Overcoming Frustrations

Today is a new day. 

After a night of sleep disrupted by anger dreams, which in hindsight have some fascinating aspects -- a non-existent 6-year-old granddaughter named Megan who acted out like a child in a horror movie (I have never watched the movie Megan), she was screaming and dropping F bombs...was that my inner child having a tantrum?!  Anyway. This morning I am feeling better. 

Thanks to my dear friend Tim for asking me yesterday what was going on and hearing me out and validating my frustrations. I do not like to be a burden to anyone or to vent my outrage, I tend to avoid that, but he asked and it popped out and he handled it lovingly and brilliantly, and for that I am grateful. 

It is not an overreaction to be upset when you read that anemia can be life-threatening. In my previous post you see the numbers. They're very bad. My blood pressure last week was 111/56. That's low, even for me. My typical, relaxed BP is around 120/60 to 130/70. When I was stressed last year at the surgeon's  office, the upper number was 147. Anemia can lead to organ damage and heart failure. I almost took myself to a hospital on Wednesday, I was that freaked out. But I prefer to avoid a blood transfusion. 

By the end of the day yesterday, Thursday, I had managed to get critical minerals in balance. I am very  thankful for the Cronometer nutrient tracking app for teaching me about nutrient ratios and phytate. Nobody ever told me anything about copper. I was seeing two MDs last year while diagnosed with anemia and neither of them said a thing about copper or phytate. 

In hindsight, I realized that I was also angry at myself because I was not demanding enough. I tend to be passive. Add to that the apathy of depression. Sometimes I just don't care anymore. It's so overwhelming. It seems impossible. Hopeless. I have lymphoma. I have cancer. I am no longer healthy. It is what it is. Aging. Dying. 

But I could have pushed to speak with a dietitian. I am responsible for my well being and happiness. I could have gone out of network and demanded that insurance cover it because they did not have an RD within 50 miles. I could have demanded a telehealth consultation to ask dietary questions. Instead, I told my doctors that I wanted to speak with an RD and they did not refer me and I let it slide. I thought I was doing enough. Taking iron. Eating a well-balanced mix of healthy foods. Tracking my nutrients, making sure everything was at or above 100% of the daily recommended intake for a woman my age and size. Careful not to overdose on any vitamins or minerals that could be harmful in excess. Careful about ratios of zinc/copper, potassium/sodium, calcium/magnesium, calcium/oxalate, Omega-6/Omega-3. 

And then Cronometer added important info to the app and I learned a new fact: phytate interferes with absorption of iron, calcium and zinc. Most of the iron I was taking and eating just went to waste because I was eating foods high in phytic acid -- I thought I was doing a really good thing for myself, getting nutrition from nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and beans. I thought it was better for me to get nutrients from these sources because plant protein is easier for kidneys to break down than animal protein, and I've had chronic kidney failure for >10 years, so I was trying to keep my kidneys in mind, as well as the anemia. Damn. 

Today is a new day. A copper supplement is on its way today. Meanwhile, I can get sufficient amounts by eating more mushrooms and potatoes. I don't mind! 

Next week I will call my new doctor's office. I have selected a DO instead of an MD. DO training is more holistic. And one thing I know about Kaiser Permanente is that they do have RDs and in the past when I was fortunate enough to live near a KP and have the insurance option to go there, they took excellent care of me and automatically referred me to an RD. I didn't have to ask or push. They are proactive about educating patients. They did the same for my husband when he was diagnosed pre-diabetic. 

Next week, I may go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Department to get another blood test, but I am hoping that won't be necessary. I am hoping that I can talk to an RD and the new DO right away and see what they think. 

Is this anemia caused by dietary issues? Could it be caused by lymphoma? Do I need a blood transfusion? Do I need stem cell therapy? Do I have a leak in my gut? Is my digestive system struggling to absorb nutrients, since surgery removed two sections? 

Today is a new day. Eggs, potatoes and mushrooms for breakfast with pico de gallo and zero carb tortillas. Yum! 

No more chocolate graham crackers -- they add too much phytate. Ginger snaps are a better treat for me. 

My average phytate intake since I started using Cronometer in November was 860 mg. Yesterday my phytate was 226 mg. This knowledge will make a difference. I can do this. 

