Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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hi Sylvia/ everyone
Hope you are all doing ok. I am just back from a holiday to Madeira ( I was back from Majorca only a few day and off I went again ... Living life to the full) . It is a very beautiful island a lovely place for couples and families. Have you visited Madeira Sylvia? I know, like me you love flowers. There are lots of beautiful flowers there especially magnolias .
My skin did suffer a bit from the radiotherapy. It seemed to get a little worse the week after treatment . Fortunately it is back to normal now I used only simple products and aqueous cream.
I'm just in the process of looking for another trip. I've always wanted to go to Dubai . I'm very interested in learning about other cultures and Dubai looks so different . I have to go back to work in October so would like to fit another trip in before that .
Adagio I hope your bone scan goes ok. I had a lot of bone pain after the chemo. So much it would wake me at night. This didn't stop so the onc sent me for a scan. The results were clear and they put the pain down to the aggressive treatment. I hope this is the same for you.
Lots of love to everyone
Amanda0 -
Hello Amanda,
It is so nice to have you back on the thread. I have been wondering how your holidays were going.
I was glad to know that you had had an enjoyable holiday in Madeira and Majorca. I have not been to Madeira but I have read about the beautiful flowers there. I was interested to know about the magnolias as Exmouth has lots of them and is known as the magnolia town. There is an Exmouth magnolia tree and our shopping centre is called the Magnolia Centre.
I was glad to know you are living life to the full post treatment.
I was also glad to know that your skin is back to normal. I think it is quite common for the skin to go red for a while after finishing the radiotherapy, even if it does not go red during treatment. Aqueous cream is an excellent product to use.
One of my cousins recently went to Dubai with his wife and they said it was an incredible place to visit. It does seem to be the 'in' place to visit at the moment. If visiting Dubai is something you have always wanted to do then go for it. My cousin and his wife have told me they are going through a bucket list before they get too old. They have been to Paris and thought it was a wonderful city. They are interested in all the sights and culture of different cities. After Paris they took off for Italy.
Let us know if you book for Dubai and then what you think of it.
Sending you fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi adagio
The food you mentioned are among the most popular in Iran. I'm happy you liked them.
adagio I can understand how you miss your daughter and your son in law as I always fear my daughter chooses to live in another country. Yet it could be a relief to know our children are leading a happy life.
I wish you and your family health and happiness and I pray for you to come here with all the best news from your scans results.
Love
Hanieh
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Hi Sylvia
I'm back from my short trip to the North and I really feel rejuvenated.
The food that adagio mentioned is a mixture of fried aubergine , fried onions and garlic with kask added to them. Of course after frying all the ingredients we should boil them and mash them all together. Adding chopped walnut can make it more delicious.
About my friend's mother I should mention that she had no history of breast cancer and unfortunately she was diagnosed with stage 4 from the beginning. Please pray for her as my friend says she's in bad pain. She has had mets to the bones and the doctors are suspicious of mets to the lungs.
Wish you all the best
Hanieh
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Hello Hanieh,
Thank you for your post. I was glad to know that you are feeling rejuvenated after your trip to the North.
I was sorry to learn that your friend's mother was diagnosed with stage IV from diagnosis. There are many posts on the forum where we hear of people living a long time with stage IV but I think we all know that at this stage cancer is challenging to treat. Is she having any treatment? If not, the least the doctors can do is to give pain relief so that she is not suffering. In this country the Macmillan nurses and Hospiscare do a lot of this treatment and come to your home. Do you have anything like this? It seems that once the cancer has spread to the bones the pain is very bad and painkillers such as Tramadol and morphine are used. Tell her that we are all thinking of her.
Here in Exmouth I was speaking to a friend and neighbour who is looking after both her husband and her sister in law.
The husband has been through chemotherapy and radiotherapy for prostate cancer but was having bad pains in the groin. It looks as though the cancer has spread to the bone there. He was given extra treatment with radiotherapy, but it does not seem to have helped. He is now on Tramadol and waiting to see his oncologist to see what can be done.
