Health Update

Thursday I was examined by a colorectal doctor. He did a digital (yes that means his finger) which was then followed with a digital (who had a smaller finger) by his intern. They then popped in the scope for a visual. The exam revealed no growth - no change - only a little more tenderness on one side. Shrinkage would be ideal news, but no growth - I mean zero growth, same size as it was last year - comes in a damn close second. Nothing in the exam suggested that anything out of the ordinary caused the pain. Only the obvious - the presence of a tumor. I suppose it is that simple.

At this point, I am satisfied that there was zero growth. Please? No. But satisfied.


I fell asleep early on Thursday evening - around 8 PM - then I woke up a little after 9 PM passing a stone. I don't know what kind it was, but I immediately went to my bottle of prescription pills and took one, followed by a second one about 60 seconds later. Within 15 minutes the pain was gone and I quickly fell asleep. On Friday I felt fine. No stone passing pain and no residuals from the previous day's experience.

In Gratitude

I want to thank so many of you for the generosity that we are so often recipients of. But today I want to acknowledge those of you who have sent money to us. Why? Because this a topic I consistently avoid - like the plague - because it's so difficult for me to humble myself and even acknowledge our financial situation. Since my intention is to thank you and I have the courage the do it at the moment, I figured I better express before I crawl back under my rock.

The reality of our situation is that we live on my disability check of $1,300 a month. That check is for the four of us. Daniela doesn't work because she is taking care of Beau and me all day long and of course our 10 year old when he is home from school and not with his father. Were we to live solely on the disability I receive, we would certainly be bankrupt and to tell you the truth, I can't imagine what life would be like for us. To put it simply, we would be dealing with an added stress that right now, is the last thing on earth that we need.

And on a very personal side, it really warms our hearts to find those letters in the mailbox with a very sweet note, letting us know we are being thought of. And then to open it and find a check. Ya'll make me cry sometimes... Visits and calls have not been beyond reason because people don't want to bother or intrude and to tell you the truth, this often works for us. We are managing life, but the stress is a regular part of what we manage and quiet is a helpful element. However, being the very social person I am, I must say it is a bit odd to not be in the outside world in constant interaction with others. So, thank you for your notes and cards. They are incredibly sweet.

Again I have to say, THANK YOU for making the difference you make in our lives. Your generosity keeps my path of healing moving forward and gives us peace of mind - probably more than you can imagine. We live in deep gratitude to you all.

Love,
Bert, Daniela & the boys.

The Sitz Bath

Enough folks have asked what a sitz bath is, so, the purpose of this post in to let you know what one is in case you don't already know.

A basic sitz bath is a shallow tub or large bowl of tepid (lukewarm) water in which you sit. Believe it or not, simply soaking your behind in tepid water is quite healing when you have...stuff going on back there. No, this is not some alternative, weird way of managing health. Your doctor will know all about sitz bath as well as the great benefits of them.

The idea of a sitz bath is to soak your behind for twenty minutes or so, so the area can absorb the water which apparently heals bruised, swollen and torn tissue (not to mention other issues). It's very common for women who give birth to have some tearing occur and the sitz bath is very healing for that damaged tissue. As you have now figured out, a sitz bath is also very healing for people named Bert with anal fissures.

I don't know how this fissure of mine came about nor do I know if it's common for Gerson patients, but I've got it and it feels as thought it is already healing.

Relief Will Be a Beautiful Thing

I am still waiting to see my Colorectal doctor - the appointment hasn't been scheduled yet. In the mean time, my family doctor said I have an anal fissure: inflamed tears or ulcers that arise between the mucous membranes and the outermost skin of the anus. So, I am not doing anything in the way of enemas until this heals. The fissure is not all that big, but at the same time, it sure as hack doesn't feel good!

I'm doing multiple sitz baths each day as well as topical Calendula ointment. Relief is soon and will be a beautiful thing.

Exam Time

I have consistently felt discomfort for the past five nights or so, only relieved four out of the five nights with pharmaceuticals. For that reason, I will call my Colorectal doctor on Monday the 25th and schedule an appointment for an exam - hopefully a sigmoidoscopy - to get to the source of the discomfort.

What are my thoughts? I have no idea, but I have no serious concerns since my PET scan and MRI revealed no reasons for additional concern.

We'll see...

I Slept Through the Night

It's 6:55 am and I just woke up after after nine solid hours of sleep. What a treat! It feels so good to sleep through the night. I always get at least eight hours of sleep - its just that recently it hasn't been at night. Hopefully, this will get me back on schedule which will naturally make my life a lot easier.

A Little Pain Last Night

Last night I tossed and turned throughout the night getting bits and pieces of sleep now and again until I fell asleep at around 5 am. I had a detox flare-up in the form of some rather unpleasant pain in my behind. Why I was able to distinguish it as a flareup is due to my inability to do an enema. I'll explain. When the muscles in the large intestine constrict and don't allow an enema to be received, it means you're having a detox flare-up. It happens now and again.

So, after I attempted different methods of pain relief throughout the night and having no luck, I attempted an enema to relieve the pain - with no luck. I couldn't retain it, so the pain stayed. Eventually, around 5 am, I fell asleep. I then slept until around 11 am. So, I am typing now at 12:45 am because I am wide awake and my behind hurts again. Hopefully this pain won't become a regular thing. Pain-free is my preferred method of the cancer experience.