Healthy Crush Cancer Resources

Hi, my friends.

Yesterday, I posted this photo on instagram with an update on my dad’s pancreatic cancer journey.

After I posted it, messages started pouring into my inbox from people who have been newly diagnosed with cancer and caregivers of people with cancer. As you can imagine, many of these messages are coming from people in a state of fear, uncertainty and desperation. My family felt all of those things too. when he first got diagnosed, and when I searched “pancreatic cancer” on the internet, the results weren’t all that encouraging. There aren’t a lot of pages with pancreatic cancer success stories or stories of improvement, so I’m hoping this information will help to change that.

Here’s what you’ll find on this page (click the title to navigate to each section):  

• My dad’s progress over 1 year into stage 4 pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis

• The podcast episode where we discuss his first year with pancreatic cancer and the exact regimen he’s been on to feel great during chemo

• The exact protocol he’s been doing at home in addition to his chemotherapy at the hospital

• The Managing Chemo Side Effects Guide we put together with extra tips and tricks for making chemo easier to tolerate

Let’s start with the full progress report.

Original pancreatic cancer diagnosis:

In November of 2017, he was diagnosed with stage 4 (inoperable) pancreatic cancer that had spread to the liver (this is called liver metastasis). His pancreas had atrophied to the point that it no longer retained its normal shape when looking at the scans.

His liver had a spot on it that was 1.76cm in size. 

His CA 19-9 was at 1810. Normal range for CA 19-9 is 0-37. 

CA 19-9 is a blood marker for pancreatic cancer – it measures an enzyme excreted by living pancreatic cancer cells. Although doctors don’t focus solely on this number for progress and success (there have been reports of false positives or false negatives, and different factors can raise or lower it), it is a number we’ve been watching closely, as his initial number had skyrocketed compared to normal.

Update as of  March 2019 – 1 year, 4 months post diagnosis: 

At our scan meeting yesterday (March 6, 2019), the doctors showed us the actual scans for the first time.

Compared to the original scan at the end of 2017, his pancreas shape has improved and looks more normal. The doctors said it’s hard for them to make out the area of the tumor now.

His liver spot has gone down from 1.76cm to 1cm.

His CA 19-9 is down to 21 (which is in the normal range!)  

In addition, his lymph nodes are significantly less enlarged than they were before, and his weight is up 6lbs, suggesting that he may be retaining more nutrients from food because the structure of his pancreas is improving. (And his appetite is really good!)

He feels great most days, has had very minimal side effects from chemo, and he travels and plays golf regularly. In fact, the night before this scan meeting, he was out until midnight playing cornhole with his friends!!

The doctors said this kind of progress is “atypical and amazing.” 

My original instagram post with the progress report:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by jenny sansouci ✌🏼 (@jennysansouci) on Mar 6, 2019 at 6:53am PST

 

 

Pancreatic Cancer 6 Month Update 

Click here for his detailed 6 month pancreatic cancer update.

Pancreatic Cancer 1 Year Update 

Click here for his detailed 1 year pancreatic cancer update.

 

Pancreatic Cancer Podcast Episode 

In honor of the 1-year anniversary of his diagnosis, we recorded a podcast episode together. This was the first time you guys got to hear from him directly, and it was really special for us to record.

Press “Play” below to listen to our podcast where we discuss the details of the entire journey. This is a great thing to listen to if you’re newly diagnosed, as many people have emailed me saying how much more positive they’re feeling about their cancer journey ahead after hearing it.

 

You can also find the episode on:

iTunes

Spotify

Overcast

Stitcher

Here’s the link to the podcast show notes, with links to every product we talk about in the podcast!

 

Dad’s Pancreatic Cancer Protocol 

My dad has been getting Folfirinox chemotherapy every 2 weeks at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. In addition to the chemotherapy, here’s what we’ve been doing at home to compliment that treatment. He is 31 chemo cycles in and is tolerating the chemo drugs very well. 

REMINDER: We are not doctors and these are not to be considered official recommendations.

Also, we did run these things by my dad’s oncologist before beginning the protocol, and we always recommend you talk to your oncologist before starting any at-home therapies. 

GREAT RESOURCE: Memorial Sloan-Kettering has a wonderful site that lists potential drug interactions for most herbs and supplements. If you’re unsure about a supplement or herb interacting with other drugs you’re taking, head over there and search for the herb or supplement you’re considering. Their database is very extensive.

If you decide to do any of these things — speak to your oncologist first, and experiment with your dosing. I can’t tell you what dose will be right for you. It will take some testing on your part. I know this likely seems like a lot — so do your own research, read some product reviews, and try what you feel inspired to try. 

