MyTomorrows can help you

When I asked about the possibility of participating trials, one of the doctors at AVL suggested me to contact MyTomorrows. This organization links cancer patients to doctors and pharma companies. There are so many drugs developed yearly, that doctors can impossibly be aware of all new drugs and trials for every type of cancer. Based on your medial files, MyTomorrows generates a free medical report with possible treatment options. My experience so far:

Step 1

I gave them a call to get more info about the way they work.

Step 2

I sent my medical file via their portal. They promissed me they would come back with a report within 2 weeks, which they did.

Step 3

The medical report is quite difficult to understand if you are not an oncologist. Therefore they make an appointment with you by phone to discuss the file.

Step 4

During the phonecall they informed me that for the time being they found 3 trials that might me interesting for me to participate. As soon as I complete my chemo treatment, more options will follow. I was told to forward the file to my oncologist, who can check if the 3 trials are a true option for me. Your own oncologist is the person who needs to advise you about the trials and if you want to join one also via your oncologist.

Step 5

This is the step where I am right now. I discussed all options with my oncologist who was not convinced that one of these trials is the path for me now. She wants me to finish regular (proven) treatments, before considering any trials. MyTomorrows followed up on me and as some new data of my biopsy came in, I asked them to do a new research.

So, to be continued!

#trials #MyTomorrows

Spinach Mango Salad, Avocado Tomato Salad, Flax Seed toast with Cashew Cream cheese and a Smoothie.

Spinach Mango Salad:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups baby spinach

• 1 mango, peeled and pitted and cut into bite-sized chunks

• 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or flaxseed oil

• 1/3 cup whole pecans

• Sea salt

Instructions:

1. Toss the spinach, mango pieces and pomegranate seeds together in a bowl. Add the olive or flaxseed oil and sea salt. Mix it well. Top the salad with the pecans.

Avocado Tomato Salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, cut in pieces

• 1 cup multi-colored baby tomatoes, cut into halves

• 1 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley (if you hate coriander)

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp lime juice

• Sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Toss it all together and thats it.

Flax seed toast with Cashew Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed

• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1/2 tsp salt

• a few chives, chopped

• Flax Seed crackers (Biobites)

Instructions

1. Place the cashews, lemon juice and salt into the food processor.

2. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the mixture as needed. 

3. Taste test and add additional salt and/or lemon juice if you like.

4. Add any stir-ins to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped and well blended.

5. Spread as much as desired on the flax seed crackers and store the rest in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Organic plant based diet. "Say what??"

Somewhere in the process my immune system failed to clean up damaged cells. The cause, no one can answer this (yet). The only thing I can do is pleasing my immune system with all the ingredients it desires in it's fight to reduce the growth of those tumors. After reading a lot I started an organic plant based diet, meaning only eating fruit, vegetables and legumes.

It was a bit of a mindfuck. Imagine these are your last months on earth and you're chewing on a carrot, instead of a cheese platter with a great red wine. My Italian heart crushed. But the same thought brought reflection, I don't want months, I want years and years.

The evidence showing the health benefits of a plant-based diet is piling up and made sense to me. Processed foods contain substances that do nothing good for the human body. What are the benefits of an organic plant based diet:

- you optimise your immunesystem

- your body gets as many natural vitamins, minerals antioxidants and enzymes as possible

- I read many articles mentioning that tumors love carbs and sugars. By avoiding both I hope that my tumors will grow less quickly or even better shrink ;-)

Not sure of course if it indeed will help to slow down the growth of my tumors but I'm at the stage that I want to try out everything that might help to get control over this disease. Doing nothing and wait and see is no option for me.