This may be the shortest blog post I have ever written, but here’s an interview I did with Chris Wark at Chris Beat Cancer about three years ago. I was actually pregnant with our youngest daughter (and 6th baby) at the time of the interview and had TERRIBLE morning sickness. Life is so busy, I ignored my blog here! Oh, and despite what the title says, I was actually almost at my 13th year of remission when this was filmed. As I’m typing this, it has been 16 years.

As most of you know, I am busiest on social media, especially Instagram and Facebook, so you can chat with me there!

-Cortney

The post 13 Year Update – NLPHL Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – Stage 2 appeared first on Anti-Cancer Mom.

I’m so excited to tell you Suzette’s amazing name and birth story today. She is our precious sixth child, and we are thrilled that she had a safe delivery and is now here with us!

Suzette’s Name

Early in my pregnancy I saw the name “Suzette” and immediately loved it.

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The post Suzette’s Name + Birth Story (Baby #6) appeared first on Anti-Cancer Mom.

Early last month (March, 2020) I found myself lying awake, miserably coughing without any relief for hours. Dry, DRY constant coughing for days. The second night of this was when the googling started. “How do I get tested for coronavirus?”

“Coronavirus drive-throughs Atlanta”

“Coronavirus testing Georgia”

“Where can I get tested for coronavirus?”

Do you know what results I got? Nothing helpful. Nothing telling me where to go or what to do. Just a bunch of articles telling me that if I’m sick to “see your doctor” and that testing is being mostly reserved for people who are severely sick and in hospitals (they did not add “and celebrities and politicians” but I knew that was a criterion as well.)

Being someone who hasn’t been to a doctor for acute illness in over 12 years, I didn’t plan on going in unless I was absolutely getting worse. The mainstream media pretty much hammered in that there was nothing that could be done about COVID-19 anyways since they were reserving testing for the sickest of the sick. (Thankfully now – over 5 weeks later, testing is much more available!)

Coronavirus at Disney World

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, then you saw that we went to Disney for my daughter’s birthday Leap Day weekend. It was NUTS there. I’m pretty sure the entire state of Louisiana was there due to their Mardi Gras break.

We knew of all of the coronavirus talk (back before they started calling it “COVID-19”), but this was before anyone was nervous. This is where I believe we picked this crazy bug up.

My newly 5-year-old daughter was the first to come down with the dry cough and fever. It lasted 2 days and she was healed. My other three saw extremely mild symptoms that lasted a day. A little cough, a good night’s sleep and it was done. That is how illnesses usually last around here, so I thought nothing of it.

My symptoms first started about ten days after Disney and a few days after my girls had recovered. What I went through primarily consisted of a severe DRY cough and rapidly flooding chest congestion, fatigue and aches + mild fever, then severe sinus congestion and complete loss of taste and smell for about 10 days (in that order.) Here are the details.

Recovered from Coronavirus? or “Corona-Like Illness?”

I’m calling what I had, “Corona-like-illness” after its sister phrase “flu-like-illness” that lumps people with influenza symptoms in with the flu statistics each year (without testing.)

I will preface this by saying that, just like the flu, using intentional natural remedies helped. But nothing replaces good rest, sunshine, and letting the illness run its course without getting in the way. That means avoiding fever reducers (especially ibuprofen apparently) unless the fever gets dangerously high or uncomfortable to the point that you feel like you are greatly suffering and can’t handle pain. Even then, I would use a homeopathic fever reducer like Belladonna first.

Days 1-2:

Achy bones, feelings of being rundown and fatigued. I began taking high dose Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate at 5,000mg twice daily (this is my daily bowel tolerance.) I had already been taking my immune modulator Beta-1, 3D Glucan as I do year-round and also 10,000iu Vitamin D3/K2 as I take daily in the winter months.

