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Some of you may have noticed the post count has slowed down quite a bit. As I tell family and friends in my "Medical Update" emails - NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!! The purpose of this blog is to fill a gap in coverage on bladder cancer. 
There are dozens of good sites chocked full of dispassionate, clinical information on the types of bladder cancer and the recommended and optional treatments for each. In addition there are a couple of sites with emotional descriptions about bladder cancer's effects on people as well as their families and friends. When I was new to the game, I found both types of sites to be both alarming and disconcerting. I literally could not read much before becoming physically nauseous or faint. What was missing was an objective presentation of what a person will experience during diagnosis and BCG treatments. While my experience will not exactly mirror another's, perhaps my thoroughness will help people get mentally braced for the good and the ugly of what's coming. I think knowing that it is bad, but not too awful, unpleasant but more ridiculous, and most of all it's temporary - these observations will serve to keep your mind from conjuring up doomsday scenarios and allow you to focus on having the right attitude to heal and battle recurrences.
If you have read much at all, the doctors basically say to follow their allopathic regimens up to and including radical cystectomy, and that anything you do extra probably won't help or hurt. Yet many cancer websites for bladder and other cancer forms have a consistent theme - though it is often buried in emotional and/or speculative bullshit. DIET and EXERCISE. Just like the doctors, TV hosts, family, and friends have said all along, diet an exercise are the keys to better health. What they won't say is that better health is the key to controlling cancer - avoiding both occurrence and recurrence. Prior to being diagnosed, I was the poster child standing in opposition to this remedy. Hard to conceive of a worse diet - high in fats and carbs, nothing natural or organic, fruits and vegetables were fine when baked into pies. And for exercise? Fuggedaboudit! I had tried everything and hated it all. As for processed foods? Better living through chemistry for me!
But research has convinced me that, politics aside, there IS something to eating fresh and natural foods, in reversing the traditional American proportions of protein and fruit/veg from 75/25 to 25/75. And avoiding chemicals that are not necessary whenever possible is also prudent, given the absence of knowledge as to just what triggers these cancers. So I have become a believer for health reasons, and I have learned to ignore the politics. In fact, I have been ignoring politics and news of all sorts for two years and find myself living a fuller and happier life - not worrying about things I cannot control.
But not posting today to preach - only to summarize. I was diagnosed on March 31, 2008, with two tumors. Two TURBT procedures later I learned the tumors were T1 Grade 3 and non-invasive by the thinnest of margins. Since then I have undergone six initial BCG treatments and five 3-week maintenance sessions. Add to that multiple scopings and a couple of CT scans. And radical changes in outlook, diet, and exercise (even this very morning). Still battling with excess weight and like many, making a New Year's resolution to do better. All in all I am still alive, kicking, and relatively healthy. 
Recurrence is still a high probability, and if it comes, I believe it will be minor and easily dealt with. So you CAN live with bladder cancer and not be too inconvenienced.
Another key thing to keep in mind is mental health and outlook. If you think cancer will kill you, then it will. If you think you will defeat it, perhaps you might. Positive outlook seems to trigger the body into using its natural defenses to stave off cancer. And to that end I will share my Christmas Day with you all. My #1 hobby in life is motorcycling. And even though I live in an area famous for winter snow, I manage to get out a bit in the cold. As long as the streets are clean and dry, it can be safe to ride. We had a lot of snow early this year, unusually so, even before Thanksgiving over 2 feet at the house. But it has not been bitterly cold, so the snow melts down a bit before the next storm. Before Christmas we had another couple of feet, followed by temperatures just above freezing. Christmas Day brought cool weather and sunny skies, so I went for a ride. Late afternoon temperatures hovered about 34F (1C) and up in the mountains dipped as low as 16F (-9C). With proper gear I was warm and comfy, listening to Christmas tunes on the satellite radio I as floated through deserted back-country roads. I paused by a lake, not yet frozen (you can see the ice line just to the right of the sign), and went to the end of the road for winter. The flat winter light made the bike look black and ominous - quite the opposite of my mood. So enjoy a few photos (click to enlarge each) and ride along with me on a 100+ horse, open, 2-wheeled sleigh!
