'Eat healthily, and exercise lots.' - Common sense, right? So why is it so controversial to say this in the same sentence as 'I have cancer'?
Last month I had four weeks off work. It was a compulsory break as part of my contract, so I used my free time to work with a few charities. I met with the Educational Team from the Teenage Cancer Trust, some new employees at Macmillan, and the team at the British Liver Trust. It was lovely going back to the Teenage Cancer Trust, I saw people whom I had lost touch with since my first round of treatment over ten years ago. It was so refreshing to see them under nicer circumstances, to have a coffee with them without being attached to a chemo drip, and talking over the bleeps of heart monitors or the sounds of dialysis machines. I wanted to find out a little more about how they raise awareness in schools, youth clubs, scout halls etc. They are a small department, with a huge task, but they are so dedicated. I shared my experiences of talking to schools, and explained why I think it is so important to talk about cancer to teens, to dispel any myths and fears they may have, and offer some advice if they know anyone suffering with the disease; and the team shared their techniques with me. I also told them about my journey over the last year, and how beneficial I have found chanigng my diet.
Next, I went to visit some new recruits at a Macmillan Conference, I was there to give a speech, and share my experiences of the Macmillan service. I told them how much of a support they were from the begnning of my treatment right through to today - not only to me, but to my mum too. And I told them also about the benefits of eating healthily and exercising lots aswell.
During the final week of my month off, I went to see the team at the British Liver Trust. I noticed what a small team they are, but admired their determination at promoting a seemingly inmpossible message of looking after your liver in the face Britain's ever growing culture of fast food, binge drinking and crash dieting. I spoke to them too about how changing my diet has been a huge contributing factor to my recent scan results.
But not all of the charities were supportive of my faith in the power of nutrition. I was told to be careful when telling people about how I adapted my whole life style in an attempt to combat the disease which seems intent on strangling the life from my rose, preventing it from blossoming. And this made me quite angry. I was angry because I don't claim to be an expert, I don't mislead any one into thinking I am medically trained and have done years of research on the topic of nutrition, I just tell them what happened to me, how I chose to help myself when all the medication failed. But my anger soon turned to frustration as I realised that Charities depend on the information they are provided with from hospitals and medical experts. And so if they are receiving no official recognition of the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, and they are shown no case studies or examples supporting such claims, I guess they would be sceptical. So again, I come face to face with the brick wall, and the medical profession's blindness to alternative treatments.
Others I spoke to however, told me how they knew of people who had also tried changing their diets and had success stories of their own, and I soon realised that many people have taken their health into their own hands, and taken a pro-active approach to their treatment. So why are we so afraid to talk about it?
Since I have told my story on a couple of News Channels, and to a magazine and newspaper over the last couple of months, many people have been in touch asking for details on the diet I have adapted to. They are people who either want to prevent themselves from getting the disease, have the disease, or are trying to prevent the disease from returning. People want to know about it, they want to give themselves the best chance at fighting cancer, naturally, they want to have access to all the information that might be of benefit to them. And as I sit writing back to them with my list of super foods and vitamins, I wonder if chemotherapy treatment and radiotherapy treatment was ever such a taboo subject, or just as controversial as nutritional therapy seems to be today. If we came round to the idea that toxins might help to fight disease, why are we so intent on refusing to recognise that nature might be just as effective?
Since my last set of scans I relaxed my diet a little, maybe drank a bit more than I should have, and treated myself to red meat on more than the odd occasion. So when it came to having my next set of routine scans a few weeks ago I freaked out. I freaked out and ran away - something I have never done before. I worried that I hadn't been looking after myself, and the scans would reflect this - so I didn't turn up for them.
But I can't run away forever. I re-booked the scans, and I'm due to get the results next week instead. Of course I am still worried the results may not be good. The tumours may have become live again, and with there still being no realistic chance of conventional medication having an effect on the disease, I will be left to fight this all by myself once again.
And so if I am told those awful words again, that my cancer has returned for a seventh time, and that I should go home and enjoy whatever time I have left, I'll turn to my own medication. It won't be the way the textbooks advise, it won't be the way some of the charities recognise, but I'll face it all, and I'll stand tall, and of course, I'll do it My Way!