natural girls
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Hi everyone - just as a follow up to my previous post about me finally finding a Naturopath in my area. I had my appointment yesterday and I absolutely LOVE her. I was in her office for over 2 hours and we went over everything and she agrees with the supplements that I've read about on this thread and prescribed most of them. I was able to purchase natural psyllium and some very potent EFA oil, yesterday directly from her and today I am on my way to the HF store to buy DIM, calcium D-glucarate, magensium, Turmeric with pepperine, COQ10, AHCC and milk thistle. She also suggested that with everything I'm taking that I should stop taking the glucosamine, biotin and Selenium for the moment. Her main concern was to get my immune system up and running and also my digestive system (I'm always constipated) and liver detox. She was actually very concerned with the fact that I don't "go" every day and that I probably have a buildup of toxins in my system that needs to be addressed. As for the tamoxifen, she didn't suggest anything one way or the other. She did ask me how I felt about it and I said that at the moment, until I'm on the supplements for a while I didn't feel secure enough to stop taking it. After a few months of being on the supplements, I will most probably stop the Tamox. We also talked about diet and I'm making some changes there as well. All in all, it was a good visit and I'm happily on my way to beating this BC into the ground! I'm sorry I couldn't get the support I needed from my GP, but it's understandable I guess.
I hope everyone is doing well and I wish you all a great Friday the 13th ! (13 is a lucky number in italian!)
Edited to add: I forgot, I'm also taking some iodine drops as well!
Terri
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Ooh it IS Friday the 13th! I like considering it lucky also.
Terri-how are you feeling (did you feel any different) after taking the iodine? I am too chicken to try it but I know lots of women rave about it...glad you had a good apt with the naturopath.
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Terri,
As a fellow Montrealer of Italian descent, may I ask which HF store you go to?
And, yes Friday the 13th is lucky for Italians!
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MTG, I am so envious of your doctor who is receptive to new options. One of my former physicians gave me a fire and brimstone lecture for 'self diagnosing and self medicating.' I was one year post chemo at the time and still having nausea. I was still drinking arizona tea, green tea with honey and ginseng, and I was putting a pinch of cardamom in my coffee because I'd read that it helps sooth an upset stomach. He was pulling me off all vitamins and supplements to begin an evaluation of what might be my problem.
When he told me not to put a pinch of cardamom in my coffee, I asked if I needed to change how I eat and remove all herbs from my food. It was like I'd pushed a forbidden button and all kinds of ugly started spewing out of this man! He said "Don't be ridiculous!" And then he launched into his tirade of the evils of supplements and how I was not to be self diagnosing and self medicating. Self medicating with arizona tea and a pinch of cardamom??? When I joke about living at the end of the earth, it's only half joking!
I am so on my own in terms of medical supervision here. In fact, I'm shopping at healthcheckusa.com to try and figure out which tests to order. I can get a full thyroid panel there. Of course, there's lots of things I want to have checked. My estrogen levels, my homocysteine and cholesterol, vit d, b12 and magnesium. I would LOVE to have a doctor to tend all this, but the next physician I got was using information on thyroid that was outdated in 2002. I tried to give them the information from the endocrinologists site that explained the changes, but it was made clear that they didn't know and didn't want to know that testing protocols had changed.
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Terri, so happy for you! It does feel so good to have someone you trust helping you through the homeopathic stuff.
All, I had my first Vitamin C "drip" (IV) yesterday, and also another of Lipoic Acid. I think I've totally gone over to the "other side" - I didn't even mention this to my Oncologist, what's the point, I'm not going to stop the alternative stuff and she's not going to like it. . LOL. I am still deciding if I'll do another one of these drips. It did sort of burn in my arm, but they told me this may abate if I keep doing it. My Osteopath wants me to do like 10 weekly and then once a month. She is convinced this will help me. My blood counts are still whacked FROM FRIGGIN RADS!!! I had totally recovered after chemo, had normal white and red.
UGH.
Spring.
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Deni, great read, thanks!
Allie, I didn't notice your picture before. You are very pretty!!! Did you do chemo? I'm asking that because you have lots of hair. I still have about 2 inches of growth. I could only withstand 3 chemo treatments and my body said "no more". I went bald anyway!!! Why are you afraid on the iodine??????
I'm not Italian (I don't think). I'm not superstitious either so it is just another wonderful day to me!!!!
Patty
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Spring, I'd like to hear more about your drip! How would you manage 10 in a week? Twice a day M-F? How did you find someone to administer it? How expensive is it?
Also, what's out of whack with your bloodwork?
