Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Hello everyone,
You may want to have a look at the Janette Collins Foundation which Michael set up in memory of Janette. There is lots of interesting information on this site. Please have a look.
http://www.janettecollinsfoundation.org/index.html
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Hello Mary,
I have been reading some of the posts on TNs and it looks as though icing the hands and feet during chemo seems to be the answer to preventing of very much alleviating peripheral neuropathy. It is too bad we were not advised to do this. Someone else mentioned sucking on ice cubes during her treatment, which I think helped with not having that metallic taste which we all remember.
The lady who mentioned icing hands and feet also talked about taking glutamine supplements during treatment, but i have never taken any and do not know whether they would do any good now. Have you ever taken them?
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia, Mary, adagio and all
Yesterday I went to work to do some tasks but suddenly I started feeling that pressure in my head. All my friends urged me to see a brain neurologist. So in the afternoon I made an appointment and saw one. He said there was nothing wrong with my brain but I needed to have an MRA and MRV to rule out aneurysm. They are different from MRI in that they scan brain blood vessels. I'm in the hospital to have them done. I really hope there is nothing serious with me and all this heaviness is the result of the too much stress I ve had recently.
Last night I called my surgeon s clinic and his assistance told me to stop diphereline injections completely as they are of no use to me. She also told me I can have all my checkups with my surgeon as my oncologist orders loads of unnecessary tests and medication. I think I should try to make up my mind and make this courageous decision to act against my oncologist's idea and stop seeing him. What do you think?
Lots of love
Hanieh
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Hanieh - so sorry to hear you are not feeling so well. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time of waiting and not knowing. But it is probably best to have the brain scans done to rule out aneurysm and put your mind at ease. How long do you have to wait for the tests? Thanks for keeping us up to date. I honestly don't know what you should do about your oncologist - good luck with your decision.
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Hi adagio
I did all the scans and they told me to call on Saturday to check whether the results are ready or not. I also have two important professional development exams on coming Wednesday and Friday. Things are really messed up.
Love
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Hello Hanieh,
I was so sorry to read that you were not well yesterday and that you started feeling pressure in your head. When you saw the brain neurologist yesterday afternoon, what did he actually do in order to conclude that there is nothing wrong with your brain? Did he just review the scans that you had already had and that you posted on the thread? Those scans indicated that most was normal, but there was that mention of "retained cyst" and "aneurysm?". Did he comment on those?
I suppose that as a precaution and for peace of mind, you might as well get the MRA and MRV scans to make sure what is going on.
I do not often hear mention of MRA and MRV scans so I had a look on Google. This is what I found.
https://www.google.co.uk/#q=mrv+scan
You are quite right . An MRA scan is Magnetic Resonance Angiography and MRV is Magnetic Resonance Venography and they are an MRI study of blood vessels in the brain. These scans, like an MRI, are a non-invasive medical test to help doctors diagnose and treat medical conditions. The scanner looks the same as an MRI but I suppose they use different software.
If I am reading your words correctly, you have already had these scans now and I hope that you will have good results on Saturday and that you can put all this stress and anxiety behind you.
Was there any particular reason that you called your breast cancer surgeon's clinic last night?
It seems strange that you were told to stop diphereline injections completely, as they are of no use to you. It begs the question why were you put on them in the first place if they are of no use? I remember your asking about them when you first joined the thread and I said I had not heard of them. As I said before, here in the west, if we have triple negative receptors, we are not given anything in the way of treatment, after we have gone through surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I think I told you I had looked it up and could only find references to diphereline for the treatment of prostate cancer.
I just wondered whether the drug has anything to do with the fact that you had medullary aspects in your IDC.
Do you think that your breast cancer surgeon thinks that the diphereline is causing all the pressure in the brain? It will be interesting to see if you feel fine with no diphereline, as we know all drugs have side effects. How many doses of this drug have you had? It will probably take time to work its way out of you body.
You have a difficult decision to make about whether to stop seeing your oncologist and have your check ups with your surgeon. I know that here in the UK, after standard treatment, the check ups are just physical ones. That is what I had and the check ups used to alternate between the oncologist and the surgeon, as they worked as a team. I had no scans during the years of these check ups and not prescribed to take.
