Causes Of My Cancer

I would like to start this post by thanking everybody who has donated to my fundraising appeal.  I have been touched by the number of responses I have received and by everyone’s generosity.  I really appreciate all the help. 

The amount of money raised up until now has helped me to have 8 days of treatment in Austria at an Integrated Oncology Centre, which I believe offers the best treatment options for me.  While I was there I had several infusions of high dose vitamin C and alpha lipoic acid, and also several sessions of local hypothermia and mild whole body hypothermia.  The clinic has been treating people with these treatments for 23 years with very good results and the doctor in charge has an excellent international reputation, so it really does offer me more hope for the future.This is the video showing some of the treatment undertaken at the clinic: http://youtu.be/3DYTp--zbPI

Unfortunately, the treatment regime involves more extensive treatment in the near future and then after this it is likely that I will need to go back for a number of follow up visits.  I’ll only be able to cover the cost of all of this with the help of the fundraising, so your help really does make a difference. 

I thought I would share with you in this post, what I think were the main causes of my illness.  In future posts I’ll talk more about some of the steps I’ve taken in my battle to regain my health.

I am convinced that the cancer happened to me because of three main reasons:

1. My Diet

I was a sweet addict.  Before my diagnosis I used to eat large amounts of chocolate almost every single day (it was my comfort food!).   I drank virtually no water and instead drank around 2 litres of orange juice a day (yet more sugar!).  My food intake wasn’t the healthiest either.  I didn’t eat that much processed food but I used to cook infrequently and eat the cooked food over a number of days, so it was rarely freshly cooked and the nutritional value of the food probably wasn’t that great.  I didn’t eat very many fresh vegetables and tended to eat meals that required little time in the kitchen!

2. Stress

My stress level was and still is very high - I tend to stress out about everything.  I think this may be my biggest challenge of all. I’ve been like this as long as I can remember.  Lots of studies have shown that stress plays a massive role in the development of cancer.  I am working hard on it though and I am on the road of learning how to manage and reduce my stress level and bring healing to myself.

3. My Lifestyle

I used to smoke and only quit about 3 years before my diagnosis and for the 2 years leading up to my diagnosis I lived in the damp basement bedsit, with very little natural light.  I tended to stay indoors a lot, so didn’t get much fresh air and sunshine.  I did exercise most days on an exercise bike (mainly to burn off the chocolate!) but this tended to be extremely intense exercise, which I now know can lead to a variety of health problems.  I also worked as a dental nurse, so was regularly in contact with mercury and other toxic chemicals, which were probably also helping to overload my body’s defence systems. 

I am in a process of addressing all three of these causes, but I do need time for that.  I started as soon as I got diagnosed and immediately made radical changes to my diet and lifestyle.  I am researching and studying all the time to learn how to manage my stress and I try my best to put this into practice every day through meditation and other techniques.

I go out for walks and fresh air every time I feel strong enough and I am looking forward to start yoga straight after I recover from my treatment.

That’s it for now.  Next time I’ll share with you some of the things I've done to try to tackle my cancer.