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DaleStouffer.com

Inspiring Others Through Sharing My Journey

Gathering Information about Plant-Based eating and Multiple Myeloma – Cancer

By dstouffer

A reader from my FB private group asked me to write some of my thoughts on plant-based eating and how it protects and heals us.

Before all this went down a few months ago I really didn’t know much about plant-based eating – mostly I subscribed to a more low carb/meat/protein way of eating. I didn’t eat much in the way of veggies – maybe 2 sometimes 3 servings a day and literally no fruit.

When I was told my diagnosis on 3/1/2018, one of the first questions I asked the Oncologist was “what do I do now?” His response was “nothing, keep doing what you are doing. There is nothing to do. We still need to get some tests done. Once they are done, we’ll know what to do, and then we’ll go into treatment.”

We left the appointment in a daze and I knew that I needed to do something – to have control of something. I just couldn’t sit back and wait. I also knew deep down from all the reading I had done over the years that what I needed to do was to change what I was eating.

I made the change cold turkey – overnight I started eating just plants. And, up to this point with a few minor “allowances” I’ve been 99% plant-based.

What I didn’t know was how does someone with cancer best eat to put themselves in a place to beat cancer. So, I started reading some books on eating for cancer.

Here’s what I have learned for myself.

1. The journey for battling cancer is a personal one. Everyone’s situation is different – it’s nearly impossible to compare one person to another – yet that seems to be very common. There’s statistics, averages, case studies and tons more that seemed to either give me hope or make me grumpy and scared. For the most part, I have stayed away from a lot of what I call the doom and gloom information on the Internet and stick to things that have been referred/recommended to me to read.

2. I’m learning to trust my intuitive gut at a whole new level. To be straight about it, some things that have come my way I haven’t read – in fact, I’ve put them out of my eyesight. If my gut gets grumbly I say “nope not going to read this” and I put it away.

3. There is a ton of scientific research for traditional medicine and there’s very little scientific research for naturopathic medicine. Basic reason – you can’t patent nature, therefore, there’s no big pharma involved in natural solutions to cancer.

4. There is a ton of anecdotal evidence to suggest/prove that naturopathic therapies and holistic approaches are valid methods for treating, preventing, and surviving cancer at just about all the different stages and forms cancer comes in. Essentially, belief and faith in what one does to navigate cancer is what’s important.

5. The regular medical community is great at going after cancer cells. It’s kind of like a horse with blinders on – go straight is great, but the side peripheral vision is something that the patient has to bring to the table if you want it.

6. For my condition, not doing chemotherapy is unrealistic. I asked 3 different naturopathic doctors about this and they all said – do the chemo – what you have is very receptive to it and your body needs to get on top of cancer so that your body’s natural immune system can regain the upper hand.

7. One common thread I’ve seen is Cancer can’t live in alkaline conditions in the body. With this said, and from what I’ve read, plants produce alkaline effects in your body after they are metabolized whereas animal products and stress produce acidic effects in your body. Blood ph runs around 7.5 on a scale of 0-14 and anything above 7 is considered alkaline and under 7 is acidic. I’ve learned that we can’t necessarily change our blood ph too much with the food we eat, but what we can do is minimize the amount of work our bodies have to do to maintain our blood ph in its normal range. So, if I eat less “acidic” food and reduce my stress my body doesn’t have to spend energy counterbalancing the acidity. This will allow my body to focus energy on other things like fighting cancer by improving my immune system.

8. Everyone has cancer cells in them – it’s just whether or not they get turned on and are able to reproduce unchecked to the point where they start causing problems in the body. Besides smoking and exposure to chemical substances, stress is probably the #1 activator of cancer and we all have different tolerances to stress such that it’s virtually impossible to say for certain what causes cancer. We’re pretty good at looking back over say the previous 2 years from a diagnosis date and picking out some stressor events – but it’s still difficult to say what causes cancer.

