Anyone else out there choosing 100% Alternative?
Comments
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This is supposed to be the Alternative forum and I do find a lot of the posts come under attack or criticism. I don´t criticise people for following conventional treatments on their threads so I don´t know why people feel they have the right to make so many overly sceptical posts on here.
I am no fool and researched carefully the protocol I am following along with finding "alternative" doctors I trusted.........(who also happen to be fully qualified in standard medicine) and I would really like a space to genuinely share alternative protocols without negativity from those already set against it .....I find it very dispiriting0 -
Rozem - I too would love to learn the information about what Alternative treatments WORK.
Momine - I've got diabetes in my genes, and fighting very hard to control ( my numbers were up to 110 fasting) - in Europe 110 is the borderline, in the USA it's 100. The most important test is the AC1, and I just squeaked by in that one 5.9. I stopped using Agave ( drink green tea all day, I feel I was suckered into Agave by the marketing hype), now use only locally produced honey. The best thing for me, in addition to Cinnamon, has been Bitter Melon. I use the pills. Tried to cook with the vegetable, but couldn't stand the taste even if I par boiled it b4 stir frying.
Selena, we have very similar gardens. But your's sounds in much better condition than mine. I keep large pots of Lemon Verbena, and take indoors in the winter, my favorite tea, and just crinkling up the leaves, makes the whole room smell wonderful.
Thanks Beesie, so wish we cold be sure of what's in the supplements we buy.0 -
lily55,
I find questioning and challenging a positive thing and there is plenty of it on the conventional threads as well. If I am considering doing something that doesn't make sense or is potentially harmful, I'm not threatened by people saying so. What I choose to do with that info is up to me. lightandwind has started a new thread which asks for no challenging, no questioning and that participants already be well informed. You might want to check it out.
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/121/topic/815203?page=1#idx_70 -
Lily, I would be very interested in hearing what you have learned from your docs.0 -
LightnWind...You have beautifully managed to write everything I have wanted to say. Well done, my wonderful friend. I, have also, received many many private messages from ladies who are interested in alternatives but are afraid to post...even in the alternative section.. I am officially done with posting on the alternative threads any new studies and info I may come across. If anyone would like to check in on me to see if I am still alive doing what I am doing w/ herbs etc you may pm me. I may comment from time to time on the ILC thread, but nothing alternative anymore. Someone had mentioned that all of the 'alties' have moved on, and they have! Many are on Cancercured and breastcancerthinktank where we find the latest info/studies and support each other 100% whether we agree or not. I wish ever beautiful lady here the best of luck!!!!! xxoo
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Selena Wolf,
I have never heard that insulin is a treatment for asthma. Where did you get that information?
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Eating a lot of fruit at one sitting is not great except when cherries are in season. Then you may gorge yourself because the season is very short ( at least in northern CA).0 -
kayb i find your comments pretty rude - who are you to make such proclamations? So now because i choose a complementary treatment route i dont value science??? Do you really think i did not research and read extensively before making a decision?
Personally i find those who exclusively follow standard treatment selectively read studies in favour and dont want to know about the other studies showing chemo is not a cure all and can promote cancer stem cells, you know those cells found by alternative practitioners who were mocked but are now accepted as key in the fight against cancer......by standard medicine0 -
Brnx, lol, I don't have this problem, since I can't bring myself to eat cherries. They taste like marzipan to me and even the smell of marzipan makes me feel ill.0 -
according to one/some sites the most estrogenic foods are tomatoes, apples, cherries, fennel. I've quit tomatoes a bit, never liked them much anyway but some of these are very good anyway, for the color, anthrocyanins, and pectn, apples.0 -
I think one would have to gorge day after day, week after week, etc. on those foods for them to have ANY effect on cancer. Ridiculous. Everything in moderation is my motto. A balanced diet promotes a healthy body.0 -
Lily - I'm sure you have done lots of research before choosing your route. However, regardless of how much research you have done you couldnt have found scientific proof that alternative measures are more effective or as effective as the standard of care. That's why it's called alternative. As others have mentioned previously, there are all sorts of benefits to the natural route but none that have, so far, proven effective against cancer. We are not a group of women with upset stomachs...we have cancer! A beast that requires heavy artillery and not anecdotal evidence IMO.0 -
Kayb, I'm particularly interested in circulating insulin as problematic for cancer cell growth. How did it happen that you had your A1C tested if you are not diabetic? Did you request it, or did your onc or PCP order it as a matter of course. In other words, I'm not diabetic either, but kind of think knowing my A1C would help me know whether I'm eating too many carbs and need to tweak my diet.
