#chemotherapy Alternative

[blondebeardtheparent]

Captain’s Log

Stardate 20240618

Day 93

Today is my day off from the hospital. I need it after yesterday. It was rough. We did fasting and a spinal tap in the morning, PICC installation (not sedated) in the afternoon, followed immediately by X-rays and changing the dressing from the surgery. I wont go into the gruesome details of each of these. Suffice it to say, I understand why people snap and go on hospital rampages.

Chemo should be starting soon. Part of me just wants to pull the plug and go home before we relive this trauma, but then what? The other part of me is just hoping to hold on and get through it as fast as possible, but then what? Aside from clearing out our house and getting my green card, there is no reason to go back to Dongguan. If we could move directly into our tiny apartment in Shenzhen, I would do it. I’d sell the car and most of our stuff and move as soon as we are done here. We don’t need a lot of stuff. The boys have their computers for school. We can bring a box of Legos, a box of books, my camera stuff, our bedding, some kitchen supplies and call it a day.

[otaviogilbert]

Using Medical Marijuana for Children with Autoimmune Diseases | Dr. Partha Nandi

Are you looking for a new treatment for your child's autoimmune disease? Medical marijuana effectively treats other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. You don't have to worry about your child enduring chemotherapy or taking many medications. Medical marijuana is a natural alternative that has helped many children with autoimmune diseases. Watch this video as this couple discusses why they decided to try it for their son's condition and were amazed by the results.

[kaberic]

Is "integrative pathy" the future of health?

Does leech serve as a treatment? ChatGPT Yes, leeches can serve as a treatment in certain medical conditions. The use of leeches for therapeutic purposes is known as "hirudotherapy." While it might sound unusual, this practice has been employed for cent

I am a living, breathing experimental guineapig of “integrative pathy”. I experimented on myself first, and have recovered from a number of diseases way faster than my doctors’ other patients. At times my doctor asks me, “How did you do it?!” So, is “integrative pathy”, as we can call it, incorporating allopathy, homeopathy, naturopathy, ayurveda, yoga, acupuncture, aromatherapy, even leech…

[shatterdome-underscore]

PVP website got me wanting to fight some rando behind a Denny's over their dogshit medical misinformation but yet I prevail

[deinheilpraktiker]

Neue Übersicht erläutert aktuelle Behandlungsansätze für myelodysplastische Syndrome Medizinische Wissenschaftler des Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center an der University of Miami Miller School of Medicine haben im Journal of the American Medical Association eine Übersicht veröffentlicht, die aktuelle Behandlungsansätze für myelodysplastische Syndrome (MDS) erläutert, die seltene und oft tödliche Knochenmarkkrebsarten sind. Jahrelang wurde MDS fälschlicherweise als Krebsvorstufe bezeichnet. Um Abhilfe zu schaffen, hat die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO)... #Akute_myeloische_Leukämie #Altern #Beratung #BLUT #Bluterkrankung #Chemotherapie #Drogen #Forschung #Genetisch #Hämatologie #Knochen #Knochenmark #Krebs #Krebsdiagnose #Leukämie #Lungenkrebs #Medizin #Myelodysplastische_Syndrome #Myeloische_Leukämie

[dsudis]

Histotripsy works by using targeted ultrasound waves to form microbubbles within the tumor. The forces created as those bubbles form and collapse cause the mass to break apart, killing tumor cells and leaving the debris to be cleaned up by the immune system.

What that could mean for patients is treatment without the physical toll of radiation or chemotherapy, fewer concerns with drug compatibility, far shorter recovery times than with surgery and less treatment discomfort.

And histotripsy’s potential benefits go beyond tumor destruction. In the last year, a pair of pre-clinical studies in rodents suggest that in the clean-up process, the immune system learns how to identify cancer cells as threats. This can enable the body to continue fighting the initial tumor and help activate a natural immune response to the cancer.

In the first study, even after destroying only 50% to 75% of the liver tumor volume by histotripsy, the rats’ immune systems were able to clear away the rest, with no evidence of recurrence or metastases in more than 80% of animals.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - October 30, 2023

1. Bill to Ban Hidden Fees in California Signed into Law

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has released a statement regarding the signing of Senate Bill 478 (SB 478). SB 478, coauthored by Senators Bill Dodd and Nancy Skinner, will eliminate hidden fees, also known as 'junk fees,' in California starting from July 1, 2024. Hidden fees are deceptive charges that sellers include in transactions, either through obscured disclosures or later revelations, impacting consumers negatively.

2. New Portable Water Treatment System Vaporizes 99% of ‘Forever Chemicals’

A startup based Washington has devised a portable system capable of removing the vast majority of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from water.

The system uses hydrothermal alkaline treatment, or HALT, to eliminate 99% of forever chemicals from water.

