Supposed Good Eating/Living & post-diagnosis perspectives

MellaBella

I'm one month post-op and getting back to all my supplements. 

(sidebar: I've had lupus/RA for about 12 years and have tried EVERYTHING, and turned over every rock, trying to see if there is a lifestyle or diet change that can greatly help me, so I feel like I've read almost everything out there ...)

So, I'm putting my organic turmeric capsules (taken for fibrocystic issues), my pricey fish oil, D3, among various others into the tray and wondering ...

did these things

perhaps saved me from having invasive BC

or

did one of my supplements perhaps lead me to this place of DCIS.

hmmmmmm.

Just one example is melatonin. I had only taken, about 12 doses over an entire year, but that was the year my calcifications changed, when they had been unchanged for years previously. (I'm off that now of course, esp. since it is being studies for a possible link to BC.)

It just makes me wonder ... all the "healthy" things I have done ... did any of it really help?

I was very uptight about all the things that needed managed, like air cleaners, no tap water, organic bras, avoiding the microwave, green drinks, organic co-op veggies, no canned food, no MSG, no trans fat,  and I'll spare you the long list of things I've done. I'm sure you all have lists like that too.

All I know is to keep doing what I have been doing. And maybe lighten up a little and let some of it go.

Do you all have any perspective to share on this?

abigail48

I think food is better than capsules, more available to our bodies, but who knows.  

coffeelatte

MellaBella, I am with you.  I have tried so many things over the years to prevent and protect myself and the family. I think I have put too much energy into some of it and forgot about just enjoying my life.  I am now working on that aspect. Trying to enjoy more and stress less. I have at times become too obsessed with food, microwaves, clean water, chemical free this and that... I wore myself out and got cancer anyway.  I also thought that maybe something I was doing had kept it from becoming invasive. Now I think it was just the timing of my mammogram. Three more months and my diagnosis could have been quite different perhaps. It probably was just the timing.

MellaBella

I'm glad someone understood my ramblings. I think the stress that we add by trying to be healthy-living obsessed isn't good either, so I am working on finding a balance for it all. And I think NOT thinking about BC or cancer in general All The Time is a darn good place to start. : )

BrooksideVT

Basically, ditto.  I'm of the frame of mind that all the healthy eating is good, ditching the empty calories is better, but adding supplements benefits all cells, and cancer cells are hungrier than normal, aren't they?  Except for a high fat diet (we know that's a risk factor), and too much of everything yummy (lost 25 pounds to get my BMI out of the obese category, I've cooked most everything from scratch, moved from Long Island to a clean air, clean water, rural area.  I breastfed two babies, eschewed electric blankets, went braless when I could, avoided all avoidable chemicals, and even arranged to be born in a breastcancer-less family (lots of other kinds, but not BC).  And here I am.  I hope all the good things I've done is why I was 67 at diagnosis, but they sure did not prevent cancer, and ergo are unlikely to prevent recurrence. Personally, I suspect we just want to starve the buggers.

SelenaWolf

Me too.  Good, balanced nutrition is the best thing we can do for ourselves to live as healthily as possible, but if our cells decide that they are going to create cancer havoc, then I, personally, believe there's not a nutritional "magic bullet" that can change that.  I've been very health-conscious since I was a teenager and have, always, been active but - yet - here I am. 

I spent my formative years in a rural area where families grew their own fruit and vegetables, which were always picked and served fresh.  Home canning/preserving got us through the winter.  Bread was baked fresh.  Butter and eggs came from my aunt's small farm.  Chickens came from my grandmother.  We spent hours outdoors every day, even in winter.  Fish came from the nearby lake.  The only supplement we were given was cod liver oil (Vitamin D) through the winter months; we didn't need anything else, but - yet - here I am.

My risk factors for breast cancer had nothing to do with my lifestyle and everything to do with the fact that: 1) I am a woman; 2) I have (dense) breasts; and 3) I have never had children.  I, also, suspect that - had I not been thrown into chemopause - late menopause would, also, have been a factor: my grandmother had her cycle until she was 63-years-old; my sister is still "going strong" at 58 years.  But, then again, maybe not: my grandmother died at the age of 87 of heart disease without ever having cancer of any kind; and my sister has never had cancer. 

