natural girls
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Trader Joe's has some great raw nut mixtures. I eat them for snacks everyday. They even have little individual packets that I leave in my car to tide me over if I am out running around. It keeps me from getting to hungry and over eating when I get home. I use to stop by for fast food. Now I have absolutely no taste for the stuff. Even the thought of it turns my stomach. Proof that old habits CAN be broken.
As for Vit D. I started out in the 20's too. It took me a year of supplementing 6000 IU a day to get my numbers up. I used a supplement from my doctor but now I use drops from Carlson's which are 2000 per drop. I still take 4000 per day.
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Vivre,
Can you share why you like the Vit D drops better than in pill form? Is it "fesher" or anything like that?
Spring.
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Thanks for the information and pointers.
I spoke w/ my onc nurse who said that it could take months to get my D up. Ive been told to do 50000 2x a week and continue with the 4000IUs daily. Shall see.
Also, thanks to all of you smartie pants, I made an apt w/ an endocrinologist to look at my thyroid. I can't tell you all how helpful your posts are, we are indeed in this together. Raising a martini glass full of walnuts to you all.
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Caylpso
I use visualization everyday for healing. There is an awsome set of cd/tapes called "Healing yourself with light " that has a nice lead meditation for this purpose.
If this is too far over the norm for some of you let us know and we can start a separate thread.
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I think I better take more vit D then...
I think it's fine to talk about natural ways of healing. The book I love (Anti-Cancer: a new way of life) talks about how important meditation is and how it actually works on the body...I'd have to look up the specifics. Haven't been doing much unfortunately aside from yoga classes. I did create a visual for myself that I worked with. I should revisit that...
IvoryMom--that's crazy about the study with placebo effect on patients who thought they were on chemo!!
I had my 'cleansing' lunch today to try to counteract all the bad stuff I ate this weekend--broccolini, shiitake mushrooms & cabbage sauteed with garlic, ginger and tumeric (and some veggie broth)--over brown rice. More for dinner. Yum!
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http://www.healingwithlight.org/web/islandregeneration
Here is a web site for anyone who wants to check it out
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Hi All
Im a newbie to the discussion board I am a single mother of two self-employed and a member of the "Cancer Sucks!" club. Im also a new comer to a plant-based diet and taking nutrition classes at Cornell. So a big HOWDY to everyone!
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Hi there Red River, hugs for you.
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Thank you Merilee This is the first time ive been on a discussion board I have four sisters but they dont let me talk much about cancer I think its one of those hear no evil speak no evil things they would just rather my issue go away. So not much support there but i manage. 0 -
hi all, had my first chemo treatment on thursday. Minimal side effects that I am positive are due to receiving holistic care as well. I had reflexology today as well for the first time and boy did it help. I just had to remind them to stay away from lymphnode area,
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redriver-welcome! Just to let you know, we do not really talk about cancer on this thread either. We talk about getting healthy the natural way. But I know what you mean about family members who want to ignore the whole cancer topic. Hopefully, you will be able to pass on good advice about wellness to them as I do. My family is always asking me stuff now about their hormones and diet. I keep encouraging them to be in tune to their bodies BEFORE they get cancer. Since I am the one who has been through it all, I feel justified to preach about prevention. It took a while, but now that they see how much it has done for me, they are really starting to listen.
Merilee-I see nothing wrong with you putting the healing light ideas out there. If many of us here do not seem into it though, it might be a good idea to start another thread, to get others involved who may not read this one. What I like about this thread is that it covers lots of things and we do not have to start a new topic everyday. Before we had this, it was really hard to keep up. There were so many threads it was nuts. There is only so much to say about vit d for instance, so it is great to keep it here, but the iodine thread has a lot more to it, so it is great to have that separate. Why don't you just see who is interested and see where it goes. As for me, I meditate as I walk or bike. But we are all different and need to find what works for us.
dogsaver-good luck with your chemo. I wish I knew how to advise you but I got away without it so hopefully others will be able to get you through it. But I will be cheering for you.