Days 3-5:

Almost immediate severe cough that was the DRYEST I have ever had. My chest felt flooded with mucous and it was hard to breathe deeply without going into a coughing fit, but I couldn’t expectorate which was frustrating. These 3 nights were difficult to sleep, but around 4am every single night my cough would subside like magic. It was definitely worst from 12am-4am. I found that the homeopathic  Spongia Tosta 30c improves the cough greatly, almost like magic! I also spent these days feely achy but doing life as normal, homeschooling, preparing meals, etc. as normal while my husband worked to save his small business from the quarantine orders. I tried to keep up with the above Vitamin C and added in colloidal silver 5 times daily. I also start taking high dose ACF, 2 Tbsp x 5 times daily. I also used an essential oils chest rub to help with my cough. I mixed 1 Tbsp of fractionated coconut oil with 5 drops each of eucalyptus, rosemary, frankincense and peppermint. Note: I am not an aromatherapist or oils guru, so do your research on this. It was fine for me!

Days 5-6:

Mild fever that peaked at 99.9 starts up and this is when I felt the worst. I began to feel a little bit scared not knowing which direction I was moving with my illness. The news and all of the quarantine measures coming down the pipe at this point didn’t help. On day 6 my chest congestion cleared to about 90% and the congestion felt like it literally moved itself up to my sinuses. I blew large amounts of blood-tinged snot for about 5 days after this until my sinuses finally cleared up. I was so grateful to have the congestion clearing from my chest and my cough weakening because it meant my breathing was improving. My husband suggests I should take a nap outside in the sun when baby naps. I do this for two days and felt like I made great progress just from resting and not trying to live life as usual. I also kept telling myself Corona (the sun) heals corona!

I also developed a horrible sinus related headache for several days that I relieved with a peppermint oil headache blend + the headache hat!

Day 7:

This is the day when I began to wonder if I could really be dealing with COVID-19. When I got up that morning to change my 1-year old, she had one of those diapers that every parent cringes at. BUT I COULDN’T SMELL A THING. I had lost my appetite a few days before because I COULDN’T TASTE A THING. That evening a friend of mine posted about loss of taste and smell being a sign of COVID and I really began to wonder. My chest congestion also seemed to relapse a bit on this day as well as my body aches and fatigue. No fever. My hubs headed over to Whole Foods and purchases ClearLungs and Hosts Defense Mushroom Extract.

Day 8-10:

Sinuses are clear but I still continued to blow bloody mucous. I think I had irritated my sinuses due to aggressive nasal irrigation with my Neti-Pot and too-strong homemade saline. I still felt fatigued during this time but was grateful to be able to sleep at night. Fever is gone. Still can’t smell or taste anything. The best way I can describe it is that I felt like I had a completely sterile nose. Feeling better slowly but surely. I continue to stay with my protocol mentioned above.

Days 10-12:

A bit of a dry cough lingers, but I am feeling mostly normal up until 5pm when I hit a wall. My husband recommends I force myself to nap still and although I hate it and feel it’s impossible with schooling the kids and managing baby. I nap while my oldest watches the others. Resting is definitely the best medicine for me. After Day 12 I feel back to normal except my loss of smell which gradually comes back over the next week.

COVID-19 Antibody Testing

Since testing was incredibly scarce when I had the active infection, the only way I’ll truly know my immunity status for COVID-19 is through accurate antibody testing.

Currently, antibody testing is not widely available in the U.S. and most testing is still reserved for clinical study or has not been approved.

Per the CDC:

Currently, CDC’s serologic test is designed and validated for broad-based surveillance and research that will give us information needed to guide the response to the pandemic and protect the public’s health. The test is not currently designed to test individuals who want to know if they have been previously infected with COVID-19.”

There are various types of antibody testing techniques and methods being developed to monitor COVID-19 immunity internationally as well as here in the States. Some involve blood and others saliva. You can read all of the fully mind-boggling science behind antibody testing development HERE.

University of Washington is claiming it has an antibody test produced here in the U.S. measuring 99% accuracy that they are working on getting more readily available.

Abbot Laboratory’s test is looking like it will be the most widely available, possibly this month. I will update this post as I learn more about its approval for use and accuracy.

It is important to note that we really still aren’t sure how effective or accurate antibody testing is as far as immunity is concerned.

