ENERGY Matters

FOLFIRINOX is a three stage chemotherapy (at least it was for me). Day one was receiving two of the three chemotherapy infusions with all their additional Pharma cocktails to help absorption, mutated cell uptake, prevent nausea, reduce allergic reactions, etc, etc. [Side bar - when my mother did her chemo over a span of 10 years through three recurrences she didn’t have all the add-on’s to manage side effects we have at our disposal today…I have no idea how she did it. She was 4’11” and weighed in just over 100lbs and still she was the biggest, toughest person I’ve ever met or known - and on top of that she collected, then sent at some appropriate future date, Hallmark cards for every occasion…even occasions the people receiving them had forgotten!] Then, at the end of chemo day one, they hooked me up to a portable pump and sent me home to auto infuse the last chemotherapy over the next ~2 days.

My first (and only) chemologist, when I told him how helpful acupuncture and guided imagery had been to my being able to continue FOLFIRINOX well past the normal number of 80% or greater doses, responded “But, Andy, that could all just be in your mind!” to which I responded “It might well be all in my mind, but isn’t that the point?” Having the energy to keep breathing, to keep taking one more step, to say yes one more time instead of saying no…ENERGY matters.

  1. Acupuncture every week, and especially the day of chemo week right after the pump was removed. During chemo I went EVERY week without fail…now I still go a minimum of every other week. If you live in the Charleston SC area I highly recommend Dr. Demetri Papadopoulos, MD at Mount Pleasant Integrative Therapy. An Ivy League and Duke Med trained physician for 40 years who is also board certified in acupuncture. Having access to a physician who has a lifetime of western medicine AND eastern medicine experience has been tremendously helpful to me.

  2. Guided Imagery every week, and on chemo weeks the day before chemo. Yeah, its a form of hypnosis…and the placebo effect is from the mind, which sometimes is documented by Jain to be more effective than pharmaceuticals. So, to me it doesn’t matter if anyone else believes guided imagery works - it matters that I believe guided imagery does what I needed it to do - which was prepare me mentally for three days of FOLFIRINOX.

  3. Reiki. Its similar to acupuncture, but without the needles. Please don’t message me arguing they are completely different…I get it, but for those not yet familiar - its kinda like accupounture without the needles.

  4. Red light therapy. Time in front of the red light at least twice a week during fall, winter and spring. During the summer, too, if I can’t get in the sun enough. FYI, red light therapy does not provide the UV rays necessary for Vitamin D production/enhancement.

  5. Meditation. Every day is my goal, but I don’t always achieve my daily goals.

  6. Grounding. If I can’t walk barefoot on the earth regularly, I meditate while sitting or standing on a grounding pad.