I got a question from Mike in South Carolina regarding curcumin consumption: "I have started taking Curcumin 95% total curcuminolds (rhizome-curcuma longa) (18:1) derived from turmeric . I was wondering if you know anything about whether it is beneficial in the
fight against bladder cancer?"
Taken from "Foods to Fight Cancer" by Belivau and Gingras, curcumin as consumed in foods with curry (primarily in India) has been postulated (but not proved in peer-reviewed study) to be a factor in the dramatic difference in the rates of many types of cancer between India and North America/Europe. For men the rate of bladder cancer in India is 1/8 the rate in the USA.
The anti-promotional benefits (meaning it does not prevent cancer triggers, but impedes cancer formation) of curcumin are pretty well studied. It has a well demonstrated anti-inflammatory effect, which is vital for those with cancer tendencies. The link between consumption in pill or food has not been studied as well. In the US we are pre-disposed to isolate and deliver in pill form, such as you are taking. In general, it is not certain whether isolating the pure compound (curcumin in your case) is truly beneficial versus consuming it as food along with potentially beneficial corrolary compounds. In fact, as in the case of soy extracts, it may well be too much of a good thing and potentially harmful.
In the case of curcumin, it may not be so much harmful as a waste of time. Pure curcumin is not readily bio-available (your digestive system does not pass it readily into the bloodstream). But curcumin in curry form adds the synergistic compound piperine, which increases curcumin bioavailability by a factor of 10. Piperine is found in most forms of pepper - always an ingredient in curry mixes.
In summary, for bladder cancer: Curcumin good, taken regularly as a food along with piperine (most commonly in curry) very good, taken as an isolated chemical in a pill - not so much, albeit very convenient.
It's been a bit over a month since my last post and over six months since I last updated all of you on the progress of our little bladder cancer "fraternity."
The news is mostly good. In my case, no activity until March, and then only CT scan and flexible cystoscopy. If all clear, nothing for six more months - meaning NO BCG. That means my news is all good news indeed.
David F. in England is busy starting up a new business, having mostly freed himself from wage slavery in a bureaucratic but well-intentioned charity job. He is having crazy days and dramatic mood swings - both quite normal for a start-up business. Medically speaking, his biggest battle of note was coming to grips with having dental work done (including a root canal), sending us all an important message about not putting such things off. His bladder cancer news is entirely good, as in August he was told that, after four years, dozens of BCGs, and nine surgeries, that he was officially 
ALL CLEAR and would be going to flexible cystoscopies (and no BCG) annually. Huzzahs all around are in order for David!
HK in Toronto, as some may recall, was having a truly awful time. He had constant pain, well after the timeframe that any of the rest of us had, and particularly bad side effects from BCG - to the point that he could not continue them. Last month he was ALL CLEAR on his flexible cystoscopy, and while his doctors considered doing some BCG, they decided the agony was not justified by the potential benefit. They will wait six months and do another cystoscopy, and they advised him to "take it easy and try not to have stress." Good advice for all of us!
We have a new member, Patrick from SoCal (Southern California), who reports, "I am a 44 year old married African American with 3 beautiful kids and 1 year ago this month I was diagnosed with carcinoma in situ (I never smoked either). I have had the 6 week initial treatment along with 1st 3 week BCG, I am currently going through my 2nd series of 3 week treatments. I have taken the trip to Arizona to see Dr. Lamm and he along with my doctor confirmed I am cancer FREE. I pray and hope the BCG continues to do the job." CIS is nasty business when inside the bladder, but it often responds well to BCG treatments. More on this in Brian's report below.
Brian S. in Atlanta is receiving excellent care with the best tools available. He suggests any in the area should contact him (via this blog) for a referral to his clinic, which he describes in glowing terms: "My clinic has this new scope and it's got an LED light (very bright), a still camera, and of course full motion video. The scope cost $17K! Having the pictures really helps when I go back in a few months later and we ask, "was that there before?" My wife was in the room too and both of us could see inside my bladder as he was doing the procedure. He took pictures of the suspicious area. He even turned the camera back to see it entering my bladder. He described that as, "looking at ourselves". It was surreal, but very cool. This clinic is the best in the area. And to top it off, it's non-profit and backed by the co-founder of Home Depot. Needless to say, they aren't pushing you through to get to the next guy's co-payment!"