In regards to commercially available testing, it’s looking like that will be into May, but I will probably wait to be tested until reports come in about increased accuracy:

CDC is evaluating commercially manufactured serologic tests in collaboration with the Biomedical Research and Development Authority, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This evaluation is expected to be completed in late April.”

 

Final Thoughts

If you all are still wondering – no, my husband never got it. Maybe it’s because he was at work 14 hour days working to shift his film production company’s business model to adapt to the shut-down? Or maybe it’s because he slept in the guest room while I hacked all night? Or maybe he has stronger resistance to 5G exposure? OK, I kid- but I know there’s one of you reading this that is at least thinking “Amen sister!!!”

Either way, I’m grateful we are done with whatever that bug was and am definitely curious to see if I have any antibody response, as long as it doesn’t compromise my DNA or personal information. We’ll keep waiting. I do not claim to be an expert on any of this, so I would love to know your thoughts and any pertinent research. Chime in in the comments!

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The post Are You a Coronavirus “Unknown?” Antibody Testing + How I Recovered appeared first on Anti-Cancer Mom.

I don’t know about you, but at some point about two days ago I woke up feeling in the twilight zone. Is this all for real???

We have had one case of coronavirus in our county here in the north Atlanta suburbs, but all schools in the Atlanta metro are closed until at least April.

I will be very honest with you that I haven’t spent hours and hours researching COVID-19 because I am home doing what *now* every American parent is doing with their kids: HOMESCHOOLING! My hubs who owns a film and media company here in Atlanta is also working overtime to help companies try to digitize their workflow and leadership, so we are getting used to the “new normal.”

I would love to hear how it is going for you if you are reading this and are homeschooling for the first time. You guys may know that this year is the first year I have been homeschooling all of my kids, so I have worked out a few kinks prior to this forced quarantine. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below and I will help how I can over the next few days.

Preparedness Hacks and Natural Remedies for Coronavirus

Groceries

• Toilet Paper – if running out of toilet paper is what your most nervous about, you definitely would love a bidet attachment. We got one from HelloTushy.com this past Christmas and have felt like a boss with all of the TP shortage! Using old mismatched socks for #1 and then washing at the end of the day has been a very creative solution I have seen circulating (if you are in a bind.) Of course you can always just dispose of those too.
• Water – if water availability is a problem for you, you’ll love a Berkey Water Filter. Check and see if they are still available here. You may enjoy researching why I love mine here in this post.
• Produce – if your produce is picked over and organic is not available at your grocery store, then it’s a perfect time to try Misfits Market, Get organic, mostly local produce at up to 40% off DELIVERED. We have been using Misfits for several months now and have loved it! And to not have to go into the grocery store is *thumbs up*.
  Use promo code COOKWME-JZ2ABW for 50% off first purchase!
•  Laundry Detergent – don’t want to run out? Consider a nontoxic laundry detergent subscription. I have used My Green Fills for years now. It works great and is less than $9 a month! Extremely sustainable. Read more here.

Natural Remedies

Here’s a bit of what my family is stocked up on for respiratory support in case of coronavirus. With there being no cure or conventional treatment for Coronavirus, being knowledgeable about natural anti-virals is important.

• Our usual, Beta Glucan. I’ve taken 500mg BG since my cancer diagnosis in 2008 and haven’t stopped. If they are out of the 500mg, you can also purchase 100mg bottles HERE. My daughters have been taking Beta Kids (Beta Kids + Vitamin D combo) daily all winter.
• Homeopathy – Spongia Tosta for dry, hacking cough, Arsenicum, and Lycopodium, too. Many of these are available in an over the county homeopathy kit like this one. This homeopathy book is my go-to for learning. and checking symptoms. You can also purchase at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or some CVS stores.
• Herbal Remedies – ACF, black seed oil, bee propolis, Vitamin D3/K2, Vitamin C sodium ascorbate high dose, ALJ for adults and kids to get mucous out of the chest. Also, high plant based diet and lots of raw garlic. Just watch for GI sensitivity. Many are talking online about how elderberry can cause increased complication, so you may want to research that more.
• Oils – I have been using my Thieves or OnGuard in our diffuser off and on every few hours daily for germ killing. Diluted eucalyptus and clove for chest rub and inhalation.
• REST – every time my family is sick I tend to forget the importance of slowing down and not trying to resume life as normal too quickly. Rest and sleep are two of the best tools we have.

