Topic: natural girls

Luna - Here is an article from the NY Daily News that actually says popcorn fights cancer. I don't think I would have the movie-theater kind with all of that fake butter crap, but air popped with a little sea salt is probably not bad on occassion.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2009/08/20/2009-08-20_popcorn_is_full_of_cancerfighting_antioxidants_study.html 

Baked potatoes are OK occassionally but they contain a lot of starch and are not great to have all the time. I think that if you stick to as much organic, fresh, colorful veggies and fruits as the primary source of your diet, you will be OK.

Oh, I forgot one question.  These green smoothies so many of you mention.....I want to get smoothie powder.  A friend came in for a visit and let me try her brand...I think it was Super Greens..not sure...from some company in Tampa....but it has soy.. and also has a lot of the supplements included that I already take.  I have spent a lot of time researching and trying to settle on the brands of each of my supplements and how I feel as I have added them in.  I am almost there so I don't want to change them or just trust a brand of greens to include all the other stuff too.  Any suggestions of an organic brand with no soy.  I'm sure I'm not eating enough greens.

Chemo is actually very effective against certain cancers, notably childhood leukemia, testicular cancer and Hodgkin's Disease, not so much against breast cancer. 

This chart is 5 years old at this point, and is on a site that might be seen as biased in favor of natural treatments, but I haven't had anyone present any evidence that the numbers are anything but absolutely accurate.

http://www.oasisadvancedwellness.com/learning/chemotherapy-effectiveness.html

Julie:

I don't think this is about being anti-chemotherapy? I feel it is about making the best possible choice for your tumor type. Which is hard enough, I know............

As I have been saying it on this board, it is now firmly established that my tumor type (ER+, PR+, HER-) does not benefit one way or the other from any kind of chemo (though one oncologist "mistakenly" put me through chemo in April 2006 because that was the still-accepted protocol;  I dropped off her treatment when another oncologist informed me of the newest findings).

In the case of that particular tumor, conventional treatment has since abandoned adjuvant chemotherapy, and now emphasizes hormonal treatments (SERMs, AIs).

Now, I personally decided to COMPLETELY turn down Tamoxifen, and to concentrate on lifestyle changes and natural hormonal treatments.

I consider Diindolylmethane (DIM) a natural hormonal  treatment, and I consider Turmeric and black pepper (since Turmeric is activated by black pepper) an anti-cancer. So I consume that every day in different dishes, and I never fail to have my green tea with lemon juice, because it has been established that green tea is activated by lemon juice.  

But turning down Tamoxifen, that's my choice. Nevertheless, I am 4 years out and doing better than I did when I was a 20-something totally oblivious of diet, supplementation, and the importance of lifestyle choices. (By the way, I haven't had a flu in 6 months in spite of  all those epidemics, and without any flu shots).

In the presence of a Triple Negative or HER+ tumor, however, it might be worth doing your own research and asking a whole lot of questions about the ABSOLUTE benefit statistics (versus the RELATIVE benefit statistics) for the different treatments available and generally recommended for those tumors.

Then you can try and decide whether you are going to avoid chemo altogether, or use it in conjunction with other treatments, or chose yet another route.

Yah, I know it's hard........

I don't think this is about being anti-chemotherapy?

Oh goodness, I know. I guess I used that term as shorthand to explain what kind of stats I'm interested in finding in case my doctor is a "you must do chemo in all circumstances" type (and I know there are still some of those out there!). I should have said "statistics that demonstrate situations in which chemotherapy is or is not statistically effective."

Chemo is a personal choice that should be mainly influenced by type of cancer and tumor. I most certainly don't judge ANYONE who does chemo; in fact I'm happy for this if/when it extends their life.

Unless my tumor ends up being a type that means I will absolutely die very quickly unless I do chemo, and chemo is likely to extend my life by 10 or 20 years, my personal choice is not to do it... strictly because I MUST have a baby. I can't live my life not ever becoming a mother. That's all. (Well, that and I think nutrition/lifestyle are more important than what drugs are injected into you... but that's where the personal decision thing comes in.) Anyway, sorry to misspeak.

