natural girls
Comments
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Lorraine ~ It could be the calcium. What type are you taking -- calcium carbonate, citrate, lactate, gluconate? If you have a problem with the food source your calcium is derived from (lactate from milk, for example), that could be the problem, in which case you might want to try another formulation. Also, if you're taking more than 500 mg., sometimes it's a good idea to build up gradually. Or it could possibly be the celluose capsule itself, or even just hitting a cumulative overload on cellulose. But my first guess is that you may be sensitive to the food source your calcium is derived from. Deanna
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Deanna! Thanks! This may be TMI but I am also constipated
not having a good day!!! Actually its been for about 3 days! I am taking the calcium citrate, I just read online that calcium does cause constipation....I get so nervous, ever since this whole BC thing, every ache, pain, issue, I panic!
Lox
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Hmm. My first guess would be the magnesium-- but that's only from my own experience. Magnesium is great except if I take it twice a day it gives me loose bowels. I do fine on 500 mg magnesium citrate before bed.
Magnesium is known for causing loose bowels if you are prone to it. I think calcium does the opposite.
I don't take calcium-- it interferes with iodine absorption and goes to the joints.
Fairy, how are you doing with the hormones?
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Thanks so much guys for your input, having a mini meltdown!!
I only just added both the magnesium and calcium, so I suspect them to be the culprits, however, I haven't taken them in two days and am still uncomfortable. Anon, onc said a big ole NO to ANY hormones (of course he doesn't know about the progesterone), I called my naturopath and I am seeing her next Monday to get estriol, to be honest I am not handling menopause very well, yesterday I was miserable, I was a complete a..h..le to my hubby!! That is sooo not me!! I simply refuse to live like this, its awful!L
ox
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p.s, what does anyone recommend to completely clean out my system i.e. 86 the constipation!!
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Fairy-
After my MX they suggested warm prune juice and it worked really well. ALso - hot water with lemon encourages peristalses(sp?).
Beth
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oh yes! warm prune juice! great idea Beth! I will give it a whirl! You guys are so awesome, thank you!
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You could also try the Vitamin C Flush. I have done this with 6,000 mg vitamin C in from capsules taken all at once.
http://thedetoxspecialist.com/blog/detox/colon-detox-vitamin-c-flush
Be sure to drink water so you replace minerals.
xo
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Anon, would you recommend your way or the way suggested on the link?
L
ox
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Hi everyone,
It's a little daunting to try and join a thread with 5000+ posts, but I'm going to try! I've only read the last 3 pages, though, because there's no way I can start from the beginning. That makes me worry about potentially being repetitive, not knowing what's already been discussed!Anyway... I'm Raili, 31 years old. I had a 1.5 cm mucinous tumor, Stage 2, and almost 3 cm of DCIS, also Stage 2. I've been into alternative/holistic health my whole life - being treated by chiropractors, naturopaths, biologic dentists, following the Wise Woman path, etc. Being dx'd with cancer and getting sucked into the Western medicine world has been disorienting. Part of me thinks, there is no need to continue on this Western medicine path now, when I've been doing so well with holistic health care my whole life... another part of me thinks, but I've never been dx'd with something as serious as cancer, so I'd better follow the standard protocols for cancer treatment. I'm currently taking an integrative approach, working with a surgeon + oncologist + radiologist AND working with a naturopath and chiropractor, changing my diet, increasing my yoga practice, etc. My challenge right now is to try and figure out to what extent I will follow conventional/Western guidelines.
Assuming I get good, clear margins at my re-excision surgery the day after tomorrow, my options, according to the oncologists and my surgeon, are:
1. 6 weeks of radiation OR a mastectomy
+
2. Chemo OR ovary removal
+
3. Hormone therapy, in addition to an option from 1 and an option from 2.I'm fairly sure I will refuse chemo no matter what, but I'm undecided about radiation vs. mastectomy, and about whether I'd agree to try hormone therapy or not.
