A Fatty Liver, Smashed Breasts & Smelly Lunch

I recently went to the doctor to have my annual female stuff checked out and had the biggest scare of my life. I am just coming down from the thought that I could possibly have to face cancer treatments.

My mammogram results showed asymmetry in the images they took while smashing the hell out of my boobs in the mammography torture device.

My mom had cancer; not one, but five different cancers. Her cancers started about 10 years ago with breast cancer. She was in remission for almost 5 years and then she was diagnosed with 3 new cancers right around Thanksgiving 2013. She went through radiation and chemo for about a year to kick the anal, lung, and pancreatic cancers. After she completed her treatments, she went for her P.E.T. scan to see how she did. Not only were the cancers not gone, but they were worse and another one showed up. She now had liver cancer as well.

We lost her January 22, 2015; three days before her 58th birthday.

As you can imagine, hearing that I needed to go back for an additional, in-depth screening scared me more than I have ever been scared in my life. I am only 39. I started thinking about how it would impact my kids and my boyfriend and my dogs if I died. I wasn’t ready. It hit me that I actually am mortal, and that this life *is* the only life I have.

This song played in my head…

In addition to my mammogram scare, my bloodwork showed that my liver enzymes were high so they sent me to get an ultrasound performed on my liver and pancreas. Great — not only might I have breast cancer, but I was convinced that I probably also have liver and pancreatic cancers just like my mom.

The outcome of all of these tests was that I have a fatty liver and dense breasts. There is nothing wrong with me at this time. I just need to lose weight. Admittedly, since I left full-time employment in August, I’ve been slacking way more than I should on workouts. I need to lose 30 pounds. They said weight loss should fix my fatty liver.

Because I want to be sure that my life is maximized, I did research on the best liver to cure a fatty liver. The Keto diet came up.

I got tips from my friend Suzanne Zaleski on how to do the keto thing. Nervous that a high fat diet would be bad for my heart, I consulted with my doctor and she confirmed that the Keto diet is safe for me.

So…

I have a favorite quick meal —

Chicken breast, fresh broccoli, top it with blue cheese crumbles, microwave for 1:30 and eat.

The problem is — it smells truly awful. It smells like I’m eating trash.

Do you have favorite Keto-friendly meals and snacks? Please share!