On the other hand, his sister (the sister in law mentioned) was diagnosed with breast cancer about six weeks ago, had a lumpectomy quite quickly. She is the one who is going through this, no questions asked. This week the sister went for a check up post op and was told all was fine. She has healed nicely and has no lymph nodes affected. She has been told that will not have any chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
I had mentioned to my friend who is looking after these two people that at this check up she should at least ask what kind of cancer her sister in law had. She did, but all she was told was that it was hormonal. That is the receptor status, not the kind of cancer.
This has got me wondering whether breast cancer is still a bit in the dark ages here although the women that have been on this thread appear to know quite a bit. It seems as though here it is the patient that must still ask the questions.
The neighbour in question has been put on Arimidex medication which is standard for post menopausal women with hormonal receptor status breast cancer. She has at least been told that Arimidex causes thinning of the bones, understand osteoporosis. Arimidex is an aromatase inhibitor with the generic name of anastrozole. It takes care of oestrogen which is the villain in hormonal breast cancer.
I do not think this lady is interested either in her diet and especially eating a calcium rich diet to help the bones.
Again, we are back to ignorance versus knowledge. I know where I stand on this.
The other evening I was watching a very interesting programme about three early and very famous philosophers – Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. The programme is on BBC4 and in three parts. It is called Genius of the Ancient World. The first one was Buddha and this past week it was Socrates. Next week it will be Confucius. I was most interested in one of the things that Socrates had to say, which was "The greatest evil is ignorance" and "Knowledge is good". I really believe that.
All comments from anyone are most welcome.
Another programme I watched the same evening was on BBC2 and the programme was Horizon which is always a quality programme. This one was: Are Health Tests Really a Good Idea? The programme is introduced by Michael Mosley and this week he subjected himself to a battery of health tests that are all available to people who feel perfectly well. Mosley sets out to discover which, if any of the tests are worth doing.
I was wondering whether any of you on the thread saw this and what you think?
Here in Exmouth it is a dull and wet end of week and does not bode well for the weekend. The weather here is so changeable that it is difficult to make plans.
Sending you best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I do hope our nice group of friends and posters will be coming back to the group as summer winds down. I think the schools will be going back about September 1st, or a few days later.
I have been looking at the other TNBC thread and am concerned at the number of women being diagnosed. They seem to be of all ages. There was one who is 71 and has had breast cancer with hormonal receptors and now has triple negative. It shows there are exceptions to everything.
I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are sending our best wishes to all of these people and wishing them a safe journey through their treatment.
Hoping to hear from you.
Sylvia xxxx
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Good morning,
I have been checking in but somehow didnt find the words to post.
I was also thinking that TNBC appears to be more prevalent with no obvious pattern to it. My lovely friend was also originally diagnosed with breastcancer but not TBNC and I think is on arimadex . She had a reccurrance and rediagnosed as TN and she is in her 70s.
We hired a skip earlier last week and what a wonderful feeling it is to have a good clear out. I was hoping to come across some lost things but they remain lost! It costs a lot to take anything to the dump and so we need to be very brutal about what we keep. Unfortunately it seems that most of my stuff is for the skip but Damian's needs to be kept in case. I had to rescue the large pot that I only use for the Xmas ham and the tray from the baby's high chair from the skip.
Just like this thread the centre has been quieter throughout the summer and our Saturday tai chi class is amalgamated with the Thursday one. Its strange what a different feel there is to the class. I hope that the Saturday one will be reinstated in September. We go into the philosophies of tai chi in a deeper way but also laugh a lot too. Its amazing how a different mix of personalities creates such a different atmosphere. Human nature is a fascinating thing.
I agree whole heartedly that knowledge is a powerful thing. If you know the true facts of something you can make a considered decision. I m must check out the programme.
Today I am helping out with baking cakes, biscuits and buns for a local vintage car rally. Some of the proceeds are coming to the centre.
