Garlic as Antibiotic & Diets

Somedays I dink around on the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. I don't always read about cancer stuff, though. Yesterday I found a cool study showing the synergistic effects of honey and garlic in treating common bacteria like Staph, E. coli, and Salmonella. I was researching treatments for my persistent lung infection (remember that fever I was so excited about?). Anyway, I love finding fun new ways to treat myself, or take care of myself. A few weeks ago my lungs started burning - no sore throat though. And the more I did, the worse it got. I tried running out the sickness (not my brightest idea), and waiting it out. I thought about getting antibiotics, but I haven't taken them since high school. Pharma-antibiotics are amazing, and necessary, but I still like to avoid them at all cost because of the fact that they kill all the good bacteria in your gut, and your gut is not only important for digestion, but it's responsible for 70% of your immune system. I don't want to kill all my good bacteria, so I like to use whole food antibiotics like garlic. I probably sound crazy, but there is actual proof that the allicin and DAS in garlic (most effective when minced and set out for 10-15 minutes) is antibiotic. There's a pretty cool excerpt below, demonstrating some of the proof. There is a link at the bottom to read the study in its entirety. If you head to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov you can find much more (add words like "garlic", "xdiallyl sulfide", "allicin", "antimicrobial", etc.). Anyway, I started dosing heavily with garlic, two minced cloves every two hours, along with the juice of a head of garlic, 6 lemons, and 8-10 inches of ginger, and low and behold the infection is going away. My cough is almost gone, and I feel much better. Some people don't believe that foods can really make that much of a difference in health, and sometimes I believe them, but that garlic is seriously amazing. I wish food didn't matter, but it does. I would much rather have been eating two cookies every two hours but I can guarantee that there's no antimicrobial benefits from the deserts I like to eat.

Background 

In Ethiopia, people use A. mellipodae honey and garlic mixture to treat different types of diseases such as cold, cough, asthma, diarrhea and respiratory infections. But still there is no any scientific report about the synergic effect of any type of honey and garlic extract. People use A. mellipodaehoney and garlic in various combinations, there is no any scientific report about the synergic effect of these substances. Therefore, there is a need to investigate synergic antimicrobial effect of A. mellipodae honey and garlic mixture.

Research frontiers 

This finding strongly supports the claim of the local community to use the combination of A. mellipodae honey and garlic for the treatment of different pathogenic bacterial infections. So, garlic in combination with A. mellipodae honey can serve as alternative natural antimicrobial drug for the treatment of pathogenic bacterial infections. Further in vivo study is recommended to come up with a comprehensive conclusion.

Related reports 

There are different reports on the separate issues of antimicrobial effects on honey and garlic. However, a report on the synergistic effect of honey and garlic is scarce. This finding fills this research gap and may help base information for further in vivo research.

Innovations and breakthroughs 

The finding of the study paves a way to consider and acknowledge the traditional knowledge for the treatment of infectious diseases using natural resources like honey and garlic.

Applications 

Garlic in combination with A. mellipodae honey can be used as antimicrobial agent to different pathogenic bacteria. As recommended by the author it needs further validation and then it would be important for the community as it is routinely used as food.

Peer review 

This is a very good finding in which the author investigated the synergistic antimicrobial activity of mixture of garlic extract and A. mellipodae honey against pathogenic bacteria. The results are interesting that garlic in combination with A. mellipodae honey can serve as alternative natural antimicrobial drug for the treatment of pathogenic bacterial infections. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757282/

The other fun study I found talks about the effects of diet and neurological and non-neurological diseases. It was co-authored by Seyfriend (remember him, the professor from Boston College - the ketogenic diet for cancer guy?). Check this out.....it's exactly my hypothesis, even though it wasn't specifically regarding cancer.

Abstract

Background

Diet therapies including calorie restriction, ketogenic diets, and fish-oil supplementation have been used to improve health and to treat a variety of neurological and non-neurological diseases.

Methods

We investigated the effects of three diets on circulating plasma metabolites (glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate), hormones (insulin and adiponectin), and lipids over a 32-day period in C57BL/6J mice. The diets evaluated included a standard rodent diet (SD), a ketogenic diet (KD), and a standard rodent diet supplemented with fish-oil (FO). Each diet was administered in either unrestricted (UR) or restricted (R) amounts to reduce body weight by 20%.

