Topic: natural girls

Merilee

I actually talked to Dr. Epstein last week. I thought he would be a good resource for us, but I was very disappointed in him. He was very hostile, that I should be talking to him about prevention because I was soooooo below him in status. I was trying to get him to speak to us, but he said he would not speak because his focus is only about cleaning up the environmental causes and not dealing with the hormonal causes(which he diminished). He is fighting the big business of cancer, which I told him was great, but he was not happy that I would not just hop on his bandwagon instead of doing a forum on my own. As I said, it was very frustrating. I think is having trouble getting funding because of his personality, not his cause. Typical academic if you ask me. Does not know what it feels like to have cancer, so he blows me off because he only cares about what he is trying to do and no one else.

vivre - Remember what Merilee says: God gave us that middle finger for a reason and you should have shown it to Dr. Epstein!!!!!

Is anyone going to help me out with my spirulina quest?????

Patty

seaotter

 I found a shake mix thru Vitacost. MRM vanilla whey protien powder. It is sweetened with stevia. The large container is about 20.00, which last me a little over a month. I have the shake for breakfast with spinache and frozen fruit in a blender. I use rice milk to add liquid and organic yogurt to add enzymes to my tummy.

 I eat meat twice a week which is usually fish.

 I use Feta cheese on my daily salads with apples, raisins, organic spring salad mix,( from Sams 3.99 for a huge tub) pecans or sliced almonds.

I love spring rolls made with alfalfa sprouts ( i grow my own on the window sill now) Advocato, Cucumber, belle pepper. Roll up in a sheet of Nori.

  I grab a handful of nuts whenever I think I need extra protien. I feel fine! I think I am getting enough protien this way

Patty, last year I tried a superfood product that contains spirulina.  It did me a world of good.  At the time I was still having ongoing problems with nausea and indigestion that had followed me since chemo. 

From the very first day I used it I felt better.  Didn't care for how it tasted much, and a serving size was 2 T and all I could manage at a time was 1 T.  It's an acquired taste and gets easier to like with time.  My nausea went away immediately and very rarely rears its ugly head anymore. During chemo and the 3 years that followed I'd get major indigestion from anything with tomato sauce.  In addition to the superfood, I did a colon cleanse in April and a liver cleanse in August.  Finally, I could eat pizza again without indigestion.  

I got it at herbdoc.com.  There's a whole line of products developed by Dr Schultze.  A woman whose screenname was genesis was posting here for many months, singing this guy's praises.  I watched every video online of his lectures I could find and read nearly every newsletter he had on his site at the time.  I have confidence in the products there.  The commitment to quality seems genuine.  I changed my mind about getting flu shots based on information I read at herbdoc.com.  

That's my experience with a spirulina product and I definitely recommend Dr Schultze's brand.  The 2nd and 3rd bottles I got were in tablet form.  For whatever reason I didn't seem to be getting the same response as I did from the first bottle in powder form.  Then I read Nourishing Traditions where it said B12 that we can assimilate must come from animal sources.  One more headspin for the road as I thought I was getting all kinds of B12 from the superfood.  Let us know what you end up choosing!

This week has been a very stressful time for me. I have soldiered through some difficult times in my life and always tried to handle matters diplomatically. But when you have to deal with radiotherapists and oncologists that think, you, along with many other patients are just going to go along with the norm - no questions asked...well that's just not on. Some of us are well learned and researched. I did some research on "IONIZED RADIATION" and was horrified. I have spent sometime this week with specialists going over my very intricate planning, and was also taken through the radiation room and shown in detail via my graph plan on the big screen and also shown through the machine exactly how much was being radiated and areas "supposedly" protected.

I was told that a portion of my left lung was going to be in the crossfire and that particular part would not recover, and that l would develop shortness of breath. Although my heart was not directly in the crossfire in would still receive distant radiation. Now let's just think about that for a second, shall we. When you stand in front of a fireplace you may not be directly in the fire but you will still feel the heat, and if you stand a little further back a wider area receives the heat as well. Now the radiated area is getting the full dose and surrounding areas are getting more mild doses..."BUT" after a period of six weeks, all those cells, muscles organs that are not directly being radiated will still be receiving a decent dose of radiation. Not just any radiation "IONIZED RADIATION." (That's the same type of radiation used in the Hiroshima bombings. Right? Since the bombings, Japanese scientists studied Chlorella as a biological response modifier, by boosting the immune response. Intersting...)

