So I finally talked to MaeLynn about how her appointment went with the internist, and there really isn't much more to tell than what I've already told :). Her chromagranin A levels are the indicator of growth of the cancer, so if it's higher this month than it was before, that means there is more cancer than there was before.
She remains positive (and slightly drugged...haha). Apparently the phentanol patch helps so much that she keeps it on all the time. Anything to help the pain!
She has come across a couple of natural approaches to suspending the growth of the cancer. One is called an alkaline diet which changes the pH in the body. Apparently cancer can not grow in an extremely alkaline environment, so....make the body alkaline=stop the growth. Some things that are really good for her to eat are wheatgrass (and other types of grasses), dandelions (haven't tried that one, yet), cucumbers, and jicama. There are only a few things that she should totally steer clear of such as beef, pork, tuna, and artificial sweeteners. Just the four things that we LOVE! I'm not sure how long she's been trying to follow this diet, so I'm not sure exactly how it's going for her...but hopefully good!
Another thing she's been trying is brewing her own mushroom tea called Kombucha. I would try to explain it, but you'd get a lot more correct information if you check it out on Wikipedia. It's really interesting. People claim that it has natural healing properties....so why not? What does she have to lose? I guess Andy likes it, anyway.
She's getting along pretty well right now. As I type this, she is in Wyoming at an adults only retreat with Andy's family. Her sweet mother is watching those five crazy kids for her (crazy---but cute, I should say). Hopefully the weekend goes well for everyone. It's funny. Some people have mentioned how if they knew they were dying, they would treasure every moment with their children. BUT, watching MaeLynn and her kids...I've come to realize that although you DO want to treasure every moment, kids are still kids. A tired mom is still a tired mom. There are still moments of spanks and swearing (haha) and throwing-up-of-the-hands. Life is still life. It's busy, it's wonderful, it's frustrating, it's good. We still need adult retreats every once in awhile.
Oh one more thing for tonight...apparently the Zions' donation bank account is closed now. However, there is a Wells Fargo donation account and a Lewiston State Bank donation account set up for the Harris family. I'm pretty sure it's under MaeLynn's name. So if you ever have a bit extra to send their way they'd greatly appreciate it. They also want to thank everyone for all their support in whatever way it's given. This is quite the experience.
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