Hello, how are you today?

Two statements. Bam! Just like that. Both linked to each other. I will survive this cancer and I will do it my way.

Determination, hope, surrounding myself with good and supportive people, and choosing my own role in my destiny. Just a few of the things that are part of surviving, growing and living.

Before I go any further though I’d just like to provide a link to Tara Winstead who created the caption on the left. Go check her out at Pexels. Right here: https://www.pexels.com/photo/letter-text-on-a-surface-8385207/

Now back to the plot. It’s about time I wrote this to explain what my treatment plan is. Some people already know, but most don’t.

As an aside I’m not going to go through every little detail in this post as it would turn into a novel. What I’ll do is run through all the different areas to give an overview. Then in future posts I can go into more depth on singular areas and give more detailed information relevant to each one.

I’m also not going to be specific about all of my treatment plan. That’s because I don’t want people to read this and think it’s one hundred percent going to save them from cancer. It could work for other people but I’m not going to guarantee that. I mean it would be great if I’d found the silver bullet for all cancers but I probably haven’t. My treatment plan is tailored to me. It’s not tailored for you or anyone you know who may have cancer. Every cancer is different, every person is different. Treatments vary and some people have more choices than others.

I would be devastated to hear that someone thought, “Well that works for Jon, I’ll let my relative know.” Then their relative copies what I do and doesn’t survive. So for this reason I’m not going to give you everything. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. For your sake as well as my own.

I’ll say it again but you must go and see your own professionals and discuss everything with them. Take what I do and discuss it with them by all means. Some of what I do may help others but maybe not everything I do. Also, if you don’t agree with the professionals you see get a second opinion. Change them if necessary. It’s your life, take control.

Having said that there are some things that I do that I probably would recommend for most people, but again you still need to decide for yourself. Don’t follow anything I say, or what other people say, blindly.

I urge you to support people in the treatment plans they choose. Please don’t criticise them. It’s not your place to do that. It may not be what you’d choose to do and you may think they are on the wrong path, but it’s their choice. Just like my treatment plan is my choice. My life, my choice.

Not to mention that different cancers have different choices. They vary a lot depending on who you are and what cancer you’ve got. Some treatment plans are provided by the state, some are not. Some are very affordable and some are very expensive. None to my knowledge, and I mean none, are guaranteed to work. Whether it’s chemo therapy right through the whole range to your most expensive alternative treatments. Anyone who says they have a silver bullet for cancer is a liar or at the least very delusional. If there was a silver bullet we’d all be doing it.

By all means have a discussion with people about their choices, even put forward ideas that you may think could help. But don’t criticise, or put people down, for their choice. It really doesn’t help. Be supportive of them and help them when they need it. After all no one likes an arrogant fuckwit who thinks they know best. Likewise if you’ve never had cancer don’t say to someone with cancer what you’d do if you got cancer. The reality is you don’t know until you are in that position.

Personally I don’t think you should pin all your hopes on any one particular treatment. I believe in taking a holistic approach to kicking out and, just as importantly, keeping out this insidious disease.

Any old how I’m sure you’re over being lectured by me and are probably thinking, bloody hell when’s he going to tell us about this holistic approach to treatment.

Ok, here goes.

I’d like to cover a few different areas. What I do and who I work with in those areas. Not to mention all the books I’ve read and the medical papers my wife has read. Thank you Danielle for that because I don’t have the brain power or the patience to read medical papers. I’ve also talked to other people with cancer and listened to their perspectives and what they’ve done. Also, what they’ve chosen not to do. Thank you to all the people who’ve recommended books to read, practitioners to see and for giving me insights and ideas into areas I would never have thought of. I have chosen to act on some recommendations and to not act on others. But I always appreciate the effort someone makes to help out. So thank you.

My treatment plan is holistic and covers a few different areas. To incorporate all of this I work with a number of different people. The clever people as I like to call them as they know a lot more than me and without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. So if any of them are reading this I would just like to say thank you, thank you, thank you.

The treatment plan consists of:

• Medicines and Suplements
• Diet and Nutrition
• Exercise
• Mental and Emotional Health
• Spiritual Health and Meditation
• Complimentary Treatments and Acupuncture
• Medical Scans and Blood Tests

The team who implement this treatment plan (in no paticular order) are:

• Naturopath
• Biochemist
• Chemical Analyst
• Mental and Emotional Health Therapist
• Physiotherapist
• Emerald Heart Practitioner
• Acupuncturist
• Haematologist
• General Practitioner
• Compilmentary Therapists

I’ll cover each area briefly below. However, I will have to write individual posts on some of the treatments as some are much more detailed than others.

