As you can probably imagine, getting the news that you have 2-3 months left to live can take quite the toll on your mental health. It definitely did on mine - I'm finding myself crying at the smallest things and I feel very depressed and helpless. Something that I've prided myself on throughout my life is solving my problems when they arise, but there's nothing I can do about this problem and I really hate the feeling of helplessness. I've been keeping busy seeing lots of friends and family and keeping distracted whenever I can, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem.
There was something I could do about my mental health though, so I did! When you receive a terminal diagnosis in Canada, you become eligible to do psilocybin or ketamine therapy to help you come to terms with your diagnosis. I was initially interested in psilocybin therapy because I had heard about it before, but I didn't qualify because I'm taking anti-depressants that are working well for me, so they offered me ketamine therapy instead.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic. General anesthesia denotes a sleep-like state, while dissociative refers to the effect of feeling disconnected. Ketamine can produce hallucinations similarly to other drugs such as LSD.
I had my first session of ketamine therapy on Friday the 17th. It was in the radiation day-use room at Tom Baker, and I was with a therapist the whole time. They got me all situated on a comfortable bed and hooked me up to an IV infusion of ketamine. They gave me headphones with a curated playlist and a blindfold, and then just let me trip for two hours. It was amazing, I was able to think objectively about my situation and it really did what it said on the box to help me come to terms with things. They let Andy hang out in the room with me, and he wrote down the stuff I said:
I felt pretty weird for the rest of the day, but my mental health was doing a lot better. We went to Banff for the weekend and I had the most amazing hot springs experience of my life while I was still coming down from my high, I felt SO GOOD afterward, I will never forget it.
Now that it's been a few days the effects are wearing off but overall it really helped me. I am finding I'm crying less and more able to cope with my prognosis. I feel more like I'm planning to get off a bus than the world-ending finality of death if that makes sense, and I'm more open to talking about it now. I'm still really sad and scared but what can I do except take each day as it comes and make the most out of it?
When I was about to start this therapy, I couldn't find a lot of resources online about it so if you're someone who has questions or is looking into doing ketamine therapy for yourself, feel free to reach out to me and ask questions! I'm happy to talk about my experience.
If you would like a solution to cure your tumour, I suggest eating the Primal Diet advocated by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. First of all, cut out all the processed foods, all sugar, all vegetable oil and soy products. Get raw, unpasteurized dairy from a farmer, as well as organically raised, grass fed meat. Cancer is basically the body's inability to discard dead tissue. Healthy young cells mutate into cells which collect and contain dead cells, forming tumours. Building a tumour is a means of isolating dead cells into a localized area. Once the dead cells are isolated and IF the body gets the nutrients it needs, the body can gradually dissolve the tumour and eliminate the by-products.
Eat RAW, uncooked meat that…
*mental hug
This reminded me about how when we can't change what is happening to us....we can still change how we react or respond to it! Good for you for taking a chance with Ketamine xo You are a brave soul!
Hey yo. I am happy you have been able to find some peace! Changing one's perception after news like that would seem impossible. It wasn't just the drug. It's partly due to the fact that you have prided yourself on solving what life threw at you. That has given you a great foundation!! (Not to mention life skills from your mom and dad)
Love from Matt Thomson.
Happy it is helping Chelsea, love you heaps and whole bunches!