Welcome to HelpMySis.com
update 1
This is my younger sister Megan (age 27), her husband, and their four young children. In September of 2008, Megan started to experience swelling in the right side of her upper body, mainly her right arm and shoulder. She tried massage and chiropractic adjustments, but neither reduced the swelling. Her chiropractor suggested that he order an x-ray for her. She had an x-ray taken and what they found was lymphatic swelling. Further testing and scanning confirmed that she had Hodgkin lymphoma.
Her Doctor told her that she needed to start chemo and radiation right away. She told them that she wanted to explore some other options and due further research into natural alternatives with her family, knowing that chemo was not without its own consequences. Of course, this was not what they wanted to hear, but Megan was strong to their pressure and insisted on research prior to accepting chemo and radiation as the only option. Once she escaped from the hospital, my wife and I challenged Megan to go 30 days raw with us. She started eating a healthier diet consisting mainly of raw fruits, vegetables, and sprouted nuts and seeds. She started hanging around Foods Alive more (almost every day) and with our help and encouragement, she started reading more about natural healing, detox, and proper nutrition. She started taking natural herb supplements, drinking wheat grass juice, detoxifying, and learned to relax and enjoy life a bit more instead of maintaining her normally fast passed lifestyle (if can imagine with 4 kids and a job). She noticed some immediate positive changes in her overall health. Her monthly cycles, that were usually very rough with headaches a couple days before and strong cramps, become much more bearable. The migraine headaches she suffered from on a weekly basis became nearly obsolete. Unfortunately thought, the swelling in her right arm and chest area did not subside as fast as she hoped. This was very discouraging to Megan and I am sure that when she looks back, she will wish she had been more resilient and tried harder to maintain the raw vegan diet for longer than just 30 days. Nevertheless, with our support, she continued to try to unclog the blocked lymph with massage, fasting and more detoxing. Her arm finally started to drain, but unfortunately, it did not completely drain from her system, instead it moved from her right arm into her right breast, which became very swollen and uncomfortable. She continued to massage her swollen lymph and take the natural herbs, but it remained swollen and she began to have trouble breathing as the swelling inhibited her lung from properly expanding. In February, she asked her chiropractor to order another x-ray to see if she had made any progress. The x-ray came back and showed that she had a large amount of fluid (lymph fluid) around her lungs, which was causing her difficulty when expanding. Her medical doctor again encouraged her to start treatments, but was much nicer about it this time and told Megan that he would accept her decision either way and help her out however he could, and had her lung drained to give her some relief. She asked him to help her monitor her progress over the next couple of weeks to see if anything was getting better. He agreed and they did a CT scan of her upper right side. They found that the lymphoma combined with the fluid around her lungs was beginning to put pressure on her other vital organs including her heart, and could soon start restricting her blood flow along with her shortness of breath. After careful consideration and much consultation with her wellness practitioners and family, Megan decided that she would not have enough time to battle this cancer with natural remedies alone. She risked blocking major arteries to the heart if the lymphoma continued to swell, which in turn could lead to her death. Rather than risk respiratory distress, she chooses to battle the effects of chemo and radiation. This was a very difficult decision for her to make, but under the circumstances, we all feel it is the right one. Her physical body is in much better shape now, to battle the poisons they will inject in her than, she was back in October. She is also much more informed about how to help her body recover from this treatment both nutritionally and spiritually. Cancer is always a life-changing event for everyone involved. It has definitely helped all of us at Foods Alive to regain appreciation for how fortunate we are to have learned about the importance of organic whole foods, eating raw, and proper nutrition and cleansing when we started Foods Alive back in 2001. Megan has been a true testament to all of us that anyone is possible of change. She went from a pretty Standard American Diet to a mostly raw, vegan diet for 30 days and continued to eat mostly vegetarian since that time. I am sure she will wish she had done even more, but the progress she made in other aspects of her health while cleansing and detoxing have opened her eyes to a completely new way of thinking that will benefit her and her family for years to come. Of course, most insurance does not cover most "alternative" therapies and treatments and Megan has amassed a number of bills. I know this is a tough time for everyone in the current economy, but if you feel you are in a position to help Megan and her family, please do. Your gift, no matter how small, will create a generous flow of gratitude. Please do not feel obligated to contribute monetarily, if you can simply offer your positive affirmations, sometimes those are worth more than any monetary gift! I have created a PayPal account for Megan for your convenience, however, if you prefer to mail a check or special note to Megan, please send to: Megan Banks, 4840 County Road 4, Waterloo, IN 46793. For postive affirmations, please visitourcontact page and select “Special Note for Megan” in the subject box. Thank you for taking time to read about Megan and her battle, we truly appreciate it. With sincere gratitude and blessings to your own health and well being, Matt Alvord - Foods Alive |
| Update 1: Sept. 25th, 2009 Megan has finished her 12 rounds of chemo and is starting to feel much better. Her latest scans are showing no more "live" cancer cells and her tumor has shrunk. One of her doctors was really pushing for her to do radiation, but after much thought, she has decided against the radiation. (Radiation treatments can increase your risk for other cancers by more than double, so radiation is very much a double edged sword). We are now working towards a "Detox" trip for Megan to Optimum Health Institute in San Diego, The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, or Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida. We are working to convince Megan to stay at least 2 weeks, but we are hoping for 3 weeks so she can really clean her body out and get rid of the chemo drugs that linger around in the body. Of course she if very saddened about the time she will miss away from her husband and children, and the lost time at work also. Please continue with your positive affirmations and prayers, we all appreciate them very much! If you would like to help Megan with her trip to on of the Health Institutes, please donate using the button above. A special thanks to all of you who have donated, sent special messages and all of your encouragement, it is truly appreciated!! I wish all the best to you and yours, Matt Alvord |