Even more upsetting for me was my lymph node situation. All my nodes are clear, and healthy. I was euphoric when l was told that my nodes were negative. Now they want to radiate my axillary lymph nodes: levels I, axillary lymph nodes: levels II, axillary lymph nodes: levels III, and internal mammary lymph nodes. The whole lot! I don't know if that they will recover from this...or if l will develop lymphedema? The nurse said that at least l will still have some nodes up around my neck so it really shouldn't be an issue. Well l guess the nodes that are being radiated won't be of much use to me. Is it worth it?

DNA mutations in cells that survive the radiation, can eventually lead to the development of another cancer (called a second primary cancer). I understand that a cancer resulting from the exposure of radiation can take between 10-15 years to grow. My neighbour had the same type of breast cancer as myself, and the same treatment 12 years ago, and an associate of my fathers also had the same type of cancer with radiotherapy, 15 yrs ago, and they now have second primary cancers. Is this just a coincidence or are some "second primary cancers" the aftermath of ionised radiation exposure?

This week l fought off my breast infection without any antibiotics, which the docs wanted to prescribe. My immune system is strong, but although l fought off an infection, l am not sure l could fight off any stray cancer cells, that may be lurking. That being said l am also very disturbed by the "plethora" of damage that ionised radiation can cause.

I got out the scales of justice and they are tipping against rads.

I have until Monday to decide.

Have a lovely weekend ladies...x

Joanne,

The Naturopath I saw recommended CoQ10 during chemo to specifically protect the heart from the damaging effects of Adriamycin.  She increased my dose when I complained of fatigue, and said CoQ10 would help with energy levels, as well.  

The product I took was citrusQ10 (http://www.evenbetternow.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CoQ10). I thought the citrus part was there for added nutrition but looking at it now, I'm thinking it's just to make it taste better.. I'm not sure about that part. 

I'm not taking Adriamycin any longer - now I'm on abraxane - so I stopped taking the citrusq10 for now.

Hope that helps.

Althea and Victoria-interesting info about the spirlina. I will look into it. Thanks

And hang in there Victoria. We are here for you.

Pill, it sounds like you are being wisely proactive with your rads. I wish I had done so. I am still upset they zapped my thyroid and did my nodes, even though they were clear. Live and learn the hard way I guess.

Good morning all ...  I tried a new "milk" product this a.m. and thought I'd report to you all that it's pretty good.  It's called Organic Whole Grain Drink -- from Trader Joe's -- and it's made with organic brown rice, amaranth, millet and quinoa.  If you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, you may be able to find it under another label (since someone must make it for them), although I haven't seen it anywhere else here yet.  Anyway, I think it's one of the better milk substitutes I've tried.   D.

Too bad about Epstien. Some people end up with heads so big they end up becoming the very thing that they started out fighting. Conventional A*% H%les. Someone shoot me if I ever turn into that please.

Luna:

Indeed. Ann Fonfa is not just alive: she is doing absolutely great (the 2 of us will be spending a few days in New York next week, to attend this conference):

http://www.integrativeonc.org/

Then I am planning to visit her in Florida in January, time permitting, in order to attend the conference she hosts each year on evidence-based complimentary/alternatives.

http://annieappleseedproject.stores.yahoo.net/3rdanevcoca.html

At the Society for Integrative Oncology conference next week, we will try and take a picture with Dr. Servan-Schreiber (Anti-Cancer), since  he is attending that conference.

