Cancer on the Lip
The bad news is that I had a patch of squamous cell carcinoma on my lip. The good news is that it now appears to be gone. Mind you, a lot of people and things were involved to make that happen. But, I thank God that I am healthy again. Wife, family and friends seem to feel the same way, for some reason.
Anyhow, it went like this:
If you have read all the excessive verbiage on this site, you may recall (and I surely wouldn’t fault you if you didn’t) that I had only half a jaw, no bottom teeth, and about 10 teeth on top. Eating was pretty much restricted to soft things because I couldn’t chew anything hard against my lower left gum. If I couldn’t make the food into mush in my mouth, like salad for instance, I would have to cut it real small and basically swallow the pieces whole.
At home I use a stick-blender to blend up salad stuff so it is easier to eat. By the way, I find a stick-blender works better than a standard blender for that. If you put the hard stuff at the bottom, like chopped carrots, and the juicy stuff at the top, like tomato and cuke, along with some olive oil, garlic, oregano, and apple cider vinegar, everything blends up pretty well. My sister-in-law tried it and said it tastes just like salad!
So, about 18 months ago I decided to have my remaining teeth pulled. They had been damaged by the radiation to the point it wasn’t really worth the effort, to say nothing of the expense, to try to repair them. The dentist replaced them with “surgical” upper plate, which is a relatively inexpensive, temporary plate that is used until the gums heal and settle down.
About November of last year, I had a permanent plate made and started using it. About the same time, a little cold-sore looking thing developed on the right side of my lower lip (the same side that had been radiated). I didn’t think much of it for awhile, but it didn’t go away and seemed to be slowly getting bigger. I finally asked my dentist about it, and he suggested I see a dermatologist.
In January, I believe, I saw the dermatologist, and he took a biopsy. A couple of weeks later, the report came back – clean! Nothing there. Not even a fungus. Only evidences of trauma, like I was biting my lip. Only, because of the way my jaw is made, I can’t close my mouth enough to make contact except on the left-rear side. Besides, I have no jawbone or gum on the right side.
So what was it? Nobody seemed to know.
But, it persisted and finally got to be about a 1/2 inch or so long. In April, I went to another dermatologist. She took another biopsy. This time the results came back positive – invasive squamous cell carcinoma.
One positive glimmer was that they didn’t feel it was related to the previous cancer. It was more likely the result of sunlight striking the lower lip. I suspect the radiation may have made that side more susceptible, but the oncologist how originally treated me said that it would have been basel cell carcinoma.
I have to be honest, I got a bit depressed for awhile.
However, I prayed about it and gradually came to the conclusion that if God could get me through the last go around, He could do it again, if that was best for everyone. Evidently He thought it was . . .
I was referred to various surgeons. Some were reluctant to tackle it because they didn’t know how far it had invaded into my cheek. They were concerned that the large amount of radiation on that side would have caused reduced blood flow thereby making it difficult to heal, especially if there were to be a lot of reconstruction.
I became more serious about my diet again. I mean, let’s face it, almost 5 years had passed so I probably got a little careless on occasion.
Of course, my wife hit the internet again, as did I, looking for alternative ways to treat it. One of us came across bloodroot, a very powerful treatment for cancer, or so it is claimed. In fact, some of the testimonials are pretty remarkable. Then again, aren’t they all for whatever product or method is being promoted?
We did become convinced that I should give it a try, and we finally settled on Cansema Salve (now sold as Amazon Salve) by Alpha Omega Labs. It wasn’t that expensive, and the person I talked to on the phone was as helpful as she could be without risking the wrath of the FDA (who had tapped their phone, no doubt).
I received it a week after I ordered it and, by then, I had thoroughly read other experiences with bloodroot. I knew it could be very painful. But, I have an advantage over most others using the paste – that side of my lip and mouth have no feeling. When they took out the right jawbone, the nerves inside it that service that side of the face went with it, too.
So you see, there’s always a blessing hidden somewhere!
I put the paste on, and could feel it working. In fact, if I hadn’t been numb, I knew I would have been in a lot of pain. As it was, I got a feeling of pretty intense pressure up the right side of my head all the way to the top, and I really did not feel very well at all.
So BE WARNED! If you use this stuff, be prepared not to enjoy life much for about 12 hours. The good news is that it doesn’t seem to harm healthy skin at all. It’s a good way to test a mole or other thing to see if it is cancerous. There is supposed to be no pain or effect at all if it isn’t cancer.