Medicines and Supplements

Where do I begin with this one because there are a lot. I take a ton of tablets everyday of one shape size form or another. Not to mention a few liquids and drops as well.

Everything I take has been prescribed by my GP, naturopath, biochemist or acupuncturist. They each have their areas of expertise and knowledge.

I’ve researched a lot of stuff myself too, but if I, or someone else, find something worth looking at I always run it past the clever people first. I need to know from a professional view point if it will work, what is the correct dose that is safe for me to take and their overall opinion. If I get the green light I go for it.

In terms of what I take, well as I said, there’s a lot. So I’m going to do a seperate post on this area as I’d like to cover it a little more in-depth than I’m able to here. Please be patient with me but that post will come soon.

A couple of tablets I will mention though are metformin and berberine. Metformin is a prescription only drug and berberine is a herbal supplement. I take both of them. The reason for this is that they are both sugar inhibitors. Which is important because cancer loves sugar and will steal it from any source it can.

Metformin you will have to get through your GP. They will also determine if it’s safe for you to take and what the correct dosage is. Metformin is a diabetes medicine and is mainly used by people with type 2 diabetes. It is used to control blood glucose (sugar) levels. A lot of research now shows that it can help cancer patients to control sugar absorption. If you are doing any treatments through your oncologist, or haematologist, for example chemotherapy, I would run it past them to make sure you are ok to take it.

Berberine can be brought from a number of different sources. As with a lot of supplements some are better than others. The best ones aren’t necessarily the most expensive either. So look around. I would also consider talking to a good naturopath about your options with berberine. I was first told about it and given the correct dosage to take by the biochemist I work with at CancerActive, who you’ll find on the links page on my website. Berberine is also taken by some diabetics as well as cancer patients. Amongst other things it lowers blood sugar levels and may help decrease insulin resistance.

This is a general overview and I’ll go into more detail in a seperate post.

Diet and Nutrition

This area is immensely important. Another area I want to get into in-depth in a seperate post. You are what you eat has an element of truth to it when it comes to health conditions. When I got my cancer diagnosis I changed my diet radically. This came after a lot of research and talking to a number of people. One person lacking from my team is a good dietician or nutritionist, something I would like to rectify. But that means finding a good one who’s willing to listen to everything diet based regarding cancer. Any volunteers?

One of the first foods I gave up was sugar. This meant giving up nearly all refined foods, and some not so refined. It’s amazing what has sugar added to it. Now I know it’s virtually impossible to give up all sugar as some foods have naturally occurring sugar. For example fruit. But it’s possible to eliminate most sugar from your diet, and hopefully berberine and metformin take care of the rest.

This does mean giving up a lot of yummy stuff. Including lollies (sweets, candy), cakes, alcohol, and all that other good stuff. No shop brought juices as a lot of them have nearly as much sugar as a can of coke. As I said you’ll be surprised where you find sugar, just look at the labels. The only sweetener I use is stevia as it contains zero sugar but is very sweet. It’s extracted from a south American plant and is actually a lot sweeter than sugar. Some people use honey or pure maple syrup but they are still high in sugar and your body will treat it as such. And so will cancer. It’s not fussy about where it gets its sugar from. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy life and spoil yourself occasionally but there has to be a balance. After all in some cases it can literally mean life or death.

If you’re looking for a healthy diet then the mediterranean is one of the best and healthiest. There’s a lot of cookbooks out there and plenty of research. Go have a look, it’s a good place to start.

Lot’s more to come in a seperate post.

Exercise

Massively important for your health. You have to keep your body moving and it can help your treatments work better. It’s been shown that exercising during chemotherapy can improve its results and reduce side effects. This may be considered radical but if you want more info check this article out: https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/exercise-during-cancer-treatment–4-things-to-know.h00-159543690.html#:~:text=“Exercise%20may%20make%20chemotherapy%20more,immunotherapy%20treatments%20that%20work%20better.