Results

The KD-UR increased body weight and glucose levels and promoted a hyperlipidemic profile [the unrestricted ketogenic diet lead to increased sugar and fat in the blood, along with weight gain], whereas the FO-UR decreased body weight and glucose levels and promoted a normolipidemic profile, compared to the SD-UR. When administered in restricted amounts, all three diets produced a similar plasma metabolite profile, which included decreased glucose levels and a normolipidemic profile. Linear regression analysis showed that circulating glucose most strongly predicted body weight and triglyceride levels, whereas calorie intake moderately predicted glucose levels and strongly predicted ketone body levels.

Conclusions

These results suggest that biomarkers of health can be improved when diets are consumed in restricted amounts, regardless of macronutrient composition. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4047269/

Okay so, do you see my contradiction here? At first I say that food does matter because it can kill pathogens, then I kinda say that as long as you're calorically restricting, macronutrients don't really matter when it comes to health. You pull up different studies and you'll get contradictory messages - or at least you could argue different interpretations of the second study. But are they mutually exclusive, these two reports? Absolutely not. They can both be true. One is talking about natural chemical properties in food killing bad bacteria, and the other is talking about how an unrestricted diet high in fish oil, although high fat, normalizes body fat and lipid profiles, promotes weight loss, and lowers circulating blood glucose, unlike UR-SD and UR-KD. Or, if you want to eat a Standard (American) Diet, or a Ketogenic Diet, you'd better restrict your calories by 20% if you don't want to have negative health effects. Macronutrients DO matter, but at least you have options. 

This is what I do when I'm bored. Obviously I should go munch on more garlic so I can reenter society. (I have voluntarily quarantined myself.) One more day and I'll try running again - better do it outside though because I probably reek like a big fat garlic clove.

Blinded By The Fashionable Ketones

I've been swimming in the interweb waves all day. I'm gathering, learning, relearning, trying to absorb, planning.

Things I know:

• You can not completely eliminate glutamate/glutamine from your diet...it's in every once living thing (except lard & most oils)
• Your body can create glutamine/glutamate when it wants it (thanks muscles and other less obvious trickery)
• You can eliminate glucose from your diet, but your body will just create it anyway (muscles save the day yet again)
• Limiting glucose and glutamine/glutamate is ideal for slowing tumor growth, but when hungry, a vegetable which may increase circulating glucose is better than eating a bit of meat (only because I'm IDH1 positive - the glutamine eater)

See, I knew, I had heard, I had read, I had discussed the fact that protein is a growth factor for all cancer. But I got bogged down with the whole ketogenic trend specific to brain tumors. I thought, perhaps we were bred differently. That we were special. That ketones were the key. I'm not saying the ketogenic diet doesn't help slow brain tumors, but from the research I've read it has to be calorically restricted. In its natural state the diet does not slow tumor growth (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1819381/figure/F2). But in my mind, I figured, if I could do the restricted ketogenic diet (allegedly the ketones themselves fight tumor cells if you get a high enough blood serum level) at least most of the time, it would be better to reduce the glucose, and protein (not realizing it was specifically glutamine/glutamate I needed to focus on) with the RKD than be a vegetarian or even do Paleo. The problem continuously surfaced, though, that I would putter out of energy. And when that happened, instead of reaching for a vegetable (carbs kick you out of ketosis) I would reach for protein like peanut butter or a hard boiled egg. Exactly the wrong snacks for low grade IDH mutant brain tumors. I was essentially handing Herman a big ole glob of glutamine.

It's crazy, I remember a phone call with my nutritionist where she emphasized that my green smoothies (which are all vegetable save an avocado & lemon) turn directly into sugar in my body; that without protein with each meal and snack, I was killing myself. Not her words, but still. She was emphatic about the huge sugar spike that would surge through my veins, therefore feeding the tumor. IE: Killing myself. Same same. It put the fear of Hermie in me, driving home the whole protein must be included to survive mantra. Remember all the times I've written about feeling guilty about my apples? That was because of my nutritionist. As was my deviation from my green smoothies. It leaves you feeling crazy. Who's right? What do I do? Am I just supposed to pick the lesser of two evils? Glucose spike over protein consumption? Girl still gotta eat.

