My last post was in December 2021 and there hasn’t been a single post here since then. I had been posting on random events from my life during my journey with Multiple Myeloma. For some reason I began to feel that my journey till now should be available in one place and not spread out in multiple posts in this blog. That I should writing a book.
It has been 11 years since i was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.I had this strong wish that I should share my experiences and learnings with others in the form of a book.
Since my childhood , I would admire authors and was always fascinated about writing a book.
However, I had no clue as to how I should go ahead. I did read up on Publishing houses and the lengthy process involved in getting a book published.
This wish was stuck in my head for a few years and then one fine day I bumped into ‘Beeja Publishing House’
Thanks to Beeja and their Team, I have successfully completed writing my book and it is ready to be published.
Last night , my Bronchitis worsened and my throat was beginning to burn as I was coughing a lot.
Yesterday, my Ayurveda Doctor, advised me not to start nebulisation.
It was late night and I was unable to tolerate the breathlessness and burning throat.
So, I decided to take nebulisation and felt better this morning.
My condition this morning :
This morning at 8am I updated my Ayurveda Doctor on my condition. He advised me to start an antibiotic or take one Herbal tablet. However, I have not yet started these as I wanted to wait till evening.
My coughing episodes have reduced and soreness in the throat too has reduced. I was continuing to cough up some watery phlegm all morning.
I was in no mood to eat ,so I had papaya for breakfast.
I was feeling mild breathlessness throughout the morning but was able to manage. I continued to take the herbal cough syrup and Mishran powder every 6 hours.
My condition in the afternoon :
I had idli and sambar for lunch. Ordered from a restaurant. Felt nice to eat idli with hit sambar.
By afternoon, my breathing was getting tougher though coughing was much lesser. I decided to take nebulisation in the late afternoon. Felt very comfortable after the nebulisation.
For dinner I had Rice with Rasam. My taste buds have lost their sense of taste and Rasam is one dish that tastes good when one is sick. Rasam is sour,salty ,tangy and peppery. It is like a soup made with all healthy ingredients like pepper, cumin seeds, garlic, coriander seeds, turmeric powder tomatoes, tamarind/lemon juice ,curry leaves and coriander leaves. All these ingredients boost the immunity too. Most South Indians prefer this comforting food , rice with rasam, when they are sick.
It is 8pm now and I feel much better. Breathing is normal and cough has reduced too.
As of now ,I don’t see any reason to go for the COVID test.
It is one year since I got a Bone Marrow test done.
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I was diagnosed with MM in Oct 2011 and underwent Stem Cell Transplant in Jan 2012. Since then I have been doing the Bone Marrow Test every six months. In June last year ie June 2017 , my Oncologist told me to come back for the test after a year !!. Once a patient crosses five years after a Stem Cell Transplant , the Bone Marrow Test is done once a year. That was the second best thing that happened to me. The best thing to have happened was in Feb 2016 when my Oncologist said I could stop taking Chemo Medications 🙂 .
I have been taking Ayurvedic medications since more than three years and the results are good.
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The Bone marrow sample was taken last week. Reports usually take around 5-6 days . I had been a little nervous while I was waiting for the Reports , though I was confident that all will be fine.
While I was in touch with the Hospital to check if the BMA Reports were ready , I was surprised to see a whatsapp message from my Oncologist after 5 days.
He sent me the Report via whatsapp !! There was no comment from him.
I opened the pdf document and quickly scanned for the words ” M Band ” or ” M Spike”, while my heart was racing. I did find the words ” M Band not seen ” .
Yayyy !!
There was a BIG smile on my face and I immediately called Dr Suresh.
He said ‘Everything is OK’ .
I said ‘Thank You Doctor , when can I meet you’.
He said ” what for ?”
I said ‘I would like to meet you’ 🙂
I then shared the Report via whatsapp with Dr Nitin , Ayurveda . He immediately called me.
He was very happy with what the Reports said.
Met Dr Suresh this morning .
