"O Ye, O Ye..!", Fight Cancer with Blood Type Diet

Cat Chit Chat on Chow:
Troy: "Why,oh why, do you look so sad dear Li Po?"
Li Po: "Sigh......I heard Mama Mi is reviewing our diet.....we may find broccoli and other yucky
green aliens in our feeding bowls.....urghhh...."
Troy: "Don't worry princess, if she does that you can have some of my special biscuits, well,
just a bit...'kay?"
Li Po: "Bbbut...that's for your urinary and weight problems, I don't have a weight problem".
Troy:"Rrright....! Well, what are you gonna do?"
Milla:(Eavesdropping in the far corner...)"Don't worry Kak Li Po, I saw some newly hatched
chicks in that box in the garage.....how about if we.....err....err..."
Troy/Li Po: " Eughhhk.....gerrrossszzz!"

(And they chased Milla off the bench!!)
The End.





April 29 (Day 19 post-first chemo)

First thing this morning I looked around me and all over the pillows I could see strands of hair that I had shed during my sleep. I jumped to the mirror and sure enough, there wasn't too much "crowning glory" left on my head.
Because I was made aware and therefore was expecting this, I did not feel any fear or concern, but being human and a woman, it felt really strange to see this stranger staring at me with all but maybe 50 strands of very short hair left! And if I conscientously comb them through, they will also fall off by the end of the day. That will save me a trip to Jeff's, my hairdresser, and would spare him from any discomfort of having to shave my head bald.

My good friend SC came by to bring me some flowers to cheer me up. Three bunches! One bunch to see me through while the hair is dropping. One for the time when I have no hair left ( in 1 or 2 days' time) and one for the time when my hair would grow back ( but months from now!). Kakak has a catering job that her other employee wanted her help with so I made plans to go out for dinner. As I needed to get my weekly groceries and supplies from Bangsar, SMM accompanied me to BV for organic vegetables and we had dinner at the Country Farm Organic-cafe- in- a- store. They have an interesting menu there and just reading about what goes into each of the menu items made us feel healthy and full of goodness even before we started to eat! They absolutely do not use MSG and each item on their menu is packed with up to a least 80% organic ingredients.

I have been pouring over more books on Breast Cancer to increase my personal awareness on how I might want to plan my life during and after treatment. Combined with interesting tips from helpful survivors and friends that I had met at the various support centres, the knowledge opened up for me some options on what I can do to ensure that I plan my diet and lifestyle optimally to support this silent battle. That would be the least I can do and the rest will be up to the Almighty.

There is one book that won my interest. Title? "CANCER - Fight It with the Blood Type Diet" by Peter J. D'Adamo, a naturophatic physician. The contents may not just be relevant for people with pre-cancerous/cancerous conditions but should be helpful for those keen in trying their best to tailor their diets according to their blood types as a preventive measure against cancer. I am a blood type "O" and based on the individualised blood type plans that he had outlined, I am more informed on which foods(and their categories) I should try to take regularly and which to avoid.

Dr. D'Adamo has assigned labels (he calls them Food Values) to the various food categories. Foods (Meat/Poultry, Fish/Seafood,Dairy/Eggs,Oils, Nuts and Seeds,Beans and Legumes,Grains and Starches,Vegetables,Fruits and Fruit Juices, Spices/Condiments/Sweeteners,Herbal Teas,Miscellaneous Beverages ) are labelled as Super Beneficial, Beneficial,Neutral and allowed frequently, Neutral but allowed Infrequently(eg max 2 times/month), and Avoid.

I found this to be very helpful as it helps to reinforce some of the information that I was given earlier though in some cases I ended up having information that might be contradictory. I can only conclude that earlier information may have been a generalised piece of information and not Blood-Type specific. For example, I went gung-ho on Brussel sprouts as some articles I had come across swear by it as a good anti-cancer food. But Dr A'Damo's findings indicate that Blood Type O should avoid Brussel sprouts, while it is Super beneficial for Blood Type B.