My first meeting with the medical oncologist was kind of a disaster. She hadn't even met me yet and had already calculated from Adjuvant!online that I have a 35% risk of recurrence in the next 10 years if I don't do chemo/ovary removal/hormone therapy. This REALLY bothered me, because neither she, nor Adjuvant!online knows a darn thing about ME! Adjuvant!online does NOT take into account the fact that my tumor was the MUCINOUS type, which, as I understand it, is incredible unlikely to spread. It also does not take ANY diet/lifestyle/environment changes into account, because it can't. It assumes that every woman it is making predictions about eats a mainstream diet and lives a mainstream lifestyle and will continue to do so after dx/treatment. Adjuvant!online has NO IDEA that I don't smoke or drink or use drugs, have started doing yoga more regularly, discovered and am in the process of correcting my vitamin D deficiency, have started taking several anti-cancer supplements, have started following Dr. David Servan-Schrieber's anticancer diet, stopped eating refined sugar, have been excercising more in the past 5-6 years than ever before and will continue to do so, have the best social/support network than I've ever had in my life, have used only natural body care and cleaning products for the past 8 years or so, etc., etc! If it takes a breast cancer tumor 8-10 years to become 1 cm in size, then it's likely that my tumor started growing 10+ years ago when my life was VERY different than it is today. I've made huge, positive changes in my life/health during the past few years, and am continuing to do so in big ways. I KNOW that all of this put together means that my risk for recurrence is much lower than either Adjuvant!online or an oncologist that doesn't know me says it is!!
I tried explaining all of this to my oncologist, but she was entirely unresponsive - just sat there in silence, with nothing to say in return. It was so unnerving. It wasn't until after the appointment that I realized I was accidentally wearing my T-shirt that says "Tree-hugging dirt worshipper," OOPS. (I had worn it to yoga class earlier in the day then forgot to change). So maybe her silence was because in her head, she was thinking, "Stupid new age hippie who will die due to her own ignorance," who knows!!I plan on getting a second opinion from another oncologist, because I got the sense that this oncologist was making her recommendations based on chemo being the "standard of care," not because my personal situation warrants it. I was really shocked that she'd recommend something as extreme as chemo/ovary removal + hormone therapy for a STAGE ONE MUCINOUS tumor...
Also, I'm still waiting on my Oncotype dx score, so hopefully it will be low enough that no one would even recommend chemo.I'm trying to figure out whether a mastectomy would be better for my health than radiation would. Everyone seems to think mx is "SO EXTREME," but is that just because it's more visible?? I want to take the emotional factor out of the equation, because I love myself and my body and I know I would continue to do so without breasts, if being breast-less would be better for my health than radiation would. I just can't seem to get an answer to that question.
My surgeon is awesome and I love her, but when she was tracing a line on my chest to show me where a mastectomy scar would be if I chose mastectomy, she admitted that it was "making her stomach churn." I swear she's more emotional about my breasts than I am! Yes, they're young and pretty, but ignoring that fact, WOULD radiation REALLY be better than mastectomy? And if so, WHY? It seems to me, that removing a non-essential body part (relatively speaking) would be better than putting harmful things (like radiation or drugs) INTO my body. But all I keep hearing is how I don't "need" a mastectomy.And I'm undecided about hormone therapy. I'm worried that if I decide not to take it and then have a recurrence, I'm going to feel angry with myself for not doing "all I could" to prevent that. I keep hearing that I'm so lucky this cancer was caught so early, and that NOW is my best and possibly ONLY chance to fight it, so I have to do every treatment possible now while I have the chance. On the flip side, I'm worried that taking these drugs would just be horrible for me, and that it's totally counterintuitive to all the ways in which I have been trying hard for years to nourish, strengthen, and LOVE my body. I worry that I would just be taking the drugs out of fear, not an actual need for them, because I really would do so well by continuing to nourish my body with all that's good, in order to change my body's "terrain" so that my body becomes a place where it's impossible for cancer to grow. I have noticed that several of the authors of holistic/alternative books, and naturopaths, say that the natural treatments they are recommending are meant to be done in addition to the conventional treatments, not instead of. And I always wonder whether these people really truly believe that, or if they are saying it merely as a disclaimer and to avoid liability.