I hope you all find this helpful! Again, I would love to hear from you since we are all so contained. Feel free to chat int he comments.

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This past month I have received my first two subscription boxes of organic produce from Misfits Market. Their business model is noteworthy and unique and I couldn’t help but try at least ONE order to see what the experience would be like.

(UPDATE: We have now used Misfits Market for 7 months and it has only gotten better. Keep reading for reasons why I we are still ordering!)

If you haven’t heard of Misfits Market, I’ll give you a quick run down. 

• Misfits Market takes organic produce that is grown on an organic, many times local farm that is *unmarketable* to a retail grocery store and sells it at (up to) a 40% discount to its subscribers via mail.
• “Unmarketable” could mean that it’s oddly shaped, bruised from a fall from a tree, twisted in a funny shape, etc. It could also mean that they just produced too much of it and it would go to waste if it weren’t for a middle-man company like Misfits Market.

I found it crazy to find out that BILLIONS of pounds of produce go to waste because of the issue of produce vanity.

My experience with Misfits Market….

Here’s a quick video of my kids and me opening our first box. WARNING: it’s like Christmas morning around here! It is completely unrehearsed so you get an honest reaction out of me and them (and an honest reaction for how they feel about certain veggies!)

Here is what I loved:

• A LARGE variety of ORGANIC produce. The entire box cost me less than $30!! (I did use the 30% coupon code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW) a friend sent me. My next box was closer to $40.) That’s 25 pounds of produce!
• I’ll repeat that: buying produce this way was a SIGNIFICANT reduction to what we would have paid at the store. (1$ per pound!)
• There were PLENTY of basics such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, apples, pears, onions, squash, beets, etc in the box and only a small amount of less common things like chilis and pomegranates.
• We ordered the MADNESS box which was “Enough food for 3-5 people.” I’m estimating based on picking it up, that it was about 20-25 pounds. I loved that we can change our order within a few days to cancel or downsize to the MISCHIEF box which is smaller, cheaper, and only serves 1-2 people for the week.
• There is no monthly fee or contracts. Cancelling or modifying your preferences is easy.
• The produce is really affordable. There’s really no risk since the produce is so incredibly reduced!
• The produce was fresh! I didn’t find that the produce seemed old or mishandled. It was in pretty good shape, if not a little tossed around from shipping but nothing worse than being toted home from the grocery store.
• It came in a climate controlled, sealed box. The ice packs were actually still cold and filled with ice, and it also came on the exact day I chose and knew I would be home to grab it off the front porch.

(UPDATE: In many areas you can now CUSTOMIZE your Misfits Market box! This has been a game changer for our family as we have loved ALL of our bi-weekly produce rather than getting things we don’t really love.)

Our 2nd box opening two weeks later, (they were just as excited as the first box!)

*Use Code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW for 30% Off of your first order with Misfits Market!*

What I DIDN’T love:

So there was really nothing that was unpleasant about our Misfits Market experience, but there are a few things I did think about:

• You may have to research how to prepare any unfamiliar items. A great example is after our first box, we had THREE giant claws of ginger (I’m not sure what to call those ginger bunches, so “claws” it is!) I actually chose to juice them and freeze small amounts in an ice cube tray to store in freezer bags for later use. Fun if you’re up for adventure and learning new things. If not, then you may want to wait until they have a pick and choose option for customizing your order.
• Having so much produce on hand has added a certain amount of pressure (dare I say “stress”) to my weekly food preparation. Perhaps this is just me, but when I have large amounts of fresh produce in my home I feel like a ticking time bomb has been turned on and I have to de-activate (COOK, FREEZE, or EAT) all of the produce before it goes bad! I have heard that we will soon be able to customize our boxes, so that will be very helpful for those of us that need more predictability. Until then, I just expect to have to pre-plan meals using what came in our box.
• You might receive a bunch of the same produce. In our first box we had two large bunches of mustard greens that I learned to cook and the kids actually loved! These are anti-cancer and cruciferous so I’m glad we were challenged to trying them. We have been on a primarily kale, chard, collards, spinach rotation for a decade, so this was neat to see my kids try and like something new. Using the “Customize Your Box” option (it’s free) helps keep this from being annoying.
• In our first box we were also given approximately 40 tiny chili peppers that I didn’t know what on earth to do with due to the spicy-adverse little kids in my home. I ended up giving a few away to a friend, cooking with only a few, and tossing the rest.
• Shipping costs. You did have to pay $5.00 for shipping at the end of checkout which jumped the price up and wasn’t mentioned prior to that, so just a bit of a buzzkill.