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Ivory mom-It does not surprise me at all that there is evidence of the placebo effect. That is why I think we all need to use therapies that we really believe in. For instance, I just could not ever feel that taking arimidex was right for me. I felt so relieved when I found there were alternatives. I know the alternatives will work better for me, because I believe they will. There is such an incredible mind /body connection. The best example is looking at athletes. When they get into the "zone" and feel they are invincible, they become so. When they have doubts, they lose. I remember playing in a volleyball game once. We were up by 10 and it was game point. Someone on my team said, "Now let's not blow it" when the other team called time out. All of a sudden we fell apart and lost! She put a little doubt in our heads and we started making all kinds of mistakes. When you look at top atheletes, you can see they are all so highly trained, and why do they win some days and lose others? It is all because on their good days they are in that mental "zone" and on bad days, they are not in the game mentally. That is why we all need to remain positive, believe in our choices and not worry about cancer!
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Thank you vivre and i do agree I have definitely talked alot about staying healthy to my family and friends in fact i make a wheat sprout nutrition bars they all seemed to love and most are curious about what i eat when i tell them my cholesterol number is 101 I also love to garden and grow alot of what i eat I have baby spinach, arugula, beets and carrots popping up now and about to try my hand out in some homegrown wheat grass. So im definitely all about the food and what i put in my body so its refreshing to know im on the right board.
Thanks so much
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Hello natural girls! You have no idea how happy I am to have found you! It can feel very lonely when nobody around you understands why you would question conventional medicine.
I've had an interest in heath and alternative healing for most of my life - ( I'm nearing that 1/2 century mark). Still I was not terribly surprised with my breast cancer dx because my involuntary exposures to environmental toxins and stressors (ie on the job, etc.) were probably higher than what most folks get.
(I'm also not convinced it wasn't that baseline mammo at age 40 that did it -
geez, I didn't want it,
I didn't trust it,
but I let them pressure me into it somehow... but at least I only had the one...)
I have only skimmed the early posts, but I'm caught up with the last week or so, and I'm anxious to learn more.
A quick intro:
Diet wise - I subscribe to the traditional diet theory (i.e. Weston Price, Raw Milk, Sally Fallon). I haven't seen any other folks mention it here, but that's ok, I'm used to being considered "out there". LOL. Just before I was dx, my husband and I were starting an organic farm. We are restoring the soil and our goal is to raise high brix food for ourselves and our livestock, so as time goes on, our diet is improving, but it's a very slow process.
Formerly, I was a skeptic when it came to supplements, preferring to get as many of my nutrients from real food rather than capsules, but since the dx I have added a few things that the naturopathic doc recommended: Fish Oil, D3, Melatonin, Milk thistle (- when not on chemo) Maitake Mushroom, CoQ10 and l-glutamine (to take with chemo).
She also suggested as much green tea as I can stand -which I have to admit isn't much. I kind of hate it. I do like red clover tea, though, so I've been thinking about mixing that with the green tea to disguise the taste, but I have to see if there's any reason I shouldn't do that.
I'm about to go back on chemo - ugh. Looks like it will be 8 cycles of abraxane. (A taxol without the solvents). Then rads. Then I will likely refuse the hormone drugs and go with a natural estrogen blocker.
It's great to have found you!
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Welcome to the group, new naturals!
You'll find a great bunch of informed women here. Scroll back through the messages and you'll get a sense of the digging we've done. There are some great links to websites and audios.
-- Plus a lot of reports on our experiences and investigations.
anom
>
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merilee, I use imagery every day involving pink light. I 'send' pink light to people I know, people I don't know. I like to think it helps sooth and heal. I imagine myself surrounded by pink or white light while meditating also. Wayne Dyer cited a study in one of his books that discovered not only did meditating monks lower their own heart rates and blood pressure, but also that of that of people in the vicinity who did not participate in the meditations. I think it might be a topic worthy of its own thread.
I realized just in the last few days how much ground I've covered since I finished chemo/surgery/rads. Since that time, my mom's neighbor was dx'd with ovarian cancer. Miraculously, it was found as a stage 1. She went through 2 surgeries and chemo. Her prognosis was excellent -- a 90% chance of survival. At just one year out, she's taking another blow -- her cancer spread to her liver.
