Diet and lifestyle to reduce recurrence

KeepingFaith69

Hi,

I had surgery to remove a local recurrence.

No further treatment for me as scans are all clear.  I am lookijg for advice on diet and lifestyle tips to reduce another recurrence.

Your help would be gladly appreciated.

Love light and hugs to all xox 

Merilee

I have stopped sugar, gone to mostly organic food, and try for high protein and fiber. There is a list of cancer fighting foods as well. If you google that you will find lots of info out there. Also I have worked hard at getting rid of the extra fat on my body as my cancer was estrogen +. I work out every morning. I am also on supplements to build my immune system. There is also lots you can do to get rid of toxins in your environment. Check out the thread called "Its a toxic world, lets educate each other"

Anonymous

There's a very good book by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber Anti Cancer: A New Way of Life.

KeepingFaith69

Oh yay, thanks for that.  let the learning begin!

Love and light xox

Kaara

Keeping Faith:  The minute I was dx, diet, supplement and lifestyle changes became the first line of defense for me.  I was determined that I was going to fight bc as naturally as possible with no chemo or rads if at all possible.

 I was fortunate that my age 71, and my early stage bc and low onco score have made it possible for me not to need chemo, and I opted out of rads.  I am going to try tamoxifen and see if that along with my diet and other changes will keep this monster out of my body.  I exercise and take many supplements..iodine, mushrooms, minerals, Vit B, C,D, CoQ10, glutathione, alpha litrophic acid, and a prescription drug called Naltrexone which boosts the immune system to attack cancer cells, similar to the way the new cancer vaccines are going to work.  I also follow an anti cancer diet of fruits, veggies, lean protein and no gluten or sugar.  Not easy, but doable.  The key is to keep your body in an alkaline state so that cancer cells do not thrive.  They grow well in an acidic environment, but not an alkaline one.  You can check this with test strips that you buy in the health food store.

 The results have been awesome.  I took a test to see how my body absorbed and utilized antioxidants the other day (same test featured on Dr. Oz show) and I scored 54,000 points.  Dr. Oz scored 75,000.  Still room for improvement, but was pleased that I am one of the few that scored in the blue range which is the highest and best category.  I've lost 14 pounds and my waist size is now down to below 1/2 of my height!  I was successful with this nutrition program in eliminating the fat from around my middle...something dieting has never been able to do for me.  Estrogen is stored best in the fat cells around the middle so the less of them you have the better.

All the best to you in your quest for good health.  If I can answer any questions for you, please don't hesitate to ask or PM me.  Sending hugs and positive energy! 

patti3796

Karra. Great job with the change in diet....at this stage I am overwhelmed with everything I read. One site says something is good the next says it is bad. Did you find one site or book particularly insightful??

Anonymous

3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise is supposed to reduce the risk of recurrence by anywhere from 25 to 30% overall.  There's quite a bit of credible research that supports this finding out there on the internet; you might do a keyword search at the sciencenewsdaily website.

Momine

Patti, I felt the same way at first, and I still do to some extent. After reading a bunch, I have concluded that the #1 thing we can do for ourselves is exercise. The more the better, any kind, any time. #2 is to keep alcohol minimal. #3 is to keep blood sugar stable and even, which means a low-glycemic diet, lots of fiber, lots of veggies, regular meal times, no sugary drinks or crappy processed foods.

Kaara

Patti:  To answer your question, the best diet to follow is the one that cuts out all white carbs.  It will serve a two fold purpose...reduce the sugar load in your body (white carbs all convert to sugar) and help you lose weight around the middle which is where most of our estrogen is produced.  As we know, both sugar and estrogen can fuel cancer cells.

Keeping the body in a highly alkalized state is also a good way to prevent recurrence as cancer doesn't grow well in an alkaline environment.  You accomplish this by eating a lot of leafy green vegatables with your meals, avoiding acidic meats, sodas, and so on. 