3. Tumor-destroying sound waves receive FDA approval for liver treatment in humans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of sound waves to break down tumors—a technique called histotripsy—in humans for liver treatment. Technique developed at the University of Michigan provides a noninvasive alternative to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer

4. Japan's top court says trans sterilisation requirement unconstitutional

Japan's Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to require citizens to be sterilised before they can officially change genders.

The 2004 law said people could only change their gender if they have no reproductive capacity. Wednesday's ruling came after a transgender woman filed a petition challenging the law.

5. Abandoned golf courses are being reclaimed by nature

Golf courses, despite occupying large green spaces, are not necessarily good for the environment.

Conservation nonprofits and local authorities are looking to acquire golf courses that have been abandoned due to high maintenance costs, low player numbers or other reasons, and repurpose them into landscapes that boost biodiversity and build natural defenses against climate change.

6. NSW court allows health officials to give blood transfusion to Jehovah's Witness toddler

Regional New South Wales health officials have won a court order authorising them to give a blood transfusion to a Jehovah's Witness toddler if needed in surgery. The Supreme Court has been told the girl, three, who can only be referred to as JI, is in need of two surgical procedures. 

On such an application, the overriding criterion to be applied by the court is the best interests and welfare of the child.

7. North Atlantic right whale population has steadied, scientists say

The population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales appears to have levelled off after a decade of steep decline, according to updated data released this morning by Canadian and American scientists. Scientists in the consortium said Monday that the 2021 estimate of 340 North Atlantic right whales in existence has been recalculated to 365 primarily because of the number of calves born that year.

The estimate for 2022 is 356.

---

That's it for this week :)

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[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: August 23/24

Happy Friday everyone!! Finally going on my 2 week holidays, so I'm glad I have some great fics I can read if I get bored!! Check out what's on my radar this week! Enjoy!!

RECENT MFLs

Serenity After the Turmoil (Part 2) by jawnscoffee (G, 2,467 w., 1 Ch. || Dreams, Nightmares, Sherlock's Violin) – John had always been someone with a vivid imagination - especially when it came to dreams. Nightmares, to be precise. This causes him a lot of trouble, especially after returning from the war. The only thing that calms him down is when Sherlock plays his violin. When John wakes up one night from another nightmare, he hears Sherlock playing the violin and decides to keep him company. Maybe he can't sleep either. Or maybe he's just playing the violin for John...

You Don't Live Here Anymore by elwinglyre (E, 3,104+ w., 1/5 Ch. || WiP || S4 Fix It, Angst, Bees, First Time, Third Person Alternating POV) – The lyrics of a song John introduced to Sherlock, haunts him. Sherlock leaves 221b because he can’t bring himself to live there alone without John. Mary is dead, and John still blames Sherlock. It takes a small tragedy to shake John into action. Will he come on home?

A Thrill Failed To Deliver by J_Baillier (E, 9,897+ w., 3/25 Ch. || WiP || Pre-TRF Divergence, Angst, Medical Hurt/Comfort, Serious Illnesses, POV John, Brain Cancer/Tumour, Medical Conditions, Romance, Slow Burn, Doctor John, Miscommunication, Meddling Mycroft, Everyone is a Mess, Harry Watson, Friends to Lovers, Strooppy Sherlock, John's Identity Crisis, Clueless Idiots in Love, Vulnerable Sherlock, Mental Breakdown, Sherlock Whump, Medical Realism) – When The Work is replaced with chemotherapy and restaurant dinners with radiation treatment, will a new, devastating normal bring John and Sherlock closer, or drive them apart — as Sherlock seems convinced it will?

Holy Wine by Silvergirl (E, 36,699 w., 13 Ch. || Sherlock/OMC & Johnlock || TEH Divergence, Addiction, Alcoholism, POV Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Sex Replacing Getting High, Angst with Happy Ending) – After Sherlock fails to amaze and delight John at the Landmark, he learns that John’s cut contacts and left London. Sherlock has to start his life over, without the man he gave up everything to save. Sherlock's version of the events of A Case of You. Part 2 of A Case of You

GOOD OMENS

how do we turn on the light? by moonyinpisces (M, 229,988+ w., 18/22 Ch. || WiP || Post-S2, Romance, Slow Burn, Angst with Happy Ending, Light Humour, Supreme Archangel Aziraphale, The Second Coming, Christianity, Drug Use, Book of Life, Death Threats, Suicidal Thoughts, Sex in the Bentley, Duke of Hell Crowley, Character Death) – Aziraphale ascends to the highest level of the Archangels. And he remembers—well. It’s not important what he remembers.

[antimony-medusa]

So what kind of a dad is q!Phil anyways?

So, Phil getting Tallulah and Chayanne to wear armour and learn how to fight. Also Bad doing this with Dapper, and the Brazilians trying to do this with Richas, and the french with Pomme, but when it gets discussed, it's mostly focusing on Phil because of the contrast of Wilbur not wanting his kids to have to fight. There's some really fun discussion that comes up with that!