Things I know:

• Known unbiased tumor fighter = caloric restriction (click for a great study on the benefits). It doesn't seem to matter if you eat the calories from protein, fat, or carb, just be sure to take your BMR and cut it by 30% (some say 20% others 40%). That's the surefire way to hypnotize the giant. It won't stop him, but it'll sedate him, and maybe during that time we'll find just the right cocktail to kill him. It's also the thing I always forget. Or maybe I just don't want to deprive myself so I black it out from time to time. :)
• Healthy fats like omega-3's (fish oil) continue to be a great way to supplement my diet. One of the least burdensome of the food groups, in regard to the glucose/glutamine issue. However, not that palatable as a snack. Just sayin'.

Reviewing over my notes, it's clear about the caloric restriction, but I'm also wondering if perhaps soduim phenylbutyrate & metformin could really work together, like hit it out of the park, for IDH mutant tumors (along with all my other goodies, of course - my newest motto is never take away, only add). I know I repeat myself a lot, but it takes a lot of hammering things into my brain, and even then details and concepts, the most obvious of stuff, often slips away. I wish I could just blame it on the tumor, but I think the more you use your brain the more you have to make space. Happens to all of us.

Am I more scared about this MRI than usual? Maybe. It's the turning point that we hit and had tumor growth after the first brain surgery, so technically, this is when Herman should show back up. Not to mention the fact that the proliferation rate of this tumor was faster than the first. If they see tumor I won't be surprised, only disappointed. If they don't see tumor I will consider it a miracle. It's not that I'm pessimistic necessarily, I just don't take this no-visible-tumor stuff for granted. I don't assume that all of these treatments "have" to work. There have been so many that have gone before me that have given everything they had, and still, it wasn't enough, they were taken. I know that life is a gift, and although I'm scared, more than scared actually, with every exhale of breath I remind myself that I just enjoyed a luxury.

Time for lunch...

Flubbed The Obvious

I had an obnoxiously long blog post full of crazy information and charts, and things about glutamine - I had been working on it all day - then my mind was blown with a shattering epiphany, things started piecing together. If low grade tumors feed mostly off of glutamine/glutamate, then what's the story with glucose? So I talked it out with Dan and as we both started searching online (boy do we have some sexy phone dates) we finally started asking the right questions. What is in my special F-DOPA PET scan that I fly down to UCLA for? I felt like a moron, how had I never wondered that? If they weren't measuring glucose, which they clearly stated, what were they measuring? We typed it in and bam, if I'm understanding this correctly, the F-DOPA PET is essentially measuring an amino acid on the glutamine-glutamate pathway (click for a study).

How did I not ask that? How did I not figure it out? I remember being completely distracted by the fact that they were using radioactive particles. I guess that's where my mind went. It never occurred to me to wonder what was being mixed with those particles. I remember talking to my doctors after the surgery, in the neruosurgery ICU, about the idea of me going on the restricted keto to slow tumor growth. They thought it was great. How did it not come up that glutamine is the food source for my type of tumor, not glucose? Had they not pieced that together either? It seems as if they would have, yet, clearly they didn't or I think they would have said something. It's the whole point of this latest fancy scan, this exclusive machine that's only available at a few centers across the country, to measure the glutamine-ish stuff going on in my low grade tumor. How are the fragments of knowledge scattered so far apart throughout the tumor world that it's this hard for tumor patients to piece it together? What's going on? Oh, I feel sick. We really do have to figure stuff out on our own. Thank God I give a fart. At least now I can adjust. If I would have stayed on the Paleo diet it would have sped up tumor growth. The way that I have been eating has been full speed down the pro-amino acid freeway. No stoplights. And according to what I'm reading, the more glutamine in your system, the faster your tumor shifts into using glucose as fuel. It's a catalyst. Hello faster growing tumor. Hello death. I am literally glaring at an imagined Grim Reaper right now. I just told him I'm not ready, and if he comes near me he's going to regret it. Scythe or no scythe, this girl is scrappy.

