Survivors who had chemo etc and are into Complementary medicine
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Finally, a large meta analysis of the literature conducted by an international panel under the auspices of a Canadian anti-tobacco group (important to disclose) found evidence for pre-menopausal but not postmenopausal women:
From The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/health/24smoke.html
April 24, 2009
Panel Sees Role for Smoking in Breast Cancer
By RONI CARYN RABIN
Smoking causes lung cancer and is implicated in a dozen other cancers, but scientists have generally dismissed its importance in breast cancer, saying it plays little role, if any.
Now, a Canadian panel of experts is challenging the widely held view.
In a report issued on Thursday, the panel asserted that evidence from new studies strongly suggests that smoking increases the risk of breast cancer, and warned that girls and young women faced special risks from exposure to smoke. For them, even exposure to secondhand smoke during this critical period of development may increase the risk of breast cancer later in life, the report said.
The report found strong evidence that secondhand smoke contributed to premenopausal breast cancer, but did not find enough support to say it increased the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
The perspective is a sharp dissent from the consensus among most scientists that there is not enough consistent evidence to determine whether smoking plays a causal role in breast cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer said in a 2004 report that it found little or no link between active smoking and breast cancer, and the surgeon general's office said in 2006 that there was insufficient evidence to say secondhand smoke caused breast cancer.
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VJSL8 - thank you for the info - I will go over and sign up today...
1Athena1 - when I was diagnoised- I asked and my surgeon and oncologist both agreed that smoking probably didn't cause the cancer - their opinion based upon what they knew at the time. However.... They did say that going through chemo, surgery, and radiation would be difficult if I was still smoking.... So I did quit and I would recommend that others quit as well....
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that's the whole point of Army of Women--we really don't know the cause of most BC, smoking may or may not play a factor. Animal studies really don't help because no other animal has breast like women--animal breasts are developed during pregnancy. dr. Love said she started Army of Women because researchers told her they couldn't find enough women to for research projects and that's why they were using mice etc.
It's like when all the studies for heart disease were done on men and then extrapoled to women--yet it turns out heart disease in women is very different than in men.
Regardless if smoking causes BC, women in treatment should make an effort to stop because smoking interferes with the efficacy of chemo and puts a women at a higher risk of lung cancer from radiation. I have a workbook I use in my cessation classes that I will email to anyone on this board who asks (for free--no strings--if you don't want it for free-you can buy the e-book on Amazon), just send me a PM with your email address.
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Smoking also interferes with healing if you are having reconstructive surgery. Specifically, the nicotine is the culprit. That was one reason why I stopped without using the patch or gum.
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VJSL8, I just joined.
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Yes, 1Athena1, that too--I had a DIEP flap and they won't do this surgery at UCLA if someone is smoking--they need to be quit for 6 weeks. Stan Glanz at UCSF is also looking at the research between smoking, BC and premenopausal women--that's where I got my information from (lecture series I attended) and Dr. Susan Love told me (personally at a private meet and greet) about the protective effect.
kira1234--great, spread the word--most of the research I don't qualify for--but I send it to other women who may fit into the qualifications.
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Dang. No wonder those soybean pods were so stringy. Hubs says he didn't eat the pods -- he just ate the beans -- but, I remember differently.
otter
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pinkbutterfly--thanks for posting that info. Please come back and share with us the recommendations based on your blood tests. Very interesting!
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Back to food for a minute, I just found this recipe and it sounds easy, delicious and healthy.
Chicken Salad
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 tsp slivered almonds
1 1/2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons light vegan mayo
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Speaking of food, I had some leftover roasted sweet potatoes and took them to work and put them in my salad cold - yummmy!
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ooh i love the food narratives! ruth, that salad sounds yummy - perfect for a picnic.
speaking of food: tonight i seared scallops in butter (yeah, my bad) and TONS of garlic. added lemon juice, and poured the scallops and sauce over fresh spinach leaves. Yum yum yum.
i could eat scallops or shrimp every day, i think.
anyone have good scallop or shrimp recipes?
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I had stir fry shrimp tonight; browned up the shrimp in olive oil and then added tons of veggies; carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green, red, and yellow peppers and some soy sauce for flavor. Served it over brown rice.
