The Fungal Theory

With a 2cm tumor I would still let a Oncologist follow me closely.

Holistically is a good option however keep in mind taking two or three 'supplements' a day will not kill cancer. Supplements are just what they are called supplements you need a LARGE quanity to serve the purpose of Chemo. 

Best of Luck!

Deanna is being very tactful.

Me, not so much. Using alt-only "treatment" of  grade 3, HER2 positive invasive breast cancer is tantamount to slow suicide.

No one wants breast cancer, no one wants toxic treatments, but the difference between life and death is making the choice to live by getting the necessary treatments to destroy the cancer.

Impositive, I'm with you. I've also done a lot of reading from both camps. I'm just getting over a major candida infection (due to triple antibiotics in erradicating H Pylori, which can cause stomach cancer)  Candida through a leaky gut can surge through out your body causing disease and possibly cancer.

Conventional treatment may not be enough. The invasive yeast fungus should be removed with an anti-fungal treatment and Candida diet.  

In an extensive review of what causes cancer, in his book CANCER, Cause, Cure and Cover Up, Ronald Gdanski examines the many similarities between the growth patterns of cancer cells and parasitic yeast.
he points out that when an injury or infection occurs, the normal human cell multiplies its "growth factor" (its ability to create new cells) in order to heal the injury. When parasitic yeast infiltrates an injury or infection, it acts in much the same way as the host cell - multiplying its growth factor.

As they inter-mingle, they create mutated cells with flaws in the cell walls that prevent the collection of cells from connecting properly to finally close the wound. The result is overgrowth of mutated cells - in effect cancer.

 Carolyn Dean (who is both a medical doctor and alternative health expert), when considering what causes cancer says,

"It is a scientific fact that, when yeast cells reach a certain critical mass, they change from a round budding stage to a thread-like tissue-invasive stage. . . In the small intestine, the yeast threads poke microscopic holes in the intestinal lining.

Such a phenomenon is called "leaky gut" - a superhighway to the blood stream with nothing to block toxins trickling across the gut lining.

Instead of absorbing life-giving nutrients through an intact intestinal wall, yeast's chemical by-products, (all 180 of them), and the inflammatory products they produce, (undigested food molecules, toxins, and other chemicals), take a one-way ride." ⁶

That one way ride creates a chronic fungal infection that leaves the individual vulnerable to the cancer effect described above.

1. Both cancer and Candida feed on sugar.
2. Both grow and reproduce only in anaerobic environments. ^7,8
3. Both need an acidic environment to survive.
4. When you probe cancer cells within the human body, they appear white in color and uneven in texture just like yeast.

You have only to observe Oral Thrush (Candida of the mouth) to realize that they appear to be one and the same.

Further, in a comprehensive study by Lankenau Hospital Research Institute and the Institute for Cancer Research (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), researchers found fungi present in virtually all cancerous tumors they examined.

Herceptin isn't a poison. It is a monoclonal antibody. It has no toxic side effects with the exception of possible heart function suppression, which usually clears up if the treatment is discontinued.

It is one of the many breakthrough treatments that have been introduced since the 1950s. 

Unless you are a  member of the medical community, you probably are not able to access up to date medical information, which is likely why you are quoting very misguided perceptions of medical treatment for breast cancer.

How much of your "research" is within .edu or .gov domains?

Mycology is certainly covered in Medical School. Please show me a link to a Med School that fails to teach this subject. We hear this kind of misinformation constantly around here. XXXXX is not taught in medical school. You name it. Nutrition, mycology, whatever the alternative practitioner is peddling, this is what they claim is not taught in medical school. Unless you research what IS taught in medical schools, you are simply substituting an alternative practitioner's judgment for a doctor's. 

Alternative practitioners are not charities. Alt medicine rakes in billions of dollars too, generally by putting forth unproven claims on gullible and often very fearful (and frequently very ill) people.

You cannot alter your body's ph with pills, baking soda, an "alkaline" diet, or any other such nonsense. (You may, possibly, alter the pH of your urine, but this has nothing to do with your body's pH. That can only be checked with a blood test.) An altered pH is achieved, sometimes, by alcoholics and diabetics in a crisis situation, however this is a medical emergency when it occurs.