❤

This chart shows important nutrient ratios to keep in balance. That's how close I got by the end of day yesterday. I'm happy about that. 

If you click on the image, it enlarges, easier to read. 

This chart shows the Phytate yesterday. I managed to keep it to a minimum and can do a little better. Many foods have a little phytic acid, it is not totally avoidable, but there are things we can do to minimize consumption of this naughty element. 

If you want to start using the Cronometer mobile app, it is available for free in the App or Play stores for iPhone and Android devices. I paid a little extra for premium features that are important for me. It's worth it. 

Cheers! 

Carma

My blood test results have never been this bad before. This is worse than November. 

CBC test results show the terrible state of my blood health.

By the way, if you click on an image in my blog, it enlarges. 

Kidney & Liver panel show low protein, low calcium, low sodium -- I'm a mess!
(The high creatinine and low eGFR are typical for me, I have had chronic kidney failure for 12 years. This is a moderate condition, it's not too bad, historically, for me.)

This shows the iron in my blood. Though I've been taking iron daily!

All I can say to myself now is:

DON'T PANIC

And all I can do for myself today is eat more red meat, take more iron with vitamin C, and stop consuming phytate! What is phytate? Good question! Have you ever heard of it before? Me neither. 

Once again, I am thankful to the Cronometer nutrition tracking app for educating me on this most important fact. Why do doctors fail to mention this? And why has my primary physician failed to refer me to a registered dietitian? I mentioned two or three times to her that I wanted to speak with a registered dietitian. I need a referral. It's like that patient request did not even register at all! Why? It's so frustrating to find out by happenstance that the dietary regiment I have strictly followed since surgery last year (two sections of my digestive tract were removed) -- to find out that for nine months I have been eating all wrong for someone diagnosed with anemia! 

The only thing the doctor said is, "Take iron." 

The second time, when results were worse, the doctor said, "Take vitamin C with iron, and it's best to take it on an empty stomach, if you can tolerate it."

For months I have been taking iron in liquid form and a vitamin C gummy at the same time. On an empty stomach. And my anemia is worse! Why? Oh, phytates bind with iron and other key minerals and prevent their absorption! WTAF?! 

Does it not occur to MDs that there is more to treating anemia than taking iron? It is pretty useless to take iron when you are eating a lot of foods that have phytic acid, which produces phytate, which binds to iron and prevents its absorption. Duh. A registered dietitian would have known that! Why are MDs so ignorant and/or careless about dietary facts?

I am so frustrated and pissed off and freaking out. How am I even able to function with my red blood cell count so low? 

I have been feeling fatigued, mild muscle weakness, and occasionally light-headed. I certainly didn't feel this anemic! I started experiencing pulsatile tinnitus -- a weird little symptom, another thing I had never heard of before -- something to do with blood pressure increasing to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the blood due to anemia, and it causes a noise in the inner ear that is like a squeaky pulse. I searched "squeaky pulse in ear" and actually discovered this is a thing and it is associated with anemia, among other things. OMG. How is my health care in the hands of these MDs? I have a primary care physician and an oncologist (monitoring NHL SLL/CLL type lymphoma), and neither of them thought to ask me about my diet, and the PCP failed to refer me to a RD though I asked twice, maybe three times. I'm so over it. The health care system is utterly hopeless. What are they training MDs to do -- prescribe pharmaceuticals for everything? Yeah. It appears to be the case in America. 

Big sigh. Now, don't panic. What to do. 

Well, for immediate remedy, I did this:

Steak & Eggs

And this modification to my diet: 

Omega 3-6-7-9 Supplement
(Brand: Mary Ruth's, Form: Gummies)

Instead of getting omegas from chia, hemp, flax, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds and walnuts, I'll get them from a supplement and stop eating foods that are high in phytic acid. I am also stopping Brazil nuts as a source of selenium (another important antioxidant) and getting selenium from beef. 

I was eating turkey, chicken, tuna and salmon -- these proteins, while great for other reasons, are not good sources of iron. Red meat is. In that single serving of steak I had for breakfast, I get all of this...

Protein 67g

Choline supports metabolism. Very important. 
Plus, look at those Nutrition Scores!

All those B vitamins and most important: 0 Phytate!

