Block Center - anyone experience?

I read up on him extensively after the owner of my gym suggested that I see him (Dr. Block works out at my gym in Evanston.  Based on what I read, he seems totally legit.  Plus he seems to practice what he preaches - saw him in a tai chi class once (I don't usually attend tai chi, but tried it once while undergoing chemo when I couldn't handle more strenuous exersize).  I didn't see him personally because I already had an onc.

Twinmom ~  I think he's very integrative legit.  I purchased his book, which is excellent, after a gal here I have a lot of respect for mentioned him.  I think she's actually gone to him.  I'll PM her for you and hope she can give you more information.   Deanna

I am traveling to Chicago for an appointment at the Block Center August 24.  (I live in Virginia).  The Block Center accepts Blue Cross/Blue shield.I was just diagnosed with stage 4, after 10.5 years. I have read a lot about the clinic over the last 10 years.  During my day there I will see a nutritionist, Oncologist, GP, and a Physical Therapist.  I also get see a cooking demo.  I recently read Dr. Block's book, Life Over Cancer and highly recommend it.  I will post again after my visit.

O.K.

I am hoping that they really zoom in on the breast program and will let you know in a few weeks about my time there. The book discusses all types of cancer I know that they do blood work that is different from the normal blood work that I normally get, it is called the Block Terrain test. have you read the book Anti-Cancer A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber?  It is also excellent and has a bar chart that actually shows which foods inhibit breast cancer  the best (as done in test tubes)  Surprisingly  the foods are different for the different types of cancer.  Top of the list for breast is garlic, I take a supplement.

Natada

I called 2 weeks ago and got the appointment on August 24th..  Today someone called and told me what the insurance would cover, they are in my network. Everyone is so nice and courteous. They realize that I will be treated by an onc in DC at the Lombardi Cancer Center.  Although I was diagnosed with stage 4 in June, (after 10.5 years) my treatment plan is currently uncertain.  The recurrence was in my left ovary, and scans do not show any other tumors.  I opted to have both ovaries and uterus removed when a so-called "cyst" grew over 2 months.   The tumor is being restained by my current onc, and another group to make sure it is not ovarian cancer.  I think Dr. Block also has his own supplements formulated that  you can order from them.  I am not sure what type of follow-up they will recommend.  The person I spoke to on the phone said that many patients come to learn the plan and return home for their oncology care.  I will be sure to let you know about my experience.

Hey Kat43, I am reading the Anti Cancer book on my kindle also. If you use the "magnifying glass" option on your kindle it will make all the graphs and charts larger. No need to buy it in book form! It's a marvelous book, hope my suggestion helps you get more out of it.

My visit went pretty well.  Everyone there was very, very supportive, sympathetic and really wonderful to deal with.  They gave me lots of advice on lifestyle changes and nutrition.

They can have molecular testing done on the tumor sample to further fine-tune what you can do to combat your particular disease.  So if you want the full gamut of cutting edge testing they sound like a good place to go.  It can be expensive, though, since most of it would probably not be covered by insurance. 

They talked about the idea that critics say emphasizing lifestyle, diet, supplements etc. can give people false hope, but you also don't want to leave people with false hopelessness.

I already had Dr. Block's book that includes information about their nutrition recommendations, so a lot of what the dietitian told me I knew from the book, but I learned some new things from him as well.  The dietitian gave me a list of recommended supplements, which they say will be fine tuned once my blood work is back.

Then I also had an evaluation by a physical therapist. 

They drew 14! vials of blood for testing.  I don't have that information back yet - they said it can take up to a month to get all of the results back.  I don't know yet what all they're testing for, but I plan to ask for a copy of all of the results.  They recommended retesting every 3 months.

I've been having some mild swelling in my upper arm that hasn't yet been called lymphedema, and he mentioned an electrical stimulation type of treatment for that that he thinks can help resolve it, so I'm keeping that in mind if it gets worse.

The only disappointment was that several of the supplements are their own formulation and are quite expensive, so I'm still trying to decide what to do on that.  When I called and said I couldn't afford everything that was recommended, they were still very helpful and had the doctor prioritize the list for me.

The supplements recommended for me were:

1st priority:

their own omega 3 supplement, which they said was used in a trial at MD Anderson with good results (can't remember the specifics).  It has a higher amount of EPA than DHA and they say that EPA is the main cancer fighter in the omega 3.

Curcumin

their own multi vitamin

their own Reishi mushroom supplement

2nd priority:

Vitamin D

I3C

their own antioxidant supplment

Resveratrol

3rd priority:

Calcium D-Glucarate

Cherry Concentrate

They sell all of the supplements, and the antioxidant and reishi are the most expensive.  On the other things the prices seemed similar to what you can find online.

They said that if you take a multivitamin, you want one that doesn't have copper or iron, because they are believed to promote cancer, and you should also stay away from too much B1 and B2 for the same reason.  So no more nutritional yeast for me because it's chock full of B1 and B2.   

My experience there was really good and I got a ton of great advice.  I just wish their supplements were more affordable.

I edited this to remove reference to the specific doctor I saw, because there has been uproar lately on BCO about specifying physician names.