Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Rachel Story

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Rachel. As a baby and a child, she was independent and didn't cry in bed or the bath, instead she entertained herself for hours with toys and stuffed animals. Rachel's mom always saw and heard the little voices of the toys talking to one another, even when it was gibberish. When Rachel was 2, she lost her father to cancer...she was terrified of it...

Growing up, she continued to be simple....she loved time with her friends, especially with her "boyfriend" Mikey at the ripe age of 5. She roller skated around the house in her underwear, she acted like a runway model and was always having some type of fun either alone or with her family and close friends.

One time Rachel's parents were called to her daycare because she had $500 on her. Her parents wondered how that had happened, but realized later that Rachel had discovered the money in a book
on a shelf at their home and she took it all with her. She was curious.

As she continued to grow she did more and more creative things like making a bunny with a basket of eggs from clay at age 5. She would create pulleys in her closet and attach them to baskets and carry her kittens around the room and in the closet. She was often found picking flowers and leaves as she got older, creating wreaths to sell, bouquets and more....She was a bit of an entrepreneur then. As she got older, she stuck with her friends, was quiet around others and was always creating games with some of the neighborhood kids. Kid Olympics was one of her favorites - having kids throwing peanut butter slathered tortillas and water balloons across the grass. She often enjoyed her time with kids younger than her, rather than kids her age. When Rachel was 10 she got 2nd degree burns from being at the beach, the doctor told her she would get skin cancer if she was burned like that again and die...She grew even more fearful of cancer at that moment and started to avoid the sun at all costs.

By the time she was a teen and gearing up for high school, she had moved across the country several times, changed so many schools and was now somewhere she liked. Throughout high school Rachel was shy, hated being called out in class, didn't like speaking in front of the class, disliked math and was often teased by other kids. Rachel only broke loose around the friends she was close with. She didn't stand up for anything, let alone herself. The one time she did was in Middle School for a partially blind teacher she adored and a group of "nerdy" kids that were often picked on. They created a play about people being different, their goal was to show it to the entire school.... the school approved it, but it was never done because some bullies locked Rachel, her friends and the teacher in a classroom and put a flaming trash can in front of the door. They escaped out the window, everyone was safe, but the school never let them do the play because of it. Rachel was an introvert, she was uncomfortable around others, but she always loved and looked forward to adventures with close friends. Rachel often struggled to know who she really was and who she needed to be. Sometimes she followed others because she feared being rejected, she hung out with the wrong crowds that got her into trouble. This is probably common for most us when we grew up.

Through everything....Rachel was always just Rachel. As she grew up she continued to do what she enjoyed, her crafts, spending time with friends and working different jobs......For her it was enough. :)

***********************
It was the Horrible "C" that changed Rachel's life forever, because she changed as a person.
The moment those words came out of the doctor's mouth, "Leukemia is Cancer..." Rachel cried... long enough, she cried when her hair came out in clumps, but that was it. From then on..... she was stronger, she was going to fight for herself, for her life.

Rachel has become a full person, more than she ever could have imagined for herself. The people who love Rachel for who she is now and what she has created are the best friends in her eyes. Once upon a time, Rachel feared cancer and avoided anything that would cause it - she never drank or smoked, she never did drugs, she just lived. Now Rachel surrounds herself with people who are affected by it in some way. Rachel lives each day to the fullest and is so different from who she once was. Rachel surrounds herself with loving and supportive people more and more each day.

Rachel speaks about cancer to students, colleges, businesses, at events, for other organizations, on the radio, TV, Youtube and to random people she meets. Would would have imagined, Rachel would talk about cancer so much and surround herself with so many people who have and have had it? Rachel ran with it, the cancer that almost killed her added the spark to her life she needed. It made her see how important life really was and what the meaning of life was..... to impact the lives of as many people that she could. To reach out, the help, to inspire, to spread hope and to love.

This is the new and improved Rachel, the one that many of you now know. The one who spends most of her days and nights working towards improving the quality of life and the lives of those with cancer. She talks about cancer probably more than most, but it's the drive behind her for what she does and why she does it. For Rachel, this is her. Love her or Leave Her, Accept her or not.

For the person who said Rachel wasn't the real Rachel, Perhaps you never really got to know Rachel from her heart..her passion....what drives her. UCAAN is a HUGE part of Rachel, she created it from a dream and it's been amazing! <3 nbsp="" p="">
~ I wouldn't give up any of it for a second! - Rachel


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

We Have More Power than we Realize - The Right to Choose - Cancer Treatments

At the beginning of the year, we announced a campaign: "WAKE UP" and stated that it wasn't focused on the CURE, but rather on the Patients in NEED and our Quality of Life. We raised attention about the fact that our society has been raising money (LOTS OF IT) for cancer research for 94 Years, with 8.2 Million deaths a year that continue to grow each year. If there are Alternative Options, Complimentary Alternative Options and Outside of the box options, why don't we know more about them and why aren't these given to us as "Options"? Our Focus at UCAAN is to HELP THE CANCER PATIENTS DIRECTLY - NONE OF OUR MONEY GOES INTO RESEARCH EVER. We need to raise awareness that Patients, Survivors and Warriors should have a say, we should have a right to choose, we deserve the options and we won't go down without a fight!  