She's going back to the same oncologist who treated her the first time for more chemo (I went to the same doctor for my chemo). I am just heartsick over her recurrence. I'm realizing that my heart hurts even more to see her endure more chemo that to my mind didn't do her one bit of good the first time, why would it help now.
Sometimes I think I would go to mexico if my cancer ever came back. We don't ever really know what we'll do in a crisis until it happens. My mom's neighbor would undoubtedly think I'd taken leave of my senses if I hightailed it to mexico for cancer treatments. It's exactly how I feel about going back for more of the same treatments that didn't work for her the first time. Alternative treatments are so often criticized because the patients don't survive. Well, lots of women do every last thing mainstream dictates and they don't survive that either. I would have to choose something I believe in, and if it didn't work for the long term, well, I could at least hope that I'd have good quality of life for whatever would be left.
Well, aren't I a bundle of cheer. Sorry to be such a debbie downer. This news hits close to home, and then it raises the everlurking doubt of 'what if my cancer comes back.' In the world according to ME, having cancer once is once too many and recurrences are NOT allowed! The universe is not on board with me here! hrmph
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Althea that is so interesting about the pink light - when my kids were babies and they were crying for no reason I could see, I would "send" pink light to them and they would calm down and go to sleep, I swear it worked every time. I have no idea why I first thought of it, and never could figure out why it worked. I will check out the site merilee posted to try to learn more. There must be something about pink that works...
For people who can't drink lots of green tea, I take a green tea extract, 2 capsules of 275Mg each day - I order it through cancer treatment center of america (fyi, I went there for a second opinion, but but found them not too terribly useful, though wow, what a gorgeous place-no wonder it's so expensive what with the garden lobby, ete... but I still order my supplements from them).
Althea, if I could be rid of that "ever lurking doubt", I would be so much happier. When it happens to someone close it feels like it might be just around a corner from where you are. I HATE that feeling. Just having the doubt in my head makes me worry that I might "blow the volleyball game", to use Vivre's image.
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This is such an interesting discussion. I'm sorry about your Mom's neighbor, Althea, but I, too, have been wondering since yesterday how we stay in touch with and support our bc friends -- and even stay active on the boards here, which, so sadly, include recurrences and loss -- and still stay "in the (health/winning) zone." Doesn't just being here in a way keep that "ever lurking doubt" higher in our consciousness?
Redriver ~ Welcome! I'm curious what you've learned at Cornell that you might share with us. And welcome, Shepard! I love your avatar! And like Calypso, I also take a Green Tea Extract, recommended by my PCP, because it's difficult to drink as much Green Tea as we need to get maximum benefit. Deanna
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Thank you for the warm welcome.
Calypso, I went to CTCA also - the PA facility. That was where I saw the naturpath and I adored her! I thought all the complementary services were outstanding, and the way they treated the patients - well, all medical offices should take a cue from them, it was very uplifting. Especially compared to the services that I have in my region of NY, near Syracuse.
(Redriver, I'm about an hour from Cornell. We sure are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country!)
I had to leave CTCA because my insurance was not covering enough. And I was annoyed with the financial folks there for misleading me about the cost/coverage. I also did not really think the oncologist there was particularly open to my "participation" in the treatment plan. Of course, the onc I have now is a case of going out of the frying pan, into the fire... She's ALWAYS on vacation.
I tried the suggestion to do the "open minded oncologist" search, but for my area, came up with nothing. I guess if I want to find one, I'll have to just keep making calls and trying to wrench the info out of the receptionist. Of course, they seem to tell you anything to get you in the door.
IvoryMom, several of the oncology offices I've been to are beginning to place more emphasis on teh mind/body connection. CTCA was very progressive about it. The one I have now seems to use it for marketing mostly, but at least they have acknowledged it's importance. I found a few meditation/guided imagery cds at the library and copied them onto my ipod. One is Andrew Weil, and one is call "Your present, A half hour of peace". I find they are most helpful when I'm struggling to keep my spirits up.
Deanna, the avatar is a painting by Bouguereau. I love so many of the shepherdess paintings he did.