In the meantime, I saw a few more specialists and it was decided that radiation was not an option and it would have to be surgery. I fully expected it to be multiple operations. They would take out everything they could see the first one, see if they got it all by biopsying the edges, take more if need be, then reconstruct.
The bloodroot paste did not cause the cancer to go away, but maybe I didn’t use it long enough. My loved ones were urging me to get the cancer removed for fear it would spread. By the time of the operation, though, it looked a lot better than it had in January.
The first operation was the beginning of June. I only spent one night in the hospital before they booted me out. The amazing thing to everyone was how little of my lip had actually been removed! It didn’t look too bad (relatively speaking, of course).
Better news was that the surgeon did, indeed, get it all. Not only that, he did such a good job pulling things back together that he advised against reconstruction, at least for a year. That’s because if he were to take tissue from somewhere else in order to rebuild my lip, it would not have nerves so I would not be able to control it. He said it would droop and I would drool. “For some reason,” he said, “people think drooling babies are cute, but not drooling adults.” So, I’ll wait and maybe talk to a plastic surgeon in a year or so.
I do think that even though the bloodroot didn’t get rid of the cancer, God blessed the use of it in preventing the spread of the cancer.
My mouth is definitely smaller, to the point where I wondered if I would be able to get my upper plate in. But, after I healed up, I can now get it in with not to much of a struggle. My lower lip recedes, and I have to be even more careful when I speak.
One thing I discovered, though. I was used to eating with my plate in because I had it made so there is some contact with my gum on the left side, which enables me to masticate my food a little. However, the plate covers the roof of my mouth. While I was healing, I couldn’t use the plate and I discovered just how much better food tastes! So, if you have a meal with me, don’t be surprised if I take my teeth out to enjoy the food. Just don’t ask me to talk much!
Such are the vicissitudes of life. But, hey! I am well again and enjoying life! My thanks to God and all those who love me and prayed for me.
In the meantime, I am coming to terms with the probability that I am more susceptible to cancer than most people so I need to be a lot more careful with my diet. I continue with the Budwig diet, but I am also juicing and buying organic where possible.
My Cancer Diet
I figure I should give you an idea of my diet both when I got started, and now.
One of the few commonalities in everything we have read about fighting cancer is the importance of a vegetarian diet. When it comes to fighting disease, a vegetarian diet seems to give the body what it needs better than a diet heavy in meat.
Proteins are composed of enzymes, and in order for the body to use any protein it must first break it apart into its enzymes. Those are stored to be later combined into whatever type of protein the body needs.
Animal proteins take more energy to break apart into the enzymes, and maybe that is the simple reason a vegetarian diet is best for disease recovery. The real reason is probably a lot more complex, but we don’t need to explore that here.
Suffice to say, I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian before I got cancer, with occasional consumption of chicken if it happened to be in the dish in a restaurant. After I got cancer, until very recently, I was very strict about keeping to the vegetarian regime with a couple of exceptions allowed me by the Ayurvedic cancer doctor in India. They are paneer, the unfermented Indian cheese, and cottage cheese and yoghurt, which I use in the Budwig diet.
Protein in a Vegetarian Diet
If you are concerned about getting enough protein in a vegetarian diet, don’t be, provided you are sensible. Don’t go for a very restrictive diet except for a short period of time for a fast or cleansing.
The Mexican favorite of black beans and rice just happens to provide all the amino acids you need to make up complete proteins. The partial proteins in the rice complement the partial ones in the beans. You don’t even have to eat them in the same meal, or even the same day. Your body stores the amino acids until it has all the various ones it needs.
The best plan is to eat a good variety of UNPROCESSED vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains – organic is best.
The Budwig Diet
You can all kinds of information on the Budwig diet on the internet. Suffice to say that Joanna Budwig, a doctor in Germany (who died a few years ago), was getting remarkable results with terminal cancer patients by feeding them a special diet of flax seed oil and ground flax seeds blended with quark. Quark is a sort of cream cheese that forms when you leave whole milk standing at room temperature for about 36 hours.
Flax seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids that are vital for human health. When flax seed oil is blended with quark, the sulfur in the quark makes the fatty acids more available to the body, giving the immune system a boost.
The good thing about this diet is that it is simple and relatively cheap. You don’t have to even use quark if you can’t find it. Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese are excellent substitutes. Plain yogurt can also be used, but some people claim it is not as good.
Buy refrigerated, organic flax seed oil in an opaque or very dark container. Be sure it does not smell rancid! If it does, take it back and try another brand. This is important because rancid oil will do you more harm than good.
