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Sorry I have been so busy since we got back have not had a chance to update the blog. We had travel issues on the way back - because of the bad weather over there our plane was over 3 hours delayed. So instead of getting back at 9:30pm on Thursday night we did not get back till 12:10am which meant not getting to bed till about 1:30am. That wore us both out so Friday was pretty much a resting day. We did have to make a trip to the store to get what we needed to start on the new diet & detox regimen. Supplements don't start till after Ric does the Liver Flush (takes 5 days for the whole process). This helps remove calcium and lipids from the arteries, normalizes cholesterol metabolism, dissolves & softens any gallstones, forces out wastes, bile and stones which all lowers cholesterol levels and improves liver function. So we are not allowed to use our microwave to heat up food. Microwaving destroys certain critical nutrients such as vitamin B6. No deep fried foods. Cooking utensils only stainless steel, non-lead enamel or glass to contact the food (without nonstick surface) - avoiding aluminum cookware. Ric is classified as a Moderate Vegetarian Metabolizer - his body will use most efficiently a diet consisting of mostly plant based foods (vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds). He has to have 70% of his food uncooked - lots of fresh made juice (Thanks Molly & Cindy for the juicer!) will be part of his uncooked diet along with salads & fruits & veggies. No red meat or poultry. Nothing with vinegar. Only flaxseed, olive or sesame oil. Never boil vegetables - they lose many water soluble vitamins and minerals in the water - must steam, bake and occasional stir fry (1-2 times weekly at most). All fruits except cranberries - no canned, processed and sweetened fruits. Whole grain breads, cereals, pasta & rice and organic. No white bread, white pasta and white rice as these are nutritionally depleted foods. (includes fortified or enriched - these are still processed). He can have up to 3 organic, free range eggs every day and fish twice a week. His protein will also come from legumes. Lots of other miscellaneous things. Had to put together a calender on when he does what - 10 days on supplements, 5 days off - 3 different detox routines to do the first month then rotate one per month. Also had to put together a list of what he has to eat/drink each day so we can make sure he does it. No white sugar - can have organic honey, organic maple syrup or organic molasses. Nuts of all types are allowed except peanuts and peanut butter - peanuts harbor a mold that produces a very potent carcinogen (this sucks cuz we both like peanuts and peanut butter). There's even more to it than this - so that's why I had to do the list and calendar to keep it all straight. FYI - this is a specific individualized diet for Ric. There are lots of good things in it that all people should follow but because of his individual makeup and what he is deficient in between the diet and the supplements they will balance out his system and get him to be as healthy as possible as well as work on the cancer - not allowing it anything that will assist in it growing. He will be reevaluated every 6 months to see what if anything needs to change. Some people get to be on a diet that consists of red meat, poultry etc that may not do as well on a mainly vegetarian diet - everyone is different. I will be doing most of this type of diet because it is easier to prepare for two but I believe that I am one who does fine on occasional red meat and poultry. Ric really doesn't like either of those so this diet actually should work well with him as he loves fruits and veggies of all kinds. We really liked Dr. Isaacs - spent over 3 hours going through everything so that we understood exactly what Ric is to do and recorded it so we can play it back whenever we need to. Everyone we met was really nice. We now have a small studio apt in New Jersey across the river from Manhattan that we can stay in for cheap due to a lady we met on the airplane that has a business here in Seattle and in New Jersey. She gave us her card and said to let her know when we would need it and if she's not there would let us use it. We decided to rent a towncar to get back to Newark Airport since it was so nasty out rather than walking to the train station and catching the train back. The hotel clerk helped us get the car and Mario the owner/driver originally from Columbia got to hear our story along the way as he & Ric talked. Mario lost a brother to lung cancer a few years ago. Mario gave us his card and told us to be sure to contact him so he could give us a ride from the airport and wherever we needed to go. He also said he'd like to take us home to have dinner with his family :) So even with the delay we had a nice trip and are looking forward to going back the end of October.