And the interesting thing is that when we're trying to pull up other cultural touchpoints to compare phil-and-fighting-and-the-kids to, a lot of the other characters have very specific vibes, so to speak. I was in a discussion the other day where someone compared Phil in this with the dad in Supernatural, and him getting his sons to follow him on hunts. Cause he's a dad training his kids to fight, right? From a very young age? However, I don't think this is a perfect comparison, and I wanted to share the one that comes to mind for me, despite the fact that it deals with some pretty dark topics. This whole post deals with some dark topics, you might want to check the tags, just so you know.

Anyways, I never watched Supernatural, so I didn't do much more than think emoji in the moment when this comparison came up. But I checked in with friends who have watched it, and I think Phil QSMP and John Winchester Supernatural are acting from some pretty different places. John Supernatural is teaching his kids to fight because they have a duty and a lineage and have to help save the world, but at the same time there's this tragedy there that implies that he's so focused on his duty as a hunter that he's not seeing that maybe you don't need the kids for that. They could start when they were older—or maybe they could not start this! He essentially conscripts them into a battle that shapes the course of their lives, as little warriors, and they never have a choice in it. And he's not above using them as bait, because they're warriors, right? The battle is so important? They want to be involved, they want this (of course they want this, you're their dad, and they believe you that this is important). He's a true believer.

Whereas Phil is faced with a world that actively and constantly wants to kill his kids, and he's trying to train them to defend themselves. He's trying to say that there's danger out there, you take care of yourself, I'm going to put myself on the line for you, but if I fail, if I'm not there, you won't be defenseless if it comes down to it. I have had my beef with fics that take on this topic, in fact, because I've seen people write Phil as using his kids as bait to get to the codes or forgetting his kids in his code battle, and that's not how I interpret the character motivattion and actions. For me, the way I see it, Phil is always thinking of how best to defend the eggs, and everything else is in service to this. He's a man with anxiety on an island that wants to kill his kids, not a warrior in an epic battle.

Does this mean that the eggs are gonna grow up and go to therapy about their childhood full of danger? Hell yeah they wll. This is not an ideal childhood. But— and this is the crucial thing— they're going to grow up. Same with Dapper, same with Richas, same with Pomme— living your life under constant need to teleport out to safety is bad, objectively, but when the alternative is living in the moment until you die, I think the teleporting out is better, actually.

And the comparison that comes to mind for me, because of my personal experience, is not examples in media of parents training their kids to fight, but examples in media or in real life of parents dealing with serious and or terminal illness in kids. Cause that's what my family did. And boy is there resonance there.

I don't know of any parent of a kid with cancer who likes putting their kid through treatment. Chemotherapy sucks, radiation sucks, surgery sucks, immunotherapy sucks, none of this is good. I have seen this tear up parents (and siblings) inside. But it's better than letting their kids DIE, isn't it? And before you say well, obviously everyone is on the same page when it comes to things like chemotherapy, I have *seen* people go out there and post at cancer families about how they can't believe they're putting poison in their children's bodies when they should just eat better, etc. (This take reminds me strongly of the "she shoudln't wear armour cause she shouldn't have to fight" take about Tallulah.) Serious illness in kids forces you into terrible situations, but the only saving grace is that they're better than the alternative, you hope.

The only thing that makes me go ehhhhh maybe with Phil and the Mr Supernatural is him letting Chayanne fight, but Chayanne is a kid being hunted whose sister (also being hunted) is disabled, and this happens whether or not Chayanne is involved, and he wants to try and defend her so bad. I don't think saying "let her die if necessary, don't intervene" is going to be a conversation that ends up with less trauma, if you know what I mean. That is simply a situation that has no real win conditions out of it. At least this way he feels like he has some control? (Note: this is a bad situation, there's no getting around it.)

QSMP is so often a story about forces beyond our control trying to destroy us, and while Supernatural and its ilk also has that tone, within Supernatural there's at least a population that doesn't have to be part of the battle, so opting into the battle becomes on some level a choice, and involving children in that is also a choice, one that you can hold up to the standards of allowing children to have a childhood and go "is this ethical". On Quesadilla island, there's literally no opting out of this fight. There are malevolent forces that are directly trying to destroy you, destroy your children, and the question of allowing children to have a childhood has been effectively taken out of your hands. You simply have to do the best with the situation you have, and have a birthday party while keeping the armour on. And this reminds me much more strongly of situations like childhood cancer, than it does of cases in media of people concripting their children into battle.

In both cases children are trying to fight malevolent entities that want them dead, as pushed to fight by their parents, but boy, at least to me, the tone is pretty different. I think the question of "is it self defense or did you choose to be here" is pretty important.