But what ever you are doing exercise is good. Walking, at the very least, is a must. Minimum four days a week. I try to do that and my walks I try to do for at least twenty minutes. The walk always ends with me walking up a steep road to our house. So that’s an added bonus. I also do strength training which involves weights, resistance bands and my own body weight. I do this two days on, one day off. That cycle seems to work for me. One recovery day for every two exercise days. I see a physiotherapist who helps me a lot with exercise programs and how hard I should or shouldn’t push myself. I’m fortunate that she’s also trained to work with cancer patients.

There’s a lot of information out there and a lot of qualified people who can help. So do your research and get moving. And you don’t need a specialist to go for a walk so off you trot.

Mental and Emotional Health

An absolute must to have a look at. If you don’t get in the game mentally and emotionally I don’t think you can survive the cancer journey. It’s a hard one because there are numerous ups and downs. It’s ok to be upset, devastated, feel lost, weak and have those days where you don’t feel you can go on. But you have to find a way to bounce back. You have to have a reason to keep going. Day by day, one step to the next, life is precious so hang onto it. That doesn’t mean I’m scared of death because I’m not. But I’m not ready to die yet. I’ve got too much living to do still. I’ll write more about this in other posts because I’ve had my ups and downs over the last year.

In the meantime if you are struggling I recommend finding a good therapist who maybe able to help. I never went to therapy until I got a cancer diagnosis, although I probably should have gone to one years ago. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. Fortunately I found a great one first time. She has helped me immensely with a lot of different areas in my life, not just cancer. Again, if you don’t like your therapist change them. Take control. You deserve it.

Spiritual Health and Meditation

Another important area to consider when facing cancer. This is very personal too as everybody has their own belief system and, I guess, some people don’t believe in anything at all.

There is research to show that meditation, and yoga, can help improve your life span. UCLA, in the US, have conducted clinical trials showing that cancer patients who go on stress management courses survive significantly longer than those who don’t manage stress. These courses can contain meditation and yoga. Research shows that regular meditation can reduce stress by 40%. This is important because it’s proven that continual high states of stress can be a killer. If you’re stressed all the time you’re more likely to get cancer than someone who’s stress free. So find a way to genuinely chill and relax.

A top cancer hospital in the US when looking at all factors related to survival rates of their patients found something interesting and surprising. People who had a genuine spiritual faith and/or a genuine belief in some kind of God lived on average seven times longer than those who didn’t. Research is ongoing in regards to this.

Sometimes it’s just as important to look inwards as it is outwards. My meditation practice helps with this. I try to meditate everyday, but I’ll be honest and say that there are days when I don’t for one reason or another. However, I try to make sure the gaps in between days are not too many. Otherwise I run the risk of it becoming a habit to not meditate. So dedication is important and, not only that, I enjoy meditation when I do it.

I’m experienced at meditation having practiced it for about twenty years. I even used to teach it and run meditation circles. However, if you’re new to it that’s ok. There are plenty of groups and teachers out there. All you have to do is find one. There’s also plenty of resources on the internet. There are different types of meditation: guided, breath work, buddhist, for example. You just have to find the one that works for you. If straight meditation doesn’t work for you have a look at doing Tai Chi, Qigong or a form of yoga that includes the meditation aspect.

I have a very deep spiritual belief system which helps me immensely. It’s very personal as I don’t subscribe to any individual religion or faith. It’s a combination of many different aspects of spirituality that work for me. Before I say the next part I think I’d better clarify terminology. People have many different words for that source of divine energy. God, Allah, Yahweh, Goddess, The Divine, Spirit, The Universe, Universal Consciousness, and the list goes on. Then you bring in different languages and it can change again. It’s personal, and so it should be. As far as I’m concerned there’s no right or wrong. It’s just about how a person chooses to visualise their faith.

So the next part. My spirituality allows me to connect in very deeply to God and Universal Consciousness. It gives me strength and comfort when times are hard. It allows me to keep going and it often offers me advice as well as challenging me. Like I said I’m not religious so my God is non-denominational. My God is a source of spiritual energy and is not restricted to any one set of rules or regulations. That’s all I’m going to say on this matter for now. I could and probably will write a whole post on this for those that are interested.

Complimentary Treatments and Acupuncture

These can help immensely in supporting your cancer treatment program. Some complimentary treatments could fit into some of the above categories. For example tai chi or energy healing.

Complimentary therapies that could help on the journey can include hypnosis, massage, reflexology, chiropractic, art therapy, aromatherapy and music therapy. There are many more and you would have to find the ones you resonate with.

