Sunday, 22 March 2015

Sunday 22nd March

Another week just flown by, its true that when you're busy you never seem to have enough time, and when you're poorly time drags...

I have participated in lots of activities this week, and seen a few friends along the way. Racquet ball, tennis and badminton as far as sports go, not had any netball as the season is just coming to the end, and St Lawrence have done really well in their respective divisions. I really hope that I am fit enough for summer training and get to play in September, I miss it.

 I have done quite a lot of gardening and planted out courgettes, broad beans, sweet peas and more onions. I've also put in some beetroot, mange tout and leeks. In the greenhouse we've got tomatoes, cucumber and some peppers. Although we have noticed that about a week ago in the cotil they have removed the plastic, and after they sprayed this afternoon they put some fleece over the spuds tonight. They probably have fore warning of a frost, and despite my ineptitude with potato planting, there is evidence of sprouting shoots!!

I've just seen the Countryfile long range weather forecast and its continuing really cold ( well, for Jersey, not 'up north'!) and Thursday/Friday heavy rain and wind....

Family update..

P&E is crazy busy, alternatively he is crazy and busy, although today he has been doing 'outside' meadow jobs with the boys. We have taken possession of a small trailer that fits on the lawn mower, and so we had a 'boys and their toys' day. Mini digger to dig up tree stumps and gorse/bramble bushes. Mower and trailer to shift earth around and 'build' new mounds,  Oh what fun they had.....

Dan has been out on Seafaris all day, mostly at the Ecrehous with Kite surfers...perfect day as loads of wind and some amazing footage ( you need to be on instagram to see them...sorry can't post any, unless I find a willing IT youth..)

Bex and Jack have been heavily involved in the Young Farmers Concert, and whilst Steve was judging Miss St Martin (four entrants!)at the public hall I went and saw the performance...again. Definitely funnier and ruder second time round! Well done to all those who took part on and off stage.

And so to the business end of the blog....

I am actually still feeling remarkably well, considering I've had five cycles now of toxic poison. In fact the book that I am currently reading wonders about the 'therapy' part of chemotherapy!

Late Fragments: Everything I Want to Tell You (About This Magnificent Life) by Kate Moss.What are the things we live for? What matters most in life when your time is short? This brave, frank and heartbreaking book shows what it means to die before your time; how to take charge of your life and fill it with wonder, hope and joy even in the face of tragedy.  Strangely it's not all sad, neither is it filled with medical jargon. She also wrote wrote a blog called 'The Nuisance", look it up if you're interested.


I have a blood test booked late tomorrow morning, but this time I shall be very intrigued to know the results. I know in the past I nearly always feel fine but the results read differently. However over the last month i have been on a raft of tablets including :- 
Spirulina,
Milk Thistle.
Bio-Quinone,
Omega 7,
plus some 'flower formulas' 
Lotus,
SF5 Breathe
FF5 Deadly Nightshade (!)
SF10 Injury
SV40....
and I would have been on more 'spiritual lock' had I not dropped the small bottle on the floor yesterday which smashed sending lots of tiny white tablets scattering  across the floor!!

I really don't' know what half of the tablets are except lots are food supplements, and they are all parts of different trees. Who knows if they have made any difference but I do feel well, guess we'll find out.

On the same theme

Chemical found in nettles and ants could improve cancer drug- Read it in this weeks Saturday Telegraph, and found this news article.



Chemical found in nettles and ants could improve cancer drug

Last updated: 

MNT featuredAcademic journal

A study has found that the chemical sodium formate could make a metal-based cancer drug 50 times more effective at shutting down cancer cells.
Cancer cells.
JS07 shuts down cancer cells by disrupting their energy-generating mechanism. The researchers found that it was particularly effective against ovarian cancer cells.
Researchers from the University of Warwick, UK, combined the chemical with a compound of the metal ruthenium called JS07. Alone, the drug exploits the weaknesses of cancer cells and disrupts their energy generation. In combination with sodium formate (E-237), however, the researchers found it was far more effective.
More commonly used as a preservative in items such as fruit juice and preserved vegetables, E-237 is derived from formic acid, commonly found in organisms such as stinging nettles and ants. In high concentrations, it can act as a diuretic but no side effects have been identified when E-237 is consumed in normal concentrations.
Stinging nettles themselves have a long history of medicinal use. Medieval Europeans used them to rid the body of excess water and to relieve joint pain. Today, people still use them in treatment for urinary problems,urinary tract infections, aches and pains, hay fever and insect bites.
"By itself, JS07 is capable of shutting down cancer cells but when used in combination with sodium formate this ability is significantly increased," says lead researcher Prof. Peter Sadler. "As a result, lower doses would be required to target cancer cells - reducing both the drug's toxicity and potential side effects."
After developing a method with which to bind E-237 with JS07, the researchers discovered that the potent new form of the drug acts as a catalyst when interacting with cancer cells' energy generation mechanism. By disrupting this mechanism, the drug causes the cells' vital processes to cease, resulting in the cancer cells shutting down.

Combination of drug and chemical is 'both potent and efficient'

"Cancer cells require a complex balance of processes to survive," Prof. Sadler explains. "When this balance is disrupted, the cell is unable to function due to a range of process failures and eventually shuts down. The potent form of JS07 has proven to be very successful when tested on ovarian cancer cells."
This novel form of treatment is efficient as well as potent. Prof. Sadler describes how JS07 molecules can be reused with a fresh supply of E-237 once they have interacted with a cancer cell's energy generation mechanism:
"When the potent form of JS07 interacts with a cell's energy generation mechanism, the sodium formate is used up in the process, but the JS07 itself is still viable to be used again. When it comes into contact with a fresh supply of sodium formate, it can again become potent, making this an efficient potential treatment".
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), it is estimated that around 21,290 women in the US will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the US.
Ovarian cancer typically develops in older women, with around half of women diagnosed with the disease aged 63 years or older. The development of a form of treatment with reduced risk of side effects and toxicity could be extremely beneficial to this group, which may be more vulnerable to side effects than younger and healthier patients.
"It is clear that a new generation of drugs is necessary to save more lives and our research points to a highly effective way of defeating cancerous cells," concludes co-researcher Dr. Isolda Romero-Canelón. The team's research is published in Nature Communications.
Previously, Medical News Today reported on a study in which a mouse model of an aggressive form of ovarian cancerhelped researchers identify two genes that appear to trigger, then hasten, the development of the cancer.
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This is certainly something that I think I should follow up (when I read it out to the family, Dan told me to rush out and pick some nettles to make tea.... it was 9 pm at night....) but i do have a recipe for nettle soup!

Jessie rushing along the path at le saie today!


Tennis with three 'small' friends......

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