Buy organic flax seeds, if you can get them. Buy the quark or one percent cottage cheese.
If you don’t have one, buy a seed mill (coffee grinder) and a blender.
Important! Flax seed oil oxidizes quickly when exposed to light and air, so keep it refrigerated with the cap on. You will be grinding the flax seeds in the seed mill, and they deteriorate in about 15 minutes when exposed to air. So, get everything ready before you start.
Got all that? Good. Here’s what you do:
Add to the blender, in this order:
Enough pure water (probably about a cup) to make the mixing process go reasonably easy – about a cup or so.
A couple of tablespoons of quark or cottage cheese.
Grind 2 – 4 tablespoons of flax seeds (about 1 tablespoon for every 50 pounds of body weight) and throw that into the blender.
2 – 5 tablespoons of flax seed oil (about 1 tablespoon for every 50 pounds of body weight).
Start blending and add more water, if needed, to get it to mix.
Blend until all the oil is thoroughly mixed and you can’t see it anymore.
Dump it into a bowl, slice in some fruit, add some whole grain cereal (cooked or uncooked), and enjoy. Or, add the cereal and fruit first, then pour the mixture over it.
The Daily Food Routine
One problem that I have that you, hopefully, aren’t saddled with is that I have no lower teeth and only false teeth for uppers. (With only half a jaw, I would have to have titanium implants to hold lower teeth in, and I am not ready for that, yet.) My teeth were in pretty bad shape and it was felt that they might be killed by the radiation. So, any that were in the line of fire were pulled first and the gums given time to heal. The fear was that if they were left in, they might die and have to be pulled but, with the radiation causing so much damage to the tissues, the gums wouldn’t heal. In addition to that, my jaw is constructed in such a way that I cannot close my jaw far enough for my upper teeth to meet my lower gums, so I can’t chew food except by squeezing it between my tongue and my teeth.
The result of all that is that I have to have soft food, or the food has to be blended up. So, I present the following as a possible guideline for you to modify as you feel is best.
Breakfast
Hot oatmeal – one cup of slow oats (I like the flavor better than quick oats) simmered in 2 to 3 cups of water, depending on how runny you want it to be.
A banana and at least one other piece of fruit blended up and poured over the oatmeal.
A few slices of whole grain or sprouted grain bread.
I don’t recommend fruit juice unless you make it yourself, and even then in small quantities. Commercial juice is cooked and that destroys all the good things and leaves you with a hit of sugar, which is best avoided especially if you are fighting cancer.
If you would like something hot to drink, decaffeinated green tea would be a good choice. It is best to have it without a sugar sweetening and the only “artificial” sweetener I would suggest is stivia.
Lunch
An egg “omelet” cooked in water. When I first started the Ayurvedic medicine, I was not allowed egg yolks, but I am now.
Mix a quarter teaspoon of turmeric (it has potent anti-cancer properties, but too much isn’t helpful), chopped onions, garlic, and any other vegetable you care to throw in (I am not allowed tomato while taking the Ayurvedic medicines), and mix it together with a fork.
Put about a half inch of water in a pan or small pot, bring it to a boil and pour in the egg. DO NOT STIR! Just let it sit at a simmer until it is done. You could put a lid over it to make sure the top is cooked. When it is done, carefully pour off the water and dump it onto a plate. Some more water will drain out and you can pour it off carefully, too.
While that is cooking, blend up the flax seed oil, ground flax seeds and cottage cheese. I add a banana at the end to sweeten it up a bit.
I also have some whole grain or sprouted grain bread if I am hungry.
Supper
Because of my need for soft food and my need to avoid tomatoes, I usually make a lentil or bean soup and cook up some rice for my supper. When I make soup, I like to make a big pot so it lasts a few days. I make the rice every day as I have heard that fresh-cooked rice is best.
A typical soup is as follows:
- Wash a couple of cups of lentils (red lentils will cook very fast and give a good flavor) or beans (black-eyed peas give the soup a meaty taste) until the water runs clear.
- Throw in a large pot and fill the pot at least half full of water. Beans absorb a lot of water and swell up. Bring to a boil and simmer until cooked. Red lentils will take about half an hour, other will take longer. If a scum or foam forms on the surface of the water, spoon it off. That might save you from producing a lot of gas. DO NOT add salt at this time.
