Doug Prouty's Battle for Health

Friday, February 29th

Magnesium

Each week as I go in for chemo treatments, I get a series of blood tests. I have a Vascular Access Port in my chest that taps directly into an artery. This bottle cap size device just below the skin, allows a nurse to push a special needle into it and avoid having to setup an IV in my arm each time. Once it is in place, they use it to draw blood for the test and also to hook me up to chemotherapy.

The blood test comes back as a full sheet listing everything from white and red blood cell counts to minerals and vitamin levels. This week showed that I was a little low in Magnesium. Since chemotherapy drugs can cause this mineral to drop, doctors are particularly watchful and quick to prescribe a supplement. Mine suggested that I get some Magnesium Oxide pills.

Foods with the highest level of magnesium are nuts and legumes, green leafy vegetables, cereals, potatoes and avocadoes. As expected, the American diet is low in these and thus the need to make sure we have enough is important. Magnesium is in every cell and needed for 300 chemical reactions in the body. Muscle and nerve function, heart rhythm regulation, strong bones and a strong immune system are all key to magnesium levels. Magnesium deficiency can include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. A good multivitamin will have magnesium. If you regularly eat right, then you are probably getting enough. If you are not sure, a standard CBC blood test can check your levels.

Doug on 02.29.08 @ 10:59 AM PST [link] [No Comments]

Tuesday, February 26th

Slowing Down the Bus

Lately I have been trying not to think too much about death – Been there, done that. However, it seems I keep bumping into TV characters that echo my issues or feelings. Jeanette and I love to watch CSI. Not the Miami one (can’t stand the main actor) but the one set in Las Vegas. Recently, that show’s main character (Grissom) was contemplating his own death at the conclusion of an episode. He decided that he would rather die of cancer so he had time to tie up loose ends, make his peace with loved ones and maybe take a final trip or two. I too have discovered that advanced stage cancer is like getting hit by a slow bus. You can see it coming down the road and you have some time before it gets there.

This week we rented the movie, “The Invisible.” Though a good movie, I didn’t realize that the main character was named Nick whose dad died of cancer when he was 13 years old. I know art reflects life but this is a little too close.

Finally, I was watching an interview of a cancer survivor the other day. She said something that I have felt before and even shared with Jeanette (maybe with this blog as well). I have always enjoyed watching the “Coming Attractions” in the movie theater prior to the feature. They do such a good job of teasing you and getting you excited about the release. Unfortunately, they end it with the date or time frame it will be in theaters and I always think, “Will I still be here?”

I realize there are no guarantees for any of us. Someone else’s “bus” may be traveling a lot faster than mine. Since death is inevitable, I guess there are advantages to having a rough timeline. I have spent time contemplating what it all means and now that I am focusing on living, I seem to be reminded regularly of dying. Should I stick to Romantic Comedies?

Doug on 02.26.08 @ 06:16 PM PST [link] [1 Comment]

Wednesday, February 20th

Sleepless

Some of our celebrities have made the news lately due to sleep trouble. Heath Ledger was using sleeping pills when he overdosed and Britney Spears hadn’t slept for days when she checked herself into the hospital. Historic tragedies have been linked to fatigue-related human error, among them the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the NASA Challenger shuttle explosion. About 70 million Americans suffer from insomnia and over 30 million experience chronic insomnia.

Sleep is as important to your health and well being as diet and exercise. We tend to think of sleep as a time of rest and recovery from the stresses of the day but research is revealing that sleep is actually a dynamic activity. Sleep is key in maintaining mood, memory, and brain performance as well as helping the immune system. A lack of adequate sleep has been linked to health problems such as obesity, diabetes and depression.

I have had a couple people ask me about insomnia and natural solutions. I have had my share of sleep issues between steroids and worry. Steroids always seem to mess with my sleep rhythm and facing death at this early age hasn’t been easy. So I have done a little digging for solutions.

If you or someone you know is having trouble, it is important to understand that light is our strongest synchronizing agent. Light and darkness are the signals that “set” the biological clock. Also, sleeping trouble requires a change in our daylight behavior. Alcohol and caffeine during the day can disrupt sleep at night. And contrary to popular belief, heavy meals keep us awake. So a lighter dinner without alcohol can help. My research shows that Melatonin can help regulate sleep patterns. And as a bonus, Harvard Medical School has found that, "Melatonin can prevent tumor cells from growing -- it's cancer-protective.”

The National Sleep Foundation and others have a list of things to try to help with sleep. Here are a few.