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1 lb shrimp
1-1/2 c wild/brown rice
1 10OZ can organic 'chicken' stock
1/2 c white wine
1 green pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1 med onion
1 lb mushrooms
2 tbl organic butter or EVOO
saute rice in melted butter/EVOO until brown
while sauteeing, add chopped veggies and garlic
cover can cook over low/med heat until much liquid has been reduced - 20-25 min. Stir in shrimp, cover cook until done, 10-15 min.
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Yum, Barb. Dinner tonight!!
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ruth and barb: love those recipes. going to make the shrimp one for my DH tmw night.
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This healthier cookie recipe was in the paper today, for those of us who simply can not give up sweets!
Carrot Cake Cookies
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dry ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 egg whites
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup drained crushed pinneapple
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Heat oven to 375. Lightly coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
Combine flour, baking soda, rolled oats, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg.
In second bowl, combine egg whites, brown sugar, oil, pinneapple, milk and vanilla.
Add liquid ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Stir in carrots, raisins and walnuts.
Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between them. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges & slightly firm to the touch.
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ruthbru, These cookies look like they would be good and good for you. Thanks for sharing I am going to make them. My DH has a sweet tooth, and I am always looking for cookies that he will eat that add some nutrition to his diet.
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Let me know if they are good. It is too hot here at the moment to turn on the oven!
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When it gets that hot, I do tuna salad Nicoise. You can use fresh, but I think the much cheaper chunk tuna in oil and lemon works better. It's tuna, cooked eggs, cooked green beans, and tomato. You pile on a plate somewhat artistically.
Layer of lettuce, and a pile of just-tender cold beans in the center, put wedges of tomatoes all around, and a couple of eggs halved around that. I like slices of anchovy around the eggs. If I have leftover potato, I add that too.
You serve with vinaigrette over, and some lovely summer white wine or rose.
Then there is the simpler lunch of halved boiled eggs with slices of anchovies over. This is on a bed of lettuce and served with tomato wedges. Mayonnaise is the dressing here.
If you make either one of these dishes, you want the best eggs you can get. I have almost two dozen direct from the farm. (Where you take the eggs out of the fridge and leave money in the jar. Really!)
Either one of these dishes is better served with nice crusty French bread. - Claire
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mmm, claire thanks for the reminder---I am very fond of tuna salad Nicoise and haven't made it at all this summer. At this time of year, when we have so much lovely fresh salmon, I also do it with leftover baked salmon instead of tuna.
Can't stand supermarket eggs---even the ones from the coop taste different. I get all my eggs at the Farmer's markets.
Oil-wise, I just don't fry much. If I need oil, I use olive or canola or peanut oil in my chinese cooking. I am also known to use Bacon Fat!!! yes thats right I actually use lard. I sincerely doubt that I will die from a dab of bacon fat used to braise my onions in a beef stew. For frying eggs, I really like walnut or hazelnut oil. Also very good in salads.
I recall people telling me that turmeric was supposed to be good for you. Alas, I just don't recall how much constitutes a dose. Nevertheless, last night we had turmeric.
Saute a bunch of chopped carrots (in my case I started with 7-8 carrots) with green and red bell pepper (in my case, I had 2 halves of peppers) and brown mustard seed. Add water and cook until soft. Mash up to smaller bits with a potato masher. Continue cooking.
In separate pan, saute 1 giant shallot (fresh from my garden!) and some very minced fresh ginger and a heaping t of turmeric. Add to carrots along with more water and two cups of dry brown lentils. Add more water to get to a soup consistancy. Bring to simmer. When lentils are soft, add 1T salt and 1t caynne pepper. Continue cooking.
Serve with giant dollap of yogurt on top.
Had I thought of it at the time, cumin added to the shallot would have been perfect.. ....
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Speaking of oils, coconut oil is REALLY good for us. And it's way better than olive oil for cooking ... you know how olive oil kind of disappears as you sautee with it? Not coconut oil.