He said ‘we don’t need to do the Bone Marrow Test from now on’.
That is the greatest thing anyone like me would love to hear 🙂
I blurted ‘What Doctor, how can we stop?!!’
He said ‘just do the Electrophoresis test once every six months. As long as there is no M Band , there is no need to do a Bone Marrow Test’
I was happy with that advise.
Wow , no more piercing of my Sternum. 🙂
He then asked me if I had any other problems.
I asked him if Neuropathy is permanent and was happy to hear that it is reversible and no where it is written that it is permanent.
Sounds good but there has not been any improvement in my condition in all these years.
To alleviate my Neuropathy he recommended Pregabalin instead of Renerve which was advised by a Physician. Renerve does help but my B12 levels are exceeding the limits which not good either. Will try the Pregabalin tablets.
He then told me there are four new drugs for managing MM , with lesser side effects , one of them being Neuropathy. He also said that Bortizomib , the drug that I used , causes Neuropathy. This is good news .
Its more than three years since I started taking Ayurvedic Medication from Dr Nitin and almost two and half years since I stopped taking Chemo medications. Dr Nitin now wants to reduce my curcumin dosage . However I don’t wish to hurry and plan to reduce gradually.
I also sent my report to Dr Gayatri, who was diagnosed with MM way back in 2002 . She has been a guiding and inspirational force for me since last three years. She had introduced Dr Nitin , Ayurveda to me. She hasn’t been taking Allopathy nor Ayurvedic medications since last several years and is doing well.
When I asked her how she Manages , she tells me that regular Pranayama , Yoga and Meditation do help in healing.
Felt so good talking to the Brave lady who oozes a lot of Energy. She is a God send.
Dr Nitin too had reiterated that Exercise, Pranayama, Yoga and Meditation can correct DNA problems. He insisted that I should be consistent with these practices.
Right now my highest priority is Pranayama, Yoga and Meditation along with Ayurvedic medication , proper diet and regular fasting.
The last six years have been the longest years in my life. Extremely grateful for being given a second chance to tread our lovely blue planet .
Been living each day with gratitude and lots of hope. Doing my best to share my experience with Alternative treatment via this blog. Have been able to manage my condition (Multiple Myeloma) successfully. It’s been 2 years since I stopped Chemo. So far so good. Was able to help and guide other patients with MM who came across my blog and got in touch with me . Gives me immense happiness.
Learnt a lot about the importance of diet , fasting etc for preventing and treating Cancer. Most importantly , I have experienced the Miraculous healing properties of Curcumin , for managing my condition. Curcumin has powerful healing properties which can treat several diseases.
Nothing else in this world is more important than being alive. Everything else is a bonus 🙂 . Yes, it does sound like I am selfish 🙂 . Take utmost care of your health and love yourself a lot. Be healthy so you don’t have to trouble your near and dear ones if you fall sick.
I am so thankful to my Doctors , family , friends , colleagues and other well wishers who have been supporting me throughout.
I glanced through the information and guessed/concluded that it is a comprehensive test to check the levels of all the various Minerals and Vitamins in the body.
This test is offered only at Thyrocare diagnostic centers in India.
At the lab , three fasting blood samples were collected and it took 2 days for the reports to be ready. I was surprised to see the bunch of printouts . The Report had 24 pages in all 🙂
Started turning the pages one by one to find status of parameters like Magnesium, copper, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin K , Vitamin A , lipid profile, Glucose , B Vitamins , Vitamin D etc etc .
Almost all the parameters were in the Normal range except for B12 and Total Cholesterol which were just a wee bit more than the normal range. ESR was high as usual.
Sent the scanned copies of the reports by mail to Dr Nithin . He said that almost all the parameters are normal.
He also said there is no trace of any cancer. Yayyy !!!
But what are the parameters in this test that help in detecting Cancer ??!