Here is the exact product they are using in their trials, I was going to be a part of the trial, then I changed my mind, but I found out which product they were using.  the company that produces the grapes sent me a big free bottle when I inquired.

Grape Seed Extract  

http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-ActiVin-Grape-Seed-Extract/pd_section-pr#ProductReviews

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Luna - the green powder i use for my smoothies is called Green Vibrance. There is some non-GMO soy in it though. My doctors say soy is OK in moderation as I am ER-. I use it in addition to fresh organic greens. I also add berries, banana, coconut water and mango or pineapple. It is ultra yummy!

Wow, lots of great info today. Love that smoothie recipe crunchy. As far as the chemo, vs no chemo stats, I know anom had posted some. I will look and see if I have it saved.

Treetoo-interesting that they are doing a study on grape seed. I mixed grape seed oil and coconut oil for my body lotion. It feels great and I am getting my antioxidants directly through the skin, our largest organ.

Have any of you CA girls heard of Dr. Husbands? I think this is a very interesting article and he seems to have a great blog:

http://www.drhusbands.com/blog/other-health-issues/cancer-and-nutrition/

He gives some great tips and cites the research.

Thanks Yazmin. I had read about the turmeric and pepper (should also be taken with oil), but not the green tea. If you can find the references, I would love to read them.

deni: I am looking for an email message I received from one of my work support group members. Will still post when I manage to dig it up. You are very smart to be staying away from sugar (I do, too).

I attended a lecture (at a conference) by Dr. Moshe Frenkel (MD Anderson), that's where I found out about turmeric and black pepper. He is one of the lead MD Anderson researchers on that subject, and he concluded his presentation with this sentence: "Cultivate the land (your body). If you take care of the land, it will thrive." I thought this was a very positive outlook, and I think most reasonable people would agree.....

Another view point about chemo:

http://learninggnm.com/

Crunchy Poodle...those goofballs who told you to keep a lid on it until you have a diagnosis are nuts...if more people read this natural girls thread, they might be able to avoid BC in the first place.  I wish I had known all this information 30 years ago!!!!!  It is very difficult to learn as much as you need to learn as quickly as you need to learn it once you have been diagnosed with SFBC.  We end up making life changing decisions following BC diagnosis in less time that we take to pick out a car or buy a house.

I had cut out all sugar.  But, wanted to ask if organic honey is okay or am I better off staying off all sugar.  The reason I ask is I was able to quench my chocolate craving tonight by mixing 2 heaping teaspoons of dark cocoa with almond milk and a little organic honey.  If this is a bad idea, I won't do it again.  I was just hoping, hoping, hoping you guys would say that it is a GREAT idea.  Can't blame a girl for hoping!

My vote is for Agave nector for sweetening, I like it better than honey, and I love honey :)

Luna-You are so right that if we had known all this stuff 30 years ago, we would have never gotten cancer. Sadly, I must admit that  I probably would not have listened. All my grandmothers lived to a ripe old age. My grandmother is still alive. None of them had cancer, so I thought I was impervious. But I have come to learn the whys for my cancer, and I am committed to spread the word to healthy people so they do not end up here. That is why I am going to do this prevention convention. Now that my students are gone, I am able to work on it. I hope we can have them all over the country and get others to be more proactive in their health.

As for the honey-I think it is just fine in moderation. Honey has antioxidant powers, and that mixture of cocoa powder and rice drink sounds healthy. Cocoa is also antioxidant. I have not been able to give up my choc habit, and I think I am going to try your recipe. My problem with most chocolate is the soy lecitin junk in it. Your recipe may make it so I can feel better about chocolate. Everything in moderation of course.

Deni-I loved that website. I have emailed Dr Moss to see if I can get him to come and speak to us. Keep your fingers crossed. If anyone has other suggestions for speakers, let me know. I want to get my compounding Pharmacist to come, my hormone doc, my thermographer and have yoga classes. If Lisa ever shows up again, maybe she can come and teach us some Zumba. It will be a fun and educational weekend. I also have someone from a culinary school in Chicago who will cook for us! My next goal is to find good hotel rates. I do not want to charge anyone to come and I hope to make it as affordable as possible. I hope you will all come and bring your healthy friends so we can spread the word.