Survivors who had chemo etc and are into Complementary medicine
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oh and btw they are super easy to grow if you don't have creatures who know they are super tasty snacks.
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Athena, I never had children either and I took BC pills for 14 years. I suspect that is really the culprit.
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"Edamame is young soybeans, usually still in the pod. Because the beans are young and green when they are picked, edamame soybeans are soft and edible, not hard and dry like the mature soybeans which are used to make soy milk and tofu."
Still can't find where to get them raw in the pod, but at least I know I am looking for edamame pods!
This looks hopeful:
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they are near the peas and beans (frozen ) at my grocers.
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Same as apple, I can easily find them frozen in pods in the grocery store. I find it easier to shell them when they are about half thawed out.
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I just rummaged around in my freezer to find the bag of Trader Joe's frozen edamame that I was sure was in there, to check where it's from. No luck - must have finished it up and forgotten to replenish. And now this conversation has me craving an edamame snack.
(Otter, it's pretty funny that your in-law served the pods - at least you got a lot of fiber!)
L
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A new discovery: I find Trader Joe's produce in some cases better than our Whole Foods. Depending on where your stores are (they stock differently by neighborhood), this could save you a lot of $$. I don't bother with organics like Earthbound from California, they have basically no nutrition once they get all the way out here. For a while I was really against Trader Joe's and all their gross shrink wrapping. But after some really flavorful melons and lettuce, I'm back on board.
Random: anyone find their body shape changed after treatment? Scale still says I'm where I was before, but for some weird reason, pants are all uncomfortable. Is there anything worse than uncomfortable pants, people? Makes me feel homicidal!!
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LtotheK, yes, nothing worse than the tight waist feeling
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Re: Trader Joe's . . . I have one within walking distance of me, so I end up shopping there all the time. But I agree with LtotheK about the shrink wrapping and excess packaging generally - hate it! - and the fact that so much of their stuff is trucked in from far away. I wish they cultivated local suppliers, but that doesn't seem to be part of their business model.
Count me as another one whose clothes seem to fit tighter around the waist. It's especially aggravating in hot weather. Does anyone else get these hot flashes that seem to grip you around your midsection? It's like I'm wearing a burning belt.
L
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Woodstock Farms Organic Shelled edemame from the health food store, grown in China. I think it will be hard , unless they become more popular, to find a food that originated in Asia grown anywhere but Asia.
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toby - Let me know if you hear back and I'll let you know too. Would love some USA grown edamame. Maybe the Sweet Bean farm ships 'um fresh!0
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I've found organic non-GM US grown tofu, but not edamame. I keep looking at every store I'm in, not because I like it (I don't particularly) but because it's become a quest!
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Toby
I don't eat the soy anymore - used to be my main food source, from TJ's. Just a thought, about soy, though, it is far less likely to be genetically modified in China, than it is in the USA. Don't know if that matters to you but it's almost impossible to get large manufacturers of Soy in USA to certify it not genetically modified.
Also, think TJ's does a very good job on keeping a close eye on it's sources. I missed a frozen veggie combo they used to sell, asked about it, and was told, tho it was popular, they weren't able to maintain the "quality standards" they wanted to continue the product at the time.
I found that anwer more reassuring than disappointing.
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The American sweet bean co. source says it's non-GMO.
I love trader joe's spicey peach salsa - soooo good with egg white and steamed spinach.
also, costco has a fabulous gruyere cheese from Switzerland. Very flavorful!
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THANK YOU OMAZ - that is SO good to know. For the little I can have now, that's gong to be it!!!
YEAH
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Quick question...
Is soy oil ok? It seems to be in every vitamin I look at.
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LtotheK-->re: tight waist--my waist seems much bigger than the scale indicates. Very frustrating. For now, I'm blaming it on Herceptin!
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I started smoking at 18 - on and off for 30 years. Off when pregnant and breastfeeding three kids....
And, I got diagnosed with BC premenopause. So, smoking a pack a day didn't do anything for me.....
What is this army of women thing?
