Overwhelmed with Information (by Susan)

Yesterday we visited the oncologist and got hit with a barrage of information and statistics.  I was taking notes, but it was kind of overwhelming.  The really good news is that Hodgkin's lymphoma is very curable - he quoted over a 90% chance of total cure.  However, the treatment, as George posted, is long and involved, will consist of chemo and radiation, and will take about 6 months.    Over the next weeks George will be going through a series of diagnostic tests to pinpoint the exact location and stage of the cancer.    We now seem to have jumped on the diagnostic and treatment train, and it is moving with ever-increasing velocity (is that the Moffat tunnel I see up ahead?).    We were both exhausted by the visit.  We are finding that these are some very long days and we just need to go home and get some extra rest (although that didn't stop George from going out with his friends last night).

We decided we are going to try eating vegan for one month and see how it goes.  It does not seem as daunting when you just look at one month - not like saying, "I am going to give up ice cream, cheese, milk on my cereal, and meatballs for the rest of my life".   If nothing else, it should help me in reducing my cholesterol level.  The first foray into a vegan dinner was whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce and soy "sausage".   The soy sausage was kind of gross, although George said it was edible.   When you grow up thinking that a dinner has to include meat, carbo, and 2 vegetables (always the norm in our house), it's hard to think of a dinner that does not include animal protein.   However, if we can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and also even help get rid of the current cancer, it is well worth it.

Here's a pointer to an interesting article in today's Huffington Post that talks about the China Study - it's funny how once you start thinking about a topic you notice it popping up all over the place.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/on-cancer-and-a-vegetaria_b_46661.html

This weekend George will be able to get back on his bike and I am going to try to make vegan chocolate chip cookes (George's favorite).