Planning Big Things

This morning, I headed over to USC's Lyon Center to check out the basketball courts. No, I wasn't trying to join yet another gym or play in another basketball league. I was in the midst of planning my first annual charity basketball tournament. The tournament, which I'm currently calling "WunderGlo's Beat Colon Cancer 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament," is my first big foray into fundraising, and I'm insanely excited about it. In addition to the basketball tournament (which will have separate men's and women's brackets -- yes, I'll be playing in it), there will be a silent auction which is bound to attract non-athletes and athletes alike. It'll take place in late September -- probably the 24th -- and will also probably take place at USC. I hope you're getting excited, because just writing about the tournament makes me smile. 

I'll be hitting up all my favorite institutions for sponsorships, and will welcome anyone and everyone who'd like to donate a silent auction item. This includes you, my dear readers. If you are at all interested in pitching in on this effort, drop me a comment or an email and join my team! I've got a feeling that the support I'll receive from family, friends, and all of you will be overwhelmingly wonderful. Your track record of overwhelming wonderful-ness is pretty strong.

Here's the little blurb I'll be including in my tournament fact sheet that I'll be distributing to potential sponsors:

On September 19, 2010, 28 year old Gloria Borges was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer. She started a blog, www.WunderGlo.com, to track her “cancer-killing adventures” as she planned to “thoroughly embarrass” the deadly disease with medical treatment, exercise, diet, acupuncture, meditation, and -- above all -- a positive, tenacious attitude. During her journey, she barrelled through 13 rounds of chemo and 2 surgeries (the first, a routine surgery to remove the tumor in her colon, the second, an 11-hour radical surgery to rid her of all the cancer in her body), and is now in remission. Her story has touched many, as her blog has over 25,000 unique visitors, 120,000 page views, and has been read in over 80 countries. 

Sensing a deep need to give back to her new community, a community she calls the “cancer warriors”, Gloria has embarked on this fundraising effort. The proceeds of this tournament and silent auction will go to the D.C.-based advocacy group Fight Colorectal Cancer as well as the stem-cell research project of her oncologist, the world-renowned Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz of USC Norris Cancer Center.  

I've always believed that my diagnosis was a golden opportunity for me to help people -- by sharing my story, giving advice to others going through  similar circumstances, and now, by raising money for two incredibly worthy causes. This event has already been a beautiful and satisfying endeavor, and I know that it'll only get better as sponsors sign on, teams register to play, and the big day inches closer. 

On Going Away and Coming Home

During the last several months, my cancer-killing adventures have taken me all over the place. There were acupuncture-related trips to Seattle and Boulder, Duke Basketball-related trips to Portland and Durham, and quick weekend getaways to Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. There was the famous "cancer killing cross-country trip" -- the only way to travel to one's "pick it out/pour it in" surgery, in my opinion -- that took me to the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Oklahoma City, Nashville, back to Durham, and up to Maryland. I rung in the New Year in New York City, and I got a Sugarbaker-endorsed new lease on life in Washington D.C. 

Who says that staring down Stage IV cancer has to be a somber, tedious time? My diagnosis led to some of the best traveling in my life.

And it won't be stopping any time soon. After my last chemo treatment next Monday (so excited to beast through Round 13, by the way), I'll be going on my victory lap tour. It'll commence with beachy relaxation in Hawaii, move on to urban sophistication in NYC, and will reach glorious heights in London and Paris for two weeks. 

But no matter where I go and what incredible fun I have there, coming home to my family, friends, law firm, Batman pinball machine, and beautiful City of Los Angeles always takes the cake. There's just something so special about being home, enjoying the routine of my day-to-day life yet still exploring a city that has so many nooks and crannies, being with family and friends and colleagues that have supported and nurtured me pre- and post-diagnosis, and really laying down roots in a place that I love wholeheartedly.

In one day (today), I managed to go to both of my gyms, spend quality time with my O'Melveny family, go to my first DJ lesson (there will be many more lessons to follow -- DJ WunderGlo has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?), buy a pink fedora, dine on insanely delicious vegan Japanese food, and cuddle with the cutest Yorkie I've ever seen. Home is certainly where the heart is, and my heart is so full.

A Serious Workout Does A Body Good

As planned, I shelled out $25 and hit the gym at Caesar's yesterday. Before I go on, though, I want to address this $25 charge thing. I feel like making the few people that remain dedicated to fitness even while in Vegas actually pay to get their workout on is a little messed up. When you consider that you can get all the booze you can guzzle for next to nothing, it's even more messed up. This is the beauty and the beast that is Vegas, though, so I happily took what would have been money thrown into a slot machine or on red and moseyed on over to the fitness center.

It was money well spent. It was probably the toughest workout I've had since my surgery, and my body is loving it today. I put myself (and my mom) through a rigorous lifting regimen, starting with six separate leg workouts, moving on to chest and back, and finishing with biceps and triceps. Four sets of twelve for everything except squats and calf raises, where we kicked things up a notch with three and four sets of thirty, respectively. I kept the weight levels particularly challenging and actually screamed at the end of a few sets, which is pretty much unprecedented. You know your workout is crazy tough when you're already feeling sore halfway through it.