Brian's news is not as good as we hoped. His urine cytology came back "suspicious," and the scope revealed what looked to be a white patch of peeling skin. His Emory-trained doctor, who has been in practice for a long time, had never seen anything like it. I suspected it might be CIS (Carcinoma in Situ) that had been damaged (perhaps killed) by BCG. They biopsied him via TUR surgery followed by a mytomycin chemo bake of the bladder. It was the size of a silver dollar, and the biopsy did confirm CIS, which is good news for other cancers and not so much for bladder cancer. CIS is relatively rare, comprising approximately 10% of cases, and is considered to be a superficial tumor (does not penetrate the bladder lining). It is a high-grade and aggressive manifestation of bladder cancer that has highly variable outcomes. David F. above had CIS in addition to other tumors, and clearly he has responded well to BCG. And so Brian will have SIX more BCGs to be followed by scopes.
Roy from Alabama had a minor scare with 2 "spots" detected during the cysto on his very first judgment day, having completed his six initial BCGs. We are all thankful that the biopsies showed them benign.
Mike from South Carolina reports that he 
had three tumors removed in June and six BCGs. Now he will have flexible cystoscopies every six months for two years. If all goes well, annually thereafter. He is not going to have maintenance BCGs at this time.
Robert S. in New York is now 22 months ALL CLEAR and goes to annual flexible scopings. No BCG maintenance for him either.
I have not heard from Ed B. in Washington, Asya in California, or Jeff in the UK since last April. Let's hope that no news is good news for them all. Perhaps they will give us updates in comments below...
Good news all around - I did verify with my doctor that the next BCG interval has moved out to ONE YEAR. So we still have a CT scan and cystocopy in March, 2011, but no more BCG until after a second cystoscopy next September. This is wonderful news indeed! And even with my error in judgment on the first treatment of this series, the data for reaction to the BCG this time are well within the family of what could have been expected. 
My hydration protocol worked like a champ last week, and so was repeated this week. With the increase in reaction (as expected), I made sure to slow but not dramatically drop the hydration intake at the end of the special handling period. As a consequence I was again up during the night to urinate at 11PM, midnight, 2AM, 5AM, 6AM and 7AM, but these had a more "normal" character - no being awakened by pain and then peeing like a racehorse! Really there is no getting around the third series - it is meant to have an effect and it does Hydration regimen this time made the urinary symptoms less than the third treatment of Series 4 (last time). The flu-like symptoms seemed to be slightly less also - and this may be to my decision to stay in bed most of Day 2 (today - Saturday). In the past I had been resuming normal activities as soon as I felt better, and this activity may well have impacted the tiredness I experienced early in the workweek. We shall see, as I expect to take it easy tomorrow as well, before hitting the grind again on Monday.
The extra hydration and extra reaction added up to extra throughput and even more frequent dashes to the toilet. Several times during the afternoon I fell a few minutes short of making the full 20 minute intervals for sterilization! 
It was good to have my own private express lane here in the house with all the supplies at hand!
I should focus on the non-urinary side effects more, as they are only poorly described in my side effects tables. Starting about 5-6 hours after installation there is usually some cramping in the lower stomach or bladder area, and also around the right kidney in my lower back. Sometimes short in duration and severe, sometimes long in duration and mild, these cramps are always a wild card. Ibuprofen seems to alleviate the inflammation and swelling and dispose of the long duration ones quite well. Additionally there is pain and soreness around the "affected area" and often some generalized body aches and/or a headache. I find that acetaminophen addresses this type of pain more effectively. In the morning I try to gauge which flavor of discomfort is more pronounced, and then treat with the corresponding pills. For the general tiredness, exhaustion, and run-down feeling, all that will help is time and rest. For an introvert such as myself, time alone in a semi-dark room with TV or music to mildly distract me seems to work best. The other lesson learned is to rest, even when feeling dramatically better. This takes some discipline, especially when the weather is near-perfect as it usually is in Utah in September. Another thing I have to watch is my blog writing. My exhaustion and sometimes even "brain fog" renders me incapable of putting coherent thoughts together, and that effect may often be observed in these next-day postings. Fortunately my father reads these blog postings carefully and sends polite emails pointing out such errors, so they get fixed soon after posting!
For those interested in the details, the reaction table is below, about 4.5/10 on the nausea scale.
