natural girls
Comments
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I'm not sure what to think about all the discussion regarding the so-called new mammogram guidelines. I do feel for our sisters in the forums who feel hurt and angered by the notion that early detection doesn't save lives, especially those who believe their mammograms are the reason they are still alive. To say that something lots of women have been doing is useless, and then not even propose an alternative seems ludicrous. And like we've been saying here in this thread all along, it's Prevention that's the key, not early detection, anyway. When are they going to recommend that all people get their D3 levels tested every year, and supplement to get them at 50 or above? When are they going to recommend that people stop eating pesticide covered foods and switch to organic? When are they going to recommend that women at risk have annual thermograms instead of mammograms? When are they going to make sense???
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Good points, Calypso! Just think of the pesticides and chemicals we ingest.
However, it's too late for most Americans to radically change their lifestyles for prevention so we need the detection systems.
There is a thread where you can post that you are against the new guidelines. I just did, having been diagnosed at age 43 by a m'gram.
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it's Prevention that's the key, not early detection, anyway. When are they going to recommend that all people get their D3 levels tested every year, and supplement to get them at 50 or above? When are they going to recommend that people stop eating pesticide covered foods and switch to organic? When are they going to recommend that women at risk have annual thermograms instead of mammograms? When are they going to make sense???
My thoughts EXACTLY. Here is what I posted on another thread (in the DCIS forum) about it:
As for the new guidelines... I think women need to have the info they need to make an INFORMED choice. The problem is, there is so much misinformation out there and the current set of "risk factors" is hopelessly inaccurate. (Why are there so many who THOUGHT they had zero risk factors but developed cancer? Guess what -- EVERYONE with cancer had risk factors -- it's just that those risk factors weren't listed on the official Cancer Industry-approved list.)
A new list of risk factors needs to be developed. It should include things like, cumulative exposure to radiation. Consumption of chemically "enhanced" food products. Cumulative pesticide ingestion. Number of major stresses as well as any chronic conditions of anxiety or depression. The sort of factors that have been shown to ACTUALLY lead to cancer. Then, women with those "real" risk factors (yes, that's most people in the U.S. these days) should be explained that they are at higher risk and the benefits and drawbacks of early monitoring should be presented to them.
Of course, ideally, everyone would be imformed about how to prevent (i.e. avoiding those risk factors), having vit D and other levels tested etc. But, at least in the U.S., people are way too addicted to their chemical-food, toxic lifestyles for that to ever happen.
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With all of the Vitamin D discussion, I wanted to mention that, for those who are trying to get more D by going out in the sun (I realize, not the best season to mention it, for most...) I remember reading that it is our eyes that are responsible for most of our natural Vit D production. So if you are going out...leave your sunglasses in the house and get some sun in your eyes.
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Yazmin-
I live in the DC/Va area and am looking for a great naturopath doc - and can you tell me if you have a great place to buy supplements around here? I too just stopped taking Tamoxifen after 9 months - so many SEs - now I'm on the natural girls train!
Thanks!
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Dear sharonw,
Here are a few links for in the Virginia area, and these are found in the book Knockout. I looked under antiaging specialists as I do for many women, but cannot locate any for you there. I also looked under BHRT.
Nan
this one is in Reston, VA
www.wellmedica.com and for the same doctor (MD), www.cosminology.com
this one in Charlottesville, VA
this one in Virginia Beach
www.thehormonereplacementcenter.com
this one in McLean, VA
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Can I just say that I love you gals and am so glad we have new comers popping in, adding to our research and conversation. Deni, you have been finding some great links. Way to go.
