About Cachexia...

We feel that it is time we touch a little bit on one of the many rather serious medical obstacles that our sachem Joy Graves herself personally struggles with, which is found in the diagnosis of Cachexia. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, you may know of it as "Wasting Syndrome" which out of the two names, begins to paint the picture of it's reality in the minds of the listener. Please understand, this is NOT an easy topic for her to address, in fact,, until we sat down to do this article, she hadn't even looked it up to see what it was or meant, and it brought tears to her eyes as she herself began to hear of it. Statistically speaking, Cachexia is believed to affect some 9 million people worldwide, including as many as 80% of people with advanced cancer.

So, Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight. It is medically viewed, at least in Graves case to be "hypercatabolic disease state" as "loss of muscle mass, muscle function, and muscle strength" have been medically confirmed to be issues Graves has and continues to suffer from due to this condition. A key mechanism underlying Cachexia is the increased breakdown of muscle protein, along with dampened protein synthesis, which leads to overall muscle loss. Cachexia is more than a muscle disease. Studies have identified problems in the brain’s regulation of appetite and feeding, and even ways in which the liver might be contributing to the energy imbalance that sees the body burn its own tissue to sustain itself. Others have looked at fat tissue, which can also waste away in Cachexia.

The term Cachexia is from Greek κακός kakos "bad" and ἕξις hexis "condition". Family members of Graves say they can remember back watching her suffer from it "Before they had a diagnosis term for it, back then they only knew to call it Anorexia though they openly admitted it was a wrong term as she never suffered from anorexia nervosa." A loss of 5% or more of body weight over 12 months without effort To lose weight, and too, reduced muscle strength are among the most common symptoms to watch out for.

For Graves, nutritional counselling, psychotherapeutic interventions, and physical training and therapies have all proven to have failed as has 1,600 calorie per day diet efforts including nutrition supplements and countless medications all attempted and closely monitored and regulated by the experts. According to Graves, "The only thing I've ever found any sort of medical or physical benefit from is when I use cannabis... the problem is maintaining access to a decent enough quality in consistent quantity." She says it not only stimulates her appetite "Against my bodies wishes" which otherwise she has no appetite at all, and too, she says it actually does reduce the nausea and even the pain from the atrophy that she says more often than not keeps her knocked down and practically especially these days bed-ridden more than not.

This is why Graves said she became a front line activist geared toward ensuring the complete liberation of cannabis "It's the only thing I've yet to have that actually does make a positive difference within my daily life. With even just a little bit of cannabis throughout the day (which I'm lucky anymore to ever Have) I gain the energy to sit up if not even get up and try to accomplish something physically without being in such internal excruciating pain that I can't take and forces me right back into bed." According to her caretakers, when she ingests even only a little bit of cannabis they within literal minutes can physically See an improvement, not only physically and medically but spiritually as well. "When she uses cannabis, you can literally see the pain begin to lessen internally, which in turn lifts her spirits as she isn't in such agonizing pain for the short period the cannabis lasts within her system.As the cannabis begins to wear off, you can almost instantaneously see that too, which is scary especially for her because it's completely out of her control."

According to medical experts, Cachexia can be a sign of various underlying disorders, and more often than not is a positive risk factor for death, meaning that when a person such as Graves actually has Cachexia, the chance of death from the underlying condition is increased dramatically. Also too, Cachexia increases the risk of deadly complications such as infections which continues to be another dangerous factor Graves faces daily because according to physicians, Graves has little if any immune system left because her body has been fighting this condition so long without any real progress so pneumonia as well as sepsis have become commonplace obstacles.

What happens when a person develops Cachexia, it makes routine activities difficult and continues to physically weaken patients to a state of immobility that primarily stems from loss of appetite, asthenia, and anemia. In Graves case physicians believe Cachexia onset due to complications from her actual physical birth. Graves was born 6 weeks premature and too, had the umbilical cord wrapped very tightly around her neck three times, not only beginning to deprive her unborn body of air but having literally stopped her nutrition from arriving. Because of this, Graves upon birth was kept in NCIU for approximately three days according to family member accounting and "Was incubated so that her lungs could actually be grown and develop."

Family members who've known her since birth say that weight had always been an uphill struggle for Graves, who report with her confirmation that she has never weighed 100 pounds or more ever in her life, which is a clear sign of un-health when you're talking about a woman who would grow to be 5'7 according to both medical as well as state DMV records. Cachexia is also associated with Parkinson's Disease as well as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) which medical records note Graves has, and also too very commonly seen in people who suffer from especially End stage Cancer which medical records indicate Suspecting but Graves and those close to her say she Refuses to let them conclusively diagnose as being a factor in her situation. "Once they confirm cancer, they stop looking for answers Or things that might help or even save you because it's a terminal disease" she says "We know enough to know it's more likely a factor than not, but so long as they don't have it confirmed, they should continue looking for solutions."

Cachexia is seen in the late stages of almost every major chronic illness, affecting 16–42% of people with heart failure, 30% of those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and up to 60% of people with kidney disease. About 50% of all cancer patients suffer from Cachexia. Those with upper gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancers have the highest frequency of developing a Cachexic symptom. This figure rises to 80% in terminal cancer patients. This is what is alarming to those closest to Graves fear now as she has been suffering such symptoms in her gut pretty consistently as well as increasingly especially over the last almost year. In addition to increasing morbidity and mortality, Cachexia is considered the immediate cause of death of a large proportion of cancer patients, ranging from 22% to 40% of the patients. Caretakers of Graves state that all the physicians and specialists she has seen have concluded that this IS a "Terminal condition" for her, and though it's not the only one, it is the one most concerning as it likely Will prove to be the cause of her death when that day comes.