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ArmyofWomen.org is Dr. Susan Loves website--everyone should sign up. It's like a clearing house for research--they are trying to get 1 million women (and men) signed up. Researchers come to her and if the research is approved, you get an email blast to see if you or someone you know might fit the criteria. I've participated in 2 studies so far--one was for women diagnosed under the age of 40--they wanted a vial of blood and one from my mom and sister (they are doing genetic testing to see if there are differences) the other on was about whether internet or booklet form of information was better. They need women without BC too. Please check out her website: ArmyofWomen.org
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Lee7
I would like to know is also about the vitamins.I think I will call the doctor today and see what she says.It is hard to find anything without soy in it food or vitamins.
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Pebee, the study if I understand properly says that premenopausal women put themselves at risk by smoking, it's post-meno women who get the "benefit" (which is still weird for me to say about smoking!)
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Hi Ladies,
I am new to this thread. So impressed that there are 35 pages and it was started less than a month ago?! Wow. I am only on page 5, but I had posted some info on another thread about my visit to the Block Center in Chicago. I am a newbie when it comes to a lot of this integrative/complementary stuff, so may not be news to a lot of you, but I would like to post it here as well in hopes it may help somebody.
I welcome your comments and experiences with this stuff, as I am still trying to research on my own whether I should be taking everything they recommended. Thanks to everyone for listening.
OK, and the other thing is, I can be somewhat technically challenged, and the info is not pasting. I may need to do it in a separate post. Bear with me, ladies...
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I know Sherry is reading Anti Cancer: Anew Way of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, but I thought I'd share just a few words he writes, in the hope that more of us will read his book, and share our experiences.
Once again, thank you SusieQ for starting this thread.
AntiCancer:A New Way of Life
"IT must be stated at the outset that to date, there is no alternative approach to cancer that can cure the illness. It is complelely unreasonable to try to cure cancer without the best of conventional medicine: surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and soon molecular genetics.
At the same time, it is completely unreasonable to rely ONLY on this purely technical approach and neglect the natural capacity of our bodies to protect against tumors. We can take advantage of this natural protection to either prevent the disease or enhance the benefits of treatments."
David Servan-Schreiber Anticancer, page 9.
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Er -watch out about the benefit. That would assume that all BCs are er-positive.
It has been suggested that some BC may have nicotine receptors, and a recent study in Asia did find that, although there is not a large body of literature.
It's important not to assume that anything which reduces or suppresses estrogen is protective of BC. Very dangerous connection to make and, sadly, it is often made even in the literature. There may be a backdoor mechanism which we are unaware of that makes the overall effect of smoking harmful even if there is a suppression of estrogen. We don't know enough about BC to conclude for sure, but never should there be any hint that smoking could be protective of BC simply on what is know about estrogen!
Admittedly, not much is known about the subject. Also, true, it has become the rage/fad to tie just about everything to smoking and obseity, from cancer to heart disease to a flat tire (bad joke).
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Well, try as I might, cannot get it to paste. So, a quick summary:
Block Center was founded by an oncologist, but they have a team of oncologists, internists, nutritionists, PT's, psychologists, and researchers who review the scientific literature and make recommendations. I learned about it from a book I ordered from B&N called "Life over Cancer" which I highly recommend.
Their approach is based on testing one's own blood chemistry and designing a supplement program based on that to bring a person into what they have established (through research) as the optimal range for people fighting cancer. I am still waiting for their final recommendations for me, but here is what they discussed:
fish oil, resveratrol, mushroom blend (for immunity), calcium d-glucarate (which is not a calcium supplement but a compound which is supposed to help the body clear carcinogens), vitamin D, curcumin, multivitamins without copper (copper is supposed to be a compound that supports the abnormal formation of blood vessels in tumors). For some they recommend melatonin, but they told me I can hold off on that. Also, probiotics.
I read some research on the resveratrol that said it should not be used in people with ER/PR+ tumors. Also, they recommended for me a short course (1 month) of 50,000 IU vit D. As I said, I am new to the business of supplements, let alone mega-doses. I read on MSK website that high levels of vit D were associated with pancreatic cancer. So, I'm on the fence about the resveratrol, and not sure how much vitamin D to take...
Anyhow, sorry if this is not news to most of you. They advocate a mostly vegetarian diet (with fish only) and are adamant against cheese (that was a sad day for me, I don't miss the meat, but I do miss my cheese!). They also had me meet with a "mind-spirit" counselor, and in the book they do stress the importance of this aspect, and they do go into some specific techniques one can use.