82% of my daily iron need (and I will supplement this)

Look at all those minerals -- Phosphorous, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc!!

It was pretty lean, and has some omegas. 

Why was I not eating more beef sooner? Because my doctor was concerned about Amylase test results and pancreatitis and told me to go on a low fat diet. Beef is higher in fat than poultry. However, all it took was a few months on a low fat diet, and the Amylase result was back to normal. So I will eat lean beef, and avoid cheese and other saturated fats. 

I just hope I can turn this anemia situation around! If it gets any worse, I will need a blood transfusion and that is a risk I prefer to avoid. Hopefully, this blood condition is not due to a bone marrow situation. It could be. NHL SLL/CLL, if it progresses to the bone marrow, could be the cause, but I am not going to consent to invasive procedures. If it cannot be corrected with diet, so be it. I will not cling to this world. There is only so much I am willing to do to keep this body functional. C'est la vie. 

Peace be with you.

❤

Immune Support

One of my favorite things about the Cronometer nutrition tracking app is the Immune Support chart. It helps me throughout the day to choose foods that my body needs to ward off illness. It educates me on exactly what my body needs right now to keep it performing at its best. Here are the ten nutrients listed in the Immune Support category: 

1. Folate 
2. B12 (Cobalamin)
3. Vitamin A
4. Copper
5. Zinc
6. Magnesium
7. Vitamin D
8. Vitamin C
9. Omega-3
10. Omega-6

And to the right is a snapshot of how I'm doing so far this year (this view includes supplements -- without supplements, I am almost always deficient in Vitamin D).

I take small doses of B12 (liquid form 1-2 drops daily), Folate (1/4th of a Folic Acid tablet), and a little extra Zinc most days to keep my Zinc:Copper ratio in balance (because they utilize the same pathway, Cronometer helps me keep these two important nutrients in balance).  

It is important for everyone to take care of their immune system, but especially so for people living with cancer. Our bodies naturally fight disease, including cancer cells. My body has cancer cells in the lymph system, as I have written about previously; the lymph system is part of our body's immune response team, which is an amazing army of specialized cells that search every nook and cranny for things that do not belong, things that are not helpful or that cause harm. Those specialized cells flag viruses and cancer cells, telling the nervous system what and where it is, which type of defense is needed, etc.

Recently, my husband started coughing and developed a fever, chills, night sweats, and congestion. I did what I could to protect myself, keeping a distance, wearing a mask, but I did not think it would be enough to prevent me from also getting sick. After all, they removed 44 lymph nodes last year and my lymph system is invaded with cancer cells (Non Hodgkins SLL). It is compromised to say the least. This is why I have been so diligent about tracking my nutrition. It is my first line of defense!

To my utter surprise, I did not get sick! My husband was unfortunately sick for 10 days, but I did not develop even a sniffle! I can only attribute this to my immune system having what it needed to win the battle this time. 

I will keep this blog short by inviting readers who want more details to download Cronometer and start using it to educate yourself about what each nutrient is, what it does, and best food sources for you to get everything you need in your daily diet. Maybe a multi-vitamin and mineral formula is adequate for you, but for me, I don't want to waste money or calories on excess nutrients that my kidney has to flush. I want to give my body what it needs to be efficient. Kidneys already have an enormous 24/7 workload!

Thank you for being here. Please take a moment to leave a comment. I hope this post is helpful, and I wish you all the best in your health journey! 

❤

Purposefully Delayed

QUALITY OF LIFE

We use that phrase without giving much thought to what we mean when we say it. What does it mean for you? 

One of the things that I have a low tolerance for is a lifestyle that looks like a revolving door of doctor visits and lab tests. Quarterly is too often for me. Even six month intervals is too frequent for me. Is it just me, or do doctors in general tend to want to see you again in three months? My primary physician has given me a list of tests to get before the next visit. I don't think it is necessary or worthwhile to get these test every 3 months. I have Stage 2 Lymphoma, yes, but there is nothing they can do about it. What is the point of monitoring my body every 3 months? I think the point is income for the doctor. I think the medical group pressures their physicians to get the most billable hours they can, and they see in me a way to get the insurance to pay for it. But what about me? Do they consider at all what the frequency of tests and doctors does to me, emotionally and psychologically? Do they consider the stress it causes for me to have these frequent reminders that stir up anxiety all over again? 