[thedisablednaturalist]

Hey, popping in for education if you’re willing: saw your post about supporting all different types of meds and med relationships disabled people might have/supporting all, and was surprised by meds that could hurt your body but be worth it overall. Are you willing to give an example or two—I wanna be clear this isn’t a fight, I just didn’t know that could happen

Right off the bat I am taking two medications that help me so much but can cause harm over time if not properly monitored (and have a risk of harming me no matter what)

Tramadol and Pantoprazole Sodium dr

tramadol is an opioid, which is pretty obvious, it can cause liver damage and addiction. Tramadol is one of the more "safer" opioids, but it still carries that risk. However I still take it because nothing else has helped my back pain other than my cervical injections (which can cause spinal degradation over time).

The pantoprazole is like a stronger Omeprazole that you can get over the counter. I have a halatial hernia in my esophagus that causes chronic acid reflux which is very painful and can lead to the hernia getting bigger. I used to have to carry around tums with me everywhere and constantly be eating them. I would wake up periodically with my throat full of acid. I had to literally sleep sitting up. Now when I take my pantoprazole regularly I rarely ever have to eat a tums unless its for normal heartburn reasons. Unfortunately, long term use of pantoprazole can cause bones to weaken, leading to a higher risk of bone fractures.

These are just two examples off the top of my head. I choose to take these to improve my quality of life now, even if it leads to problems later on. I want to enjoy life while I can. That is my choice and doctor's should respect that. That's why informed consent is so important. Give people the facts and let them make their own decisions. Don't try to force a medication that's helping them away from them. That just leads to medical distrust, especially if you don't have any alternatives to replace it with.

There's also medical treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancers, or having to have organs or limbs removed due to disease or injury. These may hurt you in the short term, but overall they can also be the thing that saves your life, if not improve your quality of life as well. Even vaccines make you feel like crap for a couple of days but they are still good for you overall. Surgical procedures can have horrible recovery times and symptoms, but are also usually positive overall.

Choosing to undergo a medical procedure or intervention can be a complicated and difficult choice, and people, including doctors, need to respect that.

[i-am-cesear]

Listen! You know I am a big Natsuhiko simp. It was normal for me to wonder about his necklace.

I think his necklace is REALLY important. What we know about Natsuhiko's necklace? It is a present from Sakura and it is germanium. He is just so casually says it in here.

I needed to check what is germanium and

1) Why did Sakura gave Natsu a germanium necklace?

Let's start with germanium itself. If I pass the more scientific stuff about germanium, this is what I get so far:

• It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin.

• Germanium is not thought to be an essential element for any living organism. Similar to silicon and aluminium, naturally-occurring germanium compounds tend to be insoluble in water and thus have little oral toxicity. However, synthetic soluble germanium salts are nephrotoxic, and synthetic chemically reactive germanium compounds with halogens and hydrogen are irritants and toxins.

•The major end uses for germanium in 2007, worldwide, were estimated to be: 35% for fiber-optics, 30% infrared optics, 15% polymerization catalysts, and 15% electronics and solar electric applications. The remaining 5% went into such uses as phosphors, metallurgy, and chemotherapy.

•Germanium supplements, made from both organic and inorganic germanium, have been marketed as an alternative medicine capable of treating leukemia and lung cancer.  There is, however, no medical evidence of benefit; some evidence suggests that such supplements are actively harmful.

So. We use germanium more in technology and it is not usually harmfull for people. Wanna know what I decided to search? Germanium necklaces. Just to see if it has any meaning.

I checked the first web-site and I know, I should've search more but I was curious. I searched "germanium necklace benefits" and wanna know what I found out? Apparently, germanium jewelry;

• Increases blood circulation

• Increases metabolism of body cells

• Removes harmful toxins

•Alleviates physical stress, stiffness, cramps or discomfort

• Controls swelling

• Reduces water retention

• Relieves fatigue and tiredness

• Promotes quality sleep

• Slows down aging

• Increases and maintains body warmth

But Cesear, why are they important??

It's because, I am almost sure that Natsuhiko is not wearing his necklace in this panel.

He is not wearing it. He can't. That necklace looks more like a collar than a necklace. For exemple, look here:

And here, now look at his germanium necklace:

That thing is not loose. I don't think he can wear that thing under a shirt that buttoned all the way up and a necktie. Look again. Do you see what I mean?

And in these panels, it is the first time Natsu talks about something that hurts him. He experienced some wild things before with Nene.

He looks scared but totally ok in here.

He looks scared, not in pain.

And he just comes back like nothing happened. These panels was one of the reasons why I thought he was immortal in the first place. He is wearing his necklace in all of them. He looks fine, he looks like his usual self. But in the raws, he looks tired. My friend pointed it out for me that in whole manga, this is the only time Natsu look genuinly tired and also, he mentions himself as a "human."

Maybe it's because he is losing blood but I don't think that much of blood and that much of a time is long enough for him to feel tired. I think he is not wearing his necklace and that necklace is healing him.

But Cesear, what does the necklace healing Natsu from?

Good question.