As mentioned by other posters...exercise regularly and avoid alcohol as much as possible.  I limit mine to a small glass of red wine occasionally. 

havehope

Do not stress your body with shock diets! Eat and drink what you want when you want and do what makes you happy! A happy body, good attitude and no stress will take you longer than any diets. Unless the doctors told you that you need to lose weight, don"t. Constant weight is the key. Don't forget, nobody knows why cancer cells take over! Maybe is the food, maybe the water, maybe the air, maybe, maybe, maybe...

Enjoy life and don't stress about what should you eat! 

PS I am 4 years NED this month, and 21 months NED ovca! Life is good!

SelenaWolf

I keep remembering an old "Oprah" episode dealing with obesity issues; the catch-phrase was "eat less, mostly plants, and move more".  That's about as simple as it gets to having an overall healthy lifestyle, not just one that will prevent cancer recurrence.

Other good catch-phrases are "eveything in moderation" and "when in doubt, don't".

Since we cannot avoid having sugar in our diet - all food will affect your blood sugar levels, that's what our bodies need to function on a daily basis - doing what we can to eliminate ADDED sugars is a good step.  But don't drive yourself nuts trying to eliminate all sugars; some of them, you need for good health.  Just make sure that you obtain them from 'natural' sources - vegetables, fruits, grains - rather than adding them to your diet via sugared coffee/tea and highly-processed baked goods.

Finally, don't beat yourself up if you have the occasional lapse.  Sometimes a cookie or a glass of champagne is just good for the soul.   The key is making it an occasional treat, not a lifestyle.

Blessings2011

After BMX and recon, I was found to be 100% ER+. The MO wanted me on Arimidex; I said no. I was 13 years post-menopausal, and had already had a hysterectomy 12 years earlier. I told her there was no estrogen in my body.

She kindly pointed out that estrogen is produced in body fat, specifically belly fat, of which I had plenty.

In March, I joined Optifast, a severely calorie restricted diet program along with mandatory daily exercise. The fasting (liquid) portion of the diet lasted four months. In July, we started adding real food back in according to the American Diabetes Association meal guidelines, stressing whole, unprocessed foods, and portion control.

To date, I've lost 56 pounds and more than 65 total inches.

My MO says I have reduced my risk of recurrence by 23%.

p.s. I took the Arimidex anyway....

SelenaWolf

Other organs in your body, also, produce estrogen, such as your adrenal glands.  Unfortunately, as women, we can't eliminate the hormone from our bodies completely, only reduce it as much as we possibly can.

CelineFlower

between the food industry... the health industry.. and just plain capitalism...

the food they feed us is usualy crap.

Be ware of what you are eating.. KNOW YOUR FOOD

If you cant talk to the butcher/baker ...then imo you are buying your food at the wrong place.

Commercials lie to us by showing happy babies craving golden arches , as they lable poison "happy meals"

processed food is a trap... real food can make u just as happy

sure.. i agree " dont stress " ... but have u checked out the poison their feeding us these days?

makes me sick..

SelenaWolf

One of the reasons, I became interested in cooking again was because if I made it - from scratch - I would know what went in it.  I do my own canning and baking, as well.  I've found a reputable vendor for whole-grain and rye flours, and make all my own bread because I can control the amounts- and kinds of sugar needed.  If I bake a pie, I, routinely, begin by making a whole-grain dough and - for any/all fruit fillings used - I radically cut the sugar recommended.  Sometimes I don't use sugar at all and only use a bit of honey drizzled sparingly on top.

I've also become an obsessive label-reader, but - what frightens me stupid is - even if a "nasty" preservative isn't used in the food (and, thus, isn't listed on the labels), it may still have been added to the packaging.  It doesn't have to appear of a list of ingredients since it is part of the packaging.  GAH!!!  I nearly tore my hair out when I read that.  (Wish I could remember where, but it was a newspaper article and I haven't been able to track it down.)