Seaotter, I was really moved by your story about the doc you saw. It's so irritating to when we waste so much time on losers like him. I wanted to mention that in the future, a good way to unload some of that anger and annoyance is to post about your experience on a few rate-the-physician websites. It makes me feel better to know that I can save someone else from going through it.
I will add the green tea extract to my next shopping list. What brand do you get through CTCA?
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My green tea extract is CNCA brand. You're right, Shepherd, the cancer treatment center of america here in chicago area felt very warm and welcoming, and the totally organic cafeteria (complementary with each appointment) was GREAT. I didn't find it useful for me personally because both the oncologist and naturopath agreed with the standard idea of tamoxifen, as if it were just a no brainer. So I thanked them and kept asking elsewhere. But it sure is a nice place.
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Shepherd, that is a great idea. I did not think of that and I will do it. My surgeon is one of the top rated breast surgeon in the Columbus area. He might be good at surgery but his bedside manner sucks!!!!! Welcome to the thread. Your are already helping us out too!!!!!!
I did find a female breast surgeon that I will be seeing soon. I hope a female is more understanding.
Patty
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Shepard, we are glad you found us too. We look forward to your advice about organic gardening. As far as the green tea goes, I did not like it at all at first either. But now I like it more than black tea. Try making it with a blend of an herbal, flavored tea. I am always mixing my tea so I do not get bored. Did you know that green tea should be steeped in water that is not as boiling hot as for black tea? Also, green tea can be reused. In fact, the second time you use green tea leaves or bags, you get a naturally decaf tea. I make a pot of tea in the am and then I reuse a green tea bag after dinner.
Ivorymom-I agree with getting rid of people who do not support us. I use to get all upset when people would do things to me. Now I just shrug it off and say, adios! I have gotten rid of the toxic people in my life who are not related, and I have learned to really appreciate my dearest friends. We unfortunately cannot choose our relatives, but we can choose how they affect us. I now just walk away when they start to act out, and tell myself, their behavoir is not MY problem. A lot of people say they ate right, but still got bc. Well, if you are overstressed and miserably unhappy, you are not healthy. I read somewhere that happy people do not get cancer. Well, I know I was not happy before, but I now know the importance of finding happiness. So don't worry. Be happy!
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Deanna-As far as "lurking" here, I understand what you are thinking, that you are not getting beyond the whole cancer thing. But I look at it differently. I think there is no greater purpose in life than to help others, and what better way to help others, than to share your experience. I think we all can say that it was because of someone on these boards that we found our own path to wellness. When I had so many questions that my doctors just could not or would not answer, it was women here who gave me the confidence to look elsewhere. They encouraged me to learn from their expereinces and to educate myself. I started reading everything I could on wellness, nothing on cancer itself. The more I read, the more enpowered I became, and the more the doubts melted away. In time, you will get rid of those nagging voices as long as you keep nourishing that power within you. You need to really believe your body is stronger than any cancer cell. Cancer does not invade healthy bodies. Sometimes people think they are healthy, as I did, but in retrospect, I realized a lot was out of whack. What we each need to do is find the weakness in our system and then attack on all fronts. There is no one cause for cancer, that is why there will never be one cure. But there are lots and lots of things to do that are preventative. That is how we should live from now on- not in fear, but in full prevention mode!
In the meantime, though we all need to move on, back to our lives, it is important that we give back by helping our sisters who are now where we once were. We need to come back here for all the newbies who are still in that dark tunnel where we once walked and help them to find the light at the end of it. They need to catch up with us, and then someday, they will be walking beside us, happy, and healthy and cancer free!
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Hi again,
I am still looking for ladies who would be willing to share their hormone numbers before and after DIM. I am getting together info for my BS to show that DIM works. I really would like some sort of research including testimonials from you all.
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Cleo, somewhere Fairy listed her test results and did a great explaination of what they meant. Maybe it was on the DIM thread. PM her in any case, and you will get the numbers. My numbers changed, but not enough. My doctor said that since I am menopausal that myomin might work better for me, so I have switched. I have not had another hormone test done, but will let you know when I do.