9. As far as a vice if you need one – eat 72% or more cacao chocolate (yes some small amount of dairy here…) without artificial sweeteners (maybe stevia) versus alcohol. All forms of alcohol with the except of very lite beer and red wine produce acidic conditions in our bodies. There’s a chemical in wine called resveratrol which helps to fight cancer which leads some folks to suggest a glass a day is ok. However, pound for pound cocoa has more of this chemical in it so for therapeutic purposes eating chocolate is more beneficial. So far, I’ve opted for some 85% chocolate from Trader Joes. :)

10. From personal experience nearly 2 months into eating plants I have survived it and I feel pretty darn great – not to mention I’ve lost nearly 30 pounds. I’ve heard from quite a few people – “oh I could never do that” as I said at one point in the past. However, when faced with something like this – yes you can. Maybe when someone you know is faced with something like this it will at least have you stop and pause for second and think – do I really need that?

11. There is a lot of science involved in plant-based eating that I don’t have the time to write about here. One thing I heard/read is that we can grow 8 times more plant-based food calorically for the same amount of effort/resources growing animal-based food. Do I love a steak – yep, but now I’m asking do I really need it.

12. Food consumption is a choice and can be balanced – one of the things I’m dealing with at the moment that I don’t have an answer for is deprivation – depriving myself of things I’d like to eat while I eat for cancer. For example, I love eating eggs, but for now, I’m not eating them. My naturopath told me to not suffer over my diet. I’m in between what’s “right” for winning the cancer game with my diet and whether not having something now is “rightfully” deprivation.

So for me for now, I know/believe that to give my body the absolute best health condition possible in the upcoming battle through treatment I need to be eating pretty much a 100% plant-based diet for now. It may be forever and it may not. Right now, I’m not making that kind of declaration, I can’t see that far into the future.

Filed Under: Interesting Things, Ride The Roid

Diagnosis Day – My Journey with Multiple Myeloma Begins!

By dstouffer

This is the original post from my regular FB account from April 9. I’m keeping it part of this group communications so I don’t lose it.

Hello everyone. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do a post on FB as a way to share some recent news that I received. However, a lot of folks that I know are here so it made sense to me to post this link for a gofundme account that has been set up on my behalf by my business partner and longtime friend Dave Mason. The purpose of the account is simple and well explained in the video that Dave posted on the account.

Here’s the link: https://www.gofundme.com/dale039s-cancer-treatment

If you want to keep reading please do. I won’t go through the whole story – below are some of the basics.

Beginning in February of this year I went through various tests as a result of feeling several lumps in my neck and just feeling off a bit over the holidays and through January. The results of the totality of tests came back on 3/1/2018 with something I had never heard of until the docs said I had it – multiple myeloma. This makes me what is called in cancer circles an MM’er.

For those of you who don’t want to do your own research, MM is a blood disease (cancer) that impacts the immune/lymph system. In most cases, it is a slow going disease. In my situation, I’ve been told we caught it early. At this point, I’m healthy and I have this thing called MM.

Since the diagnosis on 3/1 I’ve been eating just plants (and juicing) – something I never thought I’d be doing as many of you know I love to grill. However, when all this went down, I knew I needed to do something and diet was the one thing I knew I could impact and control. I also knew in my gut it was the thing for me to do. In my opinion, it was the thing to do as my last set of blood tests last week basically showed a steady line in my results. The full body scan showed nothing in my head or my major organs – just a few things in my lymph system that will be taken care of with the treatment.

I have one last set of appointments to go through with the Mayo Clinic here in Scottdale. I’ve already seen a specialist at MD Anderson and another at Arizona Oncology. Pending any surprises I’ll be starting a form of chemotherapy near the end of April/beginning of May from all best estimates that should run approximately 6 months followed by a stem cell transplant (my own stem cells) and then a longterm maintenance period once we’ve determined me to be cancer free.

There is A LOT of exciting research and clinical trials in the world of multiple myeloma some of which are happening in the Mayo Clinic where I expect to receive treatment.

Besides the testing and waiting, here’s what I’ve been doing:

I started working with a naturopathic oncologist to augment my treatment. I firmly believe that a holistic approach is critical to dealing with cancer and recovering from the effects of treatment.

I am exercising more – walking 35 minutes/day and doing 7-10 minute HIIT’s 3-4 days a week. The combination of exercising and eating plants has had me drop some weight – sweet! Although now my wife Diane and my daughter are complaining about my clothes looking too baggy. And I’m feeling awesome.

