So after my second "clear" scan (I say "clear" because we all know metastatic cancer doesn't really ever go away) just before Memorial Day, I went away for the holiday weekend and have been crazy getting the house ready for rent. We've rented the house to a nice couple who will be moving in at the end of July, so we now need to find a place of our own. We've got some prospects. We'll be moving closer to where Katherine is in day care now so that when she enters kindergarten in the Fall, she'll have somewhere familiar to go for after school care. Some may question this move, but it also allows Sean to be closer to his home office (although now he's in Philly a few days a week, so the best laid plans and all). Plus, no 4 year old girl should have to have every aspect of her life constantly shuffled around. I'll be looking for a job soon, she's starting kindergarten, I didn't want her to start two new schools at once. And we're looking for a house with a finished basement, so she'll have her own place for her toys to play, not scattered all over the house like they are now.
So as I said, I'll probably have to start looking for a job soon. Seriously looking. Disability has been checking up on me regularly, and after two "clear" scans, I highly doubt they'll let me stay on any longer. If I still had my job, I would've gone back to that in March. But looking for a new job means I'll be put on unemployment, which is another paycut. In addition, I will lose my existing disability benefits once I find a new job. Since most companies have a waiting period for when benefits kick in, and I'd have to be on short term disability and FMLA first (which requires you to have worked with the company for a year), well, you can do the math. Needless to say I'm just a smidge nervous. I have all the high hopes in the world that I'll keep this lucky streak going, but I also have to be realistic, so I have to pick my new job wisely. I'd prefer to be able to work from home so I can see Katherine off in the mornings and get her off the bus in the afternoons. Plus, it still boggles my mind that anyone with stage 4 cancer can be kicked off of disability, regardless of current state.
I've started to change my diet to be higher in plant-based foods, taking advantage of nature's pharmacy. I've been making fresh juices in the mornings and the occasional smoothie. I've been preparing more veggie-based meals and cutting back on meat to 2-3 times a week. Not 2-3 days a week. 2-3 times. You may not think you eat a lot of meat, but most carnivores eat meat twice a day. That's 14 times a week. It may be hidden in sauces or casseroles or the lunchmeat in your sandwich, but it's there. Meat has been proven to increase inflammation in your body, and that's what I'm trying to avoid. It's the reason I've cut out most dairy as well. Now, I'm not an animal rights person. I mean, I'm all for animal rights, but that's not why I'm doing this. My dietary change is purely health based. So I'll have meat now and then and I'll have dairy now and then. But I'm trying to limit it as much as possible. I've just started my culinary adventure, so I decided I'm going to take you all along for the ride. I'm going to try to post every week or two with how things are going and maybe share a new recipe or exercise I've done. I'll keep you all up to date on how I feel and what's going on as much as possible. If you're interested, great! Maybe you can share some recipes or tips you have. I'd love to hear them!
While I'm eating more plant-based foods, I have not cut out eggs or fish at all. I eat an egg about 3 times a week and fish - well I think I really need to up my intake on that. Lately my breakfast has been a fried egg on toast smothered with avocado. I didn't know if I'd like it when I tried it, but I love the creaminess of the avocado combined with the gooey egg yolk. And since I eat gluten free, toast tends to get really dry and the avocado saves it. This morning I skipped the egg and just had avocado on toast. Yum. Avocado is a super food. Nature's little vacuum cleaner, they attract carcinogens and flush them out of the body. They are also loaded with good monounsaturated fats and Vitamin E. I've heard if you eat a burger with avocado, the avocado will attract some of the bad fats in the burger and flush them through, causing less of it to get into your system.
As for the exercise, you may have heard I'm participating in the Livestrong Challenge in August. Right now I'm doing the Couch to 5K plan to get myself ready for that. Yesterday I ran along the Perkiomen Trail and really enjoyed it. I'm still mostly walking, but I'm slowly moving toward mostly running. I have no treadmill, so the heat last week kept me inside. With the lymphedema, I have to take exercise slow so as not to increase swelling rather than reduce it. On Friday I'm starting yoga at a local studio with a gift card Sean got me for Christmas.
So while I don't know that I'll ever completely be a vegan-granola-crunchy-type person, I am determined to do everything in my power to allow my body to get and remain healthy. I certainly hope we can share experiences along the way!
xo,
Lisa
Livestrong helps people navigate through life with cancer every day. Donate to (or join!) my Livestrong Challenge team, the Rainbow Warriors, here!
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