Sending good wishes to all and good to see people posting.
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Hello linali (Lindsay)
It was nice to have you back. I have had a busy day and am now out of energy, so will answer tomorrow.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello linali (Lindsay),
I do agree with you that TNBC appears to be more prevalent and there does not seem to be any particular pattern to it and it seems to affect all ages.
I was sorry to read about your lovely friend who was diagnosed first of all with breast cancer that was hormonal, and then had a recurrence which was triple negative. They say that it affects mainly younger women but your friend in her seventies now has TNBC.
I have read about women with hormonal breast cancer who are on tamoxifen for many years can end up with TNBC. I do not know if the same applies to Arimidex and Aromasin, both aromatase inhibitors, but I cannot see why it would not. It could be that these drugs to control oestrogen are too extreme and end up causing TNBC. I am sure that all these drugs are messing up your body.
I do remember reading, also, that there was the idea of trying to change TNBC to hormonal so that it could be treated with tamoxifen!!! None of this seems normal to me.
There are about six women in my immediate surroundings that have been through breast cancer treatment and five of those were hormonal and I was the only one that was non-hormonal. All of those survived, except the one who was triple positive and had to have a lot of Herceptin because of being HER2+. Her cancer came back and spread very quickly and she died.
All of it seems to be the luck of the draw.
I was glad to know you have been enjoying having a clear out. It is supposed to be good therapy. I am a minimalist and believe that this is a good way to live. I cannot stand clutter.
I think people on the threads have been taking advantage of the summer to have good breaks and switch off cancer.
I definitely agree with you that human nature is fascinating, but I do not particularly like the way it is going now. I do find so many people loud and anti-social. England has changed beyond belief since I was growing up.
I have been feeling a bit low and sad this week because I found out that someone I knew quite well in the past had been diagnosed with motor neuron disease and had gone off to Dignitas in Switzerland to end his life. This is an awful disease and one that killed one of my cousins very quickly.
That is about all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
Thanks a lot for caring so much for my friend's mother. In fact the friend I talked about is one of my colleagues. During the time she was pregnant with her son I used to give her rides to home after work and that resulted in our deeper friendship. But this semester we don't see much of each other as our working days differ. Yet the last time I talked to her she mentioned that her mother was going to have biopsy to start chemo as soon as possible to help her with her pain. She told me her mother's pain is mostly in her affected breast. How awesome it could be! I found my lump by self-exam without having any pain. Sometimes I really feel depressed when I think of her. The only thing that came to my mind as how to help her was to share The Success Stories thread with her. I hope she finds some time to take a look at it. Unfortunately we don't have such organisations to help the sick people like what you mentioned in your country.
I'm sorry to here about that person you mentioned with motor neuron disease. What is Dignitas and why has he gone there?
By the way my cousin in London sent me the book The Rainbow Diet and I 'm eager to start reading it.
The last few days I was feeling law as my mother in law told me someone in our relatives with an early stage cancer some years ago had a wide reoccurance and died within a month. I don't know what cancer he had as my husband doesn't like me ask about such things. Even though his relatives, he doesn't want to let me attend the funeral . One of the worst things about this disease is this periodical depression. Sometimes it catches you when you are highly energetic as if just to remind you of any possibility. Maybe I should try to do something to get rid of such negative thoughts.
I hope not to hear about anyone especially young one being affected by cancer.
Wish all the best
Hanieh
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Hi Sylvia
I have been meaning to send you this story, from the satirical magazine "The Daily Mash" all week:
A BRITISH political party, founded over 100 years ago by socialists is 'being infiltrated by socialists', it has been claimed.
The Labour Party, started in 1900 by self-confessed socialist Keir Hardie, has seen a 'suspiciously large influx' of people who believe a lot of the same things as he did.
A senior Labour official said: "These people are clearly very interested in politics, but for some reason they haven't joined the Conservative Party. It would appear they are really into redistribution of wealth, nationalisation and the welfare state. It's all very sinister."
