I’ve written three updates and all three have failed to post… which tells me it’s not time to post much.

What I can say is that my treatment of choice is likely going to involve minimal surgery with follow-up treatment being a diet of fresh fruits and veggies (raw, cooked, and juiced) and more exercise. I’ve been on the fruit and veggie diet for about 10 days and have lost 7 pounds — without being hungry. (The advantage to weight loss is that fat contributes to making estrogen which is assumed to play a major role in creating many breast cancers.) Mike has also introduced me to a new aerobic sport which we play in our driveway. It’s called Pickleball, and if you haven’t tried it,you might find you love it (just Google it).

I’m not turning my back on western medicine entirely, of course, but I AM listening to my body which, it turns out, has strong opinions: no mastectomies, no chemotherapy, no drugs with toxic side effects. I figure I owe it to myself (and my body) to listen to what it’s telling me, while still getting a second opinion and all other due diligence.

Hubby is still experimenting with his juice mixes, making greener and greener juices gradually to let my taste buds build up to enjoying more nutrient dense cruciferous veggie juice (cruciferous being heavy hitters when it comes to breast cancer). I’ve sipped each glass as if I were commenting on different wines: “too grassy”, “heavy overtone of kale”, “gag” and, most recently “delicious”. His ego still refuses to follow some wonderful recipes I’ve gotten elsewhere, but first he needs to know I appreciate his prowess with the juicer. And he’s covering the bases even if the taste could be more equisite. We’ll get there.

In the meanwhile, I’ve found a satisfying replacement for my morning coffee (which is now on the “no-can-do” list): hot water with lemon and lime juice, sprinkled with cinnamon and a bit of cayenne. It might be an aquired taste, but I wish you could have been in my body when it got its first taste… perfection!

So things are going well. There’s more to learn, but so far everything feels just fine. And there’s lots of love in every corner of my life. How great is that?