Why did it take until 2006 for the Cachexia field to start working up a formal definition?!

The exact mechanism in which these diseases cause Cachexia is poorly understood in western medicine as one of Graves physician's explained "Usually we see this type of physical shutdown in elderly people who have suffered a serious injury such as a broken hip for example, at which their spirit seems to break and they suffer depression which in turn leads to lessened physical activity as well as appetite and ultimately they begin wasting away until ultimately they contract an illness like pneumonia and ultimately pass away." According to the physician he had seen no other case history otherwise and referred to Graves case as being "A fluke"... but is she is the question weighing in on Graves mind. "There have been a lot of babies born prematurely, most whose parents are not even being told that by being born More than 4 weeks premature Automatically gains them the diagnosis of "Bronchial Pulmonary Dysplasia which is what the specialists say is the main reason they believe I have and am suffering from Cachexia... if it's the case then western medicine physicians Should put more attention toward prematurely born babies, especially their weight and too, they should Keep their attention focused on them even If they appear to not be suffering from Cachexia as they grow up into adults... had they payed better attention to my childhood struggles, perhaps I and many wouldn't be suffering like we are and will now."

A clinical translational researcher in muscle wasting at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada by the name of Vickie Baracos has completely Agreed with Graves saying that "Studies are needed that follow people with cachexia over time, collecting blood and muscle samples along the way" and that “A cachexia data repository with a biobank would sure be a great thing,” she says. Given the absence of pharmacological interventions, such psychosocial ones are important, says palliative-care researcher, Susan McClement of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. “That’s all we’ve got.”

"The way the doctor explained it to me personally, is that there's a switch in our brains that when we get old and get to the point our body is physically falling apart and it decide would take too much effort to try, the switch get's turned off and ultimately from that point forward, the body begins to shut down until it's complete and you die" Graves explains "They told me when I was 19 that I would not live to see 20 and that there was nothing medically they knew to try or do that would or could reverse it and turn that switch in My body back on - they said they'd never Tried because it usually happened in old people and they took it to be the Natural coarse of death for human beings." According to medical experts, response to standard treatment for Cachexia is usually poor.

Another problem is that animal data on cachexia may not translate into humans. “I’m a little bit worried that if we don’t see a successful clinical trial in the next five years, the dollars from the pharmaceutical industry to develop a treatment will go somewhere else,” says Jose Garcia, a clinical researcher focused on wasting disorders at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

"This is the importance of our church Kautantowit's Mecautea... because people who are sick and suffering need the medicinal options we alone are able and willing to get accessible to and provide to those in such need." Graves emphasized throughout this interview "All my doctors, including the ones Medicare sent to look at and review my case all have concluded that medically I should not be alive right now, and too, conclude that the only reason they can find that I am is because I've been using mother medicine cannabis." Graves says this is but one of the many plant medicines that are waiting to help heal our people and planet and says that it's knowing that others will continue to suffer needlessly "Only because oppressor dictates and demands it being the tyronnous enemy they've chose to be to us" alone is her driving force behind seeing her church prove to "Secure our rights to help our people, animals and planet overcome sickness, ailments and diseases that western medicine continue realizing are in need of fixing."

As the medical fields of western medicine continue to finally start looking seriously at Cachexia around the globe NOW, the launch of a new medical journal in France called "The Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle" is gaining attention as well as interest for many physicians, especially as funding from the US National Cancer Institute and some advocacy groups begins to gear toward further researching the disease.

"As a Native american Church, we are spiritual healers as Well as physical healers... medicine people who work and depend exclusively on our ability to work with Creator's earth-based medicines... people NEED this option and too, they need access to those of us who know how to properly work with and utilize them in beneficial way. When the oppressor (government) in even out-right Intentionally targets and attacks us for it, people suffer, and too as seen in their attack on us in 2016, people literally physically Die, and therefore we as a church Cannot tolerate nor allow such insolence to continue to harm our rights as created beings to live." Graves says this is why her church was tribally blessed as being "The warrior soldiers of Great Creator whom fight off the evil of the enemy of Creation" which she says is clearly "Our government's position when it comes to not only we the living people, the human beings, but toward All living lives upon our planet including mother globe herself" which she says is "Easily seen and confirmed in their position regarding Cannabis right now in American society today - they're more concerned about the profits to be had than the need of the suffering, sick and the dying who could be benefited if not Saved from such a miserable and hopeless fate."

Graves asked that we emphasize to our readers that this is why Kautantowit's Mecautea church "Will always remain willingly at the front lines of our defense even after I've passed on, KM will not Stop until we and our earth-based medicines are left ALONE and are allowed to exist as Creator intended us all to." She also asked that we REMIND people that "Every human being who stands for the same goal are encouraged to join in our stand with us" Kautantowit's Mecautea currently has over 350 recorded members, all which are adopted for "FREE" upon their request and maintains members around the entire globe and too, that additional protections are offered exclusively to KM members. If you're interested in learning more about our church, you're Highly encouraged to poke around and check us out, whether it's on our website or elsewhere, and if you have any questions OR would like to request membership, you're more than welcomed to contact her direct via email at: joy.m.graves@gmail.com

As always, we hope you've found this article enlightening and potentially helpful. Many people are and will suffer from this and the sooner it's recognized, hopefully the better the options of reversing it will make a positive chance to spare someone you know or care for from suffering from this condition. We Thank you ever-so-much for your continued interest as well as contributions and we Hope you stay tuned. Blessings to all.