When I checked the above link once again , I also learnt that the test reveals the levels of Amino acids in the body. There are around 20 Amino acids in all . The levels of Amino acids indicates the Metabolism in the body. It is the Mitochondria inside the cells which produce several of these Amino acids . The Protein in our diet is broken down into Amino acids in the gut . Mitochondria is one of the important Organelles inside the Cell and it is the Powerhouse of the cell. Only healthy Mitochondria can produce sufficient Amino acids to maintain a Healthy body. Amino acids are required for each and every function in the body.
Unhealthy Mitochondria are unable to produce sufficient quantities of Amino acids and also release lots of metabolic waste which is the initial stage of Cancer.
Is there a way to improve the function of Mitochondria ?
Yes, by Exercise, Intermittent Fasting , exposure to the Sun , reducing consumption of Sugar etc.
Here is what Dr Nithin has to say about the ‘Metabolic Profile test’ , in his own words –
“Metabolomics is the latest in understanding the process of Cancer.
Metabolic profile is for detecting the defect in Metabolism by Mitochondria, a powerhouse of the cell , which becomes dysfunctional and causes fermentation on glucose instead of oxidation, causes release of lots of metabolic waste , which is the most initial step in cancer.
If these levels are normal , it indicates good functioning of Mitochondria. Which can be further inferred that Cancer process is being stopped or arrested. “
That was a revelation !!
As per my report , all the Amino acids are within the normal range.
My B12 level is a wee bit on the higher side. I was taking one capsule of Methylcobalamin (a form of B12) every day. Was advised to stop for 6 months.
I will be continuing to take Curcumin, Ashwagandha etc.
Celebrated the good news by going to a restaurant and ordered Molten Chocolate cake 🙂 . I usually avoid eating cakes as the main ingredient is all purpose flour (Maida) .
Went for a few routine tests namely CBP , LFT and RFT on 23rd Jan 2018 and noticed that my Globulin Serum had further increased from 3.8 (Nov 2017) to 4.0 . I was a little worried and expressed the same to Dr Nithin , my Ayurvedic Doctor who then changed my medication from Turmeric to Curcumin. I was advised to use Turmeric instead of Curcumin , for a few months during the later part of 2017.
I guess it was too early for me to make the change from Curcumin to Turmeric . Curcumin is an extract from Turmeric and hence more powerful. It is the Curcuminiods in Turmeric which are effective in the activation of Apoptosis (cell death) in the cells.
It is now one month since I changed back to Curcumin. Meanwhile I was down with Sore throat and took Antibiotics during first week of Feb 2018. I discussed with Dr Nithin and he decided to increase the dosage of Curcumin (500mg) from 3 caps / 3 times a day to 4 caps / 3 times a day . Ashwagandha (500mg) was also increased from 2 caps / 2 times a day to 2 caps / 3 times a day.
Its been a month since my last tests and hence went for the routine tests yesterday. The reports were very good. All parameters were normal .
Hb is 11.2
Creatinine is .9
ESR is 34 , not yet in the normal range (0 – 20) . Not too bad , it was 65 last month.
Globulin serum is back to the normal range (1.8 – 3.6) . Reduced from 4 to 3.6 .
This is great news 🙂 . This was something that was worrying me. Feeling very happy now 🙂
Dr Nithin also told me to do a test named Metabolic profile c . Awaiting the results of this test.
I am in love with Turmeric, the Golden spice. A lot of research has been done on the health benefits of Turmeric and a lot of people the world over are experiencing positive results.
My being alive on this planet is primarily due to Turmeric.
Turmeric is widely being used to treat several illnesses from minor to major chronic illnesses of the body and the mind. There is a lot of information on the Internet.
Everyone is aware that prevention is better than cure but how many actually take the effort to be healthy. We don’t even know what to do to prevent illnesses. With the kind of diet and pollution levels ,most people should be worried about ending up with some kind of illness, but are clueless as to how to prevent.
By consuming Turmeric we can greatly reduce and even delay the probability of occurrence of illnesses.