I have pushed back and they do not hear me. So here is my plan to get the healthcare routine of my choosing.

First, I selected an HMO for 2026. 

This means the primary physician must request prior authorizations for EVERYTHING they think is necessary. And then it goes through a review process by the HMO and I am hoping they will NOT approve everything. 

Second, delay!

This means I am not going to call the primary physician's office to remind them that it is on them to get prior authorization for the scheduled appointment and lab tests ordered. They also have to get prior approval for me to see any specialists. So, about a week before the March appointment, I will call and ask them if these things are authorized. I am counting on them to fail. 

In my December visit, I reminded the doctor that I have new insurance next year that requires prior approval and she said something like, "I'm referring you, that's all you need." I did not argue. I did not ask the front desk anything either as they set the next appointment and told me to get the tests a week before the next visit. 

They are not going to do anything, I would win a bet on that, unless I call in January and remind them that I have an HMO that requires them to get everything authorized in advance. 

The March appointments will have to be rescheduled. Aww. So sad. (LOL)

Third, delay again!

A couple of weeks before the rescheduled appointments, call and tell them I am going out of town and need to reschedule. 

Finally, make them listen. 

This means not doing a colonoscopy and CT scan in 2026. I simply will not do it unless I choose to. The doctors are not listening to me. I will make them listen. 

I disagree with the recommendations. For me, it is too invasive to get all of these tests so often. It's not helping me at all. It is only helping them!

As I said, there is nothing they can do about the type of lymphoma I have. As long as I have no symptoms, treatment is not recommended. And here's the more important piece: if and when they recommend chemotherapy/radiation, my decision has already been made. No. Thanks, but NO! That is my final decision. Anyone who pressures me to reconsider will be avoided as someone who does not understand me and/or is being selfish at a time when I need people to understand and support my choice.

I am done with this vicious cycle. I have been down this road before and I hated it. I was happiest when I quit going to doctors and simply lived my life and relied on diet, exercise, fun, and stress management to feel my best. 

❤

Vitamin K

If you are anything like me, you have not heard much about Vitamin K. I have lived nearly seven decades. I have been active on the internet for two decades. And yet, this potent little nutrient seems to be spoken of very little. Why am I talking about it now? In a word, anemia. 

Long story short, if you're looking for a quick and easy source of Vitamin K, eat a few sticks of celery. It's that simple. 

Vitamin K, I learned through the use of Cronometer* nutrition tracking app, is essential to blood health: 

"FUNCTION: Vitamin K is needed for blood clotting and building bones. Vitamin K can be made by the bacteria in your intestines and contributes to some of your daily needs. Cronometer's data sources report phylloquinone aka vitamin K1, when entering labels we combine K1, K2, K3 and enter as Vitamin K. 

"SOURCES: Kale, spinach and other leafy greens, sweet potatoes, avocadoes."

As shown on my screenshot, celery contributed the most K of anything else I've eaten so far today. So now, whenever I see that K is low in my daily view of essentials, I eat a few sticks of celery. Easy peasy. 

BLOOD HEALTH

Essentials specific to managing and maintaining blood health are: Folate, B12 (Cobalamin), Iron, Calcium and Vitamin K. 

The screenshot on the right shows how much of these I have consumed so far today, including supplements (I usually need 1/4th of a Folic Acid tablet, 1 drop of B12 in liquid form, and sometimes a calcium tablet). 

Cronometer offered Blood Health as a highlighted nutrition score and I turned that on. This has proven a very interesting rabbit hole! 

I LOVE LEARNING

I feel like I am in Kindergarten! Learning new things. Brain buzzing with wonder. (Or is that the cannabis-infused dark chocolate?) Whatever it is, I like it. 😁

You know that feeling you get when new knowledge empowers you to make smarter choices? You feel a little bit bigger. A little stronger. Armed and ready for a battle you did not see coming. Watch me now!

My goal is to reverse the progression of lymphoma. It has creeped into my body due to years of uninformed neglect. Nutrient tracking is a game changer! ❤

_____

*Cronometer has a free basic plan with ads. If they offer you a free trial of Gold, I recommend taking it so you can try the app ad-free and see if you find it useful. Personally, I found it so essential to achieving my health goals that it was worth it to pay for the ad-free subscription ($60/yr). The ads became too intrusive for me. (I have a low tolerance for pop-ups.) 