Want to give Misfits Market a try?

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend Misfits Market. At around 40% less than the organic produce at the grocery store, it is a steal! We have been loving it in our home (as you can see in our videos!)

If you decide to give Misfits Market a try, you can use my discount code: COOKWME-JZ2ABW at checkout. You’ll receive a 30% discount off your first order!

Misfits Market currently delivers to most zip codes in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Ohio, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia. They are also taking pre-orders for Florida, with deliveries expected to begin this coming week! (November 11, 2019). If your state isn’t listed, join their wait list to be notified.

Let me know what you think if you have tried Misfits Market. For my family of 6 we are subscribed to the MADNESS box every two weeks and have been enjoying the adventure!

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The post My Honest Review of Misfits Market Subscription Boxes appeared first on Anti-Cancer Mom.

TWO MMR vaccines for children are now recommended; one at 12 months and the next at 4 years of age. Not to mention that the MMR vaccine has only been evaluated for effectiveness up to 20 years post-injection.

This is the research we sifted through when we were making a decision about the MMR vaccine for our children and weighing the risks vs. benefits.

This is Part 7 1/2 in my series on how we made our decisions about vaccines for our family. You will definitely want to read Part 7 on the actual measles virus in addition to this post on the MMR vaccine.

Part 1: Our Vaccine Choice: Risks, Benefits, Responsibility

Part 2: Hepatitis B and Hib Vaccines

Part 3: Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccine

Part 4: Polio Vaccine

Part 5: Pneumococcal Vaccine

Part 6: Rotavirus Vaccine

Part 7: Measles + MMR

Part 7 1/2: MMR

Part 8: Mumps, Rubella + MMR

Part 9: The Flu Vaccine

MMR and MMRV Vaccines:

***Make sure you also check out my posts on the diseases the MMR vaccine is designed to provide immunity for: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. Whereas this post focuses on the ingredients, efficacy, and safety of the MMR vaccine, Part 7 discusses the severity, symptoms, and natural and emergency treatments for measles.***

When the measles vaccine was released in 1963, it was given as a single format vaccine. Mumps and Rubella were not added until later. Today it is no longer offered in its single dose format so doctors and clinics will offer the MMR and MMRV below.

Ingredients:

MMR II – (Merck)

• Measles and mumps viruses taken from individuals in the 1960’s. The rubella virus was taken from an aborted human fetus (scientifically named WI-38) in the 60’s. You can read the story of the Swedish married mother who aborted her female baby at 4 months gestation HERE.)
• culture of human lung cells (from WI-38 above)
• traces of chicken embryo cells
• Inactive Ingredients: sorbitol, sodium phosphate, potassium phosphate, sucrose, sodium chloride, hydrolyzed gelatin, recombinant human albumin, fetal bovine serum, other buffer and media ingredients, neomycin (antibiotic)

MMRV ProQuad – (Merck)

• The same measles, mumps, and rubella viruses from the MMR II above with added varicella (chickenpox) virus
• sucrose
• hydrolyzed gelatin
• urea
• sodium chloride
• sorbitol
• monosodium glutamate (0.4 mg)
• sodium phosphate dibasic
• recombinant human albumin (residual DNA from the lung of a 14 week male human fetus scientifically named MRC-5 aborted from a 27 year old psychiatric patient in 1966.)
• sodium bicarbonate
• potassium phosphate
• potassium chloride
• potassium phosphate dibasic
• bovine serum
• neomycin

Aborted Fetal Tissue in Rubella, Varicella, and Hepatitis A Vaccines:

The MMR II has been in use since the early 1990’s. The original MMR was released in 1963 and became commonly used by the late 60’s. It is one of the vaccines (the others being Hep A, shingles, chickenpox, rabies, and adenovirus,) that contain human aborted fetal cells in its production (WI-38 female fetal lung tissue cell line).