My mother, on the other hand, did not have dense breasts, breastfed four children and went into surgical menopause at the age of 50 following a complete hysterectomy (ovaries included).  And, yet, at the age of 78, she developed a strongly ER+, aggressive breast cancer.  She is, now, 8 years cancer-free.  So, for me, I lean towards the belief that, although there are some cancers that can be avoided by modifying your lifestyle, they cannot be avoided completely because - unfortunately - as multi-cellular, complex beings, we're just prone to cellular breakdowns.

Good nutrition and good health still remain priorities for me, but - after researching all the cancer "fads" and "trends", and "conspiracies" - I've decided that the best I can do for myself is to continue to focus on good, healthy living and don't sweat the stuff I have no control over.  After all, that's what second chances are for, aren't they?

wallycat

When I first joined here, I read many of these types of posts.  I also posted one of them because I was angry that I "did all the right things" and still got breast cancer.  

Exercise 3 hours/day (did that help or contribute?)

BMI of 19 (all the studies say it should help, but who knows)

Low-fat/vegetarian diet (I think this totally contributed but I will never know)

No kids; birth control pills, drink wine, former smoker in my 20s, stress/anxiety...am sure some or all of these contributed.

Looking back on the list, my twin (fraternal) sister did little to no exercise, was overweight in her 30s and remains so, eats more processed food then I though america sold, never had kids, stayed on BC pills till she was 50, drank wine and martinis and only stopped when she "got religion" but now drinks occasional wine with dinners, former smoker...She is on BP meds from work stress or ?? and had a breast reduction.  An incidental ALH was found; would it have developed to be invasive or would it just sit there till she died of something else??

I think it is a crap shoot.  I am trying (and it is difficult) to stop finding blame.

WHen I worked with a wellness doc in WI, we found many studies that discussed epi-genetics; that means what our great-grandmothers did could influence the outcome of our genes with various environmental interactions.  This is a new area of study but I am not waiting; I am trying to move on.

Yes, it IS frustrating....but what can we do?

juneping

first of all, what is an organic bra?? 

And I really identified with the posts....I have been underweight all my life, hated exercise and didn't eat all the right things but I didn't chuck down a burger/steak often neither. 

I was a little bit stressed out when I started eating clean. On another thread I was just complaining always felt hungry. I don't know. Some days I am in a panic mode of mets and some days I am fine. But I am starting to eat more grains (barley and quinoa) just to cure my hunger. I still eat healthy but I think I want to live a little instead of eat to survive. 

My sis recommended me watching this documentary "a bite of china" OMG I was hungry when watching it. It's on YouTube and it's quite fascinating specially the second season. I craved for noodles and pork after watching the program....

wallycat

Juneping, 

first, your avatar is ADORABLE..is that your kitty's paws?  SO soft and cuddly looking!!!  Cat fur (when it isn't shedding) is so calming.

I was ravenous all the time when I was low-fat/vegetarian.  I developed prediabetes and when I started high fat/protein, I can actually wait to eat 4 or 5 hours after my last meal.  A revelation to me!  I was eating every 1-1/2 hours simply RAVENOUS...and I was thin too (not any longer after the meds, but at least not gaining much more on the lowcarb).

juneping

hi wallycat...

I found that image on the internet and loved it since. I used to have a cat just like that...^_^...that's my Sasha...she's at the rainbow bridge now. I miss her so much...

My integrative doc told me to eat plant based diet and exercise daily. That's why I am hungry all the time. I am fine since breakfast until after lunch. All those veggi makes me so hungry afterwards. And I switch my nuts to the afternoon instead of morning. And my fruits to morning instead of afternoon. I treat those as snacks...I need to munch on something.

Yesterday I bought a chocolate cookie at the farmers market only ate half of it and  today I finished the other half so I wasn't hungry at all...it's my guilty pleasure. Last time I had one was sometime back in jan or feb....

wallycat

Sasha is beautiful!  I adore tuxedo cats!!! I am sorry she is gone...

yeah, if I eat "healthy" food in the morning, my blood sugar is all over the place and I need to eat again in an hour; an egg, cheese or some sort of meat and I can last till dinner.  I have prediabetes and know how my glucose can plummet if I eat carby....

Fallleaves

Hi MellaBella,

   Yeah, it is all a crap shoot. Like everyone else, I wonder what things I might have done that promoted the growth of BC, and what I might be doing now. For me, was it starting to drink wine after 25 years as a tee-totaler? Was it working a job handling BPA contaminated money? Too much sugar (and resulting insulin spikes)? 