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Spring - glad to hear you had your first IV C drip. It does sometimes burn a little going in. That usually means that the C is cold from being in the refrigerator. At the center I go to, they usually take it out for a little while before the appointment so that it is not as cold. Also, if they can't avoid it being cold, they will fill a latex glove with warm water from the water cooler and have us put this on the site of the needle. This helps to relieve the discomfort too. Usually though, it doesn't hurt at all. I hope you see great results!
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Patty--how sweet! It's just good the pic is so small--can't see all the flaws!
And yes I was lucky enough not to have to do chemo. I always felt bad when getting rads, sitting in the waiting room with the post-chemo patients also waiting for rads. I am hesitant to add iodine b/c my counts are fine, I haven't had any of the symptoms (except BC maybe??) of a deficiency and when I read up on it, it seemed like it would be easy to do the wrong amts and have negative effects.Spring, sorry your blood work is out of whack. I worried about that but mine is fine after rads except for low Vit D3. I know you think your onc may not approve (and she may not) but I think you should still tell her what you are doing. I don't think anyone can accurately advise or treat you if they don't have the whole picture. You are the patient (i.e. the client!) so if she isn't happy with it--too bad. Just a suggestion!
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Terri-It is great that you found a doc to help you. I know it was such a relief for me when I finally found someone. I gave up on my onc. There was no purpose in going to her anymore since she was only there to prescribe drugs I refuse to take, so why spend the money. I got tired of defending my choices and I am positive I have made the ones that are right for me. Althea, I feel so bad for you that you do not have anyone near you can rely on. I do know an ND who does phone consults if you need one. But if you all can make it to the prevention convention, I am going to have the pros there to explain things and answer all our questions.
Spring, I think it is great that you are doing those IV drips. I wish I had done that. It sounds the perfect thing to boost the immune system. I had to do it the slow way.
As for the iodine, it took me a long time to come around to it. You all should try to read Dr. Brownstien's books. I think taking iodine is the single most important thing I am doing. I cannot believe the difference in my energy levels, and my breast tissue has totally changed, from lumpy and achy to soft and painless. Check out the info at breast cancer choices and then join the iodine yahoo group. I read it everyday and learn so much from the experiences of those using iodine for all sorts of ailments.
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Altea, She wants me to do the Vit C drips weekly for 10 weeks, then go once a month. I am asking the surgeon's office if it is okay to do in the 2 weeks prior to surgery, typically they want me to stop all supplements and vitamins (except C, calcium and a multi!) The drips will apparently boost my immune system, plus!!! they are supposed to "blow up" cancer cells! Right Dani!
I am having another surgery (hopefully my last!!) on Dec 1. My red and white counts are still below normal, one year after chemo, and 8 months after rads!!! But I was normal after chemo, then rads tanked me. I was almost normal before my last Sept (11 hour) reconstruction surgery, then they went down again. Currently White 3.2 and Red 3.55 (normal is 4-10 for white, and 3.8 - 5.1 for red). Get this, my onc said if at 18 months (6 more months) my counts are still low, she would do a bone marrow Biopsy (!!!! ahhhhck !!!) to rule out "chemo induced leukemia". I will wait a bit longer. All these surgeries are not helping! I need time to recoup.
It was $140 for the drip of C and lipoic acid yesterday, and we're submitting it to insurance (the Doc wrote down vitamin deficiency and fatigue). So we'll see. Deni get's insurance to cover part of hers! (I think that is true, righ Deni?)
Allie, I hear you. I need to think about this.... or maybe change docs!!!
Spring.
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Yes, the drips are partially covered, which is better than nothing.
I have witnessed a pretty amazing side effect from the C drips. A man who goes to the center I go to was a policeman who was working down at 911 helping out. He thinks that is how he got his prostate cancer. Since he has been doing drips, his tumor has shrunk to a quarter of its original size. He had refused all surgery and chemo anld started with the drips and a major lifestyle change. Plus, he was almost bald on top - now his hair has fully returned!
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Deni, what an amazing story about the policeman!
Terri, that's great you found a naturopath. I can't afford the costs of one, so it's tamoxifen for me for now, until I feel confident enough to stop it altogether. I will not do 5 years though, and I will not do AIs ever.
I have a visit with my Onc on Tuesday and I plan on asking if my Vit. D level can be checked, as well as hormone levels. Wish me luck with that! He also mentioned on my last visit that he felt there was a big connection between thyroid and BC, so I want to ask him more about that. And just for curiousity, I will tell him about all the supplements I'm taking and see what he says about those. Taking fish oil, EPO, green tea, multivitamin. I'm also taking tumeric, which was suggested by him for joint pain, he also already OKed flaxseed and limited amts. of soy.
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Deni, Im def going to your ND in suffern once Im done w/ chemo.
question - has anybody heard from anom? Im starting to worry. I know she is on a bcorg vaca but just checking to make sure she is ok.