Yes, it's a saturated fat, but it's gotten a hugely bad rap, much like eggs. It's actually really healing for us ... in fact, I know some who take a couple of teaspoons a day just for its health benefits. Google it and check it out! xxoo
Melissa
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Ruth, that cookie recipe sounds awesome. that's a keeper..and so is Claire's tuna nicoise. sounds scrumptious! my hubby loves tuna. going to try that next week on vacation. (and i love the story about the farm honor system. sigh. restores my faith in humankind. )
this "Raw Energy" cookbook is fabulous. I'm trying to do as much raw as possible, but giving myself room to cook food, because i love cooked food too much(i mean, garlic shrimp? the hell I'm giving that up!)
anyway, tonight i made a raw parfait with raw oats, mango, unsweetened coconut, and fresh almond milk (cheaters' recipe: 3TBSP. raw almond butter + 2c. filtered water, dash of sea salt, dash of vanilla, dash of raw honey, blended = milk!) pour over 1c. milk, chill x1 hour or more. it really was heavenly.
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My husband and I love trying out all-veg restaurants (so nice to be able to choose from more than one item on the menu!) We are in NYC, and just did Blossom in Chelsea. For those of you interested in organic vegan fare, bravo, Blossom! And we walked out with a $75 bill--pretty reasonable for dinner.
Also wanted to point out Oxygen magazine. Their focus is on clean eating as well as weight lifting, but I've learned so much from their power circuits which I take on the road. My only objection is the bolt on boobs (it is sad to me that strong women have to overcompensate with the rack of melons, it's absurd looking). They have women of all ages, too--one of their main feature writers is in her 50s.
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L: I've been wanting to try Blossom! I live in Ct, and was just down in the city last Wednesday with my DD. We lunched at Tea and Sympathy: egg salad sandwiches, scones with more cream than should be legal, and even Scotch egg (fyi, hard boiled egg inside sauage. quite a feat).
Have you tried Quintessence? I think it's down near Avenue B.
Hmm, haven't heard of Oxygen magazine, will check it out.
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Ruthbru,
Here is the Spaghetti sauce from scratch recipe that I added to your wonderful zucchini recipe. I used canned tomatoes, though, as fresh ones are still a little expensive here. I omitted the tomato paste and used the chilli option as well as adding a tablespoon of Organic Better than Boullion sauce.
http://www.catalogs.com/info/food/spaghetti-sauce-from-scratch.html
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Thanks to the ladies that commented on the alkaline diet.
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Thank you painterly.
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Ladies: some advice please.
I've been troubled with a nasty respiratory tract infection for the last three weeks. It started the week before the 4th of July, the same week I started volunteering at a nearby community center sorting donated clothes. It began with a worse sore throat than I've had in years. By Sunday I was barely able to swallow and was running a temperature. I went to urgent care and sat in the waiting room for an hour (I shouldn't complain as I'm sure there were much worse cases than me including a women that looked like she was going through chemo). Anyway, I saw the nurse and my temp was back to normal and she took a throat swab. My first time ever for that and I really don't think she got back there. I saw the doctor for a few minutes, who said it was likely a viral infection. Cultures came back negative. I wish I'd thought to offer to cough some phelgm onto the swab instead as I had plenty to spare.
My throat was still bad and I was bringing up phlegm by the time I saw my GP last week for my annual physical. She dismissed my concern about my throat and told me it was probably an allergy. But an allergy wouldn't result in inflammation, would it? And if it was just a cold as the first doctor implied, wouldn't I have nasal congestion? Pattern of colds for me is usually sore throat for two days, then the sniffles for about a week, maybe with some sneezing the first few days, then a minor cough toward the end. Usually last 10 days.
What I've done so far to treat this: Took Vicks medinite 3-4 nights. At least it helped me sleep. I've been gargling with salt solution and with Listerine. I've been eating very local raw honey and still my throat aches and I'm running a fever again today. My neck below my jaw is sore and I now have what in Ireland they would call a hacking cough and lots of phlegm.
I know this will eventually go away, but are there any additional remedies I could try?
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About edamame. I'd never seen it on sale before. But today saw it in the frozen food section at Stop & Shop. It was their own brand under the Steam Fresh label. You put the entire unopened bad in the microwave and cook it until the valve pops or something like that.
After all the talk here I was curious about country of origin. It was China. Also (for the woman whose husband was eating the pods) it said on the packaging that the pods are inedible.
I didn't buy after all I've heard about soy and breast cancer, I'm still a bit cautious.
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Elmcity, that is bringing up great memories, yes, know all those places! We lived here for 12 years before our move to the midwest. Where vegetarianism is not quite so embraced!
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