While this second treatment was a bit rougher than the second one three months ago, it was over and done faster than last week's
. I pursued my own recommended regimen of relaxation, deep breathing, and careful mega-hydration. And I am a bit pleased to report that it worked quite well. Symptoms started earlier and were slightly more severe than last week, which was to be expected. But by 9:30PM I was pretty much fully recovered, and last night I got a decent night's sleep. Next week will be stronger still, but with renewed evidence that my regimen helps, I shall put it behind me quickly!
My Doctor, who normally (and quite unusually) gives the BCG treatments himself, was off houseboating in Lake Powell, resting and relaxing with family and friends. 
While good for him, it left me with 3 choices - defer the treatment until Monday and interfere with work (not wise in this economy), have the BCG administered by the incompetent nitwit PA Regan (a non-starter), or set aside decorum and discomfort and have PA Liz give the BCG. I went with option number three. Liz had given me a BCG in 2008, again when the doc was vacationing, and it was awkward but acceptable. So I did some extra deep breathing and went forward with my best attitude. After double-checking and then triple-checking the 1/3 dosage with the nursing staff, I assumed a supine position on an exam table. This time we had been shown to yet another new room in the labyrinth, and this one was noisier (from the street traffic), smaller, and a bit creepier than the others - being furnished with a surgical table and a surgical chair rather than the normal exam tables. More deep breaths were in order.
Liz came in with a professional demeanor and warm smile. Two years of extra practice had truly increased her confidence.
She was quite careful, deliberate, and a bit slow - but every bit professional. She clearly did not recall having treated me before, and I chose not to remind her. While I missed the speed with which Dr. Hopkins normally works, Liz was an apt substitute. Given my lack of paid leave for illness, it is likely I will have to use her in the future for one out of three treatments, so I guess it's all good, if a bit awkward.
The symptom table shows more urinary drama than six months ago, but less headache, body ache, and duration, so all in all I was pleased with the outcome. And even more pleased to feel fine, if a bit tired, just a day later. Disclaimer, it's about 3.5/10 on the nausea scale if you click to enlarge the table below.
Well if life is a pre-existing condition, then it probably follows logically that foolishness or stupidity is a pre-requisite. As you saw from the last post, Biohazard Man is back.
And now belatedly I report on my first BCG treatment of Maintenance Series 5. I have had plenty of experience and over five months off, so I knew exactly what to do and what to expect. Or so one would believe. Unfortunately my data collection and experience increased my level of confidence. I simply knew this one would be easy-peasy, a cakewalk. And so it should have been.
Surely the trip to the doctor's office was normal. Beautiful weather, clear highways, no delays, and we arrived at 9:15 for my 9:30 appointment. We were in and ready to roll by 9:30, and Dr. Hopkins had no other patients to deal with. This was the first time we had done a visit on a Friday, and the place was very quiet. Ten minutes later the doctor came in and did the job. He and I were both a bit surprised that the catheter did not go in easily, and I can chalk that problem up to overconfidence mistake #1. 
The cystoscopy the week before had gone so well the I blew off the normal deep breathing exercises for the BCG, and it made things a bit more difficult. Not a big deal, but I made a note to add the breathing back in next time.
The BCG was instilled and we were back on the road home by 9:50. I was very thirsty, having forgotten how dehydrated one gets when abstaining from fluids, so I was careful not to hydrate too quickly. That worked OK, but during the second hour I forgot to double my intake as I normally do. This made the first urination much lower in volume than usual, but no discomfort. Even so, I should have taken the hint. I had my normal lunch of soup and toast, and then I sat at my desk and did emails and net surfing, drinking a good amount, but not really putting the effort into hydration. I declined to lie in the bed for this go-around, as the side effects were expected to be negligible. Checking the logs from six months ago, I was pleased to note the symptoms arrive right on schedule - mild as expected. Within 90 minutes they should be gone. So I continued sitting at the desk and sipping my iced tea. The symptoms, instead of clearing, became a bit worse. So I decided to move to the bed and hydrate more. Much to my surprise the symptoms stabilized, but did not decrease FOR 12 HOURS! Since there was no improvement I ramped up hydration in the evening, well after the special handling period.
This was too much and too late as it turns out. 