As far as your claim that the people peddling fungus theories and baking soda cures aren't quacks, I beg to differ. Physicians, physicians associations, the ACS, ASCO, and quack debunkers all have cited overwhelming evidence as to the level of quackery. With actual proof of it.

You may choose to believe it, but don't insult our intellligence by claiming it's legitimate.

EDITed to correct a couple of typos.

impositive, my first reaction to reading your post was similar to what others have responded, only because of your HER2+ status (and I'm a big-time believer in nutrition/lifestyle in disease management).

While I personally would probably not do chemo or radiation, I have to say, if I were HER2+, I would very likely agree to Herceptin... while simultaneously pursuing an aggressively anti-cancer, antifungal, alkalizing diet and lifestyle. Modern medicine obviously doesn't have all the answers or even most of them, but there are a few specific medicine developments that are truly life-saving, and Herceptin is one of them.

BTW, there are many intelligent women on this forum who are voices of reason. Many of them have posted on this thread. However, occasionally trollish characters wander in who think they know everything and are sure to call everything in the nutrition/lifestyle camp quackery just because someone on the Internet wrote an article calling it so, and rather than posting in the spirit of education and compassion, they resort to sarcasm and insults. I suggest you put such people on "ignore."

impositive ~ Passions aside, the bottom line -- from someone (me) who is actually extremely pro alternative medicine (check the Natural Girls thread -- I'm on your side!)  -- is that a lumpectomy alone is probably not enough to assure you of ridding your body of every cancer cell, nor is it probably sufficient enough to ensure that your highly aggressive (that's the Her2+ factor) invasive bc won't come back.  I'm really sorry to be the bearer of that tough information, and in the end, you will believe what you choose.  But I've been at this game long enough to have come to the conclusion that certain breast cancers require more than a lumpectomy and alternative followup. 

Please be sure you understand the considerable risk you are taking by going strictly alternative at this point.  As someone said above, no one likes conventional bc tx  -- which, by the way, I think has made huge strides with drugs like Herceptin, and will make significantly more with its newest emphasis on genomics-based medicine.  But many of us end up doing conventional tx because there is no proven data supporting any other forms of primary treatment for invasive breast cancer.  Everything else, hopefully, is to prevent a recurrence.  But a 2cm tumor has been growing for awhile, and that's what I'm concerned about -- being absolutely sure none of those cells escaped, because the most well-researched diet & alternative protocols may not address them if they're already there.

Hope this makes sense, and please don't think I don't understand.  I was very much were you are when I was first dx'd -- researching, probing, digging, to find viable tx options to chemo and rads.  But, in the end, I reluctantly decided to do chemo & then rads and to use every other thing I could to complement those txs and rebuild my body.    Deanna  

No company pharmacuetical or otherwise would fund studies on the baking soda theory because baking soda cant be patented. They are not going to put their money and efforts into something that they cant get a return on. That's just the way business is and like or not... this is a business.

Impositive -- I just want to clarify something for you.  There is a great deal of research carried out at universities and research institutes around the world, based on certain theories, that are not likely to produce vast amounts of $$ returns.  Vitamin D research is one example.  I know a couple of docs at U of Toronto who have done a great deal of research on the value (or possible harm) of flaxseed on breast and prostate cancer.  This type of research is going on all the time.  IMHO, if the baking soda theory had any merit, there would be many, many studies taking place.

The vast majority of original research is not undertaken by pharmaceutical houses.  In fact, pharma acts largely as the manufacturer in bench-to-bedside medicine.

Good luck to you in whatever route you take.

 Impositive...I appreciate your research and stand. After researching for myself, I too after 2 lumpectomies, decided against rads and tamoxifin.

Since my recent candida infection, I've done a lot of research on it and I am too convince that an overgrowth of yeast or fungus is distructive to our cells and when our immune system is compromised it can cause major damage to our body.