Here's a scary, but necessary read about glutamine (for the record, I have shifted from Coldplay to straight up Enya's greatist hits - in dire need of some uplifting):

 

Glutamine promotes hallmarks of malignancy (click for full article)

Deregulated energetics. One hallmark of cancer cells is aberrant bioenergetics (26). Glutamine’s involvement in the pathways outlined above contributes to a phenotype conducive to energy formation, survival, and growth. In addition to its role in mitochondrial metabolism, glutamine also suppresses expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein, a negative regulator of glucose uptake (27). Thus, glutamine contributes to both of the energy-forming pathways in cancer cells: oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis. Glutamine also modulates hallmarks not traditionally thought to be metabolic, as outlined below. These interactions highlight the complex interplay between glutamine metabolism and many aspects of cell biology.

Sustaining proliferative signaling. Pathological cancer cell growth relies on maintenance of proliferative signaling pathways with increased autonomy relative to non-malignant cells. Several lines of evidence argue that glutamine reinforces activity of these pathways. In some cancer cells, excess glutamine is exported in exchange for leucine and other essential amino acids. This exchange facilitates activation of the serine/threonine kinase mTOR, a major positive regulator of cell growth (28). In addition, glutamine-derived nitrogen is a component of amino sugars, known as hexosamines, that are used to glycosylate growth factor receptors and promote their localization to the cell surface. Disruption of hexosamine synthesis reduces the ability to initiate signaling pathways downstream of growth factors (29).

Enabling replicative immortality. Some aspects of glutamine metabolism oppose senescence and promote replicative immortality in cultured cells. In IMR90 lung fibroblasts, silencing either of two NADPH-generating isoforms of malic enzyme (ME1, ME2) rapidly induced senescence, while malic enzyme overexpression suppressed senescence (30). Both malic enzyme isoforms are repressed at the transcriptional level by p53 and contribute to enhanced levels of glutamine consumption and NADPH production in p53-deficient cells. The ability of p53-replete cells to resist senescence required the expression of ME1 and ME2, and silencing either enzyme reduced the growth of TP53^+/+ and, to a lesser degree, TP53^–/– tumors (30). These observations position malic enzymes as potential therapeutic targets.

Resisting cell death. Although many cancer cells require glutamine for survival, cells with enhanced expression of Myc oncoproteins are particularly sensitive to glutamine deprivation (8, 12, 16). In these cells, glutamine deprivation induces depletion of TCA cycle intermediates, depression of ATP levels, delayed growth, diminished glutathione pools, and apoptosis. Myc drives glutamine uptake and catabolism by activating the expression of genes involved in glutamine metabolism, including GLS and SLC1A5, which encodes the Na⁺-dependent amino acid transporter ASCT2 (12, 16). Silencing GLS mimicked some of the effects of glutamine deprivation, including growth suppression in Myc-expressing cells and tumors (10, 12). MYCN amplification occurs in 20%–25% of neuroblastomas and is correlated with poor outcome (31). In cells with high N-Myc levels, glutamine deprivation triggered an ATF4-dependent induction of apoptosis that could be prevented by restoring downstream metabolites oxaloacetate and α-ketoglutarate (15). In this model, pharmacological activation of ATF4, inhibition of glutamine metabolic enzymes, or combinations of these treatments mimicked the effects of glutamine deprivation in cells and suppressed growth of MYCN-amplified subcutaneous and transgenic tumors in mice.

The PKC isoform PKC-ζ also regulates glutamine metabolism. Loss of PKC-ζ enhances glutamine utilization and enables cells to survive glucose deprivation (32). This effect requires flux of carbon and nitrogen from glutamine into serine. PKC-ζ reduces the expression of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, an enzyme required for glutamine-dependent serine biosynthesis, and also phosphorylates and inactivates this enzyme. Thus, PKC-ζ loss, which promotes intestinal
tumorigenesis in mice, enables cells to alter glutamine metabolism in response to nutrient stress.

Invasion and metastasis. Loss of the epithelial cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin is a component of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and is sufficient to induce migration, invasion, and tumor progression (33, 34). Addiction to glutamine may oppose this process because glutamine favors stabilization of tight junctions in some cells (35). Furthermore, the selection of breast cancer cells with the ability to grow without glutamine yielded highly adaptable subpopulations with enhanced mesenchymal marker expression and improved capacity for anchorage-independent growth, therapeutic resistance, and metastasis in vivo (36). It is unknown whether this result reflects a primary role for glutamine in suppressing these markers of aggressiveness in breast cancer, or whether prolonged glutamine deprivation selects for cells with enhanced fitness across a number of phenotypes.