My Dad’s At-Home Daily Protocol: 

MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS: 

• AHCC mushrooms capsules: He is taking 2 per day. A blend of potent medicinal mushrooms that are currently being used in cancer clinical trials.
• Turkey Tail Mushrooms: These are known to be tumor fighting mushrooms. He is taking a scoop every day (2g) in a smoothie, but you can also take turkey tail mushrooms in capsule form. In fact, we have both. If he’s doing turkey tail in capsule form instead of powder, he would take 4 capsules per day (2 in AM, 2 in PM). I can’t say which is better – powder or capsules, so choose based on your preference.
• Lion’s Mane Mushrooms: He is taking 2 capsules per day of lion’s mane mushrooms for the neuropathy that comes along with chemo treatment – and it seems to be helping! He can now “feel the difference between a dime and a quarter in his pocket,” which wasn’t the case before he began taking lion’s mane.
• Other Medicinal Mushrooms: He takes a scoop (1 tsp) of this 10-Mushroom Blend in a smoothie every day. In the blend: reishi, chaga maitake, cordyceps, enokitake, lion’s mane, tremella, agaricus blazei, meshima and shiitake. (You can use the code HEALTHYCRUSH for a discount on any mushrooms from Four Sigmatic).

Here’s where you can find more information about medicinal mushrooms 

 

CANNABIS: 

• Medical Cannabis Oil: He is taking a highly concentrated cannabis oil from a medical dispensary with a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD. This is similar to Rick Simpson Oil, or RSO. If you have access to a medical dispensary, ask the budtenders (employees) who work there – they will be familiar with this. The photo of the one my dad uses (with exact THC:CBD ratios) is below.
• He takes the size of about a grain of rice 2 times per day. This is considered a small dose compared to many cancer patients who take up to 1g per day. The drawback is, you will (very likely) feel high if you take that amount. My dad has structured his dose so he doesn’t feel high during the day, and can perform regular activities. At night before bed, he will sometimes take a little bit more (around the size of 2-3 grains of rice rather than 1 grain), so he can get a little bit more into his system without worrying about feeling high during the day. Dosing for this kind of cannabis oil will require personal experimentation. 

This is what the cannabis oil looks like. He puts a small drop onto a spoonful of peanut butter and eats it. You don’t have to look for this exact oil, but look for something similar and speak to the medical dispensary employees. For a full report on how we got his medical marijuana card (and my caregiver card) click here. 

 

• CBD Oil: In addition to the medical cannabis oil, he is currently taking about 120mg of CBD oil per day, in capsule form. He takes 2 30mg CBD capsules in the morning, and 2 30mg CBD capsules at night. If you don’t have access to medical cannabis oil, CBD oil is a good option to start with. My dad has had great results using both. (Note — for the past year, he has been taking 60mg of CBD per day — a 30mg capsule in the morning, and a 30mg capsule in the evening. As of this week, he is doubling his dose to 120mg per day to see if that has any effect on his next scan/blood results). These are the capsules he takes – Wildflower brand CBD+ capsules.

I also love Lazarus Naturals for CBD capsules, and Supherbals CBD if you would rather use a tincture under your tongue (The Supherbals 850 tincture is what I use personally before bed to help me sleep). You can get a discount on Lazarus Naturals CBD or Supherbals CBD with the code HEALTHYCRUSH.

Here’s where you can find more information about cannabis as medicine and for wellness. 

DAILY GREEN SMOOTHIE: 

At the beginning of my dad’s chemo treatments, before he got his cannabis oil (which stimulates appetite), he was having trouble eating full meals. My mom and I started making him these smoothies, and we’ve kept it up ever since.

Adjust amounts and ingredients to your liking. 

Here’s his daily green smoothie recipe (serves 1): 

• Handful of spinach (or other greens, or a small scoop of greens powder)
• 1/2 Banana or 1/2 avocado for creaminess
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 cup almond milk, coconut milk or water
• 1 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter
• 1-2 scoops protein powder (I like organic whey protein or organic pea protein)
• 1 tsp 10-mushroom blend
• 1 tsp turkey tail mushroom powder

Blend and drink. 

Managing Chemo Side Effects Guide

To get all the rest of our tips for managing chemo side effects, please click here.

The managing chemo side effects guide will be delivered to your inbox as an email.

Included in the Managing Chemo Side Effects Guide: 

How to manage:

• Nausea and appetite loss
• Jaw pain
• Cold sensitivity
• Changes in tastebuds
• Food & drink tips (+ a few recipes)
• General immune system health

At some point I may copy all of it and put it directly into this blog post for you — but for now, you have to subscribe by email to Healthy Crush in order to get access to it. I originally made it available only to my email subscribers because I put SO many months of work into it…so thank you in advance for supporting my work by subscribing. :) You can unsubscribe at anytime, and I promise to only get in touch to send you helpful resources. 

Ok – I think that’s all for now. Whew. I hope you find this helpful. I hope it sparks hope and positivity for you. 

Don’t give up. There IS hope!

If there’s anything I forgot to mention in this blog post, please leave a comment below and I will do my best to answer your question. 

 

Other resources you may enjoy — 

Weed The People documentary

Heal documentary 

 

If you’ve had success or improvement with anything I’ve mentioned here, I’d absolutely love to hear it. Please send me an email at jenny@healthycrush.com and let me know how you’re doing. Really, your stories mean the world to us.

I’m currently writing a book so I can try to help as many people as possible, and any story of improvement using cannabis, mushrooms, or another plant-based or alternative therapy for healing and wellness is extremely helpful for me to hear. Please send them to jenny@healthycrush.com.

Sending you SO much love,

Jenny