So, while I will still use some processed (i.e., canned or frozen) food, I watch the labels (it must have less than ten ingredients and they must all be something that I know/recognize), I do what I can to buy my food "whole" and make it myself.  I love contemporary French cooking because of it's emphasis on "whole" and "organic".  I love ethnic cuisine because of its creative use of spices and herbs for flavour (just avoid MSG).  I grow all of my own herbs (they may be sprinkled in cat pee but there are no pesticides used in my garden).  I've cut my sodium usage WAY down.

I try to work with what is available to me and what I can change, but I try not to sweat the stuff that I can't do anything about.  At least, right now.

CelineFlower

ya selena!

good for you... im sure your body appreciates it

20 years ago.. we averaged 2 1/2 hours in the kitchen a day..

today..its 20 minutes..

SelenaWolf

You can still make a meal in 20 minutes using whole ingredients.  The trick is to expand your recipe base.

I make whole-wheat pasta (from scratch) and freeze it.  A quick-and-easy "whole" sauce is made using tomatoes from my garden (fresh in summer, preserved by me in winter).  I chop them and sautee them in a pan with olive oil and a clove of organic garlic.  Then, I add herbs (either fresh in summer or dried by me in winter); chopped basil, chives, oregano, savoury.  Or I use a couple of spoonfuls my own pesto-blend.  When it's bubbling, add cooked pasta and sautee some more.

Yummy, healthy meal.  Total prep-time - 25 minutes.

CelineFlower

the survey said.. 20 minutes a day..sadly...thats three meals.. thank you mocrowave

CelineFlower

and it include prep and clean up time..

we r just to busy to eat well ...* celine rolls her eyes *

momoschki

Has anyone found a source for canned tomatoes without BPA? This is the only canned food I use regularly (to make sauce) and it seems that even the imported Italian ones, which I think are the best, still have the plastic lining in the can. Suggestions?

SelenaWolf

I wasn't able to.  Ended up canning my own using glass jars and the boiling-water bath method.

quinnofmn

Just dropping in as I use non BPA canned tomatoes - Bella Terra Italian whole peeled tomatoes.  I get them at my food coop. yummy  

Mary

momoschki

Thanks so much -- will look around for this brand locally.

CelineFlower

expensive?

Blessings2011

We love spaghetti, and I used to use lots of different pastas made with brown rice flour, high fiber wheat, etc.

But I'm still on a restricted meal plan, and not allowed carbs or starches yet except for fresh fruit. When I DO get put back on starches, everything will be gluten-free, as that seems to have made the biggest difference in how I feel over the past few months.

Last week, though, I made some awesome spaghetti sauce from tomatoes from our garden, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Instead of noodles, I used spaghetti squash. DH loved it, it was on my "approved" list, and it was just another healthy, low calorie, very low glycemic index, nutrient-filled veggie. Soooo yummy!

Kaara

Blessings:  Congratulations on your weight loss!  When I first joined this site last year you were starting on this diet...I'm glad to see it has been successful for you!

I've succeeded in reducing my BMI from about 24 down to 20 so that's a good thing!  A lot of the fat around my middle has gone away, and I feel much healthier.  I was just exposed to a major case of flu from a friend and didn't catch it...wow...was I lucky!  As they say though..."luck is when preparation meets opportunity!"

crabbiepattie

I use boxed Pomi tomatoes - no BPA but a little pricey.

mdg

I also use Pomi tomatoes!  I avoid BPA and Trader Joe's has lots of canned items that are BPA free.  They are not labelled, so you will have to ask. 

smo23915

Hi everyone,

I am wondering how many of you dye your hair?  I asked 3 onc and all 3 siad it was ok.  Not sure what to do.

smo

Momine

Smo, as far as I know, hair dyes these days are perfectly safe. I do not use them, but only because I am too lazy

deb1973

I've read that adding cinnamon can reduce blood sugar so maybe an extra preventative measure in addition to eating whole foods and avoiding added sugar is to sprinkle fruits or other foods that have naturally occurring sugar with cinnamon? Just a thought:)