From: THE CHINA STUDY - Switch to a Vegan Diet

by lina, 11-06-2007, 12:37 PM

I must say it's hard to keep on. For example, most people know smoking damage to their health even though their life, but at this moment, many people still smoke; I know if everyday play computer for 4 hours, cancer will occur me after 3 years, but now....you can see.

ACP - Posts Deleted From Goodbye My Sweet Meghan

by lina, 11-06-2007, 12:31 PM

<!--quoteo(post=364:date=Jul 31 2007, 07:05 AM:name=mamacita)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mamacita @ Jul 31 2007, 07:05 AM) [snapback]364[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Early this morning our wonderful brave Meggie passed from this earth. Sean, her twin brother was holding her hand and Sally her loving partner was by her side....as it should be. Our family spent the weekend there with her....each person taking turns to comfort and share loving moments. Both her brothers, Jackson and Sean, her Dad and I...my husband John, her Aunt Mar and Uncle Ron, her childhood friend Marti and of course Sally and darling Terra....all there to surround her with the love she so richly deserves.<br />I need to thank each and every one of you who has been there for her.....on her journey. All her family, friends and healers....you all helped extend her life....filling it with your love. How grateful she was to have had you all in her life...she said that over and over to me...as well as this:<br /> &quot;Love is what is most important...<br /> Have gratitude and acceptance...<br /> And let all the rest of it go.........&quot;<br />Meghan's words to us all. <br /> <br /> Goodbye My Sweet Meghan<br /> You will always be with me.<br /> I love you so very much.<br /> ~Mamacita~<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--><br /> <br />I hate &quot;Goodbye&quot;.

Donations In Meghan's Name For Melanoma Research

by mamacita, 08-02-2007, 04:56 PM

To all who might want to send cards or flowers for sweet Meghan...you may instead...make a donation<br />to the research clinic dedicated to finding the cure for melanoma...in Meghan Mckenna's name.<br /> The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute<br /> 11818 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite 200<br /> Los Angeles Ca. 90025<br /> Attention: Dr. Steven J. O'Day<br /> In memory of Meghan Ann Mckenna<br /> 1979-2007

June 20th

by mamacita, 06-20-2007, 06:40 AM

June 20th is the day two years ago that Meg found out her cancer had returned. We were all stunned with disbelief and only began to imagine the battle that lay ahead. None of us knew how strong and brave she would remain throughout her journey....how much she would teach us about acceptance, gratitude and love. Now we know. We are all given a limited time on this earth...some make the most of it.....my Meghan is one of those. I will forever be proud of her achievements, in all areas of her life. Her appreciation for the beauty that nature has to offer...and her ability to find the best in people are qualities that have made her so easy to love. But anyone reading this already knows these things...and that is why her loving energy continues it's thread through us all...and always will. <br /> ~Mamacita~

March 7

by meghan, 03-08-2007, 01:35 AM

I tend to drop off from journaling when a lot is going on. This is when I should be journaling the most, for myself and for all of you. I think the last time I had journaled, I was going to get an MRI of the brain. My January PET came back as reading things had gotten a little bigger and there were a few new lesions. We wanted to get an MRI to see if the brain was stable so we could make an educated decision on whether to do Taxol or Abraxane. Both are chemotherapies and have the same active ingredient but they are delivered in different ways. Research shows Abraxane is less toxic, more effective and a lot more expensive, so of course Medi-cal does not pay for it. I wanted to get Dr. Steven O'Days opinion on all of this, so I made an appointment and sent him all the CD's of my scans. About a week prior to my apt Dr. Smith reported there were two new lesions in my brain. Knowing this we prepared alot of questions about taxol, abraxane and any other options I might have. I knew at this point that MDX was out of the question because I needed to have a stable brain to get into the trial. Since my body and brain had progressed it was time to go back to the drawing board. This time i wanted both Dr. Smith and Dr. O'Day's opinion. Fully loaded with questions we went to the Dr. O'Day apt. I for some reason forgot the tape to record the session so my brother Sean went out in the pouring rain and retrieved one. When he returned he was dripping wet, but had a tape in hand. Thanks Sean, without you we wouldn't have all the info from the meeting documented on paper and on this website. We all went into the meeting and waited for O'Day. He entered the room and gave me a big hug. He sat down and the first thing he said was &quot;after reviewing the Scans we have determined your brian is stable&quot;. If we look back at your second to last MRI we see those two lesions there. They have just increased from 4 to 6 mm, and one of your other tumors actually got smaller. So you are a canidate for MDX. My system needs to be cleared of the drugs I was currently taking for a month and then we need one more follow up MRI to make sure my brain is stable. That is scheduled for March 12. I'm currently down in LA now to do some test for the trial, which includes, EKG, tetnus shot, blood work and signing of the consent form. That will be done today. I will fly back next week for all my scans and biopsies. So this unexpected suprise is welcomed, and I thank the universe for sending me such a gift. <br /><br />Thanks everyone for posting your positve thoughts and feelings on the site, it really helps. <br />