Jane Thompson, who joined the Labour Party yesterday, said: "At first I double-checked to make sure I wasn't an MI5 agent.
"I'm pretty sure I'm not, though MI5 can do all kinds of weird things. Anyway, the most likely explanation is that I now believe the Labour Party could potentially choose a leader with whom I actually agree.
"Also, I was a member from 1981 until 1994. At that point I decided it wasn't really for me anymore. Something must have happened."
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Good morning Sylvia,
I've just had a quick e mail from my sister who has been reading ....I think, about a vaccine for TNBC.
She will ring later to explain further.
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Hello linali (Lindsay),
It sounds interesting about the vaccine. Please keep us posted.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Michael,
I found the article hilarious. I had never heard of that magazine.
Raymond and I are eagerly waiting for our ballot papers to vote for Jeremy Corbyn. I am hoping there will be no skulduggery with these ballot papers but there is no knowing what Tony Blair and his awful gang will get up to. Their venom is unbelievable.
How are things going for you these days? I do hope you are keeping well.
I am very concerned about the future of the NHS. All the news is so dire.
Have you heard anything about this vaccine that linali has just mentioned?
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello Hanieh,
I do hope the chemotherapy will help to alleviate the pain for your friend's mother.
Like you, I discovered my own lump in my breast. There was absolutely no pain and I think this is often the case when cancer is developing. Because there is often no pain a person is not aware there is a problem until a lump appears. I know that the breast cancer consultant said she thought, judging by the size of the lump, that my cancer had been developing for two years before she diagnosed it. I had no pain during those two years. On the other hand, women on the forum have said that they had pain with their lump.
It just shows that our cancers are all very individual.
I think that being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer on diagnosis is probably very different because not only is it in the breast but it is in other organs of the body.
I was interested that you are trying to help by sharing the Success Stories thread with her. Is this a different thread to the one entitled Inspiring Stories from Around the World? This is a good thread to look at and as you know my own story is on it.
It is a pity that you do not have these cancer organisations in your country. They are excellent for giving care to patients, especially the Macmillan nurses. I understand they do a lot of pain relief care. We also have hospices for the terminally ill.
You asked about Dignitas. It is a clinic in Switzerland that practices assisted dying. I am not sure of the details. He went there to die.
You must try to keep positive and lead a normal life making the best of every day. I think we all have to learn that worrying serves no purpose. If we are doing all we can to stay healthy, that is all we can do. Concentrate on living the day fully and being happy with your family. That is all we can do.
Sending you best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Good afternoon Sylvia
The vaccine looks interesting but of course it hasn't entered trials yet. There were two or three vaccines against Non Hodgkins lymphoma about ten years ago but they didn't progress any further. I don't think they were used in treatment but as a prevention against reoccurrence.
I am glad you liked the story from "The Daily Mash." You can find it onlinehttp://www.thedailymash.co.uk
Michael
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Hello Michael,
Thank you for your post.
Almost everyday I have a look at the headlines on the newspapers and yesterday, after reading Lindsay's post, I saw this headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. "Breast cancer jab could save thousands". "Scientists hail Brit breakthrough that will boost survival rates".
It went on to say that a breast cancer vaccine could be the way to tackle the most aggressive form of the disease and that it gives fresh hope to thousands with the "triple negative type". It further says that this type represents 12% of the 50,000 patients that are diagnosed each year. That represents about 6,000 patients.
I found the wording of this article somewhat sensationalist.
On page 5 there was another heading "A bullet for breast cancer. Vaccine tackles 'untreatable' aggressive form of the disease. Clinical trials in two years and thousands may be saved".
I picked up on the word 'untreatable'. To me this is far from the truth. All of us women here have been through treatment, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Most of us have survived. The way this article is entitled you would think we had all died because of lack of treatment! This is not very encouraging reading to people with triple negative.