I started going to church again – Lutheran in case you’re wondering – it’s what I grew up with. I’ve reawakened my faith and a more regular practice of praying. It’s made a huge difference.

I started meditating on a regular basis – several times a day. This has made a huge difference in my psyche and I believe it is essential to the effectiveness of my treatment and my recovery.

I am reading a ton of books that cover things from many different levels from cookbooks, personal accounts, science-based and more. This has made a huge difference.

I’m still working, although I’ve intentionally slowed down some to recharge my batteries and delegate a whole bunch of things that “should” have been delegated awhile ago. I can do both of these because I have an AWESOME crew and business partners. :)

Last but not least I’ve been talking a lot with and enjoying being with Diane my rock, my daughter my star, my parents (awesome in-laws included 😉 ), and my siblings all to keep the lines of communication open and bask in love. Friends too.

Obviously, a lot of has changed for me and my family. Every day I’m moved by the love I have for everyone I know and by the love coming my way.

All in all I’m doing great – I just have this thing called cancer that I need to tend to.

If you want to talk more, please give me a call. I’m up for talking – my intention through all of this is being drama free, getting healthy and cancer free, participating in life as much as possible, and to inspire people/you in ways that only you’ll know.

I’ll keep you posted. Love to you.

GOFUNDME.COM
Click here to support Dale’s Cancer Treatment organized by Dave Mason
This is me and my best friend and business partner Dale Stouffer going on a business trip. Our families vacation together and we do guy…

GOFUNDME.COM
Click here to support Dale’s Cancer Treatment organized by Dave Mason
This is me and my best friend and business partner Dale Stouffer going on a business trip. Our families vacation together and we do guy…

Filed Under: Ride The Roid

It’s About Being Articulate

By dstouffer

I have found myself lately being "overly" careful about what I say to my clients. Recently I answered the phone with one of my clients and told them that I had about 3 minutes to talk with them about whatever it was that they had called me about and … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Interesting Things

Gingerbread Village Picture

By dstouffer

cookievillage

… [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Interesting Things

I Voted For Prop 100 – Vote Yes For Prop 100

By dstouffer

I voted for prop 100 today. As some of you know, I now live in Arizona and this prop is ridiculously needed. If you are a registered voter in Arizona - Vote Yes For Prop 100. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Interesting Things

Kids Are Amazing What They Say Is The Best Entertainment Sometimes

By dstouffer

So tonight at the dinner table I started to tell my wife, Diane, about something cool happening with some of the website marketing strategies that we're working on. And Diane asked me if I could table that conversation until later because it was not … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Interesting Things

Superbowl Sunday – Fabulous For New Orleans Saints

By dstouffer

I loved today's Superbowl Sunday. It was a fabulous day for the New Orleans Saints, for the City of New Orleans, and for the fans of the New Orleans Saints. Now it is true that everyone who knows me know me as a staunch Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: What's New Today? Tagged With: superbowl 2010, superbowl games, superbowl new orleans saints

An Update: The Shoes Fit Great And I Played In Them Last Night

By dstouffer

I wore my shoes with pride last night as I stepped out onto the chilly Chandler Tennis Center courts. I think if was around 52 when I finally zipped up my tennis bag on my way out after three hours of tennis. I hadn't played in a few weeks because … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: What's New Today?

Daddy’s New K-Swiss Tennis Shoes – A Raelin Art Project

By dstouffer

I thought I had given up the deep seeded human need to look good, but apparently my wife, Diane, hit a nerve earlier today when she commented on the fact that my new tennis shoes actually make me look like I was wearing some pair of geriatric grandpa … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: What's New Today? Tagged With: color shoes, dry erase markers, kids art activity ideas

WordPress Training Class at GIOS ASU

By dstouffer

We delivered our first WordPress training class for non real estate agents today at the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University today. The class was great and we learned a lot about what to do the next time. Thanks to all who … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: What's New Today?

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  • Gathering Information about Plant-Based eating and Multiple Myeloma – Cancer
  • Diagnosis Day – My Journey with Multiple Myeloma Begins!
  • It’s About Being Articulate
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  • I Voted For Prop 100 – Vote Yes For Prop 100

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