The MMRV contains MMR + Varicella (chickenpox) which contains a different strain of aborted fetal tissue in addition to the WI-38 in the MMR. Therefore the MMRV (ProQuad) contains TWO strains of aborted fetal cells and its DNA (WI-38 female cells and MRC-5 male fetus cells.)

Both vaccines contain the WI-38 female strain of lung-diploid tissue. To get to the point where they were finally successful with culturing the rubella virus in WI-38 to make the vaccine, it took dozens of abortions in trial and error. After being exposed to rubella in the 1st trimester, 26 mothers were told their babies were likely to have congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) and would be born with deformities and would likely die. With this “knowledge”, they elected to have an abortion, but it wasn’t until the 27th baby was aborted that a baby with CRS was discovered. That baby, originally named RA273 (R=Rubella, A=Abortus, 27=27^th fetus, 3=3^rd tissue explant) was renamed WI-38, was dissected, and cell lines from its lung tissue is what we inject in children today in the MMR and MMRV vaccines. (Source – from original 1960’s paper.)

How long does immunity last with the two series MMR?

It does not confer permanent immunity in all individuals and large, long-term studies testing immunity have not been conducted, although the CDC states that it is 97% effective for measles and rubella and 88% effective for mumps (these were averaged from a range of responses in test individuals.)

I have read one article suggesting immunity lasts 20 years but cannot find any studies testing antibody response in the long term (over 20 years). Why is it so hard to find these studies? If you come across any, please feel free to message me. Update: I found ONE from 2011 which showed significant immunity waning 7 years + after vaccination. You can read that HERE.

Adverse Reactions Reported after MMR and MMRV:

The possible complications with the MMR or MMRV are similar to the actual infections of the viruses they are designed to protect against.

Some of the top reactions listed are (from the CDC website):

• Sore arm from the injection
• Fever
• Redness or rash at the injection site
• Swelling of glands in the cheeks or neck
• Seizure (jerking or staring) often associated with fever
• Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints, mostly in teenage or adult women
• Temporary low platelet count, which can cause unusual bleeding or bruising
• Rash all over body
• Deafness
• Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness
• Brain damage

MMR and MMRV Safety:

It is important to know that very few vaccines (none that I could find that are given in the U.S.) have been exclusively tested against a saline placebo for testing.

Below is just one of the several studies for safety the MMRV (ProQuad) underwent. They compared children just given the ProQuad with children given the two separate vaccines of MMR II + Varicella.  You can read more about the safety studies conducted in the actual vaccine inserts above.

“ProQuad was administered to 4497 children 12 through 23 months of age involved in 4 randomized clinical trials without concomitant administration with other vaccines. The safety of ProQuad was compared with the safety of M-M-R II and VARIVAX given concomitantly (N=2038) at separate injection sites. The safety profile for ProQuad was similar to the component vaccines. Children in these studies were monitored for up to 42 days post-vaccination using vaccination report card-aided surveillance. Safety follow-up was obtained for 98% of children in each group.”

It is also important to note that many of these studies (if not all) did not follow up with LONG TERM problems of vaccinated children.

Clinical trials for vaccine approval are almost always done comparing the vaccine that is up for approval with ANOTHER similar vaccine- with all participants often given other additional vaccines as well. They do not use a saline placebo like other drug trials, as it is considered “unethical” and “a threat to public and individual health” to withhold a vaccine from a test subject.

There were a few vaccine studies I was able to find that were conducted in the manner of double-blind, placebo-controlled, but they were mostly for vaccines and researchers not from the U.S. I imagine there were a few more, but you can see a concise list of those HERE. None of them were the MMR or MMRV.

Concerns about Childhood Cancer

From the MMR and MMRV vaccine inserts:

“M-M-R II  has not been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, or potential to impair fertility.”

