natural girls
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Hi ladies, so far I've liked day 3 of the healing cancer summit the best. ....but that's probably because I'm already familiar with Charlotte Gerson and what her protocol involves. What an amazing woman, still working and commuting between CA and Mexico at 90 years old. I had heard of the Oasis of Hope before, and I really liked the segment with Dr Contreras.
I especially liked one of the quotes Dr Getoff mentioned: "It is impossible for anyone to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows." Epictetus (55AD to 135 AD).
I was just looking at his philsophy and quotations page. Here's another good one! "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein
But I digress. I already knew that reports on medical studies will puff up findings to be something more than what they truly represent. This is one way we, and our doctors who rely on studies, are deceived. And I had read before that study participants are often cherry picked. That way a study will reveal a favorable outcome, when reality dictates that patients in real life who use a particular drug will bring their obesity and diabetes and other health challenges into the mix and who know what might happen because such candidates are excluded from the study.
But the third one really threw me for a loop -- we already know that most final stage clinical trials are funded by the manufacturers of any given drug. BUT I didn't know that they could conceivably be allowed to factor OUT anyone who doesn't complete the study, even if they DIE as a result of the drug!! Jeepers alive, why would big pharma in all their profit making motives, why would even they think that's a good idea? Oh, we have a drug that killed x% of our study population, so let's just put in a rule that says anyone who doesn't complete the study is dropped from the findings. It's bad enough that companies are allowed to do that. It's even worse that anyone would want to.
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Althea, that one got my attention too. It gave me a headache. If you died, you "dropped out" of the study. How do they desensitize/convince/brainwash people to partake in this scam? Forget about the money. You'd almost have to have the mind of a killer to go along with this.0
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I've really enjoyed listening to the broadcast. The first guest speaker tonight was bordering on militant about the conventional medical community, but some of the things he said really give you pause to think. Five years ago I would've taken it with a grain of salt, but today.... very valuable information for me to take into consideration.
I had my diagnostic mammo today and the area of suspicion was still there, so will proceed to a biopsy. The bs will call me next week to schedule. It is what it is.
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Althea and Princess, deaths in any drug study MUST be reported, even if the death is believed not to be due to the drug or to the disease for which the drug is being given. In fact, any hospitalization for ANY reason is considered a serious adverse event that must be reported by the Principal Investigator to the Institutional Review Board and study safety monitors within 48 hours -- again, even if it is apparently completely unrelated to the study, like a car crash.
Two kinds of analyses are performed: an analysis of "completers" who took the study drug for the planned duration of the trial, and also an "intent-to-treat" analysis that includes everyone who enrolled in the trial, regardless of whether they completed or discontinued for any reason, including death.
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Did anyone notice that the link for the conference has magically reappeared? Thanks, mods. You're so thoughtful. I'm sure Althea is greatful.
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princess123: That's good, because it was my understanding that this site was to share information that would help people make decisions about their treatment path, whatever that path might be. We should not be judge and jury of what others wish to consider as treatment options. As far as I know, the only place the link was posted was on the alternate and natural threads.
I said this earlier, but it bears repeating...everyone has a choice of whether to click on a link or not. We are not puppets.
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Hello I had to register to this site to ask you this question. How can u go off the tamoxi train and switch to an alternative. Was it ur choice. My oncologist has me on tamox and i do not like ots side effects. They are not good and what are ur alternatives. I heard also sonce i am hee2neu posirive and pre menopaus. That its not the best option. Any thoughts. What are the natural alternatives. Thank you
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Jenniferleigh: If you go to the threads "Early Stage Natural Girls" and "Why I Choose Not To Do Chemo" you will find a wealth of information regarding alternative treatments that might be of interest to you.
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Thank you .
