Lovely Day At The UltraWellness Center

As part of any kind of healing one must find peace within themselves.   As part of my healing process to find peace with the decision of whether to have chemotherapy for my treatment for breast cancer, I have chosen to get opinions from two oncologists and another opinion from a Functional Medicine MD. A Functional Medicine MD examines underlying reasons or causes for disease and takes a more  preventative approach  vs. a more conventional approach which is to "get" a disease and then treat it. I was very interested in getting this other opinion from a Functional Medicine Dr., as I believe very strongly in this type of medicine.

As I mentioned in my last blog the two oncologists I met with are basically leaving this chemotherapy decision up to me.  So, as my third opinion I chose to go to The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, which Dr. Mark Hyman is the medical diredtor.  Dr. Hyman  has written many books including: The UltraMetabolism Diet, The UltraMetabolism Cookbook and The UltraMind Solution. But, more importantly the reason I chose The UltraWellness Center was because of the work of Dr. Mark Hyman. When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2008 it was HIS book, The UltraMetabolism Diet that provided me with many, many answers to my questions concerning Celiac Disease. (Celiac Disease cannot be cured, but with food the "gut" can be healed.)  His book gave me such insight to the relationship of food and healing.  So, off we "trekked" to Massachusetts to my appointment at The UltraWellness Center. I chose to met with one of Dr. Hyman's colleagues, Elizabeth Boham, MD.  One of her specialities is Celiac Disease, but she also specializes in Weight Loss (she also is an RD) and she too is a breast cancer survivor, so I knew that I wanted to pick her brain about breast cancer.  

My journey started out as my husband and I drove though the beautiful Catskill Mountains in upstate New York until we finally ended up in Lenox, Masschuettes.  We stayed in a nice Bed and Breakfast called The Gateway Inn. We arrived in time to have a lovely dinner in front of the fire in a home that was once owned by Mr. Proctor. (Yes, of Protor and Gamble) It was his summer home that he spent about two weeks a year in The Berkshire Mountains. Anyway, the dinner was delicious and it was what I needed, as I became totally relaxed before my big day. We retired to our room after dinner, which was incidentally called "The Cozy Room."  After a "fairly" good night sleep I was ready to meet with Dr. Boham the following day at 8:00 am.




The Gateway Inn. 








The UltraWellness Center Inn Lennox, Massachuettes



I met with Dr. Elizabeth Boham as scheduled.  My appointment lasted approximately 90 minutes.  Many topics were discussed regarding my over-all health, diet and our course my decision of whether or not to have chemotherapy. I then met with an RN to discuss Dr. Boham's recommendations and then off to meet with Maggie Ward, MS,RD, LDL.  I spent an hour with Maggie discussing diet, especially to the enhancement of supporting good blood sugar levels throughout the day and to enhance cancer prevention.

I left the UltaWellness Center about five hours after I arrived.  I am having some blood work, urine and stool specimens being done to get my overall health "picture."  I will let you know how that all turns out in a future blog, along with my decision on whether to have chemotherapy.

So, as we were ready to drive home I wanted to go look at the famous Kripalu Center  for yoga and health which was located about five minutes from The UltaWellness Center. It was our final distination before our drive home.  Below is a picture of Kripalu which is situated on a hill overlooking a beautiful valley.

The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health