Ryan’s Mom Passed Away This Morning

Ryan’s mom is a beautiful, wonderful spirit. She was caring and warm. She listened and did not judge. I am so grateful to her for taking me unconditionally into her family and being so loving to me. I am grateful to her for Ryan, and I am grateful for the many adventures we all shared. She lived life on her terms, and she died on her terms. At home, with her loving husband.

The news this morning was such a shock. She had been dying from pancreatic cancer and was supposed to have six to 12 more months to live. We were trying to plan a visit. But pancreatic cancer is not what killed her. She developed blood clots in her legs, the doctors prescribed two blood thinning drugs, she became very weak, and in less than three days she bled out internally. She knew that the drugs were hurting her, and she quit taking them after two days, but that wasn’t quick enough.

Her time under the supervision of doctors was agony. The chemotherapy made her so ill. She declined and declined until the doctors said there was nothing else to do.

I was very angry with the doctors. They had her husband believing that their treatments could be successful, even though the survival rate for someone with her disease at their hospital was dismal. Part of the cancer was killed, but according to the doctors, they didn’t realize it was on another part of the pancreas or it managed to spread to that part after treatment.

Stanford, which was five hours away, has a much better survival rate and is the leader in treating her cancer, but I couldn’t convince her to go there.

When she could not eat, the doctors prescribed the “nutrition” beverage Ensure. Here is a post I previously wrote about it: The Definition of Insanity - Part 2. Ensure will blow your mind.

Now for some more brilliant information from Dr. David Kessler, former Surgeon General of the United States. In his book The End of Overeating, he writes about a researcher studying the addictiveness of fat and sugar combinations. The researcher studied how hard rats would work in order to drink Ensure. The researcher stated: “The breaking point at which the animals will no longer work for the reward, she told me, is slightly lower than the breaking point for cocaine. Animals are willing to work almost as hard to get either one.”

Ryan’s mom consumed five to six cans of Ensure a day. It fed her cancer and it is almost as addictive as cocaine. She was a nurse, and she chose to do what the doctors said. We honored her choices because it was her journey. Our only part was to support her, but it is so hard to watch someone make choices that you know will kill them.

With the exception of some excellent MDs who are humble and work to look beyond standard western medicine when treating disease, people are often risking their lives when under the care of an MD.

Much of disease is preventable with lifestyle changes. I have only told you part of Ryan’s mom’s story, and in light of it, I hope people will ask themselves if it is worth it to keep eating processed foods that bring disease and death.

The changes are simple. Eat real food and take a walk. And please note that sugar is not real food. It is the cornerstone of disease in America – at the root of high cholesterol, obesity, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, premature aging and on and on and on. It must be banished from your diet if you want to lead a vibrant, healthy and fun life.

Thank you for reading.

Wishing you all long, healthy and fun lives,

Laura

Comments

[Melissa Meyer]

So sorry to hear about your MIL. We send our condolences to you and Ryan. We will be sure to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers when we chant daimoku.

Best to you, Ryan, and Colson,

Melissa, Tommy, Riley, Aiden, and Sophia

[raji]

i am so sorry to hear it..
for this type of cancer s der any type of treatment...

pancreatic cancer treatment

[Erica @ Realfood2health]

Sorry Laura, I'm horribly behind in reading all my blog news. I can imagine how terribly frustrating it was for you and your family to deal with her situation, but I am so glad you have gratitude. Keep up the good work! ~Erica

[Sandi Tiffany]

Am wondering if you have any experience working with children (12 month old born 3months prematurely) he has a G-tube...am thinkng that he might have some allergies he is on a ventilator. Parents are dedicated..he is one of four (took the hit for the team) his brothers do not have any health issues.

[Laura Combs]

I am sorry to hear about the baby. I have no experience. I recommend finding a complementary practitioner to guide. Wishing fast healing!