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Oh dear L, I too have been having meltdowns because of pain here and there. I went to my doc and she ordered a pet scan. The office farted (excuse the pun!!!) around on getting it scheduled. I called once to remind them and it still did not get done. So I called a few days later and talked to the nurse. I said why hasn't this been scheduled she had nothing to say so I screamed into the phone " HAVE YOU EVER HAD CANCER?" She said "no". I said I didn't think so and told her to have the doc call me back. Well, funny, the doc called me back and it has been scheduled. I know this with this scan I will be injected with toxic stuff but I'm hoping it will give me some peace.
How are your hot flashes? Menopause can be a real challenge
. When are you having your colonoscopy? The prep for that will clean you out!!!!!!Love ya, Patty
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Lorraine, There is a great mix that I got at vitamin shoppe that really clears the pipes. It is basically a powder that you mix with water, that is just vit c and magnesium. It tastes like bitter lemons, so you can add it to juice if you cannot handle the pucker. Use a tsp in a glass of water, every hour until it does the trick (this was the advice of my chiro). It only took me two glasses and it worked like a charm. As for the colonoscopy, I thought it was a breeze. I used the pills because I cannot swallow ichy stuff. You feel pretty crappy, but it is important to get this done (pun intended).
Why are you having that scan Patty? Those dyes can cause lots of problems, so just make sure it is really necessary.
Raili-you are asking all the right questions. Keep asking, and if you onc does not support you, find one who does. I agonized over the same things. When you figure it out, you will know. We will help you where we can.
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Thanks, vivre. I've already been finding your posts, in particular, very helpful...both here and in other folders.
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TT, that is AWESOME!!!!
Luna, I just prayed for you and will tomorrow too!
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Raili, I has missed your post because I had my reply window open since this morning -- WELCOME!!!
It also does not take ANY diet/lifestyle/environment changes into account, because it can't. It assumes that every woman it is making predictions about eats a mainstream diet and lives a mainstream lifestyle and will continue to do so after dx/treatment. Adjuvant!online has NO IDEA that I don't smoke or drink or use drugs, have started doing yoga more regularly, discovered and am in the process of correcting my vitamin D deficiency, have started taking several anti-cancer supplements, have started following Dr. David Servan-Schrieber's anticancer diet, stopped eating refined sugar, have been excercising more in the past 5-6 years than ever before and will continue to do so, have the best social/support network than I've ever had in my life, have used only natural body care and cleaning products for the past 8 years or so, etc., etc!
All of this is EXACTLY why I don't put any stock in recurrence stats etc. None of them can possibly take all that into account!
It sounds as though your onc is being super-aggressive in the most "standard/traditional" way... I'm so glad you're going to shop for a new one. BTW, I've wondered the same thing about those recommendations to do complementary treamtment in addition to, not instead of. One doctor who recovered from breast cancer 20+ years ago, Dr. Lorraine Day, is one of the few who is vocally against chemo + radiation in favor of diet/lifestyle changes. I'm thankful that with DCIS, I didn't have to make a decision about chemo, but knowing what I know, I'd be inclined not to do it in favor of natural chemotherapeutic substances (e.g. nitrilosides or B17).
My doctor is pushing for mastectomy after a lumpectomy left a lot of cancer behind, but I'm going to insist on a partial mastectomy only (skin- and nipple-sparing) and, much to his future surprise, I'm going to refuse radiation.
