Has anyone been cured via the holistic route?
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There is no right or wrong but there's odds against you or odds with you.
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yes I did do surgery, I was so glad to have the physical tumor removed. When I woke up after my mastectomy I felt it was gone. I did do several years hormone therapy but I refused chemo. My doctors, the surgeon and oncologist, really thought my cancer would come back because I refused chemo. Well so far it hasn't and I thank God I did what I felt was right.
To be really honest, I believe in the surgical removal 100%, but the chemical treatment I trust about 20%. We know chemo kills cells especially fast growing cells but does it get it all, really doubt it. Hormone therapy was downplayed to me, not sure how effective it was. Do the drugs cause other problems, hmmm maybe. We need better treatment that doesn't damage the otherwise healthy body. I sure hope immunotherapy is the answer.
In some situations, it makes sense to do everything to hope for many more cancer free years.
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First, there is NO cure for breast cancer. There Is dormant periods for sure which researchers are left scratching their heads. Mine was dormant for 20 plus years and thus my cancer found last year is a new case plus a different cancer. So I was never cured. I never thought I was btw. A close friend got cancer the same time 20 plus years ago only hers was more aggressive and staging higher. She worked in the medical field. She threw everything at it. It came back a few years ago. I know lots of people that did everything and are still here and those that have died. Some young some old.
I have spent the past year reading books on cancer, but really more about cells and the “why” of cancers as well as those that should be dead but are still here after stopping all therapies and just making significant changes to their lives. I chose a year ago to have surgery, but no chemo, radiation nor hormone therapy. I stand by my decision more today than ever. Mostly because I have educated myself as much as possible about our complex systems. I wanted desperately to feel good again, if only for awhile, before I left this earth. I have been granted that wish. I feel great. I feel better than ever before in my life.
I just last week saw my new oncologist since a year ago having been diagnosed. We had a long chat about my life. I asked what tests did he want me to have, which based on my labs in July 2018 and my apparent good health was to just be watchful. I just plain have no complaints and thus he felt why go hunting. He would like me to have a mammogram on the breast I have left, but even that request was not said with pressure. I appreciate that. He said my path was uncommon. Some refuse treatment, but later change their minds. He asked me if I was one of those people. I am not. I would do surgery, but no therapy that includes poison and radiation which are strong reasons why people get cancer to begin with. As an environmental activist, I was exposed to deadly chemicals. I also as a child was exposed a lot to DDT. I also was exposed to toxins in the Raritan River in NJ where I hung out as a kid. I also was exposed to carcinogen rubber footing in a horse arena which upset my lymph nodes at that time. So I was exposed to many poisons.
Again, as of yet, breast cancer cannot be cured. They speculate about causes, but research has been extremely slow concerning universal causes. If bc is very specific, meaning more a genetic disease, the cure will be impossible. It will just be putting out fires. We cannot cure what we do not yet understand. I have my theories, and others have theirs.0 -
1redgirl, I have to disagree. Strongly disagree. While there is no cure for breast cancer, many of us are completely cured by our treatments. In fact, I believe it's been estimated that approx. 70% of us are cured by surgery alone.
As a disease, it's unfortunately true that there is no cure for breast cancer. This means that there is no single treatment or combination of treatments that is guaranteed to cure everyone. There are no magic bullets that ensure that all patients survive and never have their cancer recur.
But any individual can be successfully treated, and therefore cured, either by surgery alone or by surgery combined with treatments (rads, chemo, hormone therapy) that kill off any cancer cells that remain in the breast and the body after surgery. The problem of course is that cancer cells are microscopic, and if a few hardy cells survive treatment, there is no way to know. So while many of us are cured by our treatments, some of us are not, and there is no way to know who is who. The only way we know is when we do develop a local or metastatic recurrence, or when we die (hopefully of old age, peacefully in our beds) without ever having developed a recurrence.
Of course even a patient who is completely cured can develop a new breast cancer in 10 years or 20 years or 30 years, but any other type of cancer can develop too, or heart disease, or anything else. Having breast cancer one time, even if successfully treated, doesn't make us immune from developing breast cancer again. We are still living, our cells are aging and cancer can develop. Having a new primary develop does not mean that cancer cells have been sitting dormant in the body since that first diagnosis. Developing a new primary does not mean that the first diagnosis was not successfully cured.
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Thank you, Beesie.
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You can strongly disagree, but breast cancer is NOT curable. Surgery removes solid tumors, and in some cases that is all that is needed, maybe for the remainder of a person’s life. Often times a person dies of something unrelated before the cancer can strike again. When I got out of the hospital, they gave me a big book to read about cancer. One interesting stat was how long it takes a cancer cell to reach 2 cm. It was estimated 10 yrs. Another stat says you cannot feel a tumor much before 1/2 inch. That tumor took 2-5 yrs to grow. Well, my doctor told me my tumors, there were 3, took months to grow. There is little consensus on anything by the experts have found.
I have read some fabulous books and probably hundreds of articles. Here are some I have read.
Power, Sex, Suicide Mitochondria and the meaning of life. Not an easy read, but so interesting.
Mitochondria and the Future of Medicine
Tripping over the truth
Radical Remission surviving cancer against all odds
I would highly recommend all. As you can see, it is really all about the Mitochondria. That is the key to cancer.0 -
I don't disagree with any of these posts. Finding your path is what is important. Not everyone should strictly follow standard of care. I am happy with my choices, although I don't think the hormone therapy was beneficial I believe the mx got rid of my cancer.
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My opinion is that access to internet stories give a lot of women a false sense that if they listen to their bodies, they can cure breast cancer via holistic medicine. It's sort of along the same lines as how nowadays, some parents refuse to vaccinate their children because they feel they've read up on all the pros and cons, via the internet of course, and they believe vaccination cons outweigh the pros. And a disease once eradicated has cropped up into our population again.