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Spring...I do the Vitamin C infusions and Lipoic Acid infusion monthly. My naturopath wanted me to do it weekly for a while and then go monthly but I just couldn't find the time to do it that often. I'm paying $200 for my infusions. My insurance doesn't pay for it but they do put the cost of the IV stick against my deductible. I have been going monthly for the past 3 months. Mine burned a bit last time so we slowed the rate of infusion and it felt better.I believe it is boosting my immune system...that and my Vit. D. My kids have been sick as has everyone around me and I (knocking wood here) have been fine.
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Just had to share this... UCLA does a monthly lecture series entitled Insights Into Cancer, and you won't believe who their speaker is for January -- David Servan-Schreiber! I am so excited! The "hold the date" card I just received says, in part, "Clinical Professor of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh, neuroscientist, writer, cancer survivor and author of "Anticancer, A New Way of Life," learned he had a malignant brain tumor during his own brain scanning experient at the age of 31. After conventional treatment and a relapse, he developed a personal anticancer program to complement his treatment. In this program, he shares his moving personal journey and scientifically grounded health-supporting lifestyle -- diet, care of the body, stress management and control of environmental pollutants -- that he believes can help prevent cancer or better control it." WoW! Do you all realize how HUGE this is -- for the #1 cancer hospital in the West to present him this way? I just feel that it so validates what we are doing and sharing here.
Lorraine, let me know if you might be interested in going. I'll PM you the complete info' if you are.
Have a great, fall weekend everyone ~ Deanna
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Deanna! Please do!
L
ox
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I am so jealous! I hope he comes to NJ next. I'd love to see him speak. His book has been such an inspiration for us...
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Hi.
I just received an email from the "army of women" for a study on use of herbal supplements by breast cancer patients. It is just a questionaire to fill out so I thought that some of us natural gals might be willing to share our information. The study is describes as follows:
To learn more about what women are using and what works and what doesn’t, a research team at the University of Maryland, in College Park has created a short survey on herbal supplements called Breast Cancer and Herbal Dietary Supplement Use.
If you are a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and if you are interested in sharing information about your thoughts and experiences with herbal supplements – please read on and sign up! If you know of anyone who might fit this study, pass it on!I am not sure how to "pass it on" other than to tell you to go to www.armyofwomen.org There was a link where I could send it to an individual email address.
Maybe mainstream medicine is finally going to begin to study natural health. I surely do hope so.
Mandy
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Deanna, Wow!!! You are so lucky!!!
PLEASE TAKE NOTES!!! I loved that book. I felt so empowered, still do! I would say that book is the thing that got me going in the right direction after all my treatments!
I am glad I am not alone in these Vit C drips. Lili, I am also thinking monthly is going to be more doable. Lili and Deni: How much do you get? 25g 50g 65? I'd be interested to know.
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HI THERE LADIES
Can any one advise me on a herb called HERB ROBERT you have it in tea form it is to asist to overall wellbeing and boost oxygenation and immune system, ingredients are herb Robert ,peppermint,mountain mint,spearmint .
I'M doing chemo and I'm aware that there is a few things that you shouldn't take, and i have just been informed not to have soy products if you are ER+ PR+ I LOVE MY SOY MILK ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT .
Thanks ladies i appreciate your knowledge on the natural side of things
JOANNE
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Spring - I get 60g of IV C. I used to get 80g but that dose was giving me headaches. My center said they were lowering certain patients dosages anyway because they recently learned that a lower dosage is just as effective and the lowered me to 60g. I go once per week at this point.
Joanne - I use almond milk. I make it from scratch. I use it for cereal and in my one cup of coffee per day. My docs are mixed on soy. Two say it is OK in moderation. One says to stay away. I limit it as much as I can.
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Spring--so sorry you have to have yet another surgery...
I am sure you will do well and get strong after it again but just feel bad you have to keep going thru this.Deanna- I got so excited when I saw Dr Servan Scrieber was speaking but then I noticed it was UCLA not up here in San Fran.
Oh well. You'll have to let us know how it is. I was so inspired by his book. I'll have to see if he is going to speak up here at all. Would love to go.0 -
Has anyone tried ashwagandha? I've had it on my long list of things to try for a while. After reading Dr Horner's Waking the Warrior Goddess book where this supplement is on her list of 30 things to do for bc prevention, I decided to push ashwagandha to the top of my list and give it a try.
I don't think it's benefitting me at all! While working in the garden this week, I'd get a heartburn/nausea feeling every time I leaned over. My energy levels are worsening, and they're not that great on a good day. Plus, my body temperature has dropped even more.
