Come Learn Green Juicing With Me!

Green Juicing has been such a powerful force in my breast cancer healing journey. I love what it has done for me on every level imaginable. Because of my passion for Green Juicing, I actually wrote a book and have also started offering a very easy to follow juicing program called:

THE JUICING EXPERIENCE

It is truly awesome and is a deal at $67...you get 6 videos, my Juice Yourself Healthy book and some beautiful bonuses, including my exclusive interview with Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach, about my healing journey with raw/living foods, a great ebook by coach, Laurie Erdman, AND a self-care guide that will rock your world with hot tips from 12 experts!

As a three time breast cancer survivor, I have been through the trenches baby, and as a result, I have a lot of great information to share with you, no matter where you are on your wellness path!

Start a Green Juicing program wherever you are right now?

You bet luv.

Cancer Anniversary or "Cancerversary"

I recently passed/celebrated my first cancer diagnosis date of March 15, 2007. Rather a strange date since I have had two diagnosis since! And to have a surgery on March 17, 2011, was another strange way to celebrate - although, it is wonderful to say NO RESIDUAL CANCER CELLS FOUND! Yippee!

Thanks to my friend, Jack Campbell, for remembering and wishing me Happy Cancer Anniversary.

Benefiting from Holistic Treatments

Aside from breast cancer, there are also patients suffering from another disease that are benefitting from an adequate, raw diet and active lifestyle. With mesothelioma, we have a disease that benefits greatly from holistic, alternative treatments when some traditional treatments have been proven ineffective. Like patients suffering from breast cancer, those exhibiting mesothelioma symptoms have also found tremendous benefits by supporting the body’s natural ability to heal and fight disease by adopting treatments that improve energy, attitude and nutrition. By taking into account all aspects of their health, those diagnosed with a difficult disease can find effective treatments by adopting a new course of health management that does not focus on the presence of cancer to the exclusion of other important issues.

Although mesothelioma is not a disease proven to be brought on by poor nutrition, the diet of a patient is an important aspect of battling the disease. As noted, a good diet will likely not prevent cancer from occurring; however there are undoubtedly a great number of positives to a patient that is living on a raw diet.

For a mesothelioma patient, fresh fruits and vegetables should be the bulk of the diet, as well as buying only organic foods and taking in fluids that are generally high in vitamins such as certain juices. This will not only help the patient’s body to function properly, but also in fighting the diseases. The intake of these types of food will also help the body get antioxidants, which can be of great assistance in avoiding diseases and maintaining good health. These antioxidants get into the body and prevent oxidation of other molecules, working as a scavenger to help remove free radicals that can sometimes destroy our cell structure.

One of the most important factors in this disease is the latency period. This is the gap between when the patient is first exposed to asbestos fibers and the time of development of the disease. This period can sometimes be one of the longest as far as diseases go and last for nearly fifty years. During this time, symptoms of the disease may not be seen for decades after exposure.

This period is important because diagnosis can often be confused with other diseases and be relatively unfamiliar to patients. Living a positive and active lifestyle can be a huge factor in the morale and outlook for many different patients, but specifically important when it comes to those diagnosed with mesothelioma. As you can see, it can be just as much as a mental struggle as a physical struggle.

This is another reason that a raw diet can be particularly crucial and beneficial, as overcoming the latency period is a primary factor in mesothelioma life expectancy. Health and nutrition are also playing a large part in the treatment of these patients. Other main factors are quite common in overall health, such as age, type of mesothelioma, and smoking. Smoking is a key, as it can reduce life expectancy even in cases of people with good general health.

With some high intensity treatments being introduced to help fight the disease, both nutrition and overall health are also very important in the sense that without either, the ability to receive the best treatment is impossible. This is where maintaining a physical and active lifestyle during the latency period is also a key. With many patients being diagnosed at an older age, strength is often an issue when it comes to treatment. With a number of new treatments, coupled with a rise in overall life expectancy in the next twenty years, doctors are hoping to improve the outlook for patients.

Through this we can learn that a good, raw diet and active lifestyle is doing wonders to not only help patients of specific diseases such as breast cancer, but is also helping victims of other diseases improve their life expectancy and overall health.

- By Guest Blogger, Krista Peterson

Krista is an aspiring writer from the University of Central Florida. She is a Health & Safety Advocate with a passion for the health and wellness of others, and uses her writings to spread awareness of such issues. Krista can be reached via email at: krista.peterson925@gmail.com

HRT - Increased Risk of Breast Cancer

An excerpt from an article on CNN Health, October 19, 2010...

A study published in Journal of the American Medical Association confirms that postmenopausal women who take combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are at an increased risk of dying from breast cancer.

"Women on combined hormone therapy with estrogen plus progestin were twice as likely to die from breast cancer compared to women receiving placebo," says medical oncologist and study author Dr. Rowan Chlebowski.

To read more, click here...

For an alternative, click here...

My Next Read!

Knockout: Interviews with Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer--And How to Prevent Getting It in the First Place



This is highly recommended, has gotten good reviews, and I look forward to reading it myself!