I finally went to bed exhausted at 11PM, and I was up every 60-90 minutes all night to pee like the proverbial racehorse. Rest and sleep? Forget about it! By early morning I was zombie-like, dehydrated, and sporting a headache. I spent most of Saturday resting and re-hydrating, all because I was too cocky to follow my own protocol. What was up with that? In a word - STUPIDITY!
The silver lining to this cloud is that the results do support the protocol of rest and super-hydration early in the process. But experimenting on oneself, especially unintentionally, is definitely not recommended.
The tables below show the results. The one on the left shows raw results (for readability), and the one on the right shows the evidence of under-hydration in red and outfall of over-hydration in blue. The side effects were more than the first round last time, and the squeamish may find the details to be about a 3 out of 10 on the gross-out scale, so one must click to enlarge the images below for those details. David F. in England tells me he made some similar errors in judgment during some of his BCG treatments, so I guess overconfidence breeds foolish behavior universally! I think we can all expect Biohazard Man to follow his protocol for the next two in this series...
Biohazard Man is back and he is bigger and better than ever! 
Check out this new Biohazard Man Version 2 graphic - leaner, more mature, and more graceful by far. This new image is mildly more accurate. There is even a Blackberry in his hand! You can read all about Biohazard Man's superpowers and see the Version 1 graphic in the original Biohazard Man post.
Early on in the scheme of things, after the initial shock of the cancer diagnosis and two TURBT surgeries, the absurdity of the process and the treatments started to appeal to me, and Biohazard Man was born. BCG is toxic, and it contains live, attenuated mycobacteria. Because of the potential risk for transmission, it should be prepared, handled, and disposed of as a biohazard material. And suddenly I have this stuff sloshing around in my bladder making my urine also toxic, requiring six hours of special handling after the initial instillation period. One must admit that nearly all superheroes were spawned from such odd beginnings - bite from a radioactive spider, a special mask, a powerful suit - so a toxic bladder seems right in line.
Let's face it. Here is a life-threatening disease whose treatment is a tube forced up your most private part in front of many witnesses of both genders, after which you are filled with toxic bio-cooties, all of this done on a regular basis, and you are even paying someone to do it to you! If you can't see the absurdity and have some fun with it, you are really missing out. I made up some business cards with the original graphic, my name, and the web page address of this blog on them. By last count I had given out over 100 of them. So now the challenge will be to incorporate the new design. As before, Biohazard Man is faster than a speeding ballet! More powerful than a loco-pollo!! Able to mount tall toilets at a single bound!!! Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!! It's BIOHAZARD MAN!!!! Beware of my toxic pee!
I have written here on more than one occasion that attitude is the most important thing, and this character is my attempt to spread good humor for all who wrestle with the evil forces of bladder cancer.
Two days later and I have pretty much recovered physically. Mentally? Jury is still out. Each successive Judgment Day does get easier to prepare for and to go through.
Still the stress level is quite high, and there is a definite CRASH afterward. A couple of years ago I responded to the good news with joy and then a nasty head cold for a week. Despite the outward appearance, the body will indeed bottle up the stress, and the release can be ugly. For the past two or three I would simply not think about it until about a week before, and then I would be a mix of ugly mood swings and semi-suppressed anxiety. Taking a nice long vacation in advance of the date has become our practice for two reasons: 1) Trying to do more carpe diem activities, and 2) You just never know if the opportunity will be gone soon. Macabre? Maybe, but reason #2 does help drive towards reason #1, so it's all good. We prefaced this Judgment Day with an 8 day, 2000 mile motorcycle trip throughout some of the most beautiful parts of Idaho. Chasing rivers up and down mountains through forests will do wonders for your outlook, as will a nice slice of huckleberry pie! My favorite, these berries are hand picked and grown only in the wild, so they are naturally organic and full of cancer-fighting antioxidants. We arrived home late Saturday evening, tired but refreshed from our cobweb-clearing blast through fresh air and mountain vistas. No work on Sunday or Monday (Labor Day holiday in US), just time to relax at home. I found myself curiously not worked up about the upcoming cystoscopy, even though I was thinking about it from time to time.
