Our Cancer FAQ

What is the diagnosis?

Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, subtype nodular sclerosis, stage 2.  He has swollen glands on both sides of his neck and in his chest.  Diagnosis established in mid March, 2020.

What can we do to help?

I don’t know what our needs are going to be yet, so this list will change with time, but for now:

• I would like someone to come over and do a massive meal prep and cook day with me so I can stock my freezer with pre-made food for the days I will have no motivation to cook.
• Remember that Eirik is still a young man and not just a cancer patient. He is so much more than the disease.  He is already worried about losing his identity to the cancer.
• Take a look at my Rings diagram and understand where you fit. This will help minimize stress on us.
• Don’t tell us how we “should” be feeling. We will be going through all kinds of emotions and cycling through them, I’m sure. The way we “should” be feeling is exactly how we are feeling. If we try to ignore how we are truly feeling, then it will add stress and may have negative side effects later on.
• If we say we don’t want to talk about it, please honor that. This is going to consume a huge portion of our lives for the next several months and we want to be able to focus on other things sometimes, too. If we don’t, we will go insane.
• Please don’t tell me you’ll “pray” for us. I am still slightly traumatized by Christianity, and its language still gives me the heebie jeebies. You can hold us in your thoughts, send us positive energy or love, but please don’t tell me you will “pray” for us, even if you will.  It's just the language that is hard for me, not the concept.
• If you are sick, please don’t come over. I am newly terrified of Covid-19 (which I had no personal fear of until the diagnosis) because chemo will kill Eirik’s immune system and leave him vulnerable to everything.
• For the love of all that is sacred, do not tell us any stories of people you know who have died from this. That isn’t to say that you can’t tell us that you have lost someone to cancer of some sort. Telling us your experiences has the potential to build connection. Telling us other people’s experiences (especially if they didn’t survive) only serves to build more fear and anxiety. We have enough of that already.

Who can I talk to about it?

That depends on what your goal in talking is. If you are looking for updates, you can look here. I will keep all public information about it here. If it isn’t here, then either we don’t know, or we aren’t ready to make it public. If you think I forgot something, shoot me an email. If you are looking for your role, go check out the Rings page.

Did you hear about X treatment?

Probably. Anyone who knows me well knows that research is one of my coping mechanisms. Treatments I have heard about (and therefore you don’t need to tell me) are:

• GAPS diet, ketogenic diet (don’t even suggest a vegan diet to me, I will laugh in your face)
• organic diet
• potassium rich diet
• green beans, garlic, leeks, asparagus
• organic raw colostrum
• meat stock
• raw, fermented cod liver oil
• Essiac tea
• Miso soup
• Just Thrive probiotics
• Catalyn vitamins
• mushroom therapies (Epimune Complex or Immune-Assist)
• Biosuperfood F3
• pancreatic enzymes (Pan-Immune)
• Black-out curtains for better sleep
• castor oil packs
• homeopathy
• Epsom salt baths
• osteopathy
• Astragalus
• Frankincense and Myrrh
• Blushberry
• Sunlight
• Low-dose naltrexone (LDN)
• Iscador
• Strodival (ouabain)
• gemmotherapy
• marajuana/CBD oil