It is a helpful book in the sense that for what it's worth, the knowledge allows an individual to plan and decide what to put in her mouth and that at the end of the day, the rule of moderation applies. Some Super beneficial foods for Blood Type O = Cod,Halibut,Snapper,Trout /Lean Beef, lamb,calf liver (yea-like what my friend's Mum said!)/Flaxseed,Walnut/Favabean/ Broccoli, Garlic, Maitake mushroom,Onion, Parsnip, Seaweed, Spinach/ Blueberry, Cherry, Guava, Jackfruit, Pomegranate/Dill, Fenugreek, Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric/Green Tea,Dandelion tea/Sarsaparilla. Phew....!

The lists in between are pretty surprising too, but I was focussing on the AVOID lists and came across items that I had earlier thought would be good for me for example Kiwi ( I had eaten a whole tree I think),asian pear, avocado,catfish (aah, my favourite!), barley(?),wheatgerm(???!), evening primrose oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, pistachio , sunflower seeds, all lentils(????dhall????), alfalfa ( I used to graze on that in my sandwiches), cauliflower, cucumber, leek, shiitake (there goes my mushroom on toast brekkie!),mustard greens (sawi????I have to avoid sawi????I gew up on sawi!),tangerine, honey dew, orange, coconut (not sure if juice or the coconut flesh, both my favourite and highly recommended as a penawar, and now because I am "O" I need to avoid?!), nutmeg, Brazil nuts, Cashews,Chestnuts (I happen to have a few packs of these!!).
Very, very interesting.

The Avoid list is as long as the in-between lists of what can be taken in moderation and granted a number of the avoid items are pretty obvious like cured meats(there goes daging salai masak chilli api), dairy products ( this I heave heard before), bacon ,pickled fish , vinegar (except cider vinegar).
My take is if one is still healthy and want to avoid and try to prevent cancer, it is good to know what to avoid and start avoiding the Avoid list food from now, before one is diagnosed. Once diagnosed, like Moi, then one has to be extra vigilant and must make it a point to include the Super beneficial foods and really, truly, and absolutely avoid the Avoid list foods. Insya Allah that might help with the fight, what have I to lose other than a change in diet and knowing that I am being extra nice to my body, eating for my cells rather than entertaining my lust(??) for food and eating without due care on what havoc it might create to my already vulnerable system.

The good Doctor has also proposed some protocols to enhance immunity and suggested possible supplements as adjuncts during Chemoterapy , Radiation and Surgery recovery .

I am glad I picked up this book at Times Bookstore (RM 50.50-what an odd price) recently, and will text my sister to get a copy as a guide when she plans her diet as it should depend on her blood type too. I have just realised that I don't know what her or my siblings' blood types are. I know both my Mum and Dad are "O". Or what the blood type of my close buddies are. We talk about everything under the sun, but never blood types! And I just have a horrifying thought. What if a family of 4 has all the 4 different blood types? That will be a full time job just to plan the day's breakfast, let alone a whole day's menu.

Jokes aside, it might be worthwhile to review if people close to me are eating according to their blood types. So that it is never too late to make little, positive adjustments here and there. Lately, I have pushed aside peeking into the lives of fictional characters and the pile of books that I had started reading (some reading again like Yang May Ooi's Flame Tree just because I had met her and now reading it not for the story-read it last in 1998!- but more trying to gauge her technique and brilliance in building up the story)are now piling high on my nightstand! My reading diet has certainly changed to non-fiction and hard core health-is- life type of materials over the last month or so. My advice to my friends, look at your lifestyle and READ UP and get to know about potential diseases typically drawn by your lifestyle or genes. So that you are prepared. Not advocating that you must be a pessimist but rather to have all the ammunitions up your sleeves should the unfortunate strike! Remember, God helps those who help themselves.

Now, I will need to plan what to have for breakfast tomorrow....