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Hey there well so far what i have learned at Cornell is stay away from meat and dairy Has anyone heard of the book The China Study? T. Colin Campbell is the author and he did one of the largest and most comprehensive studies ever done on nutrition and disease correlation. Through his research he was able to turn cancer on and off with casein found in dairy Studies proved that high protein intakes was a culprit in auto immune disease and cancer. I am on a plant-based diet I do not eat meat or dairy most of the time i do get caught out maybe once a month or so when i am taking my son to his football games and eat out but very rarely. I actually have way more energy, never have any more headaches and no allergy problems that i used to experience when i was eating meat and dairy. I am still in the process of my classes and i do enjoy them. Wishing all of you well
Carol
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Hi Ladies! Welcome to the newcomers, you will love it here!
Please don't hate me for being vain!....... but....did anyone here use Botox before BC? I know its not natural
but I liked it and I miss it!!! So my question is, if you used it, have you used it since dx? and once again, I apologise for not caring for my crows feet, and no I won't embrace them! LOL!!L
ox
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Hi Fairy, I saw you had a birthday a little while back. Congrats on looking so great for your age, unless of course, that picture isn't recent, LOL! But going by the picture, you don't seem to need any Botox. I found a doctor who does collagen injections and not too expensively. Some of my friends went to him. I'm watching to see how their's endures over a year or two, and then I thought maybe when I turn 50, I'd gift it to myself if needed. I did have him do permanent eyeliner on me though, and I'm loving that!
Welcome Redriver and Sheperd! I'm still reaping the benefits of my organically grown tomatoes and basil, had zucchini for a little while, wish I had room for lots more stuff. My lettuce and cilantro never do well, this year was no exception. I want to try string beans and peppers next year.
And for those of you discussing this, I totally believe in the mind-body connection. I believe all those stress hormones floating around creating free radicals in my body could have contributed to my breast cancer, especially since I had no physical risk factors. I now do yoga regularly and try to avoid having toxic thoughts.
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Fairy--that's funny you mention that about Botox--was just having that conversation with someone. I had it done once (before my wedding) to get rid of the crease between my eyebrows that I hate and all the forehead wrinkles--sadly the crease was too ingrained so Botox didn't even get it (should have gone earlier!) but I really liked it on my forehead. However, post BC, don't know if I can do it again. Sigh. I haven't read anything about a connection but considering we do so much to get healthy food and vitamins into our bodies, eliminate the chemicals toxins in personal care products, etc., I can't feel comfortable shooting a toxin into my head. I'm hoping someone will come up with convincing evidence why I can!!
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vivre ~ I really appreciated what you wrote above, and I know you're right. I think one of my problems has been that I've always been very health conscious -- and I still developed bc. So sometimes it's hard to trust that what I'm doing will be enough. But then I have to remind myself that I was on HRT, and that that was probably the primary culprit or tipping point for me. But you're right -- I have learned so much new information here about hormones, and eating even more healthy, and about natural estrogen modulators -- things I knew nothing about prior to bc.
I also wanted to tell you that I've been thinking a lot about a comment you made a few days ago, and it's made me want to call every reseach organization and pose your question -- Instead of looking for "a cure" for bc, why don't they look at what was going on in our bodies when we developed it? That should just be so obvious, and yet it doesn't seem like anyone's seriously looking in that direction!
cleomoon ~ I never had my estrogen level tested prior to starting I3C, but since I've been on it my level is <10, which I believe is about what an onc would want to see from an A/I (I'm post-menopausal).
Okay -- here's my question for tonight. I just had a 4 month bloodwork followup. I'm still waiting for the results of a CA27.29, but my homocysteine level, which was elevated 4 mos. ago following chemo & rads, has dropped 6 pts. -- from 17 to 11. I think the Metanx I've been taking has played a role there. But what I can't figure out is why my cholesterol levels are still surprisingly high, which they never were pre-bc. When I had my bloodwork 4 mos. ago and they were high for the first time ever, I switched from whole fat to non-fat yogurt, about the only dairy product I eat. Other than that, I cook with olive oil or grape seed oil. I rarely eat any protein other than fish or white meat chicken, and probably eat only 20% of the cheese I used to when I had no problem with cholesterol. What the heck is going on? Can anyone help me figure this out? Deanna
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