My Weight Journey

 

2009

In 2009 when I met the love of my life (truly, the first and only time I have ever experienced falling in love), it so happens that I weighed about 120 pounds (54 kg). 

I had never gotten into fad diets or any behaviors that would hint at an eating disorder. I was simply busy, active, and did not eat big meals or indulge in excessive amounts of carbs. I rarely drank soda. Honestly, I have never had much of a taste for colas or any other fizzy sugar beverages. Fried foods also had little appeal to me. 

I was not a health food fanatic. I am now, but I do my utmost to not be preachy or constantly annoying about it, as I journey deeper into understanding the potency of good nutrition in my quest to slow the progress of lymphoma (Non-Hodgkin SLL/CLL). 

In just four short years of cooking for a man who loved pasta, I gained 56 pounds. It was this photograph at a family reunion that woke me. (That's me with short pink hair weighing 176.) 

2013

Although I was still comfortable in size 14 (US Women size), it smacked me right upside the head, looking at this photo, that it was happening. I was well on my way to obesity. I would soon need to buy size 16, then 18. When and how would the weight gain stop? 

Did I panic and join a weight loss club? Did I buy a book or listen to a podcast? Did I seek any kind of quick fix? NO. I knew already what I needed to know about weight gain and loss. It is a very simple formula.

EAT LESS. 
MOVE MORE.

I had indulged for four years in eating more than my body needed each day. I didn't care if I plumped up a little bit, I was enjoying myself. But now my bones and joints were bearing the burden of an extra 50 pounds. On top of the uncomfortable heaviness and added difficulty of movement, my kidneys were struggling, I was on a strict low calcium diet recommended by my nephrologist (kidney specialist), and unfortunately that had caused osteoporosis to begin weakening joints and bones. 

I knew that if I continued to add weight, I was going to be in chronic pain in the near future. I had to reverse the trend. Gradually. Thus I began in 2014 to eat a little less and move a little more. 

2014

If cookies and candy were in the home, I found it impossible to resist, so not having tempting sweets in the cupboards was one of the new habits I established. 

DELAY GRATIFICATION.

When at the store, facing endless arrays of junk food displays at checkout stands, I practiced delayed gratification. "Not today." I resisted the temptation to buy candy. It was very hard, but saying no to the impulse buy became easier the more I did it. 

At home, when my sweet tooth pestered me with relentless craving, more often, I chose fresh fruit. It was the only thing available at home. I thought about walking to the store and buying chocolate, but rarely caved to that. Eat less. Move more. Nothing drastic. Just gradually reverse the trend, that's all I was aiming for. 

2015

Within two years, clothes that had been snug were loose. I did not have a fitness tracker. Wasn't counting steps. My lifestyle was mostly sedentary, still, with occasional walks in the forest or along the coast. The above photo was taken by my husband (we married in 2014) at Mendocino Beach. It looks like my weight is normal, but that's due to the baggy sweater. I had only lost about 10 pounds. The extra 40 pounds I still carried all over, pretty evenly distributed, nonetheless an unnecessary burden on my joints. 

2016

My weight journey continued, slightly decreasing over time. That's all I cared about...a gradual reversal of the gaining trend. 

2017

I was not happy about the way I looked in photos such as these. But being skinny was never the goal. Being healthy was my goal. I could have been doing a lot more toward that, but have found that it works best to establish one new healthy habit at a time. Don't try to drastically overhaul your lifestyle all at once. Commit to baby steps that reverse the weight gain trend. Reduce the frequency of giving in to impulse eating. Gradually target healthier habits. It worked for me. 

2018

Five years later, I will still heavier than I wanted to be. However, I had at least reversed the trend. I was not gaining weight. It was slowly coming off. If I wanted to lose faster, it would take more effort. At this point, I was not interested in doing much more, but I was beginning to think about doing more, such as strength training and exercising my heart more. 

In 2019, I started going to Planet Fitness. It was only $10/month. I think it was really RBG who inspired me. 