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Well said, Mardibra. To me most alternative therapy is a form of magical thinking. The wish is that an herb, or combination of herbs, vitamins, enemas or whatever will cure cancer with no or minimal SEs. I'm sure we all would love it if that happened, but so far the official track record for alternatives curing cancer is a big fat zero.0 -
Brookside, I ordered my own A1c. Here in Greece, it costs a out 15 bucks, so no biggie. My onc thinks I am nutso for checking it, but it seems like such an easy and useful test, I can't see why I wouldn't check it.0 -
Thaks, Momine. As my onc is a big believer of circulating insulin being a real bad guy, I wonder if maybe I can get him to order it. Here, I don't think you can schedule tests on your own.
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Kayb---"What I think may come under greater scrutiny in the future is whether or not slightly elevated glucose levels encourage a state of inflammation that may encourage cancer."
Exactly! Inflammation is looking like a driver in many diseases: heart disease, cancer, arthritis, etc. There is already a lot of scientific evidence to this effect. Which is why I don't understand why mainstream medicine all but ignores diet. It seems relevant only to the extent it interferes with radiation, chemo or drugs. Yet, a lot of us here have altered our diets because we are convinced insulin and IGF-1 levels play a big role in cancer growth. So why did neither of the MO's I spoke with bring up diet at all? Why do they also ignore the immune system, which plays a big part in cancer progression? Why are diet, immunity building, stress reduction, etc. in the "holistic" or "naturopathic" realm, when there is plenty of science to support their importance to patient outcome?0 -
because they are taught very minimal information on nutrition in medical school. Even if it were taught recommendations change constantly.0 -
At my NCI hospital everyone is referred to a nutritionist.0 -
me too Yorkie…I met with the nutritionist frequently.0 -
Same here. Those people are a wealth of information!0 -
Brookside, I just go to a blood testing lab and tell them what I want. I pay for it myself obviously. To get the insurance to pay, I need it to be ordered by a doc.0 -
Yorkie and Mardi, what did the nutritionists tell you?0 -
The nutritionist was great for tips during chemo to help with some of the SE's and where to shop for some of the stuff. Trader Joe's was a staple for me during chemo. She was big on lots of protein. Whey powder, nuts, etc. Ginger chews for nausea, "real" ginger ale too.0 -
Fallleaves... the insulin/blood glucose hypothesis is why I am participating in the Metformin trial. My fingers are crossed that they will find that breast cancer cells do, indeed, have insulin receptors and that Metformin is going to prove to be another weapon in the arsenal of breast cancer treatment.0 -
Brookside, you can buy a glucose meter for about $30 at Walmart and mine had instructions with it to order a test by mail. I did mine. You put a blood drop on test paper and mailed it in, then received a report back.0 -
One of the issues that I have with the "breast cancer cells are resistent to chemo therefore chemotherapy doesn't work" way of thinking is that, if we take anything long enough and regularly enough, our bodies will become resistent. Pain killers are good example. Addictions occur because, as time goes on, one's body adjusts to the medication, and higher- and higher doses are needed to achieve relief. They "stop working" and start killing. Our bodies become resistent to antibiotics when they are overused... and when they are misused (not taken as prescribed) our bodies have the ability to create "superbugs". It amazes me, sometimes, that this basic aspect of the human body - to change, to adapt, to mutate (hello? CANCER!) is, often, glossed over and ignored when the claims of "chemotherapy doesn't work!" start flying about.
[getting off soapbox now]0 -
Selena, I agree, and that means they would adapt to outsmart any alternative remedy that actually worked too.0 -
Pessa... studies are ongoing trying to determine efficacy, dose, safety, etc... but initial data suggested that there may be a role for inhaled insulin for certain patients with asthma and COPD. There's that word "may" that I dislike, but it would explain the basis of the old wives' tale of sunflower oil for relieving bronchial symptoms.0 -
Thank you, Melissa. I'll probably talk to my onc first. If he's not inclined to test, then maybe I'll get the meter. It might be a good tool to have anyway, to learn my response to carbs.
About those stem cells--Chemo obviously works as long as it works, then loses its efficacy. Is it the premise of the stem cell theory that these cells are immune to chemo and however many you had when you started will still be there thumbing their little noses at you when you've finished treatment? Or is it that some of them will survive, as will some of the regular cancer cells?
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