2024 SPREADING HOPE

Jesus has been wonderful in guiding me and comforting me these last 41 years since I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior!  I want to share what I have discovered as I have lived with Multiple Myeloma these last 12 years and my testimony of the care and presence of the Lord in hard times.

This site includes recipes, exercises, links to studies and my results.  It is intended to be read by cancer patients who are trying to do what they can to work with their oncologist.  I am not a doctor and nothing I say should encourage you to go against your oncologist. You need to have blood tests regularly and follow your doctors’ orders. 

That said, diet and exercise can accompany and enhance most treatments and I have followed the ketogenic diet for about a decade so I want to spread hope by sharing the good results I have had from following it.  My experience may help people who are confused about conflicting advice on the best diet for cancer or who think eating keto long term is not possible or is not healthy. 

I recently found a book that describes the ketogenic diet and the science behind it.   The book is called “Any Way you Can- A beginner’s guide to Ketones for life” by Annette Bosworth, MD.  Her mother had cancer for 11 years, was 71 years old and worn down by chemotherapy and infections.  In the book Dr. Bosworth describes her research into a ketogenic diet as a last resort for her mother and their experience implementing the diet together and her mother’s remarkable response that gave her the ability to get off all chemo and suppress advanced cancer for 5 years.  At 76 Dr. Bosworth’s mother died from COVID – but her story is inspiring and I recommend her book!  The daughter Dr. Bosworth (Dr. Boz) was so impressed by what she learned and saw with her mother, that she has continued to practice and teach the keto diet to prevent chronic diseases.  She also suggests different levels of ketosis for different purposes -less strict if you want to lose weight and more if you are treating cancer or Alzheimer’s. 

Almost a year after buying the book and trying to follow her advice, I have found Dr Boz’s plan to be too strict for me.  A secret of my long time success is that my lifestyle is comfortable for me. I make a good very low carb dinner every night for myself and my husband.  I add some carbs for him – rice, noodles, potatoes etc.  We have left over dinner for lunch the next day and I skip breakfast about 4 days per week just drinking coffee with Nut Pods creamer about 1 T heavy cream and a bit of liquid stevia until I have some nuts at 10:30 or 11:00.  I eat eggs & bacon or sausage on weekends and make my husband English Muffins and hash browns with the eggs and bacon.  I have snacks of raw nuts, celery with cream cheese, artichoke hearts, avocadoes etc.  I do not count carbs every day – I just don’t eat carbs except from vegetables and I eat 2 oz of meat per meal and fats like Olive Oil, butter, cream, cream cheese, sour cream etc.

Below is my story:

In March 2014, I asked my oncologist if cutting out sugar would help slow my cancer and my oncologist said it is  not just the sugar we eat but keeping blood glucose low and steady and suggested I find a good diabetic diet.

After reading Dr Bernstein’s book “Diabetes Diet“, I realized a person could control their blood glucose if they changed their diet and basically cut out carbs and sweets.

Then I read Thomas Siegfried’s book, “Cancer as a Metabolic Disease“. which gave evidence that a ketogenic diet (which is a high fat & extremely low carb diet) was effective against cancer.  I tested my blood glucose and ketones every day and wrote my daily ketone and glucose reading on my calendar every night.  I followed that for many years and stabilized my cancer and healed my kidneys from 20% glomeruli filtration rate up to over 50% functioning kidneys now.

In 2019 I bought a device that could read ketones in breath.  I didn’t do it as faithfully and when I didn’t have the feedback of keeping track of my ketones and blood glucose I slowly added carbs and got out of ketosis without realizing it.  A glass of wine occasionally, sugar free chocolate, peanut butter  – all was a slippery slope for me.  I didn’t realize I was out of ketosis (I was still very low carb) until March 30, 2023, when I took the Wyoming Health Dept blood test.  The last time I had taken this particular blood test was in 2012.  That blood test 12 years ago is what alerted my doctors to my cancer because my kidney numbers were so bad. 

Looking at my test this spring had some happy surprises:

• I have lived significantly longer and better than is normal for Multiple Myeloma!  My transplant coordinator said I could expect 2-5 years after my bone marrow transplant. – it has been 12 years since I was diagnosed!  My oncologist said I have lived longer than any of his Myeloma patients and I have taken no prescription or over the counter medicine for nearly the entire 10 years since I started the ketogenic diet.
• My cholesterol: If you divide triglycerides by HDL you should have the ratio under 1.5  My triglycerides were 81 and HDL was 78.  (81/78= 1.03) and  fantastic!  I share this to reassure people who are afraid the ketogenic diet will cause problems with cholesterol.  I understand that the interaction between cholesterol and insulin causes problems and a keto diet lowers insulin dramatically.   I also use more Olive Oil than coconut oil, which is lower in saturated fat.
• My kidney numbers have radically improved – in fact they have healed from about 20% functional. (est GFR= 20) to about 55% functional in Aug! None of my doctors expected that!  Medical journals say it is not possible for kidneys to heal to such a degree.
• My Liver, Vit D & thyroid numbers have all improved- which I think is a result of having low steady blood glucose, more vegetables and enough fat for my hormones.
• I weigh what I weighed in high school.