I am mortified and kicking myself that this fell through my fingers. There is en masse of information out there about what to do, what to eat, how to survive cancer, and the hard part is that much of it contradicts. You never know which boat to jump on, but one thing is for certain you'll never survive long if you are stuck treading water. But how did I not follow the tracks? The obviousness of the F-DOPA; the uptake of an unknown substance that was allowing my tumor to glow on this special scan. How did I not think to ask what caused the illumination? I feel like a fool. It saddens me that I've spent a year and a half headed in the wrong direction, eating almost exactly what I shouldn't have. The nauseating irony. All this falls right before my MRI. I have spent the last four months eating glutamine rich foods, just nurturing old Hermie, pampering him. I've already called my doctor to get the ball rolling on adding sodium phenylbytrate (a plasma glutamine lowering drug) at my June 25th appointment - gotta sign some legal documents since it's off label. The crazy thing is that my team of nutritionists who specialize specifically in brain cancer patients were emphatic about me having protein with every meal, and snack, to keep blood glucose stable. The peanut butter was pushed to join in with the apple. But now I know, from checking the levels, peanut butter has a crazy high volume of glutamine. It looks like I would have been better off with just my original apple. How crazy is that!? It's so confusing.

I gotta go decompress. Time restart Enya's greatest hits or something. And maybe munch on one of those juicily tart apples.

Cool thing of the day: Earlier I got an email from Julene, a very sweet blog reader. We had never met, but she offered to drop off a care package to help me survive until Dan arrives (saving me from resorting to my mom's granola bars - definitely not on the new diet).

It was just what I needed. I met a new friend, I stole a few much needed hugs from her, and little did I know that vegetables were going to be paramount in my new diet. And apples have one of the lowest concentrations of glutamine in foods. Why wasn't I listening to my gut!?!? You guys know I love apples. Ugh. FOOL.

Lifting By The Roots

Alright, I've been thinking since yesterday's post, that life IS better with hair. (Maybe not easier, but definitely better.) Long hair. Hair I would want. Not hair I settle for, not odd lengths, and weird styles trying to disguise my infinite scar. Real hair with a style that makes me feel like the person facing me in the mirror looks me in the eyes, and smiles. She's been smiling at me for years, my whole life in fact, but since 2010 her smiles were more of sadness, of tender concern. They were never complimentary smiles, not confidence building. I would lower my gaze and walk away, loving her, but knowing I needed a break from the friendship. Her gaze was too hurtful, too knowing. So I pulled away from her, turned my back. These days, though, I peek out at her as I walk by windows, and I know she sees me. I know she knows I'm sorry. Thankfully, she is forgiving, and we rebuild our relationship glance by glance, nod by nod, smile by smile.

Our baby cucumbers are beginning to hatch. This is the first successful attempt at starting seeds in eggshells. I'm embarrassed to tell you that the first batch from a few weeks ago was a disaster - I failed to rinse the eggshells before adding the soil. Within three-ish days there was quite the funk wafting around the house. I had no idea what was causing it, so I wandered around sniffing, and the closer I got to my baby seedlings the stronger the stench. I had to throw the whole thing into our compost. Oopsie. Rinsing the eggshells is a crucial step, good to know. Guaranteed I will never again forget to rinse the eggshells. Never.

