Heartbroken

[Kissesandhugs]

My Dad has always been a strong staple in my life, always someone to lean on and trust for good advice. He's the absolute last person I would have expected to be struck down with this evil evil. tumour being a vegan, non drinker, non smoker, active man throughout my life.

Around March this year, his face started to droop on one side and a stage 4 GBM brain tumour was the absolute last thing the family were expecting. He went from independently walking, shopping, driving to needing constant support. I'm not only heartbroken for us his immediate family but also for him. He is more than aware of the transformation that he gone through from living and cooking by himself to leaving taps on and causing flooding; forgetting the days of the week and things that he had so much pride in before, not being able to do anymore.

He has so much life to live and all I can do is keep mine and his hope that this tumour can cease to exist. He has done two rounds of chemo and one of radiotherapy, is on steroids and thankfully is fairly mobile. Hospital made a mistake with the steroids at one stage and he severely deteriorated but apart from that he has some independence on the necessities and is able to go for walks at a slow pace. He talks about the holidays he wants to go on and how he cannot wait to live by himself again and although I wouldn't wish this all on my worst enemy, I haven't been able to spend time like this with him in years so that's been a bitter sweet part of it all.

I know the stats of Glioblastomas so I am prepared for the worst but I am really choosing to believe in the best case, at the bare minimum, a stable quality of life for him.

[JC59]

Hi there so sorry to hear this about your dad, my sister was diagnosed in January with a GBM4 she, like your dad, never smoked or drank alcohol was fit and healthy so was a bitter pill to swallow. She is doing ok and managing to live on her own, I hope your dad soon feels some benefits from his treatment and hopefully gets back to some quality of life, stay positive sending you all love and best wishes

[Kissesandhugs in reply to JC59]

Thank you so much for your message and it's good to hear that your sister is able to live independently. I hope for continued stability for both you and your family, all the best

[Tansi75]

Sorry to read about your dad and what he, you and your family are going through.

I was diagnosed with a grade 4 glio in May 2010, so it is possible for your father to live beyond his prognosis. At the moment he is doing the right thing in thinking and planning ahead regarding what he wants to do. Staying positive and believing in having a future ahead of you has been a key element of my survival.

I will advise you to ignore glioblastoma stats; everyone's experience of a brain tumour is individual and unique. Use your time more positively and concentrate on living in the 'here and now'. Do not waste time and energy on 'what if' scenario's. Also, remember that 'all life is terminal'.

One of the key decisions I made was to put my current situation of a grade 4 glio into the perspective of previous difficulties I had faced in my life. I thought 'if I can get through that, I can get through this.' It doesn't have to be anything drastic, just events where I thought I don't know if I can do this, but persevered and overcame it.

I always believe that anyone diagnosed with a grade 4 glio, could view their current situation as a 'life changing' opportunity to take their life in a new direction. View it as being at a cross roads where he can go in any direction he wishes.

There are some things he can do to fight this disease, which are:-

i. Include blueberries, pecan nuts and turmeric spice, which have anti-cancer properties, in his diet. Also cut out any unnecessary sugar - sugar feeds cancer cells.

ii. Take food supplements to boost his immune system, especially whist on chemo. I have been using Higher Natures Immune Plus tablets, which are designed to do this. Also, their Complete Omega tablets, which are good for the brain, since 2010.

iii. Drink ozonated water, which has extra oxygen in it - oxygen kills cancer cells. I always drank a pint of ozonated water when taking my chemo tablets. I use a Sota Ozonator, which is portable and ideal for taking with you on breaks or holidays. There are other versions available on-line, but the Sota has proved to be a trust worthy machine, throughout our trips to Europe and around the UK. I now drink a pint of ozonated water when taking my anti-epilepsy tablet.

iii. Google 'The Truth About Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide', which is an American document. I have been using it since it was recommended to me by a dear friend who is an ex-chemist. Since 2010 I have been taking 5 drops of 3% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide (FGHP) in a 1/2 pint of ozonated water, 3 times a day.

It is important that your dad does take time to rest and recover during and after his treatments. His brain and body has been through a lot; from my experience I recommend allowing at least 12 months. So, he should listen to his body and sleep when it tells him to.

In the mean time your dad should keep his brain active, I did this by reading, listening to music, doing crossword puzzles, part of my daily routine is doing the Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword. It was a friend and late brother-in-law who taught me how to do this; jigsaws - to help redevelop my spatial and cognitive skills. I always believed that by doing this, my brain would 're-wire' itself. Whilst it doesn't work the way it used to, it does work far better than I thought it would.

Most of all, spend as much time laughing as you can; it is a great healer.

Have you and your dad been directed to the Brain Tumour Charity's website and BRIAN APP, which provides a lot of advice and guidance. Also, the BRAIN APP has many applications, which you both could find useful. I use it on a daily basis.

I hope this helps, I know it is a long reply, please do ask any questions you have about my post or anything else that comes to mind and I will reply.

Stay positive and believe you can both get through this with a positive future ahead of you.

[Kissesandhugs in reply to Tansi75]

Thank you so so much for this and I cannot emphasize how it is very encouraging to hear that 12 years from diagnosis, you have maintained positivity. I have communicated all of the above to my dad and family, one thing he has been very good at is maintaining his love to music/books but the information about hydrogen peroxide and ozonated water is definitely something that i will look into further. Staying hopeful and finding joy throughout this year hasn't always been easy but we will continue to make that a priority. Thank you again and I wish you continued health and stability, all the best