An Update on Ben's Treatment Plan

Many of you have asked what, if any, treatment that Ben was pursuing at this time.  Since we have prayed and researched all of our options and decided that conventional chemo and radiation was not in the best interests of Ben or our family, we thought we would share some what Ben's treatment plan currently is (here it is in his own words!).  If anyone has questions or wants to know further specifics (why some things are included/excluded), please do not hesitate to contact us!

After much reading and research, I (Ben) have decided to move forward with the following treatment plan:

The following is taken twice daily:
1. Budwig Diet: 4 TBSP Organic Cottage Cheese to 2 TBSP Flax Oil.  I also add in a TBSP of freshly ground flax seed and half a dozen apricot seeds.  Developed by lipid scientist Dr. Joanna Budwig in the mid-twentieth century, this is an Omega-3 rich mixture which has been shown to be used by the body for cell regeneration.  It has numerous cancer reversals.  The mixture tastes weird, so frequently, fresh fruit is mixed in as well.
2. Cellect Supplement: A powder which contains everything that supplements contain in a bioavailable form.  Mix with water.  Originally developed by Dr. Eichorn who developed and then treated himself with this supplement to overcome pancreatic cancer in 1976 (still alive today).  Components not a part of the supplement are the B-vitamins, iron, and iodine.
3. Vitamin-D3.  Currently on 10000 IU.  A high dosage?  Yes, but this is extreemly non-toxic and given the low levels in previous bloodwork, this is acceptable.  Cancer patients with higher levels of D3 in blood serum usually live twice as long as those with low levels.  Note that this is for cancer patients; a class of individuals which I no longer consider myself to be part of.  Positive thinking! :)
4. Laetrile: 500mg tablets.  Laetrile, or Vitamin B17 has a long and much maligned history.  I take it in both apricot seed form as part of the Budwig Diet, but also supplements with the extract.  See the book "World Without Cancer" by Griffin for an in-depth discussion
5. Iodoral: An Iodine supplement since Ben is frequently chronically low on Iodine and it plays an important role in immune system functioning and is not included in Cellect.

Also included:
Beck Device: worn for 2-hours daily, this is a long-term immune system builder which disables microbes in the bloodstream.  A little uncomfortable to wear at first, but after awhile is quickly forgotten about.  Yes, I'm wearing it right now.
Fresh Veggie Juice: did I mention that I make fresh veggie juice every day?  I store it in half-pint jars that go to work with me (to prevent oxidation throughout the day)
Amazon Internal Tonic III: Shipped from Equador, this is an herbal tonic that works just as Amazon Black Salve works for external tumors.  One bottle is a 40 day supply.  Recommended by Mike Vrentas during a consultation.
Gerson Therapy: largely captured in the juicing addition
A 24-36 hour water fast on a weekly basis; good for metabolic stress of ANY cancer cells in general
Distilled water consumption only: flouride and chloride consumption is bad for one recovering from cancer
Exposure to natural sunlight for at least 30 min/day
Exercise/increased heartrate through activity such as walking for at least 30 min/day

Probably even more important is what I am not doing:
NO SUGAR
NO SODA
NO ASPARTAME
NO WHITE FLOUR
NO GMO FOOD

Minimal animal product consumption (These use valuable enzymes which are produced by the pancreas and aid in the consumption of the protein linings of tumors)

Followup tests are still being worked out.  For the moment they include MRIs, and blood-panels of a number of markers.

Okay, websites and books which I have found to be the most useful:

Never Fear Cancer Again: How to Prevent and Reverse Cancer (Never Be) by Raymond Francis M.Sc. and Harvey Diamond

Cancer: Step Outside the Box by Ty M. Bollinger

www.cancertutor.com  (There is a LOT here, but it is worth taking the time to sift through.  The amount of information can be overwhelming; see especially the Cellect-Budwig protocol which forms the core of my treatment)

I read somewhere that Google searching the internet for one's diagnosis is not a healthy pastime.  I can attest to that since there are quite a few memorial pages for <INSERT YOUR CANCER DIAGNOSIS HERE>.  Look at enough of these and it's a real downer in spite of all of the other success stories that you run across.  I'm sure that if you searched hard enough, even the diagnosis of a hangnail would be cause for concern and somebody's probably died from that too.  

Bottom line: you are the captain of your own ship.  Think positively and do what you know in your heart to be right. 

**(Tricia again) Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family! 

Fifteen Month Stats on our Itty Bitty twins...

We had our fifteen month appointment last week and this is their stats:

Josh was 31.5inches tall (61% for height)
He was 19.95lbs (which is apparently 0% for weight)
and his head was 47cm which is 44% (but it is still growing adequately which is what is most important!)

Savannah was also 31.5 inches tall (79% for height)
She was 20.06lbs (10% for weight)
and her head was also 47cm (79%).

The doctor we met with recommended some things they could eat to fatten up, but didn't seem concerned about them being underweight.  Also, they are still being measured against their actual date of birth which was 6 weeks early... so I think this is probably off a little bit.