It’s also important that you make sure that some hands on therapies are safe and compatible with the type of cancer you have. For example I don’t get massages because of the type of cancer I have. This is because my cancer is a lymphoma and the cancer resides in the lymphatic system. So I need to be careful how that lymphatic system is manipulated. If I did get a massage it would have to be from a practitioner who understands my type of cancer and is qualified to work with it.

I create my own music therapy as music is a constant in my life. I’ve worked out how different music affects my moods and this can in turn affect my body right down to the cells and the DNA. So I choose music carefully. Right now I’m playing some heavy dub reggae as it relaxes me and helps me to focus on what I’m writing. I very rarely play angry or sad music, as much as I love some of it, for obvious reasons. I try to play relaxing or uplifting music as these both help me maintain a sense of equilibrium. I’ll play hi-tempo music when I’m exercising and chilled out music when I’m meditating or trying to be in a zen like state.

I’ve had hypnotherapy which has helped with relieving stress. It’s also been used to help me reprogram my mind. What I mean by this is that it helps me to look at the negative aspects of how my mind works and reprogram the mind to be more positive. Along with my therapy which has looked at all aspects of my life I find that I am slowly making progress in a more positive direction. I would say I am becoming more heart centred than mind centred. This is allowing me to control my mind rather than it controlling me. There is less and less destructive chatter in my head and more clarity and positivity.

Acupuncture is great and I love it. I highly recommend it, just make sure you find a good one who really knows what they are doing. Currently I go and see a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He is very qualified and I feel like I’m in China when I step into his treatment room. I’ve been to China a few times and he always takes me back there, figuratively speaking. I occasionally have any medicine he prescribes but I’m really there for the acupuncture. He works on my energy levels and balances my chi, or qi as it’s sometimes written. Chi is the life force or energy that runs through all of us. It unites the body, mind and spirit. Mine is lower than it should be due to my cancer so we are gently working on bringing the energy back up and balancing the chi. I have definitely noticed improvements over the last couple of months. If you’ve never had acupuncture don’t be scared of it. The needles don’t hurt, although sometimes you may feel what I can only describe as a small electrical shock. This passes very quickly and I actually quite like it.

Medical Scans and Blood Tests

These are very important because they tell you what your cancer is doing or not doing. I am referred for these either by my haematologist or my GP.

PET scans are an imaging test that will show up all the cancer in your body, with one exception. They can’t show if the cancer is in your bones or bone marrow. For that you have to have a bone biopsy. I had to have a needle inserted into my bum all the way through to my hip bone where samples of blood, bone and bone marrow were taken. Not a fun experience I might add. Although I had a local anaesthetic I could still feel the needle moving around. Oh the joys of being tested for cancer.

Back to PET scans. This is where you have a radioactive glucose solution pumped through your body via a cannula (small plastic tube). After about an hour you will be taken for the scan. The time frame allows for the solution to go through your whole body. The scan itself takes about thirty minutes. Cancer cells love sugar so they gobble the solution up and will show up brighter on the scan than normal healthy cells.

My haematologist, after consulting with a team of people, will then give me the results. I’ve had two scans so far and I’m classed as stable which is a relief. However, the cancer is still in my body. If you want more details read my earlier posts on my results. Especially the one entitled ‘Scan Results Part 2. You’ve Got To Love a Second Opinion’.

Blood tests are important because they can give you an indication of what else is going on in your body. For example your white and red blood cell counts, iron levels, what’s happening with your lymphocytes and a host of other information. This is all very important when you have cancer, not to mention other diseases and conditions. I would recommend getting a blood test at least once a year. Even if you’re healthy it will give you an early indication if something is starting to go wrong. The earlier you catch these diseases the better chance you have of eliminating them.

Conclusion

There you have it. My treatment plan. Well, the bare bones of it anyway. I will go more in-depth in some areas of it in future posts. The first of which will probably either be diet or meds and supplements. It may not be the next post but it will be coming very soon.

There are a couple of things I’d like to add to this before I sign off though.

Firstly a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed to my ‘gofundme’ campaign or helped me directly with finances. This treatment plan has a lot of expenses and yes I know that is my choice, but I want to live and I feel this is the best way to achieve it within the realms of my financial possibilities. My wife, Danielle, and daughter, Kael, do an amazing job trying to keep our small family business afloat, but my treatment plan drains the finances immensely. So, again, thank you to all those who have helped us out. It means more than I can put into words. Big love to you all!