I can only speak for myself, but I would not like to be in the care of any medical person that seems to be pushing drugs and tests.
In all of this, remember this is your body and you must do what you think is best for it.
Let us hope the diphereline has caused the pressure problem and this will gradually disappear.
Let us know your results on Saturday.
I have just read your post to adagio and wanted to say that I hope all goes well with your important professional development exams this coming Wednesday and Friday. What form do these exams take? Are they written or is it someone observing your teaching? Try not to worry.
We are all thinking of you here and wishing you nothing but the best.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Sunset over Exmouth last night. The western setting sun reflecting on the eastern clouds.
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Hi Sylvia
I have had dipherline injections for one and a half years and these injections were against my surgeon's opinion . Last night I called him because I have to have my three- month injection next week. The only reason I called was to make sure I'm right in my decision to stop them.
The brain neurologist I met yesterday looked at my brain MRI I had last week and decided there was nothing suspicious in my brain except that supposed aneurysm. He believed that retention cyst was nothing to worry about.
Tomorrow I have a demo for teaching adult's advanced levels. And on Friday I have a 4 hour written test as the primary evaluation to see whether I am qualified enough to be the teachers' observer in young adults department. If I manage to pass the test I will have an interview as the next step.
Your picture is really beautiful. Nature always gives me pleasure.
Lots of love
Hanieh
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Sylvia, Hanieh, and all,
Sylvia, I agree about the foot icing. I was not told about it before my treatment. I learned about it later, and used it on my last several Taxotere treatments. But for me I think the damage was done on the first go-around. When I brought my special slipper-wraps in and asked for ice the first time I tried it, the nurse told me that they used to offer that service at the clinic, but they stopped because they didn't see that it did much good. They also used to do the cold-caps on the head. Personally, losing the hair seemed just a necessary evil to me, and I knew it would grow back. It was more of an in-your-face admission to the world that yes, I have cancer; and it was all tied-up with the fear of the illness and feeling unattractive and unwell. The neuropathy, however, while not visible to anyone, is a serious condition that can last for life. Anyway, the clinic I went to no longer offers any of that.
Dear Hanieh, I agree with Sylvia about the diphereline injections. I quick-read several articles on it, and it does seem to be used primarily on men with prostate cancer. All drugs have side effects too, as you know.
Is there any chance you could find a different oncologist to work with? Since you have had cancer, it would probably be wise to have one who knows your history, and if you have never had a good explanation why you are getting these injections it might be time to transfer your files elsewhere. I am sorry you are going through this, when you are not feeling well is a bad time to be doubting your doctor's care. I have check-ups every 6 months with an oncologist,which don't amount to much, but if I complain of pain she will order a test if she thinks it necessary. The truth is since we have all had cancer, we have a higher likelihood of having it again, so it is good to have that doc in your corner for some years, in my opinion. I hope you can find one you have more confidence in, if indeed you choose to go that way. It sounds like you are being pushed in that direction. It is ultimately your decision.
I am also glad you are having the MRV and MRA tests. To have your head totally examined would be good I think, to either pinpoint a cause or clear the air of any problem. Not knowing is the worst thing, I think. I am also prone to anxiety issues at times, and it can take over everything and actually make one ill. Remember my trip to the hospital with what I thought were heart symptoms? Turned out to be anxiety caused by not knowing what was wrong with my legs. Anxiety symptoms can be much like heart attack symptoms. My trip to the hospital for heart tests and later to the neurologist office has somewhat answered my questions. I don't like the answer, since there is nothing I can do about it. But at least my mind is much better because the panic of not knowing is gone. For now, anyway!
So you have had the tests you need, and now we wait for the results. Best wishes, dear, we wait with you.
Hope you can find some peace and calm while you are waiting.
Mary
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Hi Adagio,
I am still doing acupuncture, the doc works on the neuropathy and I do believe it helps with the burning feet. Nothing seems to help with the weak legs yet, I have to be careful with the exercise; and take frequent breaks or else I am just worse the next day.
Oddly enough, I have been receiving info about Tapping in my email. There was an online free tutorial offered. I didn't do it the last time, but it will probably be coming around again. I agree with you, I will try anything within reason that might help. Keeping my anxiety level down is an important task for me.