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mommy4 .. there are many alternatives. You may want to go back and do some reading here around page 50 and forward. There was a lot of good info in 2009 on this thread. to change the page just look up in the tool bar where it says page=313 and change the page number and hit return and you can jump around quickly. What are your hormone levels now? What does your doc think they should be? If you have no natural progesterone to balance your estrogens, you are out of balance which is how many of us think we got cancer. If estrogen was the problem then why don't pregnant women have the most cancer since they have the most estrogen??? The answer is they have a boatload of progesterone. Also, some of us believe that by lowering our estradiol and estrone by using DIM. and/or many other things like I3C, Quercetin, etc and making sure we have bio-identical progesterone if we have none naturally that we don't need the drugs to reduce. My estradiol is less than 5, and my estrone is well below 100 (in the 30s) so what need do I have for an aromatase inhibitor? I supplement with bio identical estriol so that I have some estrogen. You can also go up to the search box and type in DIM and the member name Fairy49 and gets tons of info on that. Fairy49 also had a lot of posts in the past re estrogen, progesterone and the 2:16 ratio. It takes a ton of reading to educate yourself on this stuff. As for tamoxifen, there are many on here who do not believe the 50% reduction in recurrence that is touted and quote the study which said Tamox made it where (25 yrs ago .. nothing since) instead of 2 out of 100 women having a recurrence only 1 did. "They called that a 50% reduction. Many of us call that a 1% increase to a 2% chance you won't have a recurrence if you use Tamox. Tamox also has a lot of other side effects .. so.. 98 women out of 100 are taking it for nothing (according to some of us) It took me months and months of research, here and on google to decide what I trust and what I don't. If you are on Tamox...have you had your CYP2D6 blood test? My doc refused so I had my surgeon order. Oncologist said "Tamox works for everyone." It does not. If you only have one of the alleles on the gene like me it would only maybe work half way or I would need to double dose. If you are missing both alleles, then it has no pathway. Lots of other drugs use this same pathway like benedril and a bunch of beta blockers. Anyway, there is no quick answer. You will need to do a ton of reading to educate yourself so you can make up your own mind. I do a lot of what Fairy49 does but none of us all do the same things. Wish it were simpler. I guess it is if you have a doc you can trust with your life. Mine came up short on three major medical decisions. OncotypeDX test was also of major importance for me in making some of my treatment choices and my former oncologist was at least 6 months behind on the recommendations for that test for someone with my diagnosis.
D3 (not D2) is of major, major importance. You need to get your level (25Hydroxy) up to at least 60 and 80 would be better. Most docs still think the low end of 32 is okay and even when they supplement they prescribe 50,000 U of D3 which is dispensed by the pharmacy as D2 because their book says they are the same and 50,000 U usually only comes in D2. Crazy when you can just get over the counter D3. You can spend many many hours researching which supplement companies put out quality products and which are junk. (sometimes you really do get what you pay for)
Wishing you only the best!
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Luna5: Funny you should mention the progestrone because I had been on synthetic hormones for years...premarin only, given after my hysterectomy, and I decided to switch to bioidenticals. The doctor did tests and discovered that I had zero progestrone in my body and promptly gave me some. After about two months I felt a lot better with more energy. Now I am facing this bc challenge, which I know did not come from switching to the bioidenticals. This had to be developing in my body for a long time, I've actually read that progestrong protects you from breast cancer, so not having it for twenty something years is what probably created my problem.
My bs has already "hinted" that I will have to get off all hormones once my dx is final. I just ignored him because I have no intention of doing that unless my naturapathic doctor says it's ok.
Thanks for reinforcing what my intuition tells me is the case.
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Hormone levels were never discussed w my onc she pretty much stated what was needed chemo.radiation yr of herceptin and five yrs tamox but for me to get into a detailed talk it was just said this is best for reduction in recurrence rate
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Hi All,
I'm pretty new to the site, and just found this thread today. I still getting a grip on what all my diagnosis means to me, but I'm already a couple of months into a conventional treatment plan. Am still on a waiting list to see a Naturalpath (access otherwise has been restricted by finances), so have been attempting to navigate a more integrated route on my own.... Which has devoured hours and hours of research that has more often seemed contradictory than enlightening. So, all to say; I'm happy to have found y'all here
luna, mommy4, and kaara: I would think it depends on the cell types you each are dealing with (cancer-cells, of course). For eg; whether or not cell growth is contingent on / responsive to ER or PR, yes? Or do I mis-understand the theory you are referencing?
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When you are given your dx, you are also given the receptors ER/PR/HER and your conventional treatment option will be based on that dx and the outcome of any surgery. I know my initial dx, which I just received IDC Grade 1 Stage 1, but will not receive my receptors until my app't with my BS which is scheduled for Monday at 5:00 PM. From what I've read, if it's hormone driven then it might be easier to treat, less aggressive, less likely to recurr. Age also comes into play. The older you are, the less likely the tumor is to be highly aggressive, and treatment options might change. I'm age 71, so unless my stage is more advanced, I might not need chemo or even rads.
My goal is to do only surgery, and avoid chemo and rads. If my stage is more advanced than originally thought, then I will consider targeted radiation, and if mets are there, some IPT therapy which is a low dose chemo that is done in select clinics, and not covered by insurance. My quality of life is a priority for me. I have always been healthy and I intend to stay that way as long as I can.
Luna5: It was very disappointing to me that my physician that prescribed my bioidentical hormones refused to renew my prescriptions when he found out I had been dx with bc. I was well balanced for the first time ever, and was feeling very good. I guess he doesn't want the liability....said we would revisit the issue after my surgery and treatment. I am planning to get a second opinion on that decision, as I am making an appointment with a integrative physician to manage my bc, along with my bs. Like you, I beleive the correct balance of estrogen and progestrone in the body prevents bc. I was estrogen dominant for many years because I only took premarin and no progestrone...bingo....bc!
