Ready, Set, Go, - or, How I Came to This Decision

Tomorrow starts the first day of my attempt to do a 92 day juice fast or "feast".  The difference is a feast requires me to take in at least a gallon of green juice a day, regardless of any other juices I might also have on any given day.

Here's where I need to explain a little more about this "juice feast" and why I'm doing it.

Last year, 2008, began with pain in my back and my right abdomen.  After struggling to work through it, to stretch it, to massage it, self-diagnose it, and finally, get the required medical tests to discover its true nature, it was discovered that I had, not only a herniated L4 disc, a small tear in the S1, and some degeneration of the spine at L5, BUT, there is also a tumor in my stomach, near the esophagus, diagnosed as a "GIST", gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

So many tests later, and no real treatment plan for any of these conditions left me in a kind of bewildered state.  I was angry at the doctors for seemingly not caring that I might need more information from them.  I questioned how the tumor was "benign" when there had been no biopsy.  I spent countless hours and days reading academic papers online with information far above my comprehension, determined to overcome my medical training deficit.  There was a lot of scary information about GISTs and cancer.  I felt resentment that I was forced to find it for myself rather than my doctors voluntarily taking some time to talk to me about my concerns.  I felt less worthy than the next scheduled patient, not taken seriously, as though I was a hypochondriac.  Even some of my family and friends seemed to lack real concern, and there were comments that made me feel as though I was a 4 year old child.

I started to look into eating differently.  I looked for alternative treatments to heal my conditions.  I read, and read, and read, and I pulled out my juicer, and threw away my processed foods.  I began to eliminate fatty, processed foods and began to eat lots more salads, bought supplements, oils, and powders.  I tried things like cacao nibs, making almond milk, soaking and grinding nuts, flaxseed crackers, seaweed, coconut water, and a lot more.  In short, I attempted to "go raw".

I'll write more about my "attempts" to go raw and the challenges I was met with later.  For now, I am simply intending to do this "Juice Feast" for 92 days and see what happens.  I have an appointment for a CT scan in the next week, so the size of the tumor can be monitored.  I'll report on its growth or shrinkage or other status.

Tomorrow morning, I'll combine the juice of celery, cucumber, and apple, and maybe some ginger.  During the day, I'll have other juices as well, along with water, and some peppermint tea for managing flatulence (yuck).

I'm looking forward to this new turn in my journey to heal myself, or at least to turn away from a desperate situation.  By being proactive in my own healthcare, I've taken responsibility from the doctors and accepted it myself - a kind of empowering action, don't you think?

Let's see how it goes.