Diagnosis: 11/27/2008, DCIS, Stage 0, Grade 3, 0/2 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2+

Barry, yikes, that is horrible that your doctor prescribed antibiotics... that's the worst thing you can do when you have a yeast infection! Ugh! Thank goodness your naturopath was able to help you!

impositive, it was a huge adjustment at first. I used to look at the clock at 5:30 and think, "Crap, I need to throw something together for dinner," run to the store, buy some microwaveable monstrosity, and bam, dinner (complete with GMOs and carcinogens) was ready in 10 minutes.

After my diagnosis, I basically stopped buying food at the grocery store and started buying it at local organic/grass-fed farms. I buy things that are seasonal/cyclical (even meat/eggs) and plan meals ahead of time (sometimes WAY ahead of time... like soaking organic beans the night before or making a marinade from scratch and marinating for 24 hours. Talk about a big change!

But, you get used to it surprisingly quickly... the benefits are just so overwhelming (not just preventing a recurrence, but everything improves... including your own personal happiness!) that I can't imagine ever going back. My husband and I went to a dinner meeting at a restaurant, and the restaurant food tasted so disgusting to me... I could actually taste chemicals. I know that sounds like a drawback (what fun is eating in a restaurant if it tastes gross?!), but we do still eat out (just at certain specific restaurants where the food is fresh and even organic when possible). When I tasted that chemical food, I thought, Wow, I'm so glad I'm feeding my body with what it was designed for, instead of this garbage.

You really do develop a taste for fresh vegetables etc. That seemed impossible for me to believe in my sugar-addict days, but most sweets really do taste sickeningly sweet to me. My husband bought me a pint of Ben & Jerry's Snickerdoodle ice cream because he knows I used to love it. I took a few bites of it and it just tasted way too sweet. That pint of Ben & Jerry's is still in the freezer weeks later (I should go throw it out)... I'm not even tempted!

So I guess the short answer is, it's REALLY hard at first... especially that first week... but then it gets easier and then it gets wonderful!

How I got rid of my fungal infection...or the worse of it!

1. yeast free diet (no sugar, wheat, or starches)

2. Floral...Probiotics (purchase the type that's refregerated)

3. Paul D Arco (detoxes ... teas or liquid form are good) I took a Paul D Arco pill out of the capsule...placed it on my tongue) bitter but you get used to it.

4. Aloe Vera Juice (once a day) gargle and swallow...

5. L Glutamine

6. Spilantaues Usnea (little bottle) put dropper full four times a day...works mirculously. After a few days my heavy coated tongue cleared up.

7. B-12 drops (includes all B vitamins)

8. Selineum

9. Much Prayer

Marianna, how long did you go without sugar? My theory is that you have to go without it for a certain length of time before you lose the taste for refined sugar. I have no idea how long that is, but I know I didn't consume anything sweet (not even fruit) for a couple of months after I was diagnosed, and I don't think I'd had anything with white sugar in it until that ice cream incident... so over a year.

But, when it comes to things like Jolly Ranchers and Laffy Taffy, I have to treat it like I'm an alcoholic... I can see myself totally bingeing on those! Then again, maybe by now the HFCS and artificial flavors and colors would taste gross to me... I am steering clear though so I guess I'll never know! hee hee

OH, I take that back about no white sugar for over a year... every once in a while I indulge in some dark chocolate which does have sugar. I stand corrected!

Impositive....I'm really bad at diets. Every once in a while I treat myself to dessert or something sweet. My husband was unhappy that I gave the bag of Holloween chocolates away. Like someone said, it's like alocohol....can't have it around  No matter what, it's about impossible to get rid of all the yeast in us. My motto is "balance". It's good to detox, eat healthy, take supplements, and stay positive...don't over obsess about it!  I believe that Pau D Arco is key, probiotics and Spilantaues Usnea. You can get them at a Health Food Store or New Seasons.

How long did it take me to rid my body of yeast?  I must say that I had a candida infection for months and possible years due to a low immune system, and H Pylori infection. I wasn't able to get rid of the yeast until the H Pylori was irradicated. Afterwards it took about 2 wks of detox, and anti yeast supplements before I felt well. 
Diagnosis: 11/27/2008, DCIS, Stage 0, Grade 3, 0/2 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2+