In the spirit of green things, and vegetables, I need to share with you a major advance in tumor diet differentiation. What I mean is that there are very different needs between brain tumor groups. For example, tumors that take up contrast on MRI scans (usually stage III & IV) are using mainly glucose as food. For people like me, low grade tumors, according to newer research, our tumors mainly feed on glutamate. This is a big deal. Most research about diet is with high grades, so a lot of lower grade tumor fighters copy that research hoping it will also apply to them. (For example, the restricted ketogenic diet.) But that seems to be very misguided. Glutamate is an amino acid found in all protein containing foods (including grains). As you can see, the restricted ketogenic diet which focuses on heavy amounts of fat (often derived from dairy and/or coconut oil), moderate protein (limiting glutamate), and low/no carbohydrate (restricting glucose), could be the wrong choice for those with low grade tumors. Or is it? I don't know. I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to modify my diet and lifestyle to be healthy and happy, and not provide excess food to Herman, but it's confusing. I now have to read up on the difference between glutamate, glutamine, and the foods that can convert into them; how they convert; what foods are safe. It's a whole new avenue. A good side note is that I shouldn't feel guilty about my love affair with vegetables - they seem to look safe. Or are they? I don't know. It is going to be a serious switch. I already feel very divided, torn, confused. It's hard to oscillate so quickly, and deviate so far from what you considered a lifestyle. Carbs were bad. Carbs were feeding Herman. Now it's the protein. Eeek. It's as if I'm jumping religions; Bhuddism, Christianity, etc. These diets become my belief system on food, on nourishment, on survival. Changing it spins your world, lifting you by the roots. I feel like a little plant in a terrible wind. Will it ever subside? Will I ever find a safe nook to just grow?

Obviously, research is constantly advancing. At the same time we find old research that tells part of the story, then we piece things together, and it never ends. Each time we think we have a stable, solid plan, we find more information, giving us new directions to explore. You can't take much time off of tumor fighting, you'd miss too much. You have to be out there, reading, putting two and two together, connecting the dots. I know I'm constantly referring to my friend Stephen (Astrocytoma Options), but I'm telling you he is an invaluable resource. He always takes the time to answer my questions, he directs me to new research, he is a northern star keeping on course. Recently, he added a spot on the AO website where you can submit your email for notifications and new links every time he adds updates to the website. It's fantastic! It's perfect for brain tumor fighters, we're notorious for being forgetful, or accidentally never following up. We have the best intentions, but we have literal variations of brain damage (depending on the individual). That's how doctors classify us. Brain damaged. It sounds crazy when I say that out loud, but it's true. If you're fighting a brain tumor, or perhaps you're researching for a loved one, you will love the updates. It's like having a specialist in your pocket. Research doesn't get much better than that. Just so you know, since I'm a walking, talking advertisement for AO, I want to stress that it's all my voice, my words, my thoughts. Stephen never knows when I post about him until after the fact. If anything, he's incredibly modest and maybe even embarrassed about how I go on and on about him, but I get so excited to share with you guys. He's such a valuable resource, and I want to spread the word so that you can benefit from his hard work.

I Need To Believe

This last weekend was such a blast! Danny and I were able to pack Emma and a bunch of goodies for a quick road trip to Wenatchee. We didn't tell my parents we were coming, and they were completely surprised and ecstatic - I'm horrible about keeping surprises secret, but somehow I managed. As we drove closer and closer, I became more and more giddy. I am so lucky to have two amazing parents who give me so much love. They are incredibly supportive. I had been needing more hugs lately, and on Saturday morning my parents engulfed me, it was so healing. I love the fact that I can tell my parents anything. They understand so much because they see things that I'm going through, the struggles, the demands on my body, on my mind, they know so much because we talk almost daily. But it's different to get a hug :) A hug might be the best support I could ever get.

My Saturday morning hug came because I was honest with my parents about how I feel about my future. I have been trying very hard to keep a brave face, to shove down the thoughts of failure, of death, but it's not as easy as it once was. Unfortunately, in January, a very close friend said to me, "You know, there's a chance that none of these treatments will work. That there's nothing you can do." It was quite possibly the most painful thing that I've ever been told, and I said that to her. Obviously, you guys understand that I realize, only too well, that I might just die. That my fate may be sealed. That I'm spinning my wheels to no avail. It's something that crosses my mind several times a day, then I try like hell to be positive, to fight on. Just for future reference for friends and family, I only want support. I want to believe - I NEED to believe - that I can beat this diagnosis. I need unfailing support. I can not have anyone say to my face that I might not make it. You guys can say it behind my back, that's fine, but not to my face. It's just unnecessary, and cruel. Her words resonate in my mind and I hate it. It physically hurts my heart, my soul, and sucks at my hope. And I know that it's stupid for me to be effected by someone's words, but words are powerful, especially when they echo your own fears. Ok. Enough of that, I just had to get it off of my chest. For the record, I know that my friend didn't mean to hurt me, but obviously it did. Some things just don't need to be said.