One other thing I found helpful is a series of CD's and a DVD by Pasha Hogan. I met her at a workshop by the YSC and she is a beautiful human being who is herself a 3-time cancer survivor who finally left the corporate world and became a psychotherapist. She also teaches yoga. The DVD is basically very gentle yoga (I am a newbie to that, too, and I appreciated that it was "yoga for anyone") with a morning and evening routine, about 30 min each. One of the CD's contains a morning and evening as well as an "anytime" meditation, and the other is a discussion about learning to love the stranger staring back at you in the mirror. It was so timely and meaningful to me, as I was really struggling with my body-image after mastectomy. Pashahogan.com is the website.
Peace and blessings to all.
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I tried planting soybeans.. but the deer have eaten ALL the top of the plants. idiot deer. They are beautiful tho.
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We have tons of round tail squirrels and they will eat anything, including meat!
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Here are some links and information about the relationship between smoking and breast cancer. What they find is that certain substances may (in theory still) lead to mammary tumours. In the following study, which I follow with a link to Science Daily, there is evidence of nicotine binding to receptors:
The study itself (published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute):
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/102/17/1322
Explanation of the study for us laypeople, from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100823162320.htm
An excerpt:
The researchers found that human breast cancer cells consistently overexpressed the alpha 9 subunit of the nAChR (α9-nAchR), and that expression was higher in advanced-stage breast cancer compared with early-stage cancer. They also found that reducing the levels of α9-nAchRs inhibited tumor growth in laboratory experiments, whereas increasing the levels of α9-nAchRs or treating more normal breast cells with nicotine promoted the development of cancer characteristics.
The authors write: "These results imply that receptor-mediated carcinogenic signals play a decisive role in biological functions related to human breast cancer development."
The authors say their study was limited by its small sample size, and the fact that it included only Asian patients. Breast cancer in Taiwan is characterized by its low incidence rate and early stage of tumor onset.
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....but much of the relationship between smoking and breast cancer remains theoretical. Here is an epidemiological study. My bold:
Abstract
Cigarette smoking is an established cause of a variety of cancer types, but its role in breast cancer etiology is not clear. In this report, the potential role of cigarette smoke carcinogens as causes of human breast cancer is evaluated. Of over 60 known carcinogens in tobacco smoke, several are known to induce mammary tumors in laboratory animals: benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P), 2-toluidine, 4-aminobiphenyl, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, nitromethane, ethylene oxide, and benzene. Studies in humans demonstrate that tobacco constituents can reach breast tissue. The uptake and metabolic activation of mammary carcinogens such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 4-aminobiphenyl are frequently higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Although it is likely that specific mammary carcinogens in tobacco smoke can reach breast tissue, evidence is lacking at the present time. Some PAHs present in cigarette smoke can be metabolized to sterically hindered diol epoxides, which are potent mammary carcinogens. Thus, compounds such as benzo[c]phenanthrene (B[c]P), not classically considered to be a strong carcinogen in rodents, could nevertheless be metabolized in humans to diol epoxides carcinogenic to the breast. Collectively, the link between smoking and breast cancer is plausible but has been difficult to establish, probably because of the low carcinogen dose. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 39:119-126, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/em.10071/abstract
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This 2008 study concentrates on the same receptor as the Asian study and finds that it plays a role in promoting the growth and spread of BC. Interestingly, nicotine is singled out, even though nicotine itself was never considered a carcinogen:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081015073938.htm
Excerpt from Science Daily:
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2008) - A study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests a possible role for nicotine in breast tumor development and metastases.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is among the first to explore the effects of nicotine on mammary cells.
"Although numerous studies indicate the role of nicotine exposure in tumor promotion, little is known about the effect of nicotine on breast tumor development, especially on the metastatic process of breast cancer," said lead author Chang Yan Chen, Ph.D., M.D., at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Through a series of in vitro tests Chen and her team of researchers determined that breast epithelial-like MCF10A cells and cancerous MCF7 cells both express several subunits of nAChR (nicotine receptor), that when bound, initiate a signaling process, potentially increasing cell growth and migration.
"The best known role of nAChR is in the nerve system," Chen said. "Although cells from various tissue origins express different subunits of nAChR, we know very little about the functions of nAChR in non-neuronal cells and tissues, in particular in mammary cells."
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Sorry, I don't like using Science Daily as my primary source, but I can't find the original link to the study.
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