   I am curious about the melatonin BC link. Have you read some things saying that supplements promote BC? The only things I have read so far have been about the link between low melatonin levels and increased incidence of BC (the nurses who worked the night shift study) and about how melatonin can improve the effectiveness of tamoxifen and chemo. I do take 1 mg in the evening, although I think some people are taking 20 mg/day.

   You do mention that you were very uptight about doing all the right things, and I'm kind of like that, too. Makes me wonder if the stress we put on ourselves might be worse than the benefit of whatever good things we are doing. Or maybe it reflects a personality type that is more prone to cancer than the "whatever" type. I'm definitely not saying anyone gives themselves cancer, but I do think the stress hormones influence other hormones (for instance, when stressed, you produce more cortisol and less progesterone), which may influence BC growth. I keep meaning to meditate more!

juneping

i read something and one line caught my attention since the melatonin was mentioned again. 

The line was saying no blind ppl had BC. I wonder how true that was?? Anyone? Any thought? I plan to ask my MO on the next visit about blind BC patience. 

exbrnxgrl

http://www.brighamandwomens.org/about_bwh/publicaf...

This just touches on the subject, but blind women do get bc.

juneping

exb - thanks for the link. Very interesting to read. 

carpe_diem

I was obese and not too careful about my diet before diagnosis, but so are lots of women without bc.  I switched to a mostly plant-based diet (no dairy, red meat, or processed food) shortly after and took turmeric for about a year, before learning that it might be counterproductive. I'm down to merely overweight now and still working on it. I don't know if diet and exercise have helped me survive this long (over three years on arimidex), but I hesitate to change anything when it seems to be working.This is from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prev... which concludes that there are no clear study results showing that supplements reduce the risk of cancer and may interfere with treatment for the reason Brookside suggested: Should people already diagnosed with cancer take antioxidant supplements?

Several randomized controlled trials, some including only small numbers of patients, have investigated whether taking antioxidant supplements during cancer treatment alters the effectiveness or reduces the toxicity of specific therapies (28). Although these trials had mixed results, some found that people who took antioxidant supplements during cancer therapy had worse outcomes, especially if they were smokers.

Additional large randomized controlled trials are needed to provide clear scientific evidence about the potential benefits or harms of taking antioxidant supplements during cancer treatment. Until more is known about the effects of antioxidant supplements in cancer patients, these supplements should be used with caution. Cancer patients should inform their doctors about their use of anydietary supplement. 

MellaBella

Juneping,

The organic bra is simply made from organic cotton (Bluecanoe brand) and incidentally has no underwires. I thought and still think it was a healthy choice. Just like rock deodorant and spring water, but in the back of my mind, I will always have questions in general. I think I have let go, early on even, of the WHY I got BC. I clung to my faith which was a wonderful foundation through that trial, plus, I've decided to believe the reason ladies get BC is that we live in a polluted world, end of story. But that's just me.

And Sasha is adorable! I want to snatch her up. I have a calico tom cat and he doesn't really care for being snatched & gobbled up all that much.

Fallleaves, about melatonin ... I'd read that about being exposed to light at night too in the book I link to below and it does indeed cover the topic about blind ladies having no BC (well at the time it was written) ... but recently I read just simply that some groups are doing studies now on melatonin supplements to see if they are linked. That was enough for me to stop taking it, you know?


book link: (Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner's Program to Protect Against and Fight Breast Cancer Paperback by Christine Horner (Author))

exbrnxgrl

I am also almost 3 years NED on Arimidex (never had chemo). My diet is healthy but if I want to eat something I do. In general I eat little red meat, but never hesitate to eat some if I want it. The same goes for dairy, pasta and rice. My downfall is sweets, but I try to curb the urge when I can. I drink coffee each morning and wine/alcohol if I want it occasionally. I am active as I teach first grade. Most importantly, I enjoy my life and rarely spend a minute worrying or stressing about my bc. I know I maintain good ,but not extreme, lifestyle habits and have fun every day! 

PS: I do take D3, melatonin, turmeric and a probiotic

wallycat

Everything I read indicated melatonin as protective from cancer (or no effect specifically)...

these are abstracts; some may have full text attachments:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24510738

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15026473

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16217131

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10493527

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10085462