Tumor enlarged after taking alternative medicine. Very nervous!!

pipers_dream

Mellowtime, relax!  I'm using all alternative, did not have the surgery, and my dx anniversary is Nov 16.  I can't tell you how many times during that time that it has grown and then shrunk again.  If it's growing that fast, it's probably not the tumor but tissues around it and sure enough it seems the tumor is always smaller after my period.  One question I have for you though is:  have you lost weight?  If so, you've probably lost fat around the tumor and it seems larger when really you've lost the fat layer that was covering it.  I've lost 37 lbs from dx and 2 cup sizes and now I can clearly see what was barely discernible before.  

Momine

Mellow, that is terrible with your surgeon. Is there a patient advocate in the hospital? I think you need to make some serious noise here.

Loveroflife

I took 1tsp of tumeric powder mixed with 1/4 cup of water(aghh) while waiting for surgery.My tumor was 3.6 cm according to ultrasounds the day of biopsy.  Up until the week b4 surgery, it seemed as if the tumor grew double in size. The day of the surgery, while injecting blue dye into the tumor and massaging the site, the surgeon made a comment about how the tumor felt smaller...not sure how she remembered. It did feel smaller. I am curious to see what the final pathology report says about the size of the tumor. Will find out next week when I see breast doc. It is possible that I had hematoma after biopsy thus the double in size of tumor. I did play several hard games of badminton to help with the stress the same day of biopsy lol. Biopsy was on the left and I'm right handed so I did not think that it would interfere with healing. It is possible that my playing badminton aggravates the biopsy site.  So.....Mellow, try to relax and not worry too much because worrying only add to your stress/anxiety and does not do anything to help strengthen your immune system. Will pray for God's peace and strength for you if it's ok with you. 

mellowtime

Thanks to all who kindly replied to this post! Just wanted to give you an update: I'll have a modified radical mastectomy on Monday, Oct. 6th. Glad and relieved that I've made the first decision on this journey.  There'll be more decisions on the way: chemo or not, radiation or not, oopherectomy or not (I have serious endometriosis which needs to be taken care of). Grateful that I'm not alone on this journey!

rodeogirl

i have 2 stellate lesion and they took 4 pieces at biopsy, its been nearly 2 weeks and only now is it starting to settle and the bruises go away. Sadly we need to get those biopsies done so we know what type of cancer it is. You need to take the vitamins in the form of real foods not capsules.

My partner researched all the foods and there are some important ones the biggest is selenium

in its natural form brazil nuts are the strongest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdLyMhNdcSc

this video mentions it as well

i am a vegetetrian and have started lots more raw foods as before my diet consisted of a lot of grains and cereals, guess what? they are the worst

you have to boil the tumeric power to get the maximum benefit, unheated you only get 1% but boiling gives around13%

beetroot

blueberries

brussel sprouts

carrots

celery

sweet potatoe

NO SUGAR or processed foods

if anyone is interested I will put up all the foods with benefits

CLP11

Carrot juice - high sugar. I try to keep sugar low. My ND believes sugar fuels cancer growth ...

Loveroflife

Mellowtime, thinking about you.  How are you doing? 

Lily55

brazil nuts also gave v high levels of methionine which promotes breast cancer growth

MmeJ

pipers_dream, I am curious.  If I may:

You have lobular.  That type almost never manifests as lumps, like ductal does (what we have been trained to look for with all the "awareness.")  It grows either in sheets or like a spider web.  

(I know you know this, but as many people have noted here, I sure didn't know before my own dx that there was any kind of BC besides ductal, and only learned about IBC because of Molly Ivins).  

So are you sure it is the tumor that is growing and shrinking, rather than a benign cyst that is affected by your cycle, should you still have one?

clp_11, sugar feeds ALL cells.  Cancer cells are our own cells gone rogue.  They just divide faster than normal cells so they use more of it.

mellowtime

Thanks loveoflife! Thanks to all who have given me strength through your posts! I had surgery on Oct. 6th and it was a success. I had minimal pain. The tumor is 1.5cm, and they found 5 positive nodes, which put me in Stage IIIa. 