The fund raiser was started by our lovely friend Mel, who has been an amazing support to us. And a very good friend to Danielle during a difficult last year. I’ll also give a shout out to her rocking husband Jason who’s done his own bit to support the process. As this treatment plan is ongoing I will now cheekily, and gratefully, provide the link for the ‘gofundme’ if you would like to donate. https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-fight-against-cancer-mantle-cell-lymphoma

Secondly, and most importantly, don’t give up!! Never ever give up if you want to live. Overcoming cancer needs a very strong mindset and you must be determined. When I was first diagnosed I was scared shitless that this was the end of me. However, after the initial crushing blow and the fear of it all I had to pull myself out of the doom and gloom. I had to believe to the core of my being that I was going to live, that I would survive. I had to make massive changes in my life and be prepared to stick to them.

At first the motivation was there as I learnt about and discovered a whole possibility of treatments that allowed me to think beyond chemo. Chemo was the only treatment that was on offer from orthodox medicine and I didn’t want to put my body through that. Not to mention that I was told by my haematologist (an oncologist for blood cancers) that it was only a stay of execution.

However, as the daily grind of the treatment plan went from weeks to months the motivation wains. That’s when you have to dig deep and move into determination. That’s what keeps you going. The determination to live from day to day and week to week. I was diagnosed over a year ago and I’m still here. That’s due to determination and the ongoing support of family and friends. Never ever give up.

This applies to you too, whatever treatment you have chosen and/or whatever illness you may have. Maybe it’s not even a physical illness you are suffering from. Doesn’t matter. Sometimes we face challenges in life that are exceptionally hard. Doesn’t matter. Never give up. You may fail one, two, three or four times. Doesn’t matter. Dig deep and find the spark of life, the determination not to fail five or six times. Never give up.

The body, mind and spirit connection is an amazing thing. People who have been given a cancer prognosis of only a few months to live defy the odds and live a long life. This is because of their determination not to die. I firmly believe that if the body can get a disease then it can heal a disease. The body is amazing and given the right support it can heal itself. You are your body and your body is you. It’s the closest thing you have to you. It’s what your soul resides in. Tell your body to heal itself, encourage it, nourish it. Do whatever you have to do to repair it. If your first course of action is not working then change it and find one that does work. But this is a mindset. You have to believe to the core of your being that you can get better. This sometimes means that you shouldn’t believe what you are told by others. People may tell you that you can’t heal or that you’re going to die. Ignore them. Doesn’t matter who they are. If you believe you can get better and you put the daily grind in to achieve this then you will get better. There are thousands of people who are alive today because they believed they could get better. They ignored the doom and gloom merchants and believed in themselves.

Diagnosis is very different to prognosis. The diagnosis I was given by my haematologist is that I have mantle cell lymphoma. That’s a fact. I have a rare form of blood cancer that is very aggressive. Without treatment I should be dead. The prognosis from my haematologist is that this cancer will kill me, even with chemo it will still kill me. That’s not a fact to me. That’s a guess based on averages. That’s what they do, the specialists, they work on averages. If a person is told they have six months to live that’s based on the average life expectancy for people with that particular diagnosis. If you believe that prognosis then chances are you will only live six months. The mind is powerful and if you blindly believe what you are told and give into it then that’s what will probably happen. But there are people, myself included, who say “No, fuck off. That’s not happening to me. I’m going to live. This cancer is not going to kill me.” Believe in yourself and your body. If you can grow cancer in your body then you can ungrow it. Believe to your core that you can heal and you will. Yes, it’s a challenge and, yes, it can be exceptionally hard, but the alternative is to give into it and die. Well, I’m not having that. I’m going to live. Never give up.

This means you have to overcome the fear. Fear destroys people. It keeps them trapped and in some cases it leads to death. Don’t deny the fear, acknowledge it and then adjust your perspective to overcome it. See it coming, face it and let it wash over you like a wave. Then it will be gone. When it comes back repeat the process. Eventually it won’t come back anymore. I know this from practicing this technique. I don’t fear my cancer anymore and I don’t fear death. I’m going to live and the cancer will go.

Face the fear, radically change your life, and live. Never give up.

I’ll put a video below from Shi Heng Yi, who is a 35th Generation of Shaolin Masters and is the headmaster of the Shaolin Temple Europe. I found this inspirational and I hope you do too. If you don’t fair play to you. After all we’re all individuals.

Big love and never give up!

Jon