Eating for Cancer

I woke up this morning craving pizza. The thing is, I have cancer. In order to beat it, I have to control what I eat.

Once upon a time, I’d have ordered my favorite type and Mom and I would have enjoyed it. But that is a serious cheat on my cancer diet.

Things I avoid these days — processed foods, GMO foods, vegetable oils, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, grains laden with pesticides, factory farm produced meats and fish… all the stuff most Americans consume more of than they should.

Many years ago, I tried being a vegan because I hated how they treat animals in American agriculture. However, when I got cancer, I did more research, and small to moderate amounts of animal protein are very healthy IF they are the right type.

So I might have 3 ouces of grass fed, grass finished steak or 4 ounces of pastured chicken or 6 ounces of wild-caught fish with several servings of organic veggies.

I have a hierarchy for my produce.

Something I grew in my own garden is at the top. Something a friend grew in her garden is just under that. Organic produce from farmers’ markets is next. Organic produce from a supermarket is still fine. Non-organic produce is to be avoided.

As far as cooking oil — organic olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil are fine. I avoid all vegetable oils. I supplement with fish oil.

I try to eat clean and most of my meals are cooked by either myself or my mother. A few times I’ve had friends drop off healthy meals.

Does that mean I never cheat? No, but I try to keep it minimal. I know how fragile my health is and I want to beat the cancer, not feed it.

So today when I craved pizza, I asked myself — how much do I want it? Is it worth the potential damage to my health?

Then like a miracle, a good friend dropped off eggplants from her garden along with a cucumber and fresh basil. All of it fresh picked, and organic.

I made ratatouille with the eggplants and basil along with several cloves of organic garlic and a jar of organic pasta sauce. I served over rice and topped with raw pastured cheese.

It was totally delicious, very healthy and fresh, and satistied my cravings.

I also worked on a puzzle with my mother while the ratatouille simmered.

In addition to my physical health, I have to think of my brain health and my emotional health.

Spending time with someone brings me joy. Working on puzzles is good for my elderly Mom and also for me, though I work on quartiles and Wordle on my cell phone to stretch my mind. The puzzle shown in the photo above was one designed for elderly people.

When I was a child, she bought these types of simple puzzles for me. Now I get them for her, and it gives us both joy to play together.

I also exercise every day. Studies have shown that people with cancer who exercise have a 58% greater chance of recovery. That makes it as effective as chemo.

I also try to stay hydrated and get enough sleep, as well as spending time every day praying for myself and others.

This last — praying for others — is very important.

It’s easy to focus on myself when I am fighting cancer. When I spend time every day praying for others, however, it opens my soul in unique ways. Praying for friends means I need to maintain social contacts, so I can know what their needs are.

However, I always offer up a prayer at the end of my session to an unknown person. I ask God to bless someone who has no one else to pray for them — whether it’s an abused or lonely child, a refugee, someone dying in prison, or someone facing financial or health issues.

I ask God to bless this person, to provide them with strength and comfort, healing and help, whatever their situation. And then I leave it in His hands.

While cancer can get me down, I’ve found that doing these things lifts me up. And that helps me stay positive. Which, I believe, is the key to believing you will be healed which helps you to become healthy.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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