Before these raws, I thought that Natsu was sick and he was dying. Remember where people use germanium? Don't bother scroll back up, I'll show you again.

• Germanium supplements, made from both organic and inorganic germanium, have been marketed as an alternative medicine capable of treating leukemia and lung cancer.

But now that we have the raws, I know what the necklace heal Natsu from.

I think it is healing him from his own blood.

We now know that Natsuhiko is immortal (like I was saying for months now) because of a rumour that Sakura released but Natsu is not entirely supernatural. His blood causes the supernatural things to break down, it is toxic for them.

And if Natsu is at least somewhat immortal, that means that his blood might be toxic for him as well. He is also immortal. Which might put Natsu in a circle; his own blood keep hurting and killing him inside while his immortality forces him to live. It must be painful, he feels pain. He says that either cutting his palm or his blood hurts so he feels it. He can't be useful like that. So, how are we going to fix it?

By giving him a healing necklace which is also believed that helps with aging process.

So. Now you know why I found that necklace really important.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Ok as much as im loving it (as im crying)! I want some snippets from the secret alternate happy ending where Lexa lives AWTR

Oh in the happy alt version Clarke's a bone marrow match 💁‍♀️

When she falls for Lexa and then finds out she's sick, she gets herself tested and she's a match. There's still a long road to go for Lexa's treatments and chemotherapy and then recovery, but they make it through. Together.

Lexa eventually goes to college and graduates with a masters degree in political science. Clarke switches her major from art to internal medicine and ultimately focuses on oncology. Because well, that's what saved her girlfriend's life. They eventually get married, but it's not until after their junior year of college. What with Lexa's dream career as a political strategist beginning to take shape and Clarke standing on the edge of heading on to medical school, they decide it's better to do it now than waiting around for some vague finish line in the distance.

They settle down on the east coast, close to the capital of course, for Lexa's work, but still only a mildly inconvenient car ride away from their parents and hometown. They eventually adopt a daughter and then twin boys a couple years after that, and when they add a dog to the mix they decide that's more than enough to make their little family whole.

See? Alternate happy ending

[shrineofdolls]

i used to walk daily but then I started noticing it was hurting my body to walk so much (i would average three miles a day) (cw: medical rant and negligence from doctors)

it feels strange. i was doing what i thought i was supposed to do via the guidance i always heard from doctors and that terrible therapist, but it didn't help much. the walks felt great and it would tire me out but i would be in pain afterwards, especially in my back and right calf. i tried talking to a doctor about this a year an a half ago, but she was completely unhelpful and also she refused to see me again until i stopped smoking weed. i haven't found another doctor since then and i believe that specific doctor stopped working at the clinic i was using. I'm scared to be told i need to stop smoking weed before I'll be taken seriously. she thought some of my issues related to my physical pain and stomach problems were being caused by weed, despite me mentioning some of these issues started before i smoked which in turn lead me to seek alternative medicine in the first place.

i have reduced my weed intake significantly since then, though hilariously enough i feel i am in more pain. i feel guilty because i apparently can't use weed to manage my pain if i want to be taken seriously by a doctor. ibuprofen worsens my stomach issues so i limit my usage of it. i don't drink alcohol often. i think this year I've drank four alcoholic drinks, and that was because i was invited to ian's work events. i am trying to be as clean and straight edge as possible to prove to a doctor that i deserve to be taken seriously about my health. i am taking my health seriously.

if they tell me they won't see me until i do an arbitrary task then i drop the doctor and look for a new one. I've been put on so many waiting lists and then rejected because they tell me my issue isn't the same as somebody who's been through chemotherapy and has a weakened immune system, etc. my pain isn't enough to be taken seriously even though it majorly affects my life. i can't work on my comic longer than an hour or two every day because of my arm and back pain. it's stupid. then i take a healthy walk and it still leads to more pain. when does it stop? where do i go that is friendly to transgender people AND will take my pain seriously?

anywho, now i walk once or twice a week, sometimes three times a week if i feel especially physically good. i still usually aim for 2 to 3 miles, but I'm finding my body isn't able to do that as easily anymore and my right calf acts up. I'm basically limping by the end of my walks now lol. i feel like a lazy piece of shit. i feel major guilt as if I'm not doing enough for my health. i worry i caused my health issues. i fear i did this to myself but I don't know how i did it.

strange how the body changes, and how outsiders of my body tell me its in my head or an issue with me over doing it, or whatever excuse they can pull from their pocket. so they admit that my body isn't built to work the same as an adult man then? but they still suggest better diet and more exercise...and yoga. lol. believe me i do what i am directed to do, but i am still in pain.

performing healthy actions doesn't reverse or fix the problem. I'll still do it just to prove this because if i let up even a little bit i know they'll turn me away again (doctors, specifically).