I am cracking up at your realizing what shirt you were wearing after your onc meeting... TOO funny!! BTW, one of the doctors I met with before I had my official diagnosis was so upset by my "I plan to treat this naturally" approach that she choked up and said "I'm sorry, I have to leave the room right now" and stormed out. My husband and I looked at each other in shock and I said, "What did I do??" We decided traditional doctors expect patients to dutifully obey everything they tell them, and it's a big shock to them when they have a patient who dares to think she knows her own body better than a stranger does. Also, they care about immediate survival... 5-year survival rates. I am young... I know I'll be alive in 5 years... I care about my FIFTY-YEAR survival rate!! That doctor will be long dead by then (probably of heart disease or cancer herself, since she said diet, exercise and lifestyle do nothing to treat or prevent cancer)!!
Patty - UGH, how frustrating!!!
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Welcome, Railli.
You sound like you are well on the way to deciding on a treatment plan that you can "own". We've all made different decisions and I would never presume to give you advice on what is right for you.
I remember initially being upset that the location of my tumors dictated a mastectomy - but now I feel blessed that I didn't have to make the decision about radiation after a lumpectomy. The decision over hormone therapy was the most stressful deision of my entire life, but once made, I am at total peace with my decision.
Vivre is right - you will know in your heart what is right for you. Keep educating yourself on your options, listen to your inner voice - it will not fail you. Good Luck on finding a treatment plan that resonates for you!
Beth
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Merilee...so glad you are at ther half way mark! Praying for you, too!
TT..continue to be impressed as everyone else is at how well you are doing. Hope the rest of your process goes as well. My Monday "Exchange" surgery is to switch out my TE's (one is punctured) and put in the implants.
Vivre...don't have any amalgams. Had one root canal tooth. Insurance covered the cap, then the root canal, then the apicoectomy surgery to fix the root canal and then the extraction. I wish I had all the money the insurance company spent on this tooth! The dentist and endodontist thought the tooth was healing and kept insisting that if it was their tooth they would not extract it. The oral surgeon said it would have to be a raging infection for it to travel to my TEs (?!?!?! even though the TE infection cultured was of a common mouth bacteria ?!?!) But, he did think that the small shadow beneath one of the roots had been there for too long indicating it was not healing and should be extracted. He is an excellent oral surgeon and did an excellent job for me as he has in the past for other family members' wisdom teeth removals. There was even infection under the root that looked perfectly healed on the x-rays.
Thank you everyone for the prayers! I will be thinking of all of you and will be at peace knowing you are praying and sending healing vibes!!!!! All I know is that my surgery is sometime around "11ish or 12ish" with 2 surgeries ahead of me so it could be as late as 2:00 depending on how the others go.
Thank you again everyone!
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Welcome to the thread raili. So sorry you're joining the bc club at such a young age.
I think one thing a lot of people don't realize is that doctors are required to recommend the chemo/surgery/rads song and dance because they can get sanctioned, sued, put in jail, and/or lose their medical license if they don't. If I had it to do all over again, I know I'd be asking "is that something you recommend because protocol requires that you recommend it, or are you recommending *xyz* because you believe it will restore my health?"
As for surgery, I can only share my own experience. I travelled to New Orleans to get my surgery. Ironically, it was surgery that scared me the most of all the treatments, and that's the only place I had a really positive experience with my providers. I had a mastectomy with an immediate diep flap reconstruction. I loved my surgeons and I love my results. I encourage you to think big geographically as you consider your options. It is SO worth travelling to consult with someone outstanding.
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Wow, you guys are great. Thanks!!
Julia, thanks for telling me about Lorraine Day. WOW, I can't believe a doctor got so emotional she left the room when you talked about natural approaches!!