The blood test showed my A1c was 5.4 and I decided to try to lower that. 

Hemoglobin A1c reflects your blood sugar level for the last 3 months.  Specifically the A1c test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin is coated with sugar.  Cancer cells have many more glucose receptors than healthy cells – so I assumed my cancer cells were getting too much glucose. The higher your A1c the poorer you blood sugar control.  Since the A1c test measures your average blood sugar level for the last 3 months instead of your blood sugar at a specific point in time, it is a better reflection of your blood glucose control.

In April after the test I started logging all the food I was eating and typed it into the Cronometer App which tells carbs & protein.  My net carbs averaged about 20.  I cut out alcohol completely (because I read that alcohol kicks you out of ketosis) and cut out peanut butter, sugar free chocolate.  (If you cannot cut out alcohol, I would recommend you have distilled alcohol rather than beer or wine).  Nearly a year later, I sometimes fill out my cronometer food diary, but not every day and I have gone back to adding fiber – so I try for NET carbs of 20 – that is total carbs minus the fiber.

May 5th, 2023 I got a Continuous Glucose Meter and signed up for the online course “Keto Continuum” on Bozmd.com.  I started eating 20 g TOTAL carbs per day (not subtracting fiber) and on May 17, 2023 I got the “Keto Mojo” blood glucose and ketone monitor and went back to pricking my finger and testing for ketones and glucose each evening and writing my numbers on the calendar each night.   May 26, 2023 I tested my A1c again.  It had come down only slightly – to 5.3.  I am 66 years old and learning more about what affects my blood glucose.  For example, when I am sick, my blood glucose goes up and I am experimenting with adding psyllium husk and with cutting down on dairy – but I am aware that I need to eat what is comfortable for the long term.  

In mid June I added a high fat mid-day treat of 1/4 c heavy cream, 1/4 c cream from a can of coconut milk or coconut cream, 1/4-1/2 avocado and 1 packet Sweetleaf stevia.  I mash that together.  A reason some people quit the keto diet is they do not eat enough fat or they get constipated.  Also, you need to feel satisfied and not hungry to stick with this for life.

I read that even MD Anderson is finally advocating for a ketogenic diet and my oncologist reads the latest research.  

Last year -Sept 2022 I met my new nephrologist (not oncologist mentioned above)– a young doctor from India who is now one of my favorite doctors.  “Dr. C” studied my medical history and he spent an hour asking me detailed questions about what I have done to manage my cancer and improve my kidneys without prescription medicines.  I feel that he is on my side and listen to anything he says.  Below I tried to recreate our 1-hour conversation.  “Dr. C” asked:

• Q: How did I suspect I had Multiple Myeloma in the first place. 
• A: I had gotten a Blue Envelope Blood test every year and in 2012 I became alarmed at my kidney numbers – My General Practitioner sent me to a Nephrologist who took 17 vials of blood for various tests and ordered 3 biopsies – of fat, bone & kidneys – my kidney biopsy showed 76% “cortical scaring” – which meant my 76% of my kidneys were destroyed – my kidneys were working at about 24%.  “Dr. C” had seen those biopsy results in my records. I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and Light Chain Deposition Disease in May 2012.  (light chains from MM deposited in my kidneys)
• In June 2012 I was shown a video of the 3 types of dialysis because my kidneys declined to 20% during the chemo for Multiple Myeloma and dialysis seemed likely.
• My Kappa/Lambda ratio was 89 (normal is under 1.65), Creatinine was up to 3.1 (normal is under 1) & BUN was 50 (normal is 6-23).
• Dr. C asked What I weighed when diagnosed (I was 25# more than I am now)
• After 4 months of taking Thalidomide, Dex and Velcade, I had a “Bone Marrow Transplant” (Also called a ASCT – Auto Stem Cell Transplant) in November 2012. 
• Dr .C asked what my blood glucose was at different points: blood glucose was 256 when I was first diagnosed and on dexamethasone! Now I try to avoid all steroids because it impacts my blood glucose so strongly!  Blood glucose was about 130 when I started low carb/keto in March 2014 – Now I try to keep blood glucose around 85 – except that fasting blood glucose in morning bounces up to 95.
• I pricked my finger and tested blood glucose 5x per day for many years Note beginning May 5, 2023, I started using a continuous glucose monitor so I do not need to prick my finger except to measure ketones! 
• Dr C asked me about my bone marrow transplant in 2012 and I told him how my husband & I went to Colorado Bone Cancer Institute on Halloween 2012 and returned a couple of weeks before Christmas. They filtered my blood through a machine like a dialysis machine to collect stem cells, gave me the “sledge hammer” chemo drug Malphalan to kill all my bone marrow and then re-injected my own stem cells into my blood. 
• When I was in the hospital in Denver just before the procedure I asked my transplant coordinator how long this transplant would “give me” and she said she would expect 2-5 years. 🙁
• It took a couple of weeks for my stem cells to find their way into my bones and begin creating new bone marrow that was capable of producing blood cells and I went into ICU for 4 days because my body rejected my own stem cells (graft vs host disease).  
• After the bone marrow transplant my kappa/lambda ratio came down, but bounced back up to 3.73  almost immediately, so I was put on 5-10 mg Revlamid every other day. 
• 16 months after my ASCT, I felt like my “2-5 years” were flying by and my sister said she had read that cutting out sugar was important.  I asked my oncologist if avoiding sugar would slow my cancer, he said, “Yes, but it is not just important to avoid eating sugar, it is important to maintain low,  steady blood sugar. Find a good diabetic diet and follow it“.   I thank the Lord for my oncologist telling me that and also that the first books I read were the following.
• “Diabetes Diet” and “Diabetes Solution” by Dr. Bernstein. which said to eat no carbs except from vegetables, meat & cheese.   (6 g total carb in morning, 12 in afternoon and 12 in evening -total carbs not net carbs where fiber is subtracted).  I followed it exactly beginning in mid March 2014.
• I read “Cancer is a Metabolic Disease” by Thomas Seyfried, and became convinced I should eat a ketogenic diet.
  I read, “Tripping over the Truth by Travis Christofferson”
   and a book by 4 Johns Hopkins doctors called “Ketogenic Diets. Treatment for Epilepsy and other Disorders.  
• My body began to heal as I kept my blood glucose low and steady and followed the ketogenic diet.  I was able to drop from 5 mg Revalmid every other day to once a week and then I quit taking Revlamid completely in 2015.
• My kidneys surprised everyone by improving!  I also got off Thyroid medicine and Omeprazole.   
• My new nephrologist, Dr. C, returned several time so asking how I have managed to continue my diet (I have not had a single potato chip, piece of bread or candy since that March day in 2014) – I told him that I and my oncologist have been surprised it has worked so well!!!  For my first year, I was desperately trying to live one more year – my life depended on me keeping blood glucose low and ketones high. I must admit that none of my doctors encouraged this diet at the time.  After the first year my life style was not hard – any lifestyle is really just habit and I have wonderful low carb recipes.  Having low steady blood glucose means that I am rarely hungry and don’t have cravings. I have good cookbooks (cookbooks by Kristie Sullivan are my favorite) and Jesus Christ covers, blesses & guides me.   
• Let me explain how Jesus helps me.  No ones life is perfect – some people don’t have children or a spouse or enough money.  A Christian must look to Jesus and say, “You see my life – what I have and what I don’t have comes from Your hand and You have given me enough”   I occasionally feel  tempted to eat something with carbs or to drink alcohol when I watch a commercial for something I used to like and I close my eyes or look away.   (Matt 6:25 & Luke 12:23) -“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  For me the answer is “Yes!  The food that I can eat is good enough.  My life is a gift and I eat only what keeps my blood glucose low and ketones high.” 

My experiences when diagnosed and going through the bone marrow transplant (ASCT) are on the page  “My Story 2012, 2013”.  I have arranged my notes chronologically.

My  cancer markers bounce around a bit and when my cancer markers get worse, it prompts me to cling to the Lord more closely and remember that while I ask Him for healing and good years, my goal is not  just to live a long life, but to live close to Him whether on earth or heaven.  And, I want His Will for my life – He knows how long I will live, I don’t.  

I enjoy studying the latest discoveries about cancer & health and I had blood tests every 8 weeks for many years (CBC, renal function & light chains) and still have a blood test every few months.

Cancer has changed me –  I am closer to the Lord and try to keep my focus on the eternal.  I have peace knowing that we are all travelers passing through this world. 

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My primary cancer markers are my % kidney function (eGFR – estimated glomerular filtration rate) and the ratio of Kappa/Lambda’s which is supposed to be between .26 – 1.65 .

A side note:  I got C-Diff for 5 months when I first got out of the hospital and I had been on antibiotics for 6 months.  So, when I finally cleared up, I started taking probiotics.   Antibiotics can cause the C-Diff to come back, so Infectious Disease must approve any antibiotic before I take it. I still take probiotics daily – with 30-50 billion.  This could be one of my secrets of success – a healthy gut biome.

• Culturelle, 
• Natures Way
• Primadophilus Optima, 
• Mercola,
• Perlmutters or
• Sacchromyces Bouliardii.