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Kaara I sent you a PM
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I do everything to reduce estradiol and estrone. I had only .4 progesterone and les than 5 testosterone so supplement both of those. Had trouble absorbing the progesterone so had to double my dose of progesterone to even get close to 2. I also use bio identical estriol since I need some estrogen and estriol is the good, weaker one that cannot become estrone or estradiol. I have now gotten my estradiol to below 5 which is in the small female child range and my estrone is 30s to 40s . My doc says I need to keep it below 100. Testosterone has to be carefully watched as for some (men as well) thru the aromatase process it becomes estrone. I had an estrone lab error that caused us to take me off the testosterone thinking it might have raised my estrone. Then based on my next blood tests we knew it really was a lab error.
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Hi ladies. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
I think I have a food hangover today. Some of my mom's neighbors invited us to dinner yesterday. The socializing was very nice. The dinner was very nice too. There was some kind of ingredient in a pumpkin dessert, however, that I think might've been an artificial sweetener. The first thing I noticed was a distinct aftertaste. Now it's a full day later, and I still have a remnant of that aftertaste plus a headache. Guess I need more natural girl best buddies closer to home.
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Thanksgiving is tough, isn't it Althea? I have a HUGE family...lots of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes laden with butter, green beans swimming in soups etc. Nothing I can eat.
BUT...this year I had a nephew who works on a sustainable organic farm bring a big salad...all picked in the morning. It was amazing. I had to ask what the leaves were, they were so thick and dense they were almost unrecognizable...spinach, lol!! I am vegan, and about 75% organic...eat only organic spinach, and I had NO IDEA what I was eating.The freshly picked farm stuff was nothing like what I grab off the shelf at Whole Foods. It really made me think about food quality today VS what our grandparents ate. No dang wonder cancers are so common!
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Geewhiz we need a like button^^^^!!!!
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I'm having another anniversary today. It was 7 years ago today that I was dx'd. Merry Christmas to me. What a long twisted road it's been. We didn't even have a holistic section back then. Even if we did, I resisted the idea of taking any kind of pill, multivitamins included. Just last week, I bundled up my supplements for a medical appointment, and it made my shopping bag bulge. My year of nutrition school will be complete in just a matter of weeks.
I curse and bless my long road in alternating breaths. If someone had been worth a copay regarding underactive thyroid, I probably could have found relief years ago. As it things panned out, I found someone just last week who gave me a scrip for naturethroid. I'm pretty sure it's helping, but still a bit soon to tell. On the flip side, the benefit of my slow road to recovery has been knowing the lovely ladies on this thread.
Together we've shared a wealth of knowledge and empowered each other to take control of our health and thrive. This path led me to the school where I'm currently enrolled and learning all about integrative nutrition. Had my recovery been more rapid, I might not have ever found the time or the inclination to pursue and accumulate all that I know today. This day 7 years ago was mightily rotten. Today, I can once again feel grateful for all I have to celebrate.
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Congrats to you, Althea!
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Althea congrats on 7 years. It's a rotten road we have to travel but it is wonderful when good things happen out of it and your school is definantley a positive thing along this bumpy road.
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So happy for you, Althea! Your presence on this thread has been so helpful to me! What a way for us all to meet! But I'm glad we did. You women are a gift!
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Althea...YEA! So very happy for you!
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Althea, Great to hear a positive post for Christmas. Congrats on your & year anniversary!
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Althea, Yay! Yay!
From what I've read including on the John Hopkins Ask and Expert ... you are now one year past the magical 6th year when your risk of recurrence dropped dramatically
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Happy New Year everyone. I am going to spend the first day of the new year as I always do, taking a walk along the river in my town where I went to heal, and where I will be celebrating my 4 year cancerversary of revitalized health.
As I have mentioned often, walking was one of the most important paths to wellness for me. When I was out walking, I stumbled upon a radio show one day. It was a local doctor who was talking about holistic healing and what he was saying really empowered me to keep on the path that I had chosen. You can all hear some of the programs he has archived online. He is really upbeat and motivating! This is program is one of my favorites as it explains a lot about cancer, and the things we need to do heal from it:
www.healthquestradio.com/our-show/ahcc-and-cancer
(if the link does not work,just search his site for this show, my browser will not let me cut and paste links)
Also, I am going to be starting an online month by month program to encourage people to get on and stay on the path to wellness. It will be free! If you are members of my website, you will get a notice. If not, I hope you will join and encourage others to do so. As you know, my mission is the help others get well BEFORE they end up having to go to cancer hell. I hope that this idea of mine will be an incentive and might also be a blueprint for those of you who are so inclined to help pay it forward.
To your health in 2012!
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Happy New Year, natural gals!
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Received my water distiller on Friday and have been makeing good clean water all weekend and it taste so good. It makes a gallon at a time and when it is finished and I clean out the canister it is amazing the junk that is there. I told DH it even smells and to think I have been putting that junk in my body all this time.
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