OMG Calypso! We have got to meet in the city for lunch. I was just thinking the same thing! In fact I called into Mancow this morning because some guy was saying that women should get mammos every year yada yada, and I got on the air! I said exactly what you said, why aren't they telling women about thermography. It is FDA approved, and has the same detection rate as mammos, yet hospitals will not use them because they make millions off those torture machines. If men had their privates smashed, there would be an alternative. But we women are supposed to just take it, as long as they can make a buck off of us. Therms are safe, and painless and yet women do not even know they exist. I have all my friends going now. We make a day of it. I love the fact that the doc sends me my pics and I can compare them. It takes off a lot of worry. Plus, I have had enough radiation for a lifetime, and worked so hard to get rid of all the toxins and I do not want anymore. Once you have bc, they take so many mammos they are killing us with radiation. I will never have one again. I am so glad we can express ourselves here now. There is some safety in numbers. We had a thread shut down by the mods last year about radiation because it became so nasty. We were really otnumbered. We all need to have our voices heard. Seems like the natural girls are getting louder everyday.
Oh, and Congratulations Jenni!!!! Now start bombarding your body with detox and supplements!
Suzanne-my doc said that unless you are naked and in the tropics it is hard to get enough Vit D from the sun. You still need to supplement. Mercola has some great info on Vit D. He said that if you go in the sun and shower within 3 hours you wash off the effects of the D. Who knows?
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Since we're still talking about Vitamin D, I thought I'd ask 2 questions that have been bugging me: Does a Vitamin D supplement need to be taken alone and on an empty stomach (like Calcium supplements) or is it okay to take with other pills and/or food? And I noticed that the D3 Supplement (1000 IU) I bought also has 3000 IU of Vitamin A - what's with that ? Thanks
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Vivre,
Ask Trader Joes if the nuts and nut mixtures have been irradiated. I contacted them a few months ago and was told that the only ones that are not irradiated are the cranberry, almond, cashew mixtures. The individual packets along with the mini packets are irradiated. I purchase nuts and dried fruits from TierraFarms.Com and make my own mixtures.
Carole
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MTG,
On some D3 vitamins it says take with food, and on others it says either with a meal or not. D is a fat soluable vitamin and should be taken with food, as is the calcium and the Magnesium and you need the magnesium for the D to be absorbed.
http://www.grassrootshealth.net/media/download/garland_vit_d_cancer_prev.pdf
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/full/96/2/252
Do not allow your doctors to tell you that in the normal range is fine, as it is not. Most doctors do not have a clue about vitamin D3 and you will have to educate them. Normal ranges are from 32ng to 100ng, and for optimal health your levels should be closer to 100. You just have to work with your doctor on this and request that your vitamin D levels be taken every 6 months.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/research.shtml
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health/deficiency/am-i-vitamin-d-deficient.shtml
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtmlhttp://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vdds.shtml http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/treatment.shtml http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/news.shtml http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/vitamin-d-may-fight-breast-cancer.aspx?googleid=2394600 -
Carole, what a great site Tierra Farm is! I typically do what you do and buy separate raw nuts from Whole Foods, add some dried cranberries or raisins, raw cacao nibs and shredded coconut and wala - trailmix! But, Tierra has better prices. Great tip, thanks!
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Nan - Actually my level is 39 and both my gyno and medonc told me to take supplements, so I'm the slow one in this equation. But, I am learning ! Thanks for the links and the answer.
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MTG - OMG - your avatar looks like boobs on ice. I hope they are not yours!! LOL!
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Laughing ....That's a cake I made as a Thank You Gift for my rads team ! When I finished rads 2 weeks ago I posted a full size photo on the rads threads via Photobucket. But Photobucket deleted it as obscene. OMG , it's just a cake ! Anywaym I just realized that I can show it as my avatar and since a few BC.org friends were bugged that they just missed it, I thought "Why not ?" Pity I can't get a larger photo to show - the cake has tattoos , a bc ribbon and the tray is a collage of radiation creams and a prescription,
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LOL! That is very cool, and VERY appropriate for your rads team!
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If you are taking vit D you need to not be taking more than 3000 i.u. of vit A...or is it 6000 i.u.? I forget, but it's in the video. The vit A uses the same receptor that vit D does.
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I'm not a conspiracy theory nut, but I almost think this recent suggestion to not get mammos until 50 is an effort to cause an uproar in favor of them. Personally getting mammos didn't help diagnose my cancer. And I won't be getting one ever again!
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Makingway - Thanks for the video; will watch it tonight. Watched a bit already and it seems excellent. I'll bet it explains why the A is rolled up with the D3.
