Come join others currently navigating treatment in our weekly Zoom Meetup! Register here: Tuesdays, 1pm ET.
Fill Out Your Profile to share more about you. Learn more...

Intermittent Fasting May Help Cancer Treatments Work Better

Intermittent Fasting May Help Cancer Treatments Work Better, Small, Early Study Suggests
November 30, 2021

A small study suggests that a specific type of intermittent fasting is safe and possible for people diagnosed with cancer and may boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and hormonal therapy. It's the first time this type of intermittent fasting has been studied in people. Read more...

Comments

  • loomisgal
    loomisgal Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2022

    I am considering the Prolon FMD. Has anyone done this fast?

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,310
    edited January 2022

    I did FMD (not proton but I used foods that mimicked the same calories/fat/etc.

    I did it every chemo, #2-6, with chemo day as the middle day of the 5. It made my SEs much easier (did not time fast properly for chemo #1). I have been FMDind ever 2nd month ever since. It feels good and I want my immune system to be on point!

    The calorie #s I did were Day 1, 1200, Day 2-5, 800. I believe that's the proton calorie plan. Veggie heavy low protein low carb.

  • loomisgal
    loomisgal Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2022

    Thank you so much for sharing! And congratulations on maintaining your FMD schedule! Did you make a detailed diet plan ahead of time and measure proportions? It has been recommended that I do this monthly as although the cancer i had was Er/Pr positive and early stage it is aggressive and not responsive to endocrine therapy. Unfortunately it wasn't found out till 4 years later and too late for chemo. How did you find out about FMD?

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,310
    edited January 2022

    I figured out my foods ahead of time. It's pretty easy. Must be less than 10% protein. The rest is green veggies, mushrooms, avocado, seeds & nuts berries. Broth. 250-300 cal per meal. Prolon is easier but more $.

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,310
    edited January 2022

    I read about FMD when researching metabolic approaches to helping cancer treatment. The doctor who developed it has a site. Dr Valter Longo at USC.

  • loomisgal
    loomisgal Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2022

    Thank you! I just got his book too!

  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 2,310
    edited January 2022

    Actually the easy way, if you can stand the monotony, is to have one med avocado at each meal. It provides the right balance of fiber fat etc.


  • jons_girl
    jons_girl Member Posts: 441
    edited February 2022

    very interesting thread! I intermittent fastevery day post cancer. I just feel better doing that too.

  • loomisgal
    loomisgal Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2022

    Thank you. I had no idea!

  • jons_girl
    jons_girl Member Posts: 441
    edited February 2022

    I was almost grade 2 cancer as I recall.

    I don't do anything special diet wise tho. I just eat as healthfully as I can. (No meat, no alcohol, try to stay away from too much refined sugar, lots of veggies and fruits and I eat grains)

    I only eat twice a day. Main meal and snack. So after my last meal I don't eat again til like noon the next day. My fast is long. But it's working for me so far. I only did surgery. No rads. No hormone blockers. I have diagnostics every 6 months to just watch me. But so far all is well. 5 yrs without cancer this June.

    This is working for me. Just sharing. Don't expect everyone to do what I'm doing.

    Have a wonderful day everyone!

  • sunshine99
    sunshine99 Member Posts: 2,546
    edited February 2022

    This is so interesting. I just spoke with my sister yesterday and she is doing the Prolon FMD. She thought that I might be interested in it. I watched a short video on it, but it looked like it was recorded around 2012. Is there more recent research on this? I'm just curious. I will message my MO on Monday to see what she thinks about it.

  • js44
    js44 Member Posts: 11
    edited August 2022

    Yes, I’ve done 9 rounds of the ProLon five-day fast, but that was before my bc diagnosis. I am now waiting for oncologist appointment to see what if any chemo is recommended, then I will have a consult with a ProLon nutritionist who is trained in oncology. They will advise me on fasting during chemo. I’ve read a lot of the research (plus experienced the health benefits myself) and the benefits include more effectively targeted chemo, and fewer side effects. While I’m waiting for the oncology treatment plan, I will probably do a round of fasting next week. I will keep posting here if I do ProLon during chemo.

  • js44
    js44 Member Posts: 11
    edited August 2022

    Yes, check out https://www.valterlongo.com/cancer/. There have not been a whole lot of human clinical trials yet (they are expensive and take many years) but what there is is very promising. I found ProLon through reading the book The Longevity Diet, and have followed this researcher’s work for years. I’ve done 9 rounds of the FMD fast myself, and will be continuing through chemotherapy.

  • kaynotrealname
    kaynotrealname Member Posts: 353
    edited August 2022

    I did the FMD fast on my first round of chemo and did really well but am not going to be able to do it on my next three rounds. Started fasting for my second round, took my steroids, and ended up having a severe reaction that put me in the hospital for the night. Everything checked out fine but we don't know whether it was the steroids this time around, the fasting, or the combo of the two but we can't take anymore chances. So steroid dose was halved and no more fasting for me. I will say I handled it the first time around great but my blood pressure did plummet and my glucose levels went up. if I had done it more than three days maybe those would have stabilized but it's something to be aware of. But my side effects from chemo were very mild and of course that's what you hope for. We'll see if I notice a difference when I finally go into my second cycle without fasting (I'll delay it for a few weeks due to an upcoming vacation and family trauma from my hospital stay). I do, however, fast at night for usually 14 to 15 hours and that won't change. That is also showing lots of promise and it's super easy. Studies are definitive enough to where I think some type of fasting is going to end up being recommended as another tool in the breast cancer arsenal.