[houseofbrat]

Don’t blame ‘stupid people on the internet’ for palace’s Princess Kate lies

Elite columnists jumped on the masses for Princess Kate speculation before her cancer announcement. But blame the palace for its lies.

by Will Bunch | Columnist

Published Mar. 24, 2024, 1:12 p.m. ET

The background birds had barely stopped chirping in the dramatic Friday video from Catherine, the Princess of Wales, revealing her cancer diagnosis and ongoing chemotherapy when the rush to judgment took full flight.

The elite columnists at the New York Times — the powerful news org that’s watched its authority erode in the internet age, often from self-inflicted wounds — were almost gleeful, despite the downbeat medical news, in pointing the finger of blame for months of increasingly feverish online speculation on the whereabouts of Princess Kate, missing in action since Christmas. The villain in their version was Time’s 2006 Person of the Year.

You.

“The Real Royal Scandal is Us,” blared the Times headline over its lead column from book-critic-turned-cultural-scold Pamela Paul, who said the real lesson from the frenzy that escalated when a doctored, or worse, photo of Kate Middleton and her three kids was handed out to the press, is that Americans should stop hounding public figures when they deserve privacy. She wrote: “Kate’s terrible news shouldn’t just make us feel terrible for Kate; it should also make us feel terrible about ourselves.”

If you weren’t performing an Opus Dei-style self-flagellation ritual after reading Paul’s column, the whip was turned over to her Times colleague Jessica Bennett in its new feature of quick opinion hits called “The Point.” This one was headlined: “The Internet Should Feel Shame Over Kate Middleton.” I always thought that “the internet” — like Simon and Garfunkel’s rock — feels no pain, but of course the entity that Bennett is really attacking here, again, is you. She wrote, also endorsing Kate’s privacy plea, that “[t]he public, in turn, should feel very, very stupid.”

Let’s be clear: This is a completely bass-ackwards interpretation of what’s played out over the last few weeks. The apparent truth-telling of Kate’s Friday night news dump didn’t happen because people are stupid. It happened because people are smart. Smarter, at least, than a Kensington Palace — Kate, her husband-who-would-be-king Prince William, and their army of protectors — that alternatively dissembled about the princess’s whereabouts, encouraged paparazzi speculation, and finally put out a photographic lie and made Kate take the blame for it.

Indeed, the fact that so many columnists for leading news orgs raced to attack “the public” (formerly known as “their readers,” who are deserting the mainstream media in droves) is “a tell,” showing you what the Kate whereabouts scandal was ultimately about: authority, and the truth. Writers like the Times’ Paul still identify with Kensington Palace because they realize they are kindred spirits: diminished institutions whose bond of trust with the people they feel comfortable in attacking is rapidly collapsing.

Not surprisingly, the columns by Paul, Bennett, and others seized on the most out-there conspiracy theories — to be expected in a world of 5.35 billion internet users, when the royal family’s Nixonian PR strategies all but begged them to speculate. They ignored the reality that what most everyday people were saying on the internet — that Kate must be more seriously ill than the bland and occasionally misleading statements from Kensington Palace — proved to be the truth.

Why should the public feel very, very stupid when it wasn’t the public but Kensington Palace that earlier this month released the now notorious British Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children, allegedly snapped by Prince William himself, that was spiked by the world’s major news organizations after it became obvious that the picture was altered, perhaps substantially? Was it “the internet” that then decided to throw Kate under the bus by blaming the fiasco on her amateur Photoshopping skills — removing William, not to mention credibility, from the discussion?

Should we actually be feeling terrible about ourselves when Kensington Palace did nothing to disown the various paparazzi videos and photos of a happy and normal Kate riding in cars or shopping at a farmer’s market which — as we learned when the video of the actual Kate was released on Friday night — clearly were not her. Indeed, it was a little gob-smacking last weekend to watch mainstream news outlets hype the TMZ shopping video as some kind of “proof of life” when anyone with a reasonably working set of eyes could see this woman looked almost nothing like Kate.

I won’t go chapter and verse on the various inconsistencies from Team Kate about scheduling, timelines, or its initial statements about her condition, or the fact that even some of Friday night’s disclosures about her cancer diagnosis seemed at odds with how the disease is normally discovered and treated. But I will say that while I agree that Kate’s plea for privacy should be respected, the version of absolute privacy for Britain’s royal family now being pushed by these U.S. opinion writers is a little absurd, especially when a lot of internet speculation didn’t even happen until after the palace’s lies.

Prince William is not a private citizen but in all probability Britain’s next head of state, at the top of a monarchy that their nation’s taxpayers support to the tune of more than $100 million a year because his family’s public presence is supposed to provide a form of moral leadership to a Great Britain that’s experiencing more than its share of problems right now. Like running for president or getting hired as football coach at the University of Alabama, marrying into the royal family is a devil’s bargain where you agree to surrender some of your privacy. The public doesn’t need Kate’s entire medical file, but did it need to be lied to?

