Hi Folks,  hope you’ve all been enjoying the Christmas festivities. I thought it may be time for an update on my own cancer journey… Before continuing, can I please just mention that when I posted in September about my first salve treatment I was inundated with literally hundreds of questions and requests for advice. I apologise for being late in replying to some of the messages, or some that I may have missed altogether. At the time I was totally overwhelmed by the response. If, further to reading this post, you are seeking an urgent response please mark your query as ‘Urgent’ and I will endeavour to reply asap.

I do however need to state that I am not in a position to give medical advice, but am happy to share my story with you, in the hope that it will raise awareness about natural cancer therapies, and that it may help you or someone you know who may have been affected by cancer.

If you are contemplating using black salve, or other natural treatments, I would suggest that it should be done under the guidance of a qualified, experienced medical herbalist/naturopath. If you plan to buy black salve on the internet or otherwise, I would suggest that you are confident that it is from a reputable source. It is likely that additional products may also be required, such as drawing ointment, yellow salve, poultice powder, healing ointment, anti-scar cream. I would also suggest that black salve is not considered a treatment to be used in its own right, that would be the equivalent of having just the surgery but no chemotherapy/radiotherapy. Salving is merely a way of removing the tumour(s). It is still imperative that the whole health is addressed- both the internal body health and the psychological and spiritual health. As part of my own healing journey I have been doing lots of natural therapies (as mentioned in an earlier post), and will continue to do so, in fact much of the protocol is now just an everyday part of life. Black salve has been around for literally thousands of years. If you want to read further on the subject I would recommend a book called CANCER SALVES, A BOTANICAL APPROACH by Ingrid Naiman. Ingrid Naiman has extensively researched salves for many many years, her comprehensive book is the definitive guide to the use of cancer salves. She also has a very informative website, see  ‘Sacred Medicine Sanctuary’. http://www.cancersalves.com/pdf/CS-Introduction.pdf Another useful resource is http://www.blacksalveinfo.com A quick summary –

• Black salve is applied to the area overlying the tumour. Apply an occlusive dressing to keep the salve moist.
• The salve should be applied to the area every 12/24 hours for 1-4 days or until you start to see a good reaction developing.
• After 1-4 days a reaction occurs on the skin if cancerous cells are present, i.e. yellow blister-like pustules begin to appear. This period can range from just a slight tingling/stinging sensation to extremely painful. If no cancerous tissue is present there will be just a slight reddening of the skin, but no accompanied blistering, and the reddening will subside after a few days.
• The blistering reaction continues for several more days, as the active herbal ingredients work on necrosing the tumour.
• A scab or ‘eschar’ starts to form.
• The tumour becomes detached internally from the surrounding tissues, and the patient may experience a drawing/tugging feeling as the tumour is drawn to the surface. May also experience intermittent pricking/stabbing sensations. This stage is often described as more uncomfortable as opposed to painful.
• The eschar and tumour come away when ready, usually onto the dressing, leaving a clean bloodless wound. The eschar should NOT be forcibly detached, it needs to come away freely in its own time. It is important that the wound shows no signs of remaining tumour (shown as residual white bits) – if so it may be necessary to reapply salve – which would be extremely painful to apply to an open wound. Alternatively, it may be an option to apply a less aggressive salve paste/yellow salve/drawing ointment/poultice, – this should be discussed with supervising practitioner.
• The area should be cleaned daily with sterile (cooled boiled water), and covered with a sterile dressing until new skin starts to form on the area. Herbal healing creams with antibacterial properties may be used to reduce the risk of infection.
• Anti-scar herbal creams may be used to minimise scar formation.
• The whole process may take anywhere from 5 days to 5/6 weeks, depending on the depth of the tumour and the strength of the salve mixture.

So for my update… Whilst most people were busy during December planning for all the Christmas festivities, I have been busy otherwise – removing several breast tumours. Some of you may recall that my first black salve treatment was earlier this year, in August/September, where I removed a large breast tumour measuring 4cm x 3cm x1cm. This came out in 2 bits – the 1st bit after 21 days and the remaining larger part after 28 days. I took the large tumour to the hospital in a jar of vodka for histological examination, and I am happy to say that I have received histological confirmation that it was cancerous breast tissue – not that I didn’t think for one minute that it wasn’t, but I felt that it was important to have the confirmation on my medical records. This was part 1 that came out after 21 days. Some tumour was still remaining at the lower edge and at the side so I applied another salve application. The cream bit that resembles a piece of chewing gum is the tumour, the dark bit surrounding it is the black salve, and the brown stuff surrounding that is the poultice that I applied to help release the eschar. Photo showing a lovely clean, bloodless wound, with no signs of any remaining tumour 🙂 The wound has healed up beautifully, leaving just a small scar, with character might I add 🙂 The photo below was taken 8 weeks after the tumour was removed. I wanted to give myself a little time to get over the first salve treatment before starting on the second tumour. But then I received some not so good news in November, i.e. that the small tumour had grown from 0.9cm to1.4cm, and that there was also a tumour visible on the medial side of the breast measuring 0.9mm ( I was aware of a small lump in this area but I had been told previously by the surgeon that it was nothing to worry about, however on the most recent scan I was told it was likely to be cancerous). Anyhow, bearing in mind this news, rather than delay matters, I decided to get started with salving on the remaining two tumours. I began the 2nd salve treatment on the lateral side of my left breast on Friday 28th Nov and on Saturday 6th December out popped an irregular shaped tumour measuring approximately 1.4cm.This has been sent to pathology and I am currently awaiting the report. First photo was taken just after tumour came away. Photo below was taken 2 weeks after tumour removal.

