When I’d ask lunch attendants to provide me with water they would ask me why I wasn’t drinking my milk? I’d explain I couldn’t drink it due to allergy & some would act almost annoyed & explain to me that I should drink the milk to get strong bones. Seriously… The main point I am making here is that school lunches have been far from healthy for a very long time. I am wondering if the principal at Little Village Academy eats these lunches, everyday, herself?

Now another question comes up, do parents actually pack a healthier lunch? I rarely had a packed lunch when I was growing up; When I did have a packed lunch, I would have to say that the food was usually tastier, but was it really better? Memorable lunches I brought to school included things like potato chips, sloppy joes, fig newtons, sparkling juice, apples & carrots. Less memorable lunches usually were made from cheap slices of white bread with low quality lunch meat between them. I think the ingredients used in my packed lunches, at times, was higher quality than the school lunches. The Little Village Academy principal claims she made the decision to not allow bagged lunches after seeing kids taking soda & chips on field trips for their lunch. I’ve seen what some parents have packed into their kids lunch & honestly I can’t say that I am always very impressed with their choices. The fact is a lot of shelf stable, single portion, portable foods aren’t that good for you. Things like kids juice drinks, snack pack cookies, crackers or chips, breakfast cereal bowls or fruit containers are usually full of sodium, sugar and/or carbohydrates. Even things you make yourself like sandwiches can quickly become unhealthy or very expensive. For example the peanut butter & jelly sandwich can be quite unhealthy, even when made with good ingredients like organic peanut butter & jelly that has no high fructose in it. If you want to make sandwiches with quality meat, that’s going to cost you as well. Honestly, good quality food(e.g. organic, hormone & antibiotic free and/or free range) costs considerably more & can be harder to come by. Many times families will not go for the healthiest option due to the cost difference or the parents themselves are not aware or do not care what is or is not healthier.

All of this being said, I think it’s a poor choice that the principal took it upon herself to enforce a restrictive & draconian policy on the students & their parents, especially when trying to speak as though she was taking some sort of moral high ground in regards to her student’s nutrition. She may not like what the parents are giving them, but frankly, she’s not giving them anything better

 

Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Interfering With Your Relationships?

Writer Lia Serbyn has written a funny, but all too real article on the toll Irritable Bowel Syndrome can take on one’s relationships.

IBS doesn’t exactly enrich your love life. It behaves like a stalker slapped with a restraining order; it’ll show up any damn time it pleases because it knows you have no serious protection against it.

Her experiences are similar to mine. Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects all relationships, not just romantic ones. Even close friends & family can seemingly turn on you, becoming frustrated with your illness. Maybe it’s a survival of the fittest animal instinct that comes into play. The desire to leave the straggling Wildebeest behind the herd as a “decoy” to the lions. Perhaps it’s not as sinister as that… Perhaps it’s just frustration. You’d love to go on that long road trip, you’d love to go over for dinner or go out to a movie, you’d love to go to the beach… But you… Just… Can’t.

Not only do you battle with family & friends when these things come up, but you also battle inside within yourself. There is always that squeaky voice in the back that goes “maybe this is your fault, maybe you’re doing something wrong, perhaps you need to try harder!”. This isn’t helped as you read stories of people doing amazing things while battling things like Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Gastroparesis. So you do “try harder”, you try a new medicine, herbal remedies, you start yet another regimen of probiotics(perhaps this brand will be the key!). You go out, you try to focus on having a good time but then IBS rears it’s ugly head at you yet again. Here you are again, at a public restroom, cramping up & nauseated. Back to square one, back to reality.

It’s frustrating & depressing, but in some ways it’s cathartic to know that you’re not the only one who struggles on a daily basis. That just because you’re not running a marathon or doing something amazing despite your disease, it means you’re at fault for letting it consume your life. Relax. Chill Out. Do the best you can. Maybe someday this ship will turn around.

 

Fighting Crohn’s Disease With Comedy

The Independant, a Santa Barbara based paper, has an interview with Ben Morrison, a comedian who has dealt with Crohn’s Disease since 1997.

… But for comedian Ben Morrison, who was hit with a Crohn’s disease diagnosis during his senior year of high school about a decade ago, finding humor in his situation has been the only way to stay positive and even keep the little known intestinal woe under control. He’ll be bringing his Crohn’s-related stand-up show “Pain in the Butt” to town this weekend, and he spent a few minutes chatting with The Independent last month.

 

 

Canadian Woman’s Struggle To Get Gastric Neurostimulator for Gastroparesis

The Moose Jaw Times Herald is running a story about Melissa Rowe, a resident of Moose Jaw, Canada who is trying to raise money for a gastric neurostimulator device. It appears the local Saskatchewan healthcare system has denied her claim to get the device. The estimated cost to get the device is approximately $50,000. She is appealing the decision, so let’s hope they change their mind.

Unfortunately the paper has left out information about the actual fundraiser in the online version of the article and redirects you to buy the paper. I am sure it was probably just an oversight, but it would be nice if they’re trying to help this woman to make sure the information is on the Internet. I’ve e-mailed them to see if they can provide this information. I’ll update this post if it becomes available.

Also I’d like to point out that this shouldn’t be used as a jab against the Canadian healthcare system as it’s no cakewalk to get the the gastric neurostimulator covered by US insurance. Though it’d be nice if both systems had a smoother path.

 

 

Today Show Highlights Gastroparesis

On Sept 2nd, 2010 the Today show ran a segment on Gentrie McKall Hansen, a girl, who recently was diagnosed with Gastroparesis & underwent surgery for an Enterra neuro-stimulator implant. I am glad Gastroparesis is getting some national attention. Her story highlights major issues with our medical system here in the United States. So many things are written off as being “in your head” or mental problems. We’re starting to have a problem with “fast food” doctors, who do not truly care about or listen to their patients or possibly are under immense pressure to push patients in & out the door. I think another story that highlights this is Michael Douglas’ recent diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer, even though he had been trying to find the reason for his sore throat and ear ache for months, no one caught his cancer early until now. It makes me angry, isn’t the United States supposedly the best healthcare system in the world?