As to supplements; some months ago I was taking a good 100-mg B Complex pill, among others. My GP did some blood work, his office called and said to discontinue the B6. It was at such a high level in my body, and B6 apparently can actually cause neuropathy if you have too much in your system! Who knew! So right now I am only taking a B12. I do take magnesium, Vitamin D, Fish oil, Curcumin, a probiotic. There are others I take more sporadically. Vitamin C I am careful with, if I take too much it upsets my stomach. I also take schizandra for the liver, and some calcium. So far my bone density tests have been normal.
Another factor in all this is the fact that I am two years older than at the time of my diagnosis. So much has happened in that time; the cancer and chemo and subsequent problems, my husband's illness and death, the treatment for my liver disease which also wiped me out, and it seemed at times I was trudging through the days, just hoping to feel better. Now I feel as if I am waking up, and I find myself with a different body than before in many ways. I will have to learn to work with it, I suppose!
I am glad the alternative treatments work for you, I do believe in trying them out. Yoga was also suggested to me because I am rather much stiffer than I was before. The health center I belong to has one class a week of gentle yoga. Seems that most people these days want the power yoga, or hot yoga. I am going to give the gentle yoga a try.
Talk soon, Mary
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Hello Hanieh,
I think it is really bad that you have been on a drug for one and a half years that apparently is of no use. I think you have made up your mind not to have any more diphereline injections, and I think that if I were in your shoes, I would be making the same decision. I would also be very annoyed at taking a drug for no purpose. Let us hope you will feel much better as this drug disappears from your body. It would be interesting to know whether one of the side effects is pressure in the head.
As I said before, the physical check ups that I had here alternated between my oncologist and breast cancer surgeon. For the first couple of years I had them every three months, alternating, and then went on every six months, alternating. After about six years the breast cancer surgeon decided I was ready to be discharged, and I then saw the oncologist just once a year. Both the breast cancer surgeon and the oncologist did exactly the same thing at the check ups. They put their hand over the mastectomy site and told me they were looking for everything to be smooth. They checked the remaining left breast for any lumps, checked under the armpits for anything swollen in the lymph nodes and also checked the lymph nodes around the neck. They told me that a sign of something perhaps being wrong was a rash on the mastectomy scar. They would chat with me, ask me how I felt, and if I had anything of concern. Every three years I had a mammogram. You can see from this that it did not really matter whether I saw the consultant surgeon or the oncologist. Often I saw the medical assistant instead of the consultant surgeon after a few appointments. I always saw the same oncologist.
As it happened, I had an all women team and I felt very reassured by that. The women were very dedicated and always answered any questions I had.
Once again, I hope you have good results from your scans.
I do hope everything will go well on Wednesday when you have to do a demonstration of teaching adults advanced levels. Your written English is excellent and I would think your accent is excellent as well. Try to get a good night's sleep and just be yourself tomorrow and just teach as you would normally teach.
Do you know what kind of thing the written evaluation is likely to be? Four hours is a long time. I can already see you sitting in a classroom evaluating teachers teaching! Again, just tell yourself you are going to come through all of this.
When will the interview be?
Thank you for your kind words about the sunset in Exmouth. I have never watched nature so much, because I am really fed up with this extra long and dreary winter.
Remember, Hanieh, you are going to get through all of this and then you can have one of those nice gatherings with your friends.
Good luck.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
Thank you for your post. With reference to the icing, I did ask my oncologist about an ice cap to avoid hair loss, but she told me that she was against them because of the risk of infection, so I did not take the matter any further. I did read that going through treatment with the ice cap was quite long winded and that the cold feeling was dreadful.
As for the hair loss, it was something that bothered me, but I wore a wig all the time and most people thought I had not lost my hair! It is very distressing when your hair starts to fall out and mine did after the first chemotherapy session. However, with the wig I always felt confident and I know that wearing scarves etc. would not have suited me. I went to a session at FORCE charity in the grounds of my hospital, right at the beginning, where I was shown how to tie scarves and I knew I was not going that way. I still have my wig. I did read sometime ago that hair loss can be permanent, but I do not know how true that is.