...And to echo your post, I have posted this information in a separate thread: Many serious researchers now believe in the Birds, Bears, and Turtles theory, i.e.: a tumor is either aggressive, or it is not. In Dr.  Barry Kramer (NIH) own words:

"......With overdiagnosis, we often end up ‘curing' cancers that didn't need to be cured in the first place," said Dr. Barry Kramer, director of the NIH Office of Disease Prevention and an expert on cancer screening...... 

http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/102009/page6

........New findings in genetics and tumors "categorization" show, of course that cancers that were not even going to advance in the first place (turtles) are invariably cured by chemo, hormonal treatments, etc...., with great damage to the body;  those that are more aggressive (bears) are cured for a few years (tumor shrinkage). 

As for the birds.......

Thank you ladies for all the messages and PM too!!  I was crying to my husband about all of you and how friggin happy I was to be able to talk about my choices with people who understood. It helps soo much to let it out as you all know. I failed to mentioned that I also have lymphedema in my right arm. I wear a sleeve, do lymphatic massages and reflexology as well. All of those together pretty much keep swelling under control.

I was in emergency last night because I hadnt slep since Tuesday and the pain in my arm was horrific!!  I meditate alot and just could not get rid of the pain on my own so my husband took me to emergency. I actually slept for 6  hours straight which felt like a whole day. I do not function well without sleep!!

I noticed that Im kind of just babbling lol....just wanted to say THANK YOU!! for being here, for posting, for information and support. I truly appreciate it!

Sylvie

I heard about some research where they found oxytocin in new moms is also related to an increase in the immune system. They hypothesized that it may be natures way of insuring that the mom will be well and there to care for the baby. And interestingly enough they said that even remembering holding your baby can produce oxytocin and improve you immune system. They did a small project with meditation and one of the things they used was this. They also used another guided meditation that helped clients picture the exact mechanism of the immune system and that worked as well... Very interesting. I have been trying to find the site in the packet of things I brought home from the work shop but have not come to it yet.

rgiuff, 

I am so sorry, I did not mean scare you about  rads. There are so meany conflicting studies out there - please bear in mind that   my reasoning is  very biased.  Some women want to hit their bc with an atomic bomb right away, and would be very uncomfortable rejecting any standard protocols.  That's not my personality, and  I have been kicking and screaming about conventional tx, and doing as little as I can, the whole way. 

I know when how easy it is to bend your logic when you want something badly (or in this case,  don't want it). Maybe I'm deluding myself and my choices are all wrong -  That's one reason I wanted to explain my reasoning - so others can spot any obvious gaps in my logic. 

Okay, this question may seem odd.  Is air popped pocorn good for me to eat or not?  I have avoided carbs for many years only to find that the Adkins bars were mostly soy.  Going low carb meant lots of meat, cheese...well you know.   So, I don't know which carbs I should be eating now that I am trying to be as healthy as I can.  Are baked potatoes a right or wrong choice?  Or should I just be sticking with colorful veggies?

Luna, you don't want to avoid all carbs... leafy greens are carbs too ya know.  How many carbs you need depends on your current weight, and current and anticipated activity level.  You need to eat more carbs, and ones that are more quickly accessible before strenuous exercise than before knitting to avoid running out of energy mid activity. 

Generally diabetics are told to eat between 45 and 60 grams of carbs at breakfast, and 60 to 75 grams of carbs at lunch and dinner, and an additional 15 grams before bedtime (to help keep the level on an even keel through the night) which may not be needed if your body handles the carbs you do eat appropriately.

They have recently come up with a thing called the glycemic index which rates foods according to how quickly they are converted to glucose (as all foods are as they are digested).  It may be somewhat helpful in making food choices, but you need to remember that it was designed to measure how quickly carbs are absorbed which is important for diabetics trying to keep their sugar levels on an even keel without high or low spikes.

David Mendosa is a writer who since his own diabetes diagnosis has written extensively about various methods of blood glucose control, much of which involves food choices.  He is a crusader, and can be a bit obsessed, but here is a link to his reasonably comprehensive list of foods and their relative placement on the glycemic index:

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

You may notice that on this chart french fries look like a better choice than boiled potatoes.  That is because the oil in the french fries slows down the absorption of the glucose from the potatoes, not because the french fries contain fewer carbs overall.