“ProQuad has not been evaluated for its carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic potential, or its potential to impair fertility.”

With childhood cancer up 27% since 1975, wouldn’t it be wise to look into the relation between cancer and vaccines with a little more enthusiasm?

Childhood cancer is unique in that it is strictly thought to be the result of DNA changes early in childhood and not due to lifestyle and environmental changes like adult cancers. One would think that injecting children with fragments of cow, chicken, monkey, and both male and human fetal DNA to freely act on our own DNA would result in mutagenic occurrence, such as this study observes.

Dr. Theresa Deisher, Ph.D. genetic engineer, by far has the best explanation of the dangers of this related to vaccines and this entire video series is worth the watch.

Autism statistics and projections. Some studies place us at 1 in 36 today.

Concerns about Autism

I could go on and on about the MMR and studies both proving and disproving its involvement in the rise of childhood autism. Instead, I’m just going to provide some of these studies (both supportive and some disproving of the theory) and encourage you to read on your own.

Rebuttal of the “Taylor Study” by Autism dad, J.B. Handley

Subtle DNA changes and the overuse of vaccines in autism
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3364648/

Vaccine and Autism- a New Scientific Review (article)
http://www.cbsnews.com/…/vaccines-and-autism-a-new…/

Summary of previous Journal of Immunology
http://danmurphydc.com/…/AR-10-12-rata-AUTISM-VACCINE.pdf

Autism and Resulting Medical Conditions:
http://www.tacanow.org/…/09/autism-studies-april-2008.pdf

Mercury toxic encephalopathy manifesting with clinical symptoms of regressive autistic disorders. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17454560

Relation of mercury to high autism rates in boys
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16264412

A Positive Association found between Autism Prevalence and Childhood Vaccination
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/…/00000014/art00002…

Peer reviewed study on fetal cell contamination with retro virus associated with autism and cancer
http://www.globalresearch.ca/new-study-in-journal…/5402912

Autism and mercury poisoning
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11339848

Hypothesis: conjugate vaccines may predispose children to autism spectrum disorders
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21993250

This study provides new epidemiological evidence supporting an association between increasing organic-Hg exposure from Thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and the subsequent risk of ASD diagnosis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3878266/

This study suggests that although mercury has been removed from many vaccines, other culprits may link vaccines to autism. Further study into the relationship between vaccines and autism is warranted. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21623535

This article discusses the data that Dr. Brian Thompson first told Dr S Hooker, a researcher on autism, about the manipulation of a CDC study he was a member of in 2004. Hooker analyzed the raw data from the CDC study afresh and confirmed that the risk of autism among African American children vaccinated before the age of 2 years was 340% that of those vaccinated later. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25377033

This looks at a study conducted directly by CDC epidemiologists but greatly ignored that shows a 7.6-fold increased risk of autism from exposure to Thimerosal during infancy. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24995277

Boys vaccinated as neonates had threefold greater odds for autism diagnosis compared to boys never vaccinated or vaccinated after the first month of life. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21058170

A study that results showed how children from countries with the highest autism spectrum disorder prevalence appear to have the highest exposure to aluminum from vaccines http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22099159

Study that found that mercury exposure (and the inability to excrete it after injection) is capable of causing some autism spectrum disorders. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19106436

The role of thimeresol (mercury) and lack of exretion and autism specturm disorder: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3774468/

This study compares siblings (one autistic and one not) and proposed that those with a mild mitochondrial defect may be highly susceptible to mitochondrial specific toxins like the vaccine preservative thimerosal: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3697751/

Discussion of documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis following vaccination. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21299355

A look at conjugate vaccines as a cause of autism: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21907498

This study evaluated the relationship between prenatal mercury exposure from thimerosal (49.55% mercury by weight)-containing Rho(D)-immune globulins (TCRs) and autism spectrum disorders: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17674242

A look at steroid involvement in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder and thimerosal toxicity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15780490

A look at autism and various causes of neurotoxicity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19043938

The role of mercury in the pathogenesis of autism: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12142947

A thimerosal study on mice and neurotoxicity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24675092

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Studies Disproving the Vaccine-Autism Claim:

There are at least 17 studies which are often quoted as proving vaccines do not cause autism. These studies represent the most often cited papers by scientists, public health officials and members of the media when trying to refute any evidence of an association between vaccinations and autism.