It is true that hair loss is a visible admission of cancer, but of course you can be prematurely bald for other reasons, and not all cancer drugs cause hair loss, so I have been told, but I think all chemotherapy breast cancer drugs do.
Keep well, Mary.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I was interested to know that you are taking schizandra. I had never heard of this and it always makes my day to learn something new. I read that it is also called the five flavour berry and has about five different tastes, such as sweet, bitter, sour etc. Do you take it in supplement form? I see that it is part of traditional Chinese medicine. I am wondering whether it is like soursop, something i have never tasted but it is supposed to be very healthy.
I continue to eat my bitter apricot kernels and drink my decaffeinated green tea. I also drink rooibos tea, which is supposed to be full of antioxidants.
In the US, was anything special going on for TNBC day on March 4th? There was no mention of it here in the UK.
Today is International Women's Day but there has not been much mention of that either.
The fearmongering continues over the EU referendum. Roll on June 23rd!
Turkey is indulging in a lot of blackmail over all the immigrants that are stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia. Turkey is making all kinds of demands, including becoming a member of the EU with free access across the 28 countries. That is frightening, since it has a population og 75 million, which is more than the UK and perhaps more than Germany.
That is all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia,
I learned about schizandra on a discussion group, similar to this one, only everyone has, or had, some degree of liver disease. The liver supposedly causes no feelings of pain, but most of the people have had at one time or another a dull ache in the liver area. If you ask a doctor about it, he/she will say "The liver doesn't feel pain." Anyway, the voices of experience suggest taking schizandra for this aching sensation. And, it does seem to work, I don't even take it every day anymore because I haven't had the ache in quite a while. The only explanation I have ever rooted out is that the liver is surrounded by a sac. The sac does feel sensation; if the liver swells for any reason, or the fluid inside increases, and puts pressure on the sac, you will feel it. There is another herb important to liver protection, that is milk thistle.
I had not heard of rooibus tea, what kind of plant is that?
The only mention I heard of TNBC Day here was in the article that we both read. Very few people I have ever talked to have heard of it, and I don't blame them. I had never heard about it either. Until I got cancer I thought BC was BC and that was it. Nothing is ever simple, is it?
International Women's Day, didn't hear of that one either. I wonder who decides on all these days? I bet there is not an International Men's Day, doesn't seem quite fair if there is not.
So Turkey wants in the EU, in exchange for not sending all the immigrants over the line? If the EU dissolves, that would settle that. I wonder what will happen with all those immigrants, must be a job to have to feed and house all of them. We have our own border with Mexico that causes a lot of problems, Mexico has very strict laws about their own border; but they have no respect for ours.
Hope everyone is feeling well today,
Sure signs of spring: My old cat went outside yesterday, she hadn't been outside since last September! She hates the cold. Another sign: my lawn is full of wild onions. I remember when I was a child and went to school, we drank milk from cartons and in the spring it always tasted like onions. At home we milked the cows ourselves, and did not have so many onions in the pastures.
Talk to you soon,
Mary
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Hello Mary,
After looking at some posts, I have been researching glutamine with reference to helping chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy and other side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. I was quite impressed with what I read but of course cautious as well about the claims. I looked up WebMD on the following link and am posting it for you to have a look and give me your opinion. I was wondering whether you have taken glutamine.
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredie...
I also had an email from the Food Doctor and discovered that today is No Smoking Day. There is a little section entitled Food Swaps and it says that, if you are craving caffeine, you could be suffering from iron and salt deficiency. I avoid caffeine but am wondering what a craving for it is like. Have you any idea?
We are having very high winds here and it looks like a day to stay indoors.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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I took L-glutamine during chemo - it wasa fairly large dose - 20 grams per day - I used the powder and mixed it in water and simply sipped it throughout the day. I also took L-carnitine, a b-complex vitamin and b6. All of these were to help prevent neuropathy.
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Hi Sylvia, Mary , adagio and all
Thanks a lot for all your care and concern. I managed to pass yesterday's demo successfully and now I'm preparing myself for tomorrow's exam. Sylvia, thank you so much for all your encouragement.