What it should say is that after the standard treatment there are no drugs to take to prevent it coming back, such as tamoxifen and Arimidex for hormonal breast cancer.
As usual, the press can never get things right. Further on in the article it says that the vaccine would save the lives of many of the 50,000 diagnosed with breast cancer, when in the beginning it is stated that the vaccine is for the 12% (6,000) diagnosed with triple negative.
Yes, it is good news that a vaccine MAY materialise that can be used on triple negative in addition to chemotherapy, when chemotherapy has not worked.
As you so rightly say, it is going to take two years for clinical trials to begin, and then the vaccine has to go through different phases, so it makes you wonder how far away this vaccine is and whether it will survive phase 1. I read what you said about the vaccines for Non Hodgkins lymphoma ten years ago but they have not progressed.
Of course this additional vaccine may have horrible side effects and it will not rid us of the traumatic treatment of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The greatest news would be a way of preventing all cancers from developing and I rather think that will only come from lifestyle factors.
For this vaccine the scientists have discovered a protein called HAGE in sufferers' tumours which they found was linked to the presence of immune cells that can attack the cancer, which has made them believe the protein could be stimulated to produce antibodies against the killer disease and that harnessing this reaction could produce a cancer-beating vaccine.
It is a pity Tom is not posting to explain all this.
There is an article on the same page explaining what triple negative breast cancer is. I think the whole of these articles may frighten women diagnosed with triple negative.
I think that even with Herceptin triple positive breast cancer may be more challenging. It certainly killed my very fit neighbour a year ago today.
Thank you for the link to the Daily Mash. I shall make a habit of reading it.
Raymond and I have now cast our votes for the Labour leadership and deputy leadership.
I have been disgusted with the awful behaviour of all the so-called big wigs, like Blair and Brown. There is not much comradely behaviour coming from this lot and I think they should be expelled from the Labour party. They have all become filthy rich and we should never forget that Brown sold off our gold. He was not elected leader, pushed his way to it, and then lost the General Election. There is not much to boast about there!
On page 30 of the Daily Mirror I saw that Dr Miriam Stoppard has a page entitled "Helping to keep you fit and healthy". The main title was "Are we too quick to treat breast cancer?" It is about DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) which some say is a pre-cancerous state and should not be treated in the aggressive way that it is. I shall try to write more about that another time.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hi Slyvia and everyone else!
Sorry for the lack of posts, its all crazy at the mo! im actually on holiday with limited internet right now. But I will post a full piece next week and will help to explain the recent press. Very briefly though the Daily Mail were out of order yesterday. The way they reported that story was reckless and medically incorrect. I had a row over the phone with them yesterday and also with a producer from the ITV This Morning programme. I will also be contacting the lead scientist on the study as well.
Just to show you how far off the mark some of the comments were, a recent German study had survival rates for TNBC above 90%. This isn't the beast the press make it out to be.
Hugs and love to you all
Tom
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Hello Tom,
I was so pleased to see you back on the thread and I am sure I speak for everyone here.
I can understand how busy you must be with your young family. I do hope your wife is continuing to make good progress post-treatment.
I know we shall all look forward to reading your post next week, especially with the recent press about breast cancer with triple negative receptors.
It looks as though both the Daily Mail and the Mirror were indulging in sensationalism. That is how the media earns a living.
I was very angry when I read the articles in the Mirror and now I have just looked on line at the Mail and see that it is the same. This false information about chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery is not an option is so misleading and inaccurate and it needs to be stopped in its tracks. Let us face the facts. These three parts of breast cancer treatment is standard and whatever the receptor status we all get all or some of this standard treatment. The only difference is those with hormonal breast cancer get tamoxifen and/or Arimidex and Aromasin and if they are HER2+ they get Herceptin. In all of these cases there can be recurrence and metastases after initial treatment has brought about remission. We are all basically in the same boat and we know the cancer can come back whatever the receptor status.