Three Year CanServersary!

Today, March 15, 2010, is my three year canServersary for my initial breast cancer diagnosis. I celebrated by just yelling out into the universe, "It's my 3 year anniversary if anyone cares!"...I did get two responses back from the family of two - "WE DO!"

That was all I needed to make the day all good - no more no less.

Graduation Day at Hippocrates!

Gretchen, Cindy, Tina (me) and Jane on November 27, 2009 at Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach FL.

What a life changing experience.

Parents at Hippocrates!

Mom and Dad come to visit me at HHI on November 21, 2009 - very nice!

DVD Ya Gotta See....

If you have cancer, have someone you love that has cancer, have a history of cancer in your family, want to know what to do if you are diagnosed with cancer, or just want to be educated on how NOT to get cancer, then this 2 hour DVD is for you....

Healing Cancer From Inside Out by Mike Anderson.

Wow.

Also, The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health
is a must read....

Thanks to Linda for sharing this with me...

Bone Scan, MRI, and CT Scans....Oh My!

Whew! I have been mighty busy in October with all kinds of tests since they took out a small nodule (thought to be a sebaceous cysts) and found some cancer cells. Damn. Apparently, this is classified as a local recurrence, which is fairly rare in bilat mast cases (like me). I guess this makes me a two-time cancer survivor (that sucks), BUT - GOOD NEWS! All the tests have resulted in clean, beautiful results! YIPPEE! I have one more test to do (just added on), but will be waiting until January I think. Spread the finances a bit, ya know?!

As part of my wellness plan, I will be going to the Hippocrates Health Institute in the near future.

Anyway, just sending an update that I am feeling great and moving forward!

Hugs, Tina

This is Riley and I at the "Mom Prom" on 10/18/2009!

A Typical Day (Menu) in the Life of Tina

Hello all you Wellness Warriors!

I have been asked quite frequently lately what a "regular days menu" looks like for me. I am honored at your requests and thank you so much for the lovely comments/emails I have been receiving lately. You are all very special for sharing/reaching out and I am very glad to share what I know works for me with you. I am thrilled to say that I am in excellent health and have been cancer free for over 2 years. See my earlier post here about some of the other changes I have incorporated into my new lifestyle (some of these have been tweaked a bit). I have never felt better in my life. Wellness is my daily goal in all that I do. It can be for you too - whether you are a cancer cowgirl/boy or not! Shouldn't all of us have the wellness goal to be healthy and happy for as long as possible?! I say YES!

Please remember that this is a typical day for me right now (warm weather). Also note that most, if not all, of what I eat is organic. See bottom of this post for more information about pesticides and the link to cancer and other health issues.

Morning:
Upon rising:
32 oz water with juice of 1 lemon / 1 tsp of MSM powder
4-6 oz wheatgrass (Sweet Wheat)
I take my supplements with my water - DIM, Calcium/Magnesium, B-Complex

Green smoothie in the a.m. - this concoction varies, but overall here is what it looks like lately:

• 1 banana
• 1 citrus (usually orange that I just cut skin off of and leave as much pith as possible)
• 1 fresh or frozen dark berry (blueberry, strawberry, cherry, blackberry, raspberry) or a combination - usually 1/2 - 1 cup or so...I like frozen simply because it makes my drink cold
• 1 green leafy item (large handful of spinach or 2-3 kale leaves generally)
• 1- 1.5 Tbs flax oil
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 1.5 teas to 1 Tbsp coconut butter
• Small handful of cacao nibs
• Sometimes 1/2 cucumber
• Sometimes 1-2 Tbsp brown rice protein powder (only rice product I intake)

If it tastes too green, add more water, 1/4 of lemon (skin included), or 1/2 cucumber. Again, this smoothie will vary with what I have on-hand, but above is pretty typical...today I did all those ingredients except the rice protein, and I also added some fresh strawberries and blueberries along with a little frozen mango. Keep trying new things! My smoothies are rarely identical day-to-day.

Workout:
Monday through Thursday I workout before lunch. This is usually cardio warm-up followed by strength training. I try to switch that up and do only yoga on Wednesday, but that is not static. I try to walk or do other activities Friday - Sunday.

Lunch:

• Avocado
• Tomato
• Red or Yellow Pepper
• Romaine Lettuce
• Herby seasoning (can use Spike, etc)
• Olive Oil /Balsamic or Braggs Vinaigrette
• I either have a large salad or cut the veggies up and roll them in romaine leaves as a "wrap".

Snacks (I usually have 2-4 snacks daily, just depends on rest of day):

• Almonds/Goji Berries
• Apple
• Carrots
• Red Pepper
• I try to have at least one cup of organic non-caff green tea each day - usually in the morning at work.
• Sometimes I get on a real "salt snack" kick and when I do nothing feel more satisfying to me that a bowl of organic popcorn made with organic olive oil or coconut oil and Herby seasoning. It is my "vice" for "feel good" food. Now you know!!

Dinner:
I generally have a salad, blended soup, or zucchini "pasta" with spaghetti sauce.

