Dear Fans

When I started The Savvy Survivor, on February 14, 2013, I had every intention of sharing my journey with you; I wanted to show whomever was watching that they could survive an incurable disease, beyond their doctor's prognosis. That was my plan, anyway.

I feel that I have failed my mission. Throughout the years, I have survived; but I haven't taken care of myself as well as I should've been doing. I backslid into old eating habits, more times than I can count; to the point of almost being diagnosed with Diabetes. I have half a dozen new health issues to deal with, as I'm writing this to you; including being the reluctant owner of a peptic ulcer.

There are two ways to get peptic ulcers; one is via H. pylori bacterial infection. The second is by way of overuse of NSAIDS; this is how I got mine. I have been taking far too much Ibuprofen, more times a day than I should've been, to keep the pain of my breast cancer from spoiling my day. I will never take Ibuprofen, again!

I also took an extended break from conventional treatments, because I was tired of being victimized by the laundry list of side effects, from the pills my Oncologist had me taking. I was "on break" for 15 months; and in that time, a few tumors grew so big they cut off communication between my brain and the lower half of my body. Two of them are, quite literally, enveloping my spinal cord!

In August, of this year, I fell in my bathroom. My daughter took me to the hospital, because I assumed I had an infection, and needed help. I was right about the infection, just not the right type; but I'll get to that, in a minute.

On the way to the hospital, I lost control of my bowels and my bladder; and still couldn't stand or move very well. At the hospital, I became lethargic; they put me through a bunch of tests, and scans, to find out what was wrong. And at first, they thought my breast cancer had spread beyond hope. My daughter was told to start making arrangements, and say "goodbye" to me; I wasn't well, and didn't have much time left.

However, what they thought was an explosion of breast cancer tumors, turned out to be the infection I mentioned, earlier. They discovered I had a perforated stomach, thanks to an ulcer I never knew was forming. The "breast cancer tumors" throughout my abdomen were actually abscesses...dozens of them! The contents of my perforated stomach had been collecting in my abdomen, for a while. The surgeon cleaned me up, repaired the whole in my stomach, and put me on three heavy duty antibiotics. This is the first time in my life I've ever had sepsis.

I tell you I never knew the ulcer was forming, because I was always in constant pain from my back. But there were other signs, and I missed them. I was diagnosed with GERD, a few years ago; and while I was taking a break from cancer treatments, I began experiencing frequent flare ups. Most of them were serious, too! It didn't dawn on me that the flare ups were causing the ulcer. It makes sense, now.

Since August, I've been learning how to care for my newest health concern; and there are a lot of necessary changes I need to make, so I don't reopen the current ulcer, or create new ones. One of those changes is a radical and permanent dietary change; something I should've been doing since the start of my cancer journey.

Here is a list of beverages and foods, folks with ulcers should completely avoid.

• coffee

• tea

• sodas

• dairy

• highly-seasoned meats

• lunch meats

• sausages

• fried or fatty foods

• fast food

• chili peppers/cayenne pepper

• horseradish

• black pepper

• nutmeg 

• vinegar 

• pickles

• olives

• tomatoes

• citrus fruit

• sugary foods (“added sugars”)

• candy

• chocolate

There are a number of things on this list that I will miss; but having had the experience I've had, I'll be alright without them.

While I was recovering from surgery, and during the last three months I spent in a rehab facility, I've become familiar with the sensation eating some of these things can cause. It's not pleasant! GERD flare ups, on steroids, would be an understatement. So, I have resolved to completely do without the things listed above; I have christened it the "No-No List".

I find it interesting, cancer flare ups haven't stopped me from eating/doing whatever I wanted; but an ulcer has. The Lord does, indeed, work in mysterious ways!

I still don't have control of my faculties; for the first time in my life, I'm wearing an adult diaper. They are embarrassing! The loss of control is due to breast cancer tumors that have attached themselves to my spinal cord; stomach surgery wasn't the only procedure I went through, while in the hospital. I also had another surgery on my spine; that's three surgeries, in 8 years.

This one was to decompress a couple of vertebrae, so that those tumors didn't do more damage than they were already doing; I can finally feel myself pee (I forgot how painful a UTI can be!), and am no longer in pain when I lay flat. So, that surgery did a great service to me. But the tumors are still cutting off communication between my brain and my lower half. I can't stand up for very long, if at all; and I'm dependent on adult diapers.

However, now that I'm back with my Oncologist, I'll be getting a chemo regimen going, soon. If we can get those huge tumors under control, I will regain control of my bowels, bladder and legs. Until then, I have to deal with the emotional and mental trauma of letting someone change my diapers; and living in a wheelchair, or my bed. Mad props to Ted Hoyer, who invented the patient lift named after him!

I wrote this to you because I feel that I have let you down; in the beginning of my journey, so many of you told me that I inspired you to take better care of yourselves. I appreciate the admiration, but I don't feel I deserve it.

After reading this, if you decide you no longer want to follow me, I will understand; and wish you a long and healthy life. If you decide to stick with me, I will be making a few changes to my social media presence; and re-branding myself.

I will end this on this note; whatever you're going through, don't ignore your body! I almost died, back in August, because I wasn't paying attention to what my body was trying to tell me. I will try my best to never make that mistake, again! Please be more aware of your health, than I've been with mine!