February 5

by meghan, 02-05-2007, 10:29 PM

The most recent PET scans showed some new growth and new tumors. Not something we wanted to hear but it is what it is. The good news is that its not a drastic change, which it could have been, seeing that its been over five months. So its back to the drawing board. There are two options. One is to add an additional chemo called Taxol to the already existing protocol of Sarafanib and Temodar. Taxol is an infused chemo. I would have to go in for three hours once every three weeks to get it. The effects will be harder than anything I've been on in the past. Its said that 80yr old women tolerate it, so I know I'll be fine. <br /><br />The other option is the MDX trial. In order to get in this trial my brain must be stable. We are currently waiting to get this scan scheduled. I'm hoping to have it done within the next week to week and a half. If the results are clear, I'll go into the MDX, and if they are not, I will integrate Taxol to the protocol. <br /><br />In the meantime, while waiting for the MRI, Dr. Smith thinks its best to start the Taxol. If that's the case, I will be starting the Taxol next Friday February 9th. I'm waiting for Dr. O'Day's second opinion on that before I make my final decision. <br /><br />So that's whats new in Meghan's Medical world. You can always go to the transcript portion of this website (Thanks to my aunt mar and sean) and read what exactly took place at my last doctors meeting. Thanks everyone for being so supportive. Love meg

February 5

by meghan, 02-05-2007, 10:12 PM

A lot has transpired since I last wrote, so I'll try to fill in the important parts. <br />I will focus on the good in this journal and talk about the medical stuff in my next. For Christmas sally decided to take me to Mexico. She thought it would be nice to get away from it all. Let me tell you...it really was nice to escape. Sal, Sharon (sal's mom), Terra and I, all went to Puerto Vallarta Jan 17-31st. <br /><br />We stayed at an amazing condo that looked over the Bay. It was truly the nicest place I've ever stayed in. Thanks to Sal and Sharon. It was a two bedroom, two and a half bath, with a full kitchen, dining room and living room. The sliding glass doors to the deck opened completely so that there was no separation from the condo to the outside patio. It was mostly overcast, with the exception of about five really sunny days. It was perfect for my pale body. It was warm though...probably in the low 80's and high 80's when the sun was out. I lounged in the condo, out by the beach and read lots of books. <br /><br />Terra had the time of her life. She was a perfect little assistance dog on the way there and back. She never fussed or got anxious, she just slept in my lap on the 3 hour flight there and back. One woman asked me if I doped my dog up before the flight. Terra was truly a beach dog on this trip. Her nose was pretty much constantly had sand on it. <br /><br />Sal and I set out some goals to do some extreme things while we were there. The things that I have never done, that I accomplished were parasailing and Canopy tour. A canopy tour are metal wires suspended about 400 feet above the ground. A total of 16 or 18 of them. You put yourself in a harness and have a handlebar contraption that is attached to the wire and your harness. You go flying across these zip lines (approx. 200-400yards in length) pretty fast. Its exhilarating. We had a blast. We also went on an ATV tour which was lots of fun. It was fun to access terrain that you normally couldn't get to unless you were on an ATV. It was beautiful. <br /><br />Around the 9th or 10th day is when I really settled into the trip. I didn't have to read or do anything. I was able to just be. Watching people, listening to the ocean, watching the sun set, just soaking up every moment. From that point on the days just flew by. I had and incredible time and I'm so grateful to have gone and experienced everything I was able to. Thank you sally for being such an amazing partner. I love you.