- When the beans or lentils are about done start chopping up onions, garlic, green peppers, zucchini, egg plant, a little hot pepper, if you like, potatoes, and about anything else you might like to have in it. Obviously, you don’t need to have everything. Vary it from pot to pot to change the taste. Add about half a tablespoon of salt (better to under salt, you can add more later) and throw the chopped stuff in and let it cook.
- Cook up some organic brown rice. The standard ratio is one cup rice to two cups water, but I like to use three or even four cups of water. It takes much longer to cook, but it makes the rice softer.
- When the vegetables in the soup are cooked, put a bunch in the blender, blend it smooth, and add it back to the soup. This makes it creamier. I have a “stick” blender and stick it in the pot and blend it all up.
- Put together a salad made of fresh, organic lettuce and other vegetables.
There you have it. Dinner fit for a king!
Or, if you are like me and now have no teeth, I blend in banana or other fruit to sweeten, two raw organic eggs and a scoop of whey (NOT SOY!) protein powder. That’s a fast, very filling breakfast. I also pour it over slow-cooked oats, which is easy to chew!
Squamous Cell Carcinoma on the Ear
Well, that was interesting.
Sometime before Christmas I noticed a small lump on the top of my ear lobe. It looked and felt sort of like a pimple. You know, a bit red and a bit painful to the touch. I even squeezed it.
But, it didn’t go away. I tended to forget about it unless I happened to brush it for some reason. There, I would feel a little pain, like a bug bite, or something.
I didn’t think much more about it until I noticed it hurting some when I was trying to sleep. So, I looked at it in the mirror and found it had grown to the size of a small wart. In fact, that’s what it looked like.
I mentioned it to a doctor I knew at church, he looked at it and said it didn’t look serious, but should probably have a dermatologist look at it. A few weeks later, I took Sandra in to her doctor for some reason, and asked the doc to take a quick look. She said essentially the same thing, and gave me the name of a dermatologist close by. I phoned and made an appointment for the following week. When I saw him, a very nice guy, by the way, he also said it didn’t look serious but, in light of my history, he would remove it and have it biopsied.
The nurse called a few days later to say that it proved to be positive – squamous cell carcinoma. But, she said, it would be very easy to treat with an almost 100% success rate. We made an appointment for a month later for me to come in when there would be a mobile lab there to biopsy what the doc removed to make sure he got it all.
I was there bright and early the Monday morning about 3 weeks ago. 8:30, to be exact. I left at 1:30. He had removed almost all of it the first time, but there was a small piece left, so he removed that and some surrounding tissue, and gave it to the lab guy. I had to wait for 45 minutes for him to determine the results, which came back that there were many places with cancer around the edges of what was removed (and, therefore, left in my ear). Not only that, it was invasive, or the type that spreads.
The doc removed another semicircle. Another 45 minutes, and still some cancer, but not as much. The doc told me that his record was 7 times, but he felt I wouldn’t have to have it done that many times. Another slice came back with still some left. Now the hole was getting pretty big, and he decided that he would have to do a skin graft. While we waited for the results for this, the fourth next slice, he removed some flesh and skin from my neck behind the ear to use as a graft.
The nurse and he regaled me with an account of a time they had a problem with one guy’s graft. They said that on some people it is almost impossible to find a place from which to take a graft. This particular time, there was only one place to remove it, which they did. Now, a graft like mine looks pretty insignificant, just a piece of meat with some skin on it. Unfortunately, in that case, they had a medical student who also thought it wasn’t needed any more, and threw it out! Needless to say, he was escorted from the place never to return.
The last slice came back clear, so the doc proceeded to attach the graft. This whole time, the ear had been pumped full of anesthesia, so there was no pain. He stitched it in, and I had stitches in my neck, too. It got pretty sore that night, and it was painful to sleep on that ear for a couple of weeks.
A couple of days after the operation, I had to change the bandage. I was shocked! The graft didn’t fill the hole by a long shot. It didn’t reach up to the edge of the ear, so there were raw-looking edges. I figured that when it healed, I would have a big notch in my ear. I was thinking of ways I could explain it. Maybe I could tell people that I notched my ear every time I sunk the 8 ball on the break, or something . . ..
A week later, I went in and had the stitches removed. Since then, both wounds healed pretty fast. The pain in my neck and ear became rapidly less sore.
By now both wounds have healed and, wonder of wonders, the graft and the rest of my ear have grown together so that you can hardly see that there was any problem at all.
Another answer to prayer!
Hopefully, that will be the last incident of that sort. I will ensure to protect my ears from the sun better in future.
