TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP

ArleneA

Hi ladies:

My oncologist and nurses said no antioxidant supplements but foods that are high in anti's are good and you can have all those you want.  Every doctor has a different opinion on things but I find that most doctors are not trained in nutrition.

 I'm really careful and avoid most fresh fruits and vegetables which I love but just cook them and you shouldn't have problems.  Tomatoes - bake them with cheese on top on whatever spice you love, and I even peel them before eating.

Arlene 

achpurple

Windlass - my onc gave me permission to take a multivitamin daily and CoQ10 daily and that's it.  Nothing else that would interfere with chemo, like an antioxidant.  Might want to ask him/her.

lago

My PS was telling me to eat berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries etc) for the antioxidants from day one. Some MDs are more into the nutrition thing. When we first me he asked all about my diet and exercise. Guess that's why "Whole Body" is part of the name of his practice… and he lives up to it.

I actually don't like blueberries but now add raspberries to my salad. I eat salads for lunch 4-5 times a week.  Granted I eat broccoli, Brussel sprouts and spinach regularly too.

The other thing is the more "colors" you eat the better. Seriously.

nmoss1000

Hi Ladies My bloodwork has come back at either right on or above projected levels and I am taking the following supliments daily, along with juicing and eating tons of protein & organic veg. I buy chewable when available, better absorbtion. As always check with docbefore adding any new supplements.

vitamin d 3 - 4000 MG

Iron - 60 MG

Calcium - 1200 MG

COQ10 - 300 MG

Ground Flax Seed w/ Omega 3 - 2 Tablespoons

Folic Acid - 300 MG

Probiotic - 30 Billion CFU

L Carnitine - 1000 MG

L Glutamine - 1000 MG

Drink Smart Water for Magnesium & Potassium - 2 Liters + a day.

Anonymous

I left a crucial word out of my question - I meant to ask if I am supposed to avoid green TEA. Anybody know?

TonLee

Windlass,

My Onc said no green tea for sure.  Said there were conflicting studies done on it, and there just wasn't enough info.

Of course he waited until I was half way through Txs to tell me..and I was drinking a gallon a day the week of treatment, easy.

Anonymous

Thanks, Tonlee. For the time being, I am only taking CoQ10 (200 mg/day) and a multivitamin.

TonLee

What is CoQ10 for?

achpurple

Heart support - I first heard about it was 5 years ago when my husband had "The Widowmaker" heart attack at the age of 45 and lived to tell the tale.  The heart doctor recommended it for his recovery.  They told me only to buy it from www.epic4health.com so that's where I get it.  I find it a hard website to navigate in general, but they have some good articles about different topics and how much they recommend to take for certain things.

 I take it because I figure any heart support I can get, the better I'll be in the end and I think it helps with my PSVT's. 

Omaz

During chemo I asked about coQ10 and my onc said no during chemo. 

lago

Typically your onc will not recommend taking anything new unless you need to. They want to be able to monitor the SEs. When you start taking too many new things it can be a bit more challenging.

Omaz

Lago - how are your nails?

TonLee

Thanks Achpurple.  I took Vit E for a long time for heart health..but stopped during chemo.

Good info though....

kriskat

Not had any nail problems (am icing) but my onc recommends tea tree oil. Bought some just in case!

Anonymous

My onc approved the CoQ10. It helps maintain heart function, and those of us eventually doing Herceptin need all the heart function we can get.

They are doing a clinical trial at Columbia with it for breast cancer patients on doxorubicin (aka. Adriamycin), which is what I am getting:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00976131 

In that trial they're doing either 300mg, 600mg, or 1200mg. I figure 200mg is conservative, lower than all the trial doses, so that's what I'm taking. My MUGA scan showed a baseline ejection fraction of 52% (it went up to 55% with the echocardiogram). I really want to bring that up, or at least keep it from going lower.