Mary,I'm really happy to hear that you have no problem with your heart. adagio thank you so much for your kind words.
I still have the feeling of pressure in my head but try to ignore it and do my daily tasks. Two nights ago I was feeling numb in my both hands while all my body was trembling so I went to emergency but the doctor told me it was just a panic attack and there was nothing serious with me. The sedatives she prescribed calmed me down.
I hope to come here with some good news about the results of my MRV and MRA. Then may be I should need to see a counsellor.
Lots of love
Hanieh
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Hello Sylvia,
I have not taken glutamine. I read the medication info and it sounds like it is good for a lot of things. I noted it mentioned "neuropathic pain", but seems more used for prevention, as Adagio used it. I am going to get back into taking the B Complex, I am researching brands to try and find one with less odor and bad taste. Also one that uses methycobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin for delivery of B12. Turns out the cyanocobalamin is a form of cyanide. Doesn't sound good.
As to the caffeine cravings, I usually only want caffeine in the morning; I have a couple cups of coffee with a little raw honey. That's about it, I usually drink tea at night and that is decaffeinated. Sometimes I do want chocolate, which has caffeine. My body is usually low on sodium, but not iron.
I received the Chris Woollams newsletter. Looking forward to going through it. No dire warnings on it about computer viruses this time!
Talk soon, Mary
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Hi Hanieh,
Glad you got through your demo so well, and good luck with exams.
Sorry you had the panic attack, I am familiar with that feeling. I find the "not knowing" is a very bad thing to be experiencing because your mind can come up with all kinds of scenarios. I guess it is the feeling of not having control which sets it up. I hope getting the results of the MRV and MRA tests will bring you some peace of mind.
In the meantime, try to stay busy and keep your mind on the exams. Apparently you are doing very well at school with your work.
Let us know what happens next.
Take care, Mary
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Hello adagio,
Thank you for your post. It was most interesting and I am sure it will help anyone looking for information on how to prevent or help to prevent neuropathy. Did you research these products for yourself or did you have some alternative advice or treatment before you began chemotherapy? Do you think they helped to prevent neuropathy? I ask this because I remember your saying you also iced your hands and fingers. Which do you think was the most effective of all these things?
Are you doing anything these days to treat your osteoporosis?
Keep well and keep in touch.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
Congratulations on passing your demo yesterday and I do hope that your exam has gone well today.
You seem to be a very able and committed young woman and I am sure everything will have gone well.
I do hope you will get good scan results tomorrow and that you can start afresh and look forward with confidence. I was so sorry to read that you had had a panic attack and I hope you will not have any more.
I do hope you will be able to extricate yourself from the medical establishment as you do not want to be in a cycle of scans and pills. It is you who will make your body strong again. If you feel like some counselling, it probably will not do you any harm but you may need a rest from talk about cancer. Have you thought about joining something else of interest to you where you can relax and think about something else?
That is all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I think I tend to agree with you that glutamine and other products may only be good for prevention. I honestly do not think there is any cure for neuropathy once you have it. If a cure does become publicised it will probably be another pill with side effects, and I just do not believe that nerves damaged through chemotherapy can be repaired. I did see the podiatrist today and she told me that my feet are in very good condition and that I have good circulation.
I think I am beginning to be quite concerned about vitamin supplements as well. When you mentioned cyanocobalomin I looked up all the ingredients in my multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and found that very word for B12. I was also amazed at what else was in the supplement. I believe all this is foreign to the body and that we should be getting everything through our food.
Thank you for your information about caffeine. I drink mostly decaffeinated green tea and rooibos tea, which has no caffeine. I was trying to find out what people experience in their body or brain for them to know that they are craving caffeine.
I was glad to know you received Chris Woollams newsletter without any problems. I have got mine as well, but have not had time to read it. I hope to do so during the weekend. I am so glad that he has extended his newsletter and website to health in general and not only cancer. We are so lucky to have a man like him. I am sure we shall have lots to discuss when we have read it.
That is all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Joliel, Amanda and linali (Lindsay),
We are missing you on the thread and hope all is well.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia/all
Hope everyone is doing fine . I've not popped on in a while been away with family , Dubai again love that place.