I think reading these individually is an important part of a decision regarding vaccines:

14 Studies Disproving the Vaccine-Autism Link + the more recent and widely publicized and quoted “Taylor Study” 

VAERS Report:

In 2015, there were ~3,176 adverse events and 11 deaths were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) after completion of MMR vaccine. (Remember this reported number is estimated to be 10-100 times less than the actual number and is a volunteer-based reporting system.)

In 2016, these numbers showed a decrease at ~2,797 adverse events and 6 deaths reported after MMR vaccination.

For the Proquad MMRV there were 2,027 adverse event and 1 death reported in 2015 and 2,173 adverse events and 4 deaths reported  in 2016.

Also remember that there are 5-6 other vaccines given at the same time at the 12-month visit, so until there are studies showing INDIVIDUAL vaccine safety studies, we won’t know what truly caused these adverse reactions.

Source: Healthfreedom.org

Our Decision:

Can the measles get serious? YES.

But is it well known that malnutrition, poverty, overcrowding, and poor sanitation have everything to do with the severity of measles? You betcha.

And is the MMR perfectly safe for everyone? Probably not and the evidence is concerning.

Perhaps we could even say that the actual MMR vaccine effort has CREATED its own unique measles problem by making unnatural populations more susceptible, such as adults and young babies?

And then of course the autism- MMR debate is still going strong.

In 1962, Dr. Langmuir, chief epidemiologist, CDC said this:

To those who ask me: ‘Why do you wish to eradicate measles?,’ I reply with the same answer (Edmund) Hillary used when asked why he wished to climb Mount Everest. He said: ‘Because it is there.’ To this can be added….‘and it can be done.”

These words come at the end of this paper that Langmuir wrote titled “The Importance of Measles as a Health Problem.” You can read the entire paper for yourself, but in it he describes the primary reason for a measles vaccine as being 1. So that a parent doesn’t have to see his small child suffer with a high fever and cough “for a few days, ” and 2. “something can be accomplished by organized health action.”

In the rest of the paper he goes on to discuss why even though measles has been a “biologically balanced” disease for centuries and mortality is extremely rare, he can do something about it, so he is.

After weighing many of the pros and cons of measles and the MMR vaccine, my husband and I did not choose to give the MMR vaccine to any of our children.

To me, the risk from the vaccine outweighed any benefit (as you saw above,) and I was not overly concerned about the possible effects of measles as long as proper precaution and care were applied.

As a cancer survivor, I was especially concerned about the lack of study for carcinogenic effects in either the MMR or MMRV vaccine (or any vaccine for that matter,) and the rise of childhood cancer over the past 30 years is concerning.

Also- I also have reason to believe from my own gut instinct about natural immunity and health, along with much reading over the years, that measles exposure actually has health benefits that include reducing cancer risk especially leukemias and lymphoma. There are even multiple studies that show how measles helped put Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancer patients into remission. Obviously several studies is not enough to prove anything, but it makes you think. You can read those here and here.

Another option we considered initially was delaying the MMR until age 4. Dr. Sears in the The Vaccine Book (2011 edition) states “for both the MMR and chickenpox vaccines, only 1 dose is needed for adequate immunity if you delay them until age 4.”

Dr. Paul Thomas, in his book The Vaccine-Friendly Plan recommends considering the MMR at age 3 and to give it alone without other vaccines. He also is concerned first hand with its ties of being a possible trigger in autism in some of his own patients. See the PDF schedule HERE.

This was good to know, but we ultimately felt like it was best for our family and my children to forgo the MMR vaccine altogether.

The decision on whether to give the MMR vaccine is best made by parents. There are many other options for treatment and prevention available besides strictly “on time” vaccination and many more reasons to keep that decision out of the hands of others.

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The post Making a Decision About Vaccines: MMR appeared first on Anti-Cancer Mom.