* Go to bed only when sleepy
* Establish a standard wake up time
* Don’t read, watch TV or eat when in the bedroom
* Go to bed and get up at the same time each night during the week and on weekends
* Make your bedroom quiet, dark, cool and comfortable
* Eat a balanced diet
* Don't eat too close to bedtime
* Try not to smoke or drink alcohol at night
* No caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime
* Try exercising in the morning or afternoon hours (at least 4 hours before bedtime)
* Keep a Sleep Diary to help uncover the cause of your sleep problem and possible solutions

Doug on 02.20.08 @ 09:59 AM PST [link] [1 Comment]

Monday, February 18th

Where is the Beef?

If you have watched the news in the last few days, you may have seen the disturbing video of the mistreatment of sick cows at a major slaughterhouse. Though animal cruelty seems like a given at such a place, the major concern should be the general health of cows as they are processed for our food supply. We are now looking at the largest beef recall in America’s history.

I have been reading the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and have found it disturbing. Like much of what I read to try and educate myself so I am better armed to fight my cancer, I am finding that ignorance is truly bliss. I am only about half way through it and have learned about the corn industry and its relationship to the beef industry. In subsidizing our farmers, we have encouraged them to grow and produce as much corn as possible regardless of demand. The increased nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides run-off ends up in the Mississippi and has caused an 8,000 square mile, oxygen starved, uninhabitable area in the Gulf of Mexico.

All this corn surplus has then been converted to cheap cattle feed. The problem? Cows are not made to eat corn. Their stomachs can’t handle it. Their complicated series of stomachs are designed to digest grasses and become highly acidic and bloated on corn. Their body fat increases (which the USDA prizes) while their liver tries to filter it all. They can only live in on a feedlot diet for about 150 days before they get too sick for slaughter. The solution is antibiotics. We pump tons of antibiotics and hormones into our beef. Still, disease is rampant. Pneumonia, coccidiosis, enterotoxemia, feedlot polio, Mad Cow Disease and others are common. Forty percent carry the deadly bacteria E. coli that cannot survive in a pH neutral stomach found in free-range cattle. And thus about 30% of feedlot cows have abscesses and tumors on their livers. We know that from our own experience as humans, antibiotics only last so long before the bacteria mutates to become resistant. Unfortunately, hormones and antibiotics pumped into cattle end up in their fat cells and on our dinner tables. To make it fit for human consumption, they have to irradiate the meat.

Even with the drugs, feedlot cattle are relatively sick. Scenes that we are seeing in the news today have been common for some time. If this information makes you think twice about your diet of beef, it should. Americans have the highest percentages of heart disease and colon cancer in the world. Most scientists studying our diet agree that the cause is the consumption of too much animal fat and not enough fiber. The danger of being this high on the food chain is that animal fat is where pollutants, heavy metals and chemicals are stored. I told you ignorance is bliss.

Doug on 02.18.08 @ 11:48 AM PST [link] [6 Comments]

Thursday, February 14th

All You Need Is . . .

Happy Valentine’s Day! It is a special day for our family, not only as a chance to express our love for each other more deeply than usual, but it is also our daughter’s birthday. Our little love child. And you would have to say that she has taught us more about love than anything else.

I was reading the other day that Val Kilmer thinks we should add a love and commitment class as a required subject in the public schools. You must pass and show a level of competence before you can get married or have children. We are required to learn about war, perhaps he is on to something? It truly is the most important lesson, yet we don’t teach it.

Fittingly, the Grammy’s this past weekend recognized the Beatles’ Love album and corresponding Cirque du Soleil show. Still, 40 years later its considered the best rock music every written and its wonderful that so much of their focus was around love. Even our current political climate is illustrating how the American people want to be less about fear and hatred and more about hope and promise. “All you need is love.”

Through my illness, I have learned that love for each other is really all that matters. Everything else good stems from there. As Paul McCartney wrote, “And, in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.” Best of all, you can never make too much.

I love you all.

Doug on 02.14.08 @ 10:44 AM PST [link] [7 Comments]

Monday, February 11th

Feeling Better

Though this virus is stubborn and still seems to be hanging on, I have to admit I am feeling better. I am still battling a cough but it is becoming more infrequent allowing me to sleep better. As the cough gets better, so does my breathing.

I have just finished another round of antibiotics and my doctor gave me yet another prescription (number 5) in case things start to get worse. I am encouraged as I feel like I will eventually get better. An improved health status is not something I have experienced for the past three years.

I was rarely sick throughout my life so this is all new to me. It had been so long since I had seen a doctor that when the symptom for my colon cancer arose, I had to go through the phone book to choose a general practitioner. Like most men, I am a lousy patient and probably whine more than I should. Still, it is not a state of being that I want to get used to or accept. It has been a challenge both physically and mentally so far and I am guessing that there are quite a few more challenges to come. I hope I can meet them all with grace and fortitude.

