Anyone else out there choosing 100% Alternative?

GlobalGirlyGirl

gamvu - Sorry for the late response. DIM stands for Diindolylmethane. It comes from cruciferous vegetables. It helps those of us who are estrogen receptor positive. Those who can't take Tamoxifen usually take DIM instead. I learned about it on here.  I've been taking it for a while now, and my night sweats that I've had for a long time (perimenopause) has diminished. I would wake up soaking wet every morning even during the winter. It happens still, but definitely not as often - a couple times a week. It's doing something, that's for sure.  

Lily55

Is there anyone who has taken DIM alongside Aromasin (exemestane?)

abigail48

the mushroom forager reccommends a book:  mushrooms for health by gred marley, receipes for processing chaga & reishe.  I plan to send for the book soon

Sibel

Hi Cindy,

I'm using completely alternative medicine for breast cancer. I've had mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy when I was diognased two years ago and then twice breast MRI, one bone scan which all these recommended by me to my GP becasue as I refused the traditional cancer treatment they were not doing regular follow ups. You can contact me by e-mail sibelder@yahoo.com.

chef127

Lilly55,

That is a curious question. If you are taking an AI and its working, it would eradicate all your estrogene making the DIM useless?? The Dim balances the estro and metabalises your hormones. Helps to get rid of circulating estro. So IS the DIM useless?????????????????????

I DON'T KNOW?

Lily55

I am not taking DIM at moment only I3C and Exemestane.......well in fact i am only taking the latter until it settles down, will add in I3C in a few weeks.......but DIM or balancers make more sense to me as we do need some oestrogen for other reasons as we age, its why nature designed androgen to convert in to oestrogen........Its all a gamble, even taking the AI´s feels like a gamble......

dogsandjogs

I heard that you shouldn't take DIM if you are on a blood thinner so I just make sure to eat a lot of vegetables and my medication for the blood thinner gets adjusted accordingly. I am not taking a hormonal anymore due to severe SE's.

chef127

DIM is a blood thinner. I didn't know that. Thanx dogsandjogs. I don't have issues with blood clotting but I recently had elective surgery and was told to cut out anything that thins blood............oops, too late. I did call Dr Wong to ask if his herbs could thin the blood and he told me NO but never addressed the DIM that he told to me to continue taking. confusing. I learn more here on bco than any of my Drs.

Taking the AIs and getting the side effects is not an issue for me, I already have many due to menopause. Giving up my hormones(estro) scares me.

milehighgirl

Here is something very promising called low dose naltrexone.  Anyone on it now?

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/index.htm

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/19/one-of-the-rare-drugs-that-actually-helps-your-body-to-heal-itself.aspx

Lily55

I took that for 8 months but it really disrupted my sleep so had to stop in the end........it has some good anecdotal studies behind it though

chef127

I have MS and am visiting my neuro in 2 weeks and I'll ask for the LDN. I want the opportunity to at least try it. My current MS drug is about 5,000$ a month and I'm sure there are Perks that go with the Rx for the Rxing dr. LDN is less than 50$ a month without the perks...............................I'll bet he says NO. Maybe my MO will.

Kill 2 birds with one stone

milehighgirl

Chef, I'd go for it.  I'm planning on asking the onc about it.  She's not receptive to suggestions from me since she's the expert, lol but I'm going to push it since it doesn't seem to interfere with any other drugs.

Lily, other than the insomnia, did it make a difference with the cancer?

jojo68

Gals....join the yahoo groups cancercured and the LDN and breastcancerthinktank groups there....they are all talking and taking LDN!  I have not started it yet as Wong said not to, but sometimes I feel he is not up on all of the innovative latest!  You really shouldn't take more than 3mg at a time as it can cause cancer to speed up...3mg and under slows any of it WAY down...scares me a bit.

milehighgirl

Joellelee, did Dr. Wong say why you shouldn't take it?  I checked out the LDN yahoo group this afternoon.  Lots of places to ask questions and get info.

Sue

chef127

Dr Wong just is not up on the research on LDN. When I asked him about it all he said was I don't know about that Tx. Any new drug is scary but if it can? help the cancer and My MS at the same time, I'm going for it.

I'm heading over to the think tank..........thanx

Lily55

I was told 4.5ml per day but to work up to it, i dont know if t made any difference as only 14 months post mx and NED although no one used those words, but then ILC tends to be a slow recurrer and more common after first five years have passed

jojo68

When I asked Wong about LDN, he said "Go ask the guy who is dead!"...He was trying out his sarcastic humor I suppose...couldn't tell if he knew anything about it or not?..I have always heard NO more than 3mg of LDN for cancer as anything higher could cause it to grow?

chef127

That answer is so unfair to LDN Tx. What was his overall health, what was he trying to treat, what was the doseage he used, WHO compounded the formula, did he have an allergic reaction?????????????ETC.