A separate clinical trial looked at CoQ10 for fatigue symptoms of breast cancer treatment.The results appear to have never been published.

achpurple

I have been taking CoQ10 for a long time, maybe that's why my onc told me I could continue. I think it's 30 mg of Carni-Qgel that I take right now, actually lower than I would usually take.  Q-gel is more concentrated, but I don't remember what it equals in regular CoQ10.  He said that he only has a problem when people try to take lots of a couple of different vitamins instead of a multivitamin.  Like 1000mg of Vit C, or 2000 mg whatever, so I'm sure he wouldn't like it if I was taking 800 mg of it or more.  Just an example, but I think you get the point.

redninrah

ok im done chemo- I was done in NOV. Ive only last month started taking

a) tumeric capsule daily

b) 15ml of pure aloe vera juice.

Im taking this due to its anti oxidants. I dont see my onc until 4 weeks, so im wondering is it ok to take these now that ive done chemo some time ago???????

I  lmpw ACHpurpe is saying it interferes with chemo but, if one is done, it should be ok????????

Omaz

red - I would think it is OK now!  Even though my onc said no coQ10 during chemo I am taking it now.

Anonymous

Red: It's not only okay, it's recommended by everyone I know of. The idea is to strengthen your body to nuke the cancer, and anti-oxidants do that. The reason you don't want to take them during chemo is that the anti-oxidants are SO good at protecting healthy cells they may also protect cancer cells. Hopefully all of your cancer cells are long gone.

achpurple

I would think that it's perfectly fine now that you're done.

redninrah

ok cool- i started panicking then. I just started taking these anti oxidants around a month ago. I am on herceptin still............Im wondering if these will interfere with the herceptin?

Omaz

I don't think so.  Herceptin doesn't work like chemo or radiation.  At my onc center they offer the services of a nutritionist.  Perhaps there is one available at your center?  Sometimes the nutritionists are more familiar with healthy things to do.

TonLee

Thanks everyone for the CoQ10 info.

Red,

I started back on my antioxidants a week after final chemo.  I know it was probably a little early...but, oh well. 

I'm off to my first big (every 3 week) Herceptin this morning!

I gained 4 pounds in my sleep last night...lol.  I wonder if I will ever have two days in a row where my weight stays the same....I haven't seen that in about 6 months!

SpecialK

kriskat - don't know about tea tree oil if you are ER+.  It is a phyto estrogen.  Most literature says not to use it if you are ER+

carberry

rednd- where are you finding the tumeric capsules? I have been reading up on them and would like to start also the coq10?

Omaz

Red - Have you seen the book called 'waking the warrior goddess' by Christine Horner?  It is FULL of ideas about how to fight breast cancer through diet and lifestyle choices.

Anonymous

Carberry: I buy turmeric roots whole and juice them with apples in my Champion Juicer. You can find them very cheap at any local Indian market, and I've even found them several times at Whole Foods in the chili pepper section. They look like hairy or fringed caterpiller pupae, and are the size of your fingers - some are fat like thumbs, some are longer and skinny. They're cheap. I buy 5 or 6 roots for $1.75.

And be careful, turmeric juice stains anything it touches bright yellow. If it gets on your counter, you can get it off with rubbing alcohol. You can't really get it out of clothing.

If you prefer, you can get your turmeric as a spice powder (also super cheap at the Indian market) or you can go the expensive route and buy gelatin capsules filled with turmeric. If you really want to spend big bucks, you can buy the extract, "Curcumin" in gel caps. 

lago

Omaz I haven't been ignoring your question. I needed time to take photos and I had herceptin this morning. Anyway they still hurt some but not too bad. I'm still not scraping things off with my nails because that would be uncomfortable. I've lost several toenails and still waiting for them to grow back. You can see some of the new ones growing underneath on my fingers… others are just growing out. Didn't lose any fingernails so far but the new ones could put the old ones off.

My NP said it just takes time for even the discomfort to go away. Not a big deal but I would like the full use of my fingers and nails again.

For those who like semi-gross images (toes are still a little gross) here's the link to my current finger/toe photo status.

TonLee

What is tumeric used for?

Omaz

Lago - They look soooo much better since I saw them last!