Althea, you're so right - doctors HAVE to recommend that standard protocol just to keep THEMSELVES safe... and I'm so curious to know what was going through my onc's head when I was talking about all of the wonderful ways in which I'm naturally strengthening my body and increasing its health. She had NO reaction, just silence, and it's weird... usually I'm good at reading people, but this time, I had no idea if she was thinking "stupid new age hippie, don't say I didn't warn you!" or "I actually agree with you, but just can't say so," or "my uncle died yesterday and I'm not able to focus on a word you're saying," or WHAT. And I also realized, I had been recording the whole visit (audio) on my MP3 player, so that I could listen to it later instead of having to try and take notes... she gave me permission for that in the beginning, but I'm wondering if having that thing on made her clam up even more.
I have an excellent relationship with my surgeon - she's the only one in all of this that I totally trust and respect, and she's so awesome that I actually look forward to my surgeries and follow-ups, bizarre as that sounds. She keeps me laughing so much! And she's amazing with sympathizing, listening, explaining everything honestly but in a compassionate way, answering every question I have, etc. I think I like her a little too much, because partially I'm tempted to forego chemo/hormone therapy/radiation in favor of more surgeries just to spend more time with her and less time with the oncologists!! That's not a good reason to go for surgery, and I have to try and take it out of the equation...
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Did anyone else happen to catch the Sirius radio show today with the Integrative Doctor/Professor from Mt. Sinai? OMG! It gave me such hope that conventional medicine has finally found a way to embrace alternative and holistic practices! He was talking about the newest area of integrative medicine, Functional Medicine, a term I hadn't heard before. I just pulled up a couple of websites about it, and I think you'll be as excited as I am to realize what this is!
http://www.functionalmedicine.org/ (be sure to read "What is Functional Medicine?")
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=271
http://www.functionalmedicinedoctors.com/index.php?action=search
Lorraine ~ On the constipation, do you ever use ground flax? I mix it in yogurt, and it seems to do the trick.
Raili ~ Welcome! I think quite a few of us could have authored much of your post -- especially the part about always being into natural healing and not knowing what to do about the conventional therapies recommended to us when we're diagnosed with bc. I never used meds (other than hormones, which for some reason I never equated with drugs... duh!...), and I hated the idea of exposing my body to those chemicals. But, on the other hand, I also thought maybe my system needed "shaking up," so to speak, because all my healthy living hadn't prevented me from developing bc (although I now attribute developing it largely to the HRT I took for quite a few years). Each step -- surgery, chemo & rads, all of which I ended up doing -- was a huge emotional battle for me to agree to, including interviewing multiple docs, trying to find a way out I could believe in. In the end, thank God I ended up @ UCLA where they practice, teach, and have a whole department dedicated to integrative medicine. So I was able to say to myself, you know if these docs who have PhD's in integrative medicine think I need a mast or chemo or rads, maybe they're right, and I decided to put my trust in them -- although that still didn't prevent me from getting second or third opinions and doing on-line research ad nauseum before committing to each step of treatment. And I still chose to go my own route when it came to not wanting a hormonal like Femara.
What you decide to do is a very personal decision, but I would encourage you to stay open to everything that's available, and talk to as many doctors and others as you need to, to figure out what really feels right to you. But I just want you to realize that some of us on this thread have had some or even a lot of conventional treatment prior to whatever we're doing now. Deanna
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A candle was just lit for Luna. Now we just add the collective positive energy
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ill light a candle too!
M - so glad the treatments are going well. Drinking tons of water helps tremendously. Im having withdrawl symptoms - my body is so itchy, nothing alleaviates it. Ive tried everything.
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Deanna-
I work with a brilliant functional medicine doctor and I agree - this is the future of medicine. He had helped my son, where other docs had not been able to for years, so when I got diagnosed I went and talked to him. He knew how healthy I was - working out, raw vegetarian, yogi - that he told me he thought my breast cancer was just a "mistake". Then as we started doing tests - it became very apparent that there are a lot of things "amiss" in my body. At times I have been overwhelmed -but most of the time I am so excited, because I feel I am addressing some of the issues which caused this beast in the first place. I believe that breast cancer is caused by many factors and I certainly have uncovered many possible contributing factors, including genetic weaknesses.