I shall leave you to explain the technical side of all this, the protein HAGE, the procedure to stimulate the protein to produce antibodies and vaccinating against the disease. I find this somewhat hard to understand.
All this will not come about until clinical trials start in two years.
I wonder if they realise how much they will terrify the women already diagnosed with breast cancer with triple negative receptors? This scaremongering is not acceptable and will make those already with the disease think they are doomed.
I would like to know what is in the vaccine and all the possible side effects.
I think the researchers should not be blowing their own trumpet until trials begin in two years and go through all the various phases etc. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Why do we keep seeing pictures of women having mammograms? I find the photograph of the woman going through treatment very negative and very forlorn. I definitely looked like that.
Thank you for posting the information about a recent German study which has survival rates for TNBC above 90%. The word 'aggressive' needs to stop being used. All the survivors on the TNBC threads shows that this can be treated successfully and people can have long lives.
I did not see ITV This Morning but I can just imagine what it was like.
Congratulations on taking a stand.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello everyone,
It would be interesting to hear from anyone else who read the articles on TNBC. It is always good to have opinions.
I was also wondering what those viewing and posting think about the article by Dr Miriam Stoppard entitled Are we too quick to treat breast cancer?
This is all about the concept of over-diagnosis.
"This says that, although screening may uncover a cancer, it does not automatically mean you have to subject yourself to punishing radical treatment. The same applies to prostate cancer in men.
"Many doctors now agree that women and men are being told they have life-threatening tumours needing intervention when they have not. Over-diagnosis has then led to 'over-treatment' with surgery, radiotherapy and toxic drugs."
The article further states that women are resisting this. Over the years studies have identified the potential harms of breast screening.
Apparently researchers have reported that hundreds of women a year with DCIS are being subjected to unnecessary surgery that includes mastectomy, even when they are at greater risk from the complications of surgery than from the cancer.
It is stated that DCIS grows so slowly that it will never be life threatening and the patient will probably die of something else first.
DCIS affects 4,800 women a year and is becoming more common because it shows up on breast screening. DCIS is sometimes described as pre-cancerous. It can develop into an invasive form, but just for a tiny number of women.
Apparently doctors cannot tell which ones will become dangerous and which ones will not. I suppose that only the patient can decide what she wants to do. The most important thing for me would be to make my own decision if I had DCIS and not to be pressured by a doctor into having a mastectomy.
If you want to read have a look at Dr Miriam Stoppard on the internet.
While reading all this I discovered a section Website of the week and it was healthtalk.org. I have not had time to investigate it yet.
I am so glad to see our group slowly coming back together again. I do hope that peterandliz, jackpot (Gill), suewirral, and marymargarethope will rejoin the fold.
If you have recently been diagnosed and want some comfort, support, help and information, please come and join us.
All the best to everyone.
Sylvia
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Hello everyone,
My thought for today comes from the philosophy programme that I have been watching on BBC4 about the most famous ancient philosophers – Buddha, Socrates and Confucius – from Confucius we have "What you do not wish for yourself do not wish for others" and also summed up by me from what he says to have a good society you need good people and that the waywardness of a ruler is why society has so many problems.
He also said that man's relationship with man is the measure of all things and that the most important thing is humanity.
I thought that was all very profound and that the world could learn from it.
Sending everyone good wishes.
Sylvia
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Hi Sylvia
I enjoyed all your posts. Thanks again for all the information you share.
As ft TNBC I have seen some women with it during my checkups that were many years post treatment .Actually they appeared healthier than women with hormonal bc because of the hormonal treatment . So survival does not depend on not getting diagnosed with TN. By changing our attitude we can help ourselves and others more to enjoy better survivorship. In fact I'm sure diet, exercise and good spirits can work far better than drugs such as tomoxifen.
Regarding that program you talked about I absolutely agree with the idea that humanity is what nothing can compete with in making a society in which people are in hormony. In fact no law can equal the power of morality. If people were only a bit kinder to each other and could symphatize more, the world would be a far better place to live.