January 2

by meghan, 01-02-2007, 07:10 PM

Happy New Year everyone. Its funny to think that back in July of 2005, I wasn't really expected to live past 2006 and here it is....2007. I am so greatful to have all the moments of joy, love, support and laughter. I was really able to rest and relax over the holidays. I got to spend time with Sally and her family, my second family. We got to celebrate Sally's birthday and christmas, since it falls on the same day. I was able to see my twin brother Sean, we met half way in Santa Barbara and had a fabulous time hanging out together. We have a new addition to the family. Janelle, my new niece, was born on January 16th. She is a healthy beautiful baby...so I hear. I can't wait to meet her. Sally and I decided to ring in the New Year in San Francisco. I went to visit my dad NYE morning and afternoon. He made his famous chilly and we had lunch and got to hang out and chat. Our good friends Crista and Jill hosted a sit down dinner for 20 people NYE. The food was incredible and we had a lot of fun. NYD sal and I just relaxed, read and met up with some friends (Crista, Jill, the Sweds, Sarah and Ali) and took our dogs to Golden Gate park. All in all the holidays were quite relaxing for me, a great way to celebrate the end of the year and the begining of a new one. <br /><br />Medical stuff: I am supposed to have scans scheduled this week but because of the holidays, Medi-Cal is lagging which in turn slows down the sheduling process. So I put in calls last week and this morning to try and expedite the process. I'm hoping I can get scans tomorrow or the next day so that I can get results by the end of the week or the begining of the next. Then we'll go from there. Thanks for all of your holiday cards, prayers and energy sent. I am so blessed and thankful for it all. Happy New Year.

December 20

by meghan, 12-20-2006, 08:40 PM

Last I wrote my body was all over the place. I went to the Butt doctor and she confered that I had anal fissures. She wanted me on a high fiber diet, taking baths 3xday and resting. I slowly eased my way into solid foods and my body flip flopped back and forth between constipation and diahrea. The healing process was definately sped up by going to solid foods but wasn't complete because of flip floping of bowel consistancies. It took about a week for everything to heal. I went to see Dr. Smith on the 14th. I brought him a beautiful plant and his staff some chocolates as a holiday gift to say thanks. Our meeting went really well. My palpable tumors are still detaching themselves from muscle, and looking like they are moving in a positive direction, according to Dr. Smith. My breathing is astounding, he can't believe his ears, my energy and coloring is great (besided the mishap and pain caused by the butt) and he wants to get scans in the new year. We'll hopefully get them in the first week of January. He wants to see whats going on in the inside, the things he can't see. It might be that there's different progresses in different parts of my body. For instance, the lungs might be 80% better and the brain will have stayed stable, while the palpable tumors are only 10% better (these are all hypotheticals). If it looks like things are going really well on the inside of me then we might talk about surgically removing the tumor from my face and pectoris muscle because its been causing so much pain. These are all if's. So once we get an idea of whats going on in the inside we will go from there. My weekly measurements of the papable tumors went up a little bit during the butt problems but in the last two weeks all of the tumors have been decreasing in size. All is well and I'm taking it day by day, and I'm visualizing what I want to happen. Thanks for all of your love and support. Happy Holidays if I don't journal until after new years.

December 6th

by meghan, 12-06-2006, 08:15 PM

Well, I called Dr. Smith on Tuesday and told him about my progress. I told him I had relief for a few days and then it got worse again. He told me to up my suppository count from 2 to 6 a day, up the lidocaine gel, take benifiber and take 3 sitz baths a day. He said he had a close friend who was an anal rectal specialist and he would get me an appointment to see her thursday at 12pm. Tuesday day and night was extremely hard for me. I was in tears most of the night. Within a two hour period I took three suppositories, pain medication and some valarian root tea to knock me out. By 2am I was passed out. I usually wake up at 6:30 to my alarm so that I can start taking my medication, but I was passed out and slept right through it. I woke up as sally was leaving, and realized I was in no pain. I didn't want to move becuase I thought if I did, the pain would come right back. For the rest of the day I continued taking the suppositories once every hour or two. The pain had subsided. My dad made me some really good mushy soup for me, which I ate to add some solids into my system. I then realized that I needed to work on healing my butt before I could start to heal anything else. The pain was so debilitating that all my energy and healing work was flying out the window. First things first. I talked to my healer in LA and she told me to stop the juicing and begin blended soups three times a day. She wants me to add in bentinite and aloe for soothing and milk thisle for liver support. She wants me to take a break from my supplements for one week. Some of the supplements were probably attacking some of the open flesh area's in my rectum so it was a good idea that I take them out of my protocol. Then she said, you know it would be a good idea for you to take a good mental break from taking all of these supplements. Give your body and mind a week break. Stop taking the supplements for a week. So thats were I'm at. My rear is feeling better already. I'll keep you all updated on my doctors appointment tomorrow. Sorry I haven't been in the mood to talk to anyone, I'm sure you can understand why. Thanks for all of your support. Meghan