How I am taking control since my diagnosis

 

Learning you have cancer can make you feel powerless and not in control of your own life. However, I have found other ways to take back or feel in control. 

#1 De-clutter and re-organising

I have been slowly (as my energy permits) been decluttering and re-organising our home. There are a few reasons why I chose to do this, but I am finding even more benefits I did not know about as I slowly take more control of our home! 

I have come to realise how much clutter exhausts me, it makes me stressed and is overwhelming. This is the main reason I have not been able to continue my hobby of sewing/dressmaking. After my accident in 2019 my sewing room (aka junk room and place to hoard fabrics) became too much for me. I couldn't even be in the room without feeling stressed and anxious. I also realised I had a problem with hoarding fabric...

Although decluttering the sewing room/home office is main the objective, I don't feel in a position to conquer that just now. I am starting in spaces that are craving some better organisation and a little decluttering. So far I have taken control of the fridge, pantry, kitchen cupboards (Including re-organising based on how we use the kitchen) linen cupboard, our wardrobe and medicine cupboard. It is currently not unusual to hear someone (including me sometimes) mutter so where does that live now...?

One half of our linen cupboard, so much to donate after this clean out

One thing I found, as I had been going through various spaces, was containers of random things...evidence of previous attempts to organise where at the time I must not have known where to put them or I created little dumping grounds for random things rather than find a home and get them there!  I had a canister in the kitchen - labelled no less "Bits & pieces" and it had marbles, tools, screws, tiny toys my kids must have left laying around. It was just cray, cray!

So now I am finding a place for everything I touch and if I cant find a place, questioning do I really need it in the first place?

An idea I got from TikTok! Somewhere to sort and organise any spare cables

Another TikTok hack, all our common medicines now have a specific and tidy spot

 I am going to dedicate another blog post to this topic as I have spent time watching numerous videos on organising and storage solutions and could write about this all day....

#2   Getting out of my 'nest'

After being discharged from hospital after my accident in 2019, I was told to go home and rest. So I did what I thought 'rest' meant... I made a 'nest' on the couch. You know when you get yourself set-up with a drink, medications, pillow, blanket, remote control and anything else needed so you pretty much don't need to move except for the toilet!

I didn't realise how much this was not actually helping me until I saw my Occupational Therapist and Physio during my rehab. Moving around and physical exercise would actually make me feel better, getting blood circulating in my body &  brain and counteract fatigue.

So I have tried to carry this lesson forward with me for this battle, which has been reinforced by my Oncologist, who has expressed the importance of exercise as part of cancer treatment and getting leaner to reduce my bodies production of oestrogen. Therefore I try keep active as much as possible, taking rests when I need to. My exhaustion can be both or either physical or mental, but a brief rest followed by physical exercise releases endorphins which naturally boosts my energy levels.

How I achieve this is by creating new routines, I try to go for a walk after both kids have gone to school with our fur-baby Duke and (if possible) my husband Phil. I often come home stinking hot and covered in sweat but it is worth it. Plus I exercise at gym twice a week. 

I am fortunate enough to live a short drive away from Lift, a cancer support services centre that has a gym for cancer patients. Everyone is really excellent at wiping down machines with supplied alcohol wipes and there are Exercise Physiologist to keep you entertained (I so love the staff), motivate you, push you (when safe to do so) and make sure you are doing your exercise correctly (aka not making a fool of yourself). Each time I go I am admitted by a Doctor who first checks I am fit to exercise and checks my blood pressure. Then before I leave I am discharged by one of the Exercise Physiologists, after a quick re-check of my blood pressure. I would go more often if I could!

#3 Eliminating toxins

Cancer treatments are fantastic at doing what they are meant to, fighting cancer, but they do come at a cost, side effects and toxins. My 'fancy pills', Ribociclib, made my liver 'grumpy' during only my second cycle due to the toxins building up in my liver. This 'grumpiness' has cost at least 4 weeks of lost treatment time - which made me anxious. So I have been trying to reduce or eliminate any other toxins I can to help not just my liver, but my whole body hopefully.

One of the first things I changed was my deodorant. Years ago a doctor had scared me about the aluminium in antiperspirants. So I tried to switch to natural deodorants. When I first tried to do this, there were not many options around, it may have been around 15 years ago or more. Any deodorant I found left me feeling stinky and sweaty. In more recent years I tried again and found deodorants that actually worked, but after a week or so of use, I developed an allergy to it. I suspected it was the bicarb soda. But now I have found an awesome natural product, with a no bicarb option in No Pong. 

One change I made and had stuck to many years ago was switching to a shampoo and conditioner, free of parabens, phthalates and sulfates. I love Davroe products because they are also made right here in South Australia.

I have long been a fan of Adorn Cosmetics make-up products but I don't wear a much make-up often anymore. I really love their Anti-Ageing Mineral Foundation. I am currently using Lust Minerals skincare products both morning and night and I can really notice a difference. I use the Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C serum and Rejuvenation Oil plus the Peptide Cream.

I look like I have no eyelashes if I don't wear mascara so for years I have been using 100% Pure Black Tea Mascara which I buy from Nourished Life. I have used the Dark Chocolate one before too and it really smells like chocolate!

Along with my decluttering and re-organising, I have developed a new routine of washing all my fruit and vegetables as soon as I get home and storing them in mostly glass containers in the fridge. I soak everything in the sink full of warm water with a dash of vinegar and Dr Bronner's Pure Castile Soap in Citrus Orange. The castile soap produces no lather and it counteracts the vinegar smell. I then rinse dry and sometimes prep the veggies for planned meals. I keep a tray of freshly chopped carrots, capsicum, mini cucumbers and snows peas in the fridge for snacks and the kids lunches.

I would love to take this one step further and eat only organic fruit and vegetables, but I cant afford the extra cost. However, I am going to try source organic alternatives for the fruit and vegetables known as the Dirty Dozen - aka fruit and veg thought to be more contaminated by the use of pesticides and opt for locally grown fruit and veg on the (less contaminated) Clean Fifteen list.

 The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen, specifically references the horticulture industry in the USA. Australia’s version of the Dirty Dozen is thought to include - Apples, cabbage, strawberries, capsicum, tomatoes, celery, lettuce, mushrooms, nectarines, grapes, cucumber and oranges. I have had many failed attempts of starting a vegetable garden, but it might be time to make it work for me!

Finally cleaning products, avoiding chemicals at all costs and using natural ingredients. Vinegar has so many uses, I never have really used softeners in my washing, but I now add vinegar and bicarb if I am washing towels. This is a bit embarrassing but when decluttering and disorganising I found I had a full refill of the natural cleaning product EkoWorx - now known as Koh. So this is my go to surface spray or all purpose cleaner. When I need extra cleaning power, I use special cloths....like the Chux Magic Eraser. I have also been exploring  the use of essential oils in cleaning, but I do need to be careful and research further as there are number of essential oils that are toxic for dogs.

Let's finish with some good news

Before I sign off, I just wanted to let you know of two pieces of good news. A couple of weeks ago I had another CT scan and my cancer is shrinking! So I am winning!

Plus this week my liver should have recovered enough for me to recommence my 'fancy pills'! This is great news, but it does mean the return of nausea and increased fatigue 👎. But I am hopeful in time my body will adjust.

Until next time, my name is SJ Boehm and I am a fearless MBC warrior