Best wishes
Hanieh
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Hello Hanieh,
Thank you for your post and I am so glad to know that you find the information useful. I do try very hard to keep this thread interesting and I think posting about topics other than breast cancer is therapeutic for all of us. I think it is important to write about our everyday lives, our problems and stresses, our interests and everything that makes us individuals. What we do not want to do is identify ourselves through our breast cancer.
I do agree with you that with TNBC we can leave our immune system and our lifestyle to keep the cancer hopefully from coming back and our bodies do not have to fight the side effects of the anti-hormonal drugs in addition to fighting all the rest. People with TNBC can survive many years. I know some women who are fighting weight gain because of tamoxifen and others with bone problems because of the aromatase inhibitors. I agree with you that survival does not depend on not getting diagnosed with TNBC. As you say diet, exercise and good spirits are better than drugs such as tamoxifen.
I do like what you said about no law can equal the power of morality. Somehow we all have to learn to live together in harmony, but that is proving very difficult.
This past week I bought a magazine entitled Healthy Living, the September edition. I was attracted to one of the headings on the front page entitled "Eat to beat cancer. The foods that help your body fight it". Inside the magazine on pages 6 & 7 there is an article about the food in colourful illustrations.
It is divided into sections entitled "Your diet when you have been diagnosed with cancer. What to eat".
"During treatment. What to eat".
"When you are starting to feel better. What to eat".
The illustrations show the plates of food. The first section has the following titles.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, pulses, protein, dairy, grains and water. (I agree with all the food stated but NOT dairy).
The second section mentions how difficult it can be during chemotherapy to eat properly because of the side effects of the treatment, such as loss of appetite, feeling nauseous, problems with the mouth, such as ulcers, and a change in your taste-buds.
It is recommended that you season and spice your food. It mentions that many spices have health benefits and on this thread we should all know about turmeric, which, along with cumin, are anti-inflammatory. We should also know that it is good to add black pepper to turmeric as black pepper aids digestion.
During chemotherapy it is especially important to drink water. Eating protein is important, especially nutrient rich food such as eggs (scrambled, poached or in omelettes) and mushrooms. Ginger is also recommended especially chopped raw ginger in hot water with lemon. I certainly had a lot of fresh ginger during my chemotherapy.
In the section entitled "And when you are starting to feel better" it recommends avocados, pulses, beetroot and berries.
I think you will start to enjoy your food more as you get your palate back.
Once again the healthy many coloured diet is recommended. A lot of what you eat will depend on the kind of cancer you have had.
There is a website at the end of the article so you might like to look at www.wcrf-uk.org for more information.
Iran has been in the news quite a bit this week. One morning I put the radio on and there was an English woman reporting from Iran. It was all about an Iranian boy band performing one evening and young people out enjoying the music. Later that day there was a report from a market and it seemed to be full of delicious fruit etc. I think all of this came from Tehran and it was described as a beautiful modern city.
That is about all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
I always enjoy and benefit from all your posts . Thanks to this disease I found a great friend like you.
As I mentioned before, I have switched to a diet full of fruit and vegetables, raw or cooked. Today was our weekend and as usual we spent our weekend with my mother in law. We went to her house last night and in the morning my daughter and I decided to go shopping. There in her neighbourhood I saw a shop that sold a wide variety of nuts and I found apricot kernels. As I knew you have been having them for many years I bought some. Yet in some Persian sites I found them harmful but in English sites I read about their miracle for curing cancer. Now I want to ask your idea and how many can be safe to be taken a day.
Lots of love
Hanieh
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Hi Sylvia and all
I want to recommend you to visit Iran if you want to see a new and interesting place far different from what you've always thought about . You will find lots of amazing places to visit and I'm sure the different local traditional cultures will be of great interest to you. Also, we have lots of beautiful sceneries and all the four seasons to the fullest. We have made great steps towards modernisation not less than some European countries.