2019

The biggest motivator, however, came in 2020, after a fall that injured my back (more about that in my Bone Health post). It was no longer enough for me to merely lose the excess weight to preserve joint health. Now I was forced to move more and in more ways, to strengthen my bones, to reduce the risk of fractures. I learned that movement pulls on bones and that is part of the process of stimulating bone growth -- now I had to increase bone density to reduce the risk of compression fractures. 

The fastest turnaround in weight gain/loss happened when I started using a fitness tracking device and app (I chose Fitbit). That is when I saw how much I still tended to eat more than I needed. That's why the weight was coming off so slowly. Empowered with an app, a weight scale, and a plan to establish new exercise habits, I went from 162 to 156 in five months. Do the math. From July 2013 to March 2020, I had gone from 176 to 162, an average of 2-3 pounds per year. As I said, that was fine with me then because I only cared about slowly reversing the weight gain trend. 

Now, I was hell bent on avoiding chronic pain. Sitting for hours was no longer an option. To make a full recovery after the spinal injury, I would have to get up and move every hour! I needed a Fitbit to help me do that. Setting a 1-hour timer on my phone wasn't enough. I needed more help to motivate me to move more. It was all about bone strengthening from this point on. 

My mother had gone through knee surgery. She never fully recovered her mobility. That woke me. Knees carrying an extra 40 pounds for years. They are going to wear out faster and that amounts to pain. Pain that limits walking. When people are in chronic physical pain, they move less and gain more. It slowly devolves into diabetes and chronic pain. Two conditions I was fixed on preventing. Not to mention the discomfort of being overweight. It just does not feel good. 

This is what my Fitbit looks like for 2020 - 2025. By October 2021, I was down to 131 pounds. How? Walking. A lot more walking. 

By November 2024, I was down to 115 pounds. I had been satisfied at 120, and then I thought, why not 115? Let's see how that feels. I am only 5' 4". Even at 120, I still had extra fat that I did not need. Once I hit 115, I maintained. 

This year (2025), due to an auto accident, surgeries and cancer diagnoses, I have had to change my routines. Activity has been restricted. New dietary restrictions became necessary. I decided to gain weight to have some reserves. I had dropped to 109 after the first surgery and then had to prep for a colonoscopy and colon surgery. It was actually difficult to gain weight quickly (I still had to consider what my kidneys could handle daily). 

As of the day of surgery, I weighed in at 116. A week later I had lost 4 lbs. Part of that loss was the removal of a tumor in my colon and 44 swollen lymph nodes from the abdominal area. 

I am presently 118 and satisfied to maintain that. 

As you can see from these screenshots, I was walking over 3 miles daily on average. My routine changed from walking to water jogging for an hour almost every day. Water jogging does not show up in the step count, and Fitbit cannot track my heart rate underwater, so the algorithm only shows the estimated calories burned for the distance and time of this activity. 

In November 2025, Fitbit's food database search bugged out and a lot of users got frustrated, myself included. I switched to Cronometer for nutrition tracking. It is far superior!

I don't want to swamp you with screenshots and details. You get the gist. 

What worked for me may not be the best choices for you. 

Figure out what works for you. 

I will add, in closing, that consulting with a registered dietician in 2022 is one of the best things I did. It got me on a path of relating to food as preventive medicine and brought me to where I am now - using an app to take the guess work out of what my body needs each day to be strong and vital. 

Celebrating with my son in 2023

2025 at Wellington Botanical Garden
New Zealand Trip

2025 Me & My Honeybear
Hiking the Slot Canyon Trail

Glutathione vs Glyphosate

 

Me with my son

 For my birthday this year, I received a 7-hour surgery to remove a tumor in my colon that had slowly, silently grown without any pain or  symptom. How was the tumor discovered? Literally by accident.

 At the same time, 44 swollen lymph nodes were removed and examined for cancer cells. 

 The best birthday present this year was waking up to the nurse saying, "Good news - no colostomy!" That was the one thing I begged the surgeon to do her best to avoid. She was amazing. Thank you, Dr. Allison Aka and Loma Linda Medical Center. 

 Today's blog is about glyphosate - the most common weed killer. Glyphosate residue is in much of the food most of us eat, unless you make an effort to minimize your consumption of it by choosing non-GMO and organically grown foods. On top of this measure to reduce exposure to this carcinogen, a doctor shared with me his son's lymphoma turnaround story, which they attribute to taking glutathione, a dietary supplement. He explained that glutathione helps our bodies get rid of glyphosate. I do not claim to understand scientific research, but it is available for those who want credible information about glutathione and glyphosate. 