I have still been having a little discomfort in area of left groin. I had an ultra sound which didn't pick anything up so I put it down to ibs. A few weeks ago I passes blood, only a small amount and only once but thought I need to get this investigated. Yesterday I went to the hospital for a colonoscopy they told me straight away that every thing was normal and no need for any concern. I'm thinking that this must just be the after effects of chemo. The problem we have is that each ache and pain we have we think the beast is back and we are never sure what is normal and what is not until it is investigated.
Hanieh you are going through such a stressful time at the moment . Stress with exams from work and not feeling well with your headaches. I am hoping this stressful time passes quickly for you and you will soon be enjoying yourself again.
I have read that a number of people with tnbc taking aspirin. I just wondered if any of you ladies are taking it. My doctor/ oncologist has given me no help with regards to supplements/ nutrients.
Anyway I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Amanda
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Hi Sylvia, Mary, adagio and Amanda
I'm so happy to tell you that my MRA and MRV came back normal but I still have the feeling of pressure in my head and at times feel dizzy. I hope with the coming of our new year- 1395- I feel better soon. Thanks a million for all your kindness and care.
My yesterday exam was good except my feeling so tired for the last questions. There were ten questions that were divided to two five- question parts which were to be answered in 90 minutes. We had a 15-minute break in between. That took about 3 hours and fifteen minutes. The answers had to be hand- written in 10 A4 papers and all were dealing with class management and observation strategies. I think I managed to give some good answers but should wait for more than one month for the results.
Amanda, I completely agree with you that every ache or pain can be really scary to us and I'm extremely happy that you're OK.
Next week with the coming of spring our new year begins and right now after all the scans and exams I have found some time to do my spring clean-up. My husband is home tomorrow to clean the walls and windows. I have also done some shopping for new clothes for my daughter too.
Hope spring brings all of us lots of joyful events.
Lots of love
Hanieh
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Hello Amanda,
It was nice to hear from you. I hope you had a good time in Dubai. What is it about Dubai that attracts you?
I was glad to know that all your tests have found nothing abnormal.
It is difficult but somehow we have to learn to live with these aches and pains and try not to think the worst.
There has been a lot of talk about taking low dose aspirin as an anti-cancer pill and I think there are probably women on the threads raking them. I think the idea is to control inflammation which we are told is the beginning of the journey to chronic ill health and nasty diseases. As you know, one of the rules on the forum is that we should not give advice to anyone, so we can only say what we are doing ourselves. I certainly would not take them as aspirin is a drug, does have side effects, and can cause bleeding. I am not surprised that neither your doctor or oncologist have given you no advice in this respect, as orthodox medicine is not into any of this. As far as I am concerned, I am trying to prevent cancer coming back through my lifestyle, healthy eating, a little exercise, avoiding toxins in toiletries, household cleaning products, environment (very difficult) and avoiding negative stress (very difficult) but I shall not be taking aspirin or metformin. I hope this helps.
You might want to read the March edition of Chris Woollams newsletter. I have got to go into all the details but there are some interesting headings, one of which, number 10, is "Ginger can fight cancer; Taxol is all but useless". If you sign up for the email, read the different headlines and the headings underlined underneath, you will learn a lot.
http://www.chriswoollamshealthwatch.com/
Please keep in touch.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
I am so glad that you had good news and I shall post more later on today.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
It could be that the feeling of pressure in your head and feeling dizzy is caused by stress and anxiety, or sinus, and that it will go as you can get back to being more relaxed. Perhaps you could have some deep massage therapy and/or aromatherapy and reflexology. I have been reading pamphlets about these that I got at the podiatrist's where they also do all this therapy. It seems that all of them are supposed to relieve stress and anxiety. I am thinking of getting some reflexology to see if this is true. I do know that at my hospital for cancer patients going through treatment these therapies were offered. I did not have any as I was fine.
It sounds as though your exams were quite gruelling and I do admire you for getting through them. I am sure you are going to pass them. You have to wait quite a long time, so do not start worrying about the results.
I was most interested to know that you will soon be celebrating your new year of 1395. That is 621 years behind us. Is it the same year for all Muslim countries worldwide? Here in the west it is the custom to make new year's resolutions for the New Year. You must make one about relaxing, trying not to worry, and moving on with optimism.