Three times this week I've had 97.0, which is down from my already-below-normal of 97.4. I did some reading that indicated ashwagandha is supposed to help with thyroid issues, but from where I am, it seems to be making me worse!
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MTG, you wrote:
Deni63 - Thanks for the welcome. My greatest fear re: Tamox is trading one evil - BC or some other mets for another - major gynecological issues ranging from hysterectomy, oopherectomy and cancer. AARGH!!!
I can assure you I totally understand your situation: I myself struggled with this issue before I turned down Tamoxifen 4 years ago.....
And when you say: "....I hope you ladies realize that you are leading the way and the pack will follow..." You probably don't realize how right you are: when I first joined this forum 4 years ago, there was no Complementary/Alternatives section whatsover. I was almost called names for EVEN voicing my doubts about Tamoxifen (especially with that absolute statistics versus relative statistics issue, which has since been widely discussed here). I felt kind of lonely back then.
.....But look at what is happening now: hundreds of us in the Complementary/Alternatives part of the forum.....AND growing all the time.
And deni63: I had to honor of meeting Dr. Servan-Schreiber in person at a conference 2 days ago. What a great human being and a fantastic scientist! At the conference, he responded to his critics, some of whom have been accusing him of "fostering false hope" (????). I think those critics can argue as much as they want (one does not even have to venture out of this forum to see people who specifically love to argue for the pleasure of arguing); what Dr. Servan-Schreiber's critics cannot argue with is his results:
....After all, he is alive and doing GREAT 20 years after first battling what is possibly one of the deadliest forms of cancer: brain cancer. For any sensible person, the arguing should stop right there.....My humble point of view.
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Hello--mind if I join your thread?
I just decided to quit Tamoxifen after taking it for 4 years.
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Althea - I started recently taking Ashwaganda in a formula called Exhilarin made by Metagenics. My gyno recommended this based on a comprehensive blood profile he did showing that my homovanillate levels were very high. I honestly don't remember exactly what this means other than it has something to do with dopamine levels. I haven't noticed a difference in how I feel since i have been taking it however.
Yasmin - lucky you getting to meet Dr. Servan-Schreiber. My husband has become his "friend" on facebook. He always brags that he received a new message from Dr. Servan-Schreiber - like it was addressed to him alone! He is too funny. But, he's got some great information up on his facebook page. It is funny how cases like Dr. Servan-Schreiber are considered "anecdotal" and considered fostering false hope. He and so many others like him are living proof.
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Inspiewriter - of course you can join in! Welcome!
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My husband keeps asking me what I want for Xmas... and nothing has come to mind. After reading this thread I know what I want... A juicer. I had one years ago and loved it, specially carrot juice. Now I'm excited to think of having one again.
Thanks for such a great thread. Fabulous information and upbeat / positive energy.
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Hello Natural Girls, I, like inspiewrite am looking to join you all. And, while I have not had time to read through all of the posts here, I am looking for some honest advice - Am I crazy/not crazy - any suggestions?
Here are my "stats": 40 years old as of this month, bi-lat mx 7/22/09 (prophylactic on left), 1.7cm IDC, with additional DCIS in same breast, 0 lymph nodes, but I did have lymphovascular invasion and comedo necrosis (not sure what the last one means). My IDC margin was only 1mm from my chest wall (as far as they could go without removing muscle, but not attached to chest wall). No radiation recommended as the mastectomy removed the fascia over my chest muscles. I am more than 90+ er positive and 89 pr positive. My oncotype score was 8 (6% recurrence with tamox). Ki 67 was high on original biopsy pathology report. I was/am fearful of the the lymphovascular invasion, so opted for TC x4 which I finished on Oct. 14, 09.
I was supposed to start tamoxifen a couple of weeks ago. I filled the prescription and took it for 5 days. I am so scared of what it will do to me. I stopped taking it this past Tuesday.
I have 5 kids, triplets in kindergarten, one in second grade and a Freshman in HS. I want so badly to be here for them, and feel like I'm in a catch 22. If I don't take the tamoxifen, much higher risk of recurrence in the short term. If I do, I face all of the other possible side effects. After 5 days, I didn't have any noticeable side effects, but felt like I was poisoning myself everytime I swallowed that darn thing. I know that I am not alone in this.
I am wondering, given the size of my IDC and lymphovascular invasion, am I crazy to turn down the tamoxifen? My oncologist told me that it is counterintuitive to get the chemo and then not do the tamoxifen given my oncotype score. But to me, 3 months of chemo was so much easier (not saying it was easy) than 5 years of that pill. My onc. said that I could not get away without doing the tamox.
Thank you so much for listening. If you have any advice, or similar circumstances/stories at all, please share.
Shay
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