Eating disorder and Cancer

Hi Tammy,

  You wrote you've been anorexic for 23 years ... that's a long time to be suffering from weight and body-image issues.  My sis was anorexic for a very long time ... she would just stop eating when emotionally overwraught.  She got very, very thin as well.

   The thing is .. breast cancer doesn't change our other health issues.  I think it can make them worse sometimes.  My lifelong depression became much worse, and I needed to have it treated as such. 

   Telling someone to eat while under great stress and anorexic is like telling a person with depression to snap out of it once you've got the all clear from surgery.  It doesn't work that way.  And it just makes you feel worse.

   What you need to fight breast cancer is a strong mind .. gather information, do the research and make informed decisions.  I hope you family can be supportive and let you work through this issue with food. 

  My issue with food is the opposite .. I started eating after my diagnosis and treatment ... it's emotional eating and I haven't yet figured out how to stop.  Like Day wrote, I've gained 20 pounds and it's stuck to my belly. 

I wish you all the best ... please don't be too hard on yourself.  Eat whatever you can, when you can and focus on getting rid of the cancer.

Hugs,

Bren

Hello,

I have some eating disorders, | believe I am a bulimic bordeline (laxative, diuretic). I have this problem for very longtime. I don't think it really made any different during treatment but the fact that I was more anxious about food due to the sickness and changes in the taste. I suposse this things, anorexia and bulimia have an impact on your hormone levels, as many other things, but I don't think they can cause you cancer or being a risk factor. I think cancer is a very complex illnes and we don't understand yet all the factors that take place in the development of the illness. 

Hugs to you, Tammy! Anytime our world as we know it is rocked, we are at risk for any emotional problems flaring up. I've struggled with Binge Eating Disorder on and off for years. It had not been a problem for me in several years, but when I was diagnosed with B.C. last year it sure flared up. I found myself wanting to binge a lot, and often woke up in the middle of the night to eat. I'm super active, so I haven't gained any weight, but the guilt feelings associated with binging have taken a toll on me. Slowly things are getting back to normal.

As you know, eating disorders really aren't about the food itself. It goes much deeper than that and often has to do with control. So, it makes sense that when we feel like a part of us (like cancer in our breasts!)  is out of control we try to control other parts of ourselves that much more. Hug yourself, be kind to yourself, and if you can, give your body the nourishment that it needs. I wish you well!