The MRI that didn't happen (yet!)

Photo: Wildman sez "sleep is good, anytime dude"
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Unfortunately, the person scheduling my appointment made it for the wrong date IE: breast MRI's for premenopausal women need to be in the first half of their menstrual cycle. This is because hormones later in the cycle can affect breast tissue which can then cause the MRI to show "false positive" breast changes in the breast. Then the radiologist can't tell if these areas are cause for concern and they then have to perform biopsies to find out.

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NOOOOOO!!! No more needles and slices of breast removed unless absolutely necessary!

(I kinda empathize with Voodoo dolls).

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Ron and I tried very hard to reschedule to an earlier date - we got it a day earlier but, alas, too late. So I'll try again in three weeks.

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Until then, I get to continue my healthy healing plan for my whole body and mind :)

And continue researching BC (breast cancer) and deciding what to do about surgery, etc.

A Holistic Approach

Photo: Our homegrown "Flame" grapes (ready to eat!)

The holistic view of healing and maintaining a healthy mind and body incorporates many different modalities. Having this health challenge has made me revisit many of the alternative/complementary therapies that I have known and used in the past.

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In a London university I was in an Independent Studies programme where I got to choose my subject, then plan my own syllabus. The subject that I finally chose: "The differing perceptions of alternative medicine".

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I believe that the holistic health 'paradigm' includes both Western and Eastern approaches, and everything in between. My preference is to go with therapies that heal, while causing as little harm or side effects to the mind/body system as possible. So, firstly, I ask, "Will this therapy work?" and secondly, "What side effects, if any, will there be?"
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So I have a distinct bias towards using therapies that don't cause further damage to the body (or mind!). Alternative/complementary therapies have the least side effects. Yet, these approaches have not had the benefit of billions of dollars infused into research, studies, development of medicines, etc. etc., as Western medicine has had.

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This being so, when it comes to healing different diseases, Western allopathic medicine has the track record of controlled studies showing what works and what doesn't work within it's own modalities. I know alternative medicine can work. But when viewed from an "evidence-based medicine" model, it can be very unclear as to exactly what is going on for each therapy in relation to each disease!

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If your life was on the line, and you had to chose, what would you do?

(This can be a difficult question until one actually gets a their own real diagnosis).

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Well, I'm gonna go with them all. This is my life that I'm dealing with. So, I get to decide.

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Which reminds me, where did I put that bar of chocolate.....