In fact nothing is of more pleasure to me than visiting new places and cultures . I'm really eager to get the chance to visit many different countries. I don't know what your idea is but I hope one day the politicians let all the nations enjoy more interactions with each other.
Love
Hanieh
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Hello Hanieh,
I was interested to know that you had been out shopping and had found a shop that sold a wide variety of nuts and that you had found apricot kernels. I was not surprised that you found them because, after all, apricot kernels are nuts. The most important factor with these apricot kernels is that they need to be specifically BITTER apricot kernels. This is important because these are the ones that are supposed to help. You can also find sweet apricot kernels. The ones that I buy come in a tub and are from the Himalayas. They are sold by Creative Nature in the UK. I have bought them on line but also in my local natural food store.
It is true that I have been taking them most days since I was diagnosed. I first got to know about them when I saw a private Nutritionist and cancer doctor (Dr Nicola Hembry in Bristol) because I wanted to cover all my bases before consenting to orthodox breast cancer treatment. She told me to have the treatment but gave me lots of recommendations about diet for a cancer patient. Bitter apricot kernels were on the sheets I had. I took quite a lot during treatment and after treatment I have been taking 15 a day with one rest day a week. I take 5 together at intervals during the day. I usually have them with a mug of decaffeinated green tea or leaf green tea and I make sure I eat something filling before.
I know that Chris Woollams has written about them and also takes them.
There has been and is a lot of controversy about them, but I always make up my own mind and they do not seem to be doing me any harm. Some people do not like the bitter taste, but you can grind them up and mix them with cereal or yoghurt.
They are supposed to be an anti-cancer food but nobody in the UK is allowed to make any claims about anything that helps cancer, except orthodox treatment.
If you do feel you want to try some, why not start with 5 in the morning after you have eaten and see how you go.
I think we all share your view that we want world peace and for all countries to be in harmony.
Have a good weekend.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
The thing that surprised me about these apricot kernels is that they're bitter not sweet as nobody here is in favour of such kernels. I have started taking 10 a day and so far I've had no problem.
By the way, my friend's mother is now in ICU because of mets to the lungs before starting any treatment . Right now my only wish for her is not to suffer too much . I'm really sorry for my friend as she had just coped with losing her father to cancer. I hope her better days come soon .
Love
Hanieh
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Hello Hanieh,
I just wanted to say that I am so sorry about what is happening to your friend's mother and I do hope the doctors will be able to keep her peaceful and pain free.
I do hope you will be fine with the bitter apricot kernels.
I cannot believe how busy this forum is. I just checked the active topics and found that we had disappeared from the first few pages.
It is still raining here and the seafront is deserted.
I have been following the news about the visit of our foreign secretary to your country.
Best wishes, Sylvia.xxx
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Hi Sylvia
I also wander why this threat is so quite. I thought we would make some great friends here.
I'm taking apricot kernels every day and so far I've had no problem .
I have also started translating some pages of The Rainbow Diet . I'm really eager to engage myself in such a great work . In fact I welcome every new idea to make big changes in my life. I hope to succeed in it.
I should have a blood test in three weeks for the check up and after that another dipherline injection. So practically I have three weeks to make the hard decision of not following my oncologist 's prescription. I called a well known oncologist to make an appointment for a second opinion but his secretary said that I should have a letter of recommendation from my own oncologist to make an appointment which I know is not practical as I know my oncologist well and how he will behave.
I was introduced to another so called professional oncologist whose secretary said I can have an appointment with him but for a large amount of money more than three times as much as he usually receives.Thankfully we have no financial problems and next week I'm going to make an appointment . But how depressing it is that in my country having a second opinion is not settled yet. I didn't know it before this diseas .Any way I hope to come to the best conclusion.
I hope to see this thread busy again
Love
Hanieh
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Hi again Sylvia
I'm also following the news on media regarding your foreign secretary travel to Iran. I hope everything goes well .
Best wishes
Hanieh
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