Then on 18th December I began a 3rd salve treatment on the medial side of my breast. With the 3rd treatment I applied the salve to the area where I could feel the small lump, and to my surprise a few days after applying the salve not only did a reaction occur in the area of the lump but also in a small area about 2cm lower down, even though initially no salve was applied to this area!  This indicated to me that a small 4th tumour was present, so on the next few days when I applied the salve I also extended the area of application to cover the lower part too.

The 3rd tumour came out in 2 pieces, the smaller bit (immediately to the left of the main crater) came out on Boxing Day morning, and the larger bit, about the size of a baked bean, came out on the evening of boxing day.

Then on the morning of 27th Dec the small bit lower down, measuring about 4mm came out.

There were also several ‘micro’ tumours – which on the photo of the wound area above you may be able to make out several small holes that look like acne scars – that’s where these came out from. Photo below shows the ‘micro’ tumours.

This morning I called into the Breast Care Unit at St Luke’s Hospital, Bradford, and handed over my recent tumour haul to be sent to pathology. The breast care nurse, not surprisingly, seems very intrigued, and I am pleased to say she has been very supportive. She even gave me a supply of new dressings as I was running low. However, on my most recent visits to see the surgeon I have been at quite at a loss. He openly admitted he has never seen anything like it before, yet he appears to feign indifference. I may be wrong but I can’t help feeling that perhaps he finds me quite challenging , in a very unchallenging kind of way might I add. Afterall it goes against all he has been taught at medical school, and all his years as a specialist breast surgeon. I await to see how things develop over the coming months…

So moving on… I am hopeful that I  have now removed all the breast tumours, at least I am not aware that there are any more in there, and I’m hoping I don’t get any more ‘surprises’. I will be continuing to have regular ultrasound scans and thermal imaging scans to monitor my breasts for any signs of further disease. And as I mentioned earlier I will be continuing with my strict protocol for at least the next few years or until I am confident that I no longer have any signs of active disease, and even then much of my so called protocol is now in fact a new way of life for me. It is over a year since I was diagnosed and in spite of having the tumours I feel healthier and fitter than I have felt for many, many years. So it may come as no surprise that  I am happy to keep up my regime to reduce to risk of recurrence and to maintain my new found health.

So, here’s to finishing off 2014 with a bang,  I’ve had quite an eventful year…

• Regan and I started the year off as newly weds 🙂
• I have avoided having a mastectomy 🙂
• I have avoided chemotherapy and radiotherapy, along with the accompanying side effects 🙂
• I have successfully removed 4 breast tumours, non-surgically! 😉
• Had a lovely holiday in Spain 🙂
• Had a great long weekend in Finland, with  my new husband, two sons, and the European Round Table.
• I’ve sent my eldest son off to University 🙁
• My youngest son continues to be a daily delight 🙂
• I have completed a full year’s Focussed Mindfulness Programme, and am working towards practitioner status 🙂
• I organised and ran a Cancer Prevention seminar in June in Brighouse, about 70 people attended and we had fantastic feedback 🙂 Thanks to my old boss Art and his lovely wife Rosemary for coming up all the way from the south coast.
• Along with the fabulous Nina Joy (www.ninajoy.com)  –‘Whaddya mean Incurable? – and the inspirational Clare Walters we have set up ‘The Cancer Mavericks’ – a support group to help people with cancer – to help make them aware that they can take an active role in overcoming the disease and getting back to full health. More to follow…
• The Cancer Mavericks ran a very informative one day seminar, focussing on Cancer prevention, in Wakefield in October. About 80 delegates attended, with fantastic feedback.
• The Cancer Mavericks are planning a one day workshop, specifically for people with cancer, on 7th Feb 2015. See Cancer Mavericks FB page for info.
• I had the privilege of meeting Chris Woollams of http://www.canceractive.com
• I’ve been to two great YestoiLife seminars http://www.yestolife.org.uk.
• I have been made aware of an amazing therapy called Bioresonance, which has been an important part of my get well programme. I have been so impressed that I have invested in a BICOM Bioresonance Machine, and will be getting started with training in January 2015 and May 2015. More to follow, in the meantime if you would like to know more see http://www.reson8uk,com
• It was with sadness that my Aunty Margaret Devlin recently died, I hope she is resting peacefully and is now with her two eldest children, Ann & Bernard, – my two cousins who both died of cancer at the age of 40 and 41 respectively. Though it was a sad occasion, it was also a lovely opportunity to meet up with many family members who I have not seen for many years.
• Regan and I have got through our first year of married bliss – I’m happy to say that he has been unbelievably supportive and when I have been faced with many difficult situations and decisions he has been beside me all the way.
• I have had a wonderful peaceful Christmas, albeit I was a bit sore, and I look forward to many more Cancer Free Christmasses 🙂
• I have met some absolutely wonderful new friends over the last year, both in person and online, many of whom I hope will remain long term friends. Thank you so much for your support and friendship 🙂
• Thanks also to the many family members and old friends who have been there for me too, and the school mums 🙂
• Finally thanks to my Utility Warehouse buddies and my Utility Warehouse business  – the residual income has allowed me to step back from the business and instead has allowed me to focus on my health, and my UW business is still secure and growing.

So to finish I’d like to wish you all the best for 2015, with lots of Love, Peace, Happiness, and Health! Hygge Annx