I started taking glutathione supplements immediately. 

A pathologist examined all 44 lymph nodes that were removed. The good news was that the colon cancer was NOT metastasized (i.e. it had not traveled outside the colon, there were no colon cancer cells in the lymph nodes). It also was not sarcoidosis granulomas (it would have been better if it was, as sarcoidosis is merely an inflammatory disease, easier to manage). The bad news was (and is) that another kind of cancer was in the lymph nodes: 

Sections show complete effacement of the nodal architecture by sheets of small atypical lymphoid cells. No aggregates of large cells are seen. The atypical lymphoid cells are positive for CD20 (weak), CD5 (weak), CD23, BCL-2, and negative for CD3, cyclinD1, CD10, BCL-6. The Ki67 proliferation index ranges from 5% to focally up to 20%. The findings are consistent with SLL/CLL.

I was diagnosed with Non-Hodkin Lymphoma, SLL/CLL subtype, stage 2. 

For now, we only monitor it with blood tests (quarterly) and CT scans (twice a year), since my symptoms are only swollen lymph nodes above and below the diaphragm, and none so serious as to cause pain or disrupt breathing. My immune system is compromised. And I have developed anemia.

I did not have anemia six weeks after surgery. Anemia showed up in August and was worse in November blood test results. I did not understand a few things that would have helped turn it around faster:

1. Take vitamin C with iron - it's necessary to help the body absorb the iron, otherwise, iron in foods and supplements mostly goes to waste. 
2. Reduce caffeine - that too interferes with iron absorption. 
3. Other nutrients contribute to blood health: Folate, B12 (Cobalamin), Calcium and Vitamin K. 

 About 3 weeks ago, I discovered a nutrition tracking app that has proven very helpful. Cronometer. This screenshot is my average for the past 7 days. Without this app and my diligence in using it, I would be "flying blind" with regard to nutritional intake. These averages include the supplements I take as needed. More importantly, this app teaches which foods are rich in nutrients needed and I choose meals and snacks based on that. For example, sometimes I eat more celery because I see that I am low in Vitamin K - 100 grams of celery (about 3-4 medium stalks) provides 29 mg of Vitamin K. It depends. Some days I have already eaten more foods rich in this vitamin, then my snack or meal will focus on a different deficiency. 

That is a snapshot of vitamins in 100 grams of raw celery. Helpful information. But what if the celery you're eating has glyphosate - inside the cells - that cannot be washed off!?

The only things I can do to improve my chances of slowing down the progression of SLL/CLL cancer spread to bone marrow, lungs, liver or spleen (their usual transition), is to reduce the toxins in my food and take supplements that counteract such toxins. Glutathione binds to glyphosate and helps the body to get rid of it. Eating organic and non-GMO reduces the amount of glyphosate that I consume today. 

How much is enough glutathione? I don't know. I have not found sufficient research data to indicate how much is enough, or if there is such a thing as too much (glutathion toxicity?) That is a topic I continue to research. Here is one page I found about it, but I don't know enough yet to be able to say that I trust this website - is it objective? Are they scientific method-based? Still studying that. 

Please do tell me if you know more about glutathione vs glyphosate! 

Tell me anything you have learned about slowing or reversing the spread of SLL/CLL cancer cells - share the links, please! 

Glyphosate (weed killer) is used on most soy and corn crops in America. I avoid consuming more of this toxin, which I believe caused sarcoidosis and kidney failure (2014) and I also believe that is when both cancers started. Both are very slow cancers that can take 10+ years to manifest. There is no way that the colon cancer removed this year (April 2025) recently started growing. I think glyphosate was the beginning of the end for me. 

Now, my life is a series of habits developed to minimize glyphosate consumption and reverse its impact. Glutathione helped my optometrist's son. He is a physician, he has studied this connection for years, and he recommended the supplement. Time will tell. It's only been six months for me. Maybe by this time next year I will not have anemia, my blood health will be restored, and the swollen lymph nodes in my neck and clavicle area will decrease in size. There's hope! 

Thank you for sharing my health journey. ❤