Why Organic?
Eliminating foods that are non-organic is a good decision all the way around....here is a great article about "Why Organic?".

In addition to the wonderful reasons listed in that post, the one on top of the list for me personally is to reduce / eliminate the pesticide and chemicals that infiltrate my body. Most pesticides have the chemical structure of estrogen and, when ingested, provoke a weak estrogenic effect on our systems - add this to other provokers of estrogen in our body (plastics, etc), and it is a formula for disaster for anyone, but especially for men and women with estrogen positive cancers (like me) such as (most) breast and prostate cancers. Here is an interesting article about the connection of pesticides and cancer. There are a ton more...again, do your research and educate yourself!

Komen Race in DC

I am late in getting these posted, but here are some awesome pics from June 6, 2009!

April 2009

Hello to all my wonderful friends and family,

This year has been so remarkably busy and full of new experiences for me that updating my blog has taken a backseat, and for this I apologize. I have been deciding how to break up all the wonderful things I would like to share and am rather struggling with it. I want to keep my personal "tinainthepink" cancer blog for those who follow it for cancer inspiration, and yet I want to blog about current things I am involved with like raw food, yoga, reading the Tao Te Ching, organizing parties/events....I think that I have come up with a solution. I will attempt to post once a week on this blog with something that is either personal (photos, etc) or health related. I will also be putting more energy in getting my "other" site live. I have been attending lots of classes and reading lots of material in anticipation of getting this site up and running, so I am looking forward to making that happen. Stick with me through this bumpy part! I have also posted some new pics for your viewing pleasure (remember, these are the "personal" photos that so many of you have come to expect and request), so be sure to check them out!

Hugs, Tina

March 2009 Update - Pinkie and Hip

So, I have been continuing to go the hand specialist for my pinkie. It is really looking great and he is quite pleased with the progress....now, I am supposed to be massaging it to work out the very hard lump of scar tissue. This is something everyone should know...use Vitamin E and massage your scar and/or scar tissue every day. This works wonders!

Along with seeing that doc, I also saw another doc in the same firm for my (continued) hip pain. I brought in my August bone scans and they a few more x-rays as well. All is good. He said he was giving me a "big dose of reassurance" that everything was okay. I guess he thought I was concerned about cancer, but at that point, I really wasn't!! I just want to find out why I keep having this pain in my left hip - especially after I run/walk vigorously. They ruled out arthritis issues as well and indicated it must just be muscular tissues that have been injured and are slow to heal. Okay, so no cancer or arthritis....that is all good, but it is still disturbing that no one can tell me the 'real deal'.

Anyway, speaking of bone scans...I got all my August images on CD and they are super cool to look at! It is my whole body in a skeletal view....awesome!

Eat (or Juice) Your Broccoli!

More evidence that broccoli is good for you - click here for a December 2008 article from Science Daily.

If you are wanting to prevent cancer, or are battling cancer then you will want to take a moment to read this article.

The Science Daily site has a lot more great article to check out, here is another great one about broccoli and cancer prevention.

To Your Health!
Tina

NYC Posse Meetup - September 28, 2008

Went to NYC for the Posse Meetup which included a kick-butt yoga class (wow, was that a sweaty one), a raw food lunch, and speaker Kris Carr (along with a book signing of her latest!). What a fabulous day - can't wait for the next one!

me and kris carr

me and jenny

janae and kris

tina at one lucky duck (raw food takeout)

Bone Results - FINALLY!

Good news - no, GREAT news!

All is normal with my bone scan - hips, pelvic, kidneys, skeletal from cranium to phalanges - all is good, clean and normal!!!

WOO-HOO!!!

Finally, I was able to get the results from my bone scan two weeks ago - so thanks to all of you who were thinking of me and saying prayers - Love ya!

Bone Scan Tomorrow

I had x-rays taken last week to take a look at my left hip joint since it has been causing me pain since I "trained" for the Komen Race for the Cure 5K in May 2008. Due to the chronic nature of this discomfort (which varies at times to mildly annoying to real zingers), they opted for an x-ray to look for arthritis, avascular somethin', somethin', or cancer. Breast cancer.

Good news was that the films were normal! Yippee! However, they want to do a bone scan (tomorrow) and gave me the option if I wanted to have it performed. Duh, of course I will. Well...I am all for it, except for the radioactive material they have to inject me with - how do you detox from that??!

Anyway, I have placed some links at right under Tina's Hot (Pink) Spots about bone scans and other medical tests/treatments - the top two links are new.

Be well,
Tina

Conventional or Alternative Medicine?

It is a hard decision, but you should be proud of yourself for knowing to ask the question at all.

We all have a different path in life, both in wellness and in illness, yet we still can and do walk together. You must collect as much information as you can and make the best decision you can for yourself. Some will choose to do conventional medicine only, some prefer conventional and alternative, some only alternative...only you know what your commitment level is and what course you are comfortable with taking. Embrace your decision and do not second guess it. Ever.

This is another reminder that life is full of decisions and therefore inherent risks. The best part? You will be loved no matter what you decide to do.

Be well,
Tina