Vitamin D Deficiency and BC

Tsunami21:  Every woman I know with BC has a vitamin D deficiency.  Mine was at  40 and to be healthy you should be at 80 even though GP's say 40 is fine.  Many women have been at much lower levels than mine, but live in areas where there is less sun.  I take 8,000 mg of a combined D3 + K 800 mg.  It's inexpensive.  Some women have been put on 50,000 mg to get them up higher when they have been dangerously low. 

My father had epilepsy and was prone to depression and had many vitamin deficiencies. 

Mary

You should check out the alternative site.  There is so much information on additional things we can do for our bodies along with standard treatment.  I noticed you haven't posted your stage, type of cancer, or anything.  You can do this in your profile information.  I have to go but PM me anytime and hang in there--there are many more things we can do to get our bodies back no matter how much we put our bodies through.

My vitamin D levels were checked about a month after my diagnosis.  It was 25, "insufficient".  I was put on a loading dose of vitamin D (D2 is the scrip version) and at my next blood test in early May it was 50.  I think many if not most women with bc are deficient in vitamin D.  I wonder if I have been deficient for most of my adult life.

I have been trying to find info on this also, because at my annual physical I was told I was vit. d deficient and to take 1000 IU d3 per day.  I was not told how low I was, but totally could not understand why I would be deficient because I am in the sun all the time, I take my kids to the pool at least twice a week and I dont use a lot of sunscreen either.  Well, I went for my mammo and they saw punctate specks of micro calcifications and went for another mammo and stereostatic biopsy and am now awaiting results.....am hoping to hear today.

I am from north of MN so we even get less benefit from the sun. You can't store vitamin D so 20 minutes of sun a day may help but in the winter when our part of the world is turned away from the sun we get no benefit even if the sun is shining. Would be interested in rates of breast cancer on the Equator and heading north to the Arctic. Of note, I don't hear of any breast cancer epidemics in the far north ie Alaska versus Arizona.

 P.S. since a lot of us have bone mets Calcium and Vitamin D can't hurt.

Its not just cancer patients.  

According to this UC Riverside researcher,More Than Half the World’s Population Gets Insufficient Amounts of Vitamin D, Says UC Riverside Biochemist

 http://newsroom.ucr.edu/news_item.html?action=page&id=2376

Bruce Hollis, a pediatrics professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, has spent years studying whether more of the sunshine vitamin would help pregnant and breastfeeding women and their babies.

Dr. Hollis is so convinced about the possible health benefits that he has been taking 4,000 International Units daily, for years, but recently upped it to 6,000 IU, to raise his blood levels of the nutrient. “I don’t know of anybody who is studying this who isn’t taking” the vitamin in robust amounts, Dr. Hollis says.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/scientists-taking-vitamin-d-in-droves/article1649132/ (emphasis mine)

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

To estimate one's vitamin D intake from the sun, here is a blog with a link to a scientific calculator.  Warning: it is NOT very user friendly, but the blog contains hints on how to fill it out.

http://www.self.com/fooddiet/blogs/nutritiondata/2010/07/how-much-sunshine-do-you-need.html

Contains link to calculator at:
Calculator: http://nadir.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez_quartMED.html

We are probably several well-controlled, double blind studies away from saying whether vitamin D is a 'flash in the pan' nutritional fad or a major player.  However, it is safe (in nature-type amounts) and cheap.

It is an individual choice.  I will ask my gyne next time I see her what my vitamin D level were. (She said they were normal, but I'd like to know the number.)

Current research is not only linking Vitamin D deficiencies to cancer but also to autism, chronic pain, depression, diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.  (Some researchers think that fibro and CF may only be D deficiences.) There are several threads on here for more information on Vitamin D.   I have suffered from fibromyalgia for over 8 years.  I recently found out my levels were 12 and have started taking high doses of D3.  Within months many of my fibro symptoms had lessened considerably.  

A word of caution however!  Our bodies do not excrete excess D like we do most vitamins.  It is very possible to overdose with serious consequences.  Do not supplement without first getting your levels checked to see if you are deficient.  The amount of your levels will determine how much to supplement.  If your levels are normal, and you start taking supplements, you can do irreversible damage to your organs, cause high blood pressure, kidney stones, irregular heart rhythms and much more.  So please make sure you get a blood test first!

Hi squidwitch!  Was your chronic pain ever diagnosed?  I hope the D starts to help you, too!

I was diagnosed with low D last September. I was put in perscription D first for a while and now I'm on 1,000 IU of D3 per day. Last time I was tested I was in low normal range. Now a days it's not usual to have low D especially if you live in places that have winter and spend lots of time indoors. I live in Chicago. My mom has low D too she lives in the northeast.

They see it but is it really a link to BC? Its so common now. I bet a lot of us like chocolate too. Doesn't mean that chocolate lovers are more likely to get BC. In general I don't let new studies drive me crazy. They are interesting but the do need to researched further to see if it truly is a link and what it actually means.

Studies suggest that Vitamin D could prevent BC along with other cancers.  Also beware that some forms of BC such as estrogen + has been linked to diet.  Many cows are treated with antibiotics and injected with hormones.  Many fruits and vegetables contain high doses of pesticides. (WWW.EWG.ORG).  I have been advised by my ND to take 2000 of Vitamin D3 daily.

Most cancer centers are now checking vitamin d levels.  Have yours check and do your research.

Good Luck