Almost all Indians consume Turmeric via their food . Turmeric powder is one of the key ingredients in most Indian recipes. However , the quantity and quality of the Turmeric powder that is used should be increased so as to get the maximum benefit.
Turmeric can be used in the form of a powder or as raw turmeric. It is preferable to use Raw Turmeric .
The store bought powders may be adulterated. It is best to prepare the powder at home using dried Turmeric root. First crush the root into smaller pieces and then grind it in your mixer grinder.
It is best if you can get hold of raw Turmeric root. You can also grow it in your garden.
It’s been 4 months since my Oncologist told me that I was ‘Technically Cured’of MM. ( I underwent Stem Cell Transplant also known as Bone Marrow Transplant in Jan 2012)
He had told me to meet him again after one year. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I had a question mark on my face and said ‘One year , Doctor ?’ and he repeated what he said.
Isn’t that the best thing to hear 🙂 .
I had got used to getting CBP, LFT and RFT tests done every month and sometimes once in three months in the last few years, along with a Bone Marrow test every 6 months.
And so, in the back of my head there was this question , what if something goes wrong during this one year. One year is a looong time . I expected he would tell me to get a few tests done regularly like CBP, LFT, RFT and to meet him only if any of the parameters were out of range. But he didn’t say any of that.
In my head I was telling myself that I will get these tests done anyway, even if my Oncologist didn’t tell me to.
So here I am , I just got these tests done after 4 months and the results are out.
Here are the current values of some of the important parameters :
Hb : 11.2 (11 – 16)
Creatinine : 1.0 (0.6 – 1.0)
Globulin Serum : 3.8 (1.8 – 3.6)
ESR : 60 (0-20)
I don’t intend to meet my Oncologist with the reports as I didn’t find too much abnormality in the reports nor any change in my general health condition.
I sent my reports via whatsapp to my Ayurvedic doctor. He felt the numbers were normal . I expressed my concern about ESR being high and was told that it will not reduce so soon. There were times when the ESR value was much lesser , around 30 sometimes. High ESR implies greater inflammation in the body. Will work on that.
He wanted to reduce my curcumin intake from 3 caps / 3 times a day to 2 caps / 3 times a day ( Each capsule contains 400 mg of curcumin) . This is actually good news. My doctor has more confidence on me than I have in myself . But , I was not ready and in no hurry to reduce the dosage , so told him I would like to continue 3 caps/ 3 times a day for few more months. So glad he agreed 🙂 . I still feel like depending on Curcumin for some more time.
Some day I should be off Curcumin too and I am looking forward to the day when I will be 100% independent of any kind of support . The day when my mind and my body will be in sync :))
That’s all for now.
Will get the tests done again after another 4 months.
Life will go on while Fasting , Pranayama, Meditation , Diet , Exercise will continue to be a priority.
I had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma ( a form of Blood Cancer) Five and half years ago.
I have come across many articles on how to ‘Manage’ the condition.
Here is nice compilation that I received from a WhatsApp group .
I do believe and have been practicing most of what is recommended in this compilation and hence wanted to share.
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AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY (‘TRY’, BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .. Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body.. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.
3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc., and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size.However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. *CANCER CELLS FEED ON: a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color . Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus.. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d.. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system.
(IP6, Flor-essence , Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Be a forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
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Please share the above with those who can benefit.
My Ayurvedic doctor has now included another herb , Moringa Oleifera , popularly known as Drumstick.I will be using Moringa along with other natural herbs to help me combat Multiple Myeloma.
Drumstick is one of the regular veggies used in South Indian cooking. Frequently used in Sambhar and avial 🙂 . Also made into pickle.Tastes yummy once cooked but has a repulsive odour when raw. The leaves too are used in several recipes.
But not many know the powerful medicinal values of this tree. All parts of the tree including leaves, flowers, fruits, bark, roots, gum have medicinal properties.
There have been several studies to show the effectiveness of Moringa in killing cancer cells.