Tuesday brought a ferociously busy work day and evening, slowing down a bit on Wednesday, which was when I found myself falling into "freakout mode." Stayed as busy as I could, and came home early to take a nap and try to relax. Refreshed myself on the deep-breathing technique and practiced a couple of times on Wednesday night. It really does help a lot. Slept pretty well and was up early for a long, hot shower and more deep breathing. The day was dark, gloomy, cool and overcast - giving a film noir effect. My procedure is almost always late in the mornings, but we were able to be first on the docket at 9AM. The trip down was traffic-free, safely after the morning rush hour into Salt Lake City. Arrived early and signed the consent form, then we were shown to the exam room a few minutes after 9. Urine sample given, the nurse asked me to disrobe (keeping only shirt and socks) and get on the table. Having noted that Dr. Hopkins had taken one patient before me, I asked if I could wait until we were truly "next." She was having none of that, so I smiled, replied, "Yes Ma'am!" and hopped to it. As I expected the wait was about 20 minutes before the doctor came in. I really should buy a piece of interesting art for them to mount on the ceiling over the exam table.
Dr. Hopkins was all smiles and business, noting that he had not seen me in quite a while - this being the first six-month space between cystoscopic exams. After verifying that we already had BCGs scheduled, he saw that I was relaxed and ready, so we proceeded. Happily the scope was hooked to the monitor for me to watch, and this focus really does improve my ability to relax and ignore the procedure. Sixty seconds later we could see that all was clear, and we were left alone. First order of business after getting dressed was to return the saline solution that had been instilled for the procedure, which left my bladder uncomfortably full. 
First fire-pee episode out of the way, I went to the front desk for my prophylactic antibiotic pill, after which we left the office and walked into the bright sunlight of a stunning day. Even the weather was changed to match the outcome!
Here is where things were different. In the past I had steadfastly refused to plan ANYTHING after a Judgment Day, due to my inability to make a firm commitment with uncertain outcomes. The last two times I planned (and pre-paid) for dinners out with the wine club, and even scheduled some meetings for work. But always with a bucket of disclaimers and cautions. But due to providence (or cosmic convergence if you like), I not only had plans out for the next couple of weeks, I had a meeting to run at work this very same day at noon! My wife dropped me at the building at 10:30 with instructions to retrieve me at 2PM. So rather than retiring to a solitary room to hydrate and recover (takes about a day and a half for cystosocopy), I was into full work mode nearly immediately. I did take a few minutes to dash off some email updates on the ALL CLEAR to those who had requested such, made calls to my parents and brother (who by then had already read the email), and got right to work. The meeting went fairly well, and I was also privileged to share the joy of my good results with various co-workers who stopped by to give cheers and high fives. My take on all of it? I told them, "From the neck up, I feel like dancing!"
I packed the laptop and moved to the home office to complete the work day, with plans to work from home on Friday. In the past I had always taken the day off to recover, and sometimes even 
the day after. But this time the plan for both cystoscopy and BCGs is very different. The reason is that in January my employer changed their policies and eliminated my bank of emergency sick days. They also converted normal sick days into "personal time" combined with vacations, rewarding their healthy workers and penalizing those with chronic conditions. We now are clearly considered to be a burden both to the corporation and society at large, so sacrifices must be made. And now my exams and BCGs are "personal time off" which is really vacation time, making for some of the worst vacations ever. For those who have not noticed, the economy in the US and Europe is awful, and despite the continued reassurances of the media, there is no evidence in real life to support the contention that recovery is here or coming soon. Therefore companies are reducing liabilities and expenses, knowing that options are slim for employees. I suspect they may feel some pain if the economy ever improves, but for now we shall play the game by their rules. What this means is that I had to do some small tasks and monitor email for the rest of the day and Friday.
Even though there is not much real physical trauma from which to recover, I am always amazed at the mental toll. The fiercest concentration was required to complete simple tasks, and the effort to hold coherent conversations was shocking. I believe I was able to muster enough energy to get things done, and slept well both nights. Today I feel much better, pretty much back to normal. Even though I have been through this and worse before, I am still amazed how difficult it is to recover mentally. Having to do productive work immediately afterward was taxing beyond my greatest expectations. I have also moved the BCGs from Thursday mornings to Fridays. My reason for selecting Thursday was that the doctors would be available on Friday should there be any trouble. But as a BCG veteran, there is no point in wasting a vacation day now. So Fridays will be BCG days and Saturdays will be flu-like symptom recovery day. The big drawback here is that Dr. Hopkins only works in the office on alternate Fridays. So we selected a schedule to go Friday, Thursday, Friday. But he is taking that middle week off, so I elected to go with PA Liz again and do the middle one on Friday. Hopefully it will not be as comical as the last time she substituted, the details of which were not really disclosed. Waiting for the book deal, I guess.
