6/7: Cancer weight loss and appetite
Originally written: Dr. Rick Brown, Dec 09, 2016
Skin and Bones
If you see me out and about, don't be shocked.
I'm skinny. Really skinny! My butt sags under layers of skin. So does the skin under my arms and under my chin. I'm seeing my father's body, frail in his later years, emerge through my tissue. It is a bit amusing and yet disconcerting on many levels. He died of lung cancer.
I can count my ribs and know that the chest tube was inserted between the ninth and 10th. I can feel the still swollen surgical scars and the lingering warmth of the healing process. I haven't taken oxycodone in over 48 hours and only one dose of NSAID's.
My appetite is returning with a vengeance but I'm not sure what to eat. I have been nearly fasting for the last couple of months with the goal of starving the cancer. I have been surviving on fresh vegetable juice, protein shakes, nuts, apples, carrots, and steamed vegetables. I have lost 30+ pounds.That's where most of the weight loss has come from. It feels good to be as light as I am, but my body is telling me that I now require more calories and energy to heal.
But my body is telling me that it's time to eat. The way I have been eating has brought me little joy. It served a purpose, but has become a functional and mechanical means to an end. It no longer matches the need. It was necessary , necessary to set a tone , a mindset, a discipline, and a new chemical baseline. But that work, it seems ,has been nearly completed and a shift is taking place. My body is telling me to eat joyfully and to turn that joy into flesh . But what choice of nourishment do I want to use to rebuild? Right now I'm leaning toward macrobiotic, but there are a few options I need to check out.
That inner Life force is also telling me to begin to move and stretch against the pain. The deep fragile pain of the surgery is moving from my core into the periphery. I can cough without dread and lay for short periods of time on both sides. The pain is now in the left superficial chest wall and shoulder. The cutting of muscles and nerves from the surgery has caused my left shoulder blade to wing, and that's where most of my pain comes from, fighting gravity .
I am, in a profound way, "experiencing "the healing process from the inside out, and what an awe inspiring experience it is. Spirit , consciousness, and the physical, mixing and colluding toward wholeness . And each day is different. The changes are visible, and palpable, and life affirming. It makes me appreciate that It/All goes so much deeper than just skin and bones.
My support system is fantastic. Friends and family have taken wonderful care of me , and all of the well wishes, cards, and jokes constantly lift my spirit. Now that my daughter Jessica is home, I'm getting daily bodywork and acupuncture. I am such a lucky man to be so loved.
The planning session for radiation went well and I am scheduled to start a "short course" of radiation to my pelvis (which consists of five consecutive days) on December 20. Onto the next phase!
“Current research suggests that fasting induces a metabolic shift, which may inhibit cancer cell proliferation by depriving them of essential nutrients. Additionally, fasting has been shown to enhance the body's stress resistance, promote autophagy, and possibly make cancer cells more vulnerable to standard treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”
