Making things more accessible

The value of preparation

Not written much recently - now treatment is done I’m getting back out there and socialising again, lining up some events for the remainder of the year and also deep in planning for a couple of trips near at hand! First up is the one I promised myself and the kids when I was first diagnosed a year ago: “I’ll beat this, then we’ll celebrate my 50th in the mountains”! Janna has done an amazing job of helping make this reality.

That falls next week, and we’re making final arrangements to head to Austria, with a forecast has plenty of fresh powder and sunshine. Having a clear goal in mind has driven me several times over the last year, don’t ever underestimate the power of a vision!

I’ve continued my nutrition campaign to adjust many of my regular recipes to things that have more beneficial anti-cancer elements to them. As the simpler end of things, this can be as simple as eating more mushrooms and drinking more green tea. From what I’ve been reading, most mushrooms have some level of anti cancer properties but they do vary so read up. From what I’ve found so far, of the varieties most widely available in UK stores, Shiitake and White Button have the most beneficial compounds so there are always some of each in the fridge now, trying to mix a little of each in most things.

I want to make some of the most beneficial food sources even more available though. Berries, nuts and seeds are at the heart of much of the reading I’ve come across, along with a few other mushroom & vegetable varieties. With this in mind, I’ve come up with the following that sit on my kitchen counter:

The first is a mix of powders (turkey tail mushroom, beetroot, powdered greens). Nutrition experts widely agree that nutrients from fresh produce always beats supplements but a top up can only help matters! A scoop of these in some liquidized blueberries happens daily now. The second tub is mostly seeds: a mix of ground flax seeds, black and white sesame seeds, ground walnuts. It’s now really convenient to throw some in any ragu or stew I’m cooking up, into any baking mix or even sprinkle on salads. The final tub is a trail mix - dried cranberries, dark choc chips and a mix of nuts (Walnuts, Pecans, Brazil, Pistachios). I definitely like to graze during the day and having this on hand means I’m essentially grabbing a little handful of medicine each day! Even more helpful, literally each one of these has a positive impact on cholesterol levels. Mine is just fine apparently, but as a Western man fast approaching 50, these added steps certainly can’t hurt!

These are all based on what I’ve been reading recently but there’s new research emerging constantly so no doubt the mixes will change in future. For anyone considering similar, also worth noting that some things have stronger evidence for one kind of cancer over another so it’s worth reading up on your specific concerns. As always, I start with Perplexity for my reading then follow up from there. For Flaxseed for example, this piece justified it’s inclusion in my mix.

Finally, a reminder of my credentials on this topic: I have none, other than being a patient with a deep interest in the topic. My aim here is to recognise that some foods have qualities being recognised by researchers as being anti-cancer, such as offered by the American Institute for Cancer Research here. It’s tiring to constantly research this all by ourselves, so my aim is to document some of what I learn from various sources then highlight ways in which I incorporate some of these things into my diet and make them more widely known and hopefully thus accessible. Some cancers are genetic, if I understand correctly. Optimising your diet is unlikely to stop that ever happening, but in the event that it does it could be less severe and therefore require a less brutal level of treatment. All experts agree that while Radio and Chemo can have some impact in killing cancer cells, the less treatment we actually need, the better. With a disease that is so far beyond our control in many respects, it’s also feels good and is mentally beneficial to take just a little agency back.

I hope this has been useful to someone. Feel free to comment and share if anyone has other ideas to contribute, there’s always more to learn.