My two cents - Obama is having huge difficulties getting his healthcare bill passed. His gives the insurance companies this and they support (or at least dont oppose) his bill. One hand washing the other. By the way, this isn't only anti mammograms; it also discourages women from self exams ????
Although I agree mammograms are flawed (I personally think MRI are more precise), they should at least be a tool in the arsenal. We should be adding MORE OPTIONS for BC detection; instead, we're taking them away. This is a slippery slope. Once we start chipping away the very basics of women's heath care, do you think we stand a shot of getting insurance companies to cover new and "unproved" procedures like BRCCA or oncotype tests or any of the more cutting edge methods that Natural Girls are using ?
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I have my list of supplements to take to a naturopath, but the one that I planned to see will not be back until January. I want to find out what blood tests I need, what supplements, food, etc. as soon as possible since I'm off of the tamoxifen. My onc told me nothing other than I have to take tamoxifen. No mention of blood tests, foods to eat/avoid, supplements etc. Does anyone know of a good Naturopath (or similar) in Southern Oregon area or one that does phone consults out of the area?
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For who is interested in nuts and other products this is a great store:
http://www.nutsonline.com/tag/organic
I buy nuts -Brazilian,walnuts,pecans,hazelnuts, from them. So far all products have been fresh and shipping is fast.
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Calypso, you wrote: "....When are they going to recommend that all people get their D3 levels tested every year, and supplement to get them at 50 or above? When are they going to recommend that people stop eating pesticide covered foods and switch to organic?"
And boy, oh boy, Am I with you....
SharonW: I can see Nan already provided great resources. Thank you, Nan. Let me ad this doctor (she is actually a regular MD who chose to practice naturopathic medicine, and this practice is great). I am talking about Dr. Marie Steinmetz: http://www.caringdoc.com/
I buy my supplements mainly from MOM's: http://www.myorganicmarket.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=A6B40AE98C7842A98FC8DE4784880288
Smile Herb Shop (quaint little store in College Park, smells good with the tons of herbs they have in there, including LOOSE jasmine green tea....de-li-cious): http://www.smileherb.com/
Sometimes, I also go to Whole Foods, but less and less since their President's ridiculous statement to the effect that universal health care is not needed or something: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/
Hope some of these places (or Nan's places) are near you.
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ShayT, there's a way to get tests done before your next doctor's appointment. Visit
http://www.healthcheckusa.comThere's a lot of choices. Thyroid panels, cholesterol, homocysteine, ferritin, vitamin deficiencies, hormones, CBC.
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Since there has been a lot of discussion here about some issues with loss of sight, here is an article by Life Extension talking about how it is "normal" to start experiencing vision loss between the ages of 41 and 60:
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Shay, I have an ND who does phone consults if you need one. My compounding pharmacist will too if you send him test results. I think he charges around $200, which is not cheap, but he is very through. He will analyze test results and make recommendations. He does not do any testing.
Making and MTG(Let them eat cake!)-I was thinking the same thing about the latest news about mammos. My take is also that support for national health care is tanking. It is lower than during the Clinton years and totally unaffordable in the current financial crisis. I am thinking this is just a ploy to get women all riled up so they will support a national system. I bet in a couple of days, you will hear someone from the administration come out and say "that with national health care, they will make sure that women are allowed yearly mammos". Mark my words. They will let the controversy stew until O gets back from China and then he will start selling snake oil again.
Yaz-Did you read the pres of Whole Foods statement? It was fantastic. What he said was that he had a great employee health care program that addressed a lot of the problems with other policies and that he would like to see the program for those who cannot afford it, but also let those who already had it keep it, which the Obama plan would eventually not allow for. If the govt. had a cheaper plan, companies like his would eventually phase out their current plans for the govt one and that his employees would end up with worse care. I will see if I can find it. It was such a great no-nonsense approach, with real solutions. I actually shop there more since I read his statement. I guess we are cancelling each other out. LOL!