The bottom line is this. Two days after a clean report and now officially 27 months cancer free, I now really believe that I have crossed the two year bridge. While the bladder cancer is still very likely to recur once or more in the next eight years, it is highly unlikely to be very severe. Life is really looking up, and as always, GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME.
Below are a few photos from the motorcycle ride through Idaho and our attendance at the WeSTOC XV rally. Click to enlarge any of them, and see if you can spot the deer in the first one!
In my mind this was a bigger milestone. Unfortunately my mind is a little bit mushy, post-climactic stress syndrome or something. Details on the Judgment Day, the cystoscopy, the significance, the outfall, the prognosis, and the next steps are forthcoming.
Stay tuned to this space!
This is all bad news, so I shall keep it short and not sweet at all. I have previously reported that sugar, especially sucrose (table sugar) and glucose (regular corn syrup) should be strictly avoided by cancer warriors.
I further suggested that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) should also be avoided, as it is chemically about the same as table sugar (sucrose is 50/50 glucose and fructose while HFCS ranges from 45/55 to 40/60) while saving your body even the small work of breaking one chemical bond that unites these two simple sugars in sucrose. The reason I gave for this is that intake of these high-glucose sweeteners will spike your blood sugar and super-energize cancer cells by showering them with their favorite food source. Clear, recent, peer-reviewed evidence supports the fact that HFCS is more dangerous than table sugar. Alternatives that I suggested were honey and agave nectar, both forms of fructose (also known as fruit sugar). Some new research from UCLA has indicated that fructose is particularly evil for cancer warriors, even though it does NOT spike blood glucose and is therefore safe for diabetics. The reason is that when the fructose eventually enters a cancer cell, it turns out that the cancer actually PREFERS the fructose for non-oxidative respiration (fermentation), leading to bad side effects like inflammation, uric acid, and healthy/happy cancer cells. While the research article was based only on the particularly nasty pancreatic cancer, it is well known that ALL cancers metabolize sugars in identical fashion.
This is a very unpleasant surprise to those of us who found agave nectar to be a "free pass" to sugar sweetness (and calories) without the risk. So even though Oprah puts agave nectar in her oatmeal (a fact that has driven demand high and promoted widespread availability), cancer is well fed by fructose. My cousin who lives in Mexico, a few miles from the area where most agave nectar is sourced, has also passed on some information that very nasty chemicals are often used in conjunction with making the "nectar," adding to the risk of using it as food. And the amount of fructose naturally occurring in fruit is not large enough to be of concern, but fruit juice (which has the equivalent of way more fruit than you could eat in a sitting) is also a path to high fructose intake. So it looks like Stevia or very limited amounts of organic table sugar, brown sugar, or pure maple syrup are the only alternatives at this point. Honey should be used only in the strictest moderation. Artificial sweeteners? Don't even think about messing with these highly processed chemicals. Safest would be nothing at all.
Please read the comments below this post for some interesting further discussions about fructose and stevia.
There are dozens of good sites chocked full of dispassionate, clinical information on the types of bladder cancer and the recommended and optional treatments for each. In addition there are a couple of sites with emotional descriptions about bladder cancer's effects on people as well as their families and friends. When I was new to the game, I found both types of sites to be both alarming and disconcerting. I literally could not read much before becoming physically nauseous or faint. What was missing was an objective presentation of what a person will experience during diagnosis and BCG treatments. While my experience will not exactly mirror another's, perhaps my thoroughness will help people get mentally braced for the good and the ugly of what's coming. I think knowing that it is bad, but not too awful, unpleasant but more ridiculous, and most of all it's temporary - these observations will serve to keep your mind from conjuring up doomsday scenarios and allow you to focus on having the right attitude to heal and battle recurrences.
Recurrence is still a high probability, and if it comes, I believe it will be minor and easily dealt with. So you CAN live with bladder cancer and not be too inconvenienced.
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