Some other fun things to note:
* A few weeks ago we made the decision to switch to cloth diapers.  I did a lot of research and picked the brains of some cloth diapering friends and went all in!  Besides a recent trip out of town and nighttime, we are completely in cloth now.  This was not a financial decision although with future children it may end up saving us some money.  This decision was made in conjunction with a lot of other changes in our household over the past few months.  In light of all we have learned, we just couldn't see putting our kids in disposables anymore.  At night and on trips, we use Free and Clear diapers (which have a nice tan color since they aren't bleached like regular disposables).  I may sound like a crazy person, but I don't mind rinsing the diapers & washing them, and I find it somewhat calming to fold them all and put them away (that might be because they are all adorably cute).  More to come as we make the transition to cloth diapers overnight!

*In light of cloth diapering, the twins finally have maxed out their 12 month clothing and are ready for 18 month stuff.  After 6 months of the same outfits, I am looking forward to the "new" wardrobe that is getting ready to move into their dresser!

*Today I bit the bullet and bought them their first pairs of brand new shoes.  I have been on the lookout for reasonably priced soft soled shoes that would be comfortable for them to walk in, and finally came across some today.  However, I am going to have to have 20 more kids wear them in order to justify to myself the ridiculous amount I had to spend on them.  :-)

*Also, in light of the fact that the kids are sleeping til 10 every day and needing to go to bed earlier then ever before, we moved back to taking two naps last week... even with 2 naps they are still sleeping 14 hours at night so we figured they might be needing a little more rest!

15 Month Update & A Brand New Schedule

It's hard to believe that the twins are 15 months old.  They fill our lives with so much happiness and joy.  We can't imagine life without them!

Over the past week we have made some adjustments to our schedule and... we are in the process of cutting back to just one nap!  EEEK!  Not sure how I will be as productive as I have been with one nap... but we shall see!

Here is a look at our daily schedule now:
9am: Kids wake up and get breakfast.  They are eating a piece of fruit (usually a banana), yogurt sweetened with apples, and a little bit of cereal or homemade muffins for breakfast.
Then we play, read books, and hang out together.
10:30am: They get some milk and cheerios while they play.
11:30am: They are getting lunch.  A typical lunch is hummus on pita bread, a piece of cheese, some fruit, and a veggie.
1:00pm: Our new nap time :-) While they sleep, I prep our dinner for the evening.
3/4:00pm: We get up and have some more milk and a snack of fruit or a veggie of some sort.
Lately we have been going outside after this and playing on their little playset (swing, slide), but we are hoping to get back into a good routine of walking in the morning and playing in the afternoon.  Our new naptime also frees us up to go pick up daddy from work when he doesn't have a ride home.
6:00pm: We eat dinner together.  The twins usually eat what we eat and then they get to play with daddy while I clean up.
7:30pm: We start getting ready for bed.  We still tag team most bath times, but both kids love to take baths.
8:00pm: We say prayers and put them down for the night!


An Update on Joshua:
Josh has been a full-time walker since January, and is often seen running around these days.  He hardly ever stops long enough to sit down, and is constantly on the go.  He is getting much friendlier around new people and doesn't mind letting new friends hold him.  At my sister's wedding last month, he was my uncle's constant companion and absolutely loved hanging out with him.  We have a hard time getting him to stay still long enough to Skype with family (unless he can reach the computer or Ipad and then we have his full attention).  He talks my ear off during the day with his gibberish and will tell me "all dun" when he is finished eating.  He is a bottomless pit when it comes to food and it seems that I can never give him enough.  We have taken to giving him his food in courses since he likes to shove in way more then can fit until he starts to choke!  He has also taken to eating his banana's like corn on the cob which I find quite funny.  He has been holding strong at 8 teeth for a couple months now, but I think he is finally getting his back teeth in!

An Update on Savannah:
Savannah started walking on her own (without any provoking) about a month ago and is a full-time walker now.  She is hardly ever seen crawling these days unless she is overtired and falls (usually because she is trying to run after her brother).  Savannah has a much harder time around strangers then she has ever had, and wants to be held in new places and with new people.  She loves to Skype and will stand staring at the computer as long as she possibly can (although for some reason she still gets a little scared when Grandpa pops his head up to say hi)!  She is a non-stop chatter box as well and knows when to raise her voice to be heard.  Since she requires much less sleep then Josh, she can often be heard shouting at him to wake up (while hanging her head over his crib side and trying to get his attention).  She is a meticulous eater and typically eats whatever is put before her at a nice even rate.  However, she can't stand to have a cup on her tray and after taking a sip will immediately hand it back to you, and if you aren't there to receive it, it winds up on floor (and is very quickly followed by her brother's).  She too has held strong at 8 teeth for awhile now, but as of this morning I think I feel three new ones popping in in the back! 

They have definitely started to notice and annoy each other more and more lately.  They like to steal each others toys and wrestle and it is a toss up on whether they will both laugh hysterically about it, or cry.  They have also started to investigate new places in the house (example: Daddy left the bathroom door open when he left for work and they conveniently noticed when mommy was doing breakfast dishes... needless to say a water table might be coming in the near future).     

They both absolutely love our Kindermusik class and we are enrolled in a Sing & Sign class next month (that daddy can attend with us) that I think is going to be great.  They love music just like their daddy and we are excited that he will be able to come with us!

They are both still wearing 12m Carters clothes (as that is what Grandma usually buys them), but Savannah is quickly outgrowing them in the length.  She appears to still be a little taller then Joshua, but we will find out for sure next week at their 15m checkup!