It is so irritating to me that my insurance will pay $125,000 for me to go through chemo - but not most of the tests, supplements and visits that I have with my functional medicine doctor.
Beth
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Fairy,
I think any way you get the high dose C into you will get things to move fast.
Good luck!
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Beth, I'm curious if your functional medicine doctor is in the directory list. From what I gathered from that radio interview, functional medicine is something conventional doctors are learning, so I'm wondering if it's possible to find a doctor who is trained in functional medicine on top of his or her traditional board certification, which is what the doc from Mt. Sinai was. I live in an area with an abundance of doctors, but according to that list, the closest functional medicine doc is in San Diego, over 100 miles away. But I think I'll look up each of the 7 that appeared within 100 miles, and hope that at least one is within my insurance network.
I also want to qualify the post I wrote to Raili last night, which I hope did not come across as being in favor of full blown conventional tx for everyone. Obviously, the key factor is our individual dx's. But unlike Crunchy, for example, I had multiple lesions, some of which my first surgeon had left behind (which was quite stunning to find out!), as well as a positive node with extracapsular extension. If my bc had been DCIS alone, rather than an odd combination of IDC, ILC, DCIS & a bit of tubular -- or maybe the type Raili has, with which I'm not familiar -- I'm sure I would have chosen a different path, although probably still along the lines of integrative. I just didn't want my post to come across as advocating for conventional tx, but more saying keep an open mind, and especially if you are new to BCO, don't assume that everyone on this thread chucked conventional tx and is doing only alternative. Deanna
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morning ladies!! Welcome Raili! Everyone here is just amazing you will learn a LOT!
TMI......but I "WENT" Yay!!
did the warm prune juice last night, and viola!! I do a lot of fiber and also use flax meal so I was super suprised that this happened to be honest, I plan on drinking a glass of the prune juice in the mornings to stay regular! Candle lit for Luna!
L
ox
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Deanna, thanks for the functional medicine links. It's so good to hear people are looking at the underlying causes of disease. Do you know if the functional medicine people ever have conferences? I couldn't find it on the site.
And your post didn't come across as a conventional tx pusher
we know you are a straight shooter.Fairy, glad to hear all came out well! There's never TMI on this group!
Luna, phone home to the natural gurlz and let us know how you are as soon as you feel comfortable.
xox
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Deanna-
My doc did not come up when I plugged in my zip code. I know that he is certified by the Institute of Functional MEdicine. He is also certified as an Advanced Fellow with the AMerican Board of ANti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. You might trying doing a search with them?
He has amazing qualifications - he had 6 years of education post-medical school graduate work with specialities in Internal Med, Pathology, Hematology and Molecular Biology. He later added a two-year fellowship to get his Advanced Fellow status in ANti-aging, regenrative and Functional Medicine.
He was a hematologist and pathologist and He ran a pathology lab where his specialty was in early detection of cancers. He actually got into the functional medicine because of his wife's illness. He is totally committed to being up to date on the latest research and is always going to seminars, I will find out if they have a "conference". He does participate in a weekly teleconference with docs all over the country, that is apparently mandatory to keep up his "advanced fellow" status. I know he does consults all over the US and Canada, but he does not take insurance.
The few docs that I know who do anti-aging or functional medicine, don't take insurance. I have just submitted a bunch of my bills to see what my insurance will re-imburse. My insurance has covered the bloodwork and some of the lab tests upfront.
Beth
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My mistake, Deanna - yes he was there on the list.
Beth
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Omg we have about 20 inches of snow and supposed to get more! I have never seen this amount of snow before. We have to shovel pathways for our dogs so they can go potty. We have a lab, a cairn terrier and a silky terrier. It is so funny to watch them disappear in the path. I'm so thankful that we have not lost power!! I'm also glad I have food in the house. I hope everyone is safe and warm.
Love, Patty
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