One thing that truly annoys me about this whole affair is that it played into some seriously outdated attitudes, from some in the public and way too many in the media, about cancer. I’m still amazed when a public figure reveals an early detected and highly treatable form of cancer and some reports still treat it like a death sentence. Cancer is still horrible, but the 21st century has seen remarkable advances in detection and treatment that means that millions of people with the disease are living full and relatively normal lives. Kensington Palace had an opportunity to attack cancer’s unnecessary stigma with honesty — instead of perpetuating it.

But the bigger problem with this fiasco is that, in an age of growing disinformation, given a nuclear-power boost with new AI technologies, the public has lost all faith in who or what can be believed. It was striking that in the same hour Friday as Kate’s bombshell announcement, the first news flashes and shaky iPhone videos were emerging from Moscow about the theater terror attack by gunmen and arsonists who killed at least 137 people.

The vivid videos were real, but everything else about the terrorist attack was murky beyond recognition. A faction of the Islamic militant group ISIS claimed credit for the attack, but that didn’t explain how terrorists moved around so easily in an overpoliced security state, whose leader, Vladimir Putin, has been linked in the past to “false flag” attacks. Indeed, the Putin regime almost immediately, and with little proof, sought to connect the attack to Ukraine, ginning up an excuse to launch even more horrific assaults against its neighbor while clamping down on dissent at home.

Were people on the internet “very, very stupid” for questioning Putin’s version of the truth? Of course not, but it’s harder to challenge the world’s lying autocrats when the supposed “good guys” are fibbing, too. Dictatorship rises in times when the very concept of truth has been obliterated. The public’s total loss of faith in institutions is a straight downward line that started with Vietnam and Watergate and shifted into high gear with the Iraq War — beginning as tragedy until it finally devolved into the farce of fake royal pictures, when our figurehead is not what she seems.

I’ve always clung to a naïve faith that my colleagues in the media could be the last bastion of truth-telling. But the only truth I feel after the New York Times called me and 5 billion other people stupid is the reality of not knowing who I can believe in anymore.

[silence-the-barking-monk]

Pranayama, or yogic breathing, is an ancient Indian practice that involves controlling your breath in various ways to connect your mind and body. The word "pranayama" comes from the Sanskrit words "prana," meaning "breath of life" or "vital energy," and "ayama," meaning "expansion," "regulation," or "control".

Pranayama involves deliberately modifying your breathing process, such as:

Inhaling and exhaling

You can try breathing in slowly through your nose while counting to four, then holding your breath for a count of four, and then slowly exhaling for a count of four. You can also try pausing at the end of your exhalation for another four counts.

Alternate nostril breathing

Also known as nadishodhana or anulom vilom pranayama, this technique involves closing your right nostril with your thumb, inhaling deeply through your left nostril, then closing your left nostril with your ring finger and releasing your right nostril. Next, you inhale through your right nostril, close it, and exhale through your left nostril. You can repeat this cycle three to five times.

Breath holding

You can try internal breath retention (antaḥ kumbhaka) or external breath retention (bahiḥ kumbhaka).

You can practice pranayama in many ways, such as while sitting in a comfortable position with your back supported and feet on the floor, or while performing yoga poses. Some say that pranayama can improve lung and cognitive capacities, reduce anxiety and blood pressure, and promote physical well-being and self-awareness. Others say that it can help improve sleep disturbance and mental quality of life, especially for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

[rahmercy]

My mom has been battling stage 3 pancreatic cancer and 2 days ago, she completed her 4th chemotherapy session. She has 2 more to go before they assess it to remove the tumor.

She was diagnosed on November 28, 2023. She began chemotherapy December 26, 2023 and was admitted to the emergency room later that day from complications. She was discharged December 29, 2023 and my family came down to Florida on December 30, 2023.

On her birthday, January 2, 2024, after her follow-up meeting with her oncologist. She was feeling defeated about how things had been happening since her diagnosis. She vocalized no desire to live in front of us (including my 12 year old daughter (her only grandchild)).

My family (my spouse, daughter & myself), at the suggestion of my spouse made the commitment to be her ongoing support system. This is so she could make whatever decision she wanted regarding how she chooses to proceed with her diagnosis.

I personally committed to split time between our 2 bedroom home in Durham, North Carolina & her 1 bedroom apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to make sure we could commit to her health treatment planned as it began taking effect on December 26, 2023.

We did not request anything from anybody and agreed to take on the additional financial burdens it would place on us to fulfill this commitment, (despite knowing we weren't in the financial situation to do so).

We arranged things so my spouse and daughter could return to school in NC on January 8th. I stayed back with my mom for that chemo week. Since I'm a business owner with time flexibility, I would make the trips and stay with my mom throughout the treatment windows in Florida.