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Any ideas on Niacin. I really want to take it because it also lowers cholesterol and triglycerides which I need to do to keep my doc from continuing to push statins and the like. I tried 500 mg once and thought I was going to die. It wasn't just the flushing...I could probably have handled that even though it was much worse than I expected....but the nausea and breathing issues and feeling like I was going to faint.... kept me in bed the rest of the day. I then bought the lowest mg I could find which was a 250 mg tablet (I think) and cut it in half and took that and although it didn't put me in bed for the day I still felt the nausea and faintness and some of the breathing weirdness. Does this just mean I should stay away from it? Any ideas? One doc suggested Red Yeast Rice pills to lower cholesterol but I did further research thanks to the caution by an amazing women on these threads and decided maybe I shouldn't go there. Too many questions and concerns. But niacin has been around forever and I researched it and found that I should not take the timed release, etc, etc. and really would like to use it.... What should I do. Are some people unable to take it?
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Whichever side you are on about the nationalization of health care.......all that hormone testing I had from one doc and some other tests I'm having from another doc ....None of this will be covered under a national plan because it is not part of the current "normal" protocol for breast cancer treatment. I know a lot of people who are currently not planning to retire so they can keep their insurance. Sure, their income is nice but they would retire if not for the need for insurance. Once everyone is required to go on the national plan, they say they will retire and pay lower taxes because they have no income and let the taxpayers pay for all the major stuff. Whatever they want beyond that they will just purchase elsewhere. The main reason they are continuing to work is because of catastrophic anyway. So, if the taxpayers will pay for things like hospital stays, chemo, dialysis, heart, and other expensive situations that will use all their savings; they can afford to buy all the things like dental and extra blood tests themselves. Supply and demand will create enclaves of specialists just across our borders or in the islands for those who can afford it.
No worries, mon! More Vit D3 in the islands anyway!
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Since we have been discussing when to take certain vit and supplements, I found this on breastcancerchoices.org
Breast cancer patients may consider taking 390 mg of CoQ10, which was
used in the Folkers and Lockwood studies on breast cancer patients.
Since CoQ10 is fat-soluble, taking the nutrient with an oil on an empty
stomach is recommended in order to maximize absorption.P
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Hello All.
Thank you Vivre and yes, I am already on the detox and suppl train
. MTG OMG that cake is hilarious
.I would like to share this: I saw my Onco for my follow up today and toward the end of the visit, he stated that after Thanksgiving, he will schedule an appointment with the Radiation Onco for me. I asked him why? ( I already informed him that I was not doing Rads) He looked at me like I had 2 heads of course, but didn't say anything for a few seconds, so I proceeded to say that I don't have cancer anymore and according to my my Surgeon, I have "very clear margins" , so why would I want to radiate all that is Healthy? He looked me in the eyes and said, "Because you DID have cancer and 1 positive node...What???? I told him that to me, Having HAD Cancer and 1 positive node is not a good reason to risk LE, SE, or the possibility of my Heart/lung getting nuked. He started walking out the door(shaking his head) and said, " Why can't you people just follow protocol....WTF! does that mean??? sigh....anyway, it was a little stressful and I apologize, but I'm kinda venting. Thank you ladies soooo much for everything.
Jenny.
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Jenny - WTF is right! If he is so convinced you need radiation, why can't he explain to you the reasons why other than it is "following protocol." That is what is so frustrating about some doctors. You start to feel like you are just another chicken on the conveyor belt on the way into the oven.
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LOL, Deni, but what you said is so true. As many of us have found out, our doctors can't seem to have an intelligent discussion with us about the reasons for their protocols, and when backed into a corner, their inability to do that leads to frustrated outbursts like you experienced, Jenny. On the other hand, if I were you, I would at least talk to a rad onc. But that's just me, wanting to hear everything I possibly could before making a decision. And in my case, after a couple of months of agonizing and 3 rad onc app'ts., I eventually decided to do the rads due to a couple of very odd factors about my pathology, including a 1 cm. unspecified margin. Was it overkill? Possibly. But after getting my concerns about lymphedema, heart and lung damage answered, I decided to gamble in that direction. My point is, we each need to make well-informed decisions based on our individual bodies, pathologies, and risk viewpoint. D.
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