Dealing with cancer is a 24 hour 7 day a week kind of thing. I'm constantly trying to think positive thoughts, making healthy decisions, researching supplements, diets, treatments, doing anything I can so that I know that I'm up on all of the latest treatments and tricks that fight brain cancer. It's exhausting because as I research I also learn so much about the things that don't work, I read stories of people time and time again that have not made it. Brain cancer is one of the least forgiving cancers. It ravages your being, your mind, who you are. Reading and researching is emotional and scary. I feel I need to do it because I learn so much, that I need to be my own expert, my own advocate, but it's terrifying. It becomes overwhelming and that's why I need the outlet of this blog, to just purge my feelings and fears. Somehow, being open and honest about how I'm feeling gives me strength, it makes me feel honest, and transparent.

On a positive note, I have officially been in ketosis for 10 days. Ketosis is when your body uses ketones to burn energy instead of glucose (ie: sugar or carbs). The science behind this diet of low carb, high fat, medium protein, is that your body's organs and cells can fuel them selves off of ketones, and tumors and cancer cells can only eat glucose. Therefore, the less glucose you provide your body, the more you starve the cancer.

I have tried this diet before, several months after my first brain surgery, but it was too restrictive. I was still yearning to eat the foods of my friends, to share wine with the girls, I was unable to completely commit. Thankfully, I have a renewed strength and amazing friends who don't mind if I'm drinking Pelligrino, or abstaining from most foods. The girls that I've been able to spend time with, Christel, and Libbey, and Laura, have been so supportive. They want me to succeed above their own immediate desires, discussing the details of my lifestyle so that they can join in when we're together. It's so nice to be able to talk about the details of what I'm going through, what I'm researching. Each time I explain the ketogenic diet and its' relevance to brain tumors and seizures, I gain further insight into the whole process. It solidifies my memory and makes it easier to continue. Also the girls have all kinds if ideas on recipes, we end up turning it into a fun excuse to do something different, to problem solve.

Over the weekend Dan, my parents and I golfed 9 holes at Desert Canyon (We played best ball - which I must be honest took three hours. Ha!) and it was a blast. My goal these days is to continue to get out and enjoy life. It requires lots of naps and resting later, but it is so worth it!

Poor Little Hermie

Jules and I walked the lake last night. I'm so lucky to have all these girls (Erin, Meagan, Meghan & Jules) that take different shifts to help keep me in the game :)

Today, I'm headed to a new internist appointment, trying to find a better go-to doctor for all over health. Then, this afternoon, I'm headed for my first high dose IV of vitamin C! Lets hope they can find my vein easily!!! I'm excited and nervous. I'm seriously traversing the metro today...can't wait for my new adventures.

As for the vitamin C, if you try and ingest it, your body excretes most of it, to get the massive levels, you have to get it injected. By injecting it, you bypass the stomach, the lower intestine, and liver, and the vitamin goes directly into your blood stream allowing it to travel all throughout your body. So, the IV helps bioavailability. This whole treatment is amazing. It's a great addition to any radiation, or chemotherapy. Vitamin C is a molecule off of glucose, which is what cancer and tumors live off. So, the tumors suck up the vitamin C, thinking it's delicious sugar, but in truth it's an antioxidant. In the high doses, vitamin C generates large amounts of hydrogen peroxide which is a potent free radical. A normal cell has catalase to neutralize the free radicals and protect them, but cancers DON'T. So, the high levels of vitamin C weaken the cancer cells. Also, the hydrogen peroxide aids in the artemisinin. That's why I'm supposed to walk for two hours before I take my pills every night, exercise and deep breathing help oxygenate my brain generating more hydrogen peroxide. So, literally, today with my IV, and my walking, and then the artemisinin, poor little Hermie is going to get quite a beating. It's exciting, and yet somehow I feel a little bad for him. He's done so much for me, allowed me to learn so much, but I guess I can just remember him fondly and take his lessons with me wherever I go. I guess, that's a nice compromise.

Hope all that vitamin C stuff makes sense, I'm in a bit of a hurry. If it's confusing, I can explain more later!