Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello folks,
Well, sorry I've not been online much. Too much to do, and now it is online marking, so I'll have even less time.

The last time I told you all about my health I was in remission from the prostate cancer. Well, it's been hiding and it is like a prisoner in a cell who has just woken up and is yelling abuse at the police. The answer is radical: kill the prisoner, so I'm starting chemotherapy on June 13, the routine being one Monday a dose and 2 Mondays off, then repeat for ??? sessions. I am assuming that the routine will continue till Xmas.

There is certainly something confined to a small region of my left hip - a metasasis in the bone. But I have had no pain, apart from what I'd expect with all the bending and so on. The chemo is Taxotere, which is less aggressive than many and more so than some. I have been told to expect to live a normal life, but I am well aware that I need to be careful of getting infection in the middle of the cycle.

If you are answering this, please forgive me if you don't hear from me. Marking, sleeping, getting what exercise I can, especially on the allotment, and being chair of governors will all take up more than the time I have. But that is all to the good.

One thing I can +ly recommend to anyone in my situation is a visit to a homoeopath. The one I went to is most impressive and much of what she says is precisely what the oncologist would say. I'm now on a gluten-free and [more surprisingly] soya-free diet, with some magic liver and kidney boosting substances, which i imagine that NB and those like her would say "Well, of course!". There are a couple of hocus-pocus style substances she's given me, but I am inclined to think highly of her, so I will trust her substances too.

Best to all of you. Wish me luck.
mike

Mike Vogel. Wishing you all the best. shallotman

Best of luck with the treatments, Mike. I hope all goes well for you.

Alan

Morning Mike, us Befordshire Boys are made of tough stuff, so show it who's boss.

But good luck anyway.

Good luck Mike, for that period when you are worried about infection, take some manuka honey 10+ 1 tsp half hour before meals, and cold -pressed garlic pills excellent natural anti- bacterial and anti viral properties. Heat treated garlic kills the allicin which gives it antiviral properties

I think Taxotere is the product made from the extract of Yew clippings..or perhaps now made synthetically.??
Over 15+ years we sold on our Yew clippings at hedge trimming time at work for eventual use to make the product. Last year there was no sale for them hence I wonder if it can be made somehow else now.??
We clipped onto plastic sheets to keep clippings clean and then they were stored, spread thinly, on the stable floor. Once all hedges were complete the clippings were weighed and collected by a company called Friendship Estates from up Doncaster way who I think dried and baled the clippings and shipped them on to the manufacturers.

Perhaps too much information about source.

All the very best with the treatment.

Clive.

All the best Mike

All the very best, Mike! We'll all think of you.

Good luck & best wishes.

Mike
Best wishes from me as well.

All the very best Mike.

Thank you everyone. Clive, my wife headed up the Taxol breast cancer trials at the now defunct Middlesex Hospital in the 1990's, so I dare say some of your yew-clipping extract may have pssed through her hands.

NB, I am going to consult with my homoeopath and oncologist as to your suggestions, though I dare say any such natural remedies will be perfectly acceptable to both.

Mike best wishes and good luck with the treatment.

Bren

Mike. Here's wishing you lots of luck, and the hope that your current batch of treatment works out well. It sounds as if you're under a lot of pressure with all your current commitments, so rest up whenever you can and be kind to yourself. I'm sure all of us on here will be keeping our fingers crossed for you.

Mike,Good luck,everyone is rooting for you,very best wishes.JP.