Prayers and positive energy goes out today to my good friend Mischa who heads to Stanford for surgery tomorrow. This is always a tough thing to face mentally prior to, and physically during recovery.

Doug on 02.11.08 @ 09:50 AM PST [link]

Tuesday, February 5th

Salt Inhalation Therapy

I am finally starting to feel stronger. This is the first week in some time where I feel like my health is improving instead of slipping. I am still a little shaky and staying on my oxygen 24-7, but feel I don’t need as much volume as earlier. I still battle a cough and am on my 4th round of antibiotics to try and clear up this repertory problem that, combined with my lung tumors, is my biggest problem.

Last week they drew blood directly from my artery to measure the oxygen content. I am used to my vein being tapped but an artery is different. This is the blood coming directly from the heart. So they have to go in with a needle to the areas where they can feel a pulse. This is deeper into the arm or wrist and they work blind. It’s more painful than usual and comes out a deep purple in color.

So I am now searching for natural or alternative ways to improve my lungs. I have been prescribed an asthma inhaler to use twice a day but I am not sure of its effectiveness and would like to move off the drugs. So after a little research, I began reading more and more about the benefits of salt.

Dating back to Hippocrates, salt inhalation has been recommended as a therapy for people suffering from lung ailments. Apparently it was noticed that those who worked in the salt mines had far less respiratory troubles that the rest of the population. Now, hundreds of thousands of people suffering from allergies, asthma, and other breathing disorders, have found that prolonged visits to the European salt mines of Wieliczka in Poland, Hallein in Austria, or Praid in Romania, even to the shore of the Dead Sea, have provided breathing relief to those dealing with asthma, nasal congestion, breathlessness, bronchitis, tonsillitis, night coughing, irritation caused by pollution and smoking, hay fever and other allergies.

Refered to as Halotherapy (Halo = Salt) or Speleotherapy (Speleo = Cave), the salt dust gets into the various parts of the lungs and clears the airway passages in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Due to the fact that the inhaled saline has muco-kinetic, bactericidal, hydrophilic and anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to reduce inflammation, causing a widening of the airway passages, kills bacteria and restores the normal transport of mucus, as well as unclogs blockages.

So I have just bought a salt pipe or salt inhaler. This is a simple device that you breath through about 20 minutes a day to simulate visits to the salt mines. It is filled with sea salt and allows your lungs to be exposed to the salt dust. Clinical trials involving the inhaler have shown that it can cause an improvement in 85% of cases of mild to moderate asthma, 75% of cases of severe asthma and 97% of cases of chronic bronchitis. Like all of these natural therapies, results are not immediate. But if I can be consistent with the use of the pipe over time, it will hopefully help me breath easier.

Doug on 02.05.08 @ 05:06 PM PST [link]

Friday, February 1st

Scanning Difficulties

I cannot count the number of times that I have had a PET, CT and MRI scan over the past couple of years. The hospital in San Diego even had me do a CT scan last month. I have even had my head and shoulders locked down to a table by a hard mesh mask during radiation treatments. Yesterday, I went in for an MRI on my shoulder and neck to try and see what might be causing an increase in arm pain.

The scan process is pretty simple. You wear comfortable clothes or sweats, lie down on a narrow table, and get slid into a tube for a little while. The only difficulty is if you are claustrophobic. Some tubes are bigger than others. Yesterday’s was narrow and closed in fast. In the past, I try to get a hold of whatever anxiety I am feeling, relax and wait it out. I am still trying to figure out what went wrong yesterday.

The first scan was for my shoulder. An MRI is very noisy so they have you put in earplugs and then wear noise-canceling headphones. Since they can’t have you move, they might brace you with pillows as the table slides into the tube. The shoulder scan was going to take about a half an hour inside consisting of five different scans from ten minutes to three minutes in length. They preferred that I stay in there without moving throughout. Unfortunately, after the first ten-minute scan I needed a break. After changing my shirt, taking off my shoes and adding a wet towel to my forehead, I went back under to finish. At one point a coughing fit on my part made them start one over again.

We never made it to the neck scan and the scans with contrast. I couldn’t finish. Suddenly, I have become claustrophobic and I have spent the evening and morning trying to figure out what is different. It seems lately, I am a little hung up on making sure my air supply isn’t cut off. I even had them turn up my oxygen while I was being scanned. I am also on the steroid Prednisone that makes me a little edgy. Maybe it is a psychological reaction to the fear of death. Whatever it is, I even have trouble looking at images where people might lose air. The image here is the first box in yesterday’s Pearl before Swine comic. It actually made me uncomfortable.

Doug on 02.01.08 @ 10:08 AM PST [link]

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Doug's Battle for Health

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