Beats per Minute

Kristine finished the last of her five Cyberknife treatments on Friday. We will not know for sure if the radiation worked to shrink the tumor for a couple of weeks. It does look as if the tumor is flatter than before and the Radiation Oncologist said that it felt soft to the touch. These are good signs, however, the area is still pretty swollen so only time will tell.

Toward the end of the week (Thursday and Friday) Kristine started complaining of a sharp pain in the right side of her head and another in her left thigh. Both sharp, stabbing and acute pains that seemed to start simultaneously. Additionally, her heart rate began to beat rapidly. On Friday, when they took her vitals at the Cyberknife clinic her resting heart rate was 160 beats per minute. To put that in perspective my resting heart rate is 60 bpm. The doctor expressed his concern and advised that she go to the ER as a precaution. He explained that the radiation was not the likely cause of any of the symptoms she was having and that they could be indicators of something more serious. Kristine debated going to the emergency room Friday evening. In the end, she refused and decided to wait and watch her symptoms despite the push from me and her parents to take the more conservative path.

Kristine's parents went back home to Michigan on Saturday, leaving Kristine and I to ourselves for the first time in a few weeks. It is always fun and helpful to have them here, but we also enjoy are private time together. By Sunday, Kristine's head and leg pain had vanished leaving us to question the coincidence in timing of the pain and the radiation. Her rapid heart beat had also slowed to a resting rate that fluctuated between high and normal (100-60bpm). Kristine finally did agree to see our cardiologist as soon as possible on Monday. She dreads what's in store -- EKG, Echo cardiogram, Holter monitor and potentially a hospital stay -- but acknowledges the need to take the precaution.

Provided everything goes well tomorrow I'll post as usual next week. If, however, there is news to share I'll try to add a post in the next few days.

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I also wanted to share a couple of interesting articles and clarify some recent news that has been published. Recently British researchers published findings that organic foods were no more nutritious than non-organic foods. While this very well may be true many people likely took away from this news that organic foods have no benefit at all. In fact, what the researchers concluded was simply that the nutrients found in organic and non-organic foods were very similar. They explicitly stated that the purpose of their research did NOT aim to understand the long term impact to humans of insecticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics or the genetic modification of foods -- these being the leading drivers for people to switch to organic foods. While many claim that the amount of chemicals found in non-organic foods are found at "safe" levels, the definition of safe and accumulative impact of these chemicals over time is what needs to be called into question.

Here is a link to information on the differences between organic and non-organic foods from the Mayo Clinic. Organic vs. Non-Organic

Kristine has at one time written about the potentially negative impacts of microwaves. Here is an article that dispels some of the myths. Notably, while radiation emitted from microwaves is deemed to occur at "safe" levels (there is that word again) it is considered dangerous to cook your meals in plastic of any kind, even if they say "microwave safe." Microwave Myths

Finally, WebMD has a great interactive mirosite that shows you some hidden hazards in your home. I was surprised at some of the things that were listed. WebMD Health eHome