Shouldn't we have the right to choose? When it comes to our independence and our country, we have the right to choose lots of things from where we live, to where we work to who we are friends with and what we believe in, in some states you have the right to bear arms. But when most people are diagnosed with cancer, especially by a western medicine doctor, we are only given one option - standard medicine. And unless we already know about the abundance of information and resources that are out there about the alternative treatments, we go on thinking that the options we are given is just right for us.

So, once again I ask, "Shouldn't we have a right to choose?" In my case, I didn't have an option, because the cancer that I was diagnosed with was so aggressive and found too late for me to do my research. So I did what the doctors told me, I trusted my life in their hands....and yes I survived. But I know that it was much more than what the doctors did that saved my life. For me it was my positive attitude and GOD, the church that prayed over me when I was diagnosed, the prayers that others sent to the universe and my strength and will to fight. Now, let's be honest. I cannot begin to tell you all the times that I ran into people at my cancer center a year or so after my diagnosis that were telling me "You were so yellow, we never thought you'd survive....", "We all thought you were going to die...", "They didn't expect you to make it here from the other hospital...." Well folks..... I'm here!I survived and I had the will to live then and the will, strength, persistence and desire to survive and help others because of it.

This is all going to seem like a ramble, but I guess since it's been awhile since I've written that it will work.... I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I get a phone call from a cancer patient who tells me they've been given 6 weeks to live, 4 months to live.... a year to live and I think to myself, "Seriously? I had a 10% chance to survive and an even smaller chance I'd make it to the other hospital alive....But here I am." What I do when someone tells me this, I teach them that strength and a will to fight and live are some of the most powerful tools when it comes to battling any disease or ailment. I learned that on my own, but through my own experience, I witnessed it others. People who were given weeks or months and lived years beyond their doctor's expectations. I'm not the only one who feels this way, there are many others that believe in the same theory. Take Dr. Bernie Siegel for example, he's a NYC doctor that believes in the power of positive thinking. View his video here: http://youtu.be/UOY5bCanWBI.

So, let's get back to choices. I'm sure if you or someone you knew was diagnosed with cancer that you'd want to know all of your options, and all of the possible side effects and risks of those treatments. When I look at it now, I would have wanted to know about the side effects of my cancer treatments for the sake of knowing what I would possibly have to face in the future. The side life altering side effects that were caused by my life saving treatments include: infertility, degenerative disc disease, permanent brain/memory damage, lymphedema and deterioration of my teeth (10 teeth have been extracted since the completion of my treatments in 2008.) But I wouldn't go back for a moment, because I am alive and thankful for it. Had I been diagnosed earlier perhaps I would have tried one of the other alternative treatments, but I had no idea that they even existed, I didn't have an organization like UCAAN to turn to and find out that I had options and that these side effects were possible. Had I known, perhaps I would have made different decisions.

So, I mentioned choices. How many different choices do people have when it comes to cancer?
Metabolic Therapy, Laetrile Therapy, DCA, Transfer Factor, Cannaboids (Cannabis Oil), Gerson Therapy, Diet changes, Burzynski Clinic - Antineoplastons, The Ketogenic Diet, Dr. Simoncelli, Apricot Kernels, Hoxsey Therapy, Magnetic Therapy, Hyperthermia, Complimentary Alternative Medicine, Ormus, Mycopus Gold, AHCC, High Dose Vitamin C, Virginia Livingston Therapy, VG1000, High Dose Vitamin D, UVBI, Shark Cartilage,  Beta Glucans, SourSop, Carctol, Cesium Chloride, Alkaline, Hyperbaric therapy, Infared Sauna, Chelation Therapy, CLA, D-Glucarate, DMSO, Far Infared Therapy, HANSI Therapy, Lymphotonic PF2, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Oxygen Therapy and more. If we have all of these options available to us, why don't we know about them?

So how do you choose from the many options that you have to choose from? How do you know which will benefit you and which only work for some people? It all comes down to your right to choose and your own research. YOU Have to make the decision yourself, an educated decision based on what you'd like to do. I can tell you that since I had cancer, I have been healthier, even with all the side effects I have to deal with. I've taken transfer factor to raise my immune system and it has helped me, I've loaded up on vitamins and am continually trying to get my body back into a healthier state because I am still getting rid of the toxins in my body from all my chemo and radiation back in 2006-2008.

You Have the RIGHT TO CHOOSE What Treatment You Want. Do the RESEARCH and make your own decision. Don't allow others to pressure you to do the things that you don't want. It's time to Fight Back and Stand Up for Our Rights! :)

One more thing, Sugar....>Feeds Tumors and Cancer and causes inflammation. So if you have cancer or knows someone who does, tell them to cut it out! This includes: Juices, candy, breads, pastas, potatoes, starches, rice, sweets and many fruits high in sugar. And YES< Doctors will tell you it's ok to eat these things but sometimes it's because they don't think you will survive and want you to enjoy what you like. Well, if you can fight the cancer and cut out the things it survives on....then just do it. It's Your LIFE - Make the Decision - Your Choice!

Thank you!