We also have the custom of doing spring cleaning. It is strange that when we have nice weather we are indoors doing cleaning!!! It is a beautiful day here today, so I am just going to go through my Chris Woollams' newsletter and print off the details of interest. I prefer to read like this to avoid staring at the screen. The main titles are as follows:
1. Ten foods to help you lose weight.
2. Sleeping problems linked to diabetes risk.
3. Increasing research evidence on how to prevent and slow Dementia/Alzheimer's.
4. The Rainbow Diet helps beat type-2 diabetes.
5. Cardiovascular risk now linked conclusively to Environmental toxins.
6. Amazing FREE daily online Natural Health Summit starts March 14th and ends March 22nd.
7. Immunotherapy to replace chemotherapy within five years?
8. Ten ways to boost your immune system naturally.
9. Johnson & Johnson fined $78 million over talc link to ovarian cancer.
10. Ginger can fight cancer; Taxol is all but useless.
11. It is time to heal your gut.
12. Big Pharma providing useless and sometimes harmful drugs.
I hope you have a good day today and wish you all the very best for your New Year.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi, Sylvia and all,
Just wanted to come in and say I had a very busy weekend; this morning I have begun wading through Chris Woollam's articles. Wow, there is so much there! I have been following links, and it's an endless chain of information.
I did start at the bottom; the article on ginger and taxol caught my eye immediately. I am a fan of ginger, for its' flavor in food; I also have a bottle of ginger oil which I use. I put a couple of drops on my tongue when I think about it, it helps digestion and apparently a lot of other things. It is truly disappointing and scary to think that the taxane products we were given (and which have caused some of us much grief!), may have actually been more dangerous than we knew. That is history for most of us though, it would be wonderful if, in the future, there would be other things offered for breast cancer treatment that were safer.
The article on probiotics links endlessly to other info; I am a believer in taking this substance, I take a probiotic pill daily and I believe it has helped my digestion and chronic constipation. I take one called "Perfect Biotics", I think we mostly take these products on faith hoping they do indeed contain what the manufacturer is saying. The only way I know to tell is if I feel better by taking them. It does make sense to me; I have wondered for years why there are so many allergies and asthmas nowadays. One of the articles mentions that with our penchant for cleaning everything with the strong antibiotic cleaners, and giving antibiotic pills to children, we are not allowing them to grow healthy bacteria in their guts. Also, in the past, more people were raised on farms with animals, and picked up bacterias from the animals and from the dirt. These bacteria made the immune system stronger rather than causing it harm.
As to Big Pharma providing useless and sometimes harmful drugs; yes, they may provide them, but the doctors prescribe them. And also most doctors do not give out info on healthy diet, it is just not included in their schooling. I know my brother is taking a cholesterol-lowering drug, a statin. He was reluctant, but his doc thought he needed it. He told me his cholesterol number and it was only a few points over the norm, it would have been easily lowered by a slight diet change, in my opinion. He gets a lot of exercise already. In my own case, as I have said here before, I was offered a dizzying array of anti-anxiety and mood-altering drugs in the months following my chemotherapy. Most women I know are on an anti-depressant medication. In this country the "Big Pharma" companies can develop the drug and advertise it on TV. but it is still the doctor who ultimately writes the prescription.
I shall write more later. Hanieh, I do hope you are feeling better.
Mary
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Hi Sylvia, Mary and all
Sylvia, thank you so much for all your suggestions. But I should do some careful research about them , as to be honest, I have no idea about them. Unfortunately we are behind the western world in many areas.
My spring clean-up is going pretty smoothly as I always enjoy cleaning up. I'm in favour of tidiness and cleanliness. My husband helps me alot and I m really thankful for that.
Mary,my head feels a bit better. In fact, I should try not to think about it. Whenever I'm free those strange feelings in my head return and even a sharp side pain is added to it! But I hope to pass this phase of getting scared of all pains soon.
Tomorrow night, in Iran people celebrate the last Tuesday night by some fire works. I m not the least interested in it but I love our family's get together in my aunt's house.
Wish all of you the best
Hanieh
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