Chemo - Part 5 - Day 4

Today was a bit rougher than the past three. The nausea that is so often associated with chemo finally had a bit of an effect. It wasn't terrible, but feeling even the slightest bit nauseated isn't pleasant for anyone, and it's hard to watch someone you love feel bad, especially when there's nothing you can do to make it go away. Gingerale and Saltine crackers seem to work well for my family members for nausea though.

While we were at the doctor today, one of our family friends stopped by. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 9 years ago and was told he wouldn't last for more than a few months. 9 years later, almost 70 years old, he's still proving them wrong. During all this time he has never gone into remission, in other words he has been undergoing chemo treatments for the past 9 years! He and his wife live on a farm, so he does a lot of work outdoors. He was telling us today that he's in the middle of building a new fence for his berry garden. They also raise horses, pigs, etc. I find his story of fighting cancer incredibly impressive.

The reason why I mention this is that the oncologist believes that the hairy cell leukemia (HCL) didn't have as much of an effect over the years because my family has been so active and healthy. Our family friend was the same way. Doctors didn't think that he would live for more than a few months, but he was in such good physical condition from years of physical activity in the form of manual labor on his farm, that he was able to outlive their diagnosis. How I interpret this is that YOU NEED TO WORKOUT. It is vital that you stay physically active and healthy. Your body will thank you for it.

Now for a subject change... the last time that I visited my parents, my mom had a bunch of bananas that she threw out because they had gotten too soft. I told her to freeze them next time so that I could use them for desserts. When I got back last weekend, I found 11 bananas in the freezer. So, what's a Paleo girl to do but make Paleo ice cream?

Paleo Ice Cream

2 frozen bananas, peeled
1 Tbls cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla

Peel the bananas and cut into smaller chunks. Place the frozen banana chunks into a food processor and run until smooth. Mix in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Voila! You have the easy Paleo version of ice cream. (Alternatively, if you had a ice cream maker you could make ice cream using coconut milk, however, I am lacking in that department.)