What happens is too many women don't consider the sources from where they get their information, how reputable it is. Where is the scientific data?
I'm a big believer of tuning into our bodies, sure. But how about some honest to goodness studies of women who went the holistic route to cure their breast cancer, and ended up needing treatment because it progressed and may even have metastasized. Because no one is collecting that data. It's a case of “oh my friend, a friend of a friend, a relative, a neighbor did this that and the other thing and the cancer went away. Why isn't someone doing a study and gathering this information over the course of a number of years?
And some of the same women shunning conventional treatment for breast cancer run to the doctor for antibiotics to clear up things like sinus infections and strep throat. Why not try curing those with holistic meds, too?
I was diagnosed stage iv from the start 8 years ago and wouldn't be here now without conventional treatment. But another phenomenon I see is that more women with breast cancer metastases claim they're going for a cure, that they think they could be “ogliometastatic" meaning since their bc traveled to only one or two places in the body, a cure is more possible. I had a long stretch of stability with the disease after initial treatment and ongoing hormonal therapy, about 8 years, so I rode the wave of enjoy it while it lasts, not oh I'm cured.
Without modern medicine, we would be looking at sooo many more deaths of women from breast cancer.
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We can debate the meaning of cure until the cows come home but for me I have heard from multiple sources we aren’t in fact cured. I would be so much more relaxed and less anxious if that were the case. I think I’m swayed by the cases where recurrences occur. I know BC is not one size, fits all but I just can’t reconcile if you are supposedly cured why did it come back?
Case in point my sister’s came back after 4 years near her MX scar. She has ILC. She had a MX and took Arimidex. No rads or chemo. Her Oncotype score was intermediate. This time around the doctors want to throw the kitchen sink at her cancer. She had rads and has to have 2 shots every month. Brutal.
I work at not making my anxiety and fear ofa recurrence control my life. I do get antsy when it’s annual mammogram time. That will never change because I’m a worrier by nature.
I’ll be 8 years out in August God willing.
Diane
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Congrats edwards750! 8 years is great! I agree that the word "cured" can be loosely used. When at the cellular level, it is impossible to know whether there is a single cancer cell that may be left alive or not.
I agree with you WC3, "There is no right or wrong but there's odds against you or odds with you." The trick is knowing where the odds lay.
It will be a year on the 19th of April since I had a ductal papilloma removed from my right breast. It had biopsied negative for cancer but when sent to the lab, it came back positive. My oncologist wanted to do another lumpectomy with sentinel node removal, as the margins were not clean, and follow that up with radiation and possibly chemo and anti-hormone drugs. My choice was to reject all of that and follow a strict regime of extremely healthful eating and juicing, getting more exercise and sleep, taking herbs, vitamins, and minerals that increase my body's immune system and that are known to kill cancer cells, and I'm actively detoxing the main organs in my body that get rid of toxins. I lost 30 lbs in the first 3 months, without even focusing on losing weight, and have kept it off without effort. My blood work has greatly improved, as has my appearance and attitude. I am not stressed out like I used to be before my diagnosis. Meditation and music have also brought me to a place of real contentment. Holistic means not only body, but mind and soul too. I really encourage people to make positive changes in these 3 areas. Whether it is done to compliment traditional Western medicine or is done to replace it, either one will leave you better off than "going with the flow" and feeling powerless to improve your situation.
Lori
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hi just wanted to send you all a hug
I am still doing ok so far just with diet and meditation. My issue is more with my kidneys trying to filter toxins
Hope all herr are having a great weekend.
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Yes.
My treatment was not Standard of Care but I'm unsure if it you could really consider it complimentary or Holistic. I was diagnosed in Feb 2018 and underwent cryoablation and immunotherapy in April 2018, against the advice or my physician and oncologist. I received no chemotherapy, no radiation, no masectomy, no lumpectomy. In April 2019, one year later, I had 3 core biopsies which confirmed there is no longer evidence of cancer. My MD/specialist also had a list of other supplements and drugs to use before, during, and after to compliment the immunotherapy and treatment.
If there is anything I could recommend to anyone diagnosed with cancer, I would encourage you to watch the documentary, THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER, available for free on Youtube.
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Have you watched the documentary called THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER? I think you may find it very informative. It's available for free on Youtube.
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Hi IslandGirl123, I watched this series, "The Truth About Cancer" even before I was ever diagnosed, which was the end of April, 2018. I watched it again a few weeks ago, the updated version, and again found it amazing! My IDC was found unexpectedly when having a ductal papilloma removed last year. Margins came back unclear so I was expected to undergo more tissue removal and sentinel node removal, followed by radiation, as a start. I refused all suggested treatment from my doctors and immediately I started to do everything possible to improve my immune system and detox my body. 5 months later I had testing done via mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI, at a well known cancer research hospital in Toronto. My Breast Surgeon wanted the radiologist to biopsy the most suspicious lump, as my breasts are naturally dense and fibrous, with some lipomas as well. The biopsy was an awful experience and I was left black and blue! All I could think was "If this lump is cancerous, it has just been torn apart and will spread for sure"!! Fortunately, the biopsy came back as a fibroadenoma. After that biopsy came back clean, the doctor wanted several more lumps biopsied. I did the further tests and one biopsy basically to appease my husband, but I was not willing to go any further. I do breast self-exams daily while massaging my breasts with caster oil under infrared heat and have not noticed any additional lumps or bumps in just over a year. Time tells everything but of all of the holistic treatments I have decided to do, none of them are known to be cancer-causing.
Lori
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