This agreement means renting a car for an one-way trip to North Carolina or Florida weekly (a $200-275 expense & 11-14 hours of travel time per trip). The first time we brought her up to NC ever, my spouse drove our car down to get us and then shared in the responsibility of driving back to NC. It cost us $250 in fuel and food for the trip. We realized it gave my mom & I more flexibility in travel days, saved on time spent on the road, and cost the same to just rent a car (Chevrolet Malibu) for each trip.

This agreement meant now sourcing food with all my mom's health dietary restrictions (from having a gastric sleeve) & her diagnosis dietary restrictions for 2 households. As well as me preparing most meals for both homes while I'm in and away from NC. In addition, replacing gluten with gluten-free alternatives in the diet. (A lot more coconut and almond based supplies). Cooking meals for a family of four that works and can be considered Keto-friendly and cancer friendly and while trying to stay under a budget of $300-$350 monthly.

Since we've implemented this plan to be her support system, all hell has broken loose in our lives. (My mom calls it just life lifing though).

On Martin Luther King weekend, began a school district wide issue in my Daughter's school system. Different staff began protesting and calling out of work (which we personally support their stances) due to significant pay discrepancies being communicated.

This immediately meant unreliable transportation for my daughter getting to & from school 25+ minutes away. My spouse teaches in a different school system 20 minutes in the opposite direction of my daughter's school, and we only have one car. Since she started middle school this year, their school school arrival times are the same. But her bus pick-up time solved the problem there. So there is now an ongoing possibility of him being late to work at his school daily.

On our first trip back down for treatment, it went perfect with the rental, until I realized after returning the rental car that I had lost my business cellphone inside of the rental car. (It hasn't been found by Budget's staff during cleaning and the car had already been rented out again less than 2 hours after being dropped off.) So I still have to pay to get that phone replaced.

This is compiled on top of this being my businesses' slow season and having no reserves to catch the $950 overhead in monthly expenses that comes from inventory space, business insurance, & hosting email domains, office assistant services & website. We only one future booking on the calendar and it's for a new build. January there was only $900 made. $300 had to go towards having to subrent out the job because it over lapped with chemo treatment and would cost twice as much to keep in-house with temp staff. $150 went towards repaying our transaction based capital funding loan from Shopify. $120 went towards getting 2 items of inventory for the second booking.

So I borrowed funds from something I couldn't afford to take from just to keep all of our inventory spaces secured.

My Chase credit card is over the limit by $140 and a payment is due today. My secure loan payment with Navy Federal is also due today and I don't have any of it. My business insurance payment of $200 is due tomorrow, and I don't have that either.

And the difference in the cost for our last car rental to come down for chemo week is still due back to the card I used for it. And I have to pay 200 for the car rental to go back up to NC Monday.

Then back in NC, this week on Tuesday, our only car's engine light came on. It was taken into our dealership on Wednesday morning to find out why. That diagnostic end up costing $250. We finally got answers Friday afternoon. Our car has 139k miles on it, and we're being told the engine needs to be replaced. It has been quoted $8k to have a used engine put into it or over $12k to have a new engine with a lifetime warranty put into our 2016 Chevrolet Cruze premier.

This car gets everyone to school and has been how my spouse has been supplementing his income working for the school system and parks & rec by doing Shipt. So now income has been reduced even more and expenses have drastically increased more.

MY business first official rental booking for this year took place yesterday, and that was supposed to be able to be delivered using our car. Since it's still in the shop, we had to book a last-minute $200 car rental for my spouse and daughter to fulfill the booking delivery yesterday and to be able to go back to do the rental booking pick-up today.

Emergency fund is pretty much exhausted after this week and the savings, too. Then today, with a little downtime, I learn that all my email payments were due on MLK weekend. This resulted in 5 email domains (3 important ones needed for tax filings) to be canceled by godaddy after 2 weeks of missing the payment notifications. I've had the email plan for almost 10 years, and it initially only cost me $14/month for all 5 emails. But because it was canceled and the package no longer exists, it cost me $29/month to have them reactivate and restore the 3 important emails or over $70/month to get them all reactivated. I only activated the 3 and paid it up until April for $59, so I don't miss its before filing taxes.

This week in Florida, my mom's cancer treatment visits started charging her a copay. Due to an error that recently took place on the backend by her health insurance. It's taking longer to resolve it with then despite them already seeing that it'san error in their coordination of benefits process. This week alone, we had to pay $325 in co-pays just to avoid the chemotherapy and white blood cell visits at the oncologist from being canceled by their office. The error is still causing a previous $200 outstanding balance to reflect on her account.

TODAY, it all became too much to hold in any longer. I have never had to face this many trials all at once while still having ongoing ones coming my way. My heart, mind & spirit is heavy right now. I need GOD to do something supernatural for my family in this season. In a way, only God can show up. I'm not broken. My faith isn't shaken. We're not going back on our commitment. Cancer won't defeat my family! We're breaking so many generational cycles right now. Cancer was just the catalyst to expedite the process.