Normally, this means chemo and radiation are not optional any more. But my case is complicated.

After studying the pathology report and comparing it to the core needle biopsy done 2 months prior, I noticed that the Ki-67 score has dropped quite a bit, from 52% to 10%. This usually only happens when a patient receives neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In fact, the reduction of Ki-67 is an important indicator of the effectiveness of treatment and better prognosis. Now, the question is, does this mean the supplements I've been taking are effective? If so, shall I keep going it instead of chemo? After all, chemo may not be effective for everyone, but the supplements seem to be effective based on Ki-67. Why mess with a good thing?

I also have endometriosis and two large ovarian cysts which cause serious pain every month. Recently it not only causes excruciating pain but high fever. I am completely knocked out for a few hours, couldn't even open my eyes or speak. If I do choose to go with chemo, I'll have to get rid of this condition first anyway. It's just too dangerous. I'm considering oophorectomy. Luckily, oophorectomy is supposed to reduce breast cancer risk by up to 50%. (I'm ER+PR+ and pre-menapausal, which makes this method effective.) 

Last but not least, I have a problematic heart. There's a little episode after I was given relaxing drug and wheeled into the operation room. My EKG was showing irregular heart beat, the anesthesiologist chickened out and wanted to cancel the operation . Another more experienced one was willing to do it. All went all after all. But I'm worried how my heart will perform during chemo and radiation. 

I plan to discuss with a few oncologists about my situation. Have any of you noticed a reduction in Ki-67 score like this? Anyone went into chemo with a problematic heart? Is oophorectomy a good option for those who cannot tolerate chemo? Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Loveroflife

mellowtime, I am sadden to hear about the stage ,the involved lymph nodes, and the situation with your heart and endometriosis. Some chemo drugs can affect the heart negatively. I hope they can find a regimen for you. In a way it is good that the cells are ER+/PR+. There r oral meds for that. It is quite interesting that the ki-67 is lower...it makes you wonder.  The result for my tumor came back smaller(2.9cm) than when radiology measured it before biopsy(3.6cm). It makes me wonder whether  the turmeric I was taking along with other changes I made in my diet had anything to do with it  

pipers_dream

MmeJ, You're right, I don't actually have a lump but I call it that to save keystrokes.  It's actually more like a hard spot, and when I feel it deeply, I can feel where the drop-off points are.  Also, when I thought it was growing, I was getting some lumpy tissue on top of it but that all went away again when I started to take Brevail, or it might have been one of the other supplements I started at the same time. So yes, I do believe that it was fibrocystic tissue since they were so sore.   The reassuring thing is that it seems to be no larger than it was when I was dx'ed, though I can see the outline of it now and that is b/c of the weight that I lost and much of that off my breasts.  I'm no longer "gifted" in that part of my anatomy but not complaining at all at all.    

CLP11--I am on the fence about carrot juice but am taking some now and with beet added too.  I feel like it's now a better choice for me since my blood sugar is back to normal, but when I juice fasted today I felt pretty shaky.  Still, I've heard that the benefits of carrot juice way override that.  I try to cut mine with plenty of celery too, since celery is good for treating cancer.  Or maybe it's just not a good idea to fast with it.  But yeah, I avoid sugar otherwise.  

NJoy

I felt that my tumor was larger after biopsy but I also had a lot of bruising and swelling so Im sure that distorted things also.

I have liver mets .  Just diagnosed.... and am struggling to decide on either xeloda or accepting the protocol of an alternative doctor in NYC who has had great success with the use of pancreatic enzymes for all types of cancer.

Question out to you .... i drink about a quart of carrot juice a day .... does anyone have thoughts about the detoxifying effects taxing the liver to much.  ..   lots of mixed reports on this so I welcome your wisdom on this subject .... thanks