After our serious weightlifting sets, we did just a smidgeon of straight cardio with about 10 minutes on the bike. Then we walked all around the Vegas strip, up and down stairs and on bridges and sidewalks, until about 4am.

You'd might guess I'd be exhausted today, but you'd be incorrect. I woke up today revitalized, feeling better than I've felt in literally months and months and months. My body feels really strong, my energy levels are off the charts, and I'm completely inspired by the way my body has responded to my new diet/exercise regimen. I really think I've turned a corner in my training and that swimming has helped me reach a whole new level of stamina and strength. Maybe Superman and I have the same blood type and those were the blood transfusion units I got during my surgery. Either way, I'm grateful and humbled, as always, by my body's ability to work with me during these post-op chemo months.

Some people feel betrayed by their bodies when they receive a cancer diagnosis, but I certainly didn't. My body is a miraculous thing that has endured an enormous amount and has healed an enormous amount. And now it's soaking up all the love and attention I'm giving it, and thriving. Such a blessing.

Viva Las Vegas!!

Yesterday, after a solid workout in the pool (I've worked up to swimming half a mile in about 40 minutes), my three nurses (and Winston) and I loaded up the car and headed for the lights of Las Vegas. We were looking forward to great things and, so far, we've found them.

I haven't made millions yet, but I'm still having a blast with my loved ones and loving the incredible vegan options at every Wynn and Encore restaurant. Before our midnight dinner last night (that was the earliest reservation available at Wazuzu at Encore - crazy, right?), we met up with two of my favorite people: my great friend and mentor at O'Melveny, Mark, and his wife, Nancy. We threw back a couple of drinks (yes, I had my weekly limit of two glasses of wine), shared many laughs, and enjoyed the piano bar music. I wound up getting to bed at 4am, still completely energized and feeling great.

On tap for today includes a trip to the Caesar's Palace gym for an extensive workout, meeting up with my dear Duke friend Junior (he lives in NC and I had no idea he was here until this morning - what a great text message to wake up to!), and possibly joining Will in a poker tournament. The slot machines and roulette table are also calling my name. As is the vegan pizza at the Wynn.

Living totally in line with my post-diagnosis healthy lifestyle (with slightly less sleep, I'll admit) in Las Vegas of all places, the city renowned for sinfully indulgent and unhealthy behavior, just goes to show that you can make good health decisions wherever you are. Especially on a long, beautiful weekend like this one.

Forks Over Knives

I try not to do much preaching on the blog (to each his own, right?), but the time has come. I would love for all of you to watch, or at least read about, the incredibly important documentary Forks Over Knives.

The film tracks the dramatic and convincing research conducted by Drs. T. Colin Campbell (of The China Study fame) and Caldwell Esselstyn, and encapsulates much of the information I've collected here and there from all the "How to Beat Cancer"-type books I've read over the past several months. But these lessons apply to all of us, not just those esteemed members of my cancer warriors crew.

Forks Over Knives is essentially the mirror opposite of Super Size Me: a few people with major health problems (hypertension and diabetes, Stage IV breast cancer, and heart disease) go on a super healthy (as in, plant-based, vegan) diet, and their results are recorded. These results are astounding. Folks who used to be on multiple forms of medication to simply stay alive no longer have to take them. They are strong, fit, and healthy. The woman with Stage IV breast cancer (the disease spread to her bones) is in remission and runs triathalons. Naturally, she is a personal hero of mine.

The director of the documentary, Lee Fulkerson, decided to give the plant-based, whole foods diet a whirl while filming the documentary. He lost 20 pounds and dropped his previously dismal cholesterol and blood pressure numbers to very healthy levels in just 12 weeks -- just by switching to a plant-based diet.  

The data out there -- serious, iron-clad data -- points to the following things:

• High protein diets (20% of calorie intake) are linked to the proliferation of cancer cells. But only animal protein -- plant-based protein has not shown the proliferation effect.
• High fat diets (20% calorie intake or even less) are linked to the acceleration of heart disease and diabetes.
• Diets deficient in fiber have a high correlation with colon and other digestive tract cancers. Animal products have no dietary fiber at all, and we're supposed to eat about 40 grams of it daily (spoiler alert: most of us don't come close to hitting 40 grams).

I have no doubt that "the cancer" found its way in my body, flourished, and attempted to settle in for the long haul because of my diet. Does that mean that everyone who loves steak and cheeseburgers and deep fried Oreos (ok, I only had those once and in North Carolina (where all bets are off)) will get colon cancer? No, not at all. I'm sure people eat far, far worse than I ever ate and will not have to deal with this idiotic disease.

But why roll the dice? Why not eat the kinds of foods that your body wants and needs and knows how to process? Even if you're not ready to become a full-on vegan like me (trust me, if Bill Clinton and I can do it, so can you -- nobody loves McDonalds more than us), just reducing the amount of meat and processed foods you eat while upping your veggie and fruit consumption will make a big difference in your overall health. If you want to hit the kitchen right now, you can find some awesome recipes at Dr. Esselstyn's son's website, the Engine 2 Diet. Rip Esselstyn is a firefighter, as buff as you'd ever want to be, and a vegan.

If this cancer-killing adventure of mine does anything for others, I hope it inspires people to really love and take care of their bodies. And it all starts with what you eat.