What did you do?

I am not an IBC but an IDC survivor.  My attitude is somewhat like yours leisaparis except  I do exercise moderately--probably not enough, but I do at least 15 minutes daily.  I will you both the best!

I have ibc with bone mets from 6/09.  We waited a year after being stable to do mastectomy with reconstruction.  I'm on my last surgery for silicone implants.  When I was first diagnosed, I made some changes eating more organic foods at least meat & milk not injected with hormones and more fresh juices & fruits & vegetables.  I also read about vitamin D3 being good for cancer patients.  I stopped caffiene except for ice tea, but I found that decaf coffee beans are treated chemically to get the caffiene out.

I'm not extreme either way, but try to be informed and eat a healthier diet.  I'm not a believer that complete nutrition will get rid of cancer but will definitely help fight cancer and keep you healthier.  I felt better knowing that chemo got me stable and surgery eliminated the microscopic cancer found in my breast.  I get scanned every 6 months and like to have a status check to see where I'm at and what else I can do to keep cancer at bay.  I'm also on Femara daily & monthly zometa for bone mets.

I'm glad to have this online forum with bc.org to keep in touch with those who are on the same journey.

Best Health & happiness to all of you.

Terri

I'm with this same group, I live as i want to.  Only thing is, about ten years ago, I was a very active person, endless energy, two jobs, martial arts two nights a week, exercise daily including long walks 3x weekly, weekend hikes, ate pretty good, lots of water.  Then my injured back disabled me and I slowed waaay down.  I have NO IDEA how come I wound up with three cancers in one boob, two of them rather deadly.  It is such a puzzle to me.  And this is the nature of disease, it strikes people in all shapes and sizes, smokers and nonsmokers, drinkers and nondrinkers, people who are thin, fat, fit or frail.  It does not make any difference.  That's not to say it is of no benefit to improve one's health if it's lacking somehow.  Matter of fact, I think staying STRONG is THE most important thing you can do for yourself at any point in your life.  But I just think, like the others here, that to be happy, I'm going to live exactly the way I want to now, as soon as they say there is no evidene of disease in me, I'm going to be so grateful and not look back, not fear the future, for the Good Shepherd has helped me through this and I shall not disrespect his efforts my making myself miserable over a chocolate chip cookie.  GG

I was diagnosed last September and just finished up rads - had 3 months AC, 4 months Taxol and Herceptin, BMX, then 28 rads + 5 boosts - I'll take Herceptin until February.  By the time I had my mastectomy in May, they couldn't find any  cancer cells.

During chemo, I absolutely ate far, far less healthy than before - more meat and dairy, less fruit and veggies.  My oncological dietitian said get your protein every day to help recover your body, and don't do any kind of super juicing or megavitamins because cancer cells are human cells and they need those nutrients too, and they can suck up the nutrients before your body sometimes.  

I did do two things that are correlated with successful chemo treatment - walk for exercise, an drink a whole lot of coffee and other caffeinated beverages (same as pre-cancer).  Definitely not suggesting you pick up a coffee habit if you don't have one, but just sharing my experience, and some studies have said caffeine might help chemotherapy work better. 

You didn't get your cancer from a few glasses of wine a week, and IMO a few glasses of wine a week won't hurt you (unless you're taking other meds that interact with it).  Many times, we IBCers are ER/PR negative - the research has shown that alcohol increases risk for women with ER/PR sensitive cancer, as far as I know (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).   

IMO, enjoy food, drink, and life as much as you can!  Exercise is an awesome idea, as is a moderate, healthy diet with occasional sinful treats just for fun.  A healthy weight is a great goal but right now, just get through the treatment.  Be good to yourself!

Marathon runners, children, personal trainers, bikers - we all get cancer.  I was a mountain biker and jogger with a healthy diet when diagnosed.  You can't cure or prevent it by diet alone - that's the job of your meds.