Even tylenol can KILL if it is overused. (liver and kidney failure) I know someone who was addicted to Tylenol codene #3 and was on the brink of death due to the tylenol Not the codene.

I love dr wong and have faith that the TEA is balancing my hormones. He is also treating the diabetes and I felt faint this morning and my BG was 115...it is usually 140ish. Time to cut back on my meds. yay.

puffcat

I am new at this, but will be seeking natural alternative to traditional medicine.  What is DIM? I3C? Can someone get these supplements where? or do they have to be prescribed?

Lily55

I3C is indole 3 carbinol. DiM is a hormone regulator no rx needed for either but get good quality ones

GlobalGirlyGirl

I take this brand of DIM:

http://activamune.com

But pureformulas.com has quality brands of DIM as well (and free shipping):

http://pureformulas.ecomm-search.com/search?catalog=yhst-37598795206756&.autodone=http%3A%2F%2Fstore.yahoo.com%2Fyhst-37598795206756%2F&query=dim#sthash.KkNXBsMD.G4Uk19RA.dpbs

CindyD

A couple of you asked why I do not choose surgery.

I believe that the tumor is a symptom of the disease and cutting it out does not address the underlying cause. If my tumor were somewhere more critical in my body such as in a vital organ and removing the tumor would result in restoring function to that organ, then I would feel differently. The analogy that I sometimes think of is that if I had an unknown rash on my hand that would not go away, I would not cure the problem by cutting off my hand. It is some internal imbalance causing the rash. We all have cancer cells circulating in our body everyday. i think the reason some of develop the dis-ease is because our bodies do not process and release toxins in a normal way and/or we are more sensitive to toxins that others and/or we are exposed to more toxins than others. This could be due to missing nutrients, stress, emotional trauma, etc. I also feel that a tumor by it's nature has been encapsulated by the body and cutting into it creates a higher risk of mets. A circulating tumor cell that has already been coded as breast cancer released into our blood will look for a new home whereas those general cancer cells that are circulating can be released through the body's normal processes if we can clean up our body. Cancer in our breast does not kill us-- mets in vital organs do- surgery does nothing to mitigate mets.

Someone else asked about my specific diagnosis. Since I have not had a biopsy I do not have those specifics that you ladies have.

I choose to believe that there is a cancerous tumor in my body that I am coexisting and living with, not dying from. I do not have a thought process that involves "fighting" or "killing" this clump of cells. these cells came to me with a message that my life needed to change. My mission now is a healthy, vibrant and balanced body, mind and soul. I thank my cancer cells for bringing me this message and i apologize to my body for ignoring the signs for so long. I lovingly tell my cancer cells that that they have done their job and served their purpose and that they can move on now.

Also I want to be clear that these are my beliefs and I do not judge anyone regarding their choice of medical care, this is tough stuff for all of us. Feedback and support are what we are all here for, kindness is appreciated.

ValiAm

CindyD, beautifully stated! Your words and process resonate with me. Had I been more intuitive--rather than coming from a place of fear--I might have chosen to forego surgery.

chef127

Hello CindyD,

I'm so happy you came back here. Obviosly there are few to no women HERE following your logical path. I know I've spent the last 2 years since Dx trying to figure out the whys and hows that caused MY cancer to grow. The drs all used intimadation and scare tactics from the start and almost convinced me to follow thier recomendations. They never addressed my ?'s of why and how.  I am glad I had the surgery and the rads. I have a better understanding of my situation now and I'm trying to correct the faults. I agree with what you have to say about CA.

You are strong and gutsy. More power to ya. Since you never had a Bx, chances are you don't have BC. I hope thats the case. I may be wrong?? about your dx.

maureen

jojo68

CindyD, Do you have any swollen lymph nodes anywhere?  Do they feel the cancer is completely contained in the breast?

Momine

Cindy, if you have not had a biopsy, how do you know the tumor is cancer?

Mardibra

Exactly Momine. Hopefully, it's not cancer and just a benign mass.

SpecialK

A couple of pages back there was a discussion about parabens and cosmetics, lotions, soaps, etc.  Someone asked if there was a source to check products - here you go.  You can search specifically by products that you use, or you can search by category to get a list from best to worst:

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

chef127

THANX SpecialK, I have a hard time reading the 4" of small print ingredient lists on all the products I'm interested in purchasing.

GlobalGirlyGirl

CindyD - I am so glad you came back as well. I was wondering if you were doing OK. I have heard of women choosing your path for the same reason.

About knowing if a mass or cancerous. In her first post, she said that she had an ultrasound. The doctor asked if she could do a biopsy the same day as my ultrasound (and mammogram). I was in total denial. When I got the ultrasound report, it said BI-RADS 5.

Maybe her mammogram, ultrasound, etc. all pointed to cancer.

Also, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have had the core needle biopsy. Even though my tumor was huge, I would have asked for an excisional (if it was an option) biopsy. Just to further lessen the chance of seeding (even though rare).